I am once again asking NASA to find a way of launching Trump into the Sun. He'll finally get the tan he's always wanted.

Beautiful #Ediacaran fossil light on the E surface at Mistaken Point 🤩

We are pleased to share this letter written by one of our members, Professor Leo McCann 👏https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/sep/16/how-ai-is-undermining-learning-and-teaching-in-universities

We are pleased to publish our Position on the Unsustainability of UK University Funding Models. Visit our website to read it in full:

If this plan is implemented, it will cripple British universities and health care, and tear apart families. All 'skilled' immigrants will require £60k salary & cannot use NHS. Permanent residence will be scrapped entirely. Citizenship made insanely hard. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

New Paper by Parry et al., reinterpreting the oldest diverse #jellyfish fauna as sessile polypoid dinomischids 🪼 These findings significantly expand the temporal and geographical range of dinomischids, elucidating their morphological and taphonomic variation. buff.ly/ERV7P3C #PaleoSky #Fossils

For those in UK #academia, please give @cdbu.bsky.social a follow and think about joining us. CDBU's work to influence UK university policy and governance on behalf of academic values is very much needed in the present polycrisis. For some reason we never got much attention on Twitter... cdbu.org.uk

New paper led by my PhD student, Edwin Rodriguez! Building on previous work, we present a systematic description of the ONE BILLION YEAR OLD fossils of the phosphates of the Diabaig Formation, NW Scotland — including some early eukaryotes and new species... #paleontology #fossils #geology

Just discovered this absolute gem of a time-saver. Thanks @anboa4.bsky.social!

Ambiguous evidence for possible biosignatures on Mars, you say? Who could have anticipated such a thing?! www.lyellcollection.org/doi/full/10....

We observed the habitable zone planet TRAPPIST-1e with JWST to search for an atmosphere. You've seen the headlines, now let's dive into the science! 🧪 THREAD (1/N) #Exoplanets 🔭

Everyone writing about Perseverance today should be asking how many of the scientists and engineers who were involved in this discovery no longer work for NASA bc of Trump.

My take on the exciting new Nature paper out today. Key point: in astrobiology, the lack of a non-biological explanation isn’t where life detection ends – it’s where it begins. When we can’t think of a non-biological explanation for something, it’s usually not because there isn’t one...

The Type IV secretion system is a complex bacterial structure that extends across the inner and outer membranes

Nice gift "Plate Tectonics Flip Book" from the author Ch. Scotese to our tectonist J. Lazauskienė 😀

I'm on strike this week for the first time. Such a shame that a great university like @edinburgh-uni.bsky.social has fallen into the hands of grossly overpaid executives with zero credibility in matters of financial prudence. Our brilliant students and staff deserve much better. Thanks @ucu.org.uk

Want to study an MSc in astrobiology and planetary sciences? Come to Edinburgh!

Led By Donkeys have got Fartrage's number.

"…Paleontology, a science seemingly immersed in the depths of the planet, serves as a window to the cosmos, through which we will learn to see the patterns of the history of life and the emergence of thinking beings." —Ivan A. Efremov 🧪 ⚒️ #Paleobio

Hey Jurassic World fans: if you want a behind-the-scenes glimpse at movie props and art, and a 'class' on the real dinosaurs in the film 'taught' by yours truly, then check out: JW REBIRTH DINO SCHOOL! In the extended extras, streaming now, details👇

More of the same from Edinburgh University Nothing screams ‘financial crisis’ like a VC on £420k salary paired with a redundancy scheme Still £24m was saved through frozen promotions & severance — enough to keep senior management's pay deals nicely cushioned www.holyrood.com/news/view,ed...

I really like this new paper by Rust and McCoy. Bottom line: life-histories and ecologies can influence how organisms preserve as fossils as much as traditional taphonomic factors like decay-resistance. Resin-harvesting ants are more likely to get stuck in amber... #paleontology #FossilFriday

Contact (1997) played tonight at the UK Centre for Astrobiology's monthly film night. Third or fourth time I've seen it... but so few movies capture the wonder, emotion, and excitement of science and exploration this well. There's a bit of Jodie Foster's Ellie Arroway in every scientist I know.

