Jarome Ali 🇹🇹 🏳️🌈
@jarome.bsky.social
Biologist* wondering why the world is so colourful. Currently NYU, formerly Princeton. Generally bird/scienceposting 🧪
Opinions are official Bene Gesserit policy.
📍 Jersey City
*actually three parrots in a parrot suit
Opinions are official Bene Gesserit policy.
📍 Jersey City
*actually three parrots in a parrot suit
I think this is the real inspiration for American Pie 😢
November 8, 2025 at 6:09 PM
I think this is the real inspiration for American Pie 😢
Every day we stray further from god's light.
1 in 3 Americans have had a ‘romantic relationship’ with an AI bot, new survey says
More than half of those surveyed (54 percent) said that they had some sort of relationship with an artificial intelligence platform
www.independent.co.uk
October 3, 2025 at 12:40 PM
Every day we stray further from god's light.
Sep 28! I can't wait for the weird frog spam.
September 11, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Sep 28! I can't wait for the weird frog spam.
My building super once asked, "So, do you work?" 🙃
August 13, 2025 at 3:58 PM
My building super once asked, "So, do you work?" 🙃
A really fun project with Rosalyn, Ben Hogan, @ajshultz622.bsky.social & Cassie Stoddard. Made possible by awesome museums & curators (@nhm.org, ansp.org) and with lots of imaging help.
Here's the paper, complete with a beautiful feather close-up taken by Rosalyn (if I remember correctly):
Here's the paper, complete with a beautiful feather close-up taken by Rosalyn (if I remember correctly):
Hidden white and black feather layers enhance plumage coloration in tanagers and other songbirds
Colorful songbirds use hidden white or black feather layers to enhance plumage color, an optical trick well known to artists.
www.science.org
August 13, 2025 at 3:35 PM
A really fun project with Rosalyn, Ben Hogan, @ajshultz622.bsky.social & Cassie Stoddard. Made possible by awesome museums & curators (@nhm.org, ansp.org) and with lots of imaging help.
Here's the paper, complete with a beautiful feather close-up taken by Rosalyn (if I remember correctly):
Here's the paper, complete with a beautiful feather close-up taken by Rosalyn (if I remember correctly):
This optical effect is not news to artists. A white gesso layer has the same effect. I particularly like Dale Chihuly's description of the white underlayer of glass that he uses in his sculptures as a 'cloud layer'.
But, as is so often the case, nature did it first!
But, as is so often the case, nature did it first!
August 13, 2025 at 3:35 PM
This optical effect is not news to artists. A white gesso layer has the same effect. I particularly like Dale Chihuly's description of the white underlayer of glass that he uses in his sculptures as a 'cloud layer'.
But, as is so often the case, nature did it first!
But, as is so often the case, nature did it first!
In the tanagers we studied, males are often more vibrant. To our surprise, some instances of male-female differences were not due to the pigmented feather tips but rather the hidden layer! So the story of males putting more pigments (re: honest signals) into feathers is more complicated than that...
August 13, 2025 at 3:35 PM
In the tanagers we studied, males are often more vibrant. To our surprise, some instances of male-female differences were not due to the pigmented feather tips but rather the hidden layer! So the story of males putting more pigments (re: honest signals) into feathers is more complicated than that...
Using a *bunch* of imaging techniques and optical modelling, we showed that a white layer makes red/yellow/orange brighter by scattering light back through the red feather tips. The black layer prevents this backscatter, which would wash out blue colours, resulting in more saturated 'purer' blues.
August 13, 2025 at 3:35 PM
Using a *bunch* of imaging techniques and optical modelling, we showed that a white layer makes red/yellow/orange brighter by scattering light back through the red feather tips. The black layer prevents this backscatter, which would wash out blue colours, resulting in more saturated 'purer' blues.
By looking at specimens at the @nhm.org and the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel, Philadelphia, we* found that this phenomenon is widespread across passerine birds!
*the looking was really done by Rosalyn and @ajshultz622.bsky.social
*the looking was really done by Rosalyn and @ajshultz622.bsky.social
August 13, 2025 at 3:35 PM
By looking at specimens at the @nhm.org and the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel, Philadelphia, we* found that this phenomenon is widespread across passerine birds!
*the looking was really done by Rosalyn and @ajshultz622.bsky.social
*the looking was really done by Rosalyn and @ajshultz622.bsky.social