Brian Tanis
@tanisbp.bsky.social
Ecology & Evolution at big scales
All-around nature enthusiast
All-around nature enthusiast
Pinned
Brian Tanis
@tanisbp.bsky.social
· Nov 15
Been lurking here for ages, but it’s time to dive in…
I’m a biology instructor and study broad patterns of mammal ecology & evolution by measuring traits and diet!
I’m a biology instructor and study broad patterns of mammal ecology & evolution by measuring traits and diet!
Reposted by Brian Tanis
Hey folks, as news of Watson's demise spreads, please don't set aside his weighty legacy of misogyny and racism. He was truly among the worst of us. www.vox.com/2019/1/15/18...
DNA scientist James Watson has a remarkably long history of sexist, racist public comments
“People say it would be terrible if we made all girls pretty,” he said in 2003. “I think it would be great.”
www.vox.com
November 7, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Hey folks, as news of Watson's demise spreads, please don't set aside his weighty legacy of misogyny and racism. He was truly among the worst of us. www.vox.com/2019/1/15/18...
Reposted by Brian Tanis
My ask of any science enthusiasts who tell the story of Rosalind Franklin:
Don't make her life be about the DNA debacle. She died far too young, but she was a promising scientist in her own right, a mentor and scientific author.
Not for Watson or Crick, but for her legacy.
Don't make her life be about the DNA debacle. She died far too young, but she was a promising scientist in her own right, a mentor and scientific author.
Not for Watson or Crick, but for her legacy.
Her sister wrote my favorite essay about her. She points out that RF would have been famous even if she'd never looked at DNA
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
Remembering my sister Rosalind Franklin
Rosalind Franklin died of ovarian cancer in 1958 aged 37 years. Sympathy and feminism
have combined to give us her familiar image as a downtrodden woman scientist, brilliant
but neglected, a heroine t...
www.thelancet.com
November 8, 2025 at 2:17 AM
My ask of any science enthusiasts who tell the story of Rosalind Franklin:
Don't make her life be about the DNA debacle. She died far too young, but she was a promising scientist in her own right, a mentor and scientific author.
Not for Watson or Crick, but for her legacy.
Don't make her life be about the DNA debacle. She died far too young, but she was a promising scientist in her own right, a mentor and scientific author.
Not for Watson or Crick, but for her legacy.
Reposted by Brian Tanis
New map of the cool parts of NYC just dropped.
November 5, 2025 at 3:03 AM
New map of the cool parts of NYC just dropped.
Reposted by Brian Tanis
If you see any business owners belittling SNAP recipients for accepting government money to get through tough times, maybe look them up on @propublica.org's PPP Loan Tracker to see if they got any of the $793B in bailout money (96% of which was forgiven)
projects.propublica.org/coronavirus/...
projects.propublica.org/coronavirus/...
Tracking PPP: Search Every Company Approved for Federal Loans - ProPublica
As part of the Paycheck Protection Program, the federal government has provided hundreds of billions in financial support to banks to make low-interest loans to companies and nonprofit organizations i...
projects.propublica.org
November 2, 2025 at 5:38 PM
If you see any business owners belittling SNAP recipients for accepting government money to get through tough times, maybe look them up on @propublica.org's PPP Loan Tracker to see if they got any of the $793B in bailout money (96% of which was forgiven)
projects.propublica.org/coronavirus/...
projects.propublica.org/coronavirus/...
Reposted by Brian Tanis
What was your first rigged election? Mine was 2000 Bush v Gore.
A quarter of a century ago..
A quarter of a century ago..
October 29, 2025 at 12:12 PM
What was your first rigged election? Mine was 2000 Bush v Gore.
A quarter of a century ago..
A quarter of a century ago..
Reposted by Brian Tanis
September 30, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Reposted by Brian Tanis
September 28, 2025 at 12:50 PM
Reposted by Brian Tanis
How about some good news?
Vaccine to curb chlamydia epidemic devastating koalas approved
Vaccine to curb chlamydia epidemic devastating koalas approved
Koala chlamydia: Australia approves vaccine to curb killer epidemic
Thousands of koalas have died from the disease, with some estimates suggesting only 50,000 remain in the wild.
www.bbc.com
September 10, 2025 at 11:05 AM
How about some good news?
Vaccine to curb chlamydia epidemic devastating koalas approved
Vaccine to curb chlamydia epidemic devastating koalas approved
Reposted by Brian Tanis
As a guy who got a cancer that was probably caused by a virus, I think we should have /more/ vaccines.
September 8, 2025 at 12:49 AM
As a guy who got a cancer that was probably caused by a virus, I think we should have /more/ vaccines.
Reposted by Brian Tanis
RFK Jr. rolled out that old chestnut again about how healthy Americans were in the 60’s, so here’s a fact check.
In 1965:
-42% of American adults smoked; it’s 11% now.
-The infant morality rate was 24.7/1000; it’s 5.6/1000 now.
-Overall life expectancy was 70 years; it's about 77 years now.
In 1965:
-42% of American adults smoked; it’s 11% now.
