iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Amanda Heidt @scattercushion.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

🧪Today, the PsychAD Consortium published EIGHT papers across Nature journals detailing their efforts to create the largest map of the human prefrontal cortex. It's hard to overstate the amount of work here, nor the absolute treasure trove this team has created for researchers.

nature.com

Landmark map of human brain’s gene activity holds clues to Alzheimer’s disease and more

The atlas of gene expression in the prefrontal cortex was created using samples from almost 1,500 donors of all ages — from infants to centenarians.

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Amanda Heidt @scattercushion.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

After 4 years, I've just finished my last board meeting with @sciencewriters.org. I'm even more gutted b/c I have to miss #SciWri26 this year. 😭 Steering this org has been a highlight of my career & I consider everyone there a friend. I look forward to watching the new board take the reins.

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Amanda Heidt @scattercushion.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

🏜️Of course a 100-year flood event happened on a weekend while I was also on vacation. I've been a bit late to the game, but I've now got a few stories in the works touching on the Grand Canyon flash flood from last weekend. Today, I spoke with two men who experienced the flood firsthand.

sfgate.com

'You could hear boulders moving': Visitors describe Grand Canyon flood

The flash flood has so far caused two deaths and widespread damage within the canyon.

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Amanda Heidt @scattercushion.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

🧪I have been *so* bad at sharing my work recently, but so happy to see this one out in the world! It was such a breath of fresh air getting to report on something so silly and joyful.

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Amanda Heidt @scattercushion.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

🏜️I've been dreaming about a biocrust feature for years, and before you say "Amanda, what could be so interesting about dirt?", I beg you to read on. There's so much to get into, and I happen to live in the biocrust center of the world. www.sfgate.com/national-par...

sfgate.com

As the American West dries out, a secret savior emerges from the soil

Living crusts produce and reinforce desert soils, laying a foundation for all life.

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Amanda Heidt @scattercushion.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

🧪Earlier this month, the FDA approved the first drug designed to treat the root cause of narcolepsy. Several more of these so-called orexin agonists are on the way, and scientists are finding they can be useful in treating a number of other disorders. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

nature.com

First-of-its-kind narcolepsy drug opens door to new therapies for the brain

The drug, called Orzeyful, takes aim at the root cause of the sleep disorder rather than at its symptoms.

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UCSC Science Communication Program @ucscscicomm.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

⭐ BIG NEWS ⭐ The SciCom Program is expanding its reach! We're now offering online courses on the basics of science communication beginning this September. Learn more here: www.ucsc-extension.edu/series/scien... Enroll by Aug. 15 for $100 off!

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Grant Marek @grantmarek.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

🚨 Journalism Jobs Alert 🚨 @sfgate.com, the largest media site in Calif., is once again HIRING! Looking for: - ✍️ Deputy Managing Editor, News Division - 🌲 North Coast Contributing Editor (part-time) - 📹 Social Video Producer (part-time) Quick 🧵 on what we're looking for 👇

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Amanda Heidt @scattercushion.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Colleagues! Friends! People who may one day be colleagues and friends! I’m here at #ESA26 until Thursday to nerd out with y’all. Please introduce yourself and tell me all about your work.

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Amanda Heidt @scattercushion.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

🏜️ I originally wrote a much more...mature intro, but alas, decorum prevails! www.sfgate.com/national-par...

sfgate.com

Calif. researchers turn to OnlyFans as their funding dries up

But it's not what you think.

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Amanda Heidt @scattercushion.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Who else is headed to Salt Lake next week for #ESA26!? I'll be there hunting for stories and sitting on a panel about careers in scicomm. Hope to see a lot of folks there. events.rdmobile.com/Sessions/Det...

events.rdmobile.com

Careers in Science Communication - Details

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Amanda Heidt @scattercushion.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

🧪 Double pub day! I got to catch up with Nobel Prize-winner Jennifer Doudna about her new study crafting synthetic CRISPR proteins that perform gene editing more efficiently than their naturally-occurring counterparts! www.nature.com/articles/d41...

nature.com

CRISPR gets a power boost from AI-designed ‘molecular scissors’

Researchers used artificial intelligence to design functional CRISPR enzymes not seen in nature.

