Heading home after having just dropped off our son at University. Now he's a postgraduate he's unlikely to be home much; the house will seem much emptier.

There seems to be some *confusion* among Reform supporters over Nathan Gill being one of them “But, but, Reform didn’t exist when he took his Russian bribes” “But, but he was in UKIP” “But, but it has nothing to do with Farage, he barely knew the guy” So here’s a little history lesson 👍🏼🧵 1/14

@drmperdix.bsky.social Refurbishing the old Royd A7 MkII speakers (foam speaker cone surrounds had perished) bought during Wentworth College days at the University of York ~37 years ago. Bought from soundorg.co.uk on Gillygate, and it's still there (but further down the road)!

Mini-scoop: After resisting pressure to strip Elon Musk of his fellowship for months, the Royal Society is meeting on 1 October to discuss his removal – following his decision to address Tommy Robinson's far-right rally on Saturday. www.thenewworld.co.uk/james-ball-r...

Has Melania joined witness protection?

A study of residents of Ferrara, Italy, where malaria was once endemic, and Huye, Rwanda, where it still is endemic, found a small proportion of people genetically deficient in flavins—a deficiency that protects red blood cells from malaria. In PNAS: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Catching the train home after a long weekend with my parents. Seeing lots of young people with suitcases going (back) to Uni after summer vacation reminds me that I was doing just that for the first time exactly forty years ago. Cripes, that makes me feel old.

Pour réhabiliter les contributions des femmes à l’histoire des sciences, le CNRS participe à une commission visant l’inscription de 72 femmes scientifiques sur la Tour Eiffel 🗼. Explications par la coprésidente du comité parité-égalité du CNRS. 👇 #FemmesEnScience

⬇️🧵

BREAKING: ICE is sending Russian dissidents back to Russia. When the dissidents arrived in Russia, the Russian authorities were given documents relating to their asylum applications in the US which under US law are confidential. This seems to be part of a secret agreement between Trump and Putin.

Record-breaker: Leonard Barden’s chess column celebrates 70 years and a place in history

Look what dropped through my letter box today... global.oup.com/academic/pro...

This is a huge story. Don't let him get away with it. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

On the same day in the Telegraph:

“Farage claimed last year to have “bought a house” in his constituency but the property is actually owned in the name of his partner, meaning he legally avoided higher-rate stamp duty on the purchase of an additional home – given he already owns other properties” www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Amid a cross-border anti-migrant campaign & in the absence of public/political pushback, racists & people with prejudices currently feel more & more permitted, bolder, even encouraged to confront, insult, or threaten others. Don't stand by. Don't look away. Here's advice. #GoodMorning, everyone.

Calling your boss a dickhead is not a sackable offence, tribunal rules

'The Conservative party, whose leader Kemi Badenoch has repeatedly pledged to fight for “free speech”, has banned Byline Times from attending her party’s annual conference' bylinetimes.com/2025/09/04/k...

Did anyone say why Graham Linehan was at Heathrow when he was arrested? He was returning to the UK from America, to appear before the magistrate for an incident to do with an altercation with a trans girl, a child. #r4today www.thejournal.ie/graham-lineh...

Pathetic and inadequate response from the government spokesperson (last two paras). And to note that the cities mentioned here #Hull, #Leicester, #Plymouth all have Labour MPs that should be more on the ball on this issue.

The black hole of disinformation and bullshit continues to suck in huge portions of the US. Rabies is spreading in the US. One reason is that many people are not vaccinating their dogs. Why? Many actually believe rabies vaccinations will make their dogs autistic.

Have you seen a #hedgehog you're worried about? 📞🦔🩹 Follow these simple first aid steps & call us on 01584 890801 or your local independent hedgehog rescue as soon as possible. buff.ly/2wodWgS Don't delay - acting now can make a difference! #MondayMotivation

Hey Firefox users.

NEW: Last week, oil literally rained down on a Black town in rural Louisiana where 60% of folks live in poverty. The company isn’t taking responsibility & the federal + state governments are saying residents have to clean it up themselves. capitalbnews.org/louisiana-oi...

The confirmed sighting of a yellow-legged Asian hornet in Runcorn, Cheshire and unconfirmed reports in Yorkshire mean that we need everyone's help to be vigilant, know how to identify & report using the Asian Hornet Watch app. Ports are especially vulnerable entry points.

Dear USA Deploying troops against civilians will not go well. Yours Great Britain and Northern Ireland

From a "house" clearance. @kerryasynt.bsky.social

New Zealand launches campaign to find love for rare and lonely left-spiralling snail Ned

Interesting (in a nerdy way) live thread ⬇️

It's actually not possible to drive a truck from Germany to Kyrgyzstan without passing through Russia. So no surprise that much of what Germany says gets exported to Kyrgyzstan (black) never actually gets there (blue). Kyrgyzstan is just what gets written on the invoice. Stuff never goes there...

On the shelves now: A Practical Guide to Structure Determination in Organic Chemistry:  Claridge, Boa and McCullagh global.oup.com/ukhe/product...

🔴Ofcom Refuses to Investigate GB News Over Call to Shoot Disabled Benefit Claimants The watchdog also refused to investigate a complaint about a presenter’s use of an anti-trans slur, saying the comments were “in line with audience expectations for this channel” bylinetimes.com/2025/08/21/o...

via @scotnational.bsky.social

An unhealthy alliance One in four UK MPs have taken pro-Israel lobby funding, raising urgent questions about foreign influence and trust in British democracy By John Hall @yorkshirebylines.co.uk

✍️ Silicon Valley’s quiet takeover How Elon Musk and Peter Thiel are seeking to embed themselves in Britain’s vital infrastructure By Ann Moody @annaubert.bsky.social

On the shelves now: A Practical Guide to Structure Determination in Organic Chemistry:  Claridge, Boa and McCullagh global.oup.com/ukhe/product...

The Arse of the Deal The new Private Eye is out now.

Regularly, I see reports or tweets about baby formula locked or tagged against theft in shops. We automatically assume it's parents whose poverty drives them to stealing, right? It's so obvious we don't even question or research. Until we do & find things are much more nuanced. 🧵

While Trump is floundering around on the world stage and appearing like a complete idiot, JD Vance is hanging out in England with British far-right extremists in an attempt to undermine British democracy...

An entire administration of idiots

🔴 Why Did the ECHR Deny Us the Right to Know the Full Extent of the Russian Attack on British Democracy? Whistleblower Sergei Cristo argues that the recent ruling of the European Court of Human Rights serves to protect Kremlin meddling bylinetimes.com/2025/08/04/w...

@klchemistry.bsky.social Electron père post for attention of (one of the many) electron fils

Who’s behind the Centre for Migration Control? This so-called “research organisation” has been cited in The Sun, The Telegraph, The Times and Express - but it appears to be run by one man with a Brexit campaign past, publishing opaque and selective data and wild claims about migrants. 🧵 1/2

Everything about this viral tweet is wrong. No: the government hasn’t raided the National Insurance Fund. No: the surplus can’t be used for anything you like, without loading our children with debt/taxes. Here’s why. 🧵

One of those ones where you really need to get the first letter early on.... There were more than one answer left even at this stage. Wordle 1,505 X/6* ⬜🟩⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟩⬜🟨⬜ ⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩

Today is my first day sans paid employment since the 4 weeks between the end of my PhD and the start of my first postdoc...in 1991.