iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Dr. Mary T. Silcox

Bob Wong @bbmwong.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Are you an ecologist/evolutionary biologist looking for an ongoing academic position? Monash University’s School of Biological Sciences is hiring! Come join us in Melbourne, Australia! Details here: careers.pageuppeople.com/513/cw/en/jo...

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Dr. Mary T. Silcox @marytsilcox.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

The University of Toronto Mississauga invites applications for a tenure stream Assistant Professor position in Paleoanthroplogy. Deadline to apply is October 15, 2026. Full details: jobs.utoronto.ca/job/Mississa...

jobs.utoronto.ca

Assistant Professor - Palaeoanthropology

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Dr. Mary T. Silcox @marytsilcox.bsky.social · 16/11/2025

So proud of all of you! Wish I’d been there!

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Reposted by Dr. Mary T. Silcox

Sergi López-Torres @sergilopeztorres.bsky.social · 25/09/2025

New paper out in JVP, in which we describe two new species of the basal paromomyid primate Paromomys from the Paleocene of Alberta 🇨🇦 By Craig Scott, myself, @marytsilcox.bsky.social & Lisa Bohach. doi.org/10.1080/0272...

Mandibles and isolated molars of the new species Paromomys borealis

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Reposted by Dr. Mary T. Silcox

Trends in Ecology & Evolution @cp-trendsecolevo.bsky.social · 17/04/2025

Recently, there’s been a lot of discussion about diversity in science. However, disability/chronic conditions has been absent. In response, Trends in Ecology & Evolution is publishing a series of interviews with ecologists and evolutionary biologists who are disabled or have a chronic condition.

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Reposted by Dr. Mary T. Silcox

Julia McHugh @drjmchugh.bsky.social · 09/04/2025

The Department of Anatomical Sciences at Stony Brook University School of Medicine invites applications for an Instructor position, with primary teaching responsibilities in human gross anatomy to healthcare professional students. One year renewable appointment. www.higheredjobs.com/search/detai...

higheredjobs.com

Human Gross Anatomy Instructor, Research Instructor, Anatomy - HigherEdJobs

Jobs in higher education. Faculty and administrative positions at colleges and universities. Updated daily. Free to job seekers.

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Reposted by Dr. Mary T. Silcox

Darren Incorvaia @megadarren.bsky.social · 08/04/2025

“De-extinction” is to biodiversity loss what “Mars colonization” is to climate change—wishful thinking that is at its core impossible but nevertheless sucks up attention and resources from actual solutions to these crises (which, ultimately, might be the whole point)

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Dr. Mary T. Silcox @marytsilcox.bsky.social · 11/03/2025

Huge thanks to our coauthors: Łucja Fostowicz-Frelik Adam Lis @sergilopeztorres.bsky.social Gabriela San Martin-Flores @ornellabertrand.bsky.social

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Reposted by Dr. Mary T. Silcox

Noelle @finallynoelle.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

Might save a life.

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Reposted by Dr. Mary T. Silcox

Alt National Park Service @altnps.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

Awesome work! If you’re supporting us from Canada, sign here: www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en...

ourcommons.ca

Petition e-5353 - Petitions

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Reposted by Dr. Mary T. Silcox

Dave Devilchase @davedellecese.com · 27/02/2025

There's an open comment period until March 17 where you can leave comments about Passport Gender Policy Changes. This site has both links to proposals (you'll have to submit a comment on each), sample comments to get you started, and you can submit anonymously. indivisiblesf.org/call-scripts...

indivisiblesf.org

Public Comment: Speak Out Against Passport Gender Policy Changes | Indivisible SF

Public Comment: Speak Out Against Passport Gender Policy Changes

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Reposted by Dr. Mary T. Silcox

Jim Lehane @jazinator.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

A public lands protest will take place this Saturday, March 1st, at the Dinosaur National Monument entrance (Utah side), in support of federal employee community members who have recently lost their jobs. #PleaseShare #Paleontology #Dinosaurs #NationalParks

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Reposted by Dr. Mary T. Silcox

Lawless @thebigredape.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

Go to an old cemetery. See all the baby graves from before the 1950s & 60s? After that, hardly any. That's when people started vaccinating their children against deadly childhood diseases. If you're unsure what to do to protect your kids, the answer is literally written in stone

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Reposted by Dr. Mary T. Silcox

Prof Julia Steinberger 🌹🌱🌍 #ClimateAction #Fightfascism @jksteinberger.bsky.social · 23/02/2025

As promised, here are the slides I shared with students to convince them to NOT use chatGPT and other artificial stupidity. TL;DR? AI is evil, unsustainable and stupid, and I'd much rather they use their own brains, make their own mistakes, and actually learn something. 🪄

NO CHATGPT Or other artificial stupidity: motivation
First, clarity on distinguishing AIs:
Non-generative: grammar aid, translation, dictionary, text-to-audio (e.g. Natural Reader): no problem
As long as you use the appropriate tools (least intensive in data and server energy use).
Why? Because you provide the content. Your brain is doing the most important work
Generative: ChatGPT & Co.
You only supply the prompt, the AI supplies the content.
Why is this delegation of work problematic?
3 domains: ethical, environmental, intellectual engagement.

