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Anson Mackay (they/them)

@ans.bsky.social
2K followers 721 following 1K posts

non-binary || geographer || ultra runner || managed by @davidadger.bsky.social || cancer blog ansmackay.wixsite.com/uclgeography/…

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Reposted by Anson Mackay (they/them)
The Green Runners @thegreenrunners.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Wizz Air, lead sponsor of 9 road races, aren’t hiding their objective. 🥇 Winners get Wizz vouchers. 🏃‍♂️ Every Skopje Marathon entrant gets a voucher. ✈️ Run the most kms across all 9 races & win an annual fly all you can pass. Jasmin Paris explains why we must keep aviation out of running.
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Anson Mackay (they/them) @ans.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Super-important, comprensive #fieldwork guidance for #trans+ researchers, incuding those who are non-binary & gender non-conforming. I love that the guidance stresses the importance of maintaining one's own agency, and that the guidelines are relevant for disadvantaged groups generally 🧪
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Colin Carlson @colincarlson.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
What's behind this tidal wave of epidemics? In the largest study ever conducted on emerging infectious diseases, we show that the popular explanation - "our relationship with nature is out of balance" - doesn't hold up. Out now in Nature, after half a decade of work: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
The anthropogenic fingerprint on emerging infectious diseases - Nature
Emerging infectious disease outbreak risks are ubiquitous worldwide, and highest in landscapes where people, livestock and fragmented natural ecosystems coexist, but detection and data ...
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Anson Mackay (they/them) @ans.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Great post by @jbyoder.org, highlighting that recent AI-related additions to distilling that paper you want to read are really no better than how we already structure papers in terms of abstract, intro, methods, results etc. for ease of understanding and distiling key points
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Anson Mackay (they/them) @ans.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
#caturday #notmycat
Cut picture of tabby cat’s head
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Reposted by Anson Mackay (they/them)
Jack Ashby @jackdashby.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Meet the tiny tilcayo - the first new species of cat to be described in over a century. This Bolivian micro-cat was identified from an individual that had once been a family pet. 🐈 #cats share.google/Zk1XogLTl7xR...
share.google
New species of wild cat discovered in Bolivia’s cloud forest | Discover Wildlife
Leopardus tilcayo is the first wild cat species described by scientists in more than a century
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Anson Mackay (they/them) @ans.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Native giant bumblebees of Patagonia (Bombus dahlbomii) are being driven out by the European buff-tailed bumblebee (Bombus terrestris), first imported in 1997 to Chile to pollinate crops #anthropocene biographic.com/the-unwildin...
biographic.com
The Unwilding of Patagonia’s Pollinators  | bioGraphic
In a region synonymous with wilderness, native bumblebees are being replaced by industrial worker bees—and ecosystems are paying the price.
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Reposted by Anson Mackay (they/them)
Attitude Magazine @attitudemag.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Created by London-based Ukrainian filmmaker and LGBTQ+ activist Yuriy Dvizhon, The First Time brings celebrities, comedy and sex education together in wartime Ukraine, voiced by Ukraine's Bart Simpson www.attitude.co.uk/culture/the-...
attitude.co.uk
Meet Niko, the queer puppet asking Ukrainian celebrities about sex
Created by Yuriy Dvizhon, The First Time brings celebrities, comedy and sex education together, voiced by Ukraine's Bart Simpson.
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Prof Chris Jackson @seismatters.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
I’ll be real with you: the gloss was taken off today’s Great North Run by a very crowded “Raise the Colours” roundabout at around mile 9. My wife and kids had to walk past it to see me. Check this post about the impact those present had on one Black participant: www.instagram.com/reel/DdO3Kt8...
instagram.com
Emma Kirk-Odunubi 🙋🏽‍♀️ The Voice of Running on Instagram: "Well not how I thought my post would go sharing finishing Great North Run 🙃 As I said aside from being hyper aware of being literally 1 of ...
3,013 likes, 534 comments - emmakirkyo on September 13, 2026: "Well not how I thought my post would go sharing finishing Great North Run 🙃 As I said aside from being hyper aware of being literally 1 ...
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Anson Mackay (they/them) @ans.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
New (short) blog post up - on the return of 'scanxiety'... ansmackay.wixsite.com/uclgeography... #fuckcancer #cansky
ansmackay.wixsite.com
The return of 'scanxiety'...
This September and October mark my 5-year anniversary of being told I have stage 4 head and neck cancer in 2021. I was trying to pinpoint a more exact date, but these things are never precise in the c...
