Nic Rawlence
@nicrawlencenz.bsky.social
Associate Professor, palaeoecologist, and science communicator @Otago Palaeogenetics Lab using ancient DNA and palaeontology to reconstruct past ecosystems.
Pinned
Prestigious medal for science communicator
www.otago.ac.nz
I’m humbled & on cloud nine to have been awarded the NZ Assoc Scientists Cranwell Medal in Science Communication. I could not have done this level of sci comm without the support of my family & wonderful lab group. This award is as much for you as it is for me www.otago.ac.nz/news/newsroo...
Reposted by Nic Rawlence
Associate Professor Nic Rawlence has been awarded the New Zealand Association of Scientists’ prestigious Cranwell Medal for his exceptional mahi communicating the wonders of science with the public 🏅👏
“I feel humbled and on cloud nine at the same time,” he says. Read more here ⬇️
“I feel humbled and on cloud nine at the same time,” he says. Read more here ⬇️
Prestigious medal for science communicator
www.otago.ac.nz
November 26, 2025 at 4:38 AM
Associate Professor Nic Rawlence has been awarded the New Zealand Association of Scientists’ prestigious Cranwell Medal for his exceptional mahi communicating the wonders of science with the public 🏅👏
“I feel humbled and on cloud nine at the same time,” he says. Read more here ⬇️
“I feel humbled and on cloud nine at the same time,” he says. Read more here ⬇️
Reposted by Nic Rawlence
I’m humbled & on cloud nine to have been awarded the NZ Assoc Scientists Cranwell Medal in Science Communication. I could not have done this level of sci comm without the support of my family & wonderful lab group. This award is as much for you as it is for me www.otago.ac.nz/news/newsroo...
Prestigious medal for science communicator
www.otago.ac.nz
November 26, 2025 at 5:55 AM
I’m humbled & on cloud nine to have been awarded the NZ Assoc Scientists Cranwell Medal in Science Communication. I could not have done this level of sci comm without the support of my family & wonderful lab group. This award is as much for you as it is for me www.otago.ac.nz/news/newsroo...
Reposted by Nic Rawlence
Years of work involving an amazing team at BBCSstudios Framestore AppleTV, our series #PrehistoricPlanetIceAge is out now on #AppleTV. Huge thanks to everyone involved. All 5 eps have been released!
November 26, 2025 at 10:07 AM
Years of work involving an amazing team at BBCSstudios Framestore AppleTV, our series #PrehistoricPlanetIceAge is out now on #AppleTV. Huge thanks to everyone involved. All 5 eps have been released!
I’m humbled & on cloud nine to have been awarded the NZ Assoc Scientists Cranwell Medal in Science Communication. I could not have done this level of sci comm without the support of my family & wonderful lab group. This award is as much for you as it is for me www.otago.ac.nz/news/newsroo...
Prestigious medal for science communicator
www.otago.ac.nz
November 26, 2025 at 5:55 AM
I’m humbled & on cloud nine to have been awarded the NZ Assoc Scientists Cranwell Medal in Science Communication. I could not have done this level of sci comm without the support of my family & wonderful lab group. This award is as much for you as it is for me www.otago.ac.nz/news/newsroo...
Reposted by Nic Rawlence
39 people, one quarter of the CAVEPS delegates, attended our best practice workshop for collaborating with Indigenous communities. The yarning circle couldn't get any bigger. This gives me hope that the future is looking bright for decolonising vertebrate palaeontology in Australasia.
It’s the first day of the CAVEPS Conference of Australasian Vertebrate Evolution, Palaeontology and Systematics, hosted by Flinders Uni on Kaurna Yerta 🎉
November 25, 2025 at 12:33 PM
39 people, one quarter of the CAVEPS delegates, attended our best practice workshop for collaborating with Indigenous communities. The yarning circle couldn't get any bigger. This gives me hope that the future is looking bright for decolonising vertebrate palaeontology in Australasia.
Reposted by Nic Rawlence
And we are up to hit piece #5 against critics of Colossal Biosciences and de-extinction, including me. This clearly ghostwritten piece misses the point entirely www.columnist24.com/science/8397...
The Perfectionist Fallacy - Columnist24
A growing strand of scientific purism argues that de-extinction efforts must achieve perfect genetic fidelity before they can be taken seriously.
www.columnist24.com
November 25, 2025 at 12:24 PM
And we are up to hit piece #5 against critics of Colossal Biosciences and de-extinction, including me. This clearly ghostwritten piece misses the point entirely www.columnist24.com/science/8397...
Reposted by Nic Rawlence
I’m proud to be part of the newly formed ‘Community of Practice on Collaborating with Indigenous Peoples’ who are running a 3-hour workshop this afternoon, plus a session on Thursday with invited speakers Jade Turner and Jacinta Koolmatrie.
Huge thanks to our sponsor Australasian Palaeontologists.
Huge thanks to our sponsor Australasian Palaeontologists.
November 23, 2025 at 11:29 PM
I’m proud to be part of the newly formed ‘Community of Practice on Collaborating with Indigenous Peoples’ who are running a 3-hour workshop this afternoon, plus a session on Thursday with invited speakers Jade Turner and Jacinta Koolmatrie.
