John Whitfield
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johnwhitfield.bsky.social
John Whitfield
@johnwhitfield.bsky.social
480 followers 270 following 330 posts
(Science) journalist and author.
Opinion editor, Research Professional News.
Books: Lost Animals; People Will Talk ; In the Beat of a Heart.
www.johnwhitfield.co.uk
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Reposted by John Whitfield
josiegz.bsky.social
Fascinating. Preliminary data dating back to 1966, gleaned from 18 organ-tuning books associated with churches in London, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, indicate a rise in average temperatures inside churches since then, during winter and summer periods.

www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Organ-tuning books in English churches provide notes on a warming climate
Researchers have realised the records are a ‘goldmine’ to study changes in environmental conditions
www.theguardian.com
December 23, 2025 at 9:19 AM
Reposted by John Whitfield
ec.europa.eu
Europe’s holiday wish?

More speed, more options, more time for YOU.

While many are winding down, Europe is gearing up: a major high-speed rail plan is set to transform travel by 2040.

Here’s what’s coming ↓
A watercolour-style illustration depicting a sleek, red and white high-speed train, labelled "EU Holiday Express in the making," speeding out of a swirling, abstract representation of the blue European Union flag with its yellow stars. In the background, there are snow-covered Christmas trees and picturesque, snow-dusted houses. The EU logo is also visible in the bottom right corner.
December 23, 2025 at 9:31 AM
Reposted by John Whitfield
richardaljones.bsky.social
An excellent response from @tomforth.co.uk to the TBI proposal for new R&D institutions outside universities. I agree that it would be better if the UK had more diversity in R&D institutions; Tom brilliantly identifies some blind-spots in the TBI analysis. To pick out a few key points...
tomforth.co.uk Tom Forth @tomforth.co.uk · 22d
I went to a dinner with the AI Minister and I read a paper on Lovelace Institue --- a proposal from Tony Blair's Institute on how we could fund breakthrough science better. And I wrote that all up into one incoherent mess for you to enjoy. tomforth.co.uk/nationalpurp...
National purpose on AI.
Lovelace Institutes, why I like the idea, and how I think they could work.
tomforth.co.uk
December 17, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Reposted by John Whitfield
resprofnews.bsky.social
Opinion: Restarted REF has the right mix of continuity and evolution.

Rule tweaks balance credibility and burden deftly, although questions on specialisation remain, says Chris Day.

www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-v...
Restarted REF has the right mix of continuity and evolution - Research Professional News
Rule tweaks balance credibility and burden deftly, although questions on specialisation remain, says Chris Day
www.researchprofessionalnews.com
December 16, 2025 at 9:53 AM
Reposted by John Whitfield
mrfw17thc.bsky.social
Beautiful little drawing of a waterfowl in the log of the East India Company ship 'Rochester', ca. 1709-12, headed to China, kept by Captain Francis Stane (IOR/L/MAR/B/137B).
Drawing of a black and white waterfowl in the body of a ship's log (early 18th century).
December 15, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Reposted by John Whitfield
philipcball.bsky.social
I have read, blurbed, reviewed quite a lot of science books this year. Here are some I have particularly enjoyed, in no particular order.
@matthewcobb.bsky.social's long awaited biography of Francis Crick did not disappoint. Authoritative and highly readable. 🧵
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Sex, drugs and the conscious brain: Francis Crick beyond the double helix
A thoroughly researched account of the history and relationships that shaped the scientist who co-discovered the structure of DNA.
www.nature.com
December 15, 2025 at 12:37 PM
Reposted by John Whitfield
annamgrey.bsky.social
Yes, I do think the changes that have been proposed are a sensible idea, but I just wish REF didn't keep being so cack-handed* about it all (*Lincolnshire phrase for making a mess) and don't even start me on the 'reduced burden' argument.
December 15, 2025 at 9:44 AM
Reposted by John Whitfield
cash4questions.bsky.social
I feel very, very *seen* by this week's Ivory Tower.
December 12, 2025 at 2:28 PM
johnwhitfield.bsky.social
This looks better than most publications' BOTY lists
charlescmann.bsky.social 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚎𝚜 𝙲. 𝙼𝚊𝚗𝚗 @charlescmann.bsky.social · 22d
For the holidays, some books I read last year and very much liked. Much of this list consists of not-new books that I happened upon, and all of it is haphazard. Listed in the order that I recalled them, not of preference. Presented as a small "thank you" to the writers. 1/n
December 12, 2025 at 3:30 PM
johnwhitfield.bsky.social
This is quite the story
investigations.news-exchange.ebu.ch/donor-7069-t...
Donor 7069: The TP53 Mutation, 14 Countries, and Europe's Unregulated Sperm Banking Crisis
The 'Kjeld' case reveals a massive failure in Europe's fertility industry. Learn how one donor bypassed limits and spread a deadly cancer risk across borders.
investigations.news-exchange.ebu.ch
December 12, 2025 at 3:27 PM
johnwhitfield.bsky.social
Public disservice announcement.
nhwise.bsky.social Nick Wise @nhwise.bsky.social · 22d
Big news I've not seen reported elsewhere:

