Thanks Pam. And also the book I link to with all the details on Astbury is very good. www.leeds.ac.uk/news-univers...

Finally had time to read this from @tomforth.co.uk properly. tomforth.co.uk/nationalpurp... everyone at @universityofleeds.bsky.social should read it, and feel the anger of how we are let down by our “National” institutions.

Not saying there's unconscious racial bias in this country but... #TheTraitors

When did @discogsofficial.bsky.social change its sorting algorithm? All the “The….” Band names have moved to T!

Three of the top five British grid electricity records smashed in 2025! This is a huge success story, despite what Russian bots and U.S fossil fuel shills scream on X. Every unit of clean domestic energy we produce means a safer future for our children…🥳

Study of more than 100,000 people supports your parents’ advice: eat your vegetables go.nature.com/3MEaHcI

THIS. Did you know sickle cell is curable, now? FULLY curable. If you're feeling down or despairing about what FEELS like technology/advancement/science "standing still" or being fully malicious, I have great news: You're not paying attention to actual science. Just tech industry marketing.

TIL: Before Hans Asperger or Leo Kanner, a Jewish-Ukrainian psychiatrist named Grunya Sukhareva defined autism in 1925. Both men did not cite her work. She also had documented how it affected women and girls, where the men did not. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grunya_...

Reminder that Henry Hoovers are made in Britain by a unionised workforce

This does not surprise me one bit

Anyone know about this for Cymraeg/Welsh?

About to head down the allotment and harvest the sprouts for lunch. Merry Christmas!

I see there’s a post about microplastics going around with a photo of drinking straws, so here is my semi-regular reminder that the 3 biggest sources of microplastics are tires (45%), synthetic clothing particles (35%) and paint (~10%). Lay article attached:

More anti-renewables astroturfing from the BBC, quoting exactly three (3) villagers opposed to a solar farm, and zero data.

The best thing about the internet at Christmas. We’ve put stuff in storage this year, but my oldest once again is sleeping between an etching press, a spinning wheel and a cello that needs luthier attention. #duvetknowitschriatmas

Some signs of progress on NPR, which was meant to be unveiled at the spending review, then conference, then the budget. But when it does surface, suspect it may be light on detail as.ft.com/r/bdec77e4-3...

Includes me exposing the myth that Cambridge somehow earned its way into its leadership position in UK life sciences. It didn't. Leeds was in the lead, and then the Medical Research Council in London picked Cambridge and London as winners because it was their mates.

The best thing about Knaresborough is the train to York and Leeds

Leeds tram delayed again. I reckon I’ll be retired before it’s running.

Did you know that from tomorrow, Qualtrics is offering synthetic panels (AI-generated participants)? Follow me down a rabbit hole I'm calling "doing science is tough and I'm so busy, can't we just make up participants?"

NEW on Wonkhe: Suanne Gibson, Francesca Peruzzo and Zeta Williams-Brown argue that the barriers faced by disabled students need to be understood as part of an ecosystem rather than one-off roadblocks buff.ly/7DXS7KR

Air pollution in New York City down 22% after six months of congestion pricing #airpollution www.nature.com/articles/s44...

This makes the free beer for a review make sense! The more reviews and interactions we give a place, the better it’s digital prominence

Completion rates for all vocational programmes are quite low.

was at an event on AI for science yesterday, a panel discussion here at NeurIPS. The panelists discussed how they plan to replace humans at all levels in the scientific process. So I stood up and protested that what they are doing is evil. Full post: togelius.blogspot.com/2025/12/plea...

I only understand about 25% of this, but I’m guessing it wouldn’t be a good idea to ask an LLM to explain it to me… I want to know more though! Language is so fascinating.

This story is still going

If anyone cares at all, EV battery recycling is now hitting 99% recovery for important metals Please remind me again what the recycle rate for fossil fuels is interestingengineering.com/energy/recyc...

I genuinely can't think of a less suitable place for widespread LLM use than a University. Amazing how many have rushed into it.

5. We're looking to expand our board. So if you think you're a good fit for one of our non-executive director roles, do please apply here: www.earthroverprogram.org/job-opportun...

This is a thing of joy - why we need multiple disciplines within our universities, with a nod to the value of music too. Specialist institutions won’t produce these sorts of random encounters.

Ditto hunger, homelessness, etc.

Like this one they only just completed. @danielsohege.bsky.social bang on here I'm not holding my breath either. It's a weird thing do after a full scale report says there is no issue with overdiagnosis in the UK. ⬇️ www.england.nhs.uk/publication/...

Love this

The five-paragraph essay is the most common and obvious example of an intervention that actually discourages thinking, but there's many others, many of which I once employed because I thought I was helping students get better grades. bookshop.org/a/1793/97814...

If it were steel works we would have a government bailout plan, yet losing thousands of jobs at unis is met with a shrug. & unlike steelworks universities were profitable when they had foreign students. You are killing the golden goose… one of our best exports… HOW IS THIS HELPING GROWTH?!

We need art.

People used to say, with great confidence, that variable renewables could never safely provide more than 5% of grid power. That estimate has crept up ever since, though the "great confidence" part never wavers. Anyway, about China ...

Blinking heck. Water bills have gone up over 20% this year! From £1 to £1.20 per m3 for water, and £2.07 to £2.70 for sewerage!

Visiting fellowship in ethics of AI at U of Oxford. #philsci www.oxford-aiethics.ox.ac.uk/visiting-fel...

Some great points in here that I hadn’t considered. One of the more interesting ones is that cars won’t need to be parked on the street.

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about the university as sorting hat and the tension with the university as a place of learning. Assessment sorts. If it was all about learning we’d allow infinite resit attempts, with pass/fail and high thresholds (the driving test model). And AI changes it all.

Interesting from the Eye. I wonder if anyone told them that false positives in AI detection are more likely for English as additional language students, and neurodivergent students?

Fewer workers. Fewer international students. More people leaving. A "step in the right direction" according to the PM. Impossible to take PM/govt seriously on growth if they are deliberately reducing it (and making the fiscal position worse) *as a matter of policy*. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

This is outrageous

#AcademicSky #PsychSciSky Not read yet, but this paper looks of interest to people in my orbit. Questioning the practice of throwing every covariate under the sun into your models. Here, in a legal context, which is interesting.

AI will enable productivity gains, they said…

I see JISC is continuing in an AI positive way, without convincing evidence. www.jisc.ac.uk/news/all/new... What evidence is there that AI can save staff time?

Just a gentle reminder to save PDFs of the work you published this year especially in digital publications because you could look up one day and find that that pub doesn’t exist anymore and isn’t archived anywhere and is just gone Ask me how I know!

This is the most mad policy. @lukecharters.bsky.social how can you support this tax on successful exports that will damage a vital growth sector in the UK and Yorkshire?