Shauna Rasband
@concealocanth.bsky.social
evolutionary biology grad student @ UMD
studying birds and their funky hormones
*bi flag emoji* she/her
hobbies:
wildlife photography
drawing & painting
"world" literature & music
infodumping
follow me on iNaturalist (shauna1) or eBird (unashauna)!
studying birds and their funky hormones
*bi flag emoji* she/her
hobbies:
wildlife photography
drawing & painting
"world" literature & music
infodumping
follow me on iNaturalist (shauna1) or eBird (unashauna)!
The King Arthur Flour madeleine base recipes for vanilla and chocolate inexplicably use the two different leavening methods (vanilla = traditional, whipping air into eggs; chocolate = nontraditional, baking powder). I was curious to see what the result would be...
November 10, 2025 at 2:10 PM
The King Arthur Flour madeleine base recipes for vanilla and chocolate inexplicably use the two different leavening methods (vanilla = traditional, whipping air into eggs; chocolate = nontraditional, baking powder). I was curious to see what the result would be...
Reposted by Shauna Rasband
anyone have experience fragmenting DNA for WGS library prep with a Qsonica Q800R3? effective covaris alternative, or ineffective trap for cheapskates?
October 17, 2025 at 5:32 PM
anyone have experience fragmenting DNA for WGS library prep with a Qsonica Q800R3? effective covaris alternative, or ineffective trap for cheapskates?
Reposted by Shauna Rasband
So excited that our first major empirical @themanybirds.bsky.social paper is now out in @plosbiology.org!
Leading this big team science project, with our excellent core leadership team, is a labour of love for me, delighted to see our hard work over the past 4 years has reached this milestone!
Leading this big team science project, with our excellent core leadership team, is a labour of love for me, delighted to see our hard work over the past 4 years has reached this milestone!
🐦 Exciting news! Our new paper is out in PLOS Biology:
“A large-scale study across the avian clade identifies ecological drivers of neophobia.”
Led by the #ManyBirds Project - 129 researchers, 82 institutions, 24 countries 🌍
🔗 journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
@themanybirds.bsky.social
“A large-scale study across the avian clade identifies ecological drivers of neophobia.”
Led by the #ManyBirds Project - 129 researchers, 82 institutions, 24 countries 🌍
🔗 journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
@themanybirds.bsky.social
A large-scale study across the avian clade identifies ecological drivers of neophobia
Neophobia (the aversive response to novelty) varies considerably across species and individuals, and can impact adaptability and survival. This study assesses neophobia in 1400 subjects from 136 bird ...
journals.plos.org
October 14, 2025 at 7:40 PM
So excited that our first major empirical @themanybirds.bsky.social paper is now out in @plosbiology.org!
Leading this big team science project, with our excellent core leadership team, is a labour of love for me, delighted to see our hard work over the past 4 years has reached this milestone!
Leading this big team science project, with our excellent core leadership team, is a labour of love for me, delighted to see our hard work over the past 4 years has reached this milestone!
Reposted by Shauna Rasband
ooooh new paper out today. a couple of years ago a big group of us were like "hey let's spend a few weeks painstakingly looking up the sources of every official bird common name" and as of today, you too can join us in our ornitholetymological (yes i made that up) rabbit-hole:
AvianLexiconAtlas: A database of descriptive categories of English-language bird names around the world
Common names of species are important for communicating with the general public. In principle, these names should provide an accessible way to engage with and identify species. The common names of spe...
journals.plos.org
June 11, 2025 at 6:38 PM
ooooh new paper out today. a couple of years ago a big group of us were like "hey let's spend a few weeks painstakingly looking up the sources of every official bird common name" and as of today, you too can join us in our ornitholetymological (yes i made that up) rabbit-hole:
The American Southwest is home to extremely adorable undescribed species. If you are able, consider chipping in a penny to help them get described!
experiment.com/projects/und...
experiment.com/projects/und...
Undescribed and Imperiled: Describing the neglected native Venezillo of the West Coast of the United States
Native isopods of the US have been largely neglected with many species having not even been described or named. This is problematic as many isopods are useful indicator species of healthy environments...
experiment.com
April 11, 2025 at 4:03 PM
The American Southwest is home to extremely adorable undescribed species. If you are able, consider chipping in a penny to help them get described!
experiment.com/projects/und...
experiment.com/projects/und...
My science communication pet peeve is people always putting photos of needles or a person being actively vaccinated as the photos to go alongside articles about vaccine hesitancy etc. when it's an extremely common phobia trigger that does not help the case for vaccines at all.
March 11, 2025 at 4:01 PM
My science communication pet peeve is people always putting photos of needles or a person being actively vaccinated as the photos to go alongside articles about vaccine hesitancy etc. when it's an extremely common phobia trigger that does not help the case for vaccines at all.
Silly #birds thought to break up your feed: there've been many discussions about what the most beautiful bird song is (e.g. Winter Wren, Hermit Thrush), but what do you think is the ugliest, most ear-grating bird song? I would like to contend: Yellow-headed Blackbird. Can anyone beat this?