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Anson Mackay (they/them) @ans.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Running in the dark in a forest is brilliant. We saw loads of deer & frogs and heard bars & owls. But I woke up this morning full of scratches & bruises from tripping on roots & slamming into broken branches. But I loved every gruelling minute of it! 😍 #runsky
Selfie of Anson’s head whilst they are out running the dark. They are wearing a vest and head torch.Photo of two runners standing in a forest clearance with their head torched on
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Reposted by Anson Mackay (they/them)
UCL Press @uclpress.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
We often talk about land and water in environmental justice. But what about air? Postcolonial Air and Atmospheres examines the politics, histories and inequalities of the air we breathe. 📖 Open access: uclpress.co.uk/book/postcolonial-ai…
The cover of the book "Postcolonial Air and Atmospheres" features a warm, abstract background with sweeping strokes. The title is in bold letters, with a subtitle and editor details below.
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Dr Alex Bond @thelabandfield.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
"Is plastic pollution getting worse?" It's the question we get asked more than any other. After 15 years of data from Lord Howe Island, we finally have a straight answer. 🧵 🔗 agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/...
A hand holding a plastic fork piece in the foreground. In the background, another hand lays out plastics on a sheet of paper towel. The plastic was in a shearwater chick's stomach.
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Anson Mackay (they/them) @ans.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
These cases of scientific misconduct should getting higher prominance, seeing as the "research" is oft quoted by 'gender crits' and transphobes
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Colin Carlson @colincarlson.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
My 2c: we need non-AI-industry-koolaid framing devices. If you drop "superintelligence" and just start with "billions of dollars are being spent on the singular objective of releasing self-editing computer viruses onto the internet, and that will have consequences," seems consequential and solvable!
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Naomi Smith @pimlicat.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
So Kent Police knew about the fash mobilising 24 hours prior to the event? nicklowles.substack.com/p/did-kent-p...
nicklowles.substack.com
Did Kent Police ignore a 999 call?
Contrary to their public statement, HOPE not hate can exclusively reveal that Kent Police were tipped off about the Patriot Platform mobilisation – and seemingly did not act on the information.
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Anson Mackay (they/them) @ans.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Ring muscle-up progresses albeit very slowly! But this is the first time I’ve managed with only using a thin yellow band!! 💛 #callisthenics
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Anson Mackay (they/them) @ans.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Essential reading for all endurance runners and those that coach / crew them. I"ll admit that I'm one of those people who hadn't heard of #Rhabdomyolysis (rhabdo) before this years UTMB. Brilliant thread by @drlygo.bsky.social, and I hope all those affected recover well and quickly #runsky
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Sarah Creighton @saraita101.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Gerard McCarthy's response to Maureen Lipman is so fucking good
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Jess O'Thomson @jessothomson.co.uk · 03/09/2026
As someone who has been tweeted about personally by Rowling. And who spends my whole life trying to fight the damage caused by the litigation she funds. I think, personally, I would be less harmed by you giving me an actual kick in the ribs than watching the new Harry Potter & trying to justify it.
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Prof Richard Betts @richardabetts.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
This summer was the hottest on record in the UK The summer of 1976 that some folks my age keep banging on about is now only the SEVENTH hottest on record The top five hottest summers all happened since 2003 We're heating the planet by burning fossil fuels www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/new...
metoffice.gov.uk
Summer 2026 provisionally hottest on record for the UK
The season’s mean temperature was made around 130 times more likely due to human-induced climate change.
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Anson Mackay (they/them) @ans.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Gorgeous run in the rain this morning. Barely stopped smiling for 2 hours!! 💙 #runsky
Selfie of Anson smiling in the rain whilst on a run. They are wearing a black running vest. Distance & time taken are in the top left hand corner
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Ruth Pearce @notrightruth.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
This is the most fucked up and immediately harmful policy decision I think I've ever seen in adult trans healthcare in the UK, and that's saying something. The Welsh Gender Service is one of the best in the country. It is widely praised by the patients it helps. That is why it is being targeted.
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Reposted by Anson Mackay (they/them)
Bethan Davies @iceybethan.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
My initial thoughts on the Langtang-Lirung glacier collapse and devastating floods in Tibet and Nepal. www.antarcticglaciers.org/2026/08/augu...
antarcticglaciers.org
August 2026 Nepal-Tibet floods - AntarcticGlaciers.org
On 26th August 2026, devastating floods hit Nepal and Tibet. At time of writing, 1400 people were missing, and 270 bodies had been recovered, but this toll is sadly expected to rise. The flooding hit ...
