The best study on talking to plants? Sadie Dingfelder says it involved strawberries, bees, and some very responsive nectar. It won’t make your ficus smarter—but the science may surprise you. 👀 Watch: youtu.be/hMrufS7hCsw

Animals are so much cooler than we realize. Apparently Gobies (tiny fish) can learn from observation, and ants are left- or right- "handed" (tarsus-ed?) onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/143903…

Overheard at the American History Museum cafeteria yesterday: “Regardless of who shows up, it will be 50 million people. It will be the largest gathering in the history of the whole country.” (I assume he's counting raindrops and ghosts of the confederacy...) #TrumpParade

Lanternfly PSA: They do not cause environmental collapse, and they only harm fellow invasive Trees of Heaven and wine grapes. They may stress your other plants, but when USDA researchers trapped native trees & plants with Lanternfly nymphs for four consequitive years, only the

This is the biggest issue facing America right now : Under The Big Beautiful Bill the wealthiest 10% would see a $12,000 increase, while the bill would cost the poorest people $1,600 a year, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. But here's the thing - $1600

We have a full calendar of events this July! Mark your calendars and swing by between your summer plans 🍋 🌞 🌻

Here’s my attempt to boil down an excellent book on the future of speech: 🧠📢🌀🫠🔤 jk jk I wrote it in actual words—for the benefit of my fellow olds. washingtonpost.com/books/2025/07/…

Bad news: We lost the lanternfly war -- back in 2014. Good news: Turns out, they’re mostly just killing fellow invaders like the Tree of Heaven. Also, native birds and bugs are feasting on them. I did ALL THE MATH for Mike Pesca 's blog. mikepesca.substack.com/p/the-great-la…

Lanternfly Invasion: Science or stomp-happy hype? Sadie Dingfelder 👀 Watch: youtu.be/Jql48q6AQhA

I got my first byline in The New Yorker today! A lifelong dream! Pictured: Me taking a call from the NYer fact checker from a lake. (Also my nephew, netting bluefin with popcorn.) newyorker.com/magazine/2025/…

Dr. Elias Zerhouni once led the NIH through a golden age of breakthroughs. Now he’s sounding the alarm: culture wars and budget cuts could undo decades of progress. He joins The Gist to talk COVID lessons, partisan attacks, and why science needs stability—not slogans. 🎧 Listen

Don’t panic — the paper backup is perfectly safe in that one place… you know, that place where Lizzo played a crystal flute.

DC is actually gorgeous, there’s free access to world class culture (eg the concerts at LoC), giant old trees everywhere and row houses too! Oh and lots of interesting, smart people. #therealdc

Ever wonder if other people’s minds work like yours? Spoiler: they don’t. Join me for a DC Science Writers sponsored talk about new research on the wild variety of human (and animal) conscious experience. Register us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regist… #aphantasia #neurodiversity #faceblind

Remember those Highlights magazine comics? Here’s an updated version for 2025. (lmk your caption ideas)

Ready for Brilliant Minds Season 2? Skip the binge. I’ve got Season 1 boiled down to its essentials: steamy romances, bizarre diagnoses, and one unforgettable elevator ride. sadied.com/recapping-bril… #brilliantminds

Brilliant Minds Season 1: it started like House MD and ended like Grey’s Anatomy. Here’s everything you need to know before Season 2. #brilliantminds

Brilliant Minds Recap: Wolf totally takes credit for inventing Vilayanur S. Ramachandran's mirror box treatment! sadied.com/recapping-bril… #BrilliantMindsNBC #BrilliantMinds

On The Gist today, President Trump mangles acetaminophen and issues a sweeping “don’t take Tylenol” decree. Also, are some people really more tempting to mosquitoes than others? Sadie Dingfelder investigates… with her husband Steve as test subject. Is he really a bug buffet, or

Jane Goodall thought she wasn’t trying hard enough. Turns out she has face blindness. What looked like a flaw may have been her superpower: seeing chimps as unique individuals when others couldn’t.