Anson Mackay 🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈
@ans.bsky.social
non-binary ultra runner || neach-ionnsachaidh na Gàidhlig || managed by @davidadger.bsky.social || cancer blog
https://ansmackay.wixsite.com/uclgeography/blog
https://ansmackay.wixsite.com/uclgeography/blog
Reposted by Anson Mackay 🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈
We knew that trees produced lots of pollen, which always biased our interpretation of the past towards truly forested landscapes. This manuscript led by @kijumil.bsky.social challenges that view!
Some exciting news! Our PhD candidate @kijumil.bsky.social just submitted his paper about the first relative pollen productivity estimates (RPPs) in the Iberian Peninsula. 🥬🌿
But, what exactly are RPPs and why are they important in palaeoecology ?
Follow through the post to find out! ⬇️
But, what exactly are RPPs and why are they important in palaeoecology ?
Follow through the post to find out! ⬇️
January 20, 2026 at 10:16 AM
We knew that trees produced lots of pollen, which always biased our interpretation of the past towards truly forested landscapes. This manuscript led by @kijumil.bsky.social challenges that view!
Reposted by Anson Mackay 🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈
Dr. Gladys West, the pioneering mathematician whose work laid the foundation for modern GPS technology, has died. She was 95.
Dr. Gladys West, Mathematician Whose Work Made GPS Possible, Dies at 95
ALEXANDRIA, VA — Dr. Gladys West, the pioneering mathematician whose work laid the foundation for modern GPS technology, has died. She passed away
thezebra.org
January 19, 2026 at 6:00 PM
Dr. Gladys West, the pioneering mathematician whose work laid the foundation for modern GPS technology, has died. She was 95.
Reposted by Anson Mackay 🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈
“..the Supreme Court, the EHRC, the UK government, and data professionals have exposed the state as an illegitimate force”
A crucial under-the-hood look at how anti-trans campaign groups like sexmatters and the EHRC are using data to erase trans+ people from public life
Please share widely 👇🏼
A crucial under-the-hood look at how anti-trans campaign groups like sexmatters and the EHRC are using data to erase trans+ people from public life
Please share widely 👇🏼
New research maps the campaign to erase trans people from UK data 🔢
This peer-reviewed article offers the first detailed account of how UK campaign groups have sought to define sex as strictly biological across the census, policing, healthcare and digital ID.
doi.org/10.1080/0958...
This peer-reviewed article offers the first detailed account of how UK campaign groups have sought to define sex as strictly biological across the census, policing, healthcare and digital ID.
doi.org/10.1080/0958...
January 19, 2026 at 3:10 PM
“..the Supreme Court, the EHRC, the UK government, and data professionals have exposed the state as an illegitimate force”
A crucial under-the-hood look at how anti-trans campaign groups like sexmatters and the EHRC are using data to erase trans+ people from public life
Please share widely 👇🏼
A crucial under-the-hood look at how anti-trans campaign groups like sexmatters and the EHRC are using data to erase trans+ people from public life
Please share widely 👇🏼
The new chair of EHRC within first week seeking to meet with transphobic group about how to collaborate 🤮 So much for Stephenson wanting to build relationships with LGBTQI+ community again and to be judged on her actions.
The fight continues.
Wonder what @commonswec.parliament.uk can do?
The fight continues.
Wonder what @commonswec.parliament.uk can do?
FOI reveals that within the first week in office, Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson requested a meeting with Sex Matters to discuss "mutual priorities and ways to work together going forward"
January 17, 2026 at 8:29 AM
The new chair of EHRC within first week seeking to meet with transphobic group about how to collaborate 🤮 So much for Stephenson wanting to build relationships with LGBTQI+ community again and to be judged on her actions.
The fight continues.
Wonder what @commonswec.parliament.uk can do?
The fight continues.
Wonder what @commonswec.parliament.uk can do?
Reposted by Anson Mackay 🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈
Our report is cited in the Times Higher Education today. Thanks again to everyone involved in the project. #EndPrecarity
www.timeshighereducation.com/news/use-fix...
www.timeshighereducation.com/news/use-fix...
