iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Rick Moore @prairiedogking.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

CROCODILE DE-FEETS LION!!!! #2026MMM

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it would be so hard going through the day if I were venomous the temptation to bite others would be so great #2026MMM

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Anne Stone @acstone.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

The group who originally generated the draft Gila monster genome is now working a complete genome sequence for this wonderful creature, sequencing every base from telomere to telomere. #2026MMM #RIP

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John Hayden ❌👑🌊 @jhayden.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

uh, THATS SO METAL #2026MMM

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Anne Stone @acstone.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

The first draft of the Gila monster genome was used to study whether there is equal expression of genes on the Z chromosome between males (who have two Z chromosomes) and females (who have a single Z chromosome). academic.oup.com/gbe/article/... #2026MMM

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Anne Stone @acstone.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

Honey badger is one of the species sequenced as part of the Zoonomia project, in an effort to better understand evolutionary constraint, and novel evolutionary genetics. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... #2026MMM

Comparing genomes from 240 species to explore the evolution of placental mammals. The new phylogeny (black lines) has alternating gray and white shading, which distinguishes mammalian orders (labeled around the perimeter). Rings around the phylogeny annotate species phenotypes. Seven species with diverse traits are illustrated, with black lines marking their branch in the phylogeny. Sequence conservation across species is described at the top left. IMAGE CREDIT: K. MORRILL

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Erin Rowland-Schaefer @docrowschaef.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

FIRST UP: 1-seed Honey Badger (Mellivora capensis) vs. 3-seed Gila Monster (Heloderma suspectum). Tonight's battle is a collaboration with @mammalssuck.bsky.social #2026MMM

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And one LAST warning... #2026MMM

TONIGHT is rated C for Carnage: for empirically accurate descriptions of inter-species dynamics, anatomical realities, & historical legacies.

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Tonight begins the randomization of encounter ecosystems as combatants are #MMMagically translocated into the Desert, the Swamp, the Ocean Reef, or the Eucalpyt Forest! WHO will fortune favor TONIGHT? #2026MMM

a man in a suit and tie stands in the desert holding a bottle

ALT: a man in a suit and tie stands in the desert holding a bottle

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Home Habitat Advantage, like the combatants from the Extinction is Forever Division… is now lost to the past! #2026MMM

a person running in a field with trees in the background

ALT: a person running in a field with trees in the background

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Katie Hinde @mammalssuck.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

“Plant blindness” was the term introduced in 1999 by the botanists and educators JH Wandersee (GREAT NAME) & EE Schussler to describe what they saw as a pervasive insensitivity to the green environment & a general neglect of plants on the part of biology education"(Thomas et al. 2022) #2026MMM

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Carlos Chavez Ramirez @carloschalicothere.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

Wildlife officials combat illegal hunting of chital deer, but their meat is not easy to recognize. Scientists created a fast DNA test that only fluoresces when chital DNA is present, which helps identify meat in the field to prevent illegal trading. #2026MMM #RIP doi.org/10.1007/s126...

Fluorescence over time of reactions amplifying Cytochrome B DNA. This genetics test uses primers (short DNA fragments) that only bind to chital DNA. A fluorescence signal is reported only in meat samples from chital deer. This test is fast (under 30 minutes), and requires minimal equipment that can be used in the field.

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Carlos Chavez Ramirez @carloschalicothere.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

Field biologists may identify a species from environmental samples, but determining its sex may require genetic tests. A PCR reaction can identify the sex of chital tissue or fecal samples. A 5:1 male to female ratio was found from samples in India doi.org/10.1007/s120... #2026MMM

PCR products amplifying the amelogenin and SRY genes of deer environmental (tissue and fecal) samples were run on an agarose gel. Male samples show 3 bands (odd number lanes) while female samples show 1 band (even number lanes). A similar test can also be used to distinguish between different deer species.

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Carlos Chavez Ramirez @carloschalicothere.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

There are two remaining Indian rhinoceros populations. Genetic sequencing of rhinos from these two sites showed that Assam is the historical source while the Nepal group formed later when individuals moved from Assam #2026MMM doi.org/10.1016/j.bi...

A parsimony network shows the distribution of rhino mitochondrial DNA haplotypes from individuals in each of the 2 remaining wild populations: Nepal and Assam.

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Erin Rowland-Schaefer @docrowschaef.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

NEXT UP: No. 4 Indian Rhino (Rhinoceros unicornis) vs. No. 13 Chital (Axis axis) #2026MMM

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Erin Rowland-Schaefer @docrowschaef.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

It's time! Tonight will be year two of serving as a narrator for #2026MMM - I still can't believe I get to be a part of something that I've loved for so long...

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Liz Barnes @lizbarnes.bsky.social · 13/02/2026

At the #AAASmeeting, Sudip Parikh & Michael Crow emphasized the need for science communication that builds trust & strengthens relationships. That’s exactly the challenge we’re tackling tomorrow in our session: “Bridging Ideological Divides About Science.” I hope you join us.

