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Phoebe Cohen

@phoebefossil.bsky.social

Answering big questions with tiny fossils. Paleontologist, earth scientist, liberal arts professor, opinion holder. She/her. @makeaplanetpod.bsky.social

233 Posts1390 Follower462 Folgt
Molly Crabapple@mollycrabapple.bsky.social · 6d ago

99% of the time, when someone accuses you of selective outrage, it’s a way of politically demobilizing you and shutting you up “Why are you angry about data centers instead of fast fashion” isn’t about making you care about fast fashion. It’s about shutting you up about data centers And visa versa

Dr. Brendan Anderson@fossilsndcoffee.bsky.social · 2w ago

Taxonomy is far from complete but it also is not "complete enough" to warrant the disinvestment seen in ithe field and natural history generally. Museums and herbaria need funds to store, curate, and describe species and taxonomists need to be paid to do it www.nature.com/articles/s44...

The flounder effect: disparities in taxonomic and ecological study intensity across extant and fossil marine organisms hamper conservation - npj Biodiversity

npj Biodiversity - The flounder effect: disparities in taxonomic and ecological study intensity across extant and fossil marine organisms hamper conservation

nature.com

Marc A. Milne@forthespiders.bsky.social · 2w ago

It may be surprising to some that there are thousands of undescribed species just sitting in museums awaiting description. One of the main reasons this problem exists is that taxonomy is undervalued and underfunded, a trend that coincides with the devaluing of studies on natural history.

Fabien Burki@fburki.bsky.social · 3w ago

This was a long and complex project led by a tenacious @sandinmm.eurosky.social but it was all very worth it. This was also my first collaboration with @phoebefossil.bsky.social and Hélène Morlon so I’m grateful for that.

Miguel Méndez Sandín@sandinmm.eurosky.social · 3w ago

Apparently the "boring billion" was actually exciting! We provide molecular evidence of complex Mesoproterozoic eukaryotic communities. So happy to see this out 🥳 Thanks to @phoebefossil.bsky.social , Hélène Morlon & @fburki.bsky.social for a lovely collab! doi.org/10.1073/pnas...

Phoebe Cohen@phoebefossil.bsky.social · 3w ago

Super excited that our paper led by @sandinmm.eurosky.social in PNAS is out! We show that crown-group eukaryotes were already taxonomically and ecologically diverse throughout the Mesoproterozoic, revealing complex communities well before the Neoproterozoic radiation. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Environmental phylogenetics supports a steady diversification of crown eukaryotes starting from the mid-Proterozoic | PNAS

Molecular clock and preservation of early microfossil assemblages suggest that eukaryotes were present and already diverse more than ~1600 million ...

pnas.org

Annika Barber@annikabarber.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Megathread resources now compiled in a Google doc. Send it to your friends. Share with your departments and trainees. And share with non-scientists! I also have a template for non-scientist comments, because this is an all-taxpayer, all medical service user issue. docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Submit an OMB Comment!

SAVE AMERICAN SCIENCE (Please! 💜 Annika @annikabarber.bsky.social) What are the proposed changes to scientific grant review and award? Read the Federal Register directly here: Regulation for Federal...

docs.google.com

Annika Barber@annikabarber.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Megathread about responding to new OMB grant funding rules (feel free to add/link more!) I was collecting these for me, but figured I'd round 'em up for everyone 🧪 What's the problem? arstechnica.com/science/2026... elizabethginexi.substack.com/p/summary-of...

Chad Topaz Queer DEI Race Traitor@chadtopaz.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Today is — at long last — official launch day for my book, "Unlocking Justice." I wrote it to help and to be hopeful. Tradition says I post a pic of me with the book. 🤷‍♂️I'm overthrowing tradition and posting (abbreviated) acknowledgments. This book exists only because of so many people. I feel moved.