(Caveat: generative is probably ok for computer programming, where it can be useful and save time. Not relevant to this class.)

1) AI and ethics
Mass theft of all and everything
«learning» on books, articles, blogs, social media, images, music, cultural production, without permission of authors/creators, and leading to their mass joblessness. Profits are not reditributed to originators.
Permanent destruction of the mental health of underpaid precarious tech workers in the Global South (Kenya, Philippines …):
«correction» to avoid production of violent and pedophile contents etc, tech workers are obliged to watch and correct super violent contents for days on end, leading to extreme psychological suffering and trauma, from which recovery is doubtful. No or little compensation (certainly not at the level of the suffering inflicted).
In short, an industry built on theft of real human creation and sacrifice of real human health, profiting a few megafortunes.

2) AI and (un)sustainability

Massive consumption of electricity, water, server capacity for generative AI.
Outcome: keep fossil fuel companies in business, using up new renewable capacity, without any satisfaction of basic human needs.
Massive misappropriation of the finance necessary for climate and ecological action (renewable generation, efficiency and retrofit for buildings, public transit, infrastructures for cycling etc) towards AI industry.
Overall: undermine climate action, reinforce fossil industry, waste resources necessary for human development.

3) AI and intellectual engagement

First, what learning is (or should be) about:
The goal should not (only) be the reproduction of «correct» knowledge,
But mainly personal engagement and experience of thinking about topics of interest. Personal engagement = using one’s own brain.
The most important activity for learning and intellectual engagement is the experience of making one’s own mistakes, by trial and error, corrections based on new ideas, starting over again. Learning to recognise nuances, knowledge gaps, better explanations
This kind of learning is possible only through using your own brain, not AI.
Also, Ais are not «intelligent». At all.
They simply reproduce pre-existing patterns. They «bullshit», invent false references, false facts, false data, simply because those sound plausible. VERY DANGEROUS.
If you learn how to NOT use AI, and how to research facts and data on your own, this will serve you and your communities for the rest of your life.

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Reposted by Dr. Mary T. Silcox

Katie Langin @klangin.bsky.social · 14/02/2025

Dear federal scientists: If you have been affected by the probationary firings and would be willing to speak with Science, please reach out to me by email (klangin@aaas.org) or on Signal. We can guarantee annonymity.

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Dr. Mary T. Silcox @marytsilcox.bsky.social · 15/02/2025

A powerful window on one aspect of the current debacle

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Reposted by Dr. Mary T. Silcox

Bridget Wade @bridgetwade.bsky.social · 03/02/2025

Full-time or part-time Research Technician in Micropalaeontology available in my lab @bridgetwade.bsky.social @es-ucl.bsky.social as part of the NERC TONIC Large Grant. Closing date: 23rd February 2025. More details: www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/... #technician #micropalaeontology #plankton #NERC

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Reposted by Dr. Mary T. Silcox

Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 28/01/2025

I think some people hear “grants” and think that without them, scientists and government workers just have less stuff to play with at work. But grants fund salaries for students, academics, researchers, and people who work in all areas of public service. “Pausing” grants means people don’t eat.

washingtonpost.com

White House pauses all federal grants, sparking confusion

The Trump administration has put a hold on all federal financial grants and loans, affecting tens of billions of dollars in payments.

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Reposted by Dr. Mary T. Silcox

Richard Butler @richardjbutler.bsky.social · 17/01/2025

📣 Come work with us! Three year Research Associate position to work as part of Leverhulme Trust funded project collecting and studying amazing Jurassic mammal fossils from the Isle of Skye. PhD not necessary; CT segmentation skills essential. Contact me for details: www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DLK473/r...

Example of Middle Jurassic mammal fossils from Skye, published by Elsa Panciroli et al. 2024.

Cuillin Hills, the view from our field site on the Isle of Skye.

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Reposted by Dr. Mary T. Silcox

Matt Friedman @friedmanlab.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

Sobering read about ongoing financial challenges for PRI. I'm hard pressed to think of a US museum that stretches limited resources further for science and outreach.

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Reposted by Dr. Mary T. Silcox

Prof. Rhiannon Stevens @nannonstevens.bsky.social · 13/01/2025

Final call !! Apply for this funded PhD at University College London @UCLarchaeology.bsky.social on Establishing limits of Neanderthal presence in Britain. Deadline 20th Jan 5pm Uk time www.trees-dla.ac.uk/projects/est...

