Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Peter Moonlight @petermoonlight.bsky.social · 1d

A new article on the recently uncovered specimens of 18th century botanist/spy for Louis the 16th of France, Joseph Dombey in Trinity College Dublin herbarium, out in #TrinityToday

Botanical espionage, from page 35 of the Hilary 2025 edition of Trinity Today

Botanical espionage, from page 36 of the Hilary 2025 edition of Trinity Today

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Peter Moonlight @petermoonlight.bsky.social · 2d

Congratulations Norbert! That is a huge amount of work. Remind me to chat to you about this next time I'm over.

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Reposted by Peter Moonlight

Peter Moonlight @petermoonlight.bsky.social · 7d

Calling botanical researchers, the School of Natural Science at Trinity College Dublin is hiring a tenure track Assistant Professor in Plant Biodiversity and Conservation.

I know this is someone's dream job, so let me know if that is you and you want to chat!

my.corehr.com/pls/trrecrui...

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Reposted by Peter Moonlight

Mike Galsworthy @mikegalsworthy.bsky.social · 5d

🔥 Britain is about to launch a new GCSE in natural history – a vital step toward restoring our knowledge of and respect for the natural world.

Fellow creatures: the new GCSE in natural history

The new GCSE in natural history is a vital step toward restoring our knowledge of and respect for the natural world

westenglandbylines.co.uk

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Peter Moonlight @petermoonlight.bsky.social · 7d

Calling botanical researchers, the School of Natural Science at Trinity College Dublin is hiring a tenure track Assistant Professor in Plant Biodiversity and Conservation.

I know this is someone's dream job, so let me know if that is you and you want to chat!

my.corehr.com/pls/trrecrui...

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Peter Moonlight @petermoonlight.bsky.social · 7d

My thoughts exactly! A lock also speaks against that.

The issue with any anaysis is I am unsure what it has been used for for the last 80 years... we may find "resedue of umbrellas" or similar, but worth a try!

Peter Moonlight @petermoonlight.bsky.social · 7d

Very plausible! Harvey travelled in both mapped and unmapped areas. This was my first thought too.

Peter Moonlight @petermoonlight.bsky.social · 8d

That is our best guess so far, but a very unorthodox shape. Perhaps specifically a watertight vasculum for seaweed?

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Peter Moonlight @petermoonlight.bsky.social · 8d

It does! It is Harvey's name, nothing more.

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Peter Moonlight @petermoonlight.bsky.social · 8d

Curators and botanists, does anyone know what this could be?

It belonged to William Henry Harvey, botanist, collector, and former curator of TCD herbarium (1844-66). It is a 1.2m high, 25cm wide metal tube that once had a locking lid. Perhaps watertight.

A metal tube, around 120 x 25 cm. Hollow with a lost locking lid. Once belonged to William Henry Harvey.

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Reposted by Peter Moonlight

Rebecca R Helm @rebeccarhelm.bsky.social · 14d

I get that the news cycle is packed right now, but I just heard from a colleague at the Smithsonian that this is fully a GIANT SQUID BEING EATEN BY A SPERM WHALE and it’s possibly the first ever confirmed video according to a friend at NOAA

10 YEAR OLD ME IS LOSING HER MIND (a thread 🧵)

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Peter Moonlight @petermoonlight.bsky.social · 15d

My daughter had the MMR vaccine today. This was based on science.

The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 16d

Trump: "The MMR I think should be taken separately. This is based on what I feel. The Mumps, Measles, and all the three should be taken separately."

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Reposted by Peter Moonlight

Alex Wild @alexwild.bsky.social · 16d

"Why do queen bumblebees emerge from hibernation during weekends?"

I love this framing about bias in hobbyist-collected data.

Why do queen bumblebees emerge from hibernation during weekends? - Apidologie

Climate-driven shifts in bumblebee emergence and flowering time can disrupt plant reproduction and affect pollinator health. To study such mismatches, accurate phenological data is crucial but challen...

link.springer.com

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Peter Moonlight @petermoonlight.bsky.social · 29d

Thanks Siobhan!! We will be CC0 by our next data update (hopefully this week).

