The PalAss is proud to support the new Natural History GCSE 🌿🦋. As the public consultation on subject content is under way, we make the case that fossils should be at the heart of this new qualification. Read the full story here and have your say 📚👇 teach.ocr.org.uk/palaeontolog...

After missing @thepalass.bsky.social annual meeting for the last 2 years while very pregnant and on maternity leave, I’m super happy that I’ve just registered for this year! Looking forward to catching up with people I haven’t seen in a long time ☺️

Two weeks left to apply for our postdoc position on vision in trilobites! Come and explore the exciting world of reconstructing vision in the fossil record, using some of the most iconic extinct animals to grace our oceans! Please reach out + RT! (*Deadline in fact 23.59 BST on the 26th August!*)

Lauren Sumner-Rooney@laurensr.bsky.social · 3w ago

📢 JOB ALERT! 📢 I am recruiting a 30-month postdoc to work on modelling the vision of trilobites @hfspo.bsky.social ! If you like 3D data, fossils, and functional morphology, this is the one for you! 📆Deadline 27. Aug Pls contact me with any Qs and share widely! www.bristol.ac.uk/jobs/find/de...

Help needed from people who know things about mythology! I'm looking for god's or mythological creatures who did things like coming up from below/Hell/depths. Preferably not Greek or Roman (I already have Persephone). I am open to flexible usage if it makes sense...

Not a single word about how these tariffs violate both our WTO & USCMA obligations. Every time Trump does this, the NYT & other outlets simply write as if we live in an international vacuum, where the US has no obligations under signed, ratified international treaties. It's journalistic malpractice.

The New York Times@nytimes.com · 4w ago

President Trump signed an order imposing a 50% tariff on a wide range of goods from Canada, including hockey sticks, wine and cement.

With my upcoming departure from the University of Michigan, I've found myself deep in the job hunt process. Moving back to Canada from the U.S is certainly something I'm really looking forward too. If any 🇨🇦 labs (especially in Alberta) are searching for a µ-CT expert, please let me know!

insane to me that @patagonia.com is suing incredibly impactful drag queen and climate activist Pattie Gonia for “harming their brand” is Patagonia not a brand for the LGBTQ+ community or for climate activists? because you’ve spent a lot of time pretending to be both.

Happy (belated) 100th birthday to Sir David Attenborough! Sometimes meeting your heroes can be disappointing, but this was not the case. Despite being part of the background on the day, his face lit up when he found out I worked on pterosaurs and we had a lovely discussion. Such an inspiration ❤️

Emily Rayfield@emilyrayfield.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Happy 100th birthday to Sir David Attenborough. It’s been a privilege to meet him several times. My favourite memories are stories of filming escapades, and his good humour. Here, we are laughing at something extremely funny while Andre Rowe, @gimpasaura.bsky.social and Tahlia Pollock play it cool.

Our MSc in Palaeobiology has its 30th anniversary in 2026! We're delighted to invite you to a special event celebrating the anniversary, exploring the contributions to science by Bristol palaeobiologists during that time, and looking to the future. Book your free ticket: tinyurl.com/Palaeo30

Fun times at work today trying new things after some training last week!

When you re-qualify as a first aider for work for the first time since having a child so the instructor goes out of his way to give child info and a booklet on first aid for kids 🥰

One month to go until a run the Bristol 10k to raise money for Action on Pre-Eclampsia. I’m slowly getting there with my running, and hopefully won’t embarrass myself too much. Help me raise money for this charity close to my heart ajbellgreatbristolrun2026.enthuse.com/pf/liz-marti...

Unexpectedly had a few hours free at work yesterday after they cancelled my son’s vaccination appointment last minute, so what exciting thing did I do with this time? Rocks. Moved a lot of rocks. And that’s only half (I think) of what I need to move)… the life of a technician. To be continued…

Very excited to share that my first PhD paper is out now in Biology Letters! We studied Megaclonophycus specimens and analysed how they develop, informing on their affinity. Developmental biology of the Ediacaran Megaclonophycus from the Weng’an Biota url: royalsocietypublishing.org/rsbl/article...

