Luíseach Nic Eoin

Nature News Intern, Springer Nature Opening Doors Programme Nature News Intern, Springer Nature Opening Doors Programme London, UK - Hybrid Working Model Application deadline: 9th March 2026 Are you looking for an internship that provides hands-on experience i...

➡️ It's on! Paid internship for aspiring science journalists at Nature's London office. Up to three days a week working from home. All the details are here: springernature.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Spring...

The billion-dollar case for sustaining palaeontology’s digital databases - Nature Ecology & Evolution The authors survey community palaeontological databases, documenting their contributions to science as well as their vulnerabilities, and provide recommendations for the future of open science databas...

...and a manifesto for safeguarding palaeobiological databases and how to do it www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Cellular-level preservation of cutaneous spikes in an Early Cretaceous iguanodontian dinosaur - Nature Ecology & Evolution A juvenile iguanodontian from the Lower Cretaceous of China preserves both spikes and scales in its skin that are different from integumentary structures in either non-avian dinosaurs or extant squama...

Also in the 'Old Dead Things' section of @natecoevo.nature.com this week, we've got a spiky baby iguanodontian www.nature.com/articles/s41... rdcu.be/e3CZH ...

Carboniferous recumbirostran elucidates the origins of terrestrial herbivory - Nature Ecology & Evolution A new species of pantylid microsaur from the Late Carboniferous of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, has teeth with dental occlusion consistent with herbivory, indicating an early transition to this co...

The early herbivor(ous microsaur) gets the...salad? Tyrannoroter heberti has teeth that suggest terrestrial herbivory was not an amniote innovation

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

rdcu.be/e3CX4

The billion-dollar case for sustaining palaeontology’s digital databases - Nature Ecology & Evolution The authors survey community palaeontological databases, documenting their contributions to science as well as their vulnerabilities, and provide recommendations for the future of open science databas...

What do we want?
Fossil databases! 🐚🦕
When do we want them?
Forever! 🗓️
Nice new paper highlighting how academic funding systems and digital architecture need to change, to ensure we can protect and sustain our precious fossil data 📚
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Wallets made of “human leather”. Necklaces made of teeth.

Turning people into products isn't quirky, it’s wrong.

We need a ban on buying and selling human remains.
www.itv.com/news/2025-08...

Same-sex sexual behaviour can help primates to survive — and reproduce Bonds between same-sex individuals help apes and monkeys to manage conflict and strengthen alliances, especially in dry habitats and predator-rich landscapes.

Same-sex sexual behaviour is part of the normal social life of some primates and could play an important part in their long-term success

go.nature.com/4qNGo1I

Cover image for the January 2026 issue of Nature Ecology & Evolution. The photo shows a giraffe emerging from behind some vegetation. The cover headline reads "Megaherbivores and salt"

Our January issue is now live: www.nature.com/natecolevol/...

Featuring research on 🧪

🐝 pesticide impacts on wild bees
🪺 population genomics of avian brood parasitism
🌱 the origins of terrestrial herbivory

Cover image from Abraham et al. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

In pre-kindle days I made the mistake of taking it as one of two books with me on fieldwork where I lived in a cave without internet or phone signal for six weeks thinking that it would be turgid and take ages to read. Ended up reading it twice.

great news, congrats!

comhgairdeas!

🎉🦕 Big news! The Palaeontological Association has just released the abstract booklet and programme for the 69th Annual Meeting of the Palaeontological Association (Portsmouth, 11–15 Dec 2025)! 🌍📖 ⬇️

palass.org/annual-meeti...
#conference #PalAss25 #uk

Great day for cat archaeology all round

Wildcat bones found in Co Clare dated to 5,500 years ago The first directly dated wildcat bones found in Ireland have been identified, confirming that the species inhabited the island more than 5,500 years ago.

Finally the research has been published to prove that wild cat (Felis silvestris) lived in Ireland 5,500 years ago. Many claims over the years but the backup genetics was needed and a good number of bones have been recovered to provide enough material www.rte.ie/news/munster...

