John S. Mead

Many thanks!

Thanks!

He's kinda fond of you :)

I just enjoyed seeing this Sun Animalcule (aka Heliozoan) in a sample, took a photo of it, and digitally painted it. A neat interaction between #Art and #Science!

#microscope #microscopy #pondscum #biology #sciart #nature

A round of applause for Education Engagement Coordinator Jenna Kissel & @loreleipatrick.bsky.social and the whole group of contributors to those sweet, sweet combatant info slides! #2026MMM

March Mammal Madness returns to celebrate science, storytelling and libraries | ASU News On a chilly winter afternoon in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania, Victoria Savo is painting a blank tournament bracket on the outside wall of a library. Savo is a library media specialist at Swift...

Shout out to the incredible #2026MMM coverage from ASU with a focus on librarians & libraries news.asu.edu/20260220-art...

a group of avengers are fighting each other in a scene from the movie avengers ALT: a group of avengers are fighting each other in a scene from the movie avengers

Real Talk: you hear from me A LOT, but March Mammal Madness is made possible by the most incredible teaMMM of the very awesomest people you will ever have the honor of knowing! #2026MMM

Image shows the MMM bracket with Assassin Bug winning the Wildcard over the Bone Collector Caterpillar and a checkmark indicating the Wildcard category has been completed.

#2026MMM WILDCARD WINNER:
Assassin Bug!

Join us Wednesday, March 11th at 8PM EST for ROUND ONE of MONEY MAMMALS!

🤣🤣

While pretty common in samples from puddles & birdbaths, I never tire of the antics of Ostracods - the hyperactive #crustaceans who also bear the nickname "Seed Shrimp" - they have a fossil history going back over 570 million years! They are a great marker in relative dating in #paleontology!

Microverse Minute
I collected samples from a local fountain several days after a good rain, and the sediment was loaded with these micro crustaceans called Ostracods!! They date back in the fossil record over 400 million years!
#microscopy #naturephotography📷 #science #biology

Always love getting to see a microscopic population explosion in my samples!
Here's a Paramecium undergoing binary fission to create two clones!

Motic Ba310e / Lbacam Ultra/iPhone 15/ 10X objective
#nature #microscope #biology #iteachbiology #edusky #science #naturephotography

It's fun to let students in their free time create "Mix slides" from different pond samples & then see what appears.... this "mix" has at least 4 species. Aeolosoma, Paramecium, Rotifers, and Stentor
Can you spot any species I missed?

#microscope #naturephotography #biology #iteachbiology #edusky

Just saw this recently deceased copepod with a hefty load of peritrich epibionts (I think Vorticella). Excited to see the egg sac with eggs that already have eyes developing. It's my first time observing this!
#microscope #edusky #nature #biology #iteachbiology #science

It's always nice when you see a nauplius that isn't hell-bent on zooming everywhere. LOL

*For my non-bio friends, a nauplius is a larval form of a crustacean. I suspect this one belongs to the genus Cyclops - a copepod.

#microscopy #nature #biology #edusky #iteachbiology #science

While pretty common in samples from puddles & birdbaths, I never tire of the antics of Ostracods - the hyperactive #crustaceans who also bear the nickname "Seed Shrimp" - they have a fossil history going back over 570 million years! They are a great marker in relative dating in #paleontology!

I encountered this Bursaria truncatella after it "inhaled" a Paramecium. I was hoping to see the Paramecium get sealed into a vacuole, but instead it finally managed to escape! My students have nicknamed Bursaria "Micro Roomba." LOL

#microscope #science #microscopy #iteachbiology

Live your life such that Bruce Springsteen does not write a protest song about how terrible you are

Bruce Springsteen - Streets Of Minneapolis (Official Audio) YouTube video by Bruce Springsteen

I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis. It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good.

Stay free

Following in the footsteps of Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, and many others -- @brucespringsteen.net today added his voice with the release of "Streets of Minneapolis" ..... youtu.be/wWKSoxG1K7w?...

I just enjoyed seeing this Sun Animalcule (aka Heliozoan) in a sample, took a photo of it, and digitally painted it. A neat interaction between #Art and #Science!

#microscope #microscopy #pondscum #biology #sciart #nature

Never seen the death of a ciliate like this-- usually it's too much pressure from the coverslip or too much osmotic pressure. But this gradual posterior-to-anterior "unzipping" effect amazed me !

Motic BA310e - 40x Objective - sped up 2X
#microscopy #Paramecium #Iteachbiology #edusky

Never seen the death of a ciliate like this-- usually it's too much pressure from the coverslip or too much osmotic pressure. But this gradual posterior-to-anterior "unzipping" effect amazed me !

Motic BA310e - 40x Objective - sped up 2X
#microscopy #Paramecium #Iteachbiology #edusky

How Did Hands Evolve? The Answer Is Behind You.

Carl Zimmer: How Did Hands Evolve? The Answer Is Behind You. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/17/s...

Scientists are using corals from other countries to save Florida's dying reefs The past three summers have been the worst on record for Florida's coral reefs. To try to restore them, scientists are breeding corals that can handle heat better, using coral from other countries.

How corals from Honduras could help save Florida’s reefs

www.npr.org/2025/10/01/n...

Fossils of Some of the Last Dinosaurs in North America Have a Story to Tell

Fossils of Some of the Last Dinosaurs in North America Have a Story to Tell www.nytimes.com/2025/10/23/s...

Congrats!

In 1979, a Mining Test Ravaged the Pacific Seafloor— 44 Years Later, New Evidence Reveals It’s Likely Forever A 1979 deep-sea mining test left marks on the Pacific seafloor that remain nearly untouched over four decades later. New research uncovers what really happened in the ocean depths—and why it matters m...

In 1979, a Mining Test Ravaged the Pacific Seafloor— 44 Years Later, New Evidence Reveals It’s Likely Forever

dailygalaxy.com/2025/11/in-1...

Had a blast last week at the @nabtbio.bsky.social national conference & got to present to several dozen Bio teachers about the #Microsafaris you have seen here over time. Even did a live demo & captured this elegant Stentor showing off for those awesome teachers! #iteachbiology #microscopy #Edusky

Safeguarding Sound Science | National Center for Science Education Safeguarding Sound Science, Evolution EditionThe second season of Safeguarding Sound Science examines the everyday impacts of evolution, the grand theory that informs our understanding of all life on ...

Ep. 6 of Safeguarding Sound Science is out! This week, Mat Kaplan sits down with Todd Disotell (@todddisotell.bsky.social) for an enlightening, and sometimes sobering discussion about how we may fare in the event of another pandemic. #podsky #sciencesky #virus #evobio