Peter Ellis
@pjie2.bsky.social
Father, husband, scientist, singer. Prone to getting over-excited about nerdy stuff in public. He/him.
Reposted by Peter Ellis
Human origins research has unfortunately become an area where researchers bring out Tolkien-esque analogies, trading on the idea that races or species of hominins once coexisted. The existence of past diversity is real, but the analogies with hobbits and other fictional beings promote misconceptions
The far right is obsessed with Lord of the Rings and Musk keeps posting about "hobbits" because modern scientific racism owes more to fantasy worlds and gaming systems than genetic science, and they see both as effective mediums for right-wing propaganda www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
Why Elon Musk Needs Dungeons and Dragons to Be Racist
The fantastical roots of “scientific racism”
www.theatlantic.com
November 11, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Human origins research has unfortunately become an area where researchers bring out Tolkien-esque analogies, trading on the idea that races or species of hominins once coexisted. The existence of past diversity is real, but the analogies with hobbits and other fictional beings promote misconceptions
Reposted by Peter Ellis
good thing the US and UK are doing this at the same time 😵💫
UK science and technology is suffering from a lack of investment, a hostile immigration system, and fragile university finances, reports @cathleenogrady.bsky.social 🧪 #scipolicy
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
U.K. science sector is ‘bleeding to death,’ lawmakers say in report
House of Lords committee urges government to stem exodus of science and technology companies
www.science.org
November 11, 2025 at 5:01 PM
good thing the US and UK are doing this at the same time 😵💫
Reposted by Peter Ellis
spending the first year in power appeasing the racists in an attempt to win over reform voters who will never vote for him then going "somehow, racism has returned" the second he finally sees people are abandoning him for the greens
Racism returning to UK politics – and people are very scared, says Starmer
Racism returning to UK politics – and people are very scared, says Starmer
PM attacks ‘toxic division of Reform’ and gives strongest signal yet that two-child benefit cap will be lifted
*
UK politics live – latest updates
Decades-old racism is returning to British politics, and “it makes people feel very scared” Keir Starmer has said, warning that divisive hard-right politics was “tearing our country apart”.
Speaking to GP and TV personality Amir Khan, the prime minister accused Nigel Farage’s Reform UK of overseeing a return of the racist and divisive politics “that frankly I thought we had dealt with decades ago”. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
November 11, 2025 at 5:36 PM
spending the first year in power appeasing the racists in an attempt to win over reform voters who will never vote for him then going "somehow, racism has returned" the second he finally sees people are abandoning him for the greens
Reposted by Peter Ellis
NEW
A close look at Trump's $1 billion claim against the BBC
The litigation letter is weak, but his underlying practical position is not weak
By me:
emptycity.substack.com/p/a-close-lo... (Substack)
(Non-Substack link to follow.)
A close look at Trump's $1 billion claim against the BBC
The litigation letter is weak, but his underlying practical position is not weak
By me:
emptycity.substack.com/p/a-close-lo... (Substack)
(Non-Substack link to follow.)
A close look at Trump's $1 billion claim against the BBC
The litigation letter is weak, but his underlying practical position is not weak
emptycity.substack.com
November 11, 2025 at 1:18 PM
NEW
A close look at Trump's $1 billion claim against the BBC
The litigation letter is weak, but his underlying practical position is not weak
By me:
emptycity.substack.com/p/a-close-lo... (Substack)
(Non-Substack link to follow.)
A close look at Trump's $1 billion claim against the BBC
The litigation letter is weak, but his underlying practical position is not weak
By me:
emptycity.substack.com/p/a-close-lo... (Substack)
(Non-Substack link to follow.)
Reposted by Peter Ellis
I will believe that these people love Lord of the Rings when I see any evidence that they can read.
November 11, 2025 at 3:10 PM
I will believe that these people love Lord of the Rings when I see any evidence that they can read.
Reposted by Peter Ellis
That's my entire take on Bond. I vaguely enjoy some of the films but don't really care either way. But I do think the obsession with keeping continuity in film series has utterly destroyed any sense of focusing on telling the story of that one particular film being made.
November 11, 2025 at 11:32 AM
That's my entire take on Bond. I vaguely enjoy some of the films but don't really care either way. But I do think the obsession with keeping continuity in film series has utterly destroyed any sense of focusing on telling the story of that one particular film being made.