Paleo folks: Please recommend researchers (incl yourselves) interested in phylogenetic reconstruction in deep time, molecular clocks (discord w/ fossil clocks), foundational/methodological issues in phylo/paleo-reconstruction & who'd be interested in hanging w/ historians & philosophers of science ⚒️

you see, once they don't have heads, they can no longer form the little lines on the pottery, so they can't contribute to society anymore. It's really sad.

Headless bodies hint at why Europe’s first farmers vanished Wave of mass brutality accompanied the collapse of the first pan-European culture

"Headless bodies hint at why Europe’s first farmers vanished"

That'll be because without heads, they couldn't see where they were going?
www.science.org/content/arti...

Save Geology at the University of Leicester Can you spare a minute to help this campaign?

The geology department at the University of Leicester, where myself and countless others did our palaeontology PhDs, is at serious risk of closure

Please show your support by signing the below!

c.org/KtYyZB8dHk

...but one of my favourite things about the journal is showcasing the organisms and systems that the published work comes from (this year's gallery: www.nature.com/natecolevol/...) via beautiful photos. And the day AI art appears on one of our covers (yes we do get submissions) is the day I quit!

I'm not sure that's totally true: at Nature journals authors are also invited to submit potential cover art, and at NEE we inevitably have to make difficult choices each month because of the amazing quality of author photos. We occasionally commission a cover eg www.nature.com/natecolevol/.... 1/2

I'm not at #SVP2025 unfortunately, but if you're interested in publishing in @natecoevo.nature.com one of my excellent colleagues can tell you how to get in touch with us!

Here’s the @natureportfolio.nature.com crew at #SVP2025 - @joaovascoleite.bsky.social @devinleaward.bsky.social @lukegrinham.bsky.social and me. Come and chat.

Women are credited less in science than men - Nature The difference between the number of men and women listed as authors on scientific papers and inventors on patents is at least partly attributable to unacknowledged contributions by women scientists.

Anyone interested in learning about why journals make a proactive effort to increase women's participation in the peer review process should take the time look at some actual evidence about why this is needed. Ditto journalists covering such a story. Do some reporting! www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Jane Goodall obituary: pioneer primatologist who inspired generations of scientists She was a tireless advocate for conservation, the welfare of captive chimpanzees and the protection of habitats.

Richard Wrangham pays tribute to Jane Goodall in an obituary for Nature, outlining how she was a tireless advocate for conservation, the welfare of captive chimpanzees and the protection of habitats. 🧪

Protect the Tibetan Plateau’s rich felid diversity - Nature Ecology & Evolution Nature Ecology & Evolution - Protect the Tibetan Plateau’s rich felid diversity

Sheng et al. call for greater survey efforts and broader conservation initiative to protect the 11 (ELEVEN!) felid species of the Tibetan Plateau.

(Strong contender for the Correspondence, or indeed article of any kind, with the best figure we ever published)

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

really want a marbled cat now

Scientists targeted by dark PR tactics: Several academic scientists critical of de-extinction projects have become the targets of anonymous smear articles and weaponized copyright infringement claims:... EMBO Press is an editorially independent publishing platform for the development of EMBO scientific publications.

www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....

The archaeological record of plastics

FYI this excellent piece is now free access for a month--check it out! #palaeontology #plasticpollution

Understanding environmental impacts of plastic requires a palaeontological lens - Nature Ecology & Evolution Growing evidence suggests that timescales for plastic degradation have been vastly underestimated. The fossil record of plastic-like biopolymers might provide a perspective on plastic fossilization in...

Sarah Gabbott's @thepalass.bsky.social plenary talk has been living rent free inside my head ever since December so I'm delighted that she's written it up as a Comment for @natecoevo.nature.com: we need taphonomy to understand plastic pollution

rdcu.be/eAmRU

www.nature.com/articles/s41...