Catherine Sheard
@sheardcat.bsky.social
Fellow @ University of Aberdeen. Professionally: macroevolution, especially birds & languages. Personally: drinks too much coffee, plays too much D&D.
she/her
she/her
Pinned
Catherine Sheard
@sheardcat.bsky.social
· Jun 25
New pinned intro time:
Hi! I'm Catherine, a PI (fellow/lecturer) at the University of Aberdeen. My lab works on trait macroevolution, particularly the causes/consequences of behavioural innovations. I'm a senior editor at GEB, co-chair of BES Macro, and have zero chill about the northern lights.
Hi! I'm Catherine, a PI (fellow/lecturer) at the University of Aberdeen. My lab works on trait macroevolution, particularly the causes/consequences of behavioural innovations. I'm a senior editor at GEB, co-chair of BES Macro, and have zero chill about the northern lights.
Reposted by Catherine Sheard
ICE is now responsible for 66% of the homicides in Minneapolis this year.
January 24, 2026 at 4:51 PM
ICE is now responsible for 66% of the homicides in Minneapolis this year.
Reposted by Catherine Sheard
Reminder: All it would take to end the murder of American citizens by an untrained government goon squad is 16 Republicans in Congress voting with Dems to defund ICE (or 23 to impeach and remove Trump — 3 in House & 20 in Senate). That’s it. 23 Americans can vote for the public and end all of this.
January 24, 2026 at 6:26 PM
Reminder: All it would take to end the murder of American citizens by an untrained government goon squad is 16 Republicans in Congress voting with Dems to defund ICE (or 23 to impeach and remove Trump — 3 in House & 20 in Senate). That’s it. 23 Americans can vote for the public and end all of this.
Reposted by Catherine Sheard
"In St. Paul, at least one-fourth of students from Spanish-speaking homes have missed every day of school since Dec. 12."
8 weeks under siege in Minnesota • Minnesota Reformer
Frank has a hard time explaining to his 8-year-old daughter why they rarely leave their home in the Twin Cities. Why she can’t go to school, and why he can’t work. “The only thing we tell her is that ...
minnesotareformer.com
January 23, 2026 at 9:42 PM
"In St. Paul, at least one-fourth of students from Spanish-speaking homes have missed every day of school since Dec. 12."
Reposted by Catherine Sheard
Thousands outside Terminal 1 at the Minneapolis airport now.
January 23, 2026 at 3:59 PM
Thousands outside Terminal 1 at the Minneapolis airport now.
Reposted by Catherine Sheard
Arrests calmly ongoing.
This is going to take a while. There are a lot of clergy risking arrest.
This is going to take a while. There are a lot of clergy risking arrest.
January 23, 2026 at 5:19 PM
Arrests calmly ongoing.
This is going to take a while. There are a lot of clergy risking arrest.
This is going to take a while. There are a lot of clergy risking arrest.
Reposted by Catherine Sheard
MIT determined that regular users of ChatGPT suffered a 47 PERCENT drop in neural connectivity
Gen AI is the shittest, most carbon-intensive drug in history
www.media.mit.edu/projects/you...
Gen AI is the shittest, most carbon-intensive drug in history
www.media.mit.edu/projects/you...
Project Overview ‹ Your Brain on ChatGPT – MIT Media Lab
Check project's website: https://www.brainonllm.comWith today's wide adoption of LLM products like ChatGPT from OpenAI, humans and businesses engage and u…
www.media.mit.edu
January 23, 2026 at 3:29 PM
MIT determined that regular users of ChatGPT suffered a 47 PERCENT drop in neural connectivity
Gen AI is the shittest, most carbon-intensive drug in history
www.media.mit.edu/projects/you...
Gen AI is the shittest, most carbon-intensive drug in history
www.media.mit.edu/projects/you...
Reposted by Catherine Sheard
When postdocs and grad students move on, I don’t worry about “losing” projects. If a postdoc wants to extend their work beyond my lab, my answer is yes. They should take their momentum with them. I have plenty of ideas, and there will always be more questions to ask.
January 17, 2026 at 1:23 AM
When postdocs and grad students move on, I don’t worry about “losing” projects. If a postdoc wants to extend their work beyond my lab, my answer is yes. They should take their momentum with them. I have plenty of ideas, and there will always be more questions to ask.
