Masha Levene
banner
mashalevene.bsky.social
Masha Levene
@mashalevene.bsky.social
Nature and science enthusiast, here to learn and discover
She/her
Reposted by Masha Levene
Scientists @febiologia.bsky.social @teamswiftparrot.bsky.social from the Difficult Bird Research Group and landowners are working on Tasmania's Bruny Island to help the forty-spotted pardalote species.

Difficult Birds: www.difficultbirds.com

#conservation #ecology #birds
'So, I had this idea': Scientists dispense insecticide-coated feathers for birds to build nests
Donning a helmet and a well-equipped harness, Dr Fernanda Alves looks like she is set to take on an extreme sport. Instead, she is climbing trees to check nesting boxes for a tiny and very rare bird.
www.abc.net.au
January 4, 2026 at 12:13 AM
Reposted by Masha Levene
Highly recommend this graphic novel for the young nerd in your life. The book is based on a wild but little known industrial accident in Louisiana in 1980, when drilling for an oil well intersected a salt mine... under a lake.
By it from your local bookshop: bookshop.org/p/books/the-...
January 2, 2026 at 1:03 AM
Reposted by Masha Levene
Um, cookie cutter shark teeth are a single, intact unit!? And when it needs to be replaced, they swallow it whole?! What! 🧪
January 2, 2026 at 5:38 PM
Reposted by Masha Levene
Only 18 days (Jan. 20, 2026) until publication of OCEAN: FROM THE SHORE TO THE ABYSS, by @ashadevos.bsky.social, with contributor chapters by @helenscales.bsky.social, @rebeccarhelm.bsky.social, @drandrewthaler.bsky.social, & me! Preorder here: www.thamesandhudsonusa.com/books/ocean-... 🧪🌊🏝️🐚 🪸🐠🐬🐋
Ocean: From the Shore to the Abyss
Water covers more than 70 percent of the Earth but three quarters of our oceans’ depths have never been explored by humans. This stunning book takes readers on a deep dive through the different depth ...
www.thamesandhudsonusa.com
January 2, 2026 at 4:09 PM
Reposted by Masha Levene
"I don’t know why my fellowship was terminated. I suspect that it has something to do with studying a species that doesn’t fit the binary of what we expect to see in nature, with completely different males and females."

@carlzimmer.com profiles my wonderful coauthor @jjinsing.bsky.social Gift link.
He Studied Why Some Female Birds Look Like Males
www.nytimes.com
January 2, 2026 at 6:10 PM
Reposted by Masha Levene
Open up this picture fully.

Then look at the surface of Mars.

Then look up to the top right.

Spot Mars' moon Phobos high in the sky.

Then notice the bright spot beside Phobos.

That's Earth.
December 30, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Reposted by Masha Levene
You ready for our 2026 Valentines??

The art is ready for ya 😍

As with everything on our shop, sales of these valentines support @skypeascientist.bsky.social!

This year's cards were designed by Philly artist @aprilfinfrock.bsky.social! Obsessed with how these turned out.

order at SquidFacts.net
December 28, 2025 at 7:28 PM
Reposted by Masha Levene
Finished reading book #21 of the year 🦇🌎🧪

It’s exciting how ideas that framed my research questions were presented in one part of the book

My MSc was literally on researching the underlying mechanism of resistance to white-nose syndrome in big brown bats!
December 28, 2025 at 6:14 AM
Reposted by Masha Levene
Rivers with beavers can have up to 6x more species of fish, amphibians, water insects, water plants, and dragonflies, and up to 60x more abundance, than those without.

