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Raptor's Nest (He/Him)

@drmambobob.bsky.social
2.1K followers 346 following 105 posts

Palaeobiologist | Data Scientist | Samurai Website: manabusakamoto.uk Find me on Mastodon: @drmambobob@ecoevo.social

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Raptor's Nest (He/Him) @drmambobob.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
I think this is important... @blumineck.bsky.social youtube.com/shorts/LZhS_...
youtube.com
Educating haters (again)
YouTube video by blumineck
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Emiliano Mellino @mellino.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
The UK government is making upwards of £4.9bn in profit from visa fees, citizenship fees & the immigration health surcharge. Meanwhile, people are getting into thousands of pounds of debt or going without food just to afford to these immigration fees. www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2026...
thebureauinvestigates.com
Government makes £5bn a year from immigration fees while applicants…
Home Office’s fees are up to 10 times the processing cost – and rising every year
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Richie Daiches Barlow @thedogwalker.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
This post by Zack just under a year ago shows how big a movement the Green Party has become Total Members surpassed 200,000 in March 2026 & climbed to approximately 230,000 by mid-2026 The youth wing crossed 50,000 members in April 2026 Together we can change the narrative join.greenparty.org.uk
join.greenparty.org.uk
Join the Green Party
Join the Green Party from just £6 a year. Become a member today - join the only party standing up for people and planet.
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Raptor's Nest (He/Him) @drmambobob.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
I feel like Python is just R but for computer scientists...LOL #RStats #Python #datascience
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Raptor's Nest (He/Him) @drmambobob.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
For a long time I thought Richard Attenborough’s John Hammond was saying “spent no expense”… #misheard #jurassicpark
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Raptor's Nest (He/Him) @drmambobob.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
‘Our Anger Over Jason Arday’s Death Is Not Enough’ bylinetimes.com/2026/09/04/o...
bylinetimes.com
'Our Anger Over Jason Arday’s Death Is Not Enough'
As Cambridge University launch an inquiry into the case of Professor Arday, led by former Chief Prosecutor Nazir Afzal, Richard Sudan from The Voice argues his death must inspire action, accountabilit...
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Kenneth De Baets @djbirddanerd.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Interpreting Biotic Interactions in the Fossil Record: Evidence and Evolutionary Significance #paleobiology #paleobiology #fossils #ecology #evolution #EarthHistory #biodiversity
doi.org
Interpreting Biotic Interactions in the Fossil Record: Evidence and Evolutionary Significance
Fossil biotic interactions (fBIs) provide a critical but underutilized window into the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of life through time. Unlike modern ecological data, the fossil record captu...
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Raptor's Nest (He/Him) @drmambobob.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Came across this paper by @dsrovinsky.bsky.social Pretty cool! #science #palaeobiology #palaeontology #paleontology #paleobiology
nature.com
Skull morphology of the extinct Tasmanian tiger suggests unique biting style - Nature Communications
The recently extinct thylacine was Australia’s largest marsupial predator and famously likened to dog-family carnivorans such as wolves. However, here the authors show that its skull functioned differ...
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Zack Polanski @zackpolanski.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Someone has died after a relentless press campaign. The very least the public is entitled to is an investigation into the press’ role in these events and an independent body to review complaints against the press in the future. www.hackedoff.org/blog-posts/p...
hackedoff.org
Defensive, evasive & hypocritical: The press reaction to the death of Jason Arday
The reaction of national newspapers to the death of Professor Jason Arday has exposed a brittle defensiveness at the heart of the press, and a determination to remain outside any meaningful accountabi...
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Nate O @nateo.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Jesse Singal (naturally) gets the facts wrong. I’m glad people are aware of Cofnas; we’ve known of him for years, a large number of Ghent academics objected to the strange hiring practices behind Cofnas arriving at Ghent in February. This is the uni finally acting in response to reputational damage
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Raptor's Nest (He/Him) @drmambobob.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
I am sure to upset some Star Wars fans but I think Grand Admiral Thrawn is Hans Landa from Inglorious Basterds. #starwars #thrawn #ingloriousbasterds
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Raptor's Nest (He/Him) @drmambobob.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
New paper out in PNAS on hominin body size evolution www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... #evolution #evolutionaryBiology #science
pnas.org
Competing models of hominin body size evolution | PNAS
The evolutionary trajectory of hominin body size remains contested, with prior studies suggesting a gradual increase or lineage-specific shifts. He...
