Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

John Whitfield @johnwhitfield.bsky.social · 7h

Probably for her, too

Will Davies @will-davies.bsky.social · 8h

Something oddly cathartic about Kemi Badenoch making insane policy pledges

Reposted by John Whitfield

William Cullerne Bown @williamcb.bsky.social · 9h

The Cabinet reshuffle has clarified Britain’s ambiguous relationship with American Big Tech, I argue here in Renewal.

Renewal @renewaljournal.bsky.social · 23h

"It is hard now to think of a touch point for Big Tech with the UK state that does not fall under the auspices of the Blairites"

@williamcb.bsky.social analyses the government's relationship with Big Tech in light of the recent Cabinet reshuffle

Britain's Big Tech problem

The essence of a banana republic is that the state has the legal form of a republic but substantive power resides elsewhere, in the hands of American corporations backed by a US state that considers t...

renewal.org.uk

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Reposted by John Whitfield

Chris Parr @chrisjparr.bsky.social · 1d

Excellent address by the Uni of Liverpool's Natalie Wallis at #HiddenREF festival (@hiddenref.bsky.social). Report to follow.

In the meantime, here's something Wallis wrote for @resprofnews.bsky.social recently on non-traditional research outputs:

www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-v...

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John Whitfield @johnwhitfield.bsky.social · 5d

Who doesn't want to see Anubis vs the scraper bots?

Reposted by John Whitfield

IPBES @ipbes.net · 5d

Experts say there are fewer than 10,000 African penguin breeding pairs. A century ago there were 1 million. 🐧

No-fishing zones provide some renewed hope for their survival.

Read more from @theguardian.com :

Hope for endangered penguins as no-fishing zones agreed off South Africa

Deal will restrict fishing near colonies on Robben Island and Bird Island for 10 years, after long debate between industry and conservationists

www.theguardian.com

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John Whitfield @johnwhitfield.bsky.social · 5d

Scholarly digital infrastructure is more exciting than you thought.

Janeway @janewayolh.bsky.social · 5d

One of our hosted sites is under constant attack from scraper bots. We've implemented the open source tech Anubis and now the site is much more stable.

pubs.lib.uiowa.edu

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Reposted by John Whitfield

Jacob Aron @jjaron.bsky.social · 5d

Really cool story - bird species from across the world make the same sound to warn against cuckoos, and they can even understand each other. Feeds into ideas Darwin had about the origin of language! www.newscientist.com/article/2498...

20 bird species can understand each other’s anti-cuckoo call

Several species of birds from different continents use and understand similar alarm calls when they see an invader that might lay an egg in their nest – this shared call hints at the origin of languag...

www.newscientist.com

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John Whitfield @johnwhitfield.bsky.social · 5d

It's a fine line between critique and advert.

Patrick Dunleavy @patrickdunleavy.bsky.social · 6d

Elite school students end up in better universities than expected, based on their grades blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandp...

Elite school students end up in better universities than expected, based on their grades | British Politics and Policy at LSE

Students of private and grammar schools are over-represented in elite universities, but only part of that is explained by better grades.

blogs.lse.ac.uk

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Reposted by John Whitfield

Warren Pearce @warrenpearce.bsky.social · 5d

Excellent analysis of the dilemmas presented to the IPCC by AI! The question of whether there should be an IPCC chatbot is crucial. Given close control over communication products in the past, an “official” chatbot would signal a v different attitude to risk.

holly jean buck @hollyjeanbuck.bsky.social · 7d

How can the #IPCC navigate generative AI?

What does it mean for scientific assessment more broadly?

New working paper looks at scenarios for AI adoption & resistance, w/ @dralaaclimate.bsky.social @shinasayama.bsky.social and Oliver Geden

Reflections welcome!

www.swp-berlin.org/publications...

www.swp-berlin.org

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Reposted by John Whitfield

Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 5d

Start by NOT standing down their REF team at the end of each assessment cycle. Current practice reduces analysis of abundant data that REF generates & leads to the loss of granular knowledge about what worked/didn't work when the next cycle gears up. Also increases the miasma of REF misinformation.

Research Professional News @resprofnews.bsky.social · 5d

Senior leader laments UKRI’s ‘limited analytical capability’.

Research council leader Stian Westlake has said that UKRI needs to make more of the data at its disposal.

www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

Senior leader laments UKRI’s ‘limited analytical capability’ - Research Professional News

Research council executive chair says funder must harness its data to make better decisions

www.researchprofessionalnews.com

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Reposted by John Whitfield

Simon Evans @drsimevans.carbonbrief.org · 8d

NEW: Something remarkable happened recently and hardly anyone noticed – GB electricity demand was 100% covered by clean power

We took a look at the data and this has happened for a record 87 hours in 2025 to date, twice as often as ever before

🧵

www.carbonbrief.org/...
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John Whitfield @johnwhitfield.bsky.social · 12d

Good to see Tate Modern bringing back late Friday and Saturday opening (to 9 pm).

