Ryan Ellingson
banner
ryanellingson.bsky.social
Ryan Ellingson
@ryanellingson.bsky.social
Teacher of evolution & ecology, environmental science, chemistry. PhD from UCLA, you can call me Dr. but it really isn’t necessary. Opinions are 100% my own, not of my employer.
Reposted by Ryan Ellingson
Everyone needs to see how brutal and ruthless our government is.
December 23, 2025 at 1:38 AM
Reposted by Ryan Ellingson
The name "Popular Science" doesn't mean we shift our coverage depending on public opinion. It means we cover relevant subjects that are rigorously researched, reliable, and grounded in reality.

And trans lives are grounded in reality.

We see y'all. No matter what.

www.popsci.com/science/tran...
First-of-a-kind study shows encouraging data for trans kids who socially transition
Ninety-four percent of participants in a new study stood firm in their trans identity after five years, and "detransitioning" is rare.
www.popsci.com
December 18, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Reposted by Ryan Ellingson
Cladonia lichens looking like an array of fancy satellite dishes. Northwest Territories, Canada. #lichen #fungi #fungifriends
December 18, 2025 at 12:21 PM
Reposted by Ryan Ellingson
The Trump administration is moving to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research, one of the world’s leading climate and weather research institutions. @hayleysmith.bsky.social @susrust.bsky.social
www.latimes.com/environment/...
Trump administration moves to dismantle leading climate and weather research center
Experts say a closure of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo., would leave millions vulnerable to worsening climate hazards.
www.latimes.com
December 18, 2025 at 4:50 AM
Reposted by Ryan Ellingson
Ubehebe Crater. Death Valley, CA.
December 15, 2025 at 1:08 AM
Reposted by Ryan Ellingson
Bill: You said red was the best flavor, any comment?

Cody: Ok, so like, Glacier Cherry Crisp is clutch, like, you see it & you're sad it's not red, but then you try it & it tastes like red, and your tongue doesn't have eyes so it doesn't know.
~Deep Thoughts With Cody Bellinger~
August 29, 2025 at 6:16 PM
Reposted by Ryan Ellingson
[redacted]
ICE detain U.S. citizen for looking Somali—use illegal chokehold to tackle him to ground.

Man repeatedly begs agents to look at his digital passport ID—they refuse.

Drove him 7 miles away before releasing him alone into Minnesota snow storm—told him to "walk home" in freezing weather advisory.
December 10, 2025 at 11:19 PM
Reposted by Ryan Ellingson
Brett Kavanaugh's "minor inconvience" now includes beating people up and cutting off their wedding rings for [checks notes] "observing ICE from a distance."
December 10, 2025 at 3:31 PM
Reposted by Ryan Ellingson
arlington is the 50th most populous city in america
NEW: Here's my story on Arlington, Texas, becoming the first known city in the nation to kill a city-wide LGBTQ+ anti-discrimination policy in response to the Trump administration. With no statewide protections, it was one of the few things protecting LGBTQ+ Texans: www.chron.com/culture/arti...
Texas city among first in the nation to kill LGBTQ+ protections
Residents pleaded with the city council to keep the ordinance in place.
www.chron.com
December 10, 2025 at 3:56 PM
This.
“I am so bored by AI. One of the things I love about the theatre is AI can’t do it.”

Ethan Hawke is a dude 👌🏻
December 10, 2025 at 5:56 AM
Seriously thought this was The Onion
Marco Rubio ordered diplomats to return to using Times New Roman font in official communications, calling his predecessor's decision to adopt Calibri a “wasteful” diversity move
Rubio Stages Font Coup: Times New Roman Ousts Calibri
The secretary of state called it a "wasteful" diversity move, according to an internal department cable seen by Reuters.
www.huffpost.com
December 10, 2025 at 5:47 AM
Reposted by Ryan Ellingson
Marco Rubio ordered diplomats to return to using Times New Roman font in official communications, calling his predecessor's decision to adopt Calibri a “wasteful” diversity move
Rubio Stages Font Coup: Times New Roman Ousts Calibri
The secretary of state called it a "wasteful" diversity move, according to an internal department cable seen by Reuters.
www.huffpost.com
December 10, 2025 at 1:04 AM
Reposted by Ryan Ellingson
It's vile to kill people with no actual legal justification and also vile to joke about killing those people.
Trump: "The problem is nobody wants to go fishing anymore. They don't want to get in boats. They don't want anything to do with boats. I think we've destroyed the boat market. Other than that it's been very effective."
December 10, 2025 at 1:45 AM
Reposted by Ryan Ellingson
I found a flowchart which helps you navigate the IT landscape
October 1, 2025 at 6:22 PM
Reposted by Ryan Ellingson
I really don’t think we can overstate the harm that the tech ethos of move fast and break things (followed by the unsaid “and then just move on”) has done beyond tech. Government, ngos, universities, public schools that have invited the folks who think like this in keep ending up gutted
All DOGE accomplished was purging critical government staff, handing private data to outsiders, and sentencing thousands in developing countries to death by gutting USAID.

