April Wright
@wrightam.bsky.social
Statistical phylogenetics and the fossil record. Researcher, professor and mentor at a PUI. Mother, reader, runner. Congenital optimist. Minnesotan Virginian.
Pinned
Years ago, a friend got us a Christmas moth squishmallow for our daughter. Years later, our hound took it, used it, and eventually shredded it. This Christmas, we stocked up on Crimbo Moths for years to come.
Please, enjoy this face that says “I will definitely not destroy this expensive ass moth”
Please, enjoy this face that says “I will definitely not destroy this expensive ass moth”
December 25, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Years ago, a friend got us a Christmas moth squishmallow for our daughter. Years later, our hound took it, used it, and eventually shredded it. This Christmas, we stocked up on Crimbo Moths for years to come.
Please, enjoy this face that says “I will definitely not destroy this expensive ass moth”
Please, enjoy this face that says “I will definitely not destroy this expensive ass moth”
Reposted by April Wright
It’s wild so many people are willing to go to bat for prisons as a reserve for rural jobs when universities are better in every aspect for such a role.
"Even after accounting for the upfront costs and delayed benefits, enrolling marginal applicants to public universities generates substantial net returns for society, the marginal students themselves, and the government budget."
Public Universities FTW!
Public Universities FTW!
December 24, 2025 at 10:42 PM
It’s wild so many people are willing to go to bat for prisons as a reserve for rural jobs when universities are better in every aspect for such a role.
Reposted by April Wright
I took a deep dive into Meta’s “Hyperion” data center in Richland Parish, LA. The story of a tech behemoth coming bearing billions to a poor community like Richland Parish is complex and worthy of scrutiny. 🧵 1/7
sherwood.news/tech/hyperion/
sherwood.news/tech/hyperion/
The power play behind Hyperion, Mark Zuckerberg’s colossal data center being built in rural Louisiana
$10 billion of investment. Code names to disguise projects and companies. Mixed opinions. Skyrocketing property values. And enough tax breaks...
sherwood.news
December 15, 2025 at 4:31 PM
I took a deep dive into Meta’s “Hyperion” data center in Richland Parish, LA. The story of a tech behemoth coming bearing billions to a poor community like Richland Parish is complex and worthy of scrutiny. 🧵 1/7
sherwood.news/tech/hyperion/
sherwood.news/tech/hyperion/
In what might be the crowning achievement of my life, I’ve complained so much to the city that they’re putting in a crosswalk in front of my house
December 23, 2025 at 7:34 PM
In what might be the crowning achievement of my life, I’ve complained so much to the city that they’re putting in a crosswalk in front of my house
A lot of our *colleagues* don’t understand that
One of many things the pro-AI crowd doesn't seem to understand is the very important distinction between academic scholarship and the production of papers. Of course they can be related but they're not necessarily the same thing
December 22, 2025 at 6:57 PM
A lot of our *colleagues* don’t understand that
Currently resisting the temptation to eat all the good tinned fish while everyone else sleeps.
But, like, barely.
But, like, barely.
December 21, 2025 at 3:15 AM
Currently resisting the temptation to eat all the good tinned fish while everyone else sleeps.
But, like, barely.
But, like, barely.
Pizza heals a lot of wounds tho
December 18, 2025 at 9:42 PM
Pizza heals a lot of wounds tho
I’ll miss the dog park the most. My pictures don’t do justice to how nice this view is.
December 18, 2025 at 8:55 PM
I’ll miss the dog park the most. My pictures don’t do justice to how nice this view is.
Josh Ritter - Getting Ready to Get Down [Official Lyric Video]
YouTube video by Josh Ritter
youtu.be
December 18, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Took an Lyft home rather than walking, to be on the safe side in a tight timetable.
Ended up missing my daughter’s choir concert because the driver turned off a low-traffic side street onto a gridlock highway
Lesson in that for me
Ended up missing my daughter’s choir concert because the driver turned off a low-traffic side street onto a gridlock highway
Lesson in that for me
December 18, 2025 at 12:06 AM
Took an Lyft home rather than walking, to be on the safe side in a tight timetable.
