I am happy to share this article, entitled "The importance of Biological Theory". It is my inaugural editorial as the new Editor-in-Chief of @biologicaltheory.bsky.social . In these complex and challenging times, theory is more important now than ever. Enjoy!
doi.org/10.1007/s137...
A beautiful sight - so many different shades of green on the western slopes of the Long Mynd. I was on Adstone Hill for this shot, enjoying the peace and quiet in the morning sunshine. I had set out hoping for long shadows stretching across the fields - and that’s exactly what I got. #Shropshire
Today is St David’s Day: patron saint of Wales, of course, but also of vegetarians and poets. He was reputed to have helped introduce bees to Ireland. He is famously quoted as saying “Gwnewch y pethau bychain”, meaning “Do the little things”. Small changes and good choices matter, especially now.
This is a very cool story, about how art historians, curators, mathematicians, and palaeographers work together to restore masterpieces: www.quantamagazine.org/using-mathem...
A collage of nine images featuring prints, a cushion, a mug, a T-shirt and a phone case.
I know I keep banging on about my designs but it’s not easy being a small business at the moment.
Take a look at my wares and please repost.
gailmyerscough.co.uk
Thanks!
Why don’t airports have gyms?
UCL to close its Institute of Advanced Studies this summer, stating the interdisciplinary research centre is no longer financially sustainable www.timeshighereducation.com/news/ucl-axe... via @jgro-the.bsky.social
Carving of a hippopotamus figurine made from calcite, featuring a stocky body, prominent bulging eyes, short legs, and textured surface, displayed on a glass shelf.
Apparently it's #WorldHippoDay! 🦛🦛
Let's celebrate with this #Egyptian carving of a Hippo, made 5.000 years ago from calcite.
Hippopotami were associated with life, regeneration, and rebirth.
On display at Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek
📷 me 🏺
Latest drop in UK student visa applications ‘deeply concerning’.
There were 19,800 applications last month—a 31 per cent decrease on January 2025, when there were 28,700. It is the fourth month in a row that monthly visa applications have been at a four year low.
I spent several hours with Gisele Pelicot in Paris
She is remarkable
This Sunday her only UK TV interview airs across the BBC
I changed the audio
This teenager saved his neighbor's dog from drowning in a freezing pond. This is Bernard. His family contacted emergency services right away, but high school senior Hugh Pinneo got to Bernard first. Hugh said he's "just glad I acted that day and saved the dog's life." We are too. 12/10 for all
I'd watch a muppet show movie where the muppets infiltrate an academic conference.
Imagination in bonobos!
I am thrilled to share a new paper w/ Amalia Bastos, out now in @science.org
We provide the first experimental evidence that a nonhuman animal can follow along a pretend scenario & track imaginary objects. Work w/ Kanzi, the bonobo, at Ape Initiative
youtu.be/NUSHcQQz2Ko
No joke: I got angry hate mail today for writing an obituary of a Black woman scientist—because the person felt she did didn’t deserve the recognition.
Which just makes me want to share it again: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
A very loose, spare, painterly watercolour of a long view over a flat expansive landscape dotted with winter trees in broken sunshine under a cloudy sky
Other work of the Ladybird artists.
A February Day
Artist: Rowland Hilder
New wadertales blog on how quickly juvenile godwits learn to feed efficiently through their first winter:
wadertales.wordpress.com/2026/02/05/l...
From new @asab.org paper led by Josh Nightingale:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
#ornithology
Last week, RPN broke a string of stories on significant changes to funding across a number of research councils (see thread below)
This morning, UKRI chief executive is appearing at the Commons science committee, where he is being asked about them by MPs
Here are some key moments so far 🧵
bsky.app/profile/long...
Decorative flowers and stems on balustrade of curving staircase
Can't resist revisiting this Art Nouveau winding staircase decorated with metal flowers and vines, designed by architect Ede Magyar, at Reök Palace in Szeged, Hungary (1907)
“Ambitious” plans to use research funding to attract industry investment of £25 billion by the end of the decade are likely to prove “extremely challenging” given falling levels of university-business spending, experts have warned. @jgro-the.bsky.social reports #academicsky
https://ow.ly/CKxs50XTrmp
I’d like to double/triple like this.
I caught this beautiful sunset today. #London #HousesofParliament
Could you post the full portrait? It would be nice to see the whole thing.
"University fees and migration numbers threaten Brexit reset youth deal"
🚨Roll up, roll up, fully-funded #PhD deadlines approaching...
6th Jan: tinyurl.com/aja54nr6
8th Jan: tinyurl.com/4jfy47pp
Social monitoring & manipulation
#meerkats #mongooses #macaques #fieldwork #long-termdata
@patrick-kennedy.bsky.social @ljnbrent.bsky.social
@bristolbiosci.bsky.social
Blue painted circle over waved horizontal line on a cream background
Georgia O'Keeffe,
You Are The Sun, 1977
#Womensart #Solstice
How should universities work with combined authorities and business to support inclusive growth in our city-regions? Some reflections on my five years in Greater Manchester, to mark the year of my retirement from the University of Manchester.
softmachines.org?p=3213
This illustration was originally the front cover picture of the ladybird book. Two herons and clusters of other birds stand around a partially frozen lake under a yellow winter sky
Ladybird Artists Advent Calendar, window 21
Artist: CF Tunnicliffe
(What to Look for in Winter, 1959)