Developmental biology of the Ediacaran Megaclonophycus from the Weng’an Biota

Abstract. The Ediacaran Weng’an Biota of South China yields embryo-like microfossils preserved with sub-cellular fidelity, previously interpreted as the ol

royalsocietypublishing.org

When the universe is against you and keeps giving you error after error, give in and eat the biscuits someone gave you as a thank you to remind you that not everything is terrible…

Third week back at work and I’ve had a filament blow in the middle of a long day of scanning, after the second scan of a 2 part scan failed. I did not miss this part of my job…

Out in @nature.com today, we shake up the ornithischian family tree. Remember those weird Late Cretaceous iguanodontians, the rhabdodontids? Well they're weird because they aren't iguanodontians. They're ceratopsians. Well, at least some of them are... www.nature.com/articles/s41...

A hidden diversity of ceratopsian dinosaurs in Late Cretaceous Europe - Nature

New results indicate that rhabdodontids and the previously described Ajkaceratops are actually distinctive European ceratopsians, a group better known from Asia and North America.

nature.com

Last day of maternity leave so I’m reflecting and enjoying some quiet reading time while Robin is asleep. Thinking a lot about the last 10.5 months and what would have happened if I hadn’t gone into the hospital on a whim on my way home from work in February… #preeclampsia #hellpsyndrome

#FossilFriday: the pterosaur found by Mary Anning in December 1828, probably at Church Cliffs (close to where her statue is today), Lyme Regis. The 1st British pterosaur fossil to be recognised (not the 1st found), it was purchased by William Buckland who forced it upon a reluctant British Museum.

New NoCTURN paper on open science in computed tomography out now! royalsocietypublishing.org/rsos/article...

A FAIR narrative on open science: when, who, what and how of computed tomography and the NoCTURN network

Abstract. Open science, the practice of making research products and processes free and available to scientists and non-scientists alike, is transforming i

royalsocietypublishing.org

‘She was like a deer in headlights’: how unskilled radical birthkeepers took hold in Canada

‘She was like a deer in headlights’: how unskilled radical birthkeepers took hold in Canada

In holistic communities and midwifery deserts, women are turning to the Free Birth Society for information and unlicensed providers

theguardian.com

This free birth movement is insane. There’s one thing to try to give birth without medical intervention, but to try to go through a whole pregnancy without any tests, ultrasound etc is just crazy. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t go for extra tests. Insanity www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

‘There’s no longer a heartbeat’: the couple whose twins were stillborn – and the ‘birth keeper’ they blame

Soon-to-be parents hired a woman they believed would act as a licensed midwife. But she in fact belonged to a radical society that was linked to baby deaths around the world

theguardian.com

As I was struggling to stay upright walking around Brussels I looked down at the very slippery paving stones and discovered they were full of fossils! Not great for my shows but fun to notice walking around central Brussels. Can’t take a palaeontologist anywhere… 😅

On my way back to Bristol after a great #2025SVP. Thanks to all the organisers for a great conference and getting me to use my brain a bit and be a scientist for the first time in 9 months. So lovely to catch up with so many friends I haven’t seen in a while. I love my palaeo pals ❤️

Back in Bristol for 2 nights being a mum to my little one who has a sad cough. Hope no one at #2025SVP drowns today and you all survive the storm! See you tomorrow for the dinner 🦕 #svp2025

Enjoyed my one full day at #2025SVP yesterday and this cool diorama that lots of my friends were involved in making! Well done all #SVP2025

Come to Hall 3 for these super cute Triassic cuddle stickers!! #2025SVP #SVP2025

Come see us tomorrow and for the rest of the week at Hall 3! #SVP2025 #2025SVP

Looking forward to catching up with people at #2025SVP this week! I’m only at the conference on Wednesday but around socially for some of Thursday and Saturday!

Don't forget to sign up for our workshop at #SVP2025: Designing For All: Creating Accessible Graphics For Science! Spaces are limited so sign up while you can! vertpaleo.org/2025-worksho...