Michael Marshall
@michael-marshall.bsky.social
Freelance science writer covering life sciences, health and the environment. My first book The Genesis Quest is about the origins of life on Earth.
https://www.michaelcmarshall.com
https://www.michaelcmarshall.com
Space geeks: Feedback in @newscientist.com has figured out how to get invited to visit NASA. You just have to behave more like Kim Kardashian.
https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg26835693-900-kim-kardashian-has-wrangled-an-invite-to-nasa-hq-can-we-get-one-too/
https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg26835693-900-kim-kardashian-has-wrangled-an-invite-to-nasa-hq-can-we-get-one-too/
November 13, 2025 at 10:19 AM
Space geeks: Feedback in @newscientist.com has figured out how to get invited to visit NASA. You just have to behave more like Kim Kardashian.
https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg26835693-900-kim-kardashian-has-wrangled-an-invite-to-nasa-hq-can-we-get-one-too/
https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg26835693-900-kim-kardashian-has-wrangled-an-invite-to-nasa-hq-can-we-get-one-too/
Our Human Story, in @newscientist.com:
After 60 years of exploration, the Omo-Turkana basin is still yielding new secrets about human evolution.
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2503899-cradle-of-humanity-is-still-revealing-new-insights-about-our-origins/
After 60 years of exploration, the Omo-Turkana basin is still yielding new secrets about human evolution.
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2503899-cradle-of-humanity-is-still-revealing-new-insights-about-our-origins/
November 12, 2025 at 8:07 AM
Our Human Story, in @newscientist.com:
After 60 years of exploration, the Omo-Turkana basin is still yielding new secrets about human evolution.
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2503899-cradle-of-humanity-is-still-revealing-new-insights-about-our-origins/
After 60 years of exploration, the Omo-Turkana basin is still yielding new secrets about human evolution.
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2503899-cradle-of-humanity-is-still-revealing-new-insights-about-our-origins/
Feedback in @newscientist.com:
Some bright spark has built a robot that can pretend to serve you an ice cream, only to jerk it away at the last second.
https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg26835684-200-is-a-robot-programmed-to-prank-you-annoying-yes/
Some bright spark has built a robot that can pretend to serve you an ice cream, only to jerk it away at the last second.
https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg26835684-200-is-a-robot-programmed-to-prank-you-annoying-yes/
November 6, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Feedback in @newscientist.com:
Some bright spark has built a robot that can pretend to serve you an ice cream, only to jerk it away at the last second.
https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg26835684-200-is-a-robot-programmed-to-prank-you-annoying-yes/
Some bright spark has built a robot that can pretend to serve you an ice cream, only to jerk it away at the last second.
https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg26835684-200-is-a-robot-programmed-to-prank-you-annoying-yes/
Glaucoma remains one of the most common causes of avoidable blindness. So glaucoma patients and specialists came together to map out a better approach.
The result is a report, "The future of glaucoma", which I helped write and edit.
https://www.futureofglaucoma.co.uk
The result is a report, "The future of glaucoma", which I helped write and edit.
https://www.futureofglaucoma.co.uk
November 6, 2025 at 8:26 AM
Glaucoma remains one of the most common causes of avoidable blindness. So glaucoma patients and specialists came together to map out a better approach.
The result is a report, "The future of glaucoma", which I helped write and edit.
https://www.futureofglaucoma.co.uk
The result is a report, "The future of glaucoma", which I helped write and edit.
https://www.futureofglaucoma.co.uk
For @newscientist.com, I interviewed Christopher Bae: an anthropologist who has proposed two new ancient human species, Homo juluensis and Homo bodoensis.
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2500833-does-the-family-tree-of-ancient-humans-need-a-drastic-rewrite/
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2500833-does-the-family-tree-of-ancient-humans-need-a-drastic-rewrite/
November 3, 2025 at 6:16 PM
For @newscientist.com, I interviewed Christopher Bae: an anthropologist who has proposed two new ancient human species, Homo juluensis and Homo bodoensis.
