Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

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The Institute for Bird Populations @instbirdpop.bsky.social · 13h

Did you ask for a bird fact? No, but you're getting one whether you like it or not. 🪶

Photo of a Seaside Sparrow standing on some dead grass in a saltmarsh by Big Dipper 2/Flickr. The bird has one wing raised, showing off the yellow feathers on its wrist. Text on the graphic says: Unsolicited Bird Fact- This Seaside Sparrow may be flipping you the bird. Or it may be flirting with you- it's hard to know from a photo with no context. This species raises one or both wings and shows off its yellow "wrists" as an aggressive gesture towards intruders on its territory, and also as part of a courtship display. If the wing raise is accompanied by a "whinny" call, it's meant as a compliment

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Lawrence Lighthill @lawrencelighthill.bsky.social · 23h

Photo taken October 4, 2025, in Trinity County, Northern California of some lichens growing on a rock. The bright yellow lichens just stand out, even when there are flowers and green grass. #photography #lichens #NorthernCalifornia #FungiFriends #fungi

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Georgia @gee-or-gia.bsky.social · 14h

Wow! This flower is new to me!

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City Atlas @cityatlas.bsky.social · 15h

@skylightnyc.bsky.social has a great idea, a Local Law 97 Clean Energy Building Tour. Check out buildings that are decarbonizing - maybe one like yours - and see how they work.
www.skylight.nyc/events/2025-...
10/29; this is capped at 15, & it's 2 Charlton St., Manhattan
@petesikora.bsky.social

Clean Energy Building Tour | Skylight

A digital media publication dedicated to documenting New York’s transition to clean energy

www.skylight.nyc

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Alex Wild @alexwild.bsky.social · 1d

A textbook image I did a few years ago showing a trap-jaw ant (Odontomachus rixosus) with her mandibles held open and trigger hairs forward, and then in the closed position.

The snapping shut of the trap is one of the fastest measured animal movements.

A split-screen image showing (top) a face view of an elongated ant standing on a reflective surfave, facing us with toothy brown jaws held 180 degrees open, and (bottom), the same ant with jaws closed, the bluntly toothed tips held together.

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Kathleen Bachynski @bachynski.bsky.social · 15h

And what great timing with this new study coming out today! “Viswanathan says that the study design made the evidence “more compelling” because the authors included enough women and younger individuals, which made the results more balanced and provided a fuller picture of vaccine effectiveness”

Kathleen Bachynski @bachynski.bsky.social · 16h

A study of nearly 300,000 people published today in the New England Journal of Medicine found “that last season’s 2024–2025 mRNA COVID vaccines reduced people’s risk of emergency department visits by 29 percent, their risk of hospitalizations by 39 percent and their risk of death by 64 percent.”

Annual COVID Vaccines Save Lives, New Study Shows

A new study shows that receiving an updated COVID vaccine reduced people’s risk of severe disease and death in all age groups, regardless of immunity from prior infection or vaccination

www.scientificamerican.com

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Kingfisher & Wombat @tkingfisher.com · 15h

Uh, whoa! Dude! Look what you glorious weirdos did! WHAT STALKS THE DEEP is #12 on the New York Times!

A celebratory image of the cover of what stalks with New York Times, USA TODAY and Indie Bestseller emblazoned across the top!

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Jer Thorp @jerthorp.bsky.social · 15h

Brain-coding a little thing to extract colors from Wikipedia entries for birds.

The "this might actually work" test was successful but I'm realizing there are a lot of cases, particularly involving immature and female plumages.

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Katie Holten @katieholten.bsky.social · 15h

🥳 Congratulations to @tobykiers.bsky.social for receiving a MacArthur Fellowship for her exciting work @spun.earth investigating symbiotic relationships among plants, fungi, and other microbes and their role in planetary health. 🍄

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City Nolan @ndhapple.bsky.social · 15h

RIP cafeteria meat pocket

Daniel Miller @danielnmiller.bsky.social · 15h

Goodbye cafeteria corn dogs? Goodbye pepperoni pizza? Gov. Newsom has signed a law that will ban some ultra-processed foods in California schools starting in 2035. In a first, the law also defines what exactly an ultra-processed food is. Our deep dive: www.latimes.com/california/s...

Goodbye pepperoni pizza? New state law to ban some ultra-processed foods from school meals

A new California law will define, for the first time, ultra-processed foods — and ban ones "of concern" in K-12 schools in the state starting in 2032.

www.latimes.com

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Janosch H. Irrlichtwinter @irrlichtwinter.bsky.social · 2d

Day six of #invertober
Buff-Tip Moth

#invertober2025

sketchy drawing of a moth. It has brown-grey beige wings, and a floofy brown and grey body.

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Whale Tales @whaletalesorg.bsky.social · 15h

T087 Kills a Harbour Porpoise! Read the full story here: buff.ly/rViokxK
Photo by Janine
This is an encounter from 2017
#WhaleTales #orca

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Georgia @gee-or-gia.bsky.social · 15h

Anyone up for #WildFlowerWednesday NYC Metro—or any urban area—edition?

Seaside Goldenrod in Sherman Creek along the Harlem River.

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wetpaint uninfluencer @wetpaint99.bsky.social · 19h

#art

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闵娅(Min Ya; Minya) PhD @minyaaa.bsky.social · 15h

Always so lovely to see Hoya flowers 🤍
#iamabotanist #plantjoy

a close up of hoya infloresence with a ball of pink little five-petaled flowers that's crimson in the middle.

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Entomemeology @entomemeology.bsky.social · 20h

It’s weevil Wednesday yall

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Rachel Deering @racheldeering.bsky.social · 2d

From James Sowerby's Coloured Figures of English Fungi or Mushrooms, published in three volumes between 1797 and 1809.

Illustration is a detailed scientific illustration of a type of cup fungus, specifically identified by the text as Peziza coccinea (now known as Sarcoscypha coccinea or the scarlet elfcup) and Peziza epidendra. The illustration shows several specimens of the fungus at different stages of growth and from various angles. The fungi are depicted with vibrant red interiors and white exteriors, growing on a piece of dead wood.

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Greyn @greyn.bsky.social · 12d

I decided to practice by drawing my collection of exotic stones. In my humble opinion— this rocks! *badum-tss* 💎

#art #artsky #greynart #study #sketchbook #gemstones #coloredpencils

A sketchbook page of various exotic stones rendered in colored pencils

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Georgia @gee-or-gia.bsky.social · 16h

What’s next for you re: photography?

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Saimi Hanma ⚔️ @saimihanma.bsky.social · 2d

Is there anyone in the Seattle area who really wants to get into macro photography and has a Nikon? I'm giving up on heavy camera gear and I'm going to sell a ton of stuff including a barely used speedlight kit and commander, Laowa 100mm Macro, Nikkor 10-20mm, Manfrotto tripod with ball head...