🧪🦣 🧬 New #Neanderthal genome just dropped! Denisova cave male, c. 120 Ka, some Denisovan ancestry, and living in very small effective breeding population <50. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Australopithcus afarensis skulls fro. Aethiopia for #FossilFriday: is it sexual dimorphism, or are they two different species?

NEW: Wikipedia has banned AI-generated content.

Archaeological Dig Uncovers Ancient Race Of Skeleton People https://theonion.com/archaeological-dig-uncovers-ancient-race-of-skeleton-pe-1819565415/

Wow. Truly meeting this critical moment in our nation's history as we spiral into authoritarianism. Josh has his finger on the pulse of what's keeping Americans awake at night and is fighting for countless seconds every day to save our country.

We're entering the Pleistocene in my Paleoanthropology lab, so it's time to bring out the Mammoth tooth!

What’s a better way to cut firewood? #forest #forestry #forester #wildlife #habitat #restoration #tree #trees #nature

Literally South Florida

Duolingo has gotten quite arcane since #AI replaced its human staff...is this The Singularity yet?

Beavers bring SO many benefits: especially to aquatic ecosystems, but also the climate, flood reduction, rural economies, etc., etc... And they *coevolved* with Irish ecosystems, so would fit in perfectly. We need to be having a national conversation about this. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/202...

🏺 Shoutout to excellently-named Dr Finestone, lithic raw material analyst on the oldest known Oldowan www.youtube.com/watch?v=0w9k...

Eastern Gray Squirrel on a Red Oak for #MammalMonday

Red States: We are going to cancel all programs that don't support our theology Blue States: We are going to cancel all the same programs, but because they don't support the business school

A 13-year-old girl tried to take her life by cutting her wrists with a plastic knife from the cafeteria after guards took away drawing materials, and was put into isolation without seeing a doctor. The teen was deported to Colombia after nearly two months in confinement

What a difference a day makes: broad-Leaved wild leek unfurling, Maple Grove Forest Preserve.

"You don't show your love and care by putting what you love behind a fence. You have to be involved." -Robin Wall Kimmerer Thinking about this as I read How to Love a Forest by @howtoloveaforest.bsky.social

Violet-Toothed Polypores. A symbol of renewal as it decomposes a diseased Oak

The Woodland Strawberries are sprouting through last year's White Pine, Maple, Beech, and Red Oak leaves--a snack that will be ripe in a few months

"Who, exactly, is making all of the solar panels, wind turbines, battery packs, and electric vehicles enabling this transition? In a word: China." www.canarymedia.com/articles/cle... via @danmccarthy.bsky.social 🔌💡

Failed migrations, brief occupations, and genetic and material turnover are actually pretty common in the Upper Paleolithic archaeological record. There isn't a ton of continuity. Why would we expect it in the Americas, with lower population densities, large spaces, and extremely harsh conditions?

Ok, last thought. One of the weaknesses of Paleoamerican archaeology is its insularity: They're not in regular conversation with folks working on Upper Paleolithic Eurasia or following that work in close detail. If they were, then the confusing pre-Clovis sites would make more sense.

#fossilfriday it’s been a very busy week visiting the collections @ucmpberkeley.bsky.social to study the gomphotheres houses here. Enjoy the three holotypes I have had the pleasure of studying/scanning this week: Megabelodon minor, Gomphotherium cingulatum, and Trilophodon simpsoni!

Clovis First as a model for peopling of the Americas is 1.) Outdated 2.) Inconsistent with genetic evidence 3.) Inconsistent with archaeological evidence 4.) Based on holding American sites to a different standard than anywhere else in the world, and 5.) Rooted in colonialism (1/2)

750,000 year old zebra molar for #FossilFriday

How is the way that we think about ecosystems “delusional”?? #forest #ecosystem #ecology #restoration #science #stem

ICE officers are domestic terrorists BECAUSE they are law enforcement.

Given the horrific destruction that Israel’s extremist government has wrought on Gaza, Iran and Lebanon, the last thing in the world American taxpayers need to do right now is to provide 22,000 new bombs to the Netanyahu government. No more weapons to support an illegal war.

More progressive than Governor JB Pritzker, Democratic nominee for Senate Juliana Stratton renewed calls to “Abolish ICE” in her victory speech, supports a $25 minimum wage, and says she not vote to make Chuck Schumer Senate Leader when she goes to Washington. https://bit.ly/4skIAPH

There are so many genuinely good people in vertebrate paleontology. But there are also still far too many misogynists, and bullies, and outright predators. It's so critical to shine light on this abuse and these abusers, and expunge them.

A few weeks ago CBC reporter Sheena Goodyear reached out to me for comment on the new Spinosaurus paper. I said I couldn’t, because of Epstein connection Nathan Myhrvold’s involvement with it. We got to talking about how paleontology - especially dinosaur research- remains hostile to women. 🧪

🧪🏺 New paper discusses antibacterial properties of birch tar, proposes #Neanderthals could've used it for wound care. Medicinal use is well known historically (it's also carcinogenic!), but we must be wary of extending claims for 'healthcare' beyond evidence. journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...

"Biofuels are considered 'renewable' because every year that we renew the world's agriculture, we get the option of taking a portion of the harvest, mutilating it, and then setting it on fire." - @realhopejahren.bsky.social in The Story of More

Rewilding WORKS

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day, New York.

Is tapping trees for maple sugaring harmful to the trees?? #tree #trees #forest #forest #forestry #forester #maple #maplesyrup #vermont #science #stem

Venison and foraged Honey Mushroom stew with toasted walnut bread (with foraged sumac, herbs, and maple)

Spring Break means baking bread, reading, and ignoring emails

The friendly neighborhood Woodchuck* has finally come out of his burrow in a patch of Canada Goldenrod. *Wuchak in Eastern Algonquian languages (and the origin of its English name), Anonhwaraweron in the local Mohawk language

Amber Jelly Fungus and Partridgeberries! Time to make gummy candy

The forest is waking up again

Actually, Americans are just like you. ~20-30% of them genuinely support fascism, as in ~every 🇪🇺 country. You are just more fortunate to have political institutions & a multiparty system that prevent that 20-30% from fully capturing the center-right party, becoming 51%, & controlling the government.

They're back!

So shifting the financial burden from the consumer to the producer wasn't a good idea after all?

Open access makes the rich get richer #science #publishing #academia 🧪🗺️ nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Having a hard time keeping up with the fast-moving field of origin of eukaryotes/Asgards archaea? Our new perspective article can help, we review the status of research over the last decade and where it's going. The archaeal roots of eukaryotic life www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Setting up the Lucy skeleton for my Climate Change and Anthropology class! #FossilFriday

I was talking about Solnhofen at work this week, so for #FossilFriday here are some rather gorgeous fossils from the site on display at the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin 🦐🧪🦀

The 2026 National Science Foundation budget is $8.75 Billion.

Your annual reminder that most University libraries host accepted proofs for FREE! It doesn't always have to be a choice between 1.) Publishing behind paywalls, 2.) Supporting predatory open access journals, or 3.) Giving small fortunes to companies like Springer and Elsevier.