Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Jeanne Timmons

@mostlymammoths.bsky.social

2.2K followers 410 following 4.2K posts

Freelance writer (she/her) interested in paleontology and archaeology. Avatar by Natalia Jagielska. https://mostlymammoths.wordpress.com/freelance-work/

mostlymammoths.wordpress.com

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Jeanne Timmons @mostlymammoths.bsky.social · Nov 6

"Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Do not become bitter or hostile. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble. We will find a way to make a way out of no way." - the late Congressman John Lewis

Evergreen and inspiring tweet from the late Congressman John Lewis: "Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Do not become bitter or hostile. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble. We will find a way to make a way out of no way. #goodtrouble"

3 9 35

Reposted by Jeanne Timmons

ACLU @aclu.org · 6h

BREAKING: A federal judge has temporarily blocked President Trump from deploying federalized National Guard troops into Chicago.

This ruling reinforces what we already knew: It is illegal for the president to use manufactured emergencies to send soldiers into our cities.

24 320 1.3K

Jeanne Timmons @mostlymammoths.bsky.social · 6h

Deliciously brisk tonight. I delighted in pushing harder, going faster, faster, faster, feeling the wind in my face. 💙🚲

Sun highlights red and orange trees across the river. View from the bike path.

Jeanne Timmons @mostlymammoths.bsky.social · 7h

Trump’s war on the left: Inside the plan to investigate liberal groups
@nanditab1.bsky.social Jana Winter, Jeff Mason, Tim Reid, @tedhesson.bsky.social

www.reuters.com/legal/govern...

Screenshot of text: WASHINGTON, Oct 9 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's threatened crackdown on the finances and activities of liberal non-profits and groups opposed to his agenda is a multi-agency effort with top White House aide Stephen Miller playing a central role, according to officials.
The Trump administration plans to deploy America's counter-terrorism apparatus - including the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department - as well as the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department against certain left-wing groups it accuses of funding and organizing political violence, the officials said.

1 1

Reposted by Jeanne Timmons

New York Attorney General Letitia James @newyorkstateag.bsky.social · 8h

This is nothing more than a continuation of the president’s desperate weaponization of our justice system.

I am not fearful — I am fearless.

We will fight these baseless charges aggressively, and my office will continue to fiercely protect New Yorkers and their rights..

1.5K 8.5K 30K

Reposted by Jeanne Timmons

Maija Karala @maijakarala.bsky.social · 8d

The Triassic was a time of weird reptiles of every description.

This is one of the more recent finds: Mirasaura from France. It's one of the drepanosaurs, an odd group of arboreal reptiles with superficially bird-like heads and, in some cases, equally superficially feather-like appendages.

A slightly cartoony illustration of a Mirasaura sitting on a mossy tree branch. The lizard-like animal has a long snout resembling a bird's beak, large eyes and a massive crest on its' back somewhat resembling a birds' wing feathers, as if someone stuck an entire wader's wing into his back. The animal has large eyes and it looking behnd him at a passing dragonfly.

5 74 240

Jeanne Timmons @mostlymammoths.bsky.social · 18h

"Similar radiocarbon dates for woolly mammoth and woolly rhino fossils from the same sites imply the presence of both faunas during this period." 🦣🦏🦛

NEaar lab @neaarlab.bsky.social · 21h

Intriguing study just out in @currentbiology.bsky.social led by Patrick Arnold & Michi Hofreiter @unipotsdam.bsky.social showing hippos might have still been roaming central Europe in the last ice age www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... 🧪🦛#quaternary

Ancient DNA and dating evidence for the dispersal of hippos into central Europe during the last glacial

Late Pleistocene hippo fossils (Hippopotamus amphibius) from Europe have generally been associated with the last interglacial period (Eemian, 129–115 …

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982225012059🧪🦛#quaternary

3 8

Reposted by Jeanne Timmons

IPC7 @ipc7.bsky.social · 16d

There will be 29 themed symposia + one general symposium at the upcoming IPC7.

