Tessera

Katie L. Burke

@klburke.bsky.social

Science journalist, writer, & editor. Senior contributing editor at American Scientist. Environmental Health Beat Leader at AHCJ. I love intellectual discussion & constructive criticism, but will mute rude people. 🧪 🌎 (Art by Julia Bollinger) klburke.me

398 Posts1140 Follower 1169 Folgt

Virginia Schutte @vgwschutte.bsky.social · 2mo ago

We at @wclivestream.bsky.social made templates so anyone can know what to say to their Rep in support of science: wclivestream.com/act Please use them if they'll help you follow the great suggestions in this great thread ⬇️

Act now to save America’s forecasts

Concrete actions you can take in 5 minutes today to save America’s forecasts and protect our future.

wclivestream.com

Chanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌@chanda.blacksky.app · 2mo ago

In this newsletter I outline important actions to take. 1. Submit a comment opposing the rule change. 2. Contact state legislators to ensure states are engaged with the impact at the state and local level. 3. Contact members of Congress. 4. Spread awareness. This rundown is a great source:

Evan George @evanlgeorge.bsky.social · 2mo ago

"We were 10 people who did ambitious, prize-winning enterprise and broke news. We launched an annual network-wide Climate Solutions Week that set the standard for cooperation with member stations and that gave audiences a sense of agency and inspiration..." Banerjee writes on LinkedIn.

Evan George @evanlgeorge.bsky.social · 2mo ago

NPR is shrinking its newsroom through layoffs and buyouts and is reducing staff dedicated to covering both climate and science. "The climate desk no longer exists separately but has been folded into the National Desk," writes Neela Banerjee, who headed the climate desk but was just laid off.

Lauren J. Young @laurenjyoung.bsky.social · 2mo ago

More effective GLP1s like retatrutide have the potential to help more people, like those who are not responsive to current options. But the high rates of weight loss also raise important questions. @beebrookshire.bsky.social expertly reports for @sciam.bsky.social

New powerful GLP-1 drugs drop a lot of weight fast. How does that affect health?

New-generation GLP-1 drugs, such as retatrutide, are achieving higher rates of weight loss. How much weight is too much and too fast to lose?

scientificamerican.com

Katie L. Burke @klburke.bsky.social · 3mo ago

In prep for the workshop on #climate #data I am co-leading soon at @healthjournalism.org's mtg with @abbieveitch.bsky.social & @jenbrady.bsky.social at @climatecentral.org, we are compiling a list of helpful data sets. What climate-relevant data sets do #health journalists need to know about?

A variation on the two buttons meme: In the top panel, the guy is pushing both buttons with his thumb and pinky, labeled with "health coverage" and "climate coverage" respectively. In the bottom panel, instead of nervously wiping his brow while grimacing, he is smiling with satisfaction and giving a thumbs up.

Laura Helmuth @laurahelmuth.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Geologists in movies have a one-in-three mortality rate.

Murder, monsters, occupational hazards: Why movie geologists die so often

Cinematic geologists are usually good guys—sometimes gals—but they have a one in three fatality rate, a film analysis show

science.org

Katie L. Burke @klburke.bsky.social · 3mo ago

“It is amazing how many towns are 100% in a #flood zone. It's very easy for someone looking at maps to say this is where it floods, but it's a very different narrative when you're talking to someone who's lived in a floodplain for 5 generations.” -Amanda Hall, UVA Wise. www.wvtf.org/news/2026-05...

A screenshot of a story for Radio IQ of WVTF with the headline:
Shelter from the storm: The only Black church in Dante by Katie Burke

The opening photo shows the church, a brick building with white porch and front doors and wooden cross steeple. A creek bends around the church into the foreground.

The photo caption reads: The First Mount Calvary Baptist Church sits on a high spot in the town of Dante. People who lived along the path of the creek didn't have warning of the threat of the flash flooding that occurred in July 2025.

The first sentence says, "The town of Dante sits where the forms of Lick Creek come together."

Jacquelyn Gill @jacquelyngill.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Cool, so NSF is now going to be used to essentially launder money to tech bros because universities are just too cumbersome and disciplinary oversight and regulations and accountability are all just too stifling for innovation. $1.5B for “X-Labs.”

