iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Mary Bates

Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

Hey Philly! I need your help finding 3 walls for 10x10ft murals this fall all about the most charismatic bugs in the city. Each mural must be in a different neighborhood, so we have to cast this net as wide as possible. Please help us spread the word! Submit your wall at bit.ly/bugwalls

a 4 by 4 grid of insects that has a metallic grreen tiger beetle, a teal and black speckled sharpshooter with a yellow underbelly, a reddish brown stag beetle, and handsome meadow katydid, with the following words superimposed "Call for mural walls! we're making 3 10x10ft murals about philly's bugs. submit your walls at bit.ly/bugwalls

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Mary Bates @marybates.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

This is what 37.9 inches of snow looks like! From outside Providence, RI.

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Reposted by Mary Bates

Bethany Brookshire @beebrookshire.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

Y'all there are bats that build TENTS to roost. They chew specific parts of a leaf to make it flop into the shape they want. And they are STUNNINGLY cute lil' guys. www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/arti... By @marybates.bsky.social

nationalgeographic.com

These bats make intricate tents out of leaves

A team of National Geographic Explorers is studying how these bats developed their architectural expertise—while cataloguing the various styles of tents they make.

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Mary Bates @marybates.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

I had the opportunity to write about a simply superlative serpent for Nat Geo. At 23 feet 8 inches long, a reticulated python dubbed "The Baroness" is the world's longest wild snake.

nationalgeographic.com

Meet ‘The Baroness’—the world’s longest wild snake

She's more than 23 feet long, and verified by Guinness World Records.

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Mary Bates @marybates.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

Sure, opportunities to play are important contributors to the welfare of captive animals - but observing play behavior may also provides clues to an animal's emotional state. My latest post at Psychology Today:

psychologytoday.com

The Role of Play in Animal Welfare

Play is important for animals in captivity, both as an indicator of their emotional states and as a contributor to their long-term welfare.

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Reposted by Mary Bates

Tom Cox @dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social · 01/02/2026

Fist bump to anyone else caught between the need to bow down & accept the dire, broken reality of the attention economy to continue surviving via their creativity & a desire to disconnect which becomes more vast, and more potentially vital to their sense of inner peace, with every year that passes.

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Mary Bates @marybates.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

In humans, personality similarity between partners can lead to better compatibility and well-being. Is the same true for other pair-bonding primates? Check out my latest blog post:

psychologytoday.com

Monkey Matchmaking and Why It Matters

In humans, personality similarity between partners can lead to better compatibility and well-being. Is the same true for other pair-bonding primates?

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Mary Bates @marybates.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

Watch the sinuous dance of this newly discovered dwarf mantis species in my new @nationalgeographic.bsky.social story. The male performs a snake-like courtship dance - and he avoids getting eaten by his mate! www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/arti...

nationalgeographic.com

Newly discovered mantis species dances like a snake to avoid death after sex

The snake-tail mantis shows there’s more to these insects than just cannibalism.

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Mary Bates @marybates.bsky.social · 15/12/2025

A few photos from my trip last month to Monteverde, Costa Rica - a beautiful place with wonderful people and amazing wildlife.

I smile and look off to the side in the background as I hold an owl butterfly on my hand in the foreground.

A two-toed sloth hanging and looking toward the camera.

A red-eyed tree frog, the national frog of Costa Rica, has red eyes, orange toes, blue-striped sides, and green skin.

I smile, standing inside the hollow of a large strangler fig tree.

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Mary Bates @marybates.bsky.social · 07/11/2025

What happens when bats meet rats? New research suggests it's complicated. For my latest Nat Geo article, I wrote about the the surprising dynamics of bat-rat relationships — and how human activity is fueling these interspecies conflicts.

nationalgeographic.com

Rats wage war on bats in stunning new footage

New videos reveal the surprising dynamics of bat-rat relationships—and suggest how human activity is fueling these interspecies conflicts.

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Mary Bates @marybates.bsky.social · 27/10/2025

This time of year, spiders receive a lot of attention for their creepier qualities. But researchers value them year-round for pulling off impressive cognitive feats with very little brains.

psychologytoday.com

Spiders Are Smart, Not Scary

Spiders aren't just spooky Halloween mascots. Their keen senses, complex behaviors, and diverse lifestyles make them excellent subjects for cognitive studies.

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Mary Bates @marybates.bsky.social · 26/09/2025

Cephalopods have plenty of tricks, and they may be strategic about using them, demonstrating sophisticated cognitive abilities like understanding others' perspectives. www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/anim...

psychologytoday.com

Do Octopuses Mean to Deceive?

Cephalopods like octopuses, cuttlefish, and squid display a range of deceptive behaviors, which may rely on sophisticated cognitive abilities such as Theory of Mind.

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Mary Bates @marybates.bsky.social · 27/08/2025

Human exceptionalism - the idea that we are somehow separate from nature and not inherently linked to (or even like) other beings - is a myth. www.scientificamerican.com/article/huma...

scientificamerican.com

Whales Mourn, Birds Show Self-Awareness, Plants Remember—Are Humans Really So Special?

Other species exhibit capabilities that were once thought to be exclusive to Homo sapiens

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Mary Bates @marybates.bsky.social · 18/08/2025

Some captive apes have more experience participating in research than others. Could this prior experience affect how they think and behave, biasing results from cognitive studies? Check out my latest blog post!

psychologytoday.com

Are Research-Savvy Chimpanzees Skewing Study Results?

