Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Wayne Maddison @waynemaddison.bsky.social · 29d

I was involved early on, but most of its subsequent growth was in David's hands. For such an early web project and the relatively small amount of resources put into it, it's remarkable what it achieved.

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Reposted by Wayne Maddison

Prof Sam Illingworth @samillingworth.com · Sep 8

🌳 Losing touch with nature

A new study finds people’s connection to nature has fallen 60% since 1800, risking an 'extinction of experience' without radical change.

🔗 www.theguardian.com/environment/...

#SciComm 🧪 #Nature

Human connection to nature has declined 60% in 200 years, study finds

Prof Miles Richardson says people risk ‘extinction of experience’ in the natural world without new policies

www.theguardian.com

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Wayne Maddison @waynemaddison.bsky.social · Sep 6

So well put!

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Wayne Maddison @waynemaddison.bsky.social · Sep 6

“And now I will let a machine live my life for me.”

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Wayne Maddison @waynemaddison.bsky.social · Sep 5

I wonder if the most effective users of AI writing aids are those who grew up without it.

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Wayne Maddison @waynemaddison.bsky.social · Sep 5

Confused writing is usually a symptom of confused thinking. As we struggle to clarify writing, we clarify our thoughts. AI writing aids rob us of that struggle, leaving clean-looking text and thoughts still confused for lack of inspection. Writing is not just a product; it is a diagnostic tool.

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Wayne Maddison @waynemaddison.bsky.social · Sep 5

The fifth law of thermodynamics is that in a closed system, bureaucracy will always increase over time. There remains the possibility that this is merely a specific instance of the second law, with bureaucracy = entropy.

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Reposted by Wayne Maddison

Steph @observingangel.bsky.social · Aug 6

At this juncture in the research pertaining to COVID infection & Long COVID, people really should understand that COVID sets fire to their bodies in a multitude of ways, that death is NOT the only outcome to be concerned about, & that death can still follow COVID infection.

Physicians for a Healthy Democracy @physiciandemocracy.medsky.social · Aug 6

@tmprowell.bsky.social
#medsky

Did you know more people in the US died of Covid than of breast cancer in 2024? I’m a breast oncologist and think both conditions deserve public attention/ funding for prevention and treatment.
COVID-47,522
Breast cancer-42,780

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Reposted by Wayne Maddison

Joey Bernhardt @joeybernhardt.bsky.social · Aug 14

Please help us spread the word! Please amplify!

We are searching for an associate or full professor (Canada Excellence Research Chair) in Biodiversity Genomics at the University of Guelph! 🐟🌿🦠🐜🐸🐝

Applications are due October 6 2025.

careers.uoguelph.ca/job/Guelph-C...

#AcademicJobs #EvoBio

Canada Excellence Research Chair in Biodiversity Genomics

careers.uoguelph.ca

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Reposted by Wayne Maddison

Hannah Shelley, MLIS (Metadata, Lattes & Impostor Syndrome) @hannahshelley.bsky.social · Aug 13

Since search is dead, how soon do you think Google Scholar is headed for the Google Graveyard? I'm betting it's soon, and academia is NOT prepared

Google Scholar Is Doomed

Academia built entire careers on a free Google service with zero guarantees. What could go wrong?

hannahshelley.neocities.org

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Reposted by Wayne Maddison

Oregon State University Botany and Plant Pathology @osubpp.bsky.social · Aug 6

The Department of Botany and Plant Pathology at Oregon State University is Hiring!

We are searching for a Director of the Oregon State University Herbarium and applications are welcomed at the ranks of assistant, associate, or full professor.

Department of Botany and Plant Pathology at Oregon State University is hiring a Directory of the Herbarium

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Reposted by Wayne Maddison

Christopher Dick @chrisdick.bsky.social · Jul 9

Herbarium director position opening at Oregon State University ‪@osu-herbarium.bsky.social‬ Great opportunity for herbarium- and field-trained botanists at any rank. bpp.oregonstate.edu/bpp/about/op...