Use of fixed-term posts ‘stifling more critical research’
Scholars with short contracts seen as more likely to favour doing ‘safer’ work, with ‘serious ramifications’ for their disciplines
www.timeshighereducation.com
January 16, 2026 at 10:02 AM
Our report is cited in the Times Higher Education today. Thanks again to everyone involved in the project. #EndPrecarity
www.timeshighereducation.com/news/use-fix...
www.timeshighereducation.com/news/use-fix...
My @spinerace.bsky.social didn’t quite go according to plan with my second ever DNF 😭
Taking the positives, I got to the start line, I have a new appreciation for how tough the race is, and for how tough the runners are who make it to the end!! #runsky
2nd 📸 credit: @andrewhendryphotographer
Taking the positives, I got to the start line, I have a new appreciation for how tough the race is, and for how tough the runners are who make it to the end!! #runsky
2nd 📸 credit: @andrewhendryphotographer
January 16, 2026 at 8:38 AM
My @spinerace.bsky.social didn’t quite go according to plan with my second ever DNF 😭
Taking the positives, I got to the start line, I have a new appreciation for how tough the race is, and for how tough the runners are who make it to the end!! #runsky
2nd 📸 credit: @andrewhendryphotographer
Taking the positives, I got to the start line, I have a new appreciation for how tough the race is, and for how tough the runners are who make it to the end!! #runsky
2nd 📸 credit: @andrewhendryphotographer
Precarity in UK #Geography is pernicious. Fixed term contracts are a scourge & even those on permanent contracts do not feel safe in their jobs
This landmark study provides Action Plans for reducing precarity. We need to also raise awareness & lobby for change #geosky
www.rgs.org/research/hig...
This landmark study provides Action Plans for reducing precarity. We need to also raise awareness & lobby for change #geosky
www.rgs.org/research/hig...
January 15, 2026 at 9:06 AM
Precarity in UK #Geography is pernicious. Fixed term contracts are a scourge & even those on permanent contracts do not feel safe in their jobs
This landmark study provides Action Plans for reducing precarity. We need to also raise awareness & lobby for change #geosky
www.rgs.org/research/hig...
This landmark study provides Action Plans for reducing precarity. We need to also raise awareness & lobby for change #geosky
www.rgs.org/research/hig...
Reposted by Anson Mackay 🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈
Social media shouldn't be banned for under-16s. Here are four reasons why ⬇️ And the fourth is the one people never talk about...
January 14, 2026 at 2:51 PM
Social media shouldn't be banned for under-16s. Here are four reasons why ⬇️ And the fourth is the one people never talk about...
Interesting article on cancer cells that can become dormant for years, even decades. How do they form, & what triggers their awakening? Which metastatic cancers are spread by cells that escape curative treatment or cells that became dormant evading treatment #cansky
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Client Challenge
www.nature.com
January 13, 2026 at 1:05 PM
Interesting article on cancer cells that can become dormant for years, even decades. How do they form, & what triggers their awakening? Which metastatic cancers are spread by cells that escape curative treatment or cells that became dormant evading treatment #cansky
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Anson Mackay 🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈
Same-sex sexual behaviour is part of the normal social life of some primates and could play an important part in their long-term success
go.nature.com/4qNGo1I
go.nature.com/4qNGo1I
Same-sex sexual behaviour can help primates to survive — and reproduce
Bonds between same-sex individuals help apes and monkeys to manage conflict and strengthen alliances, especially in dry habitats and predator-rich landscapes.
go.nature.com
January 12, 2026 at 8:26 PM
Same-sex sexual behaviour is part of the normal social life of some primates and could play an important part in their long-term success
go.nature.com/4qNGo1I
go.nature.com/4qNGo1I
Kit-check done & registered!
Chomping at the bit now to get started on my @spinerace.bsky.social adventure ❄️ 🌧️ 🧊 ⛰️
You can track my 🔵 here for the next 6-7 days #195
live.opentracking.co.uk/spinerace26/
#nonbinaryrunner #runsky #ultramarathon
Chomping at the bit now to get started on my @spinerace.bsky.social adventure ❄️ 🌧️ 🧊 ⛰️
You can track my 🔵 here for the next 6-7 days #195
live.opentracking.co.uk/spinerace26/
#nonbinaryrunner #runsky #ultramarathon
January 10, 2026 at 4:58 PM
Kit-check done & registered!
