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Coral Nerd, Ph.D.

@coralnerd.bsky.social
203 followers 282 following 213 posts

Deep-sea biologist and Southerner living in the North

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Reposted by Coral Nerd, Ph.D.
🗽LOLGOP🗽 @lolgop.bsky.social · 21/03/2026
Lots of credit to Pro Publica and Dem electeds who forced DHS to answer for these crimes against kids. AND @scrippsnews.bsky.social has stayed on the Dilley beat hard.
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Reposted by Coral Nerd, Ph.D.
Darren Dahly @statsepi.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
Every day is a good day for sharing one of the most useful papers about research data ever written. PLEASE get your people to understand and follow this advice. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Data Organization in Spreadsheets
Karl W. Broman
& Kara H. Woo
Pages 2-10 | Received 01 Jun 2017, Accepted author version posted online: 29 Sep 2017, Published online: 24 Apr 2018

    1. Introduction
    2. Be Consistent
    3. Choose Good Names for Things
    4. Write Dates as YYYY-MM-DD
    5. No Empty Cells
    6. Put Just One Thing in a Cell
    7. Make it a Rectangle
    8. Create a Data Dictionary
    9. No Calculations in the Raw Data Files
    10. Do Not Use Font Color or Highlighting as Data
    11. Make Backups
    12. Use Data Validation to Avoid Errors
    13. Save the Data in Plain Text Files

