Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Kate Evans @kategevans.bsky.social · 2d

Brilliant! Origami and evolution 😍
knowablemagazine.org/content/arti...

Animal origami: The physics of nature’s folds

Insects that tuck away wings; a protist with an accordion-like neck — studying these clever creases may inspire foldable structures for drones

knowablemagazine.org

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Reposted by Kate Evans

Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.bsky.social · 2d

The silent c’s of the sea world, cnidarians and ctenophores, have DNA architecture that is more similar to humans than their single-celled ancestors. www.quantamagazine.org/loops-of-dna...

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Reposted by Kate Evans

Dr. Jenny Morber @jrmorber.bsky.social · 5d

Kudos to photographer Ashlee Rezin

Melanie D’Arrigo @darrigomelanie.bsky.social · 5d

I feel like this photo of masked, armed men pepper spraying a pastor protecting his community is going to be a defining picture of this moment in America for a long, long time.

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Reposted by Kate Evans

Julie Blommaert @drjulieb.bsky.social · 9d

Really should ban myself from “just having a browse” in a book shop

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Kate Evans @kategevans.bsky.social · 9d

Yuss I definitely do! Hope you enjoy it!

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Kate Evans @kategevans.bsky.social · 18d

Yes! We’ve met a few times and she’s a legend!

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Kate Evans @kategevans.bsky.social · 18d

Aw hi lorcan! Come on, not great… but keen!

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Kate Evans @kategevans.bsky.social · 18d

It was an absolute DELIGHT to speak to the Gastropod team all about Feijoas and my Feijoa book — which came out in the US this week — and in an episode also featuring durian, a fruit which inspires similar levels of obsession and belonging! #gastropod #feijoa #durian

Laurie Winkless @lauriewinkless.bsky.social · 18d

LOVED hearing @kategevans.bsky.social talking about feijoa on the latest Gastropod episode 😊 share.google/6uk1MTOIORx7...

Durian Delight and Feijoa Fun: Adventures in Banned, Forgotten, and Unusual Fruit - Gastropod

Why do durian and feijoa inspire such strong feelings—and why did they never make it big in the States?

share.google

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Kate Evans @kategevans.bsky.social · 18d

Add me please Leah!

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Kate Evans @kategevans.bsky.social · 20d

The story of how the anus evolved is *wild* Here’s my latest sexstack essay — featuring the hilarious diversity of animal butts, an excessive number of puns, and for subscribers, a personal story of my own recent discoveries. #scicomm 🐟🪼🦖🦓

sexscience.substack.com/p/annals-of-...

Annals of the Anus

Have you ever thought about the backstory of your backdoor? I hadn’t, until news of a study on the evolution of the anus coincided with my own sexual evolution.

sexscience.substack.com

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Kate Evans @kategevans.bsky.social · Sep 4

Que lindo! Gracias!

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Kate Evans @kategevans.bsky.social · Sep 2

Found this piece very reassuring! Thoughts? niemanreports.org/youre-as-goo...

You’re as Good as Your Best Byline - Nieman Reports

A love letter to the journalists who toil

niemanreports.org

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Reposted by Kate Evans

The Broke Bonsai Bloke me my coffee & bonsai🇳🇿🌳✂️🌲☕️ @memycoffeenbonsai.bsky.social · Aug 31

@kategevans.bsky.social
Spotted in the wild at Whitcoulls Silverdale today
Whitcoulls Top 100 section

👍🌱

The book Feijoa A Story of Obsession & Belonging by Kate Evans. On retail book store shelf called Whitcoulls. It is in the Whitcoulls Top 100 Books section of the shop. It's number 70. The cover has pictures of feigoa flowers, foliage and half cut open fruit.

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Kate Evans @kategevans.bsky.social · Aug 31

Aw yuss!

