Melvin Williams

More coverage of my least favorite company…

"Beth Shapiro stated that the three animals are "grey wolves with 20 edits" as purportedly stated by the company "from the very beginning", acknowledging that it is impossible to bring back an extinct organism"

These are deeply unserious people and even using the term "science" here is misleading.

The science is as over-hyped and borderline fraudulent as the ethics are thorny (and that doesn't even count the George Church, friend of Epstein angle)

Nanoparticle system shows promise for delivering mRNA to prevent type 1 diabetes Research on preventing type 1 diabetes often focuses on limiting the autoimmune response that destroys the body's ability to produce its own insulin. A new technology developed by scientists at the Un...

What a wonderful thing this will be for so, so many people, if it turns out to work. Once we get rid of RFKjr and his lackeys.

‘Who’d guess they’re the same species?’ What Italy’s wall lizards reveal about genetic diversity and why it matters Understanding biodiversity within species is key to our understanding of why nature works the way it does, say researchers

"Diversity within species contributes to ecosystem functioning and represents an often-overlooked layer of biodiversity."

#Biodiversity - we have so little understanding of what we are trashing
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Clonal-aggregative multicellularity tuned by salinity in a choanoflagellate - Nature The choanoflagellate Choanoeca flexa forms motile and contractile cell monolayers purely clonally, purely aggregatively or through a combination of both processes depending on environmental condi...

Salinity tunes mode of multicellularity in a tidepool choanoflagellate www.nature.com/articles/s41... - paper in @nature.com

It looked like a normal bee in an orchard, but after a few seconds, a scientist realized she was seeing something that almost no one had ever seen in that area before Rare chestnut mining bee rediscovered in New York orchard, marking its first Central NY sighting in over a century.

It looked like a normal bee in an orchard, but after a few seconds, a scientist realized she was seeing something that almost no one had ever seen in that area before

www.ecoticias.com/en/it-looked...

#NY #bees #science

The Most Dangerous Corporation in America? The AI surveillance state is real — and it's being built by Palantir.

Billions of your tax dollars are going to Palantir — and the police state it's helping Trump build could soon be used against you.

Giant tortoises return to Galápagos island after nearly 200 years The native species was driven to extinction by sailors in the 1800s. Now, 158 juvenile giant tortoises have been reintroduced to the island.

Giant tortoises restored to Galápagos island nearly 200 years after they were wiped out. #biodiversity www.bbc.com/news/article...

There is no way you can support this man at this point, he is calling for the destruction of entire nations based on his whims. If we do not act quickly, the destruction and loss of human life on this planet will be unprecedented. No matter your beliefs I think we can all agree this is morally wrong

How do busy bees avoid overheating from flying?

New measurements could help predict pollinators’ ability to withstand climate change. Learn more: https://scim.ag/46ZlLbt

On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed E.O. 9066, authorizing the forced relocation & incarceration of more than 125,000 Japanese Americans, solely because of their heritage.

I'm very happy to share that a paper from my DPhil thesis has been selected as the Editor's Choice article in Evolution. 😊

You can read it here: lnkd.in/eCnAQfzT 🐜

@journal-evo.bsky.social

#EvolutionaryBiology #SocialEvolution #Insects

I regularly see people wondering how it's possible that there are so many musicians and writers and film makers and artists from a tiny nation like Iceland.

And the answer is really simple: State funding for art education and artists. I literally get a salary from the government to write books.

Still can’t even get all democrats on board to impeach Secretary Noem.

Congress needs to stop this. That’s their job.

California scientists, researchers, clinicians — sign the open letter supporting the CA Science & Health Research Bond Act (SB 895). $23B bond on the 2026 ballot to fund research across the state. Takes <1 min.

fundcascience.org

#FundCAScience #SB895

I met this Anochetus rugosus trap-jaw ant on the forest floor in Danum Valley, Sabah. If you look closely, you’ll notice the trigger hairs between the mandibles. When these hairs touch a prey insect, the mandibles snap shut at an incredible speed, generating enough force to propel the ant backwards.

Yellow and black bumblebee gathering pollen on the yellow and carmine spiky center of an orange and yellow blanket flower.

Something beautiful for this day: Bumblebee on a blanket flower, Yakima, Washington (August 2024). #bees #flowers

compassionate societies invest in development instead of punishment, investing in programs that help people become responsible productive citizens;
cruel societies invest in punishment instead of development, investing in detention centres, prisons and concentration camps to punish 'bad' people;

This is a prime example of advancing dementia. His filters are gone. He no longer has control of his bowels or environment.

Next thing you know he'll be pushing the 'Button' thinking it's a light switch.

25th ADMENDMENT

Powerful white men once equated Black people with monkeys to justify their abduction, deportation, enslavement, lynching and segregation.

The heinous image that Trump shared is explicit racism.

There is no nowhere for his supporters to hide. Supporting him is incompatible with basic human decency.

a mantis who looks like a chasmanthe plant

i love finding out about a new bug we have to get his name out there (toxodera integrifolia)

Here is a myxomycete plasmodium that I isolated off a wet leaf onto the bottom of a vented flask. Realtime phase microscopy.
#ProtistsOnSky

The most beautiful #snail ever to exist!
Many #marine snails go through an early life stage called #veliger, wherein they drift along with the #plankton before settling onto the sea floor as an adult. We call this, #sparkles

#blackwater #blackwaterdiving #mollusk #gug

Another one with our next door colleagues! @marianneroca.bsky.social in @jameslightfoot.bsky.social's group found the IL2 neurons detecting prey (this study) are also sensing octopamine, which we recently found plays an important role in predatory aggression! www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Bridging behaviour and genomics for tsetse fly control Nature Reviews Genetics, Published online: 29 January 2026; doi:10.1038/s41576-026-00932-8In this Journal Club, Daniel Masiga recalls a 1986 publication by C. H. Green, which revealed how colour and odour cues influence tsetse fly (Glossina spp.) attraction, and a 2019 study by Attardo et al. on genomic insights across six Glossina species, advancing understanding of vector behaviour and control.

New online! Bridging behaviour and genomics for tsetse fly control

Man shot dead by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis The incident, which was caught on video, marks the second deadly shooting by federal officers in Minneapolis in less than a month.

The incident, which was caught on video, marks the second deadly shooting by federal officers in Minneapolis in less than a month. n.pr/3YXDGLu

I wish Democrats would start just speaking the truth:

“ICE is killing American citizens in public for exercising their freedom of speech because Donald Trump wants to be a king.

This isn’t about immigration—Trump wants to make it illegal to oppose him, and to stay in power until he dies.”

Thousands of protesters shut down parts of Minneapolis and St. Paul on Friday as hundreds of businesses closed their doors. David Guttenfelder/The New York Times

genuinely stunning image

Look closely at the surface of the sea cucumber…

There’s a strange little creature hiding there!
This scale worm changes its coloring to match its sea cucumber host.

You’d never notice it unless it moves. Such amazing camouflage! ✨️