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Bec Roldan

@becroldan.bsky.social
520 followers 404 following 18 posts

independent science, & environmental journalist / former chemist words in C&EN, NPR, Science, +more always learning something new www.becroldan.com

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Reposted by Bec Roldan
Scientific American @sciam.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
Global warming surpassed 1.5 degrees Celsius for the past three years, meaning Earth is currently on track to breach the Paris climate agreement by the end of the decade
scientificamerican.com
2025 Wasn’t the Hottest Year on Record. Earth Is Still Barreling to the Climate Brink
Global warming surpassed 1.5 degrees Celsius for the past three years, meaning Earth is currently on track to breach the Paris climate agreement by the end of the decade
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Bec Roldan @becroldan.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
Late post! This was one of my favorite stories I wrote in 2025! For decades, scientists have leveraged mosses to monitor air pollutants like sulfur and trace metals, in a process known as biomonitoring. Now, a new air pollutant is in town: microplastics | for @cenmag.bsky.social
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Reposted by Bec Roldan
The Open Notebook @theopennotebook.bsky.social · 12/09/2025
Welcome to the September 2025 Sharon Dunwoody Science Journalism Mentoring Program cohort at The Open Notebook! www.theopennotebook.com/2025/09/12/w...
theopennotebook.com
Welcome to Our Newest Sharon Dunwoody Science Journalism Mentoring Program Cohort - The Open Notebook
Welcome to the September 2025 Sharon Dunwoody Science Journalism Mentoring Program cohort! This program brings together 16 early-career science journalists for a three-month peer-mentoring experience.
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Reposted by Bec Roldan
Kendall Powell @kendallsciwrite.bsky.social · 07/07/2025
Next in the #Changemaker series @nature.com, chemist @drdaisyrosasv.bsky.social says at a time when US programs are pulling back on #DEI, Latinx researchers need to be even louder about the supports they need to succeed in #STEM. As told to @becroldan.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
I help to build support systems for Latina researchers
After leaving academia, chemist Daisy Rosas Vargas starting leading outreach to encourage Latina people in pursuit of science careers.
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Bec Roldan @becroldan.bsky.social · 02/07/2025
Can life persist even in the most polluted places? The answer is yes. These places are even home to organisms that detoxify contaminants! More on the microbes living in Superfund sites - and what they mean for environmental cleanup - in my latest for @cenmag.bsky.social: cen.acs.org/environment/...
cen.acs.org
Learning from the life living in Superfund sites
Thriving microbe communities living in the most-polluted spots in the US offer insight into how to clean up the mess of pollution
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Reposted by Bec Roldan
Krystal Vasquez @kvasquez.bsky.social · 18/04/2025
“NSF says it’s OK to research technologies to help those with disabilities…But a training program serving only those with a disability would not be acceptable because it would be based on “broadening participation in STEM on the basis of a protected characteristic.””
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Science Magazine @science.org · 18/04/2025
NSF has spent decades—and billions of dollars—trying to attract more women and members of underrepresented groups into STEM. Not anymore. scim.ag/3RUtgZg
scim.ag
NSF starts to kill grants that violate Trump’s war on diversity efforts
Attracting women and minorities into science and studying misinformation are no longer priorities, agency says
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Bec Roldan @becroldan.bsky.social · 18/04/2025
This week, NSF launched a sexual misconduct crisis hotline for researchers, as an expansion of the agency's efforts to address sexual misconduct in the U.S. Antarctic Program. My first news piece for @science.org: www.science.org/content/arti...
science.org
Sexual misconduct helpline offers support for NSF community
The resource is an expansion of the agency’s efforts to address harassment in the U.S. Antarctic Program
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Reposted by Bec Roldan
Lisa Jarvis @lisamjarvis.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
In terminating hundreds of NIH grants, the Trump administration dumped years of investment down the drain. In my latest @opinion.bloomberg.com column, we analyzed the cancelled projects & talked to scientists to understand just how much the public loses out. It's a lot: tinyurl.com/bdey86su
A beeswarm chart of canceled NIH grants showing the years into each project when the funding was pulled. Each dot represents a terminated grant and is colored by the number of publications associated with the project: none, one to four or five or more. The grants are separated into thee rows based on the award type (R01, U01, U54). RO1 research projects had the most terminations, which occurred at all stages of research, from the project onset to 7+ years in. Most grants were canceled short of the 4-5 year lifespan of a typical grant, and 40% of R01s had no publications at the time of termination. Projects that had been active for longer had more publications, suggesting that more findings are disseminated in the later stages of these grants.
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Bec Roldan @becroldan.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