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2500833-does-the-family-tree-of-ancient-humans-need-a-drastic-rewrite/
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2500833-does-the-family-tree-of-ancient-humans-need-a-drastic-rewrite/
New for @newscientist.com:
We have a second high-quality genome of a Denisovan: a group of ancient humans who lived in east Asia.
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2502409-denisovans-may-have-interbred-with-mysterious-group-of-ancient-humans/
We have a second high-quality genome of a Denisovan: a group of ancient humans who lived in east Asia.
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2502409-denisovans-may-have-interbred-with-mysterious-group-of-ancient-humans/
November 3, 2025 at 12:38 PM
New for @newscientist.com:
We have a second high-quality genome of a Denisovan: a group of ancient humans who lived in east Asia.
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2502409-denisovans-may-have-interbred-with-mysterious-group-of-ancient-humans/
We have a second high-quality genome of a Denisovan: a group of ancient humans who lived in east Asia.
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2502409-denisovans-may-have-interbred-with-mysterious-group-of-ancient-humans/
Feedback in @newscientist.com:
Have you ever played Minecraft and thought "you know, I could build a miniature version of ChatGPT out of all these blocks"?
Well, someone did, and they followed through.
https://loom.ly/64_xhQg
Have you ever played Minecraft and thought "you know, I could build a miniature version of ChatGPT out of all these blocks"?
Well, someone did, and they followed through.
https://loom.ly/64_xhQg
October 30, 2025 at 12:14 PM
Feedback in @newscientist.com:
Have you ever played Minecraft and thought "you know, I could build a miniature version of ChatGPT out of all these blocks"?
Well, someone did, and they followed through.
https://loom.ly/64_xhQg
Have you ever played Minecraft and thought "you know, I could build a miniature version of ChatGPT out of all these blocks"?
Well, someone did, and they followed through.
https://loom.ly/64_xhQg
New for @nature.com:
Here are seven examples of curiosity-driven research that had massive impacts on society.
This is what Donald Trump's gutting of the US science budget will destroy - and what Republicans in Congress could still save.
https://loom.ly/hmD43LU
Here are seven examples of curiosity-driven research that had massive impacts on society.
This is what Donald Trump's gutting of the US science budget will destroy - and what Republicans in Congress could still save.
https://loom.ly/hmD43LU
October 29, 2025 at 6:15 PM
New for @nature.com:
Here are seven examples of curiosity-driven research that had massive impacts on society.
This is what Donald Trump's gutting of the US science budget will destroy - and what Republicans in Congress could still save.
https://loom.ly/hmD43LU
Here are seven examples of curiosity-driven research that had massive impacts on society.
This is what Donald Trump's gutting of the US science budget will destroy - and what Republicans in Congress could still save.
https://loom.ly/hmD43LU
New in @newscientist.com:
#Fibromyalgia causes #ChronicPain and we don't understand why. Now two big genetics studies have given us pointers to the real causes of the condition.
https://loom.ly/5LjQCQg
#Fibromyalgia causes #ChronicPain and we don't understand why. Now two big genetics studies have given us pointers to the real causes of the condition.
https://loom.ly/5LjQCQg
October 29, 2025 at 12:34 PM
New in @newscientist.com:
#Fibromyalgia causes #ChronicPain and we don't understand why. Now two big genetics studies have given us pointers to the real causes of the condition.
https://loom.ly/5LjQCQg
#Fibromyalgia causes #ChronicPain and we don't understand why. Now two big genetics studies have given us pointers to the real causes of the condition.
https://loom.ly/5LjQCQg
Feedback in @newscientist.com:
Many scientists emphasise their achievements. And then there's the researcher who wrote: "Sometimes you just kinda phone it in for a year, you know?"
https://loom.ly/H5cEHTk
Many scientists emphasise their achievements. And then there's the researcher who wrote: "Sometimes you just kinda phone it in for a year, you know?"
https://loom.ly/H5cEHTk
October 23, 2025 at 9:46 AM
Feedback in @newscientist.com:
Many scientists emphasise their achievements. And then there's the researcher who wrote: "Sometimes you just kinda phone it in for a year, you know?"
