It was Fox & Goat, one of the lesser told Aesop’s fables. But they decided to make the goat female, and the gender dynamic really shines a different light on the story!

My 6 year old was reading an early reader kids book and turns to me, asks, “is this book the patriarchy?” She was 💯right. Male character misleading and exploiting a female one. We 💯 need to do better.

UK signs deal to rejoin EU's Erasmus student exchange program More than 100,000 students are expected to benefit in the scheme's first year alone, according to the British government, which negotiated to contribute £570 million towards the scheme's costs in 2027...

"More than 100,000 people are expected to benefit in the scheme's first year alone, according to the British government, which negotiated to contribute £570 million towards the scheme's costs in 2027."

www.lemonde.fr/en/internati...

Want to switch countries for a postdoc? Specifically, are you European, or are you non-European wanting to come to Europe? Now's the time to reach out to potential host labs!

(It's very normal to cold-email a PI about potentially hosting -- don't be shy!)

Graphic announcing the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2026 call. It shows the opening date (9 April 2026), closing date (9 September 2026), and a budget of €399.05 million. The design features scientific visuals such as cells, a leaf, and lab elements on a dark background, with the European Commission logo at the bottom.

Big opportunities for researchers 🌍

We are investing nearly €400 million to help researchers share their work and collaborate with the best scientific teams across the EU.

The 2026 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Postdoctoral Fellowships are now open.

More: link.europa.eu/PNxpxw

Wildlife trade drives animal-to-human pathogen transmission over 40 years

New in @science.org ‼️ In the most comprehensive study to date, we show that wildlife trade is driving animal-to-human zoonotic spillover at a planetary scale, with +1 spillover per host every 10 years. Live animal markets and illegal trade pose even greater risks. 🔓 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

BREAKING: Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán has called Péter Magyar to concede defeat in today's election.

With 53.45% of votes counted, Magyar's TISZA looks set to secure a super majority.

A defeat for Putin, a defeat for Trump, a victory for Europe, and above all, a victory for the Hungarian people.

🥳 well done Hungary!

Why to choose between ants and microbes when you can have both? @khadlily.bsky.social, @adriatica.bsky.social and co. have been diving into what's happening in the honeypot ant repletes for years, and the first papers are coming out 🎉 (photo copyright: Smithsonian Institution-NMNH-Insect Zoo)

1/ BRAKER4 hatched!
The Earth BioGenome Project is on track to sequence ~1.5M eukaryotic species. Every one needs a structural annotation. No Perl monolith was going to survive that. So we rewrote BRAKER from the ground up. github.com/Gaius-August...

You need to make AI guidelines for your lab Here's why you should, and how to start

“first drafts of Results, Discussion, and Introduction should be the trainee’s own work. AI can help with grammar…tightening prose…critiquing the logic of an argument you’ve already made. But the hard part of forming the argument needs to be yours.’ blekhman.substack.com/p/you-need-t...

Superorganismal development 😍

Congratulations @arthurmatte.bsky.social! You deserve it! I am super proud.
Keep up the brilliant work!

SMBE Graduate Student Excellence Award - Arthur Matte

Arthur Matte (@arthurmatte.bsky.social), PhD student at @cam.ac.uk, has received our Graduate Student Excellence Award. He investigates how evolution retools existing molecular systems to enable animals to share materials across bodies.

More on Arthur ⬇️

#society

If you use GitHub (especially if you pay for it!!) consider doing this *immediately*

Settings -> Privacy -> Disallow GitHub to train their models on your code.

GitHub opted *everyone* into training. No matter if you pay for the service (like I do). WTH

github.com/settings/cop...

Surinam toads have a one-of-a-kind reproduction, as the eggs are pushed onto the mother’s back before being covered by her skin. 😮

After three to four months of development, fully formed toads hatch and leave.

Hear more about this weird and wonderful creature from Museum scientist Jeff. 👇

Sycophantic AI decreases prosocial intentions and promotes dependence Despite rising concerns about sycophancy—excessive agreement or flattery from artificial intelligence (AI) systems—little is known about its prevalence or consequences. We show that sycophancy is wide...

