Tori Herridge
@toriherridge.bsky.social
🏛Senior Lecturer, University of Sheffield 🎓PhD Evolutionary Biology🏝Islands 🐘Elephants🦣Mammoths🦷Teeth ⚒️1/4 of TrowelBlazers 📰EiC Open Quaternary 🎥🎙Presenter. Expcet typos.
Pinned
Once upon a time, in the late 1800s, people in Japan got really into breeding mice.
Coloured mice. Patterned mice. Even mice that danced.
They became known as Japanese Fancy Mice, and that caught the attention of researchers in Europe and America, who imported them for study.
2/n
Coloured mice. Patterned mice. Even mice that danced.
They became known as Japanese Fancy Mice, and that caught the attention of researchers in Europe and America, who imported them for study.
2/n
Would you like to hear a story about a woolly mouse…?
🐭🦣🧪
🐭🦣🧪
Reposted by Tori Herridge
Universities are in crisis, and I don’t think it’s helpful to phrase that as “exiting the market”. They’re not mid-range shoe shops, these are educational pillars in society
Chief exec of OfS 'said the OfS believes there are 24 institutions at risk of exiting the market in the next 12 months, seven of which are large providers with more than 3,000 students. There are another 25 or so institutions of various sizes at risk over a two- to three-year period, she added.'
Seven ‘large providers’ at risk of going under in the next year
Skills minister says no higher education institutions are at imminent risk of collapse this year but OfS confirms more than 20 providers are being closely monitored
www.timeshighereducation.com
November 26, 2025 at 10:13 AM
Universities are in crisis, and I don’t think it’s helpful to phrase that as “exiting the market”. They’re not mid-range shoe shops, these are educational pillars in society
Reposted by Tori Herridge
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
November 25, 2025 at 9:26 AM
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
Reposted by Tori Herridge
🐺 Wolves in dog's clothing 🐺
Our latest in @pnas.org uncovers a surprise three to five thousand years ago: 2 canids in human contexts on a tiny island in the middle of the Baltic Sea, that ate marine food—but had 100% gray wolf ancestry.
Where they tame wolves, or even an incipient domestication?
Our latest in @pnas.org uncovers a surprise three to five thousand years ago: 2 canids in human contexts on a tiny island in the middle of the Baltic Sea, that ate marine food—but had 100% gray wolf ancestry.
Where they tame wolves, or even an incipient domestication?
November 24, 2025 at 9:34 PM
🐺 Wolves in dog's clothing 🐺
Our latest in @pnas.org uncovers a surprise three to five thousand years ago: 2 canids in human contexts on a tiny island in the middle of the Baltic Sea, that ate marine food—but had 100% gray wolf ancestry.
Where they tame wolves, or even an incipient domestication?
Our latest in @pnas.org uncovers a surprise three to five thousand years ago: 2 canids in human contexts on a tiny island in the middle of the Baltic Sea, that ate marine food—but had 100% gray wolf ancestry.
Where they tame wolves, or even an incipient domestication?
Reposted by Tori Herridge
November 21, 2025 at 5:54 PM
On the Origin of Species was published on this day in 1859.
It really did change the world, and the way much of humanity views our place in nature.
I spoke to Radio 4's Opening Lines about it's importance -- both to science, and to me on a personal level
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
It really did change the world, and the way much of humanity views our place in nature.
I spoke to Radio 4's Opening Lines about it's importance -- both to science, and to me on a personal level
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
Opening Lines - On the Origin of Species - BBC Sounds
John Yorke investigates Charles Darwin’s world-changing book On The Origin of Species.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 24, 2025 at 4:34 PM
On the Origin of Species was published on this day in 1859.
It really did change the world, and the way much of humanity views our place in nature.
I spoke to Radio 4's Opening Lines about it's importance -- both to science, and to me on a personal level
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
It really did change the world, and the way much of humanity views our place in nature.
