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Brigitte Nerlich

@bnerlich.bsky.social

2.1K followers 480 following 7.7K posts

Metaphor hunter, linguist, social scientist, blogger blog: https://makingsciencepublic.com/ also sorted into categories at https://wakelet.com/@bnerlich ORCID: 0000-0001-6617-7827

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Psychology 23%

Communication & Media Studies 23%

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Brigitte Nerlich @bnerlich.bsky.social · Nov 17

So, I have created a starter pack for people interested in #metaphor. I bet I left a lot of people out. Please let me know if you want to be added. go.bsky.app/DvxejFX

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Reposted by Brigitte Nerlich

Roger Highfield @rogerhighfield.bsky.social · 40m

The Internet has Google. Now biology has MetaGraph. Detailed today in Nature1, the search engine can quickly sift through the staggering volumes of biological data housed in public repositories.

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

‘Google for DNA’ brings order to biology’s big data

MetaGraph compresses vast data archives into a search engine for scientists, opening up new frontiers of biological discovery.

www.nature.com

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Brigitte Nerlich @bnerlich.bsky.social · 15h

And one should not forget that 'vegetation' carries memories www.academia.edu/7762779/Poli...

Politics of taste and smell: Palestinian Rites of Return

www.academia.edu

Brigitte Nerlich @bnerlich.bsky.social · 15h

Love it! I wanted to go but had to do something else, so missed that opportunity!

Brigitte Nerlich @bnerlich.bsky.social · 15h

A bit of mist left from this morning in #Wollaton Park

misty tree trunks with leaves in the foreground and one tree a bit like a helix

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Brigitte Nerlich @bnerlich.bsky.social · 17h

Last shout-out for the dark genome - a gothic tale with a happy ending #metaphor #genome #scicomm #gothic makingsciencepublic.com/2025/10/10/t...

The dark genome: A gothic tale with a happy ending

On 29 September Roger Highfield published an article for the Francis Crick Institute entitled “A message from the dark genome: The genetic ghosts that haunt and help us” (based on a chat with Georg…

makingsciencepublic.com

Reposted by Brigitte Nerlich

David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 1d

This is like disbanding your military during World War Two.

The Trump regime is firing many of the 2,540 employee of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) during the ongoing government shutdown. Why? CISA dismissed Trump’s allegations of voter fraud in the 2020 election.

Cybersecurity agency that clashed with Trump one of the first hit with federal firings due to government shutdown

CISA plans to keep just 889 employees on duty during a shutdown while furloughing 65% of its workforce.

nypost.com

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Brigitte Nerlich @bnerlich.bsky.social · 2d

For weekend readers, some musing on the #metaphor of the dark, or rather gothic, genome, inspired by an article by @rogerhighfield.bsky.social #scicom #scilit makingsciencepublic.com/2025/10/10/t...

The dark genome: A gothic tale with a happy ending

makingsciencepublic.com

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Reposted by Brigitte Nerlich, Lesley A. Hall, Kathleen Kennedy

LopaLeach @lopa.bsky.social · 2d

Cuts equivalent to 15,000 jobs planned at UK universities – UCU www.timeshighereducation.com/news/cuts-eq...

Cuts equivalent to 15,000 jobs planned at UK universities – UCU

Proposed job losses almost triple since March as unions prepare to vote on nationwide industrial action

www.timeshighereducation.com

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Brigitte Nerlich @bnerlich.bsky.social · 2d

I have a burning bush I planted three years ago and it just doesn't go red. Infuriating. Perhaps I was a sold a pup (although I never understand why that should be a bad thing, ah well)

Reposted by Brigitte Nerlich

The Public Domain Review @publicdomainrev.bsky.social · 2d

A man stares out over the fertile olive groves of Gaza, ca. 1911.

One of 125 photographs of life in Palestine before the British Mandate, ca. 1896–1919, we gathered from the collections of @librarycongress.bsky.social and others: publicdomainreview.org/collection/p...

A stereoscopic photograph showing a man in traditional dress standing among prickly pear cacti on a hillside, overlooking the cultivated fields and scattered trees of Gaza, Palestine. The landscape stretches into the distance with the town visible on the horizon. Published by Underwood & Underwood around the early 20th century.

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Brigitte Nerlich @bnerlich.bsky.social · 2d

it's back to masks on trains and planes and cramped spaces

Reposted by Brigitte Nerlich

The Association for Researching and Applying Metaphor @raammetaphor.bsky.social · 2d

Metaphor experts wanted!
We’re sharing this opportunity for those interested in metaphor analysis:

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Brigitte Nerlich @bnerlich.bsky.social · 2d

Oh no!

Brigitte Nerlich @bnerlich.bsky.social · 2d

Good old 'indirect speech acts' "Indirect speech acts often rely on implicature, where the implied meaning goes beyond the literal interpretation of the words used"

Brigitte Nerlich @bnerlich.bsky.social · 2d

Today's post is about the #metaphor of the dark genome and a gothic tale with a happy ending told by @rogerhighfield.bsky.social #scicom makingsciencepublic.com/2025/10/10/t...

The dark genome: A gothic tale with a happy ending

makingsciencepublic.com

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Reposted by Brigitte Nerlich

Roger Highfield @rogerhighfield.bsky.social · 3d

Fascinating take on the current AI hyperbole… ashvardanian.com/posts/llm-ep...

Are LLMs the Epicycles of Intelligence?

I’ve always been fascinated by AI and mega-projects — and as I work on AI infrastructure, you might assume I’m equally fascinated by the current LLM race. In reality, I’m far more skeptical than most....

ashvardanian.com

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Brigitte Nerlich @bnerlich.bsky.social · 3d

ha never tried Skips, so on to new adventures

Brigitte Nerlich @bnerlich.bsky.social · 3d

Haha, well found!

Brigitte Nerlich @bnerlich.bsky.social · 3d

is it in the OED yet? sadly not

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Reposted by Brigitte Nerlich

George Musser @georgemusser.com · 4d

Tech is depleting not only material resources but also intellectual resources, especially common knowledge. Political polarization erodes agreement on the most basic facts and concepts. "It's almost like seeing the ozone layer deplete before our eyes," said @audreyt.org at #ALIFE2025. ⚙️🧫

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Reposted by Meredith Broussard, Lisa W. Fazio, James Q. Wilson , and 38 more Meredith Broussard, Lisa W. Fazio, James Q. Wilson, Suresh Venkatasubramanian, Dorothy Bishop, Anna Nagurney, Brigitte Nerlich, Ben Bond‐Lamberty, Gavin A. Schmidt, Jesse H. Kroll, Julie L. Lockwood, Patrick A. Jansen, Joshua S. Weitz, Nicole Dubilier, Jason Stajich, Simon J. Greenhill, Michael A. Clemens, Hugo Mercier, Megan L. Ranney, Rosemary A. Joyce, Philip N. Cohen, Michael J. Allen, Andrew Curry, Jacob Montgomery, Juan Cole, Kris Inwood, Smith, Robert C. Richards, Rebecca Tushnet, Alan Richardson, Lauren Hersch Nicholas, Victor Galaz, Scott A. Imberman, Sebastian Karcher, Brian Keegan, Ann Bartow, Jack Stilgoe, Ted Temzelides, Christina Pagel, Annalee Newitz, David Darmofal

Carl Zimmer @carlzimmer.com · 4d

Today my @nytimes.com colleagues and I are launching a new series called Lost Science. We interview US scientists who can no longer discover something new about our world, thanks to this year‘s cuts. Here is my first interview with a scientist who studied bees and fires. Gift link: nyti.ms/3IWXbiE

nyti.ms

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Brigitte Nerlich @bnerlich.bsky.social · 4d

Oh no!!! Your body should sit on the naughty step and think about what it has done! I hope you get better very soon.

Brigitte Nerlich @bnerlich.bsky.social · 4d

Me too

Brigitte Nerlich @bnerlich.bsky.social · 4d

So true! What I find so frightening is not only the dissolution of reason and rationality, but also of reality, knowledge, mutual understanding and shared values.

Brigitte Nerlich @bnerlich.bsky.social · 5d

That made my morning!!

Brigitte Nerlich @bnerlich.bsky.social · 5d

Now do it with Eichhörnchen!

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Reposted by Brigitte Nerlich

Eric Rawlins @erawlins.bsky.social · 5d

"UbiQD, a US startup, has developed quantum dot solar glass that passively modulates sunlight to boost greenhouse crop productivity. In trials, lettuce grown -- saw dramatic improvements: -- plants’ light-use efficiency rose 41% and essential nutrient concentrations were higher"

New Solar Glass Cranks Up Lettuce Crop Yields By Almost 40%

The US startup UbiQD has demonstrated an improvement of almost 40% in lettuce grown under solar glass enhanced with quantum dots.

cleantechnica.com

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Brigitte Nerlich @bnerlich.bsky.social · 5d

You bet you never hear him saying 'I didn't saw any black faces'

Reposted by Brigitte Nerlich

Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 5d

2012 Nobel laureate John Gurdon has died. His work was central to both the development of animal cloning and the possibility of reprogramming cells to a different state. A giant of cell and developmental biology.
www.magd.cam.ac.uk/news/profess...

Professor Sir John Gurdon FRS (1933-2025) | Magdalene College

Magdalene College is deeply saddened to announce the death of Professor Sir John Gurdon FRS, who served as Master of the College from 1995 to 2002.

www.magd.cam.ac.uk

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Brigitte Nerlich @bnerlich.bsky.social · 5d

You inspired me to submit and it is done

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