Maya Wei-Haas, PhD

Why does Australia have earthquakes? The whole continent is under stress from distant forces Australia is a long way from the tectonic plate boundaries where most earthquakes happen – but we can’t escape the forces they create.

For those who are curious about the #qld earthquake on Saturday morning here is an article in the @aunz.theconversation.com written by @deeninis.bsky.social and @mojtabarajabi.bsky.social - why does Australia get earthquakes when it isn’t close to any plate boundaries? Read to find out more.

Artistic life reconstruction of the Triassic pterosauromorph Venetoraptor perched on a tree branch, holding a small reptile in its jaws. The animal has a long tail, slender body, and feather-like body covering, set against a forested background.

Micro-CT images of Venetoraptor vertebrae showing external morphology and internal pneumatic structures. Multiple views highlight pneumatic foramina and internal chambers, with a skeletal silhouette indicating vertebral positions and diagrams illustrating cross-sections.

🧪⚒️ Have you seen our latest paper in Journal of Anatomy?
We trace the origin of air sacs in pterosaurs back to their Triassic forerunners. Using micro-CT on the pterosauromorph Venetoraptor, we show invasive air sacs were in place before true pterosaurs.

Question for geologists studying zircons: I remember hearing that zircons are sometimes picked using a brush that has a single hair. But I can't find where I noted this in my interviews.

Can anyone verify that this is a real scientific practice or am I just crazy?? ⚒️🧪🙏

My ongoing request:

If your NSF or NIH grant was terminated--whether at Harvard or elsewhere--please report it here.

NSF: grant-watch.us/submit-nsf.h...

NIH: grant-watch.us/submit-nih.h...

Our trackers are actively used in lawsuits and are often the only record that terminations ever occurred.

Elon Musk's DOGE has spent the last several months dismantling the departments & agencies that regulate HIS businesses.

Our report found that Musk has a direct business interest in over 70% of the agencies & departments DOGE targeted.

The conflicts of interest are endless.

Exclusive: NSF faces radical shake-up as officials abolish its 37 divisions Changes seen as a response to presidential directives on what research to fund

This is an absolute disaster. If we don't stop this, they will turn NSF into a pawn of the Trump administration. There will be no research on climate, biodiversity, or anything that isn't eugenics or AI or how to more efficiently destroy the planet for profit.

This cannot be allowed to happen.

@aaup.bsky.social is leading the fight against the attacks of the Trump/Musk administration against science and free speech at Universities. if you are a faculty member, join them! I joined @unc-ch-aaup.bsky.social in April!
www.aaup.org

Thank you!! ☺️

Go for the science, stay for the worm BBQ. This is incredible!

Volcanic Eruption in Deep Ocean Ridge Is Witnessed by Scientists for First Time (Gift Article) Researchers diving in a submersible in the eastern Pacific realized that the landscape they had studied the day before had been glassed over by fresh lava.

**BIG NEWS in the geology world!** For the first time, scientists spotted an active eruption along the mid-ocean ridge!!

They visited the hydrothermal vent the day before, where a vibrant ecosystem thrived in the sweltering water. The next day, everything was gone. ⚒️🧪

My latest for @nytimes.com

Awe, thank you so much! I’m so glad she loves it. She sounds like a gal after my own heart — a large portion of my first rock collection was most definitely gravel! Let her know I approve of her methods 😅

Oh! That makes sense. I think Dan Fornari (who is the second author on this study) was the one who i heard the term from while reporting the story 😅

It break my heart after reading a story like this today - such cool, exciting NSF research, and it's going to be lost. The world will be a much poorer place for it. Just imagine having fewer stories like this to read in the years to come: bsky.app/profile/maya...

Earth is truly a wondrous planet.

