jim mallet
@wtf-r-species.bsky.social
natural historian, PhD Texas, native Londoner. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/taxome/jim (Profile pic from Mauro Cutrona https://facebook.com/profile.php?id=100006219407348)
Ever wondered whether dogs are a different species from wolves? On an ecological, and behavioral basis, I think so. The Dec 2 issue of PNAS will be interesting! www.pnas.org/toc/pnas/122... and the introductory article to the issue: doi.org/10.1073/pnas... . Here: my daughter, my son, and our dog:
November 25, 2025 at 3:50 AM
Ever wondered whether dogs are a different species from wolves? On an ecological, and behavioral basis, I think so. The Dec 2 issue of PNAS will be interesting! www.pnas.org/toc/pnas/122... and the introductory article to the issue: doi.org/10.1073/pnas... . Here: my daughter, my son, and our dog:
Good grief!
Nature attended the Make America Healthy Again summit, which starred health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr and vice-president JD Vance. Here’s what reporter @maxkozlov.bsky.social learned. 🧪
Psychedelics and immortality: Nature went to a health summit starring RFK and JD Vance
The Make America Healthy Again summit, attended by health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr and vice-president JD Vance, gave a sense of what’s driving US health policy.
go.nature.com
November 23, 2025 at 5:33 AM
Good grief!
Reposted by jim mallet
I believe it was updated to a new version and should be available here: m.youtube.com/watch?v=xWmz...
Hope you enjoy it—-there are also several others on the SMTPB channel
Hope you enjoy it—-there are also several others on the SMTPB channel
Reflections on the History of Model and Theory series - Bob Holt
YouTube video by SMTPB
m.youtube.com
November 18, 2025 at 1:25 AM
I believe it was updated to a new version and should be available here: m.youtube.com/watch?v=xWmz...
Hope you enjoy it—-there are also several others on the SMTPB channel
Hope you enjoy it—-there are also several others on the SMTPB channel
Christopher Hitchens, at his fiery best on freedom of speech. In Canada, he focuses on Islam, but includes Christianity and Judaeism. I don't agree with everything, but he makes a lot of sense: www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDap... How would he have viewed current Administration's attacks on universities?
Christopher Hitchens - Free Speech (2006) [HQ]
YouTube video by PADYBU
www.youtube.com
November 17, 2025 at 4:03 AM
Christopher Hitchens, at his fiery best on freedom of speech. In Canada, he focuses on Islam, but includes Christianity and Judaeism. I don't agree with everything, but he makes a lot of sense: www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDap... How would he have viewed current Administration's attacks on universities?
What on earth could that woodpecker be?!!
So many species of woodpecker. How to know which one did this?
November 17, 2025 at 3:33 AM
What on earth could that woodpecker be?!!
Unusual to see Latin on a bumper sticker, but this is one from Belmont outside the Russian School of Mathematics in Belmont, MA. Apparently "Ultimi Barbarorum" is a quotation from Spinoza. But what does that Russian, or ?Mongolian or whatever script that is, mean?
November 17, 2025 at 2:18 AM
Unusual to see Latin on a bumper sticker, but this is one from Belmont outside the Russian School of Mathematics in Belmont, MA. Apparently "Ultimi Barbarorum" is a quotation from Spinoza. But what does that Russian, or ?Mongolian or whatever script that is, mean?
Reposted by jim mallet
Intrigued that ARNOVA & SSWR still have not created Bluesky accounts at this point in 2025. It integrated into @altmetric.com (unliked LinkedIn) & increasingly preferred by academic & scientific institutions & networks. No platform is perfect but... #AcademicSky #ARNOVA2025 #SSWR2026 #SSWR26 #SWTech
Bluesky now platform of choice for science community
It’s not just you. Survey says: “Twitter sucks now and all the cool kids are moving to Bluesky”…
arstechnica.com
November 16, 2025 at 7:29 PM
Intrigued that ARNOVA & SSWR still have not created Bluesky accounts at this point in 2025. It integrated into @altmetric.com (unliked LinkedIn) & increasingly preferred by academic & scientific institutions & networks. No platform is perfect but... #AcademicSky #ARNOVA2025 #SSWR2026 #SSWR26 #SWTech
Reposted by jim mallet
So many species of woodpecker. How to know which one did this?
November 16, 2025 at 11:04 PM
So many species of woodpecker. How to know which one did this?
Reposted by jim mallet
🚨New paper! 🚨
@jasminealqassar.bsky.social led this work on the silk glands of the pantry moth.
