There is so much cool stuff in Florida. People don't even know about the Ant Fireflies, the fireflies that live in anthills with the ants

Each Country's Share of CO2 Emissions Which 20 countries emit the most carbon dioxide? You may be surprised.

The United States is the largest historical emitter of fossil fuels BY FAR, responsible for close to a quarter of all fossil fuel & cement CO2 emissions. We won't let these bad-faith attacks turn or focus the blame on low- and middle-income countries.

2026 full color fantasy pet portrait In a ruined tower overcome with plant growth, two cats wrap a rope around the neck of a roc, resting in a hollow egg. On the landing of a spiral staircase, one plucks out a song on her harp and sings, while the other works carefully to secure the bird.

The Roc's Tower (2026)

Ancient oak tree, drawn in pen and ink

New work! May Day, an ancient oak tree. Drawn in pen and ink, coloured in Procreate #SciArt #treeart #treeartist #oaktree #ancientoak #illustration #penandink #inkdrawing #handdrawn

Self-synthesising RNA strand offers clues to life’s origins RNA strand, made of just 45 nucleotides, performs two key reactions required for self-replication

A strand of RNA has been discovered to perform two key reactions required for self-replication. The molecule offers a clue towards understanding the origin of life, namely how non-living chemistry on prebiotic Earth started to self-replicate and evolve.

A person with out stretched arms while leaves sprout forth. No seams between where the plants end, and where the person begins.

Don’t forget to water your plants 🌱
#art
#watercolour

Ma Yuan's studies of the properties of water, southern Song Dynasty China, ca. 1190 - 1225 CE
1

a scene with one man (labeled "nap-inducing dreary weather") threatening another man (labeled "getting stuff done on the weekend") with a knife

(sleepily) it's the freakin' weekend

A slightly grainy, zoomed-out photo of the launch of Artemis 2, showing the rocket plume climbing into the blue sky.

I took this photo of Artemis 2 with a TLR film camera from the 1950s
@spacescout.bsky.social

Aled Damien Carbonell-Betancourt is the 17th Reported ICE Detention Death of 2026 Aled Damien Carbonell-Betancourt, a 27-year-old man from Cuba, died on April 12, one day after the 16th death of the year. The pace of detention deaths holds at an average of 1 every 6 days.

Aled Damien Carbonell-Betancourt is the 17th Reported ICE Detention Death of 2026

A 27-year-old man from Cuba died on April 12, one day after the 16th death of the year. The pace of detention deaths holds at an average of 1 every 6 days.

austinkocher.substack.com/p/aled-damie...

My illustrations of Red-tailed Hawks, drawn in Photoshop with a Wacom tablet.

Red-Tailed Hawks (detail), immature (left) and adult plumages. For Streams: An Illustrated Guide, Yale University Press, Sept 2026.
🧪🌿🌎🐡 #wildlife #scicomm #sciviz #wildlifephoto #macrophoto #macro #visualscicomm #sciviz #scicomm #hawks #ornithology #freshwater

Central Dogma Reversed?!?

This is disturbing.

No one should have to forfeit their sensitive biometric info to enjoy a game or a show in New York City. That MSG is using their invasive surveillance tech to track and discriminate against a Knicks fan who is trans is absolutely appalling.

Poem - 'How do I know when a poem is finished?' by Naomi Shihab Nye

This Ars Poetica addresses a great poetic conundrum – when is a poem finished?

Paul Valéry suggests ‘Poems aren’t finished, they are abandoned’. The full quote (in the comments) is much more interesting

Sometimes editing can be unnecessarily reductive

#Poetry
#Poemoftheday
#Nationalpoetrymonth

The Lincoln Memorial was deliberately placed to be in a direct sightline from the Arlington House at Robert E Lee’s former plantation (now Arlington Cemetery) across the Potomac River in DC.

This structure would obliterate that view.

Intentionally.

For a Boise family of medical providers, Idaho criminal trans bathroom ban was the last straw This year, Idaho Legislature approved trans bathroom ban, forcing teachers to out trans kids to parents, and re-banning LGBTQ+ pride flag displays by government

The Devitts have seen the Idaho Legislature and the governor approve a wave of anti-LGBTQ+ bills in recent years. Michael and Dr. Angie Devitt, both medical professionals, watched their trans daughter, Eve, testify against a bill years ago that outlawed gender-affirming care for minors. But this year’s criminal transgender bathroom ban — described by advocates as the most extreme in the nation for extending to private businesses — was the couple’s last straw. So early this month, Michael Devitt notified patients that his practice, Focus Physical Therapy, would shut down at the end of August as his family prepared to move out of Idaho. “Obviously, this law is a disaster for families like ours,” he wrote in a letter. “We can no longer take a road trip across our beloved state, or even enjoy a family night out at a restaurant, or a movie, without running the risk of Eve being charged and sent to a prison merely for using the facilities.”