https://loom.ly/H5cEHTk
Many scientists emphasise their achievements. And then there's the researcher who wrote: "Sometimes you just kinda phone it in for a year, you know?"
https://loom.ly/H5cEHTk
New for @newscientist.com:
Banning phones in schools may make students a bit more lonely, rather than rescuing their mental health as is often claimed
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2500228-school-phone-bans-may-actually-harm-some-students-mental-health/
Banning phones in schools may make students a bit more lonely, rather than rescuing their mental health as is often claimed
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2500228-school-phone-bans-may-actually-harm-some-students-mental-health/
October 17, 2025 at 11:34 AM
New for @newscientist.com:
Banning phones in schools may make students a bit more lonely, rather than rescuing their mental health as is often claimed
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2500228-school-phone-bans-may-actually-harm-some-students-mental-health/
Banning phones in schools may make students a bit more lonely, rather than rescuing their mental health as is often claimed
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2500228-school-phone-bans-may-actually-harm-some-students-mental-health/
Bad news, everyone: the human species will go extinct by the year 2339.
At least, so says one of the silliest scientific papers @newscientist.com's Feedback has ever encountered.
https://loom.ly/Y1dJ4wE
At least, so says one of the silliest scientific papers @newscientist.com's Feedback has ever encountered.
https://loom.ly/Y1dJ4wE
October 16, 2025 at 11:45 AM
Bad news, everyone: the human species will go extinct by the year 2339.
At least, so says one of the silliest scientific papers @newscientist.com's Feedback has ever encountered.
https://loom.ly/Y1dJ4wE
At least, so says one of the silliest scientific papers @newscientist.com's Feedback has ever encountered.
https://loom.ly/Y1dJ4wE
New "Our Human Story" in @newscientist.com:
Who were the first ancient humans to reach the British Isles?
And why did it take them so long to get there?
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2499788-who-were-the-first-humans-to-reach-the-british-isles/
Who were the first ancient humans to reach the British Isles?
And why did it take them so long to get there?
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2499788-who-were-the-first-humans-to-reach-the-british-isles/
October 15, 2025 at 5:28 PM
New "Our Human Story" in @newscientist.com:
Who were the first ancient humans to reach the British Isles?
And why did it take them so long to get there?
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2499788-who-were-the-first-humans-to-reach-the-british-isles/
Who were the first ancient humans to reach the British Isles?
And why did it take them so long to get there?
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2499788-who-were-the-first-humans-to-reach-the-british-isles/
New for BBC Future:
The foundations are being laid for the world's first commercial-scale liquid air energy storage facility.
If successful, it will help the electricity grid to handle more renewable energy.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/future/article/20251009-the-liquid-air-alternative-to-fossil-fuels
The foundations are being laid for the world's first commercial-scale liquid air energy storage facility.
If successful, it will help the electricity grid to handle more renewable energy.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/future/article/20251009-the-liquid-air-alternative-to-fossil-fuels
October 15, 2025 at 11:10 AM
New for BBC Future:
The foundations are being laid for the world's first commercial-scale liquid air energy storage facility.
If successful, it will help the electricity grid to handle more renewable energy.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/future/article/20251009-the-liquid-air-alternative-to-fossil-fuels
The foundations are being laid for the world's first commercial-scale liquid air energy storage facility.
If successful, it will help the electricity grid to handle more renewable energy.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/future/article/20251009-the-liquid-air-alternative-to-fossil-fuels
Hold your head so it doesn't explode: roses don't have thorns. Those sharp things are prickles.
In @newscientist.com, Feedback takes up the task of rewriting the vast corpus of poems and songs that are now wrong.
https://loom.ly/8ZeKtkQ
In @newscientist.com, Feedback takes up the task of rewriting the vast corpus of poems and songs that are now wrong.
https://loom.ly/8ZeKtkQ
October 9, 2025 at 11:30 AM
Hold your head so it doesn't explode: roses don't have thorns. Those sharp things are prickles.
