The intelligence of slime mold is that of its materials All of Physarum's intelligent behaviors can be explained by physics, as in non-living materials (e.g., water following the path of least resistance), and do not require a representation of the problem. (preprint) arxiv.org/pdf/2511.08531

Our special issue on Evolutionary Functions of Consciousness, coedited with Tecumseh Fitch and Adina Roskies, now online royalsocietypublishing.org/toc/rstb/202... Contributions by (1) Irina Mikhalevich; (2) Eva Jablonka and Simona Ginsburg; (3) Nicholas Humphrey; (cont'd)

I set out to write a story about the practical ills of salmon farming (and I did), but also found an even bigger story kinda hidden in plain sight: How humanity is speedrunning the domestication of hundreds of aquatic species, and what it means for them.

Wikie and Keijo, a mother and son who have been left abandoned in a grimy theme park tank, have been found dead. The two orcas were abandoned and left to suffer at the closed Marineland Antibes park in France. www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-n...

No, they really haven't. Calling spectral peaks vowels is as inane as saying that because my washing up gloves are also yellow, they have the same nutritional content as a banana. Zero evidence of vowel-like function. It's pure clickbait, and a new low in irresponsible claims from this group 🙄🐳🦑🧪

Today I presented my research proposal at the PhD seminar; very pleased with all the comments and questions to continue improving and trying to iterate this first draft. #philosophy #philsky

1/7 Vocal mimicry, robots, and music The ability to mimic sounds could be extremely common among corvids. Here, it has been found in 39 species (30%), but it is predicted that it could be present in around 82% of them. (paper) link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Which animals do you co-construct behaviours with? Read our new paper and get inspired! @anthrofuentes.bsky.social Thank you to @carlsbergfondet.dk, @aiasdk.bsky.social and the John F. Templeton Foundation

1/2 Lethal violence in bonobos On February 18, five females fatally beat a male at the LuiKotale Bonobo Project (Congo). The authors believe this may have been due to a minor attack on a baby two days earlier. The details are horrific. (paper) www.cell.com/current-biol...

This is an interesting article that categorizes 350 theories of consciousness. (blog) www.newscientist.com/article/2498... And it works perfectly as an introduction to exploring the Closer to Truth website, where the topics are compiled and explained one by one. (blog) loc.closertotruth.com/map

Thursday! law.yale.edu/yls-today/ya...

You've probably heard of deathbots, but did you know about break-up bots? It's possible to create a digital duplicates of an ex and chat to them as if they never left in the 1st place. In my forthcoming paper in Phenom & the Cog Sciences, I discuss 3 factors against continuing bonds w ex-bots/1

Are humans really the only rational animals? Our NEW PAPER 🎉 out in @science.org suggests otherwise! In a large collaboration led with my joint first author @hanna-schleihauf.bsky.social, we show that “Chimpanzees rationally revise their beliefs” 🧵

Kudos to my friend Troy Vettese for this important essay in Current Affairs--"The Left Has Failed Animals." "Even among self-described 'ecosocialists,' the lives of animals are often treated as an afterthought." www.currentaffairs.org/news/the-lef... @currentaffairs.bsky.social

Tao on the USA destroying what made it great - it’s universities

Cool events ahead!

Astonishing views from our PhD office. 📍University of Pardubice, 14th floor, EA building. Česká republika.

The use of tools by pandas This is the first evidence of this behavior (n 18; captive environment). They use branches, bamboo, and other objects to scratch themselves, especially the young ones. Interestingly, they use their false thumb for this. (paper) www.cell.com/current-biol...

Bee positive! 🐝 A new study found evidence for positive affective contagion in bumblebees, this is an exciting direction for studying affect and emotion beyond vertebrates 🧪 #CompCogPapers #AffectiveScience #ComparativeCognition #BumbleBee #SocialBehavior #AnimalBehavior #Invertebrate #Insect

📢 Vuelve el Seminario de Doctorandos BioKoinos-METIS! 🗓️ 29 oct. 16h (CET). Sala 0.6, Humanidades UNED & online 💠Gabriel Corda (CONICET, UBA): ¿Los animales reviven mentalmente los eventos pasados? Comenta: Elena Ostos (UGA) + info: goo.su/abUfX7e #MenteAnimal #MemoriaEpisódica

Excited to share our latest paper in Behavioral Ecology! 🐟 🦐 🚤 doi.org/10.1093/behe... Fieldwork on the Great Barrier Reef revealed species-specific responses to noise pollution from different boat engines. @jake-m-martin.bsky.social @bbmwong.bsky.social

My morning starts with watching the movements of a deep-sea octopus courtesy of @nautiluslive.org. Totally captivating: click through for video. #octopus #cephalopod #nature #deepsea #ocean 🧪

Our Talking Animals series is back! 🎉 In celebration of its 10th anniversary, the Talking Animals, Law & Philosophy series presents a year-long programme of distinguished speakers. The first talk will be presented by Marc Bekoff (colorado.edu) on 18th November, 5-6.30pm (UK time) on Zoom. (1/2)

In a paper under review @abigaildesmond.bsky.social and I argue that self-directed tool use should be the most common form of novel (and possibly temporary) tool use, because of the immediacy of the feedback and the stability of the self as an environment. Fingers crossed it survives review! 🧪🪮🐼

📢 New article out in PLOS BIology! It was truly a pleasure and honour be a part of the core team members to lead this study and work alongside 129 collaborators from 82 institutions across 24 countries - the largest ever comparative study of neophobia in 🐦! 🥰

reached the peak of comedy in our office 🪴 #philsky

A Celebratory Wild Ride Through the History of Life on Earth | Psychology Today www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/anim...

