Sign in

Ben Martynoga

@mountainogre.bsky.social
130 followers 94 following 24 posts

writer // biologist // consortium of cells // author of Explodapedia // writing a book about Earth’s microbiome with the Bodley Head (UK) and Ecco Books (US) linktr.ee/benmartynoga

PostsRepliesMedia
Ben Martynoga @mountainogre.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
New piece just out: industrial forestry devastates the underground fungal communities that trees need. This startup is trying to restore them — at scale. Wild microbial diversity might become a potent tools for eco restoration -- a theme I'll explore further in my upcoming book shorturl.at/kUe0y
theguardian.com
‘Hybrid organ’: how a union of trees and fungi could revolutionise forest management
A US startup supplies spray for fast-growing loblolly pines with the hope of increasing biodiversity – and reducing the need for artificial fertiliser
121
Reposted by Ben Martynoga
The Land Institute @thelandinstitute.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
“When I started working here in 2001, these ideas were regarded as very radical, even laughable. That is no longer true. Within a human generation, we could feed millions while repairing soils that took millennia to form." Read more from @mountainogre.bsky.social in @theguardian.com
042
Ben Martynoga @mountainogre.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
"Soil is more important than oil!" My latest @theguardian.com dian.com: the perennial grain revolution Kernza's 3m roots BUILD soil vs DESTROYING it. Wheat yields could be matched in 15 years. It works for rice Most hopeful story I've reported 🌾🌳🎄 @thelandinstitute.bsky.social tinyurl.com/34m2cnwf
theguardian.com
‘Soil is more important than oil’: inside the perennial grain revolution
Scientists in Kansas believe Kernza could cut emissions, restore degraded soils and reshape the future of agriculture
020
Ben Martynoga @mountainogre.bsky.social · 30/08/2025
Really important topic. Please read 🙏 www.theguardian.com/environment/...
010
Ben Martynoga @mountainogre.bsky.social · 30/08/2025
This is a laser weeder. I saw it while researching an article about regen farming It kills millions of weeds with zero nasty chemicals that kill microbes and wreck soil health (out today👇)
210
Reposted by Ben Martynoga
Arwyn Edwards @arwynedwards.bsky.social · 15/08/2025
A powerful piece by @mountainogre.bsky.social on #microbes and #Arctic change, featuring our work on glacier ecology @aberdlsagb.bsky.social and work on methane cyclers by colleagues at UNIS www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...
theguardian.com
Arctic glaciers face ‘terminal’ decline as microbes accelerate ice melt
Scientists in Svalbard in race to study polar microbes as global heating threatens fragile glacial ecosystems
11311
Reposted by Ben Martynoga
MꙬse Allain @mooseallain.bsky.social · 30/06/2025
A really lovely little review by BookTrust of @mountainogre.bsky.social and my book ‘The Brain’. www.booktrust.org.uk/book-recomme...
booktrust.org.uk
The Brain
194
Ben Martynoga @mountainogre.bsky.social · 23/05/2025
This is painful. But please read. Please share. Please consider what else you might do? It can be hard to feel as if you can make a difference. But every voice adds up. Silence is not neutrality. Silence is complicity. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
What did you do during the genocide in Gaza? | Arwa Mahdawi
When future generations read about Gaza with horror and wonder how we allowed a livestreamed genocide to happen, what will you say?
031
Reposted by Ben Martynoga
IPSO - International Programme on the State of the Ocean @oceanipso.bsky.social · 11/04/2025
Meet the coral holobiont: a powerhouse of teamwork between corals, algae, & microbes, recycling nutrients to sustain life. These creatures evolved over millennia to create nature’s finest circular economy. Yet, #ClimateChange threatens this delicate balance. @mountainogre.bsky.social #CoralReefs
buff.ly
‘The ultimate circular economy’: how coral holobionts conjure magnificence from nothing
These creatures evolved over millenia to create nature’s finest circular economy, but are now struggling to survive
022
Ben Martynoga @mountainogre.bsky.social · 01/04/2025
The piece was inspired by recent trip to the Red Sea, where I saw both thriving reefs and those killed by heatwaves last year. I met Raquel Peixoto and team, who develop coral probiotics that boost reef resilience. Vital work in the race against climate crisis #CoralRestoration #MicrobiomeScience
000
Ben Martynoga @mountainogre.bsky.social · 01/04/2025
My new piece in Guardian: 🪸How corals conjure magnificence from nothing! 🪸 Corals build massive reefs in wet deserts by working with microbes to create the ultimate circular economy They've survived mass extinctions but now face dire climate threats #CoralReef #EarthsMicrobiome
theguardian.com
‘The ultimate circular economy’: how coral holobionts conjure magnificence from nothing
These creatures evolved over millenia to create nature’s finest circular economy, but are now struggling to survive