Looking forward to the final dissertation talks by Edinburgh's MSc Astrobiology and Planetary Sciences students tomorrow and then the celebration afterwards. It has been such a pleasure and privilege to teach these brilliant young scientists. You can hear about some of their adventures here:

HiPOD: Streamers of Frost This image of Penticton Crater shows streamers of seasonal carbon dioxide ice (dry ice) only remaining in places in the terrain that are still partially in the shade. More: uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_06... NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona #Mars #science #NASA

Discovered this album today. Just gorgeous.

„Such censorship of scientists has been attempted by failed governments of the past such as Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, and early communist China, always with disastrous consequences for their citizens.“ Watching MAGA-US sleepwalking into disaster. agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/...

Turns out studying philosophy is actually valuable. Philosophy majors don’t just argue well, they actually become better thinkers and do better on tests. Data from 600k students shows they outscore every other major on reasoning, curiosity and open-mindedness.

this iconic advertising copywriter named Kathy Hepinstall Parks died over the weekend and I wanted to share something from her website I thought Bluesky would like

Asteroid Didymos (top) and its moon Dimorphos (bottom), 2-3 minutes after DART impacted the moon. Images by LICIACube. 🔭 Source: science.nasa.gov/missions/dar...

Definitely one of the top perks

Hey everybody! @drjuliawester.bsky.social and I have a new paper! We surveyed over 800 scientists, science communicators, and science educators who use social media. Conclusion: Scientists no longer find Twitter useful or pleasant, and many have switched to Bluesky! 🧪🌎🦑 doi.org/10.1093/icb/...

So. Farewell then, ‪UK Space Agency. What goes up must, after all, undergo rapid unscheduled disassembly. (E. J. Thribb, 17½). @ukspaceagency.bsky.social‬.

Baby pterosaur, two apples long, at most

Another one bites the dust!

It's a shame that this study didn't hold up — kudos to the authors for retracting it. The alkaline hydrothermal vent hypothesis remains very difficult to test...

Completely charming and what a great tradition

Some lovely writing and relatable content (for astrobiologists) here by @miquai.bsky.social

A Unique Martian Mineral Offers Fresh Clues About Planet’s Past astrobiology.com/2025/08/a-un... #astrobiology #Mars #astrogeology

I am community sourcing a list of people who are actively in search of MS/PhD students in planetary science/astrobiology/exoplanets for Fall 2026. If you are such a person, please fill out the following google form: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

New palaeo-PhD opportunity! Will you be the one to figure out the anatomy and function of fossil jawless fish? Come join the team! Application Deadline August 22nd, funding for UK student only (sorry) www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

This is a MUST READ from Editor in Chief of Science, Holden Thorp, especially for anyone in higher education. #AcademicSky www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Making America Great Again, by gutting the space program that planted an American flag on the moon.

Finally watched Oppenheimer, which turns out to be a less thoughtful, less intelligent film than Barbie. Bizarre.

Interesting work, but could astrochemists please stop calling two-carbon molecules "complex"? Thank you for your attention to this (simple organic) matter.

Palaeocampa, unlike its unarmoured aysheaiid relatives, was protected by thousands of tall sclerite bristles, with a thorny, crenellated tip. In many fossils, the sclerites have a discoloured halo of fluid emerging from the tip - we investigated this with a technique called FTIR.

Maddow Blog on NASA’s endangered future: 🧪🔭 www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

Pleased to have contributed to this viewpoint article on the prospects for natural hydrogen as relatively clean energy source: pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10....

Thank you so much to @astr0mia.bsky.social and our MSc Astrobiology and Planetary Sciences students for putting this together. It's a privilege to teach these students and lovely to get feedback like this!

‘We dissent’: NASA staff declare opposition to Trump cuts www.nature.com/articles/d41...