NSF X-Labs

NSF's mission is to advance the progress of science, a mission accomplished by funding proposals for research and education made by scientists, engineers, and educators from across the country.

nsf.gov

Yale Climate Connections @climateconnections.bsky.social · 3mo ago

“The most important thing we can do is to address climate change.” – C. Mark Eakin, the former head of Coral Reef Watch at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Over half of coral reefs bleached during a three-year heat wave » Yale Climate Connections

Climate change is warming ocean waters, putting reefs in peril.

yaleclimateconnections.org

Brian Owens @scibri.com · 3mo ago

Some very encouraging news about a new Lyme disease vaccine - no safety concerns, and reasonable protection in a phase 3 trial. 🧪 www.medscape.com/viewarticle/...

First Lyme Vaccine in Decades Nears Approval

Positive phase 3 findings may reshape Lyme disease prevention among people with frequent tick exposure across endemic regions.

medscape.com

Katie L. Burke @klburke.bsky.social · 3mo ago

As #Virginia experiences growing #flood losses bc of #climatechange, the brunt will be felt in the Southwest of the state, along with Chesapeake Bay & Norfolk. Yet Southwest Virginia lacks key #weather data. What are cost-savvy solutions? www.wvtf.org/news/2026-05...

Headline on Radio IQ NPR story: Weather data inequity in a flash flood hotspot

Intro: July 18th was a sunny summer day in Russell County in Southwest Virginia -- until a thunderstorm cropped up over the small former coal town of Dante. No one thought much of it. Afternoon storms are common in July...

Photo of a white woman with sandy hair pulled back in a bun standing in front of a small vinyl sided home.
Caption: Tina Sanders, 50, and her boyfriend were riding in a truck last July (2025) when their road, Sawmill Hollow, was suddenly underwater during flash flooding. Sanders was pulled under a tunnel, along Sawmill Hollow, down Lick Creek where she hit her head and the strong waters dragged her down through the town of Dante. She said it's a miracle she survived.

Katie L. Burke @klburke.bsky.social · 3mo ago

In addition to thanking @climatecentral.org for their collaboration & the @pulitzercenter.org for their support, I also thank Josh Outsey of @appalshop.bsky.social. Josh has recorded incredible oral histories from Black churches in #Appalachia, & he connected me with the Mabrys & their church.

Katie L. Burke@klburke.bsky.social · 3mo ago

James Mabry of Dante was caught in flash #flood waters with his 100yo mother Lillie in July 2025. She climbed out the window of the vehicle head first so he could carry her up to their church. How can communities like Dante confront increasing flood risks? www.wvtf.org/news/2026-05... 🌎🧪

Katie L. Burke @klburke.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Shelter from the storm: The only Black church in Dante

Climate change is causing more extreme rainfall, and Dante is one of many places in Southwest Virginia with worsening flooding.

wvtf.org

Katie L. Burke @klburke.bsky.social · 4mo ago

🎵🎸Despite all my rage, it's hard to be a crab in a caaaage. 🎶Even though I'm alive & well, It's hard to thrive as a pet in a shell! 🐚 First thought when I read the print headline. Call me old school, but there's magic in seeing my name in print. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/03/26/m... 🧪🌎

A picture of the top story in the April 7, 2026 ScienceTimes section of the print New York Times. The headline reads, "It's Hard to Thrive as a Pet in a Shell," with the subtitle, "Hermit crabs in captivity require special care, self-taught experts say." The opening image shows 7 hermit crabs in spiral shells on a piece of bark, with the caption, "Hermit crabs cared for by Mary Akers in her home. She wants to end the poaching of wild crabs and improve conditions for captive ones. By Katie L. Burke and Rebecca Byerly. The intro paragraph says, "Blacksburg, VA -- With a homemade siphon the size of a straw, Mary Akers expertly withdrew 60 hermit crab larvae from the churning waters of a saltwater tank in the spare bedroom of her Virginia home here. She deposited the babies, which resembled minuscule, flame-orange lobsters, into a white kitchen mixing bowl. Using a small flashlight to examine them, she noted a straggler. The exoskeleton it had shed that morning was stuck to its tail. Ms. Akers had learned from tending tens of thousands of crabs that without help this one would die. She placed it in an antique mother-of-pearl salt cellar and used a straight pin to gently scrape off the translucent molt. After freeing the squirming crab, she squirted it into a clear measuring cup, where it gobbled shrimp pellets with its siblings."

