Those who excel in childhood don't necessarily go on to success in adulthood. The key to securing success? Vary your experiences. www.eurekalert.org/news-release... #sciencenews

I've been festively quiet recently, but here's a season story of goodwill. If the trolls are ever getting you down, just remember, they are far less numerous than they may appear. www.eurekalert.org/news-release... #sciencenews #trolls

We've made it. Another year's advent calendar has come to end and the post popular post of the year has retained its position from last year Have a wonderful Christmas, everyone. matildaslab.wordpress.com/2016/08/15/w... #scicomm #adventcalendar #spiderweb

Happy Christmas Eve Eve. Today, the advent calendar reveals the runner-up in most popular post of the year, and it's a personal favourite of mine. matildaslab.wordpress.com/2022/03/03/w... #scicomm #adventcalendar

3 sleeps left. This lesson shows how Scrooge may have had authentic encounters on Christmas Eve. Deep down, he must have already known the error of his ways. matildaslab.wordpress.com/2017/03/26/w... #scicomm #ghosts #adventcalendar

One of my favourite biology facts is that kangaroos don't use any more energy when the increase their hopping speed. We still don't really understand how they do this, but body position now appears to be an important factor. www.eurekalert.org/news-release... #sciencenews #kangaroos

One of the objectives of the James Webb Space Telescope was to find theorised giant stars in the early universe, and now they're coming into focus. www.eurekalert.org/news-release... #sciencenews

Only 4 days to go, and today's advent calendar treat may be useful when it comes to over-excited children over the coming week. matildaslab.wordpress.com/2017/03/06/m... #scicomm #adventcalendar

We're properly getting to the business end of things now that we're only 5 days away from the big day. Your Christmas may be fairly static, but some plants are much more mobile. matildaslab.wordpress.com/2016/02/29/h... #scicomm #adventcalendar

On the advent calendar today, a little thought for how many of us may be feeling this time next week. matildaslab.wordpress.com/2017/04/18/c... #scicomm #adventcalendar

Today's advent calendar entry is a bit of a blast from the past. It's a post that falls into a very small Venn diagram overlap between science and dresses. matildaslab.wordpress.com/2016/02/01/is-that-dress-blue-and-black-or-white-and-gold/ #scicomm #adventcalendar

Rock in Uranus?! www.eurekalert.org/news-release... #sciencenews

Things are heating up on the Advent Calendar today. The 8th most viewed post of the year is "on fire!" matildaslab.wordpress.com/2016/12/05/w... #scicomm #adventcalendar

It's a late update to the advent calendar today, as I've out at work since 5am. I deserve a cookie. I think I have a shark that can help with that... matildaslab.wordpress.com/2021/02/26/c... #scicomm #sciart #sharks #adventcalendar

I strongly suspect that studies in other countries would find similar results. www.eurekalert.org/news-release... #sciencenews

We've hit the top 10 on day 15 of the advent calendar. It may not be as controversial as the God question, but some people do get rather passionate about the status of Pluto. matildaslab.wordpress.com/2016/01/21/w... #scicomm #adventcalendar #pluto

Day 14 of the advent calendar brings us to the verge of the top 10 posts. Just missing out on the final countdown is an ancient and rare off-shoot on the shark family tree. #scicomm #sharks #adventcalendar matildaslab.wordpress.com/2020/11/13/f...

Day 11 of the Matilda's Lab advent calendar has a tale for you today. Or should that be, no tail? matildaslab.wordpress.com/2016/04/24/w... #scicomm #adventcalendar

Here's the other science news stories I didn't get around to sharing this week. They include: a back to front microscope, probiotic & prebiotic farming, using astronomy to cross check ancient historical records, how cells remember and how we stress more about buying shared things. #sciencenews

Research shows certain psychological disorders are associated with greater empathy, creativity, resilience and more www.eurekalert.org/news-release... #sciencenews

It's newsletter time. This week we stagger towards Christmas. We have monster stars, canine community building, an online emotion contagion, and what science says your Hogwarts house says about you. open.substack.com/pub/matildas...

