Great read @katarinazimmer.bsky.social! As an Editor, I encounter excessive self citation in reviewers reports a lot. It's definitely a problem that has gotten worse.

Reese Richardson@reeserichardson.bsky.social · yesterday

A great feature by @katarinazimmer.bsky.social about review mills, how they emerge and the fallout they leave behind. www.nature.com/immersive/d4...

A great feature by @katarinazimmer.bsky.social about review mills, how they emerge and the fallout they leave behind. www.nature.com/immersive/d4...

‘A waste of time for all of us’: caught in the crossfire of the peer-review wars

Review mills — researchers who write fake referee reports with coercive citation requests — are setting off a war in academic publishing. What happens to those caught in the middle?

nature.com

Anyone involved in writing, reviewing, or even citing a research paper needs to read @katarinazimmer.bsky.social's phenomenal investigation piece on review mills, just published in @nature.com #academicsky 🧪 #sts #SciComm

‘A waste of time for all of us’: caught in the crossfire of the peer-review wars

Review mills — researchers who write fake referee reports with coercive citation requests — are setting off a war in academic publishing. What happens to those caught in the middle?

nature.com

What can the world learn from Britain’s humble hedgerows? More than you might think! These historic planted barriers between agricultural fields serve as pest control, wildlife movement corridors, carbon sinks and more. ✍️ @katarinazimmer.bsky.social: knowmag.org/3SOmCYB

What the world can learn from Britain’s humble hedge

Hedgerows were historically planted as barriers between fields, but in a human-dominated world, they are critical havens, corridors and connectors for wildlife

knowmag.org

Hundreds of millions of Africans can’t benefit from solar power because they live in remote area not connected to national electricity grid Now,mini-grids are providing both environment & livelihood benefits By Victoria Uwemedimo & @katarinazimmer.bsky.social knowablemagazine.org/content/arti...

For climate and livelihoods, Africa bets big on solar mini-grids

Nigeria is pioneering the development of small, off-grid solar panel installations to bring reliable electricity to remote communities — setting a model for other African countries

knowablemagazine.org

🎊 We're delighted to share that Knowable Magazine’s work has won an award! “For climate and livelihoods, Africa bets big on solar mini-grids,” by Victoria Uwemedimo and @katarinazimmer.bsky.social, placed first in the Multimedia category at the @soljourno.bsky.social awards.

🌊 Today is #WorldEnvironmentDay! Read our 2021 Q&A with environmental law expert @johnhknox.bsky.social on why a healthy environment is a human right — now recognized as such by the UN Human Rights Council. ✍️ @katarinazimmer.bsky.social: knowmag.org/4uQ0laE

A healthy environment as a human right

UN recognition would strengthen legal arguments for preserving nature

knowmag.org

⚡️ AI isn't built to save energy. Perhaps it could be. @katarinazimmer.bsky.social takes us through the latest techniques and technologies that researchers are working on to reduce AI's "voracious appetite for energy."

How to tame AI’s voracious appetite for energy

Scientists are exploring new algorithms, hardware and computing methods to lower AI’s power demands. Strategic siting of datacenters and other steps to increase green energy use are also key.

knowmag.org

In the latest "Dear @nature.com" advice column: A non-fluent English speaker seeks advice on how to improve his writing for academic publishing without paying for expensive editing services. Experts weigh in with @katarinazimmer.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/d41...

My English skills are hurting my chances in academic publishing — how can I improve?

A non-fluent English speaker struggles to navigate language barriers in academic publishing.

nature.com

Last week the @biographic.bsky.social team learned that, owing to an ongoing deficit, the California Academy of Sciences will no longer provide us with financial support. We're reaching out to foundations that support environmental journalism. We've got plans, we just need some help!

🌏 This #EarthDay, we're revisiting Katarina Zimmer's interview with linguist David Harrison, who has studied nature-centric Indigenous languages all over the world. “If we’re willing to be humble enough to learn from Indigenous people,” Harrison says, “what they know could help save the planet.”

Indigenous languages are founts of environmental knowledge

Peoples who live close to nature have a rich lore of plants, animals and landscapes embedded in their mother tongues — which may hold vital clues to protecting biodiversity

knowmag.org

Allow me to introduce you to the palolo worm. This marine critter is known for its spectacular spawning events that happen on one single night every year, making a lasting mark on many Indigenous cultures in the southwestern Pacific. For @biographic.bsky.social: www.biographic.com/the-moon-of-...

The Moon of the Palolo Worm

In the Pacific Islands, communities count on the annual spawning of a species of sea worm to fill bellies, spark celebration, and shape peoples’ sense of time.

biographic.com

Across the southwestern Pacific, sea worms spawn in concert at the same time each year--anchoring ecological calendars and even shaping communities' sense of time. by @katarinazimmer.bsky.social www.biographic.com/the-moon-of-...

The Moon of the Palolo Worm

In the Pacific Islands, communities count on the annual spawning of a species of sea worm to fill bellies, spark celebration, and shape peoples’ sense of time.

biographic.com

It's always a delight to work with @katarinazimmer.bsky.social, and this story checks all the boxes for me as an editor: ✅ Weird invertebrate with fascinating biology ✅ Traditional ecological knowledge that matters in the modern world ✅ Pacific Islands culture ✅ Myths and symbolism

The Moon of the Palolo Worm

In the Pacific Islands, communities count on the annual spawning of a species of sea worm to fill bellies, spark celebration, and shape peoples’ sense of time.

biographic.com

Our distant ancestors self-sufficiently produced their own proteins. Then the started getting them by eating other organisms. For plant-eaters, meeting their needs is a challenge, but evolution pulled some neat tricks, writes @katarinazimmer.bsky.social : buff.ly/cHd8rPl

A blend of chem & molbiol techns are enabling archaeologists to mine ancient sediments for clues about the people who once lived there. New @nature.com, @katarinazimmer.bsky.social reports on the molecular fossils enriching archaeology. www.nature.com/articles/d41... 🧪cc @benmarwick.bsky.social

How pollutants and poo paint a picture of past civilizations

A blend of chemistry and molecular-biology techniques are enabling archaeologists to mine ancient sediments for clues about the people who once lived there.

nature.com

It was a pleasure speaking with Jorge Cham for iHeartRadio's #ScienceStuff podcast about the perils of AI-generated animal imagery. While this content may seem cute and harmless, I argue they could have real consequences for our relationship with other species: www.iheart.com/podcast/1119...