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Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP @bellribeiroaddy.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Prof Jason Arday was hounded to his death. This was not journalism. It was a coordinated campaign by a race science network funded by billionaires and given a home at Cambridge. The press amplified every word. The institutions must answer. We cannot let Jason's name be buried with him.
bylinetimes.com
The Peter Thiel-Linked Race Science Network that Penetrated Cambridge University and Targeted Jason Arday
The media's coverage of the academic's life was fuelled by the campaign of an established far-right network
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Anson Mackay (they/them) @ans.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
I've donated to help the Greens protect trans members goodlawproject.org/s/6b3b53
goodlawproject.org
Help the Greens protect trans members | Good Law Project
The Greens took action to protect trans people. Now the party is facing legal action – so we’re defending them in court
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Reposted by Anson Mackay (they/them)
Heather Paterson @heatherpaterson.co.uk · 23/08/2026
“Attacks on LGBTQ+ health are a threat to all”: A new Lancet Editorial. www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
Cover of The Lancet, 22 Aug issue. The quote reads, “...movements that seek to undermine LGBTQ+ people are those that seek to control all of us—our freedom of expression, our personal medical decisions, and our privacy.”
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Reposted by Anson Mackay (they/them)
Ilya Marritz @ilyamarritz.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Had enough hand-wringing over what social media is doing to our brains? Let's consider how it's changing storytelling... @kjezermorton.bsky.social wrote a whole book about this & it's *excellent* Catch my convo w/ her at Libreria in London this weds 19 Aug for free> libreria.io/the-story-of...
libreria.io
The Story of Your Life: Kathryn Jezer-Morton on how social media is changing how we live | Libreria
In The Story of Your Life, journalist and sociologist Kathryn Jezer-Morton asks a deceptively simple question: what happens when social media doesn't just
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Anson Mackay (they/them) @ans.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
My contribution to #wildflowerhour & #commonnames this week involves a couple of rarities found during my visit to Durness SAC in NW Scotland last week. Parnassia palustris or ‘bog-star’ and Dryas octopetala or ‘mountain avens’ @wildflowerhour
3 Flowers of Parnassia palustris or bog star. The flower has 5 creamy white petals with a pink centrepiece . The flowers are lying against green grassWhite flower of Dryas octopetala that has 8 petals, a yellow centre and is lying against its green clunky leaves
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RGS-IBG Higher Ed @rgs-ibghe.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
📣New Editors in @geoopenaccess.bsky.social and @tibg.bsky.social: We are pleased to welcome Professor James Esson, Dr Mel Rohse, Dr Nathan Thomas and @drsarahhall.bsky.social who will be joining the editor teams for 𝐺𝑒𝑜 and 𝑇𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 over the coming months. 👇
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James Kneale @jameskneale.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
I've just heard that the BA/BSc Geography programme is to close at the University of Exeter’s Centre for Geography and Environmental Science (CGES) in Cornwall. This programme was made up of excellent modules with original and content, taught brilliantly—often with real innovation—by extremely 1/9
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Anson Mackay (they/them) @ans.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
For those who walk or run the Pennine Way, Nicky’s Foodbar is a vital and welcome stop. Hopefully Rochdale Council will work with Nicky to see that all steps to keep it open are made. Please sign & share 🙏 c.org/xHStjPmkYD
c.org
Sign the Petition
Help save Nicky's Foodbar from closure by Rochdale Council
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Anson Mackay (they/them) @ans.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
#eclipse in Scotland 🙄😂
Photograph of grey sky covered in clouds, obscuring the sun. Green hill is at the bottom of the picture
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Anson Mackay (they/them) @ans.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
This is super intersting article on Dr Elke Mackenzie, who was trans, and a pioneering lichenologist. She was part of a secret expedition to Antarctica the height of the Second World War, and awarded the Polar Medal! #lgbt 🧪 www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/explore-the-...
nationalarchives.gov.uk
A trans botanist’s secret expedition to Antarctica
Explore how Elke Mackenzie, a pioneering transgender botanist, helped reshaped our understanding of polar exploration and LGBT+ history.
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Anson Mackay (they/them) @ans.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Stunning run round Balnakeil & Durness this morning #runsky #trailrun #sutherland
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Colin Carlson @colincarlson.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
I wrote about a reason not to use generative AI in your writing that I haven't seen anyone talking about. Once I realized this, banning GenAI in our lab's writing became a no-brainer. Feel free to share, I think this is probably useful especially for trainees: www.carlsonlab.bio/thoughts/the...
carlsonlab.bio
The only reason you’ll ever need not to write with AI — The Carlson Lab
Over the last year, our lab has been developing a policy on AI use. To do this, we did three main things: We read a lot of academic publications and tech news. We set up an #ai channel on our la...
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Weird Alex @jackalpants.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Reminder for all watching the Labour party go "well, we have to enforce segregation of trans people, the law's the law" The UK is not the USA. Parliament is sovereign and Labour have a thumping big majority; they could, trivially, amend the equality act to end this. They are choosing not to.
