Fiorella
@fiorella.bsky.social
Entomologist, lover of all things microscopy, microCT and 3D printing. Researcher at Macquarie University.
Pinned
Fiorella
@fiorella.bsky.social
· Aug 3
I work on honey bee stingers and how they pump venom. This is what a bee stinger looks like imaged using microCT.
Reposted by Fiorella
And here's a thought provoking study on other disparities in research, this one addressing different aspects of the gender gap. #WomenInSTEM journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
Biomedical and life science articles by female researchers spend longer under review
Women are underrepresented in academia, especially in STEMM fields, at top institutions, and in senior positions. This study analyzes millions of biomedical and life science articles, revealing that f...
journals.plos.org
January 28, 2026 at 2:05 AM
And here's a thought provoking study on other disparities in research, this one addressing different aspects of the gender gap. #WomenInSTEM journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
Reposted by Fiorella
We've got ISSUES. Literally.
We scraped >100k special issues & over 1 million articles to bring you a PISS-poor paper. We quantify just how many excess papers are published by guest editors abusing special issues to boost their CVs. How bad is it & what can we do?
arxiv.org/abs/2601.07563
A 🧵 1/n
We scraped >100k special issues & over 1 million articles to bring you a PISS-poor paper. We quantify just how many excess papers are published by guest editors abusing special issues to boost their CVs. How bad is it & what can we do?
arxiv.org/abs/2601.07563
A 🧵 1/n
January 13, 2026 at 8:27 AM
We've got ISSUES. Literally.
We scraped >100k special issues & over 1 million articles to bring you a PISS-poor paper. We quantify just how many excess papers are published by guest editors abusing special issues to boost their CVs. How bad is it & what can we do?
arxiv.org/abs/2601.07563
A 🧵 1/n
We scraped >100k special issues & over 1 million articles to bring you a PISS-poor paper. We quantify just how many excess papers are published by guest editors abusing special issues to boost their CVs. How bad is it & what can we do?
arxiv.org/abs/2601.07563
A 🧵 1/n
Polyrhachis sokolova! This beautiful intertidal ant took 48hrs to print and was a heck of a challenge to clean-up! All those supports had to be carefully trimmed away from spindly legs and antennae but it came through cleanly!
Printed in PLA on a Prusa MK4
Printed in PLA on a Prusa MK4
January 20, 2026 at 1:26 AM
Polyrhachis sokolova! This beautiful intertidal ant took 48hrs to print and was a heck of a challenge to clean-up! All those supports had to be carefully trimmed away from spindly legs and antennae but it came through cleanly!
Printed in PLA on a Prusa MK4
Printed in PLA on a Prusa MK4
Printed this beautifully behaved Ocrisiona jumping spider from a microCT scan. She kindly kept all her arms and legs inside the ride and didn't have any fragile spindly bits to work around unlike some ants that I could name...
Printed in PLA, about 12hrs, Prusa MK4
Printed in PLA, about 12hrs, Prusa MK4
January 20, 2026 at 1:18 AM
Printed this beautifully behaved Ocrisiona jumping spider from a microCT scan. She kindly kept all her arms and legs inside the ride and didn't have any fragile spindly bits to work around unlike some ants that I could name...
Printed in PLA, about 12hrs, Prusa MK4
Printed in PLA, about 12hrs, Prusa MK4
Reposted by Fiorella
Since AI slop is again all over Scientific Reports, a thread on the economics of grey-zone publishing.
Why does slop keep getting published? What does it mean for science? How can we stop this?
Background readings:
Understand the strain: tinyurl.com/2b6wxx5r
Stop the drain: tinyurl.com/3jfscscy
Why does slop keep getting published? What does it mean for science? How can we stop this?
Background readings:
Understand the strain: tinyurl.com/2b6wxx5r
Stop the drain: tinyurl.com/3jfscscy
November 30, 2025 at 11:10 AM
Since AI slop is again all over Scientific Reports, a thread on the economics of grey-zone publishing.
Why does slop keep getting published? What does it mean for science? How can we stop this?
Background readings:
Understand the strain: tinyurl.com/2b6wxx5r
Stop the drain: tinyurl.com/3jfscscy
Why does slop keep getting published? What does it mean for science? How can we stop this?
Background readings:
Understand the strain: tinyurl.com/2b6wxx5r
Stop the drain: tinyurl.com/3jfscscy
"The CSIRO plans to cut another 350 research jobs, on top of the 800 jobs already lost in the past 18 months, on top of people in non-permanent roles whose contracts won’t be renewed."
www.davidpocock.com.au/save_our_csiro
www.davidpocock.com.au/save_our_csiro
David Pocock - Independent Senator for the ACT
TRUST. INTEGRITY. LEADERSHIP.
www.davidpocock.com.au
November 27, 2025 at 12:52 AM
"The CSIRO plans to cut another 350 research jobs, on top of the 800 jobs already lost in the past 18 months, on top of people in non-permanent roles whose contracts won’t be renewed."
www.davidpocock.com.au/save_our_csiro
www.davidpocock.com.au/save_our_csiro
Reposted by Fiorella
🚨Good news, everyone!
