Nic Rawlence
@nicrawlencenz.bsky.social
Associate Professor, palaeoecologist, and science communicator @Otago Palaeogenetics Lab using ancient DNA and palaeontology to reconstruct past ecosystems.
Pinned
Nic Rawlence
@nicrawlencenz.bsky.social
· Nov 26
Prestigious medal for science communicator
www.otago.ac.nz
I’m humbled & on cloud nine to have been awarded the NZ Assoc Scientists Cranwell Medal in Science Communication. I could not have done this level of sci comm without the support of my family & wonderful lab group. This award is as much for you as it is for me www.otago.ac.nz/news/newsroo...
Reposted by Nic Rawlence
Reposted by Nic Rawlence
Several exciting PhD opportunities here in the University of Vienna STEM-call. In our department fully funded positions in biomolecular zooarch, Pleistocene felid diversity and admixture, sedaDNA and popgen, and archsci and AMS 14C dating.
Apply below now!
careers.univie.ac.at/en/praedoc/s...
Apply below now!
careers.univie.ac.at/en/praedoc/s...
careers.univie.ac.at
February 6, 2026 at 4:38 PM
Several exciting PhD opportunities here in the University of Vienna STEM-call. In our department fully funded positions in biomolecular zooarch, Pleistocene felid diversity and admixture, sedaDNA and popgen, and archsci and AMS 14C dating.
Apply below now!
careers.univie.ac.at/en/praedoc/s...
Apply below now!
careers.univie.ac.at/en/praedoc/s...
Reposted by Nic Rawlence
Co-President Dr Lucy Stewart spoke to Kathryn Ryan on Nine to Noon this morning about the continued failure of the government's science sector reforms to make necessary change (or provide desperately needed funding increases)
Is stagnating science funding leaving NZ more exposed to hazards?
The scientists' association says reform of science funding has stagnated, and leaves the country exposed to worsening hazards.
www.rnz.co.nz
February 4, 2026 at 9:15 PM
Co-President Dr Lucy Stewart spoke to Kathryn Ryan on Nine to Noon this morning about the continued failure of the government's science sector reforms to make necessary change (or provide desperately needed funding increases)
Reposted by Nic Rawlence
I teach a science media literacy module in all my courses.
It includes knowing the difference between a press release and a reported news story.
Here's a really interesting new research paper about public understsanding of that difference! #SciComm 🧪
jcom.sissa.it/article/pubi...
It includes knowing the difference between a press release and a reported news story.
Here's a really interesting new research paper about public understsanding of that difference! #SciComm 🧪
jcom.sissa.it/article/pubi...
Science News Agencies in science communication: an exploratory index for evaluating and enhancing public interest in mass-distributed press releases
Scientific press releases are reaching the public directly through press reproduction and institutional dissemination. Science News Agencies (SNAs) mediate this process, distributing texts to thousand...
jcom.sissa.it
February 4, 2026 at 2:41 PM
I teach a science media literacy module in all my courses.
It includes knowing the difference between a press release and a reported news story.
Here's a really interesting new research paper about public understsanding of that difference! #SciComm 🧪
jcom.sissa.it/article/pubi...
It includes knowing the difference between a press release and a reported news story.
Here's a really interesting new research paper about public understsanding of that difference! #SciComm 🧪
jcom.sissa.it/article/pubi...
Reposted by Nic Rawlence
#ColossalBio Investors; Scientists watching the #ColossalBio #DeExtinction #DisInformation campaign sap resources and mislead the public…
January 15, 2026 at 1:26 PM
#ColossalBio Investors; Scientists watching the #ColossalBio #DeExtinction #DisInformation campaign sap resources and mislead the public…
Reposted by Nic Rawlence
“De-extinction can serve as a bedrock for modern species conservation”
You know de-extinction is a terrible idea when the Trump administration backs it
(quote is from his interior secretary)
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
You know de-extinction is a terrible idea when the Trump administration backs it
(quote is from his interior secretary)
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘They didn’t de-extinct anything’: can Colossal’s genetically engineered animals ever be the real thing?
