Matthew Cobb
@matthewcobb
Professor Emeritus (Manchester), writes on history of science & French Resistance. My biography of Francis Crick is out in November 2025.
Crikey. I had no idea crinoids swam like this. Like something out of Doctor Strange, or a very severe migraine.
Un bellísimo ejemplar de Crinoidea, también llamados lirios de mar o estrellas con plumas, grabado en Bali
I am not here anymore. Skies are bluer elsewhere, but I wish @IMcMillan @JenOrpinPainter and @WoodheadRoute would also post over there!
Everywhere truth becomes a casualty through hostility or servility when despotic power is in the hands of one or few. (TP)
Dragonfly larva leaping out of the water to catch something offered to it.
I was very surprised to see this clearly AI-generated poster on the Tube, given Penguin Random House & Jodi Picoult’s strong positions against AI training. As a result of my spot, PRH - who say they didn’t know it was AI - have apologised to “dismayed” Picoult. In @thetimes 2day
Lot of talk about Asilomar 1975 right now, what with the 50th anniversary and the Spirit of Asilomar meeting next week. Want to know more? Here's a BBC podcast I made about the origins of genetic engineering, with all the key participants: bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0…
If there is anyone out there who still sees my tweets, I am rarely if ever here. I am on bsky, same name, where it is pretty much like Twitter 2007-2014, which suits me fine.
For centuries, young women (“ama” = “sea women”) dived to depths of 30 metres searching for abalone and pearls in the seas off Japan. In this 1835 woodblock print, Katsushika Hokusai shows them in action, accompanied by men rowing a boat & exhausted divers resting on rock
An extraordinary woman, during the war as a resistance fighter and afterwards, as a journalist. lemonde.fr/disparitions/a…
🇺🇸 Elections américaines : opération “In Duck we trust” ✏️ Aurel (@coolstand) RDV sur lecanardenchaine.fr avec les dessinateurs du "Canard" #induckwetrust
Les télescopes spatiaux @NASAWebb et @chandraxray ont découvert un trou noir supermassif de faible masse au centre d'une galaxie, seulement 1,5 milliard d'années après le Big Bang. Il attire la matière à un rythme phénoménal, plus de 40X la limite théorique possible ! 1/2
A new episode of The British Food History Podcast has landed & I think it'll set off many memories because the topic is crisps with Natalie Whittle, who's book Crunch: An Ode to Crisps is out now, published by @FaberBooks Available on all podcast apps: open.spotify.com/episode/29Ktvi…
up until about 10 years ago I thought SF with racism against robots was stupid now I have to stop myself shouting "stfu clanker" every time a bot summarises a tweet or posts a crypto scam
Incredible day yesterday in Donegal Bay! 2/3 Humpbacks, fin whales and huge numbers of minke and common Dolphins! Massive number of birds, in particular great sheatwaters! All feeding on sprat! All visible from land as well! @IWDGnews @FairSeasIreland
🚀 Un des passagers d'un vol ANA, @shigex_, a pu filmer le décollage de #H3F4 ce jour 🤩
#TombTuesday - it's the little things. Modern day offerings placed on an Neolithic ledge inside Bryn Celli Ddu passage tomb, Ynys Mon/Anglesey These old sacred places are very much still in active use today - which is always good to see 👌😊 📷 My own, April 2024
My story out today: Penguin has apologised to “dismayed” Jodi Picoult for using AI to promote By Any Other Name. PRH says it didn’t know the imagery was AI-generated as it had used an external creative agency 🧐
I was very surprised to see this clearly AI-generated poster on the Tube, given Penguin Random House & Jodi Picoult’s strong positions against AI training. As a result of my spot, PRH - who say they didn’t know it was AI - have apologised to “dismayed” Picoult. In @thetimes 2day
Our #MarineMonday Observation of the Day is this #diatom - potentially Arachnoidiscus ehrenbergii - seen by lamawebber in #Canada! More details at: inaturalist.org/observations/2… #nature #microscopy #marinebio
A STUNING wall of metazoa! Farrea sponges and octopus, brisingids, and MOAR! 1781 m #okeanos Aleutian subduction zone