ABSTRACT

Spreadsheets are widely used software tools for data entry, storage, analysis, and visualization. Focusing on the data entry and storage aspects, this article offers practical recommendations for organizing spreadsheet data to reduce errors and ease later analyses. The basic principles are: be consistent, write dates like YYYY-MM-DD, do not leave any cells empty, put just one thing in a cell, organize the data as a single rectangle (with subjects as rows and variables as columns, and with a single header row), create a data dictionary, do not include calculations in the raw data files, do not use font color or highlighting as data, choose good names for things, make backups, use data validation to avoid data entry errors, and save the data in plain text files.
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Jay Lender @jaylender.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
Faux-old poster with fold marks. Postal Mascot Mr. Zip holds up a letter. Text reads: The Post Office is a SERVICE not a business! (Just like the police and fire departments!) When they say it NEEDS to turn a profit... Tell them to GO FUCK THEMSELVES!
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Emily M. Bender @emilymbender.bsky.social · 21/03/2026
I love this metaphor because of how it speaks to the contortions people (here: AI boosters) go through to ignore/pretend not to notice the race science.
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Reposted by Coral Nerd, Ph.D.
Aurelien Mondon @aurelmondon.com · 15/03/2026
"AI is not a magical tool built by people in San Francisco making millions of dollars a year and pushing their companies to insane valuations. Artificial intelligence is an extractive technology that relies on the brutal labor of underpaid workers around the world" www.404media.co/ai-is-africa...
404media.co
'AI Is African Intelligence': The Workers Who Train AI Are Fighting Back
Kenyan workers are still the underpaid labor behind AI training, moderation, and sex chatbots. The Data Labelers Association is fighting back.
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Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences @bigelowlab.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
Where are the Right Whales? 🐳 In the latest episode of the Ocean Currents podcast, #BigelowLab SRS Nick Record and meteorologist Dave Epstein discuss North Atlantic right #whales and how a changing #ocean contributes to their movements. Tune in here: feeds.captivate.fm/ocean-currents
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Reposted by Coral Nerd, Ph.D.
Simon Fisher @profsimonfisher.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
A cartoon by Tom Gauld.
In the top panel, a science fiction author, speaking to an interviewer explains: "My novel is a cautionary tale about capitalism and the consequences of creating powerful technologies without considering the moral implications."
In the bottom panel, a tech company boss enthuses to his team: "Guys! This novel is so cool! Let's build some of these things!"
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Retro Tech Dreams @retrotechdreams.bsky.social · 14/03/2026
Defragmenting Drive C
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Jason Koebler @jasonkoebler.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
I met with AI data labelers in Kenya who are organizing their colleagues to fight the brutal working conditions and horrible pay given to the workers at the "bottom of the AI supply chain." They believe the NDAs they've signed are unenforceable so are speaking out: www.404media.co/ai-is-africa...
404media.co
'AI Is African Intelligence': The Workers Who Train AI Are Fighting Back
Kenyan workers are still the underpaid labor behind AI training, moderation, and sex chatbots. The Data Labelers Association is fighting back.
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Reposted by Coral Nerd, Ph.D.
Gwen Pearson @bug-gwen.bsky.social · 14/03/2026
In which researchers learn about cicada "towers" and how they function by putting condoms over them. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Anti‐Predation and Size‐Dependent Gas Exchange Functions of Amazonian Architect Cicada Towers
Clay towers built by cicada nymphs before metamorphosis are poorly understood. We experimentally show that towers of the Amazonian cicada Guyalna chlorogena reduce predation risk and exhibit size-dep...
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Reposted by Coral Nerd, Ph.D.
dawnymock @dawnymock.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
This one is in my book, Save the Earth(lings)… info in pinned skeet
dawnymock cartoon of Grim Reaper made of oil drums and drill
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Carlos Chavez Ramirez @carloschalicothere.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
Avanzi et al. (2016) analyzed DNA from wild roadkill red squirrels & discovered some carry Mycobacterium leprae & M. lepromatosis which cause Hansen’s disease (aka leprosy). Also the strains of M. leprae were similar to those found in Medieval England! #2026MMM #RIP www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
"Squirrel sampling sites in the British Isles. Pie charts indicate the location of sites where squirrels were sighted or found and are color-coded as indicated in the box; numbers within circles indicate different animals tested where N > 1. Boxed circles refer to squirrels of unknown location. I, Ireland; S, Scotland; A, Isle of Arran; B, Brownsea Island; W, Isle of Wight. The figure was drawn in R (v3.2.23) with the package maps (v3.1.0) using the mapdata (v2.2-6) “worldHiresMapEnv” and the package plotrix (v3.6-2) for pie charts.
"
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Matthew L. Miller @matthewlmiller.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
Move over salmon. Here are some lesser-known but no less spectacular fish migrations, including redhorse, sharptooth catfish & Nopili rock-climbing goby. Plus gar with @solomonrdavid.bsky.social.
blog.nature.org
7 of the World’s Little-Known Fish Migrations
Most readers will know of the epic salmon migrations. But have you head of these other fascinating freshwater fish migrations?
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PERFECTLY NORMAL @nzpom.com · 11/03/2026
We subsidise the fossil fuel industry billions a year and nobody bats an eyelid. Suggest a subsidy for renewable energy or EVs and it's "corporate welfare"🤦🏻‍♂️ Christ on a bike
theguardian.com
Australian governments subsidising fossil fuel use by more than $30,000 a minute, analysis finds
Australia Institute data finds state and federal subsidies for coal, gas and oil products increased 10% in past year, growing at a faster pace than funding to NDIS
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Dr. Tamara L. Johnstone-Yellin @drtljy.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
Anyone else thinking what I’m running? Next year’s Met Gala theme! No? Just me? #bcvammm #2026MMM
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Anne Stone @acstone.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
The subfamily Reduviinae (Assassin bugs) is a taxonomist's nightmare. A molecular phylogeny done by Hwang & Weirauch (2018) reveled it is polyphyletic, meaning the group doesn’t share a single recent ancestor. doi.org/10.1371/jour... #2026MMM
Best Reduviinae tree based on RAxML analysis of 178 taxa using a partitioned molecular dataset of 5 gene regions (16S, 18S, 28S D2, 28S D3–D5, Wg). Bootstrap values are indicated on branches by colored triangles according to support strength. Reduviinae lineages are indicated as red branches and remaining reduviids as blue while outgroup taxa are black. The shaded red box highlights members of the hematophagous Triatominae, here shown as paraphyletic. Red arrowheads refer to the polyphyletic Cetherinae; the asterisk refers to Physoderinae nested within a reduviine clade.
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Jess Popescu @jesspopescu.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
#2026MMM WILDCARD EMOJI BATTLE RESULTS 🦴🆚💉: 🦴👚🐜/💉👚🐜/ 🦴👀🐜/💉👀🐜/🦴💥💉/ 💉🗡️💀/💉🗡️🦴/💉🍽️🥣/ 🏆💉
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WWL-TV (Unofficial) @wwltv-mirror.bsky.social · 08/03/2026
Officials now say more than 30,000 gallons of crude oil were released into the Gulf after a hose failure at the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port near Grand Isle and Port Fourchon.
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Martha Wells @marthawells.com · 08/03/2026
There's an Amazon Kindle sale on Queen Demon (the sequel to Witch King, 2nd book in the Rising World series) today for 2.99, US and Canada www.amazon.com/Queen-Demon-... #booksky
amazon.com
Queen Demon (The Rising World Book 2)
Amazon.com: Queen Demon (The Rising World Book 2) eBook : Wells, Martha: Kindle Store
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David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 07/03/2026
Seafood fraud is rampant, imperiling fish populations, report finds news.mongabay.com/2026/03/seaf... “up to roughly 20% of aquatic products are intentionally mislabeled as the wrong species”
news.mongabay.com
Seafood fraud is rampant, imperiling fish populations, report finds
The global fisheries and aquaculture sector produces more than 150 million metric tons of food per year, valued at nearly $200 billion. Yet it’s plagued with fraud, according to a new report. The…
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Katharine Hayhoe @katharinehayhoe.com · 06/03/2026
When the US govt terminated the National Nature Asst, @phillevin.bsky.social + the author team were determined not to let that stop them. They re-organized, set up an advisory committee, found funding…and now the brand new Nature Record is open for public comment. 👏🌳👏🌲 Check it out (link below)!
nytimes.com
Nature Report, Killed by Trump, Is Released Independently
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Aparna Nair @disabilitystor1.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
This is not just cursed, its monstrous. The digital resurrection of a historian who died in January of this year, all so Grammarly can get some more clicks and engagement from students and/or scholars and/or others. It feels so wrong on so many levels, these ghosts enslaved to AI forever
Vanessa HeggieVanessa Heggie
   • 3rd+Verified • 3rd+
Associate Professor of the History of Science and MedicineAssociate Professor of the History of Science and Medicine
19h • Edited •  19 hours ago • Edited • Visible to anyone on or off LinkedIn

