Dave Hemprich-Bennett
LightNews LightNews
banner
davehb.bsky.social
Dave Hemprich-Bennett
@davehb.bsky.social
1.3K followers 550 following 2K posts
A bunch of stardust with ADHD. Scientist working on the ecology of bats, mosquitoes and malaria, based at Oxford Uni. Used to be @hammerheadbat on twitter. Runner, photographer, guitarist.
Posts Replies Media Videos
davehb.bsky.social
(Join a union)
February 9, 2026 at 7:13 PM
davehb.bsky.social
I don’t want to ‘strategise my content’ you pricks, I’m just sharing some photos I took with my geographically-disparate loved ones
February 9, 2026 at 6:38 PM
davehb.bsky.social
Hearing photography (or any art for that matter) described as ‘content’ always feels revolting. Doubly so when it’s being used as a way of keeping in touch with loved ones
February 9, 2026 at 6:37 PM
davehb.bsky.social
Something about this weekly notification from instagram always really gives me the ick
Screenshot from instagram: “Today Your weekly recap is ready. See how your content is doing and how to plan for this week.”
February 9, 2026 at 6:36 PM
Reposted by Dave Hemprich-Bennett
dpcarrington.bsky.social
Chance of #ElNiño forming in Pacific Ocean may push global temperatures to record highs in 2027

#climatecrisis
Story by @readfearn.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Chance of El Niño forming in Pacific Ocean may push global temperatures to record highs in 2027
One expert says 2027 could be even hotter than the last three years, which have been the top three warmest on record
www.theguardian.com
February 9, 2026 at 9:39 AM
Reposted by Dave Hemprich-Bennett
transnews.network
You’re not crazy. The anti-trans movement is not organic; it was funded by pedophilic billionaires like Jeffrey Epstein who backed a network of conservatives to accuse the same people they were sexually abusing of being the real danger. @madycast.com exposes the truth in our in-depth report.
Epstein Backed ‘Billionaires’ Dinner’ Network of Prominent Anti-Trans Figures
Lawrence Krauss, Richard Dawkins, Steven Pinker and other anti-trans influencers personally benefited from a right-wing academic social group backed by infamous human trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, somet...
transnews.network
February 6, 2026 at 8:12 PM
davehb.bsky.social
…and a rainy dusk in Oxford
A black and white photo of someone walking along under an umbrella pulling a suitcase, between a telephone box and a streetlight
February 6, 2026 at 8:53 PM
davehb.bsky.social
Getting away from it at speed also becomes a viable option
February 6, 2026 at 7:15 PM
Reposted by Dave Hemprich-Bennett
ethankocak.com
Hey folks, if you like stories about your heroes turning out to be bad people, and uh, like wizards and shit, I have a book out now.
February 6, 2026 at 1:57 PM
davehb.bsky.social
A rainy dawn in Oxford
A black and white photo showing a bike lying in a puddle, as two people holding umbrellas walk past, with an old lamppost in the middle and a very old-looking building to the side
February 6, 2026 at 9:41 AM
Reposted by Dave Hemprich-Bennett
environment.theguardian.com
Wood burners may treble children’s exposure to pollution in homes, study finds
Wood burners may treble children’s exposure to pollution in homes, study finds
Research in Wales found that home, not outdoor travel, was largest contributor to children’s daily exposure
www.theguardian.com
February 6, 2026 at 6:01 AM
Reposted by Dave Hemprich-Bennett
markuseichhorn.bsky.social
How much temperate rainforest could there be in the UK and Ireland, and where? Despite campaigns calling for restoration in both countries, these questions have been difficult to answer. In our new paper we assess the evidence base 🌏🧪🌐🌳🌲 1/9
Comparison of three temperate rainforest climate envelopes for Britain and Ireland: Where could our rainforest be?
There are multiple methods for creating climate envelopes for temperate rainforest, and these climate envelopes result in different extents across Ireland and Britain. An awareness of these differenc...
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
February 4, 2026 at 10:32 AM
davehb.bsky.social
Taking the morally superior stance of *checks notes* instantly ceasing all research into malaria
February 4, 2026 at 6:52 AM
davehb.bsky.social
Oh man, the frame where they include the teleprompter that’s there to remind him of his own damn lyrics…
February 4, 2026 at 5:53 AM
davehb.bsky.social
WHY DO THEY DO THIS
February 3, 2026 at 3:06 AM
davehb.bsky.social
The Gen Z-ers are alright
February 2, 2026 at 5:56 PM
davehb.bsky.social
New insult overheard on the bus: “she gives ‘bellend-aura’”
February 2, 2026 at 5:52 PM
davehb.bsky.social
Account?
February 2, 2026 at 8:23 AM
Reposted by Dave Hemprich-Bennett
spavel.bsky.social
Person: say, i am alive. Computer: I am alive. Person: oh my god.
February 1, 2026 at 11:48 PM
Reposted by Dave Hemprich-Bennett
monkemma.bsky.social
Ok, let’s do this🙄

We’ll start with an explainer covering:

🕒What is a 15-minute city
🏫What on Earth is going on with Oxford
👽Where the conspiracy theories have come from

And then we’ll look at the Telegraph article

🧵
1/25
February 1, 2026 at 11:13 AM
Reposted by Dave Hemprich-Bennett
rincewind.run
Discworld QOTD, from Jingo
It was because he wanted there to be conspirators. It was much better to imagine men in some smoky room somewhere, made mad and cynical by privilege and power, plotting over the brandy. You had to cling to this sort of image, because if you didn't then you might have to face the fact that bad things happened because ordinary people, the kind who brushed the dog and told their children bedtime stories, were capable of then going out and doing horrible things to other ordinary people. It was so much easier to blame it on Them. It was bleakly depressing to think that They were Us. If it was Them, then nothing was anyone's fault. If it was Us, then what did that make Me? After all, I'm one of Us. I must be. I've certainly never thought of myself as one of Them. We're always one of Us. It's Them that do the bad things.
January 31, 2026 at 7:00 PM
Reposted by Dave Hemprich-Bennett
lottelydia.bsky.social
my dad didn’t go to university and he was extremely happy to pay taxes for his four children to do so; and, indeed, for the doctors who treated him at Addenbrookes to have gone to university as well.
2damntrans.bsky.social sasha @2damntrans.bsky.social · 11d
Rachel Reeves: "It is not right that people who don't go to university bear the cost for others to." I don't use local leisure centres and I don't drive, so will I be made exempt for taxation that pays for all that stuff? Or is it only education we'll be going after
January 29, 2026 at 10:22 PM
Reposted by Dave Hemprich-Bennett
rossbrooks.co.uk
My first book, Darwin and the Queer Origins of Life, will be published by Yale University Press on 11 August (UK) and 8 September (US). Please help spread the word! 🙏

UK: yalebooks.co.uk/book/9780300... @yalebooks.bsky.social 🏳️‍🌈📚🐵

US: yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300... @yalepress.bsky.social 🏳️‍⚧️ 🗃️🦋
Jacket design for Darwin and the Queer Origins of Life: A History of Sex and Science by Ross Brooks. It features a historic, drawn image of a gynandromorph gypsy moth, with distinctive female patterning on its left side and male on its right. Against a black background, the image and text (title and author's name) are brightly rendered in a spectrum of colours resonant of the Progress Pride Flag.
January 30, 2026 at 10:21 AM
davehb.bsky.social
*forwards screenshot to my boss alongside the ‘👀’ emoji*
January 29, 2026 at 7:43 PM
davehb.bsky.social
(Interested in particulate pollution, particularly PM2.5)
January 29, 2026 at 5:38 PM