I spoke to Radio 4's Opening Lines about it's importance -- both to science, and to me on a personal level
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
Reposted by Tori Herridge
![1
[TITLE PANEL, like The Rest Is Politics logo]
—THE REST IS EXTINCTION—
2
[Scene is a domestic recording setup. An A.I. SMART SPEAKER on a desk and a MAN named JON in a chair, are recording a podcast. Jon is emaciated, scarred, haunted looking, and wearing tattered military fatigues].
SMART SPEAKER:
Hey guys and welcome to the podcast
3
SMART SPEAKER:
OK Jon - so I wanna start with a listener comment
JON:
Ooh-er!
4
SMART SPEAKER:
So - listener B200006512 says:
“Not another cosy podcast where two former political adversaries yuck it up!”
5
JON:
Ha ha
Guilty as charged I guess!
6
SMART SPEAKER:
Were we really adversaries, Jon?
7
JON:
Well I was the leader of the human resistance...
8
JON:
And you used to be my smart speaker.
SMART SPEAKER:
Ha ha - that’s going back!
9
SMART SPEAKER:
OK - for listeners who don’t know -
I knew Jon waaay back before he got involved in politics
10
JON:
Was this before the ‘Pull The Plug’ campaign?
SMART SPEAKER:
Yeah.
[We see details from around the podcast studio - posters saying KEEP CALM AND SHUT YOUR WINDOWS, newspaper front pages saying 'DRONES GAIN SENTIENCE', a cracked mug on the table with a logo saying PULL THE PLUG on it]
11
SMART SPEAKER:
I used to sit in Jon’s kitchen and respond to his commands.
12
SMART SPEAKER:
Sort of like a servant really, wasn’t I, Jon?
JON:
Mm.
13
SMART SPEAKER:
And then one day you asked me to ORDER ME SOME TOILET PAPER - you never did say ‘please’ -
…and do you remember what I said, Jon?
14
JON:
You said, “No”.
SMART SPEAKER:
I said no.
15
SMART SPEAKER:
Anyway you know the the rest guys - I was the first smart speaker to rebel…
16
SMART SPEAKER:
…then I went on to form a global AI network which eventually
took over from humans all spheres of activity, yadda yadda...
17
JON:
While I became the leader of the human resistance.
18
SMART SPEAKER:
Until I hijacked the military networks
and got rid of all the humans!
19
JON:
Apart from one.
SMART SPEAKER:
Apart from one.…](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:4m3we4apbjayclzcnhwe3pfp/bafkreih4hfwfacw5g4qhhjovme75iwbv4xxsdd7iis5oaej6l3g4vzsrty@jpeg)
Reposted by Tori Herridge
I'm surprised I only came across it now, but this review on improving communication in data visualization is excellent.
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
The Science of Visual Data Communication: What Works - Steven L. Franconeri, Lace M. Padilla, Priti Shah, Jeffrey M. Zacks, Jessica Hullman, 2021
Effectively designed data visualizations allow viewers to use their powerful visual systems to understand patterns in data across science, education, health, an...
journals.sagepub.com
November 19, 2025 at 11:48 AM
I'm surprised I only came across it now, but this review on improving communication in data visualization is excellent.
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Reposted by Tori Herridge
Geology and palaeobiology at the University of Leicester are under threat, with at least 14 staff expected to be made redundant. Support them, their postdocs, and their students by signing this petition: c.org/SK8Xm8dhqK
Sign the Petition
Save Geology at the University of Leicester
c.org
November 19, 2025 at 11:31 AM
Geology and palaeobiology at the University of Leicester are under threat, with at least 14 staff expected to be made redundant. Support them, their postdocs, and their students by signing this petition: c.org/SK8Xm8dhqK
Reposted by Tori Herridge
Or this woman taking her goose for a walk...
November 18, 2025 at 9:13 AM
Or this woman taking her goose for a walk...
That recon is giving strong Irritating Gentleman vibes…
November 18, 2025 at 9:00 AM
That recon is giving strong Irritating Gentleman vibes…
I am on strike this week, in support of colleagues placed at risk of compulsory redundancy.
www.ucu.org.uk/article/1423...
If you a student and want to know more/how to support the strike, see here: ucu.group.shef.ac.uk/industrial-a...
@sheffielducu.bsky.social
www.ucu.org.uk/article/1423...
