Authors look away: research shows people prefer AI-generated stories. There are nuances. The study looked at literary short stories, not populur genres. It used an older model. It wasn't a huge sample, etc. But it counters the "AI writing is obvious" idea. www.newscientist.com/article/2583...

Most people prefer AI-written stories – and can't tell when they are made by humans | New Scientist

People appear to prefer short stories created by AI over those written by humans. They are also no better than chance at telling which is which

newscientist.com

So uh, sorry to everyone relying on me for stuff this week that I'm not able to bring my A-game. In this heat, I'm busy enough just trying to keep my brain from melting and dribbling out through my ears.

There's a missing rung on the academic career ladder in Austria and Germany. Historically there wasn't a position like assistant professor or lecturer, so the jump from postdoc to professor was — and mostly still is — huge. Between 70% and 80% of academics in Austria don't have permanent jobs.

Academics in Germany and Austria are stuck in job limbo

Also: Montana's "right to try" law for experimental cures, UK science gets reshuffled, a university sues Anthropic over patents, and more from last week

reviewertoo.com

It is always Reviewer 2

Margot Finn@eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 2d ago

'Slapdash reviewer reports and ones that include unnecessary citation requests have long plagued academic publishing, but over the past few years the production of some has become much more sophisticated.'

Are the wildfires going to interfere with eclipse-watching in Spain?

This does, indeed, seem super weird.

Something Weird Is Happening in Math

Why one of the world’s best mathematicians is joining OpenAI

theatlantic.com

I wrote about the Nolan Odyssey for the LRB. I'll summarize some of my main points below, in case you don't feel like reading all that. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

Emily Wilson · An Uncomplicated Man

As they say at the awards shows, I was humbled to learn that Christopher Nolan has read at least the first line of my...

lrb.co.uk

Want to listen to me mangle my own sentences in this rant about science journalism? Now you can. Audio editions are here! 🔊 From now on, paid supporters of my newsletter get an audio edition recorded in one take. For the ✨authenticity✨ No AI voice. Just me trying not to cough for 10-20 minutes.

It's not science journalism's job to fix trust in science

Also: The "Science: A New Golden Age" report, layoffs at National Geographic, and studies on the consequences of AI adoption in research

reviewertoo.com

Ok, I admit it. Claude fessing up that it had "hand-assembled" a wacky-looking SVG icon today when I told it the icon looked wrong and instructed it to use the provided human-made one instead did give me a giggle. With what hands, Claude?

In this week’s article, @elisecutts.bsky.social hosts a roundtable on science journalism residencies. If you’ve been curious about how a residency could shape your career, this conversation is for you. (1/2) www.theopennotebook.com/2026/07/28/h...

"A recent survey found that nearly 80% of early-career physicists were considering leaving the UK after the funding crisis. The loss of even a fraction of that would be a blow for UK science and also national growth. The task now is to persuade them to stay." www.theguardian.com/science/2026...

World-class Jodrell Bank is under threat and UK risks a physics brain drain

Funding crisis could lead to an exodus that would be a blow for British science and national growth

theguardian.com

I wonder sometimes if people know how silly they look when they're being needlessly assholeish on the internet 🤔

Improving trust in science is not the point of science journalism.

It is not science journalism's job to improve trust in science

Also: The "Science: A New Golden Age" report, layoffs at National Geographic, and studies on the consequences of AI adoption in research

reviewertoo.com

Here's my attempt to write a non-histrionic story about the new White House Office of Science and Technology Policy report, and what it does and doesn't say, and what remains unclear (a lot): www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...

White House Seeks to Steer Research Funding Outside Academia

In its new strategy for science and research, the administration stopped short of jettisoning higher ed’s role in America’s scientific enterprise. What it all means remains to be seen.

insidehighered.com

Hot take maybe? But why don't we just... ban the phones. The physical (smart)phones. Who cares if kids use social media on desktop? You can't take a desktop with you everywhere and open it every 5s by drawing a tiny device out of your pocket. The "all the time everywhere" component goes away.

