iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Rob Knell

Jeremy Van Cleve @vancleve.theoretical.bio · 29/09/2026

My group is recruiting a Ph.D student for Fall 2027! We're a friendly group of mathematically-minded and computationally-inspired biologists studying topics including social evolution, host-pathogen interactions, genetics, and demography. See vancleve.theoretical.bio for more info!

vancleve.theoretical.bio

van cleve research group

Van Cleve Research Group – theoretical evolution & ecology at the University of Kentucky

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Reposted by Rob Knell

Andy D. Nunn @andydnunn.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Some moth highlights from a recent @universityofhull.bsky.social field trip to South Africa with @robknell.bsky.social, @domino-joyce.fishsci.com.ap.brid.gy and Africa Gomez: Gonimbrasia belina, Utetheisa pulchella, Diaphone mossambicensis, Acontia discoidea. #teammoth www.tiktok.com/@sealsathull...

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Rob Knell @robknell.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

If you’re a scientist then you *must* watch The Love Hypothesis on Amazon Prime: a fascinating documentary about what *really* goes on in our labs. This educational clip is likely to feature in stats lectures for years to come. 🧪

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Rob Knell @robknell.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Am beyond pleased that @neelamporwal.bsky.social has been awarded an @eseb.bsky.social under-represented ECR award. Great news. 🧪

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Rob Knell @robknell.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

West and East views of the Olifants river from the high water bridge this morning.

A view across a river with rocky banks to the right, cloudy skies with some blue. It’s illuminated by sunshine coming from behind the photographer

A view of a large river with rocks and islands. The sky has dark clouds with the sun shining through and reflected in the water

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Rob Knell @robknell.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Sunset timelapse over the Drakensberg escarpment as viewed from the Lowveld on our @uniofhull.bsky.social Savannah Ecology field course in South Africa #SouthAfrica #Nkosisikel'iAfrica

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Rob Knell @robknell.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

As an academic in the UK my job does often suck like an Electrolux, but I spent today tracking spotted hyaenas up a river with our @uniofhull.bsky.social students and now we're sitting around a fire having a few cold ones... not bad

A photo showing some wet ground with two clear hyaena prints in visible in the mud.

A fire on the left and a group of people enjoying the fire on the right of the photo

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Rob Knell @robknell.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Looks like we have a side-splittingly hilarious creationist in Exclusive Books at JNB. 🧪

A bookshelf in a bookstore labelled “Fiction”. Directly beneath the sign is a copy of the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin.

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Reposted by Rob Knell

Michael E Smith @michaelesmith.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Not sure how much traction this paper is getting: Morgan, TJH &PE Smaldino (2025) Author-Paid Publication Fees Corrupt Science and Should Be Abandoned. Science and Public Policy 52(5):805-809. doi.org/10.1093/scip...

doi.org

Author-paid publication fees corrupt science and should be abandoned

Abstract. Author-paid publication fees, often associated with so-called “gold” open access journals, lead to the corruption of science by incentivizing the

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Reposted by Rob Knell

Corrie Moreau @corriemoreau.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

📣 📣 📣 UPDATE: The 2026-2027 list of faculty and postdoc positions in ecology and evolutionary biology is out! Be sure to check out this active and helpful community run resource! docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

docs.google.com

ecoevojobs.net 2026-27

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Vincent J Lynch 🐘🦣🦥 🦇🐋🐢🐍 @devoevomed.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

I've said it before, and will say it again –– preprint and done.

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Reposted by Rob Knell

Alice Roberts @profaliceroberts.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

The fallout from the collapse of this glacier - a torrent of mud surging down the valley - killed hundreds of people. Gone, in a flash. Those people were wiped out by anthropogenic climate change. Our governments are simply not responding quickly enough to this disaster which is already upon us.

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Rob Knell @robknell.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

As any fool knows, the arithmetic mean is affected disproportionately by extreme outliers. Thus, the mean worth of humanity has just decreased by a small but measurable amount. RIP Dolly www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c0...

bbc.co.uk

Dolly Parton, legendary US country singer, dies aged 80

In a statement confirming her death, the singer's team says she will be remembered as an "inspiration" and for her "wit, warmth, and kindness".

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Reposted by Rob Knell

Martin Whiting @lizardlab.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

New PhD opportunities in behavioural ecology at the University of Tasmania and Macquarie University working with Geoff While and Martin Whiting plus multiple international collaborators on lizard sociality and communication. Please spread the word! #phd

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Rob Knell @robknell.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

People will you please stop publishing interesting papers that I’m going to have to spend time reading. I’ve got risk assessments to write, damnit.

