Hannah Thomasy
Science journalist & biology nerd. ❤️🧪 Lover of brains & microbes & weird animals. Opinions mine obviously.
- We've all heard the "rule" that evolution favors promiscuous males and choosy females. But not always! Researchers found that in black coucals (pic below, since I'd never heard of them!) females had steeper Bateman gradients than males i.e. a greater fitness gain for each additional mating partner🧪
- "We show that the median amount of time spent under review is 7.4%–14.6% longer for female-authored articles than for male-authored articles." 👎🧪
- Disco slugs (for science!) This sea slug steals chloroplasts from the algae it eats, making it one of the few animals that can do photosynthesis. But what kind of relationship does the slug have with these organelles stolen from a different kingdom of life? 🦑🧪
- If being smart helps mice survive, why haven't they all evolved to be supersmart? In a new delightful paper from @mpi-evolbio.bsky.social, scientists set up miniature mouse societies to study how differences in the ability to innovate are maintained in a population.🧪
- Super interesting piece on "involuntary parks" by Annelise Giseburt. 🧪 From the Hanford Reach National Monument to the Zone Rouge, land polluted by explosives, toxic chemicals, or radioactive waste now serves as a refuge for wildlife - kind of. Giseburt explores the uncertain futures of these parks.
- Oh no the guys that are brutalizing people and gassing children in Minneapolis got their feelings hurt. Super sad.
- Reposted by Hannah Thomasywikipedia turns 25 today! the last unenshittified major website! backbone of online info! triumph of humanity! powered by urge of unpaid randos to correct each other! somehow mostly reliable! "good thing wikipedia works in practice, because it sure doesn't work in theory" - old wiki adage
- Just as I have always suspected
- Reposted by Hannah Thomasy[Not loaded yet]
- Hello science friends - does anyone have access to this paper? Thanks! 🧪 doi.org/10.1242/jeb....
- Reposted by Hannah Thomasy[Not loaded yet]
- Hey can any rodent folks tell me why this rat appears to be waiting to be let into my house?? He’s been there for at least half an hour & doesn’t seem to be eating anything, just hanging out. Seems like weird behavior for a rat?? 🧪🦊
- Reposted by Hannah Thomasy[Not loaded yet]
- Reposted by Hannah Thomasy[Not loaded yet]
- This is such an astonishingly bad take I don’t even know where to start?? During my PhD and my time as a science journalist I have spoken to a LOT of scientists. Almost every single one has more ideas than they have the time or funding to pursue. Please do better @vox.com 🧪
- Reposted by Hannah ThomasyDownload our large database of postdoc fellowships in all fields of research. Database freely available to all; 281 fellowships. Download here: research.jhu.edu/rdt/funding-...
- Ah yes the classic strategy to make America healthy again by failing to protect babies from infectious disease. 🦠🧪 I’m not surprised that these folks don’t care about science or children’s health but like… to what end?? Surely the vaccine costs less than hep b treatment?? What is the point of this?
- Big news about the Toronto Subway Deer! Dug up in 1976 Torontoceros hypogaeus is a prehistoric cervid known only from 1 incomplete specimen. Originally classified as a caribou relative, ancient DNA analysis now suggests it belongs to the genus Odocoileus which includes mule deer & white-tailed deer🧪
- Artificial light at night (ALAN) can be bad for bugs - Pacific field crickets exposed to ALAN during development laid fewer eggs & produced fewer viable sperm as adults. But why? Like us, insects have natural rhythms of melatonin production, which can be disrupted by light. 🧪🪲
- This is cool as hell 🤩
- Don’t forget about the #FindThatLizard Scholarship!! Please share #science #scholarship #funding #herps #HERpers #lizards #snakes #frogs #salamanders #game #challenge #education
- Researchers change the locations of spider mite "bathrooms," shedding light on important aspects of social evolution.🧪🪲 It seems logical that having a designated place to poop is a key part of group living, from invertebrates to humans. But it can be tricky to demonstrate this empirically.
- Browsing through some aquatic ecology papers (as one does) & the authors casually toss in the term "crayfish plague." As someone with a strong (unhealthy?) interest in weird diseases I had to learn more. Apparently, crayfish around the world* are getting absolutely obliterated by this pathogen🧪🦠
- Did you know that some fungi are CARNIVOROUS? There are lots of species that do this, but I think Arthrobotrys oligospora is especially bonkers. These fungi sense when their prey (nematodes) are nearby by eavesdropping on the chemical signals that the nematodes use to communicate with each other 🧪🪲🍄
- Are you a science communicator in British Columbia who wants to connect with other scicommers?? Shoot me a message, we're trying to start a group. 🧪🇨🇦 @uvicscience.bsky.social @science.ubc.ca @sfu.ca @rascvancouver.bsky.social @viuniversity.bsky.social @thetyee.ca @pme.ubc.ca @wildernews.bsky.social
- I love unserious Google Reviews of places especially if they involve weird/niche history. Wager Island, in southern Argentina, has 3.4 stars - almost all the reviews are cheeky references to the 1741 wreck of the HMS Wager, e.g. "Crashed my ship here. Had to eat my fellow sailors. 2/5"
- Truly there was never a point in this sentence where I could have guessed what the next word would be🧪
- Reposted by Hannah ThomasyHello internets, there's a paleontological museum in danger of being closed. Please help.
- Well it seems it is going to be to late for @lastweektonight.com to help with their hiatus. Any suggestions for a big sci com/science interested news account I should play with to help save PRI? Tag them in the comments with your pitch for why they should help out this museum maybe
- This is an Eastern Cape giant cycad. This specimen at Kew Gardens is the world's oldest potted plant* & it is older than the United States. I found this oddly comforting? Certain systems seem deeply entrenched & unchangeable but in reality there are houseplants that have been around longer.🧪🌿
- Sometimes I think about how difficult human pregnancy is compared to a panda or kangaroo & shake my fist at evolution. But you know what AT LEAST WE AREN'T BATS Imagine having to literally fly while preggers with a baby that is (on average) 23% of your weight. Which would be like a 35lb baby for us🧪
- Who is this?? Weird lil bug that almost looks like it’s just poking its head out of its shell to scootch up the wall?? 🧪
- My latest for Undark: Biological control - introducing one non-native species to control another - has gotten a bad rap. Does it deserve it? I spoke with experts in biocontrol, botany, and entomology to find out. 🧪 undark.org/2025/11/10/i...
- More questions for the 🧪 hivemind: For people that have school-age kids - are they still taught the warm blooded/ cold blooded thing? 🦊🦎