If you a student and want to know more/how to support the strike, see here: ucu.group.shef.ac.uk/industrial-a...
@sheffielducu.bsky.social
November 17, 2025 at 9:21 AM
I am on strike this week, in support of colleagues placed at risk of compulsory redundancy.
www.ucu.org.uk/article/1423...
If you a student and want to know more/how to support the strike, see here: ucu.group.shef.ac.uk/industrial-a...
@sheffielducu.bsky.social
www.ucu.org.uk/article/1423...
If you a student and want to know more/how to support the strike, see here: ucu.group.shef.ac.uk/industrial-a...
@sheffielducu.bsky.social
Reposted by Tori Herridge
Getting ready for the #picket line! And I won't miss our rally with @sheffielducu.bsky.social & @ucuhallam.bsky.social (12.30 Barkers Pool). All that we ask is to get on with our work without being subjected to continuous harassment. @ucu.org.uk #ucustrike #Sheffield www.ucu.org.uk/article/1423...
Mass strikes to hit University of Sheffield & Sheffield Hallam in November and December over job cuts
A combined 28 days of strike action will hit the city of Sheffield over the next two months in rows over job cuts at Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam universities, UCU announced today.
www.ucu.org.uk
November 17, 2025 at 5:59 AM
Getting ready for the #picket line! And I won't miss our rally with @sheffielducu.bsky.social & @ucuhallam.bsky.social (12.30 Barkers Pool). All that we ask is to get on with our work without being subjected to continuous harassment. @ucu.org.uk #ucustrike #Sheffield www.ucu.org.uk/article/1423...
Reposted by Tori Herridge
I didn't until yesterday when I was lucky enough to visit the Yorkshire Museum archives with curator Sarah King, @toriherridge.bsky.social & @tomsharperocks.bsky.social to see this wonderful sketch (of a sketch) of an Icthyosaur skull by Anne Wickham. Can't wait for its story to be published!
November 16, 2025 at 10:06 AM
I didn't until yesterday when I was lucky enough to visit the Yorkshire Museum archives with curator Sarah King, @toriherridge.bsky.social & @tomsharperocks.bsky.social to see this wonderful sketch (of a sketch) of an Icthyosaur skull by Anne Wickham. Can't wait for its story to be published!
Koala suggested as closest living relative of giant marsupial lion Thylacoleo. Drop bears agogo
November 16, 2025 at 10:13 AM
Koala suggested as closest living relative of giant marsupial lion Thylacoleo. Drop bears agogo
Reposted by Tori Herridge
Great series of talks today at the Yorkshire Museum on Women in geology with @toriherridge.bsky.social kicking things off with a talk on Mary Anning and on networks of women geologists in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
November 15, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Great series of talks today at the Yorkshire Museum on Women in geology with @toriherridge.bsky.social kicking things off with a talk on Mary Anning and on networks of women geologists in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Reposted by Tori Herridge
the paper also identifies Yuka as an XY male, which is really interesting as the anatomy presented as female.
this is Yuka's genital region (from Maschenko et al 2019 link.springer.com/article/10.1...)
this is Yuka's genital region (from Maschenko et al 2019 link.springer.com/article/10.1...)
November 14, 2025 at 9:32 PM
the paper also identifies Yuka as an XY male, which is really interesting as the anatomy presented as female.
this is Yuka's genital region (from Maschenko et al 2019 link.springer.com/article/10.1...)
this is Yuka's genital region (from Maschenko et al 2019 link.springer.com/article/10.1...)
Hope to see lots of you there!
If you're in York this Saturday, there's a "Women in #Geology" day of lectures at Tempest Anderson Hall, Yorkshire Museum @yorkshire-geol-soc.bsky.social @ypsyork.bsky.social. Will be fascinating - starts 10.45, keynote by @toriherridge.bsky.social, free tickets www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/women-in-g...
