Lovely walk around the Heath today

A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death. Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written." Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating. 🧪🧬🧫

Look what just arrived early! It’s chunkier than I thought. Open access version on publication day which I think is the 18th on the @mitpress.bsky.social website. I must admit, I’m very fond of the colour!!! 🐦🐦 #syntax #newbook

It’s out! Over the past few months, my colleagues and I at @unbreaking.org have been working to document the political, legal, and economic maneuvers the US administration has used to undermine medical research funding. We hope you’ll find it useful! Read it here:

New in Geo: 'Repairing epistemic injustice and loss in the era of climate coloniality' by Farhana Sultana This paper critically examines the intersections of power, pedagogy and praxis in producing inequitable climate knowledge, global governance, policies and solutions. doi.org/10.1002/geo2...

On November 17th last year I sold my fist enamel pin badge at canopyrobin.etsy.com in an attempt to create a new stream of income that might eventually cover the expenses of trans healthcare instead of perpetual GoFundMes 🏳️‍⚧️ As we approach the anniversary, I'm going to celebrate one design each day

As glaciers vanish they leave an imprint on our eco-cultural consciousness. In my interview for @egu.eu hauntologist and glaciologist Elizabeth Case describes how scientists and artists explore the physical, emotional and cultural impact of vanishing glaciers. blogs.egu.eu/geolog/2025/...

@ucl.ac.uk Geography’s Jiatong Liang wins the @rgsibg.bsky.social Climate Change Research Group Dissertation Prize 2025 🏆 Her research revealed how London’s heatwaves reshape air pollution patterns, uncovering vital insights into the climate challenges facing cities. #UCLGeography #ClimateChange

Seanfhacal na Seachdain / Proverb of the Week 🥂 "Tagh do chomhluadar ma'n tagh thu do dheoch." Translation: "Choose your company before you choose your drink." Have you heard this one before? #gàidhlig #learngaelic #scottishgaelic

Gave a very different conference talk at the weekend, delving into the life of the amateur diatomist Ken Knox, who no one had heard off up until now… 🩵 🧪🦠 #diatoms

Listen 🙏🏼

Trans and human rights organisations, including @amnestyuk.bsky.social, call for EHRC to be downgraded as an internationally-accredited human rights body #transrightsarehumanrights www.scenemag.co.uk/trans-and-hu...

In other news, Britain's Sarah Perry is on her 51st lap of the Big's Backyard Ultra, having run so far 212 miles or 342 km 🤯 #runsky my.raceresult.com/364272/resul...

As a Stage 4 head and neck cancer patient myself, the results of this trial are outstanding... "Early results show 76% of this group saw their tumours shrink or stop growing" #cansky 🧪 www.theguardian.com/science/2025...

Good news! We just won a landmark case on gender recognition 🏳️‍⚧️ At a moment where things have felt particularly dark trans community, this is a huge victory ⬇️ https://goodlaw.social/5k9b

Wes Streeting complained that “women” (by which he means “transphobes”) are being silenced. Funny how one of those “silenced women” gets an op-ed in national mainstream media while we get nothing. 6500 anti-trans articles in UK mainstream media in 2023 shows who is being silenced and who is not.

#Radiotherapy is a brutal treatment, I know. But it is an absolutely necessary one for either curative or pallitative care in fighting cancer. That 60,000+ people in the UK are not receiving it on time, and that it is a post-code lottery is, appalling #cansky www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

🥹🥹🥹

Mini milestone - first time I’ve managed to bench press more than I weigh!!

🧵🚨 The UK’s independent scientific bodies are highly vulnerable to politicisation - over the past 5 months I've been working with @martinmckee.bsky.social to map out their vulnerabilities and it's not good news. Today our report is published! www.ucl.ac.uk/policy-lab/n... 1/11

Wes Streeting extended the puberty-blocker ban on 6 November 2024. Leia died by suicide on 11 November 2024.

Gender Clinic Files: Some people in Scotland will never get a gender clinic appointment on a 224-year waitlist www.wearequeeraf.com/gender-clini...

Updated my list of peer-reviewed critiques of The Cass Review, AGAIN for the second time today, adding McFadyen et al (2025) This brings the number of peer-reviewed critiques of this pseudoscience to 13.

Great advert for Tory private education if they can’t even spell Britain 🤦🏼‍♂️

This is cool: 'A species of nocturnal spider attracts prey to its web using the bioluminescent beacons of already trapped fireflies!' 🕷️ 🧪 www.britishecologicalsociety.org/spider-uses-...

A major new peer-reviewed Australian report warns that the UK’s Cass Review is fundamentally ill-suited to guide care for trans young people — and should not be adopted as a benchmark in Australia www.starobserver.com.au/news/new-rep...