In @newscientist.com, Feedback takes up the task of rewriting the vast corpus of poems and songs that are now wrong.
https://loom.ly/8ZeKtkQ
In @newscientist.com, Feedback takes up the task of rewriting the vast corpus of poems and songs that are now wrong.
https://loom.ly/8ZeKtkQ
Here's a strange lacuna in our knowledge: we know a lot about ultrasonic vocalisations by mice, but hardly anything about their audible squeaks.
They can't all mean "oh shit, a cat" - can they?
@newscientist.com
https://loom.ly/uMm1OCw
They can't all mean "oh shit, a cat" - can they?
@newscientist.com
https://loom.ly/uMm1OCw
October 3, 2025 at 11:06 AM
Here's a strange lacuna in our knowledge: we know a lot about ultrasonic vocalisations by mice, but hardly anything about their audible squeaks.
They can't all mean "oh shit, a cat" - can they?
@newscientist.com
https://loom.ly/uMm1OCw
They can't all mean "oh shit, a cat" - can they?
@newscientist.com
https://loom.ly/uMm1OCw
Neurodiversity just got even more diverse:
Some autistic kids get diagnosed much later than others, and that's partly because they're actually developing in different ways. They also carry different genetic variants.
@newscientist.com
https://loom.ly/ULRTTjk
Some autistic kids get diagnosed much later than others, and that's partly because they're actually developing in different ways. They also carry different genetic variants.
@newscientist.com
https://loom.ly/ULRTTjk
October 1, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Neurodiversity just got even more diverse:
Some autistic kids get diagnosed much later than others, and that's partly because they're actually developing in different ways. They also carry different genetic variants.
@newscientist.com
https://loom.ly/ULRTTjk
Some autistic kids get diagnosed much later than others, and that's partly because they're actually developing in different ways. They also carry different genetic variants.
@newscientist.com
https://loom.ly/ULRTTjk
Here I am talking about a million-year-old skull from China, and what it means for the story of human evolution, on the @newscientist.com podcast.
YouTube: https://loom.ly/iRr-eFA
NS: https://loom.ly/CwW6KmY
Apple: https://loom.ly/JocpQ68
YouTube: https://loom.ly/iRr-eFA
NS: https://loom.ly/CwW6KmY
Apple: https://loom.ly/JocpQ68
September 26, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Here I am talking about a million-year-old skull from China, and what it means for the story of human evolution, on the @newscientist.com podcast.
YouTube: https://loom.ly/iRr-eFA
NS: https://loom.ly/CwW6KmY
Apple: https://loom.ly/JocpQ68
YouTube: https://loom.ly/iRr-eFA
NS: https://loom.ly/CwW6KmY
Apple: https://loom.ly/JocpQ68
This is a million-year-old skull from Yunxian, China.
It suggests that our species had a much longer prehistory than thought. @newscientist.com
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2497765-reconstructed-skull-gives-surprising-clues-to-our-enigmatic-ancestor-x/
It suggests that our species had a much longer prehistory than thought. @newscientist.com
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2497765-reconstructed-skull-gives-surprising-clues-to-our-enigmatic-ancestor-x/
September 26, 2025 at 11:23 AM
This is a million-year-old skull from Yunxian, China.
It suggests that our species had a much longer prehistory than thought. @newscientist.com
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2497765-reconstructed-skull-gives-surprising-clues-to-our-enigmatic-ancestor-x/
It suggests that our species had a much longer prehistory than thought. @newscientist.com
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2497765-reconstructed-skull-gives-surprising-clues-to-our-enigmatic-ancestor-x/
How can we get high-schoolers to take an interest in botany? By using the music videos of Taylor Swift - as Feedback learns in @newscientist.com
https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg26735622-900-how-taylor-swift-is-helping-botany-gain-celebrity-status/
https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg26735622-900-how-taylor-swift-is-helping-botany-gain-celebrity-status/
September 24, 2025 at 5:26 PM
How can we get high-schoolers to take an interest in botany? By using the music videos of Taylor Swift - as Feedback learns in @newscientist.com
https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg26735622-900-how-taylor-swift-is-helping-botany-gain-celebrity-status/
https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg26735622-900-how-taylor-swift-is-helping-botany-gain-celebrity-status/
I reviewed Steven Pinker's new book for @newscientist.com.