Chomping at the bit now to get started on my @spinerace.bsky.social adventure ❄️ 🌧️ 🧊 ⛰️
You can track my 🔵 here for the next 6-7 days #195
live.opentracking.co.uk/spinerace26/
#nonbinaryrunner #runsky #ultramarathon
Chomping at the bit now to get started on my @spinerace.bsky.social adventure ❄️ 🌧️ 🧊 ⛰️
You can track my 🔵 here for the next 6-7 days #195
live.opentracking.co.uk/spinerace26/
#nonbinaryrunner #runsky #ultramarathon
Reposted by Anson Mackay 🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈
My new book is available open access from MITPress. It's a pretty new take on syntax, with some cool consequences for long-distance syntactic dependencies, and I think it should also appeal to non-minimalist syntacticians (since there isn't really any movement!) direct.mit.edu/books/oa-mon...
Mereological Syntax: Phrase Structure, Cyclicity, and Islands
An argument for replacing Chomsky’s set-theoretic Merge view of syntax with a theory of syntax based on mereological objects.Mereology is the study of part
direct.mit.edu
January 9, 2026 at 1:32 PM
My new book is available open access from MITPress. It's a pretty new take on syntax, with some cool consequences for long-distance syntactic dependencies, and I think it should also appeal to non-minimalist syntacticians (since there isn't really any movement!) direct.mit.edu/books/oa-mon...
Packing an extensive mandatory kit for @spinerace.bsky.social becomes its own art from! #ultramarathon #spinerace
January 9, 2026 at 11:05 AM
Packing an extensive mandatory kit for @spinerace.bsky.social becomes its own art from! #ultramarathon #spinerace
Reposted by Anson Mackay 🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈
New Study finds a significant reduction in suicidality after trans people receive gender-affirming hormone therapy.
“Hormone therapy was associated with clinically meaningful reductions in suicidality over time…”
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
“Hormone therapy was associated with clinically meaningful reductions in suicidality over time…”
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
January 9, 2026 at 5:24 AM
New Study finds a significant reduction in suicidality after trans people receive gender-affirming hormone therapy.
“Hormone therapy was associated with clinically meaningful reductions in suicidality over time…”
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
“Hormone therapy was associated with clinically meaningful reductions in suicidality over time…”
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Dot-watching link is now live for @spinerace.bsky.social
I'm the 🔵 (#195: non-binary category), so easy to spot 😂
Remember that messages of encouragment / kicks up the arse can also be left on this site 😉
#spinerace #pennineway #ultramarathon
live.opentracking.co.uk/spinerace26/
I'm the 🔵 (#195: non-binary category), so easy to spot 😂
Remember that messages of encouragment / kicks up the arse can also be left on this site 😉
#spinerace #pennineway #ultramarathon
live.opentracking.co.uk/spinerace26/
Live Tracking
Montane Spine Race 2026 - Live Event Tracking
live.opentracking.co.uk
January 8, 2026 at 10:58 AM
Dot-watching link is now live for @spinerace.bsky.social
I'm the 🔵 (#195: non-binary category), so easy to spot 😂
Remember that messages of encouragment / kicks up the arse can also be left on this site 😉
#spinerace #pennineway #ultramarathon
live.opentracking.co.uk/spinerace26/
I'm the 🔵 (#195: non-binary category), so easy to spot 😂
Remember that messages of encouragment / kicks up the arse can also be left on this site 😉
#spinerace #pennineway #ultramarathon
live.opentracking.co.uk/spinerace26/
Eeep, in exactly 7 days, I'll be fitted with my tracker for the ultimate winter adventure: @spinerace.bsky.social. 268 miles of the Pennine Way to be covered in under 168hours with only 5 checkpoints. Can't wait!
www.thespinerace.com/the-spine-fi...
www.thespinerace.com/the-spine-fi...