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Reposted by Dr. Mary T. Silcox

Indige Tea 🦬🧡 : ✊🏾 @colouredwilde.bsky.social · 11/01/2025

I want to remind everyone that your local library is both physical AND digital. You hate streaming everything because the price is ridiculous? Library. You hate ads because they're every 3 mins or less? Library. You want to reduce your digital footprint? Library. You want sourced info? Library.

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Dr. Mary T. Silcox @marytsilcox.bsky.social · 06/01/2025

I wouldn’t recommend it per se. But it is quite a thing!

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Dr. Mary T. Silcox @marytsilcox.bsky.social · 05/01/2025

Yes, another good example. Rare, but it could also seal a deposit in a way that would allow for fossilization

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Dr. Mary T. Silcox @marytsilcox.bsky.social · 05/01/2025

Yes, for the most part. There are rare exceptions where stuff gets buried quickly by non-watery means (e.g. a sandstorm)

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Dr. Mary T. Silcox @marytsilcox.bsky.social · 05/01/2025

Did you see the “baboons” in Gladiator II? What the heck was that?

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Reposted by Dr. Mary T. Silcox

Krista Langlois @cestmoilanglois.bsky.social · 01/01/2025

Heard a report that some ravens were perched above a downtown building purposefully and gleefully pushing snow onto the heads of people passing by. Happy New Year to the ravens, to the tricksters and shapeshifters, which is to say, to all of us finding glimmers of joy in the darkness

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Reposted by Dr. Mary T. Silcox

Jonathan Edward Durham @thisone0verhere.bsky.social · 23/12/2024

Me during literally every single second of A Muppet Christmas Carol

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Reposted by Dr. Mary T. Silcox

Kai Kupferschmidt @kakape.bsky.social · 14/12/2024

Sadly, it’s a good time to once again share this amazing infographic that we ran at @science.org more than 7 years ago 🧪 #IDsky www.science.org/content/arti...

science.org

Here's the visual proof of why vaccines do more good than harm

See year by year how vaccines beat back nine dangerous infectious diseases

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Reposted by Dr. Mary T. Silcox

Laura Dee @lauradee.bsky.social · 11/12/2024

We are hiring a postdoc in my lab @colorado.edu to work on this NSF CAREER proposal (tinyurl.com/cak8dkza) to quantify how and when global change (drought, warming) alters the role of biodiversity in ecosystem functioning. Job here: colorado.avature.net/searchhub/Jo... 1/2

tinyurl.com

NSF Award Search: Award # 2340606 - CAREER: Quantifying how and when global change alters the role of biodiversity in ecosystem functioning Lock

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Reposted by Dr. Mary T. Silcox

Laurits Skov @lauritsskov.bsky.social · 02/12/2024

Very excited (and a bit nervous) to announce that I will be hiring two Postdocs for my new group(!) in Copenhagen to study the Neanderthal and Denisovan DNA which survives in present-day humans. Retweet will be much appreciated :) Link for application: candidate.hr-manager.net/ApplicationI...

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Reposted by Dr. Mary T. Silcox

David Levering @biogeoverse.bsky.social · 12/11/2024

I’m currently recruiting earth/life sciences undergrads, grad students, postdocs, & professional educators for 2025 instructor & TA jobs in Sternberg Museum Science Camps! Info & application form here 👉 forms.gle/5EGnpKMhHRj9... Please share! ~40+ slots this summer! #paleontology #geology #biology

Informational flier about staff positions for the 2025 Sternberg Museum Science Camps+ program. Instructor and TA jobs available!

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Dr. Mary T. Silcox @marytsilcox.bsky.social · 03/12/2024

That would be marvellous if you’d be willing to share! I tried to send you a DM AND with my email address, but I don’t seem to be able to

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Reposted by Dr. Mary T. Silcox

Dr Ruby (she/her) @paperwhispers.bsky.social · 02/12/2024

**Black UK PhD students** This is the programme you want! It is all the bells and whistles, full fees and stipend, any subject, industrial experience offered, 50 other Black scholars already on board and administrated in an environment of care. **Tell everyone**

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Dr. Mary T. Silcox @marytsilcox.bsky.social · 02/12/2024

This sounds super interesting, and very relevant to our attempts to indigenize our curriculum. Thank you!

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Dr. Mary T. Silcox @marytsilcox.bsky.social · 02/12/2024

A question for my Paleo people...I am adding a class on ethics in Paleontology to my 4th year undergrad seminar on Primate Evolution. I'd appreciate some suggestions for readings that students at that level are likely to find digestible and relevant. Thanks!

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