Kat Arney
@katarney.bsky.social
Award-winning Storyteller of Science. PhD. Founder & Chief Creative Officer at First Create The Media for life science comms strategy & content https://firstcreatethemedia.com/ Views: mine. Book: https://www.rebelcellbook.com.
Reposted by Kat Arney
In this week's Wild Way I'm taking a look at some easy things to think about to get your garden off to a great start this year www.wildway.info/p/5-gentle-s... (article for paid subscribers)
5 gentle steps to fulfil your garden's potential this year
How to maximise your garden for wildlife and you!
www.wildway.info
January 14, 2026 at 5:45 PM
In this week's Wild Way I'm taking a look at some easy things to think about to get your garden off to a great start this year www.wildway.info/p/5-gentle-s... (article for paid subscribers)
Reposted by Kat Arney
Japanese artist Akie Nakata (known as Akie) turns found stones and rocks into animal paintings #WomensArt
January 17, 2026 at 8:53 AM
Japanese artist Akie Nakata (known as Akie) turns found stones and rocks into animal paintings #WomensArt
Reposted by Kat Arney
'Alright pal, got plans for the #BigGardenBirdwatch?'
'Nah, just the usual... hang out of sight whilst she's doing the count, then touch down once the hour's over. You?'
'Classic. Planning some fly-bys with a few of the boys, but we'll only land one at a time.'
'Niiice.'
'Nah, just the usual... hang out of sight whilst she's doing the count, then touch down once the hour's over. You?'
'Classic. Planning some fly-bys with a few of the boys, but we'll only land one at a time.'
'Niiice.'
January 17, 2026 at 8:01 AM
'Alright pal, got plans for the #BigGardenBirdwatch?'
'Nah, just the usual... hang out of sight whilst she's doing the count, then touch down once the hour's over. You?'
'Classic. Planning some fly-bys with a few of the boys, but we'll only land one at a time.'
'Niiice.'
'Nah, just the usual... hang out of sight whilst she's doing the count, then touch down once the hour's over. You?'
'Classic. Planning some fly-bys with a few of the boys, but we'll only land one at a time.'
'Niiice.'
Reposted by Kat Arney
Vulfmon & Zachary Barker - Disco Snails (Official Video)
YouTube video by Vulf
www.youtube.com
January 17, 2026 at 8:08 AM
Reposted by Kat Arney
We experienced a truly incredible moment at the aquarium when this octopus decided to be a total jerk to its tankmate.
January 16, 2026 at 11:30 PM
We experienced a truly incredible moment at the aquarium when this octopus decided to be a total jerk to its tankmate.
Reposted by Kat Arney
It makes me so angry because these are not serious people and we are forced to pretend they are or get scolded for being elitists insufficiently open to new stalls in the marketplace of ideas when we point out a prerequisite for the debate stage should be understanding how literally anything works.
January 16, 2026 at 10:25 PM
It makes me so angry because these are not serious people and we are forced to pretend they are or get scolded for being elitists insufficiently open to new stalls in the marketplace of ideas when we point out a prerequisite for the debate stage should be understanding how literally anything works.
Reposted by Kat Arney
Explain to me how this would happen.
The fucking mechanics of it. Explain them to me.
Russia or China, storming the beaches of an EU and NATO member state terrotiry which includes a fucking US military base on it in a take and hold maneuver a bazillion miles from their nearest supply lines?
The fucking mechanics of it. Explain them to me.
Russia or China, storming the beaches of an EU and NATO member state terrotiry which includes a fucking US military base on it in a take and hold maneuver a bazillion miles from their nearest supply lines?
January 16, 2026 at 10:19 PM
Explain to me how this would happen.
The fucking mechanics of it. Explain them to me.
Russia or China, storming the beaches of an EU and NATO member state terrotiry which includes a fucking US military base on it in a take and hold maneuver a bazillion miles from their nearest supply lines?
The fucking mechanics of it. Explain them to me.
Russia or China, storming the beaches of an EU and NATO member state terrotiry which includes a fucking US military base on it in a take and hold maneuver a bazillion miles from their nearest supply lines?
