Dr Ross Barnett
@deepfrieddna.bsky.social
4.4K followers 1.3K following 1.3K posts
Invernessian palaeogeneticist and stay-at-home dad. Knows a thing or two about the aDNA of extinct lions, sabretooths and megafauna. Author of The Missing Lynx. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Missing-Lynx-Future-Britains-Mammals/dp/1472957350
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Reposted by Dr Ross Barnett
gabrieleru1.bsky.social
Turns out #hippos 🦛 lived in Europe much more recently than we thought!
Fossil & genetic evidence from Germany shows they roamed 50,000–31,000 years ago, right in the middle of the last #iceage 🥶🌨️
Same species as today’s African hippos, thriving during warmer periods.
🦣🧪🧬
Ancient DNA and dating evidence for the dispersal of hippos into central Europe during the last glacial
Arnold et al. present evidence that Late Pleistocene hippos from the Upper Rhine Graben show close genetic ties to modern African hippos. Although hippos have been thought to have gone extinct around ...
www.cell.com
Reposted by Dr Ross Barnett
profannawatts.bsky.social
Lol the Nobels can't even acknowledge women's contribution to discovery. But sure let's acknowledge The Machines.
Headline from an article in Nature this week that states "Prizes must recognize machine contributions to discovery. The future of science will be written by humans and machines together. Awards should reflect that reality."
Reposted by Dr Ross Barnett
anatrecord.bsky.social
We're excited to share a new Special Issue on sabretooth taxa, broadly defined. From defining what makes a sabertooth/tusk to exploring fossil taxa and saber function.
anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/19328494...
Volume edited by Hartstone-Rose, Werdelin & Pollock
Reposted by Dr Ross Barnett
fesshole.bsky.social
I appeared on University Challenge years ago. I didn't actually attend the university in question. I used to take short cuts through the campus and saw the notice for the try outs. Went along for a laugh and made the team. No one ever checked if I was actually a student there.
Reposted by Dr Ross Barnett
pontus-skoglund.bsky.social
PhD-opening in our ancient genomics lab this year, apply below!

We work on:
1. Genetic history integrated with archaeology and history
2. Natural selection and trait genetics
3. Evolutionary genomics of dogs and wolves
4. Ancient pathogen genomics
5. Hominin evolution and ancient proteomics
crick.ac.uk
Motivated graduates with backgrounds in biological or biomedical sciences, physics, chemistry, mathematics, engineering and/or computer science are invited to apply to our 4-year fully funded PhD programme.

Apply by 05 November 2025

www.crick.ac.uk/careers-and-...
PhD students
Our PhD programme attracts the brightest scientific minds and is an opportunity for talented people to embark on their career in biomedical research.
www.crick.ac.uk
deepfrieddna.bsky.social
🦥 Animal #801 🐕‍🦺
I figured it out in 5 guesses!
🟧🟩🟩🟩🟩
🔥 19 | Avg. Guesses: 6.2

metazooa.com
#metazooa
Metazooa
Become an evolutionary detective to find the Mystery Animal!
metazooa.com
Reposted by Dr Ross Barnett
richardfallon.bsky.social
A literary Iguanodon at the Earth Sciences Library. Do any other libraries have dinosaurs or other antediluvian creatures carved into the furniture?
deepfrieddna.bsky.social
🐅 Animal #800 🐡
I figured it out in 6 guesses!
🟨🟨🟩🟩🟩🟩
🔥 18 | Avg. Guesses: 6.2

metazooa.com
#metazooa
Metazooa
Become an evolutionary detective to find the Mystery Animal!
metazooa.com
Reposted by Dr Ross Barnett
te-ara-paerangi.community
We'd love to have a huge turn out for Nic's talk. Please help spread the word. There are downloadable pdf adverts in the link below. They can be emailed or printed. If you work in a public space (e.g. Library) you could help by printing and posting one of the flyers. Ngā mihi nui!
Reposted by Dr Ross Barnett
eegcam.bsky.social
#newpreprint: "Climate Shaped the Global Population Structure of Leopards and their Extinction in Europe": www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...! Leopards are charming big cats but there are many mysteries around them. Thread 🧵
Reposted by Dr Ross Barnett
sotsapodcast.bsky.social
It's officially October, so we're planning some scary movies for upcoming episodes! We just watched Legend of the Bog (2009), which prompted Ross to plot the decline of Vinnie Jones' IMDB scores over time (this is what happens when scientists watch movies) www.imdb.com/title/tt0928...
A graph with a zig-zaggy blue line showing the IMDB ratings for 79 Vinnie Jones movies in chronological order, which range from about 8/10 to about 2/10. A best-fit line indicates a downward trend over time, starting at about 6/10 and declining to about 4/10.

y = -0.0230x + 5.6722
R squared = 0.15821
Reposted by Dr Ross Barnett
ryanmarino.bsky.social
Tell me you’re a serious educational institution when you tell an infectious disease educator that they can’t talk about real, current infectious disease outbreaks
harmscommitted.com
Tulane "terminated an academic director this summer after the syllabus she'd helped create for an infectious disease class was rejected by a newly hired instructor because it included an academic article about a polio outbreak in Gaza."
#Louisiana #USA #Gaza #Palestine #Israel #Healthcare #Genocide
Tulane changes syllabus, fires academic director over Gaza article • Louisiana Illuminator
Some say that the incident is yet another glimpse of the tense climate experienced on local and national campuses by people who support Palestine.
lailluminator.com
Reposted by Dr Ross Barnett
Reposted by Dr Ross Barnett
bclev.bsky.social
This would single-handedly transform the lives of everyone I know in such profound ways it is difficult to fully articulate, but it would also let us actually make more and different and crazy things
mikeachim.bsky.social
Damn. This is amazing. £325 per week, paid monthly, for 3 years - and the result was a profit for the Irish economy:
www.citizensinformation.ie/en/employmen...
Post from Threads user rodneyowl: "Ireland has declared the Basic Income for Artists scheme permanent. This will be officially announced in tomorrow’s budget. Details to follow. Congratulations to all who fought for it and the present and future artists of all sorts in Ireland. That includes me 👌We’re just comin to the end of a 3 year pilot scheme. It’s been a roaring success. For every €1 paid out to the 2000 participants, the government got €1.46 back. Can’t argue with that. Other countries are already taking note."