Chris Simms

@chrisnsimms.bsky.social

7194 Followers 18692 Following

Science journalist covering all fields. Formerly an editor at New Scientist and Nature. 🧪🐸 🍄 New Scientist: https://tinyurl.com/2tvwfa2b Live Science: https://tinyurl.com/4mbyh7a9 Sci Am: https://tinyurl.com/bdza74ta Nature: https://tinyurl.com/yc265esp

Close-up of a rhesus macaque looking into a car
A white aubergine (egg plant) and two courgettes (zucchini), one yellow and one green
A red admiral butterfly (Vanessa atalanta) opening and closing its wings
Screengrab of the current results of this week's Week Junior poll. 82% saying the UK should rejoin the EU
A pigeon wearing a lightweight rig of mirrors and cameras and a small backpack that houses a camera control board and battery. Photo credit: Andrew Biewener
A scarlet tiger moth (Callimorpha dominula) on a hand. Its bright red and black hindwings can be seen poking out under its black and white forewings
Bird box covered in covers of old books, including H is for Hawk, Prince Caspian, and A Field Guide to the Birds of Galapagos
New "Banksy" statue in London from the side
Lion at night caught by a camera trap in Kenya’s Maasai Mara. Credit: Will Burrard-Lucas
Wild flowers in northern Tuscany. One probably a pale pink orchid
An Italian wall lizard (Podarcis siculus) sporting vivid green and black markings.
Statue of Leonardo da Vinci by sculptor Filippo Tincolini. It is made of White Carrara marble, weighs 5 tons and is 2.2m tall.
A tabby cat lies on a stone floor, looking up asking for attention
Some proofs on a table outside in the sun. Behind is a view over the countryside and a tortoiseshell cat
Two peacocks, a male in fill breeding colours and a female with white feathers
A male pheasant next to some flowering primroses
Black and white photo of Leon Theremin playing the theremin, which he invented.
Picture of a column from The Topeka Daily Capital, from June 5, 1884, describing an Oscar Wilde anecdote.
Poster for the NYC Midnight Flash Fiction challenge, which starts on 1 May 2026
Some frogspawn, probably from a common frog (Rana temporaria), with a few of the embryos developing in the eggs starting to look very tadpole like
Pine processionary caterpillars moving in a single-file line
Image showing the key characteristics of resident and Bigg's killer whales. Image from the Whale Sanctuary Project website, who have annotated a NOAA image
Vegetable seeds planted in trays and pots starting to sprout
Trays of planted vegetable seeds, labelled with small bits of card showing what is planted: peppers, tomatoes, aubergines, kale and cucumbers
The proposed interbreeding zone between Neanderthals and H. sapiens is shaded grey in this map (from Lionel N. Di Santo et al. https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.06.697899v1, 2026)
A child's drawing with #1 dad first on a podium, but second place goes to a toilet and third to a monkey
Snowdrops on a bank in Somerset
Screenshot of a BBC article reporting on how the US launched strikes on Venezuela and captured the country's president Maduro
A For Lease sign changed to say For Lease Navidad
Shaggy ink cap (Coprinus comatus) or lawyer's wig
A packet of chicken ovaries in a Chinese supermarket
Message from Evri delivery service. Says: We need you to take action We're sorry your parcel has been damaged beyond repair in transit. Please contact your sender.
Two young Asian leopard cats, (Prionailurus bengalensis bengalensis). Photo by Joel Sartore
Two young Asian leopard cats, (Prionailurus bengalensis bengalensis). Photo by Joel Sartore
Shaggy scalycap mushrooms (Pholiota squarossa) growing at the base of a tree
Email copy that reads: "Dear Prof. Simms Chris, I hope this email finds you well. We have carefully reviewed your recent publications and are truly impressed by your outstanding contributions to marine sustainable research. Your work has not only advanced the theoretical foundations of the field but also demonstrated significant real-world impact, making you a highly valued member of our academic community."
A cluster of honey fungus (Armillaria mellea) amongst grass and leaves in autumn, viewed from the side
Two parasol mushrooms (Macrolepiota procera) on the Mendip Hills in Somerset, England
Dryad's saddle (Polyporus squamosous) bracket fungi growing out of a dead tree covered in ivy
Cotylorhiza tuberculata, or the fried egg jellyfish, from above. Looks very like a fried egg, with an orange centre and yellowy white outer later. Then there's a fridge of purple tentacles
Selection of produce from a garden, including eggs, courgettes (zucchini), apples, plums, chard, a cucumber, tomatoes and a handful of blueberries
Cornish mackerel with garden cucumber, herbs and a smoked mackerel pâté
Illustration of the 10 most common recorded cockatoo dance movements. Illustrations by Zenna Lugosi; research paper the graphic is from: Lubke et al., 2025 / PLOS One
Artistic rendering of the tattoo of the griffin attacking a stag by D. Riday
Ammonites in a stone on Steep Holm beach
Barnacles on a rock on the beach on Steep Holm island, in the Bristol Channel, UK
Jersey tiger moth (Euplagia quadripunctaria) on buddleia on Steep Holm island
A fallen plum, partly eaten by insects, with three ladybirds inside a cavity
Three bumblebees on lavender
View of Lake Buttermere on the descent from Haystacks, one of the fells in the Lake District
Small pink fungi, possibly lilac bonnet (Mycena pura), in the Lake District
Bilberry plant (Vaccinium myrtillus) ripe berries in the Lake District, England
Pink oyster mushrooms on a chopping board
Pink oyster mushrooms growing out of a growing kit
Pink Oyster Mushrooms growing out of a grow-your-own mushrooms kit
Tabby cat asleep with its head down on the ground infront of it as if it is disappointed
A male peacock
A male peacock peeping in through a door
Rabbit statue on a shelf at TK MAXX. It is holding a sign saying "welcome" and its ears are missing