Laura C. Dees
@lauradees.bsky.social
Doing a PhD (or trying to) in the realm of evolutionary language science @Uni Zurich, generally interested in linguistic and cultural diversity.
Background pic: one of Matthew Wongs masterpieces
Background pic: one of Matthew Wongs masterpieces
Reposted by Laura C. Dees
genuinely curious: what, according to my academic followers, are characteristics of good doctoral supervision?
November 10, 2025 at 9:15 PM
genuinely curious: what, according to my academic followers, are characteristics of good doctoral supervision?
genuinely curious: what, according to my academic followers, are characteristics of good doctoral supervision?
November 10, 2025 at 9:15 PM
genuinely curious: what, according to my academic followers, are characteristics of good doctoral supervision?
Reposted by Laura C. Dees
#Vacancies: we are looking for not just one but three #postdoctoral researchers interested in bridging #genetics, #archaeology and #linguistics in exploring the #humanpast. shorturl.at/B3Qdd @haam-community.bsky.social @cschlebu.bsky.social
Postdoctoral position in Palaeo-population genomics at the Center for the Human Past - Uppsala University
Postdoctoral position in Palaeo-population genomics at the Center for the Human Past, Department of Organismal Biology, Uppsala University
shorturl.at
November 10, 2025 at 7:49 AM
#Vacancies: we are looking for not just one but three #postdoctoral researchers interested in bridging #genetics, #archaeology and #linguistics in exploring the #humanpast. shorturl.at/B3Qdd @haam-community.bsky.social @cschlebu.bsky.social
Reposted by Laura C. Dees
Today, 250.000 people took to the streets of Amsterdam to protest Israel's genocidal violence in Gaza and the cowardly response by the Dutch government. It followed on two earlier protests, one with 150.000 protesters, and the first one with about 100.000. By Dutch standards, these are huge numbers.
October 5, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Today, 250.000 people took to the streets of Amsterdam to protest Israel's genocidal violence in Gaza and the cowardly response by the Dutch government. It followed on two earlier protests, one with 150.000 protesters, and the first one with about 100.000. By Dutch standards, these are huge numbers.
Reposted by Laura C. Dees
RIP Jane Goodall, who has died at 91.
She was a gentle disrupter who reshaped how we understand our place in nature. Her research with chimpanzees revolutionized science, and her boundless optimism touched the world.
buff.ly/5Hwx3Z7 🌎🩺
She was a gentle disrupter who reshaped how we understand our place in nature. Her research with chimpanzees revolutionized science, and her boundless optimism touched the world.
buff.ly/5Hwx3Z7 🌎🩺
October 1, 2025 at 7:37 PM
RIP Jane Goodall, who has died at 91.
She was a gentle disrupter who reshaped how we understand our place in nature. Her research with chimpanzees revolutionized science, and her boundless optimism touched the world.
buff.ly/5Hwx3Z7 🌎🩺
She was a gentle disrupter who reshaped how we understand our place in nature. Her research with chimpanzees revolutionized science, and her boundless optimism touched the world.
buff.ly/5Hwx3Z7 🌎🩺
Reposted by Laura C. Dees
Together with 1000 Madleens to #Gaza @1kmadleenfr.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy we are sending a boat with international journalists & health workers in solidarity with Palestinian journalists & medics who continue to report & provide care through #genocide #BreakTheSiege #FreePalestine #AllEyesOnGaza
September 28, 2025 at 3:16 PM
Together with 1000 Madleens to #Gaza @1kmadleenfr.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy we are sending a boat with international journalists & health workers in solidarity with Palestinian journalists & medics who continue to report & provide care through #genocide #BreakTheSiege #FreePalestine #AllEyesOnGaza
Reposted by Laura C. Dees
When you consider the *ecocide* alongside the genocide being perpetrated in Gaza, you begin to grasp the totality of the Israeli state’s attempt to eliminate both the Palestinians and their homeland.
My column today.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
My column today.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Israel’s ecocide in Gaza sends this message: even if we stopped dropping bombs, you couldn’t live here | George Monbiot
Consider the annihilation of agricultural land alongside the genocide – and grasp the chilling totality of this attempt to eliminate all life, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot
www.theguardian.com
September 27, 2025 at 6:59 AM
When you consider the *ecocide* alongside the genocide being perpetrated in Gaza, you begin to grasp the totality of the Israeli state’s attempt to eliminate both the Palestinians and their homeland.
My column today.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
My column today.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
"The big perspective change from ancient DNA study is that people living today are almost never the descendants of the people in the same place thousands of years before." "People’s stories about their history are almost always wrong."
Nice story on Reich's research on ancient DNA "Claims of pure bloodlines? Ancestral homelands? DNA science says no." 🏺🧪 news.harvard.edu/gazette/stor...
