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Stephanie Pappas

@sipappas.bsky.social
760 followers 1.9K following 145 posts

Freelance science writer - Scientific American, Live Science, APA. I will be on my deathbed still looking up whether it's "Proceedings of the National Academies of Science" or "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences"

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Reposted by Stephanie Pappas
ProPublica @propublica.org · 26/09/2026
Hey, ProPublica reporter Jake Pearson here. I’m taking over the account to tell you about my new story. For months, I posed as a problem gambler on DraftKings to test the company's "responsible gaming" safeguards. Spoiler alert: They made me a VIP — and I lost $10K. Here's how it all went down. 🧵
Selfie taken by ProPublica reporter Jake Pearson, a man wearing a backwards baseball cap and an orange T-shirt.
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Adam Rogers @jetjocko.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Only 11 science magazines left; eight closures since 2000. Not great! But also, this fascinating piece does conflate, a bit, "science communication" (on an upswing) with journalism about science (not so much).
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Scientific American @sciam.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Today is our 181st birthday! 🥳 We debuted on this day in August 1845, starting as a weekly devoted primarily to inventions. Watch the transformation of our logo over the decades and read more about them here. ⤵️ www.scientificamerican.com/blog/sa-visu...
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NorCal Lynne @norcal-lynne.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Hawkmoths. Drawn by Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717). © British Museum. #MothWeek #TeamMoth #SciArt 🌱🌿
Watercolor with pen and grey ink, on vellum depicting two species of hawkmoth. The larva, pupa and adult at the top are Eumorpha vitis vitis (Linnaeus), and the species at the bottom is Eumorpha satellitia licaon (Drury). They are depicted on or around a grape vine. From an album of 91 drawings entitled 'Merian's Drawings of Surinam Insects &c'.
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Sarah Tolcser @tolcser.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
"Ah, for just one time I would take the Southwest Passage To find the hand of Houston Reaching for the Rio Grande..."
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Stephanie Pappas @sipappas.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Just visited SF 20ish years after living in the Bay Area and was talking w/ my husband about how it was genuinely a lot easier to get around a vaguely-familiar city with smartphones and parking apps... on the other hand I cling to my paper atlas like a security blanket on long road trips
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Bethany Brookshire @beebrookshire.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
As this essay points out, people DO read, more WORDS than ever. But they are reading fewer and fewer difficult cognitive concepts. And I would argue they aren't reading all those words either. Consider this video I posted... www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
theatlantic.com
The End of Reading Is Here
Optimists once believed that universal literacy was inevitable. Now it seems that the age of reading might be a short anomaly in human history.
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Stephanie Pappas @sipappas.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
This is fantastic and answers many questions I have had in my own kinda-sorta-native garden! (Deep sigh of relief that native cultivars are not necessarily junk food for bugs)
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Southern Minnesota Museum of Natural History @smmnh.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
Stromatolites are fossil evidence of some of the earliest forms of life on earth, and some can be up to 3.45 billion years old! Stromatolites are formed when blankets of photosynthetic single-celled micro-organisms "cement" surrounding sediment in slowly growing layers.
Stromatolites are fossil evidence of some of the earliest forms of life on earth, and some can be up to 3.45 billion years old! Stromatolites are formed when blankets of photosynthetic single-celled micro-organisms "cement" surrounding sediment in slowly growing layers.
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Ben Miller @extinctmonsters.bsky.social · 04/07/2026
Wait everyone shut up for a second: the discovery of the Brachiosaurus holotype is at the exact midpoint between the founding of the United States and today (July 4, 1901)
Bearded guy in a hat lies next to recently uncovered sauropod humerus that is longer than him
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Southern Minnesota Museum of Natural History @smmnh.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
Abundant Eocene fossils of plants and animals are found in the Green River Formation of Wyoming, Colorado and Utah. This fossil Pseudosalix Hanleyi, with stems, leaves and flowers preserved, is harder to find than a T-rex tooth!
Abundant Eocene fossils of plants and animals are found in the Green River Formation of Wyoming, Colorado and Utah. This fossil Pseudosalix Hanleyi, with stems, leaves and flowers preserved, is harder to find than a T-rex tooth!
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Stephanie Pappas @sipappas.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
There's lots of good info here, but possibly my favorite is the advice that removing the tick is going to be gross but you can freak out later. TRUE. Also the graphics rock.
