Bethany Brookshire

Science journalist, podcaster, author. Book, Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains. Here for the trash pandas.

Last Notes

2026-07-28 15:30:03 UTC

In desperation, scientists turn to OnlyFans for funding.
But it's not Hot Scientist Feet.
No. It's HOT MARMOT SUMMER. OnlyMarms. It makes me both sad for the state of funding, and also...I mean good on ya, that is creative thinking!
https://www.sfgate.com/national-parks/article/marmot-researchers-make-onlyfans-22357723.php

2026-06-29 13:17:04 UTC

You may have heard about the OMB rule change that will put politics over federal grants. However bad you think it is? It's probably worse. Thanks to @theverge.com for letting me report this one out.
There is still time to comment.
https://bit.ly/4v2X4nQ

2026-06-24 17:32:34 UTC

Thank you John Oliver for the essential reporting we need on feral hogs.
"Oink recognition technology" is my new favorite use of LLMs. https://youtu.be/pGazYSkFFMw?si=_RXcHIKc8cv-w08G

2026-06-23 20:46:57 UTC

This news breaks my heart. SciAm being sold and a PILE of great editors getting fired.
The Sciam editorial team is one of the best I've had the pleasure to work with. Smart, incisive, they make every piece better and I'm so proud to have worked with them. https://group.springernature.com/gp/group/media/press-releases/divestment-consumer-media/52799204

2026-06-18 16:54:53 UTC

I was today years old when I learned there's CORN that makes SNOT so bacteria in the snot can fix nitrogen
And it's just like, these big snotty things hanging off the corn.
Thanks @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social I am a better person for knowing this https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/corn-future-hundreds-years-old-and-makes-its-own-mucus-180969972/

2026-06-17 16:54:37 UTC

No lies detected.
"“While it’s still in its early phase, artificial intelligence will one day accomplish things that humans could have never even dreamed of doing,” said Parker, who, by all accounts, has never stretched himself to do something he found difficult"
https://theonion.com/guy-who-sucks-at-being-a-person-sees-huge-potential-in-1850488022/

2026-06-10 14:25:47 UTC

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@nprofile…cm0q Oh! Sorry I haven't seen them. 😞

2026-06-10 13:24:25 UTC

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@nprofile…cm0q Very different ecosystem! This was the high Arctic, so only animals living there are represented.
Sloths are slow tropical bois.

2026-06-09 16:01:16 UTC

Scientists have analyzed squirrel poo that was frozen in the permafrost for thousands of years.
The pellets were full of eDNA from plants! Insects! Fungi!
And MAMMOTHS. And horses.
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/frozen-squirrel-poop-ice-age-ecosystems

2026-06-01 15:41:11 UTC

I feel you all should know that scientists deployed a buoy with big googly eyes to try and stop birds stealing fish.
The buoy's name is Bobby.
Get it? Bobby? The buoy?
Tragically, Bobby was very bad at his job. So cute though. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/googly-eye-buoy-bobby-seabirds-scarecrow

2025-11-09 17:08:37 UTC

This obit, pre-written by Sharon Begley before she passed...made me miss her amazing work. This is how you do it. https://www.statnews.com/2025/11/07/james-watson-remembrance-from-dna-pioneer-to-pariah/

2025-03-02 20:34:40 UTC

A perfect comparison from @drshepherd2013.bsky.social about the importance of meteorologists at NOAA.
Saying you don't need them..."is like saying, “Why do we need potato farmers when I can just get fries at my fast food place?”" https://www.forbes.com/sites/marshallshepherd/2025/03/01/5-essential-things-to-know-about-your-weather-forecasts/

2025-02-26 16:44:10 UTC

Anti vaxxers have been trying to talk down measles for years. It's just a rash. It's just like chicken pox.
And now a child is dead.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/26/texas-measles-outbreak-cases

2024-03-26 14:22:29 UTC

Surprising literally no one who knows about birds of prey in cities, Flaco the owl had a TON of rat poison in his system. People are focusing on pigeon herpes (because well ok it's funny), but Flaco is an example of what our extermination efforts DO to wildlife.... https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/25/nyregion/flaco-owl-central-park-zoo-death-cause.html?smtyp=cur&smid=bsky-nytimes

2023-09-05 14:55:08 UTC

I love how we're all like ACK RADIOACTIVE PIGS!
I mean, yeah. You test nuclear stuff, you're gonna get it into the environment, where it will end up in the soil.
You know who loves truffles in soil? PIGS DO. 🧪
Result: radioactive bacon. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66665646

2023-08-28 15:28:20 UTC

Love talking with the hosts of Outside/In about mice, and the many ways we think about them, both as pests, and in RESEARCH. https://outsideinradio.org/shows/of-lab-mice-and-men 🧪

2023-08-09 16:20:25 UTC

🧪 The world's fastest evolving moss isn't going to out adapt climate change. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/fastest-evolving-moss-adapt-climate-change
Reporting this, I fell in love with this tough lil' bryophyte. Poor Takakia, 390 million years old and may not make it the next century.