📢 ¡Vuelve el Seminario de doctorandos BioKoinos-METIS! 🗣️12 sesiones donde doctorandxs comparten sus investigaciones. 🕓Miércoles, 16h (CEST/CET) | Formato híbrido 👥Coord.: @jsramos.bsky.social (UNED) y Turad Miguel Turad (UCM) 📅Programa completo: blogs.uned.es/metis/semina...

I am delighted that my book 'More Equal Than Others: Humans and the Rights of Other Animals' is featured in Psychology Today @psychologytoday.com and has been made an essential read in their Philosophy section. Many thanks to Marc Bekoff for interviewing me! www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/anim...

If you’re interested in practicing the philosophy of science in practice why not come along to an online workshop “the philosophy of science in practice - in practice”? #philsci

Less than a week to go until our workshop on more-than-human deliberation! 🌿🐝🌵🕊️ Check out the program and register here: forms.gle/czwCGdovA6wq... #multispecies #philsky #justice #morethanhuman #rightsofnature #AnimalEthics #Biocentrism #Philosophy

This is a cool paper “chemical synapses have a major role in brain rhythms…post-synaptic neural firing requires rhythmic action of populations of neurons…waves of ion fluctuations in the chemical soup surrounding the neurons are important” #neurosky @pessoabrain.bsky.social @earlkmiller.bsky.social

The table of contents for Read This When Things Fall Apart is a crisis directory—“read this if…” [insert heartbreak, setback, disaster, or breaking point]. I wish I could gift a copy to every activist in Chicago. You can donate a copy to an activist in need here: www.akpress.org/read-this-wh...

🌍✨ Join us for #ABL2025! ✨🌍 Our annual online conference is on 📅13–14 Nov and it’s completely FREE 🌐 Streamed live on YouTube, accessible worldwide ✅ Abstract submission is now closed. We’re reviewing them and will contact presenters soon 🔗 Registration open for everyone: ablaoc25.sciencesconf.org

The new EAT-Lancet report is out and I wrote about it -- and also what I saw at Climate Week NYC: An environmental movement still cozying up to Big Meat, and still unafraid to confront scientific consensus on food, agriculture, and livestock.

In this week’s Frankly, Nate returns from New York City Climate Week with fresh reflections on the disconnect between our economic narratives and biophysical realities. www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-orig...

📢 METIS seminar #2: Samuel Corda (UBA) will talk about "Hacia un modelo multidimensional de la memoria episódica" (in Spanish) 🗓️ Tuesday, October 7 | 🕚 11:30-13:30 | 📍 Paseo Senda Rey 7, Humanities Building, Room B 💻 Attend online: blogs.uned.es/metis/contact/

Jane Goodall died today at 91. Her death is a blow to all life on Earth, particularly at a time of ecological collapse and authoritarism. Nonetheless, we can and must celebrate her courage, her originality, and her accomplishments on behalf of nonhuman animals.

Sounds wild. The first episode of an inspiring new podcast from @biologicaldiversity.org on fighting the extinction crisis. This episode features Tierra Curry, hellbenders, monarch butterflies, freshwater mussels and converting despair into hope. www.iheart.com/podcast/269-...

If you're not outraged about #AI, you're not paying attention: #Philosophy in the time of techno-fascism. Book tickets for this free public lecture by Professor Alice Crary at University College Dublin: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Video: Experts from 4 different fields define consciousness youtu.be/Ex0Fwipzk5k?...

Animals constantly give off information – what if there was a disease that forced humans to listen and understand? People would love it, if this book has it right. And society might collapse. A really, really fun read! #BookSky #AnimalRights

The first draft is DONE.

Monday 29 Sept 2025: Brad Bolman @bolman.bsky.social will discuss his book Lab Dog: What Global Science Owes American Beagles (UChicago Press, 2025) in the Greenhouse #envhum book talk series. Join us online at 16:00 Central European / 10:00 Eastern / 9:00 Central. newnatures.org/greenhouse/e...

Absolutely nobody asked for this but I reformatted my animal yeetability thread into printable poster & zine files. Introducing, the "Pocket Guide to Responsible & Sustainable Animal YEETING" featuring a revamped rating system. Download links below.

👋📢 METIS Seminars 2025-2026! Hi 😊 As every year, we’re back with our weekly philosophy seminars. They are one of METIS’s main activities, and everyone is more than welcome to join. Here’s a thread on who we are, what we do, and how you can take part 👇🧵

Today we had a very interesting and stimulating seminar at the Center for Ethics as Study in Human Value on Masculinity & Emotional Injustice, taught by @geneickers.bsky.social It's not even October yet, and things are already rolling.

My new book 'Modelling Evolution' is now published! Please share. Available for free download for 2 weeks with this link: www.cambridge.org/core/element...

The climate crisis is causing an invisible health crisis: brain health. On this ep, neuroscientist and environmental reporter @compatibilism.bsky.social reveals how the climate crisis intersects with our psychological, mental and brain health. Listen now: www.planetcritical.com/p/how-the-ec...