Reposted by Peter Ellis
Perhaps the BBC could offer Trump one of his beloved deals: they'll apologise for broadcasting sections of his speech, if he apologises for trying to overthrow an election, lying about the result, pressuring election officials, urging a crowd to "fight like hell" & pardoning those who did just that.
November 11, 2025 at 8:09 AM
Perhaps the BBC could offer Trump one of his beloved deals: they'll apologise for broadcasting sections of his speech, if he apologises for trying to overthrow an election, lying about the result, pressuring election officials, urging a crowd to "fight like hell" & pardoning those who did just that.
Reposted by Peter Ellis
Oh wow, this is a succinct way to put it.
I got this useful bon mot from a middle school teacher recently.
In response to, “I DONT UNDERSTAND,” he calmly said, “okay what steps have you taken to understand?”
And that’s when I realized that a lot of folks have no steps.
In response to, “I DONT UNDERSTAND,” he calmly said, “okay what steps have you taken to understand?”
And that’s when I realized that a lot of folks have no steps.
November 10, 2025 at 10:31 PM
Oh wow, this is a succinct way to put it.
Reposted by Peter Ellis
The concluding sentence of this paper's abstract is the absolute prototype of Big Academic Energy
"In this paper I settle the matter once and for all, by showing which elements of each side are correct."
"In this paper I settle the matter once and for all, by showing which elements of each side are correct."
I remember really enjoying this paper on individuality. Some time since I read it though, and I see there's a bunch of new stuff I haven't read yet...
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Plant individuality: a solution to the demographer’s dilemma - Biology & Philosophy
The problem of plant individuality is something which has vexed botanists throughout the ages, with fashion swinging back and forth from treating plants as communities of individuals (Darwin 1800; Bra...
link.springer.com
November 11, 2025 at 12:12 AM
The concluding sentence of this paper's abstract is the absolute prototype of Big Academic Energy
"In this paper I settle the matter once and for all, by showing which elements of each side are correct."
"In this paper I settle the matter once and for all, by showing which elements of each side are correct."
Reposted by Peter Ellis
It's important to keep pointing this out about the many people who have gone the same way. Too often we suggest or imply that the trans moral panic merely allowed these people to be who they always were. Not true. We're seeing a process of *radicalisation*. We can't fix things unless we name them.
Transphobia is a pipeline to the far right. An example:
Suzanne Moore used to be a left wing columnist at the Guardian.
Then came the anti-trans panic. Despite the Guardian also promoting it, it wasn’t enough & she left.
Moore is now complaining about wokeness over the Irish famine & colonialism.
Suzanne Moore used to be a left wing columnist at the Guardian.
Then came the anti-trans panic. Despite the Guardian also promoting it, it wasn’t enough & she left.
Moore is now complaining about wokeness over the Irish famine & colonialism.
Suzanne Moore, who would rather be locked up than pay her BBC licence fee because the BBC is too nice to trans people for her liking.
November 10, 2025 at 7:51 AM
It's important to keep pointing this out about the many people who have gone the same way. Too often we suggest or imply that the trans moral panic merely allowed these people to be who they always were. Not true. We're seeing a process of *radicalisation*. We can't fix things unless we name them.
Reposted by Peter Ellis
Every day, I understand this phrase on an even deeper level.
November 9, 2025 at 5:25 AM
Every day, I understand this phrase on an even deeper level.
Reposted by Peter Ellis
I imagine @nadiawhittomemp.bsky.social will be getting the usual abuse for speaking out - solidarity with her and all those fighting against hate manipulated by the wealthy right gleefully creating a distracting wedge issue
November 9, 2025 at 6:36 PM
I imagine @nadiawhittomemp.bsky.social will be getting the usual abuse for speaking out - solidarity with her and all those fighting against hate manipulated by the wealthy right gleefully creating a distracting wedge issue
Reposted by Peter Ellis
In today's news, the BBC director resigns because he's just an overpromoted sugar-water marketing guy (srsly, he was a marketing VP for Pepsi) who's too stupid to realise that the culture secretary is playing him like a violin because the government wants to appease the orange fuckhead in DC. #BBC
November 9, 2025 at 6:29 PM
In today's news, the BBC director resigns because he's just an overpromoted sugar-water marketing guy (srsly, he was a marketing VP for Pepsi) who's too stupid to realise that the culture secretary is playing him like a violin because the government wants to appease the orange fuckhead in DC. #BBC
Muskehounds are always ready
November 8, 2025 at 11:18 PM
Muskehounds are always ready
Reposted by Peter Ellis
Reposted by Peter Ellis
"If you publish your book now, in the teeth of my opposition, history will condemn you”
“the tone used to describe Rosalind's work in the Epilogue
is perfectly reasonable,
but contrasts ludicrously with
the descriptions of her
in the text itself.”