Social media: being cool means staying online

The latest figures show that young people under the age of 16 are complying with Australia’s social media ban far less than they were in April. In one of the first studies on Australian usage habits, ...

mpg.de

There are two ways to ship the Odyssey. And — while this is the most beautiful possible version of Penelopesseus — we all know Odythena is the correct one. Maybe not as a romantic ship? but as squad goals.

🚨 RED ALERT 🚨 The new Euro banknotes are a choice between people and birds, and I absolutely need you all to pick birds. Luckily there are even many different flavor of correct, bird-themed choices to choose from 🐦

Survey | surveys.ecb.europa.eu

I’ve just had my say on our future banknotes. Have your say too!

surveys.ecb.europa.eu

"Across the natural sciences, the proportion of papers in the index with one or two authors declined from 10.8% to 7.1% between 2015 and 2024. Over the same period, big-team science grew rapidly ... publications in the index with between 3 and 50 authors rose from 88.5% to 92.2%." 🧪

Could small-team science be dying out?

The proportion of one- and two-author papers in the Nature Index is shrinking rapidly, as science done by big teams continues to surge.

nature.com

So... you do realize that if you scroll past a piece of content that you think is high quality without engaging with it, you're making it less likely that that kind of content will exist in the future. Right? I am in fact saying there's a moral imperative to like and share.

Yesterday a researcher friend of mine told me "I basically only know about anything going on science news because of your newsletter" and has to be a contender for the highest praise I've ever received 🥺

@dereklowe.bsky.social on point with no sugar coating 👏 👏 👏 www.science.org/content/blog...

The Assault On Science Funding Continues

science.org

This is an absolutely devastating story, told expertly by Reaction Watch's Brendan Borrell. Proud of my @science.org colleagues for their work collaborating with Reaction Watch to bring this story to the world.

Science Magazine@science.org · 2w ago

Exclusive: A cutting-edge gene-editing trial in China went disastrously wrong. A family wants accountability. https://scim.ag/3RuHuDB

“At National Geographic, dozens of people have received layoff notices“ … The grim reaper really is out for science journalism right now, isn’t he 💀 Sci am was sold + had layoffs, research professional news is shutting down, and now this?

Pixar and National Geographic hit in latest round of Disney layoffs

Pixar and National Geographic were affected in the latest round of layoffs at Disney, where several hundred staffers were cut on Tuesday.

latimes.com

Illuminating (and low-key infuriating) look at science + science media in Australia from @jacksonwryan.com Poll data: 91% of Australians say they "actively seek out" science news Reality: Of the top 10 news sites only 1 has a science page that both (1) exists and (2) isn't buried in sub-menus

If you want to restore science, you need science journalism

Understanding in a car crash.

nobreakthroughs.com

naked mole rats are rodents living the ant lifestyle

The topic that has the highest % of submitted papers to Science by women is different depending on whether you look at first authors or corresponding authors. Society/politics/gender has the highest share of female corresponding authors. It's cancer biology for first authors.

Elise Cutts@elisecutts.bsky.social · 2w ago

As the study pointed out, differences in the research topics men and women submit on explains some of the gap. Women submit more in the topics Science accepts most and less in the ones it accepts least. But the research team accounted for this and it explains only about 13% of the 1.1 pp gap. 5/n

Today I spoke with the co-founders of @autonomynews.co and learned that they ~pay~ for fact-checking and copyediting on their stories. I asked how much it cost: $50/hr and they said it was still one of their smallest expenses. What excuse do bigger newsrooms have for sparing that expense?

This might be the year I go from having attended 0 science writing conferences to 2 in one year - was only planning one, but then NASW had to happen next door to my hometown and tempt me to visit home 🤔

Western Europe had its hottest June on record.🔥 Intense heatwaves broke temperature records, with peaks up to 9°C above average in France and Germany, according to Copernicus data. Only Cyprus and Malta had normal temperatures. Climate change is here and we are feeling its effects

Science and Science Advances released editorial data for 110,303 submitted papers last week. Does it reveal sexism in peer review? Submitted papers with a male corresponding author were accepted 6.4% of the time, vs 5.3% for women. A small but statistically significant difference. 🧪 🧵 : 1/n

Is peer review at Science sexist?

Also: Attention as a class issue, an anti-AI editorial containing AI links, and a Thiel-backed journalist-rating startup

reviewertoo.com