Pls share. Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences - Genetics/Genomics at Smith College. apply.interfolio.com/190342

Not my usual 'cup of tea'. I preface this simply because I found Gina Kolata's article about ovarian cancer worth passing along for 2 reasons. 1st, we—my wife and I—are humans of a certain age. 2nd, the topic of cancer, scares the shit out of almost everyone. FYI. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/28/h...

There’s a Way to Prevent Ovarian Cancer. Few Know About It. (Gift Article)

The vast majority of cases begin in the fallopian tubes — and removing them can reduce the risk by nearly 80 percent.

nytimes.com

www.nature.com/articles/d41.... We need talented postdocs to help with peer review but they are BUSY. It makes sense to pay them for their work.

Why paying peer reviewers works, according to a journal’s editor-in-chief

A biology journal that paid peer reviewers found that the approach cut the time to a first editorial decision by 85% and maintained high-quality reviews.

nature.com

www.regulations.gov/commenton/OM... Submit your comment here. Read this short piece by lawyer Claudia Polsky to see why science needs you and all your friends and colleagues to write. It’s fast and easy and it will make a difference.

Bethany Brookshire@beebrookshire.bsky.social · last mo.

You may have heard about the OMB rule change that will put politics over federal grants. However bad you think it is? It's probably worse. Thanks to @theverge.com for letting me report this one out. There is still time to comment. bit.ly/4v2X4nQ

Some personal news. Introducing our new family member Bea

To friends and colleagues around the world. Obama has a message for you: We the people of the US are still fighting to advance justice, peace and science. We will help and support young people so that they can continue the work. youtu.be/WA_9hbH2yl8

See Obama's FULL SPEECH at Presidential Center opening

YouTube video by MS NOW

youtu.be

KitBase Expanded: An Integrated Genomic and Phenotypic Resource for 3,268 Fast-Neutron-Irradiated Rice Mutants. We cataloged over 428,000 mutations affecting 78.49% of Nipponbare genes and 70.38% of KitaakeX genes. academic.oup.com/database/art...

A reminder... deadline June 30, 2026 Simons Graduate Fellowships in Ecology and Evolution 👇

Simons Graduate Fellowships in Ecology and Evolution

The purpose of these awards is to provide support for students entering U.S.-based Ph.D. programs with a plan to perform research in ecology and evolution. While we will consider all projects in ecolo...

simonsfoundation.org

One day, American taxpayers might wake up and demand to know why we fund research on baseless conspiracy theories rather than investing in our collective future. Please read this article, then comment on the proposal and then share widely. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/09/o...

Opinion | This Could Be Trump’s Worst Attack on Science Yet

nytimes.com

Thanks for these tips.

Andrea Howard@drandreahoward.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Got a conference coming up? Try to have at least two people who aren’t super familiar with your work look at your slides and ask them for feedback on these issues (too much content? Useful text?) Good luck this summer! /end

Submitted:I object to public funds being used for this monument... If a monument is to be built, I urge that it result from an open competition among US architects w the goal of producing something genuinely new and original. This proposal represents nothing noble,inventive,or worthy of our nation

Michael Abadi@mcavt.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Submitted—- “The triumphal arch is grotesquely out of scale with the rest of DC. Stop wasting our tax dollars with these flights of fancy.”

Helpful tips for writing your comments

Heidi B. Hammel@hbhammel.bsky.social · 2mo ago

The Planetary Society created a fact sheet and action alert about the recent OMB proposal that would, among other things, insert politics into the proposal review process across science. More discussion here: www.planetary.org/articles/whe...

How effective are comments? I asked AI a few questions… “There is no external body that can force OMB to change a rule based on comments. However, if OMB ignores significant comments without explanation, a court could strike down the final rule as "arbitrary and capricious". Is this answer accurate?

Sarah Cobey@cobey.bsky.social · 2mo ago

I know it’s hard to decide which battle to fight some days. Pick this one.

Please re-post

Sarah Cobey@cobey.bsky.social · 2mo ago

I know it’s hard to decide which battle to fight some days. Pick this one.

We need to do better. Much better.

Nature@nature.com · 2mo ago

Bad experiences with supervisors are common among early-career researchers and one of the leading reasons they leave academia go.nature.com/4dTTEgr

Thank you. This is super helpful. Everyone, please repost

Dr. Kat Napaaqtuk❄️@napaaqtuk.bsky.social · 2mo ago

If you are going to comment on the proposed changes to how science is done in the US, please use this guide. The rules specify that you have to mention the number associated with the proposed changes, and this blog has those. Here is where to comment: www.federalregister.gov/documents/20...

www.google.com/search?q=lin... During recent travels people asked with real distress: What is happening in the US? Have Americans changed? No. Most citizens oppose the actions of the current administration. Barack Obama confirms: “60% of the country still agrees with me”

Forget all the annoying stuff in the world for a few moments and enjoy the natural beauty of Brazil’s Seven-coloured Tanager (Tangara fastuosa) Photo: Luiz Cavalcanti Damasceno

This post provides information on key changes. Please comment. The government needs to hear from you.

