In France, legislation came into effect recently for all car parks that have over 80 spaces to be covered with solar panels. Estimated to add around 11GW of renewable energy capacity to the national grid. Why not do likewise in Scotland? Braehead, Silverburn, Glasgow Fort etc.

I'm deep down the rabbit hole on FROGFISH, 60 species of anglerfish in family Antennariidae.

They are deeply, utterly WEIRD & MARVELOUS.

Most walk on modified fins.
Others use jet propulsion.
Some are capable of air-breathing.
Some are "hairy", others blend perfectly in sargassum.

This Glowing Fish Steals Bioluminescence Instead of Making Its Own Light Learn more about the golden sweeper, a type of fish that steals bioluminescent proteins from its prey to glow, a rare case of kleptoproteinism.

"Kleptoproteinism" - I have learned a new word today, and I love it.

green worm with overlapping scales

Leipidonotus squamatus- stunning scaleworm shot by Alexander Semenov! #worldpolychaeteday!

‼️NEW ANGLERFISH PAPER! 🐟🎣

So excited to share the final part of my Master’s research! We explore the bizarre tacklebox of anglerfish lures and show how these fishes evolved different ways to attract prey and maybe even mates in the deep sea. 🧪🦑🌊🦇🦀

Open access paper link: doi.org/10.1643/i202...

My new young adult book, Diseases Without Borders, is officially out. It explores plagues, pandemics, and the science that helps us understand how disease moves through our interconnected world.

#YoungAdultBooks #Pandemics #ScienceBooks @lernerbooks.bsky.social #21stCenturyBooks

Chinese scientists develop glow-in-the-dark plants. Avatar world now possible Led by Dr Li Renhan, founder of Magicpen Bio, more than 20 species, including orchids, sunflowers and chrysanthemums, have already been engineered to shine at night.

theprint.in/feature/chin...

Chinese scientists develop glow-in-the-dark plants. Avatar world now possible Led by Dr Li Renhan, founder of Magicpen Bio, more than 20 species, including orchids, sunflowers and chrysanthemums, have already been engineered to shine at night.

theprint.in/feature/chin...

My prediction for the latest trend in academic buildings: Faraday cage testing halls (including bathrooms) with no signal for assessment.

Ultraviolet light illuminates species-specific biofluorescent (🙄)casque patterns in cassowaries

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Look at the size of Vietnam in green. Then look at Iran in blue. The US only had troops in half of Vietnam and peak strength was 580K. The idea of fighting a ground war in Iran as Trump is suggesting sounds rather adventurous to me. Great use of a size comparison map by @NavyStrang btw!

The UK used less coal in 2025 than they did in 1600, when Shakespeare was writing Hamlet. Source: buff.ly/Ifmz1Eo

This map by @xruiztru shows how the world reacted to the US-Israeli strikes on Iran. The Iranian diaspora appears to be in favour of the strikes.

That's right. Worse than Pointless
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/23/o...

The greatest risk of AI in higher education isn’t cheating – it’s the erosion of learning itself Automating knowledge production and teaching weakens the ecosystem of students and scholars that sustains universities, raising existential questions about their mission.

The greatest risk of AI in higher education isn’t cheating – it’s the erosion of learning itself. Lots of good ideas in this article.

1 protein to rule them all – why crowning the protein that makes jellyfish glow green as a model can help scientists streamline biology Researchers have been studying tens of thousands of proteins and even more variations without a yardstick to compare their results.

New piece out today: what if biology crowned a model protein the way it has model organisms? My pick: GFP (the jellyfish glow protein) — a shared standard could streamline a lot of biology. doi.org/10.64628/AAI... #biology

The transition from “AI can’t do novel science” to “of course AI does novel science” will be like every other similar AI transition.

First the over-enthusiastic claims that are debunked, then smart people use AI to help them, then AI starts to do more of the work, then minor discoveries, & then…

A stack of books just showed up at my door, which feels like science + magic + cardboard.
Diseases Without Borders out April 7.

A visualisation of the rivers of the Congo basin

The Congo basin.

#rayshader adventures, an #rstats tale

Feels far fetched right now?

‘Living biosensor’ lights up to detect wine spoilage in real time Genetically modified bacteria glow in high levels of acetic acid, a common signal that wine has gone bad

‘Living biosensor’ lights up to detect wine spoilage in real time. I want a lit-up wine photo!!! Luciferase + Acetic acid www.chemistryworld.com/news/living-...

This line graph illustrates the percentage change in agency staff levels from the previous year for nine major U.S. federal scientific and health organizations between the fiscal years 2016 and 2025. The agencies tracked include the CDC, Department of Energy, EPA, FDA, NASA, NIH, NIST, NOAA, and NSF. For the majority of the timeline between 2016 and 2023, the agencies show relatively stable fluctuations, generally staying within a range of +5% to -5% change per year. However, there is a dramatic and uniform plummet starting in the 2024–25 period. Every agency depicted shows a sharp downward trajectory, with staffing losses ranging from approximately -15% to over -25%. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shows the most significant decline, dropping to roughly -26%, while the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) shows the least severe but still substantial drop at approximately -15%.

This is the most astonishing graph of what the Trump regime has done to US science. They have destroyed the federal science workforce across the board. The negative impacts on Americans will be felt for generations, and the US might never be the same again.

www.nature.com/immersive/d4...

DISEASES WITHOUT BORDERS | Kirkus Reviews A biological and historical primer on plagues.

Starred Kirkus review today for my upcoming book DISEASES WITHOUT BORDERS @lernerbooks.bsky.social (out Apr 7, 2026). Kirkus calls it: “An exceptionally clear and inspiring resource combining a human-centered narrative with compelling science.”
www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews...

Chemist proposes shared 'model proteins' to improve reproducibility in protein science Protein scientists could improve reproducibility and coordination across the field by rallying around a small, shared set of "model proteins," according to a new Perspective by Connecticut College che...

What can "model proteins" do for biochemistry? Check out this press release and read the original Comment! phys.org/news/2026-01... @lightupscience.bsky.social

Chemist proposes shared 'model proteins' to improve reproducibility in protein science Protein scientists could improve reproducibility and coordination across the field by rallying around a small, shared set of "model proteins," according to a new Perspective by Connecticut College che...

Model organisms → model protein: a shared reference protein system to support reproducible protein research.

Phys.org just covered a perspective I wrote for Protein Engineering, Design & Selection

I just published an op-ed in U.S. News about how college teaching is changing with AI tools like ChatGPT, and what we should do next. Curious how others are handling this in real classrooms.

#HigherEd #AI #Teaching

Here are some European train journeys for your bucket list!