It is! Idk why it makes me chuckle. One of the researchers mentioned the term and I failed to work it in. Next time I guess! Haha

I will never get over the term “worm barbecue” hahaha. I now need to write sometime that includes that precise phrase 😅

Volcanic Eruption in Deep Ocean Ridge Is Witnessed by Scientists for First Time (Gift Article) Researchers diving in a submersible in the eastern Pacific realized that the landscape they had studied the day before had been glassed over by fresh lava.

**BIG NEWS in the geology world!** For the first time, scientists spotted an active eruption along the mid-ocean ridge!!

They visited the hydrothermal vent the day before, where a vibrant ecosystem thrived in the sweltering water. The next day, everything was gone. ⚒️🧪

My latest for @nytimes.com

DNA traces Picuris Pueblo Tribe’s ancient ancestral ties to Chaco Canyon The project could bolster tribal land rights and serve as a model for partnership between scientists and Indigenous communities

This short story packs in a lot: Conflicts over oil/gas drilling near sacred lands, debates about genetics and the US legal system, genetic research's dark past/exploitation of indigenous peoples, and the smallest Pueblo tribe fighting to get their voices heard. My latest for @science.org

👀

DNA traces Picuris Pueblo Tribe’s ancient ancestral ties to Chaco Canyon The project could bolster tribal land rights and serve as a model for partnership between scientists and Indigenous communities

This short story packs in a lot: Conflicts over oil/gas drilling near sacred lands, debates about genetics and the US legal system, genetic research's dark past/exploitation of indigenous peoples, and the smallest Pueblo tribe fighting to get their voices heard. My latest for @science.org

Oooh interesting. That seems to be a third way to say it?! That's definitely not the same as May-fic and the alternate I had heard previously was more of a long a as if you were yelling "ahhh," so Mah-fic.

Oh that's interesting! I was starting to think Mah-fic was a British pronunciation.

Haha yeah, I hadn't either until recently. I guess there some tomato -- tom-ah-to going on here!

I have a silly question — I've always pronounced Mafic like MAY-Fic, with the first part like the month MAY (As far as I can remember, all of my geo professors said it this way too?!) But I just saw that the Cambridge dictionary has the correct pronunciation as MAH-fic.

Which way is right?? ⚒️

How to Stay Safe if You’re Traveling and an Earthquake Strikes Many popular vacation destinations, like California, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Thailand and the Caribbean are in active quake zones. Here are tips for staying safe.

Are you planning to travel this year? Dreaming of the Caribbean? Sipping wine in Italy? Venturing around New Zealand?

All these places (and many more tourist hotspots) are at risk of earthquakes. Check out my latest for @nytimes.com for tips on staying safe 🧪 ⚒️

www.nytimes.com/2025/04/08/t...

How to Stay Safe if You’re Traveling and an Earthquake Strikes (Gift Article) Many popular vacation destinations, like California, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Thailand and the Caribbean are in active quake zones. Here are tips for staying safe.

Also, if you run into a paywall, feel free to use this gift link to read the story! It should be available to read for 30 days from now.

www.nytimes.com/2025/04/08/t...

Fellow intrepid travelers to earthquake places @mayaweihaas.bsky.social has ideas for readiness.

It was fun share with her how I think about it. 🧪🥾 #travel #earthquake #adventure

How to Stay Safe if You’re Traveling and an Earthquake Strikes Many popular vacation destinations, like California, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Thailand and the Caribbean are in active quake zones. Here are tips for staying safe.

What do you do if you’re in another country and you feel an earthquake?

This concise, timely article from @mayaweihaas.bsky.social gives advice on how to be prepared for earthquakes when traveling.

TL:DR - know before you go. ⚒️

www.nytimes.com/2025/04/08/t...

Even if you don’t live in “earthquake country,” the places you travel to for work or fun may have earthquake hazards. Learn more here…

Many thanks to everyone who chatted with me for this story: @drwendyrocks.bsky.social, @disastrouscomms.bsky.social, @taralemmey.com, @timblor.bsky.social, and Brian Blake at CUSEC! Also many thanks to Christine Bedenis for sharing their experience while traveling in Nepal during the M7.8 quake.