Open Positions

bpp.oregonstate.edu

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Reposted by Wayne Maddison

David Maddison @bembidion.bsky.social · Jul 1

A stained-glass piece of mine from a few years ago. #Canada

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Wayne Maddison @waynemaddison.bsky.social · Jul 17

Phylogenomics processing of locus-by-locus files with inconsistent taxon names in Mesquite 4, a short video (3 minutes). youtu.be/YdSWQMkW92k (Channel: bit.ly/4eM2SLZ) 🧪 #evolbio @bembidion.bsky.social

Processing of locus-by-locus files with inconsistent taxon names in Mesquite 4

YouTube video by Mesquite ProjectTeam

youtu.be

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Wayne Maddison @waynemaddison.bsky.social · Jul 15

Reading and viewing tree files output by different programs in Mesquite 4, a short video (3 minutes). youtu.be/MVk4aira8A8 (Channel: bit.ly/4eM2SLZ) 🧪 #evolbio
@bembidion.bsky.social

Reading files with different tree dialects in Mesquite 4

YouTube video by Mesquite ProjectTeam

youtu.be

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Reposted by Wayne Maddison

David Maddison @bembidion.bsky.social · Jul 10

A two-minute video showing how to export geographic localities and trees from Mesquite 4 into Google Earth. youtu.be/tdOVmR122ts 🧪 #evolbio

Exporting to Google Earth

YouTube video by Mesquite ProjectTeam

youtu.be

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Reposted by Wayne Maddison

Benoit Nabholz @benoitevol.bsky.social · Jul 10

Junior Professor Chair at MNHN Paris :
Integrative Taxonomy for Describing Biological Diversity

odyssee.enseignementsup-recherche.gouv.fr/procedures/r...

filesender.renater.fr?s=download&t...

Odyssée

odyssee.enseignementsup-recherche.gouv.fr

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Reposted by Wayne Maddison

Dr Craig R McClain @drcraigmc.bsky.social · Jun 24

I've wanted to write this article for years. About my and other's struggles to even survive sometime in #academia. Thank you to the amazing editors at @plosbiology.org that gave me the forum to write this piece. #science

Too poor to science: How wealth determines who succeeds in STEM

From student to researcher, a career in science can come with a high price tag. This Perspective explores how persistent financial barriers limit who can succeed in science, revealing how wealth shape...

journals.plos.org

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Wayne Maddison @waynemaddison.bsky.social · Jul 10

The main reason we maintained DATA blocks when the official standard was published was for people who built their files by hand with a text editor... which makes DATA blocks seem even more archaic.

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Wayne Maddison @waynemaddison.bsky.social · Jul 10

The DATA block defines the taxa AND the character data. The modern NEXUS standard separates those into TAXA and CHARACTERS blocks. A file might have multiple matrices, or none, and entangling the definition of taxa and characters in one block just adds complexity.

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Wayne Maddison @waynemaddison.bsky.social · Jul 10

Clearly I can’t count…

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Wayne Maddison @waynemaddison.bsky.social · Jul 10

The fixed 4.0 bug occurred when you chose (1) Highlight by Trimming or Flagging Methods from Display>Color Matrix Cells in the matrix window (2) Invert Highlights, then (3) Delete Parts Highlighted Dark. The wrong parts were deleted: those NOT highlighted dark.

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Wayne Maddison @waynemaddison.bsky.social · Jul 10

Update! — Mesquite 4.01 released, fixing a few small and one substantive bug (for details see response post). New: NINJA (for neighbour joining), new merge taxa options, node spots, Google Earth mapping. www.mesquiteproject.org 🧪 #evolbio
@bembidion.bsky.social

Two versions of the Mesquite icon. At left is a Mesquite tree leaf against a black background. At right is leaf against a blue sky and sun.

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Wayne Maddison @waynemaddison.bsky.social · Jul 9

This is our previous video: bsky.app/profile/wayn...
(We'll try to post each time a response that links to the previous video, so you can follow backward in time to find them all!)

Wayne Maddison @waynemaddison.bsky.social · Jul 6

A short Quick Tip video showing how to concatenate and deconcatenate matrices in Mesquite 4. youtu.be/1etP6D3SrdE 🧪 #evolbio
@bembidion.bsky.social

Concatenating and deconcatenating matrices in Mesquite 4

YouTube video by Mesquite ProjectTeam

youtu.be

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Wayne Maddison @waynemaddison.bsky.social · Jul 9

A short video showing how to infer gene trees in Mesquite 4. youtu.be/xkAHBRIJ4CU 🧪 #evolbio #phylogenomics
@bembidion.bsky.social

Inferring Gene Trees in Mesquite 4

YouTube video by Mesquite ProjectTeam

youtu.be

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