Reposted by Jon GertnerJim Alwine @jimalwine.bsky.social · 03/10/2026I have always liked the word bellwether. It derives from the practice of shepherds hanging a bell around the neck of a wether (a castrated male sheep) to lead and track the flock. The word evolved to be anything that guides or predicts the way forward. When I taught virology, I would 1167
Reposted by Jon GertnerPaul Voosen @voosen.me · 28/09/2026New Horizons is now *three days away* from shutting off its two heliophysics instruments, simply because NASA has not provided the $2M in funding it had promised to the mission last year or this year. There is no science basis for shutting these off. Our earlier coverage:science.orgNASA’s New Horizons mission may shut down two instruments over lack of fundingDecision risks “incalculable loss” of data from the edge of the Sun’s influence, scientists say 17666411
Reposted by Jon GertnerRoger Parloff @rparloff.bsky.social · 26/09/2026When Trump launched “the largest deportation operation in the history of our country” without ICE facilities to accommodate it, inhumane overcrowding was inevitable. Judge Kaplan’s 9/24 ruling shows the results. Diagrams simulating a NYC holding cell in Aug 2025 look like slave ships. 1/5 14471251
Jon Gertner @jongertner.bsky.social · 17/09/2026Rather unsettling and very close -- detected 2 years after the fact; a once-in-every-132-years event . . . . apnews.com/article/moon... spacecraft discovers a huge new crater on the moonapnews.com 000
Reposted by Jon GertnerC&EN (Chemical & Engineering News) @cenmag.bsky.social · 13/09/2026For decades, berkelium has occupied an unusual place in the periodic table. It is one of the rarest elements on Earth, available only in minute quantities, and has few direct commercial applications. #chemsky 🧪cen.acs.orgOpinion: The overlooked actinide that could transform chemical separationsBerkelium’s refusal to behave like other tetravalent actinides may be its greatest separation advantage 1133
Reposted by Jon GertnerBethany Brookshire @beebrookshire.bsky.social · 11/09/2026This was SO much fun. I got to talk to art historians and scientists about science in art! Artists are keen observers of the world, and they may see things others miss. And it was a fab opportunity to dive into beautiful art. www.sciencenews.org/article/hist...sciencenews.orgHistorical art can hide scientific secretsScientists are working closely with art historians to uncover scientific documentation in historic paintings. 03110
Reposted by Jon GertnerJesse Felder @jessefelder.com · 04/09/2026‘This company simply cannot be trusted. Their software is becoming ever more dangerous; their internal security practices leave a lot to be desired; they aren’t being straight with the public; and their proxies are preparing us to swallow the damage...’ garymarcus.substack.com/p/pause-open... 421589
Reposted by Jon GertnerGlen Peters @glenpeters.bsky.social · 02/09/2026If you want 1.5C, 1.8C, 2C, overshoot, no-overshoot, etc, then they all require the same thing: rapid short-term emission reductions reaching net zero CO2 emissions as soon as possible. This has been clear from the IPCC Special Report on 1.5C, which depicts "overshoot" on its cover! 1/ 11544235
Reposted by Jon GertnerThe Phantom Tollbooth Quotes @phantomtollbot.bsky.social · 29/08/2026“Perhaps you might allow Rhyme and Reason to return,” said Milo softly. “How nice that would be,” said Azaz, straightening up and adjusting his crown. “Even if they were a bother at times, things always went so well when they were here.” 13414
Reposted by Jon GertnerSpace Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · 28/08/2026#NASARoman is scheduled to launch from from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 7:26 a.m. ET on Sunday, August 30. Follow along with the launch broadcast and deployment, starting an hour before targeted launch: www.spacex.com/launches/roman 🔭 🧪 05017