Reposted by Catherine Sheard
Our journals @dev-journal.bsky.social, @jcellsci.bsky.social & @jexpbiol.bsky.social offer Travelling Fellowships of up to £3,000 to graduate students and post-doctoral researchers wishing to make collaborative visits to other laboratories. Apply by 6 February 2026.
biologists.com/grants/trave...
biologists.com/grants/trave...
January 23, 2026 at 11:28 AM
Our journals @dev-journal.bsky.social, @jcellsci.bsky.social & @jexpbiol.bsky.social offer Travelling Fellowships of up to £3,000 to graduate students and post-doctoral researchers wishing to make collaborative visits to other laboratories. Apply by 6 February 2026.
biologists.com/grants/trave...
biologists.com/grants/trave...
Reposted by Catherine Sheard
"Well, Child, yesterday I used one from Superbad, from 13 years before you were born, to reference a complaint about copper ingots from 3790 years before you were born".
Today I learned that apparently kids in school are being given the assignment "go home and ask your parents what their favourite meme is and write a report about it"
January 22, 2026 at 2:44 PM
"Well, Child, yesterday I used one from Superbad, from 13 years before you were born, to reference a complaint about copper ingots from 3790 years before you were born".
Reposted by Catherine Sheard
'Why aren't they in the streets' is answered almost every day in my small town by people in the streets! Rather than asking 'why aren't they in the streets' it's worth asking 'why isn't your media showing them in the streets' and 'who is served by downplaying resistane in its myriad forms.'
The idea that there are no protests in the US and no one is standing up to Trump is proving incredibly hard to kill over here in Germany. It’s become dogma, utterly detached from empirical reality.
I wonder if the people who keep talking like that understand they’re perpetuating regime propaganda.
I wonder if the people who keep talking like that understand they’re perpetuating regime propaganda.
January 21, 2026 at 3:48 PM
'Why aren't they in the streets' is answered almost every day in my small town by people in the streets! Rather than asking 'why aren't they in the streets' it's worth asking 'why isn't your media showing them in the streets' and 'who is served by downplaying resistane in its myriad forms.'
Reposted by Catherine Sheard
On 5 February, our symposium 'Exploring Queerness in Natural History' will look at engaging LGBTQ+ audiences in nature, the challenges of researching queer figures in the history of science, and supporting staff.
Tickets at buff.ly/Csfwc1U
Tickets at buff.ly/Csfwc1U
January 21, 2026 at 4:41 PM
On 5 February, our symposium 'Exploring Queerness in Natural History' will look at engaging LGBTQ+ audiences in nature, the challenges of researching queer figures in the history of science, and supporting staff.
Tickets at buff.ly/Csfwc1U
Tickets at buff.ly/Csfwc1U
Reposted by Catherine Sheard
NEW PAPER in #ornithology compares the responses of 200 vertebrate populations to climate change, and finds that increasing temperatures affect population growth via changes in phenology, but not morphology: buff.ly/IT66GOK
January 21, 2026 at 7:37 AM
NEW PAPER in #ornithology compares the responses of 200 vertebrate populations to climate change, and finds that increasing temperatures affect population growth via changes in phenology, but not morphology: buff.ly/IT66GOK
Reposted by Catherine Sheard
Scientists mimicking the Big Bang accidentally turn lead into gold
Scientists mimicking the Big Bang accidentally turn lead into gold
Scientists mimicking the Big Bang accidentally turn lead into gold
www.independent.co.uk
January 20, 2026 at 2:24 PM
Scientists mimicking the Big Bang accidentally turn lead into gold
Ugh why has it been so cloudyyyyyyyy
January 20, 2026 at 4:47 PM
Ugh why has it been so cloudyyyyyyyy
Reposted by Catherine Sheard
Nature’s Super Feather www.nytimes.com/2026/01/20/s...
Nature’s Super Feather
www.nytimes.com
January 20, 2026 at 3:23 PM
Nature’s Super Feather www.nytimes.com/2026/01/20/s...
Reposted by Catherine Sheard
I need to be extremely clear because context is *crucial* here.
It is the polar night.
That is not the sun.
There is no sun for another month yet.
The sky is doing that on its own.
It is the polar night.
That is not the sun.
There is no sun for another month yet.
The sky is doing that on its own.
January 20, 2026 at 2:40 PM
I need to be extremely clear because context is *crucial* here.
