Rowan Hooper
@rowhoop.bsky.social
Journalist and podcast host @newscientist.com. Former Tokyoite. Books: SUPERHUMAN (2018) and HOW TO SPEND A TRILLION DOLLARS (2021). Next book: TOGETHERNESS (2026). すごい!
There are more important things to spend money on but if a billionaire wanted to step in and #BringtheRocksBack it would be a good thing
NASA’s Mars Sample Return Mission in Jeopardy as U.S. Considers Abandoning Retrieval www.scientificamerican.com/article/nasa...
NASA Found Something on Mars. Now We Might Just Leave It There
NASA spent years and billions of dollars collecting Martian samples to bring home. Now they might be stranded
www.scientificamerican.com
November 18, 2025 at 3:12 PM
There are more important things to spend money on but if a billionaire wanted to step in and #BringtheRocksBack it would be a good thing
Tehran has received 1 mm of rain this year and may have to be evacuated if it doesn't rain soon.
Already there have been accusations of "rain stealing" through cloud seeding.
www.newscientist.com/article/2504...
Already there have been accusations of "rain stealing" through cloud seeding.
www.newscientist.com/article/2504...
What is cloud seeding and could it end the drought in Iran?
Facing its worst drought in decades, Iran is attempting to stimulate rain by spreading seeding agents in clouds, but the technique is likely to have modest benefits at best
www.newscientist.com
November 18, 2025 at 11:39 AM
Tehran has received 1 mm of rain this year and may have to be evacuated if it doesn't rain soon.
Already there have been accusations of "rain stealing" through cloud seeding.
www.newscientist.com/article/2504...
Already there have been accusations of "rain stealing" through cloud seeding.
www.newscientist.com/article/2504...
Since wildcats are in the news, here are some I saw at Derek Gow’s rewilding centre in Devon. 1/…
November 18, 2025 at 10:55 AM
Since wildcats are in the news, here are some I saw at Derek Gow’s rewilding centre in Devon. 1/…
“Hitler: Blueprint of a Dictator” - my interview with Turi King here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XXB...
November 17, 2025 at 11:51 AM
“Hitler: Blueprint of a Dictator” - my interview with Turi King here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XXB...
Biang biang noodles at Master Wei, just the GREATEST Sunday lunch and mega umami hit
November 16, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Biang biang noodles at Master Wei, just the GREATEST Sunday lunch and mega umami hit
Reposted by Rowan Hooper
‘We said we wouldn‘t be involved [in a documentary about sequencing Hitler’s DNA] if it was going to be sensationalist’
sister 𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚
www.newscientist.com/podcasts/why...
sister 𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚
www.newscientist.com/podcasts/why...
Why the claims about Hitler’s genome are misleading
Episode 331
This week sees the broadcast on Channel 4 in the UK of a documentary called Hitler’s DNA: Blueprint of a dictator. Geneticists have managed to find a DNA sample from Adolf Hitler and have ...
www.newscientist.com
November 16, 2025 at 9:47 AM
‘We said we wouldn‘t be involved [in a documentary about sequencing Hitler’s DNA] if it was going to be sensationalist’
sister 𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚
www.newscientist.com/podcasts/why...
sister 𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚
www.newscientist.com/podcasts/why...
If you saw the Channel 4 Hitler documentary, here’s some criticism of it
I interviewed geneticist Turi King and historian of Nazi Germany Alex Kay about the documentary, "Hitler's DNA: Blueprint of a Dictator" and I started by saying we don't call DNA a blueprint...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XXB...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XXB...
What Science REALLY Says About Hitler’s Genome
YouTube video by New Scientist
www.youtube.com
November 16, 2025 at 9:05 AM
If you saw the Channel 4 Hitler documentary, here’s some criticism of it
“the findings could explain the fondness for moist, loamy soils Hitler described in his autobiography Mein Kampf” 👏👏
DNA Sequencing Reveals Hitler Was Type Of Fern
DNA Sequencing Reveals Hitler Was Type Of Fern
BATH, ENGLAND—Saying the discovery shed new light on the infamous German dictator’s life, University of Bath researchers revealed DNA sequencing Friday showing that Adolf Hitler was a type of fern. “A...
theonion.com
November 16, 2025 at 8:59 AM
“the findings could explain the fondness for moist, loamy soils Hitler described in his autobiography Mein Kampf” 👏👏
Reposted by Rowan Hooper
On the podcast this week we welcome Father Christm- science writer legend BILL BRYSON!
November 14, 2025 at 5:41 PM
On the podcast this week we welcome Father Christm- science writer legend BILL BRYSON!
Some things in the anslopocene are as bad as those in the anthropocene
November 15, 2025 at 8:18 AM
Some things in the anslopocene are as bad as those in the anthropocene
On the podcast this week we welcome Father Christm- science writer legend BILL BRYSON!
November 14, 2025 at 5:41 PM
On the podcast this week we welcome Father Christm- science writer legend BILL BRYSON!
We should use technological incarceration instead of prisons www.newscientist.com/article/mg26...
November 14, 2025 at 3:33 PM
We should use technological incarceration instead of prisons www.newscientist.com/article/mg26...
200,000-year-old molar from a Denisovan. There’s a bloke in the pub with worse teeth than this!
November 14, 2025 at 2:46 PM
200,000-year-old molar from a Denisovan. There’s a bloke in the pub with worse teeth than this!
Reposted by Rowan Hooper
I missed the part about this being retroactive. My lord this is bananas.
“The prohibited activities would include joint research, co-authorship on papers, and advising a foreign graduate student or postdoctoral fellow. The language is retroactive, meaning any interactions during the previous 5 years could make a scientist ineligible for future federal funding.”
