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Richard Sima

@richardsima.bsky.social

Science journalist and Brain Matters columnist @washingtonpost.com. Erstwhile neuroscientist ๐Ÿง  https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/richard-sima/

4,661 Followers  |  1,312 Following  |  43 Posts  |  Joined: 28.04.2023  |  1.827

Latest posts by richardsima.bsky.social on Bluesky

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Donate to Washington Post 2026 layoff fund, organized by Rachel Siegel On Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, The Washington Post laid off hundreds of journalists. We arโ€ฆ Rachel Siegel needs your support for Washington Post 2026 layoff fund

Whatever you think of the Washington Post at this moment, here's a chance to support the dedicated, hard-working journalists who were just laid off. If you have the means, your donation is most welcome. If you don't, a kind thought and maybe spreading the word to others is support enough ๐Ÿ’™

04.02.2026 15:58 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 590    ๐Ÿ” 444    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 13    ๐Ÿ“Œ 11

I expected the cuts would be bad but I'm honestly stunned and sickened seeing how many great journalists the Washington Post just lost. People who nailed huge investigations, documented war zones, exposed horrific crimes, dropped all at once for failures they did not cause.

04.02.2026 16:29 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 5361    ๐Ÿ” 1178    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 175    ๐Ÿ“Œ 70
This is an image of a poster promoting the rally that will run from noon to 1 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 4, at 1301 K St. NW to save The Washington Post newsroom from rumored mass layoffs.

This is an image of a poster promoting the rally that will run from noon to 1 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 4, at 1301 K St. NW to save The Washington Post newsroom from rumored mass layoffs.

Join us Thursday for a rally to #SaveThePost!! The rally will run from noon to 1 p.m. Thursday at 1301 K St. NW!!

Bring friends! Bring gloves! Bring a love of journalism!

02.02.2026 22:47 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 126    ๐Ÿ” 72    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 5    ๐Ÿ“Œ 15

It always feels like all the wrong people die, but I think itโ€™s because there are far more beloved people than there are bastards.

31.01.2026 00:28 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 6281    ๐Ÿ” 1600    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 11    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

The Washington Post Guild is alarmed and appalled by federal law enforcementโ€™s search and seizure of reporter Hannah Natansonโ€™s property and personal devices. Hannah is a valued member of our union whose work covering the federal workforce has been essential (1/3)

14.01.2026 17:52 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 963    ๐Ÿ” 348    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 29    ๐Ÿ“Œ 18
viney plant with white eggplants that loo, well like, eggs.

viney plant with white eggplants that loo, well like, eggs.

Friendly reminder that we call eggplant eggplant because the "normal" eggplant used to look like this

12.01.2026 05:42 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 5480    ๐Ÿ” 892    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 122    ๐Ÿ“Œ 132

This is brilliant and worth reading

08.01.2026 23:30 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 5    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

went back and grabbed the full video of her intro. absolutely incredible

๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€๐Ÿณ๐ŸคŒ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€๐Ÿณ๐ŸคŒ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€๐Ÿณ๐ŸคŒ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€๐Ÿณ๐ŸคŒ

02.01.2026 14:16 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 4268    ๐Ÿ” 1129    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 53    ๐Ÿ“Œ 81
30 Rock "What a week" meme:
"What a year, huh?"
"Lemon, it's January 3rd."

30 Rock "What a week" meme: "What a year, huh?" "Lemon, it's January 3rd."

03.01.2026 13:26 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 7034    ๐Ÿ” 2309    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 4    ๐Ÿ“Œ 25
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U.S. vaccination rates are plunging. Look up where your school stands. Take a look to see what the kindergarten measles vaccination rates are in your area.

EXCLUSIVE: @laurenweberhp.bsky.social & I have spent the last year collecting school+county-level vaccination data from across the US and found that only about 28% of counties now have herd immunity for kindergartners from measlesโ€”that leaves about 5.2mn kids unprotected.

Gift link: wapo.st/49zDc43

31.12.2025 14:28 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 926    ๐Ÿ” 601    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 37    ๐Ÿ“Œ 138
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Video games may be a surprisingly good way to get a cognitive boost However, the type of game and how often you play it matters, with experts recommending moderation.

Video games may improve our cognition. But how we play them matters when it comes to the benefits they provide.

Experts caution against overdoing it. Hereโ€™s what they say about cognitive engagement:

22.12.2025 03:00 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 48    ๐Ÿ” 11    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 4    ๐Ÿ“Œ 2
This bar chart shows a decrease in mentions of 'climate' since a peak in August 2022, when Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act.

This bar chart shows a decrease in mentions of 'climate' since a peak in August 2022, when Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act.

The Post (me and @kcrowebasspro.bsky.social) analyzed the social media posts and appearances of prominent politicians across the country.

We found that no one is talking about climate change anymore. In 2025, mentions are 60% lower than in 2024.

www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...

10.11.2025 16:24 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 155    ๐Ÿ” 71    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 9    ๐Ÿ“Œ 17
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How to avoid seasonal depression, according to the expert who discovered it Norman Rosenthal uses light in his home to help with depression related to seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Spoiler alert: He has a lot of light boxes.

NEW: I spoke with Norman Rosenthal, the psychiatrist who first described and named SAD (seasonal affective disorder), about what he does to address his own SADโ€”and what the rest of us can do to brighten our winter days. ๐Ÿ”†

www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/202...