Colin Schultz @colinschultz.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Pete Hegseth, secretary of defense, is requesting to exempt all oil and gas industry activities in the Gulf of Mexico from the ESA, though the military and industry has not proposed a specific project, or cited a conflict. “No one is asking for this,” Hartl said www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Trump to revoke protections for endangered species in Gulf of Mexico

President is convening so-called ‘God squad’ to override provisions of Endangered Species Act for ‘national security’

theguardian.com

Asher Elbein @asherelbein.bsky.social · 4mo ago

This is a great, enraging piece. The level of abuse pet hermit crabs face is genuinely astounding: they're naturally quite long-lived, but you wouldn't know it because people kill them almost immediately through ignorant neglect

Katie L. Burke@klburke.bsky.social · 4mo ago

A 🧵on #conservation and humane treatment of one of the world's most overlooked, underdog pet #animals... 🧪🌎🦑 When I first met Crab Con founder Mary Akers in 2024, I was floored by what she told me... www.nytimes.com/2026/03/26/m...

A baby hermit crab the size of a fingernail sits on a person's hand.

Katie L. Burke @klburke.bsky.social · 4mo ago

If only it weren't so. #amwriting #nonfiction #books #publishing

Katie L. Burke@klburke.bsky.social · 4mo ago

A post by Jonathan Edward Durham under the handle @thisone0verhere that says: "Really the hardest part of writing a book is just sitting down and starting it and also finishing it and also the middle bit and then when people read it or don't read it.

Katie L. Burke @klburke.bsky.social · 4mo ago

If only it weren't so.

Katie L. Burke @klburke.bsky.social · 4mo ago

My first byline in @nytimes.com features the overlooked, underdog world of hermit crab conservation and breeding, coauthored with my friend Rebecca Byerly. I hope you'll fall in love with Mary Akers and the eccentric Crab Con community just like we did. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/26/m...

Headline: "Saving Hermit Crabs by Breeding Them in the Suburbs"
Subtitle: "Often treated as throwaway pets, hermit crabs can live 50 years. Mary Akers, a self-taught expert, wants people to appreciate them as much as she does."
By Katie L. Burke and Rebecca Byerly
Intro text:
With a homemade siphon the size of a straw, Mary Akers expertly withdrew 60 hermit crab larvae from the churning waters of a saltwater tank in the spare bedroom of her Virginia home..."

A photo of a reddish brown hermit crab walking on a hamster wheel.

Alexandra Witze @alexwitze.bsky.social · 5mo ago

JOB OPENING! If you want to work as a reporter with Nature's US news team, this is a VERY RARE opportunity. The beat is physical sciences/energy & environment/technology. DC or NYC location. Deadline 3/27. Join our awesome team! #journojobs springernature.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/es/SpringerN...

Reporter, Nature News

Job Title: Reporter, Nature Location: Washington DC or New York (Hybrid Working Model) Application Deadline: March 27, 2026 About Springer Nature Springer Nature is one of the leading publishers of re...

springernature.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com

Kelly Hereid @kellyhereid.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Really dig this tool. Not just recommendations, but carefully researched discussions of the strengths and drawback of tech from common to obscure.

Project Drawdown@projectdrawdown.bsky.social · 5mo ago

6 months since the launch of Drawdown Explorer and the numbers speak for themselves! 📊 500K+ views online ✅ 90 solutions published 📋 158 solutions on our master list - and growing And we're just getting started! www.drawdown.org/explorer #climatesolutions

Alex Ip 葉清霖 @alexip718.com · 5mo ago

ICYMI: @apnews.com sent out the following message to all AP Stylebook subscribers this afternoon formally authorizing the use of "Iran war", despite Trump, Rubio, and Republicans' insistence to the contrary:

Iran war, war in the Middle East, conflict in the Middle East
It is acceptable to use the term Iran war to refer to the joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran starting Feb. 28, 2026, and Iran's retaliation. The conflict has spread with other nations and militant groups interceding, so terms like war in the Middle East or conflict in the Middle East may be most accurate, depending on the context. Rather than relying on labels and shorthand, aim to describe the situation fully.

