Rosie Mestel

I was goofing off at work one Friday afternoon when my doctor called to tell me my left kidney had gone missing.

It's almost slime mold Saturday! Here's an advance viewing. Story by @timvernimmen.bsky.social for us folks at @knowablemag.bsky.social --and also for you! 🧪

A very good, and sobering, story by @janeqiu.bsky.social about the infectious disease risks posed by fur farming. 🧪 Thank you Jane!

Meet the mysterious electrides These chemical oddities may explain why Earth seems to be deficient in certain elements — and could prove useful in catalysts and more

Electrides are mighty weird materials. I enjoyed getting to know them a bit. So might you! And your friends! By Rachel Brazil for @knowablemag.bsky.social knowablemagazine.org/content/arti...

Microbial Olympics: Super-duper one-celled athletes They race, they leap, they spin, they shoot. Meet the organisms for whom physical prowess is more than sport — it’s a matter of life and death.

The Winter Olympics are coming - well, here from @knowablemag.bsky.social are results from the teeny-tiny Olympic Games of the microbial world! Art by @makinaro.com and prose by Amber Dance. 🧪https://knowablemagazine.org/content/article/living-world/2026/welcome-to-the-microbial-olympic-games

Agree, this was a great piece by Katya about Aedes aegypti mosquitoes and the scourges they transmit. Thanks to Louis Lambrechts and the other interviewees!

The Pernicious Infections Infiltrating Ukraine’s Front Lines

For her 2025 #PulitzerStaffPicks, Alexandra Waddell, Digital Content Coordinator & Research Assistant at the Pulitzer Center, selected "The Pernicious Infections Infiltrating Ukraine’s Front Lines," by @richardastone.bsky.social for @knowablemag.bsky.social.

👉 bit.ly/YIStories25

I love this

So happy to hear that! I think Amber and Maki did an amazing job.. thank you for reading!

Gotta love bats!

Journey to the egg: How sperm navigate the path to fertilization COMIC: Male cells must survive twisty passages, strong currents and immune attacks; millions enter, but only one can finish

A fun comic by Amber Dance and @makinaro.com --about the physiology of the long journey of the sperm to the egg, with plenty of hat tips to #LOTR --we at @knowablemag.bsky.social are glad to publish it! 🧪Please share around! knowablemagazine.org/content/arti...

Nice one!

One of CDC’s final blows. And what it means for you. Where to find trusted health information now?

"At this time, I suggest the general public avoid the CDC website." --epidemiologist @kkjetelina.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/yourloca...

Achieving lasting remission for HIV People infected with HIV must take antiretroviral drugs for life. But promising trials using engineered antibodies suggest that ‘functional cures’ may be in reach.

It was a pleasure to work with writer Andrea Teagle on this @knowablemag.bsky.social article about progress toward a functional cure for HIV. 🧪https://knowablemagazine.org/content/article/health-disease/2025/lasting-remission-hiv-with-broadly-neutralizing-antibodies

have followed! thank you for the heads-up, Knowable Magazine

Who knew that whales blasted snot through their blowholes, or that drones could collect the viscous fluid and teach us so much about whales in the process? Written by @gennarotomma.bsky.social for us at @knowablemag.bsky.social -- and a very fine story it is 🧪

Flying with whales: Drones are remaking marine mammal research From collecting whale snot to capturing surprising behaviors, aerial drones are giving scientists a new view of life at sea

Here's your Wednesday whale snot story knowablemagazine.org/content/arti...

Haha!

Tough call

polar explorer in full fur suit

very fluffy squirrel

who wore it better, Roald Amundsen or the Squirrel of the Day?

Beautiful! I hear those birds in my backyard... They're in LA now.

Raising a glass for you from afar!

How a humble weed became a superstar of biology Arabidopsis thaliana was always an unlikely candidate for the limelight. But 25 years ago, the diminutive thale cress launched the botanical world into the molecular era.

What a fun fun article by the (great great) @rachelscience.bsky.social about the rise and scientific legacy of the diminutive weed Arabidopsis thaliana, for @knowablemag.bsky.social.
I'm very partial to the art too, by Shaw Nielsen. Please read, enjoy, share knowablemagazine.org/content/arti... 🧪

thanks, Ingenta!

Betting on bats for genetic treasures Bat genomes are full of clever tricks that are treats for biology and medical science — it’s why scientists want to sequence them all

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Fun facts about bones: More than just scaffolding A new vision of the skeleton as a dynamic organ that sends and receives messages suggests potential therapies for osteoporosis and other problems

knowablemagazine.org/content/arti...

Out for blood in the search to stall aging A gaggle of biotech start-ups are trying vastly different approaches to spin animal studies into the next big anti-aging therapy. It’s too early to know which, if any, will succeed.

knowablemagazine.org/content/arti...

She sees dead bodies An environmental historian looks at how Americans treat corpses and what it means

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She ain’t scary, she’s my mother Elaborate courtship, devoted parenthood, gregarious nature (and occasional cannibalism) — earwigs have a lot going for them

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The caterpillars that can kill you Some species make venoms that are deadly. With more research, those toxic compounds could yield useful medicines.

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