Pure bloodlines? Ancestral homelands? DNA science says no. — Harvard Gazette
Geneticist explains recent analyses made possible by tech advances show human history to be one of mixing, movement, displacement.
news.harvard.edu
September 23, 2025 at 12:24 PM
"The big perspective change from ancient DNA study is that people living today are almost never the descendants of the people in the same place thousands of years before." "People’s stories about their history are almost always wrong."
Reposted by Laura C. Dees
From burying beetles to shamans, follow Manvir Singh @manvir.bsky.social in his sweeping Q&A from our latest issue.
www.cell.com/current-biol...
www.cell.com/current-biol...
Manvir Singh
Interview with Manvir Singh, who studies the evolutionary and cognitive origins of
human cultural behaviors at the University of California, Davis.
www.cell.com
September 22, 2025 at 8:32 PM
From burying beetles to shamans, follow Manvir Singh @manvir.bsky.social in his sweeping Q&A from our latest issue.
www.cell.com/current-biol...
www.cell.com/current-biol...
in the context of sharing something uplifting every once in a while: this documentary about two brothers dipping their toes in the world of "extreme birdwatching" is so joyful, genuine and funny, and it has stunning bird footage! youtu.be/zl-wAqplQAo?...
LISTERS: A Glimpse Into Extreme Birdwatching
YouTube video by owen reiser
youtu.be
September 8, 2025 at 11:11 AM
in the context of sharing something uplifting every once in a while: this documentary about two brothers dipping their toes in the world of "extreme birdwatching" is so joyful, genuine and funny, and it has stunning bird footage! youtu.be/zl-wAqplQAo?...
“Wie om veiligheid vraagt zonder macht, vraagt om bescherming in plaats van zeggenschap.”
Opinie: Wij vrouwen moeten niet de nacht, maar de macht opeisen
Opinie: Wij vrouwen moeten niet de nacht, maar de macht opeisen
www.volkskrant.nl
September 6, 2025 at 5:43 AM
“Wie om veiligheid vraagt zonder macht, vraagt om bescherming in plaats van zeggenschap.”
Reposted by Laura C. Dees
Today, Global Voices joins with @rsf.org Avaaz and other media outlets to condemn the killing of journalists in #Gaza. Together, we call on the Israeli authorities to allow independent access for international press into Gaza immediately. #ProtectJournalistsInGaza #LetReportersIntoGaza
September 1, 2025 at 9:46 AM
Today, Global Voices joins with @rsf.org Avaaz and other media outlets to condemn the killing of journalists in #Gaza. Together, we call on the Israeli authorities to allow independent access for international press into Gaza immediately. #ProtectJournalistsInGaza #LetReportersIntoGaza
Reposted by Laura C. Dees
Our paper is out! We linked genetic and linguistic data to study how contact changes language and found consistent patterns of borrowing across contact situations
@balthasarbickel.bsky.social @chiarabarbieri.bsky.social @nccrlanguage.bsky.social @isle-uzh.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adv7521
@balthasarbickel.bsky.social @chiarabarbieri.bsky.social @nccrlanguage.bsky.social @isle-uzh.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adv7521
Patterns of genetic admixture reveal similar rates of borrowing across diverse scenarios of language contact
Human population contact leads to consistently similar rates of linguistic borrowing, but effects vary across linguistic features.
www.science.org
August 30, 2025 at 8:53 AM
Our paper is out! We linked genetic and linguistic data to study how contact changes language and found consistent patterns of borrowing across contact situations
@balthasarbickel.bsky.social @chiarabarbieri.bsky.social @nccrlanguage.bsky.social @isle-uzh.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adv7521
@balthasarbickel.bsky.social @chiarabarbieri.bsky.social @nccrlanguage.bsky.social @isle-uzh.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adv7521
Reposted by Laura C. Dees
Crucial research by courageous Israeli journalists
www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...
www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...
'Starvation is everywhere': Virtual tours of Gaza clinics expose the scale of the horror
***
www.haaretz.com
August 22, 2025 at 1:43 PM
Crucial research by courageous Israeli journalists
www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...
www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...
Reposted by Laura C. Dees
Israel is carrying out a deliberate campaign of starvation in the occupied Gaza Strip, systematically destroying the health, well-being and social fabric of Palestinian life.
Read more:
Read more:
Israel/OPT: New testimonies provide compelling evidence that Israel’s starvation of Palestinians in Gaza is a deliberate policy
Israel is carrying out a deliberate campaign of starvation in the occupied Gaza Strip, systematically destroying the health, well-being and social fabric of Palestinian life, Amnesty International said today.
amn.st
August 18, 2025 at 9:40 AM
Israel is carrying out a deliberate campaign of starvation in the occupied Gaza Strip, systematically destroying the health, well-being and social fabric of Palestinian life.