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Amanda Heidt @scattercushion.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Super proud to be on the board of an organization that looks after its own. In addition to a statement of solidarity for the staff recently laid off from SciAm, read on for a list of resources, including a session I co-organized about self-care during tough transitions. www.nasw.org/July2026soli...

nasw.org

NASW expresses solidarity with journalists facing layoffs and loss of freelance work

To the workers affected by this round of layoffs, both in terms of staff jobs and the loss of freelance work as a result of those eliminated positions, and to those still recovering from similar actio...

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Amanda Heidt @scattercushion.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

🏜️ One of the most impactful stories I've worked on at SFGATE ran this morning. A year after Dragon Bravo ripped across the Grand Canyon's North Rim, staff spoke to myself and @ashleyharrell.bsky.social about the ways in which the blaze--and the government's response--has reshaped their lives.

sfgate.com

The national park fire nobody was ready for

The Dragon Bravo Fire upended lives on the Grand Canyon National Park's North Rim.

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Amanda Heidt @scattercushion.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

🧪To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the FAIR principles, I spoke to data scientists about what data accessibility and reproducibility looks like in 2026. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

nature.com

How FAIR data are helping to build trust in science

The FAIR guidelines laid a solid foundation for ensuring data accessibility and reproducibility. A decade on, researchers are thinking beyond them.

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Amanda Heidt @scattercushion.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

Still looking for one more prof to share a fun way they chose to celebrate getting tenure!

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Amanda Heidt @scattercushion.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

🏜️A story I really wish I didn't have to write. Moab has been absolutely doused in smoke the last week as we watch places we love being threatened. www.sfgate.com/national-par...

sfgate.com

Utah is burning. That's bad news for its national parks.

Firefighters are battling dozens of blazes ahead of the country's 250th birthday.

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Amanda Heidt @scattercushion.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

🧪Had the good fortune to contribute *three* features to this year's annual report for the @simonsfoundation.org, focused on math as the universal language of science. Pick your poison: I've got black holes, CryoEM, and marine microbio!

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Amanda Heidt @scattercushion.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

🧪I've got a #SourceRequest: If you did something fun to celebrate earning tenure or passing your PhD defense, please let me know! I'm working up a sweet story for Nature.

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Sam Hill @samahill.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

It has been a deadly week at Grand Canyon. If youre visiting in the parks this summer, pay attention to the heat and cone prepared! www.sfgate.com/national-par...

sfgate.com

3 more visitors die in Grand Canyon National Park

The deaths appear to be heat-related.

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Amanda Heidt @scattercushion.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

🧪New from me for @nature.com: I do a lot of writing about technological innovation, but sometimes, the simpler tool really is best. For this story, I asked field and bench scientists to tell me about their favorite, most basic tools! www.nature.com/articles/d41...

nature.com

In the field — and sometimes in the lab — the simplest tool is best

Technology has led to unprecedented innovation, but common household items can help make research more reproducible — and accessible.

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Assigned Media @assignedmedia.org · 11/06/2026

FOR ASSIGNED MEDIA MEMBERS: Right now you should already have an email to help you RESUBCRIBE to our new site. To leave Squarespace we were forced to cancel all existing memberships. This is a huge risk, so we need all of you to go find that email and RESUBSCRIBE so your membership doesn't lapse.

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How I Make Money Writing @slow-words-media.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

"I started saying no to anything that paid less than $500." Science journalist Amanda Heidt (@scattercushion.bsky.social) turned a layoff into a thriving freelance business. Full interview here: howimakemoneywriting.substack.com/p/interview-...

howimakemoneywriting.substack.com

Interview #162: How Amanda Heidt Makes Money Writing

In this interview, Amanda talks about the financial boundary she set in her second year of freelancing: saying no to any assignment under $500.

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Amanda Heidt @scattercushion.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

It's a double pub day! For @sfgate.com, I wrote about new fishing regulations in Yosemite, and for @nature.com, the discovery of a new type of explosive immune cell in regenerative flatworms. If you've never seen a planarian, now's a good time to look them up.

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Jeffrey Mervis @policyhound.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

NSF uses staffing cuts to strip Inspector General's office of its ability to investigate research misconduct www.science.org/content/arti...

science.org

Exclusive: NSF watchdog unit is no longer investigating research misconduct

New policy hands universities the reins in probing allegations against faculty

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Amanda Heidt @scattercushion.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

Sometimes the job is a grind, and sometimes the job is grinding my way through several pies in the name of journalism.

