✅ RNA? ✅ Ancient RNA? ✅ Ancient RNA from woolly mammoth! #FossilFriday 🦣 🧪 www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

Right. Hitler's DNA. Brace yourselves for a deluge of misinformation and bad science. I'm in Australia, so do get in touch if you want some expert debunking.

Guys! Drop Crocs!! 😱 www.bbc.com/news/article...

Always love being back up in my hometown of Nelson for a few days. This time, it's doing some PD for secondary school science and biology teachers on kiwi and moa evolution, and mythbusting de-extinction. It's great to be working with teachers from my old high school Nayland College.

Always love being back up in my hometown of Nelson for a few days. This time, it's doing some PD for secondary school science and biology teachers on kiwi and moa evolution, and mythbusting de-extinction. It's great to be working with teachers from my old high school Nayland College.

Membership of GFANZ is open to everyone, which supports the work we do, including facilitating science communication in Aotearoa genomics.nz 2/2

Humbled to have been elected a lifetime fellow of Genomics for Aotearoa New Zealand (GFANZ) in recognition of my public education efforts around the facts of so-called de-extinction. Other fellows include the fantastic @siouxsiew.bsky.social genomics.nz/gfanz-fellows/ 1/2

It is impossible for deer at any level to maintain and enhance natural biodiversity. "Herd management plans aimed to keep deer numbers at a level which enhanced the recreational hunting experience while maintaining and improving natural biodiversity and forest health." www.odt.co.nz/southland/ca...

Humbled to have been elected a lifetime fellow of Genomics for Aotearoa New Zealand (GFANZ) in recognition of my public education efforts around the facts of so-called de-extinction. Other fellows include the fantastic @siouxsiew.bsky.social genomics.nz/gfanz-fellows/ 1/2

On the event of James Watson's death, I highly recommend this 2023 commentary from @matthewcobb.bsky.social and Nathaniel Comfort with crucial new insights into the discovery of the double helix. (And also check out Cobb's brand new biography of Francis Crick) www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Yes, the #PrehistoricPlanetIceAge trailer is out today...

Feeling sad today, so thought I'd share something from one of my art projects, which is to bring life to Aotearoa's #extinct species. Here's a little treasure called tutukiwi, a shorebird which lived in the forest, extinct in 1964.

The co-founder of Biotech Barbie's #CRISPR baby start-up is Eriona Hysolli, previous head of biological sciences at Colossal Biosciences. Also part of their company's 'team' is Stephen Turner, the former head of genomics strategy at Colossal Bio. From designer animals to.. nature.com/articles/d41...

Māori academic warns draft curriculum erases children's rights to local histories

🧪 Here's the radio encounter between Ben & @toriherridge.bsky.social a year ago (7:40➡️) which covered many mammoth de-extinction issues, but didn't get into the major one for me which is how sustainable is it to create arctic-adapted elephants for a vanishing ecosystem? www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Nelson researchers: Find out why experts come away from our media training with more confidence, clarity, and contacts. We're bringing SAVVY to the Top of the South for the first time, this February. More info and apply here: www.sciencemediacentre.co.nz/science-medi...

#FossilFriday: the fossil 'crocodile' (ichthyosaur) skull found one autumn day 214 years ago between Lyme Regis and Charmouth in Dorset by Mary Anning's brother, Joseph. Although similar fossils had long been known to occur at Lyme and elsewhere, this was the first to be scientifically described.

When Homo sapiens and Neanderthals interbred, a genetic variation affecting red blood cells may have hindered reproduction in women who were hybrids, and this might have played a part in Neanderthals’ demise

Morning peeps! I’ve written a piece for @thespinoff.bsky.social on why I ended up taking legal action against my employer and a little bit about how it played out. The whole story needs a book to tell but this is a good start 😂 thespinoff.co.nz/society/01-1... thespinoff.co.nz/society/01-1...

It would be very good to know what Labour's (@chrishipkins.bsky.social) & Greens' (Chloe Swarbrick) opinions are. What safeguards are going to be put in place to protect taonga in Te Papa collns & the vital work Te Papa scientists do to minimise the impact of the current biodiversity crisis? 5/5

Te Papa & @auchmill.bsky.social need to be transparent & open with public discussion, not secretive like the last CEO. What is Minister Goldsmith's role in this? The govt is not supporting core govt services, & Te Papa is a core govt service. What is the Te Papa board role in this? 4/5

If curators end up having to manage people, there will be less time for vital research, which will help stop the current biodiversity crisis we are in, & less time to look after taonga (treasures) in the collections 3/5

Phil Edgar is a fantastic, kind, & stable manager, & a big supporter/advocate of nat hist. All 4 heads of collns will compete for the same job. Whomever gets it will be stretched too thin & have to look after lots of people, leading to more staff losses or management put onto curators 2/5

