Emily Conover

Emily Conover

@econover.bsky.social

Physics reporter at Science News magazine "Absolutely the best journalist to talk to about neutrinos." she/her

2.8K followers313 following50 posts

Emily Conover
@econover.bsky.social

I was beyond excited to wake up to this news! IceCube has had some of the most fascinating and memorable results I've reported on in my career, and I think that's not just my neutrino favoritism talking. And it's the first solo physics prize since 1992. Wow.

Science News@sciencenews.bsky.social

Francis Halzen has won the 2026 @nobelprize.org in physics for his vision and scientific leadership of the IceCube Neutrino Observatory. IceCube gave us an entirely new way to see the universe.

Emily Conover reposted

Matt Reece
@mreece.bsky.social

The LZ dark matter experiment announced today that they observed a single nuclear recoil event at 250 keV. This is not what "vanilla" dark matter does, but it is exactly what you might expect inelastic dark matter to do. Our optimistic take (having known about the signal for days): 1/3

arxiv.orgHiggsino Above the Sea of FogHiggsino dark matter is a classic, but still viable, weakly-interacting massive particle (WIMP) scenario that could point to supersymmetry, a new spacetime symmetry of nature. It is a simple realizati...
Emily Conover
@econover.bsky.social

Thread from @nealweiner.bsky.social who graciously helped me understand the possible explanations for the LZ dark matter result out today!

Neal Weiner@nealweiner.bsky.social

An interesting result out today from LZ. Definitely not a standard wimp, but maybe an inelastic scattering or momentum dependent scattering? (1/n) www.sciencenews.org/article/dark...

sciencenews.orgHave scientists glimpsed the first dark matter particle?Shadowy dark matter has eluded scientists for decades. The LZ experiment may have spotted one particle, called a WIMP, but more data is needed to check.
Emily Conover
@econover.bsky.social

I wish I had recorded my reaction when I opened the press release with advance notice of this potential hint of dark matter. I can confirm that I said "whaaaaaat?!" to a silent, empty room. If this hint is confirmed I'll remember that moment the rest of my life. www.sciencenews.org/article/dark...

sciencenews.orgHave scientists glimpsed the first dark matter particle?Shadowy dark matter has eluded scientists for decades. The LZ experiment may have spotted one particle, called a WIMP, but more data is needed to check.

Emily Conover reposted

Joe Callingham
@astrojoe.bsky.social

Rarely in radio astornomy are results tested against conditions in a lab. However, the team out of Palo Alto have done the best job yet of creating the conditions of a solar coronal mass ejection in a lab. Fun result written up by @econover.bsky.social www.sciencenews.org/article/star...

sciencenews.orgStars’ plasma spurts may be blocked by magnetic fieldsThe sun frequently flings plasma into space, but sightings of such eruptions on other stars are rare. Magnetic fields could explain why.
Emily Conover
@econover.bsky.social

The first nuclear clocks are here! Two teams report clocks made from atomic nuclei. Such clocks could one day break records for timekeeping precision, and perform new types of physics tests. One already looked for dark matter. My story @sciencenews.bsky.social www.sciencenews.org/article/nucl...

sciencenews.orgClocks made from an atomic nucleus just ticked on for the first timeFirst dreamed up decades ago, the world's first nuclear clocks are set to improve quickly, becoming more precise and aiding the hunt for dark matter.
Emily Conover
@econover.bsky.social

In my previous reporting on measurements of the size of the proton, one of the main arguments I heard for why we should care is that we need to know the proton's radius to test the standard model. Well, here we go: www.sciencenews.org/article/prot...

sciencenews.orgA precise proton measurement helps put a core theory of physics to the testAfter years of confusion, a new study confirms the proton is tinier than once thought. That enables a test of the standard model of particle physics.
Emily Conover
@econover.bsky.social

Today, the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider collided its last ions. I grew up nearby, in the era when RHIC switched on. It played a huge role in establishing my fascination with physics. I was lucky to tour the facility at @brookhavenlab.bsky.social, on the last day it collided gold ions, in December

Emily Conover
@econover.bsky.social

RHIC investigated the extreme conditions that followed the Big Bang and detailed the inner workings of protons. Here's my very personal story for @sciencenews.bsky.social about RHIC, and the collider that will follow it, the Electron-Ion Collider. www.sciencenews.org/article/part...

sciencenews.orgThe only U.S. particle collider shuts down – so a new one may riseThe famed collider at Brookhaven National Laboratory has ended operations, but if all goes to plan, a new collider will rise from its ashes.

