Chris Clark
@selasphorus1.bsky.social
I study hummingbirds and owls, and the sounds they make, or not, with their wings.
Withdrew my 1st scientific paper today. I submitted a paper with a weird result a couple months ago. Got a citation alert on monday, citing paper said nice things abt my paper and had a paragraph on a concept I had not heard of w/ intriguing citations. 1/
November 15, 2025 at 4:53 AM
Withdrew my 1st scientific paper today. I submitted a paper with a weird result a couple months ago. Got a citation alert on monday, citing paper said nice things abt my paper and had a paragraph on a concept I had not heard of w/ intriguing citations. 1/
Caught a bunch of birds to show to my Vertebrate Natural History class this weekend, including this gremlin
November 10, 2025 at 11:08 PM
Caught a bunch of birds to show to my Vertebrate Natural History class this weekend, including this gremlin
Our latest paper is out: Sean Wilcox measured the 3D kinematics of Black-chinned Hummingbirds performing one of their courtship displays. Lots of evidence of flight performance tradeoffs!
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Flight performance during courtship in male black-chinned hummingbirds, Archilochus alexandri
Elaborate male display behaviours that require high locomotor performance have been hypothesized to honestly signal male quality to choosy females. Al…
www.sciencedirect.com
October 30, 2025 at 10:25 PM
Our latest paper is out: Sean Wilcox measured the 3D kinematics of Black-chinned Hummingbirds performing one of their courtship displays. Lots of evidence of flight performance tradeoffs!
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Dear student, please do not put broken supplies stuff onto the shelf alongside working stuff. Sincerely, your PI
October 28, 2025 at 1:08 AM
Dear student, please do not put broken supplies stuff onto the shelf alongside working stuff. Sincerely, your PI
Quite possibly the easiest thing I’ve ever skinned, and now our teaching collection has a new genus of mammal
October 14, 2025 at 11:55 PM
Quite possibly the easiest thing I’ve ever skinned, and now our teaching collection has a new genus of mammal
Reposted by Chris Clark
RIP to the incomparable Jane Goodall, who embodied the best of humanity.
Her rich legacy included becoming friends with Gary Larson after he drew this cartoon. (She was delighted by it, even though many at the time thought it was terribly offensive to her.)
Her rich legacy included becoming friends with Gary Larson after he drew this cartoon. (She was delighted by it, even though many at the time thought it was terribly offensive to her.)
October 1, 2025 at 7:48 PM
RIP to the incomparable Jane Goodall, who embodied the best of humanity.
Her rich legacy included becoming friends with Gary Larson after he drew this cartoon. (She was delighted by it, even though many at the time thought it was terribly offensive to her.)
Her rich legacy included becoming friends with Gary Larson after he drew this cartoon. (She was delighted by it, even though many at the time thought it was terribly offensive to her.)
Reposted by Chris Clark
After years of complaining about cancel culture, the current administration has taken it to a new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn’t like.
Let’s be clear about what happened to Jimmy Kimmel
Trump’s most brazen attack on free speech yet.
www.yahoo.com
September 18, 2025 at 2:10 PM
After years of complaining about cancel culture, the current administration has taken it to a new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn’t like.
Reposted by Chris Clark
Spent hours being spellbound by Convolvulus Hawk Moths last night as they nectared on Nicotiana plants in my highland garden!. Up to 3 feeding at a time, their entire abdomens glowing red hot in the thermal from flight muscle use!! #teammoth @migrantmothuk.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social
September 8, 2025 at 6:53 PM
Spent hours being spellbound by Convolvulus Hawk Moths last night as they nectared on Nicotiana plants in my highland garden!. Up to 3 feeding at a time, their entire abdomens glowing red hot in the thermal from flight muscle use!! #teammoth @migrantmothuk.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social
Postdoc advertisement!
Hi all, I'm looking to hire a Postdoc in BIOACOUSTICS for work on Owls. Your job would be to collect & analyze bioacoustics data, and write papers. 🦉🦉🦅🐦🦜🦉🦉
Hi all, I'm looking to hire a Postdoc in BIOACOUSTICS for work on Owls. Your job would be to collect & analyze bioacoustics data, and write papers. 🦉🦉🦅🐦🦜🦉🦉
September 5, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Postdoc advertisement!
