David Malakoff
@davidmalakoff.bsky.social
Now: Lead Editor, Science's AI in Science Reporting Initiative (@science.org). Then: Freelance journalist, NPR Science Desk, river conservationist, College of the Atlantic (1986). Birder. Whitewater kayaker. Proud dad of 3 kids. Signal: DMalakoff.
Some business news: Pleased to announce today was my first day as Director, Science Policy News, at the American Institute of Physics. We're best known for FYI: Science Policy News www.aip.org/fyi the long-running weekly newsletter and news platform for science insiders. More TK.
FYI: Science Policy News from AIP
FYI is an authoritative source for science policy news and analysis trusted by policymakers and scientists nationwide.
aip.org
独家披露：一名女孩在中国基因编辑试验中死亡，此事从未对外公开 | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
独家披露：一名女孩在中国基因编辑试验中死亡，此事从未对外公开
试验酿成灾难性悲剧后，受害者父母寻求问责，《科学》与 Retraction Watch 联合调查发现
science.org
278 winner now have 9 months to show they deserve additional funding for using AI in research | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
The Genesis Mission, the Department of Energy’s big AI push, unveils first grants
The 278 winners now face 9-month race to prove they deserve additional funding
science.org
Chatbots can help perpetuate stigma around certain health conditions | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
Chatbots can help perpetuate stigma around certain health conditions
Negative perceptions of mental illness and other health issues subtly shape outputs from large language models
science.org
“We expect doctors to disclose, we expect politicians to disclose, and of course scientists and researchers too. Why not philosophers?” Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
Philosophers call for their journals to require conflict of interest disclosures
A new petition urges greater transparency amid growing ties to AI and other companies
science.org
Major Ukraine research center damaged in Russian strikes | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
Major Ukraine research center damaged in Russian strikes
Damage to century-old Palladin Institute marks “disaster for biological science in Ukraine”
science.org
Next month, a research vessel shaped like a bowler hat or an alien spaceship, depending on who you ask, is scheduled to depart from France for the Arctic. | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
A dozen people will spend 8 months trapped in Arctic ice—for science
Battling darkness and cold, researchers on a drifting laboratory will probe the biology of the Arctic Ocean
science.org
Been wondering why NSF isn't spending most of its FY26 appropriation? A $1.5B tech initiative may be the reason. And big cuts to hundreds of research programs could be just the beginning of the bad news. www.science.org/content/arti...
Exclusive: NSF slashes research programs to support new tech initiative, insiders say
Unexpected shift in funds has meant sharp drop in grants this fiscal year
science.org
Exclusive: The National Science Foundation is trimming this year’s budgets for hundreds of its traditional basic science programs by roughly 20% to 30%, even though its overall budget is down just 3%. https://scim.ag/4xY2KCm
Exclusive: NSF slashes research programs to support new tech initiative, insiders say
Unexpected shift in funds has meant sharp drop in grants this fiscal year
science.org
Researchers caught in the crossfire as companies and government grapple over AI safety | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
Researchers caught in the crossfire as companies and government grapple over AI safety
After tumultuous Fable 5 takedown, scientists fear AI safety rules could reshape open research
science.org
An early story from Science's new AI In Science Reporting Initiative, from Celina Zhao: AI models can spot loopholes in laws and regulations, and then exploit them -- with no concern for the consequences. It's the 'paperclip problem' on steroids. www.science.org/content/arti...
AI models have a troubling knack for discovering legal loopholes
AIs on their own found ways to exploit regulations and evade current safeguards
science.org
An Ecuadorian biologist is accused of scientific misconduct, inflating species counts, mishandling animals, entering reserves without permission and potentially complicating the development of lifesaving snake antivenoms. For more than a year, I investigated him for @science.org:
Did this scientist go too far trying to save Ecuador’s wildlife?
Alejandro Arteaga’s efforts to identify and protect tropical reptiles and amphibians have entangled him in controversy
science.org
Recently on the @science.org podcast, @kakape.bsky.social talks with digital forensics expert Hany Farid about the never-ending battle against fake imagery and why Farid is not giving up. Listen here: www.science.org/content/podc...