Reposted by Jon GertnerKai Kupferschmidt @kakape.bsky.social · 22/08/2026Hackenburg’s paper is the latest in a string of studies showing the power of AI to sway people. “It’s a whole new field that is emerging,” says @profsanderlinden.bsky.social. “People are very interested in the persuasive powers of AI, I think, both for ethical and unethical reasons”🧪 In @science.orgscience.orgAI chatbots are becoming experts at changing people's minds. What's their secret?ChatGPT and other AIs use a flood of facts, and the occasional lie, to persuade humans 611076
Reposted by Jon GertnerRebecca Solnit @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social · 20/08/2026A book festival featuring a singer, a director, and an astronaut? Some years ago my editor at Viking said to me mournfully, "I like books by...writers." 820614
Jon Gertner @jongertner.bsky.social · 17/08/2026Reminds me of reporting on this 20 years ago, looking into a hazy and worrisome future. 1/2 www.nytimes.com/2026/08/17/c...nytimes.comLake Powell Hits Lowest Level On Record As Water Crisis ContinuesLevels in Lakes Mead and Powell have not been so low since 1957, underscoring a water crisis that plagues seven states that rely on the Colorado River. 110
Jon Gertner @jongertner.bsky.social · 11/08/2026Years from now, we will look back and say: Why didn't we stop that before things got completely out of hand? www.space.com/space-explor...space.comSpaceX wants to put 1 million AI satellites in orbit. What would that do to Earth's climate?"There seems, in my opinion, to be very little consideration for the environment." 021
Reposted by Jon GertnerThe New York Times @nytimes.com · 11/08/2026The Trump administration has pulled federal funding for the Arctic Report Card. Every year for the past two decades, the report has provided a checkup on the health of the region, which is heating up at several times the pace of the rest of the globe.nyti.msTrump Administration Kills Annual Arctic Report CardThe top of the world is warming faster than any other region. For 20 years, the Arctic Report Card chronicled the extraordinary transformation. 208254
Reposted by Jon GertnerRoger Parloff @rparloff.bsky.social · 07/08/2026"We are aware of no instance in American history in which a President unilaterally and using privately collected funds demolished substantial portions of the White House that Congress authorized to be built and American taxpayers paid for. Until now." www.documentcloud.org/documents/28...documentcloud.orgOPINIONS 26-5123-2187096 17329120
Reposted by Jon GertnerOliver Morton, Eater of Sun @eaterofsun.bsky.social · 03/08/2026File under "Still don't like the look of this" (Posted one week on) climatereanalyzer.org/clim/sst_dai... 21811
Reposted by Jon GertnerAndy Scollick @andyscollick.bsky.social · 24/07/2026The Madrid Deep Space Communication Complex at Robledo de Chavela municipality in the Community of Madrid, Spain on fire. Burgohondo wildfire. 📷 via Infues Avila 30785427
Reposted by Jon GertnerCarbon Brief @carbonbrief.org · 24/07/2026State of the climate: Rapidly developing El Niño raises chance of record-warm 2026 | @zekehausfather.com Read here ➡️ buff.ly/NDJddQS 18841
Jon Gertner @jongertner.bsky.social · 24/07/2026Guy does not know anything about growing tomatoes, obviously. 000
Reposted by Jon GertnerProf. Stefan Rahmstorf @rahmstorf.bsky.social · 17/07/2026Excellent BBC article on the risk of a catastrophic ocean circulation change in the Atlantic. Time to act before it’s too late. #AMOC www.bbc.com/news/article...bbc.comAfter record heat, could the Atlantic make Britain's weather even more extreme?As temperatures rise, scientists are investigating whether a changing Atlantic could bring more volatile weather to the UK 6178100
Jon Gertner @jongertner.bsky.social · 14/07/2026This actually rattled me -- most likely a devastating year ahead. 010
Reposted by Jon GertnerThe New Yorker @newyorker.com · 12/07/2026Elon Musk’s cuts to U.S.A.I.D. led to some 700,000 deaths, Atul Gawande says. www.newyorker.com/news/the-new...newyorker.comThe Human Cost of DOGE’s War on U.S.A.I.D.Elon Musk, Donald Trump, and the “public man-made death” that they’ve caused. 621526899
