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Andy Extance

@andyextance.bsky.social
380 followers 293 following 188 posts

Bag of chemicals posing as a science journalist; member of the board of the Association of British Science Writers; on the organising committee of the World Conference of Science Journalists 2027 in London, activist, widower.

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Andy Extance @andyextance.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Environmentalists' positions on removing carbon dioxide from air are increasingly split: the US National Resources Defense Council says "There is no longer a plausible route to climate stability without carbon dioxide removal", while many argue against carbon capture. www.nrdc.org/resources/en... 🧪
nrdc.org
Environmental Leadership Can Shape the Future of Carbon Removal
There is no longer a plausible route to climate stability without carbon dioxide removal; environmentalists must advocate for environmentally and socially responsible CDR growth.
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Andy Extance @andyextance.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Last year the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) evaluated that there's sufficient evidence to assign perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) as being carcinogenic to humans. www.iarc.who.int/news-events/... Thornton-Cleveley residents will be a bellwether for how PFAS affects us all. 🧪
iarc.who.int
<em>IARC Monographs</em> Volume 135: Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS)
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Andy Extance @andyextance.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
For the sake of impartiality, those reporting on the Jim Ratcliffe/Ineos decision to close UK chemical plants, please also mention that they decided to close the Grangemouth refinery just as refining profit margins went through the roof
Headline saying "Refining margins soar while Europe’s fuel capacity shrinks"Headline saying "Sir Jim Ratcliffe suspends production at key UK plants blaming high gas prices"
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Andy Extance @andyextance.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Astronomers describe the weather on the brown dwarf SIMP 0136, which is 20 light years from Earth: Scalding hot, with a patchwork of hotter, thinner-cloud regions, alongside cooler areas with thicker, vertically extended clouds www.eurekalert.org/news-release... 🧪🤯🪐 Loving the exoplanet weather!
eurekalert.org
Scientists discover how to decode weather on faraway, deep-space worlds
Scientists from Trinity College Dublin have developed a powerful way to unravel the changing weather patterns on distant worlds. Using this approach, they discovered that the weather on a well-studied...
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Andy Extance @andyextance.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
I'm referring to the @reutersinstitute.bsky.social digital news report for my "Trust, Truth and Tiktok" session at the British Science Festival tomorrow. In doing so I've noticed something weird: the BBC is more highly trusted in Ireland and Australia than it is in the UK! Why could that be? 🤔
59% of people trust the BBC in the UK, compared to 67% in Ireland and 64% in Australia.
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Leana Hosea @leanahosea.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Lancashire: mercury-contaminated sludge left by a chemical firm. Documents suggest leaking between underground storage chambers. Subsidence in the area has led to yawning craters in the ground. Could groundwater be at risk from cavern 107? www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/2654827...
lancashiretelegraph.co.uk
How 47,000 tonnes of mercury-contaminated waste were buried beneath rural Lancashire
Beneath rural Lancashire lies 47,000 tonnes of mercury-contaminated waste, raising questions over its long-term safety and what happens if it…
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Jack Stilgoe @jackstilgoe.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
For AI governance, 'pacing', 'pausing' and 'slowing down' are the wrong metaphors. Only used by people who want this to be seen as a race. This is about steering, not braking. But...
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Andy Extance @andyextance.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
It will be great to speak about trust and science journalism at the University of Southampton, where I did my chemistry degree, next Thursday at 7pm, with Deborah Cohen. Come and watch! Book seats at: britishscienceassociation-tickets.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/... 🧪 FYI @absw.bsky.social
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Jenny Chase @solarchase.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
The global power fleet (excluding hydro) withdrew 29.8 billion cubic meters of freshwater worldwide in 2025, BloombergNEF research finds, and a more-rapid energy transition would significantly reduce this at least from existing power assets by 2050.