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Raptor's Nest (He/Him) @drmambobob.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Luke Skywalker is NOT a power fantasy. This is why I didn't like the Mandalorian S2 ending, and I really loved The Last Jedi. #starwars
youtube.com
Luke Skywalker is NOT a power fantasy
YouTube video by Pop Culture Detective
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Raptor's Nest (He/Him) @drmambobob.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
ParkRun is not a competitive sport. There are no men’s or women‘s categories. We just all line up at the start line and go at the same time. The most important thing is that you try to show up every week. It’s the single most effective public health intervention.
ecoevo.social
Raptor's Nest (He/Him) (@drmambobob@ecoevo.social)
This is ridiculous. ParkRun is a run not a race. Women don’t compete against women. Neither do men compete against men. It’s also held at parks, out in the open. It’s a run, not a race! #parkrun #t...
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Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
News on #SVPCA, a (mostly) UK-based annual meeting devoted to vertebrate palaeontology. Things have been quiet about the meeting for the last 18 months, but a team of us are working to pick up where we left off. More details to follow ASAP, hopefully very soon. #FossilFriday #paleontology #fossil
For those who struggle to read from graphics, here's the wording in plain text: 

"After a year off in 2025 and a period of silence, organisers of recent SVPCA have met with other interested parties to discuss future symposia, including provisional plans for a meeting in late August or early September 2026. 

More details to follow very soon."
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g @g--0.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
this is the latest AI booster talking point “we don’t know if LLMs are alive because we don’t really understand the human brain” this is NONSENSE. We understand how LLMs work, we know what they are doing and what they are not doing. How human brains or hands or feet work is not relevant!
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Mac William Bishop @macwbishop.bsky.social · 17/01/2026
Now the actual military has to dress like it’s not the military cuz federal law enforcement agencies dress too much like the military
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Zack Polanski @zackpolanski.bsky.social · 18/01/2026
Palantir was a warning sign. Keir Starmer choosing to hand our data and security to US tech companies is an outrageous failure of judgment. All in the name of "investment." What about national security?
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Raptor's Nest (He/Him) @drmambobob.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
A lot of people seem to think that "common sense" prevails over education (and science)... #education #science
ecoevo.social
Raptor's Nest (He/Him) (@drmambobob@ecoevo.social)
A lot of people seem to think that "common sense" prevails over education (and science). It used to be common sense to dump raw sewage onto the streets which then contaminated the clean water source. ...
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Raptor's Nest (He/Him) @drmambobob.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
Here's a link to a conversation on this: ecoevo.social/@drmambobob/...
ecoevo.social
Raptor's Nest (He/Him) (@drmambobob@ecoevo.social)
I know rejection is common in academia but every application takes so much energy and time that every rejection is a literal waste of all that expended energy that doesn't get rewarded. #academia
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Raptor's Nest (He/Him) @drmambobob.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
I know rejection is common in academia but every application takes so much energy and time that every rejection is a literal waste of all that expended energy that doesn't get rewarded. #academia
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Raptor's Nest (He/Him) @drmambobob.bsky.social · 10/01/2026
If you can use existing tools and skill set to accomplish something effectively, then there’s no point in learning new skills and tools unless they let you do something you can’t do. #skills #datascience
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Steve Brusatte @stevebrusatte.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
In shock to hear that Richard Forrest passed this morning. What a guy. I've met few people as enthusiastic about fossils. He had a whole life, whole career, outside of the academic world but made huge contributions to scholarship. And was so kind and welcoming to everyone. RIP.
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Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
All plesiosaurs today for #FossilFriday, in tribute to our departed friend Richard Forrest.
Plesiosaurus dolichodeirus scavenges a dead pterosaurA gloomy image of the elasmosaur Albertonectes foraging in the deep sea."Plesiosaurus" macrocephalus, a species known only from a famous but poorly studied juvenile specimen, and its possible parent: a mature rhomaelosaurid.Elasmosaurid Thalassomedon surfaces to take a breath. This image shows what you may have actually seen from a boat while marine reptile watching, once we consider the physics of how plesiosaurs moved and floated.
