Alice Sun

Overturning Assumptions in Childhood Learning and Cognition Researchers are finding out just how different—and adaptive—learning and memory can be early in life.

Researchers are finding out just how different—and adaptive—learning and memory can be early in life.‪ @alicesunreports.bsky.social 

Dispatches from the Last Ice Area - bioGraphic The Arctic is losing ice—fast. To better predict the future, scientists headed to the North’s last bastion of multiyear sea ice.

Dispatches from the Last Ice Area

The Arctic is losing ice—fast. To better predict the future, scientists headed to the North’s last bastion of multiyear sea ice.

by @alicesunreports.bsky.social

www.biographic.com/dispatches-f...

‘Scientists will not be silenced’: thousands protest Trump research cuts Researchers at Stand Up for Science rallies voice defiance against the policies of US President Donald Trump’s administration.

🚨🧪 We’ve been talking to scientists at rallies today across the country in DC, Boston, Seattle, and NJ. Here’s why scientists are “Dismayed, depressed, disgusted” and what they’re doing about it

🧵 ⤵️ for more
#StandUpforScience #StandUpforScience2025
@nature.com

Attending the Stand Up for Science Rally on Friday March 7th?
Download FREE rebellious posters on our website: RebelScienceUnion.com
Are you an artist with a poster design to share? Let us know!

Alice Sun

Hi Dani! I'm a freelance science journalist who's worked with outlets like Scientific American, Nautilus, Audubon, Science, and more! Would love to be added.

Website/portfolio linked below:
www.alicesun.ca

Imagery of hands from scientists hold lab equipment and creatives holding pens and cameras, and a megaphone yelling "Science is a threat to power. That's why they are trying to silence you." Underneath it says Rebel Science Union. Knowledge is Power! Art is Action! Join the movement at www.RebelScienceUnion.com

📣 Welcome to the Rebel Science Union, a refuge for radical science!
We are furious creatives who believe science won’t be silenced. We’re here to help scientists own their work in the digital space. Check our rebellious resources: RebelScienceUnion.com
Want to learn more? Let’s connect!

Week 3 Figuring out what to focus on now & what to focus on next in science and higher ed

Here’s @lizneeley.bsky.social’s latest newsletter, documenting the ongoing attacks on science and higher ed, and figuring out what to focus on: buttondown.com/liminalcreat...

Today was a day of mass censorship. Sending love & solidarity to all the amazing career scientists in government.

For the rest of us: Now is not the time to self-censor or comply in advance. More than ever we need to stand by the principles of our profession and always keep speaking truth to power.

National Science Foundation suspends salary payments, leaving researchers unable to pay their bills An NSF online payment system remained down after the federal funding freeze was lifted, leaving early-career scientists scrambling to pay bills

“If the freeze is not stopped, I might lose my house.” Read STAT’s @ericboodman.bsky.social on how the funding freeze at NSF is affecting scientists. www.statnews.com/2025/01/30/t...

Somewhere in the U.S., there’s a scientist staring at their NSF/NIH grant application wondering why they bother. This post is for you. Science and society both need you. Hang in there and know there is a whole community supporting you.

Tell me what you don’t know Scientific misinformation is a community problem. We can fight back by embracing uncertainty.

Defeating pseudoscience is not about strategizing a coalition for a particular candidate or particular party every four years. It’s about building up people’s ability to sniff out bullshit.

www.sequencermag.com/tell-me-what...

I have been thinking a lot about how becoming more informed and aware over the next four years in a way that’s really useful might mean more books about history and less getting sucked into the daily firehose of bad news which is the present

The Washington Post’s New Mission: Reach ‘All of America’ This week, The Post began trying out a new mission statement: “Riveting Storytelling for All of America.”

The ineluctable fact is, if you want the most eyeballs, the most clicks, the most "happy users," good journalism is a *terrible strategy*. Truth is expensive to obtain, slow to reveal itself, complicated, nuanced, often orthogonal to neat ideological conclusions.
www.nytimes.com/2025/01/16/b...

Far from Hollywood's wealth, Los Angeles fire survivors feel forgotten Residents say that insurance companies might shortchange less affluent households.

The media has focused on wealthy, White neighborhoods. But the fire in Altadena--a racially and economically diverse suburb--deserves more attention, because insurance may not cover their rebuilding costs, forcing families out and leading the neighborhood to gentrify.
www.reuters.com/world/us/far...

