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Jonathan Pritchard

@pritchardjr.bsky.social

Bewildered vagabond and student of the stars. Professor of uncertain opinions. Radio cosmologist at MPIfR. (Opinions mine, not employers)

945 Posts622 Follower330 Folgt
Matthew Cobb@matthewcobb.bsky.social · 23h ago

A lot of excitement on here about the article in Science summarising the discoveries of @alistairsponsel.bsky.social and Brian Sutton, just published in the Journal of the History of Biology. Some people have asked, so here is what I think they show, and what are the implications:

Photograph 49 is the Key to Understanding the History of Rosalind Franklin’s DNA Photograph 51 - Journal of the History of Biology

This essay, co-authored by a historian of science and an X-ray crystallographer, sheds new light on Rosalind Franklin’s Photograph 51. We refute the infamous claim that, unlike James Watson, Franklin ...

link.springer.com

Nobel Prize@nobelprize.org · yesterday

BREAKING NEWS The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the 2026 #NobelPrize in Physics to Francis Halzen “for decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin.”

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Max-Planck-Gesellschaft@maxplanck.de · 4d ago

More than 35 years after German reunification, a substantial economic gap between East & West remains. A research project led by economist & Max Planck-Humboldt Research Award winner Ufuk Akcigit uses GDR & Treuhand data to reveal why - & what policymakers can do to help close it.

The long road to economic reunification

Economist Ufuk Akcigit from the University of Chicago was awarded the Max Planck-Humboldt Research Prize in 2019. Drawing on an analysis of documents from the former GDR and the Treuhandanstalt, he is...

mpg.de

Jonathan Pritchard@pritchardjr.bsky.social · 5d ago

This new rate limit for submissions to arxiv seems pretty measured. It would be really interesting to see detailed statistics of the types of submissions they’re getting. Clearly a major problem brewing. blog.arxiv.org/2026/10/01/u...

Fair Moderation, Equitable Access, and AI: arXiv’s Updated Rate Limit Policy

arXiv, and the scientific community at large, are facing a watershed moment. Scholarly publishing is currently changing at a rapid pace, and we are seeing a…

blog.arxiv.org

Taylor Smith@taylorjsmith.bsky.social · 6d ago

I’ve known about this for a couple of weeks, but now I can share: as of today, arXiv is rate-limiting submissions to two per month. And as a mod, I have to admit this is a necessary move (at least temporarily). blog.arxiv.org/2026/10/01/u...

Fair Moderation, Equitable Access, and AI: arXiv’s Updated Rate Limit Policy

arXiv, and the scientific community at large, are facing a watershed moment. Scholarly publishing is currently changing at a rapid pace, and we are seeing a…

blog.arxiv.org

ESA Space Science@science.esa.int · last wk.

Inspector Smile is ready for science! 🫡 This is Smile’s first ultraviolet view showing an auroral substorm. With the ultraviolet camera now operational, Smile becomes the first spacecraft since 2008 to capture the full ring of northern lights around the north pole in ultraviolet light. 🔭 🧪 ☀️

Carl Zimmer@carlzimmer.com · last wk.

Four days ago, a scientist was surprised by the news that Anthropic discovered new virus genes for making DNA. He says he’s been studying them for years—and feeding his data to Anthropic’s AI as part of his own research. Coincidence? Here’s my story. nyti.ms/3VSWayc

Did Anthropic’s A.I. Really Make a Scientific Discovery on Its Own? (Gift Article)

An expert at the University of Copenhagen said his team had been sharing its research with the company’s A.I. model, Claude, and that its new finding matched their work.

nyti.ms

Ian Dunt@iandunt.bsky.social · 3w ago

The promise of Israel is somewhere that Jews can be safe, no matter what else happens in the world. The mobs and death threats against the filmakers and their families suggest that, under Netanyahu, this only applies to Jews who support the government and armed forces.

Jonathan Pritchard@pritchardjr.bsky.social · 3w ago

Attending REACH annual meeting this week. Hugely impressed by all the work modelling the instrument, the systematics, and the analysis of a year of data. Global 21 cm observations are really hard, but there’s a lot of creativity going in to make it work!

Jonathan Pritchard@pritchardjr.bsky.social · 3w ago

Although there’s a certain fleeting pleasure in watching Trump make a fool of himself, the chaser is usually realising that he’s screwed up in a way that will destroy people’s lives and take vast time & treasure to fix. :(

Jonathan Pritchard@pritchardjr.bsky.social · 4w ago

Leaving Belgrade after a successful SKA-EoR SWG meeting. Continuing, if slow, progress from 21cm precursors - HERA/LOFAR/MWA - and on construction of SKA. Good discussions on how to push forward. Thanks to our hosts!

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Robert Saunders@robertsaunders.bsky.social · 4w ago

90 years ago, Parliament responded to the rise of Oswald Mosley's Blackshirts by passing the Public Order Act, which banned political uniforms, private militias and the threat of force for political objects. The debates make very resonant reading today. Here's the Liberal Robert Bernays. (Short 🧵)

You cannot conduct a fair match when one side is playing with a ball and the other with bombs and, if democracy is to survive, it must be conducted according to definite and recognised rule. One of them is that no political party should resort to any weapon other than reason and argument. The introduction of private armies, as I see it, strikes at the root of democracy. I know it is contended that the Blackshirts are not armed and, therefore, are not an army, but I do not think that argument can be upheld. … Uniformed men in military formation suggest, and are meant to suggest, the idea of force. It is no argument to reply that at this or that demonstration no force is intended. It is an inescapable fact that a uniform in politics symbolises force, to be used either now or in the future.