I'm very, very honoured to be speaking at the Royal Institution next month (Royal Institution (now on Bluesky)). I'll be diving into psychedelic therapy in South America, the US, and Europe, & discussing what history (inc. indigenous cultures) can tell us about its future. rigb.org/whats-on/hopes…

Yesterday, MacKenzie Scott announced her 2022 list of 465 high-impact non-profits organizations who she will be extending her Giving Pledge to. 🇿🇼 Friendship Bench is thrilled to be one of them! Closer to our vision of a friendship bench within walking distance for all!

How far have we come in treating depression? Join Alex Riley as he takes us on a journey through the new frontiers of psychedelic treatments and what the future holds for sufferers of this disease. Book now (Theatre & Livestream) 👇rigb.org/whats-on/hopes…

Sit tight. I'm on my way.

Thanks to everyone who came to the Royal Institution last night, and to those who watched online. It was a pleasure, Royal Institution (now on Bluesky), thanks for having me.

A few recs for more info: Stuart Ritchie 🇺🇦's 'Science Fictions' for bias & hype in sci method sciencefictions.org New York Magazine's Cover Story for abuse in psychedelic therapy bit.ly/3sokiGN David Robson's 'Expectation Effect' for placebo effects davidrobson.me/books/the-expe…

Very important, and quite disturbing, analysis of psychedelic therapy, by Stuart Ritchie 🇺🇦. In summary: "LSD (Lots of Scientific Difficulties)" stuartritchie.substack.com/p/psychedelics…

A piece that I always hoped would come out re. Sapiens. It's also worth noting that the publishing industry allows such "populist science" writers a platform. Fact checking isn't standard practice, fiction is often labelled as non-fiction. currentaffairs.org/2022/07/the-da…

I'm critical and cautious of psychedelic therapy. It's not a popular stance, and certainly won't get me a Netflix series. But it is necessary. Science should be skeptical until evidence shows otherwise. My Royal Institution (now on Bluesky) talk from earlier this year. youtube.com/watch?v=HV1Nux…

I wrote about a hugely successful project in coral conservation, a beacon of hope in a time of mass bleaching, disease, and loss. In an open-top aquarium, a few rows of branching, brownish-yellow coral provide a window into the future of managed reefs. hakaimagazine.com/features/a-moo…

ffs. "In the 18-month trial, patients who received lecanemab did 0.45 points better on the test than those receiving placebo, a result that hit the threshold of statistical significance, meaning it’s unlikely to be the result of random chance." statnews.com/2022/09/27/alz…

Beavers are back and they're here to stay. 🦫 🇬🇧❤️

I wrote about the flu virus that is killing seabirds around the world, and why this is so unusual. Spoiler: we’re to blame. For Hakai Magazine. hakaimagazine.com/news/the-rampa…

Person who has no idea what a microscope does selling a microscope:

"in the open ocean, elephant seals sleep less than two hours per day—while on land, they doze more than 10 hours a day." Similar to journalists the week of a deadline and straight after submission. I see you elephant seals. nationalgeographic.com/animals/articl…

The biggest light-producing organ in the world belongs to Taningia danae, the Dana octopus squid. Tantalizing evidence — including a short video captured by a camera attached to an elephant seal — is shedding light on their function (via Nautilus Magazine) nautil.us/the-mystery-of…

Thanks to everyone at #SEB2023: the organisers for allowing a nosey writer to loiter around the lecture halls for a few days, and to all the science folks for chatting about their work. Narwals, frogs, geese, tardigrades, worms, worms, and more worms—what a world 🌎🌍🌏

I'm going to take a few days to decompress from part-time extrovert to my normal niche of introvert. Hope to speak to many of you again soon, or meet in the future. #SEB2023

Reading through 20-year-old studies on heat stress and imagining a time that's still full of hope for the future.