Moving to Mars won’t be easy as easy as some people seem to think. www.iflscience.com/little-air-a...

I got to join the Mars Perseverance rover team a little over a year ago as they were deciding where to send the rover, which led to this exciting discovery. I share that story in my forthcoming book, BECOMING MARTIAN: HOW LIVING IN SPACE WILL CHANGE OUR BODIES AND MINDS (coming out March 2026).

Exciting news from Mars! www.cnn.com/2025/09/10/s...

Nice touch on my Southwest Airlines flight this morning: the flight attendant had everyone close windows, turn off reading lights, and turn on the little flight attendant call lights to look like candles. Then we all sang Happy Birthday and had the birthday girl “blow out” the candles. 🎂✈️❤️

Fun visit to Dallas to give the keynote address at the UTSW/Children’s Health Rare Disease symposium!

Me , fossilized, mid-squid fact, talking about cephalopod evolution juuuuust as I got to the part about ammonites.

With my colleague, science historian Luis Campos, as we prepare for the new @riceuniversity.bsky.social course we are teaching together this semester. It’s called “Extraterrestrial Elsewheres: Astrobiology and Imagining Life on Other Worlds”. We can’t wait to get started!

Apparently the black market for ants is getting out of control. www.wired.com/story/usda-a...

This is the observatory where astronomer Percival Lowell made detailed observations of Mars in the 1890s. He was convinced he saw long, straight lines stretching across the planet, & interpreted these as canals built by Martians…

It’s such a delight to see students finding their passion. I loved reading this article about one of our wonderful students who discovered a love of science communication during her time at @riceuniversity.bsky.social, including through some of my classes. news.rice.edu/news/2025/bi...

My family’s favorite species of antelope ❤️

Super proud to share the first first-author paper from @ashockney24.bsky.social and our first official Rummel lab publication! Check it out here: nyaspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

@scottsolomon.bsky.social Thanks again for the awesome talk at our TMN meeting last night. I didn't realize that ants were so fascinating.

Excited to see @weinersmith.bsky.social and @zachweinersmith.bsky.social’s book ‘A City on Mars’ being highlighted at the front of my local @barnesandnoble.com store! It’s their non-fiction book of the month!

Cruisin

Not quite sure what is happening here…

Moose are bigger than you think

Still looking for an EPIC trip to do this year? Join me in NEW ZEALAND this December! I'm hosting a trip for the Rice Alumni Traveling Owls and you're invited to join us! Here is the full trip brochure with all the details: alumni.rice.edu/sites/g/file...

Mama moose and calf!

The moment just after we were charged by an elephant while walking through Kruger National Park!

Bush pig! My 11-year old nephew spotted this one. Our guide was impressed, as they are not commonly seen! Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique

It’s such a treat to encounter a white rhino in the wild! The first time I visited Kruger National Park, in 2013, they were relatively common. In fact, we saw three of them right on the road almost immediately after entering the park.

I love it when lions remind us that, after all, they are still cats 🐾

Elephants assembling into a defensive circle to protect their young. We accidentally spooked this herd by approaching two juveniles. Most of the adults were hiding in dense vegetation on the edge of the clearing and they came charging out when they saw us.

Vervet monkey

Scene from the stunning coastline of Mozambique 😍

Waterbuck battling for supremacy on the floodplain at Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique!

More content coming soon! I’ve been off adventuring…

My son wished me a happy Father’s Day, then pointed out that today is also Son Day.

Not sure who the guys in the front row are but well done, gentlemen. 👏👏

Can BUBBLES be used as TOOLS??? 🫧🫧🫧 www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgRA...

The next fashion craze— We’re calling this look “rainforest glam.” You saw it here first.

Among the highlights of our Rice Tropical Field Biology course in Belize was this shot from a camera trap the students set up along an abandoned road near our research station!

SQUID ALERT!!! We caught a Caribbean reef squid by hanging a light in the water at the end of the dock. And it inked! We released it back into the water after taking pictures. The students were so excited! Z

We have arrived at Glover’s Reef Research Station. Looking forward to spending the next 5 days helping students learn about the ecology and evolution of fishes and other coral reef and sea grass organisms.

This used to be seaside restaurant in Belize City called Calypso. It was wiped out by a hurricane.

We brake for tapirs

Watch your step

In the latest episode of Wild World, we go whale watching in southeast Alaska with marine biologist Dr. Heidi Pearson! player.captivate.fm/episode/a00b... [Photo by Heidi Pearson taken under NMFS ESA/MMPA Permit No. 14122]

Good morning from Las Cuevas Research Station in the heart of the Chiquibul Forest.

We got a special treat on our first night in Belize when two kinkajous made an appearance just after dark! Kinkajous are members of the raccoon family that live in trees and eat fruit, insects, and small animals. They have very long tongues and prehensile tails. They are super cute!

The Rice Tropical Field Biology class has arrived in Belize’s Chiquibul Forest! First stop: exploring the Maya ruins at Caracol.

It begins! The @riceuniversity.bsky.social Tropical Field Biology class is headed to Belize! Students will be posting daily blog updates on the class website: ebio319.blogs.rice.edu Stay tuned for more updates!

Copy edits for my new book are *done*!!! 🕺 🍻 📖

New Zealand is home to many unique creatures... one of them is a highly intelligent parrot that is known to attack cars! www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1vE...

Fine, I’ll get back to work

Classic Rock should not simply mean rock music that is old. This is a hill I will happily die on.

My cocktail came with its own little house

New Zealand, isolated for 80 million years, gives us a glimpse into how life may have evolved if mammals never existed. [Spoiler Alert: BIRDS] In S2E12 Brent Stephenson shares info about kiwis, keas, & some of the other weird & wonderful creatures of New Zealand! player.captivate.fm/episode/655c...

What killed the dinosaurs? We went canoeing down the Brazos River to search for clues. www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/outl...