Alex Billings
@lxbllngs.bsky.social
Environmental Research Chemist at the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (@ukceh.bsky.social) in Lancaster 🦦🐦⬛🦉🐝
Pinned
Alex Billings
@lxbllngs.bsky.social
· Mar 6
Kinetics of plasticiser release and degradation in soils
Despite the increasing use of emerging phthalate and non-phthalate plasticisers as replacements for restricted phthalates, few studies have investigat…
www.sciencedirect.com
We've got a new paper out! We carried out some experiments to look at:
1) How quickly can microplastics release plasticisers into soils?
2) How long do different kinds of plasticiser persist in soils?
It's open access ⚗️😀
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
1) How quickly can microplastics release plasticisers into soils?
2) How long do different kinds of plasticiser persist in soils?
It's open access ⚗️😀
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Alex Billings
As an ecologist I think that Springwatch presents a more real view of nature than the blockbuster shows
Real birth & death (even cannibalism) and beauty on our doorsteps
Rather than carefully curated stories of exotic places
Real birth & death (even cannibalism) and beauty on our doorsteps
Rather than carefully curated stories of exotic places
June 16, 2025 at 6:19 AM
As an ecologist I think that Springwatch presents a more real view of nature than the blockbuster shows
Real birth & death (even cannibalism) and beauty on our doorsteps
Rather than carefully curated stories of exotic places
Real birth & death (even cannibalism) and beauty on our doorsteps
Rather than carefully curated stories of exotic places
Reposted by Alex Billings
Our new project with the FBA and others has hit BBC news! We are working together to investigate the status of the rare Arctic charr in Windermere:
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
@freshwaterbio.bsky.social @ukceh.bsky.social
🐟 🧪
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
@freshwaterbio.bsky.social @ukceh.bsky.social
🐟 🧪
Windermere study to save declining rare fish species
Arctic charr numbers in Windemere in the Lake District are falling and researchers want to know why.
www.bbc.co.uk
April 25, 2025 at 6:17 AM
Our new project with the FBA and others has hit BBC news! We are working together to investigate the status of the rare Arctic charr in Windermere:
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
@freshwaterbio.bsky.social @ukceh.bsky.social
🐟 🧪
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
@freshwaterbio.bsky.social @ukceh.bsky.social
🐟 🧪
Reposted by Alex Billings
We’re raising funds through the #GreenMatchFund for our #LakeDistrict #ArcticCharr Recovery and Management project, aka LD-CHARM 🐟
bit.ly/42BgnII
If you can, please donate. Each donation is matched pound-for-pound up to £10K, meaning we could unlock £20K of funding for £10K of donations!
bit.ly/42BgnII
If you can, please donate. Each donation is matched pound-for-pound up to £10K, meaning we could unlock £20K of funding for £10K of donations!
Lake District Charr Recovery & Management (CHARM) – Big Give
We want to save one of England's rarest fish species, Arctic charr, from extinction. We will engage communities in the …
bit.ly
April 22, 2025 at 11:30 AM
We’re raising funds through the #GreenMatchFund for our #LakeDistrict #ArcticCharr Recovery and Management project, aka LD-CHARM 🐟
bit.ly/42BgnII
If you can, please donate. Each donation is matched pound-for-pound up to £10K, meaning we could unlock £20K of funding for £10K of donations!
bit.ly/42BgnII
If you can, please donate. Each donation is matched pound-for-pound up to £10K, meaning we could unlock £20K of funding for £10K of donations!
Reposted by Alex Billings
Catch me and Isobel Stanton discussing #AMR in the environment and wastewater, and what this means for human health 🦠💊🥼
Podcast link below 🔽
Podcast link below 🔽
March 27, 2025 at 11:30 AM
Catch me and Isobel Stanton discussing #AMR in the environment and wastewater, and what this means for human health 🦠💊🥼
Podcast link below 🔽
Podcast link below 🔽
Saw a pair of goosanders on the River Kent at the weekend, not to mention plenty of resident mallards! 🦆🌥️
March 13, 2025 at 10:27 PM
Saw a pair of goosanders on the River Kent at the weekend, not to mention plenty of resident mallards! 🦆🌥️
Reposted by Alex Billings
Let's talk about this Nature piece in more detail.
I've rarely read something so anti-scientific anywhere short of the National Review.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
I've rarely read something so anti-scientific anywhere short of the National Review.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Three AI-powered steps to faster, smarter peer review
Tired of spending countless hours on peer reviews? An AI-assisted workflow could help.
www.nature.com
March 6, 2025 at 5:34 AM
Let's talk about this Nature piece in more detail.
I've rarely read something so anti-scientific anywhere short of the National Review.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
I've rarely read something so anti-scientific anywhere short of the National Review.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
We've got a new paper out! We carried out some experiments to look at:
1) How quickly can microplastics release plasticisers into soils?