Ended up missing my daughter’s choir concert because the driver turned off a low-traffic side street onto a gridlock highway
Lesson in that for me
Ended up missing my daughter’s choir concert because the driver turned off a low-traffic side street onto a gridlock highway
Lesson in that for me
So how’s bsky this morning
a man in a suit is carrying a stack of pizza boxes .
ALT: a man in a suit is carrying a stack of pizza boxes .
media.tenor.com
December 16, 2025 at 2:18 PM
So how’s bsky this morning
Reposted by April Wright
From @semianalysis.com.web.brid.gy, Nvidia $NVDA acquires SchedMD, makers of SLURM, a widely used open source workload scheduler. Many AI companies such as Mistral, Thinking Machines, parts of Meta's FAIR division, university academic labs use SLURM.
December 16, 2025 at 8:52 AM
From @semianalysis.com.web.brid.gy, Nvidia $NVDA acquires SchedMD, makers of SLURM, a widely used open source workload scheduler. Many AI companies such as Mistral, Thinking Machines, parts of Meta's FAIR division, university academic labs use SLURM.
Forgotten feeling of running somewhere with an actual winter: your pigtails freezing to your shirt just over your shoulder blades.
Hell yeah, winter.
Hell yeah, winter.
December 15, 2025 at 10:08 PM
Forgotten feeling of running somewhere with an actual winter: your pigtails freezing to your shirt just over your shoulder blades.
Hell yeah, winter.
Hell yeah, winter.
❗
Very proud of the work that the @palaeoverse.bsky.social team has done up until now and very excited for what's to come over the next few years! Watch this space!
#rstats #palaeontology #paleontology
#rstats #palaeontology #paleontology
We are excited to have been awarded a Large Grant by @softwaresaved.bsky.social! 🥳
This will help us future-proof our R packages and tools, and provide more training and mentoring for computational palaeontologists.
Coming soon: job ads for two new team members! 👀
www.software.ac.uk/ssi-awards-f...
This will help us future-proof our R packages and tools, and provide more training and mentoring for computational palaeontologists.
Coming soon: job ads for two new team members! 👀
www.software.ac.uk/ssi-awards-f...
December 11, 2025 at 2:29 AM
❗
Reposted by April Wright
I heard there were some secret jaws
That snowflakes had in their open maws
But you don’t really care for eel bones do ya?
That snowflakes had in their open maws
But you don’t really care for eel bones do ya?
Finally have time to upload things to Sketchfab.
Here's the dead eel I found at an aquarium store!
Thanks to the generosity of the store owner, everyone can see the scary extra jaws these guys have!
sketchfab.com/3d-models/sn...
Here's the dead eel I found at an aquarium store!
Thanks to the generosity of the store owner, everyone can see the scary extra jaws these guys have!
sketchfab.com/3d-models/sn...
December 9, 2025 at 4:58 AM
I heard there were some secret jaws
That snowflakes had in their open maws
But you don’t really care for eel bones do ya?
That snowflakes had in their open maws
But you don’t really care for eel bones do ya?
It’s “free up fridge space by keeping the beer on the porch” season for all who celebrate.
December 6, 2025 at 10:47 PM
It’s “free up fridge space by keeping the beer on the porch” season for all who celebrate.
This is dramatically awful. I watched friends and colleagues hustle so hard against this devastating choice, to try and save their students and colleagues.
It's over.
Despite the fact that the academic council recommended against it, despite the fact that the program brought in more tuition than it cost, and despite the fact that Nebraskans need & deserve this expertise, Earth & Atmospheric Sciences will be cut.
www.dailynebraskan.com/news/adminis...
Despite the fact that the academic council recommended against it, despite the fact that the program brought in more tuition than it cost, and despite the fact that Nebraskans need & deserve this expertise, Earth & Atmospheric Sciences will be cut.
www.dailynebraskan.com/news/adminis...
BREAKING: ‘This hurts’: UNL eliminates 4 programs despite faculty, student pleas
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln eliminates the Earth and atmospheric sciences 8-0, educational administration 7-1, statistics 7-1, textiles, merchandising and fashion design 7-1 programs.
www.dailynebraskan.com
December 6, 2025 at 7:01 PM
This is dramatically awful. I watched friends and colleagues hustle so hard against this devastating choice, to try and save their students and colleagues.
Reposted by April Wright
Latest preprint with @hairyllama.bsky.social and @evol-molly.bsky.social This is a program that helps calculate several phylogenetic support measures.
