Happy birthday to the only two women with elements named after them on the periodic table: #MarieCurie & #LiseMeitner. As I do every year, I will once again repeat my proposal that November 7 should be International #WomenInSTEM Day! #histSTM #chemistry #physics #OnThisDay #OTD #PeriodicTable👩‍🔬🗃️📜

What is space archaeology? 🏺 🧪 🔭 #PlanetSci

Eight lessons from island archaeology to optimise success in refining (1) targets for space colonisation and (2) the composition and behaviour of the colonist group. 🧪 🏺 #PlanetSci #SpaceArchaeology

One year ago, I started posting observations on BlueSky, and I have thoroughly enjoyed the journey. I've put all 196 observations from the last year into a little book called "What I noticed along the way". I hope you enjoy it. drive.google.com/file/d/1w0zL...

"Only if we understand, can we care. Only if we care, will we help. Only if we help shall all be saved." - Dr Jane Goodall Our tribute to Jane's incredible career and profound legacy 👇

In the lead up to #ThreatenedSpeciesDay, we're reflecting on the species that we have lost, and the future we need to protect. These poignant artworks depict some of the unique Australian animals that are now extinct, as well as one species we can still save. 1) Kangaroo Island Emu (Extinct)

A ladybird beetle spreading its wings captured with a high-speed camera. In real-time wing deployment from the fully folded state takes less than 0.1 seconds. Credit: University of Tokyo / Saito et al.

Here's a challenging Open Middle problem to help students develop conceptual understanding of quadratics in standard form: www.openmiddle.com/maximum-...

Seaglass can take decades or centuries to be formed by the motion of the waves. Morning Edition's Chad Campbell and his daughter have tips on how beachgoers can search for these small treasures.

bigthink.com/starts-with-... ‘even if NASA’s budget is entirely restored, the loss of personnel, expertise, and mission continuity …is going to set science back by years or even decades…’ AND

A visualisation of major large-language models (LLMs), ranked by performance, using MMLU (Massive Multitasks Language Understanding) a benchmark for evaluating the capabilities of large language models.

Scientists’ role in defending democracy The ability to tell the truth, especially when it does not suit any particularly partisan aims, is an essential prerequisite for a free society. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

🧪 Who’s writing your science paper? A new study analysed over 1 million research papers and found growing use of large language models, especially in computer science, where up to 22% show signs of LLM editing. 🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s41... #SciComm

Boozy Book Clubs Reading Between The Wines “Here’s Cheers Dog-Ears!” Prose & Prosecco Tequila Mockingbird Get Lit Ink & Drink Bookaholics Sots Who Swot Shelf Esteem Issues The Masters of Margarita

Terns and gulls feeding out in the Gulf St Vincent just on dawn. I know this doesn't look like a photo - but it is.

On August 6, 1945, the US dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. It's 80 years since this devastating and unnecessary event, and the threat of nuclear weapons is growing again.

Women have never been to the Moon. But in one way, they were responsible for the iconic first footsteps. #InternationalMoonDay 🧪 🏺 #WomeninSTEM

The balance of different varieties of atoms inside a person’s teeth can reveal a week-by-week record of rainfall and protein consumption during their infancy.

"For the first 25 years of his career, Dr. Adam Ratner, a pediatric infectious disease physician, never saw a child with Hib meningitis. But this spring he was an author of a report on two cases of severe disease in unvaccinated New York infants." www.nytimes.com/2025/07/04/o...

These Peritrichia were a popular organism at yesterday’s zooplankton workshop! These stalked ciliates are especially cool because they contract quickly when disturbed. #plankton 🦑

How much energy does it take to generate one ChatGPT request? What about water use and the broader climate impact of generative AI? UCS’s José Pablo Ortiz breaks it down, and explains why we need smart policy to guide this tech. Read the blog:

Resource guide: Countering Disinformation in Your Community, Union of Concerned Scientists www.ucs.org/sites/defaul...

A flyby of Earth from the International Space Station. Credits: NASA

Tonight's moon. Waning Gibbous 95.4%

Week 2 of #MathPhoto25 is here! This week look for symmetry, patterns and designs. Take photos and share using hashtags #MathPhoto25 and #symmetry. #ITeachMath

Good Science xkcd.com/3101/

There is a huge difference between understanding the idea of a thing and being able to write a precise solution to an exam question involving the thing.