-Francis Crick
Letter criticizing Watson’s book 🧪
“the tone used to describe Rosalind's work in the Epilogue
is perfectly reasonable,
but contrasts ludicrously with
the descriptions of her
in the text itself.”
-Francis Crick
Letter criticizing Watson’s book 🧪
November 8, 2025 at 12:04 AM
"If you publish your book now, in the teeth of my opposition, history will condemn you”
“the tone used to describe Rosalind's work in the Epilogue
is perfectly reasonable,
but contrasts ludicrously with
the descriptions of her
in the text itself.”
-Francis Crick
Letter criticizing Watson’s book 🧪
“the tone used to describe Rosalind's work in the Epilogue
is perfectly reasonable,
but contrasts ludicrously with
the descriptions of her
in the text itself.”
-Francis Crick
Letter criticizing Watson’s book 🧪
Reposted by Peter Ellis
We must debunk this crap.
Preimplantation diagnosis is much safer than germline editing & w/o slippery-slope ethics in 99.9% of hered. disease cases.
Only exceptions are dominant genet conditions where 1 parent is homozygous, with extremely rare occurences for Huntington's, some AD and BRCA
Preimplantation diagnosis is much safer than germline editing & w/o slippery-slope ethics in 99.9% of hered. disease cases.
Only exceptions are dominant genet conditions where 1 parent is homozygous, with extremely rare occurences for Huntington's, some AD and BRCA
Tie, who has called herself Biotech Barbie, focuses her entrepreneurial ambitions on a controversial goal: altering the genome of human embryos to prevent genetic disorders
go.nature.com/4qOm5SO
go.nature.com/4qOm5SO
‘Biotech Barbie’ says the time has come to consider CRISPR babies. Do scientists agree?
Nature - A company’s plan to edit the genomes of human embryos worries some researchers — but it might reflect the changing attitudes towards the controversial approach.
go.nature.com
November 8, 2025 at 4:53 PM
We must debunk this crap.
Preimplantation diagnosis is much safer than germline editing & w/o slippery-slope ethics in 99.9% of hered. disease cases.
Only exceptions are dominant genet conditions where 1 parent is homozygous, with extremely rare occurences for Huntington's, some AD and BRCA
Preimplantation diagnosis is much safer than germline editing & w/o slippery-slope ethics in 99.9% of hered. disease cases.
Only exceptions are dominant genet conditions where 1 parent is homozygous, with extremely rare occurences for Huntington's, some AD and BRCA
Reposted by Peter Ellis
If I see one more stupid Rosalind Franklin take I'm going to lose my mind. Thank god for @matthewcobb.bsky.social and @nccomfort.bsky.social. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
What Rosalind Franklin truly contributed to the discovery of DNA’s structure
Franklin was no victim in how the DNA double helix was solved. An overlooked letter and an unpublished news article, both written in 1953, reveal that she was an equal player.
www.nature.com
November 8, 2025 at 7:21 AM
If I see one more stupid Rosalind Franklin take I'm going to lose my mind. Thank god for @matthewcobb.bsky.social and @nccomfort.bsky.social. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Peter Ellis
Every time a tech entrepreneur says “we don’t need to stop global warming because AI will” I want to slap them with a fish that says, “if a superhuman intelligence came into being and we asked it how to stop global warming, it would say ‘stop burning fossil fuels, you fools.’”
I’m going to regret asking this, but… what mechanism are people proposing whereby AI will “end scarcity”?
This feels like literal underpants gnomes thinking, and as I never tire of pointing out, it’s being driven by a lot of the same actual people
This feels like literal underpants gnomes thinking, and as I never tire of pointing out, it’s being driven by a lot of the same actual people
AI could end scarcity, end humanity - or boost trend growth by 0.2 percentage points
November 7, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Every time a tech entrepreneur says “we don’t need to stop global warming because AI will” I want to slap them with a fish that says, “if a superhuman intelligence came into being and we asked it how to stop global warming, it would say ‘stop burning fossil fuels, you fools.’”