OK, I'm obsessed with this study in @science.org

It took Reddit "Am I The Asshole" posts & asked LLMs if the poster was the asshole. Aaand (surprise) AI was more likely to tell people they were NOT the asshole ... even when humans said yeah YTA 🧪

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Might be the greatest opening paragraph of anything ever.

I would use the term innovation. Something that dramatically impacts the niche spaces that a lineage can inhabit and thrive in. A small change usually doesn’t cut it. It can be a modified cooption/neofunctionalization of something else.

I am so sorry. How painful. My thoughts are with you.

5m tonnes of CO2 emitted in just 14 days of US war on Iran, analysis finds Exclusive: War in the Middle East is draining the global carbon budget faster than 84 countries combined

The US-Israel war on Iran has emitted 5 million tonnes of CO₂ₑ in its first 14 days. The world currently has 0.6 million tonnes of novel and permanent CO₂ removal (CDR) capacity annually.

New HFSP Awardees 2026

Attention scientists from all over the world🙃
The 2026 #HFSPResearchGrants are out! 🥳
117 scientists from 31 countries will pursue bold, interdisciplinary research, from #neuroscience to #ecology and beyond! 🧪
Are you one of the new #HFSPAwardees?
🔗https://bit.ly/4uGmMQ3
#sts #HFSP

Lucky me, it is my second (!). See you in Geneva!

As one of the authors of this thought I’d share a bit about how we got here and how you can do what we’ve done at you institution.

Over the two years I’ve been at the University of Edinburgh I’ve grown increasingly concerned by fellow academics uncritically using LLMs, especially OpenAIs’s ChatGPT.

So grateful for this invigorating collaboration and funding opportunity! I can’t wait to see what we learn in the coming years in this multifaceted, intercontinental, multi-bicho team 🐸🐜🐌 🇨🇷🇬🇧🇳🇱

Snails mating and using love darts, ants engaging in trophallaxis, and a poison frog with a tadpole, at sunrise in a lovely scene

I am over the moon that my HFSP proposal w/ @joriskoene.bsky.social @stynoski.bsky.social @socialtransfernet.bsky.social has been funded!

If you've heard my wild ravings on #socialfluids, commonalities across them and where this could lead, you see where we're going ❤️ Thank you @hfspo.bsky.social!

Granted, a lot of academics could do with a bit of therapy!

EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION DETAILS (ends 31 March) 🐾Full registration including conference dinner and ceilidh 🐾*,**Student from developing country £260 🐾**Student £310 🐾*Non-student from developing country* £360 🐾Non-student £400 🐾Basic registration excluding dinner and ceilidh 🐾*,**Student from developing country £200 🐾**Student £250 🐾*Non-student from developing country* £300 🐾Non-student £340 Basic registration includes: conference admission, wine reception, tea/coffee breaks, lunch (days 2 & 3). *A limited number of reduced price tickets are available for participants from developing countries. Please e-mail ecbb2026@aru.ac.uk to request a reduced price ticket. Tickets are issued on a first‑come, first‑served basis. **Please email ecbb2026@aru.ac.uk with confirmation of your student status to obtain a discount code for registration. 🦚ASAB To encourage attendance at conferences, @asab_org award Conference Attendance Grants of up to £750 to standard applicants, and up to £2,500 to ‘Developing Country Applicants’. The award provides a contribution towards the cost of registration, accommodation, as well as the cost of travel to and from the conference. 🦚Ethologische Gesellschaft Members of the Ethologische Gesellschaft e.V. may apply for a contribution of up to €500 for active participation (poster or talk) at the conference.

We are delighted to announce #ECBB2026 registration and abstract submission are now open!

Conference Attendance Grant are also available, thanks to @asab.org and @ethoges.bsky.social support!

www.aru.ac.uk/events/confe...

Donald Trump letting you know how the authoritarian capture of the media is going, in case you missed it. Unlike other authoritarians in places like Hungary and Poland he has no worries about advertising his authoritarian take over of the media.

These Deep-Sea Creatures Liked You on Hinge Black seadevil anglerfish Twenty-five-years-old, monogamous, wants children What I’m looking for: A confident, independent female roughly twenty ti...

BLACK SEADEVIL ANGLERFISH
(Twenty-five-years-old, monogamous, wants children)

What I’m looking for: A confident, independent female roughly twenty times my size with a dangly, glowing orb attached to her forehead.