2) How long do different kinds of plasticiser persist in soils?
It's open access ⚗️😀
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
1) How quickly can microplastics release plasticisers into soils?
2) How long do different kinds of plasticiser persist in soils?
It's open access ⚗️😀
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Kinetics of plasticiser release and degradation in soils
Despite the increasing use of emerging phthalate and non-phthalate plasticisers as replacements for restricted phthalates, few studies have investigat…
www.sciencedirect.com
March 6, 2025 at 1:04 PM
We've got a new paper out! We carried out some experiments to look at:
1) How quickly can microplastics release plasticisers into soils?
2) How long do different kinds of plasticiser persist in soils?
It's open access ⚗️😀
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
1) How quickly can microplastics release plasticisers into soils?
2) How long do different kinds of plasticiser persist in soils?
It's open access ⚗️😀
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Alex Billings
Today's #TerribleLizards is sadly rather well timed given what's happening elsewhere as scientists struggle to justify their existence and funding. And Feb's episode will follow up on this with another major issue in #science communication and outreach: terriblelizards.libsyn.com/tls11e01-say...
Terrible Lizards: TLS11E01 Say My Name
Series 11, eh? We don’t think we, or anyone else reading this, expected that. Nor did we expect issues with Dave’s microphone (apologies)… Still, here we are and with more dinosaur goodness coming. We...
terriblelizards.libsyn.com
January 29, 2025 at 8:02 AM
Today's #TerribleLizards is sadly rather well timed given what's happening elsewhere as scientists struggle to justify their existence and funding. And Feb's episode will follow up on this with another major issue in #science communication and outreach: terriblelizards.libsyn.com/tls11e01-say...
Reposted by Alex Billings
Did you know that on Christmas Day, it is perfectly acceptable to raise a glass and remember the dinosaurs
In the "Cosmic Calendar", a way to visualise the entire history of the universe by compressing it into a calendar year, the first dinosaur would appear on December 25th (at approx midday)
1/3
In the "Cosmic Calendar", a way to visualise the entire history of the universe by compressing it into a calendar year, the first dinosaur would appear on December 25th (at approx midday)
1/3
December 20, 2024 at 2:10 PM
Did you know that on Christmas Day, it is perfectly acceptable to raise a glass and remember the dinosaurs
In the "Cosmic Calendar", a way to visualise the entire history of the universe by compressing it into a calendar year, the first dinosaur would appear on December 25th (at approx midday)
1/3
In the "Cosmic Calendar", a way to visualise the entire history of the universe by compressing it into a calendar year, the first dinosaur would appear on December 25th (at approx midday)
1/3
Reposted by Alex Billings
BBC says it has complained to Apple over AI-generated fake news attributed to broadcaster
BBC says it has complained to Apple over AI-generated fake news attributed to broadcaster
Notifications from a new Apple product falsely suggested the BBC claimed the New York gunman Luigi Mangione had killed himself
The BBC says it has filed a complaint with the US tech giant Apple over AI-generated fake news that was shared on iPhones and…
www.theguardian.com
December 13, 2024 at 11:00 PM
BBC says it has complained to Apple over AI-generated fake news attributed to broadcaster
Reposted by Alex Billings
At #BES2024 this week, UKCEH have had an exhibition stand celebrating our long-term and national-scale research, and raising awareness of our data.
@britishecolsoc.bsky.social
@ukceh.bsky.social
@britishecolsoc.bsky.social
@ukceh.bsky.social
December 12, 2024 at 9:24 PM
At #BES2024 this week, UKCEH have had an exhibition stand celebrating our long-term and national-scale research, and raising awareness of our data.
@britishecolsoc.bsky.social
@ukceh.bsky.social
@britishecolsoc.bsky.social
@ukceh.bsky.social
Reposted by Alex Billings
From @shahanmemon.bsky.social , a truly bananas story about a recent paper advocating for peer review by AI agents instead of peers.
If that strikes you as a viewpoint that only an AI could endorse, read on...
If that strikes you as a viewpoint that only an AI could endorse, read on...
🚨 I recently came across a weird case of #AI in #preprints, with implications for burdening #SciComm with AI-mediated #PredatoryPublishing
What did I find? Issues with the article, questionable behavior by the author, indexing problems, and AI's potential for streamlining predatory publishing.
🧵
What did I find? Issues with the article, questionable behavior by the author, indexing problems, and AI's potential for streamlining predatory publishing.
🧵
November 29, 2024 at 6:45 AM
From @shahanmemon.bsky.social , a truly bananas story about a recent paper advocating for peer review by AI agents instead of peers.
If that strikes you as a viewpoint that only an AI could endorse, read on...
If that strikes you as a viewpoint that only an AI could endorse, read on...