Yellow-headed Blackbird (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) :: xeno-canto
xeno-canto.org
March 6, 2025 at 6:52 PM
Silly #birds thought to break up your feed: there've been many discussions about what the most beautiful bird song is (e.g. Winter Wren, Hermit Thrush), but what do you think is the ugliest, most ear-grating bird song? I would like to contend: Yellow-headed Blackbird. Can anyone beat this?
Exactly! Before transgenic bacteria that can basically 3D print human insulin, patients were treated with insulin from slaughtered livestock. Cow/pig insulin didn't work very well and many people were allergic to it and couldn't take it. They simply died.
Transgenic means that genes from 1 organism have been put into another. We make transgenic mice to understand how genes influence biological processes. We make transgenic plants to make them more nutrient rich. We make transgenic bacteria so they make medicine for us. It's wide-ranging & v. useful.
March 6, 2025 at 5:09 PM
Exactly! Before transgenic bacteria that can basically 3D print human insulin, patients were treated with insulin from slaughtered livestock. Cow/pig insulin didn't work very well and many people were allergic to it and couldn't take it. They simply died.
Reposted by Shauna Rasband
Amid today’s massive NIH cuts to universities, please know that my research colleagues:
- Develop new cancer treatments for kids
- Are curing sickle cell disease
- Build new tech to help premature babies survive
- Prevent teens from dying of drug overdose
- And more
#NIH #MedSky #research #science
- Develop new cancer treatments for kids
- Are curing sickle cell disease
- Build new tech to help premature babies survive
- Prevent teens from dying of drug overdose
- And more
#NIH #MedSky #research #science
February 8, 2025 at 3:27 AM
Reposted by Shauna Rasband
🧵 🔭 🧪
1/
An international research team has discovered a new giant radio galaxy dubbed “Inkathazo,” meaning “trouble” in African languages such as Xhosa and Zulu.
Source➡️ sarao.ac.za/news/the-age...
The discovery, obtained using South Africa's Meerkat interferometer, offers new insights into
1/
An international research team has discovered a new giant radio galaxy dubbed “Inkathazo,” meaning “trouble” in African languages such as Xhosa and Zulu.
Source➡️ sarao.ac.za/news/the-age...
The discovery, obtained using South Africa's Meerkat interferometer, offers new insights into
February 2, 2025 at 3:48 PM
🧵 🔭 🧪
1/
An international research team has discovered a new giant radio galaxy dubbed “Inkathazo,” meaning “trouble” in African languages such as Xhosa and Zulu.
Source➡️ sarao.ac.za/news/the-age...
The discovery, obtained using South Africa's Meerkat interferometer, offers new insights into
1/
An international research team has discovered a new giant radio galaxy dubbed “Inkathazo,” meaning “trouble” in African languages such as Xhosa and Zulu.
Source➡️ sarao.ac.za/news/the-age...
The discovery, obtained using South Africa's Meerkat interferometer, offers new insights into
Reposted by Shauna Rasband
Lewis Howard Latimer 9/4/1848– 12/11/1928
was an American inventor and patent draftsman.
His inventions included an evaporative air conditioner, an improved process for manufacturing carbon filaments for electric light bulbs, and an improved toilet system for railroad cars.
#Blackhistorymonth
was an American inventor and patent draftsman.
His inventions included an evaporative air conditioner, an improved process for manufacturing carbon filaments for electric light bulbs, and an improved toilet system for railroad cars.
#Blackhistorymonth
February 2, 2025 at 1:54 PM
Lewis Howard Latimer 9/4/1848– 12/11/1928
was an American inventor and patent draftsman.
His inventions included an evaporative air conditioner, an improved process for manufacturing carbon filaments for electric light bulbs, and an improved toilet system for railroad cars.
#Blackhistorymonth
was an American inventor and patent draftsman.
His inventions included an evaporative air conditioner, an improved process for manufacturing carbon filaments for electric light bulbs, and an improved toilet system for railroad cars.
#Blackhistorymonth
Reposted by Shauna Rasband
Happy #WorldWetlandsDay to all who celebrate. Wetlands help reduce climate change impacts, they sustain the water we drink, and they support an amazing diversity of wildlife. In short: wetlands rock 🌿
February 2, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Happy #WorldWetlandsDay to all who celebrate. Wetlands help reduce climate change impacts, they sustain the water we drink, and they support an amazing diversity of wildlife. In short: wetlands rock 🌿
Reposted by Shauna Rasband
If you have been affected by the fires in LA, or are concerned about your ability to keep precious Drosophila strains going during the latest funding crisis, we will host your strains as a backup. Please email me.
Please amplify. If you are also able to host fly strains, add your name as well.
Please amplify. If you are also able to host fly strains, add your name as well.
January 28, 2025 at 9:45 PM
If you have been affected by the fires in LA, or are concerned about your ability to keep precious Drosophila strains going during the latest funding crisis, we will host your strains as a backup. Please email me.
Please amplify. If you are also able to host fly strains, add your name as well.
Please amplify. If you are also able to host fly strains, add your name as well.
The Bristle-thighed Curlew range is because they saw one of those maps with Alaska and Hawaii next to each other and thought it would be a reasonable migration, only to realize it was a huge mistake, but there's no going back now.
