Alice Roberts
@profaliceroberts.bsky.social
Prof of Public Engagement in Science, Uni of Birmingham; anatomist, author, broadcaster; vice President of Humanists UK. All views my own.
Here’s a tip: if you’re travelling with a cowbell and laptop adaptors in hand luggage, don’t put the adaptors inside the cowbell because that looks suspicious.
And an extra tip from my cousin Charlotte - be careful about travelling with a pack of polenta too. Also looks dodgy.
And an extra tip from my cousin Charlotte - be careful about travelling with a pack of polenta too. Also looks dodgy.
November 10, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Here’s a tip: if you’re travelling with a cowbell and laptop adaptors in hand luggage, don’t put the adaptors inside the cowbell because that looks suspicious.
And an extra tip from my cousin Charlotte - be careful about travelling with a pack of polenta too. Also looks dodgy.
And an extra tip from my cousin Charlotte - be careful about travelling with a pack of polenta too. Also looks dodgy.
Reposted by Alice Roberts
If I see one more stupid Rosalind Franklin take I'm going to lose my mind. Thank god for @matthewcobb.bsky.social and @nccomfort.bsky.social. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
What Rosalind Franklin truly contributed to the discovery of DNA’s structure
Franklin was no victim in how the DNA double helix was solved. An overlooked letter and an unpublished news article, both written in 1953, reveal that she was an equal player.
www.nature.com
November 8, 2025 at 7:21 AM
If I see one more stupid Rosalind Franklin take I'm going to lose my mind. Thank god for @matthewcobb.bsky.social and @nccomfort.bsky.social. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Alice Roberts
Once every 20 years or so, the director-general of the BBC is forced to resign for being insufficiently rightwing. Alastair Milne in 1987. Greg Dyke in 2004. Tim Davie in 2025. The great irony is that the BBC was in all cases profoundly biased towards established power. But just not biased enough …
November 10, 2025 at 5:44 AM
Once every 20 years or so, the director-general of the BBC is forced to resign for being insufficiently rightwing. Alastair Milne in 1987. Greg Dyke in 2004. Tim Davie in 2025. The great irony is that the BBC was in all cases profoundly biased towards established power. But just not biased enough …
Someone should start making “I’ve been trolled by Graham Linehan” badges. I’m a proud member of that club too! @vcorenmitchell.bsky.social
November 7, 2025 at 7:54 PM
Someone should start making “I’ve been trolled by Graham Linehan” badges. I’m a proud member of that club too! @vcorenmitchell.bsky.social
Domination is now available as an audiobook - read by me! books.apple.com/gb/audiobook...
November 7, 2025 at 7:44 PM
Domination is now available as an audiobook - read by me! books.apple.com/gb/audiobook...
Reposted by Alice Roberts
Only Connect host Victoria Coren Mitchell drags Graham Linehan over trans remarks
Only Connect's Victoria Coren Mitchell drags Graham Linehan over trans remarks
Only Connect host Victoria Coren Mitchell has pleaded with Graham Linehan to stop his "relentless" comments about the show's LGBTQ+ players.
www.thepinknews.com
November 5, 2025 at 12:40 PM
Only Connect host Victoria Coren Mitchell drags Graham Linehan over trans remarks
Domination is now available as an audiobook - read by me! books.apple.com/gb/audiobook...
November 7, 2025 at 7:25 PM
Domination is now available as an audiobook - read by me! books.apple.com/gb/audiobook...
Reposted by Alice Roberts
Wondering why no one likes your posts anymore, even among your friends? It's because @jay.bsky.team and team have decided to hide a huge amount of content from all of our feeds by default.
Here's how to turn it off.
First go to the hamburger menu in the upper left corner
Here's how to turn it off.
First go to the hamburger menu in the upper left corner
November 6, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Wondering why no one likes your posts anymore, even among your friends? It's because @jay.bsky.team and team have decided to hide a huge amount of content from all of our feeds by default.
Here's how to turn it off.
First go to the hamburger menu in the upper left corner
Here's how to turn it off.
First go to the hamburger menu in the upper left corner
An interesting study into deathbots. Eva Nieto McAvoy & Jenny Kidd conclude: “while you can talk to the dead with AI, what you hear back reveals more about the technologies and platforms that profit from memory…. than about the ghosts they claim we can talk to.”
theconversation.com/can-you-real...
theconversation.com/can-you-real...
Can you really talk to the dead using AI? We tried out ‘deathbots’ so you don’t have to
Chatbots and voice avatars are being used to preserve the voices of the deceased.
theconversation.com
November 7, 2025 at 7:28 AM
An interesting study into deathbots. Eva Nieto McAvoy & Jenny Kidd conclude: “while you can talk to the dead with AI, what you hear back reveals more about the technologies and platforms that profit from memory…. than about the ghosts they claim we can talk to.”
theconversation.com/can-you-real...
theconversation.com/can-you-real...