1) I'm thrilled to be joining the behavior powerhouse that is Indiana University!! So stoked, starting Jan 2026.
2) I'm recruiting grad students! Are you (or your trainee) interested in sensory ecology? behavior? evolution? fieldwork? spiders? Drop me a line Jstafstr(at)iu.edu
1) I'm thrilled to be joining the behavior powerhouse that is Indiana University!! So stoked, starting Jan 2026.
2) I'm recruiting grad students! Are you (or your trainee) interested in sensory ecology? behavior? evolution? fieldwork? spiders? Drop me a line Jstafstr(at)iu.edu
November 22, 2025 at 4:53 PM
🚨Good news, everyone!
1) I'm thrilled to be joining the behavior powerhouse that is Indiana University!! So stoked, starting Jan 2026.
2) I'm recruiting grad students! Are you (or your trainee) interested in sensory ecology? behavior? evolution? fieldwork? spiders? Drop me a line Jstafstr(at)iu.edu
1) I'm thrilled to be joining the behavior powerhouse that is Indiana University!! So stoked, starting Jan 2026.
2) I'm recruiting grad students! Are you (or your trainee) interested in sensory ecology? behavior? evolution? fieldwork? spiders? Drop me a line Jstafstr(at)iu.edu
Reposted by Fiorella
let me share a little story about a remarkable wasp that I encountered yesterday in our local deserts
I stumbled across her, and scrambled to get a few crappy photos .... but then realized that she had a burrow, perhaps a better photo op was possible ??
here she is at her burrow entrance.
I stumbled across her, and scrambled to get a few crappy photos .... but then realized that she had a burrow, perhaps a better photo op was possible ??
here she is at her burrow entrance.
September 23, 2025 at 1:25 AM
let me share a little story about a remarkable wasp that I encountered yesterday in our local deserts
I stumbled across her, and scrambled to get a few crappy photos .... but then realized that she had a burrow, perhaps a better photo op was possible ??
here she is at her burrow entrance.
I stumbled across her, and scrambled to get a few crappy photos .... but then realized that she had a burrow, perhaps a better photo op was possible ??
here she is at her burrow entrance.
Reposted by Fiorella
🚨 Methods paper out now!
nhcm.pensoft.net 📄
How can we make #entomology more engaging? Printed insect #3Dmodels can help! 🖨️ 🐜
Here we provide a guide to producing insect replicas to help overcome common issues in entomological #outreach activities! 🧩
Check it out!
doi.org/10.3897/nhcm...
nhcm.pensoft.net 📄
How can we make #entomology more engaging? Printed insect #3Dmodels can help! 🖨️ 🐜
Here we provide a guide to producing insect replicas to help overcome common issues in entomological #outreach activities! 🧩
Check it out!
doi.org/10.3897/nhcm...
June 23, 2025 at 7:13 PM
🚨 Methods paper out now!
nhcm.pensoft.net 📄
How can we make #entomology more engaging? Printed insect #3Dmodels can help! 🖨️ 🐜
Here we provide a guide to producing insect replicas to help overcome common issues in entomological #outreach activities! 🧩
Check it out!
doi.org/10.3897/nhcm...
nhcm.pensoft.net 📄
How can we make #entomology more engaging? Printed insect #3Dmodels can help! 🖨️ 🐜
Here we provide a guide to producing insect replicas to help overcome common issues in entomological #outreach activities! 🧩
Check it out!
doi.org/10.3897/nhcm...
Reposted by Fiorella
Springer-Nature launched a series of "Discover" journals that closely mimic MDPI titles -- sharing *identical* journal names, and likely similar business model.
What is going on, and why researcher will - as always - fall for it?
A 🧵
the-strain-on-scientific-publishing.github.io/website/post...
What is going on, and why researcher will - as always - fall for it?
A 🧵
the-strain-on-scientific-publishing.github.io/website/post...
Springer Nature Discovers MDPI – The Strain on Scientific Publishing
Home page for the paper ‘The Strain on Scientific Publishing’ by Mark A Hanson, Dan Brockington, Paolo Crosetto and Pablo Gomez Barreiro
the-strain-on-scientific-publishing.github.io
June 15, 2025 at 2:21 PM
Springer-Nature launched a series of "Discover" journals that closely mimic MDPI titles -- sharing *identical* journal names, and likely similar business model.