Reposted by John Whitfield

Samuel Moore @samuelmoore.org · 12d

One motivation for preprinting I've heard from scientists is that journal editors increasingly expect to read the comments on preprints before sending them out for review, which is an interesting motivation but seems to cement the importance of journals rather than work against them (as many hope).

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John Whitfield @johnwhitfield.bsky.social · 12d

New in whimsical Latin binomials.

IPBES @ipbes.net · 12d

🐾 Meet Bathynomus vaderi! 🦞

A recently discovered giant "sea bug" from Vietnam has been named after Darth Vader, thanks to its helmet-like head. 🌊

🗞️ @mongabay.com

The force is strong with new giant ‘Darth Vader’ sea bug found off Vietnam

What’s new: From the seafood markets of Vietnam, researchers have identified a species of giant crustacean or “sea bug” that’s new to science. They’ve named it Bathynomus vaderi, for its distinctly shaped head reminiscent of the helmet of Star Wars villain Darth Vader, according to a recently published study. What the study says: Bọ biển […]

news.mongabay.com

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Reposted by John Whitfield

Catherine Hulshof @hulshof.bsky.social · 12d

"After 55 years, the world’s most ambitious caterpillar inventory will come to a close. This monumental project in ACG has reared 870,000 caterpillars, of 8,000 species of butterflies and moths, and 18,000 species of wasp parasites—all documented by a team that grew to 30 local parataxonomists."

Guanacaste Dry Forest Conservation Fund @gdfcf.bsky.social · 12d

Happy to share our latest newsletter! The latest GDFCF and Area de Conservación Guanacaste news is here: mailchi.mp/54601d57a15d...

Greetings from the Late Rainy Season

mailchi.mp

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Reposted by John Whitfield

Yana Sychikova (Suchikova) @yanasychikova.bsky.social · 12d

In our new article, we present the first-ever map of relocations of 35 Ukrainian universities due to the war.
It is the most comprehensive review of relocation models
🔗 dx.doi.org/10.21511/kpm...
#Ukraine #HigherEducation #RelocatedUniversities #UniversityWithoutWalls #AcademicResilience

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Reposted by John Whitfield

Research Professional News @resprofnews.bsky.social · 13d

How to provoke researchers into taking risks.

John Whitfield examines what funders can do to signal an appetite for bold ideas.

www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-euro...

How to provoke researchers into taking risks - Research Professional News

John Whitfield examines what funders can do to signal an appetite for bold ideas

www.researchprofessionalnews.com

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Reposted by John Whitfield

Craig Nicholson @clanicholson.bsky.social · 13d

Free-to-read opinion: Rather than replacing traditional research approaches, AI can serve as an additional pathway for knowledge translation and application, writes @joshgans.bsky.social

www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-euro...

If you want impact, tailor your research for AI - Research Professional News

The future of science will involve integrating established practices with machine intelligence, says Joshua Gans

www.researchprofessionalnews.com

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Reposted by John Whitfield

Craig Nicholson @clanicholson.bsky.social · 13d

From our latest issue: Two new papers provide insights into how risk can be encouraged or limited in the funding process, writes our comment editor @johnwhitfield.bsky.social

www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-euro...

How to provoke researchers into taking risks - Research Professional News

John Whitfield examines what funders can do to signal an appetite for bold ideas

www.researchprofessionalnews.com

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John Whitfield @johnwhitfield.bsky.social · 15d

Rogue Nation is my favourite MI movie, though.

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John Whitfield @johnwhitfield.bsky.social · 15d

Your reminder that the UK's fast-track visa for prize-winning researchers received zero applications. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...

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John Whitfield @johnwhitfield.bsky.social · 15d

...going right back to the 'refrigerator mother' notions of some of the researchers who first described and defined autism. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refrige...

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Reposted by John Whitfield

Stephen Curry @scurry.bsky.social · 18d

An interesting perspective, arguing that reliance is a better way to think about science than trust.

Research Professional News @resprofnews.bsky.social · 19d

Why trusting in science is ‘a bit naive’.

www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-worl...

Why trusting in science is ‘a bit naive’, according to a philosopher - Research Professional News

Pittsburgh professor argues for a more nuanced view of ‘reliance’ on science

www.researchprofessionalnews.com

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John Whitfield @johnwhitfield.bsky.social · 19d

This Sunday in Colourscape on Clapham Common, 11.30 - 3.30: A more-or-less nonstop feast for at least two of the senses, with Gamelan Lila Cita, Lila Bhawa dancers and @eternity-bleeps.bsky.social

www.eyemusic.org.uk/whatsonevent...

EyeMusic

Home of the Colourscape Music Festival and other public and educational art events using colour and music.

www.eyemusic.org.uk

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John Whitfield @johnwhitfield.bsky.social · 20d

And her successor is much harder to use as a symbol and attractor of sentimental loyalty, which then has to go somewhere else

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