Reposted by Alice Roberts
I've never really understood the logic of "targeted vaccination".
Of course, money is a huge issue and we seek to get the most out of every £ spent.
Of course COVID and flu waves would be far worse without it.
But, what doesn't sit well for me is the following...
Of course, money is a huge issue and we seek to get the most out of every £ spent.
Of course COVID and flu waves would be far worse without it.
But, what doesn't sit well for me is the following...
November 6, 2025 at 12:46 PM
I've never really understood the logic of "targeted vaccination".
Of course, money is a huge issue and we seek to get the most out of every £ spent.
Of course COVID and flu waves would be far worse without it.
But, what doesn't sit well for me is the following...
Of course, money is a huge issue and we seek to get the most out of every £ spent.
Of course COVID and flu waves would be far worse without it.
But, what doesn't sit well for me is the following...
Reposted by Alice Roberts
@zackpolanski.bsky.social quoted on BBC radio news responding to Rachel Reeves budget hints and NOT quoting Nigel Farage????
Is that the sound of the Overton window shifting?
Oh and now they're doing a long voice clip from Yaxley-Lennon.
Steps forward, step backwards...
Is that the sound of the Overton window shifting?
Oh and now they're doing a long voice clip from Yaxley-Lennon.
Steps forward, step backwards...
November 4, 2025 at 9:03 PM
@zackpolanski.bsky.social quoted on BBC radio news responding to Rachel Reeves budget hints and NOT quoting Nigel Farage????
Is that the sound of the Overton window shifting?
Oh and now they're doing a long voice clip from Yaxley-Lennon.
Steps forward, step backwards...
Is that the sound of the Overton window shifting?
Oh and now they're doing a long voice clip from Yaxley-Lennon.
Steps forward, step backwards...
Reposted by Alice Roberts
This sums up the absurdity of the whole anti-vax argument.
Yes, every medicine comes with some level of risk.
But that risk is lower than that of not using the medicine.
It comes down to a simple question: do you want you (or your children) to take the small risk or the much higher one?
Yes, every medicine comes with some level of risk.
But that risk is lower than that of not using the medicine.
It comes down to a simple question: do you want you (or your children) to take the small risk or the much higher one?
“Covid jabs gave under-18s heart problems – but were less risky than catching virus”
inews.co.uk/news/health/...
inews.co.uk/news/health/...
Covid jabs gave under-18s heart problems – but were less risky than catching virus
The health impact of a Covid infection was higher than the risks from the vaccine for teens and children - but it won't settle arguments over current vaccine policy
inews.co.uk
November 5, 2025 at 11:41 AM
This sums up the absurdity of the whole anti-vax argument.
Yes, every medicine comes with some level of risk.
But that risk is lower than that of not using the medicine.
It comes down to a simple question: do you want you (or your children) to take the small risk or the much higher one?
Yes, every medicine comes with some level of risk.
But that risk is lower than that of not using the medicine.
It comes down to a simple question: do you want you (or your children) to take the small risk or the much higher one?
“Covid jabs gave under-18s heart problems – but were less risky than catching virus”
inews.co.uk/news/health/...
inews.co.uk/news/health/...
Covid jabs gave under-18s heart problems – but were less risky than catching virus
The health impact of a Covid infection was higher than the risks from the vaccine for teens and children - but it won't settle arguments over current vaccine policy
inews.co.uk
November 5, 2025 at 10:47 AM
“Covid jabs gave under-18s heart problems – but were less risky than catching virus”
inews.co.uk/news/health/...
inews.co.uk/news/health/...
