Arwyn Edwards
@arwynedwards.bsky.social
FLSW. Reader in Biosciences, Aberystwyth University. Likes cool microbes in warming places. Posts in personal capacity, etc.
Reposted by Arwyn Edwards
If you want to know what Reform would be like in power, look at how it threatened Bangor University | Gaby Hinsliff
If you want to know what Reform would be like in power, look at how it threatened Bangor University | Gaby Hinsliff
A debating society didn’t want to invite two figures connected to the party to speak. Cue an authoritarian response, says Guardian columnist Gaby Hinsliff
www.theguardian.com
February 13, 2026 at 6:47 AM
If you want to know what Reform would be like in power, look at how it threatened Bangor University | Gaby Hinsliff
Excellent commentary, but I think we mustn’t lose sight that tourists are not the only visitors to glaciers. Last-chance glaciology also has its impacts and paradoxes.
Retreating glaciers have become focal points for climate awareness and for tourism.
This dual role exposes a paradox:
Tourism can amplify climate awareness, yet risks reinforcing maladaptive responses in the very landscapes it seeks to showcase.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
This dual role exposes a paradox:
Tourism can amplify climate awareness, yet risks reinforcing maladaptive responses in the very landscapes it seeks to showcase.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Melting glaciers as symbols of tourism paradoxes - Nature Climate Change
Visitors are increasingly drawn to disappearing glacier landscapes for their beauty and scientific value. This Comment examines the paradoxes reshaping relationships among glaciers, people and communi...
www.nature.com
February 10, 2026 at 7:11 AM
Excellent commentary, but I think we mustn’t lose sight that tourists are not the only visitors to glaciers. Last-chance glaciology also has its impacts and paradoxes.
Reposted by Arwyn Edwards
Hi Bluesky microbiology/limnology/hydrology/field folks!
Has anyone used this style of cordless drill peristaltic pump for sample collection or field filtration?
The design checks a lot of our boxes (replaceable tubing, decent suction height, compact batteries), but doesn't seem widely available.
Has anyone used this style of cordless drill peristaltic pump for sample collection or field filtration?
The design checks a lot of our boxes (replaceable tubing, decent suction height, compact batteries), but doesn't seem widely available.
February 6, 2026 at 12:09 PM
Hi Bluesky microbiology/limnology/hydrology/field folks!
Has anyone used this style of cordless drill peristaltic pump for sample collection or field filtration?
The design checks a lot of our boxes (replaceable tubing, decent suction height, compact batteries), but doesn't seem widely available.
Has anyone used this style of cordless drill peristaltic pump for sample collection or field filtration?
The design checks a lot of our boxes (replaceable tubing, decent suction height, compact batteries), but doesn't seem widely available.
Remember, a fish sunsets from the head down…
January 30, 2026 at 1:21 PM
Remember, a fish sunsets from the head down…
Reposted by Arwyn Edwards
Poor bears. First the climate change and now the fatshaming. #svalbardtillegget www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Polar bears getting
Scientists think that Svalbard bears have adapted to recent ice loss by eating more land-based prey.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 29, 2026 at 6:45 PM
Poor bears. First the climate change and now the fatshaming. #svalbardtillegget www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Arwyn Edwards
Announcing a new tool for "denoising" long-read amplicon sequences: savont.
Savont enables amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) directly from nanopore (or HiFi) long reads. Tested on 16S nanopore amplicons -- seems to work okay.
1/4
github.com/bluenote-157...
Savont enables amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) directly from nanopore (or HiFi) long reads. Tested on 16S nanopore amplicons -- seems to work okay.
1/4
github.com/bluenote-157...
GitHub - bluenote-1577/savont: Amplicon sequencing variants from 16s ONT R10.4 / HiFi long reads
Amplicon sequencing variants from 16s ONT R10.4 / HiFi long reads - bluenote-1577/savont
github.com
January 28, 2026 at 6:46 PM
Announcing a new tool for "denoising" long-read amplicon sequences: savont.
Savont enables amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) directly from nanopore (or HiFi) long reads. Tested on 16S nanopore amplicons -- seems to work okay.
1/4
github.com/bluenote-157...
Savont enables amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) directly from nanopore (or HiFi) long reads. Tested on 16S nanopore amplicons -- seems to work okay.
1/4
github.com/bluenote-157...