Dissecting Phylogenetic Support: Unified Decay Indices, AU Tests, and Branch-Site Specific Visualizations. https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.05.692543v1
December 5, 2025 at 11:56 PM
Latest preprint with @hairyllama.bsky.social and @evol-molly.bsky.social This is a program that helps calculate several phylogenetic support measures.
Reposted by April Wright
Out late for #FossilFriday, it's our invited @annualreviews.bsky.social paper with @sarahlsheffield.bsky.social and @bigfacecats.bsky.social on why Phylogenetic Paleoecology is useful and how to do it.
doi.org/10.1146/annu...
doi.org/10.1146/annu...
A Practical Guide to Phylogenetic Paleoecology
The burgeoning field of phylogenetic paleoecology combines paleoecological data with hypotheses of phylogenetic relationships to tease apart the roles that ecology and relatedness both play in the evo...
doi.org
November 29, 2025 at 12:31 AM
Out late for #FossilFriday, it's our invited @annualreviews.bsky.social paper with @sarahlsheffield.bsky.social and @bigfacecats.bsky.social on why Phylogenetic Paleoecology is useful and how to do it.
doi.org/10.1146/annu...
doi.org/10.1146/annu...
Reposted by April Wright
Springer-Nature statement
“Whilst the details of peer review are confidential, we can confirm that the article underwent two rounds of review from two independent peer reviewers, supporting an accept decision.”
How am I now expected to believe that two people looked at the paper twice and DGAF?
“Whilst the details of peer review are confidential, we can confirm that the article underwent two rounds of review from two independent peer reviewers, supporting an accept decision.”
How am I now expected to believe that two people looked at the paper twice and DGAF?
Riding the Autism Bicycle to Retraction Town
Does anyone *really* know their Factor Fexcectorn?
nobreakthroughs.substack.com
November 28, 2025 at 1:36 PM
Springer-Nature statement
“Whilst the details of peer review are confidential, we can confirm that the article underwent two rounds of review from two independent peer reviewers, supporting an accept decision.”
How am I now expected to believe that two people looked at the paper twice and DGAF?
“Whilst the details of peer review are confidential, we can confirm that the article underwent two rounds of review from two independent peer reviewers, supporting an accept decision.”
How am I now expected to believe that two people looked at the paper twice and DGAF?
Well, why shouldn’t I have stuffing for breakfast?
November 28, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Well, why shouldn’t I have stuffing for breakfast?
TIL that JOP has a really interesting replication policy.
As we all wait for Callais to come down, our piece showing that Shelby County increased the racial turnout gap in most of the covered parts of the country has cleared the replication check and is incoming at JOP.
Gutting the VRA was bad, actually.
Gutting the VRA was bad, actually.
November 26, 2025 at 11:33 PM
TIL that JOP has a really interesting replication policy.
Imagine watching all year for the robot litter box you want to go in Black Friday, getting it set up, and going to celebrate your bougie accomplishment with a drink
Then looking down and realizing you’re wearing long underwear as pants
Then looking down and realizing you’re wearing long underwear as pants
November 26, 2025 at 11:19 PM
Imagine watching all year for the robot litter box you want to go in Black Friday, getting it set up, and going to celebrate your bougie accomplishment with a drink
Then looking down and realizing you’re wearing long underwear as pants
Then looking down and realizing you’re wearing long underwear as pants
Reposted by April Wright
So happy to announce our new preprint, “A geothermal amoeba sets a new upper temperature limit for eukaryotes.” We cultured a novel amoeba from Lassen Volcanic NP (CA, USA) that divides at 63°C (145°F) 🔥 - a new record for euk growth!
#protistsonsky 🧵
#protistsonsky 🧵
November 25, 2025 at 8:41 PM
So happy to announce our new preprint, “A geothermal amoeba sets a new upper temperature limit for eukaryotes.” We cultured a novel amoeba from Lassen Volcanic NP (CA, USA) that divides at 63°C (145°F) 🔥 - a new record for euk growth!
#protistsonsky 🧵
#protistsonsky 🧵
Reposted by April Wright
when we say we want more streets to be pedestrianized, this is what we mean
November 25, 2025 at 4:46 PM
when we say we want more streets to be pedestrianized, this is what we mean