Incidentally, the very nice schematic of cryosphere changes over both ice sheets was drawn by @jmalumbresolarte.bsky.social Tak! 🙏 New paper out today in @nature Geosciences: The Greenlandification of Antarctica Readcube pdf: rdcu.be/eJiqJ

I used to use the Ponds so much. They are way of life for so many Londoners - don’t let a few bigots try and change decades of tolerance. If you’ve ever bathed in the Hampstead Heath Ponds please complete this survey 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈 hampstead-heath-bathing-ponds.commonplace.is

📣 Hampstead Heath Bathing Ponds need your help! 🏊‍♀️ 🏊🏊‍♂️ They’ve always been firmly trans-inclusive, but now this is under threat. Please respond to their consultation to show how much public support there is for trans-inclusive arrangements. hampstead-heath-bathing-ponds.commonplace.is/en-GB/propos...

“Last Dance at the Discotheque for Deviants” was marvellous, bringing to life my memories of working in Russia in the early 1990s, with political upheaval, economic tragedy & fledging gay scene trying to find its feet. Oh, and a murder (thankfully not a memory!) @pauldavidgould.bsky.social #lgbtq

Some good news. London is meeting legal limits for toxic NO2 pollution for the first time – almost 200 years earlier than predicted – following the Mayor’s "world leading air pollution policies," City Hall announces. The Ultra Low Emissions Zone - and similar policies - really do work.

Does this count as cross-training for @spinerace.bsky.social 😅 #strengthtraining

Just fuck off with this. How about start the conversation by highlighting how much immigrants contribute to the UK - not least by propping up the NHS and social care system! Also - forced volunteering is not volunteering, it's unpaid labour.

Cool #diatoms study - showing that they are very active (ie gliding!) when apparently locked up in ice. 🧪 scitechdaily.com/tiny-arctic-...

“We studied more than 70 different elections that took place in 12 western European countries over several decades, and found that when mainstream parties take more anti-immigration positions, it leads to more support for the radical right, not less.”

What better way to spend #caturday than going for lunch to a lesbian couple’s new home, where their cats were 120% floof and England women won the rugby World Cup 😍

Last long run before next weekend’s #ultramarathon, The Peak Divide, a 76km race between Sheffield & Manchester. Can’t wait 😍 #runsky

This is a really good article. It’s long, but brilliantly encapsulates what’s happening in the UK in removing trans rights. It clearly points out the massive legal overreach & how anti-trans lobbying is designed to elicit ‘disgust’ to drive centrists towards the authoritarian right. Share widely!

Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin ✨ figured out what stars are made of ✨ when she was just 25. 🔭🧪 Her PhD thesis basically established the Harvard astro department — at a time when Harvard didn't officially allow woman students. I wrote this little profile to mark the 100th anniversary of her thesis:

🐒New in Geo!🐒 'Between dunes and estuary: Forecasting mangrove forest change on primate culture and isolated livelihoods in Maranhão, Brazil' by Andrea Presotto et al. doi.org/10.1002/geo2... #geosky

Went down a wonderful Kate Bush rabbit hole tonight and came across a live version of Under the Ivy I'd not heard or seen before. Sublime as always #katebush vimeo.com/1094188167?f...

Hot off the press! 🧑‍🔬🧪 "Making aquatic sciences more diverse, equitable, inclusive, and accessible: Perspectives on how individuals can take action in their professional practice" authors.elsevier.com/c/1lnYH1MRgT... 🧵1/5

Open Quaternary is looking for a new Editor in Chief! openquaternary.com/announcements If you have any questions about OQ, or the role, I am very happy to answer Qs >> [email protected]

Grim news for the Caspian Sea, with rates of decline unprecedented since instrumental records. Global warming is fast shrinking this world’s largest inland sea. Natural and societal impacts will be devasting - just look to the Aral to its east... #geosky theconversation.com/climate-chan...

If you are interested in contributing to the TREE series on Disability in Ecology and Evolution, email me at [email protected] We want hear from as many people as possible. December will be the last in the series, for this issue we will need contributions by c7 October. www.cell.com/trends/ecolo...

This post reminds me that a few of us (@davidadger.bsky.social, @thelabandfield.bsky.social, @gilespalaeo.bsky.social & @erinma.bsky.social) wrote a letter to @natecoevo.nature.com taking them to task for omitting his sexuality when celebrating the scientist 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Out for run today there are loads of red crossed painted on ppls houses and gates since yesterday’s far right march. Starmer & Cooper’s pandering to English flag sentiments has partially led to this 🤮 #bushwood #e11

There must be a Japanese or German word for the event where you dodge a down-pour, go out for a run, then get back seconds before the next deluge comes!! 😍 #planning

Absolutely this. I rarely listened to the Today Programme anymore, but when he’s on it’s an automatic switch-off due to his extreme partiality eg trans rights (for which he’s been censured but seems to not have an effect). I wonder how the other presenters cope with him…

Spent super interesting day observing grant proposal reviews for NIHR as final induction training in my new (volunteer) position of Public Committee Member. My brain is a bit dead now though