What is going on, and why researcher will - as always - fall for it?
A 🧵
the-strain-on-scientific-publishing.github.io/website/post...
What is going on, and why researcher will - as always - fall for it?
A 🧵
the-strain-on-scientific-publishing.github.io/website/post...
Reposted by Fiorella
The exteriors of spider eyes are part of the exoskeleton, so can't move. But in jumping spiders, the internal parts of the large central eyes have muscles that can swivel and twist to help the spider aim its eyes from inside the head. This is a 4-frame.gif showing that internal movement. 🌿🐙🕷️👀
June 10, 2025 at 12:21 AM
The exteriors of spider eyes are part of the exoskeleton, so can't move. But in jumping spiders, the internal parts of the large central eyes have muscles that can swivel and twist to help the spider aim its eyes from inside the head. This is a 4-frame.gif showing that internal movement. 🌿🐙🕷️👀
Reposted by Fiorella
New paper from the lab: Our teeth arose as sensory organs on the outside of the body of ancient jawless fish.!! Congrats to Yara Haridy and the team!
Background and video: phys.org/news/2025-05...
Open Access Paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
News and Views: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Background and video: phys.org/news/2025-05...
Open Access Paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
News and Views: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Teeth first evolved as sensory tissue in the armored exoskeletons of ancient fish, fossil scans find
Anyone who has ever squirmed through a dental cleaning can tell you how sensitive teeth can be. This sensitivity gives important feedback about temperature, pressure—and yes, pain—as we bite and chew ...
phys.org
May 21, 2025 at 3:27 PM
New paper from the lab: Our teeth arose as sensory organs on the outside of the body of ancient jawless fish.!! Congrats to Yara Haridy and the team!
Background and video: phys.org/news/2025-05...
Open Access Paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
News and Views: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Background and video: phys.org/news/2025-05...
Open Access Paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
News and Views: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Fiorella
So cool!
The top 10 flying insect clades rule the skies—but defy the rules. Weak or inverted latitudinal diversity gradients leave biogeographers puzzled. Entomologists? Mildly amused. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
May 14, 2025 at 11:24 PM
So cool!
I couldn't help myself and also tried out printing tunosemi's Nothomyrmecia macrops model. This is a species near and dear to my heart after a very memorable field trip to work on these guys with @pipilika.bsky.social. Long drives, cemeteries, wild pigs, that trip had it all!
#3Dprinting
#3Dprinting
May 9, 2025 at 1:38 AM
I couldn't help myself and also tried out printing tunosemi's Nothomyrmecia macrops model. This is a species near and dear to my heart after a very memorable field trip to work on these guys with @pipilika.bsky.social. Long drives, cemeteries, wild pigs, that trip had it all!
#3Dprinting
#3Dprinting
A while back I saw @futurebird.sauropods.win.ap.brid.gy 's post about Santschiella kohli and thought it was such a cool species! So small, such large pronounced eyes and weird anatomy! I had to print her out! She now happily perches on my wall :)
May 7, 2025 at 6:18 AM
A while back I saw @futurebird.sauropods.win.ap.brid.gy 's post about Santschiella kohli and thought it was such a cool species! So small, such large pronounced eyes and weird anatomy! I had to print her out! She now happily perches on my wall :)
Little peacock spider print to celebrate our paper on spider jumping coming out, check it out here: tinyurl.com/4bnpz9tz
Male Maratus splendens printed in PLA #prusa #jumpingspider #microCT
Male Maratus splendens printed in PLA #prusa #jumpingspider #microCT
February 13, 2025 at 12:53 AM
Little peacock spider print to celebrate our paper on spider jumping coming out, check it out here: tinyurl.com/4bnpz9tz
Male Maratus splendens printed in PLA #prusa #jumpingspider #microCT
Male Maratus splendens printed in PLA #prusa #jumpingspider #microCT
Reposted by Fiorella
Our latest paper on the jump kinematics and choreography in the Oz Splendid Peacock spider. We filmed & analysed locomotory jumps in male & female spiders. The males are incredibly light - measuring just 2mg - and oh they can jump! Videos in the thread. Open Access - read here: tinyurl.com/4bnpz9tz
February 12, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Our latest paper on the jump kinematics and choreography in the Oz Splendid Peacock spider. We filmed & analysed locomotory jumps in male & female spiders. The males are incredibly light - measuring just 2mg - and oh they can jump! Videos in the thread. Open Access - read here: tinyurl.com/4bnpz9tz
Reposted by Fiorella
We have a fully funded International 4-year position (combined Master of Research+PhD) to study visual navigation in jumping spiders. Project will be supervised by @pipilika.bsky.social, @mherberstein.bsky.social, @dinrao.bsky.social & Ximena Nelson. At Macquarie University, Sydney. Details below
January 17, 2025 at 2:51 AM
We have a fully funded International 4-year position (combined Master of Research+PhD) to study visual navigation in jumping spiders. Project will be supervised by @pipilika.bsky.social, @mherberstein.bsky.social, @dinrao.bsky.social & Ximena Nelson. At Macquarie University, Sydney. Details below
Reposted by Fiorella
Entomologists: stop buying expensive or poor-capability manipulators, and make yourself one out of Legos. Costs about $5 including shipping and better than anything else you will find. Has just the right amount of friction and allows viewing in any position. Modified from doi.org/10.3897/zook...