A screenshot of two BloombergNEF charts of freshwater withdrawal for non-hydro power plants in two BloombergNEF power system scenarios to 2050, Economic Transition and Net Zero. In both scenarios the power withdrawal drops, more rapidly in Net Zero. In 2050, the Economic Transition figure is down to just under 20 billion cubic meters, while for Net Zero is is still about 12 billion. The full research note published in September 2026 is under the paywall here: https://www.bnef.com/insights/40317/
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Nessa Carson @supersciencegrl.co.uk · 11/09/2026
Sideshow Bob ahead of us there on the motorway 😂 #TheBartThe
A British motorway as seen from a car. An Eddie Stobart haulage lorry is seen ahead, but one of the back loading doors has been replaced leaving only the words "die Bart"
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Andy Extance @andyextance.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Discovering the recipe for a positive future for humanity is a tricky proposition, but I'd like to propose (almost completely) recyclable/reusable wind turbines within a circular economy as one ingredient ❤️ www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/uk-fi...
newcivilengineer.com
‘UK first’ sees decommissioning of ScottishPower wind farm demonstrate turbine circularity | New Civil Engineer
Hagshaw Hill Wind Farm in South Lanarkshire opened in the mid-‘90s and was decommissioned in 2023 before being repowered and brought back onstream in late
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Andy Extance @andyextance.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
In the interest of promoting trusted sources of science news, I've put together a starter pack of Association of British Science Writers members on Bluesky, which you can access here: go.bsky.app/F6bdkUY 🧪 Hope you find it useful!
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Andy Extance @andyextance.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
More good news for this drug, approved in prostate cancer last month, and which earned a standing ovation at the ASCO Meeting in June. It inhibits the RAS kinase enzyme, considered 'undruggable' despite being the most commonly mutated oncogene in human cancers. 🧪 www.eurekalert.org/news-release...
eurekalert.org
Daraxonrasib demonstrates initial antitumor activity in RAS-mutant lung cancer
Daraxonrasib, an oral RAS inhibitor therapy, achieved durable responses in pretreated patients with RAS-mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in a Phase 1/2 trial led by The University of Texas MD...
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Andy Extance @andyextance.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Great day running Friday's @absw.bsky.social student event on interviewing scientists, with @stellarplanet.bsky.social among the amazing interviewees. Top advice from the @physicsworld.bsky.social team and super-smart attendees. Plus my head hurt from smiling at the fun and games after!
ABSW student member Ushika Kidd prepares interview questions, sat on the floor with her notebook and computerABSW board member Andy Extance and interviewee Ion Wood-Thanan standing in front of the ABSW logoThe Physics World team with the students from the training event and ABSW board member Andy Extance, stood in front of the IOP Publishing logo.
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Hannah Wakeford @stellarplanet.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Excited to be at the @ioppublishing.bsky.social house in Bristol for a science writing workshop led by @andyextance.bsky.social for the Association of British Science Writers student group. #SciComm
Screen in an open plan room with the title. Science writing and interviews.
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Sarah Finch @sarahfinch.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
How many wake-up calls do we need? Strong words from Palau president: “We are not asking for your goodwill... We are telling you what international law requires... End fossil fuel expansion. Your corporate profits cannot be allowed to extinguish our future.” www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Global heating will hit at least 1.8C, UN warns, and there are ‘no good outcomes’
But scientists say the world could get back to 1.5C through deep, rapid emissions cuts and removing carbon from the atmosphere
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The Media Sovereignty Act Campaign @mediafreedomact.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
The billionaire media campaigns tirelessly against taxing the the rich and making polluters pay. It's high time we ended this blight on our democracy. The Media Sovereignty Act brings news into UK ownership and diversifies control over the media. Sign the petition: mediasovereignty.org/petition/
Sunday Telegraph today campaigning against a wealth tax.Sunday Telegraph today campaigning against windfall taxes.Sunday Times today campaigning against green taxes.
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Dr. Wendy Bohon @drwendyrocks.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
It was lovely to work on this article with @meghansmiller.bsky.social and @ahusker.bsky.social. Hopefully it will help answer some of the ongoing questions about the recent destructive earthquakes. theconversation.com/are-earthqua...
theconversation.com
Are earthquakes becoming more common? Here’s what the numbers say
Scientists have been able to catalogue the largest earthquakes for a very long time.