Lowercase the word war. AP capitalizes that word only as part of a formal name.

Tara Haelle @tarahaelle.bsky.social · 6mo ago

What an age we live in

The Gregory Brothers@gregorybrothers.bsky.social · 6mo ago

was Pam Bondi trying to un-hibernate Auto-Tune the News?

Association of Health Care Journalists @healthjournalism.org · 5mo ago

For years, parents have been advised to limit kids’ social media time as much as possible. But mounting evidence suggests the story isn’t that simple. Read more: healthjournalism.org/blog/2026/02...

How much social media is ‘OK’ for kids? What the data really say

Parents keep asking for a magic number: How much social media is safe for kids? In short, research says there isn't a single “safe” cutoff.

healthjournalism.org

Katie L. Burke @klburke.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Cleaner air plus early & consistent #healthcare access saves lives in former coal regions in #Germany. By contrast, the USA's recent erosion of the Clean Air Act & setbacks to the #energy transition are making its residents sicker & poorer. americanscientist.org/article/poli...

A screenshot of the American Scientist article, showing:
Headline: Policies Support Miners' Health
By Katie L. Burke
Subtitle: Germany provides an example of how to improve the well-being and longevity of residents in coal-producing areas.
First paragraph: In a model mine shaft at the Mining Museum in Bochum, Germany, the last double drum shearer left in the country sits on display. Before Germany ended coal mining in the surrounding Ruhr Valley in 2018, such machines cut through coal seams belowground. Hans Mohlek, an engineer who once operated a similar shearer, retired in 2010 as part of the planned phasing out of the coal industry in Germany. Now he leads tours at the museum. The Ruhr Valley has made a similar transition. Once, it relied on hard coal as the basis of the economy; today, that industry has ended, but its influences remain.

A photo of a landscape, with the caption: Germany’s Ruhr Valley bears evidence of both its coal-producing past and its energy future. On the outskirts of the city of Gelsenkirchen are (from left to right) a former mineshaft tower, a power plant that is transitioning from coal to natural gas, and windmills on a hill created by a slag heap from past mining. Germany has implemented policies to transition to greener energy and to protect the health of the region’s residents, including former miners. The result is better health outcomes than for people living and working in coal-producing areas of the United States.

Abhik Ghosh @abhikghosh.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Open-source AI tool beats giant LLMs in literature reviews — and gets citations right www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Open-source AI tool beats giant LLMs in literature reviews — and gets citations right

Researchers can deploy the cheap and transparent model on their own computer system.

nature.com

Pulitzer Center @pulitzercenter.org · 6mo ago

Investigative Journalists: Submissions are open for the 2nd 'Floodlight Gaming Investigative Journalism Game Jam'. Turn your stories into games developed in collaboration with independent game creators. Submit your story by February 15th! www.floodlightproject.org/floodlight-g... @occrp.org

Fllodlight Gaming | Submissions are open for the next Investigative Journalism Game Jam!

Colin Schultz @colinschultz.bsky.social · 6mo ago

"In the longer term, the greatest danger posed by AI isn’t fake images themselves, it’s the collapse of trust in real evidence. Seeing is no longer believing — and our institutions are unprepared for it." www.poynter.org/commentary/2...

The real threat of AI is the collapse of trust - Poynter

Why journalism needs to prove which images are authentic — not just label deepfakes

poynter.org

Katie L. Burke @klburke.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Truth.

Gabino Iglesias@gabino.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Monthly reminder: Many people have a book in them, but it takes a special kind of freak to leave the Land of Laziness, cross the Plains of Procrastination and Insecurity Mountain, find the Blade of No One Made You Do This, and use it to cut your chest open and yank that book out.