Arminda Downey
@arminda.bsky.social
views are mostly mamma mia and unfortunately my own
Funding alert: @grist.org is offering grants of up to $5,000 for reporting on rural climate issues and environmental justice in the United States. Newsrooms and freelancers are welcome to apply. Please share! grist.org/updates/gris...
Grist opens applications for new rural reporting grants on climate and environmental justice
Applicants can request up to $5,000 per project.
grist.org
You may think that steak is the most indulgent restaurant meal. Wrong. Three perfect squares of seasonal ravioli. Somehow not enough sauce to cover them. Thirty US dollars. The closest I have ever felt to being royalty.
Do you know a #StartUp driving scientific breakthroughs in chemistry? Nominate a start-up for our #10StartUpsToWatch program by Aug 1. Self-nominations permitted. Nominate now: cen.acs.org/surveys/star... #chemsky
Data centers not only use a lot of energy, but they need a lot of water to keep from overheating. But that competes with other uses of water, such as for drinking. So China is looking to put data centers in the ocean. 🧪
China Is Putting Data Centers in the Ocean to Keep Them Cool
China is pulling ahead of the rest of the world in sinking data centers that power AI into the ocean as an alternate way to keep them cool
scientificamerican.com
We finally made it to Bluesky—just a few billion years after the Big Bang, and only slightly late to the party ✨🌌 We’re sharing some of our best stories from the year so far to kick off our Bluesky journey!
What is Scientific American?
YouTube video by Scientific American
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There's an interview with me in Scientific American: www.scientificamerican.com/article/were...
We’re Light-Years Away from True Artificial Intelligence, Says Murderbot Author Martha Wells
Today’s large language models are hardly related to the kinds of machine intelligence we see in science fiction, according to Martha Wells, author of the Murderbot Diaries series
scientificamerican.com
I got to talk @alexclapp.bsky.social about why he lived out of a backpack for 2 years visiting the smelliest parts of the most beautiful places on Earth for his new book Waste Wars: The Wild Afterlife of Your Trash for @sciam.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/wast...
"The Wild Afterlife of Your Trash" Will Shock You
Alexander Clapp, author of new nonfiction book 'Waste Wars,' tracks the world-wide blackmarket trade of our garbage
scientificamerican.com
Thousands of federal grants have been terminated, effectively cutting lifesaving research and the careers of people behind the work. Read their stories, thoughtfully written by @rachelnuwer.bsky.social for @sciam.bsky.social. www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-...
Early-Career Researchers Reflect on the Emotional and Societal Fallout of Trump’s Funding Cuts
Canceled grants and slashed budgets are disproportionately affecting junior health researchers, dealing a major blow to the future of science and society in the U.S.
scientificamerican.com
Each Friday this summer, I’m working with Today in Science to give you a book recommendation to bring to the pool, to the airport or just to your porch. Sign up for our daily newsletter Today in Science to get new science reading recommendations every week! www.scientificamerican.com/newsletters/
might help: 1 calling your reps 2 organizing your community 3 joining a local direct-action group 4 attending protests 5 volunteering 6 canvassing won't help: 7 yelling that we're doomed 8 bragging about how cynical you've always been 9 sneering at people doing 1-6
Trump's transportation secretary thinks the New York subway is unsafe. But public transit is actually far safer than driving, in terms of both vehicle fatality and crime rates. Story by me, with graphics by @unamandita.bsky.social: www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-p...
These Charts Explain Why Public Transit Is Safer Than Driving
The rates of fatal crashes and crime are both lower on public transportation than on roadways
scientificamerican.com
We asked mathematicians what their favorite, most beguiling, intriguing and endearing shapes -- and they sent back a zoo! www.scientificamerican.com/article/thes...
These Mysterious Shapes Are at the Heart of Intriguing Mathematical Problems
Mathematicians describe the most beautiful and beguiling forms and surfaces they know
scientificamerican.com
Get behind the "dire wolf" hype to what could be real conservation science: 🧪 www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-...
The Dire Wolf Isn’t Back—But Here’s What ‘De-Extinction’ Tech Can Actually Do
Colossal Bioscience says it has “de-extincted” the dire wolf, but other scientists disagree and say more important conservation science is being lost in all the hype
scientificamerican.com
C&EN is reporting on the termination of international students' F1 visas and SEVIS status. Know any scientists affected? Signal me or @kvasquez.bsky.social (Laurel_Oldach.07)
Good morning! Please come on a bee adventure with me, I promise you won't regret it. 🐝 🧪 www.scientificamerican.com/article/ther...