Te Papa restructure will see heads of collections (nat hist, Matauranga Maori, Pacific, Art) disestablished & replaced by 1 person. Phil Edgar, head of Nat Hist, isn't a line in a spreadsheet. There's not a great focus on colln & research of any kind in the new structure bsky.app/profile/nicr... 1/5

I wouldn't call @itiscolossal.bsky.social CEO Ben Lamm's tweet respectful or funny, & certainly not his comments calling critics, like @devoevomed.bsky.social, lying tinfoil hat wearing conspiracy theorists with mental health problems who are stalkers. Seriously WTF. What planet is Colossal on? 2/2

You have to laugh at some of the quotes in this piece about the smear campaign against critics of @itiscolossal.bsky.social. George Church says Ben Lamm "has faced technical hurdles and skeptics with respect & humor" www.gmwatch.org/en/106-news/... 1/2

“Investors should run from any company that would employ these tactics to smear completely reasonable critics”

Just a reminder that Elizabeth Holmes once featured on TIME's 100 Most Influential People list. Incidentally, TIME's unbridled hymn of praise for Lamm comes courtesy of George Church who is, of course, the co-founder with Lamm of #ColossalBio.

"Scientists targeted by dark PR tactics" Good coverage of the coordinated, anonymous attacks that have hit scientists who have been critical of Colossal Biosciences (me included) www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....

🧪 Long but important piece, underlining unprofessionalism from Colossal Biosciences in their responses. As to 'mystery sources', whoever is paying to place these articles, in the past year the same PR websites & even same authors published smears of critics AND positive pieces on Colossal.

Exciting day today. Not only is it Halloween, but my crowdfunding campaign is also live! Please support me by making a pledge and/or sharing on all your socials and with your friends, family, and colleagues. Thanks to everyone offering rewards. You rock! www.pledgeme.co.nz/projects/852...

You have to laugh at some of the quotes in this piece about the smear campaign against critics of @itiscolossal.bsky.social. George Church says Ben Lamm "has faced technical hurdles and skeptics with respect & humor" www.gmwatch.org/en/106-news/... 1/2

Te Papa restructure will see heads of collections (nat hist, Matauranga Maori, Pacific, Art) disestablished & replaced by 1 person. Phil Edgar, head of Nat Hist, isn't a line in a spreadsheet. There's not a great focus on colln & research of any kind in the new structure bsky.app/profile/nicr... 1/5

"Ozempic, MRI machines and flat screen televisions all emerged out of fundamental research decades earlier — the very types of study being slashed by the US government." AND the NZ government! www.nature.com/articles/d41...

It gets worse & worse. Just had a quick squiz at the biology section of the science draft & not too impressed with that either tbh. School curriculum criticism grows: 'A total lack of understanding of our disciplines' www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

1/5 🦖 Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park (1990) turns 35 in November. In a new preprint, I argue that it was a prescient meditation on evolutionary genetics, complexity, & control. I also examine analogous efforts of today (e.g. “de-extinction.") Select points below: ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...

🏺🧪🦣 Was more than happy to speak to @killgrove.bsky.social for this: even if you ignored the horrendous, insurmountable ethical issues, what we'd learn would do almost nothing to advance our understanding of prehistoric #Neanderthal lives, nor our encounters with them. There's zero justification.

Given all the hype about “de-extincting” animals, could Neanderthals be next? The technology doesn’t currently exist, researchers told me, but could one day. However, it would be an ethical minefield. 🏺🧪

Our #bowerbird study also has important implications for #conservation palaeobiology theconversation.com/a-tiny-fossi... 1/9 🧵 - @lizzysteell.bsky.social @atennyson.bsky.social @plubbe.bsky.social @fieldpalaeo.bsky.social

Super chuffed to have been awarded $40,000 in the latest @universityofotago.bsky.social Research Grant round to continue our palaeontological research at St Bathans - with @palaeocharlie.bsky.social, @atennyson.bsky.social, Ross Thompson, Malcom Reid, Amy Adams, & Gerry Closs.

Our #bowerbird study also has important implications for #conservation palaeobiology theconversation.com/a-tiny-fossi... 1/9 🧵 - @lizzysteell.bsky.social @atennyson.bsky.social @plubbe.bsky.social @fieldpalaeo.bsky.social

Super chuffed to have been awarded $40,000 in the latest @universityofotago.bsky.social Research Grant round to continue our palaeontological research at St Bathans - with @palaeocharlie.bsky.social, @atennyson.bsky.social, Ross Thompson, Malcom Reid, Amy Adams, & Gerry Closs.

What better way to finish off #FossilFriday than to read about the latest discovery from St Bathans of a possible Miocene bowerbird in Aotearoa #NewZealand theconversation.com/a-tiny-fossi... @lizzysteell.bsky.social

This #FossilFriday check out the possible bowerbird from Aotearoa #NewZealand bsky.app/profile/lizz...