Cephalopod Whisperer

One of my favourite flowers: The perfume, the elegance, the simplicity and that you must be somewhere warm and ideally by a sandy seaside to see it.

Frangipani - Plumeria
#plumeria #ocean #Lombok #Indonesia #divecenter #scuba #diving #holidays #frangipani #gili

We present multi-immersion Oblique Plane microscope (miOPM), a light-sheet platform that can be adapted to a wide range of applications, from sensitive live cell imaging to imaging organs and cleared tissues.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

This moment from our latest episode with science writer @edyong209.bsky.social is 🔥

We asked Ed — how do we talk up the benefits of science in the face of government cuts? He told us that's the wrong approach. 🧪

Listen wherever, or watch on Spotify 👇

open.spotify.com/episode/7Evh...

A two page spread of national geographic magazine with a story by Jane Goodall and her husband reporting on egg-breaking, tool-using Egyptian vultures.

Jane Goodall was also the first to bring attention to wild tool-using vultures, which she spotted randomly one day while out driving. These birds use stones to break into ostrich eggs.

Be observant like Jane and who knows what you’ll see! 🧪🥚

This is why we fund scientists to study things like oyster slobber even if you don’t think it sounds important

-Media training for scientists/ how to create positive scientist/journalist relationships and master the art of the interview

-How to make your science policy-relevant/understanding the science-policy interface.

Have I mentioned how much I love Trilobites? Let me know which of these cutie crawlers are your favorite!

Art from my new book: DINOSAURS exploring prehistoric life and geological time

buy book here: a.co/d/0BJZbR4

#prehistoric #evolution #dinosaurs #fossiladdict #sciart #paleoart #fossil

Sneak peak inside my 2026 nature-loving wall calendar collab with @sarahmackattack.bsky.social

Each month covers a different animals and Sept's is the Anglerfish!

These calendar sales help support @skypeascientist.bsky.social 2026 native plant project! Pre-order: www.etsy.com/listing/4366...

Scientists say X (formerly Twitter) has lost its professional edge — and Bluesky is taking its place After Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter, many scientists report the platform is no longer suitable for professional use. A recent survey indicates that researchers are increasingly turning to…

Scientists say Twitter has lost its edge and Bluesky is taking its place | Coverage of our paper in PsyPost

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.

New cures feel sudden, but the seeds were planted decades ago by basic scientists.

Which seeds will turn into cures? Unpredictable looking forward, a straight line looking back. 🧪🧬 🧵

I get that the news cycle is packed right now, but I just heard from a colleague at the Smithsonian that this is fully a GIANT SQUID BEING EATEN BY A SPERM WHALE and it’s possibly the first ever confirmed video according to a friend at NOAA

10 YEAR OLD ME IS LOSING HER MIND (a thread 🧵)

colorful digital illustration of a green and red mantis shrimp on a brightly colored abstract background. The shapes have sharp edges and plenty of texture.

it's (mantis) shrimp colors!!! ♥🧡💛💚💙💜

What sound does a fish make? The answer is weirder than you may think. Scientists using new ways to eavesdrop on fish have captured a cacophony of thumps, honks, burps and grunts in underwater recordings.

I thought they just played scales.
www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...

I made a new "finding thousands in cephalopod facts" comic to celebrate reaching 1K followers on instagram! 🧪🦑🐡 Please note these are all informed estimates/approximations. 😁References in thread

Rapid Divergence of Visual Systems and Signaling Traits to Contrasting Light Regimes During Early Speciation of African Crater Lake Cichlid Fish Abstract. Sensory adaptation is widely hypothesized to drive ecological speciation, yet empirical evidence from natural populations undergoing early stage

Very proud of this extremely collaborative piece: academic.oup.com/mbe/article/...
Here, we show that divergence in visual systems - in response to differences in the light environment - leads to rapid divergence in sexually selected colour traits. Work brilliantly led by Madeleine Carruthers. 🐟👀🎨

A sketchbook page full of Shrimps in a stylized gouache style

Shrimps Shrimps 🦐
#gouache

People with ADHD may have an underappreciated advantage: Hypercuriosity ADHD is officially a disorder of deficits in attention, behavior and focus. But patients point out upsides, like curiosity. Research is now catching up.

