Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

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Fiona McLees @mclees-fiona.bsky.social · 46m

Lil pavement folly that entertains me greatly. A parkland estate for a tiny signpost.

I don’t know how to describe it. A weird section of a kind of ellipse of grass tacked onto a curved piece of pavement. To call it a flowerbed would be misleading. Strident double yellow lines enclose it on the road side. In the middle of the grass stands an upright pole with a tiny sign at the top. Beyond a proper park with fields and trees is visible. I doubt this makes sense if you can’t see the image.

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Olivia Guest · Ολίβια Γκεστ @olivia.science · 11h

"We document the participation of women in European academia [from the year 1000 to 1800]. A total of 108 women taught at universities or were members of academies of arts and sciences. Comparing them with 58,995 male scholars, we find that they were on average better."

doi.org/10.1093/ereh...

table 1 from David de la Croix, Mara Vitale, Women in European academia before 1800—religion, marriage, and human capital, European Review of Economic History, Volume 27, Issue 4, November 2023, Pages 506–532, https://doi.org/10.1093/ereh/heac023

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Prof Christina Pagel @chrischirp.bsky.social · 8h

After a long pause, I've just done another England Covid & NHS update as we head into the autumn/winter season.

TLDR: we're in a significant Covid wave now, the NHS is stretched, get boosted if you're eligible.

christinapagel.substack.com/p/england-is...

England is now experiencing a significant Covid wave, after 10 months of relative quiet

The latest Covid situation in England and a look at where NHS services are as we head into winter

christinapagel.substack.com

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Sarah May @sarahmay1.bsky.social · 5h

Sorry, wrong Toby Driver, I'm sure you'd make a great double act

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Sarah May @sarahmay1.bsky.social · 5h

Wrong @drtobydriver.bsky.social!

Sarah May @sarahmay1.bsky.social · 6h

What a joy to be taken around Pen Dinas by @tobydriver.bsky.social as the first stop on the Society of Antiques Annual Wales field trip

Photo of Toby Driver standing on a low Bronze Age barrow in the middle of Pen Dinas hillfort with views over Aberystwyth.

Photo of the path up to Pen Dinas hillfort, a green strip cut into a heather clad hill with the south gateway of the hillfort showing as a cut on the right hand side of the photo and a Wellington monument showing on the skyline. The fort was excavated in the 30s and again in 2023

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Sarah May @sarahmay1.bsky.social · 6h

What a joy to be taken around Pen Dinas by @tobydriver.bsky.social as the first stop on the Society of Antiques Annual Wales field trip

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BladeoftheSun @bladeofthes.bsky.social · 1d

Sir Jim Ratcliffe spent part of the £4bn tax bill he dodged to fund Manchester United.

That is how the UK works you pay tax, the big people don't and they get richer and richer and RICHER.

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Sarah May @sarahmay1.bsky.social · 10h

Thanks for that response, and for using artists

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Big Issue @bigissue.com · 14h

Homeless people often face the heartbreaking decision of deciding between their dog and a place indoors. Dogs Trust is working to change it.

How Dogs Trust keeps homeless people and their dogs together

www.bigissue.com

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Eddie Burfi @eddieburfi.bsky.social · 13h

A reminder that 75% of people support a wealth tax.

To the ‘patriots’ saying they’ll leave the country in a strop:

Paying a wealth tax on assets above £10m is not a hardship. You'll still have a fancy house, fancy car and a fancy life.

Patriotic Millionaires know. @patmillsuk.bsky.social

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Louie Stowell @louiestowell.bsky.social · 14h

One of the things about this study is that a lot of baby and toddler books are written in house, by editors. So the study reveals the whiteness of editorial in kidlit even if not explicitly. But, big picture, this trend is unacceptable. I remember so many promises www.theguardian.com/books/2025/o...

‘Catastrophic decline’ in Black representation in children’s books

A report by charity Inclusive Books for Children found that of the 2,721 books surveyed, only 51 featured a Black main character, down by 21.5% since 2023

www.theguardian.com

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J White @kardomah.bsky.social · 13h

Fascinating history of this masterful sculpture.

It was given a “nose job” by 18th century Italian craftsmen attempting to restore the badly damaged face and then painted over in later years.

The team was able to plot its journey from Wadi Hammamat 🏺

Manchester Ancient Egypt Society @maesegypt24.bsky.social · 21h

www.thenationalnews.com/news/uk/2025...

Egyptian goddess 'with nose job' is really ancient masterpiece worth $2 million | The National

Painstaking research and restoration authenticates bust put up for sale at UK auction

www.thenationalnews.com

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The Nerve @thenerve.news · 1d

Introducing our new monthly columnist: @pperry.bsky.social 🎉

In her inaugural column, she advises Americans moving to Britain to “learn to attune to what is not spoken and listen for irony rather than affirmation”

Philippa Perry. Text: The Nerve: Your New Monthly Columnist

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Sarah May @sarahmay1.bsky.social · 14h

Fabulous combination of cultural and natural heritage

Rev. Dr. Liz Gloyn @lizgloyn.bsky.social · 14h

I have just learned about the existence of the Chicago Rat Hole. What a start to the morning. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago...

