NEW: Google adds AI to satellite images, raising fears of deepfakes in the sky. Full story here: www.npr.org/2026/07/31/n...
Natasha Gilbert
@byng.bsky.social
Investigative Journalist. Covering science, health and the environment. Yogi, hiker, fan of science and nature. Signal: @ngreports.30 www.bynatashagilbert.com
In the last couple weeks, we've seen a remarkable number of food recalls due to salmonella contamination. So many, in fact, that it's worth our time to take a deeper look at some of the reasons why. 1/10
Dozens of popular snacks recalled due to salmonella contamination. See the growing list
The salmonella concerns have led to a number of popular products pulled from grocery store shelves, including popcorn, chips, nuts and more.
nbcchicago.com
“There's a lot of pesticides in there. Sometimes at levels that are not necessarily great for bees.” Scott McArt, entomologist at Cornell University, found that bees from last year's mass die-off were highly contaminated with low levels of pesticides. @ejtodaynews.bsky.social
Honeybee colonies collapsed in 2024/2025. It was the nation’s worst-ever mass honeybee die-off. The USDA says the bees died from viruses. But many beekeepers are not buying this explanation. New data not shows that hives were contaminated with a cocktail of pesticides. Story by @byng.bsky.social
Honeybee colonies collapsed in 2024/2025. It was the nation’s worst-ever mass honeybee die-off. The USDA says the bees died from viruses spread by parasitic mites. But beekeepers told me they disagree for a story in @sierramagazine.bsky.social www.sierraclub.org/sierra/where...
Where Have All the Bees Gone?
The mystery surrounding a mass die-off frustrates beekeepers and the bee industry
sierraclub.org
Renewable technologies need a multitude of critical minerals. The seabed could supply these riches. But at what cost? My latest on #deepseamining in Knowable Magazine knowablemagazine.org/content/arti...
Mining the deep ocean
Renewable technologies need a multitude of critical minerals. The seabed could supply these riches. But at what cost?
knowablemagazine.org
Several scientists linked to Jeffrey Epstein are now facing consequences, reports @byng.bsky.social | @nature.com www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Scientists face fallout for past associations with Epstein
Jack Horner, who was a consultant for the Jurassic Park films, is among the researchers whose work or careers have been affected because of revelations from newly released documents.
nature.com
More researchers face consequences for their links to #Epstein. Jack Horner, who was a consultant for the Jurassic park films, is no longer employed at Chapman University. See my story for Nature www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Scientists face fallout for past associations with Epstein
Jack Horner, who was a consultant for the Jurassic Park films, is among the researchers whose work or careers have been affected because of revelations from newly released documents.
nature.com
Carbon capture can be an instrument to combat climate change, but it divides opinions, writes @byng.bsky.social: buff.ly/lAFMPCB
People tend to eat less meat and animal products, such as beef, pork, seafood and eggs, as well as fewer processed foods, when taking GLP-1 drugs for weight loss, according to new research. @byng.bsky.social reports:
GLP-1 Users Lose Weight, and Their Taste for Meat
People taking blockbuster drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy report eating less meat, dairy and processed foods. These shifts could reshape the food system.
buff.ly
Factory farm dust can spread E. coli and could have sparked a large food poisoning outbreak in 2018, a new study published in the Science of the Total Environment shows. @byng.bsky.social reports:
How Factory Farm Air Pollution Can Spread Dangerous Bacteria
Factory farm dust can spread E. coli and could have sparked a large food poisoning outbreak in 2018, a new study shows.
buff.ly
I wrote about how Trump's huge $100K fee hike for visas for foreign talent will impact researchers. Story in @nature.com www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Trump’s $100K visa fee for foreign talent: how will it affect researchers?
The rollout of the H-1B visa change has sown confusion – and some fear another ‘body blow’ for US science.
nature.com
Are you a #researcher or work at a #university that is affected by the #H-1B visa fee hike? Please consider talking to me for a story in @nature.com. For secure comms I'm on Signal: @ngreports.30. Please repost for reach.
The National Academies' response to the EPA's proposed removal of the endangerment finding is out today. It does not mince words about the effect of GHGs on the climate. Kudos to the authors. Key paragraph below; you can read the whole thing here: nas.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?...
World Health Organization Foundation’s growing ‘dark money’ problem raises conflict of interest concerns Via @byng.bsky.social @usrighttoknow.bsky.social usrtk.org/healthwire/w...
WHO Foundation’s growing ‘dark money’ problem raises conflict of interest concerns
The transparency of donations to the WHO Foundation -- which raises funds and gives grants to the WHO -- has sunk over its first 3 years of operations.
usrtk.org
The EPA cited my paper in their argument against the endangerment finding today. However, their point is completely backwards: my paper actually supports the EPA's 2009 range of 1.8C to 4C warming by 2100. www.nature.com/artic...
“Unlike shooting or bombing, if killing stops, the dying won’t stop. It’ll still continue for some time,” said Alex de Waal, executive director of the World Peace Foundation at Tufts University. “Starvation in war like this is a massacre in slow motion.” wapo.st/4lj3yKB
Gazans are starving. Here’s what lack of food does to the human body.
