Why mission-led funding is mission impossible

Comment from Auckland University: A science system focused only on outcomes risks becoming a Christmas tree with no roots – pretty to look at, but destined not to last.

Melinda is a stellar archaeologist who has a deep knowledge of Pacific ecosystems.

Designing poll questions isn't trivial, but everyone likes to think it is. This is the kind of damage that can result.

If you want polls to mean something, work with an expert!

An excellent article on (incredibly) badly worded survey questions that illustrate exactly why social science expertise is valuable. These polls need extremely careful reporting.

Screenshot of a PDF of the published article. Title: "The tie that binds us? Challenging the primacy of DNA in kinship studies and re-centring community in defining human connections across time"

DNA is not the same as kinship.

Our perspective paper argues that treating genetics as the ultimate proof of identity or family can:

• erase community-defined relationships
• reinforce Western biases
• and even cause real harm in policy + research

Special Issue: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

This perspective is so needed.

Citizenship on the basis of wealth needs re- thinking imo.

You can see I am on one of my English’ reo days lol.

Didn’t know that. My word.

2 years is a odd time period to use, as it was well before the 2024 US election. But if you are wanting to measure the level of not-going to the US since that election, I would rate Denmark (via available US I-94 entry data). Canada in my graph is all entries, not just car.

A great read on NZ’s current science strategy.

Thanks. I feel like my point still holds. Hallucinating #betterworksolutions

Honestly now wishing I could be an octopus #BetterWorkSolutions 😂

It’s also an absolutely stunning day down here in the South #DunnerStunner

Multitasking with cheese rolls and tea :).

I know this isn’t LinkedIn, but I did kind of enjoy this interview I did recently with Nature Communications Chemistry…
It’s partly about being a scientist, but even more about how we DO science, and I think it is ever more important that we talk about that.
CW: may contain nuts 🥜🤷‍♀️

Nice!

About a 5 year (female) and 6 year (male) gap over the data range

#30DayChartChallenge 2026 – day 09- Distributions | Wealth. Tool: #rstats

Life expectancy in AoNZ by deprivation quintile. The easiest explanation of deprivation index is it is how well off is the neighbourhood of residence of the person.

1955 vs 2025, who actually had it better? YouTube video by Johnny Harris

A wonderful summary of inequality, corruption, and the American Dream by YouTuber #johnnyharris. Without ever having actually to use the word corruption

youtube.com/watch?v=J4qq...

I feel seen.

💯

Oh hey, the PMSITAC report is out and the short version is 'let's take money from literally every other area of research in AoNZ to put into tech'. That's the plan. Underfund everything else *even more than it already is* over the next three years. 🧪

It’s always interesting to see how phrases like “limited national significance” are used. 20 years ago people thought flammability of native plants was irrelevant here.

Bringing together the humanities and sciences creates magic.

People don’t realize the level of decimation in higher education that is on-going right now *everywhere*. Those who persist pay an enormous cost right now.

Our research does not exist separately from the world around us. It is ethically problematic for many researchers globally to travel to the USA at this time #NoKings.

Oh my god, the alt text is a gift. 😹

Motherhood derails women’s academic careers — these data reveal how and why Mothers in academia take on considerably more childcare-related responsibilities than do fathers.

Becoming a parent is much more detrimental to women’s academic careers than it is to men’s, lowering their chances of getting university jobs, tenure and reducing their publication output, finds a large analysis of academics in Denmark. go.nature.com/4tcO2Em

Currently on France TV, the new mayor of Paris Grégoire celebrating his victory by biking around on a bike share. He’s now taking an interview while riding.