Hey fellow scientists, I'm just letting you know that if you're promoting something with some junky AI image, I'm not gonna click. You've got a workshop, a conference, a new paper? Just not gonna bother. You want a bespoke image? Hire an illustrator.

This is the stupidest g.d. thing I have read all day.

Some video of the new species 𝘎𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘬 𝘯𝘢𝘬𝘢𝘯𝘢, the blind loach discovered from a well in Northeast India www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDhl...

"We’re all bearing witness to the institutionalization of intellectual violence at a university that should be free from aggressive political interference."

🎉 Huge news for BHL: The Field Museum is taking over the hosting of BHL’s website, servers & infrastructure, ensuring long-term stability and access for its 63+ million pages of open biodiversity literature. Learn more: blog.biodiversitylibrary.org/2026/02/tran... #BHLTransition #ILoveBHL 🌍 📚 🧪

Just published: A very unusual fish, described here as a new genus and species of loach, and the first groundwater-dwelling fish reported from Northeast India. Meet 𝑮𝒊𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒌 𝒏𝒂𝒌𝒂𝒏𝒂! Open access article here: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

This is what reporter Julie K Brown uncovered in her explosive reporting for the Miami Herald, which in turn led to his re-arrest and eventual death in prison, which led to All of This. One thing his plea got him, in addition to a lenient sentence (he could leave jail 6 day a week to work!)...

I really should double check things I think I remember. It wasn’t an essay, just a entry from “In Our Time” about cultural icons of the 70s. Here it is in full:

An observation I've been thinking about: Around 2020, we were told that US political & corporate elites had been gripped by "wokeness" & thus become obsessed with climate change & diversity. This wokeness was alleged to be so severe & monomaniacal that it threatened the entire culture & economy.

If Jeff Bezos could afford to spend $75 million on the Melania movie & $500 million for a yacht to sail off to his $55 million wedding to give his wife a $5 million ring, please don't tell me he needed to fire one-third of the Washington Post staff. Democracy dies in oligarchy.

A staggering statement from former Washington Post editor Marty Baron: "This ranks among the darkest days in the history of one of the world's greatest news organizations."

Today's front-page of the Bryan Eagle showcases the very large protest for academic freedom held on the Texas A&M campus by @tamu-aaup.bsky.social last night

Definitive NY Times video analysis. Obviously, many people filmed the shooting. But it was the woman in the bright pink coat who (apparently) captured the iconic image of Pretti, hat off, falling to the ground, his killer pointing a gun at his back. www.nytimes.com/video/us/100...

Every other summer we run a fish biomechanics course at Friday Harbor Labs. It is an awesome opportunity to learn the tools of biovisualization while experiencing the rich fish diversity of the Salish Sea. Come join us! 🧪

If, you me, you have NO WISH WHATSOEVER to have some annoying and un-asked-for bit of AI constantly begging for attention... you can UNINSTALL the thing.

This is the most astonishing graph of what the Trump regime has done to US science. They have destroyed the federal science workforce across the board. The negative impacts on Americans will be felt for generations, and the US might never be the same again. www.nature.com/immersive/d4...

Kevin is right -- holy hell! -- but among many other things, this obit demonstrates the possible price of resistance.

Watchingamerica.com “…makes available in English articles written about the U.S. by foreigners, often for foreign audiences, and often in other languages. We are a unique window into world opinion.”

Phylogenomics of Cypriniformes, the most diverse order of freshwater fishes: consensus, challenges and limitations Hiranya Sudasinghe, Ralf Britz, Michael Matschiner, Kevin Conway, Heok Hui Tan, Maurice Kottelat, Rajeev Raghavan, Neelesh Dahanukar, ... www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

9 years ago (2016) - Yegua Creek, Brazos River

Our new open-access book has been published today. Please download and share www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...

When it comes to creative and artistic works I have NO interest in anything included in the AI catchall (caveats required because machine-learning has its place WRT handling data). I will never use it. Do I want an AI copilot? No no no, no I do not; I despise the fact that I am even asked.