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Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
Just learned that Richard Forrest, one of the pillars of British vert palaeo, has passed away unexpectedly. Richard was such a friendly, welcoming person, an expert on British marine reptiles, and the unofficial custodian of SVPCA. We spent many hours chatting in various pubs. He will be missed.
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Jeremy Lockwood @valdosaurus.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
#FossilFriday a magnificent Iguanodon dinosaur skull from the Bernissart collection in Brussels. The prominent arch is the palpebral made up of two bones in Iguanodon presumably to protect the eye as it foraged through spiky Early Cretaceous plants or maybe it acted as a sunshade in those hot times.
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Dr Dave Hone @davehone.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
Last year I published a chapter with @richardfallon.bsky.social comparing Conan Doyle's Lost World with Crichton's Jurassic Park and the parallels between the two. Yesterday we were awarded 'Doylean Honors' from the Arthur Conan Doyle Society for our scholarship. acdsociety.com/Honors/Honor...
uclpress.co.uk
Palaeontology in Public
Since the establishment of concepts of deep time in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, palaeontology has been one of the most high-profile sciences. Dinosaurs, mammoths, human ancesto...
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Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
Naming a police officer is not doxxing. We aren’t supposed to have secret police in America.
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Raptor's Nest (He/Him) @drmambobob.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
I love terrestrial isopods! ecoevo.social/@drmambobob/...
ecoevo.social
Raptor's Nest (He/Him) (@drmambobob@ecoevo.social)
Attached: 4 images Look what I got! #zoology #toys
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Prof Susie Maidment @tweetisaurus.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
Out in @nature.com today, we shake up the ornithischian family tree. Remember those weird Late Cretaceous iguanodontians, the rhabdodontids? Well they're weird because they aren't iguanodontians. They're ceratopsians. Well, at least some of them are... www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
A hidden diversity of ceratopsian dinosaurs in Late Cretaceous Europe - Nature
New results indicate that rhabdodontids and the previously described Ajkaceratops are actually distinctive European ceratopsians, a group better known from Asia and North America.
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Steve Brusatte @stevebrusatte.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
A shake-up of the dinosaur family tree! Rhabdodontids are not ornithopods. They are ceratopsians. There were horned dinosaurs in Europe! As shown by a new fossil of Ajkaceratops from Hungary! Check out our new study, led by @tweetisaurus.bsky.social ⤵️
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Raptor's Nest (He/Him) @drmambobob.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
Still time to apply for this PhD studentship on the phylogenetics and evolution of felids!
findaphd.com
Bayesian and Machine Learning Approaches to Reveal the Evolutionary Synamics of the Early Diversification, Dispersal, and Adaptive Evolution of Living and Fossil Felidae at University of Reading on Fi...
PhD Project - Bayesian and Machine Learning Approaches to Reveal the Evolutionary Synamics of the Early Diversification, Dispersal, and Adaptive Evolution of Living and Fossil Felidae at University of...
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Raptor's Nest (He/Him) @drmambobob.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
Still time to apply for this PhD studentship on evolution and environmental changes in Polystira! blogs.reading.ac.uk/crocus-dla/c...
blogs.reading.ac.uk
CR2026_28 – Crocus DLA
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Raptor's Nest (He/Him) @drmambobob.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
Still time to apply for this PhD studentship on the evolution of dragonflies! blogs.reading.ac.uk/crocus-dla/c...
blogs.reading.ac.uk
CR2026_43 – Crocus DLA
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Sascha Stronach🏳️‍⚧️, The Sunforge out now @understatesmen.bsky.social · 29/12/2025
"because AI is being crammed into everything, I could be using it at any time, it's hard to avoid!" should make you angry, not make you go "welp guess I gotta accept AI now"
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Geology Johnson @geologyjohnson.bsky.social · 29/12/2025
In the process of transitioning away from Adobe and MS Office, exactly because of this sort of crap.