It is the polar night.
That is not the sun.
There is no sun for another month yet.
The sky is doing that on its own.
It is the polar night.
That is not the sun.
There is no sun for another month yet.
The sky is doing that on its own.
Reposted by Catherine Sheard
Dr. Gladys West, the pioneering mathematician whose work laid the foundation for modern GPS technology, has died. She was 95.
Dr. Gladys West, Mathematician Whose Work Made GPS Possible, Dies at 95
ALEXANDRIA, VA — Dr. Gladys West, the pioneering mathematician whose work laid the foundation for modern GPS technology, has died. She passed away
thezebra.org
January 19, 2026 at 6:00 PM
Dr. Gladys West, the pioneering mathematician whose work laid the foundation for modern GPS technology, has died. She was 95.
If you're wondering what my job is like, I've spent the past 20 minutes trying to access something called the "Student Records System". I still haven't suceeded. I'm beginning to think that it might not exist.
January 20, 2026 at 11:53 AM
If you're wondering what my job is like, I've spent the past 20 minutes trying to access something called the "Student Records System". I still haven't suceeded. I'm beginning to think that it might not exist.
Reposted by Catherine Sheard
oh my god
I just woke up from a nap and somehow while I was asleep, everyone on the bus has figured out we are not going to the right place
January 20, 2026 at 10:21 AM
oh my god
Reposted by Catherine Sheard
MUST READ thread before Monday night's forecasted G4 / SEVERE geomagnetic storm. Auroras could be seen as far south as the U.S.-Mexico border at times. Widespread mid-latitude displays are possible. Here's what you need to know to have a successful aurora chase tonight! 🧵
#heliophysics #aurora
#heliophysics #aurora
January 19, 2026 at 6:30 PM
MUST READ thread before Monday night's forecasted G4 / SEVERE geomagnetic storm. Auroras could be seen as far south as the U.S.-Mexico border at times. Widespread mid-latitude displays are possible. Here's what you need to know to have a successful aurora chase tonight! 🧵
#heliophysics #aurora
#heliophysics #aurora
Reposted by Catherine Sheard
A large triggered substorm + CME compression effects are creating this extreme signature in the AE index. Readings are off the charts! Hp 30 has bumped to a value of 7.67 currently. We may see an alert for G3 soon.
January 19, 2026 at 7:44 PM
A large triggered substorm + CME compression effects are creating this extreme signature in the AE index. Readings are off the charts! Hp 30 has bumped to a value of 7.67 currently. We may see an alert for G3 soon.
Well, it's cloudy and rainy in Aberdeen right now, but there's probably a hell of an aurora BEHIND that. If you're somewhere where an aurora could possibly be, and it's currently dark and clear, go check the skies!
January 19, 2026 at 8:07 PM
Well, it's cloudy and rainy in Aberdeen right now, but there's probably a hell of an aurora BEHIND that. If you're somewhere where an aurora could possibly be, and it's currently dark and clear, go check the skies!
Reposted by Catherine Sheard
Surgical masks are to respirators what the typewriter was to the modern computer: Obsolete! Surgical face masks provide inadequate protection against flu-like illnesses including COVID, and should be replaced by respirator-level masks – every time doctors & nurses are face to face with a patient. 😷
Face masks ‘inadequate’ and should be swapped for respirators, WHO is advised
Experts are urging guideline changes on what health professionals should wear to protect against flu-like illnesses including Covid
www.theguardian.com
January 19, 2026 at 6:53 PM
Surgical masks are to respirators what the typewriter was to the modern computer: Obsolete! Surgical face masks provide inadequate protection against flu-like illnesses including COVID, and should be replaced by respirator-level masks – every time doctors & nurses are face to face with a patient. 😷
Reposted by Catherine Sheard
Led by Viktoriia Radchuk, an international collaboration shows phenological shifts in response to changing temperatures allow populations to remain stable or even increase in numbers.
Support from #sDiv @idiv-research.bsky.social
Support from #sDiv @idiv-research.bsky.social
January 18, 2026 at 11:16 AM
Led by Viktoriia Radchuk, an international collaboration shows phenological shifts in response to changing temperatures allow populations to remain stable or even increase in numbers.
Support from #sDiv @idiv-research.bsky.social
Support from #sDiv @idiv-research.bsky.social