Children suffering under severe food shortages can face lifelong consequences.
wapo.st
Trump’s hatchet job on science will cost the US economy more than it will save, says analysis reported by @statnews.com www.statnews.com/2025/07/28/n...
New analysis predicts sprawling effects of proposed NIH budget cuts
Initial analyses of the Trump administration’s proposed NIH cuts neglect key aspects of their long-term economic and health impact, study says.
statnews.com
This graph is astonishing. The people that bang on about “natural birth” and “women have been doing this forever without help” need to be forced to stare at this until their eyes water.
Cutting back on just a little bit of the meat you eat can make a big difference to water quality in rivers and streams across the US. A research paper in the journal Nature Food has the numbers. www.nature.com/articles/s43...
Changes in meat consumption can improve groundwater quality - Nature Food
Most studies on the potential of meat alternatives to mitigate environmental pollution look at greenhouse gas emissions, but groundwater quality remains understudied. Using a groundwater nitrate pollu...
nature.com
The latest strategy to Make American Healthy Again: cancel any oversight of the most dangerous pesticides that farmers use. civileats.com/2025/06/03/u...
USDA Drops Rules Requiring Farmers to Record Their Use of the Most Toxic Pesticides
Pesticide watchdog groups say the regulations should be strengthened, not thrown out.
civileats.com
"You're just not welcome." Scientists told me how they are grappling with the US plan to revoke Chinese student visas. Read more in @nature.com www.nature.com/articles/d41...
‘You’re just not welcome’: researchers grapple with US plan to revoke Chinese student visas
Scientists are eyeing their legal options in anticipation of new immigration actions.
nature.com
NASA to end work in nuclear thermal and nuclear electric propulsion for deep space exploration. arstechnica.com/space/2025/0...
Some parts of Trump’s proposed budget for NASA are literally draconian
“That’s exactly the kind of thing that NASA should be concentrating its resources on.”…
arstechnica.com
We are glad to see Pig-2-Bac getting some attention, but @sentientmedia.org's new article about it is quite similar to the one we published in March. Our original article (3/31/25): usrtk.org/factory-farm... Sentient’s version (5/22/25): sentientmedia.org/scientists-f... @dawnattride.bsky.social
Breathing injustice: How a new scientific tool could help communities oppose industrial animal farming pollution
A new scientific test can identify and measure the amount of pig manure in dust that settled in and around neighbors’ homes.
usrtk.org
The chemical lobby asked Trump admin to black out sites of high risk chemical plants. They greased their ask with $$$ for his inauguration fund. Guess what happend? www.levernews.com/the-governme...
The Government’s Chemical Disaster Tracking Tool Just Went Dark
The chemical lobby demanded Trump make the locations of high-risk chemical plants secret. The EPA did just that.
levernews.com
Trump Ambassador to UK has big stake in big beef - set to benefit from US-UK trade deal. www.desmog.com/2025/05/15/d...
Trump’s UK Ambassador Has Investments in Industries Set to Benefit from Trade Deal
President Donald Trump’s UK ambassador holds shares worth hundreds of millions in the key sectors that stand to benefit from last week’s UK-U.S. trade agreement. Stephens played a key role in pushing ...
desmog.com
Meet the PR company behind the spin on Tyson's "climate smart" beef. Midan Marketing says you can "do the climate a solid" by eating Tyson's Brazen Beef. But beef will never be climate smart. Its #GHGs are just too high - 5 times that of other livestock. My latest for @usrighttoknow.bsky.social
The public relations campaign spinning Tyson’s brazen “climate-smart” beef claims Via @byng.bsky.social @usrighttoknow.bsky.social usrtk.org/factory-farm...
The public relations campaign spinning Tyson’s brazen “climate-smart” beef claims Via @byng.bsky.social @usrighttoknow.bsky.social usrtk.org/factory-farm...
The PR campaign spinning Tyson’s brazen “climate-smart” beef claims
Producing beef is a large source of greenhouse gas emissions. Meat companies like Tyson have hired public relations firms to clean up their image.
usrtk.org
Trump proposes unprecedented budget cuts for US science in next fiscal year NASA cut by 24% NIH cut by 40% EPA cut by 55% NSF cut by 56% Analysis from @maxkozlov.bsky.social @dangaristo.bsky.social @alexwitze.bsky.social and @nature.com team www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Trump proposes unprecedented budget cuts to US science
Huge reductions, if enacted, could have ‘catastrophic’ effects on US competitiveness and the scientific pipeline, critics say.
nature.com
Trump has been president for 100 days—and he’s made a deliberate attempt to flood the system and exhaust the public. It can be hard for most people to keep up. That's by design. As a candidate, Trump said he'd lower prices. As president, here's what he's done 🧵
FDA Layoffs Will Hamper Efforts to cut antimicrobial overuse in farm animals. My new story for US Right to Know. “It seems less likely than ever that progress on this ticking time bomb will be made under the current administration.” #AMR #FDA #CVM #indsutrialfarming #antimicroibals
FDA layoffs will hamper efforts to cut antimicrobial overuse in farm animals Via @byng.bsky.social @usrighttoknow.bsky.social usrtk.org/antimicrobia...