-The infant morality rate was 24.7/1000; it’s 5.6/1000 now.
-Overall life expectancy was 70 years; it's about 77 years now.
September 4, 2025 at 6:46 PM
RFK Jr. rolled out that old chestnut again about how healthy Americans were in the 60’s, so here’s a fact check.
In 1965:
-42% of American adults smoked; it’s 11% now.
-The infant morality rate was 24.7/1000; it’s 5.6/1000 now.
-Overall life expectancy was 70 years; it's about 77 years now.
In 1965:
-42% of American adults smoked; it’s 11% now.
-The infant morality rate was 24.7/1000; it’s 5.6/1000 now.
-Overall life expectancy was 70 years; it's about 77 years now.
Reposted by Brian Tanis
I keep saying every miserable summer, it was never this hot in the Pacific Northwest, and here's the proof.
Up til 20 yrs ago in the Seattle summer (Jun - Aug), half the time you could expect a HIGH temp cooler than 72°F. 90°F days were so rare (<2%)
Up til 10 yrs ago (2006-2015), a quarter of our summer highs became >80°F
The last 10 yrs, a third of our summer days are >80°F days, and 6% are >90°F days
Up til 10 yrs ago (2006-2015), a quarter of our summer highs became >80°F
The last 10 yrs, a third of our summer days are >80°F days, and 6% are >90°F days
August 31, 2025 at 8:04 PM
I keep saying every miserable summer, it was never this hot in the Pacific Northwest, and here's the proof.
Reposted by Brian Tanis
This is the one Labor Day graph that tells you the actual problem in America.
The problem is not that America lacks abundance.
The problem is that a handful of oligarchs are hoarding America’s abundance.
www.levernews.com/the-labor-da...
The problem is not that America lacks abundance.
The problem is that a handful of oligarchs are hoarding America’s abundance.
www.levernews.com/the-labor-da...
August 31, 2025 at 8:18 PM
This is the one Labor Day graph that tells you the actual problem in America.
The problem is not that America lacks abundance.
The problem is that a handful of oligarchs are hoarding America’s abundance.
www.levernews.com/the-labor-da...
The problem is not that America lacks abundance.
The problem is that a handful of oligarchs are hoarding America’s abundance.
www.levernews.com/the-labor-da...
Reposted by Brian Tanis
Happy Labor Day to all who celebrate, and a miserable Labor Day to those who don't, because people who hate labor don't deserve nice things.
September 1, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Happy Labor Day to all who celebrate, and a miserable Labor Day to those who don't, because people who hate labor don't deserve nice things.
Reposted by Brian Tanis
We’re only a few years removed from creatjng a vaccine to protect against a deadly airborne virus in a matter of months. Now, we have a scion fail son running the CDC into the ground not because it failed, but because its success conflicts with RFK Jr’s eugenicist ideology.
9 CDC Directors going back to 1977 speak out. What RFK Jr has done to our nation’s public health system "should alarm every American."
It "is unlike anything we have ever seen at the agency, and unlike anything our country has ever experienced." www.nytimes.com/2025/09/01/o...
It "is unlike anything we have ever seen at the agency, and unlike anything our country has ever experienced." www.nytimes.com/2025/09/01/o...
Opinion | We Ran the C.D.C.: Kennedy Is Endangering Every American’s Health
www.nytimes.com
September 1, 2025 at 12:23 PM
We’re only a few years removed from creatjng a vaccine to protect against a deadly airborne virus in a matter of months. Now, we have a scion fail son running the CDC into the ground not because it failed, but because its success conflicts with RFK Jr’s eugenicist ideology.
Reposted by Brian Tanis
A Labor Day reminder: today there isn't a single city, metro area, or state in the U.S. where a full-time minimum-wage worker can afford a modest 2-bedroom apartment.
Millions of people with jobs—even multiple jobs—aren't safe from homelessness in this country.
Millions of people with jobs—even multiple jobs—aren't safe from homelessness in this country.
Opinion | America Is Pushing Its Workers Into Homelessness
www.nytimes.com
September 1, 2025 at 11:54 AM
A Labor Day reminder: today there isn't a single city, metro area, or state in the U.S. where a full-time minimum-wage worker can afford a modest 2-bedroom apartment.
Millions of people with jobs—even multiple jobs—aren't safe from homelessness in this country.
Millions of people with jobs—even multiple jobs—aren't safe from homelessness in this country.
Reposted by Brian Tanis
remember folks, we cant have gun restrictions because if we do the federal government will occupy our streets, imprison people without due process, ship dissidents to foreign gulags and things of that nature
August 27, 2025 at 6:42 PM
remember folks, we cant have gun restrictions because if we do the federal government will occupy our streets, imprison people without due process, ship dissidents to foreign gulags and things of that nature
Reposted by Brian Tanis
This impact of dams was not on my Bingo card…
“A team of scientists at Harvard University…[found] that the rampant construction of dams from 1835 to 2011 has locked up so much water that the Earth’s poles have moved slightly from their axial rotation.”
www.popularmechanics.com/science/envi...