I'm a little wrong here, y'all! We have a couple more weeks to fight for the IMLS. It'll be through the House Appropriations Committee on July 21. Get on the phone. Get in inboxes. Your messaging? The Murder Bill is going to make libraries *even more crucial* now. appropriations.house.gov/schedule

did some reporting on the impact of DOGE's cuts to the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the court cases that are preserving the agency (for now), Trump's threats to slash federal arts spending, and the importance of IMLS to libraries and schools everywhere: slate.com/life/2025/05...

New paper out by Kole Kubicek, Ralf Britz & Kevin Conway in Biology Letters 🧬 Heterochrony & Innovation: What the Pectoral Fin Spine of Catfish Reveals About Evolution royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/abs/10.1...

I do not ever, ever, EVER want to use Microsoft Copilot. In too much of a hurry to figure out how to turn it off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Middle finger to microsoft

An action of desperation- searching ".cr2" in my Dropbox folder.... looking for a single photo. Needle in a haystack

www.npr.org/2025/04/17/n... But worry not - dems will soon be on board, as signalled by their reception of the bullshit ideas peddled by the authors of "Abundance". Nature will be the first to suffer while the left tries to scrape their wav back

Bad media science takes can kill off whole species. Gene edited puppies are NOT actually dire wolves, any more than an especially hair mouse is a mammoth. Endangered Species Act is NOT rendered moot by this publicity stunt www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...

Quite certain there has been a recent influx of bots to Bluesky, based on my recent follows and the content of their pages.

Of course mainstream media keeps rolling over for Colossal, providing uncritical hype and coverage in exchange for exclusivity and “wow.” What Colossal is doing is wrong and they can’t even deliver what they promise. How many times do we have to go over this?

Ancient rat brains ever crossed your mind? If so, you're in luck! Here, brain morphology of Pliocene spiny rats Eumysops chapalmalensis was studied using endocasts, uncovering unique morphology that may indicate a niche not explored by extant species! 🌍🧪🐀 academic.oup.com/zoo...

When I came to Berlin 25 years ago, moor frogs (Rana arvalis) were quite common. After years of predation by invasive racoons (so sweet...) and serious droughts, the populations have collapsed. What to do? No idea.... #stadtnatur, #berlinbiodiversity, #berlin, #urbanbiodiversity

Tiny banan

And here's @joshtpm.bsky.social wrestling with the question. To me, the key sentence is: "The current executive orders explicitly say that the end game is a government the size of the shutdown size." talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/looki...

I'm a lifelong collector, reader and user of field guides. At a young age, as much as anything, field guides ignited a love of wildlife and travel.

The new anthology “Voices of the Rio Grande Valley: Vol.1” lifts up the regional stories written by the folks who’ve lived them.

One of my former students. I’m so proud, and so angry.

Let's talk about this Nature piece in more detail. I've rarely read something so anti-scientific anywhere short of the National Review. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

So that's the beginning of the end for US Old Growth Forests then, prepare for massive biodiversity and carbon loss, here billed as the opposite www.whitehouse.gov/presidential... 🌎

Hey everyone! @co2ley.bsky.social — who was fired by NOAA yesterday as the Director of the Ocean Acidification Program — is now here on Bluesky! Follow her! Also, someone please offer Sarah a job! 🌊

Women in natural history have long been overlooked. FIND researches their stories and brings them into focus. 👩‍🔬✨ @svmering.bsky.social explores this in her talk: 🎤 "Invisible – Forgotten – Rediscovered" (in German) 📅 5 March 2025, 18:30 📍 @nhmwien.bsky.social Watch on the NHM YouTube channel! ▶️

Four years ago to the day, me in Friday Harbor and him in Texas. We are still doing Zoom dates but now I’m in Germany… Bonus FHL fish from that time

zenodo.org/records/1488... Brilliant photos and really cool study.

Snow

Public Statement on Recent Attacks on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives Sincerely, the Executive Board of the ASIH (American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists) #TeamFish #TeamHerps #ASIH www.asih.org/2025-asih-ex...

Current favorite album to listen to while writing 🎼📝

I have never been an author on a monograph before. Kevin Conway and @westozfish.bsky.social let me help out with this description of 4 new clingfish species in a new genus! All are tiny, but the males are showy. The clearing and staining is outstanding. www.researchgate.net/publication/... 🧪🐡

Is the journal Zootaxa on here? If not, why not?