Mr Blobby joined Spotify on the 1st of Dec, so you can now listen to the UK Christmas no. 1 for 1993

open.spotify.com/artist/6990P...
Mr Blobby
open.spotify.com
December 12, 2025 at 12:06 PM
Reposted by John Whitfield
jameschalmers.bsky.social
An academic disliked an Oxford Very Short Introduction (145 pages) in his field so much that he wrote a 200 page book review attacking it. www.pierre-legrand.com/ewExternalFi...
December 11, 2025 at 8:56 PM
johnwhitfield.bsky.social
It'll make a change from 'have a banana'.
lrb.co.uk London Review of Books @lrb.co.uk · 23d
‘You will never walk down the Strand again without thinking of the hippopotami that wallowed in a primeval swamp at the Trafalgar Square end.’

Ysenda Maxtone Graham on a biography of the London street.

www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Ysenda Maxtone Graham · Busiest Thoroughfare of the Metropolis of the World: The Strand
After reading​ Geoff Browell and Eileen Chanin’s concise history of the Strand, you will never walk down that street...
www.lrb.co.uk
December 11, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Reposted by John Whitfield
kevincollier.bsky.social
New! We worked with the Public Interest Research Group to test a bunch of LLM-driven toys ahead of the Christmas. That sexual talking teddy bear wasn't a one-off; it turns out disturbing behavior is deeply built into these toys across the board.
AI toys for kids talk about sex and issue Chinese Communist Party talking points, tests show
New research from Public Interest Research Group and tests conducted by NBC News found that a wide range of AI toys have loose guardrails.
www.nbcnews.com
December 11, 2025 at 1:24 PM
Reposted by John Whitfield
resprofnews.bsky.social
REF after the pause: politics and a quiet retreat on culture.

Changes risk reinforcing “extreme myopia” on traditional research outputs, write Simon Hettrick, Gemma Derrick, James Baker and Ola Thomson.

www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-v...
REF after the pause: politics and a quiet retreat on culture - Research Professional News
Changes risk reinforcing “extreme myopia” on traditional research outputs, write Simon Hettrick and colleagues
www.researchprofessionalnews.com
December 11, 2025 at 7:28 AM
Reposted by John Whitfield
georgeholmes.bsky.social
Another day, another illicit species release: I suspect there are a few people who know exactly where this one came from (Bavaria, originally, I bet - it seems all Europe's illicit beavers can be traced back there), and quite a few more who have strong suspicions. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘No one knows where it came from’: first wild beaver spotted in Norfolk in 500 years
Cameras capture lone creature collecting materials for its lodge in riverside nature reserve
www.theguardian.com
December 8, 2025 at 9:12 AM
Reposted by John Whitfield
paulnightingale.bsky.social
This is interesting and very informative. I'm not sure I buy it entirely. There are many areas where the USA remains entirely dominant. China's increasing quantity and following a few years later quality is extremely impressive, and the new S&T plan will only boost that.

...
December 5, 2025 at 2:49 PM
Reposted by John Whitfield
resprofnews.bsky.social
Opinion: The US research empire is in retreat.