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Rob Knell @robknell.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Rutland Osprey Project has just announced that *24* chicks have fledged this year from 12 nests. 24! Here is one of the proud Dads (NB I have posted this photo before). #birds #ukbirds #ukwildlife

An Osprey flies left-to-right against a background of dark vegetation. The bird is holding a fish in its talons and there is water dripping from both fish and bird.

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Trish Greenhalgh @trishgreenhalgh.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

Trump and RFK Jr need to shut up about MMR vaccine. WELL SAID, Christina Pagel! christinapagel.substack.com/p/trump-and-...

christinapagel.substack.com

Trump and RFK Jr need to shut up about the MMR vaccine

A reminder of how terrible these diseases used to be

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Rob Knell @robknell.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

Talking of Cambridge and EDI, they require further maths a-level for entry to maths, thereby automatically excluding a substantial percentage of kids who go to comprehensive schools, many of which don’t offer further maths. They talk the talk but they don’t walk the walk.

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Rob Knell @robknell.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

There must be a reckoning for this. The senior staff at Cambridge who exploited this obvious fantasist and who, when alerted to the issue, deflected, denied and threatened instead of dealing with the problem need to answer for their actions. #Arday www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

theguardian.com

Jason Arday found dead after resigning from Cambridge over plagiarism claims

Academic was pronounced dead at his home in south London after police called to address after 3pm on Friday

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Rob Knell @robknell.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Hmmm. Maybe. I think a lot of us underestimate the proportion of people who simply never read the news and would genuinely be unaware of this. Anyone in doubt is welcome to come and chat to some of my students.

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Reposted by Rob Knell

Schmidt Ocean Institute @schmidtocean.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

This is a deep-sea isopod. Dr. Johanna Weston, a deep-ocean biologist and guest investigator at @whoi.edu, is confident this is Bathyopsurus nybelini, one of her favorite animals. Learn why via the YouTube caption: youtube.com/shorts/DenUj...

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Rob Knell @robknell.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Dear fellow scientists If you agree to review a paper but then you're unable to, no problem. Please just let the editors know, we understand, we'll find someone else, no problem. *Please* don't just ghost us: if you do then don't complain about how long your next paper takes in review. Thanks! 🧪

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Rob Knell @robknell.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

p-hacking for fun and profit.

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Rob Knell @robknell.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

All that is now All that is gone All that's to come and everything under the sun is in tune but the sun is eclipsed by the moon.

A noisy photo of the sun almost completely eclipsed by the moon with only a sliver along the top visible.

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Rob Knell @robknell.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

1) I'm not going to say anything about the Jason Arday omnishambles except to note the reports that he only ever had one meeting with his PhD supervisor—apparently one supervisor quit, the other just didn't engage, he got some advice via email form the head of PG research but that was it.

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Rob Knell @robknell.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

Reading Austen and listening to Rage Against The Machine. I see no contradiction here.

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Reposted by Rob Knell

Scott McGrath @smcgrath.phd · 03/08/2026

🧪 Medical professionals are losing the attention war on YouTube. In a 3,958-video sample, independent creators produced the lowest quality content but captured the highest viewership using exaggeration. #MedSky

nature.com

The credibility paradox: clickbait, engagement, and information quality in YouTube’s medical ecosystem - npj Digital Medicine

npj Digital Medicine - The credibility paradox: clickbait, engagement, and information quality in YouTube’s medical ecosystem

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Reposted by Rob Knell

Dan McQuillan @danmcquillan.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

AlphaFold was always bait-and-switch; now Google confirms it. A hyper-narrow bioinformatrics model with actual science bolted on whose guesses can be experimentally checked was never a licence for socially-applied slop at scale, but it's done its job. Effort transferred to LLMs.

Screenshot of Financial Times headline reading "Google DeepMind dismantles Nobel-winning AlphaFold team in strategy shift" with photo of Demis Hassabis & John Jumper

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Rob Knell @robknell.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

I’d say that in my field we don’t usually see aggressive questioning at conferences like what’s implied below. I think if someone has a real problem with someone’s talk they’d be expected to raise that in private rather than making a public attack.

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Rob Knell @robknell.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Some osprey shots from near Rutland water last week. These birds were taking fish from a stocked trout pond so purists may wish to turn their noses up. #birds #ukbirds #ukwildlife #raptors

An osprey flies from left to right across the frame. The background is dark, out of focus vegetation. The bird has a large fish in its claws and there is water dripping from both bird and fish.