Some captive apes have more experience participating in research than others. Could this prior experience affect how they think and behave, biasing results from cognitive studies?

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Mary Bates @marybates.bsky.social · 08/08/2025

Morris and Pepper wonder how you are celebrating International Cat Day.

Two gray and white cats stretched out and sleeping in a sunny window.

A cat in a window hammock leans over to touch another cat below her in a cat bed.

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Mary Bates @marybates.bsky.social · 22/07/2025

Please enjoy some of my embroidered brains and neurons for #worldbrainday.

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Reposted by Mary Bates

Gretchen Goldman, PhD @gretchentg.bsky.social · 21/07/2025

We are six months into the second Trump administration and the scale and severity of its assault on our nation's science and democracy has been unrelenting. Today, @ucs.org releases a detailed assessment of the damage so far and where we go from here: www.ucs.org/resources/sc... #ProtectScience

ucs.org

Science and Democracy Under Siege

Documenting Six Months of the Trump Administration’s Destructive Actions

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Mary Bates @marybates.bsky.social · 16/07/2025

Thinking about my guinea pig companions over the years on this Guinea Pig Appreciation Day - including Tiger, Stella, Stanley, Lentil, and Garbanzo. They were all very good pigs.

Two guinea pigs, Garbanzo and Lentil, look out from their habitat.

Stanley, a ginger guinea pig, looks clean and happy after a bath.

Seven-year-old me holding my childhood guinea pig, Tiger.

College-age me sitting on the grass with my guinea pig Stella on a halter.

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Mary Bates @marybates.bsky.social · 16/07/2025

Trail cameras in the Amazon captured an odd couple - an ocelot and an opossum - wandering around together. “Like two old friends walking home from a bar,” according to one scientist. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/15/s...

nytimes.com

Videos From the Amazon Reveal an Unexpected Animal Friendship

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Reposted by Mary Bates

Catarina Vila-Pouca @catarina-vp.bsky.social · 15/07/2025

It was a pleasure talking to Mary about our apparatus to take fish cognition research into the wild! 🐟🧠 Read it on Psychology Today ⬇️⬇️ with @kotrschal.bsky.social and @amydeacon.bsky.social

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Mary Bates @marybates.bsky.social · 10/07/2025

Fish are smarter than you think! They can distinguish and remember individuals, navigate with mental maps, cooperate and communicate with one another, build complex structures, use tools, and keep track of quantities.

psychologytoday.com

Fish Are Smarter Than You Think

Researchers developed a way to run tests on fish learning and memory in the animals' natural environments. The results may reveal that fish are smarter than previously assumed.

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Mary Bates @marybates.bsky.social · 02/07/2025

Researchers have documented 34 instances over two decades in which wild orcas have offered food to humans. www.apa.org/news/press/r... And the original paper: psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/202...

apa.org

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Reposted by Mary Bates

David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 17/06/2025

My latest for American Scientist Magazine helps give scientists the tools to fight back against politicized charges that our research is silly or pointless- tools that will work whether you’re asked “why are we funding this” from your asshole uncle at Thanksgiving or an asshole US Senator. 🧪🌎

americanscientist.org

“Why Are We Funding This?”

Long-standing myths about “silly science” have contributed to the reckless slashing of government-supported research.

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Mary Bates @marybates.bsky.social · 17/06/2025

Sometimes you just have to take a break to nap in a pile with friends.

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Reposted by Mary Bates

Scott Waldman @scottpwaldman.bsky.social · 16/06/2025

Trump claims climate change is a “hoax.” Now, his administration is silencing government research that proves him wrong. Climate-monitoring spacecraft will be shut down, thousands of scientists have been dismissed, invaluable data eliminated. The assault has just begun www.eenews.net/articles/how...

eenews.net

How Trump’s assault on science is blinding America to climate change

Through budget cuts and layoffs, the administration has begun to cripple the government's ability to research global warming.

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Reposted by Mary Bates

Union of Concerned Scientists @ucs.org · 15/06/2025

Since Inauguration Day, 418 actions by the administration may have undermined science—66 in the last month alone. Check out @jbd-phd.bsky.social’s snapshot of this chaotic moment and find ways to help protect federal science.

act.ucsusa.org

Science Under Fire in Washington

We’re seeing an even more obvious effort from the Trump administration to co-opt science in its efforts to undermine scientific integrity.

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Mary Bates @marybates.bsky.social · 04/06/2025

There is a barred owl family living in the woods near my house - two adults and a juvenile!

An adult barred owl stares at the camera from the foliage.

A juvenile barred owl perching on a branch in the woods.

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Mary Bates @marybates.bsky.social · 27/05/2025

I found this little guy sunning on our front walkway. Possibly a DeKay's brownsnake?

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Mary Bates @marybates.bsky.social · 13/05/2025

A pair of mallards has discovered our bird feeder, much to Pepper's delight.

A cat is crouched down watching a male and female mallard duck outside a window beneath a bird feeder.

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Mary Bates @marybates.bsky.social · 07/05/2025

Sorry, there are no comfies left. Pepper has taken all of them.

A gray and white cat is curled up, eyes closed, and resting her cheek on the side of her cat bed.

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Mary Bates @marybates.bsky.social · 01/05/2025

Just a little guy, hard at work.

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Mary Bates @marybates.bsky.social · 24/04/2025

Lessons from adopting lab mice: "In the end, we are all vulnerable beings who are here only briefly. The best thing we can do is take good care of one another." 💜

nautil.us

Living with Lab Mice

A philosopher reflects on their unexpected roommates

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