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Kate Evans @kategevans.bsky.social · Aug 31

…and said, eyes shining, ‘I asked my crush out on a date, and she said yes!’ We high fived, I wished him well, and he skipped off down the street 😍❤️😍 #tinylovestory

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Kate Evans @kategevans.bsky.social · Aug 31

#storytime I was walking in Christchurch on the way to a Word writer’s festival event at the art gallery this afternoon. A young man coming towards me on the footpath gave a barely suppressed giggle of glee and leapt with joy, his heels clicking together. You seem happy, I observed. He turned..(1/2)

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Reposted by Kate Evans

Christie Wilcox @nerdychristie.bsky.social · Aug 28

Ebony and ivory really are a perfect harmony—African forest elephants consume the tree's fruit, and in return, their fecal matter disperses and helps protect seedlings. That and more of the best from @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪

The seeds of the valuable African ebony tree (Diospyros crassiflora, left) rely on African forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis, right) for more than dispersal. (Left) Vincent Deblauwe/IITA, CBI, UCLA; (Right) Richard Rosomoff

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Kate Evans @kategevans.bsky.social · Aug 28

Ned is now going seriously viral. CNN came calling. The Guardian and BBC too. Get out in those gardens at night, Kiwis! Let’s find Ned a lover! (Please note Ned is a they; all snails are hermaphrodites) edition.cnn.com/2025/08/28/w...

‘Observologists’ search New Zealand to give rare snail a chance at love | CNN

‘Observologists’ search New Zealand to give rare snail a chance at love

edition.cnn.com

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Reposted by Kate Evans

George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · Aug 28

This week's column. The details will make you gasp and rage. This massive desecration of nature is almost unbelievable, but it is happening in the UK right now.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Bluefin tuna are miraculously returning to UK shores – only to be tormented for ‘sport’ | George Monbiot

A tournament in Cornwall will pit anglers against these magnificent creatures, as part of a rising trend for so-called ‘sportfishing’, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Kate Evans

New Zealand Geographic @nzgeo.bsky.social · Aug 24

A tiny silly fun thing in the midst of all the chaos... We're on the hunt for a mate for Ned, a 1 in 40,000 left-spiralling snail. www.nzgeo.com/stories/lets...

Let's find a mate for Ned

One in 40,000 snails have the spiral on the left side of the shell, and they can only mate with other lefties. Can you help Ned find true love?

www.nzgeo.com

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Kate Evans @kategevans.bsky.social · Aug 23

Yup they are a regular garden snail!

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Kate Evans @kategevans.bsky.social · Aug 23

Me too! 🤣

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Kate Evans @kategevans.bsky.social · Aug 23

Crew I’m delighted to say we have a new campaign at NZ Geographic—let’s find Ned the lefty snail a mate! Have a look in your garden. Do any of the snails’ shells coil to the right? Only 1 in 40,000 coil left - and lefties can only mate w/ other lefties cos their shells get in the way 😭 nzgeo.com/Ned

Let's find a mate for Ned

One in 40,000 snails have the spiral on the left side the shell, and they can only mate with other lefties. Will Ned meet his one true love?

nzgeo.com

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Reposted by Kate Evans

Dr. Or M. Bialik |📚|🔬|🌊|⚒️ @obialik.bsky.social · Aug 20

Color me surprised! 😑
Turns out that an ecological system that has one stressor removed from it (fishing) is more resilient when faced with another stressor (marine heatwaves). 🧪🌊

Link: besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Our results provide evidence for the potential role of MPAs as climate adaptation tools and highlight that MPAs can support ecosystem stability under increasing climate stress. Left: Aerial imagery of giant and bull kelp canopy in central California. Right: Map illustrating differences in relative kelp canopy coverage between MPAs and reference sites following the 2014–2016 marine heatwaves. Positive values reflect greater kelp recovery in MPAs; negative values indicate lower kelp recovery in MPAs.

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Kate Evans @kategevans.bsky.social · Aug 20

Can chocolate cure jealousy? What *is* romantic jealousy anyway, and what can it teach us? Amazing new piece by the ever-insightful Monica Evans (my sister) featuring science and the deeply personal on our SexStack: sexscience.substack.com/p/science-as... 🧪🍫#scicomm

Science asks: Can chocolate cure jealousy?

I don’t know but please sign me up for the clinical trial

sexscience.substack.com

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