Carmen Drahl

Carmen Drahl

@carmendrahl.bsky.social

DC-based freelance journalist and editor | science, health, food | ✍️ DCist, Knowable, NPR, Science News | NASW Freelance Committee | Chemistry Ph.D. 🧪 | Inglés y Español | she/her

962 Followers 531 Following 81 Posts Joined Jun 2023
4 months ago

Happy #TON15, @theopennotebook.bsky.social ! I'll speak from experience: even TON mentors can learn from this wonderful organization about journalistic rigor and empathy. Donations today will be matched by orgs like my former newsroom @cenmag.bsky.social www.theopennotebook.com/15thannivers...

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5 months ago

This is pure inspiration for kids to want to become scientists. Bravo @beebrookshire.bsky.social for balancing joy and pragmatism in a story about a small clinical trial. A pleasure to edit you!

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7 months ago
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Community wellness check-in for caregivers In response to members’ feedback, and on the heels of our Caregiver Pilot Project, we are holding a community wellness event for caregivers.

Tomorrow 1PM ET: My colleague @sarahderouin.com will be hosting a supportive virtual gathering for caregivers who are members of @sciencewriters.org . Join me! 
Event link: www.nasw.org/events/careg...

Not a member? nasw.org/join

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7 months ago
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Christian Elliott and Muriel Alarcón Pivot While Covering a Patagonian Coral Milestone - The Open Notebook During a reporting trip to Patagonia, science journalists Muriel Alarcón and Christian Elliott teamed up to cover a scientific milestone: a successful lab reproduction of cold-water corals originally ...

English speakers, your version of the Q&A is here. Ask me how I used sports alliteration when helping Lucila brainstorm a headline. ;) 🧪#MarineLife 🌎
www.theopennotebook.com/2025/07/15/c...

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7 months ago

Un placer editar a Lucila Pinto mientras entrelazaba dos voces en este Q&A.

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8 months ago
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Cleaner space, purer hearts, + what's new in 3D and energy | Science News Welcome to the Investors Lab from Science News. This week's issue is brought to you by our small but mighty team: our founding content curator Susanna Camp,

A step toward a Tony Stark-like 3D display you can manipulate? @sciencenews.bsky.social is here for it. Say hi to @elanaspivack.bsky.social , the newest team member on the Investors Lab newsletter, and subscribe for more insights. www.sciencenews.org/investors-la... 🧪 #space #bioplastic

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8 months ago
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If we wire the brain, what comes to mind? The Kavli Foundation is dedicated to advancing science for the benefit of humanity.

The question I should've asked: where can I go to see #neuroscience and ethics expert @narayansankaran.bsky.social play some jazz guitar? My latest story for @kavlifoundation.org . 🧪 #neuroskyence www.kavlifoundation.org/news/wire-th...

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9 months ago
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Laser-induced graphene points to sustainable electronics | PNAS Laser-induced graphene points to sustainable electronics

When I was a staff journalist, it felt like someone pitched a new #graphene advance every week. So it was delightful to work with @stephenornes.bsky.social on one aspect of this field that might enable #greenelectronics. My first edit for @pnas.org : #chemsky 🧪 ⚛️ www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

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9 months ago
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Genetics might save the rare, elusive saola — if it's not already extinct A new genetic study could help saolas survive by enabling better searches through environmental DNA. But some experts fear they may be extinct already.

I'd never heard of the saola until I edited Tom Metcalfe's piece for @sciencenews.bsky.social . Now I'll be keeping tabs on what their fate will be. www.sciencenews.org/article/gene... 🧪

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9 months ago
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Personalized gene editing saved a baby, but the tech’s future is uncertain The personalized CRISPR treatment could be the future of gene therapy, but hurdles remain before everyone has access.

I want to believe that costs could decrease for custom gene editing like KJ's. But the current landscape has me pessimistic. Great to work w @thsaey.bsky.social, who ably lays out this story for @sciencenews.bsky.social : 🩺🧪https://www.sciencenews.org/article/personalized-crispr-gene-edit-therapy

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9 months ago

This was chock full of pithy quotes, like: “People say, ‘We got to the moon, why can’t we do this?’ Well, the moon didn’t suddenly move out of the way." Fun to get to edit my former @dcswa.bsky.social prez @econover.bsky.social for @sciencenews.bsky.social ⚛️ 🧪

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9 months ago

Interesting - given the time limit, should they mainly be developed so that they can be generated in situ for applications that must be used rapidly, such as firefighting foam?

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10 months ago
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Scientists home in on alternatives to ‘forever chemicals’ Bulky molecules mimic some properties of PFAS without their long-lasting chemical bonds and could replace PFAS in some water-repelling applications.

