Emma Smith
@3mm4sm1th.bsky.social
Science journalist, Editorial Fellow at @sierramagazine.bsky.social
My first for @sierramagazine.bsky.social, as wildfires ravage parts of Oregon, France and Spain.
Sierra Magazine@sierramagazine.bsky.social · last wk.Although much of the smoke from wildfires has cleared across the Northeast, the dangers posed by poor air quality could have long-lasting impacts on health. “You may not be feeling it that day, but how is it impacting your lungs 10 years from now?" asked one health professional.
My latest for @therevelator.org began as a story for a class. It evolved into a months long reporting project, following the years long effort to preserve and protect New Zealand's critically endangered Māui's dolphins, which are considered taonga by the Māori people of New Zealand.
The Revelator@therevelator.org · last wk.Another Māui Dolphin Dies as Scientists Search Their DNA for a Path to Survival https://therevelator.org/maui-dolphin/
In my first for @sierramagazine.bsky.social, I reported on the long term health effects of particulate matter 2.5 or soot in wildfire smoke.
Billy Hanlon@bhanlon15.bsky.social · last wk.Timely, great piece by @3mm4sm1th.bsky.social in @sierramagazine.bsky.social "How Particulate Matter From Wildfire Smoke Impacts Our Health" 'People with health issues say it worsened their symptoms or forced them to stay inside' www.sierraclub.org/sierra/how-p...
Personal news: I am very happy to share that I am now an Editorial Fellow with @sierramagazine.bsky.social, covering climate, wildlife, energy, conservation & public lands. I am also honored to have been selected as a Summer Diversity Fellow with @sciencewriters.org. www.nasw.org/article/2026...
2026 NASW Summer Diversity Fellowships Announced
The National Association of Science Writers congratulates Chiara Villanueva, Emma Smith, Jamie Jiang, Julie Lee, Olivia Maule, and **Pragathi Ravi on receiving a 2026 NASW Diversity Summer Fellowship.
nasw.org
In my first for @mongabay.com, I reported on researchers and Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Wildlife Department's efforts to protect endangered Indian pangolins from habitat loss and poaching. #EndangeredSpecies #Pangolins #Wildlife #Mongabay news.mongabay.com/2026/06/beyo...
Beyond wildlife trade: Endangered pangolins are losing habitat in Pakistan
Tariq Mahmood was alarmed when he found 19 sacks tucked away in a railway tunnel in the Chakwal district of northern Pakistan. Their contents were extremely disturbing: 45 rotting pangolin carcasses, ...
news.mongabay.com
I talked to the researchers at the Nebraska Public Health Laboratory about their race to develop a PCR test for hantavirus in a weekend, before passengers on the MV Hondius arrived @sciam.bsky.social 🧪 www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-...
How scientists developed a hantavirus PCR test in a weekend Inside the race to develop a hantavirus PCR test
Researchers at the Nebraska Public Health Laboratory worked round the clock to develop a test for the Andes virus at the center of the deadly cruise ship outbreak
scientificamerican.com
A decades-long effort to remove dangerous plastic debris from marine and terrestrial habitats succeeded in lowering endangered Hawaiian monk seal entanglement rates, a 2024 study found, confirming that such efforts are well worth the cost and effort. #EndangeredSpeciesDay https://scim.ag/4d8jw7X
It's #EndangeredSpeciesDay. During my time on Maui, I met Kalea, a two-year-old critically endangered Hawaiian monk seal. She's one of ten or eleven #HawaiianMonkSeals on Maui. There are less than 1,600 in the world now, as they were nearly hunted to extinction during the 20th century. #Conservation
Great work as per usual by @alexaroblesgil.bsky.social. Please give it a read!
Alexa Robles-Gil@alexaroblesgil.bsky.social · 3mo agoMany of us have seen videos of humans swimming with orcas. The reality, however, is much different. Over the course of nearly a year, I traveled to Norway and Mexico to report on the complexity of swimming with these apex predators. Read more in @nytimes.com gift link www.nytimes.com/2026/04/29/s...
