Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Krista Koeller

Nancy Choudhary @nancy-choudhary.bsky.social · 5h

Have you ever wondered why pumpkins are never purple or blue like other plants? 🎃🌈

While most plants can produce pink, blue, and purple pigments (thanks to anthocyanins), the Cucurbitaceae family 🍈 🍉 🥒have lost all the pathway genes to produce these pigments.
🔗 doi.org/10.1101/2025...

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Reposted by Krista Koeller

Jo Wolfe, PhD @jopabinia.bsky.social · 3h

I'm on the BBC talking about (how we won't be) evolving into crabs 🧪🦀

Also features Matt Wills (my academic older brother) and Ned Suesat-Williams (of the crab museum!). Unfortunately they were in London and I on zoom, so there was no time to tell Ned to join here

BBC Audio | The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry | To Crab, or Not to Crab?

Hannah and Dara investigate why nature has evolved the humble crabs so many times.

www.bbc.com

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Reposted by Krista Koeller

Monica V @classyearlgrey.bsky.social · 5h

Anyone in #paleontology or #geology have a recommendation for a lay-person friendly book on the Permian extinction?

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Claude ✡️🦖🦕 @cascoclauda.bsky.social · 9h

hello gorgeous 😍 a warm welcome to xiphodracon goldencapensis, a new ichthyosaur described from the uk's famous jurassic coast by @deanrlomax.bsky.social, massare and maxwell! the holotype is absolutely stunning, congrats to the team 🥳
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

a photograph of the xiphodracon holotype, a nearly complete skeleton preserved three-dimensionally

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Reposted by Krista Koeller

Phil Mannion @pdmannion.bsky.social · 8h

New paper @journalsystpal.bsky.social with Drew Moore @stonybrooku.bsky.social re-evaluating diplodocoid sauropod dinosaur phylogeny + biogeography, including illustrating synapomorphies, with implications for the early evolution of the major lineages: doi.org/10.1080/1477... @es-ucl.bsky.social

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The Oregonian @oregonian.com · 13h

Things are happening at Portland's ICE facility tonight.

Read more of our protest coverage here: www.oregonlive.com/crime/2025/1...

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Jess Calarco @jessicacalarco.com · 17h

I have to fan-girl for a minute here. My friend @rosvall-lab.bsky.social built an app to gather data on bird behavior during the 2024 solar eclipse. 10,000+ citizen scientists contributed (including my kids), and the resulting paper was published in Science today!

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Total solar eclipse triggers dawn behavior in birds: Insights from acoustic recordings and community science

On 8 April 2024, a total solar eclipse disrupted light-dark cycles for North American birds during the lead-up to spring reproduction. Compiling more than 10,000 community observations and artificial ...

www.science.org

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Krista Koeller @kristalerista.bsky.social · 20h

If someone in your life has gently, tentatively, or too-casually suggested you should “maybe talk to a therapist about it,” I’m here to second their opinion.

Go to therapy!

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Krista Koeller @kristalerista.bsky.social · 21h

As research demonstrates, innovation is not caused by sudden inspiration, but by different ideas, perspectives, and approaches coming together. We need diversity in science.

Nature @nature.com · 23h

Of the 202 Nobel laureates who have been awarded prizes in physics, chemistry and medicine this century, less than 70% hail from the country in which they were awarded their prize.

go.nature.com/4ocbFu6

More than 30% of this century’s science Nobel prizewinners immigrated: see their journeys

The most common destination for eventual Nobel laureates in physics, chemistry and medicine since 2000 is the United States, Nature has found.

go.nature.com

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Reposted by Krista Koeller

Natalia Jagielska @nataliajagielska.bsky.social · 1d

I absolutely love the fact they've Pokemon-ised the museum staff, for the upcoming Pokémon partnership with the Field Museum. Museums, take note.

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Krista Koeller @kristalerista.bsky.social · 1d

Important perspective.

Rishika Pardikar @rishpardikar.bsky.social · 2d

This is from a very prominent conservationist from Kenya

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Krista Koeller @kristalerista.bsky.social · 1d

Throne room works too. Whenever I’m there, it’s the closest thing I do to worship.