ICYMI, here's @skylerdware.bsky.social in @sciencenews.bsky.social explaining a possible alternative to #PFAS chemicals in certain surfactant applications. I enjoyed editing and finding the fabric art: www.sciencenews.org/article/alte... #chemsky 🧪

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10 months ago

I'm hoping the fact that you wrote "perhaps other factors in tick saliva...makes the immune system go haywire" sparks scientists' curiosity...

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10 months ago
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Fires in the Amazon forest may melt sea ice in Antarctica Satellite data reveal a link between the amount of black carbon in the atmosphere and rates of Antarctic sea ice loss in recent years.

Soot from fires in the Amazon that traveled through atmospheric corridors could have reached the Antarctic, where it would darken snow and ice to hasten melting. My first time editing @meghier.bsky.social for @sciencenews.bsky.social : www.sciencenews.org/article/anta... #GreenSky 🧪

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10 months ago

Read all the way to the end of Meghan's thread. I covered alpha gal in 2017 and scientists have learned a lot since then. Grateful to be able to catch up by editing her story. 🧪 #publichealth

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11 months ago
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Join DCSWA members on April 19 to enjoy a fun science trivia night with food and drinks! No registration is needed, just show up and have a good time with us!

📌 Closest metro station: Shaw - Howard University.

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10 months ago

This is the kind of story that takes a LOT more work and reporting behind the scenes than shows up in the final product. Bravo, McKenzie (who is a dream to edit, BTW). #Immunocompromised #MedSky #PublicHealth #SDoH

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1 year ago

Who bears responsibility for the big questions that emerge from world-changing science? Proud to tell these awardees' stories. #chemsky 📈 ⚛️ 🧪 🔭 🧮 #AcademicSky

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1 year ago
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A child who got CAR-T cancer therapy is still disease-free 18 years later The long-term survival of a patient with neuroblastoma suggests the personalized cancer treatment may work for solid tumors, not just blood cancers.

@andreatamayo.bsky.social and I dug into the numbers to give context to the headlines about an 18-year survivor of CAR-T cell therapy for neuroblastoma. Story in @sciencenews.bsky.social : www.sciencenews.org/article/car-... #medsky

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1 year ago
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Married men are doing more cleaning and laundry than in the past Some scholars argue that efforts to equalize the time men and women spend on housework has stalled. An analysis reveals slow progress.

“Men are doing quote, unquote ‘women’s work,’” closing U.S. gender gaps in time spent on tasks like meal prep and tidying up. I edited Sujata Gupta's story for @sciencenews.bsky.social : www.sciencenews.org/article/marr...

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1 year ago
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Nota mental. La inteligencia artificial tiene un problema de imagen No es un robot con rasgos humanos el que está tomando decisiones por vos: hay una brecha entre cómo la ilustramos y la manera en la que funciona

Enlace: www.lanacion.com.ar/opinion/nota...

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1 year ago

Watch this space - I'll be developing four stories with Lucila Pinto over the course of her @theopennotebook.bsky.social fellowship. Echen un vistazo al reportaje de Lucila en @lanacioncom.bsky.social sobre el problema de ilustrar reportajes sobre #IA. #journalism #science #AI

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1 year ago
Side by side graphics of the N A S W journalism award and institutional writing award logos.

ANNOUNCEMENT: The National Association of Science Writers once again welcome entries for its journalism awards and its institutional writing awards. Submit #SciWriAwards nominations on behalf of yourself, peers, colleagues, or mentees by February 1, 2025: www.nasw.org/article... 💚🧪📝

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1 year ago

Maybe there's something to the idea that going for a run dissipates one's anger.

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1 year ago
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Humans have linked emotions to the same body parts for 3,000 years 3,000-year-old clay tablets show that some associations between emotion and parts of the body have remained the same for millennia.

I have never felt happiness in my liver. But as @bittelmethis.bsky.social 's story explains, that concept came up quite a bit 3,000 years ago in Mesopotamia. Latest edit for
@haleyweiss.bsky.social @sciencenews.bsky.social .🏺#langsky 🧪 www.sciencenews.org/article/link...

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1 year ago

Coming up in 20 minutes...

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1 year ago
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Discovering Journalism Wednesday, January 8 - Wednesday, February 12, 2025

Please help spread the word to #FirstGen college juniors & seniors. Paid #mentorship opp over 5 wks starting 1/8/2025! Applications due Dec 17th. Only three spots available! Gratitude for grant funding from @sciencewriters.org
See sites.google.com/uri.edu/disc...

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1 year ago

Unfortunately, the trivia is for members of the National Association of Science Writers-but I’m guessing we’ll see some well-deserved bragging rights on this here platform tomorrow afternoon

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1 year ago

I'm once again emcee'ing trivia for @sciencewriters.org. 💚🧪📝 There will be science questions, but expect some pop culture thrown into the mix. THIS THURSDAY, 1PM ET:

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