It's a beautiful day Some sort of public holiday here. Don Dunstan's birthday or something. Anyway enjoy your day wherever you are

First slime mould of the season.

We had a disappointing year for quandongs last year, so hopefully we get a bumper crop this year

ElectraNet says South Australia has one of the most advanced electricity networks in the world, regularly achieving 100% instantaneous variable renewable energy. 50% rooftop solar is world leading and green fuels are attracting business. #auspol #greenenergy

Like two owls, "with eye & claw, both of us have swooped down upon the many enemies of equitable, inclusive, & humanistic purposes in education". Read @pasisahlberg.bsky.social in this Foreword to my new book out next month. buff.ly/HDeDyHQ🦉🦉 @dianeravitch.bsky.social @ctffce.bsky.social

A new paper has outlined a national roadmap to boost ocean literacy in Australia. The authors are urging the creation of a national ocean literacy strategy and a dedicated coalition to help turn knowledge into action for ocean sustainability. 📝 www.cogitatiopress.com/oceanandsoci...

These mundane observations often go unrecorded, but then sometimes I think that for some - those who do not live in Australia - they might be of interest. This is a kangaroo print at Gluepot.

It's #WorldFoodSafetyDay >200 diseases are caused by eating food contaminated with bacteria, viruses, parasites, or chemical substances. Follow the 5 keys to #SaferFood: 🧼 Keep clean 🆚 Separate raw and cooked 🫕 Cook thoroughly 🌡️ Keep food at safe temperatures ✅ Use safe water and raw materials

There's no debate. This is a horrid weed that threatens ecosystems across Australia #buffelgrass must be classed as a a weed of 'national significance' www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04...

Totalling around 120 hours of observing time, this is the longest the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has ever focused on a single target. The deep field aims to probe the Cosmic Dawn, when the Universe was only a few million years old. Read more 👉 www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed... 🔭 🧪 ☄️

Science is an economic driver in Hamilton, Mont., thanks to Rocky Mountain Laboratories, a federal research lab. Now, layoffs and funding cuts are having an impact in this town far from Washington.

A fishing boat returning to port at sunset. Outer Harbor, Port Adelaide.

A tangle of legs! A couple of pied stilts (and their reflection) and their long, pink ballerina legs. And a couple of red-kneed dotterels. Mutton Cove Conversation Reserve, Port Adelaide.

Picard management tip: Give your experts time for unstructured play. It makes them more creative.

Picard management tip: Exercise makes you smarter. Don't just sit there thinking. Get up.

A slight change of wording is a quick win to ask more engaging questions.

🔑🚪It’s time to escape! Check out the newest Desmos escape room! To play yourself: student.desmos.com/join/3jjxj9 (no need to log in but it will save your progress if you do) Here’s the teacher link to run it with a class: teacher.desmos.com/activitybuil... Have fun!

🚨Attention #Algebra Ts, are you looking for ideas to review for a final exam❓🤔Check out this @geogebra.org collection of resources: interactive, engaging, and great for #MathPlay 🧮 🔗👇 www.geogebra.org/m/bmyse2ca #MTBoS #ITeachMath #MathSky #MathsToday #STEM #ElemMathChat #EdTech #EdChat #EduSky

Oh irony 😀 The first of the 11 texts written by me that LLMs stole from me is...a text about the importance of ethical considerations. 😀

Not everything that matters can be measured, and not everything that can be measured matters. Source: The Quantified Society, p. 130. www.amazon.com/Quantified-S...

"Any kind of teaching can be done ‘badly’. Explicit teaching can be dull and disengaging, just as inquiry-based teaching can be unfocused or pitched inappropriately. It is intellectually lazy to promote a ‘good’ version of one by attacking a ‘weak’ or caricatured version of the other." - Guy Claxton

Here's a simple, practical resource to help teachers see HOW they can nurture positive learning dispositions. These practice cards were developed in collaboration with Guy Claxton and @beckycarlzon.bsky.social, and drew on the work they had done on Learning Power. #edusky

Goodness me.