Tom Saunders
@tomsaunders.me
💡 Digital research skills training • Open research • Research policy
💼 Centre for eResearch, University of Auckland.
💻 tomsaunders.me
💼 Centre for eResearch, University of Auckland.
💻 tomsaunders.me
"We’ve got $55 million, roughly, per year to spend on basic science. And if you open up the news, what you hear about is Chris Luxon spending 320 times that on a single road."
Winner of top science prize blames ‘batshit’ Budget for brain drain
Dr Samuel Mehr says the Government values science, but their ‘idiotic’ approach to funding it will cost them their brightest.
newsroom.co.nz
October 29, 2025 at 10:00 PM
"We’ve got $55 million, roughly, per year to spend on basic science. And if you open up the news, what you hear about is Chris Luxon spending 320 times that on a single road."
"The trouble with the government’s idea for a simple, more efficient science fund is that it’s trying to be a Ferrari on tin can funding."
Big shakeup for NZ’s research funding – Expert Reaction
Big shakeup for NZ's research funding - Expert Reaction - Science Media Centre
The Government will consolidate decision-making for New Zealand's science research funding as part of its new science system strategy. Research Funding New Zealand will be a new independent board that...
www.sciencemediacentre.co.nz
October 14, 2025 at 10:48 PM
"The trouble with the government’s idea for a simple, more efficient science fund is that it’s trying to be a Ferrari on tin can funding."
Reposted by Tom Saunders
I'm exited to announce a new resource about making slides with quarto and revealjs. This book is the combination of all the work I have done in this area, reordered and polished up
There isn't a lot of new information yet, but this format allows me to add more easily
slidecrafting-book.com
#quarto
There isn't a lot of new information yet, but this format allows me to add more easily
slidecrafting-book.com
#quarto
September 24, 2025 at 4:12 PM
I'm exited to announce a new resource about making slides with quarto and revealjs. This book is the combination of all the work I have done in this area, reordered and polished up
There isn't a lot of new information yet, but this format allows me to add more easily
slidecrafting-book.com
#quarto
There isn't a lot of new information yet, but this format allows me to add more easily
slidecrafting-book.com
#quarto
The Art of Data Visualization with ggplot2: A free online book by @nrennie.bsky.social that guides us through the entire process of creating plots, including why certain decisions were made, using real datasets that have been part of #TidyTuesday. Very excited to get stuck into this one. #rstats
The Art of Data Visualization with ggplot2
The TidyTuesday Cookbook
nrennie.rbind.io
September 11, 2025 at 8:41 PM
The Art of Data Visualization with ggplot2: A free online book by @nrennie.bsky.social that guides us through the entire process of creating plots, including why certain decisions were made, using real datasets that have been part of #TidyTuesday. Very excited to get stuck into this one. #rstats
"A lot of people have this throw away attitude that the dogs can just be disposed of and they can get another one for free on Facebook."
Irresponsible dog ownership has exploded post-covid, Animal Management doing what they can while taking abuse for looking after other people's dogs.
Irresponsible dog ownership has exploded post-covid, Animal Management doing what they can while taking abuse for looking after other people's dogs.
On the road with animal control
Auckland's animal control staff are busier than ever, impounding more than 10,000 dogs over the past year.
www.rnz.co.nz
September 2, 2025 at 9:02 PM
"A lot of people have this throw away attitude that the dogs can just be disposed of and they can get another one for free on Facebook."
Irresponsible dog ownership has exploded post-covid, Animal Management doing what they can while taking abuse for looking after other people's dogs.
Irresponsible dog ownership has exploded post-covid, Animal Management doing what they can while taking abuse for looking after other people's dogs.