The bioscience startup has attracted billions in investment – and a flurry of criticism, but founder tells the Guardian plans to bring back the woolly mammoth will not be derailed
www.theguardian.com
January 2, 2026 at 4:40 PM
“De-extinction can serve as a bedrock for modern species conservation”
You know de-extinction is a terrible idea when the Trump administration backs it
(quote is from his interior secretary)
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
You know de-extinction is a terrible idea when the Trump administration backs it
(quote is from his interior secretary)
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by Nic Rawlence
My view of the #deextinction hype, encapsulated below.
January 3, 2026 at 7:11 PM
My view of the #deextinction hype, encapsulated below.
Reposted by Nic Rawlence
the author is correct, ecosystems also “shift continuously over time, adapting to new pressures and diverging from their historical baselines” — so, #Deextinction can’t restore lost environments, but it can introduce invasive species to new environments that have been evolving in their absence 🤷♂️
January 2, 2026 at 6:35 PM
the author is correct, ecosystems also “shift continuously over time, adapting to new pressures and diverging from their historical baselines” — so, #Deextinction can’t restore lost environments, but it can introduce invasive species to new environments that have been evolving in their absence 🤷♂️
Reposted by Nic Rawlence
Exactly, but its argument in favor of #Deextinction is itself a logical fallacy; yes, “ecosystems respond to what organisms do, not to how precisely their DNA mirrors the past” but… 🧪
www.columnist24.com/science/8397...
www.columnist24.com/science/8397...
The Perfectionist Fallacy - Columnist24
A growing strand of scientific purism argues that de-extinction efforts must achieve perfect genetic fidelity before they can be taken seriously.
www.columnist24.com
January 2, 2026 at 6:35 PM
Exactly, but its argument in favor of #Deextinction is itself a logical fallacy; yes, “ecosystems respond to what organisms do, not to how precisely their DNA mirrors the past” but… 🧪
www.columnist24.com/science/8397...
www.columnist24.com/science/8397...
Reposted by Nic Rawlence
ICYMI over the holidays: Colossal Biosciences wins 2025 The Screamers Science Hype Award on dire wolf de-extinction claim ipscell.com/2025/12/colo... #stemcells #genetics #cloning
Colossal Biosciences wins 2025 The Screamers Award for science hype on dire wolf de-extinction claim - The Niche
Biologist awards Colossal Biosciences as the winner of the 2025 The Screamers science hype award for their dire wolf de-extinction claims.
ipscell.com
January 6, 2026 at 12:08 AM
ICYMI over the holidays: Colossal Biosciences wins 2025 The Screamers Science Hype Award on dire wolf de-extinction claim ipscell.com/2025/12/colo... #stemcells #genetics #cloning
Reposted by Nic Rawlence
Wow! This is probably the closest we are ever going to get to finding something equivalent to Excalibur!
@profaliceroberts.bsky.social !! I know you said there was a spectacular Iron Age fund, but you could have warned us!!!
@theduncanmackay.bsky.social and me are going to be fit for nowt today!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣
www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
@theduncanmackay.bsky.social and me are going to be fit for nowt today!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣
www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
‘Extraordinary’ iron age war trumpet find in Britain may have Boudicca links
Bronze instrument or carnyx dug up in Norfolk in area inhabited by Celtic tribe led by warrior who fought Romans
www.theguardian.com
January 7, 2026 at 7:20 AM
Wow! This is probably the closest we are ever going to get to finding something equivalent to Excalibur!
Reposted by Nic Rawlence
Sigh. The #ColossalBio #DeExtinction #DisInformation campaign appears to be kicking into gear again — so too shall my truth telling. It’s a scam. 🧪 🐺 🦣
substack.com/@devoevomed/...
substack.com/@devoevomed/...
