Having an imaginary friend, playing house or daydreaming about the future were long considered uniquely human abilities. Now, scientists have conducted the first study indicating that apes have the ability to play pretend as well.
I'm at the Willard Hotel where I've been denied entry and kicked out of the Reclaiming Science event with NIH director Bhattacharya & other top agency leaders.
@jocelynkaiser.bsky.social and I registered for the event months ago yet were told capacity was full, even as they let in dozens of others.
Off the coast of British Columbia, dolphins lead killer whales to salmon and earn their share of lunch, a new study reveals.
My latest for @nytimes.com
(gift link!) #marinelife
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/11/s...
Killer Whales Find an ‘Unlikely Friend’ in Dolphins
Off the coast of British Columbia, dolphins lead killer whales to salmon and earn their share of lunch, a new study reveals.
By @alexaroblesgil.bsky.social
The twelfth installment in the @nytimes.com Lost Science series is up: an entomologist who helped protect people from malaria. Story by @alexaroblesgil.bsky.social Gift link: nyti.ms/4pBdYbk
*️⃣ Focus on key statistics that will resonate with your audience.
*️⃣ Investigate how setbacks in studies could affect citizens’ lives.
TON/@bwfund.bsky.social early-career fellow Lucila Pinto spoke with @emilywoodruff.bsky.social, @alexaroblesgil.bsky.social and others for this helpful story. 🧪
A global treaty has extended trade protections to more than 70 shark and ray species whose numbers are in sharp decline.
my latest for @nytimes.com (gift link!)
#marinelife
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/02/s...
In my latest for @nytimes.com, scientists and Indigenous sailors in the Marshall Islands are studying seafaring and the human brain. I became completely fascinated by navigation while reporting this story.
(gift link!)
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/s...
A huge thankyou to @alexaroblesgil.bsky.social for covering our research in the Marshall Islands for the @nytimes.com !
In the photo Ken Daniels (an expert indigenous sailor) is looking towards the horizon whilst wearing an fNIRS system.
Analysis underway!
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/s...
I first heard about orcas attacking white sharks while working as a field biologist in South Africa. Back then, no one had really seen it. Now, scientists in both South Africa and Mexico have drone footage.
my latest for @nytimes.com (gift link!)
#marinelife
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/03/s...
Through blackwater photos, scientists have found an interaction rarely seen before. Baby fish might be using free-living anemones to protect themselves from predators in the deep sea. The photos are a delight.
my latest for @nytimes.com (gift link!) #marinelife
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/16/s...
The bumpy snailfish, discovered 10,000 feet down off the coast of California, shows that not all denizens of the abyss are frightening. (I watched the video more than 10 times.)
My latest for @nytimes.com (gift link!)
#marinelife
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/08/s...
"It's not just cool ecology" – my latest story for @nytimes.com looks at the benefits of letting bison roam as free as possible. (gift link!)
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/03/s...
Thanks for reading, Mark!
Like humans, every tree has its own microbiome — an invisible ecosystem that is only beginning to be understood.
My latest for @nytimes.com (gift link!)
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/27/s...
Another way drones are changing how scientists study whales: A new tagging method called tap-and-go allows researchers to gather more data on the health and behavior of whales, with less disruption.
(gift link!) #marinelife
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/13/s...
I learned a lot about Fresnel lenses for this amazing series of lighthouse photographs by Michal Siarek: nyti.ms/41qkFCN
A zoo in Denmark is asking pet owners to donate their animal companions — their guinea pigs, rabbits, chickens and even small horses — to feed to its predators. In a Facebook post, the zoo noted that donations of pets would help it mimic the natural food chain.
Since 2013, a mysterious epidemic wiped out billions of sea stars. A new study finally identifies the culprit.
My latest for @nytimes.com (gift link below!) #marinelife
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/04/s...
You say potato, @alexaroblesgil.bsky.social says tomato: www.nytimes.com/2025/07/31/s...
An ancient hybrid of tomatoes and potato-like plants may have given rise to the modern spud, a new study suggests.
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/31/s...
#addOcean
Once a surfer's paradise, a string of deadly attacks made Réunion Island synonymous with one word only: sharks. But a team of scientists turned this tiny island into a hub of lifesaving research. For @science.org, I wrote about this fascinating place.
www.science.org/content/arti...
Thank you, Meredith! 😊
A fascinating summer read from the redoubtable @alexaroblesgil.bsky.social for @science.org ! How a string of deadly shark attacks made a remote island a hub of lifesaving research | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
Big day in the NY Times for NYU SHERP. Congratulations William Herkewitz (SHERP 31) and @alexaroblesgil.bsky.social (SHERP 42)! www.nytimes.com/2025/06/29/o... www.nytimes.com/2025/06/21/s...
Jaws' release in 1975 haunted the reputation of sharks worldwide. But a generation of scientists helped turn the tide.
My story for @nytimes.com
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/21/s...
Stunning video of this Antarctic gonate squid caught alive on camera for the first time. Before this, no one had ever seen this creature alive in the wild.
Read more: www.nytimes.com/2025/06/11/s...
Today is my first day on the job as a reporter fellow on the Science desk for @nytimes.com! Send me any tips to
alexa.robles-gil@nytimes.com
"Promising" is overused when it comes to potential medicines, but here I think it's justified. 10s of millions of Americans have sleep apnea; many reject CPAP. @science.org.bsky.social : Sleep apnea pill shows striking success in large clinical trial | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
