Sean McMahon

Thousands of NASA employees to bid farewell to the NASA they knew As October begins, thousands of longtime NASA employees are leaving the agency. 4000+ will exit by January 9, 2026, changing NASA forever.

"Farewell to the NASA we knew, and to all the employees that made America the great place it was for so many decades. From here on out, things will never be the same." Just heartbreaking. bigthink.com/starts-with-...

Today's Defenders Day in Ukraine.
Our defenders are addressing the world to remind everyone what Ukraine is fighting for: a safe childhood for children, peaceful land, internationally recognized borders, justice for every innocent victim, and a free, independent Europe.
Thank you, Heroes!

Detection of organic compounds in freshly ejected ice grains from Enceladus’s ocean - Nature Astronomy Fresh ice grains from Enceladus’s plume were analysed during the highest-speed fly-by of the Cassini spacecraft. Organic compounds with a range of chemical structures were discovered, suggesting comprehensive subsurface chemistry on Enceladus.

Another great study from Khawaja and colleagues. www.nature.com/articles/s41.... Tantalising clues here that Enceladus might actually be doing stuff, not just spitting out the same comet-like organic molecules it contained when it formed. But more data needed! #astrobiology #originoflife

I am once again asking NASA to find a way of launching Trump into the Sun. He'll finally get the tan he's always wanted.

Beautiful #Ediacaran fossil light on the E surface at Mistaken Point 🤩

How AI is undermining learning and teaching in universities | Letter Letter: Prof Leo McCann and Prof Simon Sweeney say student misuse of generative artificial intelligence is widespread and we must be sceptical of its usefulness

We are pleased to share this letter written by one of our members, Professor Leo McCann 👏https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/sep/16/how-ai-is-undermining-learning-and-teaching-in-universities

We are pleased to publish our Position on the Unsustainability of UK University Funding Models. Visit our website to read it in full:

Farage vows to scrap indefinite leave to remain, placing thousands at risk of deportation Reform UK plans to force non-citizens to apply for visas with high salary thresholds and no access to NHS services

If this plan is implemented, it will cripple British universities and health care, and tear apart families.

All 'skilled' immigrants will require £60k salary & cannot use NHS. Permanent residence will be scrapped entirely. Citizenship made insanely hard.

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Browse all journals Browse all journals

New Paper by Parry et al., reinterpreting the oldest diverse #jellyfish fauna as sessile polypoid dinomischids 🪼

These findings significantly expand the temporal and geographical range of dinomischids, elucidating their morphological and taphonomic variation.

buff.ly/ERV7P3C

#PaleoSky #Fossils

You'd be very welcome to join the CDBU and it would be great to have your perspective. In advance, welcome to the UK :-)

For those in UK #academia, please give @cdbu.bsky.social a follow and think about joining us. CDBU's work to influence UK university policy and governance on behalf of academic values is very much needed in the present polycrisis. For some reason we never got much attention on Twitter... cdbu.org.uk

I think most of us here at the UK Centre for Astrobiology in Edinburgh would agree with you here :-) Come visit some time!

PS. Oh no, I forgot @edarrd.bsky.social is actually on here! (Sorry, Edwin)

... here's the link (open access) www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Microscope image of fossils showing new genus and species Minimarmilla multicatenaria, with strap-like bundles comprising filamentous strands of rectangular cell-like units. The entire specimen is about half a millimetre across.

New paper led by my PhD student, Edwin Rodriguez! Building on previous work, we present a systematic description of the ONE BILLION YEAR OLD fossils of the phosphates of the Diabaig Formation, NW Scotland — including some early eukaryotes and new species... #paleontology #fossils #geology

Just discovered this absolute gem of a time-saver. Thanks @anboa4.bsky.social!

False biosignatures on Mars: anticipating ambiguity | Journal of the Geological Society It is often acknowledged that the search for life on Mars might produce false positive results, particularly via the detection of objects, patterns or substances that resemble the products of life in ...

Ambiguous evidence for possible biosignatures on Mars, you say? Who could have anticipated such a thing?! www.lyellcollection.org/doi/full/10....

A rocky planet in its star’s ‘habitable zone’ could be the first known to have an atmosphere – here’s what we found The largest telescope in space has been trained on a rocky exoplanet.

We observed the habitable zone planet TRAPPIST-1e with JWST to search for an atmosphere.

You've seen the headlines, now let's dive into the science! 🧪

THREAD (1/N)

#Exoplanets 🔭

Everyone writing about Perseverance today should be asking how many of the scientists and engineers who were involved in this discovery no longer work for NASA bc of Trump.

Signs of ancient life may have been found in Martian rock – new study The rock is peppered with spots that could have been formed by microbes four billion years ago.

My take on the exciting new Nature paper out today. Key point: in astrobiology, the lack of a non-biological explanation isn’t where life detection ends – it’s where it begins. When we can’t think of a non-biological explanation for something, it’s usually not because there isn’t one...

The Type IV secretion system is a complex bacterial structure that extends across the inner and outer membranes

Nice gift "Plate Tectonics Flip Book" from the author Ch. Scotese to our tectonist J. Lazauskienė 😀

I'm on strike this week for the first time. Such a shame that a great university like @edinburgh-uni.bsky.social has fallen into the hands of grossly overpaid executives with zero credibility in matters of financial prudence. Our brilliant students and staff deserve much better. Thanks @ucu.org.uk

YouTube video by EdUniPhysicsAstro MSc in Astrobiology and Planetary Sciences - with student interviews

Want to study an MSc in astrobiology and planetary sciences? Come to Edinburgh!

Led By Donkeys have got Fartrage's number.

Thank you, how wonderful 😊

Where did you find this quote? Intriguing!

Painting of a sauropod in a primitive Jurassic landscape. From the book "In the footsteps of the past" by Irina Yakovleva and Vladimir Yakovlev

"…Paleontology, a science seemingly immersed in the depths of the planet, serves as a window to the cosmos, through which we will learn to see the patterns of the history of life and the emergence of thinking beings."
—Ivan A. Efremov

🧪 ⚒️ #Paleobio

Hey Jurassic World fans: if you want a behind-the-scenes glimpse at movie props and art, and a 'class' on the real dinosaurs in the film 'taught' by yours truly, then check out:

JW REBIRTH DINO SCHOOL!

In the extended extras, streaming now, details👇

More redundancies planned at Edinburgh University Around 350 staff have already taken voluntary redundancy

More of the same from Edinburgh University

Nothing screams ‘financial crisis’ like a VC on £420k salary paired with a redundancy scheme

Still £24m was saved through frozen promotions & severance — enough to keep senior management's pay deals nicely cushioned

www.holyrood.com/news/view,ed...