Sofia Avritzer

Happy to share my first story for @nature.com, looking at an aspect of science that doesn’t get discussed enough: retractions that happen because scientists discover honest mistakes in their work. I spoke with researchers who chose to self-retract about what helped them get through the process.

Is it possible to be invisible? Fiction is full of characters with the power to vanish. But some animals have real-life ways to become nearly invisible.

So excited to share a story I wrote for
@snexplores.bsky.social on how some animals make themselves (almost) invisible - and why humans can't do the same! My last piece written as a
@aaasmassmedia.bsky.social, and probably the one I had the most fun working on.
www.snexplores.org/article/how-...

Highly recommend the @aaasmassmedia.bsky.social program for any scientists who want a behind-the-scenes look at how science journalism works!

Flamingos hunt by creating their own underwater tornadoes Chilean flamingos use their beaks and feet to create underwater whirlpools that suck in prey.

So excited to share a comic I wrote out on @snexplores.bsky.social! Flamingos make underwater whirlpools with their heads and feet to catch shrimp 🦩🌀 Written during my @aaasmassmedia.bsky.social this summer: www.snexplores.org/article/flam.... Beautiful illustrations by the amazing JoAnna Wendel!

@natastron.nature.com's beautiful September cover shows the first ever image of a dying start that exploded twice on it's way to become a type 1a supernova. I got to write about this really cool discovery this summer for @sciencenews.bsky.social.

www.sciencenews.org/article/supe...

A single protein makes lovesick flies spill their guts Producing a male-specific protein in digestion-related neurons may have led to the evolution of an odd “romantic” barfing behavior in one species of fruit flies.

🪰 How some flies turned vomiting into a romantic gesture

An unusual courtship behavior evolved by borrowing neurons controlling vomiting into the neural circuit that guides courtship. As a fruit fly neuroscientist myself, this story was especially fun.

www.sciencenews.org/article/barf...

U.S. FDA may nix black box warning on some menopause estrogen treatments Experts worry the warning on vaginal estrogen menopause treatments is doing more harm than good and is not supported by science.

💊 FDA might remove black box label from some menopausal hormone treatments

I covered an expert panel the FDA held on menopausal hormone therapies along with my mentor for the summer, Tina Saey. We took a look at the science behind the panel’s discussion.
www.sciencenews.org/article/fda-...

New clues about dino speed come from birds strutting through mud Fossilized footprints can help calculate how fast dinosaurs moved. But tests with guinea fowl show that past estimates might not be right.

I also adapted this story for a K-12 audience: www.snexplores.org/article/new-...

How fast did dinosaurs really go? Birds walking in mud provide new clues Tracks of dinosaur footprints can hint at how fast the extinct animals moved. Here’s how guinea fowl can help fact-check those assumptions.

🦖 Were dinosaurs as fast as we thought?

What can mud-running guineafowl teach us about dinosaur speed? Turns out, quite a bit. Cool story about the limits of what we can know of an animal no one has ever seen — plus, it comes with some cute guineafowl videos.

www.sciencenews.org/article/dino...

This summer, I had the incredible opportunity to spend 10 weeks as a Mass Media Fellow with @aaas.org at @sciencenews.bsky.social. I wrote nine articles covering topics like astronomy, paleontology, neuroscience, human health and policy. Here are a few of the highlights:

So excited to be one of the 2025 AAAS #MassMediaFellows! I can’t wait to spend my summer writing about cool science at @scinews.bsky.social. Very grateful to @aaas.org and the @heisingsimonsfdn.bsky.social for this opportunity!