Day 12 of the advent calendar brings the 13th most viewed post of the year. Unlucky for some. Definitely for featured fish. I used to have some in my aquarium when I made this. RIP 😞 matildaslab.wordpress.com/2023/02/06/n... #scicomm #adventcalendar

Day 11 of the Matilda's Lab advent calendar has a tale for you today. Or should that be, no tail? matildaslab.wordpress.com/2016/04/24/w... #scicomm #adventcalendar

In amongst all the advent calendar stuff, there's always time for a new blog post. The next instalment of the History of Science is out, all about the domestication of horses. How do you get an animal that you want to eat to trust you? matildaslab.wordpress.com/2025/12/10/h... #scicomm

Welcome to day 10 of the Matilda's Lab advent calendar. If sharks make you feel unconformable, then you may be following the wrong account. Also, here's one that can walk on land! matildaslab.wordpress.com/2020/08/28/e... #sharks #adventcalendar

It was believed that T. rex used to go through a dramatic change in body shape when adolescents matured. Now it seems that this isn't the case and we've actually been seeing a different species: www.eurekalert.org/news-release... #sciencenews #trex #scicomm

Here a new way that our dogs are good for us. They influence our microbiome to improve our mental health. www.eurekalert.org/news-release... #sciencenews #scicomm #dogs

Finally, The Jaws effect is wearing off. Hopefully people are starting to appreciate what magnificent creatures sharks really are. www.eurekalert.org/news-release... #sciencenews #sharks

It's day 9 of the Matilda's Lab advent calendar, and today we have the closest thing that nature has produced to a shark crossed with a unicorn. matildaslab.wordpress.com/2021/04/09/s... #scicomm #extinctanimals #adventcalendar

Dishonest AI chatbots are more persuasive www.eurekalert.org/news-release... #sciencenews

Day 8 of the Matilda's Lab advent calendar, and we've come across the most controversial of subjects. matildaslab.wordpress.com/2018/05/25/d... #scicomm #adventcalendar

Beauty is in the eye of the lazy Things that are pleasing to the eye are less taxing for the brain to process. www.eurekalert.org/news-release... #sciencenews

Are we finally on the verge of a quantum gravity breakthrough? By treating metrics of relativity in a more quantum way, new predictions are being made, but are they right? www.eurekalert.org/news-release... #sciencenews

Day 7 of the Matilda's Lab advent calendar, and they don't come much bigger than this. matildaslab.wordpress.com/2020/05/17/w... #scicomm #infographic #whaleshark #adventcalendar

Day 6 of the Matilda's Lab advent calendar is very "hands-on". matildaslab.wordpress.com/2020/09/10/w... #scicomm #adventcalendar

This was a new one for me. Some mice sing. Like whales, they appear to do so to communicate over longer distances. www.eurekalert.org/news-release... #sciencenews

Day 5 of the advent calendar reveals a post that would be more at home, and indeed was written for, Halloween. matildaslab.wordpress.com/2023/10/31/w... #scicomm #werewolves #adventcalendar

The more that we learn, the more obvious it becomes that it is not all just in the head. Depression linked to the immune system www.eurekalert.org/news-release... #sciencenews

Cooperative brain synchronisation. Why new ideas are so hard? www.eurekalert.org/news-release... #sciencenews

Day 4! It's time for another lesson in the countdown. matildaslab.wordpress.com/2023/10/10/h... #scicomm #adventcalendar #dogs #evolution

The algorithm's deluding us www.eurekalert.org/news-release... #sciencenews

This has been going down very well in live performances, so I've finally got around to recording it. Enjoy! youtu.be/S-g0WX1GKXE

Day 3 of the Matilda's Lab Advent Calendar contains the first cartoon on the list: matildaslab.wordpress.com/2018/07/27/p... #scicomm #sciart #adventcalendar

When man's best friend was a wolf www.eurekalert.org/news-release... #sciencenews

When science meets folklore www.eurekalert.org/news-release... #sciencenews

Day 2 of the Matilda's Lab advent calendar, and we have our first lesson up: matildaslab.wordpress.com/2016/11/07/a... #scicomm #viruses #adventcalendar

It's that time of the year again, to open the first door on the Matilda's Lab advent calendar, where we count down the most view blog posts of the year. matildaslab.wordpress.com/2020/04/25/p... #scicomm #adventcalendar

When faced with dangerous cold, many mammals will huddle together to maintain warmth. Note we know that cockroachs will also use this technique, but not for warmth. For them it preserves hydration in arid conditions. www.eurekalert.org/news-release... #sciencenews

The newsletter's a day late this week, due to travel. In the 100th issue, I get a little bit older. We have farming bats, the real mortal danger of being a famous singer, how your brain changes 4 times throughout life, a dino-croc and a metal-croc. open.substack.com/pub/matildas...

Featured post time. I would be enjoying the night sky here in the Scottish highlights if it weren't so cloudy. matildaslab.wordpress.com/2021/10/14/a... #scicomm #historyofscience