Ramakrishnan Vasudeva
@rvasudeva.bsky.social
140 followers 100 following 18 posts
Love science🔬, experimental biologist, evolutionary ecologist, walking, Carnatic music, University of Exeter, Animal Behaviour, travelling, insects, reproduction, sexual selection, and gardening
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
Reposted by Ramakrishnan Vasudeva
idontevencara.bsky.social
Imagine you are an ant. You are close to the ground, have pretty poor eyesight, and can’t see all that far ahead of you. How are you going to find your way back home?

Turns out ants and other insects navigate by a property of light humans can’t even see.

1/7 ⚛️🧪
A close-up image of an ant, eyes prominent,  mandibles open and ready for action.  

Image credit Egor Kamelev via Pexels, public domain
Reposted by Ramakrishnan Vasudeva
idontevencara.bsky.social
Here’s a video that shows the effect. These are polarization filters taped together. As the direction of the filters aligns with the direction of polarization in the sky, they block more light, hence the darkening of only some filters as they’re rotated.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=TP5J...

6/7
Show Me Some Science! Polarization of the Sky
YouTube video by CNS Little Shop of Physics
www.youtube.com
Reposted by Ramakrishnan Vasudeva
idontevencara.bsky.social
While ants can’t see details and obstacles very well, for them these polarization patterns on the sky are clear as day, and they can use them to find their way around. So human sailors aren’t the only celestial navigators—ants use cues from the sky to get home too!

7/7
Reposted by Ramakrishnan Vasudeva
patrlynch1.bsky.social
The Avian Heart, an ancient pen-&-ink drawing I did decades ago, with a crow-quill pen and 1940s-era Esterbrook points. #Inktober
🧪🌿🌎🐡 #wildlife #scicomm #sciviz #wildlifeart #illustration #scientificillustration #natureart
Pen drawing of the internal anatomy of the avian heart.
Reposted by Ramakrishnan Vasudeva
judithgeology.bsky.social
A M7.4 earthquake struck the Philippine subduction zone today, causing damaging shaking across much of Mindanao. Several people have died.

This is the Philippines' second deadly earthquake in two weeks. Are the events related? And how does this quake compare to the nearby M7.6 in 2023?

⚒️ 🧪
Damaging M7.4 subduction earthquake shakes Mindanao, Philippines
The Philippines' second deadly earthquake in two weeks
earthquakeinsights.substack.com
Reposted by Ramakrishnan Vasudeva
plosbiology.org
@sonjawild.bsky.social @galarconnieto.bsky.social & @lucymaplin.bsky.social show that young #GreatTits, which have limited #ParentalCare, learn to solve a foraging #puzzle socially, but rather than parents, siblings & non-parental adults are preferred role models @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/46JZn6n
A juvenile great tit solves a foraging puzzle by pushing a sliding door to the left while being observed by two other juvenile birds. Image credit: Sonja Wild.
Reposted by Ramakrishnan Vasudeva
plosbiology.org
Supplementary info of scientific articles enhances #transparency, #reproducibility & scientific impact. This study presents #FAIR-SMART, a tool that enables #FAIR computational access to these materials at scale, improving findability, interoperability & reuse @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/3KBYLHs
Left: Correlation between the sizes of supplementary materials (SM) and main texts. Right: Distribution of SM data size per article across different journal fields, highlighting the variation in SM data usage among research areas.
Reposted by Ramakrishnan Vasudeva
cenmag.bsky.social
It’s a material world after all. And this year’s #NobelPrize in Chemistry has been awarded to researchers who created a family of materials that could help solve some of humanity’s most critical problems. Read more: cen.acs.org/people/nobel...

#ChemNobel #Chem #Chemistry #chemsky 🧪
The 2025 chemistry Nobel goes to MOFs
Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar M. Yaghi win the prize for developing metal–organic frameworks
Reposted by Ramakrishnan Vasudeva
elisecutts.bsky.social
🚨 Astobio alert 🚨

@royalsocietypublishing.org recently put out a whole special issue on the origins of life edited by @ricardsole.bsky.social, Chris Kempes and Susan Stepney

I wondered why there were so many origin of life papers coming up in my Google Scholar alerts recently... 🧪
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences: Vol 380, No 1936
royalsocietypublishing.org
Reposted by Ramakrishnan Vasudeva
samillingworth.com
🥦 Plant-based diets and inflammation

A new systematic review found that plant-based diets lower key inflammation markers (CRP, IL-6, TNF-α) in adults, suggesting reduced risk of chronic disease.

🔗 doi.org/10.71000/kyt...

#SciComm #Nutrition 🧪
Insights – Journal of Life and Social Sciences (IJLSS)
A peer-reviewed journal publishing original research and reviews in social sciences, life sciences, education, psychology, and sociology.
doi.org
Reposted by Ramakrishnan Vasudeva
natureportfolio.nature.com
A paper in Nature shows that parachute designs inspired by kirigami — the Japanese art of paper cutting to produce 3D designs — are stable and fall close to their target. These findings could simplify parachute manufacturing, reduce costs, and improve accuracy. go.nature.com/473OMmK 🧪
Kirigami-inspired parachute deploying to slow down the delivery of a water bottle from a drone. 