Herpetologist Alejandro Arteaga has won accolades for his efforts to identify and protect Ecuador’s reptiles and amphibians. But his methods have entangled him in controversy. https://scim.ag/4ePKBQ4
Did this scientist go too far trying to save Ecuador’s wildlife?
Alejandro Arteaga’s efforts to identify and protect tropical reptiles and amphibians have entangled him in controversy
scim.ag
I actually wrote something for a change: a look at how the US scientific community is trying to push back on Trump policy changes they oppose. | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
In the age of Trump, are U.S. scientists ‘bringing white papers to a gunfight’?
An unprecedented assault has forced researchers to rethink their advocacy tactics
science.org
U.S. senator asks Science to provide its coronavirus manuscripts, emails | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
U.S. senator asks Science to provide its coronavirus manuscripts, emails
Rand Paul has blasted government science officials and scientists over COVID-19’s origin
science.org
Journal retracts weed killer study backed by Monsanto, citing ‘serious ethical concerns’ | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
Journal retracts weed killer study backed by Monsanto, citing ‘serious ethical concerns’
Highly cited paper was used as evidence that the widely used herbicide Roundup is safe
science.org
NIH shake-up to grant decision-making draws concerns of political meddling | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
NIH shake-up to grant decision-making draws concerns of political meddling
Policy drops “paylines” based on peer-review scores and requires geography and other factors to guide approvals
science.org
🧪 ✏️ Apply for the 2026 Diverse Voices in Science Journalism Internship with @science.org! 🧪 ✏️ This could be for you if you're a student from a community historically underrepresented in #journalism who's interested in in covering science for general audiences: recruiting.ultipro.com/AME1123ASEM/...
recruiting.ultipro.com
Despite Trump chaos, NSF avoided feared dip in research financing | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
Despite Trump chaos, NSF avoided feared dip in research financing
Number of new grants fell by 20%, but got larger, as funder braced for potential budget cut
science.org
Sand mining threatens Asia's largest lake | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
Sand mining threatens Asia's largest lake
Cambodia’s Tonle Sap supports important fisheries and wildlife
science.org
“There is direct interference from the White House here.” Argentina’s move to woo Trump has derailed South America’s largest radio telescope | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
Argentina’s move to woo Trump has derailed South America’s largest radio telescope
U.S.-Chinese tensions have left nearly complete observatory in limbo, jeopardizing research into pulsars and other celestial objects
science.org
“One of the most important things we teach human scientists is how to have good scientific taste. And I don’t know how we will teach AI that.” At futuristic meeting, AIs took the lead in producing and reviewing all the studies | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
At futuristic meeting, AIs took the lead in producing and reviewing all the studies
Organizers aim to tune AI to help accelerate science
science.org
“It feels like getting hit by a car right after you’ve barely survived a train wreck.” As U.S. shutdown drags on, ‘it’s just one blow after another’ | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
As U.S. shutdown drags on, ‘it’s just one blow after another’
Federal researchers confront growing uncertainty about future
science.org
Great story from one of our wonderful photo editors at Science, Charles Borst: What’s it like to tell someone she won a Nobel Prize? | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
What’s it like to tell someone she won a Nobel Prize?
Science chats with photographer Lindsey Wasson, who captured how Nobel winner Mary Brunkow reacted to life-changing news
science.org
Renowned U.S. climate center trims staff ahead of expected budget cuts | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
Renowned U.S. climate center trims staff ahead of expected budget cuts
NSF-funded National Center for Atmospheric Research is already shuttered during shutdown
science.org
After months in limbo, four NIH institute directors fired | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
After months in limbo, four NIH institute directors fired
Two leaders removed by Trump administration had hoped to stay at agency as in-house investigators
science.org
I joined a team of ecologists wading through the muck of the Carolina coast in search of "ghost forests" killed by rising seas for @science.org. We were guided by a a new map that reveals millions of dead trees standing along the East Coast, marking an overlooked consequence of climate change...
AI reveals vast ‘ghost forests’ along U.S. coast
Machine learning method counts nearly 12 million dead trees, many likely killed by rising seas
science.org
"… as I helped this bright young scholar rediscover hope in her journey, I rediscovered my own." #ScienceWorkingLife https://scim.ag/473CI43