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KJ Charles @kjcharleswriter.com · 09/06/2026
An edit that doesn't require you to march round the garden and make a spluttering cup of tea while getting over yourself probably didn't go hard enough. Sad but true.
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Matthew R Francis @bowlerhatscience.org · 13/05/2026
I've approached multiple people without any responses (it's that time of year, I think), so I'm gonna try launching this into the bluesky. I need someone who can speak with me about Mercury geology. This probably means someone who worked on MESSENGER? But please share and thank you for any help! 🧪🔭
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Stephanie Pappas @sipappas.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Soul-searching question for this week: Am I the kind of jerk who is going to bring up Cochrane Reviews at my middle-age mom book club...
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Adrian Hillman @hadrianwild.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
A video sample every minute gave a fly-out estimate of these wrinkle-lipped bats at Nayang in Thailand yesterday of 225,080 bats, but “a bit more than 200,000” is perhaps a more honest view of the accuracy. I like the way the column keeps clipping that tree.
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Southern Minnesota Museum of Natural History @smmnh.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
Abundant Eocene fossils of plants and animals are found in the Green River Formation of Wyoming, Colorado and Utah. This fossil Pseudosalix Hanleyi, with stems, leaves and flowers preserved, is harder to find than a T-rex tooth!
Abundant Eocene fossils of plants and animals are found in the Green River Formation of Wyoming, Colorado and Utah. This fossil Pseudosalix Hanleyi, with stems, leaves and flowers preserved, is harder to find than a T-rex tooth!
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Stephanie Pappas @sipappas.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
15ish years ago I got politely asked to leave an outdoor farmer's market because I didn't realize I couldn't walk a dog through it for health code reasons, these days I've seen multiple dogs inside grocery stores and not even with the fig leaf of fake service-dog vests. I like dogs but what.
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Darren Incorvaia @megadarren.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
Lp(a) is a dastardly, many-headed monster of a molecule that remains shrouded in mystery and seems to do nothing of value in the human body. But this much we do know: if lowering it reduces cardiovascular risk the way data suggest, it could be medicine's next big thing 🧪💊 I loved writing this story!
fiercebiotech.com
'It’s going to be huge': The 'diabolical' molecule poised to become biotech's next gold rush
In the early 1960s, Norwegian physician Kåre Berg, M.D., was trying to identify new blood types when he accidentally discovered a lipoprotein with perplexing properties. | In the early 1960s, Norwegian physician Kåre Berg, M.D., was trying to identify new blood types when he accidentally discovered a lipoprotein with perplexing properties.
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Mark McIntyre @markjmcintyre.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
I don't remember seeing an image of Earth before that captures the (thin, fragile, tiny layer of) atmosphere so clearly. I mean, look at that.
Zooming in on the photo of Earth taken by astronauts on Artemis II on their way to the Moon, you can clearly see the Aurora Borealis and thin layer of atmosphere wrapping around the planet.Zooming in on the photo of Earth taken by astronauts on Artemis II, you can clearly see the thin layer of atmosphere wrapping around the entire planet.
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Cooper Lund @cooperlund.online · 07/04/2026
Tehran's got a population of 15 million and is in the middle of a severe resource crisis. A conventional strike can kill millions of people in very slow and painful ways and I wish we could talk about that instead of jumping to the worst thing we can think of and getting freaked out about it.
scientificamerican.com
Iran’s Capital Is Moving. The Reason Is an Ecological Catastrophe
The decision to move Iran’s capital is partly driven by climate change, but experts say decades of human error and action are also to blame
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Kathleen Bachynski @bachynski.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
“My patient is refusing a drug studied in 170,000 people because of side effects that a 124,000-person analysis just confirmed do not exist — while injecting a compound studied in 14 humans, from unregulated sources, based on the recommendation of someone who profits from selling it.”
statnews.com
My patient would rather take a peptide than a statin. That reveals an uncomfortable truth in medicine
“The volume of evidence behind a therapy has become inversely correlated with public trust in it,” writes Vikas Patel.