Huge thanks to our sponsor Australasian Palaeontologists.
Huge thanks to our sponsor Australasian Palaeontologists.
39 people, one quarter of the CAVEPS delegates, attended our best practice workshop for collaborating with Indigenous communities. The yarning circle couldn't get any bigger. This gives me hope that the future is looking bright for decolonising vertebrate palaeontology in Australasia.
It’s the first day of the CAVEPS Conference of Australasian Vertebrate Evolution, Palaeontology and Systematics, hosted by Flinders Uni on Kaurna Yerta 🎉
November 25, 2025 at 12:33 PM
39 people, one quarter of the CAVEPS delegates, attended our best practice workshop for collaborating with Indigenous communities. The yarning circle couldn't get any bigger. This gives me hope that the future is looking bright for decolonising vertebrate palaeontology in Australasia.
And we are up to hit piece #5 against critics of Colossal Biosciences and de-extinction, including me. This clearly ghostwritten piece misses the point entirely www.columnist24.com/science/8397...
The Perfectionist Fallacy - Columnist24
A growing strand of scientific purism argues that de-extinction efforts must achieve perfect genetic fidelity before they can be taken seriously.
www.columnist24.com
November 25, 2025 at 12:24 PM
And we are up to hit piece #5 against critics of Colossal Biosciences and de-extinction, including me. This clearly ghostwritten piece misses the point entirely www.columnist24.com/science/8397...
Reposted by Nic Rawlence
🚨 New paper alert 🚨
Our research, published today in Science, reveals remarkable concordance between human and dog genomes through time, highlighting how deeply intertwined our evolutionary histories have been over the past 11,000 years.
🔗 Read the full paper here: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Our research, published today in Science, reveals remarkable concordance between human and dog genomes through time, highlighting how deeply intertwined our evolutionary histories have been over the past 11,000 years.
🔗 Read the full paper here: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Genomic evidence for the Holocene codispersal of dogs and humans across Eastern Eurasia
As the first domestic species, dogs likely dispersed with different cultural groups during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. To test this hypothesis, we analyzed 73 ancient dog genomes, including 17 ...
www.science.org
November 13, 2025 at 10:48 PM
🚨 New paper alert 🚨
Our research, published today in Science, reveals remarkable concordance between human and dog genomes through time, highlighting how deeply intertwined our evolutionary histories have been over the past 11,000 years.
🔗 Read the full paper here: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Our research, published today in Science, reveals remarkable concordance between human and dog genomes through time, highlighting how deeply intertwined our evolutionary histories have been over the past 11,000 years.
🔗 Read the full paper here: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Nic Rawlence
What an incredible resource for those starting out in ancient DNA! Thanks once again @oskolkov.bsky.social for being our first #AaRCademy speaker
November 18, 2025 at 8:44 AM
What an incredible resource for those starting out in ancient DNA! Thanks once again @oskolkov.bsky.social for being our first #AaRCademy speaker
Reposted by Nic Rawlence
🚨 PNAS Special Feature 🐕
We analysed genomes of historical German Shepherds to reveal how bottlenecks linked to WWII and the use of popular sires led to significant declines in genomic health. We also found an early 20th century wolf-dog hybrid!
🔗 Full paper here: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
We analysed genomes of historical German Shepherds to reveal how bottlenecks linked to WWII and the use of popular sires led to significant declines in genomic health. We also found an early 20th century wolf-dog hybrid!
🔗 Full paper here: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
November 24, 2025 at 9:10 PM
🚨 PNAS Special Feature 🐕
We analysed genomes of historical German Shepherds to reveal how bottlenecks linked to WWII and the use of popular sires led to significant declines in genomic health. We also found an early 20th century wolf-dog hybrid!
🔗 Full paper here: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
We analysed genomes of historical German Shepherds to reveal how bottlenecks linked to WWII and the use of popular sires led to significant declines in genomic health. We also found an early 20th century wolf-dog hybrid!
🔗 Full paper here: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Reposted by Nic Rawlence
🚨 PNAS Special Feature 2 🐕
We used ancient DNA and dietary isotopes to show that landscape modification and the introduction of European dogs impacted dingo populations across Australia.
🔗 Full paper here: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
We used ancient DNA and dietary isotopes to show that landscape modification and the introduction of European dogs impacted dingo populations across Australia.
🔗 Full paper here: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
November 24, 2025 at 9:22 PM
🚨 PNAS Special Feature 2 🐕
We used ancient DNA and dietary isotopes to show that landscape modification and the introduction of European dogs impacted dingo populations across Australia.
🔗 Full paper here: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
We used ancient DNA and dietary isotopes to show that landscape modification and the introduction of European dogs impacted dingo populations across Australia.
