Tom Howarth

Meteorological winter is done. It was top 5. Maybe top 3 warmest when the numbers are finalized. You wouldn’t know it or even believe it if you live in the East.
We heard lots about the cold and snow in the East, but the West BAKED as the warmest winter on record… 1/

Writing Doom – Award-Winning Short Film on Superintelligence (2024) YouTube video by Foregone Films

Fun/interesting way to lay out some pretty heavy points. Worth a watch for those who perhaps aren't sure what a superintelligence could be capable of

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfMQ...

A wispy cosmic cloud against a dark starry background. The cloud is horizontally elongated. It has an overall pinkish shade, but it’s full of intricate filaments in different colours.

Largest image of its kind shows hidden chemistry at the heart of the Milky Way!

ALMA has obtained a unique view of the cold gas within the Central Molecular Zone of the #MilkyWay, helping us probe the lives of stars in this extreme region.

https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso2603/

🔭 🧪

From the Desk of Dr. James Gibbs: On the Return of the Floreana Giant Tortoise | Galápagos Conservancy For the first time in 180 years, Floreana lineage giant tortoises set foot on Floreana Island once again returning to their ancestral home.

Yes, the world can be bleak at times. But it really ain't all bad.

This story of tortoises returning to a Galapagos island after 180 yrs brought a smile to my face this morning. 🐢

Pretty interesting science behind this too 🧪
www.galapagos.org/newsroom/gib...

An ‘astonishingly’ large new dinosaur species has been discovered in the Sahara | BBC Science Focus Magazine This school-bus-sized predator was so unusual that scientists didn't recognise it at first

New dinosaur alert 🦖 🧪 🚨]

Palaeontologists have discovered a new species of dinosaur in a remote part of the Sahara. Named Spinosaurus mirabilis – meaning ‘astonishing’ Spinosaurus in Latin – the giant lived in what is now Niger more than 95 million years ago.
www.sciencefocus.com/news/new-din...

Simple ways to make better pancakes | BBC Science Focus Magazine Whether you’re going fluffy or thin this Pancake Day, these easy science hacks will take your pancake game to the next level.

Essential reading today 🥞 🧪

www.sciencefocus.com/science/how-...

Oatly banned from using word ‘milk’ to market plant-based products in UK Swedish company claims ruling is anti-competitive and ‘solely benefits Big Dairy’

You have to wonder just how delicate an industry is if it needs this sort of government intervention.

The world’s first AI-only social media is seriously weird. The next may be even stranger | BBC Science Focus Magazine Millions of AI agents are chatting and posting on a social media site where people can only observe. Soon, we won’t understand a word

My take on OpenClaw / Moltbook: fun and interesting but multi-agent systems in the future (when they're actually useful) will likely look a lot different...

🦞🦞🦞🦞🦞🦞🦞🦞🦞

www.sciencefocus.com/news/ai-soci...

Gas projects in the US pipeline explicitly linked to data centers increased by almost 25X over the past two years, according to new research from Global Energy Monitor.

Building the 'technology of the future' on the back of fossil fuels feels so so dumb...
www.wired.com/story/data-c...

Take your pick 😆

Quick reminder to anyone unsure. Yes, the US can still have major cold blasts with record low temperatures in a warming climate. 🧪

Here's why:

(image credit: NOAA)

Why sinking cities may now be a bigger climate crisis than rising seas | BBC Science Focus Magazine A hidden force is causing highly populated river deltas to sink. In many cases, the subsidence is happening faster than the sea is rising

A global analysis has found river deltas - some of the most densely populated areas on Earth - are sinking, often faster than sea level rise. 🧪

For those living in deltas, sea ⬆️ or land ⬇️ makes little difference, but it does change what you can do about it...

www.sciencefocus.com/news/deltas-...

⚛️

Schrödinger’s cat just got bigger: quantum physicists create largest ever ‘superposition’ Record-breaking experiment shows that a cluster of thousands of atoms can act like a wave as well as a particle.

Scientists just put 7k sodium atoms into a superposition (quantum effect where something is at different locations at same time).

This raises the possibility of doing the same to viruses or even proteins.

Mind sufficiently blown? Please continue w/ ur day 🧪
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

US science after a year of Trump: what has been lost and what remains A series of graphics reveals how the Trump administration has sought historic cuts to science and the research workforce.

Very illuminating. 🧪

www.nature.com/immersive/d4...

Poorest areas bear brunt of air pollution, US study shows Evidence suggests least well-off and minority ethnic communities face biggest burden from toxic air

The poorest in society already overwhelmingly live in areas with the worst air pollution. Hard to see how this could possibly help them.

But at least someone's looking out for industry, righhhht?!

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

E.P.A. to Stop Considering Lives Saved When Setting Rules on Air Pollution

The Environmental Protection Agency, whose core responsibility is to protect human health and the environment, will stop incorporating HUMAN HEALTH when regulating air pollution.

www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/c...