Think Global Health: “England Closes Several Long COVID Clinics, Deserting Patients” ‘The closures mark a funding reversal by the National Health Service and come even as Long COVID's prevalence remains steady’ www.thinkglobalhealth.org/article/engl...
England Closes Several Long COVID Clinics, Deserting Patients | Think Global Health
The closures mark a funding reversal by the National Health Service and come even as Long COVID's prevalence remains steady
thinkglobalhealth.org
Thank you to all the U.K. patients, advocates (@longcovidsupport.bsky.social ) physicians and MP @joplatt.bsky.social who spoke with me for this article with @thinkglobalhealth.org #LongCOVID #Disability #SixYearsLater #COVID #England #UnitedKingdom www.thinkglobalhealth.org/article/engl...
England Closes Several Long COVID Clinics, Deserting Patients | Think Global Health
The closures mark a funding reversal by the National Health Service and come even as Long COVID's prevalence remains steady
thinkglobalhealth.org
An article about my family's struggle with mental illness and guns. "Mom's Last Gun" by Kelli Caldwell, edited by Leslie Eaton. So grateful to Leslie and the The Marshall Project team for helping us tell this slice of our story. #mentalhealth #gunsafety www.themarshallproject.org/2026/03/06/g...
Mom’s Last Gun
My mother has severe mental illness. Our family has spent decades trying to keep her from using firearms to hurt herself and others.
themarshallproject.org
Honored to have contributed this resource with @longcovidjustice.org and @thesicktimes.org
Long COVID Justice@longcovidjustice.org · 5mo agoHave you tried "off-label" meds for Long COVID and associated conditions (LCAC)? Learn more in this resource from our Long COVID Essentials series, created in partnership w/ @thesicktimes.org: longcovidjustice.org/off-label-meds
A great article about clinics closing by @brittashoot.com with @thesicktimes.org! Please give it a read.
betsy ladyzhets 😷@betsyladyzhets.bsky.social · 6mo agoToday @thesicktimes.org: big story by @brittashoot.com examining the Metrodora Institute, a clinic for “neuroimmune disorders” like Long COVID and myalgic encephalomyelitis that made big promises to patients... then abruptly closed. thesicktimes.org/2026/01/27/m...
The gut microbiome may be trendy, but research lags behind. A recent study by @cellpress.bsky.social describes a new capsule — inspired by the structure of #coral — may help better illuminate its mysteries Story by Georgia Michelman, read more on Scienceline scienceline.org/2026/01/cora...
What can a coral-inspired pill teach us about the gut microbiome? - Scienceline
A new capsule measuring the small intestine’s microbes may help better illuminate the mysteries of the gut microbiome
scienceline.org
Grief is hard to write about and even more difficult to discuss. I am proud of my dad, Matt, for writing about it for Oregon Attorney Assistance Program. Read the essay here: d1o0i0v5q5lp8h.cloudfront.net/oaap/live/as... #Grief #Essay
d1o0i0v5q5lp8h.cloudfront.net
Researchers in Singapore synthesized a reef-safe sunscreen prototype from a very unusual source: #pollen Story by Madeline Shaw, read more on Scienceline! scienceline.org/2026/01/rese...
Researchers create reef-safe sunscreen prototype from pollen - Scienceline
How the “diamond of the organic world” could help protect skin from damaging UV rays
scienceline.org
Watch it here: Finding Our Voices After COVID Julia Claire Taylor is an opera singer based in NYC who lost her ability to perform after a COVID infection in 2022. A clinical trial with @putrinolab.bsky.social allowed her to reach a milestone this October. www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJZM... #LongCOVID
“Finding our Voices after COVID” written by Emma Smith, journalist
YouTube video by Julia Claire Taylor
youtube.com
"About 40 per cent of #LongCOVID sufferers who sought health care for their symptoms have had difficulties accessing it, the Statistics 🇨🇦 Canada survey showed": www.cbc.ca/news/health/...