The Extinction of Truth
Or, a Colossal Pile of Bullshit
substack.com
January 5, 2026 at 3:28 PM
Sigh. The #ColossalBio #DeExtinction #DisInformation campaign appears to be kicking into gear again — so too shall my truth telling. It’s a scam. 🧪 🐺 🦣
substack.com/@devoevomed/...
substack.com/@devoevomed/...
Reposted by Nic Rawlence
Hope the conservation efforts for 'little dodo' will get as much funding (if not more) as the claimed 'de-extinction' projects. SCS needs support to expand the invasive species' control to more forests and save the last remaining manumeas from extinction
January 2, 2026 at 6:20 PM
Hope the conservation efforts for 'little dodo' will get as much funding (if not more) as the claimed 'de-extinction' projects. SCS needs support to expand the invasive species' control to more forests and save the last remaining manumeas from extinction
Reposted by Nic Rawlence
This “Biotech” has raised more than half a billion USD. Imagine what real conservation work that could fund.
‘They didn’t de-extinct anything’: can Colossal’s genetically engineered animals ever be the real thing?
‘They didn’t de-extinct anything’: can Colossal’s genetically engineered animals ever be the real thing?
The bioscience startup has attracted billions in investment – and a flurry of criticism, but founder tells the Guardian plans to bring back the woolly mammoth will not be derailed
www.theguardian.com
December 31, 2025 at 4:04 PM
This “Biotech” has raised more than half a billion USD. Imagine what real conservation work that could fund.
Reposted by Nic Rawlence
‘They didn’t de-extinct anything’: can Colossal’s genetically engineered animals ever be the real thing?
“Charles Darwin summed it up when he said, ‘when a group has once wholly disappeared, it does not reappear; for the link of generation has been broken.’
🧪🧬🐺
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
“Charles Darwin summed it up when he said, ‘when a group has once wholly disappeared, it does not reappear; for the link of generation has been broken.’
🧪🧬🐺
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘They didn’t de-extinct anything’: can Colossal’s genetically engineered animals ever be the real thing?
The bioscience startup has attracted billions in investment – and a flurry of criticism, but founder tells the Guardian plans to bring back the woolly mammoth will not be derailed
www.theguardian.com
December 31, 2025 at 6:47 PM
‘They didn’t de-extinct anything’: can Colossal’s genetically engineered animals ever be the real thing?
“Charles Darwin summed it up when he said, ‘when a group has once wholly disappeared, it does not reappear; for the link of generation has been broken.’
🧪🧬🐺
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
“Charles Darwin summed it up when he said, ‘when a group has once wholly disappeared, it does not reappear; for the link of generation has been broken.’
🧪🧬🐺
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by Nic Rawlence
Very important distinction between de-extinction and modification.
‘They didn’t de-extinct anything’: can Colossal’s genetically engineered animals ever be the real thing?
‘They didn’t de-extinct anything’: can Colossal’s genetically engineered animals ever be the real thing?
The bioscience startup has attracted billions in investment – and a flurry of criticism, but founder tells the Guardian plans to bring back the woolly mammoth will not be derailed
www.theguardian.com
December 31, 2025 at 9:20 PM
Very important distinction between de-extinction and modification.
Reposted by Nic Rawlence
When biology becomes advanced enough to create animals entirely from the DNA of extinct animals preserved in museums, I would call that de-extinction. Just making a few edits to the DNA of a grey wolf and calling it a dire wolf is an overstatement, falsehood, etc
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com
December 31, 2025 at 6:59 PM
When biology becomes advanced enough to create animals entirely from the DNA of extinct animals preserved in museums, I would call that de-extinction. Just making a few edits to the DNA of a grey wolf and calling it a dire wolf is an overstatement, falsehood, etc
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by Nic Rawlence
Forget this - support LIVE scientists instead I reckon. It is a backwards idea like a magic bullet. >
“Colossal are preying on people’s desire to undo the sins of the past. However, to achieve this, Colossal is spreading misinformation and undermining trust in science by attacking critics.”
“Colossal are preying on people’s desire to undo the sins of the past. However, to achieve this, Colossal is spreading misinformation and undermining trust in science by attacking critics.”
