Howard Lee
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hlee.bsky.social
Howard Lee
@hlee.bsky.social
Geologist and Science Writer: If you want to see what climate change can do to the planet just look at Earth's past!
https://h-lee.com/
Reposted by Howard Lee
Colorectal cancer is now the top cancer killer of Americans younger than 50.

The deaths of “Dawson’s Creek” actor James Van Der Beek at 48 this week, and a few years ago “Black Panther” star Chadwick Boseman at 43, highlight the risk for younger adults. on.nbcboston.com/BnJTSAm
Colorectal cancer is rising in younger adults. Here's who is most at risk and symptoms to watch for
While it’s still relatively rare in the under-50 crowd, their colorectal cancer diagnoses have been rising since the early 2000s.
on.nbcboston.com
February 14, 2026 at 8:00 PM
Roses are red
Violets are violet
February 14, 2026 at 8:15 PM
Reposted by Howard Lee
Every day I think we've plumbed the absolute depths of human stupidity, and somehow every day this sentient slime mold manages to move the bar closer to the planet'd nickel-iron core. 🤦

Volcanoes with plugs in the vent are how you get MOUNT ST. HELENS, you ignoramus.
February 14, 2026 at 7:56 PM
Reposted by Howard Lee
Greenhouse gas concentrations keep rising. The planet keeps warming in response. And that added heat shows up in the extremes and impacts. This is really basic stuff.

Data from gml.noaa.gov/ccgg/trends/
February 14, 2026 at 7:22 PM
Reposted by Howard Lee
⚒️🍎🧪❤️
Looking for a #Valentine's Day science story?

There's a rock for that!

Check out this old episode of Every Rock Has A Story... all about why some rocks are PINK!
youtu.be/f9RLgyWADDY
Every Rock Has A Story #35 - Pink
YouTube video by Ethan Baxter's "Every Rock Has A Story"
youtu.be
February 14, 2026 at 3:29 PM
Reposted by Howard Lee
In a new study in #Geology, researchers Chris Lowery and colleagues calculated how long it took for novel single-celled marine species to appear after an asteroid impact 66 million years ago, and it’s surprisingly fast.

Learn more here: geosociety.co/Lowery_et_al
Image credit: Chris Lowery
February 14, 2026 at 6:00 PM
Reposted by Howard Lee
A new study in JGR: Solid Earth directly measures stress inside deforming quartz, revealing how its strength changes with temperature and improving models of continental crust deformation.🌡️

🔗 Learn more in @eos.org: buff.ly/NBd3hzW

#AGUPubs #Geology #Quartz #Deformation #Minerology #EarthScience
February 14, 2026 at 3:00 PM
Russia killed opposition leader Alexei Navalny using dart frog toxin, UK says
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Russia killed opposition leader Alexei Navalny using toxin from dart frog, UK says
There is no innocent explanation for the toxin being found in samples taken from Navalny's body, Foreign Office says.
www.bbc.com
February 14, 2026 at 6:07 PM
Reposted by Howard Lee
Bluesky is the new science Twitter, new study by @whysharksmatter.bsky.social and Julia Wester concludes!

"Results show that for every reported professional benefit that scientists once gained from Twitter, scientists can now gain that benefit more effectively on Bluesky than on Twitter."
Scientists no Longer Find Twitter Professionally Useful, and have Switched to Bluesky
Synopsis. Social media has become widely used by the scientific community for a variety of professional uses, including networking and public outreach. For
academic.oup.com
February 13, 2026 at 10:08 PM
Reposted by Howard Lee
NEW: Health Secretary Kennedy's allies are pushing in states to repeal school-entry vaccine requirements.

Vaccine proponents view the effort as an escalation in dismantling the nation's vaccine system:

🎁 www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/h...
Kennedy Allies Target States to Overturn Vaccine Mandates for Schoolchildren
www.nytimes.com
February 13, 2026 at 1:36 PM
Reposted by Howard Lee
For #FossilFriday we have a Devonian stromatoporoid, Clathrodictyon. Stromatoporoids are now thought to be sponges, although they don't closely resemble modern forms. They were massive reef formers in the Silurian and Devonian seas, but were devastated by the Frasnian-Famennian mass extinction. 🧪⚒️
February 13, 2026 at 9:55 PM
Reposted by Howard Lee
I dare say this is the loveliest 1st day ever on this trip. Red Rock Canyon monkeyflowers and others showing out!
February 13, 2026 at 9:59 PM
Reposted by Howard Lee
Great news today that the geology collection at Lyme Regis Museum has been awarded Designated Status by Arts Council England. Not only does it occupy the site of #MaryAnning 's childhood home, but her spirit lives on in the museum's collecting and research.
www.lymeregismuseum.co.uk/designation/
Lyme Regis Museum honoured with prestigious national award from Arts Council England - Lyme Regis Museum
Lyme Regis Museum honoured with prestigious national award from Arts Council England Lyme Regis Museum is delighted to announce its outstanding Jurassic Coast Geology Collection has been awarded Desig...
www.lymeregismuseum.co.uk
February 13, 2026 at 11:39 AM
Reposted by Howard Lee
Check out this really great insight into work on board a research vessel and why you should care about hydrothermal systems in volcanoes by @sofiadellasala.bsky.social onboard the @ukri.org vessel RRS Discovery for the NERC funded HYRDOMOX project led by @noc.ac.uk

m.youtube.com/watch?v=leZ7...
Life in the Field: Exploring the Seafloor
YouTube video by OxfordSparks
m.youtube.com
February 13, 2026 at 11:24 AM
Reposted by Howard Lee
Students: can you identify the paleo-"up" direction in this lovely fossil? ⚒️
#FossilFriday Cousins in life, companions in death. Belemnite guard by chance preserved in the body chamber of the ammonite Parkinsonia from the Jurassic.
February 13, 2026 at 12:01 PM
Reposted by Howard Lee
The discos are a great laugh. I've got glandular fever.
February 12, 2026 at 1:43 PM
Reposted by Howard Lee
“Paisley Caves and Monte Verde contained perishable items that predate the Younger Dryas.”

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Complex perishable technologies from the North American Great Basin reveal specialized Late Pleistocene adaptations
Organic items from the Great Basin broaden understanding of complex technologies in the Pleistocene.
www.science.org
February 13, 2026 at 1:26 AM
Reposted by Howard Lee
Small note for journalists covering the Endangerment Finding repeal tomorrow: because of lawsuits, long time windows, and changes of administration, none of the EPA's regulatory actions based on the Endangerment Findings ever took effect.
February 12, 2026 at 12:01 AM
Reposted by Howard Lee
CBS News’ downward spiral continues. Variety reports it’s looking at another round of layoffs, at least 15% of the staff.

After the Washington Post layoffs, the hollowing out of US media is accelerating.
February 12, 2026 at 11:21 PM
Reposted by Howard Lee
Pam Bondi Thought That Went Pretty Well
February 12, 2026 at 6:56 PM
Would love to have heard how the Neanderthal worker swore when this happened 👇
Resharing for #FindsFriday and #FlintFriday, its a massive overstruck flake that took most of the core with it. An ancient Neanderthal accident and so a brilliant part of our teaching collection. #PaPa🦣🏺
Happy 200th Birthday to @ucl.ac.uk As part of the celebrations we will be posting 200 artefacts & objects from the IoA & @archsoutheast.bsky.social

Day 1: this c.200,000 year old Levallois flake from Baker's Hole in the Thames Valley.

#UCL200
February 13, 2026 at 12:57 PM
Reposted by Howard Lee
The absolutely massive Patagotitan mayorum!! This sauropod is one of the largest known titanosaur species. It would have been amazing to see something so massive walking around. #FossilFriday ⚒️🧪
February 13, 2026 at 12:49 PM
Reposted by Howard Lee
Reut Yamen, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at Paragon, the Israeli spyware company, posted on LinkedIn an image of what appears to be Graphite, the surveillance software which Paragon licensed to ICE. Shows the information it picks up from a phone.

(H/t @peterallison.net)
February 13, 2026 at 12:41 PM
Reposted by Howard Lee
When did humans start using drills? “A new study reveals that Egyptians were using a mechanically sophisticated drilling tool far earlier than previously suggested” (about 3250 BCE). It’s the oldest known rotary drill 🔩 you guys!
www.austriaca.at?arp=0x0041300e
February 13, 2026 at 12:43 PM
A small village in Suffolk, UK, earns Dark Sky status. I'm surprised Suffolk is dark enough
February 13, 2026 at 12:46 PM