Karmela Padavic-Callaghan (they/them)
@kpc.bsky.social
Physics Reporter at New Scientist. Author of ENTANGLED STATES, out now from Beacon Press. Former teacher. Vegan baker. Aspiring gym rat. Croatian in Queens. Queer.
Reposted by Karmela Padavic-Callaghan (they/them)
Four days ago, a scientist was surprised by the news that Anthropic discovered new virus genes for making DNA. He says he’s been studying them for years—and feeding his data to Anthropic’s AI as part of his own research. Coincidence? Here’s my story. nyti.ms/3VSWayc
Did Anthropic’s A.I. Really Make a Scientific Discovery on Its Own? (Gift Article)
An expert at the University of Copenhagen said his team had been sharing its research with the company’s A.I. model, Claude, and that its new finding matched their work.
nyti.ms
September 27, 2026 at 9:14 PM
Four days ago, a scientist was surprised by the news that Anthropic discovered new virus genes for making DNA. He says he’s been studying them for years—and feeding his data to Anthropic’s AI as part of his own research. Coincidence? Here’s my story. nyti.ms/3VSWayc
Reposted by Karmela Padavic-Callaghan (they/them)
New study suggests that raising school ventilation levels to ASHRAE 241 targets could reduce flu cases by 33% for the WHOLE POPULATION! We need clean air in schools so bad!!! www.medrxiv.org/content/10.6...
September 24, 2026 at 12:23 AM
New study suggests that raising school ventilation levels to ASHRAE 241 targets could reduce flu cases by 33% for the WHOLE POPULATION! We need clean air in schools so bad!!! www.medrxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Karmela Padavic-Callaghan (they/them)
something is only a “culture war issue” to you if you think it’s not about you; otherwise it’s just “politics” or (maybe) “life”
September 17, 2026 at 4:47 PM
something is only a “culture war issue” to you if you think it’s not about you; otherwise it’s just “politics” or (maybe) “life”
Reposted by Karmela Padavic-Callaghan (they/them)
Seems like a good time to re-up this post. It is a list of 26 Dems at the statewide/national level that have made anti-trans statements or voted anti-trans policies.
I do not advocate for abstaining from all of the ones on this list, but if the worst offenders who call us “biological men,” I do.
I do not advocate for abstaining from all of the ones on this list, but if the worst offenders who call us “biological men,” I do.
The Guide To Anti-Trans Democrats In The 2026 Elections, By State
These are the Democrats that LGBTQ+ people may wish to avoid this election cycle.
www.erininthemorning.com
September 12, 2026 at 11:28 PM
Seems like a good time to re-up this post. It is a list of 26 Dems at the statewide/national level that have made anti-trans statements or voted anti-trans policies.
I do not advocate for abstaining from all of the ones on this list, but if the worst offenders who call us “biological men,” I do.
I do not advocate for abstaining from all of the ones on this list, but if the worst offenders who call us “biological men,” I do.
At the centre of the AI maths controversy and hype this week sit the Navier-Stokes equations. What are they, what past human efforts built the foundations for this most recent work, and what do claims of having solved them change? In my latest for New Scientist: www.newscientist.com/article/2588...
Here is how to understand OpenAI’s major mathematical breakthrough | New Scientist
Since OpenAI announced its solution to one of the prestigious Millennium Prize Problems, mathematicians have been urgently trying to unpick what it means
www.newscientist.com
September 11, 2026 at 2:31 PM
At the centre of the AI maths controversy and hype this week sit the Navier-Stokes equations. What are they, what past human efforts built the foundations for this most recent work, and what do claims of having solved them change? In my latest for New Scientist: www.newscientist.com/article/2588...
Reposted by Karmela Padavic-Callaghan (they/them)
This man won his primary by 30 points.
In Massachusetts, we have a responsibility to protect the vulnerable and stand up for those who need it. We don’t throw trans kids under the bus for political points. We protect them—and all of our neighbors—because trans rights are human rights.
September 10, 2026 at 11:12 PM
This man won his primary by 30 points.