Read more:
Read more:
Reposted by Laura C. Dees
A new study finds that chimpanzee babies learn vocal and visual communication patterns from their mothers. The findings may shed light on the way human babies learn from those close to them.
Chimpanzees pick up communication styles from their moms, not their dads
A new study finds that chimpanzee babies learn vocal and visual communication patterns from their mothers. The findings may shed light on the way human babies learn from those close to them.
n.pr
August 17, 2025 at 10:27 PM
A new study finds that chimpanzee babies learn vocal and visual communication patterns from their mothers. The findings may shed light on the way human babies learn from those close to them.
Reposted by Laura C. Dees
“The law means nothing if the world looks away.”
August 11, 2025 at 3:06 PM
“The law means nothing if the world looks away.”
It comes with a nicely condensed press release: www.eurekalert.org/news-release...
August 6, 2025 at 8:35 AM
It comes with a nicely condensed press release: www.eurekalert.org/news-release...
So happy that this paper lead by Joseph Mine is finally out! Was cool to be part of this project on the social learning of multi-modal communication in chimpanzees, which is slightly outside of my usual scope (and it’s my first co-authored paper too, yay!) :) journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
Chimpanzee mothers, but not fathers, influence offspring vocal–visual communicative behavior
The influence of social versus genetic factors on communication in non-human hominids is not well understood. This study shows that, in line with their central caretaking role, chimpanzees exhibit pre...
journals.plos.org
August 5, 2025 at 6:55 PM
So happy that this paper lead by Joseph Mine is finally out! Was cool to be part of this project on the social learning of multi-modal communication in chimpanzees, which is slightly outside of my usual scope (and it’s my first co-authored paper too, yay!) :) journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
Reposted by Laura C. Dees
Reposted by Laura C. Dees
What is holding us from imposing complete sanctions on Israel immediately? Possible answers are racism, islamophobia, and giving in to illegitimate pressure from zionists. I don’t see any good reason at all.
Also, use military force to let the food in (since diplomacy failed).
Now!
Also, use military force to let the food in (since diplomacy failed).
Now!
Mass starvation spreading across Gaza, aid agencies warn, as pressure on Israel grows – Middle East crisis live
Mass starvation spreading across Gaza, aid agencies warn, as pressure on Israel grows – Middle East crisis live
More than 100 aid agencies, including Doctors Without Borders, Save the Children and Oxfam, say ‘our colleagues and those we serve are wasting away’
Palestine Red Crescent says the situation in Gaza is “only getting worse”, with spokesperson Nebal Farsakh calling it an “unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe”.
Farsakh said in a video posted to X on Tuesday that there has been no food, clean water or medicine entering the Gaza Strip for more than four months.
This has resulted in a catastrophe where people are literally starving to death.
More people are being admitted to hospitals with malnutrition especially among children, pregnant women and the elderly. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
July 23, 2025 at 8:12 AM
What is holding us from imposing complete sanctions on Israel immediately? Possible answers are racism, islamophobia, and giving in to illegitimate pressure from zionists. I don’t see any good reason at all.
Also, use military force to let the food in (since diplomacy failed).
Now!
Also, use military force to let the food in (since diplomacy failed).
Now!
Such a fascinating topic! I’d totally recommend his brilliant book “Bye Bye I Love You” as well, which features reflections on ritual last words and much more relating to the opening and closing of the “interaction window” at the beginning and end of the lifespan.
A new peer-reviewed open access article by me, all about ritual last words in five major religions. "Ritual last words" are sacred sounds, prayers, songs, names of deities, etc., prescribed to be spoken at the very end of life, ideally at the moment of expiry.
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
www.tandfonline.com
July 22, 2025 at 7:59 AM
Such a fascinating topic! I’d totally recommend his brilliant book “Bye Bye I Love You” as well, which features reflections on ritual last words and much more relating to the opening and closing of the “interaction window” at the beginning and end of the lifespan.
Reposted by Laura C. Dees
A horrifying statement published today by the Editorial Committee of the Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency.
"Without immediate intervention, the last reporters in Gaza will die"
Translation from French to English by @cnorristrent.bsky.social:
"Without immediate intervention, the last reporters in Gaza will die"
Translation from French to English by @cnorristrent.bsky.social:
July 21, 2025 at 11:21 PM
A horrifying statement published today by the Editorial Committee of the Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency.
"Without immediate intervention, the last reporters in Gaza will die"
Translation from French to English by @cnorristrent.bsky.social:
"Without immediate intervention, the last reporters in Gaza will die"
Translation from French to English by @cnorristrent.bsky.social:
and European governments continue to stand by and watch
July 11, 2025 at 10:20 AM
and European governments continue to stand by and watch