I don’t say this lightly: if there were any justice in this world, the people responsible for this devastation would be in jail
DOGE 'doesn't exist' with eight months left on its charter
U.S. President Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency has disbanded with eight months left to its mandate.
www.cnbc.com
November 25, 2025 at 12:48 PM
Reposted by Ryan Ellingson
Quite a metaphor. 👀

"The blaze [sent] panicked delegates racing to evacuate...rain from a torrential downpour leaked into the meeting spaces...There were complaints about food shortages, & the air-conditioning struggled to keep up with the high heat..."
Fire Breaks Out at COP30 Climate Talks in Brazil
Delegates were evacuated from the conference venue, where thousands from nearly 200 countries had gathered.
www.nytimes.com
November 20, 2025 at 7:36 PM
Reposted by Ryan Ellingson
The metaphor is self-aware. 🫠

"The fire quickly spread to neighboring pavilions, said Samuel Rubin, one of the people in charge of an entertainment and culture pavilion. He said nearby pavilions include many of the Africa pavilions and one aimed at youth."

www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...
Fire prompts evacuations at UN climate talks in Brazil, but officials say no one hurt
Officials say a fire that spread through pavilions being used for U.N. climate talks in Brazil has prompted evacuations on the next-to-last day of the conference, but nobody was hurt
www.washingtonpost.com
November 20, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Have your pumpkin spice latte but this is my stuffing flavored potato chips season
November 23, 2025 at 3:02 AM
Reposted by Ryan Ellingson
In Central America, scientists found a spike in malaria cases after the fungus arrived. As frogs died, there were fewer tadpoles to eat mosquito larvae; more mosquitoes resulted in a fivefold increase in malaria cases: wapo.st/3LHtdAj (gift). We allow extinctions at our peril. 🌎
First, the frogs died. Then people got sick.
An emerging area of research is uncovering hidden links between nature and human health.
wapo.st
November 16, 2025 at 2:36 AM
Los Angeles go outside and look at your sunset right now
November 13, 2025 at 1:00 AM
Reposted by Ryan Ellingson
Fellow seismologists, we're going to get a lot of mileage out of the latest @xkcd.com
November 8, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Reposted by Ryan Ellingson
Meanwhile on Mars...

The planet is covered with odd gullies that look like they were carved by running water. A cool new experiment demonstrates that they were probably carved by sliding, spitting chunks of dry ice. (Sorry, still no signs of life.) 🧪🔭

www.uu.nl/en/news/myst...
November 6, 2025 at 11:18 PM
Reposted by Ryan Ellingson
A million seconds is 11.6 days
A billion seconds is nearly 32 years
A trillion seconds is nearly 32,000 years
I know most of my followers probably know this, but just in context:

A billion is a thousand million.
A trillion is a thousand billion.
November 6, 2025 at 11:11 PM
Reposted by Ryan Ellingson
this is fucking obscene
Bondi: "We've been living through a horrific cycle of political violence in this country ... night after night antifa wrecks havoc on the streets of our cities. In Minnesota, a gunman murdered a state lawmaker and her husband."
October 11, 2025 at 6:47 PM
Reposted by Ryan Ellingson
The National Guard mainly exists for domestic purposes as a compact where Governors agree to help each other in cases of disasters.

It runs on trust and norms of reciprocity.

Having Governors send their troops against the will of the receiving state creates some real long term problems.
Texas is preparing emergency resources for wildfires and floods. The Texas National Guard should be THERE — not in Illinois.

We stand ready to support their return home so they are best positioned for helping Texans respond to any natural disasters.
Abbott activates emergency resources ahead of growing wildfire threat, flood risk in Texas
With expected growing wildfire danger across Texas and the potential for a flood risk this weekend, Gov. Greg Abbott is activating more state emergency response resources Friday.
trib.al
October 11, 2025 at 8:43 PM