Reposted by Karmela Padavic-Callaghan (they/them)
Dolly Parton, among a thousand other amazing things she did in her life, gifted over 330 million books to kids through her Imagination Library program. Her passing is a tremendous loss to the world, but you can support the program today to keep it going imaginationlibrary.com
Dolly Parton's Imagination Library | USA, UK, IE, CA, AU
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a book gifting program that mails free books to children from birth until they begin school in participating areas.
imaginationlibrary.com
August 25, 2026 at 6:00 PM
Dolly Parton, among a thousand other amazing things she did in her life, gifted over 330 million books to kids through her Imagination Library program. Her passing is a tremendous loss to the world, but you can support the program today to keep it going imaginationlibrary.com
I had the privilege of profiling one of the most interesting and talented people working in quantum computing today, someone who could single-handedly help make quantum computers work, and unveil just how to run defense against their hacking potential www.newscientist.com/article/2581...
The engineer racing to run the world’s most dangerous algorithm | New Scientist
Craig Gidney is largely unknown outside of quantum computing, but his pioneering work on quantum circuits could have huge consequences for us all, ushering in both useful quantum computers, and the en...
www.newscientist.com
August 25, 2026 at 5:06 PM
I had the privilege of profiling one of the most interesting and talented people working in quantum computing today, someone who could single-handedly help make quantum computers work, and unveil just how to run defense against their hacking potential www.newscientist.com/article/2581...
This week on my personal newsletter I write about friendship, what it takes to make it deep, who benefits when we don't, and how my training in quantum physics may have primed me to love my friends an awful lot ultracold.substack.com/p/id-rather-...
I'd Rather Embarrass Myself Sometimes
What does it take to build true friendships?
ultracold.substack.com
August 24, 2026 at 5:05 PM
This week on my personal newsletter I write about friendship, what it takes to make it deep, who benefits when we don't, and how my training in quantum physics may have primed me to love my friends an awful lot ultracold.substack.com/p/id-rather-...
Reposted by Karmela Padavic-Callaghan (they/them)
Reposted by Karmela Padavic-Callaghan (they/them)
Finally, this has gone a bit under the radar, so I want to highlight it: The social, behavioral and economic sciences directorate (SBE) has simply ceased to deliver grants to many of its subareas. Any topic not specifically OK'd by the Trump administration is receiving zero new awards.
August 20, 2026 at 6:19 PM
Finally, this has gone a bit under the radar, so I want to highlight it: The social, behavioral and economic sciences directorate (SBE) has simply ceased to deliver grants to many of its subareas. Any topic not specifically OK'd by the Trump administration is receiving zero new awards.
Reposted by Karmela Padavic-Callaghan (they/them)
Scoop: For nearly a year, NSF has struggled to make new grants. Now we know that it will not catch up.
In fact, NSF will award just 6,100 new grants—a 30% y/o/y decline, itself down from a previous avg. of 11,000+. In fact, the last time NSF awarded so few grants was in the early '80s.
In fact, NSF will award just 6,100 new grants—a 30% y/o/y decline, itself down from a previous avg. of 11,000+. In fact, the last time NSF awarded so few grants was in the early '80s.
Exclusive: NSF set to issue lowest number of new grants in four decades
The US science-funding agency is withholding $1 billion of its budget so that the money can go to a special White House project.
www.nature.com
August 20, 2026 at 6:12 PM
Scoop: For nearly a year, NSF has struggled to make new grants. Now we know that it will not catch up.
In fact, NSF will award just 6,100 new grants—a 30% y/o/y decline, itself down from a previous avg. of 11,000+. In fact, the last time NSF awarded so few grants was in the early '80s.
In fact, NSF will award just 6,100 new grants—a 30% y/o/y decline, itself down from a previous avg. of 11,000+. In fact, the last time NSF awarded so few grants was in the early '80s.
Super excited to see my two pieces on maths and AI where I chat to two of the best mathematicians working today in print in New Scientist
August 19, 2026 at 12:43 PM
Super excited to see my two pieces on maths and AI where I chat to two of the best mathematicians working today in print in New Scientist
Reposted by Karmela Padavic-Callaghan (they/them)
"A database of federal law enforcement officer misconduct records. A survey measuring physical, sexual and emotional violence against children and youth. Real-time pollution readings collected by air quality monitors from US embassies around the world."