Reposted by Arwyn Edwards
Looking for a tool to estimate abundances of aerobes versus anaerobes directly from metagenomes? Here you go: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org
January 26, 2026 at 10:05 PM
Looking for a tool to estimate abundances of aerobes versus anaerobes directly from metagenomes? Here you go: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Some unorthodox ice coring techniques… #fieldphotofriday #fieldworkfriday
January 23, 2026 at 5:55 PM
Some unorthodox ice coring techniques… #fieldphotofriday #fieldworkfriday
Reposted by Arwyn Edwards
New blog post with some thoughts on @nanoporetech.com and their recent announcement that the P2 Solo will be discontinued:
rrwick.github.io/2026/01/21/p...
rrwick.github.io/2026/01/21/p...
P2 Solo announcement and the trade-offs of a more stable ONT
a blog for miscellaneous bioinformatics stuff
rrwick.github.io
January 21, 2026 at 3:38 AM
New blog post with some thoughts on @nanoporetech.com and their recent announcement that the P2 Solo will be discontinued:
rrwick.github.io/2026/01/21/p...
rrwick.github.io/2026/01/21/p...
Big news in one of those weeks where decades happen.
January 20, 2026 at 7:24 AM
Big news in one of those weeks where decades happen.
Reposted by Arwyn Edwards
How do new soils develop after glaciers vanish? ❄️🧬🦠🏔️
The first microbial colonisers use flexible chemoautotrophic strategies to overcome nutrient scarcity, including scavenging H2, CO and CH4 from the air! ⛅
Led by Francesco Ricci, Sean Bay @greening.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
The first microbial colonisers use flexible chemoautotrophic strategies to overcome nutrient scarcity, including scavenging H2, CO and CH4 from the air! ⛅
Led by Francesco Ricci, Sean Bay @greening.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Metabolically flexible microorganisms rapidly establish glacial foreland ecosystems - Nature Communications
An enduring question in ecology is how new ecosystems form. Studying retreating glaciers, this study shows that life’s first foothold in these new environments is not established by photosynthetic org...
www.nature.com
January 16, 2026 at 4:08 AM
How do new soils develop after glaciers vanish? ❄️🧬🦠🏔️
The first microbial colonisers use flexible chemoautotrophic strategies to overcome nutrient scarcity, including scavenging H2, CO and CH4 from the air! ⛅
Led by Francesco Ricci, Sean Bay @greening.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
The first microbial colonisers use flexible chemoautotrophic strategies to overcome nutrient scarcity, including scavenging H2, CO and CH4 from the air! ⛅
Led by Francesco Ricci, Sean Bay @greening.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Arwyn Edwards
I’m so greatful to #PAM26 for the opportunity to present some of my work on identifying deep Antarctic subglacial populations. This was my first experience of an extended presentation, and a great first day. I’ll take away so much from this presentation and the conference as a whole.
January 13, 2026 at 3:02 PM
I’m so greatful to #PAM26 for the opportunity to present some of my work on identifying deep Antarctic subglacial populations. This was my first experience of an extended presentation, and a great first day. I’ll take away so much from this presentation and the conference as a whole.
Fabulous start to 2026 - it’s been great fun to share some surprises from our sampling of Arctic glaciers as well as meet old friends and new at polar & alpine microbiology. Haribo served in whirlpaks is definitely on-brand if you’re a veteran fieldworker... #PAM26
January 15, 2026 at 10:04 AM
Fabulous start to 2026 - it’s been great fun to share some surprises from our sampling of Arctic glaciers as well as meet old friends and new at polar & alpine microbiology. Haribo served in whirlpaks is definitely on-brand if you’re a veteran fieldworker... #PAM26
Reposted by Arwyn Edwards
I am calling for a complete and total boycott of the Mercator projection in all news stories about Greenland until every member of the American public has seen this
January 13, 2026 at 5:32 PM
I am calling for a complete and total boycott of the Mercator projection in all news stories about Greenland until every member of the American public has seen this
Reposted by Arwyn Edwards
Article in the Guardian by @mountainogre.bsky.social
Defunding fungi: US’s living library of ‘vital ecosystem engineers’ is in danger of closing
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Defunding fungi: US’s living library of ‘vital ecosystem engineers’ is in danger of closing
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Defunding fungi: US’s living library of ‘vital ecosystem engineers’ is in danger of closing
These fungi boost plant growth and restore depleted ecosystems, but federal funding for a library housing them has been cut – and it may be forced to close
www.theguardian.com
December 28, 2025 at 8:07 PM
Article in the Guardian by @mountainogre.bsky.social
Defunding fungi: US’s living library of ‘vital ecosystem engineers’ is in danger of closing
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Defunding fungi: US’s living library of ‘vital ecosystem engineers’ is in danger of closing
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by Arwyn Edwards
TBT Fieldwork, Spring 2025
Arrived at a distant hut — first open the hut, fire and snow clearing. Slowly, warmth returns after a day in minus 20.
