Rachel Dale

Toward the end of his two-volume Treatise on the Venom of the Viper, published in 1781, the Tuscan naturalist Deluxe Fontana declared: "I have made more than 6000 experiments; I have had more than 4000 animals bit; I have employed upwards of 3000 vipers and may have been deceived; some essential circumstance may have escaped me: I may have neglected some other, not thinking it necessary; my consequences may have been too general, my experiments too few in number. In a word, I may very easily have been mistaken, and it would be almost impossible that I should never have been so in a matter so difficult, so obscure, and likewise so new."

Fontana thinking his 6000+ experiments may not have been enough to feel confident in his conclusions in the 18th century while we expect our singular experiments and their standalone replications to do wonders some 250 years later... (excerpt from the intro of Jutta Schickore's About Experiment)

I'm loving this #kakapo content on my feed!
If you like cute birds and conservation give this guy a follow...

Animals experience joy. Scientists want to measure it Scientists have long focused on quantifying fear and other negative emotions in animals. Now they’re trying to measure positive feelings — and it’s a challenge.

A lovely read about researchers who make animals happy for a living 😊 A day spent playing the sounds of baby bonobo laughter is surely a day well spent

www.sciencenews.org/article/scie...

I’m going to halve my publication output. You should consider slow science, too If we don’t slow down, the research enterprise is going to crash, argues Adrian Barnett.

When I changed research field I was lucky to have opportunity to participate on lots of papers. This helped me learn my new field
But I agree with slow science 💯 & hope I can focus on higher quality research that takes more time now I have the luxury of a permanent job
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Belugas are fascinating! So glad there are people out there finding out more about them 🐳

This will be scientifically interesting for many in the tool use research community.
For me it's simply very cute to watch the video of Veronika 🐮

I'm Kenyan. I Don't Write Like ChatGPT. ChatGPT Writes Like Me. I'm calm. I'm calm. I promise.

This is incredibly important. If you read one thing this week: marcusolang.substack.com/p/im-kenyan-...

1/3 Jellyfish and anemones also sleep, despite not having a brain

Not only do they sleep, but their behavior is affected if they lack sleep; they become clumsier and need to catch up on lost sleep. Interestingly, they sleep 8 hours a day, just like us.

(paper) www.nature.com/articles/s41...

The man actually mistook his *bat* for a hat, but lexical competition just didn't have the same broad appeal

Super proud of my office buddy and unofficial PhD student for defending her thesis!
She's done some great work on stress in young people, especially gender-non-conforming youth.

Here's to further collaborations Dr @teresaorourke.bsky.social!

I agree!

Iain Douglas-Hamilton, pioneering elephant conservationist, dies aged 83 His groundbreaking field research was instrumental in banning the international ivory trade and protecting elephants from poachers.

Iain Douglas-Hamilton was a champion for elephants 🐘 & one of the inspirations for my own research. He was among the 1st to study ele social behaviour & it was his life's work to protect them

Sending my condolences to all the friends & family during this sad time

www.bbc.com/news/article...

watch out for pretend papers guys!

"when people can see real, practical ways to make a difference, their worry can turn into positive action... Also research consistently shows that taking climate-positive actions can improve wellbeing"

#hope

The problems with academic publishing in one graph. The big for-profit publishers get product for free and sell it back to us. Their profits rival those from the big tech companies. This is money that could have supported research, teaching and graduate students.

From: danielroelfs.com/pos...

NEW RESEARCH 📣

Now with a summary infographic

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

#LGBTQIA+ #psychotherapy #psychotherapie

These results highlight that psychotherapists in Austria feel underprepared to work with LGBTQIA+ clients. This has important implications for health equity in gender and sexual minorities.

People of LGBTQIA+ communities are at increased risk of experiencing negative effects during therapy. So it's important to evaluate to what extent psychotherapists have the necessary awareness and knowledge to work with LGBTQIA+ clients.

Attitudes of Psychotherapists in Working with LGBTQIA+ Clients and Validation of the German Version of the Ally Identity Measure It is well established that people of LGBTQIA+ communities suffer more often from mental illness and encounter greater barriers to accessing mental health services compared to hetero/cis people. Mo...

📣 NEW PAPER!
How prepared are psychotherapists in Austria to work with LGBTQIA+ clients? 🏳️‍🌈

Only 5% felt they definitely had enough training on LGBTQIA+ topics and 2% received obligatory training. Training & self-education were positively associated with allyship
1/3

#LGBTQIA #InclusiveHealthcare

Have wild wolves learned to use tools? Video captures a lone female pulling crab traps out of the water, but does it count as tool use?

While I wouldn't go as far as calling this tool use, it's certainly a clever way of acquiring food (check out the video in the article) 🐺
#wolf

3 year postdoc funded by @ukri.org NERC on between-group cooperation in the Shark Bay dolphins is now live - please share widely 🙏 www.bristol.ac.uk/jobs/find/de...

Years ago, I attempted a self-assessment of my potential gender biases in an academic research setting:
ecoevoevoeco.blogspot.com/2016/04/subt...

Today, I happened on a very nice summary of how to avoid such biases in letters of recommendation, which provides an comprehensive outline. Check it out

There's some good advice in here. We tend towards the negative in our viewing so we have to actively search for the positive.

I've been trying to curate my feeds for a while to include more positive content like Reasons to be Cheerful. Now I'll also try more inspiring content too.

Comedy Wildlife Awards 2025 – in pictures From a red-throated loon touching down on water, to good and bad hair days, and an airborne squirrel, here is a selection of the finalists in this year’s Nikon Comedy Wildlife awards

What we all need right now. I LOVE the comedy wildlife photography awards

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

New study: AI chatbots systematically violate mental health ethics standards Researchers at Brown University found that AI chatbots routinely violate core mental health ethics standards, underscoring the need for legal standards and oversight as use of these tools increases.

Researchers at Brown University found that AI chatbots routinely violate core mental health ethics standards, underscoring the need for legal standards and oversight as use of these tools increases. www.brown.edu/news/2025-10...

A boulder wall at the university for continuing education krems with 6 of our team members trying it out.

It's not everyday you get to climb at work. Oh wait, now it is thanks to our new boulder wall!

Thanks @unikrems.bsky.social for this new research (and climbing) opportunity!

#PerkOfTheJob #ClimbingTherapy #MentalHealth

Blue fading to green background. Many little images of different animal appendages. The text reads: We want to hear from YOU! Which animals do you want to hear about on Series 2 of the Wild Behavior Podcast?

❔❓ Which animals or topics do you want to hear about next❔❓

Let us know via the comments, DMs, re-posts, carrier pigeon....

#podcast #SciComm

Huntington's disease successfully treated for first time One of the most devastating diseases finally has a treatment that can slow its progression and transform lives, tearful doctors tell BBC.

Not one of my usual topics, but it's great to see some good science news.
An exciting breakthrough to add some positivity to our feeds!

Yay for science 🧪