Kelsey L. Hayes
@kelseylh.bsky.social
Chief subeditor, New Scientist. Ex-POLITICO. Kansan and Londoner. Traveler and reader, powered by coffee and sassmouth.
It feels like this is something that AI should be doing, insofar as it "should" be doing anything. It's helping to read and translate carbonised Roman scrolls recovered from Herculaneum, which was destroyed in the Vesuvius eruption.
www.newscientist.com/article/2498...
www.newscientist.com/article/2498...
We’re finally reading the secrets of Herculaneum’s lost library
A whole library’s worth of papyri owned by Julius Caesar’s father-in-law were turned to charcoal by the eruption of Vesuvius. Nearly 2000 years later, we can at last read these lost treasures
www.newscientist.com
October 15, 2025 at 8:51 AM
It feels like this is something that AI should be doing, insofar as it "should" be doing anything. It's helping to read and translate carbonised Roman scrolls recovered from Herculaneum, which was destroyed in the Vesuvius eruption.
www.newscientist.com/article/2498...
www.newscientist.com/article/2498...
This week from @newscientist.com: You won't want to miss this fascinating – and charming – conversation with physics don Frank Wilczek.
www.newscientist.com/article/2491...
www.newscientist.com/article/2491...
Physicist Frank Wilczek’s unique insights on the nature of reality
Frank Wilczek has one of the most brilliant and original minds in theoretical physics, having come up with the idea of time crystals among much else. Where is his curiosity taking him now?
www.newscientist.com
August 21, 2025 at 2:44 PM
This week from @newscientist.com: You won't want to miss this fascinating – and charming – conversation with physics don Frank Wilczek.
www.newscientist.com/article/2491...
www.newscientist.com/article/2491...
Reposted by Kelsey L. Hayes
Thousands of Israelis stayed home from work, flooded city streets and blocked roads and highways across the country on Sunday, staging some of the largest anti-war protests in months as the military prepares for a major assault on Gaza City. wapo.st/4mvMVfK
August 17, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Thousands of Israelis stayed home from work, flooded city streets and blocked roads and highways across the country on Sunday, staging some of the largest anti-war protests in months as the military prepares for a major assault on Gaza City. wapo.st/4mvMVfK
They're good dogs, Brent: a new look at how the domestication of man's best friend might have actually occurred, from @newscientist.com
www.newscientist.com/article/2489...
www.newscientist.com/article/2489...
Your pet dog’s ancestor was a fierce, wild animal. How was it tamed?
Unexpected archaeological discoveries are rewriting the story of how the big, bad wolf became our first and most beloved pet
www.newscientist.com
August 7, 2025 at 2:33 PM
They're good dogs, Brent: a new look at how the domestication of man's best friend might have actually occurred, from @newscientist.com
www.newscientist.com/article/2489...
www.newscientist.com/article/2489...
Happy Proms season to all who celebrate.
August 6, 2025 at 6:22 PM
Happy Proms season to all who celebrate.
Just got a Google News push alert about John Williams' first piano concerto and when I tell you my life flashed before my eyes for a sec. Anyway, congrats, John Williams, on your first piano concerto.
August 6, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Just got a Google News push alert about John Williams' first piano concerto and when I tell you my life flashed before my eyes for a sec. Anyway, congrats, John Williams, on your first piano concerto.
If you want to both stimulate your brain AND avoid having to come to terms with your own mortality for a lil while, good news: @newscientist.com's new digital games hub is now live!
www.newscientist.com/games/
www.newscientist.com/games/
Games | New Scientist
www.newscientist.com
August 5, 2025 at 11:01 AM
If you want to both stimulate your brain AND avoid having to come to terms with your own mortality for a lil while, good news: @newscientist.com's new digital games hub is now live!
www.newscientist.com/games/
www.newscientist.com/games/
Reposted by Kelsey L. Hayes
The far-right National Rally has never been more popular, and stands a realistic chance of winning the presidency when the next election is held in 2027
But it remains constantly dogged by legal troubles. I looked into why ⤵️
But it remains constantly dogged by legal troubles. I looked into why ⤵️
The French far right’s financial Catch-22
The National Rally is under investigation in a string of cases that all point to the same problem: how it funds itself.
www.politico.eu
August 1, 2025 at 2:58 PM
The far-right National Rally has never been more popular, and stands a realistic chance of winning the presidency when the next election is held in 2027
But it remains constantly dogged by legal troubles. I looked into why ⤵️
But it remains constantly dogged by legal troubles. I looked into why ⤵️
No longer Brit-ish. My citizenship got approved today, ceremony is in a week. Hurrah!
July 31, 2025 at 3:47 PM
No longer Brit-ish. My citizenship got approved today, ceremony is in a week. Hurrah!
As a former marine biology nerd kid, I'm qualified to say: Whale sharks are the coolest.
www.nytimes.com/card/2025/07...
www.nytimes.com/card/2025/07...
How Healthy Are the Oceans? Ask a Whale Shark
For scientists, the world’s largest fish is a window onto the seas through which it travels.
www.nytimes.com
July 29, 2025 at 8:50 AM
As a former marine biology nerd kid, I'm qualified to say: Whale sharks are the coolest.
www.nytimes.com/card/2025/07...
www.nytimes.com/card/2025/07...
In case you missed it, an incredibly fascinating feature from @newscientist.com about how ancient humans came to bury their dead.
www.newscientist.com/article/2487...
www.newscientist.com/article/2487...
What were ancient humans thinking when they began to bury their dead?
