As insightful as I found this piece, it was genuinely jarring to see no mention of climate change anywhere in it, even though EV policy is *climate* policy. Passenger vehicles account for ~16% of US energy consumption (see pg 51 here): tedb.ornl.gov/wp-content/u... www.nytimes.com/2026/07/15/m...

The American E.V. Has Been Crushed. Will It Take the U.S. Auto Industry With It?

The largest U.S. automakers have backed away from electric vehicles, even as global sales are booming. The decision may make them obsolete.

nytimes.com

This is a really stark, and smart, framing of how much Americans now bet on sports. And as the article elaborates on, this headline actually *undersells* it. Movies, art, museums, and music now combine for $70 billion/yr—which is *less than half* of US sports bets (>$166 billion in 2025).

Catherina Gioino@catgioino.bsky.social · last wk.

I wrote about how much Americans wagered on sports betting in 2025 and how it’s more than they spent on movies, art, museums and music combined. Read my article @fortunemagazine.bsky.social fortune.com/2026/07/26/g...

A couple paid more than $800,000 for a gene-editing therapy for their daughter. She died, and it wasn’t made public. An exclusive from us and @science.org.

Exclusive: Death of girl in Chinese gene-editing trial was never made public

Parents want accountability after study went disastrously wrong, Science and Retraction Watch investigation reveals

science.org

@science.org and @retractionwatch.com partner on a feature today on a clinical trial death that's the saddest, and longest, science story I've edited. But it's also one of the best IMO. Beautifully written and reported by @bborrell.bsky.social We’re grateful to the parents of "Mei" 1/

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

I have heard from former colleagues, and the layoffs have cut deep once again, after several brutal layoffs over the past 4 years.

Michael Greshko@michaelgreshko.bsky.social · 2w ago

Entertainment industry outlets are reporting big layoffs at Disney today, with National Geographic apparently being hit especially hard. I am bracing for what this will mean for National Geographic's editorial team. deadline.com/2026/07/disn...

Entertainment industry outlets are reporting big layoffs at Disney today, with National Geographic apparently being hit especially hard. I am bracing for what this will mean for National Geographic's editorial team. deadline.com/2026/07/disn...

Disney Cutting Several Hundred Jobs; Pixar And National Geographic Among Most Affected Divisions

Disney is cutting several hundred positions, with Pixar and National Geographic among the divisions most affected by the move.

deadline.com

This is some nifty new research on the Voynich Manuscript. I hope to have research out later this year that attempts to replicate and build on these results.

Monica H Green@monicamedhist.bsky.social · 3w ago

"we have found strong evidence that the Voynich manuscript is not meant to be bound in quires at all (as is the norm) but, instead, was originally a collection of individual bifolia meant to be read in sequence (called “singulions”)."

Absolutely, and they do fabulous work.

John Timmer@jtimmer.bsky.social · 3w ago

Since The Defector came up a few times in this discussion, it's worth pointing out that they do have a full time science person (@sabs.bsky.social) who does distinct material with a lot of personality that fits well with the overall vibe of the site.

Grateful every day to be doing my work in a country with bedrock protections for freedom of speech and freedom of the press, going back more than two centuries. Happy 250th, Declaration of Independence. And Happy Fourth of July. 🇺🇸

Having been through a version of this myself: Part of the tragedy of the layoffs and sale at Scientific American is that the remaining staff is going to try its absolute hardest to do right by the place—but will be forced to deal with more constraints, fewer staff, and a rightfully angry audience.

I’m so sad to share that yesterday was my last day at Scientific American. It was an honor to work alongside my incredible colleagues and to speak with researchers across the sciences. If you’re looking to hire staff or freelance, please consider me and my other laid off coworkers (🧵)

When I was laid off from National Geographic back in 2023, one of the first places I started writing for again was Scientific American. Editors like @leebillings.bsky.social and Dan Ferber helped me get back on my feet. I am forever grateful. Journalism is brutal.

Without exaggeration, @katewong.bsky.social is the reason I am a science journalist. She is incredibly talented!

Kate Wong@katewong.bsky.social · last mo.

Today is my last day at Scientific American, which has been sold to LabX media group. For three decades I've led the magazine's coverage of human origins, archaeology, paleontology, animal behavior, ecology, BIRDS. End of an era. Anyway this feels weird to say, but I'm now available for assignments!

Journalism is in crisis—including science and environmental journalism. The industry is in really rough shape, and this blow makes matters worse.

Dan Vergano@danvergano.bsky.social · last mo.