📢 Today we highlight:
✨Cenozoic vertebrates of Africa✨

To participate in this symposium, contact the convener:
🔸Alberto Valenciano — [email protected]
🔸Adam Hartstone-Rose — [email protected]

1 2 3

Reposted by Jeanne Timmons

IPC7 @ipc7.bsky.social · 26d

IPC7 will host 29 themed symposia plus one open general symposium.

🌟Today we feature:
Ichnology – traces as multi-disciplinary lenses into the deep past

For participation or further details:
Miengah Abrahams — [email protected]
Emese Bordy — [email protected]

1 3 4

Jeanne Timmons @mostlymammoths.bsky.social · 1d

Mountaintop view. ❤️

Pine trees amongst rocks are in the foreground. In the distance, miles of land (a lake here and there; more forests and the bumps of other mountains) fade into blue

Reposted by Jeanne Timmons

Carl Zimmer @carlzimmer.com · 1d

Today my @nytimes.com colleagues and I are launching a new series called Lost Science. We interview US scientists who can no longer discover something new about our world, thanks to this year‘s cuts. Here is my first interview with a scientist who studied bees and fires. Gift link: nyti.ms/3IWXbiE

nyti.ms

140 1.8K 4.5K

Reposted by Jeanne Timmons

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

1 13 56

Reposted by Jeanne Timmons

Jay @kakapojay.bsky.social · 1d

I must issue an apology - I have clearly been misinterpreting the data and have resized the Kem Kem fauna accordingly.

I am *definitely* not being held at beak-point by Leptostomia.

The lineup of Kem Kem fauna to scale with our Leptostomia overlord towering above the rest - as it should be

4 12 90

Reposted by Jeanne Timmons

La Brea Tar Pits & Museum @tarpits.org · 1d

🦴✨ Project 23's unearthed wonders coming through!

In a single tablespoon of tar-soaked matrix from Project 23 at the #TarPits, scientists find dozens of fossils—from tiny seeds to small mammal bones.

Discover how every grain matters at TARPITS.org.

Text "A tablespoon of matrix (dirt) can yield up to 50 fossils that may include seeds, millipedes, insects, and freshwater shells, as well as bones of toads, turtles, lizards, snakes, rodents, and small birds!" on top of a photograph of matrix collecting at La Brea Tar Pits in the background.

3 25

Reposted by Jeanne Timmons

Historical Biology @historicalbiology.bsky.social · 1d

📣Editor spotlight

Diego Castanera is a Researcher at Deparment of Ciencias de la Tierra, Universidad de Zaragoza (Spain). He specialises in vertebrate ichnology with emphasis on dinosaur, pterosaur, crocodylomorph, mammal and bird tracks 🦖 🐊

5 30

Jeanne Timmons @mostlymammoths.bsky.social · 2d

It's not only pedaling through gorgeous colors, it's hearing the sound of the river below; the birds above; and breathing in the aroma of pine-needles, earth and dead leaves.

Golden leaves mix with green over the bike path. A blanket of dead leaves lines everything except a well-worn path on the trail.

Jeanne Timmons @mostlymammoths.bsky.social · 2d

SO MUCH COLOR brings me SO MUCH JOY! 🍂🍁🍃💙🚲

Colorful tress (reds and orages) under an overcast sky. A largely lemon-green field is in the foreground.

View through trees onto the river and its colorful trees beyond.

A stretch of gorgeous gold leaves (and a hint of orange) on the left, while still-green trees are on the right. The bike path intersects them, edged by dead leaves.

Bright reddish orange leaves stand out across the way. A view down to the rushing river below through spindly trees.

2 6

Reposted by Jeanne Timmons

WitmerLab at Ohio University @witmerlab.bsky.social · 2d

Excited to see this new #OA article out on turtle head vasculature, led by @seishirotada.bsky.social. It was part of Sei's PhD diss. So much fun injection, dissection, sawing, & µCT of turtles & lizards in the lab with Sei and DJ Morgan—leading to this really nice article! doi.org/10.1186/s133... 🐢

Seishiro Tada dissects a snapping turtle head that previously had been injected and then microCT scanned.

