Oklahoma is racing to become a data center hub.
But there’s a question looming over every development:
What about the water?
Our investigation found massive server facilities already using huge volumes — with more projects on the way.
Read the story:
🔴 En contra del criterio científico y de las peticiones de las organizaciones ambientales, las comunidades autónomas se oponen a la propuesta de @saraaagesen.bsky.social (@miteco.gob.es) de incluir a la anguila europea en el Listado de Especies Silvestres en Régimen de Protección Especial (LESRPE).
#RecebidoPorWhatsApp
I honestly wonder why these are not caught in North America where the species is invasive and a pest
#businessopportunity
Bending back the biodiversity loss curve of sharks and rays. The loss of sharks and rays to date has involved serial depletion of the largest, most evolutionary and functionally distinct species, and the increasing prevalence of smaller-bodied species that have benefited from release from predation.
New paper out today in @natrevbiodiv.nature.com by the #GlobalSharkTrends team: Bending back the curve of shark & ray biodiversity loss;
Read the paper here: rdcu.be/eZ9n9
@sfu.ca
@sfubiosciences.bsky.social
@earth2ocean.bsky.social
💯
This should be a national shutdown
Current NRCS map depicting present snow water equivalent (SWE) across the western U.S. The vast majority of basins are below average, many well below average, except for the central/southern Sierra and northern Rockies.
The extremely anomalous & in most cases record-breaking Nov-Dec warmth led to record-low snowpack in many areas. Heavy precipitation bolstered high elevation snowpack in some areas in late Dec despite warmth, but most basins remain far below average snow water equivalent.
Map from NOAA Climate at a Glance depicting the relative rank of Nov-Dec 2025 temperatures on a county-by-county basis. Most Western U.S. counties experienced their warmest Nov-Dec on record, as depicted by all locations dark red in color on the map.
Well, it's now official (per NOAA): Dec (and Nov-Dec) 2025 were the warmest such periods on record for Western U.S. (and also for most individual Western states). It has been an extraordinarily sustained period of winter warmth, and this eerily balmy winter continues into Jan.
Extraordinary that the US is pulling out of the IPCC and UNFCCC
There's no getting around it, this is a blow to international climate science and climate diplomacy
www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...
There has never been a moment when ending the oil industry has been more urgent or important. Here is a thread of seven tools that can help.
Brief, readable 2-pagers, and a 30-page overview from @michealpodgers.bsky.social at @clicabedu.bsky.social.
No Blood For Oil vs. Exactly How Much Oil Are We Talking About?
Expect to see a lot of this classic Onion headline, from 23 years ago, over the coming weeks.
Stool or urine tests are still required to diagnose patients, so even the shedding from snails is comparatively… nicer. eDNA much more so! 😅
And I guess eDNA would still be useful in some situations (if catching fish is not recommended) to detect Dactylogyrus in the system (ratio eDNA Dact/minnow)
theecologist.org/sites/defaul...
Study led by PhD student Wangari Wambui 🇰🇪 and a couple of former Master’s students in the lab, Mila Viaene and Benjamin André 🇧🇪, with a number of amazing colleagues from 🇧🇪 🇰🇪 and 🇺🇬
doi.org/10.1016/j.fa...
/7
Graph comparing eDNA yield across three DNA purification methods: DNeasy Blood and Tissue, Sylphium extraction, and Zymo Research, on Waterra filters from different sampling sites. The y-axis represents the eDNA yield (ng). Sylphium extraction protocol demonstrates the highest median yield with a wider interquartile range, while DNeasy Blood and Tissue shows the lowest eDNA yield.
❓ Does extraction method matter?
✅ Yes! Sylphium extraction yielded significantly more DNA than DNeasy or Zymo kits.
❗Higher yield = better detection. Odds of positivity increased by ∼0.8 % per additional nanogram of eDNA!
#MolecularMethods #eDNA
/6
Graph with filter type performance based on total eDNA yield captured
❓ Which filter captures most eDNA? 🧬
✅ Waterra tops the list (317 ng), followed by Sylphium (220 ng). Open membrane? Just 44 ng. Filter choice matters!
#eDNA #Sampling
/5
Graphical representation of the number of eDNA and field blank filters collected per filtration technique (open membrane, Sylphium Dual filters, and Waterra high capacity capsules), preservation methods (silica gel, Zymo DNA/RNA Shield, and CTAB) purification methods tested (Sylphium two-phase extraction, Zymo DNA miniprep, and QIAGEN DNeasy) and analysed via qPCR
❗We also tested how filter type, preservation & extraction methods affect eDNA yield—insights useful for ANY aquatic eDNA project.
#eDNA #Methods
/4
The LOQ plot for the assay. The y-axis represents the coefficient of variation (CV) for Ct values, while the x-axis shows standard concentrations in copies per reaction. The blue line represents the LOQ model, and the points indicate the CVs for each standard concentration. The vertical red line marks the LOD for reference. The grey rectangle represents the calculated LOQ, with its right boundary indicating the value (83 copies/reaction), determined where it intersects the calibration curve (LOQ is similar to the LOD in this study).
❓ How sensitive is the assay?
✅ Limit of detection ≈100 DNA copies per reaction, and a theoretical LOD/limit of quantification of 83 copies. Primers confirmed specific for S. mansoni across African isolates.
#Diagnostics #NTDs
/3
Map of Uganda highlighting sampling sites in the shores of lakes Albert and Victoria
❓ Can we detect Schistosoma mansoni without collecting snails or stool samples?
✅ Yes! eDNA from lake water + qPCR worked in Uganda: 26% detection in Lake Albert, 24% in Lake Victoria
More sensitive than traditional cercarial shedding
#eDNA #Schistosomiasis
/2
Infographic summary of the study centered in Uganda's lakes Albert and Victoria. Ranking eDNA-based monitoring, standard cercarial shedding and two-step multiplex PCR for detection of Schistosoma parasites
❓Interested in eDNA 🧬 and snail-borne parasitic diseases? 🐌
❓Not into Schistosoma detection? 🪱 No prob! We still have news for you 👇
Just follow the thread on the first paper from our group, which just came out!
🔗 Free full text
doi.org/10.1016/j.fa...
#eDNA #LakeAlbert #LakeVictoria
/1
😱 The EU plans to remove renewal deadlines for most pesticides. That means companies wouldn’t have to test for new risks & toxic pesticides could stay on the market indefinitely.
📢 Speak up now and tell the Commission: people, farmers, and nature come first - not industry profits!
#ProtectMyPlate
Amid a deepening ecological crisis and acute water shortage, Tehran can no longer remain the capital of Iran, the country’s president has said. www.scientificamerican.com/article/iran...
Every outlet worth a damn should be calling this out.
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...
i think the synthesis so far of the LA/DC/Chicago experiences is:
1) vulnerable people should hide and wait it out to whatever extent they can
2) other people should help them do that, financially and otherwise
3) other people should also get loud
4) not violent though
The second Trump administration’s deep federal spending cuts, including at the NIH, have halted at least 383 clinical trials, affecting more than 74,000 patients, according to a new analysis.
www.fiercebiotech.com/research/nih...
Phillip Lewis, a 72-year-old cancer patient, said he was woken up and marched outside his home in his robe and underwear before federal officers even checked his ID.
He was not, it turned out, the man they were looking for.
By @wendicthomas.bsky.social & @kathsburgess.bsky.social
Que se fod* o Guinness Eu quero é o Benfica a ganhar
King 👑
Cover of The New Yorker, showing a diverse crowd in the subway, featuring Zohran Mamdani in the center
Mood