Credit: Frédérick Gosselin
Reposted by Ramakrishnan Vasudeva
markscherz.bsky.social
Spent a little time in the last couple of day working with micro-CT scans of frogs again. This is the holotype of Rhombophryne coronata. I’m hoping to submit a manuscript including a plate of this specimen’s skeleton tomorrow! 🧪🐸🩻
Rhombophryne coronata rendered in 3D from a micro-CT scan. It’s not perfect, but it’s damn good.
Reposted by Ramakrishnan Vasudeva
lumipie.com
🧪🍎📃
It only took me 500 years to finish this 📊, but here it is 🎉

Grocery shops in many wealthy countries are oversupplied with animal-based foods. They stock far more meat and dairy than we need for human and planetary health.

🔗 www.lumipie.com/data-vis/pla...
Data visualization comparing national food supplies in high-income countries (based on GDP per capita) with planetary health intake targets. Radial charts for 12 countries (including Ireland, Denmark, Switzerland, Luxembourg, United States, Australia, Norway, Qatar, Kuwait, Emirates, Taiwan, and Saudi Arabia) show that supplies of animal-based foods, especially meat and dairy, consistently exceed recommended levels of intake. Bars below each chart compare grams of plant-based, animal-based, and fats & oils in total daily supply per person. Data is from FAOSTAT (2022)
Reposted by Ramakrishnan Vasudeva
princess-vimentin.bsky.social
In addition to reducing the severity and long term effects of some illnesses, getting vaccinated has an unexpected benefit- warding off dementia.

A 2022 study of 1.8 million 65+ adults showed that receiving the flu vaccine reduced the risk of developing dementia by 40%.
🧪 archive.today/YT3wf
4 vaccines linked to a lower risk of dementia
Some vaccine-preventable diseases are linked to accelerated brain atrophy and increased dementia risk years down the line.
www.washingtonpost.com
Reposted by Ramakrishnan Vasudeva
datadryad.bsky.social
What did dwarf elephants eat? An analysis of their fossilized teeth provides clues. Explore the data on Dryad ➡️ 🧪 datadryad.org/dataset/doi:...

#opendata #datasharing #data #openscience #openaccess #paleontology #biology
Reposted by Ramakrishnan Vasudeva
samillingworth.com
🧓 Secrets of 117 years

Scientists studied Maria Branyas Morera, once the world’s oldest person. Her genes, low inflammation, diet, and social ties helped her reach 117 in good health.

🔗 www.theguardian.com/science/2025...

#SciComm 🧪 #Ageing
Supercentenarian gives scientists insight on secrets of healthy old age
Tests on Maria Branyas Morera, who was world’s oldest person before she died aged 117, gave doctors a trove of discoveries
www.theguardian.com
Reposted by Ramakrishnan Vasudeva
natureportfolio.nature.com
A study in Nature Metabolism shows that the dietary fiber inulin modifies the gut #microbiome to better process fructose, helping prevent metabolic dysfunctions and emphasizing the role of dietary fiber. go.nature.com/4gKCvHe 🧪
Fig. 1: Reversal of HFCS-induced metabolic dysfunctions by inulin supplementation.
Reposted by Ramakrishnan Vasudeva
apsphysiology.bsky.social
Do you do “zone zero” exercise? Housework. Playing with your kids. Parking farther from the store. It won't build muscle but can offset sitting. #ISpyPhysiology 🧪
• More from @nytimes.com: ow.ly/qQwv50X0R9y
• Cited study from @apspublications.bsky.social AJP-Endo: ow.ly/upZp50X0Rmv
Illustrated collage showing everyday moments: a person vacuuming, someone walking upstairs in heels, a person confidently walking in a sleeveless top, and legs passing by an open laptop.
Reposted by Ramakrishnan Vasudeva
neuroadipo.bsky.social
Metabolomics gone spatial! 🧪
natmetabolism.nature.com
✨New issue!✨

Check out the latest in #metabolism research from across all disciplines.

Read about #Ferroptosis, #MASLD, #DietaryBiomarkers, #CoA metabolism, #Immune signaling, #Tumor biology and many more topics! 🧪

www.nature.com/natmetab/vol...
Reposted by Ramakrishnan Vasudeva
apsphysiology.bsky.social
It’s never too late to start exercising, even if you’re in the later chapters of life. Regular exercise helps protect your DNA and keep arteries healthy. Read more: ow.ly/ViLJ50WXMmQ #HealthAgingMonth 🧪
Group of adults of different ages exercising outdoors with small hand weights, extending their arms forward in unison on a sunny day.
Reposted by Ramakrishnan Vasudeva
jpcapela.bsky.social
The EU is relying on Science based facts!
#PharmSky
#ToxSky
#MedSky
🧪
politico.eu
The European Commission said today there is no evidence linking paracetamol use during pregnancy to autism, following US President Donald Trump’s warning against the medication.
EU dismisses Trump claim linking autism to paracetamol use in pregnancy
Commission and medicines regulator stress “no evidence” linking paracetamol in pregnancy to autism, countering Trump’s earlier remarks.
ow.ly