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Kate Strasdin @katestrasdin.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
This is not a black and white photograph but is, in fact, the sheerest of white gauze #1860s crinoline gowns, pictured over a black form to showcase the whitework embellished fabric. It is ghostly and gorgeous. Sold via #daguerreauctions #FashionHistory 🗃️🪡
The front of a sheer white crinoline gown consisting of a short bodice embellished with a triangle of whitework embroidery that finishes at a point centre front of the waist. The skirt has festoons of whitework in loops around the hemBack view of the white gauze 1860s dress showing the long full sleeves, the triangular shape of embroidery at the back of the bodice and the continuation of the whitework around the hem of the broad skirt
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Mia Sato @miasato.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
this is completely insane: since when is it acceptable for a tech company to rewrite news outlets' headlines without their consent? especially at a time when audiences are sensitive to how stories are framed in headlines? (ie Israel/Palestine, the Trump admin, ICE) www.theverge.com/tech/896490/...
theverge.com
Google Search is now using AI to replace headlines
Let us know if you see more.
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Anna Merlan @annamerlan.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
How your email finds me:
A screaming little taxidermied numbat
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Beththephotog @beththephotog.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
A personal favorite ❤️
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public health guy @publichealthguy1.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
every time someone in my field writes articles in support of these AI chatbots
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@dril drunk driving may kill a lot of people, but it also helps a lot of people get to work on time, so, it;s impossible to
say if its bad or not,
12:20 PM • 09 May 14 • Twitter Web Client
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Stephanie Pappas @sipappas.bsky.social · 14/03/2026
An excellent longread.
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Stephanie Pappas @sipappas.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
Anyone wanna join me in some light panic-gibbering?
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Charles Logan @charleswlogan.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
Are you a caregiver concerned about ed-tech in K-12 schools in the United States and engaging in work to challenge how your child’s school uses ed-tech? If so, Tony Talbert, @alliethrall.bsky.social, and I invite you to participate in our new project. Join the study at tinyurl.com/CaregiversEd...
Our research study's recruitment flyer. The flyer reads, "Call for Research Participants! Caregivers Challenging Ed-Tech in Schools. Across the United States, caregivers are pushing against educational technologies (ed-tech) in K-12 schools. We want to know why and how caregivers are questioning technology in the classroom. Who can participate? Caregivers with one or more children attending K-12 school in the United States, who...Currently and/or in the past worked to challenge the purposes and roles of ed-tech in your children's K-12 schooling. What is involved? Complete one ~15-minute survey. Participate in one ~60-minute recorded Zoom interview (optional). Questions? Contact our Research Team. Dr. Charles Logan. Northwestern University. charles.logan1@northwestern.edu. Dr. Tony Talbert. Baylor University. Tony_Talbert@baylor.edu. Allie Thrall. Baylor University. Allie_Thrall@baylor.edu. To participate, please complete our survey here: https://tinyurl.com/CaregiversEdTech
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Chris Bianchi @bianchiweather.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
It’s official: this was Colorado’s warmest winter on record, and it wasn’t close. Average statewide Dec-Feb temperature of 33.6° was almost 2° warmer than the previous record of 32.0° (1980-81). La Niña + warming climate to blame (notice linear temp increase below). #COwx
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David Clark @clarkeocrinus.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
Agaricocrinus is a common Mississippian crinoid, but very beautiful. This specimen is from the Edwardsville Fm of Indiana near Crawfordsville. Each arm has delicate pinnules that would filter water for food. #FossilFriday
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Andrew D Thaler @drandrewthaler.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
It took 12,000 years for us to give wolves anxiety, so I see this as a testament to the unrivaled creative power of the human imagination.
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Stephanie Pappas @sipappas.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
I love her.
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Joaquín Baldwin @joabaldwin.com · 23/02/2026
A sphinx moth came to slurp at a desert lily as we were watching the sunset over the Anza Borrego badlands.
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Stephanie Pappas @sipappas.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
I think this is a mess not just for disclaimer reasons but also because afaik, fear-based motivation is pretty limited in changing vaccine hesitancy. Does anything we write (in the Atlantic no less) matter when www.independent.co.uk/news/health/... I am really asking.
independent.co.uk
Mom whose 7-year-old has brain swelling from measles still wouldn’t vaccinate
EXCLUSIVE: South Carolina parents living in the state’s measles epicenter tell Rhian Lubin of their devastation after their unvaccinated 7-year-old son, Ethan, developed encephalitis, a complication f...