Daniel Swain@weatherwest.bsky.social · 2mo ago

I know there is a lot going on, and not all of this is new, but numerous aspects of this OMB proposal are highly alarming and would, if enacted, effectively force American scientists receiving federal funding (which is...most of them in some capacity or another) to stop engaging with the public.

Why is this not on the front page of all US newspapers? Why do we need to know about the latest names politicians are calling each other ? Please make space for issues that matter to our country and the world.

Dan Garisto@dangaristo.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Scoop: NSF has been quietly blocking new funds and grants to four top universities: Duke, Harvard, Princeton, and Yale. Dozens of proposals from PIs at these universities—and their collaborators—have been stuck at the Office of Award Management awaiting finalization for months.

Why not first page news in all the newspapers?

Jonathan Howard@joho.bsky.social · 2mo ago

"Uncertain federal funding means that next year, MIT may have about 500 fewer graduate students helping us to push the scientific frontier and preparing to contribute to society as scientists, inventors, designers, and entrepreneurs."

Inspiration is not the exclusive privilege of artists or scientists. There will always be people whom inspiration visits. It’s made up of all those who’ve consciously chosen their calling and do their job with love and imagination...

Maria Popova@mariapopova.bsky.social · 2mo ago

"Whatever inspiration is, it's born from a continuous ‘I don't know.’" Nobel-winning Polish poet Wisława Szymborska on the creative power of uncertainty www.themarginalian.org/2017/03/27/w...

Beautifully written. Thank you. “His work is a reminder that science is, at its core, a form of exploration, an insatiable pursuit of the unknown.”

Christopher Michel@christophermichel.com · 2mo ago

"We are discovering what the universe is really like, and it is totally magnificent, and one can only be inspired and awestruck by what we find.” — John C. Mather John Mather helped turn cosmology into a precision science. Read more about John: explorers.com/john-mather/ @nationalacademies.org

This-for all our wildest and most beautiful rivers: The charter includes the right to flow, to biodiversity, to be free from pollution, to be supported by a healthy catchment, to regenerate, and the right to be represented.

David Ho@davidho.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Because Wye not?

Plan ahead and mark your calendar for this important meeting in beautiful Vancouver, BC. keysym.us/KSRKSignalin... #KSRKSignaling27

Receptor Kinase Signaling: Fueling Plant Resilience and Development | Keystone Symposia

Join us at the Keystone Symposia on Receptor Kinase Signaling: Fueling Plant Resilience and Development, May 2027, in Vancouver, with field leaders!

keysym.us

I try not to post politics but this article is informative. Conclusion not good: “We are stuck with a president committed to policies that amount to national self-sabotage, driven by grievance and recklessness, devoid of concern for America’s long-term energy needs.” www.nytimes.com/2026/05/12/o...

Opinion | ‘This Is All a Scam, a Giant Scam’

nytimes.com

qed launches a tool for grant checking/improvement. Given how much people loathe grant writing and the millions of wasted hours spent on unfunded applications, it will be interesting to see whether this prompts adoption by even the most-AI-resistant 1/2

Oded Rechavi@odedrechavi.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Please like, retweet, and share with your favorite colleagues! Try q.e.d here! qedscience.com (you just drop a file and 10-15 minutes later it's ready) (16/16)

I am in complete agreement: “These leaders, I think maybe they’re crazy,” said Nguyen Thanh Tam, 71, a rice farmer with deep family roots in the Mekong. “I wish we could go back to the old days,” he added, “when our weather and lives were more stable.” www.nytimes.com/2026/04/08/w...

Today is the 251st anniversary of Paul Revere's midnight ride to warn the Minutemen of approaching British troops. I want to take a moment to share an excerpt from the Declaration of Independence's grievances against King George III. Remind you of anyone?

Öztürk said in a statement released Friday: “I invite everyone to recognize the privilege it is for any country to host international scholars, and the hole that is left in our society when that privilege is lost.”

David Beard@dabeard.bsky.social · 4mo ago

America is losing a talented researcher today. Rümeysa Öztürk, whose abduction by masked men prompted a search and her eventual release by ICE, has returned to Turkey. She wants to resume a career without "state-imposed violence and hostility." www.bostonglobe.com/2026/04/17/m...