Trump 2.0 has deleted or altered nearly 400 US datasets, endangering public health, education and more
Health data appears to be most affected by administration’s attempt to wipe findings that don’t align with its priorities, tracker shows
www.theguardian.com
August 18, 2026 at 2:32 PM
"A database of federal law enforcement officer misconduct records. A survey measuring physical, sexual and emotional violence against children and youth. Real-time pollution readings collected by air quality monitors from US embassies around the world."
Reposted by Karmela Padavic-Callaghan (they/them)
Yeah, climate change is going to make everyone sicker, but it's already having an impact on those of us with chronic illnesses and disabilities. www.statnews.com/2026/08/12/c...
Climate change is making people with chronic illness even sicker
“What research can definitively tell us is that climate change is here, and it’s already making people sick,” writes Lorraine Boissoneault.
www.statnews.com
August 12, 2026 at 4:04 PM
Yeah, climate change is going to make everyone sicker, but it's already having an impact on those of us with chronic illnesses and disabilities. www.statnews.com/2026/08/12/c...
Reposted by Karmela Padavic-Callaghan (they/them)
Many articles/think pieces/interviews about the Democrats pushing back against the scourge of the DSA. I am a DSA member but will, out of the kindness of my heart, offer some advice to the establishment re: pushing back
Do something
Do literally goddamn anything
Do something
Do literally goddamn anything
August 17, 2026 at 4:33 PM
Many articles/think pieces/interviews about the Democrats pushing back against the scourge of the DSA. I am a DSA member but will, out of the kindness of my heart, offer some advice to the establishment re: pushing back
Do something
Do literally goddamn anything
Do something
Do literally goddamn anything
Reposted by Karmela Padavic-Callaghan (they/them)
“A single-payer universal health care system could cover every American, save more than 100,000 lives a year, and still cost $1 trillion less than the system it would replace, according to a new preprint study led by researchers at the Yale School of Public Health.”
ysph.yale.edu/news-article...
ysph.yale.edu/news-article...
Universal Health Coverage Could Save $1 Trillion and 114,000 Lives Every Year, Yale Study Projects
A single-payer universal health care system could cover every American, save more than 100,000 lives a year, and still cost $1 trillion less than the system it
ysph.yale.edu
August 17, 2026 at 5:25 AM
“A single-payer universal health care system could cover every American, save more than 100,000 lives a year, and still cost $1 trillion less than the system it would replace, according to a new preprint study led by researchers at the Yale School of Public Health.”
ysph.yale.edu/news-article...
ysph.yale.edu/news-article...
Reposted by Karmela Padavic-Callaghan (they/them)
there is no such thing as "age verification."
All "age verification" is actually "identity verification."
You can coat it in glitter and "privacy-preserving" wrapping paper.
But in the end, mandating age verification means mandating surveillance be built into software and hardware.
Period.
All "age verification" is actually "identity verification."
You can coat it in glitter and "privacy-preserving" wrapping paper.
But in the end, mandating age verification means mandating surveillance be built into software and hardware.
Period.
August 16, 2026 at 12:24 AM
there is no such thing as "age verification."
All "age verification" is actually "identity verification."
You can coat it in glitter and "privacy-preserving" wrapping paper.
But in the end, mandating age verification means mandating surveillance be built into software and hardware.
Period.
All "age verification" is actually "identity verification."
You can coat it in glitter and "privacy-preserving" wrapping paper.
But in the end, mandating age verification means mandating surveillance be built into software and hardware.
Period.
Reposted by Karmela Padavic-Callaghan (they/them)
What goes into a single chapter of comics? A lot! The books as starting points, articles clipped from @newscientist.com & all the links to articles, research papers, videos, & more to draw it all. Most of this remains unseen, but it takes all this to make the work possible!
#Nostos #Unflattening 2
#Nostos #Unflattening 2
January 12, 2026 at 8:23 PM
What goes into a single chapter of comics? A lot! The books as starting points, articles clipped from @newscientist.com & all the links to articles, research papers, videos, & more to draw it all. Most of this remains unseen, but it takes all this to make the work possible!