Follow

I don't know where to start with this but... Grammerly is now offering "expert review" of your work by living and dead academics. Yes, dead ones - without anyone's explicit permission it's creating little LLMs based on their scraped work and using their names and reputations. Obscene.
It may be possible to opt out of having YOUR work used to train genAI - https://lnkd.in/eXZB6TY8'
The post includes a screenshot of an option for "Expert Review" in Grammarly from "Selected Experts, David Abulafia, Historian specialising in Mediterranean and global medieval history, author of the Great Sea
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Surprised Eel Historian, PhD @greenleejw.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
Let's talk about eels & dams. 'Cause dams are a problem for eels now, but they haven't always been. Eels can live out of water for a while, & travel overland. Young eels climb up & around small waterfalls as they migrate. And so many medieval dams weren't a problem for them. 1/7 🗃️
Meme. Painting of two eels in the water. They are yellow, and so is the background, so it's unclear if these are yellow eels, or eels seen through a yellow filter. They don't much care, I would guess. The eels are dark on top, and are casting shadows below them, such that they seem like eel sandwiches stuffed into the bread of darkness. They deserve names, so we shall call one of the Olivort and the other Trovilo. You can decide which is which.

One is looking to the left, and one is looking back over its metaphorical shoulder to the right. Neither is looking at you, and I think that's a choice. You should maybe spend some time thinking about why, and then try to move forward and live your life as the sort of person that eels would want to look at.