These two long tubes inside the caterpillar continuously make a ton of silk
How does this special organ work?
www.cell.com/iscience/ful...
@cp-iscience.bsky.social
🧵THREAD🧵
@jasminealqassar.bsky.social led this work on the silk glands of the pantry moth.
These two long tubes inside the caterpillar continuously make a ton of silk
How does this special organ work?
www.cell.com/iscience/ful...
@cp-iscience.bsky.social
🧵THREAD🧵
November 16, 2025 at 2:06 AM
🚨New paper! 🚨
@jasminealqassar.bsky.social led this work on the silk glands of the pantry moth.
These two long tubes inside the caterpillar continuously make a ton of silk
How does this special organ work?
www.cell.com/iscience/ful...
@cp-iscience.bsky.social
🧵THREAD🧵
@jasminealqassar.bsky.social led this work on the silk glands of the pantry moth.
These two long tubes inside the caterpillar continuously make a ton of silk
How does this special organ work?
www.cell.com/iscience/ful...
@cp-iscience.bsky.social
🧵THREAD🧵
"Gigantopithecus blacki.... Only teeth and four mandibles are known currently. Other skeletal elements were likely consumed by porcupines before they could fossilise.[3][4]" What??? I thought porcupines relatively peaceful animals!
November 16, 2025 at 4:46 AM
"Gigantopithecus blacki.... Only teeth and four mandibles are known currently. Other skeletal elements were likely consumed by porcupines before they could fossilise.[3][4]" What??? I thought porcupines relatively peaceful animals!
Interesting paper by Andra Meneganzin and Chris
Stringer about whether you and I are different species (n.b. I am a neanderthal). doi.org/10.1093/evol...
Stringer about whether you and I are different species (n.b. I am a neanderthal). doi.org/10.1093/evol...
November 14, 2025 at 12:08 AM
Interesting paper by Andra Meneganzin and Chris
Stringer about whether you and I are different species (n.b. I am a neanderthal). doi.org/10.1093/evol...
Stringer about whether you and I are different species (n.b. I am a neanderthal). doi.org/10.1093/evol...
PSYCHE -- project to sequence all of Europe's Lepidoptera! spectrum.ieee.org/lepidoptera-...
Lepidopterists’ Alpine Adventure for Genome Sequencing
Project Psyche is sequencing the genomes of 11,000 European Lepidoptera species.
spectrum.ieee.org
November 6, 2025 at 8:00 PM
PSYCHE -- project to sequence all of Europe's Lepidoptera! spectrum.ieee.org/lepidoptera-...
I don’t have a vote (although I do pay taxes here in US), but I do have a thought about the recent mid-term victories for Democrats 1/2
November 5, 2025 at 11:11 PM
I don’t have a vote (although I do pay taxes here in US), but I do have a thought about the recent mid-term victories for Democrats 1/2
The Lepidoptera are leading the race in reference genome comparative genomics -- beating the Diptera and Drosophila as a model. ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...
November 4, 2025 at 5:24 AM
The Lepidoptera are leading the race in reference genome comparative genomics -- beating the Diptera and Drosophila as a model. ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...
Two years ago today, we published this spooky cover on PNAS for Halloween! About ovariole development in hybrid female ovaries. Xiong, T., et al. 2023. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 120:e2300959120. doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
October 31, 2025 at 4:00 AM
Two years ago today, we published this spooky cover on PNAS for Halloween! About ovariole development in hybrid female ovaries. Xiong, T., et al. 2023. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 120:e2300959120. doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
Hybridogenesis in wild edible frogs and their relatives, studied in war zones in Ukraine! -- Pustovalova, et al. 2025. Whether the presence of di- and triploid hybrids, Pelophylax esculentus, influences gametogenesis of their parental species, P. ridibundus. doi.org/10.15407/zoo...
Whether the Presence of Di- and Triploid Hybrids, Pelophylax esculentus, Influences Gametogenesis of Their Parental Species, P. ridibundus
| Zoodiversity
doi.org
October 29, 2025 at 3:28 AM
Hybridogenesis in wild edible frogs and their relatives, studied in war zones in Ukraine! -- Pustovalova, et al. 2025. Whether the presence of di- and triploid hybrids, Pelophylax esculentus, influences gametogenesis of their parental species, P. ridibundus. doi.org/10.15407/zoo...
Oooeeee! The Mosquitoes of London... Ooooeee! the Mosquitoes of London.
How does life evolve to adapt to modern cities?