I would read a PhD thesis about the implicit signalling of clothing choices in #traitorsuk #thetraitors
January 15, 2026 at 9:16 PM
I would read a PhD thesis about the implicit signalling of clothing choices in #traitorsuk #thetraitors
I am now solely using this from now on.
Heard a lad earlier talking about ‘Belgian whistles’
“A basic website costs 10k or 25k upwards if you want all the Belgian whistles”
BELGIAN WHISTLES
“A basic website costs 10k or 25k upwards if you want all the Belgian whistles”
BELGIAN WHISTLES
January 15, 2026 at 6:00 PM
I am now solely using this from now on.
"Value engineered" - what a phenomenal euphemism! www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
January 14, 2026 at 9:40 AM
"Value engineered" - what a phenomenal euphemism! www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Kat Arney
New post just out:
"Troubleshooters"
How fixing the many small frustrations - that make up most of our interactions with the state - can give people faith in goverment's ability to make things work.
And help create a different Whitehall culture.
(£/free trial)
open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/t...
"Troubleshooters"
How fixing the many small frustrations - that make up most of our interactions with the state - can give people faith in goverment's ability to make things work.
And help create a different Whitehall culture.
(£/free trial)
open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/t...
Troubleshooters
How to get people believing in the state again
open.substack.com
January 13, 2026 at 8:58 AM
New post just out:
"Troubleshooters"
How fixing the many small frustrations - that make up most of our interactions with the state - can give people faith in goverment's ability to make things work.
And help create a different Whitehall culture.
(£/free trial)
open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/t...
"Troubleshooters"
How fixing the many small frustrations - that make up most of our interactions with the state - can give people faith in goverment's ability to make things work.
And help create a different Whitehall culture.
(£/free trial)
open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/t...
Reposted by Kat Arney
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
Reposted by Kat Arney
This is the exact quote I have been searching for with regard to what is happening with science
In conversation back in 1994, the late Russian environmentalist Alexi Yablokov explained the problem of rebuilding democracy this way:
"If you have a tank of live fish, it is fairly easy to make fish soup.
Once you have fish soup, however, it is very difficult to make a tank of life fish again."
"If you have a tank of live fish, it is fairly easy to make fish soup.
Once you have fish soup, however, it is very difficult to make a tank of life fish again."
January 13, 2026 at 2:36 AM
This is the exact quote I have been searching for with regard to what is happening with science
I was a media spokesperson for years - Sky news, Ch 4 and ITV also sent cabs. It's a way of making sure your guest is there on time especially if you're on at an ungodly hour in the morning.
If you:
1. Need to get guests to studios, and back home after, or
2. Need to get staff safely into work or back home after the tube has stopped running
You need to use taxis or private hire. If you do that via contract, it’s cheaper than paying full price each time.
1. Need to get guests to studios, and back home after, or
2. Need to get staff safely into work or back home after the tube has stopped running
You need to use taxis or private hire. If you do that via contract, it’s cheaper than paying full price each time.
Monday's SUN: Taxi for the BBC #TomorrowsPapersToday
January 11, 2026 at 10:36 PM
I was a media spokesperson for years - Sky news, Ch 4 and ITV also sent cabs. It's a way of making sure your guest is there on time especially if you're on at an ungodly hour in the morning.
Reposted by Kat Arney
Haughty (& hairy): Pier Maria Rossi di San Secondo, with a remarkably lively codpiece. Painted by Parmigianino, who was born OTD 1503.
January 11, 2026 at 9:01 PM
Haughty (& hairy): Pier Maria Rossi di San Secondo, with a remarkably lively codpiece. Painted by Parmigianino, who was born OTD 1503.
Spent most of the weekend chucking the contents of a shed into a skip. Very satisfying.
January 11, 2026 at 12:39 PM
Spent most of the weekend chucking the contents of a shed into a skip. Very satisfying.
Reposted by Kat Arney
Nobody in The Moral Maze gets eaten by the Moral Minotaur, which is a fundamental flaw in the programme.