Reposted by Tom Saunders
If you're a researcher in NZ please do our very short survey on the Vision Mātauranga policy! We are keen to hear your opinions. DM for the survey link
July 24, 2025 at 12:28 AM
If you're a researcher in NZ please do our very short survey on the Vision Mātauranga policy! We are keen to hear your opinions. DM for the survey link
Reposted by Tom Saunders
This is absolute shameful bullshit from all parties concerned. Peter Jackson is being scammed, Colossal are total frauds (5–8 years? Give me a break), and I have no idea what Ngāi Tahu think they’re doing. There are clear and simple reasons why this is impossible. www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/south-isl...
South Island Jurassic Park? Peter Jackson backs project to bring back moa
Groundbreaking de-extinction project already under way, with a short timeframe revealed.
www.nzherald.co.nz
July 8, 2025 at 7:05 PM
This is absolute shameful bullshit from all parties concerned. Peter Jackson is being scammed, Colossal are total frauds (5–8 years? Give me a break), and I have no idea what Ngāi Tahu think they’re doing. There are clear and simple reasons why this is impossible. www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/south-isl...
Reposted by Tom Saunders
THE SMC IS HIRING!
We're looking for someone to join our dedicated team working to improve the reach, relevance and accuracy of news media reporting on science and related topics in Aotearoa New Zealand.
More info and apply here: www.sciencemediacentre.co.nz/2025/06/26/w...
We're looking for someone to join our dedicated team working to improve the reach, relevance and accuracy of news media reporting on science and related topics in Aotearoa New Zealand.
More info and apply here: www.sciencemediacentre.co.nz/2025/06/26/w...
Work with us! Kaimanaaki Pāpāho | Media Advisor – Science Media Centre
The Science Media Centre is looking for a media advisor to join our dedicated team working to improve the reach, relevance and accuracy of news media reporting on science and related topics in…
www.sciencemediacentre.co.nz
July 7, 2025 at 12:43 AM
THE SMC IS HIRING!
We're looking for someone to join our dedicated team working to improve the reach, relevance and accuracy of news media reporting on science and related topics in Aotearoa New Zealand.
More info and apply here: www.sciencemediacentre.co.nz/2025/06/26/w...
We're looking for someone to join our dedicated team working to improve the reach, relevance and accuracy of news media reporting on science and related topics in Aotearoa New Zealand.
More info and apply here: www.sciencemediacentre.co.nz/2025/06/26/w...
Reposted by Tom Saunders
🗺️ Ever wander to a new place and think, "Hmm I wonder what birds/plants/[insert favourite taxonomic group] I can find here?" 🔍
We built {infinitylists} 📋 to help nature lovers create personalised, location-based taxon lists! 🌏
We built {infinitylists} 📋 to help nature lovers create personalised, location-based taxon lists! 🌏
June 11, 2025 at 11:55 PM
🗺️ Ever wander to a new place and think, "Hmm I wonder what birds/plants/[insert favourite taxonomic group] I can find here?" 🔍
We built {infinitylists} 📋 to help nature lovers create personalised, location-based taxon lists! 🌏
We built {infinitylists} 📋 to help nature lovers create personalised, location-based taxon lists! 🌏
Some great examples here of how researchers can partner with Māori to co-develop research projects in ways that give effect to CARE principles alongside FAIR.
With the rise in technologies able to produce massive datasets (genomics, eDNA), good protocols for #Indigenous #data #sovereignty are essential - my latest for Plant & Food Research, with Maui Hudson, Amanda Black, Rangitāne o Manawatū, Linley Jesson et al
www.plantandfood.com/en-nz/articl...
www.plantandfood.com/en-nz/articl...
Protecting indigenous knowledge · Plant & Food Research
There are many exciting initiatives underway to uphold data sovereignty.
www.plantandfood.com
June 3, 2025 at 8:58 PM
Some great examples here of how researchers can partner with Māori to co-develop research projects in ways that give effect to CARE principles alongside FAIR.
My final PhD chapter is now published #openaccess in the Journal of Chemical Ecology: doi.org/10.1007/s108...