What Is AI Slop Doing to Us? - ScienceStuff | iHeart

<p>AI is everywhere these days. What happened to make it so powerful all of a sudden? And what is all this AI content doing to our brains? Jorge talks to three experts to find the answers.</p><p>See <...

iheart.com

Great read! Congratulations @katarinazimmer.bsky.social on your insightful @knowablemag.bsky.social piece exploring the remarkable biology of the Aedes aegypti #mosquito knowablemagazine.org/content/arti...

Beating back the Aedes aegypti mosquito

Scientists are taking a multipronged approach to tackle this dangerous carrier of dengue, yellow fever and other noxious viruses

knowablemagazine.org

Aedes aegypti is the “perfect mosquito”... to spread disease. Dengue, chikungunya, Zika and yellow fever, kill tens of thousands of people in tropical countries every year. And experts worry it could get worse. More, by @katarinazimmer.bsky.social for @knowablemag.bsky.social 👇

Beating back the Aedes aegypti mosquito

Scientists are taking a multipronged approach to tackle this dangerous carrier of dengue, yellow fever and other noxious viruses

knowablemagazine.org

Farmers in Gabon notice that elephants sometimes eat the leaves and stems of banana and papaya plants while leaving the nutritious fruit behind. Why? New evidence shows the elephants may be taking advantage of plants' medicinal properties to treat parasites. Read more:

Pachyderm Pharmacies - bioGraphic

Scientists find that elephants who raid farms might be looking for medicinal plants, sparking a cross-species exchange of pharmaceutical knowledge.

biographic.com

The most valuable illegally traded wildlife product is not tiger bone. Nor is it rhino horn, or pangolin scales. It's actually rosewood. For @mongabay.com I looked into new technologies - from AI to DNA metabarcoding - that could help end the rosewood heist: news.mongabay.com/2025/12/new-...

New technologies offer hope in fight to save the world’s imperiled rosewoods

News about the poaching and smuggling of threatened species often centers on products like tiger bone, rhino horn or pangolin scales. But much of the world’s illegally sourced wildlife products are ac...

news.mongabay.com

“It’s really easy to make a wolf, because wolves eat basically what their body looks like. Their diet mirrors their body. But it’s really, really hard to make a moose, because a moose’s diet does not.” How do plant-eaters get their protein fix? @katarinazimmer.bsky.social @knowablemag.bksy.social👇🧪

How plant-eaters snag their essential amino acids

Early in evolution, we animals lost the ability to manufacture nine of the 20 building blocks needed to make proteins. Herbivores evolved an impressive array of tricks to ensure their dietary needs…

knowablemagazine.org

Early animals took an evolutionary risk: They gave up the ability to synthesize 9 of the 20 amino acids that living things need to make protein. Scientists are now learning how they ensure they get these amino acids from their diet. @knowablemag.bsky.social: knowablemagazine.org/content/arti...

How plant-eaters snag their essential amino acids

Early in evolution, we animals lost the ability to manufacture nine of the 20 building blocks needed to make proteins. Herbivores evolved an impressive array of tricks to ensure their dietary needs ar...

knowablemagazine.org

@jessehirsch.bsky.social Hi Jesse! Did you get my note about my plastics story?

AI-Generated Animals Are Distancing Us From Nature atmos.earth/science-and-... “I think that’s probably one of the biggest issues—that it gives the impression that actually the environmental messages are less serious than they actually are”, Gosler.

AI-Generated Animals Are Distancing Us From Nature | Atmos

Cuddly polar bears and hyperrealistic chimeras may seem harmless on social media, but experts worry AI animal content can be harmful.

atmos.earth

AI-generated imagery of animals may seem harmless, but experts worry that it could worsen the public's understanding of wildlife, harm conservation, and even erode people’s general interest in nature. Check out my latest for @atmosmag.bsky.social: atmos.earth/science-and-...

AI-Generated Animals Are Distancing Us From Nature | Atmos

Cuddly polar bears and hyperrealistic chimeras may seem harmless on social media, but experts worry AI animal content can be harmful.

atmos.earth

Lots of animals eat poisonous plants and critters and survive. How do they do it? I looked into this mystery in my latest for @knowablemag.bsky.social: knowablemagazine.org/content/arti...

Animals that eat poisons and don’t die

Critters consuming species that contain deadly toxins have evolved a suite of clever strategies to keep out of harm’s way

knowablemagazine.org

For many species threatened by sea level rise, translocation may be the only way to save them. Learn how conservationists are moving rare tree cacti and threatened seabirds to higher ground and helping entire marshes shift inland, in my latest for @nwf-south.bsky.social: www.nwf.org/Magazines/Na...

A rare piece of good news: New research reveals how the Ampurta - a small carnivorous Australian marsupial - is thriving despite drought conditions. My story for @nautil.us showcases its nifty drought-resisting tricks that made this feat possible nautil.us/deep-sleep-i...

Deep Sleep Is This Mammal’s Super Power

Few Mammals Sleep as Deeply as the Ampurta: How a threatened Australian marsupial is thriving in the face of drought.

nautil.us