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Ken Rice

@kenrice.bsky.social
3K followers 915 following 406 posts

Interested in #scicomm, in particular about astronomy and climate change. Professor of Computational Astrophysics and Head of Institute for Astronomy, Univ. of Edinburgh. Views own, of course.

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Ken Rice @kenrice.bsky.social · 10h
I'm probably missing something, but I don't even understand the response. Why should they learn to spell "although"?
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Ken Rice @kenrice.bsky.social · 13h
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Research Professional News @resprofnews.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
New evidence raises questions for UKRI on edited STFC minutes Funder insists amended minutes are “accurate summary”, despite differing with slide presented to council www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...
researchprofessionalnews.com
New evidence raises questions for UKRI on edited STFC minutes - Research Professional News
Funder insists amended minutes are “accurate summary”, despite differing with slide presented to council
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Ken Rice @kenrice.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
How Saudi oil scientists ended up working on the world’s most important climate reports
Guardian investigation reveals fossil fuel links of IPCC authors, with experts declaring the body’s conflict of interest policy ‘not fit for purpose’
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Michael E. Mann @michaelemann.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
It is with tremendous sadness and sense of loss that we regretfully share the news that @penncssm.bsky.social senior research fellow, and my close personal friend Joseph Romm has passed away unexpectedly. He will be sorely missed here. web.sas.upenn.edu/pcssm/news/r...
web.sas.upenn.edu
Remembering Dr. Joe Romm
It is with great sadness that the Penn Center for Science, Sustainability and the Media shares news of the passing of PCSSM Senior Research Fellow Dr. Joe Romm. Please find below an obituary prepared ...
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Andrew Dessler @andrewdessler.com · 04/09/2026
On The Climate Brink, I post my comment about the USGCRP's proposed amendment to eliminate RCP8.5/SSP5-8.5 from the National Climate Assessment. www.theclimatebrink.com/p/the-worst-...
theclimatebrink.com
The Worst Case Is Still on the Table
Why removing RCP8.5 from the National Climate Assessment would be a serious mistake
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Ken Rice @kenrice.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
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Ken Rice @kenrice.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
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Ken Rice @kenrice.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
RealClimate: Koonin’s Temperature of the LOL Stratosphere www.realclimate.org/index.php/ar...
realclimate.org
RealClimate: Koonin’s Temperature of the LOL Stratosphere
RealClimate: A new paper undermines totally inaccurate claims in the DOE report. Readers will recall the litany of cherry picks, misrepresentations and evasions in the DOE "Climate Working Group" (CWG...
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Ken Rice @kenrice.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
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Ken Rice @kenrice.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
"Accused of" makes it sound like it might not be.
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Ken Rice @kenrice.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
theguardian.com
University of Cambridge whistleblower who reported alleged bullying wins employment tribunal
Prof Wyn Evans, who raised concerns over treatment of female staff at Institute of Astronomy, was subject to ‘baseless’ investigation, judge rules
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Ken Rice @kenrice.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Very amusing, even if I don't quite recognise what's being described. Of course, maybe the work just hasn't reached my desk yet.
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ESO @eso.org · 15/07/2026
Ten years of hide-and-seek! 🫣 Astronomers used our VLT to find a new #exoplanet orbiting the famous star Beta Pictoris — hiding in archival ESO observations spanning over a decade! And it's shyer than any exoplanet we've imaged before. 🔭 🧪 1/3 📷 ESO/B. Sutlieff, M. Bonse et al.
Image of a star system. The central star is hidden behind a coronagraph, marked by a white star symbol at the centre. A bright companion appears to the left, while a much fainter companion, indicated by a white arrow, is visible to the right against a reddish-orange background.
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Dr Ella Gilbert @drgilbz.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
The UK ‘only’ contributes 1% of global emissions – in our new article for @theconversation.com we show why it doesn't make us exempt from climate action. theconversation.com/uk-only-cont... @chlobrim.bsky.social @eciu.net @bas.ac.uk @ox.ac.uk
theconversation.com
UK ‘only’ contributes 1% global emissions – but alongside many other countries, that all adds up
If many countries take the stance that ‘we’re only contributing 1% of global emissions’, responsibility dwindles and action stalls.
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Robin Bisson @robinbisson.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
For 6 months the line from DSIT & UKRI on STFC cuts has been that no final decisions have been taken That is no longer the case, after DSIT approved UKRI's proposal for how to save £162m British research at Cern will be hit, along with UK science facilities Scoop by me & @francesjones.bsky.social
researchprofessionalnews.com
UK research at Cern to shrink as government approves STFC cuts - Research Professional News
Exclusive: Science department approves UKRI’s cost-saving proposal, with major UK facilities also facing cutbacks
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Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans @astroroyalscot.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
While UKRI ponders our fate it was deeply disappointing to see the 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿Royal Observatory MP responding to our concerns with "funding for STFC has not been cut". True, but flat-cash to cover rising UK facility electricity costs and inflation = cuts to physics and astronomy. #AnswerTheQuestion 😡🔭🧪
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Ken Rice @kenrice.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Indeed!
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Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans @astroroyalscot.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
At today's UKRI board meeting, the fate of UK particle physics and astronomy will likely be decided. Have we done enough to convince the powers-that-be to halt the proposed funding cuts? 🤞 Read Prof. Hiranya Peiris in Nature today eloquently explaining why these cuts are wrong.🧪🔭⚛️ 📖: rdcu.be/friwM
Restructuring research funding as a choice between discovery and application gets the economics wrong, the evidence wrong and the people wrong.