I’ve been a bit quiet - away in Greece, visiting archaeological sites, swimming in azure seas - and for the first time in ages I left my laptop at home! I was back to writing today with renewed vim and vigor, full of energy and ideas… 1/4
November 3, 2025 at 8:49 PM
I’ve been a bit quiet - away in Greece, visiting archaeological sites, swimming in azure seas - and for the first time in ages I left my laptop at home! I was back to writing today with renewed vim and vigor, full of energy and ideas… 1/4
Reposted by Alice Roberts
I have been confronted with an ad for Advent calendars and so it is time for the annual PSA:
THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS BEGIN
ON
CHRISTMAS
THEY ARE NOT ANY OF THE DAYS LEADING UP TO CHRISTMAS
THAT IS ADVENT
WHICH BEGINS FOUR SUNDAYS BEFORE CHRISTMAS
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME
THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS BEGIN
ON
CHRISTMAS
THEY ARE NOT ANY OF THE DAYS LEADING UP TO CHRISTMAS
THAT IS ADVENT
WHICH BEGINS FOUR SUNDAYS BEFORE CHRISTMAS
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME
November 3, 2025 at 2:56 PM
I have been confronted with an ad for Advent calendars and so it is time for the annual PSA:
THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS BEGIN
ON
CHRISTMAS
THEY ARE NOT ANY OF THE DAYS LEADING UP TO CHRISTMAS
THAT IS ADVENT
WHICH BEGINS FOUR SUNDAYS BEFORE CHRISTMAS
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME
THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS BEGIN
ON
CHRISTMAS
THEY ARE NOT ANY OF THE DAYS LEADING UP TO CHRISTMAS
THAT IS ADVENT
WHICH BEGINS FOUR SUNDAYS BEFORE CHRISTMAS
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME
Reposted by Alice Roberts
“There are some people who hate London, and hate New York,” Mayor Sadiq Khan told me, on Bloomberg TV. “There's a reason why they demonize London, and now, indeed, New York. Why? Because we are progressive cities. We are liberal cities. We are multicultural cities. And we are incredibly successful.”
November 3, 2025 at 7:51 PM
“There are some people who hate London, and hate New York,” Mayor Sadiq Khan told me, on Bloomberg TV. “There's a reason why they demonize London, and now, indeed, New York. Why? Because we are progressive cities. We are liberal cities. We are multicultural cities. And we are incredibly successful.”
Reposted by Alice Roberts
"it is striking how many of the key players we have looked into — the people who have gone out of their way to put up hundreds of flags — seem anything but ordinary."
manchestermill.co.uk/the-men-who-...
manchestermill.co.uk/the-men-who-...
The men who raised the flags
Nigel Farage says this summer’s movement was led by ‘ordinary people’ expressing their patriotism. That’s not what we found
manchestermill.co.uk
November 2, 2025 at 8:18 AM
"it is striking how many of the key players we have looked into — the people who have gone out of their way to put up hundreds of flags — seem anything but ordinary."
manchestermill.co.uk/the-men-who-...
manchestermill.co.uk/the-men-who-...
Reposted by Alice Roberts
An extraordinary discovery was made in Ibiza: a 30-centimeter wooden sculpture representing Hercules. Considering the scarcity of wooden sculptures preserved from the Roman era, this discovery is truly remarkable.
The figure was found in a Roman well that was later reused as a refuse pit. 🧵1/2
🏺
The figure was found in a Roman well that was later reused as a refuse pit. 🧵1/2
🏺
November 2, 2025 at 8:21 AM
An extraordinary discovery was made in Ibiza: a 30-centimeter wooden sculpture representing Hercules. Considering the scarcity of wooden sculptures preserved from the Roman era, this discovery is truly remarkable.
The figure was found in a Roman well that was later reused as a refuse pit. 🧵1/2
🏺
The figure was found in a Roman well that was later reused as a refuse pit. 🧵1/2
🏺
Reposted by Alice Roberts
Thank you @profaliceroberts.bsky.social!
“The SECRET LIVES of DINOSAURS”, written by @deanrlomax.bsky.social & illustrated by @bobnichollsart.bsky.social is OUT NOW.
#SciArt #PaleoArt #Dinosaurs #Paleontology #Fossils #Trex #Tyrannosaurus #TyrannosaurusRex #JurassicPark #JurassicWorld
“The SECRET LIVES of DINOSAURS”, written by @deanrlomax.bsky.social & illustrated by @bobnichollsart.bsky.social is OUT NOW.
#SciArt #PaleoArt #Dinosaurs #Paleontology #Fossils #Trex #Tyrannosaurus #TyrannosaurusRex #JurassicPark #JurassicWorld
October 30, 2025 at 9:43 AM
Thank you @profaliceroberts.bsky.social!
“The SECRET LIVES of DINOSAURS”, written by @deanrlomax.bsky.social & illustrated by @bobnichollsart.bsky.social is OUT NOW.
#SciArt #PaleoArt #Dinosaurs #Paleontology #Fossils #Trex #Tyrannosaurus #TyrannosaurusRex #JurassicPark #JurassicWorld
“The SECRET LIVES of DINOSAURS”, written by @deanrlomax.bsky.social & illustrated by @bobnichollsart.bsky.social is OUT NOW.
#SciArt #PaleoArt #Dinosaurs #Paleontology #Fossils #Trex #Tyrannosaurus #TyrannosaurusRex #JurassicPark #JurassicWorld
I found the gaol cells in Colchester Castle deeply moving. With the excellent @benpaites.bsky.social as our guide, it’s impossible not to think of the hours, days, weeks of misery spent in that place.