DJ Morgan (left) and Sei Tada (right) use the band saw to sagittally section a loggerhead sea turtle head.

3D volumetric rendering of a green sea turtle head (OUVC 11893) that had been injected with a barium-latex medium to visualize the vascular system.

New research article out today! https://doi.org/10.1186/s13358-025-00403-3

5 25

Jeanne Timmons @mostlymammoths.bsky.social · 2d

#Egypt reopens Amenhotep III's tomb after over 20 years of renovation

Ahmed Hatem, Samy Magdy @apnews.com

apnews.com/article/egyp...

Caption in article: "Egypt on Saturday opened a tomb of a Pharaoh for visitors after more than two decades of renovation in the southern city of Luxor. (AP video shot by Ahmed Hatem and Amr Nabil)"

Numerous people in an open roomie the tomb. The artwork is sparse, limited only to places on some of the columns.

Jeanne Timmons @mostlymammoths.bsky.social · 2d

The texts that reveal the baffling healthcare for women in #AncientEgypt @lucyinglis.bsky.social @livescience.com

www.livescience.com/archaeology/...

'The papyrus also recommends putting a clove of garlic in your vagina before bed': The texts that reveal the baffling healthcare for women in ancient Egypt

In this excerpt from "Born: A History of Childbirth," author and historian Lucy Inglis reveals records from ancient Egypt that show how female physicians treated issues of "the womb," how men reacted ...

www.livescience.com

1 2

Jeanne Timmons @mostlymammoths.bsky.social · 2d

"The number of demands that undercut the goals that are supposedly motivating other demands in this document make it very clear that it's not a serious attempt at educational reform. Instead, it can be best understood as part of the administration's larger campaign to cripple US universities..."

Screenshot of text: The number of demands that undercut the goals that are supposedly motivating other demands in this document make it very clear that it's not a serious attempt at educational reform. Instead, it can be best understood as part of the administration's larger campaign to cripple US universities and the science that goes on there.

As far back as 2021, now-Vice President JD Vance was saying, “We have to honestly and aggressively attack the universities in this country.” And the administration has been very blatant about pursuing that attack, using federal funding to try to force universities to make changes that have little to nothing to do with the reasons the funding was given in the first place. The Compact fits in directly with the larger campaign by giving universities a stark choice: give up control over basic university functions to this administration, or face sanctions that will essentially eliminate the ability to function as a research university.

Jeanne Timmons @mostlymammoths.bsky.social · 2d

EXCELLENT piece by @jtimmer.bsky.social @arstechnica.com.

arstechnica.com/science/2025...

Trump offers universities a choice: Comply for preferential funding

Who needs peer review? Plan offers easier grants to schools that agree to limits.

arstechnica.com

1 2 3

Jeanne Timmons @mostlymammoths.bsky.social · 2d

Here’s what to know about COVID vaccine access by @bethmariem.bsky.social @arstechnica.com

arstechnica.com/health/2025/...

After RFK Jr.’s shenanigans, COVID shot access will be a lot like last year

Most people can get vaccinated at their local pharmacy like normal.

arstechnica.com

Jeanne Timmons @mostlymammoths.bsky.social · 3d

This evening's bike ride. 💙🚲

View from the bike path between thin trees onto a colorful forest in the distance. A light blue sky has wisps of clouds stretched across it.

Reposted by Jeanne Timmons

Jessica Valenti @jessicavalenti.bsky.social · 6d

One of the panelists Turning Point will host at the University of Alabama next week said of women who have abortions: "You forfeit your right to live.”

8 28 78

Reposted by Jeanne Timmons

Jessica Valenti @jessicavalenti.bsky.social · 6d

At the newsletter right now:

One of Turning Point USA’s first campus events since the murder of Charlie Kirk will be a panel with leaders of the abortion ‘abolition’ movement - extremists who lobby for abortion patients to get the death penalty

jessica.substack.com/p/turning-po...

Turning Point USA Hosts Campus Event Pushing Death Penalty for Abortion Patients

10.3.25

jessica.substack.com

28 200 320