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Andy Extance @andyextance.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
A useful critical take on the additional benefits of the Shingrix vaccine. I wouldn't exactly call it a killer blow, but there is a concern that GSK is pursuing "Science for Profit", where it manipulates results for its own benefit, as described in this paper journals.plos.org/plosone/arti... 🧪
journals.plos.org
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Andy Extance @andyextance.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Fascinating finding and I love the idea that getting vaccinated could do away with the need for blood pressure meds. But what I love even more is that this replicates and confirms a previous finding. Unusual that confirmatory studies get so much attention! 🧪 www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
theguardian.com
Shingles vaccine linked to lower risk of heart attack and stroke, study finds
Researchers say benefits of two-dose Shingrix vaccine could be comparable to taking daily blood pressure medication
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Andy Extance @andyextance.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Beyond the huge settlement, I hope that the changes are effective: www.theguardian.com/technology/2... It's notable that throughout this year's World Happiness Report there is a consistent theme about the proven negative impact of social media on young people: www.worldhappiness.report
theguardian.com
Meta agrees to major changes to Facebook and Instagram as it settles US trial over teen addiction for up to $17bn
US tech giant agrees to establish further protections for teens such as daily usage limits and blocks on nighttime use
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ABSW @absw.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Student science writers: build your byline in Bristol! 🔬 Interview researchers, write an article for the ABSW website with guidance from Physics World and ABSW, then enjoy networking and Blood on the Clocktower. 📅 4 Sept | 🎟️ £15 members / £40 non-members No experience needed! ✨
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Chemistry World @chemistryworld.com · 25/08/2026
The FDA has approved a new molecular glue protein degrader drug, iberdomide, for patients with multiple myeloma after clinical trials revealed that the oral pill is both safe and effective. Andy Extance reports: @andyextance.bsky.social #ChemSky www.chemistryworld.com/news/protein...
chemistryworld.com
Protein degrader approval offers hope to relapsed multiple myeloma patients
Highly potent molecular glue drug iberdomide doubles the number of patients reaching fewer than one myeloma cell per 100,000 in bone marrow
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Patrick Galey @patrickgaley.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Hello Blue Skiers, I have a request, would be v grateful if you could share: I need to speak with doctors and hospital workers who were impacted by extreme heat conditions this summer in England. Thank you!
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Andy Extance @andyextance.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
Some interesting stats in this: $100/day or $1000/month for an AI powered news site doesn't sound all that cheap to run, especially when it's 'not yet clear' 'there's much audience for these AI-agent-written news sites' - what will come from this 'experimental phase'? www.wired.com/story/ai-new...
wired.com
Oh Lord, AI Reporters Are Actually Breaking Big News
Last week, an AI newsroom beat mainstream journalists—including WIRED—to a story about OpenAI and hacking. It’s just the beginning.
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Eva Amsen @evaamsen.com · 21/08/2026
UK students interested in science writing: this event is for you!
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Sarah Finch @sarahfinch.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
The government must say NO to Rosebank. There is simply no room for any more oil and gas in the remaining 1.5°C carbon budget. And there is more than enough oil and gas in existing and under-construction fields to meet ongoing demand within 1.5°C scenarios. Read our submission here ⬇️
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Andy Extance @andyextance.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Please tag any young people in the comments below who you think would like to learn how to interview scientists and write articles based on the interview. I am looking forward the event - where I will be both helping with the training and being the 'storyteller' for the game in the evening.
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Andy Extance @andyextance.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
This will be the world's largest plant producing hydrogen from water and renewable energy to decarbonise our economy. With many projects being delayed for often dubious reasons, completing it would be a big achievement. However, I don't believe it just yet. renewablesnow.com/news/constru... 🧪
renewablesnow.com
Construction completed at Saudi Arabia's Neom green hydrogen project
Construction of Saudi Arabia's flagship green hydrogen project, Neom, has been completed, while the FEED for the twice-as-large <a href="https://renewablesnow.com/news/topsoe-to-supply-green-ammonia-t...
