John Whitfield
@johnwhitfield.bsky.social
(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
Opinion editor, Research Professional News.
Books: Lost Animals; People Will Talk ; In the Beat of a Heart.
www.johnwhitfield.co.uk
Anyone getting into a staring match with a herring gull is braver than I am.
#OpenAccess in #BirdStudy
Herring Gulls really don't like people staring at them (antipredator response).
The eyes have it: the response of European Herring Gulls Larus argentatus to human eye-gaze doi.org/10.1080/0006...
#ornithology
Herring Gulls really don't like people staring at them (antipredator response).
The eyes have it: the response of European Herring Gulls Larus argentatus to human eye-gaze doi.org/10.1080/0006...
#ornithology
November 6, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Anyone getting into a staring match with a herring gull is braver than I am.
Reposted by John Whitfield
EU agrees to open Horizon Europe to dual-use and defence
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-euro...
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-euro...
November 6, 2025 at 4:49 PM
EU agrees to open Horizon Europe to dual-use and defence
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-euro...
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-euro...
Reposted by John Whitfield
Curious little story this one. REF Team telling everyone they can't use REF 2029 logo any more. Seems to contradict previous years' guidance, and could make work for people.
REF 2029 branding ban baffles research offices.
Instruction to remove Research Excellence Framework logo from university materials prompts confusion.
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...
Instruction to remove Research Excellence Framework logo from university materials prompts confusion.
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...
REF 2029 branding ban baffles research offices - Research Professional News
Instruction to remove Research Excellence Framework logo from university materials prompts confusion
www.researchprofessionalnews.com
November 6, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Curious little story this one. REF Team telling everyone they can't use REF 2029 logo any more. Seems to contradict previous years' guidance, and could make work for people.
Reposted by John Whitfield
Divide and concur — this radical plan from 1920, for "lasting peace" after WW1, proposed uniting central Europe into 24 wedge-shaped cantons which would radiate out from Vienna’s St. Stephen’s Cathedral: https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/unionization-of-central-europe/
November 5, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Divide and concur — this radical plan from 1920, for "lasting peace" after WW1, proposed uniting central Europe into 24 wedge-shaped cantons which would radiate out from Vienna’s St. Stephen’s Cathedral: https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/unionization-of-central-europe/
Reposted by John Whitfield
In an interview with Research Europe, Austria's research minister @eviholz.bsky.social warned that some EU politicians want to copy Trump in taking a "chainsaw" to university funding
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-euro...
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-euro...
Trump ‘chainsaw’ on universities ‘could be copied in Europe’ - Research Professional News
Austrian research minister tells Research Europe some politicians want to emulate US president’s anti-science stance
www.researchprofessionalnews.com
November 6, 2025 at 9:01 AM
In an interview with Research Europe, Austria's research minister @eviholz.bsky.social warned that some EU politicians want to copy Trump in taking a "chainsaw" to university funding
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-euro...
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-euro...
Reposted by John Whitfield
Opinion: Switzerland’s status as a leading science nation is already under pressure - cuts could imperil it further, writes Franz Barjak
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-euro...
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-euro...
Swiss universities are braced for austerity - Research Professional News
Proposed cuts to federal spending threaten country’s strength in research and innovation, says Franz Barjak
www.researchprofessionalnews.com
November 6, 2025 at 12:10 PM
Opinion: Switzerland’s status as a leading science nation is already under pressure - cuts could imperil it further, writes Franz Barjak
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-euro...
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-euro...
Reposted by John Whitfield
'The University of Reading wants to build Loddon Garden Village on land close to Shinfield and Lower Earley and it is included in Wokingham Borough Council's current housing plans.
The application includes about 2,800 homes, along with two primary schools and one secondary school'. 1/2
The application includes about 2,800 homes, along with two primary schools and one secondary school'. 1/2
University of Reading files 4,000-home Loddon Garden Village plan
The proposal of about 4,000 homes could be built on land between Shinfield and Lower Earley.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 6, 2025 at 8:35 AM
'The University of Reading wants to build Loddon Garden Village on land close to Shinfield and Lower Earley and it is included in Wokingham Borough Council's current housing plans.
The application includes about 2,800 homes, along with two primary schools and one secondary school'. 1/2
The application includes about 2,800 homes, along with two primary schools and one secondary school'. 1/2
Reposted by John Whitfield
Free-to-read opinion: Europe must "couple excellent science with rapid learning cycles", writes @aau.dk rector Per Michael Johansen
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-euro...
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-euro...
November 6, 2025 at 10:38 AM
Free-to-read opinion: Europe must "couple excellent science with rapid learning cycles", writes @aau.dk rector Per Michael Johansen
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-euro...
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-euro...
Reposted by John Whitfield
Some pragmatic home truths we need to think with if these aspirations are to be met. Setting PCE criteria very late in the day (December 25/January26) means that HEIs will be retrofitting data to them in their submissions. They will drive positive change only if HEIs believe they will endure. 1/2
Excellence, culture and assessment are inseparable.