🔗 Full paper here: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Reposted by Nic Rawlence
I have no idea how we are expected to fund our postgraduate student’s studies. To be fair, I’ve been funding mine from my own pocket for years, using money I earned from paid talks & radio/paper columns. But I’m approaching 2026 with no paid columns anymore & no paid talks lined up. It’s a bit scary
This funding environment is brutal. Four grants rejected this month :( The latest a small grant-in-aid from a charity that I’ve not had a no from in the ~15 years I’ve been applying to them. They always try to give a little bit. And this for follow on funding for work published in Nature Comms 😢
November 20, 2025 at 7:22 PM
I have no idea how we are expected to fund our postgraduate student’s studies. To be fair, I’ve been funding mine from my own pocket for years, using money I earned from paid talks & radio/paper columns. But I’m approaching 2026 with no paid columns anymore & no paid talks lined up. It’s a bit scary
Reposted by Nic Rawlence
The Ice Age megafauna has never felt so real: the art and science behind ‘Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age’, a #PrehistoricPlanetIceAge interview with myself and series producer Matthew Thompson... 3dvf.com/en/redaction...
The art and science behind 'Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age'
Explore iconic Ice Age creatures in Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age. Learn how the team brought these creatures back to life in an exclusive interview.
3dvf.com
November 19, 2025 at 10:08 AM
The Ice Age megafauna has never felt so real: the art and science behind ‘Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age’, a #PrehistoricPlanetIceAge interview with myself and series producer Matthew Thompson... 3dvf.com/en/redaction...
Reposted by Nic Rawlence
Is anyone I know going to the Australasian Wildlife Management Society conference in Queenstown in early December awms.org.au/conference/a... 1/3 🧵
AWMS2025 | AUSTRALASIAN WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT SOCIETY
awms.org.au
November 18, 2025 at 10:04 PM
Is anyone I know going to the Australasian Wildlife Management Society conference in Queenstown in early December awms.org.au/conference/a... 1/3 🧵
Reposted by Nic Rawlence
The wonderful people at the NZ Science Learning Hub have turned my talk on MythBusting de-extinction to sort fact from fiction into a freely available educational resource. You can check it out here www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/my...
Mythbusting de-extinction to sort fact from fiction
De-extinction hit the headlines recently with the ‘resurrection’ of the dire wolf and the push to bring back the moa. However, can scientists really bring back extinct animals? And more importantly, s...
www.sciencelearn.org.nz
November 18, 2025 at 9:47 PM
The wonderful people at the NZ Science Learning Hub have turned my talk on MythBusting de-extinction to sort fact from fiction into a freely available educational resource. You can check it out here www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/my...
Reposted by Nic Rawlence
Fantastic deëxtinction fiction vs #DeExtinction facts 🧪🐺🦤🦣
The wonderful people at the NZ Science Learning Hub have turned my talk on MythBusting de-extinction to sort fact from fiction into a freely available educational resource. You can check it out here www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/my...
Mythbusting de-extinction to sort fact from fiction
De-extinction hit the headlines recently with the ‘resurrection’ of the dire wolf and the push to bring back the moa. However, can scientists really bring back extinct animals? And more importantly, s...
www.sciencelearn.org.nz
November 18, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Fantastic deëxtinction fiction vs #DeExtinction facts 🧪🐺🦤🦣
Is anyone I know going to the Australasian Wildlife Management Society conference in Queenstown in early December awms.org.au/conference/a... 1/3 🧵
AWMS2025 | AUSTRALASIAN WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT SOCIETY
awms.org.au
November 18, 2025 at 10:04 PM
Is anyone I know going to the Australasian Wildlife Management Society conference in Queenstown in early December awms.org.au/conference/a... 1/3 🧵
The wonderful people at the NZ Science Learning Hub have turned my talk on MythBusting de-extinction to sort fact from fiction into a freely available educational resource. You can check it out here www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/my...
Mythbusting de-extinction to sort fact from fiction
De-extinction hit the headlines recently with the ‘resurrection’ of the dire wolf and the push to bring back the moa. However, can scientists really bring back extinct animals? And more importantly, s...
www.sciencelearn.org.nz
November 18, 2025 at 9:47 PM
The wonderful people at the NZ Science Learning Hub have turned my talk on MythBusting de-extinction to sort fact from fiction into a freely available educational resource. You can check it out here www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/my...
Reposted by Nic Rawlence
November 14, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Reposted by Nic Rawlence
Right. Hitler's DNA. Brace yourselves for a deluge of misinformation and bad science.
I'm in Australia, so do get in touch if you want some expert debunking.
I'm in Australia, so do get in touch if you want some expert debunking.
November 13, 2025 at 6:37 AM
Right. Hitler's DNA. Brace yourselves for a deluge of misinformation and bad science.
I'm in Australia, so do get in touch if you want some expert debunking.
I'm in Australia, so do get in touch if you want some expert debunking.
Reposted by Nic Rawlence
Guys! Drop Crocs!! 😱 www.bbc.com/news/article...
Evidence of ancient tree-climbing 'drop crocs' found in Australia
Scientists say the crocodiles hunted like leopards by climbing trees and killing prey below.
www.bbc.com
November 12, 2025 at 8:53 AM
Guys! Drop Crocs!! 😱 www.bbc.com/news/article...