Andrew Millar

a stretch of bark-stripped wood featuring a textural pattern that has still baffled me: a number of finger-sized indentations (or in this case, RAISED bumps), some discolored black; my best tentative guess is some sort of bark beetles

a hypnotic swirl of knotted wood, grain pattern flowing like whirlpools, with moss hanging out in a few gaps along the peripheries

a length of log with prominent "veins", horizontal strips of protruding wood, with various mosses filling in the gaps

a high-contrast portrait of a jaggedly severed end of log, with sunlight showing off its golden orange tones, draped in light green moss in places, against a nearly black forest backgroudn shrouded in shade

more of my obsessive weekday-themed hashtags (maybe I'm overdoing those 😅 ), this time for #ThickTrunkTuesday

#trees #wood #moss #mosstodon #NaturePhotography #pnw #magicinthemundane

Because...

👏Countries with more female leaders have less inequality. (WEF)

👏Countries with more women in parliament have lower levels of corruption. (European Journal of Political Research)

👏Female participation in parliament has a positive effect on the economy. (Frontiers in Political Science)

I filled out this UK Government consultation on BBC. https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/britains-story-the-next-chapter-the-bbc-royal-charter-review-green-paper-and-public-consultation Some of my feedback: do continue the license fee, don't run ads, do be impartial, don't become a […]

Changes over time at the Journal of Applied Ecology "show that editorial diversification is a practical lever for making peer review more inclusive and better aligned with the global distribution of research. These changes make the publication process fairer and improve the quality and global […]

The post-Brexit deal for Gibraltar is not 'betrayal' – it is a triumph The newly-agreed, UK-EU settlement for Gibraltar protects jobs, stability and proud British identity. 

"Yet some hardline Brexiteers have rubbished the document as a 'betrayal'. Details have been misreported in some sections of the UK media.

"These slurs do not spring from any concern for Gibraltar’s wellbeing. Rather, they are an attempt to use Gibraltar as a pawn in a domestic UK debate."

Mornin' #circadian research folk, I believe I see a new way to get to #Padua for the next #EBRS meeting! 👀🚄🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇮🇹
OK looks like this service is also waiting to escape vintage carriages...

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:vth6nor3jyocbspcnp7ckmcp/post/3mg57oulzi22r […]

RE: https://f.cz/@xChaos/116068064212129067

#TIL A purposefully Scottish, private expedition studied Antarctica in parallel with Scott's Discovery expedition, establishing a manned meteorological Observatory that is still in operation.
And tried the musical taste of a penguin […]

@marcrr But but but we have a project to rename "the transcriptome" into "the RNome"...

[Insert prequel advert here on the DNome]

Broad trunk of a sweet chestnut with ridged bark and broad stripes of grey lichen.

Veteran sweet chestnut at Balmerino Abbey, 550+ years.
#ThickTrunkTuesday #Scotland

A good outline of aggressive full court press for European regime change by the US government here in the FT.

For Europeans, the blue pill narrative 🇺🇸gov is pushing normalising Trump would be the easiest to swallow.

But the red pill is the truth.
www.ft.com/content/f869...

RE: https://telescoper.blog/2026/01/29/a-new-stfc-funding-crisis/

Not just STFC, by the sounds from THES, wider across UKRI funding for UK #research "Change leadership", eh?
#AcademicChatter

Today I learned that during the ice age there was a really big river in Doggerland that included the Rhine, the Seine and the Thames as tributaries. Or I guess you could say, the Rhine continued and gained the Seine and Thames as tributaries
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_River

RE: https://mastodon.social/@NielsJdeWinter/115937416694184121

Perhaps a #circadian component to daily growth rhythms in giant clam shells. Neat study!

I love seeing the biological clock (perhaps) recorded in a such durable way in nature.

Not very far from the lab. View from a tree on campus, ropes and gear to the left.

@Ruth_Mottram
Agree! Only took me 30 years 🌳 and still not far from the lab...