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Krista Koeller @kristalerista.bsky.social · 1d

*Sue’s shrine

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Reposted by Krista Koeller

stuartsumida.bsky.social @stuartsumida.bsky.social · 1d

Our opinion piece on the importance of science and vertebrate paleontology in the United States was just published by Open Access Government:
www.openaccessgovernment.org/the-importan...
#svp #svppresident

The importance of palaeontology, Earth history, and science

The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology discusses the significance of paleontology, Earth history and science in this insightful opinion piece

www.openaccessgovernment.org

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Krista Koeller @kristalerista.bsky.social · 1d

💯it seems so obvious to me and should be obvious to anyone who values evidence-based medicine.

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Reposted by Krista Koeller

Andrej Spiridonov @andrejpaleo.bsky.social · 2d

Extinct Pleistocene carnivores were diurnal and had high metabolic rates:
"Only basal metabolic rate and diurnality are robust predictors of extinction, even after accounting for phylogenetic and trait uncertainty"
nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirec...
🧪 ⚒️ #Paleobio #Macroecology

Results of logistic regression analyses associating traits with extinction outcomes.

Violin plots comparing the basal metabolic rate and threat status of living species.

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Krista Koeller @kristalerista.bsky.social · 2d

Thank you for broadening my vocabulary!

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Reposted by Krista Koeller

Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 2d

Might make my own little audio lesson for last minute cramming on the flight over.

"Ok, Sarah. Repeat after me.

Would you like a squid zine?
イカのジンはいかがですか？

Which way to the squid?
イカはどこですか？

Thank you for the squid!
イカありがとう!

No octopus please, I only like squid.
タコはやめて、イカだけが好きです。"

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Reposted by Krista Koeller

Germán Bonilla-Rosso @germusthermophilus.bsky.social · 3d

🔬🦠🧫🧪 #MicroSky
This is the most fantatic video I've ever seen: a Tardigrade strolling on a Volvox by Penny Fenton #NikonSmallWorld #DarkField
www.nikonsmallworld.com/galleries/20...

A tardigrade moving around a volvox algae colony | 2025 Small World in Motion Competition

Penny Fenton - A tardigrade moving around a volvox algae colony

www.nikonsmallworld.com

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Reposted by Krista Koeller

Damien Farine @damienfarine.bsky.social · 2d

Very pleased to see our study that formally quantifies the society of zebra finches. They have different types of relationships, and these form tiers, but they do not form a multilevel society.

royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

This was a very nice collaboration with great colleagues.

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Reposted by Krista Koeller

Prof Susie Maidment @tweetisaurus.bsky.social · 3d

#Fossil Files podcast fans!! Today sees the release of Fossil Fails II: The tiny dinosaur with the massive flaw... Get our take on that whole Oculudentavis thing - available now on libsyn and wherever you get your podcasts! @thefossilfiles.bsky.social fossils.libsyn.com/fossil-fails...

The Fossil Files: Fossil Fails: The tiny dino with a massive flaw

Discovery of the smallest ever dinosaur acheived quite a splash when it was publised on the front cover of Nature in 2020. The new critter, Oculodentavis, was the size of a hummingbird and reconstruct...

fossils.libsyn.com

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Krista Koeller @kristalerista.bsky.social · 2d

So wholesome. So quaint.

a cartoon character with a mask on his face is eating food from a bowl .

Alt: No face from spirited away gorging itself. The black figure wearing a mask opens a wide maw underneath its head to consume a bathtub-sized bowl of food. The wide mouth, again, under its head has a tongue and irregular, reptilian teeth.

media.tenor.com

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Krista Koeller @kristalerista.bsky.social · 2d

Same! This is a genuine PSA. I bought into the stigma against fish and thought they were boring. It’s perhaps the thing I’ve been most wrong about.

They have so many beautiful patterns and colors! So many weird ways to arrange bones! So many superpowers!

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Krista Koeller @kristalerista.bsky.social · 2d

Don’t let anyone tell you fish are boring.

Blue Appaloosa @blueappaloosa.bsky.social · 2d

Fish cranial kinesis model is now listed in my Etsy shop! Hopefully useful for showing the mechanism that opens and closes a teleost fish's mouth.

(Ships from US) blueappaloosastudio.etsy.com

#SciArt #SciComm #BSNM #ArtShop #Fish

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Reposted by Krista Koeller

Blue Appaloosa @blueappaloosa.bsky.social · 2d

Fish cranial kinesis model is now listed in my Etsy shop! Hopefully useful for showing the mechanism that opens and closes a teleost fish's mouth.

(Ships from US) blueappaloosastudio.etsy.com

#SciArt #SciComm #BSNM #ArtShop #Fish

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