Jon Gertner @jongertner.bsky.social · 12/07/2026“Thwaites is really the biggest player, the biggest wild card in sea level rise in the future. Greenland melting, especially surface melting water running off at the top of the ice sheet into the ocean—another big player.” insideclimatenews.org/news/1107202...insideclimatenews.orgThe Case of the (France-Sized) Missing Antarctic Ice - Inside Climate News“It's just a question of whether we're fast enough to stretch out that loss to several thousand years versus dumb enough to keep warming the planet and seeing it collapse very quickly in a century or ... 100
Jon Gertner @jongertner.bsky.social · 03/07/2026We Didn’t Build the Atomic Bomb This Way www.nytimes.com/2026/07/03/o...nytimes.comOpinion | We Didn’t Build the Atomic Bomb This Way 000
Reposted by Jon GertnerWil Eelsing @wileelsing.bsky.social · 01/07/2026Bethan's Rock is a small grey stone on display at Poole Museum in Poole, England. It was donated to the museum in 2019 by a five-year-old girl named Bethan, and it has since attracted significant attention on social media and become the museum's most famous object. - Wikipedia 20872001139
Reposted by Jon GertnerGernot Wagner @gwagner.com · 25/06/2026Hard to overstate how dramatic this European heatwave is. And then you zoom into other areas around the globe, and you realize there may, just may be something going on that links all these weather extremes around the world. @climatecentral.org's CSI: csi.climatecentral.org/climate-shif... 820279
Reposted by Jon GertnerMartyn @martynpedler.com · 19/06/2026I have read this piece half a dozen times over the years and if you haven't, you should right now. 36819
Reposted by Jon GertnerCarl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 11/06/2026JFK Terminal 8 last night when Knicks took the lead. (via Renny Gong) #NYC 🏀 1246630903
Reposted by Jon GertnerCarl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 05/06/2026Game 3. (via @espn.com) 180639162
Reposted by Jon GertnerThe Wall Street Journal @wsj.com · 04/06/2026Top AI executives are joining security experts in calling for Congress to protect against biological threats posed by the technology.on.wsj.comExclusive | Top AI CEOs Call for Law Protecting Against Biological WeaponsArtificial intelligence is magnifying concern that criminals could unleash new pathogens. 8219
Reposted by Jon GertnerEric Lipton NYT @ericlipton.nytimes.com · 02/06/2026Super important speech here by NYT Publisher AG Sulzberger. Anyone who cares about the role of journalism in our global society-and democracy in the modern world-should read this/reflect on it. AI giants are in the process of wiping out much of the news industry. www.nytco.com/press/a-i-jo...nytco.comA.I., Journalism and the Uncertain Future of the Public SquareNew York Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger warns A.I. companies are violating settled law and urges news organizations to stand up for their rights to ensure a sustainable future for reporting. 88849
Reposted by Jon GertnerDr Pamela L Gay @starstryder.space · 02/06/2026After seeing the headline "SpaceX IPO: How to Buy and Why You Shouldn't" on @barrons.com, I decided it was time to read the prospectus. I'm only a few pages in and folks... the implications of this document ... Do you want to go on a journey with me? Because I'm about to enter the rabbit hole.static.klipy.comWhite Bunny Mascot Walking in WoodsAlt: White Bunny Mascot or Furry Walking in Woods. It's vaguely ominous in an uncanny valley sort of way. 13438151
Reposted by Jon GertnerLev Akabas @levakabas.bsky.social · 26/05/2026The New York Knicks just played the most dominant 10-game stretch in NBA history, and it's not even remotely close 471029163
Reposted by Jon GertnerAlondra Nelson @alondra.bsky.social · 25/05/2026Thinking about the extraordinary legacy of David Rosner- historian, public health scholar, and one of the most important voices on how corporate power, industrial pollution, and structural inequality shaped American health and lives. 🧵billmoyers.comDavid Rosner | Guests | BillMoyers.comDavid Rosner, a Professor of Sociomedical Sciences at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, studies how structural inequities impact 211641