A premise is gaining traction in science policy on both sides of the Atlantic: that fundamental and applied research are competing claims on the same budget, and that the balance must shift towards application. In the USA, the current administration has proposed cuts of billions of dollars to the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. In the UK, the national funding agency UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is restructuring its portfolio around government growth priorities, with curiosity-driven research nominally protected but the grant lines that actually fund investigators under severe pressure. The language varies — ‘doing fewer things better’, ‘aligning research with industrial strategy’ — but the underlying logic is the same. Fundamental science, the argument goes, is a luxury that becomes dispensable when budgets are tight. This premise is wrong, and the consequences of acting on it are already visible.
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Conor Fitzpatrick @fitzparticle.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
www.nature.com/articles/s42... banger piece in Nature Reviews Physics from Hiranya V. Peiris. 'fewer things better' is a fake idea.
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James Dyke @jamesgdyke.info · 28/06/2026
www.technosphere.earth/the-bonfire-...
technosphere.earth
The bonfire of the humanities
150 academic posts at the University of Exeter are to be cut, most in the humanities but also in social sciences, engineering and environmental sciences
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Ken Rice @kenrice.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
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John Gibbons 🇵🇸 🇺🇦 🇪🇺 @thinkorswim.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
This fact needs to be front and centre in how we report on these ever more frequent and severe weather events, but sadly and despite the overwhelming evidence of #climate impacts, it’s still barely mentioned. www.businessgreen.com/news/4531807...
businessgreen.com
'Unequivocally to blame': Study confirms heatwave's link to climate change
Attribution study reveals how record temperatures would have previously been 'virtually impossible' without climate impacts, as calls grow for government to strengthen heat stress plans
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Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans @astroroyalscot.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
'A senior member of one of STFC’s advisory bodies told RPN that the..exercise represents “a major crisis for the UK"...all of the outcomes modelled are “shocking”....the government would be “committing an act of national self-harm by imposing these cuts”.' 🙏 @francesjones.bsky.social
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Andrew Dessler @andrewdessler.com · 16/06/2026
New on The Climate Brink: How fossil-fuel interests are attacking Extreme Event Attribution science www.theclimatebrink.com/p/the-mercha...
theclimatebrink.com
Merchants of Doubt and the attacks on Extreme Event Attribution science
Doubt is still their product
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Peter Coles 🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍⚧️ 🇮🇪 @telescoper.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
What’s the French for Schadenfreude? Étienne Klein's appropriation of a silly joke was of no consequence, but at the time I couldn't help wondering how someone who would do that might behave with things that actually matter. Now I know the answer, and it's more than worrying. An investigation into…
telescoper.blog
What’s the French for Schadenfreude?
Étienne Klein's appropriation of a silly joke was of no consequence, but at the time I couldn't help wondering how someone who would do that might behave with things that actually matter. Now I know the answer, and it's more than worrying. An investigation into the PhD thesis of Etienne Klein by Paris Cité University has concluded that there is extensive evidence of plagiarism in it. Who needs AI when you have Etienne Klein? The University has now decided to withdraw Klein's doctorate, which was awarded in 1999.
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Ken Rice @kenrice.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
When is rare good news on climate science actually bad? When News Corp misrepresents it | Temperature Check
The worst-case scenario for a high-emissions scenario has been revised downward – but the best-case option is now implausible
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Ken Rice @kenrice.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
👇Spot in, in my view.
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Ken Rice @kenrice.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
‘Happiness is not just about GDP’: ambitious plan or utopia?
Some will question its credibility – but the alternative future to the one imagined in the Global Justice Report is far more bleak
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The Empty City @davidallengreen.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
This, on the death of Henry Nowak, is an outstanding piece of journalism by @stephenkb.bsky.social www.ft.com/content/aa94...
ft.com
What Henry Nowak’s murder does — and does not — tell us about policing
Kemi Badenoch says his killing needs to be seen as a ‘Stephen Lawrence moment’ but the failures in both cases differ
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Ken Rice @kenrice.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Good to know that it's not just my university that does this kind of stuff. "Good" in a not "good" way, of course.
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Ken Rice @kenrice.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
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Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans @astroroyalscot.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
My apologies for not doing this in the first place Claire. Free to read version: rdcu.be/floXQ
Screengrab of a Nature World View paper "A change in UK policy jeopardises the future of UK astrophysics"
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Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans @astroroyalscot.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
"Someone, somewhere, has taken the decision to defund astrophysics research in the UK, but no-one seems quite sure who that was, or why." The latest on the impact of the catastrophic funding cuts to UK astrophysics, by me, in @natastron.nature.com 👩‍🔬🧪🔭 ✒️ www.nature.com/articles/s41...
World View:  A change in UK policy jeopadizes the future of UK astrophysics - By Catherine Heymans