Hi all, I'm looking to hire a Postdoc in BIOACOUSTICS for work on Owls. Your job would be to collect & analyze bioacoustics data, and write papers. 🦉🦉🦅🐦🦜🦉🦉
Hi all, I'm looking to hire a Postdoc in BIOACOUSTICS for work on Owls. Your job would be to collect & analyze bioacoustics data, and write papers. 🦉🦉🦅🐦🦜🦉🦉
Reposted by Chris Clark
🚨 Hiring! We are looking for a postdoctoral researcher with expertise in computational fluid dynamics and structural simulations to investigate biomechanics and mechanosensory feedback in insect flight.
Extreme agility ✔️
Morphological computing ✔️
Meshes! ✔️
jobs.rvc.ac.uk/vacancy.aspx...
Extreme agility ✔️
Morphological computing ✔️
Meshes! ✔️
jobs.rvc.ac.uk/vacancy.aspx...
a close up of a fly 's head with a blurred background .
ALT: a close up of a fly 's head with a blurred background .
media.tenor.com
September 2, 2025 at 4:22 PM
🚨 Hiring! We are looking for a postdoctoral researcher with expertise in computational fluid dynamics and structural simulations to investigate biomechanics and mechanosensory feedback in insect flight.
Extreme agility ✔️
Morphological computing ✔️
Meshes! ✔️
jobs.rvc.ac.uk/vacancy.aspx...
Extreme agility ✔️
Morphological computing ✔️
Meshes! ✔️
jobs.rvc.ac.uk/vacancy.aspx...
Reposted by Chris Clark
Pick an idiom: "more than meets the eye", "beauty more than skin [feather] deep" etc.
In work led by Rosalyn Price-Waldman, we describe a hidden (and ignored!) black or white layer found below the visible surface of bird feathers which helps make bird colours so striking!
🧪 🪶 #colsci
In work led by Rosalyn Price-Waldman, we describe a hidden (and ignored!) black or white layer found below the visible surface of bird feathers which helps make bird colours so striking!
🧪 🪶 #colsci
Songbirds play optical tricks to make their feather colors ‘pop’
Concealed black or white bands on feathers boost the vibrancy of bird plumage
www.science.org
August 13, 2025 at 3:35 PM
Pick an idiom: "more than meets the eye", "beauty more than skin [feather] deep" etc.
In work led by Rosalyn Price-Waldman, we describe a hidden (and ignored!) black or white layer found below the visible surface of bird feathers which helps make bird colours so striking!
🧪 🪶 #colsci
In work led by Rosalyn Price-Waldman, we describe a hidden (and ignored!) black or white layer found below the visible surface of bird feathers which helps make bird colours so striking!
🧪 🪶 #colsci
Reposted by Chris Clark
The NIH says that mRNA shows promise as a vaccine against multiple cancers. Is this part of the $500M research that RFK Jr canceled?
🧪
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39798545/
🧪
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39798545/
Clinical advances of mRNA vaccines for cancer immunotherapy - PubMed
The development of mRNA vaccines represents a significant advancement in cancer treatment, with more than 120 clinical trials to date demonstrating their potential across various malignancies, includi...
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
August 7, 2025 at 1:45 AM
The NIH says that mRNA shows promise as a vaccine against multiple cancers. Is this part of the $500M research that RFK Jr canceled?
🧪
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39798545/
🧪
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39798545/
*Sigh*. Caught a grad student using AI to generate fake citations today. Need to figure out the best strategy to make this a teachable moment. Maybe "gentle teasing"? "Strict warning"? Unclear which will work best in this case.
July 9, 2025 at 11:47 PM
*Sigh*. Caught a grad student using AI to generate fake citations today. Need to figure out the best strategy to make this a teachable moment. Maybe "gentle teasing"? "Strict warning"? Unclear which will work best in this case.
Reposted by Chris Clark
Presentation for CDC advisers appears to cite nonexistent study to support claims about risk of vaccine preservative www.cnn.com/2025/06/24/h...
Presentation for CDC advisers appears to cite nonexistent study to support claims about risk of vaccine preservative | CNN
A presentation slated to be shared at this week’s meeting of vaccine advisers to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention claimed that a study in animals suggested that use of the vaccine pre...
www.cnn.com
June 25, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Presentation for CDC advisers appears to cite nonexistent study to support claims about risk of vaccine preservative www.cnn.com/2025/06/24/h...