December 15, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Nobody in The Moral Maze gets eaten by the Moral Minotaur, which is a fundamental flaw in the programme.
New horrific dystopia just dropped.
The first point here is she isn't his girlfriend; she's a sycophantic computer programme he's set up to praise him.
We need to stop indulging this
We need to stop indulging this
January 11, 2026 at 10:35 AM
New horrific dystopia just dropped.
My favourite owls! They always look utterly furious
I had an incredible moment today. I found great gray owl hunting along the road. I'm always very careful to keep my distance and make sure the owl is not distracted by me. I was doing well until I stepped out of the car when it was deeper the woods. It suddenly landed right over my head. 1/2 #birds
January 11, 2026 at 9:30 AM
My favourite owls! They always look utterly furious
Reposted by Kat Arney
Yes: we spent unfathomable millions on a bridge to nowhere because process forced us to. But we also spent £100m on an unusable prison because of recklessness about process. State capacity is not a problem that bold leadership will magically resolve.
open.substack.com/pub/howtorun...
open.substack.com/pub/howtorun...
How to afford the state we want
State effectiveness and state capacity are not the same thing
open.substack.com
January 11, 2026 at 7:31 AM
Yes: we spent unfathomable millions on a bridge to nowhere because process forced us to. But we also spent £100m on an unusable prison because of recklessness about process. State capacity is not a problem that bold leadership will magically resolve.
open.substack.com/pub/howtorun...
open.substack.com/pub/howtorun...
Reposted by Kat Arney
Ages ago, we were talking about nicknames, and my favourite was the bloke at work (in the early 90s) who we called Big Ted. His name wasn't Ted, and he wasn't particularly big, it's just that his desk was right next to a round window.
January 10, 2026 at 10:33 PM
Ages ago, we were talking about nicknames, and my favourite was the bloke at work (in the early 90s) who we called Big Ted. His name wasn't Ted, and he wasn't particularly big, it's just that his desk was right next to a round window.
Relevant to the discourse today about GLP-1, this excellent piece by @natashaloder.bsky.social We don't talk about "blood pressure recidivism" when people come of statins, or people with diabetes being "insulin addicts". So why do we do the same for these drugs? substack.com/home/post/p-...
The moral panic about GLP-1 rebound
Scientists and journalists are piling on the misery about the weight regain after medication
substack.com
January 8, 2026 at 5:02 PM
Relevant to the discourse today about GLP-1, this excellent piece by @natashaloder.bsky.social We don't talk about "blood pressure recidivism" when people come of statins, or people with diabetes being "insulin addicts". So why do we do the same for these drugs? substack.com/home/post/p-...
To me, this highlights need for better ways to capture real world evidence - many many people are paying for glp-1 privately, many sharing their experiences online eg in forums. Valuable RWE that's currently very hard to capture and of lower value to pharma but much more useful for patients/doctors.
It’s not surprising that this meta analysis shows that people regain weight after stopping taking weight loss drigs but actually there are very important cavests not being mentioned in the coverage www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
People who stop taking weight-loss jabs regain weight in under two years, study reveals
Analysis finds those who stopped using medication saw weight return four times faster compared with other weight loss plans
www.theguardian.com
January 8, 2026 at 8:31 AM
To me, this highlights need for better ways to capture real world evidence - many many people are paying for glp-1 privately, many sharing their experiences online eg in forums. Valuable RWE that's currently very hard to capture and of lower value to pharma but much more useful for patients/doctors.
Reposted by Kat Arney
The Rehearsal, season 2, the most insane finale of any series of all time, just jaws to the floor from the first minute to the genius final line.
Given that apparently the Stranger Things finale was meh (idk, didn't watch it, just the scuttlebutt) and we're not that far removed from the disastrous GOT finale that retroactively made everyone have never cared about the show:
What's the *best* ending to a show you've ever seen? Quote/reply etc
What's the *best* ending to a show you've ever seen? Quote/reply etc
January 6, 2026 at 11:02 PM
The Rehearsal, season 2, the most insane finale of any series of all time, just jaws to the floor from the first minute to the genius final line.