A broader REF would bring better research outcomes, say Grace Murkett and Helen Young.
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-v...
A broader REF would bring better research outcomes, say Grace Murkett and Helen Young.
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-v...
November 5, 2025 at 12:54 PM
Some pragmatic home truths we need to think with if these aspirations are to be met. Setting PCE criteria very late in the day (December 25/January26) means that HEIs will be retrofitting data to them in their submissions. They will drive positive change only if HEIs believe they will endure. 1/2
She'd only been in post since January.
Whoa Rebecca Lawrence has resigned as Chief Executive of @britishlibrary.bsky.social. Sorry that this might mean more turmoil at an institution that is a critical part of UK research infrastructure
www.bl.uk/about/press/...
www.bl.uk/about/press/...
British Library Board statement
The British Library Board has announced that Rebecca Lawrence has stepped down as Chief Executive.
www.bl.uk
November 4, 2025 at 3:17 PM
She'd only been in post since January.
Reposted by John Whitfield
Rosalind Gill assesses the significance of the latest funding settlement for research and development. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-v...
From commitment to achievement - Research Professional News
Rosalind Gill explains what the recently announced R&D allocation means for UK growth
www.researchprofessionalnews.com
November 4, 2025 at 2:36 PM
Rosalind Gill assesses the significance of the latest funding settlement for research and development. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-v...
Good list: number 4 will make you say, hmm, we'll see.
Ok a bit of policy wonky gossip on UK research and universities.
1. Universities in deficit hoping for a bail out are dreaming.
2. HE policy is drawing on success of schools policy.
1. Universities in deficit hoping for a bail out are dreaming.
2. HE policy is drawing on success of schools policy.
October 29, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Good list: number 4 will make you say, hmm, we'll see.
Forget it, Jake. It's half term.
October 29, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Forget it, Jake. It's half term.
Reposted by John Whitfield
How to realise the UK’s ambitions on global talent.
Increased visa numbers need to come with wider eligibility and lower costs, says John Kiely.
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-v...
Increased visa numbers need to come with wider eligibility and lower costs, says John Kiely.
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-v...
How to realise the UK’s ambitions on global talent - Research Professional News
Increased visa numbers need to come with wider eligibility and lower costs, says John Kiely
www.researchprofessionalnews.com
October 29, 2025 at 2:51 PM
How to realise the UK’s ambitions on global talent.
Increased visa numbers need to come with wider eligibility and lower costs, says John Kiely.
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-v...
Increased visa numbers need to come with wider eligibility and lower costs, says John Kiely.
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-v...
Reposted by John Whitfield
I just got an Ai generated invite from @springernature.com to submit an Elton Review, the most prestigious paper category in Biological Invasions. These papers are invitation only…by a human. Inviting submissions based on algorithms is gonna make so much more work for those of us editorial board.
a female soccer player wearing a number 13 jersey
ALT: a female soccer player wearing a number 13 jersey
media.tenor.com
October 28, 2025 at 3:09 PM
I just got an Ai generated invite from @springernature.com to submit an Elton Review, the most prestigious paper category in Biological Invasions. These papers are invitation only…by a human. Inviting submissions based on algorithms is gonna make so much more work for those of us editorial board.
Reposted by John Whitfield
After years of research, scientist Leonid Pshenichnov concluded Russia + China cannot continue fishing krill, the main food source of many marine creatures, at current rates without risking breakdown of entire ocean ecosystems. Russia had him arrested:
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Russia arrests Ukrainian biologist for backing curbs on Antarctic krill fishing
‘Trumped-up’ charges spark diplomatic row as scientists express fears for health of 70-year-old Leonid Pshenichnov
www.theguardian.com
October 28, 2025 at 1:11 PM
After years of research, scientist Leonid Pshenichnov concluded Russia + China cannot continue fishing krill, the main food source of many marine creatures, at current rates without risking breakdown of entire ocean ecosystems. Russia had him arrested:
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Just up on @resprofnews.bsky.social: The @hiddenref.bsky.social festival revealed the momentum, appetite and ability in universities to move beyond a REF that's 96%publications, says @simonhettrick.bsky.social www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-v...
In REF submissions, 96 into 4 won’t go anymore - Research Professional News
The research community is ready to move beyond assessments skewed towards publications, says Simon Hettrick
www.researchprofessionalnews.com
October 27, 2025 at 10:30 AM
Just up on @resprofnews.bsky.social: The @hiddenref.bsky.social festival revealed the momentum, appetite and ability in universities to move beyond a REF that's 96%publications, says @simonhettrick.bsky.social www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-v...
Reposted by John Whitfield
Opinion: The European Commission’s ambitions on research infrastructures have complex implications, write Katharina Cramer and Nicolas Rüffin
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-euro...
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-euro...
October 23, 2025 at 11:06 AM
Opinion: The European Commission’s ambitions on research infrastructures have complex implications, write Katharina Cramer and Nicolas Rüffin
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-euro...
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-euro...
Reposted by John Whitfield
"The implications of opening Horizon Europe to dual-use and military research are wide and deep. Researchers and their institutions need cast-iron assurances...it will remain a civilian research programme," says Jan Palmowski of @guildeu.bsky.social.
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-euro...
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-euro...
Horizon Europe must remain civilian - Research Professional News
There are better ways for the EU to fund military research, says Jan Palmowski
www.researchprofessionalnews.com
October 23, 2025 at 10:15 AM
"The implications of opening Horizon Europe to dual-use and military research are wide and deep. Researchers and their institutions need cast-iron assurances...it will remain a civilian research programme," says Jan Palmowski of @guildeu.bsky.social.
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-euro...
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-euro...
Reposted by John Whitfield
£10bn over a decade is a huge sum by any standard - half the UK's entire annual public R&D budget...at one (new) institute
Oxford uni had a research income of £778.9m in 23/24. Not directly comparable, but shows what scale the Ellison is aiming for
Oxford uni had a research income of £778.9m in 23/24. Not directly comparable, but shows what scale the Ellison is aiming for
Ellison Institute to spend £10bn on ‘talent and science’
Billionaire’s Oxford-based institute announces 10-year plan, as government unveils £500 million Oxford-Cambridge corridor investment
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-i...
Billionaire’s Oxford-based institute announces 10-year plan, as government unveils £500 million Oxford-Cambridge corridor investment
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-i...
Ellison Institute to spend £10bn on ‘talent and science’ - Research Professional News
Billionaire’s Oxford-based institute announces 10-year plan, as government unveils £500 million Oxford-Cambridge corridor investment
www.researchprofessionalnews.com
October 23, 2025 at 9:42 AM
£10bn over a decade is a huge sum by any standard - half the UK's entire annual public R&D budget...at one (new) institute
Oxford uni had a research income of £778.9m in 23/24. Not directly comparable, but shows what scale the Ellison is aiming for
Oxford uni had a research income of £778.9m in 23/24. Not directly comparable, but shows what scale the Ellison is aiming for
Just up on @resprofnews.bsky.social: analysis of the post-16 white paper from @andywestwood.bsky.social
"Overall, the document says much more about R&D than many would have expected from a DfE-led white paper"
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-v...
"Overall, the document says much more about R&D than many would have expected from a DfE-led white paper"
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-v...
White paper yokes UK research to government’s wider goals - Research Professional News
University reforms go hand-in-hand with industrial strategy and drive for growth, says Andy Westwood
www.researchprofessionalnews.com
October 21, 2025 at 1:12 PM
Just up on @resprofnews.bsky.social: analysis of the post-16 white paper from @andywestwood.bsky.social
"Overall, the document says much more about R&D than many would have expected from a DfE-led white paper"
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-v...
"Overall, the document says much more about R&D than many would have expected from a DfE-led white paper"
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-v...
Reposted by John Whitfield
The director of the London Institute for Mathematical Sciences and I interviewed one of the most restless and original talents in science last week⏤theoretical physicist and innovator Stephen Wolfram!
Watch out for the rapidfire round!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SD9...
Watch out for the rapidfire round!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SD9...
Stephen Wolfram tackles the big questions—from God and free will to whether AI will destroy us all.
YouTube video by London Institute for Mathematical Sciences
www.youtube.com
October 21, 2025 at 11:34 AM
The director of the London Institute for Mathematical Sciences and I interviewed one of the most restless and original talents in science last week⏤theoretical physicist and innovator Stephen Wolfram!
Watch out for the rapidfire round!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SD9...
Watch out for the rapidfire round!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SD9...
Reposted by John Whitfield
Andrew Jones sets out ideas for using the pause to REF 2029. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-v...
After the break - Research Professional News
Andrew Jones suggests how to use a pause to the next Research Excellence Framework
www.researchprofessionalnews.com
October 21, 2025 at 11:43 AM
Andrew Jones sets out ideas for using the pause to REF 2029. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-v...
Reposted by John Whitfield
A helpful reminder from @karenstroobants.bsky.social and Frances Downey of why improving research culture is needed and the work that PCE plans are building on
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-v...
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-v...
REF 2029 must honour call for culture change - Research Professional News
Lobbying for the status quo ignores decade of evidence, say Karen Stroobants and Frances Downey
www.researchprofessionalnews.com
October 15, 2025 at 9:08 AM
A helpful reminder from @karenstroobants.bsky.social and Frances Downey of why improving research culture is needed and the work that PCE plans are building on
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-v...
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-v...
Reposted by John Whitfield
Very good on the importance of talent.
People are the academic output that UK productivity needs - Research Professional News www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-v...
People are the academic output that UK productivity needs - Research Professional News www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-v...
People are the academic output that UK productivity needs - Research Professional News
Assessing universities on how they track researchers’ careers would aid skills policy, says Marcus Munafò
www.researchprofessionalnews.com
October 17, 2025 at 7:03 AM
Very good on the importance of talent.
People are the academic output that UK productivity needs - Research Professional News www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-v...
People are the academic output that UK productivity needs - Research Professional News www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-v...