Acknowledgments page from the book Unlocking Justice by Chad M. Topaz. Text: My brilliant and magnanimous pre-submission editor, Nancy Rawlinson, made this book — to provide some data — 10 million times better than it otherwise would have been. I also received invaluable advice from two seasoned authors: Joel Derfner, who wrote Swish, Lawfully Wedded Husband, and other gems, and Sarah Rose, who penned the riveting D-Day Girls and For All the Tea in China. If not for Nancy, Joel, and Sarah, you would not be reading this book. I am equally grateful to the remarkable team at Princeton University Press, who believed in this book from the very beginning. My editor, Diana Gillooly, brought deep insight and rigor, strengthening the manuscript in countless ways. I also owe thanks to Whitney Rauenhorst, Molly Grote, Sydney Bartlett, Matt Taylor, Barbara Tonetti, and Terri O'Prey for their steadfast support, and to Maia Vaswani, my meticulous copy editor.cknowledgments, continued. Text: I owe much of my understanding of the world, particularly regarding race, mathematics, and the intersection of the two, to Dr. Piper Harris. Her generosity and clear-headed insights have helped me write a better book and become a better person. I often find reality confusing, and Piper has been an invaluable interpreter, making it make sense or explaining why it never will. I frequently tell her, "Stop being so wise," but quickly follow it up with, "No, wait — don't." Emily Meyer provided essential guidance during the early stages of my writing. Phi Su offered invaluable advice on navigating publishing. Fred Vars was instrumental as a writing accountability partner. Further feedback came from Spencer Brooks, Ana Ros Camacho, Darren Glass, Anna Haensch, Amy Kimpel, Elizabeth Kregor, Brittany Meché, Alex Montgomery, Oded Oren, and Rachel Roca. I am grateful to Isabel Chenoweth, who photographed me for this book and turned the experience into a joyful and affirming one. Cait Kirby and Régan Schwartz have been vibrant intellectual partners who helped me think more carefully about data.Acknowledgments, continued. Text: I'm indebted to my dear friends and family, Phoebe Cohen, Mea Cook, Meg Gibson, Gina Jae, Salley Koo, Elizabeth Kregor, Amanda Topaz, Jason Topaz, and Christelle Vincent for their constant wisdom, inspiration, and support. My colleagues Andrew Bernoff, Ron Buckmire, and Rustum Choksi are my benevolent professional-world uncles who have given me boundless support and mentorship. Victor Piercey's insights into quantitative reasoning within the legal domain greatly enriched chapter 4. I'm grateful to Andrew Robinson for advice on the chemistry example in chapter 8. I wrote much of this book at Williams College's Oakley Center, whose staff I thank for their support. The line between teacher and student often blurs in the exchange of knowledge. I am deeply grateful to all the students who have taught me. I especially want to acknowledge Utsav Bahl, Nicholas Goldrosen, and Christian Michael Smith, from whom I have learned so much.Acknowledgments, continued. Text: The research on art museum diversity in chapter 1 was a collaborative effort with Bernhard Klingenberg, Daniel Turek, Brianna Heggeseth, Pamela Harris, Julie Blackwood, C. Ondine Chavoya, Steven Nelson, and Kevin Murphy. My work on mathematics journal editorial boards in chapter 2 was joint with Shilad Sen. The research on police call rates in chapter 5, growing out of my organization QSIDE, was conducted by Anna Haensch, Daanika Gordon, Karin Knudson, and Justina Cheng. The bail research in chapter 4 was with Oded Oren and Courtney Oliva. Eli Miller and Bryan Martin joined me on the Rikers Island research in chapter 6. In chapter 7, Maria-Veronica Ciocanel, Rebecca Santorella, Shilad Sen, Christian Michael Smith, Adam Hufstetler, Nick Goldrosen, Shawn Bushway, and Shaoyang Ning explored federal sentencing with me. Utsav Bahl, Lea Obermüller, Sophie Goldstein, and Mira Sneirson were my coauthors on the COMPAS investigation in chapter 9. The chapter 8 analysis was carried out with James Cart, Carrie Diaz Eaton, Anelise Hanson Shrout, Jude Higdon, Kenan Ence (whose loss we mourn), Brian Katz, Drew Lewis, Jessica Libertini, and Christian Michael Smith. My QSIDE collaborators Christian Adams, Tyrone Bass, Alisa Malone, Zofia Stanley, and Karen Walker are the organization's mighty backbone. Finally, my deepest gratitude to Jude Higdon-Topaz and our son.
Phoebe Cohen@phoebefossil.bsky.social · 2mo ago

I am BRCAII positive and my mother had breast cancer. For the last ~10 years I have gotten yearly MRIs to screen for cancer (along with yearly mammograms). This year, my insurance (BCBS MA) has contracted with some outside agency, which uses AI, to do prior authorizations, and my MRI was rejected...

John Scalzi@scalzi.com · 3mo ago

"If she has her own house, what will she need me for?" I don't know, dude, maybe be cool and fun to be around and be happy for her success instead being whiny little sad-ass troll about it? www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

Single women are buying more houses. The men they are dating are not responding well

Female home owners report feeling stuck between men’s contradictory expectations – they are told to be independent, but not assume the breadwinner role

theguardian.com