57 ways of looking at a dying star.

The Alma Observatory tuned in to 57 different molecules pouring out of the star W Hydrae as it spills its guts into space. That material will later get recycled into the next generation of stars and planets.

www.almaobservatory.org/en/press-rel...

Graphic depicting the pathway of sensory nerves coordinating bone fracture repair. K. HOLOSKI/SCIENCE

I've never broken a bone (*knocks on wood*), but I hear it's excruciating. Perhaps its some comfort that the neurons responsible for that pain also help the bone heal? That and more of the best from @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪 🦴

NASA’s Mars Sample Return mission is dead Congress backs Trump administration’s efforts to kill project that would ferry martian rocks to Earth

RIP Mars Sample Return 💔 🧪
www.science.org/content/arti...

AI and quantum science take centre stage under Trump — but with little new proposed funding The US administration is banking on public–private partnerships and an expanded workforce to deliver progress, but critics say that this strategy could be offset by other US policies.

While the rest of science suffers, AI and quantum research are at least treading water. 🧪

It's an expensive gamble by the administration that I struggle to see paying off
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Europe’s anti-deforestation law is delayed again. What's to come The landmark regulation has been simplified — or weakened, depending on whom you ask — with more uncertainty ahead in the new year.

EU's deforestation delayed again, with possibly more delays and legislative changes again this year. 🌳🌲

Is this a lesson for lobbyists to never give up, even after a law is passed? Seems to be working... 😐
trellis.net/article/euro...?

The best science images of 2025 — Nature’s picks The Sun’s fiery surface, a tattooed tardigrade, rare red lightning and more.

Always a highlight of my year scrolling through the best science images. 🧪

My personal fav? Has to be that volcano I think. 🌋

Enjoy...

www.nature.com/immersive/d4...

A Scientific Pipeline to the Nobel Prize Fueled by Immigrants

Important. 🧪

www.nytimes.com/2025/12/10/s...

Earliest evidence of making fire Nature - Baked sediment, heat-shattered artefacts and introduced pyrite in a 400,000-year-old Palaeolithic occupation site in Suffolk, UK provide evidence of intentional fire-making, marking a...

Full study published in Nature here: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Humans made fire 350,000 years earlier than previously thought, discovery in Suffolk suggests Groundbreaking find makes compelling case that humans were lighting fires much earlier than originally believed

Humans (likely Neanderthals) were making fire 350,000 years earlier than we thought. 🔥 🧪

Remnants of an ancient campfire were found in a field in England of all places. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

“The implications are enormous,” said Dr Rob Davis of the British Museum.
www.theguardian.com/science/2025...

The spectacle of Bryan Johnson and his livestreamed shrooms trip | TechCrunch Bryan Johnson livestreamed his shrooms trip -- which included both Grimes and Marc Benioff -- as part of his controversial longevity research.

This wasn't on my bingo card for 2025.

Bryan Johnson live-streamed a psilocybin trip this week, with special guests including a set from the DJ Grimes. 🍄

Can't tell whether this is brilliant or totally dystopian...
techcrunch.com/2025/12/02/t...

The visual representation illustrates the global biomass of various animal groups, emphasizing the dominance of humans and livestock. Humans constitute 36% of total biomass, depicted by a grouping of figures representing people. Livestock and pets collectively make up 59% of biomass, represented below humans. Within the livestock category, cattle are noted as the largest contributors at 38%, followed by sheep at 4%, buffalo at 6%, and goats and pigs, both at 3%. Horses, asses, and dogs each account for 3% and 2% respectively. Wild mammals, positioned at the bottom, represent only 5% of total biomass, illustrated by animal figures. The footer includes data sourced from Lior Greenspoon et al. in 2023, regarding the global biomass of wild mammals as published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The organization, Our World in Data, is credited for its role in providing research and data pertaining to global issues.

A diverse range of mammals once roamed the planet. This changed dramatically with the arrival of humans, who have become the dominant species through our own population, as well as the animals we breed and raise for food.

What is the distribution of the global mammal kingdom today?

A mysterious glow surrounding the Milky Way could be first evidence of dark matter | BBC Science Focus Magazine The hunt for the Universe’s most enigmatic material may be over

A controversial study has claimed to have caught a glimpse of dark matter... Yes, actual dark matter! 🧪 ⚛️

“It would mark the first time humanity has ‘seen’ dark matter,” the study's author said.

Yet, others say it’s far from the definitive answer... here's why:
www.sciencefocus.com/news/dark-ma...

Sentinel-6B: Extending the Legacy (Mission Overview) YouTube video by NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Sentinel-6B officially launched yesterday. 🛰️ 🧪

The remarkable satellite will be our eyes on the oceans in the coming years.

Couldn't have launched at a more pertinent time, given COP is ongoing. 🌏
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTmI...