Emma Hollen
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emmahollen.bsky.social
Emma Hollen
@emmahollen.bsky.social
610 followers 210 following 140 posts
Science journalist, Podcast producer & host @Futura
Creator of INFRA, a podcast about sound (FR) 🎧
I eat books & drink science 💡 #SciComm
Ravenpuff with a PhD in curiosity 🦡 🦅 | Ally ✊🏻✊🏽✊🏿 | she / they 🏳️‍🌈

(@Emma_Hollen back on Twixter)
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emmahollen.bsky.social
La dignité et les droits humains ne sont pas une affaire de politique, c'est une affaire de bon sens et c'est non-négociable.
Alors allez bien voter ce week-end et allez voter bien ❤️

blogs.mediapart.fr/les-invites-...
La culture scientifique contre l'extrême droite
« Le programme du Rassemblement National est explicitement climatosceptique, il balaierait le travail de sensibilisation aux urgences climatiques et environnementales mené par nombre d’entre nous et…
blogs.mediapart.fr
July 4, 2024 at 3:08 PM
emmahollen.bsky.social
What if it's not nostalgia but hopefulness we're looking for in old media?
A screenshot from the 1984 movie The NeverEnding Story by Wolfgang Petersen, showing a big white, kind-looking dragon called Falcor and a young boy called Atreyu rising from his protecting embrace. © The NeverEnding Story
July 1, 2024 at 9:23 PM
Reposted by Emma Hollen
leniddepie.bsky.social
Il fallait bien que ça arrive...La pie bavarde est l'héroïne du dernier opus du podcast Bêtes de science @futurasciences.bsky.social. Merci @emmahollen.bsky.social ! En ce moment les pies s'activent dans leur nid, les œufs arrivent bientôt ! podcasts.futura-sciences.com/futura-betes...
La pie bavarde, pas si voleuse que ça !
Aujourd'hui, direction la ville à la rencontre de la pie ! 🪶 En pleine nature ou en milieu urbain, cet oiseau est chez lui. Omnivore, la pie bavarde est ...
podcasts.futura-sciences.com
March 29, 2024 at 11:34 AM
emmahollen.bsky.social
Alright, my mind is actually BLOWN...

demo.hume.ai
An image displaying a soundwave represented with soft-colored curves. The text in the top left corner says "hume" and underneath the soundwave you can read Empathic Voice Interface (EVI). Hume is a new chatbot capable of talking analyzing the tone of your voice to try and understand how you feel and respond adequately. Its voice sounds insanely human. © hume
March 29, 2024 at 8:32 AM
emmahollen.bsky.social
The Termitomyces titanicus mushroom is

NOTORIOUSLY

B I G

🍄
A man holds up a ginormous mushroom. The steam is as wide as a butternut, and the cap as wide as an umbrella ! © Danny Newman A little girl holds a wide mushroom with a creamy-white cap turning to a smoky taupe towards its center. © Danny Newman I mean, you could just feed yourself for a whole month from that one mushroom the dude is holding in this picture. If its cap were a table, a family of four would easily fit on it. And be able to eat it. © Morgan Chishimba
March 27, 2024 at 9:04 PM
emmahollen.bsky.social
This nodosaur fossil is probably one of if not the most amazing ever found! 🦕

Researchers have even found traces of red pigments on its skin, hinting at its original coloration (source: www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/art...)
An almost intact nodosaur fossil. The picture shows a perfectly preserved scaly head (featuring impressive fossilised eye sockets) and the beginning of the spiky armour on its body. It is a thing of beauty. © Royal Tyrrell Museum, National Geographic
March 1, 2024 at 8:36 AM
Reposted by Emma Hollen
bcky.bsky.social
Good morning, and let us remember the worst fate that can befall a woman is to be an unmarried librarian.
A screenshot of Donna Reed as Mary in It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
December 22, 2023 at 9:13 AM
emmahollen.bsky.social
Folks!

Hyena Project – basically one of the best accounts over on the SciTwittoSphere – has just joined BlueSky! 🥳

Go give them a follow! @hyenaproject.bsky.social ❤️
A snapshot of Hyena Project's account over on TwiXter. Their logo is a hyena drawn within what probably is the boundary of the Ngorongoro crater in Tanzania. © TwiXter, Hyena Project
December 4, 2023 at 8:08 AM
emmahollen.bsky.social
[PODCAST]

Le nouvel épisode d'INFRA est sorti et c'est un gros morceau !
open.spotify.com/episode/5Am5...

J'ai voulu y répondre à la question : « Le silence peut-il rendre fou ? » 🤐

Je vous y parle de chambre anéchoïque, d'explorateur·ice·s perdant la raison en Antarctique et... de #prison
Adam Tollefsen, devenu fou au cours de l'expédition Belgica, bloquée pendant un an en Antarctique. © National Library of Norway
November 28, 2023 at 6:49 PM
emmahollen.bsky.social
This delightful Wikipedia description of the various calls of Steller's jays just made my day 💙
A Steller's Jay perched on a branch. This gorgeous bird, about the size of a magpie, is capped in deep brown, almost black feathers. Its wings, tail and bottom part of its body are the most beautiful shade of blue, rich with nuances and variations worthy of a tropical bird. © John Fox An excerpt from Wikipedia (can't wait to know how the voice assistant is going to read that!): "Like other jays, Steller's jay has numerous and variable vocalizations. One common call is a harsh "SHACK-Sheck-sheck-sheck-sheck-sheck" series; another "skreeka! skreeka!" call sounds almost exactly like an old-fashioned pump handle; yet another is a soft, breathy "hoodle hoodle" whistle. Its alarm call is a harsh, nasal "wah". Some calls are sex-specific: females produce a rattling sound, while males make a high-pitched "gleep gleep"."
November 25, 2023 at 8:55 AM
emmahollen.bsky.social
Here are some pictures of sleeping fluffsnuggle puffpuffs (aka hazel dormice) to make your Friday a little cozier 🧣🍵

If you find one hibernating in your garden or in the woodlands, please, don't disturb it 💛
A tiny little dormouse sleeping on its back. It has rolled up into a tiny ball and curved its tiny feet underneath its chin. Its tail is curled over its body to give it an extra layer of protection. It is the cutest little things and looks super soft and fuzzy. © Wild Dales Photography / Alamy Stock Photo This tiny litlle fella has snuggled into a cozy little round nest made of woven grass. It is sleeping soundly, its lovely caramel-colored body a bright touch of warmth in the midst of winter. © Zoë Helene Kindermann A gorgeous picture of a hazel dormouse snuggly tucked into its nest, surrounded by leaves. It is peacefulness incarnate. © Avalon/Photoshot License/Alamy Stock Phot
November 24, 2023 at 9:01 AM
emmahollen.bsky.social
🐾 Polydactyly is a genetically inherited condition

🐾 In cats, it might as well be called the many-beans macromutation

🐾 Some cases are caused by mutations in a genetic enhancer that regulates the expression of the morphogenetic 'Sonic Hedgehog gene' (you can't make that up)

shorturl.at/dtLNU
A polydactyl black and white kitten. It sports 6 beans on each paw instead of the usual 4. © Roham Sheikholeslami A six-beaned pair of paws. © Rau Animal Hospital This one looks more like a regular paw with a tinier two-beaned paw attached to it. © Cumberland Veterinary Clinic
November 23, 2023 at 8:59 AM
emmahollen.bsky.social
Is this level of cuteness even legal in nature?
November 21, 2023 at 7:53 AM
emmahollen.bsky.social
From gummy bear to velvet brown moth!

Each stage of development of the saddleback caterpillar (Acharia Stimulea) is a fascinating spectacle to behold
6 early instar larvae of the saddleback caterpillar. Their body is pill-shaped and covered in what looks like gummy spikes. They are a bright yellowish green. © Lyle J. Buss, University of Florida. 4 little saddlebacks sporting what looks like actual tiny brown saddles on their green backs. They have a pair of brown "horns" at both extremities of their bodies, and fuzzy orange spikes that form a "moustache" on their face. © Joe Culin, Clemson University, Bugwood.org This saddleback caterpillar is older yet than the previous ones and taken from the front. It still wears a pair of spiky brown horns on its butt and head. Its beautiful green back topped by a brown saddle-like spot, and its "face" is now sporting the most elegant rusty-colored moustache under two white spots that could be mistaken for eyes. © Beski A velvety chocolate-colored moth that looks like it's bowing to some forsaken lamp-god. (Its front legs are extended before him and its head seems to be bowed to the ground.) © Ken Childs
November 20, 2023 at 1:24 PM
emmahollen.bsky.social
Found in Madagascar, the ambilobe leaf-nosed snake (Langaha pseudoalluaudi) sports what is probably the strangest and least boopable snoot of the snake realm 👉🚫🐍

This bold look allows it to mimic a broken stick on a tree or on the ground.
www.inaturalist.org/taxa/29748-L...
A wooden-looking snake with angry-looking eyes and a trophy-looking snout. This extra piece of nose looks like a piece of wood whose extremity has been broken off. © RGSMadagascar If it holds straight and still enough, these Malagasy snake looks very stick-ish indeed. The coloring on its body evoke the peeling bark of a tree and its definitely-unboopable snoot helps it blend even more with its surroundings. Nice camouflaging little snek! © Living Madagascar The ambilobe leaf-nosed snake can also hold itself all twisty-curvy if it wants to pretend to be a tiny branch on a tree. What a cutie! © matthhias
November 16, 2023 at 9:31 AM
emmahollen.bsky.social
I wish creators on Adobe Stock and co used generative AI to create more diverse representations of human beings in a still very white-cis-young-and-abled-centered ecosystem

We're starting to see some efforts made here and there, but not nearly enough

Let's use AI to redefine the word 'default'! ✊
Non-AI-generated image results for the search term 'woman'. All the subjects are white and most are below age 40. © Adobe Stock AI-generated image results for the search term 'woman'. More than half the subjects are white, below 40 (except for one), and fit traditional beauty standards. © Adobe Stock Non-AI-generated image results for the search term 'man'. All the subjects are white, with arms crossed, facial hair and a short to medium-length hairstyle. © Adobe Stock AI-generated image results for the search term 'man'. All relevant subjects are white and look very much like the men from the previous capture. © Adobe Stock
November 15, 2023 at 2:05 PM
emmahollen.bsky.social
🪶 The hoatzin is also known as the reptile bird, skunk bird, stinkbird, or Canje pheasant

🪶 Its chicks have claws on two of their wing digits

🪶 This South American can break down cellulose better than any other bird thanks to a digestive system similar to that of a cow
www.jstor.org/stable/4088763
A hoatzin spreads its bright orange wings above its head. Its face is blue with bright red eyes and a flame colored crest of fine feathers. He looks like he is wearing trousers of rust-colored down. © Ed Harper A hoatzin parent sheltering its two juveniles underneath its wings during a rainstorm. © Rhys Marsh A hand pulls the wing of a hoatzin hatchling to reveal two clawed digits. © Mark Bowler
November 15, 2023 at 9:11 AM
emmahollen.bsky.social
!jazbot whereami
November 13, 2023 at 9:54 AM
emmahollen.bsky.social
Say hello to the hammer-headed bat (Hypsignathus monstrosus)! 🦇

Don't be too intimidated by its 1-meter wingspan, it is strictly frugivorous (though it is also a potential carrier of the Ebola virus, so don't get too close).

It is also a famously loud honker 🎺
A gloved hand holding a hammer-headed bat. The bat has long, pointy translucid ears and an elongated and very bulky snout, as if it had been stung by a bee. © Sarah H. Olson When facing the bat, you'll notice that its snout ends in a shape evoking an orchid or maybe a very convoluted Chinese dumpling. It is very pretty, alien-like and quite off-putting all at the same time. Impressive! © Sarah H. Olson A hammer-headed bat on a hardwood floor. It uses its clawed feet and elbows to prop itself up and looks (maybe a little vacantly) at the camera. © Robert B. ?
November 13, 2023 at 9:39 AM
emmahollen.bsky.social
Who's a good little tardigrade?
A humorous montage depicting a tardigrade on its back getting tickled by a human hand. © Getty Images/Collection Mix: Subjects RM and © PNG Wing
November 12, 2023 at 9:45 AM
emmahollen.bsky.social
Most impressive is the way tardigrades lay their eggs 🥚

The parent shed their old exoskeleton (exuvium) with the eggs still inside it! 🤯

#FunFact:
Did you know that some tardigrades are hermaphroditic while others are parthenogenic (they can lay eggs without a partner)?
A molted tardigrade leaves an egg mass in their old exoskeleton. © Carolina Biological Supply Company, Science Photo Library
November 12, 2023 at 9:44 AM
emmahollen.bsky.social
Tardigrade eggs are mind-blowingly beautiful
#SciArt
A single tardigrade egg: a sphere covered in about 50 cone-shaped protuberances rising from its surface. A lace-like pattern runs in the spaces between the cones. © Eye Of Science, Science Photo Library A zoom on protuberances from another tardigrade eggs. These ones are similar to anemones: a tubular shape ending up in a star(ish)-shaped opening. © Eye Of Science, Science Photo Library Several types of tardigrade eggs seen under a scanning electron microscope. © Diane R. Nelson et al.
November 12, 2023 at 9:30 AM
emmahollen.bsky.social
Alright! Massimo on Twixter says it's a Buff-banded rail (Gallirallus philippensis).

Science wins! ✨
(and cuteness remains)
A tweet bu Massimo on Twixter, saying: 'Despite the photos you might have seen online, this is not a baby crow, but a baby buff-banded rail (Gallirallus philippensis), and isn’t even remotely related to a corvid'
November 11, 2023 at 9:06 AM
emmahollen.bsky.social
These aren't baby crows but what are they? 🤔

So far I'm hesitant between black chicks and black guillemots...

(P.S. please folks, don't spread misinformation like this when nature has so much more to offer than robins and crows 🖤)

(also, this account is still pretty wholesome)
November 11, 2023 at 8:12 AM
emmahollen.bsky.social
This tiny peacock spider helmet is the most adorable thing I've ever seen! ❤️

The exoskeleton (or exuvium) was shed by a male peacock spider (Maratus velutinus) and photographed by Adam Fletcher (Project Maratus) 🦚🕷️
A tiny spider mask with in golden brown and white hair. The four holes where the eyes once were still retain a transparent outer shell which acts like a sort of magnifying glass. Considering that you can see the pores of the finger holding up the mask, I'd say it's probably no bigger than one millimeter. © Adam Fletcher, Project Maratus
November 11, 2023 at 7:54 AM