For millions of Canadians with long COVID, getting treatment is still a struggle | CBC News
Long COVID sufferers from across Canada are left struggling for words, breath and answers after some specialized clinics have shut down.
cbc.ca
Long COVID clinics are quietly closing, leaving thousands of patients without specialized care via @scienceline.org scienceline.org/2026/01/long... Thank you to the people living with Long COVID who shared their stories and to the healthcare providers and advocates for sharing their insights.
Long COVID clinics are quietly closing, leaving thousands of patients without specialized care - Scienceline
Long COVID clinics began opening in swaths across the country in 2020 to provide specialty care for patients living with this chronic condition, which occurs following a COVID infection. As of March 2...
scienceline.org
I'm reporting on Long COVID clinics closing across the UK and looking to understand what's driving this. I am also examining the state of care for ME/CFS. If you're a patient (who has lost access to care/faced barriers accessing it), clinician, or advocate, DM for my WhatsApp.
A new flu variant is officially in town. @tanyalewis.bsky.social has the latest update on the mutated H3N2 strain, called subclade K, which may be driving U.S. flu hospitalizations in children and older adults. @sciam.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/new-...
New Flu Variant May Be Triggering Spike in Severe Disease
A novel influenza variant called subclade K appears to be driving an uptick in cases and hospitalizations throughout the U.S. and other countries
scientificamerican.com
In his opening RFK Jr. again spread the conspiracy theory about the drug AZT killing more people than HIV/AIDS, which has been thoroughly debunked. In the past he has been called an AIDS denialist for other conspiracy theories. glaad.org/fact-check-c...
Fact Sheet: Correcting the Record on HIV/AIDS Misinformation Online | GLAAD
Recognized as a global epidemic since the early 1980s, HIV/AIDS continues to be one of the world’s deadliest viruses. While there is no vaccine or cure, HIV is preventable and can be managed with medi...
glaad.org
The HHS roundtable on Lyme disease has just kicked off. RFK jr. opened the discussion by stating Lyme disease has greatly affected his own family, citing his and his sons' experience with the disease. "We have to make it safe for children to go back into the woods.” www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3il...
Lyme Disease Roundtable
YouTube video by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
youtube.com
My latest for @scienceline.org. In a new study from @nature.com, researchers in the U.K. analyzed data from over 400 coral reefs. They warned that #coralreefs, which have been under stress due to #climatechange, may face more challenges on a warmer planet. scienceline.org/2025/12/cora...
Coral reefs may succumb to erosion on a warmer planet - Scienceline
In a new study from Nature, researchers in the U.K. analyzed data from over 400 coral reefs. They warned that corals reefs, which have long been under stress due to climate change, may face more chall...
scienceline.org
The Power of Rare: 'A Science Journalist Speaks about Struggle with Long COVID (Emma's Story)' 'Emma Smith, a 26-year-old science and health journalist, shares her long COVID journey...' H/T to @3mm4sm1th.bsky.social for sharing her story www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiFw...
A Science Journalist Speaks about Struggle with Long COVID (Emma's Story)
YouTube video by The Power of Rare
youtube.com
The US may be headed for a rough flu season, with a virus that causes more severe symptoms than the one last year and seems to be spreading more rapidly and earlier than usual. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/19/h...
Early Signs Point to a Harsh Flu Season in the U.S.
nytimes.com
Giving back to Montana with my first story for @scienceline.org — Selenium contamination from Canadian coal mines may threaten Montana birds. One of the many stories I’ve reported on during my first semester with @nyu.edu SHERP. #environmentalcontamination scienceline.org/2025/11/sele...
Selenium contamination from Canadian coal mines may threaten Montana birds - Scienceline
Selenium is seeping into Montana waterways from Canadian coal mines, and putting local birds and other wildlife in danger.
scienceline.org
I first heard about orcas attacking white sharks while working as a field biologist in South Africa. Back then, no one had really seen it. Now, scientists in both South Africa and Mexico have drone footage. my latest for @nytimes.com (gift link!) #marinelife www.nytimes.com/2025/11/03/s...
In Mexico, Killer Whales Take Down Great White Sharks
nytimes.com