The Spine Film — The Spine Race
www.thespinerace.com
January 4, 2026 at 7:33 AM
Eeep, in exactly 7 days, I'll be fitted with my tracker for the ultimate winter adventure: @spinerace.bsky.social. 268 miles of the Pennine Way to be covered in under 168hours with only 5 checkpoints. Can't wait!
www.thespinerace.com/the-spine-fi...
www.thespinerace.com/the-spine-fi...
Nice bit of inclusion from @spinerace.bsky.social logistics 💜
December 28, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Nice bit of inclusion from @spinerace.bsky.social logistics 💜
Reposted by Anson Mackay 🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈
We’ve today formally written to multiple public bodies about BBC reporting on transgender people.
Here’s who we’ve contacted and why. 1/6
Here’s who we’ve contacted and why. 1/6
December 23, 2025 at 4:46 PM
We’ve today formally written to multiple public bodies about BBC reporting on transgender people.
Here’s who we’ve contacted and why. 1/6
Here’s who we’ve contacted and why. 1/6
As someone who's cancer is caused by HPV, this is super-interesting!! #cansky
Ötzi and a 45,000-year-old Siberian were both infected with a cancer-causing strain of HPV.
This is fascinating, and a reminder that we have a vaccine that *prevents cancer* and everyone eligible should get it.
This is fascinating, and a reminder that we have a vaccine that *prevents cancer* and everyone eligible should get it.
Two ancient humans, including famed ‘Iceman,’ had cancer-causing virus
Findings from ancient DNA may shed light on HPV’s history in our species
www.science.org
December 25, 2025 at 1:50 PM
As someone who's cancer is caused by HPV, this is super-interesting!! #cansky
Just finished my Xmas Eve reading, “Don’t Burn Anyone At The Stake Today” by @naomialderman.bsky.social
Really thoughtful insight as to whether humanity has entered our 3rd information crisis era… Highly recommended! #booksky
Really thoughtful insight as to whether humanity has entered our 3rd information crisis era… Highly recommended! #booksky
December 24, 2025 at 10:50 PM
Just finished my Xmas Eve reading, “Don’t Burn Anyone At The Stake Today” by @naomialderman.bsky.social
Really thoughtful insight as to whether humanity has entered our 3rd information crisis era… Highly recommended! #booksky
Really thoughtful insight as to whether humanity has entered our 3rd information crisis era… Highly recommended! #booksky
Got some brilliant news yesterday - Prof Jen Fitchett & I were awarded a grant for me to do fieldwork in the Lesotho mountains in April, which will mean I’ll have 2 more years of counting #diatoms & stable isotope work to come @uclgeography.bsky.social in 2026-27 😍 #geosky 🧪
December 24, 2025 at 9:51 AM
Got some brilliant news yesterday - Prof Jen Fitchett & I were awarded a grant for me to do fieldwork in the Lesotho mountains in April, which will mean I’ll have 2 more years of counting #diatoms & stable isotope work to come @uclgeography.bsky.social in 2026-27 😍 #geosky 🧪
In my experience since coming out in Scotland in the 1980s, @teamlabouruk.bsky.social have also had a problem with LGBTQI+ people. In Scotland, much of the #homophobia at that time was encouraged by Labour MPs (the dominant party). That this is still an issue so strongly is sobering however ☹️
Labour supporters are the most homophobic and almost the most transphobic.
December 24, 2025 at 9:15 AM
In my experience since coming out in Scotland in the 1980s, @teamlabouruk.bsky.social have also had a problem with LGBTQI+ people. In Scotland, much of the #homophobia at that time was encouraged by Labour MPs (the dominant party). That this is still an issue so strongly is sobering however ☹️
On the postive side, told manuscript will be accepted with (very) minor corrections. On the slightly annoying side, these have to be done by 30th December. Here's hoping the Editor will be lenient with our tardiness 😅
December 20, 2025 at 8:39 AM
On the postive side, told manuscript will be accepted with (very) minor corrections. On the slightly annoying side, these have to be done by 30th December. Here's hoping the Editor will be lenient with our tardiness 😅