06.11.2025 16:31 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 4    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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U.S. orders 10% cut in flights at several airports as shutdown drags on The Trump administration says the move, which will affect 40 markets, is part of an effort to ease pressure on air traffic controllers.

โ€œThe reductions take effect Friday. Details about which markets would be affected will be announced Thursday, administration officials said.โ€

www.washingtonpost.com/transportati...

@loriara.bsky.social

05.11.2025 22:33 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 2    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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DHS says our new piece is "dishonest, slanted, and fundamentally inaccurate" but won't say why. Here's the story where we show with evidence that DHS spliced together clips spanning years and multiple locations to create its own reality. Gift link wapo.st/4nuDGwf

30.10.2025 03:26 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 10435    ๐Ÿ” 3874    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 391    ๐Ÿ“Œ 147
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Trump administration uses misleading videos to portray chaos, push deportations Official videos purporting to show the triumph of recent immigration operations used footage that was years old or recorded thousands of miles away, a Washington Post analysis found.

Scoop: The Trump admin's videos boasting triumphs on immigration have used misleading footage from months ago or thousands of miles away

When we showed them the errors, DHS said they make a lot of videos and the White House said it'll keep making "banger memes"

wapo.st/4nuDGwf

29.10.2025 12:18 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1011    ๐Ÿ” 468    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 60    ๐Ÿ“Œ 58

Itโ€™s like if a broken escalator became a slide instead of stairs

23.10.2025 18:58 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Stop and read this deep dive on TikTok and how it's consuming much more than hours of our time.

One user: "It was harder for me to create my own opinions, it was harder for me to express my own thoughts in the day, and I think that took a toll with me."

www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/int...

07.10.2025 16:29 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 20    ๐Ÿ” 9    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 1
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Hereโ€™s how TikTok โ€˜power usersโ€™ end up scrolling 4 hours a day or more Washington Post reporters analyzed data from over 800 TikTok users to learn how the app turns people into power users, some of whom spend hours per day scrolling.

๐ŸคณEXCLUSIVE: We analyzed real data from over 800 U.S. TikTok users to reveal how the app transforms casual users into power users.

Extremely proud of this one, over a year in the making w/ @richardsima.bsky.social Leslie Shapiro @asteckelberg.bsky.social @ence.bsky.social

wapo.st/4obueib

07.10.2025 11:14 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 161    ๐Ÿ” 72    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 9    ๐Ÿ“Œ 17
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Children and teens who had a Covid reinfection had a doubling of #LongCovid risk (PASC) and a significant increase in many other adverse outcomes (Figure) www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

30.09.2025 22:35 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 489    ๐Ÿ” 289    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 15    ๐Ÿ“Œ 17
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What should you do to reduce your risk of dementia? Ask Richard Sima. Brain health expert Richard Sima will answer your questions during a live chat on Tuesday at 11 a.m. Eastern.

Excited to share that I'm doing a live chat tomorrow (September 30) at 11am Eastern to talk about brain health, dementia and whatever else may be on your mind!

You can also send in your Qs ahead of time - hope you can join :)

www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/202...

29.09.2025 18:36 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 2    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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More on this hereโ€”World #AlzheimersDay
www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/202...

21.09.2025 18:36 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 48    ๐Ÿ” 14    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 3    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Statement from Post Guild Leadership: The Washington Post Guild condemns the unjust firing of columnist Karen Attiah

15.09.2025 18:55 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 4729    ๐Ÿ” 979    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 79    ๐Ÿ“Œ 36
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CDC director being ousted weeks into job Susan Monarez, a longtime federal government scientist, was confirmed by the Senate in late July to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

EXCLUSIVE: The new CDC director is being ousted weeks into the job.

@lenasun.bsky.social @ddiamond.bsky.social report www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

27.08.2025 20:21 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 202    ๐Ÿ” 72    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 25    ๐Ÿ“Œ 24
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CDC director ousted, top officials resign after RFK Jr. push to change vaccine policy Susan Monarez was confirmed as the CDCโ€™s director in July. Three top agency officials announced resignations as the Trump administration pushed her out.

www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

28.08.2025 00:04 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 2    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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The CDC quietly scaled back a surveillance program for foodborne illnesses As of July 1, a critical surveillance program is monitoring for only two pathogens instead of the usual eight.

A federal-state partnership that monitors for foodborne illnesses quietly scaled back its operations nearly two months ago.

As of July 1, the critical surveillance program is monitoring for only two pathogens instead of the usual eight, a spokesperson for the CDC says.

26.08.2025 15:20 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 453    ๐Ÿ” 343    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 40    ๐Ÿ“Œ 139
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Bluesky now platform of choice for science community Itโ€™s not just you. Survey says: โ€œTwitter sucks now and all the cool kids are moving to Blueskyโ€โ€ฆ

Good to see @bsky.app has emerged as the social media platform of choice for science stuff
arstechnica.com/science/2025...

27.08.2025 17:33 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1235    ๐Ÿ” 310    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 16    ๐Ÿ“Œ 10
Rock Looked Way Cooler Wet

Rock Looked Way Cooler Wet

Rock Looked Way Cooler Wet

25.08.2025 22:00 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 16429    ๐Ÿ” 2716    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 224    ๐Ÿ“Œ 325
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Got to see these little guys making their way into the ocean this morning! ๐Ÿข #seaturtles #conservation #beach #nature #miamibeach

24.08.2025 14:30 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 15594    ๐Ÿ” 1778    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 392    ๐Ÿ“Œ 129

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