What the beaver does for nature is absolutely mind-blowing.
share.google/zRvScq1fvarX...
Something gnawed your oak tree? Sink hole in your road? How Zurich’s beaver hotline is reassuring residents
As the number of the semi-aquatic creatures soars so can tensions. But the Swiss have a tried and tested system to calm the neighbours and restore harmony
share.google
December 25, 2025 at 11:06 AM
Reposted by Masha Levene
This morning I learnt another great example of why units matter - the flight of Air Canada 143 ran out of fuel at an altitude of 41.000ft.The Pilots managed to glide the plane down safely with their 70 passengers. The jet had been loaded with 22,300 pounds of jet fuel instead of 22,300kg
December 21, 2025 at 3:34 AM
Reposted by Masha Levene
Friendly neighborhood biologist here. I see a lot of people are talking about biological sexes right now. Lots of folks make biological sex seem really simple. Well, since it’s so simple, let’s find the biological roots, shall we? Let’s talk about sex...[a thread]

(Reposted from the other site)
August 9, 2024 at 10:34 PM
Reposted by Masha Levene
Day 16 #BatMas: Mexican free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis)🦇🌎🧪

They can fly at very high altitudes (around 3,300 m) & have the record for the fastest horizontal speed of any animal - ground speeds over 160km/h!

Up to 1.5 million roost under a bridge in Austin, Texas too!

📸: Micheal Durham
December 16, 2025 at 9:43 PM
Reposted by Masha Levene
Attention any of our Australian members 🚨📣

#Australia #Seabirds
Apologies for the sad photo, but we need your help. Right now, #seabirds are washing up on beaches in SE Australia (particularly around #Newcastle)
December 16, 2025 at 11:44 AM
Reposted by Masha Levene
I try to avoid linking to Substacks but this essay is FASCINATING
I'm Kenyan. I Don't Write Like ChatGPT. ChatGPT Writes Like Me.
I'm calm. I'm calm. I promise.
marcusolang.substack.com
December 16, 2025 at 9:49 AM
Reposted by Masha Levene
Learned today that “Galápagos” comes from a Spanish word for tortoise, meaning that “Galápagos Tortoise” is,

in fact,

a tortology
December 13, 2025 at 9:49 PM
Reposted by Masha Levene
Having appeared on it three times, I can 100% confirm that @robinince.bsky.social *IS* the #InfiniteMonkeyCage.

Without him, it doesn’t even exist as a concept 🤷🏾‍♂️
I just want to say @robinince.bsky.social is the very best of humans. How the BBC could have a problem with him is beyond me. The IMC will wither on the vine without the rich, nutritious value of Robin's brain. Go see him perform, and buy all his books. Your soul will feel like it has been hugged.
December 13, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Heartbreaking to loose such an incredible science communicator and host. One of my favourite podcasts comes to an end 😔
Very sad that I felt I had no choice but to resign from The Infinite Monkey Cage - a victory for the transphobes and other bigots - I did it because so much of the media has chosen to believe the kind and empathetic people are a fiction - they are real and so often unrepresented.
December 14, 2025 at 6:57 AM
Reposted by Masha Levene
Very sad that I felt I had no choice but to resign from The Infinite Monkey Cage - a victory for the transphobes and other bigots - I did it because so much of the media has chosen to believe the kind and empathetic people are a fiction - they are real and so often unrepresented.
December 13, 2025 at 12:02 AM
Reposted by Masha Levene
Diamondback Squids (Thysanoteuthis rhombus) lay their eggs in giant pink slinkies. These egg masses are made up of two threads of eggs wrapped around a cylinder of mucus.

These egg masses contain 35,000 to 75,000 eggs and have a length of 60 cm to 180 cm long with a diameter of 11 to 30 cm.
December 13, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Reposted by Masha Levene
Tonight into tomorrow night is the peak of the Geminids meteor shower. Look up. Weather permitting. 🔭 🧪
December 13, 2025 at 11:38 AM
Reposted by Masha Levene
Robin Ince reveals to last night’s audience at a recording of Infinite Monkey Cage that the BBC has forced him to resign over his support of trans people
December 13, 2025 at 11:02 AM
Reposted by Masha Levene
Who invented non-reflective glass?

American physicist & chemist Katharine Burr Blodgett in 1938.

It revolutionized optics--& led to the coatings used today in everything from eyeglasses to phone screens. She was the first woman to earn a PhD in #physics from Cambridge, 1926. #WomenInSTEM #inventor
December 12, 2025 at 11:46 PM
Reposted by Masha Levene
I saw a lot of people posting their favorite cover songs and thought I’d add mine to the mix
December 10, 2025 at 3:57 AM