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Seth Fletcher

@sethfletcher.bsky.social

Director of editorial content at Scientific American, writer, author of Einstein's Shadow and Bottled Lightning

89 Posts2203 Follower624 Folgt
Andrea Thompson@andreatweather.bsky.social · last mo.

Daytime highs often get the headlines, but overnight temperatures are rising twice as fast in the U.S. And that nighttime heat is losing us sleep. 🧪 By @jackiefmogensen.bsky.social. Graphics by our excellent graphics intern Sani Sharma.

3 charts show how extreme heat is costing us hours of lost sleep

The U.S. has been pummeled with heat waves this summer. Here’s how hot overnight temperatures can get in the way of a good night’s rest—in 3 charts

scientificamerican.com

Tanya Lewis@tanyalewis.bsky.social · 3mo ago

After nearly 10 yrs at Scientific American, I was laid off yesterday. It's been the honor of my career working w/such brilliant, caring colleagues & writers. I'm proud of all we achieved and will always love this magazine. I'm #opentowork but first I plan to spend time "cultivating [my] own garden."

Kate Wong@katewong.bsky.social · 3mo ago

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!

Meghan Bartels@meghanbartels.bsky.social · 3mo ago

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 (🧵)

Adam Kovac@adamjkovac.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Seen a lot of theories about why the paint is peeling at the Reflecting Pool. I spent way too much time tracking down pool experts to get to the bottom of this. www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-...

Why is the paint peeling off the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool? An investigation

Poor preparation and a failure to properly apply the coating may be just a few of the reasons why the Reflecting Pool’s new paint job appears to be peeling off

scientificamerican.com

Nathan Heller@nathanheller.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Mark loved to be self-effacing, but he was one of the greats—an assiduous reporter and a writer who was funny and free. So many of us at the magazine grew up reading him, and kept looking to him for a sense of how it could be done. A huge loss.

Michael Schulman@michaelschulman.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Another sad loss today: the longtime New Yorker writer Mark Singer. Here's his marvelous profile of Ricky Jay, from 1993. www.newyorker.com/magazine/199...

Tobias Wilson-Bates@phdhurtbrain.bsky.social · 3mo ago

My great grandchild: grand papa, how did you celebrate the semiquincentennial? Me (92 years old): well, mostly by learning the chemical processes involving pool painting and the phosphate cycles of algae blooms

Jackie Flynn Mogensen@jackiefmogensen.bsky.social · 3mo ago

The Knicks' first ticker-tape parade is today! I had a blast reporting this piece about the lesser-known history of ticker tape. Among other things, I learned that before the stock ticker was invented in 1867, people were sending stock market information via mail, flag signals, and pigeons!!

The surprising science history behind New York City’s ticker-tape parades

On Thursday Knicks fans are flocking to Manhattan for a ticker-tape parade. But where did ticker tape even come from?

scientificamerican.com

Seth Fletcher@sethfletcher.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Great @deborahb.bsky.social piece on what the past tells us about the current science-policy nightmare. "Maybe it could be seen as an opportunity,” one scientist tells her. "It’s like the opportunity you have to build a better house when yours burns down.” www.scientificamerican.com/article/scie...

Scientists weathering Trump’s attacks on research can look to the past

It’s a complicated time to be a young scientist in America. Lessons from history can tell us what the future might hold

scientificamerican.com

Colin Carlson@colincarlson.bsky.social · 3mo ago

To be painfully sincere for just a moment: this is still so surreal, and means the world to me in a very hard year. Also, the whole team that put this issue together was really wonderful. ❤️ Most importantly, I got to hear the world's largest Van de Graaff generator play the Ghostbusters theme 🎸

The cover of Scientific American this month, and I'm on it? Jeez, do they just let anyone on there? No, really, do they know how few dress shirts I own that don't have a hot sauce stain?A hangover inspired Colin Carlson to meld climate change, public health and ecology. After a night out with a parasitologist, Carlson sat at brunch asking that friend whether parasites could—like so many of the organisms he worked with—go extinct from climate change. The two went on to conduct the largest study to date of parasite biodiversity, finding that up to one third of parasite species are at risk of extinction caused by climate change. Parasites fill important niches in ecosystems around the world, so the consequences of such a die-off could be catastrophic. Carlson is now an assistant professor of epidemiology at Yale University, exploring the science and policy behind planetary health and running a National Science Foundation research project called Verena, in which he and his colleagues look for emerging viral threats. His mission is to help the world understand what future public health emergencies will look like and what we can do to mitigate them. He has testified in front of Congress on public health issues and advocated for increased investment in disease surveillance. The challenge, he says, is getting the people in power to act. In a time of funding cuts, misinformation and public distrust of science, it’s a more formidable challenge than ever. At the moment Verena is in a “state of profound instability,” with departing staff members, concerns about censorship and uncertainty over lost federal funding. In his laboratory, Carlson keeps a Post-it note on his desk that says, “Time spent on research is never wasted.” He lives by it. “This is the hardest this job has ever been, and I say that kind of tongue in cheek because this job is hard,” Carlson says. “It is normally hard but rewarding. Right now it is mostly hard.” —K. R. Callaway
Deborah Blum@deborahb.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Very proud of this story, including the way it puts the ccurrent defunding of science into a fascinating (to me) historic perspective. And I'd like to thank both the scientists and the historians who made this smart. And who stood up!

Megha Satyanarayana@megha.bsky.social · 3mo ago

it's hard to be a young scientist in the US rn. funding is uncertain, evidence is ignored and good researchers are leaving. but, as @deborahb.bsky.social writes for @sciam.bsky.social, history is cyclical. we can learn from the past. #SciAmYoungScientists www.scientificamerican.com/article/scie...

Kate Wong@katewong.bsky.social · 4mo ago

When I heard the theory that the cruise ship hantavirus outbreak originated at a landfill in Argentina that is popular with birders, I had questions. I visited that dump on a bird-watching trip last year. It seemed like an unlikely infection site. So I did some digging. Here's what I found out 🧪 🪶

Did a bird-watching visit to this Argentine landfull spark the cruise ship hantavirus outbreak? Experts raise doubts

The hantavirus cruise outbreak may not have started in a garbage dump in Ushuaia, Argentina, after all

scientificamerican.com

Dan Vergano@danvergano.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Inside NASA’s ‘very ambitious’ moon base plan NASA’s moon exploration plans call for nearly 80 launches, nearly 75 landers, 10 moon buggies and one nuclear reactor www.scientificamerican.com/article/insi... "I would guarantee you that this is not exactly how it’s going to go.”

Inside NASA’s ‘very ambitious’ moon base plan

NASA’s moon exploration plans call for nearly 80 launches, nearly 75 landers, 10 moon buggies and one nuclear reactor

scientificamerican.com

Scientific American@sciam.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Congratulations, @squigglyvolcano.bsky.social! 🎉 Read the award-winning story: spklr.io/6007EzB2S

Say Goodbye to Juno, NASA’s Groundbreaking Mission to Jupiter

The Juno spacecraft has rewritten the story on Jupiter, the solar system’s undisputed heavyweight

spklr.io

Dr Robin George Andrews@squigglyvolcano.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Fun bit of news: my @sciam.bsky.social Juno/Jupes feature, "A Planet Revealed", won the @aas.org 2026 Jonathan Eberhart Planetary Sciences Journalism award! Thanks aplenty to my glorious editor @clarakm.bsky.social for shaping it, and always letting me write big space-y tales. :)