My latest for @cenmag.bsky.social: How Nicole Dickson-Karn, an analytical teaching professor at the Ohio State University, used the East Palestine train derailment disaster to teach her students about the real-world applications of chemistry. cen.acs.org/education/un...
cen.acs.org
How to learn from a disaster
Nicole Dickson-Karn uses the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment to teach her students about the real-world applications of analytical chemistry
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Reposted by Bec Roldan
Andryj Borys @andryjborys.bsky.social · 06/03/2025
Check out this great article from @becroldan.bsky.social! Thanks for including me and the Schlenk Line Survival Guide!
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Bec Roldan @becroldan.bsky.social · 06/03/2025
My first "big" feature is out in C&EN! It highlights how open educational resources are hard to find for advanced chemists, but there *are* chemists who are committed to creating these free resources for others. #ChemSky👇 💡 cen.acs.org/education/gr...
cen.acs.org
Open-access chemistry lags other fields. Here’s how scientists are changing that
For advanced students and researchers, finding technical educational resources can be challenging. These chemists are fixing the problem.
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Katelyn Burns @katelynburns.com · 18/02/2025
It is horrifying watching the government erase a demographic in real time and most people just not really caring.
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Bec Roldan @becroldan.bsky.social · 07/02/2025
Excellent reporting by @hencarnell.bsky.social for @motherjones.com on how trans health care has always been conservative and difficult to access
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Reposted by Bec Roldan
Laura Helmuth @laurahelmuth.bsky.social · 19/12/2024
"Siloing science journalism is dangerous because it leaves the public vulnerable to misinformation. ... It allows powerful actors to manipulate public understanding by filling the void left by a lack of evidence-based reporting." www.niemanlab.org/2024/12/scie... by @siricarpenter.bsky.social
niemanlab.org
Science journalism becomes plain old journalism
"For too long, science journalism has been treated as something distinct, something <em>extra</em> — the domain of specialists writing for audiences who are already deeply interested in and informed a...
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Reposted by Bec Roldan
Nate Cardin (he/him) @naytnaytnayt.bsky.social · 14/12/2024
The ever amazing @becroldan.bsky.social wrote about me for @cenmag.bsky.social! 👨‍🔬
cen.acs.org
Chem teacher creates crosswords to inspire students
This high school chemistry instructor crafts diverse crossword puzzles in between teaching and competing on game shows
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Bec Roldan @becroldan.bsky.social · 14/12/2024
I first met Nate Cardin on this queer podcast I ran in grad school. It was such a joy to profile him for @cenmag.bsky.social about his crosswording and game show adventures. He even created a chem-themed crossword to go along with the piece! Check it out!! #ChemTwitter👇 cen.acs.org/people/profi...
cen.acs.org
Chem teacher creates crosswords to inspire students
This high school chemistry instructor crafts diverse crossword puzzles in between teaching and competing on game shows
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Reposted by Bec Roldan
National Association of Science Writers (NASW) @sciencewriters.org · 11/12/2024
Did you miss our #SciWri24 national meeting this year? Read a recap of the "Tools, Toys, or Trouble: Can A.I. Help Science Communicators?" workshop in Raleigh filed by NASW conference travel fellow Bec Roldan (@becroldan.bsky.social): www.nasw.org/article... 💚🧪📝
nasw.org
ScienceWriters2024 panel interrogates concerns, potential, and shortfalls of generative artificial intelligence in science communication
SciWri24 travel grantee Bec Roldan reports on the “Tools, Toys, or Trouble: Can A.I. Help Science Communicators” NASW workshop session in Raleigh organized by Abigail Eisenstadt and Matt Shipman.
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Bec Roldan @becroldan.bsky.social · 13/12/2024
I had an incredible time attending my first NASW conference hashtag#SciWri24 last month and I want to thank @younglandis.bsky.social and the folks at @sciencewriters.org for sponsoring me as a travel fellow. Check out my coverage of a conference session below 👇 if you weren't able to attend!
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Bec Roldan @becroldan.bsky.social · 21/11/2024
Hi #Chemsky! I'm looking for sources for a story I'm working on about technical and research-relevant open source educational resources. 👇More below
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Bec Roldan @becroldan.bsky.social · 20/11/2024
".. some science is polarizing. But that does not make it not science." 💯 great piece from @sabs.bsky.social
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Reposted by Bec Roldan
Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 20/11/2024
It's trans day of remembrance where we remember all of our siblings we've lost this year to violence and hate. We know we've lost at least 350 trans and nonbinary people have been murdered in the last year. We honor the dead and fight like hell for the living.
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Bec Roldan @becroldan.bsky.social · 16/11/2024
I can’t say enough good things about this fellowship! Apply! Seriously do it. And any queer & trans folks out there — DM me and I’ll read over your application! 🦋
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Bec Roldan @becroldan.bsky.social · 23/09/2024
In my latest for @cenmag.bsky.social, I profiled three chemists for C&EN's 2024 Trailblazers Issue highlighting Latinx chemists. All articles are available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.
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