The Opportunity rover's famous last words — "my battery is low and it's getting dark" — were never actually sent from Mars. The real story of where that sentence came from is stranger, and somehow sadder

If you spend any time online, you’ve almost certainly encountered the story. When NASA’s Opportunity rover died on Mars, the tale goes, its final transmission was heartbreakingly human. As a planet-wide dust storm blotted out the sun and its solar panels failed, the little rover sent one last message home: my battery is low and […]

Space Daily
Zoologist and author Desmond Morris dies aged 98

Morris, who was also a surrealist painter and broadcaster, was best known for his 1967 book The Naked Ape.

BBC News

RIP "naked ape" and #scienceWriter #DesmondMorris. I seem to remember that half a century ago his radical idea of describing #humans as nothing but mammals impressed and influenced me quite a bit.

https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2018/12/the-naked-ape.html

the naked ape

As tumblr is probably going the way of MySpace after Monday's purge, I am thinking of ways of transfering some of my activities there to blo...

I'm doing a bit of research for something I'm writing on NF-κB and came across this gem of a paper. I am having this struggle right now. 😂

(Excerpt from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092867416317263)

#ScienceWriter

The (slow) thread collecting all my features published in #CurrentBiology in 2026 starts here. #ProseAndPassion #Science #ScienceWriter #ScienceJournalism #biology #ecology The old thread for 2025 is here: https://mastodon.social/@proseandpassion/113782468349225978

If you'd like to see my books and blog and everything else I work on, head to jendiagammon.com!

#writer #author #artist #sciencewriter #publisher #editor

ancient Australia

From a European / Western perspective, we're used to thinking of Australia as a new world that has only recently been discovered and settled...

really enjoyed #WritersInOxford alternative #LiteraryFestival yesterday - there were 9 of us very briefly presenting our new books published within the last 12 months. I was the only #ScienceWriter, although there are of course quite a few in #Oxford

Here's a very cool #Science article! Octopuses change genes in strange ways.

It's explained by #Scientist and #ScienceWriter Meg Mindlin at the #Octopus web site
OctoNation https://octonation.com/octopus-can-edit-their-rna-heres-how/

#Octopus #Genetics #DNA #RNA #Mollusc #Octopoda

Octopus Can Edit Their RNA – Here’s How

Ever wonder why people label octopuses as "aliens"? It's not because they hitched a ride on a meteor from outer space. Nope, these eight-armed geniuses earned their intergalactic reputation by doing something no other Earthling

OctoNation - The Largest Octopus Fan Club!
new #Introduction for the bsky bridge : I’m a #BioChemist turned #ScienceWriter, write a feature for every issue of #CurrentBiology, 2/month, mostly about #ecology #evolution #environment also #human, #cultural things seen thru #biology prism. Plus #ScienceBooks, most recently: #Intertwined: From insects to icebergs Also writing a #musical #FamilyHistory #memoir around #biography of our old #cello. #PirateLuthier fixing unloved #violins #NoCars #cycling, #trains, #liveable #cities #townmouse