Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Claudia Geib @cgeib.bsky.social · Aug 13

Some days I think my job is pretty normal, and then other days I find myself paging through an obscure Flemish herbal written in the 1500s

1

Reposted by Claudia Geib

Dr. David Miller 🏳️‍🌈 @davidimiller.bsky.social · Jul 2

🧵 3/3 Bottom line for 🧪:

The last remaining fight over the Billionaires' Bill is this week (*right now*) and in the House.

The fight for science funding in FY26 starts *next week* in the House and will continue during the summer.

So: don't lose hope...it's a *summer-long* fight for science!

Stand Up for Science! @standupforscience.bsky.social · May 14

There are LOTS of ways to #StandUpforScience!

Take your pick from our menu of actions: www.standupforscience.net/summer-fight...

And check out our event host guide: docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Menu of action: We are in this fight for the long-haul. Some days are protest days and some days are 5calls.org days.

The Summer Fight for Science gives actions for
every kind of day.

21 65

Claudia Geib @cgeib.bsky.social · Jun 20

You can read the original story that inspired this episode at: hakaimagazine.com/features/rai...

Claudia Geib @cgeib.bsky.social · Jun 20

Back in 2021, I came across a strange story about some folks raising baby sharks taken from dead mothers caught by fishermen. That story became a feature for Hakai Magazine, and today, it's in @radiolab.bsky.social as part of their "Week of Sharks" !! open.spotify.com/episode/2SkQ...

Baby Shark

Radiolab · Episode

open.spotify.com

Reposted by Claudia Geib

Physghoul 👻 @physgal.bsky.social · Jun 13

The cuts to NSF, NASA and the NIH come just as interest in STEM fields is booming. This administration is literally crushing the dreams of young people in the USA. Not to mention the impact on the STEM workforce. 🧪 ⚛️ 🎢

Physghoul 👻 @physgal.bsky.social · Jun 13

It looks like STEM bachelors also rose during that time, though the rise started earlier and really took off around 2010.

graph of number of physics bachelors and STEM bachelors produced in the USA between 1980 and 2018

1 14 64

Claudia Geib @cgeib.bsky.social · May 14

I adored this fascinating, hopeful @betsymason.bsky.social story for @biographic.bsky.social about the intelligence of urban wildlife, and how we can coexist: www.biographic.com/the-coyote-n...

The Coyote Next Door

What urban wildlife can teach us about cognition, survival, and how to be good neighbors.

www.biographic.com

1

Claudia Geib @cgeib.bsky.social · May 14

Are baby whale sharks "holding their breath" to hide from predators and bulk up after birth? www.biographic.com/whale-sharks...

It was a joy to work with @colinschultz.bsky.social once again for this, my first story in @biographic.bsky.social!

Whale Sharks’ Low-Oxygen Advantage - bioGraphic

Whale shark babies seem to find safety in dangerous oxygen minimum zones.

www.biographic.com

1 2

Reposted by Claudia Geib

bioGraphic @biographic.bsky.social · May 13

Whale Sharks’ Low-Oxygen Advantage

Whale shark babies seem to find safety in dangerous oxygen minimum zones.

by @cgeib.bsky.social

www.biographic.com/whale-sharks...

Whale Sharks’ Low-Oxygen Advantage - bioGraphic

Whale shark babies seem to find safety in dangerous oxygen minimum zones.

www.biographic.com

1 10 11

Claudia Geib @cgeib.bsky.social · May 2

1

Claudia Geib @cgeib.bsky.social · Mar 21

Today I was overjoyed to hear the first peepers and the first returning osprey of the season...and then I also found the first two ticks of the season 🙃 guess that's spring in New England, baby

1

Reposted by Claudia Geib

Lisa Song @lisalsong.bsky.social · Feb 28

“We are really trying very, very hard ... to move our world forward" through "foundational, sometimes groundbreaking research, and then you get flagged and blacklisted because there is a word like ‘female’ in your project.”

My latest, w/the brilliant Agnel Philip

www.propublica.org/article/ted-...

A Study of Mint Plants. A Device to Stop Bleeding. This Is the Scientific Research Ted Cruz Calls “Woke.”

The senator flagged thousands of National Science Foundation grants for using words like “female” and “diversify.” A ProPublica analysis found numerous examples of projects caught up in his crude meth...

www.propublica.org

12 150 470

Reposted by Claudia Geib

Stand Up for Science! @standupforscience.bsky.social · Feb 12

Welcome to the Bluesky account for Stand Up for Science 2025!

Keep an eye on this space for updates, event information, and ways to get involved. We can't wait to see everyone #standupforscience2025 on March 7th, both in DC and locations nationwide!

#scienceforall #sciencenotsilence

290 5.5K 12K

Reposted by Claudia Geib

Colin Schultz @colinschultz.bsky.social · Feb 19

"Phenology" has been a big scary word for me for a while now. There's something about shifting seasonal cycles, and species out of alignment, that makes me nervous. But most stories I've read about climate change and phenology have felt distant, abstract.

Not this one.

bioGraphic @biographic.bsky.social · Feb 19

The American Lobster’s Baby Bust

A potentially dire change in spawn timing threatens the future of lobster in the Gulf of Maine

www.biographic.com/the-american...

The American Lobster’s Baby Bust - bioGraphic

A potentially dire change in spawn timing threatens the future of lobster in the Gulf of Maine.

www.biographic.com

1 6

Claudia Geib @cgeib.bsky.social · Feb 19

Could anyone use a copy of @theopennotebook.bsky.social's Craft of Science Writing? I've taught it for 4 yrs & we recently upgraded to the new edition, but it's still an excellent resource! Would love to send it (free!) to a student or someone just breaking into the biz.