Reposted by Peter Ellis
"Rose Henderson felt within her rights" SHE WAS WITHIN HER RIGHTS
the absolute gall of these bigots to complain about someone allegedly giving them evil looks AFTER THEY HAVE DECIDED SHE IS A DANGER TO THEM AND THEY'VE TRIED TO GET HER FIRED AND/OR BANNED FROM USING THE BATHROMS.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Darlington trans medic used female changing room for years
Rose Henderson felt within her rights to use the Darlington hospital facility, a tribunal is told.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 7, 2025 at 1:26 PM
"Rose Henderson felt within her rights" SHE WAS WITHIN HER RIGHTS
Reposted by Peter Ellis
When people celebrate the individual genius of folks in science, they should also
mourn the collective loss of genius of folks who were actively discouraged or disadvantaged from a career in science because of the same person(s)
mourn the collective loss of genius of folks who were actively discouraged or disadvantaged from a career in science because of the same person(s)
November 7, 2025 at 11:43 PM
When people celebrate the individual genius of folks in science, they should also
mourn the collective loss of genius of folks who were actively discouraged or disadvantaged from a career in science because of the same person(s)
mourn the collective loss of genius of folks who were actively discouraged or disadvantaged from a career in science because of the same person(s)
Reposted by Peter Ellis
An Asgard archaeon with internal membrane compartments
Brilliant study led by @fmacleod.bsky.social and Andriko von Kügelgen. Tight collaboration with @buzzbaum.bsky.social and lab. Congrats to all authors!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Brilliant study led by @fmacleod.bsky.social and Andriko von Kügelgen. Tight collaboration with @buzzbaum.bsky.social and lab. Congrats to all authors!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
November 7, 2025 at 10:44 AM
An Asgard archaeon with internal membrane compartments
Brilliant study led by @fmacleod.bsky.social and Andriko von Kügelgen. Tight collaboration with @buzzbaum.bsky.social and lab. Congrats to all authors!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Brilliant study led by @fmacleod.bsky.social and Andriko von Kügelgen. Tight collaboration with @buzzbaum.bsky.social and lab. Congrats to all authors!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Peter Ellis
Jfc
OVER A MILLION USERS
DISCUSS SUICIDE WITH CHATGPT
EVERY *WEEK*
what the fuck are we DOING here
DISCUSS SUICIDE WITH CHATGPT
EVERY *WEEK*
what the fuck are we DOING here
Panera’s moderately caffeinated lemonade was loosely associated with 2 deaths before it was taken off market.
This article alone has 4 examples of ChatGPT encouraging young people to commit suicide, and OpenAI’s own public stats estimate over a million users discuss suicide with ChatGPT each week.
This article alone has 4 examples of ChatGPT encouraging young people to commit suicide, and OpenAI’s own public stats estimate over a million users discuss suicide with ChatGPT each week.
November 7, 2025 at 11:21 PM
Jfc
Reposted by Peter Ellis
the only "honor" Watson's getting from me is that i've built a lab full of outstanding students who are everything he hated: Black, Indigenous, female, trans, queer, neurodivergent, disabled, immigrant, and beyond.
he might be what the past of our field looks like- but the future looks like my lab.
he might be what the past of our field looks like- but the future looks like my lab.
Hey folks, as news of Watson's demise spreads, please don't set aside his weighty legacy of misogyny and racism. He was truly among the worst of us. www.vox.com/2019/1/15/18...
DNA scientist James Watson has a remarkably long history of sexist, racist public comments
“People say it would be terrible if we made all girls pretty,” he said in 2003. “I think it would be great.”
www.vox.com
November 7, 2025 at 10:34 PM
the only "honor" Watson's getting from me is that i've built a lab full of outstanding students who are everything he hated: Black, Indigenous, female, trans, queer, neurodivergent, disabled, immigrant, and beyond.
he might be what the past of our field looks like- but the future looks like my lab.
he might be what the past of our field looks like- but the future looks like my lab.
Reposted by Peter Ellis
there is quite literally something for everyone in this list, whew
In case anyone is wondering if Watson was really THAT bad, @lpachter.bsky.social compiled a list of quotes that are absolutely not for the faint of heart.
liorpachter.wordpress.com/2018/05/18/j...
liorpachter.wordpress.com/2018/05/18/j...
November 7, 2025 at 10:52 PM
there is quite literally something for everyone in this list, whew