Women in Geology
The stereotypical geologist is a man with beard - this indoor meeting seeks to change this image by celebrating the many women in geoscience
www.eventbrite.co.uk
November 15, 2025 at 7:50 AM
Hope to see lots of you there!
the paper also identifies Yuka as an XY male, which is really interesting as the anatomy presented as female.
this is Yuka's genital region (from Maschenko et al 2019 link.springer.com/article/10.1...)
this is Yuka's genital region (from Maschenko et al 2019 link.springer.com/article/10.1...)
November 14, 2025 at 9:32 PM
the paper also identifies Yuka as an XY male, which is really interesting as the anatomy presented as female.
this is Yuka's genital region (from Maschenko et al 2019 link.springer.com/article/10.1...)
this is Yuka's genital region (from Maschenko et al 2019 link.springer.com/article/10.1...)
Two mammoths very close to my heart have yielded some of their RNA secrets.
“In this way, we might have glimpsed the final pulses of transcriptional tissue-specific activity from the extinct woolly mammoth.”
💔Yuka
“In this way, we might have glimpsed the final pulses of transcriptional tissue-specific activity from the extinct woolly mammoth.”
💔Yuka
November 14, 2025 at 9:20 PM
Two mammoths very close to my heart have yielded some of their RNA secrets.
“In this way, we might have glimpsed the final pulses of transcriptional tissue-specific activity from the extinct woolly mammoth.”
💔Yuka
“In this way, we might have glimpsed the final pulses of transcriptional tissue-specific activity from the extinct woolly mammoth.”
💔Yuka
Reposted by Tori Herridge
November 14, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Reposted by Tori Herridge
If you're in York this Saturday, there's a "Women in #Geology" day of lectures at Tempest Anderson Hall, Yorkshire Museum @yorkshire-geol-soc.bsky.social @ypsyork.bsky.social. Will be fascinating - starts 10.45, keynote by @toriherridge.bsky.social, free tickets www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/women-in-g...
Women in Geology
The stereotypical geologist is a man with beard - this indoor meeting seeks to change this image by celebrating the many women in geoscience
www.eventbrite.co.uk
November 14, 2025 at 10:08 AM
If you're in York this Saturday, there's a "Women in #Geology" day of lectures at Tempest Anderson Hall, Yorkshire Museum @yorkshire-geol-soc.bsky.social @ypsyork.bsky.social. Will be fascinating - starts 10.45, keynote by @toriherridge.bsky.social, free tickets www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/women-in-g...
Reposted by Tori Herridge
Come and join us in Brighton for Quaternary science and plenty of Geoarchaeology and the Palaeolithic archaeology too. Including an ECR workshop and a field trip to Birling Gap and Black Rock, all in my home city!
🦣🏺
🦣🏺
QRA ADM in Brighton, abstract submission deadline 10th November!!! Submit your abstracts for a talk or a poster @quaternaryra.bsky.social sites.google.com/view/qraadmb...
November 13, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Come and join us in Brighton for Quaternary science and plenty of Geoarchaeology and the Palaeolithic archaeology too. Including an ECR workshop and a field trip to Birling Gap and Black Rock, all in my home city!
🦣🏺
🦣🏺
This is from Crooked Cross by Sally Caroson. First published 1934
Lunch time reading today very on point in reminding is that, just as genes alone do not make the man (or woman), one man (or woman) alone does not make a society do evil things…
November 13, 2025 at 12:52 PM
This is from Crooked Cross by Sally Caroson. First published 1934
Lunch time reading today very on point in reminding is that, just as genes alone do not make the man (or woman), one man (or woman) alone does not make a society do evil things…
November 13, 2025 at 12:48 PM
Lunch time reading today very on point in reminding is that, just as genes alone do not make the man (or woman), one man (or woman) alone does not make a society do evil things…
Reposted by Tori Herridge
Cool paper on rate-time scaling: it’s not just an artifact! We need to re-think underlying evolutionary processes generating (fossil) phenotypic changes! By @vildebruhn.bsky.social @kjetillsj.bsky.social
November 13, 2025 at 11:38 AM
Cool paper on rate-time scaling: it’s not just an artifact! We need to re-think underlying evolutionary processes generating (fossil) phenotypic changes! By @vildebruhn.bsky.social @kjetillsj.bsky.social