Frank Swain
@frank-swain.bsky.social
Freelance science writer | Managing Editor at CORDIS | frankswain.com
Simon Stålenhag eat your heart out.
December 12, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Simon Stålenhag eat your heart out.
incredibly appropriate that Windows tries to make me pick a gender for an emoji that doesn't have one
December 10, 2025 at 4:34 PM
incredibly appropriate that Windows tries to make me pick a gender for an emoji that doesn't have one
My mind boggles that the NN's stock looks like this, but I guess the markets agree with you
December 10, 2025 at 3:38 PM
My mind boggles that the NN's stock looks like this, but I guess the markets agree with you
e.g. see how ancient Egyptian architecture compares to Greek - both stone, but marble's superior strength allows for thinner, more widely spaced columns, giving more light and elegance. What forms might we build with Martian bricks, and Martian gravity?
December 4, 2025 at 2:47 PM
e.g. see how ancient Egyptian architecture compares to Greek - both stone, but marble's superior strength allows for thinner, more widely spaced columns, giving more light and elegance. What forms might we build with Martian bricks, and Martian gravity?
The UK's immigration policy hinges on putting very desperate people in even more danger. In case you forgot, this is what the end result of that looks like.
December 3, 2025 at 3:16 PM
The UK's immigration policy hinges on putting very desperate people in even more danger. In case you forgot, this is what the end result of that looks like.
UK bans looking at lighthouses
December 3, 2025 at 3:07 PM
UK bans looking at lighthouses
Imagine being the one who has to tell whales we genocided them to make candles
December 1, 2025 at 11:22 AM
Imagine being the one who has to tell whales we genocided them to make candles
A very telling word in this BBC article on the latest vibes-based UPF field; what does it mean to have 'good' in a food? What is the unit of good? Is UPF simply a moralising frame of food choices? (yes)
November 19, 2025 at 2:37 PM
A very telling word in this BBC article on the latest vibes-based UPF field; what does it mean to have 'good' in a food? What is the unit of good? Is UPF simply a moralising frame of food choices? (yes)
Great work by @rowhoop.bsky.social, pictured here in the studio
November 16, 2025 at 9:57 AM
Great work by @rowhoop.bsky.social, pictured here in the studio
The EU experienced its worst fire season on record in 2025 - over a million ha burned, most of it in Iberia. I mapped every fire on the peninsula over the summer, using viirs satellite data.
October 23, 2025 at 10:11 AM
The EU experienced its worst fire season on record in 2025 - over a million ha burned, most of it in Iberia. I mapped every fire on the peninsula over the summer, using viirs satellite data.
Can any geologists tell me why the earthquake in Afghanistan has this interesting shakemap? Why the concentric circle at the edge - why isn't the amount of shaking a straight linear relationship to the epicentre?
September 2, 2025 at 9:53 AM
Can any geologists tell me why the earthquake in Afghanistan has this interesting shakemap? Why the concentric circle at the edge - why isn't the amount of shaking a straight linear relationship to the epicentre?
Latest figures are in
August 19, 2025 at 12:33 PM
Latest figures are in
2025 is on track to be the worst year for wildfires in Europe in over a decade (perhaps worst on record). Climate change is deadly real.
August 19, 2025 at 10:17 AM
2025 is on track to be the worst year for wildfires in Europe in over a decade (perhaps worst on record). Climate change is deadly real.
Checking on the European Wildfire Map: took me a moment to realise what happened in Northern Ireland last week 👀
July 15, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Checking on the European Wildfire Map: took me a moment to realise what happened in Northern Ireland last week 👀
who had "the ground is exploding" on their climate crisis bingo card?
July 4, 2025 at 7:21 AM
who had "the ground is exploding" on their climate crisis bingo card?
However, ground moisture conditions are just one element of fire risk, and not enough to predict long-term fire danger. EFFIS weekly forecasts are publicly available: joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/projects-and...
June 26, 2025 at 8:49 AM
However, ground moisture conditions are just one element of fire risk, and not enough to predict long-term fire danger. EFFIS weekly forecasts are publicly available: joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/projects-and...
The summer ahead could be bad for fires, with much of central and eastern Europe under drought conditions joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/european-and...
June 26, 2025 at 8:46 AM
The summer ahead could be bad for fires, with much of central and eastern Europe under drought conditions joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/european-and...
I just donated to Wikipedia, a last bastion of verifiable, human-written knowledge online. They didn't rip-off millions of writers and artists to make it. And it's free. That's got to be worth a few euros: donate.wikimedia.org/wiki/Ways_to...
June 5, 2025 at 2:35 PM
I just donated to Wikipedia, a last bastion of verifiable, human-written knowledge online. They didn't rip-off millions of writers and artists to make it. And it's free. That's got to be worth a few euros: donate.wikimedia.org/wiki/Ways_to...
pay attention researchers, this is how you do a scientific illustration (Chirlmin Joo at TUDelft)
May 12, 2025 at 12:41 PM
pay attention researchers, this is how you do a scientific illustration (Chirlmin Joo at TUDelft)
imagine opening your Atlantic feature with the admission that you're entirely unqualified to write on the topic. the giddying level of self-assuredness needed to write that and hit send
April 14, 2025 at 10:18 AM
imagine opening your Atlantic feature with the admission that you're entirely unqualified to write on the topic. the giddying level of self-assuredness needed to write that and hit send
friendly reminder to check your smoke alarm batteries
April 11, 2025 at 2:42 PM
friendly reminder to check your smoke alarm batteries
obsessed with Jiankui He's social media form
April 8, 2025 at 1:36 PM
obsessed with Jiankui He's social media form