Dr Stephan Lautenschlager

As we see so often in research, bullies and abusers do terrible things while everyone who could stop them wrings their hands and gives free speech platitudes just so they don't have to act with unity and strength.

This is just another example of academic inequalities and harms writ large. Appalling

He should have been expelled. This is way more than policing opinions.

- Inciting violence at far right rallies
- Interfering in government affairs
- Destroying health and science infrastructures
- Ensuring thousands will die

Abusers, excused and enabled by craven others, always grow in power.

Until a few weeks ago I knew next to nothing about early Devonian jawless fish. To be honest, I still know shamefully little about them. But I’m currently illustrating a bunch of them, and have become utterly fascinated by these extraordinary little freaks.
Anyway, just saying 🤷‍♂️

Is it really *that hard* to say that it is totally morally wrong to say to people who have come here legally, worked, paid taxes, built their lives here, contributed to Britain, that they have to fuck off now, rather than "unfunded".

That feeling of desperately wanting your elected government to loudly call out racism & far right violent extremists...

And nothing.

Labour so afraid to lose power, it has forgotten both how to use it & that with power comes responsibility.

As America gets ever darker, too little light here.

Expect more silence from the Royal Society in the face of their most notorious fellow advocating for the overthrow of the democratically elected government of a country he is neither a citizen nor a resident of (yet he is a fellow of their most prestigious learned society).

@palaeostephan.bsky.social - you might enjoy this one. 😉

Wow, this is excellent. I will have to get a print of this from you for my office! Will be a nice addition to your Erlikosaurus pencil sketch I got from @veganjenny.bsky.social

Should All Earth Scientists Be Vegan?

Watch our full discussion with Earth Scientist & Geophysicist Chris MacAskill from Viva Longevity on the PBN YouTube channel 📺🌱

An illustration of the dinosaur Megalosaurus, on a white background. The large bipedal dinosaur is shown with greyish/purple skin, with brighter yellow and blue colours around the eyes. Grey, feather-like filaments cover the neck, back and tail.

Megalosaurus: an illustration for an exhibition last year at Lapworth Museum to mark 200 years since it was officially described.

The Prime Minister imitating Enoch Powell’s ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech is sickening.

That speech fuelled decades of racism and division. Echoing it today is a disgrace. It adds to anti-migrant rhetoric that puts lives at risk.

Shame on you, Keir Starmer.

You are a "citizen of nowhere", they said.

A "queue-jumper", they said.

Now I am a "squalid chapter", they say.

A risk as I might make this an "island of strangers", they say.

I am "pulling the country apart", they say.

Bite Force Of Star Wars’ Rancor Is Not Science Fiction, Says New Study Published In The Journal Of Geek Studies We know you’ve been wondering.

Nice write-up of our Rancor study: www.iflscience.com/is-a-bone-a-...

Can Germany rein in its academic bullying problem? Researchers and administrators are exploring ways to restructure a rigid hierarchy that can breed power abuses.

This is horrendous but far from just a problem in German academia (albeit exacerbated by its civil servant system)! One of the problems outlined in the article is the lack of consequences and the precarity for those who have experienced abuse and bullying.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

We have a new social media feature starting: #WhatsNewWednesdays!

For our first post we want to tell you about Ben Miller's #comedy show at the Museum in September! Have you ever watched a #comedian perform under a #dinosaur?

Book earlybird tickets now: lapworth-comedy.even...

#LapworthRocks

I'm disappointed to resign from the editorial board of @royalsocietypublishing.org @royalsociety.org journal Biology Letters. I won't give my time and labour away to an organisation that - through inaction - condones the destruction of US science by one of its own, Elon Musk FRS.

🧪⚒️

YouTube video by Thomas Clements Could a bone save you from being Rancor lunch?

And this is Thomas' excellent video abstract you are looking for: www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3Js...

The bite force is strong with this one!

Reposting our recent study by @taphonomist.bsky.social and myself investigating the biomechanics and bite of the Rancor. jgeekstudies.org/2025/03/08/i... in @jgeekstudies.bsky.social‬

Happy May the 4th!!!!

#StarWarsDay #StarWars #MayThe4thBeWithYou

Essentially *all* research and expert assessments show that this does not work. It will not counter Farage, but literally push votes towards Reform.

It genuinely is impossible to overstate how profoundly stupid and strategically illiterate this decision is.

You cannot out-Reform Reform.

An interesting change from reconstructing dinosaurs and other terrestrial animals... My digital restoration and reconstruction of the cyathaspid heterostracan Anglaspis heintzi from our new paper (see below). #FossilFish #DigitalReconstruction #Palaeontology

Functional morphology of the Triassic apex predator Saurosuchus galilei (Pseudosuchia: Loricata) and convergence with a post‐Triassic theropod dinosaur Pseudosuchian archosaurs, reptiles more closely related to crocodylians than to birds, exhibited high morphological diversity during the Triassic and are thus associated with hypotheses of high ecolo...

Our OA article on bite forces of Saurosuchus* with @palaeostephan.bsky.social and @richardjbutler.bsky.social (lead, Molly Fawcett) is apparently a #TopViewedArticle in The Anatomical Record

*great-uncle (x20) of🐊, twice-removed
anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

I may be tired and a little hoarse, but as I said again and again on the Senate floor, this is a moment where we cannot afford to be silent, when we must speak up.

The Lapworth Museum of Geology - University of Birmingham The homepage for the Lapworth Museum of Geology.

We are one of the oldest geological museums in the UK. Open seven days a week, your visit is completely free of charge and provides engaging insight into our planet through time.

For more information, including how to find us, please visit our website: shorturl.at/0npcu

👏

Royal Society decides not to take disciplinary action against Elon Musk Exclusive: Fellows argue Musk has violated code of conduct but council believes investigation ‘could do more harm than good’

A failure to act is not an act of political neutrality.

www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

This bizarre new dinosaur has something in common with modern sloths Like T. rex and some modern sloths, this strange 90 million year old dinosaur had two fingers on each hand.

New therizinosaur fossils are always exciting. But this one is particularly weird/cool having only two fingers!

Some comments from me on this new find in National Geographic www.nationalgeographic.com/science/arti...

Columbia Concedes to Trump’s Demands After Federal Funds Are Stripped The administration has moved to cut $400 million in federal funding to the university without changes to its policies and rules.

My alma mater @columbiauniversity.bsky.social is older than the USA.

Endured a Revolutionary War. A Civil War. Two World Wars. And capitulates to Trump within a few weeks.

Their cowardice endangers all educators and scientists.

Disgraceful, weak, and lame.

www.nytimes.com/2025/03/21/n...