Main idea: Chemical-ecological methods can complement oviposition work in host-specificity testing of classical #biocontrol agents by teasing details related to ecological host range. 1/
Main idea: Chemical-ecological methods can complement oviposition work in host-specificity testing of classical #biocontrol agents by teasing details related to ecological host range. 1/
May 28, 2025 at 9:17 PM
My final PhD chapter is now published #openaccess in the Journal of Chemical Ecology: doi.org/10.1007/s108...
Main idea: Chemical-ecological methods can complement oviposition work in host-specificity testing of classical #biocontrol agents by teasing details related to ecological host range. 1/
Main idea: Chemical-ecological methods can complement oviposition work in host-specificity testing of classical #biocontrol agents by teasing details related to ecological host range. 1/
Reposted by Tom Saunders
Two academic (lecturer) positions available at the University of Otago in Aotearoa/New Zealand! One in Conservation Biology, another in Evolutionary Ecology. Links for positions below:
otago.taleo.net/careersectio...
otago.taleo.net/careersectio...
otago.taleo.net/careersectio...
otago.taleo.net/careersectio...
May 26, 2025 at 5:23 AM
Two academic (lecturer) positions available at the University of Otago in Aotearoa/New Zealand! One in Conservation Biology, another in Evolutionary Ecology. Links for positions below:
otago.taleo.net/careersectio...
otago.taleo.net/careersectio...
otago.taleo.net/careersectio...
otago.taleo.net/careersectio...
Bad actors are creating packages with names that mimic hallucinated packages in code generated by coding assistants. When the code runs it installs the malware-riddled packages. Another reason why learners should not use coding assistants to generate code (there are other good uses for learners).
LLMs can't stop making up software dependencies and sabotaging everything
: Hallucinated package names fuel 'slopsquatting'
www.theregister.com
April 14, 2025 at 12:23 AM
Bad actors are creating packages with names that mimic hallucinated packages in code generated by coding assistants. When the code runs it installs the malware-riddled packages. Another reason why learners should not use coding assistants to generate code (there are other good uses for learners).
The rise of AI bots scraping websites, mostly for openly licenced images to feed generative AI models, is increasing infrastructure costs for sites like Wikipedia - this will become an issue for OA publishers too. Rate-limiting and enforced authentication might need to be imposed.
Wikipedia Faces Flood of AI Bots That Are Eating Bandwidth, Raising Costs
'Our content is free, our infrastructure is not,' the nonprofit that runs Wikipedia says, warning that AI scrapers are wasting the site's bandwidth.
www.pcmag.com
April 9, 2025 at 9:35 PM
The rise of AI bots scraping websites, mostly for openly licenced images to feed generative AI models, is increasing infrastructure costs for sites like Wikipedia - this will become an issue for OA publishers too. Rate-limiting and enforced authentication might need to be imposed.
"If they look like this animal then they are this animal" is definitely not how the morphological species concept works.
Genetically altering grey wolves to make them look a bit like dire wolves does not suddenly make them dire wolves.
Genetically altering grey wolves to make them look a bit like dire wolves does not suddenly make them dire wolves.
I’m rapidly losing all respect for Beth Shapiro. She’s deliberately misrepresenting the morphological species concept here to claim her modified wolves really are dire wolves. It’s ludicrous. www.newscientist.com/article/2475...
![So these pups aren't really dire wolves at all, then?
It all comes down to how you define species, says Shapiro. "Species concepts are human classification systems, and everybody can disagree and everyone can be right," she says. "You can use the phylogenetic [evolutionary relationships] species concept to determine what you're going to call a species, which is what you are implying... We are using the morphological species concept and saying, if they look like this animal, then they are the animal."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2qf6q2ufes5h56cdvlth45mv/bafkreiejwn5gkug27mkzqbxdbcfv4oqiyps2ope2zoyibs5aqacbtbvxe4@jpeg)
April 9, 2025 at 3:21 AM
"If they look like this animal then they are this animal" is definitely not how the morphological species concept works.
Genetically altering grey wolves to make them look a bit like dire wolves does not suddenly make them dire wolves.