U.S. Congress considers sweeping ban on Chinese collaborations
Researchers speak out against proposal that would bar funding for U.S. scientists working with Chinese partners or training Chinese students
www.science.org
November 14, 2025 at 1:33 PM
I missed the part about this being retroactive. My lord this is bananas.
How to RAISE a trillion dollars
NEW: The first two years of Massachusetts' millionaire tax has raised $3 billion more than expected.
And rather than driving the rich away, IPS researchers found that the number of millionaires has *increased.*
Tax the rich. Greg Ryan in @bloomberg.com:
And rather than driving the rich away, IPS researchers found that the number of millionaires has *increased.*
Tax the rich. Greg Ryan in @bloomberg.com:
Millionaire Tax That Inspired Mamdani Fuels $5.7 Billion Haul in Massachusetts
A millionaire levy in Massachusetts that New York City mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani holds up as a model for taxing the rich has generated $3 billion more in revenue than expected without forcing...
www.bloomberg.com
November 14, 2025 at 8:03 AM
How to RAISE a trillion dollars
Reposted by Rowan Hooper
The world, the universe and us is LIVE 🚨
Hitler’s genome has been sequenced - but what does the science really say?
In a special episode, @rowhoop.bsky.social speaks to Turi King and Alex Kay about the new documentary, Hitler's DNA: Blueprint of a Dictator
podfollow.com/the-world-th...
Hitler’s genome has been sequenced - but what does the science really say?
In a special episode, @rowhoop.bsky.social speaks to Turi King and Alex Kay about the new documentary, Hitler's DNA: Blueprint of a Dictator
podfollow.com/the-world-th...
The world, the universe and us
From the evolution of intelligent life, to the mysteries of consciousness; from the threat of the climate crisis to the search for dark matter, The world, the universe and us is your essential weekly ...
podfollow.com
November 13, 2025 at 5:12 PM
The world, the universe and us is LIVE 🚨
Hitler’s genome has been sequenced - but what does the science really say?
In a special episode, @rowhoop.bsky.social speaks to Turi King and Alex Kay about the new documentary, Hitler's DNA: Blueprint of a Dictator
podfollow.com/the-world-th...
Hitler’s genome has been sequenced - but what does the science really say?
In a special episode, @rowhoop.bsky.social speaks to Turi King and Alex Kay about the new documentary, Hitler's DNA: Blueprint of a Dictator
podfollow.com/the-world-th...
I interviewed geneticist Turi King and historian of Nazi Germany Alex Kay about the documentary, "Hitler's DNA: Blueprint of a Dictator" and I started by saying we don't call DNA a blueprint...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XXB...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XXB...
What Science REALLY Says About Hitler’s Genome
YouTube video by New Scientist
www.youtube.com
November 13, 2025 at 4:58 PM
I interviewed geneticist Turi King and historian of Nazi Germany Alex Kay about the documentary, "Hitler's DNA: Blueprint of a Dictator" and I started by saying we don't call DNA a blueprint...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XXB...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XXB...
"Roman traffic report: heavy buildup on the M4 between Londinium and Calleva"
November 13, 2025 at 3:57 PM
"Roman traffic report: heavy buildup on the M4 between Londinium and Calleva"
Impressive images here. Advances in palaeomicroscopy mean we can see the plant-fungal symbiosis in a 407-million-year-old fossil!
November 13, 2025 at 12:13 PM
Impressive images here. Advances in palaeomicroscopy mean we can see the plant-fungal symbiosis in a 407-million-year-old fossil!
Instead of watching the documentary, read this by @mjflepage.bsky.social on Hitler's DNA
www.newscientist.com/article/2504...
www.newscientist.com/article/2504...
Sequencing Hitler's genome teaches us nothing useful about his crimes
To understand Adolf Hitler, we need to look at his personal life and the wider societal and historical context - analysing his DNA for a TV gimmick tells us nothing, says Michael Le Page
www.newscientist.com
November 13, 2025 at 11:33 AM
Instead of watching the documentary, read this by @mjflepage.bsky.social on Hitler's DNA
www.newscientist.com/article/2504...
www.newscientist.com/article/2504...
Aurora incoming!
We have upgraded our geomagnetic forecast today (12 November 2025) to the highest intensity level amid an ongoing solar storm.
Current predictions suggest that the activity will result in potentially the largest solar storm to hit our planet in over two decades.
Current predictions suggest that the activity will result in potentially the largest solar storm to hit our planet in over two decades.
November 12, 2025 at 8:33 PM
Aurora incoming!
Noticed aphids swarming and saw they are all plugged into the phloem, quivering in ecstacy
November 12, 2025 at 9:53 AM
Noticed aphids swarming and saw they are all plugged into the phloem, quivering in ecstacy
Another reason to hate the anslopocene
"In an internal memo from September, CEO Sam Altman said that OpenAI’s “audacious long-term goal is to build 250 gigawatts of capacity by 2033.” If Altman achieves this goal, OpenAI will need almost exactly as much electricity as India’s 1.5 billion people"
Great @truthdig.com piece on chips ->
Great @truthdig.com piece on chips ->
The Ecological Cost of AI Is Much Higher Than You Think - Truthdig
As the demands of AI grow, each generation of microchips requires more energy, minerals and water to produce, driving a ruinous cycle.
www.truthdig.com
November 11, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Another reason to hate the anslopocene
Just had my flu vaccination. Egg-free vaccine - vegan jab!
November 11, 2025 at 12:35 PM
Just had my flu vaccination. Egg-free vaccine - vegan jab!