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Peter Moonlight @petermoonlight.bsky.social · Sep 8

Trinity College Dublin herbarium are now on @gbif.org! We have just 52k records for now and mostly minimal data with full data and images to follow, but its a big step forward.

www.gbif.org/dataset/5ec4...

Trinity College Dublin Herbarium

Herbarium specimen data from the herbarium of Trinity College Dublin.

www.gbif.org

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Reposted by Peter Moonlight

Edinburgh Journal of Botany @ejbotany.bsky.social · Sep 8

A new paper by @petermoonlight.bsky.social published in #EJBotany #OpenAccess @thebotanics.bsky.social on the names in the genus #Begonia published in Vellozo’s #FloraFluminensis: rbge.cc/47Q6wmL

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Reposted by Peter Moonlight

iaptglobal @iaptglobal.bsky.social · Sep 4

Madrid Code online!! 🎉🪸🍄🌿

www.iaptglobal.org/_functions/code/madrid

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Peter Moonlight @petermoonlight.bsky.social · Sep 4

I'm sorry, what 🤯

Veeloxxy Bites @the-episiarch.bsky.social · Sep 4

So this ant...can give birth to male clones of its own species AND of a different species... then mates with the male clones of the other species to produce hybrid workers...and mates with males of its own species to produce new queens... 🐜
Yo these ants are wildin'
🧪
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

One mother for two species via obligate cross-species cloning in ants - Nature

In a case of obligate cross-species cloning, female ants of Messor ibericus need to clone males of Messor structor to obtain sperm for producing the worker caste, resulting in males from the same moth...

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Peter Moonlight

Peter Moonlight @petermoonlight.bsky.social · Aug 29

Five species from Ireland's temperate rainforest in five minutes, presented by me! I am super happy with how this turned out, so do take a look. And a huge thank you to Michelle, Daniel, Peter L, and Jenny for making this happen!
youtu.be/xHRUBeukH6E

Ireland's Temperate Rainforest

YouTube video by Trinity College Dublin

youtu.be

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Peter Moonlight @petermoonlight.bsky.social · Aug 30

Thank you, but this is definitely not my idea! Search for 5 in five on YouTube and you'll find about 20 previous videos in the series

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Peter Moonlight @petermoonlight.bsky.social · Aug 29

Five species from Ireland's temperate rainforest in five minutes, presented by me! I am super happy with how this turned out, so do take a look. And a huge thank you to Michelle, Daniel, Peter L, and Jenny for making this happen!
youtu.be/xHRUBeukH6E

Ireland's Temperate Rainforest

YouTube video by Trinity College Dublin

youtu.be

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Peter Moonlight @petermoonlight.bsky.social · Aug 28

What do you do about all these names in herbarium databases? The BSBI had a pretty sane number of species in most cases.

Peter Moonlight @petermoonlight.bsky.social · Aug 26

This, combined with two factor authentification, is now at least half of the job of an academic.

Will Ratcliff @wcratcliff.bsky.social · Aug 26

I'm essentially unable to log into any websites run by Editorial Manager. I have 20 something different logins saved, with different usernames and passwords, for different journals. My password manager is useless, and I am at the point where every login requires a PW reset.

Reposted by Peter Moonlight

Will Ratcliff @wcratcliff.bsky.social · Aug 26

I'm essentially unable to log into any websites run by Editorial Manager. I have 20 something different logins saved, with different usernames and passwords, for different journals. My password manager is useless, and I am at the point where every login requires a PW reset.

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Peter Moonlight @petermoonlight.bsky.social · Aug 26

My predictive text used a sad emoji. Is it depressed?

The Guardian @theguardian.com · Aug 26

Can AIs suffer? Big tech and users grapple with one of most unsettling questions of our times

As first AI-led rights advocacy group is founded, industry is divided on whether models are, or can be, sentient

www.theguardian.com