Reposted by Jon GertnerTrish Greenhalgh @trishgreenhalgh.bsky.social · 23/05/2026Every summer I repost this article on how to spot drowning. Please read it and pass on. In the last few years I’ve had SIX messages from people who saved a kid’s life after clicking on the link from my feed. slate.com/technology/2...slate.comDrowning Doesn’t Look Like DrowningDrowning is not the violent, splashing call for help that most people expect. 253133959735
Reposted by Jon GertnerPhil Plait @philplait.bsky.social · 23/05/2026I'm not saying I like how they do this - the pollution alone should get SpaceX fined out of existence - but this part of the test AFAIK went as planned. 2291
Reposted by Jon GertnerPatrick Chovanec @prchovanec.bsky.social · 22/05/2026Based on the prospectus, it would be helpful if the media could start accurately reporting it as the Grok IPO, rather than the SpaceX IPO. 35311
Jon Gertner @jongertner.bsky.social · 14/05/2026phys.org/news/2026-05... Professor Eloise Marais (UCL Geography) said, "The space industry pollution is like a small-scale, unregulated geoengineering experiment that could have many unintended and serious environmental consequences."phys.orgSatellite launch pollution is rapidly accumulating in the upper atmosphereThe potent pollution from so-called megaconstellation satellite systems launched en masse into space since 2019 will account for nearly half (42%) of the total climate impact of space sector pollution... 100
Reposted by Jon GertnerApoorva Mandavilli @apoorvanyt.bsky.social · 07/05/2026The Trump administration has slashed funding for infectious disease research and has far fewer employees, including disease detectives, to respond to outbreaks. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/07/h...nytimes.comHantavirus Response Shows How Trump Cuts Have Compromised U.S. Preparedness 16406188
Reposted by Jon GertnerJames Davenport @jradavenport.com · 29/04/2026Is Pluto a planet? O, let me count the ways in which I do not care. Will we still be able to discover new planets 5 years from now? Right now the magic 8 ball of funding says: Outlook not so good 0101
Jon Gertner @jongertner.bsky.social · 25/04/2026Love this thread — not too long, and read til you get to Jason’s wisdom at the end. 000
Reposted by Jon GertnerBlake Leyh @earlofedgecombe.bsky.social · 25/04/2026I played my cello this afternoon in a 5,000 year-old druid's burial chamber in West Kennet Long Barrow. 43612
Reposted by Jon GertnerJohn Schwartz @jswatz.bsky.social · 22/04/2026Oh that terrible @nytimes with its wishy-washy headlines and incessant bothsidesing why does anybody read that complicit rag anyway www.nytimes.com/2026/04/21/o...nytimes.comOpinion | ‘Easily the Worst President in U.S. History’ 1134
Reposted by Jon GertnerKatie Mack @astrokatie.com · 22/04/2026Christ this is bleak. NASA already operates on a shoestring and for decades that string has gotten thinner and thinner. There are no more “efficiencies” to be had — take anything more away and things just start breaking. 314613
Reposted by Jon GertnerLuke Russert @lukerussert.bsky.social · 21/04/2026The world’s richest man and a kid named “big balls” brought 6.7% unemployment to DC, put uniformed Fed troops in the streets and per conservative estimates cut programs that’ll result in the deaths of millions of people: www.nytimes.com/2026/04/21/u...nytimes.comA Year After U.S.A.I.D.’s Death, Fired Workers Find Few Jobs and Much Loss 12344160
Reposted by Jon GertnerDr Space Junk (Alice Gorman) @drspacejunk.bsky.social · 20/04/2026Are we meant to forgive SpaceX's destruction of LEO, astronomy, and the night sky for this? 45611
Reposted by Jon GertnerRabih Alameddine @rabihalameddine.bsky.social · 19/04/2026Ma Yuan's studies of the properties of water, southern Song Dynasty China, ca. 1190 - 1225 CE 1 2377111