Anne Beswick

Retired Manchester tour guide with many interests from history to wildlife, poetry to science and engineering. Also a garden designer and beginner birdwatcher

[Steve Stewart-Williams @SteveStuWill]

"None of this means that people literally strive to replicate their genes. If that’s how the mind worked, men would line up outside sperm banks and women would pay to have their eggs harvested and given away to infertile couples."

-Steven Pinker

https://t.co/JbBlmPfJu1

[Steve Stewart-Williams @SteveStuWill]

14 million twin pairs confirm: All traits are partially heritable; the home you grow up in has surprisingly little effect on how you turn out. https://t.co/cW7YzrRsX9

[Lewis Bollard @Lewis_Bollard]

Vegan activists and meat influencers alike often focus on whether it’s ethical to eat any meat ever.

They get caught up in endless philosophical debates about whether meat can ever be “humane,” whether eating it is natural and necessary, and so on.

This is a giant distraction. Almost everyone agrees that factory-farmed meat is not humane, natural, or necessary. And almost all meat is from factory farms.

They should be our focus.

[Dave Goulson @DaveGoulson]

Idiotic misinformation from the @BBC

[Dr. Matthew M. Wielicki @MatthewWielicki]

The fires in France and Spain are tragic, and I hope they're brought under control quickly with minimal loss of life, homes, and livelihoods.

But climate change is a global hypothesis, so it should be evaluated using global data. According to the Global Wildfire Information System, 2026 is tracking as one of the slowest global wildfire years on record. Focusing on a handful of European fires while ignoring the worldwide picture is the very definition of cherry-picking.

Individual disasters make headlines. Global trends test hypotheses. And right now, the global data simply do not support claims that climate change is increasing wildfires... In fact, it's the exact opposite.

[Stefan Schubert @StefanFSchubert]

The UK used to be much more unequal than Sweden, but the Gini coefficients have almost converged.

Perceptions are lagging.

[Lewis Bollard @Lewis_Bollard]

Brazil has banned the production and sale of foie gras — the second country in the world to do so.

Its Congress voted unanimously to recognize force feeding as illegal animal cruelty.

It would be illegal in France too — the world's largest producer — if France didn't exempt force feeding from its cruelty laws as a protected "cultural" practice.

French diplomats allegedly lobbied Brazil's president to veto the ban. He stood his ground.

This is thanks to years of hard work by Brazilian animal advocates. Now let's ban foie gras everywhere.

[Clayton Hall Living History Museum @ClaytonHallUK]

Clayton Hall’s Free Open Days are back!

Explore Manchester’s only moated hall, hands-on stuff in every room, and visit our tearoom for affordable homemade food.

🕚 11am–3pm
🎟️ Free entry
📅 Selected Saturdays until November

See below for all dates. 👇

[Clayton Hall Living History Museum @ClaytonHallUK]

Happy 446th birthday to Humphrey Chetham, one of Manchester’s great philanthropists and a former owner of Clayton Hall.

His legacy lives on through Chetham’s Library and Chetham’s School of Music.

A remarkable Mancunian whose impact is still felt centuries later.

[Clayton Hall Living History Museum @ClaytonHallUK]

Clayton Hall re-opens on Saturday 18th July.

Join us for our grand re-opening as we welcome visitors back to one of Manchester’s most remarkable historic treasures.

Doors open at 11am with last entry at 3pm.

Plan your visit: https://t.co/HplLrwhWHM

[Anne Beswick @annebesw]

I've just found out that UK is still allowing male day-old chicks to be routinely culled. Many EU countries are now banning this cruel practice. Why are we so far behind? Shame on us. https://t.co/t2y3k284Ri

[Tom Forth @thomasforth]

How Andy Burnham adapted his politics to skyscraper city > so good. The connection and understanding of the vibe of the region and the city. FT so lucky so have got @JenWilliams_FT in time for this. https://t.co/SKOPZzOJ9F via @FT

[New Scientist @newscientist]

Analysis of ancient DNA has uncovered the origins of a mysterious group who appeared in Britain around 2400 BC and, in a century or less, all but replaced the people who built Stonehenge.⁠ Read more: https://t.co/b9f5opCpGl

[Wonder of Science @wonderofscience]

Mesmerizing slow-motion footage of what happens when a droplet falls into a pool of water, a phenomenon known as a coalescence cascade.

📽: Steven Trainoff

[Our World in Data @OurWorldInData]

Pandemics have killed millions of people throughout history.

How many deaths were caused by different pandemics, and how have researchers estimated their death tolls?

[Niko McCarty. @NikoMcCarty]

I've started writing my book: "Biology is a Burrito & Other Essays." It is an interactive and highly visual look into the beauty, speed, and complexity of a living cell.

I'm planning to print hardcover books while serializing the essays online. The first essay is now available at https://t.co/zzXL0NlFtv.

This was inspired by Stewart Brand's latest book, "Maintenance of Everything," which he developed in serialized form with @WorksInProgMag. One cool thing about that book was that he improved each chapter with reader comments before printing the physical copies!

I'll be doing the same with this book. If you send me feedback that improves the text, I'll credit you online and in the final print version. You can also sign up to get email updates when a new essay launches. Hope you enjoy!

[Lewis Goodall @lewis_goodall]

I have no idea how many times we have to dance this dance. It really isn’t high risk, high opportunity at all. Trump will probably be on his best behaviour. Everyone will gush. Praise as a triumph. Then a few days later Trump will forget about it. And go back to normal.

[Steve Stewart-Williams @SteveStuWill]

Psychologists have posited hundreds of cognitive biases over the years. A fascinating new paper argues that they all boil down to one of a handful of fundamental beliefs coupled with confirmation bias.

https://t.co/uZTVbGnH3d

[Judith Curry @curryja]

Really good article by Roger Pielke Jr, describing the impact and strategy of Al Gore's Inconvenient Truth, and the harm it did to climate science and policy
https://t.co/QOiVtOsMGd