Publication data suggest China will fill the vacuum created by US isolationism, says Jonathan Adams.

www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-euro...
The US research empire is in retreat - Research Professional News
Publication data suggest China will fill the vacuum created by US isolationism, says Jonathan Adams
www.researchprofessionalnews.com
December 5, 2025 at 2:21 PM
Reposted by John Whitfield
natecoevo.nature.com
Much has been speculated on the impact of industrial deep-sea mining on marine ecosystems. This study led by @evastewart.bsky.social provides some direct empirical evidence.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Impacts of an industrial deep-sea mining trial on macrofaunal biodiversity - Nature Ecology & Evolution
A species-level dataset of sediment-dwelling macrofauna, sampled 2 years before and 2 months after a test of a commercial deep-sea mining machine, reveals losses of macrofaunal density and species ric...
www.nature.com
December 5, 2025 at 1:09 PM
Reposted by John Whitfield
resprofnews.bsky.social
Make simplification a hedge trimmer, not a chainsaw.

Digital tools can make applying for funding easier without backsliding on values, says Daniel Spichtinger.

www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-euro...
Make simplification a hedge trimmer, not a chainsaw - Research Professional News
Digital tools can make applying for funding easier without backsliding on values, says Daniel Spichtinger
www.researchprofessionalnews.com
December 5, 2025 at 1:13 PM
Reposted by John Whitfield
resprofnews.bsky.social
Exclusive: Publishers to trial removing fees from some journals in UK deals.

Agreements under negotiation will include open access pilots hailed as “fundamental shift in business model”.

www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-o...
Publishers to trial removing fees from some journals in UK deals - Research Professional News
Agreements under negotiation will include open access pilots hailed as “fundamental shift in business model”
www.researchprofessionalnews.com
December 5, 2025 at 7:48 AM
johnwhitfield.bsky.social
If Netflix ran HBO's shows that'd be something close to completing telly. www.ft.com/content/1b51...
Warner Bros in exclusive talks with Netflix about studio and streaming sale
People close to the talks say a deal could come in days
www.ft.com
December 5, 2025 at 10:11 AM
johnwhitfield.bsky.social
The absence of a hyphen here has completely derailed my morning. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
December 5, 2025 at 10:06 AM
Reposted by John Whitfield
rhiggitt.bsky.social
I have a short Comment piece just published in Nature Reviews Physics on the 350-year-old Royal Observatory, Greenwich, and its funding rdcu.be/eSXb2 #histSTM
The Royal Observatory, Greenwich, and government-funded science
Nature Reviews Physics - Over its 350 years of history, the establishment and evolution of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, reflects the history of scientific institutions in Britain.
rdcu.be
December 3, 2025 at 12:14 PM
Reposted by John Whitfield
alexanderlees.bsky.social
Huge News from the Western Amazon: it's the year 2025 and we are still describing entirely new, strikingly-distinctive large-bodied bird species! Behold Tinamus resonans sp. nov. the Slaty-masked Tinamou mapress.com/zt/article/v... #Ornithology @tetzoo.bsky.social 🪶
Photo montage of Tinamus resonans sp. nov., a new species of tinamou from the montane forests of the Serra do Divisor, western Amazonia, Brazil. The species is distinguished by a unique combination of plumage pattern, vocal repertoire, and ecological characteristics, including a conspicuous dark slate facial mask, vivid rufous-cinnamon underparts, and a uniform brownish-gray back. Its vocalizations are remarkable, consisting of long and powerful songs that echo strikingly across the steep montane slopes, producing a characteristic resonant effect. The species was documented exclusively at higher elevations within a transitional zone between submontane and stunted forests, where the understory is densely structured by root mats. A preliminary population estimate, based on field detections and spatial extrapolation, suggests approximately 2,106 individuals restricted to the Serra do Divisor massif. Although no immediate anthropogenic pressures were observed within its range, the species may be highly vulnerable to climate change and to proposed infrastructure projects that threaten the integrity of this federally protected region. The discovery of T. resonans highlights the biological uniqueness of the Serra do Divisor, reinforces its status as a center of montane endemism, and underscores the critical importance of maintaining its long-term conservation.
December 2, 2025 at 7:20 AM