A line graph of the number of NSF awards in fiscal 2026 compared to fiscal years 2021-2025. The fiscal year 2026 is well below the other curves and increasing only very slowly.

NSF Update through March 13, 2026

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Ginornous pair of curved forceps

Look, I love me a good pair of curved forceps in my dissecting kit, but I think this might be a bit excessive.

a turkey is standing in a grassy field with other birds . Alt: a turkey running awkwardly in a grassy field with other birds

My recommendation to my students tomorrow is that if they get stuck in an uncomfortable Thanksgiving conversation with family, just start manually tearing apart the turkey to show off the theropod synapomorphies. I promise that will derail whatever the previous topic was.

The specimens are initially preserved in formalin, but stored in ethanol!

Don’t let anyone tell you fish are boring.

Smiling Mychal with hands raised wears an outer space shirt in a library. It is a still from an episode of Reading Rainbow.

LeVar Burton smiles with hands behind his head as he lies down on a colorful pile of books. ENEMY PIE book rests on his chest.

There have been two hosts in the history of Reading Rainbow. The Legend of Literacy, LeVar Burton! And... me, Mychal Threets, a librarian 🥹🤯

I am a reader, a librarian because LeVar Burton and Reading Rainbow made us believe and see we belong in books, we belong everywhere ✨

youtu.be/e7es7qdWVnU

Toymany frogs set arranged on tiered shelves. Assortment of species including various treefrogs, poison dart frogs, two horned frogs and more.

Toymany frogs set arranged on tiered shelves.

Toymany frogs set arranged on tiered shelves.

Toymany frogs set arranged on tiered shelves.

You like #frogs, right? I'm thrilled with the recently released #Toymany frogs set, which includes such species as Budgett's frog, Wallace's flying frog and Darwin's frog. Buy the set here toymany.com/products/fro... and use code TMAMDN10 to get a discount! #amphibians

Mammals & Lice We are interested in understanding what drives host-parasite relationships. We are using the Anoplura (sucking lice) parasite and mammalian host system to generate a comprehensive sucking louse phylog...

Hi! We need lice for our diversity and adaptation project. Specifically, we need lice from zebras, camelids (camels, llamas, alpacas, vicuñas, guanacos) & aardvarks. If you or someone you know might have lice, I'm happy to discuss our inclusive collaboration plans!
sites.google.com/nhm.org/anop...

I get that the news cycle is packed right now, but I just heard from a colleague at the Smithsonian that this is fully a GIANT SQUID BEING EATEN BY A SPERM WHALE and it’s possibly the first ever confirmed video according to a friend at NOAA

10 YEAR OLD ME IS LOSING HER MIND (a thread 🧵)

They kinda just look like crows?

Comic. The Most-Observed Animal and Plant in Each State on iNaturalist. (Not the most common species in the state, just the one people have reported the most times.) [labeled map of the US] WA: Mallard/Western Sword Fern. OR: Mule Deer/Western Ponderosa Pine. CA: Western Fence Lizard/California Poppy. HI: Green Sea Turtle/‘Ōhi’a Lehua. ID: Mallard/Big Sagebrush. NV: Common Side-Blotched Lizard/Creosote Bush. MT: White-Tailed Deer/Common Yarrow. WY: American Bison/Sticky Geranium. UT: Mule Deer/Utah Juniper. AZ: Ornate Tree Lizard/Saguaro. CO: Mule Deer/Great Mullein. NM: Mule Deer/Creosote Bush. AK: Moose/Fireweed. ND: American Bison/Prairie Rose. SD: American Bison/Hoary Vervain. NE: American Robin/Common Milkweed. KS: Ornate Box Turtle/Amur Honeysuckle. OK: Pond Slider/Eastern Redcedar. TX: Northern Cardinal/Pinladies. MN, WI, IL: Common Eastern Bumble Bee/Common Milkweed. IA, MI: White-Tailed Deer/Common Milkweed. MO: Brown-Belted Bumble Bee/Amur Honeysuckle. AR: Three-toed Box Turtle/Chinese Privet. LA: Green Anole/Baldcypress. IN: American Robin/Amur Honeysuckle. OH: Eastern Pondhawk/Virginia Springbeauty. KY: Common Box Turtle/Amur Honeysuckle. TN: American Robin/Christmas Fern. MS: Northern Cardinal/Pale Pitcher Plant. AL: Gulf Fritillary/American Sweetgum. GA: Green Anole/American Sweetgum. FL: Brown Anole/White Beggarticks. NY: Eastern Gray Squirrel/White Snakeroot. PA: White-Tailed Deer/Garlic Mustard. WV: White-Tailed Deer/Great Rhododendron. VA: White-Tailed Deer/Eastern Poison Ivy. MD: White-Tailed Deer/Wineberry. DE: Fowler’s Toad/American Pokeweed. NC: Eastern Gray Squirrel/Christmas Fern. SC: Northern Cardinal/American Sweetgum. NJ: Spotted Lanternfly/Common Mugwort. VT: Common Eastern Bumble Bee/Eastern White Pine. NH: White-Tailed Deer/Eastern White Pine. MA: Common Eastern Bumble Bee/Eastern White Pine. CT: Common Eastern Bumble Bee/Striped Wintergreen. RI: American Herring Gull. ME: American Herring Gull/Canadian Bunchberry.