Thanks for sharing Emil!! It was truly a joy to chat with you. Loved learning about microbes and dark oxygen!

Searching for 'Dark Oxygen' in One of the World's Deepest Mines A scientist's quest for mysterious sources of underground oxygen may offer clues about the origins of life.

I am a big fan of Atlas Obscura (www.atlasobscura.com/). So it is a huge honor to be featured in one of their articles. www.atlasobscura.com/articles/dar...

Thanks @alicesunreports.bsky.social for the great dark oxygen story. With amazing illustrations by (www.instagram.com/rodolforever/) #deeplife

Undocumented people are among most vulnerable to climate-infused disasters Many undocumented people are not eligible for federal financial disaster aid and several remain fearful even when help is offered.

Many undocumented people are not eligible for federal financial disaster aid and several remain fearful even when help is offered.

Thanks for sharing Maddie! And thank you so much for your edits on this piece 😊

Long Before Pantone, This Bird-Based System for Describing Color Was a Hit In the early 20th century, ornithologist Robert Ridgway published a massive dictionary to categorize birds’ hues, from Peacock Blue to Duck Green. His work still resonates for artists and designers...

Pantone's color of the year is "Mocha Mousse." Ornithologist Robert Ridgway might have called it "Walnut Brown."

Learn more about Ridgway, and the massive dictionary he created to describe birds' hues, in this delightful read from @alicesunreports.bsky.social!

www.audubon.org/magazine/lon...

Science journalism becomes plain old journalism "For too long, science journalism has been treated as something distinct, something <em>extra</em> — the domain of specialists writing for audiences who are already deeply interested in and informed a...

A 2025 prediction from TON editor-in-chief @siricarpenter.bsky.social: Science journalism becomes plain old journalism.

This and much more from @niemanlab.org. 🧪

A generation of journalists moves on "Instead of rewarding these things with fair pay, job security and moral support, journalism as an industry exploits their love of the craft."

Among the NiemanLab 2025 predictions about the news business (many of them about AI), this one by Meena Thiruvengadam stood out: www.niemanlab.org/2024/12/a-ge...

Covering Science in the Context of Conflict - The Open Notebook Science stories become increasingly important—and complicated—in the face of war and conflict. To find and tell science stories from regions in turmoil, reporters have to dig for unique angles, gather...

When it comes to finding and telling science stories from regions in turmoil, journalists have to dig for unique angles, gather + verify context about conflicts, track down and protect sources, and stay safe in areas where journalists might be targets of violence. More, from Claudia López Lloreda. 🧪

South Korea Is Fighting for Democracy Again—And the World Needs to Know Last updated December 3, 10:09 AM South Korea Is Fighting for Democracy Again—And the World Needs to Know Heesoo Jang Assistant Professor of Media Law and Ethics Journalism Department, University of...

I was preparing to pitch an op-ed on the nationwide protests calling for President Yoon's resignation, aiming to provide global context amid the limited international coverage.

Given the urgency, I’m sharing it now. I didn’t expect events to escalate this quickly. #SouthKorea #Democracy

The Atlantic’s Sarah Zhang on covering the science and emotion of being human "I've always liked to think of myself as a brain floating through space...[but] our physical condition constrains and expands the way we think about ourselves."

fun to chat with @neeldhan.bsky.social at @niemanlab.org about journalism

topics discussed: the humiliation of living in a physical body, chartbeat brain, and how becoming a parent sharpened the way i think about covering health and science

www.niemanlab.org/2024/11/the-...

If you’re ever wondering why there are so many annoying takes about something, just remember that journalists are haters. It’s kind of one of our core identities. Sometimes that’s good! Investigations come from finding the hidden bad parts of stuff. But sometimes it’s just fucking annoying.

Emergency Declared as Smog Chokes Parts of India and Pakistan The authorities in New Delhi closed schools and urged residents to stay home. Similar measures have been implemented in Punjab, Pakistan’s largest province.

“All of North India has been plunged into a medical emergency,” Atishi Marlena, the chief minister of Delhi, said on Monday, adding that many cities were “reeling under severe levels of pollution.”

AQI is >1600. The AQI chart only goes to 500.

Collective Survival, Adaption and Direct Action Defiance must be woven into the fabric of our daily lives, rather than simply proclaimed at marches or on social media.

I wrote about the need to rethink our approach to direct action in changing times.