I have noted this problem. It has become exacerbated by GenAI because the attitude of the students is “why should I develop these skills when I can just ask ChatGPT.”

The Economist@economist.com · 2d ago

It is growing common to hear academics shrug that perhaps students no longer need strong basic skills. That is not pragmatism—it is surrender

My post-tenure-bump salary was lower than it would have been had my starting salary merely kept pace with inflation. It's bad out there!

Drug Monkey@drugmonkey.bsky.social · last wk.

I really hope someone checks my math and memory of public university starting salaries. The idea that inflation adjusted numbers reflect starting assistant professors making 20% less now than they did 25 years ago is….. whew.

Our union president compiled a chart of salaries for different career stages (first year TT, promotion to Associate, promotion to Full, end of career) at my university (Western Oregon University). Adjusted for inflation, faculty are making between 5,000 to 25,000 less now than we were in 2009

Drug Monkey@drugmonkey.bsky.social · last wk.

I really hope someone checks my math and memory of public university starting salaries. The idea that inflation adjusted numbers reflect starting assistant professors making 20% less now than they did 25 years ago is….. whew.

I really hope someone checks my math and memory of public university starting salaries. The idea that inflation adjusted numbers reflect starting assistant professors making 20% less now than they did 25 years ago is….. whew.

Drug Monkey@drugmonkey.bsky.social · last wk.

The academic culture of compensation drugmonkey.wordpress.com/2026/07/28/t...

We already do this and companies who want them are happy to pay for PhD student interns. Why do precious and limited NSF funds need to be deployed for this? Most PhD student pursue industry jobs anyways - that has always been true. Use NSF funds to support basic science that industry wont support!

Jonathan Wosen@jonathanwosen.bsky.social · 7d ago

With academic jobs few and far between, the NSF is testing a new approach to graduate education: Giving Ph.D. students industry experience — and dollars — as part of their training. For more, see my latest for @statnews.com. www.statnews.com/2026/07/29/h...

grateful to have received the lab's first NSF grant to study cyclical processes of speciation with new theory and tools (applied to Melanesian birds). ad to come, but I'll be looking for a postdoc with computational biology chops—please reach out! (and repost) www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/...

University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire Biology is searching for a tenure track assistant professor in Aquatic Ecology to start August 2027! Application deadline September 28 2026. I am searching chair, please reach out with any questions!! wisconsin.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/UW_Comprehen...

A old-timer's concern about science as a chronic social medium, leading to the advice to spend time alone with nature and ideas. waynemaddison.wordpress.com/2026/07/25/s...

Science like no one is watching

I grew up largely unwatched. As children, David and I would go out and play unsupervised, free-range. We would go down to the ravine to explore nature. It was fun, but more than that, I think it wa…

waynemaddison.wordpress.com

Hey team - it’s looking very likely that I’ll be hiring not one but two four year postdocs! We’re a fun lab with tons of theoretical and applied pop gen projects - broadly in polyploid, conservation, and human evo. Competitive salary, sunny San Diego! Do share with your about to defend grads!

Elegy for the Penny by Catherine Bowman Read this to my baby who will grow up in a world without copper Lincolns.

"I think the lizards just know they can easily defeat rats in hand-to-hand combat" @eric-gangloff.bsky.social zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...

Responses of Mainland and Island Wall Lizards to Rat Chemical Cues

Podarcis siculus (male, Pod Kopiste, Croatia). Italian wall lizards from island and mainland populations increase their tongue flick rates dramatically when confronted with chemical cues of rats, but...

zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Consider becoming Editor in Chief for the BSSB! This innovative journal has a strong foundation and enormous potential --come help make it happen!

The Society of Systematic Biologists@systbiol.bsky.social · 3w ago

The Society of Systematic Biologists is looking for a new editor for the Bulletin! The Bulletin of the Society of Systematic Biologists is the Society’s diamond OA journal. Are you interested? Or know someone who might be? See 👇 www.systbio.org/eicbssb.htm

From diet to defense: serpin duplication and gene-expression evolution as putative contributors to poison-frog alkaloid sequestration https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.07.13.737953v1

I used to think ”spending on AI infrastructure could be the fuse that ignites the bomb that is the massive global debt bubble“ was paranoid fantasy, on the grounds that Big Tech was paying for it all out of cash on hand, but no, pretty clear that’s where we are www.nytimes.com/2026/07/17/b...