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Hank Green @hankgreen.bsky.social · 20/05/2025

Twelve years (and 2.1 billion views) ago, when my brother and I decided that we could make videos that could maybe help people in their high school and college educations and then give them away for free, no one was there to tell us we were crazy, and I am very glad for that...🧵

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Susie Dent @susiedentwords.bsky.social · 02/05/2025

Word of the day is ‘forswunk’ (13th century): exhausted from too much work. I like to think that ‘foreswunk’ is to be exhausted before you even begin.

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Hillary Rodham Clinton @hillaryclinton.bsky.social · 21/04/2025

In Pope Francis’s last public address, he preached care of the marginalized, the vulnerable, and migrants, saying: “I would like all of us to hope anew and to revive our trust in others, including those who are different than ourselves.” May we heed his wish.

Pope Francis: “I would like all of us to hope anew and to revive our trust in others, including those who are different than ourselves, or who come from distant lands, bringing unfamiliar customs, ways of life and ideas! For all of us are children of God!"

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Andrea Thompson @andreatweather.bsky.social · 11/04/2025

This would be utterly disastrous not just for climate research, but this data is very interwoven into the fabric of our economy. As the story notes, farmers and fisheries depend on it. It is *crucial* to the insurance industry.

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THANK YOU EVERYONE for another INCREDIBLE MARCH MAMMAL MADNESS! #2025MMM Please help defend the Arctic and protect Polar Bears! www.defendthearctic.org

a polar bear with its mouth open and teeth showing

ALT: a polar bear with its mouth open and teeth showing

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Time has NOT run out, & each of us can make an impact protecting our communities & recovering our ecosystems- through our time, through our effort, through our choices, through our political engagement, through our thoughtful conversations with loved ones. #2025MMM

a herd of elephants standing in a field with birds flying around them

Alt: a herd of elephants standing in a field with birds flying around them

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March Mammal Madness would not be possible without MUSEUMS, LIBRARIES, & the Department of Education!!! Protect theses essential foundations of our society. These are the fulcrum moments of history on which our future TILTS. #2025MMM

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Further- March Mammal Madness would not be possible without the incredible achievements of scientists the world over, so many funded by those engines of excellence- the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration #2025MMM

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Real Talk: you hear from me A LOT, but March Mammal Madness is made possible by the most incredible teaMMM of the very awesomest people you will ever have the honor of knowing and collaborating with! #2025MMM

a large group of people are standing in a field with the words tannerfrizzell on the bottom right

Alt: a large group of heroes of the MCU are standing in a field.

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jeeyon shim 심지연 @jeeyon.bsky.social · 28/03/2025

Recent weeks, months, years have been full of challenges and heartbreak. For everyone. For all of you here tonight, we are so happy and thankful that you are joining us in this celebration of our natural world. #2025MMM

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The funding for these long COVID research grants was given back bc disability activists urged us to contact our reps persistently, in high volume, and we did. Remember that these tactics work the next time someone tries to get you to passively react instead of taking an active part in organizing!

This returned funding is a rare win for Long COVID advocates and researchers amid a climate of fear and uncertainty. Earlier in the week, the Trump administration ordered the closure of the federal government's Office of Long COVID Research and Practice as part of a wider restructuring of health agencies, and last month, it terminated a federal advisory_committee on Long_COVID.

Long COVID advocates stepped up to contact their representatives and advocate for RECOVER funding and other federal Long COVID initiatives to remain in place. While the research program's broader future remains uncertain, these restored grants are a significant milestone, said RECOVER patient representative Megan Fitzgerald.

"This is so significant because it allows critical studies to better understand how Long COVID affects the body, identify treatment targets, and develop new therapies," she wrote in an email to The Sick Times.
"I'm especially relieved as a parent that this reinstates really important funding for studies in kids. And I think we can all breathe a little easier knowing that all the hard work of patients and researchers over the last few years won't go to waste."

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Katie Hinde @mammalssuck.bsky.social · 28/03/2025

RAMPANT TAIL ENVY IN MY TIMELINE #2025MMM

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Erin Rowland-Schaefer @docrowschaef.bsky.social · 27/03/2025

I have spent three hours trying to solve a problem with census data and ArcGIS so I can extract data for a colleague’s dissertation research. I am somehow no closer to a solution now than I was when I started. I’m going home, we’ll try again tomorrow.

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Katie Hinde @mammalssuck.bsky.social · 27/03/2025

WOW WHAT A NIGHT! Polar Bear Narwhal Gelada Sun Bear Gingko & Rhizzo Alligator Gar Addax & Puma ADVANCE to Tomorrow Night's ELITE TRAIT and the beginning of RANDOM HABITATS! Who will triumph? WHO WILL FALL? #2025MMM