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Raptor's Nest (He/Him) @drmambobob.bsky.social · 23/12/2025
Most people confuse subject expertise with instantaneous encyclopaedic recollection. If that’s what an expert is, then yes, LLMs can definitely replace experts. But thats not what subject expertise is.
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Raptor's Nest (He/Him) @drmambobob.bsky.social · 22/12/2025
As an educator I’m baffled why we’re being told LLMs are good tools for studying…reviewing the literature and summarising key information is a core set of skills that you should have as a graduate level subject expert.
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Faine Greenwood @faineg.com · 21/12/2025
suspect a big reason why many academics and others who work in areas where getting facts RIGHT is key are disinterested in using LLMs for research: they’ve tried it, they keep noticing major errors in output, and they conclude that having to verify all that doesn’t actually save them time.
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Silkabelli (cittadina UE 🇪🇺) @silkabelli.eurosky.social · 21/12/2025
Yes, this is exactly what happened to me. I lost more time checking and verifying than doing it myself, so I quit
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Faine Greenwood @faineg.com · 21/12/2025
I am highlighting a bunch of examples of people genuinely trying to use LLMs and genuinely not finding them very useful to illustrate that this really isn’t just a “rabid AI haters who’ve never actually tried it” conversation
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Russell Garwood @russellgarwood.co.uk · 22/12/2025
Looking for a PhD in palaeontology or associated fields? Just a heads up that we have a list of opportunities on the @thepalass.bsky.social website: palass.org/phd-opportun... ⚒️🧪🦀🦑 #evosky (If you're advertising one, you can add it to our listings too: palass.org/form/webform... )
palass.org
PhD Opportunities | The Palaeontological Association
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Raptor's Nest (He/Him) @drmambobob.bsky.social · 18/12/2025
“I know it kills puppies but it’s inevitable and we’ll lose out if we don’t use it!” Does this sound convincing to you?
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Matthew Harrison @matthewharrison.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
Look, the thing I noticed, rereading the article, is how many of the people were complaining about being excluded from jobs that they didn't even apply for.
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Katharine Hayhoe @katharinehayhoe.com · 17/12/2025
"We have known since the calculations of Nobel prize-winning physical chemist Svante Arrhenius in the 1890s of the impact increasing CO2 would have on temperature," Hayhoe said, citing scientific literature from 1896. YES - 1896. That's how long we've known. factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com....
A screengrab of the AFP headline debunking the claim that doubling CO2 will not impact the planet.
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Raptor's Nest (He/Him) @drmambobob.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
“The slanted-eyes pose is often seen as disrespectful to East Asians.” “Often”? So there are instances where this isn’t disrespectful to East Asians? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Miss Finland's viral 'slanted-eyes' photo stirs racism firestorm
Ex- Miss Universe contestant Sarah Dzafce has drawn backlash in East Asia and in her own country.
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Raptor's Nest (He/Him) @drmambobob.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
Brits saying US-style private health care is better than the NHS is just absolutely bonkers.
youtu.be
Reform UK Is PRO PRIVATE HEALTHCARE In Shocking Admission!
YouTube video by Maximilien Robespierre
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Joel Morris @gralefrit.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
“People have every right to own property, but we must balance that with the demands of burglars to steal that property and sell it.” Fuck off. And tell your loser tech mates to fuck off while you’re at it. Cheers. Ta. www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Last month, Kendall indicated she was sympathetic to artists' demands not to have their copyrighted works scraped by AI companies without payment and wanted to
"reset" the debate. "People rightly want to get paid for the work that they do," she said, and "we have to find a way that both sectors can grow and thrive in future".
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Raptor's Nest (He/Him) @drmambobob.bsky.social · 15/12/2025
This paper coauthored with a former undergraduate research student was on the shortlist for the @thepalass.bsky.social Best Paper in Palaeontology Prize 2025. It started its life as a 3rd year dissertation so I'm really pleased with it, even if it didn't win the prize.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Elevated evolutionary rates of biting biomechanics reveal patterns of extraordinary craniodental adaptations in some herbivorous dinosaurs
Adaptation to specialist ecological niches is a key innovation that has contributed to the evolutionary success of many vertebrate clades, underpinning the acquisition of diverse skull morphologies. ....
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