New pre-print testing if bats, carnivorans, & primates occupying equivalent dietary niches evolved convergent mandible shapes & shared adaptive zones! Short answer: no. With @mberthaume.bsky.social, @savannahecobb.bsky.social, & @sesantana.bsky.social www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-1...

Second paper out today on fossil carnivorans, this time in Biology Letters @royalsocietypublishing.org. We looked at the evolution of the body mass of carnivorous mammals throughout the Paleogene, comparing the patterns in Europe vs USA 1/3

Congratulations to Professor Laura Porro, Professor of Anatomy, on her promotion in the recent UCL Senior Promotions round! 🎉 Please join us in congratulating Laura on this well-deserved achievement and celebrating this milestone in her remarkable UCL career. 👏🎓🫀

New paper by Ph.D. student Melvin Vankelst in Proc B. We modified our semi-automated high density 3D geometric morphometrics protocol to fit carnivoran molars, and test the shape-diet links of these teeth. Check it out! @universitedeliege.bsky.social royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article...

Decoupling geometry and topography reveals contrasting ecomorphological signals in carnivoran carnassial teeth

Abstract. The lower carnassial tooth (m1) is a key innovation underlying the ecological diversification of Carnivora. However, their exceptionally diverse

royalsocietypublishing.org

African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) paper now in @anatrecord.bsky.social's Feeding Biomechanics Special Issue! Using dissection & diceCT, we show powerful bites aren't just about bigger muscles—muscle architecture, skull mechanics & fascia may be key🐺 anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Using DiceCT, researchers analyzed jaw muscles of 7 musteloid species & found it reproduces traditional measures (muscle mass, fascicle length, PCSA) while revealing 3D features that provide insights into muscle function & activation Davis et al.: anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

There are efforts to rewild Siberian tigers (the most closely related to extinct Caspian tiger populations) to Kazakhstan www.euronews.com/2026/05/31/a...

Amur tigers released into the wild in Kazakhstan to help restore the extinct Turan species

Vladimir Putin has gifted four Amur tigers to Kazakhstan during his state visit. The initiative is aimed at restoring an apex predator that disappeared from Central Asian region more than 70 years ago...

euronews.com

Our paper (also, my first first-author paper) is now available in MEE early view! In this study, we introduced a state-dependent Ornstein-Uhlenbeck model we implemented in RevBayes to test adaptive hypotheses in macroevolution. (1/3) besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

An efficient Bayesian phylogenetic approach for joint inference of continuous and discrete trait evolution under a state‐dependent Ornstein–Uhlenbeck model

Macroevolutionary adaptation of a continuous trait to different discrete states across species can be modelled using a phylogenetic state-dependent Ornstein–Uhlenbeck (OU) process. Existing infere...

besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

We have teamed up with researchers in robotics and autonomous systems to bring a new digital experience into the museum this summer school holiday! Visit the multi-sensory 3D pop-up between 11-15 August.

Very cool news - my sea urchin research is currently featured at The Eden Project! You learn all sorts in their "Palaeo Lab" and the Cretaceous Period throughout the summer holidays: www.edenproject.com/visit/whats-...

Earliest sabre-toothed predatory therapsid from Mallorca: Algarpes ferus. Matamels-Andreu et al 2025 Palaeogeo, Palaeoclimatol, Palaeoecol. Track-trackmaker correlation of co-occurring gorgonopsian bones and footprints from the early–?middle Permian of equatorial Pangaea doi.org/10.1016/j.pa...

New research on worm lizard Trogonophis wiegmanni shows skull & jaw shape change predictably as individuals grow. 3D GM revealed links b/w size & cranial morphology, suggesting ontogenetic allometry is a common pattern in Amphisbaenia Hohl et al.: anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

I'm late to the party, but @andreawulf.bsky.social's masterpiece is utterly brilliant. I knew almost nothing about Humboldt, but his impact on how we see nature in the West - both ecologically and emotionally - was nothing short of immense. But more than that, the story is brilliantly told. Read it!

🔬Our Nikon MicroCT Scanner is helping researchers and industry users uncover hidden structures in stunning 3D detail. From embryos, fossils and birds to engineering components, the possibilities are remarkable. [ucl.ac.uk] Learn more and book access: www.ucl.ac.uk/life-science...

Introducing our MicroCT Scanner: how to access and book its use

Our Nikon MicroCT scanner offers a micro-focus source & an inspection volume for small-to-medium-sized parts. Also bookable by external computed tomography users at good rates. Central London-based.

ucl.ac.uk

🌟 Meet Tannis Davidson – Head of Zoology and Science Collections at UCL 🌟 @tannisdavidson.bsky.social Tannis Davidson leads the strategic and operational development of UCL’s zoology and science collections. Read more here: www.ucl.ac.uk/life-science...