iNaturalist Animals and Plants

xkcd.com/3118/

I tried the concrete enrichment thing for Hex and she's obsessed with it, she's been using it as a pillow for her naps 😭

Oh, this is wonderful. Please share liberally with folks impacted in LA.

www.getty.edu/calendar/con...

better yet, consider unsubscribing from HBO/Max the week before her show comes out (& if you rejoin, wait until the HP season is over). it's not enough to *not* watch it – HBO needs to know it will hurt their bottom line if they continue producing it

I definitely, somehow, read the entire Incarnations of Immortality series in middle school due to a similar reason 😅

NSF Grant Termination Information Collection Form Please use this form to submit information identifying specific NSF grants that have been cancelled for any reason after January 20, 2025. We are tracking these grants to increase transparency, organize affected PIs, and facilitate responses, including via litigation. Please share the form as widely as possible with your networks. We are actively building a pipeline to organize these terminations and will soon have a tracker akin to our NIH grant tracker at https://airtable.com/appjhyo9NTvJLocRy/shrNto1NNp9eJlgpA WE WILL NOT DISCLOSE THE IDENTITY OF ANYONE WHO USES THIS FORM TO PROVIDE INFORMATION. We will keep your identity confidential. These resources are maintained by Noam Ross of rOpenSci and Scott Delaney of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, with input and support from additional volunteers. For any questions, please contact Scott Delaney on Signal (sdelaney.84). THANK YOU FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE!

🚨Report your NSF grant terminations! 🚨

We are starting to collect information on NSF grant terminations to create a shared resource as we have for NIH. The more information we collect, the more we can organize, advocate, and fight back! Please share widely!

airtable.com/appGKlSVeXni...

The Alf Museum @alfpaleo.bsky.social is hiring a fossil preparator (aiming to begin in first half of June) -- info here: workforcenow.adp.com/mascsr/defau...

Paleontologist Cathy Lash works on removing rock from a large plaster field jacket that contains a seven foot long skeleton of the Cretaceous fish Ichthyodectes. Pierre Shale Formation of North Dakota.

Since it is officially announced, it is time to spread the word:

The 2026 Association for Materials and Methods in Paleontology annual meeting will be hosted by @ndgspaleo.bsky.social in Bismarck, North Dakota!

Mark your calendars for April 15-17th next Spring and join us for a great meeting!

A small dromaeosaurs with green heron markings and a skrunched up neck.

A small dromaeosaurs with green heron markings and a REALLY LONG neck!

ZOOP!, 2015
What if dromaeosaurs did the heron thing?

The beast awakes

Sleepy day 😴

Something you can do to stand against RFK jr’s attempt to make us all sicker is wear a mask when you share air with others. Resist mask bans. People who cannot afford to get sick have a right to exist in public. Masking will protect your health from him too.

A biofluorescent emperor bird-of-paradise specimen shown from the top (left) and side plumage (right), glowing bright against dark background.

🚨 New Museum research reveals that birds-of-paradise—known for their dramatic plumage and elaborate courtship displays—can be added to the list of more than 500 species of animals that are biofluorescent.

➡️ Read more about the findings in our latest blog post: bit.ly/4hWOnoK

If you're a federal employee and feel like your research needs to make it into a place where it can be seen by the public, feel free to get a hold of me via signal or something else. I will literally build the infrastructure to make sure your work sees the light of day.

The last few years have seen an influx of advances in palaeornithology. @fieldpalaeo.bsky.social’s recent review covers the origins of bird brains, palate, wing osteology and air-filled skeleton! This is definitely a seminal read!

doi.org/10.1098/rsbl...

A bird skeleton is laid out on a purple background. The bones of the wing and leg are very long and slender. The bill is long and pointy. The sternum is small compared to the other bones, but has a prominent keel.

Anyone up for another bird skeleton guessing game? I’ve left the label in the photo, if you want to use location clues to figure out what this bird is. 🧪🪶 🧵

If you want to test your bone identification, I’ve posted a photo with each bone labeled in the next post of this thread.

Omgggg

If they ever release a bird version then I'm cooked

Brittle star!

An UNLAB cohort is all smiles holding a wildlife find in the palm of two hands.

#NHMLAC is currently accepting applications for the next cohort of #UNLAB postbaccalaureate researchers! Apply to spend a year working with a curator on a biodiversity research project in L.A.—view program details, eligibility requirements, and more: nhm.org/how-apply-un...

Informational poster from the International Bird Rescue on preventing bird flu spread through shoe hygiene. The text on the poster says: CALLING ALL BIRDERS & OUTDOOR ENTHUSIASTS: CLEAN SHOES STOP BIRD FLU. WHAT TO KNOW: Bird flu can spread through saliva, mucus, and droppings (feces). If you're walking in nature where there may be bird droppings, please disinfect your shoes to prevent the spread. WHAT TO DO: 1. Remove. Remove shoes after each adventure in nature. 2. Clean. Clean off visible dirt with a scrub brush. 3. Disinfect. Disinfect with a diluted bleach solution. 4. Dry. Leave shoes in the sun to dry.

Shoe/boot cleaning is encouraged if you hike in areas with geese/ducks/etc around. I currently have a separate set of boots for my local park hikes that I take off as soon as I get back to my car and bag until I can clean them at home.