Tonight at 9pm on Sky History is the final episode of Witches of Essex. I show @profaliceroberts.bsky.social and Rylan Colchester Castle’s surviving Gaol cells as they explore the horrific case of the Manningtree witch trials.
Also available to stream on Now TV and Apple TV.
Also available to stream on Now TV and Apple TV.
October 28, 2025 at 9:25 PM
I found the gaol cells in Colchester Castle deeply moving. With the excellent @benpaites.bsky.social as our guide, it’s impossible not to think of the hours, days, weeks of misery spent in that place.
Reposted by Alice Roberts
This is a really important read, on the debacle that is metal detecting in the UK, dispelling lots of myths.
Your regular reminder, it is illegal to prospect, without a licence from the state,,for archaeological objects in Ireland using a remote sensing device
Your regular reminder, it is illegal to prospect, without a licence from the state,,for archaeological objects in Ireland using a remote sensing device
An important contribution on metal detecting & archaeology in England and Wales.
(N.B.: Metal detecting is illegal in Ireland, & subject to fines & even imprisonment, under the National Monuments Acts)
#MedievalSky
👇🏻
(N.B.: Metal detecting is illegal in Ireland, & subject to fines & even imprisonment, under the National Monuments Acts)
#MedievalSky
👇🏻
The piece where I get to say everything that's bugging me about the world of detecting & archaeology & ask - why are we not more concerned about this?
(Thank you to everyone who read through drafts & offered thoughts, advice and ideas.)
#Archaeology #Detecting 🏺
bigbookoftorcs.com/2025/10/27/t...
(Thank you to everyone who read through drafts & offered thoughts, advice and ideas.)
#Archaeology #Detecting 🏺
bigbookoftorcs.com/2025/10/27/t...
October 27, 2025 at 7:33 PM
This is a really important read, on the debacle that is metal detecting in the UK, dispelling lots of myths.
Your regular reminder, it is illegal to prospect, without a licence from the state,,for archaeological objects in Ireland using a remote sensing device
Your regular reminder, it is illegal to prospect, without a licence from the state,,for archaeological objects in Ireland using a remote sensing device
Reposted by Alice Roberts
UK wind power benefits and costs 2010-2023 :
Lower energy bills through avoided gas: £14.2bn
Avoided infra & new gas generation: £133.3bn
Subsidies paid to wind power: - £43.2bn
Overall benefit to UK economy **£104bn**
Don't believe the wind power haters
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Lower energy bills through avoided gas: £14.2bn
Avoided infra & new gas generation: £133.3bn
Subsidies paid to wind power: - £43.2bn
Overall benefit to UK economy **£104bn**
Don't believe the wind power haters
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Wind power has cut £104bn from UK energy costs since 2010, study finds
Reduction comes from energy generated from windfarms and lower cost of gas owing to lower demand
www.theguardian.com
October 28, 2025 at 7:17 AM
UK wind power benefits and costs 2010-2023 :
Lower energy bills through avoided gas: £14.2bn
Avoided infra & new gas generation: £133.3bn
Subsidies paid to wind power: - £43.2bn
Overall benefit to UK economy **£104bn**
Don't believe the wind power haters
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Lower energy bills through avoided gas: £14.2bn
Avoided infra & new gas generation: £133.3bn
Subsidies paid to wind power: - £43.2bn
Overall benefit to UK economy **£104bn**
Don't believe the wind power haters
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by Alice Roberts
Fellow parents! Carers! Anyone looking after children over half-term! Here is a thread of videos showing TOYS you can MAKE at home from scrap stuff you probably have lying around. First, the utterly delightful "balancing bird" alomshaha.com/balancing-bi...
October 19, 2024 at 8:52 AM
Fellow parents! Carers! Anyone looking after children over half-term! Here is a thread of videos showing TOYS you can MAKE at home from scrap stuff you probably have lying around. First, the utterly delightful "balancing bird" alomshaha.com/balancing-bi...
I’m delighted to see that Richard Taylor has won his defamation case against the producers of this film. It was awful to see archaeological colleagues misrepresented, cast as villains to fit a lazy narrative. But remarkably, the producers “remain proud of the film”!
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Man gets payout over portrayal in Steve Coogan Richard III film
Richard Taylor sued Steve Coogan and two production companies over his portrayal in the movie.
www.bbc.com
October 28, 2025 at 8:04 AM
I’m delighted to see that Richard Taylor has won his defamation case against the producers of this film. It was awful to see archaeological colleagues misrepresented, cast as villains to fit a lazy narrative. But remarkably, the producers “remain proud of the film”!
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
NYT games admitting its inspiration here?
October 26, 2025 at 10:08 PM
NYT games admitting its inspiration here?