140
Ben Martynoga @mountainogre.bsky.social · 05/03/2025
This week I’m guest on Now Go Create podcast about the neuroscience of creativity. From the magic of incubation, to why exercise and awe are essential, it's a fun chat and, i hope, a useful one podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/n... open.spotify.com/episode/3Unf... #neuroscience #creativity
podcasts.apple.com
Ep 08: How to be more creative according to neuroscience
Podcast Episode · Now Go Create · 05/03/2025 · 59m
020
Ben Martynoga @mountainogre.bsky.social · 20/01/2025
🐺 Can’t wait to chat with the #Rewilding legend that is Derek Gow at Wild Writers Festival in Peebles on Sunday! The man who brought beavers back to Britain now tackles wolves in his gripping new book HUNT FOR THE SHADOW WOLF. Come! eastgatearts.com/events/hunt-...
020
Ben Martynoga @mountainogre.bsky.social · 20/01/2025
📚 Excited to talk #Rewilding at Wild Writers Festival, Peebles this Friday! Pupils from my old high school will grill me on: 🐺 Scotland's wolf-readiness 🦣 Mammoths 🐋 Whale poo How to rewild the 🌍 and who knows what else Join us! eastgatearts.com/events/rewild/ @dfbstoryhouse.bsky.social
010
Ben Martynoga @mountainogre.bsky.social · 15/01/2025
I have a new piece in The Guardian Bravo to @rewildingbritain.org.uk for this push to keep youth at the heart of rewilding and to the Scouts for jumping aboard
051
Ben Martynoga @mountainogre.bsky.social · 11/01/2025
Totally delighted REWILD has a prize! I think it’s the best thing I’ve ever written. And it’s about the most urgent issues of all: humankind’s relationship with nature - including ideas on how to fix it
010
Ben Martynoga @mountainogre.bsky.social · 02/01/2025
EXPLODAPEDIA THE BRAIN ( @DFB_storyhouse ): Available now, from all good bookshops waterstones.com/book/exploda... amazon.co.uk/Explodapedia... uk.bookshop.org/p/books/expl... Enjoy!
waterstones.com
Explodapedia: The Brain by Ben Martynoga | Waterstones
Buy Explodapedia: The Brain by Ben Martynoga from Waterstones today! Click and Collect from your local Waterstones or get FREE UK delivery on orders over £25.
241
Ben Martynoga @mountainogre.bsky.social · 02/01/2025
I spent over 10 years as a neuroscience researcher — so I’m especially delighted to be publishing this book. There’s loads in it for curious minds of all ages, from 11 to 111. Cos let's face it, there's no better time than a new year to understand your own Brian a bit better
3173
Ben Martynoga @mountainogre.bsky.social · 02/01/2025
As super star brain surgeon and bestselling author Henry Marsh put it, #Explodapedia The Brain is "Splendid" ⭐️
292
Ben Martynoga @mountainogre.bsky.social · 02/01/2025
Read this book and you'll never see your brain the same way again. Even when you're feeling truly rotten you'll hopefully remember that your skull contains a brain that is — in a very literal and cosmically improbable sense — mindbogglingly awesome.
2101
Ben Martynoga @mountainogre.bsky.social · 02/01/2025
You'll discover: -Why yuro barin cna slitl raed tihs sntencee jsut fnie -Why pain only exists in your head -Why your brain is hell bent on predicting the future -Why your brain often ends up arguing with ITSELF -How AI and brain implants might transform our world -And much more!
152
Ben Martynoga @mountainogre.bsky.social · 02/01/2025
That said, Brian's brain does feature — you'll venture inside his brain, no less, and get to grips with how it's built and how it weaves its breathtaking wonders, day and night.
121
Ben Martynoga @mountainogre.bsky.social · 02/01/2025
Er, sorry, your 🧠 BRAIN 🧠, although I did make that typo so often that this book very nearly was called THE BRIAN. 😅
291
Ben Martynoga @mountainogre.bsky.social · 02/01/2025
...the very one that squats between your ears looking like a pinkish-grey cauliflower, while silently getting on with controlling your past, present and future. Yes, indeed: it's all about your Brian.
121
Ben Martynoga @mountainogre.bsky.social · 02/01/2025
🎉 Happy New Year, Happy New BOOK! 📖📕 It's out TODAY, illustrated by the awesome @MooseAllain and it's about the most extraordinary object in the universe...
1205
Ben Martynoga @mountainogre.bsky.social · 23/12/2024
Rackham the wise. Let’s just hope the EAB beetle doesn’t make it here. But even then, early signs are that dieback tolerant genotypes may handle the beetle better too
020
Ben Martynoga @mountainogre.bsky.social · 20/12/2024
Thanks to @mattcombes1.bsky.social Prof Lynne Boddy and The Woodland Trust’s Rebecca Gosling for expert comment
000
Ben Martynoga @mountainogre.bsky.social · 20/12/2024
🌳 Shoots of hope for UK's ash trees. My piece for @theguardian.com is not quite 'good news', but ash dieback isn't the apocalypse first feared. This microbe nerd's excited by possible microbiome solutions 🦠 Let's control 🦌 too, so natural regen works shorturl.at/s717W #ashdieback #microbiome
theguardian.com
Ash dieback experts identify shoots of hope for Britain’s threatened trees
As the deadly fungal disease tightens its grip, scientific efforts to protect ash trees are advancing
130