Most of it is pretty good - until you get to the chapter on cancel culture, which is an ill-informed, ill-considered mess.
https://loom.ly/Ujy3kJE
Most of it is pretty good - until you get to the chapter on cancel culture, which is an ill-informed, ill-considered mess.
https://loom.ly/Ujy3kJE
September 19, 2025 at 7:12 AM
I reviewed Steven Pinker's new book for @newscientist.com.
Most of it is pretty good - until you get to the chapter on cancel culture, which is an ill-informed, ill-considered mess.
https://loom.ly/Ujy3kJE
Most of it is pretty good - until you get to the chapter on cancel culture, which is an ill-informed, ill-considered mess.
https://loom.ly/Ujy3kJE
Feedback in @newscientist.com discusses a study showing that dog ownership causes hurricanes - except that's, er, not what it shows
https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg26735614-600-the-real-reason-our-weather-is-going-to-the-dogs/
https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg26735614-600-the-real-reason-our-weather-is-going-to-the-dogs/
September 18, 2025 at 5:09 PM
Feedback in @newscientist.com discusses a study showing that dog ownership causes hurricanes - except that's, er, not what it shows
https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg26735614-600-the-real-reason-our-weather-is-going-to-the-dogs/
https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg26735614-600-the-real-reason-our-weather-is-going-to-the-dogs/
I reviewed Steven Pinker's new book for @newscientist.com.
Most of it is pretty good - until you get to the chapter on cancel culture, which is an ill-informed, ill-considered mess.
https://loom.ly/Ujy3kJE
Most of it is pretty good - until you get to the chapter on cancel culture, which is an ill-informed, ill-considered mess.
https://loom.ly/Ujy3kJE
September 18, 2025 at 11:12 AM
I reviewed Steven Pinker's new book for @newscientist.com.
Most of it is pretty good - until you get to the chapter on cancel culture, which is an ill-informed, ill-considered mess.
https://loom.ly/Ujy3kJE
Most of it is pretty good - until you get to the chapter on cancel culture, which is an ill-informed, ill-considered mess.
https://loom.ly/Ujy3kJE
I went on the @newscientist.com podcast to talk about what happened in Britain after the Roman Empire withdrew (and to rebut Rowan's forced Brexit analogies). I'm on from 14:55.
New Scientist: https://loom.ly/f2ErICo
Apple Podcasts: https://loom.ly/Aa3jrew
New Scientist: https://loom.ly/f2ErICo
Apple Podcasts: https://loom.ly/Aa3jrew
September 12, 2025 at 5:27 PM
I went on the @newscientist.com podcast to talk about what happened in Britain after the Roman Empire withdrew (and to rebut Rowan's forced Brexit analogies). I'm on from 14:55.
New Scientist: https://loom.ly/f2ErICo
Apple Podcasts: https://loom.ly/Aa3jrew
New Scientist: https://loom.ly/f2ErICo
Apple Podcasts: https://loom.ly/Aa3jrew
Congratulations to physicist Avi Loeb, who is the namesake for a new scale intended to grade interstellar objects on how artificial they appear to be.
But who decided to call it the Loeb scale, asks Feedback in @newscientist.com?
https://loom.ly/y0S8TbI
But who decided to call it the Loeb scale, asks Feedback in @newscientist.com?
https://loom.ly/y0S8TbI
September 11, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Congratulations to physicist Avi Loeb, who is the namesake for a new scale intended to grade interstellar objects on how artificial they appear to be.
But who decided to call it the Loeb scale, asks Feedback in @newscientist.com?
https://loom.ly/y0S8TbI
But who decided to call it the Loeb scale, asks Feedback in @newscientist.com?
https://loom.ly/y0S8TbI