“Humans evolved in a world marked by resource scarcity and unpredictability. Having people impulsive — and curious — enough to explore unknown or dangerous situations would have helped their group’s survival”.

#scicomm
#ADHD
#hypercuriosity

www.sciencenews.org/article/adhd...
🧪 🧠

Beautiful artwork, love the quotes! Take a look and buy if you can folks, we need more flowers and to take care of the insects!

Beautiful artwork, love the quotes!

the front cover for a calendar with a salamander standing on a mushroom. in big bubble letters it says 2026 love notes from nature calendar created by Meg Lemieur and Sarah McAnulty phd

🚨 Cool educational item alert 🚨

We teamed up with Philly Nature Illustrator, Meg Lemieur @megstampede.bsky.social to create a 12 month wall calendar all about animals!

The calendar includes lessons we can learn from animals & how we can help them.

Pre-order here!
www.etsy.com/listing/4366...

What Led Life to Flourish Roughly 520 Million Years Ago? Changes to the world’s oceans and the rise of certain predators may have driven diversification

The Cambrian marked the beginning of a fantastic flourishing that set the basis for life as we know it today. In my latest for Smithsonian, I take a peek at how everything from sea level changes to who ate whom underwrote life’s biodiversity burst.

a black and white dog is sitting on a couch with its tongue sticking out . ALT: a black and white dog is sitting on a couch with its tongue sticking out .

👁️The retina — strikingly conserved across vertebrates, but an oddity among bilaterians!

So how did it evolve?

With @mikebok.bsky.social, @neurofishh.bsky.social and @denilsson.bsky.social, we argue that retinal complexity may 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑦𝑒 𝑖𝑡𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓.

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
1/n

Very excited about our new preprint, led by @gkafetzis.bsky.social /w @mikebok.bsky.social & @denilsson.bsky.social. We suggest that the vertebrate 'duplex' retina emerged from interconnecting two ancient median-eye microcircuits. Say goodbye to the 'simplex' retina - it probably never existed!

What Led Life to Flourish Roughly 520 Million Years Ago? Changes to the world’s oceans and the rise of certain predators may have driven diversification

Animal life took on a stunning variety of new forms and behaviors during the Cambrian. @restingdinoface.bsky.social explores why in this illuminating essay. www.smithsonianmag.com/science-natu...

Bottom trawling to continue in English protected waters, government rules Defra says blanket ban on ‘destructive’ fishing practice disproportionate as MPs urge minister to reconsider

Bottom trawling to continue in English protected waters, government rules www.theguardian.com/environment/... Huh.

🧪🦑🌎🐠

Photo of an octopus swimming. Text says: Pretty much every time that we've went into studying these animals, we end up finding something unexpected and different than what we imagined. —Dr. Nicholas Bellono

Molecular biologist Nicholas Bellono says cephalopods–like octopuses—are so fascinating that he uses them in his lab to teach people how to do science. 🐙

buff.ly/PhTxTnr

Hide Like A Cephalopod: Make An Octopus Den Put your engineering skills to the test.

Guess what? Octopuses dig their own cozy dens and decorate outside with shells and shiny treasures. 🐙

Use this SciFri educational activity to learn how to make an octopus den at home!
Easy, fun, and perfect for young scientists. Dive in:

Sensory gatekeeper drives seizures, autism-like behaviors in mouse model The new work, in mice missing the autism-linked gene CNTNAP2, suggests a mechanism to help explain the overlap between epilepsy and autism.

A new dopamine sensor enables neuroscientists to simultaneously monitor the activity of two additional signaling chemicals in the brains of living mice and zebrafish.

By @dianakwon.bsky.social

#neuroskyence

www.thetransmitter.org/spectrum/sen...

Australia approves first vaccine to save koalas from chlamydia A vaccine to protect Australia's koalas against chlamydia has been approved for the first time, a development that scientists believe could stop the spread of the deadly disease that has ravaged populations of the beloved endangered animal.

Would you like some good news? A new vaccine has just been approved for protecting koalas from chlamydia, which is one of their leading causes of death.