Our recent preprint was just covered in an article in Science Magazine, give it a read! 🧪 www.science.org/content/arti...

Goats love to bash heads—but it might give them brain damage

Three headbutting goats showed signs of neurodegeneration similar to those in humans following head injuries

science.org

Microsoft is planning to build three massive AI data centres in Leeds. It’ll drain thousands of litres of water from the River Aire & become the city's biggest carbon emitter. We can still stop the council's final sign-off, but we need more voices. Add your name: you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/pr...

Stop the Microsoft AI megasite in Leeds!

Microsoft wants to build three huge AI data centres at Skelton Grange. It would drain the River Aire and become the city's biggest carbon emitter. We can still stop it - add your name to the petition.

you.38degrees.org.uk

@paleonicole.bsky.social and I have written a short piece on why a tight fit at birth is not unique to humans. Some other primates have it much worse, but seem to have adapted to their obstetrical dilemma in different ways.

Why some primates have even tougher births than humans

Tamarins and squirrel monkeys have babies with unspeakably large heads compared to their mother’s birth canal.

theconversation.com

Absolutely fantastic study. Neatly summarized by @narimanechatar.bsky.social in this thread, but go read the paper, it's also great.

Narimane Chatar@narimanechatar.bsky.social · 3w ago

Excited to share our latest study highlighted on the cover of @science.org 🥳Combining a 3D dataset representing 250 taxa spanning the whole Cenozoic, 3D modelling & printing and material testing; we deciphered the form-function relationship in the lower 🦷 of mammals www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

🐰 What drives body shape evolution in rabbits, hares, and pikas? Changes in rib length & thoracolumbar region are main drivers of body shape diversity. Body size—not burrowing or locomotion—best predicts body shape & limb proportions Brice et al.: anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

If you found this thread interesting, more from me on how we’re living with different forms of AI and robots on my blog, Drift: jgcarpenter.com/blog.html Support me on Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/drjuliecarpe...

As a robotics researcher, learning scientist, and author who has followed Realbotix for years, I'm compelled to do a Bluesky thread on this whole pivot that Realbotix is now trying, turning from humanoid sex robots to classroom "education" robots. Buckle up. nysfocus.com/2026/07/14/n... 🧵

Rural NY School To Launch Humanoid Robot Teacher

Plans to deploy a "lifelike" robot and avatar teaching assistant at Salamanca High School have sparked debate over the role of technology in schools.

nysfocus.com

💻 Our new website is now live! 💻 Over the past few months, we've been working hard to create a hub of resources designed to support the palaeontological community. 🔗 Find out more and visit the new site here: palaeoverse.org

Reminder to all that us associate editors would FAR RATHER you promptly decline a review than simply not answering. This is THE major factor that slows down the review process for EVERYBODY.

Yes! you are not a scientist. Science is what you do! Very important to separate our identities from our jobs—not just for mental health reasons, it also helps deal with appeal to authority fallacies and the ever increasing peril of silver-tongued charlatans who trade on such identity claims

Daniel Benneworth-Gray@danielgray.com · 3w ago

Sam Neill on tackling depression and imposter syndrome when you’re between jobs.

This is excellent from Sam Neill - good lessons for academics here as well

Daniel Benneworth-Gray@danielgray.com · 3w ago

Sam Neill on tackling depression and imposter syndrome when you’re between jobs.

How do leading tools compare for reconstructing CT muscle architecture? Xfiber & Goodfibes produce similar fiber length/orientation results in high-quality scans but Goodfibes is more sensitive to lower resolution & curved fascicles Zobek et al.: anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Our new commentary rdcu.be/ftx6h in @natecoevo.nature.com written with folks from @inaturalist.bsky.social and @cornellbirds.bsky.social shows that use of AI to manipulate existing or create new wildlife images undermines the huge value of vast citizen science databases. 🌍🪰🪶 #Ornithology 🧵 1/10

Citizen science platforms must mitigate against the threat of generative AI

Nature Ecology & Evolution - Citizen science platforms must mitigate against the threat of generative AI

rdcu.be

Article examines the occipital-lobed chameleons of Madagascar. Their analysis suggests that some taxa show signs of ancestral introgressive hybridization, however most currently recognized species are supported as deep monophyletic lineages. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Massive congratulations to our very own Rachel Tran for her prize winning poster on pufferfish inflation 🤩 🐡🏅🫶

Journal of Experimental Biology@jexpbiol.bsky.social · 4w ago

Congratulations to Rachel Tran, Alexander Casadei-Ferreira and Morgane Taillades who won first, second & third place in the JEB sponsored R McNeill Alexander Biomechanics Poster Award at the #SEBconference in Florence