Emily Conover reposted

The NewsGuild-CWA
@newsguild.org

NEW: After 625 days of negotiations, workers at Science News (@sn-media-guild.bsky.social) have voted to ratify their first collective bargaining agreement!✊ newsguild.org/science-news...

newsguild.orgScience News Media Guild ratifies first contract, securing major gains in pay and leave | The NewsGuild - TNG-CWAScience News Media Guild, workers who publish Science News and Science News Explores, have voted to ratify their first collective bargaining agreement.
Emily Conover
@econover.bsky.social

Annotating Trump's statement on nuclear weapons. (My comments in []): Trump: The United States has more Nuclear Weapons than any other country. [No it doesn’t.]This was accomplished, including a complete update and renovation of existing weapons, during my First Term in office. [No it wasn’t.]

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Emily Conover
@econover.bsky.social

Annotating Trump's statement on nuclear weapons. (My comments in []): Trump: The United States has more Nuclear Weapons than any other country. [No it doesn’t.]This was accomplished, including a complete update and renovation of existing weapons, during my First Term in office. [No it wasn’t.]

Emily Conover
@econover.bsky.social

Because of the tremendous destructive power, I HATED to do it, but had no choice! [Not his decision, but OK.] Russia is second, [it’s first] and China is a distant third, but will be even within 5 years. [probably not that soon.]

Emily Conover
@econover.bsky.social

Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis. [Russia and China aren’t testing right now, but they might if the US does!] That process will begin immediately. [Expected time to ready a test is ~2 years]

Emily Conover reposted

Christopher Berry
@cplberry.bsky.social

Not good news for gravitational-wave or multimessenger astronomy "In FY 2026 NSF will operate only one of the two [LIGO] sites and will support a reduced level for technology development" ☄️⚛️🧪🔭

Dan Garisto@dangaristo.bsky.social

Presidential budget is out. Here's NSF. Biggest cut, by amount, is $1 billion, or 66.8%, from MPS (Physics & Math directorate). nsf-gov-resources.nsf.gov/files/00-NSF...

Emily Conover
@econover.bsky.social

Wow. "the agency intends to wind down one of the sites for the celebrated Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO).... NSF had previously planned to upgrade LIGO’s facilities and the two sites are both needed to localize the celestial sources of the waves."

Science Magazine@science.org

President Donald Trump today fleshed out his vision for a previously proposed 56% cut in the $9 billion budget of the National Science Foundation, and it’s not a pretty sight. scim.ag/3HhGa1D

scim.agFinal NSF budget proposal jettisons one giant telescope amid savage agencywide cutsTrump’s 57% proposed cut to agency would drop grant success rates to 7% and gut education and training
Emily Conover
@econover.bsky.social

I only just started reading this book and it's already reshaping how I think about all kinds of stuff. It's a truly bonkers future that some of the most powerful people in tech are envisioning.

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Emily Conover
@econover.bsky.social

I was in third grade the last time the U.S. tested a nuclear weapon. When I heard from nuclear policy experts that a resumption of testing could be on the horizon, I wanted to understand what that would mean, and if there was any scientific basis for testing. www.sciencenews.org/article/nucl...

sciencenews.orgCalls to restart nuclear weapons tests stir dismay and debate among scientistsMany scientists say “subcritical” experiments and computer simulations make nuclear weapons testing unnecessary.

Emily Conover reposted

Meghan Rosen
@megrosen.bsky.social

I wouldn’t call myself a physics person, but dang, this story about the controversy over Microsoft’s qubits chip claim kept me on the edge of my seat. By @econover.bsky.social www.sciencenews.org/article/micr...

sciencenews.orgPhysicists are mostly unconvinced by Microsoft’s new topological quantum chipMajorana qubits could be error resistant. But after a contentious talk at the Global Physics Summit, scientists aren’t convinced Microsoft has them.

Emily Conover reposted

Patrick Meade
@theorydad.bsky.social

Nice article by @econover.bsky.social gotta say that scientists actually build way cooler looking things than what you see in movies

INSPIRE HEP@inspirehep.net

A major new neutrino experiment is nearing completion www.sciencenews.org/article/neut...

sciencenews.orgA major new neutrino experiment is nearing completionThe JUNO experiment, which will study the ways of the electrically neutral subatomic particles, will be the largest of its kind.