January 7, 2025 at 6:47 PM
The Bristle-thighed Curlew range is because they saw one of those maps with Alaska and Hawaii next to each other and thought it would be a reasonable migration, only to realize it was a huge mistake, but there's no going back now.
Reposted by Shauna Rasband
You are being inspected by a Plate-billed Mountain Toucan so act accordingly. 🪶
#ArtAdventCalendar
#ArtAdventCalendar
December 17, 2024 at 2:18 PM
You are being inspected by a Plate-billed Mountain Toucan so act accordingly. 🪶
#ArtAdventCalendar
#ArtAdventCalendar
Reposted by Shauna Rasband
Sharks eating dinosaurs! At the charming National Museum in Prague.
Totally morbid paleoart. But based on one of the few Czech dinosaur fossils, an ornithopod bone crisscrossed with the razor blade bites of sharks.
Totally morbid paleoart. But based on one of the few Czech dinosaur fossils, an ornithopod bone crisscrossed with the razor blade bites of sharks.
December 15, 2024 at 9:55 AM
Sharks eating dinosaurs! At the charming National Museum in Prague.
Totally morbid paleoart. But based on one of the few Czech dinosaur fossils, an ornithopod bone crisscrossed with the razor blade bites of sharks.
Totally morbid paleoart. But based on one of the few Czech dinosaur fossils, an ornithopod bone crisscrossed with the razor blade bites of sharks.
Reminds me of middle school algebra--my classmate frustratedly asked the teacher WHY we had to keep solving for the variable when the teacher already KNEW the answer! Who knew, she was ahead of her time :')
This is what's so baffling about so many suggestions for AI in the humanities classroom: they mistake the product for the point. Writing outlines and essays is important not because you need to make outlines and essays but because that's how you learn to think with/through complex ideas.
I'm sure many have said this before but I'm reading a student-facing document about how students might use AI in the classroom (if allowed) and one of the recs is: use AI to make an outline of your reading! But ISN'T MAKING THE OUTLINE how one actually learns?
December 12, 2024 at 3:20 PM
Reminds me of middle school algebra--my classmate frustratedly asked the teacher WHY we had to keep solving for the variable when the teacher already KNEW the answer! Who knew, she was ahead of her time :')
For #MammalMonday let's look at the Eastern Chipmunk. Infinitely easier to identify compared to the Western species since out here we only have the one. "Chipmunk" is an Anglicization of Ojibwe "ajidamoonh," meaning "head first," or "one who descends trees headlong." An apt name to be sure.
December 9, 2024 at 5:37 PM
For #MammalMonday let's look at the Eastern Chipmunk. Infinitely easier to identify compared to the Western species since out here we only have the one. "Chipmunk" is an Anglicization of Ojibwe "ajidamoonh," meaning "head first," or "one who descends trees headlong." An apt name to be sure.
Reposted by Shauna Rasband
A watercolour illustration I've just completed featuring the Canary Island endemic succulent, Euphorbia handiensis:
December 8, 2024 at 8:09 PM
A watercolour illustration I've just completed featuring the Canary Island endemic succulent, Euphorbia handiensis:
What kind of duck are you and why?
I think I'm a harlequin because I've spent my whole life going between mountains and sea.
I think I'm a harlequin because I've spent my whole life going between mountains and sea.
December 7, 2024 at 10:59 PM
Reposted by Shauna Rasband
Sorry about the late reply, currently being swamped by emails.
The emails:
The emails:
December 7, 2024 at 6:32 PM
Sorry about the late reply, currently being swamped by emails.
The emails:
The emails:
Reposted by Shauna Rasband
December 7, 2024 at 12:38 AM
Reposted by Shauna Rasband
WRITER OF 'WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS':
And then we end on wishing them a happy new year, and that's the song 😊
FIGGY PUDDING MARKETING DEPARTMENT:
Great! Just one minor suggestion
And then we end on wishing them a happy new year, and that's the song 😊
FIGGY PUDDING MARKETING DEPARTMENT:
Great! Just one minor suggestion
December 3, 2024 at 2:45 PM
WRITER OF 'WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS':
And then we end on wishing them a happy new year, and that's the song 😊
FIGGY PUDDING MARKETING DEPARTMENT:
Great! Just one minor suggestion
And then we end on wishing them a happy new year, and that's the song 😊
FIGGY PUDDING MARKETING DEPARTMENT:
Great! Just one minor suggestion
Someone having a bit of fun with it at the NYT crossword desk. I could hear it 😂
December 3, 2024 at 11:35 PM
Someone having a bit of fun with it at the NYT crossword desk. I could hear it 😂
Reposted by Shauna Rasband
Completed at last. My heinous gift guide for sworn enemies. Enjoy this curated list of cursed objects. Bequeath one to your detested foe! open.substack.com/pub/holapapi...
My Heinous Gift Guide for Sworn Enemies
Merry Christmas, ya filthy animal
open.substack.com
December 3, 2024 at 2:42 PM
Completed at last. My heinous gift guide for sworn enemies. Enjoy this curated list of cursed objects. Bequeath one to your detested foe! open.substack.com/pub/holapapi...