The latest budget proposal announced by the largest UK science funding agency threatens to severely affect UK astrophysics research. My colleagues and I are fighting back.
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Ken Rice @kenrice.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
Indeed. 🧵
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Ken Rice @kenrice.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
open.substack.com/pub/heated/p...
open.substack.com
Kate Marvel on the nerd purge
The prominent climate scientist explains how pronouns have become more important than the planet at the nation's space agency.
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Kate Aronoff @katearonoff.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
I went deep on RCP8.5, and how a climate scenario that's well over a decade old became the subject of a ridiculously bad-faith culture war newrepublic.com/article/2108...
newrepublic.com
Trump Twisted a Climate Debate Beyond Recognition
​Researchers concluded that one future climate scenario is unlikely to happen. Right-wingers went wild.
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Ken Rice @kenrice.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
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Ken Rice @kenrice.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
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Ken Rice @kenrice.bsky.social · 24/05/2026
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Dr. Genevieve Guenther (she/they) @doctorvive.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
On the long tail of this week's Discourse about RCP8.5, @michaelemann.bsky.social and I want to say: "as important as it is to acknowledge progress, it is equally important to counter the disinformation that says we no longer need to worry about the climate future."👇 thebulletin.org/2026/05/sorr...
It would be quite the pyrrhic victory to celebrate the marginal bending of a hypothetical emissions curve only to find ourselves in a world where-among a multitude of other, interlocking, compounding disasters-it becomes difficult to grow food in Southeast Asia, Africa, California, and Europe; the world enters in irreversible economic crisis because the housing sector becomes uninsurable;
and 4.7 billion people experience potentially lethal heat.
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Ken Rice @kenrice.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
andthentheresphysics.wordpress.com/2026/05/23/r...
andthentheresphysics.wordpress.com
RCP8.5 update
If you’ve been paying attention to the climate debate on social media you might have noticed the RCP8.5 debate rearing it’s ugly head again. This is because a new set of emission/concen…
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Kate Marvel @drkatemarvel.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
“RCP8.5 is dead but we still might reach RCP8.5 temperatures by 2150”
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Ken Rice @kenrice.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
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Ken Rice @kenrice.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
"The fantasy version of the normal updating of scenarios for a new round of CMIP simulations doing the rounds is bad faith BS." ---- Scenarios, schmenarios… www.realclimate.org/index.php/ar...
realclimate.org
RealClimate: Scenarios, schmenarios…
RealClimate: The fantasy version of the normal updating of scenarios for a new round of CMIP simulations doing the rounds is bad faith BS. As climate folk will know, the community is currently embarki...
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Ken Rice @kenrice.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
www.carbonbrief.org/factcheck-tr...
carbonbrief.org
Factcheck: Trump’s false claims about the IPCC and ‘RCP8.5’ climate scenario - Carbon Brief
In this factcheck, Carbon Brief looks at Trump’s comments, the debate around RCP8.5 and the “good” and “bad” news within the latest scenarios.
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Ken Rice @kenrice.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
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Ken Rice @kenrice.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
open.substack.com/pub/theclima...
open.substack.com
On the death of RCP8.5
We should celebrate progress, but not overstate it
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