January 1, 2025 at 7:46 PM
Entomologists: stop buying expensive or poor-capability manipulators, and make yourself one out of Legos. Costs about $5 including shipping and better than anything else you will find. Has just the right amount of friction and allows viewing in any position. Modified from doi.org/10.3897/zook...
Reposted by Fiorella
Locusts are incredible jumpers. A highly elastic protein called resilin that is springier than synthetic rubber protects the locusts’ brittle legs from damage during repeated use. In PNAS: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
December 27, 2024 at 8:00 PM
Locusts are incredible jumpers. A highly elastic protein called resilin that is springier than synthetic rubber protects the locusts’ brittle legs from damage during repeated use. In PNAS: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Reposted by Fiorella
It's about that time of year- time to remind you all you can get your FREE christmas grub STL for 3D printing from either my MyMiniFactory or Cults3D pages. Enjoy and if you print one, I'd love to see pics! 🐡
November 25, 2024 at 3:35 AM
It's about that time of year- time to remind you all you can get your FREE christmas grub STL for 3D printing from either my MyMiniFactory or Cults3D pages. Enjoy and if you print one, I'd love to see pics! 🐡
Reposted by Fiorella
Our new paper announcing a freely available database of 3D scans of primate skeletal material--a major effort led by Sergio Almécija & his team at the American Museum of Natural History.
🧪 🏺 #paleosky #anatomy #primates #anthropology #morphology #zoology #paleoanthropology #openscience
🧪 🏺 #paleosky #anatomy #primates #anthropology #morphology #zoology #paleoanthropology #openscience
Primate Phenotypes: A Multi-Institution Collection of 3D Morphological Data Housed in MorphoSource - Scientific Data
Scientific Data - Primate Phenotypes: A Multi-Institution Collection of 3D Morphological Data Housed in MorphoSource
www.nature.com
December 18, 2024 at 9:39 PM
Our new paper announcing a freely available database of 3D scans of primate skeletal material--a major effort led by Sergio Almécija & his team at the American Museum of Natural History.
🧪 🏺 #paleosky #anatomy #primates #anthropology #morphology #zoology #paleoanthropology #openscience
🧪 🏺 #paleosky #anatomy #primates #anthropology #morphology #zoology #paleoanthropology #openscience
Reposted by Fiorella
The last paper coming from my #PhD thesis has just been published in the Journal of Morphology! 🐸 We use #diceCT and @fountainscholar.bsky.social 's GoodFibes package to examine how muscle fibre architecture varies across #frogs specialising in jumping, walking and swimming:
doi.org/10.1002/jmor...
doi.org/10.1002/jmor...
Frog Fibres: What Muscle Architecture Can Tell Us About Anuran Locomotor Function
Our study utilises a new, automated approach to digitally extracting muscle fibres from μCT data, allowing us to present the first digital analysis of muscle fibre architecture in frogs, including so...
doi.org
December 18, 2024 at 8:26 AM
The last paper coming from my #PhD thesis has just been published in the Journal of Morphology! 🐸 We use #diceCT and @fountainscholar.bsky.social 's GoodFibes package to examine how muscle fibre architecture varies across #frogs specialising in jumping, walking and swimming:
doi.org/10.1002/jmor...
doi.org/10.1002/jmor...
Mi amiga Estelí Jimenez Soto acaba de publicar este video para explicar la importancia de la biodiversidad en los sistemas agroforestales de cafe. El video es para una audiencia no academica y es de libre uso.
Esta buenísimo, check it out!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ma-R...
Esta buenísimo, check it out!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ma-R...
Biodiversidad en los sistemas agroforestales de café, café con sombra
YouTube video by Lorena Soto
www.youtube.com
December 17, 2024 at 10:23 PM
Mi amiga Estelí Jimenez Soto acaba de publicar este video para explicar la importancia de la biodiversidad en los sistemas agroforestales de cafe. El video es para una audiencia no academica y es de libre uso.
Esta buenísimo, check it out!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ma-R...
Esta buenísimo, check it out!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ma-R...