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David Gilbert @davidgilbert.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

EXCLUSIVE A year ago, the Trump administration announced it was creating an Office or Remigration—named for a racist plan to expel immigrants, popularized by European far-right groups It has since said nothing about it. But @wired.com found out what it's doing... www.wired.com/story/the-st...

wired.com

The State Department Really Doesn’t Want to Talk About the Office of Remigration

The office was created a year ago and seemingly named for a far right European plan to expel minorities and immigrants from Western nations. It now works, a source says, with little to no oversight.

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Colin Schultz @colinschultz.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

I really, really hate to sharing this, but last week, we @biographic.bsky.social learned that the California Academy of Sciences will no longer be providing the magazine with financial support, including money we were expecting to receive this year. We're in a real bind.

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Sam Hill @samahill.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

@scattercushion.bsky.social was on the danger beat last week. Two people died in Zion National Park in a week last month: www.sfgate.com/national-par... And someone is missing at Grand Canyon: www.sfgate.com/national-par...

sfgate.com

Calif. man is second person to die in Zion National Park in a week

Two bodies have been recovered in Zion National Park in the span of a week.

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Kendall Powell @kendallsciwrite.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

In the least surprising headlines category, a new report from @scattercushion.bsky.social on two large US faculty surveys about mental health. Read on for the ways faculty (and employers) can mitigate anxiety. US faculty members report high levels of anxiety www.nature.com/articles/d41...

nature.com

US faculty members report high levels of anxiety

Surveys show the importance of social, familial and structural support in lowering anxiety, particularly for people in health professions.

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Amanda Heidt @scattercushion.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

One of several reasons I canceled my NYT sub.

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Scientific American @sciam.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

Hey Bluesky! 👋🦋 We’ve been reading your replies about our paywall, and we’re listening. We want to share why it’s there—and an easy, low-cost way to read more. TL;DR: You can unlock every Scientific American article for 90 days for just $1 spklr.io/6003EyRIR More context below 🧵 1/6

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Kendall Powell @kendallsciwrite.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

Are you coming up for tenure review in the next couple of years? See the @nature.com Careers team's advice for assembling a kick-ass tenure portfolio. Reporting by @scattercushion.bsky.social A step-by-step guide to nailing your tenure promotion package www.nature.com/articles/d41...

nature.com

A step-by-step guide to nailing your tenure promotion package

It’s an important milestone in many academic careers, yet the tenure process is surprisingly nebulous. Here’s what it takes to succeed.

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Amanda Heidt @scattercushion.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

If, like me, you use a salad spinner with some plates hot-glued in as a centrifuge, definitely let me know. 😅

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Amanda Heidt @scattercushion.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

🧪Hello all! I'm here with a #sourcerequest for @nature.com. I'm writing up a piece on low-tech lab tools. We place a lot of importance on technological innovation, but what are the simple things (DIY maybe?) that you find yourself turning to again and again? Please RT and let me know!

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Grant Marek @grantmarek.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

Oh hey, we’re launching a new effort at @sfgate.com aimed at giving readers direct access to both our reporting and our national parks journalists: www.sfgate.com/national-par...

sfgate.com

SFGATE creates direct line to national parks reporting

The new effort aims to give readers access to both our reporting and our journalists.

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Amanda Heidt @scattercushion.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

🏜️I spoke to not one, but two former NPS directors.

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59nationalparks @59nationalparks.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

Please show your gratitude for @scattercushion.bsky.social Great job tonight on #ParkChat and we truly appreciate all you do for the Parks. I saw lots of requests for you to return so we’ll be asking again in the second half of the year. Thanks to much.

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Amanda Heidt @scattercushion.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

Thanks again for having me, it's been fun getting to know y'all! Reach out here, at amanda.heidt@sfgate.com, or on Signal at aheidt.16. For Q10, I wonder: What would you like to see #ParkChat focus on in its 14th year? Is there a fun theme or person you'd like to see co-host? www.amandaheidt.com

amandaheidt.com

Amanda Heidt

Amanda Heidt Southwest National Parks Contributing Editor | SFGate Freelance Science Journalist | ScatterCushion Media, LLC

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Amanda Heidt @scattercushion.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

Q9 #ParkChat The NPS tracks all the park anniversaries, as well as the anniversaries of important laws related to parks. The Antiquities Act--allowing presidents to designate national monuments on federal land--is 120 years old in 2026! Do you know any fun, obscure parks facts? buff.ly/4zQRXzm

nps.gov

Anniversaries - NPS Commemorations and Celebrations (U.S. National Park Service)

An official website of the United States government

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