Svalbard fieldwork blends presence of harshness, long hours with awe. Even with a busy mind, the beauty is hard to be unnoticed.
Arrived at a distant hut — first open the hut, fire and snow clearing. Slowly, warmth returns after a day in minus 20.
Svalbard fieldwork blends presence of harshness, long hours with awe. Even with a busy mind, the beauty is hard to be unnoticed.
December 18, 2025 at 7:53 PM
TBT Fieldwork, Spring 2025
Arrived at a distant hut — first open the hut, fire and snow clearing. Slowly, warmth returns after a day in minus 20.
Svalbard fieldwork blends presence of harshness, long hours with awe. Even with a busy mind, the beauty is hard to be unnoticed.
Arrived at a distant hut — first open the hut, fire and snow clearing. Slowly, warmth returns after a day in minus 20.
Svalbard fieldwork blends presence of harshness, long hours with awe. Even with a busy mind, the beauty is hard to be unnoticed.
Reposted by Arwyn Edwards
Very rare shot of the Arctic Platypus
April 27, 2024 at 7:05 AM
Very rare shot of the Arctic Platypus
Heading up for the @aberdlsagb.bsky.social Festival of Research today. I’m looking forward to hearing lots of exciting talks, and this afternoon I’ll share the story of how a literal “snow day” on Arctic fieldwork in 2019 evolved in to two (2!) NERC projects.
December 18, 2025 at 7:20 AM
Heading up for the @aberdlsagb.bsky.social Festival of Research today. I’m looking forward to hearing lots of exciting talks, and this afternoon I’ll share the story of how a literal “snow day” on Arctic fieldwork in 2019 evolved in to two (2!) NERC projects.
Reposted by Arwyn Edwards
The number of glaciers disappearing worldwide each year is projected to sharply increase, peaking at 2,000–4,000 per year around the middle of the century, depending on the level of warming above pre-industrial levels, according to a study in Nature Climate Change. go.nature.com/4pEfbP5 ⚒️ 🧪
December 15, 2025 at 9:27 PM
The number of glaciers disappearing worldwide each year is projected to sharply increase, peaking at 2,000–4,000 per year around the middle of the century, depending on the level of warming above pre-industrial levels, according to a study in Nature Climate Change. go.nature.com/4pEfbP5 ⚒️ 🧪
Last day of term, first day of DOING research not just administrating it this term #hammertime
December 12, 2025 at 6:10 PM
Last day of term, first day of DOING research not just administrating it this term #hammertime
Reposted by Arwyn Edwards
Come to Birmingham and do a PhD with myself and @wvschaik.bsky.social!
PhD position (Birmingham, UK)
Environmental modelling of microbial dynamics in river and flood-impacted environments
with Johanna Rhodes, Willem van Schaik, Marie Chattaway, Claire Jenkins
at University of Birmingham
More details: http://iddjobs.org/jobs/2433
Environmental modelling of microbial dynamics in river and flood-impacted environments
with Johanna Rhodes, Willem van Schaik, Marie Chattaway, Claire Jenkins
at University of Birmingham
More details: http://iddjobs.org/jobs/2433
December 12, 2025 at 6:32 AM
Come to Birmingham and do a PhD with myself and @wvschaik.bsky.social!
Turns out one of the more pereceptive things said to me near the end of the pandemic's restrictions was that we would either start treating COVID like flu, or ending up treating flu like COVID. And here we are.
December 11, 2025 at 12:32 PM
Turns out one of the more pereceptive things said to me near the end of the pandemic's restrictions was that we would either start treating COVID like flu, or ending up treating flu like COVID. And here we are.