A family of doctors in Idaho with a teenage trans daughter describes their decision to close their practice and leave the state after the governor signed a law last month threatening her with a felony charge and five years in prison if she uses any women's restroom

Stop Mass Warrantless Surveillance: Reform Section 702 Congress can fight back against egregious violations of our privacy by the government. Tell them to take action now.

We shouldn't have to live in a surveillance state.

Tell your representative to protect our privacy and vote NO.

A "humbling" research finding: Sperm whales communicate surprisingly like us Their vocalizations have “close parallels in the phonetics and phonology of human languages."

A "humbling" research finding: Sperm whales communicate surprisingly like us [via @theguardian.com]

Against a dark background, the Sun’s disc is shown in dark orange, as captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. A thin halo of yellow light surrounds the Sun, giving it a luminous outline against the dark background of space. This yellow outline shows the Sun’s inner corona, as captured by Proba-3. Also in yellow, two solar prominence eruptions are visible, resembling bright yellow wave-like outburst extending outwards from the Sun -- a large one in the top left and a much smaller one in the bottom right.

#PPOD: The Sun’s inner corona, the hottest part of our star's atmosphere, appears faint yellow in this image taken by the ASPIICS coronagraph aboard Proba-3. The image combines data from Proba-3’s ASPIICS coronagraph (inner solar corona in yellow)... 🧪 🔭

A close view of my illustration of a Gray Fox, drawn in Photoshop using a large Wacom drawing tablet.

My Gray Fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) illustration. From my book A Field Guide to the Connecticut River, Yale University Press, 2024. a.co/d/hIabRmS
🧪🌿🌎🐡 #wildlife #scicomm #wildlifeart #illustration #scientificillustration #natureart #visualscicomm #scicomm #ctriver #connecticutriver #foxes

Scientist Advocacy Toolkit A toolkit for scientists looking for ways to use their expertise for the good of their community. Includes tips, tools, and other resources.

New resource alert! Stay Safe in the Public Eye: Resources for Scientists and Experts. From assessing your risk to enhancing your digital security, there are steps you can take to help you engage safely:

🚨 BREAKING: 2 corporate sponsors of Trump's Freedom 250 have apparently dropped out. Mastercard and Deloitte, previously listed as sponsors of Freedom 250, are no longer on the list of sponsor companies. United Airlines is a notable addition to the sponsor list. Freedom250.org (left) is now 250.gov

My god. Essential, horrifying reporting here.

[LEFT] 1,000 Meters Deep: Vertical Profiling of the Gourgouthakas Cave Microbiome
astrobiology.com/2026/04/a-th...
[RIGHT] Evaluation Of The Bacterial Diversity In The World’s Deepest Cave: Veryovkina
astrobiology.com/2026/04/eval...
#Astrobiology #Spelunking #AwayTeam #ExplorersClub

My illustration of a large, mostly brown owl perched on a branch. Drawn in Photoshop, using a Wacom Intuos-Large tablet.

Great Horned Owl. From my book A Field Guide to Cape Cod, Yale University Press. a.co/d/eK4A0sd
🧪🌿🌎🪶🐡 #wildlife #scicomm #sciviz #wildlifeart #illustration #scientificillustration #natureart #visualscicomm #sciviz #scicomm #birds #birdart #owls

Detailed illustrations of three common swallowtail butterfly species. Drawn in Photoshop, using a Wacom Intuos tablet.

A stack of swallowtails: Tiger, Black, and Spicebush. From my book A Field Guide to the Mid-Atlantic Coast, Yale University Press. a.co/d/6rKgbMQ
🐡🧪🌿🌎 #wildlife #scicomm #sciviz #wildlifeart #iNat #scientificillustration #natureart #visualscicomm #sciviz #scicomm #butterflies #swallowtails

Early spring is feeling a lot like summer with unseasonable heat blanketing much of the Eastern US this week. Dozens of cities from DC to Atlanta are forecast to break their daily high temperature records on Wednesday. 🧵👇

(National Temperature graphic: www.weather.gov/forecastmaps/)

Impact Dashboard - Impact Counter | Impact Counter Visualize the human impact of funding changes for aid and support organizations.

A Boston University epidemiologist created a model tracking deaths from the shutdown of these programs which projected 780,000 deaths over the first year, 2/3 of them children

www.impactcounter.com/dashboard?vi...