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Anson Mackay (they/them) @ans.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Lovely 50km run up through Epping Forest & back today. Got a bit incensed by the golf course watering the green during peak temp and evaporation! The law needs to be changed! #runsky
Anson smiling at the camera wearing only a black running vest Sprinkler being used to green the grass (foreground) for golfers. The background shows effects of drought with parched brown landscape
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Dr Kevin Guyan @kevinguyan.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Excellent piece from Jason Okundaye on the Jason Arday story. A lesson from this mess (if any) is the need for more progressive critiques of institutional diversity practices – we cannot leave it to voices from the right to frame the terms of debate. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
The takedown of Jason Arday has overjoyed the right, and must be a wake-up call for the left | Jason Okundaye
The Cambridge academic has rightly now resigned. But that won’t end the targeting of senior black figures or the lazy way institutions promote faux equality, says Guardian columnist Jason Okundaye
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Damian Barr @damianbarr.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
‘Right now, the trans and nonbinary community is fighting many of the same tabloid lies and legal obstacles thrown at lesbians, gay men and bisexuals since for ever. We are unnatural, we are a danger to children, we spy on you in toilets.‘ On solidarity, Pride and visibility.
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Patrick Ness @patricknessbooks.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Rod Liddle called his ex-wife a “slut and a slattern” in print before marrying a 22-year old Spectator receptionist who he was cautioned by the police after assaulting her when she was 20 weeks pregnant. But he was anti-trans, so these “protectors of women” overlook everything.
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Colin Carlson @colincarlson.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
The policy take-home of our new study, in 15 words: 🏭 Fossil fuels kill children 🔋 Decarbonization will slow malaria expansion 🦟 Malaria eradication will save lives everywhere 🔓 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
The past and future impact of climate change on childhood malaria in Africa - Nature
Climate and econometric modelling reveal that human-induced climate change is shifting the burden of childhood malaria in Africa.
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Anson Mackay (they/them) @ans.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Jason is the youngest Black professor in Cambridge’s history. Rightwing newspapers are trying to smear him with fake accusations of plagiarism. We can't let them. Stand up to their hate and division by adding your name. goodlawproject.org/s/3ec4c0
goodlawproject.org
Stand up to hate and division by adding your name.
Jason is the youngest Black professor in Cambridge’s history. Rightwing newspapers are trying to smear him with fake accusations of plagiarism. We can't let them.
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NOH8 Campaign @noh8campaign.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
An estimated 150,000 people marched through central London on Saturday for London Trans+ Pride, with organizers calling it the world's largest Trans+ Pride event #NOH8
An estimated 150,000 people marched through central London on Saturday for London Trans+ Pride, with organizers calling it the world's largest Trans+ Pride event #NOH8
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Anson Mackay (they/them) @ans.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
10s of thousands attended London trans+ pride today for an afternoon of love & rage 🏳️‍⚧️ Loved to see so many non-binary people as well 💛🤍💜🖤 #transpride #nonbinary
Anson and David marching on london trans+ pride. Anson is wearing a white T-shirt with “trans cult” written on it. David is wearing a black T-shirtLots of people holding placards and signs marching down regents steet in the sun
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Jess O'Thomson @jessothomson.co.uk · 22/07/2026
🚨 BREAKING We've filed a complaint to the Charity Commission about Sex Matters, detailing 46 incidents which we think, together, amount to misconduct and mismanagement. But we also need wider action against charities spreading hate - help us tell the government & Commission they must step up 👇
goodlaw.social
Sex Matters are breaking charity law with transphobic hate – we’re taking action | Good Law Project
We’ve made a formal complaint to the Charity Commission and the government, citing 46 examples of offensive transphobia
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Erin Reed @erininthemorning.com · 21/07/2026
1. In an incredible new landmark review, the Health Council of the Netherlands has declared that gender-affirming care for trans youth works, reducing wait times is "morally urgent," and regret is rare. It is the latest of many Euro countries to advance care. Subscribe to support our journalism.
erininthemorning.com
Landmark Official Dutch Review Recommends Trans Youth Care, Call For Expanding Treatment
The review finds that wait times must be shortened, that few people detransition, and that trans youth care has enormous benefits.
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Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 12/07/2026
Amnesty International put out a major report documenting the influence of UK based anti trans gender critical organizations and their funding. Within hours, GC groups threatened defamation lawsuits and Amnesty was forced to pull it down. Proving the point they're anti rights. Anyways, here it is.
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Anson Mackay (they/them) @ans.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Song track to my final years at school!! RIP Bonnie Tyler youtu.be/lcOxhH8N3Bo?...
youtu.be
Bonnie Tyler - Total Eclipse of the Heart (Turn Around) (Official Video)
YouTube video by bonnietylerVEVO
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