An osprey flies left to right across the frame, wings half up. It has a fish in its claws identifiable as a rainbow trout, and water is dripping from both bird and fish.

An osprey flying out of the water with a fish in its claws, heading towards the camera

Against a background of long grass an osprey dives towards the water with both legs outstretched in front.

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Reposted by Rob Knell

Royal Society Publishing @royalsocietypublishing.org · 30/07/2026

Why do some deep-sea anglerfish males become permanent parasites? This #ProcB study finds that parasitic males evolve when mating opportunities are rare. doi.org/10.1098/rspb... | #Evolution #TheoreticalBiology

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Kate Nave @kathrynnave.eurosky.social · 29/07/2026

My postdoc is coming to an end, so I'm looking for work! Let me know if you, or anyone you know, wants to hire a philosopher of biology/cognition with a knack for cross-disciplinary work, a focus on autonomy + agency, and experience writing for the broader public (10+ yrs in sci/tech journalism).

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Meg Mindlin @invertebabe.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

New research just dropped today that makes octopuses even weirder than they already are… let me explain🧵🧪🐙🐡🦑

OCTOPUSES JUST GOT WEIRDER
Featuring an illustration of a two spot octopus with a blue and purple ribosome behind it

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Reposted by Rob Knell

Iszi Lawrence @iszi.com · 29/07/2026

Latest Terrible Lizards podcast is about billionaires buying fossils. Find us on your podcast app or watch us here: Who Should Own Dinosaur Fossils? The Gus T. rex Controversy youtu.be/TaLWBc-4vvE (with @davehone.bsky.social)

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Rob Knell @robknell.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

Plunge-diving gannet composite. Flamborough Head, East Riding of Yorkshire, yesterday morning. #birds #ukbirds #wildlife #seabirds

A white bird with black wingtips dives into the sea in a series of images composited into a single one. At the start of the dive the bird's wings are outstretched but as it dives they become more folded back. In the background is a cliff showing white chalk at the base and the sea below.

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Reposted by Rob Knell

Keith Stack @keithstack.com · 23/07/2026

It's impressive how many ethical quandaries can be solved by asking yourself, "Would Weird Al be cool with this?"

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Rob Knell @robknell.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Skweeeeee! New transmissible tumour! This one’s in fish.

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Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 21/07/2026

1. We—@eduede.bsky.social, @mjcrockett.bsky.social, Kevin Gross, and I—have a new preprint on the arXiv today, based on ideas that emerged during an @sfiscience.bsky.social workshop in November 2024: The unintended consequences of large language models as a labor-augmenting technology in science.

arxiv.org

The unintended consequences of large language models as a labor-augmenting technology in science

As a labor-augmenting technology, large language models (LLMs) have the potential to accelerate scientific activity across the research pipeline. But even if LLMs perform on par with human experts at ...

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Rob Knell @robknell.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Sunday evening at Bempton. A howling, cold Northerly was making it hard for the puffins to land so they were circling and making repeated attempts to get on the cliffs... making it easier to photograph them. #birds #ukbirds #ukwildlife #wildlife

A puffin in flight with a beak full of sandeels. Its orange feet are trailing behind. In the background is the sea and an area of out of focus chalk cliff

A puffin in flight with a beak full of sandeels, wings canted back in the strong wind.

Moody sunset shot with orange light coming through clouds and the silhouette of a gannet

Gannet in flight with the orange sun and clouds behind. The bird is a young one (three years?) and still has some black feathers on the wings.

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Rob Knell @robknell.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

Gannets in the wind, Staple News, Bempton Cliffs this evening. #birds #ukbirds #seabirds

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David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

I talk a lot about the complexity of ocean conservation, and how real solutions can’t fit on a bumper sticker. Enter the Ocean Cleanup. Launched by a teenager giving a TED Talk, they claimed they were going to scoop all the plastic out of the ocean. 🧪🦑🌎

therevelator.org

Why The Ocean Cleanup Hasn’t Solved the Plastic Pollution Crisis • The Revelator

Global problems are rarely solved by one person or invention. The Ocean Cleanup didn’t work, for the reasons experts said it wouldn’t. What can we learn from this?

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Prof Susie Maidment @tweetisaurus.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

This is genuinely grotesque. Imagine the research this could fund. Imagine if the buyer chose to fund someone who is working on climate change mitigation instead. The world has problems, and we can solve them. But not if people spent $50m on a fuckin dinosaw www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.uk

Tyrannosaurus Rex most expensive dinosaur ever sold

The dinosaur skeleton, which roamed the planet 67 million years ago, was sold by Sotheby's in New York.

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