Scientific American is being sold to LabX Media, publisher of Discover: group.springernature.com/gp/group/med... They've fired me and other union staff, ahead of June 26 vote ratification. My rates are suddenly more reasonable, if you need editing or reporting - Argonaut2026@gmail.com

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

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

This is a serious problem and something that, as it happens, magic tricks have been used to study. The issue stems from a visual illusion—the "illusion of absence"—that's especially strong within a moving vehicle. link.springer.com/article/10.1...

The illusion of absence: how a common feature of magic shows can explain a class of road accidents - Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications

The purpose of the present note is to draw attention to the potential role of a recently discovered visual illusion in creating traffic accidents. The illusion consists in a compelling and immediate e...

link.springer.com

TK_Wharton@tkw.bsky.social · last mo.

I did not know about the A-pillar blind spot problem (gift article) www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Will #AI replace astronomers? In the latest #SciencePodcast🎙️, journalist Joshua Sokol explores the intense discussion happening in the astrophysics community as AI and machine learning become increasingly powerful. 🎧 Listen here: https://scim.ag/4vonAsf

This is an amazingly well-reported story by @joshuasokol.bsky.social. And a wonderful use of "synecdoche". www.science.org/content/arti...

Amid a flood of AI advances, astrophysicists are questioning the soul of their field

Researchers see enormous power in new tools—but also the potential end of astrophysics as a human endeavor

science.org

This is a really lovely interrogation of the use of AI in astrophysics that gets to this fundamental question—are we doing science because we want to know the answer (by any means) or because we like doing science? + www.science.org/content/arti...

Amid a flood of AI advances, astrophysicists are questioning the soul of their field

Researchers see enormous power in new tools—but also the potential end of astrophysics as a human endeavor

science.org

Researchers see enormous power in new tools—but also the potential end of astrophysics as a human endeavor. https://scim.ag/4o7XrvB

Amid a flood of AI advances, astrophysicists are questioning the soul of their field

Researchers see enormous power in new tools—but also the potential end of astrophysics as a human endeavor

scim.ag

This week on the @science.org podcast, Joshua Sokol talks about the intense discussion happening in the astrophysics community as AI and ML become increasingly powerful www.science.org/content/podc...

This is a thought provoking metaphysical piece that pulls at the strings of why we care so much (or don’t) as to whether AI can be better at everything than we can be. Absolutely love this. Thanks @aaas.org @science.org 🥰

Science Magazine@science.org · 2mo ago

Researchers see enormous power in new tools—but also the potential end of astrophysics as a human endeavor. https://scim.ag/4o7XrvB

I've found it instructive watching is happening in the physical sciences with LLM-accelerated research. This passage from "The Last Astronomers" in Science resonated with me www.science.org/content/arti... (here is the arXiv article referenced: arxiv.org/abs/2602.10181)

"'Why do we do astrophysics?' Hogg offered an answer. It wasn’t to solve the cosmos but to grapple with it: a journey, not a destination." THIS, from @joshuasokol.bsky.social, gets at the heart of why I despise genAI: it assumes that writing is a product rather than an experience

Amid a flood of AI advances, astrophysicists are questioning the soul of their field

Researchers see enormous power in new tools—but also the potential end of astrophysics as a human endeavor

science.org

Fascinating article about how technology changes and shapes the social life and work practices of a scientific community.... www.science.org/content/arti...

Amid a flood of AI advances, astrophysicists are questioning the soul of their field

Researchers see enormous power in new tools—but also the potential end of astrophysics as a human endeavor

science.org

@longreads.com you're going to want to take a look at this feature in @science.org by @joshuasokol.bsky.social. It's really quite something. www.science.org/content/arti...

Amid a flood of AI advances, astrophysicists are questioning the soul of their field

Researchers see enormous power in new tools—but also the potential end of astrophysics as a human endeavor

science.org

This is awfully good. It's beautifully reported, thoughtful, smart, and elegantly written. I'm a tiny bit jealous, @joshuasokol.bsky.social. Ok, just jealous.

Joshua Sokol@joshuasokol.bsky.social · 2mo ago

What is the value of human beings studying the cosmos? For @michaelgreshko.bsky.social at Science, I dug into how practitioners of humanity's oldest exact science are metabolizing the latest developments in AI...and how it seems to be forcing them to wrestle with philosophical questions.

One of the great joys of being an editor is getting to work with smart, talented writers on stories that ask big, thorny questions. @joshuasokol.bsky.social knocked this story out of the park. Read this: It's a beautifully reported case study of how a scientific field is grappling with LLMs.

Joshua Sokol@joshuasokol.bsky.social · 2mo ago

What is the value of human beings studying the cosmos? For @michaelgreshko.bsky.social at Science, I dug into how practitioners of humanity's oldest exact science are metabolizing the latest developments in AI...and how it seems to be forcing them to wrestle with philosophical questions.