Genetically altering grey wolves to make them look a bit like dire wolves does not suddenly make them dire wolves.
Love this explainer from @data.ft.com about how generative AI works. It's useful to understand that LLMs are essentially 'autocomplete on steroids', using statistical methods to predict the next word based on the prompt and training data. This is why they make things up and can't spell strawberry.
Generative AI exists because of the transformer
The technology has resulted in a host of cutting-edge AI applications — but its real power lies beyond text generation
ig.ft.com
April 7, 2025 at 3:16 AM
Love this explainer from @data.ft.com about how generative AI works. It's useful to understand that LLMs are essentially 'autocomplete on steroids', using statistical methods to predict the next word based on the prompt and training data. This is why they make things up and can't spell strawberry.
AUT Library Research Services Team is seeking a permanant, full-time Scholarly Communications Librarian to contribute to the growth of Tuwhera and AUT's scholarly communications services while supporting the uptake and impact of open research. Auckland City. $59,000 - $78,000. Closes 14 April.
Scholarly Communications Librarian -
AUT
Find current job vacancies at AUT. Browse academic, professional and temp roles or search for a job vacancy by position type.
careers.aut.ac.nz
March 30, 2025 at 11:28 PM
AUT Library Research Services Team is seeking a permanant, full-time Scholarly Communications Librarian to contribute to the growth of Tuwhera and AUT's scholarly communications services while supporting the uptake and impact of open research. Auckland City. $59,000 - $78,000. Closes 14 April.
Quartabs: new #rstats package to dynamically generate tabset panels in #Quarto html documents, by @sayuks.bsky.social.
Have been scratching my head over this recently, so this is potentially very handy.
github.com/sayuks/quart...
Have been scratching my head over this recently, so this is potentially very handy.
github.com/sayuks/quart...
GitHub - sayuks/quartabs: Dynamically generate tabset panels in Quarto HTML documents
Dynamically generate tabset panels in Quarto HTML documents - sayuks/quartabs
github.com
March 20, 2025 at 3:48 AM
Quartabs: new #rstats package to dynamically generate tabset panels in #Quarto html documents, by @sayuks.bsky.social.
Have been scratching my head over this recently, so this is potentially very handy.
github.com/sayuks/quart...
Have been scratching my head over this recently, so this is potentially very handy.
github.com/sayuks/quart...
"There's lots of ways you could fix the ecology of the Siberian tundra without spending millions of dollars making sad, cold, shivering asian elephants. So this looks more to me like a fundraising and hype driven enterprise than anything else."
It was a pleasure to join @nicrawlencenz.bsky.social in a huge rant about the charlatans at Colossal Biosciences and their hyped-up woolly mice. www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
As scientists work to resurrect extinct animals, a paleogeneticist warns species like moa need to be trademarked
A bio-engineering company says it's interested in extinct New Zealand species.
www.rnz.co.nz
March 17, 2025 at 8:21 PM
"There's lots of ways you could fix the ecology of the Siberian tundra without spending millions of dollars making sad, cold, shivering asian elephants. So this looks more to me like a fundraising and hype driven enterprise than anything else."
Reposted by Tom Saunders
We’re creating a guide, “Wikifying a Conference”, so any keen volunteer can help out. We hope conference organisers will think about hosting an official Wikipedian if they’re serious about increasing the visibility of their subject and their attendees. I blogged: www.rove.wiki/blog/wikifyi...
Wikifying a conference — Rove
Any conference or festival can host a Wikimedian in Residence, who can photograph attendees and improve Wikidata and Wikipedia on them and their specialty.
www.rove.wiki
March 10, 2025 at 11:30 PM
We’re creating a guide, “Wikifying a Conference”, so any keen volunteer can help out. We hope conference organisers will think about hosting an official Wikipedian if they’re serious about increasing the visibility of their subject and their attendees. I blogged: www.rove.wiki/blog/wikifyi...