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Dr Tess Machling @tessmachling.bsky.social · 15h

Seeing as @oxbowbooks.bsky.social sought to cherry pick my review of Snettisham, I thought I would add from the rest of my review.

You might also wish to read longer review here, which goes into detail about my significant issues with the books:

bigbookoftorcs.com/2024/12/11/t...

#Archaeology 🏺

A snipped section of my review for Norfolk Archaeology, describing it as 'Another sparkling review for the Snettisham Hoards'

Another section from my review for Norfolk Archaeology:

"However, for the examination of the terminals and other metalwork, omitting the insights of goldsmiths has led to some evidentially unsupportable conclusions (see torc L.14 above). The most glaring of these occurs with the 'iconic' Great Torc which is incorrectly identified as being of sheet and cast hybrid construction. The multiple evidence seen on the Great Torc (dents, cracks and hammering), comparable examples (e.g. the Netherurd and Near Stowmarket terminals), and previous research (Maching & Williamson 2020) which supports the interpretation of the Great torc terminals having been created using gold sheet has been largely ignored."

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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 15h

UK Universities cut 12,000 jobs, more on the way.

40% of Unis in financial crisis.

Major exporter destroyed by successive govts

Obstacles for foreign students.
Low fees in England, lack of govt funding.
£267bn student debt.
Home student numbers down.

How will the UK compete with other nations?

Thousands more university jobs cut as financial crisis deepens

University workers will vote on national strike action this month over a 1.4% pay offer made in the summer.

www.bbc.co.uk

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American Association of Wine Economists AAWE @wineecon.bsky.social · 1d

"No more than a liter of wine a day" - In the early 1950s, when French wine consumption was 140+ liters/capita, France launched the campaign "Santé Sobriété" to limit alcohol consumption. In 1954, Philippe Foré became the chief designer. #WineHistory`

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Jennifer Molidor @jennifermolidor.bsky.social · 19h

Hanging onto every bit of good news

The river has come alive in the Klamath with wild Chinook salmon. The wider ecosystem is healing.

This most powerful story of Indigenous-led #rewilding after the largest dam removal in US history keeps getting better.

lostcoastoutpost.com/2025/oct/9/o...

One Year After Klamath Dam Removal, 'There's Just Fish Jumping All Over the Place': Scientists Describe Improvements to Water Quality and Wildlife

lostcoastoutpost.com

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The London Archives @thelondonarchives.bsky.social · 15h

London in the Second World War - EXTENDED--> 03/02/26

This free exhibition explores the experiences of Londoners during the Second World War and the effect it had on the city they knew.

More info and FREE tickets: www.thelondonarchives.org/visit-us/exh...

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Working Class History @workingclasshistory.com · 15h

#OtD 10 Oct 1900 Umberto Marzocchi, Italian anarchist shipyard worker who fought Mussolini's fascists in Italy, Franco's fascists in Spain and Hitler's fascists in France, was born stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/1261...

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The Atlantic @theatlantic.com · 16h

Conspiracy theories about Amelia Earhart persist because "mystery sells far better than tragedy," Laurie Gwen Shapiro writes. But we should "remember the life she led, not just the myth she left behind":

The Truth About Amelia Earhart

Conspiracy theories about her disappearance do a disservice to the pilot’s remarkable, flawed legacy.

bit.ly

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Yair Wallach @yairwallach.bsky.social · 1d

Hey Microsoft, before you transform humanity with artificial general intelligence, can you just get the search to work on Outlook?

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Nicole Chung @nicolechung.bsky.social · 1d

I’m not autistic, just a parent to an autistic kid w/ fairly significant support needs, but I personally find it very frustrating to see so many people fixated on preventing, reducing, or “curing” autism and neurodiversity instead of talking about inclusion + getting folks whatever support they need

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Maryam Jamshidi @msjamshidi.bsky.social · 1d

The work is just beginning.

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🇵🇸Martin “Doomsday” Pfeiffer🖖🏳️‍🌈 @nuclearanthro.bsky.social · 23h

Great work and good read about the radioactive shrimp (and cloves) incidents.

paris martineau @paris.nyc · 1d

after the 10th radioactive shrimp recall in 7 weeks, i decided to do some digging

little did i know it would lead me to an underreported industrial accident that may have released an airborne plume of radioactive debris over swaths of indonesia
www.consumerreports.org/health/food-...

What Is Really Going on With All This Radioactive Shrimp? - Consumer Reports

Here’s the latest on how shrimp and spices got contaminated with cesium-137, how the FDA has responded, and why consumers should not panic.

www.consumerreports.org

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