Caledonian Sleeper sees ‘most significant change to network in decades’ with new stop It will open up a new direct connection between the Midlands and the Highlands

From tonight, Caledonian Sleeper's London-Inverness/Aberdeen/Ft William sleeper will pick up at Birmingham International at 22:42 northbound, and set down southbound at 06:20. A useful link for the West Midlands!
www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-...

JOB: Research Scientist at Wikimedia

"We’re hiring a Research Scientist strongly committed to the principles of free knowledge, open source, privacy, and collaboration to join the Research team. As a Research Scientist, you will conduct applied research on the integrity of Wikipedia knowledge […]

Went to hear Elephant Sessions at the Usher Hall #Edinburgh, somewhat randomly, and came away looking up
➡️ www.belugalagoon.com

Solo band, great following who knew the words, and danced. Andrew O'Donnell, owned the space.

And nature documentary series on the BBC, it seems.

#Polymath #Creative

📢Forest Research in the UK is seeking two new members for the Expert Committee on #Forest #Science. 🧬🌳📖🌲🪵
Please boost.

* one early-career,
* one from the forestry sector,
Please see details on the link below.

The ECFS provides independent research oversight for Forest Research, the largest […]

Nick Thomas-Symonds MP announces that the UK is rejoining Erasmus+. 🎉

"It will open up world class opportunities for students, teachers, youth workers, sports sector professionals and communities of all ages."

👀Great, hopeful review on one avenue to increase #crop yield 🌿🧪.
Context - we'll need 35-50% more food globally by 2050 but there are few signs that we're getting there. Yes, many issues in this space.

But photosynthesis is now one of the plant metabolic pathways where we have really good […]

[Post-doc job ad in Edinburgh]

📢 #ScienceJobs Really interesting #researchdata analytics post-doc with Thanasis Tsanas, https://www.darth-group.com, analysing #sleep and circadian data for mental health research.

This is part of the Wellcome-funded AMBIENT-BD project that our BioRDM also works […]

The Summerhall complex has been such a focus for linking art and science in #Edinburgh, usually on a shoestring budget, but many thanks due to Robert McDowell et al. since 2011.
Now disaggregation seems to be underway for the collections that were hosted there, like the Artiscience Library and […]

3,150-year-old papyrus reveals the world’s earliest recorded labour strike. New analysis of the Turin Strike Papyrus—a detailed account from 1157 BCE—shows how artisans building the royal tombs at Deir el-Medina staged a coordinated walkout after going 18 days without grain rations. The document […]

[EU politics and biology]

The #EU reached a complicated compromise on the regulation of biotech #crops last Thursday. This is a significant step, from negotiations under the Danish presidency 🇩🇰. The proposal still needs to be ratified by the Council and @europarl_en, though both were already […]

A groupphoto of scientists protesting in favor of NGTs. Caption reads: "Two years ago, scientists across Europe rallied for CRISPR/NGT in agriculture. Today, the EU listened! Cautiously celebrating - thank you Europe for giving genes a chance!"

Two years ago scientists across Europe demonstrated to give genes a chance to be in Europe's agriculture toolbox. This week it looks like the EU listened! So, we're cautiously celebrating. We are currently studying the text, but for now thank you Europe for giving genes a chance!

Map of Europe with blue seas and beige land, marked in double black track to show a 3000km rail trip, Edinburgh to Kassel and back.

Soon to start the next #StayGrounded trip 🚄🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 , for @dfg_public to Kassel 🇩🇪 , to review an ambitious #circadian PhD training 🎓 programme. 🧵

Everybody go read "Termination Shock" by Neal Stephenson, because apparently that whole scenario is actually about to start happening: https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/11/21/stardust-geoengineering-janos-pasztor-regulations-00646414

RE: https://alpaca.gold/@Jeremiah/115582068879659968

European Commission actively engaged with FOSS - free and open source software - to build different, read non-US, digital ecosystem 🧵