A book on a wooden desk, with an ombre orange-yellow-blue cover: The Craft of Science Writing, selections from The Open Notebook, edited by Siri Carpenter.

1

Claudia Geib @cgeib.bsky.social · Feb 14

Every day the news is terrible but I'm so grateful for the folks out there doing the work. grist.org/politics/the...

The scramble to save critical climate data from Trump's war on DEI

Researchers and activists are archiving websites and data because “policymakers and the public need good information to make the best policy."

grist.org

1 2

Claudia Geib @cgeib.bsky.social · Feb 14

In June, I had the pleasure of spending a day observing the kelp harvest of the Shinnecock Kelp Farmers, the first Indigenous-owned kelp farm on the East Coast. My story on their work, to restore local waters and reclaim land & water sovereignty, for @nature.org: www.nature.org/en-us/magazi...

Turning the Tide: A kelp farm run by Shinnecock women is helping to clean the waters off Long Island

On Long Island, a group of Shinnecock women are nursing A bay back to health and, in the process, reclaiming traditions.

www.nature.org

1 3

Claudia Geib @cgeib.bsky.social · Feb 4

Bird researchers are combining the age-old tech of radio tracking with the newer advances of aerial drones—my first story for @audubon.org magazine, and the second produced with the support of a generous grant from @ijnr.bsky.social: www.audubon.org/magazine/fol...

Follow that Bird! How Drones Are Helping Scientists Track Wildlife

A research project to keep tabs on Sharp-tailed Grouse shows the potential benefits of a promising but elusive technology.

www.audubon.org

1 2

Claudia Geib @cgeib.bsky.social · Jan 27

If you're in New England and wondering if you just felt an earthquake, yes, you did! (Me, too!)

1

Reposted by Claudia Geib

Colin Schultz @colinschultz.bsky.social · Jan 12

Say hello to @biographic.bsky.social's first news story:

Who Watches the Watchers?

The recent charging of prominent documentarians in British Columbia court is raising important questions about the ethics of wildlife videography.

www.biographic.com/who-watches-...

Who Watches the Watchers? - bioGraphic

The recent charging of prominent documentarians in British Columbia court is raising important questions about the ethics of wildlife videography.

www.biographic.com

11 39

Claudia Geib @cgeib.bsky.social · Nov 18

This reporting was supported by a grant from @ijnr.bsky.social, which enabled travel to Montana to see these drone professionals at work—and, importantly, meet two of my favorite characters in this story: Huck and Gum, the retired bear-hazing dogs. More stories from that travel coming soon!

Two redline airedale terriers, large reddish brown dogs with scruffy, curly fur, relaxing in a gray-carpeted hallway. One is cozy in his travel crate, while the other sprawls beside him on the ground. Now retired from bear-chasing, life is good for these two.

2 2

Claudia Geib @cgeib.bsky.social · Nov 18

I have a new story up in @theguardian.com: how drones are showing promise in scaring predators, like grizzlies & wolves, away from human spaces in the American west—a way to keep both humans and animals safe as predator populations grow there. www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Get away, grizzly: why scientists are chasing bears with drones

Wildlife experts in US west have found small aircraft are ideal for protecting humans and livestock from predators

www.theguardian.com

1 3 7

Reposted by Claudia Geib

MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing @mitsciwrite.bsky.social · Nov 15

In honor of @hakaimagazine.com merging with biogGraphic (a crossover event made for science journalists!), here are some of our favorite alumni pieces from both outlets:

First up, @cgeib.bsky.social, '16, explores the wild world of artificial shark uteruses: hakaimagazine.com/news/scienti...

Scientists Built an Artificial Shark Uterus | Hakai Magazine

Preemie sharks that would otherwise die get by with a little help from a human-made womb.

hakaimagazine.com

1 9 22

Reposted by Claudia Geib

Lisa Song @lisalsong.bsky.social · Aug 15

The plastics industry wants to market plastic bags as "recyclable," even though they're virtually guaranteed to end up in a landfill or incinerator. Their logic: the bags are "capable" of being recycled.

My latest: www.propublica.org/article/plas...

w/incredible art by Max Erwin

When Is “Recyclable” Not Really Recyclable? When the Plastics Industry Gets to Define What the Word Means.

Companies whose futures depend on plastic production are trying to persuade the federal government to allow them to put the label “recyclable” on plastic shopping bags and other items virtually guaran...

www.propublica.org

3 88 150

Claudia Geib @cgeib.bsky.social · Aug 12

Forgot to share this really fascinating piece I did for @mongabay.bsky.social on one of my favorite intersections, food and climate change! How edible plants mostly seen as weeds or survival food could help make African food systems more resilient: news.mongabay.com/2024/07/in-s...

In sub-Saharan Africa, ‘forgotten’ foods could boost climate resilience, nutrition

For many people across sub-Saharan Africa, Cleome gyandra, commonly known as the spider plant, is not food: it’s a weed. A tall, leggy plant with stars of almond-shaped leaves and clusters of white fl...

news.mongabay.com

4 20

Claudia Geib @cgeib.bsky.social · Jul 12

This latest @hakaimagazine.com feature is fascinating and nuanced and has one of the best headlines I've seen in a long time: hakaimagazine.com/features/blo...

Blood in the Water, Food on the Table, Protesters on the Shore | Hakai Magazine

A centuries-old traditional whale hunt in the Faroe Islands remains in the crosshairs of animal rights activists.

hakaimagazine.com

2