Reposted by Chris Clark
Job alert! Sam Noble Museum (OU) seeks a Collection Manager for the Recent Invertebrates collection (insects, mollusks, arachnids & more). You’ll team up with the incoming Curator (👋 me). Apply via jobs.ou.edu, Job # 251244. DM questions. #museumjobs #arthropods #collections
Jobs - OU Human Resources
jobs.ou.edu
June 15, 2025 at 2:33 AM
Job alert! Sam Noble Museum (OU) seeks a Collection Manager for the Recent Invertebrates collection (insects, mollusks, arachnids & more). You’ll team up with the incoming Curator (👋 me). Apply via jobs.ou.edu, Job # 251244. DM questions. #museumjobs #arthropods #collections
Reposted by Chris Clark
June 11, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Awesome as always, @zefrank.bsky.social is back to making True Facts videos! www.youtube.com/watch?v=spuO...
True Facts: Beetles That Took Things Too Far
YouTube video by Ze Frank
www.youtube.com
June 1, 2025 at 1:03 AM
Awesome as always, @zefrank.bsky.social is back to making True Facts videos! www.youtube.com/watch?v=spuO...
Reposted by Chris Clark
The potential deletion of 100 years of bird banding, breeding bird survey, and various other survey data would cripple bird conservation efforts not only in the US, but in the entire hemisphere.
The 2026 federal budget proposes eliminating the USGS Ecosystems Mission Area, threatening bird banding, research, and conservation nationwide, endangering 100+ years of vital ecological data. www.aba.org/proposed-bir...
May 30, 2025 at 5:18 PM
The potential deletion of 100 years of bird banding, breeding bird survey, and various other survey data would cripple bird conservation efforts not only in the US, but in the entire hemisphere.
This article doesn't say it, but clearly this report was written with use of AI such as ChatGPT. There's a reason legit journals have policies against use of AI in writing scientific paper. Hat tip to good reporting from notus.org
www.notus.org/health-scien...
www.notus.org/health-scien...
The MAHA Report Cites Studies That Don’t Exist
The Trump administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” report misinterprets some studies and cites others that don’t exist, according to the listed authors.
www.notus.org
May 29, 2025 at 3:44 PM
This article doesn't say it, but clearly this report was written with use of AI such as ChatGPT. There's a reason legit journals have policies against use of AI in writing scientific paper. Hat tip to good reporting from notus.org
www.notus.org/health-scien...
www.notus.org/health-scien...
Reposted by Chris Clark
Further, it allows a political appointee (usually not a scientist) to take disciplinary action against those seen as sharing misinformation— based on their political determination.
Basically, this is threat to scientists to draw conclusions consistent with the Administration’s position.
Basically, this is threat to scientists to draw conclusions consistent with the Administration’s position.
May 28, 2025 at 12:23 AM
Further, it allows a political appointee (usually not a scientist) to take disciplinary action against those seen as sharing misinformation— based on their political determination.
Basically, this is threat to scientists to draw conclusions consistent with the Administration’s position.
Basically, this is threat to scientists to draw conclusions consistent with the Administration’s position.
Reposted by Chris Clark
Science and research should be objective.
This Exec Order is a rant on science the Administration does not like. Following that it seems to promote good research practices (Sec.3, part a)- but alas…
The EO gives a political appointee the power to decide when findings need to be “corrected.”
This Exec Order is a rant on science the Administration does not like. Following that it seems to promote good research practices (Sec.3, part a)- but alas…
The EO gives a political appointee the power to decide when findings need to be “corrected.”
Restoring Gold Standard Science
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 7301 of title 5, United
www.whitehouse.gov
May 28, 2025 at 12:23 AM
Science and research should be objective.
This Exec Order is a rant on science the Administration does not like. Following that it seems to promote good research practices (Sec.3, part a)- but alas…
The EO gives a political appointee the power to decide when findings need to be “corrected.”
This Exec Order is a rant on science the Administration does not like. Following that it seems to promote good research practices (Sec.3, part a)- but alas…
The EO gives a political appointee the power to decide when findings need to be “corrected.”
Reposted by Chris Clark
Well payed, Harvard, well played.
Harvard offers FREE American Government course.
Harvard offers FREE American Government course.
May 25, 2025 at 9:41 AM
Well payed, Harvard, well played.
Harvard offers FREE American Government course.
Harvard offers FREE American Government course.
The Pope has "Florida Man" for an older brother!! www.nytimes.com/2025/05/13/u...
The Pope’s Florida Brother, a MAGA Disciple, Plans to ‘Tone It Down’
www.nytimes.com
May 14, 2025 at 6:07 PM
The Pope has "Florida Man" for an older brother!! www.nytimes.com/2025/05/13/u...