Beehold the U.S. Native Bees Hiding in Plain Sight This Spring
Scientists estimate there are about 4,000 species of native bees in the U.S.—and they’re both cooler and ecologically more important than honeybees
scientificamerican.com
This was actually a really delightful piece to write, albeit for the dumbest possible reason. 🧪
The Heard and McDonald Islands Are a Pristine Biological Wonderland
Trump’s tariffs put a spotlight on the uninhabited Heard and McDonald Islands, which comprise a remote volcanic refuge for penguins and seals and a UNESCO World Heritage site
scientificamerican.com
🚨 Over 70 graduate programs in the biological and biomedical sciences have frozen or slashed admissions. The consequences are profound—how many brilliant minds are being shut out of research entirely? How much future discovery is being lost before it even begins? docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
Graduate Reductions Across Biomedical Sciences (2025)
docs.google.com
NEW: Trump cuts are threatening a standards laboratory who's work on atomic spectra undergirds the entire modern economy. The lab is run by just seven federal employees who have been paying out-of-pocket for their own coffee since 1973. www.npr.org/2025/03/26/n...
Trump cuts threaten measurement lab critical for advanced chips and medical devices
The Atomic Spectroscopy Group provides standardized measurements used across wide swaths of science and industry. The Trump administration plans to cut it.
npr.org
You rarely clock how often you swallow until you get a virus that makes it impossibly painful to do so.
The @standupforscience.bsky.social rallies happen tomorrow! Read more: “We’re trying to give folks somewhere they can feel powerful and have their voices heard.” 🧪 www.scientificamerican.com/article/stan...
‘Stand Up for Science’ Rallies Will Protest Trump Attacks on Research
Amid President Donald Trump’s attacks on government scientists and science funding, researchers are arranging rallies to “Stand Up for Science” in Washington, D.C., and nationwide on March 7
scientificamerican.com
It's been five years since the WHO declared COVID a pandemic. Where are we today, and what have/haven't we learned? My story in @sciam.bsky.social: www.scientificamerican.com/article/on-c...
Where We Are After Five Years of COVID
Public health experts discuss lessons learned from the U.S. response to the COVID pandemic, on topics ranging from school closures to trust in science
scientificamerican.com
Fun Friday excuse not to work: “Make it stop!” Musical earworms stuck in your brain! New podcast from Scientific American on how to stop earworms, and why they’re there in the first place. Listen to Lady Gaga, Whitney Houston, the ooga chaka song… and me definitely not singing. 🧪
Why That Song Is Stuck in Your Head
Some songs get stuck in our head more than others, and scientists have uncovered what makes them so irresistible.
scientificamerican.com
Scientific American has internships for summer/fall posted! News: springernature.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Spring... Graphics: springernature.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Spring... Newsletter/Engagement: springernature.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Spring...
News Intern, Scientific American
Job Title: News Intern, Scientific American Location: New York (Hybrid Working Model) Application Deadline: March 21, 2025 About Springer Nature Group Springer Nature opens the doors to discovery for ...
springernature.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com
If you’re overwhelmed and maybe a lil paralyzed by the news, maybe take a little time this weekend to figure out how to take care of yourself moving forward? 🧪 www.scientificamerican.com/article/feel...
Why the News Feels Overwhelming—And How to Cope
An explanation of the science behind news fatigue, plus expert advice to take control and protect your well-being while staying engaged
scientificamerican.com
Spend a possibly snowed-in #AAASmtg Saturday morning with Scientific American! 🧪 @kelsoharper.bsky.social @sunya.bsky.social @clarakm.bsky.social and I are at #AAASmtg hosting "Bringing Science and Technology to Life With Short-Form Video." Hope to see you there!
An incredible delight to work on this piece (and finally be edited by @andreatweather.bsky.social !!) 🧪
Andrea Thompson@andreatweather.bsky.social · 2y agoThis story by @arminda.bsky.social was my quiet source of joy this week. Ridiculous cooking method? ✔️ A whole heap of eggs cooked in the name of science? ✔️ Plot twist at the end? ✔️ 🧪
A delightful story about how humpback whale song follows some of the basic laws that govern all human languages. Biology and evolution are amazing. 🧪
Whale Songs Obey Basic Rules of Human Languages
Humpback whales learn their haunting melodies in much the same way humans learn words
scientificamerican.com
