Laura Helmuth

Editor in Chief of Scientific American. Birder. Previously at Washington Post, National Geographic, Slate, Smithsonian & Science.

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Last Notes

2024-06-26 01:21:41

There are a LOT of problems with what meatfluencers are selling, but a big one is the very idea that if our ancestors did it, we should do it. (They didn't eat only meat, but that's a different problem.) What are your favorite examples of ancestral experiences we're better off without? https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/to-follow-the-real-early-human-diet-eat-everything/

2024-05-09 01:35:48

Does anybody have a good term to describe people you used to respect who turned out to be horrible? Like Steven Pinker, J.K. Rowling, Richard Dawkins. It's like a milkshake duck but more consequential and even more disappointing

2024-04-17 12:56:00

This one goes out to anybody who has ever picked up a feather and wondered how they work (short answer: they're amazing) https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-feathers-are-one-of-evolutions-cleverest-inventions/

2024-04-09 17:02:41

- reply

@npub1uw8…88kr ugh thank you -- typo!

2024-04-09 17:00:26

Just FYI while we're still talking about the sun: a solar geomagnetic storm like the 1959 Carrington Event superflare would devastate satellites and power grids and cause an internet apocalypse https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/solar-superflares-rocked-earth-less-than-10-000-years-ago-and-could-strike-again/

2024-04-05 23:18:37

For anybody who was wondering: "People have also long studied any potential links between solar eclipses and earthquakes, but 'as far as I know, there’s no correlation there'” Here's what we DO know about the 4.8 earthquake in New Jersey this morning https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/earthquake-shakes-new-jersey-new-york-state-pennsylvania-and-more/

2024-04-04 14:49:37

Fascinating! Does anybody else have ticker-tape synesthesia? Some people see spoken words converted into text in their heads. This is a great description of the research & experience, which is like a mental closed captioning https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/my-synesthesia-transforms-speech-into-text-i-see-in-my-head/

2024-03-28 13:03:58

I am looking forward to the podcast Uncertain by @cragcrest.bsky.social, a five-part series from Scientific American that "explores the surprisingly thrilling and deep ways that uncertainty shapes science." https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/uncertain-a-new-podcast-series-on-the-joys-of-not-knowing/

2024-03-27 14:35:21

A new genetic analysis of orcas in the Pacific Northwest shows there are two distinct species of killer whales — one relative docile and the other true, aggressive killers https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/orca-groups-with-radically-different-cultures-are-actually-separate-species/

2024-03-19 21:41:37

Snakes grow quickly, can fast for months without losing much muscle, and as ectotherms don't need to use energy to stay warm. They could be an efficient & climate-friendly source of farmed protein https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/snake-steak-could-be-a-climate-friendly-source-of-protein

2024-03-18 19:58:36

Remember the panic about "Havana Syndrome"? Diplomats and "diplomats" (spies) in Cuba developed dizziness, headaches, fatigue, etc. and the Trump State Department blamed supersecret sonic weapons. The latest & largest study shows it likely wasn't any kind of attack https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/people-with-havana-syndrome-show-no-brain-damage-or-medical-illness/

2024-02-22 16:47:13

Do you know about parthenogenesis? If not, you're in for a treat. (Even if you do, this is a fun explanation & new case of it in an aquarium stingray) https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-did-an-aquarium-stingray-get-pregnant-without-a-mate/

2024-02-02 23:04:33

“It is not rapid-onset gender dysphoria, it’s rapid-onset parental discovery.” The panic about social contagion is dangerous and misinformed and puts transgender people at risk https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/evidence-undermines-rapid-onset-gender-dysphoria-claims/

2024-02-01 14:38:13

People have wondered forever: why do moths and other insects fly to lights at night? It looks like we finally know: light scrambles their ability to orient to the horizon. Read all about how it works & the clever research here: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-insects-are-attracted-to-light-at-night/

2024-01-22 15:47:02

Detox ads claim you need cleanses, juicing, expensive pills, branded oils, footbaths, etc. to expel toxins. "This is utter nonsense—our liver, kidneys and lungs filter actual toxins constantly and admirably." https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-new-year-resolution-we-need-is-to-avoid-miracle-cures/

2024-01-11 23:09:33

is anybody else disturbed by this sign
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/111/739/593/497/055/484/original/c142055c61179c88.jpg

2023-12-24 14:47:34

Silicon Valley billionaires are creating a future we were all warned about by dystopian novels that they mistake for instruction manuals. Lots of painful & funny insights here from science fiction author @npub1psd…9sr7 https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/tech-billionaires-need-to-stop-trying-to-make-the-science-fiction-they-grew-up-on-real/

2023-12-19 22:24:59

"NSF has stringent protocols to keep personnel safe from risks like frostbite or wandering off in a blizzard. But it’s only recently that the agency has started to tackle sexual harassment and assault within its Antarctic workforce." https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/i-worked-in-antarctica-for-three-years-my-sexual-harasser-was-never-caught/

2023-10-26 15:01:03

"Long ago, around an otherwise unremarkable faraway star, two infant planets had an extraordinarily bad day...." This is a delightful story about a planet-vaporizing impact https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/astronomers-may-have-witnessed-worlds-in-collision/

2023-10-05 01:13:09

September wasn't just hot — it was the most anomalously hot month ever https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/september-was-the-most-anomalously-hot-month-ever/

2023-09-14 14:15:47

Humans have crossed 6 of 9 "planetary boundaries" (and that's a bad thing, not a good thing) https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/humans-have-crossed-6-of-9-planetary-boundaries/

2023-08-06 14:55:16

This is an important story on the Hiroshima atomic bomb anniversary: Survivors were studied for years without consent and against their wishes, to support US preparations for a nuclear war against the USSR https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/hiroshimas-anniversary-marks-an-injustice-done-to-blast-survivors/

2023-08-05 21:59:34

FYI a newly detected background "hum" pervades the universe & studying it could lead to new branches of physics https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-background-hum-pervades-the-universe-scientists-are-racing-to-find-its-source/