Using @gbif.org data in your masters or PhD? Apply for the 2025 GBIF Graduate Researchers Award. Looks like NZ doesn't have a closing date up yet but we are a GBIF member so our graduate students will be eligible.
@manaakiwhenua.bsky.social
@manaakiwhenua.bsky.social
Call for nominations opens for 2025 GBIF Graduate Researchers Award
Deadline for GBIF member countries to nominate graduate students whose innovative research relies on biodiversity data: **27 June 2025**
www.gbif.org
February 27, 2025 at 8:08 PM
Using @gbif.org data in your masters or PhD? Apply for the 2025 GBIF Graduate Researchers Award. Looks like NZ doesn't have a closing date up yet but we are a GBIF member so our graduate students will be eligible.
@manaakiwhenua.bsky.social
@manaakiwhenua.bsky.social
HRC 2025 Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Healthcare RFP now open.
"Proposals must clearly identify the health or healthcare area where AI can be leveraged safely and ethically to improve health outcomes in the New Zealand health system."
"Proposals must clearly identify the health or healthcare area where AI can be leveraged safely and ethically to improve health outcomes in the New Zealand health system."
HRC Gateway - Funding - Priorities funding - 2025 Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Healthcare
gateway.hrc.govt.nz
February 26, 2025 at 10:20 PM
HRC 2025 Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Healthcare RFP now open.
"Proposals must clearly identify the health or healthcare area where AI can be leveraged safely and ethically to improve health outcomes in the New Zealand health system."
"Proposals must clearly identify the health or healthcare area where AI can be leveraged safely and ethically to improve health outcomes in the New Zealand health system."
"Filling the basket with knowledge: The evolution of open access in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand"
by Janet Catterall, @ginnybarbour.bsky.social, and @kimtairi.bsky.social.
doi.org/10.31274/jls...
by Janet Catterall, @ginnybarbour.bsky.social, and @kimtairi.bsky.social.
doi.org/10.31274/jls...
Filling the basket with knowledge: The evolution of open access in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand
Extensive literature exists concerning the advancement of the open access movement in Europe, the United Kingdom, and the United States, yet there remains a notable gap in understanding the evolution ...
doi.org
February 21, 2025 at 1:58 AM
"Filling the basket with knowledge: The evolution of open access in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand"
by Janet Catterall, @ginnybarbour.bsky.social, and @kimtairi.bsky.social.
doi.org/10.31274/jls...
by Janet Catterall, @ginnybarbour.bsky.social, and @kimtairi.bsky.social.
doi.org/10.31274/jls...
Kicking off planning for ResBaz Aotearoa 2025 and one of our regular speakers just told me that contributing to ResBaz is one of the highlights of their year :)
February 16, 2025 at 11:56 PM
Kicking off planning for ResBaz Aotearoa 2025 and one of our regular speakers just told me that contributing to ResBaz is one of the highlights of their year :)
Journal of the Royal Society of NZ is calling for papers - Special Issue on Māori Data Sovereignty: Research, Practice, and Policy.
"...to document progress in Māori data sovereignty, positive contributions to both science and Te Ao Māori, and the coming challenges of the next decade."
"...to document progress in Māori data sovereignty, positive contributions to both science and Te Ao Māori, and the coming challenges of the next decade."
JRSNZ Call for Papers: Special Issue on Māori Data Sovereignty: Research, Practice, and Policy
E te tī! E te tā! He karanga tēnei ki a koutou e ngā pūkenga o te mana raraunga.
The Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand (JRSNZ) is calling for Expressions of Interest (EOI) for a Special Iss...
www.royalsociety.org.nz
February 11, 2025 at 1:41 AM
Journal of the Royal Society of NZ is calling for papers - Special Issue on Māori Data Sovereignty: Research, Practice, and Policy.
"...to document progress in Māori data sovereignty, positive contributions to both science and Te Ao Māori, and the coming challenges of the next decade."
"...to document progress in Māori data sovereignty, positive contributions to both science and Te Ao Māori, and the coming challenges of the next decade."