Big Tech Firms Like Oracle Turn to Bonds to Finance A.I. Data Centers

Risk is rising as big tech companies like Oracle — the ultimate financial source of the Ellison media empire — need to turn to the bond market for staggering sums to finance data centers.

nytimes.com

“Used ChatGPT as my search engine” 👀 🫠 Editor-in-Chief of Science

Holden Thorp@holdenthorp.bsky.social · 3w ago

Hi, this is Holden emerging from my Bluesky hiatus to tell everyone that when checking the links in the piece, I used ChatGPT as my search engine (does anyone use Google anymore?). The piece was written by me and edited by humans. So all the links were checked by me and again by our copyeditors.

One third of all PhD STEM workers in the US are immigrants who studied at a US university. Today the US Administration extended its efforts to slash high-skill immigration, undermining foreign students' trust that they can complete their degrees & work afterwards. My new piece at @brookings.edu —>

What does the new duration of status rule mean for international students and workers? | Brookings

Brookings guest authors break down a recent DHS rule change and what it means for US temporary visa holders and the broader economy

brookings.edu

🐠 Without a doubt, Museum Collections help us study human impact on wildlife. Dr. Bill Ludt, Associate Curator of Ichthyology, shares the ongoing microplastic research which samples specimens from the 1940s to present.

Interested in joining a growing lab in LA? We’re hiring a postdoc!! Please spread the word to folks in your network and feel free to get in touch with any questions recruit.apo.ucla.edu/JPF11142

Urban Herpin’ The urban ecosystem is a challenging place for many species to carve out a living, but seems a few reptiles are up for the challenge.

#bioacoustics

Science Magazine@science.org · 3w ago

Whales sing, orcas squeal, and sea turtles croak. But sharks are more the strong, silent type. Researchers reported last year the first evidence that sharks make sounds, too. Learn more on #SharkAwarenessDay: https://scim.ag/3UrNcUQ

PHASE ONE of our fight against the OMB rule is complete and YOU ALL SHOWED UP!!! HALF A MILLION COMMENTS is WILD. We absolutely exceeded our goal of 100,000! So, what happens next??? Welcome to PHASE TWO: Pressure and Preparation! 1/x

“Johan Sebastián was a 25 year old young man who worked tirelessly to provide for his family. He leaves behind his wife and their 3 year old daughter, who now face an uncertain future without him.”

Gabe Ortíz@tusk81.bsky.social · 3w ago

“With broken hearts, we are raising funds to help his family cover legal expenses, funeral costs, and the repatriation of his body to Colombia, where his parents are waiting to lay him to rest,” says the family of Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, the Maine dad killed by ICE:

Proud of the Brock Lab students who gave excellent presentations at #JMIH2026 in NOLA⚜️! MS student Alyssa Head took home best talk prize 🏆 And I survived my first cross country plane trip to a swamp w a 5 mo old. 🐊 🦎 🐍

Leaf size is an important trait shaping species distributions globally. We looked at how climate and evolutionary history influence leaf size in conifers! Spoiler: lots of evolutionary conservatism! Check out our paper in @globalchangebio.bsky.social out now: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Leaf Size in Conifers: Global Associations With Climate and Evolutionary History

Global patterns in leaf size are linked to climatic trade-offs, so we explore these relationships in a major group of plants, the conifers. Using contemporary phylogenetic methods, we show that conif....

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

(everything he touches turns to shit, anyone who thinks this isn't cursed is fooling themselves, belgium by a million)

This feels like a good time to note that, indeed, USWNT is the winningest team in international sports history (win percentage: 84) the18.com/en/soccer-en...

Where Does The USWNT Rank Amongst The Winningest Teams Of All Time? | The18

The USWNT is quite good — that's what all our number crunching has led us to believe.

the18.com

Schatzi Page@schatzipage.bsky.social · 4w ago

Don’t send a man to do a woman’s job

America keeps trying to get me to go to her birthday party and I’m like no girl u need to go to the hospital

🇳🇴!

Why doesn't Norway just build the entire team out of Haaland?

Heartbreak! But what a game. Cabo Verde leave as legends

Nathan Alexander@nathgalexander.bsky.social · last mo.

This is the craziest game I've ever seen!