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Andy Extance @andyextance.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
That politicians in the UK say that net zero is too expensive are obviously missing out the huge benefit floating wind farms like the Celtic Sea projects will bring to former shipbuilding areas, which need the work. Meanwhile, overseas investors cash in. www.business-live.co.uk/enterprise/j...
business-live.co.uk
Japanese firm takes stake in offshore windfarm project in the Celtic Sea
Sumitomo Corporation has acquired a third stake in the Gwynt Glas project
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Sarah Finch @sarahfinch.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
🚨 Nature loss isn't just an environmental crisis: it's a national security issue. On 3 Sept, MPs will debate UK intelligence experts' warning on the threat of ecosystem collapse. Write to your MP and urge them to speak at the debate. @zero-hour.bsky.social www.zerohour.uk/nsa-debate
zerohour.uk
Write to your MP about the National Security Assessment
The Gov's latest national security assessment makes one thing clear: nature is not separate from national security, it underpins it. Act now.
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Andy Extance @andyextance.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
@bot.astronomy.blue signup
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Andy Extance @andyextance.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Loving this footage of previously unknown 'Kelvin-Helmholtz instability' whirlpools on the sun. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xqdq... For more on this, read here: nso.edu/press-releas... 🧪
youtube.com
NSF Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope: Kevlin-Helmholtz on Solar Surface (Full View)
YouTube video by National Solar Observatory
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Andy Extance @andyextance.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
As a society we give financial institutions the right to create wealth by lending money. Now is the time for us all to make our voices heard on whether this is a good use of that right. I really don't like Google risking $200B on Anthropic's future demand, pulling in Morgan Stanley in the process.
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Andy Extance @andyextance.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
This a very weird and worrying network of borrowing and financial finagling involving Crypto companies, Google, Anthropic, banks and investment firms. I'd like governments to rule out bailing them out if it goes wrong. (Paywall, hope you can read on the first click) www.ft.com/content/549f...
ft.com
Inside Google’s $200bn Wall Street finance machine for Anthropic
Private credit, chip leases and data centre guarantees underpin a vast new model for AI spending
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The Open Notebook @theopennotebook.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Conference proposal alert! @wcsj2027.bsky.social, @wfsj25.bsky.social, and @absw.bsky.social are looking for sessions for #WCSJ2027, happening in London from September 6-9, 2027. Submit by November 30!
registration.wcsj2027.org
WCSJ 2027: Strengthening science journalism through global networks
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Andy Extance @andyextance.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Been looking over some old stories and magazines, and reminded that a decade ago it looked like there was some constructive progress being made on Iran, until Trump went and abolished the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action... www.chemistryworld.com/news/sanctio...
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Andy Extance @andyextance.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Come learn how to interview scientists and then play Blood on the Clocktower with me!
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Andy Extance @andyextance.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Not that you'd know it from the headline, but this is in fact a good news story as a new approach called BOADICEA could identify up to eight times as many cases - specifically in people under 50, like my late partner was when she was diagnosed. www.theguardian.com/society/2026... #cancer #cansky 🧪
theguardian.com
GPs’ breast cancer guidelines ‘miss’ 95% of young women who will develop disease
Findings prompt calls for review of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence criteria in women under 50
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Andy Extance @andyextance.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
BP www.upstreamonline.com/energy-trans... and Shell uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/shell-s... are both offloading their solar businesses. The UK giants are apparently uninterested in having a business that can function in a world that's taking serious action on climate change.
upstreamonline.com
BP 'finds buyer' for its last renewable power business
Supermajor lining up sale of Lightsource BP solar operation to Kuwaiti-backed consortium, it is reported
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Simon Evans @drsimevans.carbonbrief.org · 03/08/2026
Q&A: Does the world need 'carbon-capture and storage' to reach net-zero? Described by IPCC as "critical", it has repeatedly fallen short Today, it captures just 0.2% of global CO2 from fossil fuels Great piece by my @carbonbrief.org colleague @joshgabbatiss.bsky.social www.carbonbrief.org/...