December 31, 2025 at 7:11 PM
Forget this - support LIVE scientists instead I reckon. It is a backwards idea like a magic bullet. >
“Colossal are preying on people’s desire to undo the sins of the past. However, to achieve this, Colossal is spreading misinformation and undermining trust in science by attacking critics.”
“Colossal are preying on people’s desire to undo the sins of the past. However, to achieve this, Colossal is spreading misinformation and undermining trust in science by attacking critics.”
Reposted by Nic Rawlence
At the height of the Earth's 6th great extinction - in reality its first great extermination - we still have to put up with this drivel
Use your wads of cash to save the thousands of species threatened with extinction every year - you idiots
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Use your wads of cash to save the thousands of species threatened with extinction every year - you idiots
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘They didn’t de-extinct anything’: can Colossal’s genetically engineered animals ever be the real thing?
The bioscience startup has attracted billions in investment – and a flurry of criticism, but founder tells the Guardian plans to bring back the woolly mammoth will not be derailed
www.theguardian.com
December 31, 2025 at 12:12 PM
At the height of the Earth's 6th great extinction - in reality its first great extermination - we still have to put up with this drivel
Use your wads of cash to save the thousands of species threatened with extinction every year - you idiots
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Use your wads of cash to save the thousands of species threatened with extinction every year - you idiots
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by Nic Rawlence
What happens when corporate hype (neé lies‽), gullible media, and media malpractice combine? A #Deextinctiom #Misinformation malstrom 🧪 🐺
No, the dire wolf has not been brought back from extinction – and I even got Colossal’s chief scientist to admit as much in interview with me. In response, the company put out a statement reiterating its claims 3/
www.newscientist.com/article/2481...
www.newscientist.com/article/2481...
Colossal scientist now admits they haven’t really made dire wolves
Despite a huge media fanfare in which Colossal Biosciences claimed to have resurrected the extinct dire wolf, the company's chief scientist now concedes that the animals are merely modified grey wolve...
www.newscientist.com
December 31, 2025 at 1:41 PM
What happens when corporate hype (neé lies‽), gullible media, and media malpractice combine? A #Deextinctiom #Misinformation malstrom 🧪 🐺
Reposted by Nic Rawlence
No, the dire wolf has not been brought back from extinction – and I even got Colossal’s chief scientist to admit as much in interview with me. In response, the company put out a statement reiterating its claims 3/
www.newscientist.com/article/2481...
www.newscientist.com/article/2481...
Colossal scientist now admits they haven’t really made dire wolves
Despite a huge media fanfare in which Colossal Biosciences claimed to have resurrected the extinct dire wolf, the company's chief scientist now concedes that the animals are merely modified grey wolve...
www.newscientist.com
December 31, 2025 at 1:04 PM
No, the dire wolf has not been brought back from extinction – and I even got Colossal’s chief scientist to admit as much in interview with me. In response, the company put out a statement reiterating its claims 3/
www.newscientist.com/article/2481...
www.newscientist.com/article/2481...
Reposted by Nic Rawlence
Colossal Biosciences wins 2025 The Screamers Award for science hype on incorrect dire wolf de-extinction claim ipscell.com/2025/12/colo... #genetics #stemcells #scicomm
Colossal Biosciences wins 2025 The Screamers Award for science hype on dire wolf de-extinction claim - The Niche
Biologist awards Colossal Biosciences as the winner of the 2025 The Screamers science hype award for their dire wolf de-extinction claims.
ipscell.com
December 30, 2025 at 6:44 PM
Colossal Biosciences wins 2025 The Screamers Award for science hype on incorrect dire wolf de-extinction claim ipscell.com/2025/12/colo... #genetics #stemcells #scicomm
Reposted by Nic Rawlence
I don't think what you do is "mainstream" if you're running ads on twitter
December 24, 2025 at 3:42 PM
I don't think what you do is "mainstream" if you're running ads on twitter