Very proud of the first article coming out of the BivalveSPEECH project led by Melita Peharda funded by the Croatian Science Foundation, in which we show how isotopes in two scallop spieces record environmental information in the Adriatic 🐚🌊🌦️
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rsma.2026.105143
Very excited to be involved in this study by Han Tao presenting a new method to use pseudo-isotope timeseries to quantify and contextualize differences in ENSO from (sub)fossil giant clam shells.
https://doi.org/10.1029/2026PA005453
This kind of sad and disgusting shitposting sometimes makes me ashamed to be a man. Big cudos to her for being such a strong women and turning this into something positive! 💪
How I turned online misogyny about my PhD into momentum for my career https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-04129-7
How I turned online misogyny about my PhD into momentum for my career
A simple celebratory post about completing my PhD went viral for all the wrong reasons. Here’s how I managed the backlash and used the attention to promote my research.
Happy with the publication of this paper in which we demonstrate dietary responses to dry climate in extinct Gomphotherium based on the chemistry of their teeth. This was a very nice collaboration with Spanish and Portuguese colleagues, hope we can do more together in the future!
https://bg.copernicus.org/articles/23/1833/2026/
Detection of dietary stress and geophagic behaviour forced by dry seasons in Miocene Gomphotherium
Abstract. To access the impact of anthropogenic emissions and land use change on Earth's climate and biodiversity, studies into the environment and ecology of natural ecosystems during past warm periods are required. The Miocene Climatic Optimum is a key reference period for future global warming scenarios. However, studies uncovering Miocene climate have heavily favoured marine environments, leaving the impact of warming on terrestrial ecosystems understudied. Here, we present a multi-disciplinary study into the chemical composition of fossil Gomphotherium angustidens (Proboscidea, Mammalia) teeth from the Middle Miocene Vb division (∼ 15.9–16.1 Ma) of western Portugal (Chelas Valley, Lisbon, Lusitanian basin) and their sedimentological context. Trace element and stable isotope compositions in these fossil teeth are compared with similar measurements in molars of a taxonomically related modern African elephant (captive Loxodonta africana). Results reveal seasonal-scale variability in trace elements in both fossil and modern proboscidean tooth enamel, which are interpreted as evidence for seasonal changes in diet. Periodic increases in Na, Fe and Si in G. angustidens demonstrate intake of sediment in the diet during fixed times of the year, a behaviour type previously described in modern elephants during dry seasons. In combination with the heavier carbon and oxygen isotopic composition in G. angustidens compared to L. africana, the terrestrial climate in Miocene Portugal appears characterized by seasonally dry periods, which forced geophagy behaviour of these large mammals and likely had significant consequences for the composition of Miocene ecosystems (e.g., food/water availability and potential seasonal range shifts) in southwestern Europe.
Don’t deprioritize curiosity-driven research
Around the world, governments are demanding that research funding follow broader political priorities. They should be careful what they wish for.
Support people and their livelihoods rather than fossil-fuel industries
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-00382-6
Support people and their livelihoods rather than fossil-fuel industries
Geopolitical trends might be heading in the wrong direction, but economic forces are aligning around a future economy centred on clean electricity.
Good read!
Does AI already have human-level intelligence? The evidence is clear
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-00285-6
Does AI already have human-level intelligence? The evidence is clear
The vision of human-level machine intelligence laid out by Alan Turing in the 1950s is now a reality. Eyes unclouded by dread or hype will help us to prepare for what comes next.
A Cambrian soft-bodied biota after the first Phanerozoic mass extinction - Nature
The Huayuan biota exhibits extraordinary biodiversity, illuminating the impact of the Phanerozoic mass extinction around 513 million years ago and offering critical insights into the transformation of global ecosystems in the early Cambrian.
What we eat is more than just a health choice. There are massive sustainability gains quite literally left on the table.
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-00236-1
How to eat well and within Earth’s limits | Nature
Dietary change, supported by bold policies, is essential for a sustainable planet. Dietary change, supported by bold policies, is essential for a sustainable planet.
⏰New paper⏰
Happy to play a part in this nice study led by Xiulan and Jingjing using over 1100 (!) clumped isotope analysis for seasonal-scale temperature and precipitation reconstructions on the Chinese Loess Plateau during the last Ice Age. 🐚🌦️
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016703726000189