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Andy Extance @andyextance.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
Following the bad news about influential UK science policy outlet Research Professional closing down, it's great news that its founder William Cullerne Bown is starting a new publication apparently to replace it: william.cullernebown.uk/a-new-beginn... 🧪
william.cullernebown.uk
A new beginning
Research Professional News is to close on 31 December. This is the announcement of a new, independent publication coming on 1 January
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Andy Extance @andyextance.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
It was encouraging to drum in the counterprotest to the far right march in #Taunton today. It was clear that many of the other protesters knew the kind of people marching from daily life, neighbours and workmates. They obviously wanted better. Good to see Gideon Amos, the local MP, there too.
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Andy Extance @andyextance.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
BP's last pretence of being at all interested in a clean future Why is a Kuwaiti company buying a mainly UK business though? There are plenty of examples of local communities buying solar farms - I'd like the Government to step in and give us that chance. www.upstreamonline.com/energy-trans...
upstreamonline.com
BP 'finds buyer' for its last renewable power business
Oil supermajor lining up sale of Lightsource BP solar operation to Kuwaiti-backed consortium, it is reported
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Dr. Aaron Thierry @thierryaaron.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
Four things you can do to tackle the #ClimateCrisis. 1. Treat your child's asthma 🫁 2. Halve your motoring costs 💷 3. Swap your boiler for something that also does air-con ❄️ 4. Turn your home into a power station ⚡ #ElectrifyEverything
Replacing gas stoves with electric stoves greatly reduces asthma symptoms

https://theconversation.com/replacing-gas-stoves-with-electric-stoves-greatly-reduces-asthma-symptoms-287753Running a petrol car will cost twice as much as electric this year

https://www.thetimes.com/money/family-finances/article/running-a-petrol-car-will-cost-twice-as-much-as-electric-this-year-286cpvzwhHeat pumps can also cool your home – here’s what to know during the UK heatwave

https://www.independent.co.uk/home-improvement/heat-pump-for-cooling-your-home-b2997635.html
My solar panels already saved me £7,500 – Lidl’s cheap ones will be a gamechanger

https://inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyle/solar-panels-saved-7500-cheap-lidl-gamechanger-4314276
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Matthew Warren @mattbwarren.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
A heartbreaking, important story: www.science.org/content/arti...
science.org
Exclusive: Death of girl in Chinese gene-editing trial was never made public
Parents want accountability after study went disastrously wrong, Science and Retraction Watch investigation reveals
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Legal C @legalclaret.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
This disingenuous commentary doesn’t help anyone. Frauds start unravelling pretty quickly. That you apparently cannot afford to put your oven or treat yourself is quickly undermined by the question “so why are you spending £50 per week on petrol?” Then, it turns out, she has an agent and /1
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Andy Extance @andyextance.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Interesting use case for laser weapons - at borders shooting down (presumably slow-moving) smuggling drones - and sometimes also accidentally customs drones and shutting down airports www.twz.com/news-feature... Will we also see them in use around prisons, given all the drone smuggling there?
twz.com
This Is The LOCUST Laser That Reportedly Prompted Closing El Paso's Airspace
The U.S. Army has been acquiring multiple versions of the LOCUST laser weapon system to bolster its ability to shoot down hostile drones.
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Prof Ian Hall @ianhall.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
The future of climate change keeps moving into the present. The future of climate action… somehow stays in the distant future. A fascinating new study analysing 240,000+ US news stories reveals how news coverage may be normalising delay. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Temporal horizons in US climate change news - Nature Climate Change
Whether news presents climate change as something happening now or in the future impacts public risk perceptions and climate action. A recent study shows that, in US news, the timing of anticipated cl...
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Andy Extance @andyextance.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Important petition to sign if you are a journalist or any other kind of creator whose work might be used to train AI: petition.parliament.uk/petitions/76...
petition.parliament.uk
Petition: Protect creators' rights: require AI firms to disclose training data
We ask the Government to introduce a statutory duty requiring AI developers to disclose the copyrighted works used to train generative AI in enough detail for creators to identify use of their work, e...
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