#Nostos #Unflattening 2
#Nostos #Unflattening 2
Reposted by Karmela Padavic-Callaghan (they/them)
Neat update to the quantum solution of this problem: turns out you really do need entanglement.
(You'll note that there are 5x5 and 7x7 colored squares in the image—that's because the classical 6x6 does not exist.)
(You'll note that there are 5x5 and 7x7 colored squares in the image—that's because the classical 6x6 does not exist.)
In the 1700s a Russian empress asked a polymath to solve a puzzle. In 1901 a mathematician proved it unsolvable. A century later, researchers found that this wasn't the case if the puzzle went quantum. Now, researchers know just how much quantumness it takes www.newscientist.com/article/2584...
Quantum entanglement is key to solving 250-year-old maths problem | New Scientist
Analysis of a mathematical puzzle that Leonhard Euler deemed unsolvable in the 1700s reveals that the crucial ingredient for cracking it after all is quantum entanglement
www.newscientist.com
August 14, 2026 at 2:59 PM
Neat update to the quantum solution of this problem: turns out you really do need entanglement.
(You'll note that there are 5x5 and 7x7 colored squares in the image—that's because the classical 6x6 does not exist.)
(You'll note that there are 5x5 and 7x7 colored squares in the image—that's because the classical 6x6 does not exist.)
In the 1700s a Russian empress asked a polymath to solve a puzzle. In 1901 a mathematician proved it unsolvable. A century later, researchers found that this wasn't the case if the puzzle went quantum. Now, researchers know just how much quantumness it takes www.newscientist.com/article/2584...
Quantum entanglement is key to solving 250-year-old maths problem | New Scientist
Analysis of a mathematical puzzle that Leonhard Euler deemed unsolvable in the 1700s reveals that the crucial ingredient for cracking it after all is quantum entanglement
www.newscientist.com
August 14, 2026 at 2:47 PM
In the 1700s a Russian empress asked a polymath to solve a puzzle. In 1901 a mathematician proved it unsolvable. A century later, researchers found that this wasn't the case if the puzzle went quantum. Now, researchers know just how much quantumness it takes www.newscientist.com/article/2584...
Reposted by Karmela Padavic-Callaghan (they/them)
If there’s a tool that lets me “write” 10 articles a year instead of 1 without any change in my life, let me say: I have zero interest in that
Since it’d obviously ramp up “productivity” talk, further perverting an area of life where volume is not an end in itself, I’d avoid it on that ground alone
Since it’d obviously ramp up “productivity” talk, further perverting an area of life where volume is not an end in itself, I’d avoid it on that ground alone
August 13, 2026 at 7:26 PM
If there’s a tool that lets me “write” 10 articles a year instead of 1 without any change in my life, let me say: I have zero interest in that
Since it’d obviously ramp up “productivity” talk, further perverting an area of life where volume is not an end in itself, I’d avoid it on that ground alone
Since it’d obviously ramp up “productivity” talk, further perverting an area of life where volume is not an end in itself, I’d avoid it on that ground alone
Reposted by Karmela Padavic-Callaghan (they/them)
Anthropic has announced that it will include a watermark on text generated by its future models, and create a public detector tool. A win for transparency, but will it improve academic integrity or reduce slop? Probably not much...🧪
More in my story here: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
More in my story here: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Can Anthropic's invsibile watermarks curb ‘AI slop’? Researchers remain sceptical
The move is likely to do little to tackle the rise of ‘AI slop’ in academia, say researchers.
www.nature.com
August 13, 2026 at 3:00 PM
Anthropic has announced that it will include a watermark on text generated by its future models, and create a public detector tool. A win for transparency, but will it improve academic integrity or reduce slop? Probably not much...🧪
More in my story here: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
More in my story here: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Once again I am asking people who pitch me stories for New Scientist to actually read New Scientist or even skim New Scientist first
August 13, 2026 at 1:51 PM
Once again I am asking people who pitch me stories for New Scientist to actually read New Scientist or even skim New Scientist first