Meme text reads:
"Weir gonna climb
Right over your dam"
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Reposted by Coral Nerd, Ph.D.
cageyratfish (they) UTC-7 🐟🏳️‍⚧️ @cageyratfish.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
our relatively lax laws about sewage discharge from boats (including, & *especially*, US-based cruise ships) is a *huge* factor in the decreasing food safety of Canadian-cultured Pacific oysters. But urban development in our biggest oyster-farming area is also a huge factor.
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Dr. Dawn Wright @deepseadawn.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
"Say Goodbye to the Undersea Cable That Made the Global Internet Possible" History was unmade last year, as engineers began the massive project of ripping the first-ever transoceanic fiber-optic cable from the ocean floor. Do NOT blame #sharks! www.wired.com/story/say-go... 🌊 🦑
wired.com
Say Goodbye to the Undersea Cable That Made the Global Internet Possible
History was unmade last year, as engineers began the massive project of ripping the first-ever transoceanic fiber-optic cable from the ocean floor. Just don’t mention sharks.
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Ross @rossengineer.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
Excellent 🧵 -
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Globe New Hampshire @globenh.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
The announcement comes after months of protest and pushback from Merrimack residents over the proposal, which was part of a $38 billion initiative to establish a “new detention model” for President Trump’s mass deportation agenda, according to records released earlier this month by Ayotte’s office.
trib.al
Plans for proposed ICE facility in Merrimack, N.H., won’t move forward, governor says - The Boston Globe
The announcement comes after months of protest and pushback from Merrimack residents over the proposal.
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Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 24/02/2026
I'm constantly trying (/failing) to get this point across. If you're a trained expert in a field, then it may be worthwhile to question the scientific consensus of your peers. If you're not, the scientific consensus is absolutely the best you can do and it's arbitrary foolishness to disregard it.
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Marie Enger @ LBX26 Table 409 @soengery.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
Creatures from the deepest sea
A bunch of deep sea fishes including a gulper eel and some angler fish.
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Colin Carlson @colincarlson.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
I know OpenAI's CEO is one of (the?) largest Trump donors. Beyond "GenAI is evil," which, you do not need to convince me, I am looking for *specifics* here: what are the ethical ramifications of giving your money to Anthropic that academics should think about when using Claude Code?
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Helen Czerski @helenczerski.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
Here with AGU President Brandon Jones just after he told me about the official Ocean Sciences Meeting tartan. It’s apparently got the date of the Challenger expedition woven into it. 🌊🌊 Impressed! #OSM26 www.tartanregister.gov.uk/tartanDetail...
Helen Czerski and AGU president Brandon Jones, showing the OSM26 tartan.
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Jacquelyn Gill @jacquelyngill.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
The fundamental premise behind AI-enabled cheating is that coursework is merely busy work, because your'e just doing it for professors. We would never say that showing up for football practice is merely busy work because you're just doing it for your coaches.
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Deep-Ocean Stewardship Initiative @deepstewardship.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
🌊 #OSM2026 kicks off today in Glasgow! DOSI is on-site championing #DeepSea science for climate, biodiversity & governance. 📍 Booth #5 📣 Town Hall on Thursday (TH33F) 💡 Deep-ocean sessions all week: www.dosi-project.org/event/ocean-...
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Paul D. Taylor @nhmbryozoa.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
#MolluscMonday Dating mostly from the 16th and 17th centuries, nautilus shell cups consist of metal-mounted shells sometimes capped by a small figure of Poseidon. This example on display at the British Museum shows remarkably intricate carving of the shell and septa.
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Brian G. aka urbanbohemian 🪩🥂💖 @urbanbohemian.com · 23/02/2026
This info was kinda missing from the conversation yesterday. "The comment, although not clearly audible, was featured in the BBC’s coverage of the ceremony, which was pre-recorded on a two-hour delay before broadcasting on BBC One." Pre-recorded, two-hour delay. They edited out a "Free Palestine".
deadline.com
BBC Removes BAFTA Film Awards From iPlayer After Initially Failing To Cut N-Word From Ceremony
The BBC has apologized after its coverage of the BAFTA Film Awards failed to cut a racial slur shouted by an audience member with Tourette syndrome.
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Coral Nerd, Ph.D. @coralnerd.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
When another species wants to get in on the carcinization
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Danna Staaf @dannastaaf.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
🦑🐙 BIRTHDAY CEPHALOPODS 🐙🦑 I have time and energy to give out cephalodoodles for my birthday again! Reply to this thread today with your request (any cephalopod + anything else) and I'll draw it! Here are some examples from past years:
Drawing of a candy bag with the text "KEN'S cuttles FLAVOR BURST." The corner is torn open and several pink and orange cuttlefish are spilling out.Drawing of a blue octopus at an old-fashioned sewing table. It is sewing a green patch onto a flowery apron.Drawing of a large red squid teaching three small red squid to make letters with their ink. The teacher's ink spells ABC and each student's ink is making a letter with an error: the A has two crossbars, the B has three loops, and the C is backwards.Drawing of a large red squid filling most of a swimming pool and playing with a beach ball.
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Chef Kennedy🐸🏳️‍🌈 @kennedy.northsky.social · 23/02/2026
Congratulations everyone
A chicken walking on the beach the caption is:

If you are seeing this the curse is lifted have a good day
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Dr Rachel Hale Marine Biologist @seafloorscience.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
See for more information: cdn.wildapricot.com/230117/resou...
The front page of the Science Under Threat report on cuts in Aotearoa
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Dr Rachel Hale Marine Biologist @seafloorscience.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
A very US (and slightly EU) focussed discussion on Ocean Science in a Time of Political Uncertainty #OSM26 but these cuts are being felt everywhere. The science workforces in Australia and New Zealand have seen huge cuts as well.
A figure showing the year to year change in the US federal workforce showing a huge decrease (-~25%) in the year 24-25
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Anna Phylaxis @quatoria.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
That’s really the it, man. No one is immune to propaganda, and if you believe you are, yr in a very dangerous place. Marinating in the Nazi stew is affecting people’s brains, and we have actual numbers on that!
theconversation.com
A few weeks of X’s algorithm can make you more right-wing – and it doesn’t wear off quickly
Elon Musk’s social media platform is boosting conservative content – and it’s having long-lasting effects on how users see the world.
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Dr Lindsey Fitzharris @drlindseyfitz.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
Turns out penguins do have knees. They're just not where you think they ought to be. (Can you tell I'm trying to distract you from our collective sense of impending doom by putting out the most random content imaginable?!)
An X-ray of a penguin showing the knees much higher up than you'd think
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FathomNet @fathomnet.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
Attending #OSM26 in Glasgow? Join us for the FathomNet Town Hall on Thursday, Feb. 26 at 12:45. We'll demo the FathomNet Database, Portal, and FathomVerse. Come with questions, leave with solutions. See you there! Save to your calendar: www.fathomnet.org/news/fathomn...
This image is a poster for a FathomNet event at OSM26. It features a blue and white design with ocean imagery, including urchins on the left. The text details a Town Hall about accelerating ocean visual data analysis with FathomNet, scheduled on Thursday, 26 February 2026, from 12:45 to 13:45 at Hall 3, The Sound (SEC). Additional presentations, posters, and networking opportunities are mentioned.
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Z.K.A. (she/her) @pegasusunder.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
Due to the sudden closure of the small press publishing our anthology, we're looking for a new home! "Silk and Foxglove" is a BIPOC anthology of 13 stories of erotic-eco-horror! It's weird, gorgeous, evocative, & unnerving as hell! Please boost! If any small presses are interested, let me know!
Silk and Foxglove anthology, a BIPOC erotic eco-horror anthology, with a collaged artwork of a red circle, a dragonfly, and a sensual rear end!
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Léo sob o céu @leoxyz.bsky.social · 22/02/2026
Sam Altman would rather have your child starve than turn off his computer a bit
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sick public transit, gloria @seung.bsky.social · 22/02/2026
rice is life, and I got a thread to share about rice: Park Chung-hee's obsession to make South Korea rice self-sufficient in the 1970s changed everything about the country, including your favorite Korean foods and the urban environment 🧵
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Coral Nerd, Ph.D. @coralnerd.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
These are Very Good ideas about scientific posters. Especially if your paper is already on preprint/ published, you really don’t need all that text! I also disagree with the “it has to stand on its own” opinion.
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Matt @xenomatt.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
A nudibranch for you, Bluesky! This is a Phyllidia (I'm not sure exactly what species) from Anilao #MarineLife #Invertebrates 🌿
A light blue nudibranch viewed from above. It has an irregular black stripe on each side and two small black marks on its back. It is covered in white tubercles, some of which have yellow tops. The rhinopores are also yellow. It is crawling over a sandy seabed.

#UnderwaterPhotography #MacroPhotography #Macro #Wildlfie #WildlifePhotography
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Mongabay @mongabay.com · 19/02/2026
Brazil’s Amazon deforestation continues to decline into early 2026, with August–January clearing at its lowest for the period since 2014. Annual detected loss also fell to a 2014 low, with the Cerrado seeing declines too. Officials credit stronger enforcement, but long-term risks remain.
news.mongabay.com
Amazon deforestation on pace to be the lowest on record, says Brazil
Brazil’s latest satellite alerts indicate that deforestation in the Amazon has continued to fall into early 2026, extending a downward trend that began after a sharp rise earlier in the decade. Data…
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