“A team of scientists at Harvard University…[found] that the rampant construction of dams from 1835 to 2011 has locked up so much water that the Earth’s poles have moved slightly from their axial rotation.”
www.popularmechanics.com/science/envi...
Whoopsie, Humans Built So Many Dams That We Shifted the North Pole by 3 Feet
Our redistribution of mass on the surface has gone a bridge—or a dam—too far.
www.popularmechanics.com
July 15, 2025 at 1:51 PM
This impact of dams was not on my Bingo card…
“A team of scientists at Harvard University…[found] that the rampant construction of dams from 1835 to 2011 has locked up so much water that the Earth’s poles have moved slightly from their axial rotation.”
www.popularmechanics.com/science/envi...
“A team of scientists at Harvard University…[found] that the rampant construction of dams from 1835 to 2011 has locked up so much water that the Earth’s poles have moved slightly from their axial rotation.”
www.popularmechanics.com/science/envi...
Reposted by Brian Tanis
Fun fact: Members of Congress keep stable, subsidized health insurance - even in retirement. Sounds great, right?
Last week, many of them voted for the Big Ugly Bill, which strips coverage from millions.
Healthcare is a human right - for me, not for thee.
Last week, many of them voted for the Big Ugly Bill, which strips coverage from millions.
Healthcare is a human right - for me, not for thee.
Here's how millions of people could lose health insurance if Trump's tax bill becomes law
Roughly 11.8 million adults and kids will be at risk for losing health insurance if Republicans’ domestic policy package becomes a law.
apnews.com
July 9, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Fun fact: Members of Congress keep stable, subsidized health insurance - even in retirement. Sounds great, right?
Last week, many of them voted for the Big Ugly Bill, which strips coverage from millions.
Healthcare is a human right - for me, not for thee.
Last week, many of them voted for the Big Ugly Bill, which strips coverage from millions.
Healthcare is a human right - for me, not for thee.
Reposted by Brian Tanis
"In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people." (1776) 🗃️
July 3, 2025 at 9:19 PM
"In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people." (1776) 🗃️
Reposted by Brian Tanis
Just a quick little comic thing.
Heave-ho 😏
Heave-ho 😏
July 4, 2025 at 1:30 AM
Just a quick little comic thing.
Heave-ho 😏
Heave-ho 😏
Reposted by Brian Tanis
@drtomfrieden.bsky.social had a great Insta post that we are sharing here.
"We spend 300 times more on military defense than on protecting our health. But when the threat came, it didn't wear a uniform. It didn't knock. It slipped through systems we never built and funding we never prioritized"
"We spend 300 times more on military defense than on protecting our health. But when the threat came, it didn't wear a uniform. It didn't knock. It slipped through systems we never built and funding we never prioritized"
July 4, 2025 at 1:08 AM
@drtomfrieden.bsky.social had a great Insta post that we are sharing here.
"We spend 300 times more on military defense than on protecting our health. But when the threat came, it didn't wear a uniform. It didn't knock. It slipped through systems we never built and funding we never prioritized"
"We spend 300 times more on military defense than on protecting our health. But when the threat came, it didn't wear a uniform. It didn't knock. It slipped through systems we never built and funding we never prioritized"
Reposted by Brian Tanis
"Thus are our cruel enemies warring against liberty, virtue and the arts and sciences. To make war against literature and learning is the part of barbarians."
From J. Thatcher, 1777. "A military journal during the American revolutionary war, from 1775 to 1783."
From J. Thatcher, 1777. "A military journal during the American revolutionary war, from 1775 to 1783."
July 3, 2025 at 5:25 PM
"Thus are our cruel enemies warring against liberty, virtue and the arts and sciences. To make war against literature and learning is the part of barbarians."
From J. Thatcher, 1777. "A military journal during the American revolutionary war, from 1775 to 1783."
From J. Thatcher, 1777. "A military journal during the American revolutionary war, from 1775 to 1783."
Reposted by Brian Tanis
Republicans may lie about what's in their budget bill but the numbers sure don't.
June 29, 2025 at 12:15 AM
Republicans may lie about what's in their budget bill but the numbers sure don't.
Reposted by Brian Tanis
Yet Luigi launched a thousand hand-wringing op-eds from the chattering class. Makes you think
A Dem lawmaker and her husband were killed by a guy for their political views and it’s already out of the news.
June 21, 2025 at 11:24 PM
Yet Luigi launched a thousand hand-wringing op-eds from the chattering class. Makes you think
Reposted by Brian Tanis
I just wanna write about astronomy and talk about Star Trek and make high-level puns and post fun photos but instead we have secret police and federally sponsored kidnappings and horrifically repressive legislation jammed through and oh yeah also a massively illegal war in the Middle East.
Dammit.
Dammit.
June 22, 2025 at 7:54 PM
I just wanna write about astronomy and talk about Star Trek and make high-level puns and post fun photos but instead we have secret police and federally sponsored kidnappings and horrifically repressive legislation jammed through and oh yeah also a massively illegal war in the Middle East.
Dammit.
Dammit.