Daniel Dvorkin @medigoth@qoto.org
Bioinformaticist / biostatistician, veteran USAF medic and Army infantryman, armchair paleontologist, occasional science fiction author, long-ago kickboxer, oldbat goth, vaccinated liberal patriot.
Joined Oct 2022
#Tyrannosaurus #rex by Gerhard Boeggemann. I like how the emphasis isn't on the size of the tyrannosaurs: they and their prey are huge, but they're still a small part of a much larger #ecosystem. Also, this could practically be a scene right out of the WISP (Work In Some Progress) so that's a bonus. 🦖✍️
One more time: it's very hard to detect #sarcasm #online. You may think it's obvious that you're #joking or playing a role. It's not. When other people don't know what you meant, take it as a sign to do better and move on.
And if you weren't joking, don't pretend you were. They *will* pick up on that.
My day job is all about #genes, so I applaud the #genomic revolution in #paleontology and #evolutionary #biology. But #evolution really is more than a shift in #allele frequencies over time. It's also change in the #phenotypes those alleles produce, and their #interaction with the world around them. 🧪🖥🧬🦖
So I'm equally excited about the #quantitative revolution in describing and cataloguing #traits which until recently could only be analyzed #qualitatively. There's a whole new window opening into the history of life.
I will never not be proud of this.
NB: some sources prefer to write the impact as Marsh-Cope, a.k.a. the "MC Hammer". 🦖
https://www.quora.com/Do-paleontologists-still-exist/answer/Daniel-Dvorkin-3
I still get much more interaction on #Facebook than on #Bluesky and #Mastodon combined. Hell, I get more on #Quora, despite that site's demise supposedly being imminent for years. I love the idea of everybody moving to #decentralized social media, but—
Maybe the Russkies would sell #LiveJournal cheap?
@Kierkegaanks @MeanwhileinCanada ... so far. There are European-built engines that could substitute pretty much one-for-one, as I understand it. And I guarantee *Sweden* is going to be finding a non-US supplier ASAP, so any other Gripen customers could presumably get the same.
I wonder if #Schumer was credibly threatened with window cancer.
And honestly, I kind of hope so, because otherwise he has less than no excuse.
"But remaking the JAG Corps is a priority for #Hegseth, who on Friday commissioned his personal lawyer and former naval officer Tim #Parlatore as a #Navy #Commander to oversee the effort carrying the weight and authority of the #Defense #Secretary’s office."
I see we've reached the "give the hatchetmen shiny uniforms" phase of operations.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/13/pete-hegseth-pentagon-lawyers-rules-of-war
This is really neat. I'm kind of surprised, though, that none of the students ever looked at the rock and said "those sure look like #dinosaur #tracks to me!" Or maybe they did and were roundly mocked for it: I don't claim to know anything about #Australian #highschool culture, but that's likely what would happen at a lot of #American schools. Either way, I'm glad it's finally been identified for what it is.
"Something much worse than asteroids" is hype: the late-#Devonian and end-#Ordovician were less severe that the end-#Cretaceous, which was definitely† caused by an #asteroid. But this is good work that may help nail down the cause of the earlier #extinctions ... which were still pretty bad!
†Yes.
It's the #bacteria's world, you know. Always has been. We're just the scum floating on the surface.
Maaaybe we should stop poisoning the lake.
#Antarctic #microbes reveal #climate impact on #marine #ecosystems #genomics #eDNA #global_warming #community_structure #phytoplankton #funded_by_...
#VitaminA does not prevent #measles. In patients who are deficient—most aren't—*supervised* supplementation may help lessen the severity, and that's all. It's easy to overdose. The best protection is #vaccination.
Our brains keep us alive. Use yours.
https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/vitamin-a-and-measles-what-the-data
"My #arguments are #logical, yours are #emotional" is a sure sign that you're dealing with someone who operates on pure #toddler-level #rage.
We knew this was coming, and we know what they'll "find." But it's still sad to see the day actually arrive.
#antivax #massmurder
https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-cdc-plans-study-into-vaccines-autism-sources-say-2025-03-07/
A request: if you want me to know something, please don't send me a #video or #podcast link. For me, watching and listening are for #entertainment, while #reading is for #learning (and entertainment too, of course). I don't really like this, but it's the way my brain works and unlikely to change.
Some #Tories are starting to approach the beginning of a shred of self-awareness. Let's see if it lasts. I know which way I'm betting.
@attilakinali It's like the boss fight of murderous vegetables.
Bioinformaticist / biostatistician, veteran USAF medic and Army infantryman, armchair paleontologist, occasional science fiction author, long-ago kickboxer, oldbat goth, vaccinated liberal patriot.
Joined Oct 2022