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Southern Minnesota Museum of Natural History @smmnh.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
Zircon crystals are nearly indestructible, and are some of the only things to survive the hellish pressure and heat of the Haldean Eon, when the earth was formed. The oldest zircons are found in Jack Hills, Australia, where our specimen was found. It may be small, but it's 4.4 billion years old!
Zircon crystals are nearly indestructible, and are some of the only things to survive the hellish pressure and heat of the Haldean Eon, when the earth was formed. The oldest zircons are found in Jack Hills, Australia, where our specimen was found. It may be small, but it's 4.4 billion years old!
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Stephanie Pappas @sipappas.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
Sorry, but in what universe was adults having sex with 16-year-olds accepted before Me Too? We were all alive then and have memories, it was absolutely not considered okay??
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Megan Greenwell @greenwell.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
I *love* freelancing. I have done the best work of my career as a freelancer. But the idea that several hundred new freelancers, newsletter writers, and worker-owned co-ops is remotely feasible, much less a replacement for The Washington Fucking Post, is insane.
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🌈Dr. Frizzle @swilua.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
Happy Penguin Day everyone!
Who would have believed that the perfect Wikipedia photo caption could have been improved upon?

Caption 1
Piper Kerr, a member of the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition, plays the bagpipes for an indifferent penguin, March 1904

Caption 2
Piper Kerr (right), a member of the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition, plays the bagpipes for an indifferent penguin, March 1904

Photo shows a penguin and a man playing bagpipes
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Brandy Zadrozny @brandyzadrozny.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
Kennedy, obsessed with vaxxed/unvaxxed studies that would not be approved by US ethical review boards, planned to fund one in West Africa — one that would have caused unnecessary disease and death for extremely vulnerable children. After negative media attention, it was canceled. Coverage matters.
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Stephanie Pappas @sipappas.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
Hm.
arstechnica.com
FDA deletes warning on bogus autism therapies touted by RFK Jr.‘s allies
The agency used to warn of chelation, used by RFK Jr.'s anti-vaccine ally David Geier.
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STAT @statnews.com · 14/01/2026
#Breaking: SAMHSA canceled up to $1.9 billion in grants without staff consultation, accelerating the mental health agency's deterioration under President Trump. www.statnews.com/2026/01/14/s...
statnews.com
Trump administration cuts up to $1.9 billion from mental health and addiction treatment programs
SAMHSA canceled up to $1.9 billion in grants without staff consultation, accelerating the mental health agency's deterioration under President Trump.
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Asha Rangappa @asharangappa.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
One agent literally moves to stand in front of the vehicle (she has no other way to move) and two more agents, including the one who shot her, approach the vehicle. Those are not the actions of people who have a reasonable belief that they are in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury
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Stephanie Pappas @sipappas.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
Honk if you love RSV, I guess.
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Unofficial BBCNews (UK) Bot @bbcnews-uk-rss.bsky.social · 23/12/2025
Mystery as hundreds of Victorian shoes wash up on Ogmore beach
bbc.com
Mystery as hundreds of Victorian shoes wash up on Ogmore beach
More than 400 leather hobnailed boots, thought to date back to the 19th Century, have been found.
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Apoorva Mandavilli @apoorvanyt.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
RFK Jr. is expected to announce in the new year that American children should be immunized according to the schedule followed by Denmark — which is much smaller, mostly homogenous and has universal health care. (Free link) www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/h...
nytimes.com
R.F.K. Jr. Likely to Swap U.S. Childhood Vaccine Schedule for Denmark’s
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Anthony (Tony) J. Martin @ichnologist.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
Fossil bee nests in fossil bones! News article by @sipappas.bsky.social in @sciam.bsky.social (with a few quotes by Yours Truly) about this very cool discovery from a Late Quaternary cave in the Dominican Republic. 🧪🐝🕳️🦴
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PombeDoc @pombedoc.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
Rare winter bloom in the Anza Borrego desert @anzaborrego.bsky.social
Purple and white flowers on the desert floor with sunrise-color on the distant mountains
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JayIsPainting 🍁 @jayispainting.earthskyart.ca · 14/12/2025
For #ArtAdventCalendar day 13, one from my 2018 Turbulent Skies Project. I Can See It…With My Imagination 44x60 112×152cm Oil on Canvas 2018
Abstract landscape: swirling storm clouds with a wall cloud and rain underneath, yellow field and trees
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