Out now in Science, my PhD work with @lindymcbr.bsky.social uncovers the ancient origin of the “London Underground mosquito” – one of the most iconic examples of urban adaptation.
🧵(1/n)
@science.org
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ady4515
Out now in Science, my PhD work with @lindymcbr.bsky.social uncovers the ancient origin of the “London Underground mosquito” – one of the most iconic examples of urban adaptation.
🧵(1/n)
@science.org
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ady4515
Ancient origin of an urban underground mosquito
Understanding how life is adapting to urban environments represents an important challenge in evolutionary biology. In this work, we investigate a widely cited example of urban adaptation, Culex pipie...
www.science.org
October 25, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Oooeeee! The Mosquitoes of London... Ooooeee! the Mosquitoes of London.
This paper blew me out of the water!
October 24, 2025 at 2:08 AM
This paper blew me out of the water!
This is a great image. Looking at an explanatory poster in Northumberlandia Park, overlooking Shotton Open Cast Mine, ca 2017. The deep pit was by then right next to the top of the hill in Northumberlandia. Kids!You can identify the trucks!
October 23, 2025 at 4:21 AM
This is a great image. Looking at an explanatory poster in Northumberlandia Park, overlooking Shotton Open Cast Mine, ca 2017. The deep pit was by then right next to the top of the hill in Northumberlandia. Kids!You can identify the trucks!
J. Res. Lep. I used to read this journal! It is fascinating that the URL was hijacked.
Rod Page @rdmpage.bsky.social spoke today at #LivingData2025 about journals that disappear from the web. To learn more about his example: the hijacking and fraudulent DOI Assignment of The Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera, see our BHL blogpost: blog.biodiversitylibrary.org/2022/10/jour...
The Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera: A Story of Pirate Publishers, ISSN Hijacking and Fraudulent DOI Assignment
In 2017, The Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera published its final issue. The journal’s website was turned off and, to ensure ongoing access to the biodiversity knowledge contained within its …
blog.biodiversitylibrary.org
October 23, 2025 at 2:49 AM
J. Res. Lep. I used to read this journal! It is fascinating that the URL was hijacked.
Reposted by jim mallet
Rod Page @rdmpage.bsky.social spoke today at #LivingData2025 about journals that disappear from the web. To learn more about his example: the hijacking and fraudulent DOI Assignment of The Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera, see our BHL blogpost: blog.biodiversitylibrary.org/2022/10/jour...
The Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera: A Story of Pirate Publishers, ISSN Hijacking and Fraudulent DOI Assignment
In 2017, The Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera published its final issue. The journal’s website was turned off and, to ensure ongoing access to the biodiversity knowledge contained within its …
blog.biodiversitylibrary.org
October 22, 2025 at 8:20 PM
Rod Page @rdmpage.bsky.social spoke today at #LivingData2025 about journals that disappear from the web. To learn more about his example: the hijacking and fraudulent DOI Assignment of The Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera, see our BHL blogpost: blog.biodiversitylibrary.org/2022/10/jour...
But do watch for misidentifications! Siproeta, Dryas, Heliconius and a few others... ;)
Our #LivingData2025 session showcased a few of the many ways communities use iNaturalist to advance biodiversity science! Catch the recording: tr.ee/jEcfxN
October 23, 2025 at 2:30 AM
But do watch for misidentifications! Siproeta, Dryas, Heliconius and a few others... ;)
No comment! From 2017
October 23, 2025 at 2:17 AM
No comment! From 2017
Reposted by jim mallet
🧠🌟🐭 Excited to share some of my postdoc work on the evolution of dexterity!
We compared deer mice evolved in forest vs prairie habitats. We found that forest mice have:
(1) more corticospinal neurons (CSNs)
(2) better hand dexterity
(3) more dexterous climbing, which is linked to CSN number🧵
We compared deer mice evolved in forest vs prairie habitats. We found that forest mice have:
(1) more corticospinal neurons (CSNs)
(2) better hand dexterity
(3) more dexterous climbing, which is linked to CSN number🧵
October 22, 2025 at 8:41 PM
🧠🌟🐭 Excited to share some of my postdoc work on the evolution of dexterity!
We compared deer mice evolved in forest vs prairie habitats. We found that forest mice have:
(1) more corticospinal neurons (CSNs)
(2) better hand dexterity
(3) more dexterous climbing, which is linked to CSN number🧵
We compared deer mice evolved in forest vs prairie habitats. We found that forest mice have:
(1) more corticospinal neurons (CSNs)
(2) better hand dexterity
(3) more dexterous climbing, which is linked to CSN number🧵