Claims that a small-brained hominin called Homo naledi buried its dead raise intriguing questions about ancient minds and why we engage in this peculiar practice
www.newscientist.com
July 28, 2025 at 12:06 PM
In case you missed it, an incredibly fascinating feature from @newscientist.com about how ancient humans came to bury their dead.
www.newscientist.com/article/2487...
www.newscientist.com/article/2487...
Outstanding reporting from London Centric, digging into tourist-tat gift shops that rotate “directors” and avoid paying millions in taxes. I’d tell visitors to avoid these places but it can be difficult to tell which ones are legitimate.
www.londoncentric.media/p/asf-aziz-l...
www.londoncentric.media/p/asf-aziz-l...
The billionaire and the tax evading gift shops
Asif Aziz's Criterion Capital manages a row of high-profile shops at Piccadilly Circus. So why does his team keeping renting them to students who vanish without paying millions of pounds in taxes?
www.londoncentric.media
July 22, 2025 at 7:50 AM
Outstanding reporting from London Centric, digging into tourist-tat gift shops that rotate “directors” and avoid paying millions in taxes. I’d tell visitors to avoid these places but it can be difficult to tell which ones are legitimate.
www.londoncentric.media/p/asf-aziz-l...
www.londoncentric.media/p/asf-aziz-l...
Opinion | Governors Should Be the Face of the Democratic Party
www.nytimes.com
July 14, 2025 at 4:13 PM
I suddenly feel much better about never having any inclination to read these books. Holy shit.
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
The real Salt Path: how a blockbuster book and film were ...
Penniless and homeless, the Winns found fame and fortune with the story of their 630-mile walk to salvation. We can reveal that the truth behind it is ve...
observer.co.uk
July 6, 2025 at 11:10 AM
I suddenly feel much better about never having any inclination to read these books. Holy shit.
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
I've been doing this since high school (at least), didn't know it was so trendy.
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
The secrets of self-optimisers: why ‘microefficiencies’ are on the rise
Whether brushing their teeth in the shower or wearing slip-on shoes to save time, people are finding all sorts of ways to fine-tune their routines. Are these fun life hacks or symptoms of a snowed-und...
www.theguardian.com
July 4, 2025 at 12:40 PM
I've been doing this since high school (at least), didn't know it was so trendy.
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
Garum, a fermented fish sauce, was something like the Roman Empire's version of ketchup, in terms of how much it was eaten. Thanks to DNA testing, we now know what kind of fish went into it.
www.newscientist.com/article/2486...
www.newscientist.com/article/2486...
Ancient DNA reveals make-up of Roman Empire’s favourite sauce
Bones found at the site of an ancient fish-processing plant were used to genetically identify the species that went into a fish sauce, often known as garum, eaten throughout the Roman Empire
www.newscientist.com
July 2, 2025 at 11:02 AM
Garum, a fermented fish sauce, was something like the Roman Empire's version of ketchup, in terms of how much it was eaten. Thanks to DNA testing, we now know what kind of fish went into it.
www.newscientist.com/article/2486...
www.newscientist.com/article/2486...
This week's cover story from @newscientist.com: In search of our long-ago ancestors who didn't make it.
www.newscientist.com/article/2484...
www.newscientist.com/article/2484...
The remarkable tale of how humans nearly didn’t conquer the world
Over tens of thousands of years, waves of Homo sapiens set out across Europe and Asia, only for their societies and cultures to mysteriously vanish. At last, ancient DNA is revealing why
www.newscientist.com
July 1, 2025 at 1:58 PM
This week's cover story from @newscientist.com: In search of our long-ago ancestors who didn't make it.
www.newscientist.com/article/2484...
www.newscientist.com/article/2484...
Reposted by Kelsey L. Hayes
“Records of hundreds of emergency calls from ICE detention centers obtained by WIRED—including audio recordings—show a system inundated by life-threatening incidents, delayed treatment, and overcrowding.”
www.wired.com/story/ice-de...
www.wired.com/story/ice-de...
‘They're Not Breathing’: Inside the Chaos of ICE Detention Center 911 Calls
Records of hundreds of emergency calls from ICE detention centers obtained by WIRED—including audio recordings—show a system inundated by life-threatening incidents, delayed treatment, and overcrowdin...
www.wired.com
June 26, 2025 at 4:10 PM
“Records of hundreds of emergency calls from ICE detention centers obtained by WIRED—including audio recordings—show a system inundated by life-threatening incidents, delayed treatment, and overcrowding.”
www.wired.com/story/ice-de...
www.wired.com/story/ice-de...
Reposted by Kelsey L. Hayes
Was very excited when Last Week Tonight asked @404media.co to help out with research/fact checking for an AI Slop segment that ran last night. I thought it turned out very good! Here's a few mentions of our reporting, and the full segment: www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWpg...
June 23, 2025 at 2:39 PM
Was very excited when Last Week Tonight asked @404media.co to help out with research/fact checking for an AI Slop segment that ran last night. I thought it turned out very good! Here's a few mentions of our reporting, and the full segment: www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWpg...
Reposted by Kelsey L. Hayes
Chatbots — LLMs — do not know facts and are not designed to be able to accurately answer factual questions. They are designed to find and mimic patterns of words, probabilistically. When they’re “right” it’s because correct things are often written down, so those patterns are frequent. That’s all.
June 19, 2025 at 11:21 AM
Chatbots — LLMs — do not know facts and are not designed to be able to accurately answer factual questions. They are designed to find and mimic patterns of words, probabilistically. When they’re “right” it’s because correct things are often written down, so those patterns are frequent. That’s all.
