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Daniel Swain@weatherwest.bsky.social · 3d ago

#OldTrailsFire in Spokane now appears to be most destructive wildfire in WA State history by wide margin (650+ structures lost), w/additional TBD losses nearby. Other PacNW fires actively burning, though less destructive, are far larger & could burn for weeks amid severe drought.

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...

New Preprint 🥳 Here we wondered how phages that have been extensively studied in laboratory E. coli strains actually behave when they encounter a real pathogen such as O157:H7 strain...one with a far more complex cell surface & one of the most consequential foodborne pathogens in the United States.

Animated E. coli Bacteria Drawing

Alt: Animated E. coli Bacteria Drawing

static.klipy.com

Student visa is already one of the most highly restrictive/monitored visa type. When I was a student, my transcript and my address were all monitored. Student already have to be good academic standing throughout their study to keep the visa. Have to have a work permit to work after graduate.

9. By supporting universities, they support the human capital development that flows into the commercial sector and generates the growth and innovation that has been a massive boon for US commerce. This plan undercuts that role, with disastrous consequences that will ricochet for years to come.

There are a lot of very wrong things in the OSTP report, but this one is just silly for multiple reasons? The average tenure of an employee at unicorn tech and biotech startups in SF is just 2-4 years. www.inc.com/business-ins... (Maybe just a bit higher post 2022 slump?)

Here's the Average Tenure for Tech Workers in Silicon Valley's Top 15 Companies

A new report shows that software and internet companies had the highest employee turnover in 2017, compared with other major industries.

inc.com

Carl T. Bergstrom@carlbergstrom.com · 2w ago

15. I keep coming back to this line. It is willful misrepresentation of our federal funding agencies' mission beyond discovery: developing that R&D workforce (and a pipeline of ideas) that flow into the private sector so beloved to our author. We employ trainEES because trainING is what we do.

Microbiology professors/PIs, would you like to join the microPI slack? Microbiology is defined broadly. This is an open tent. Professor/PI is inclusive to teaching focused roles, or pure research PI roles like a National lab PI. Reply or DM me and I will send you a link.

Newsom would make a terrible president. Our next president needs to have empathy for the traumatized federal workforce. Newsom has recently forced CA state workers to return to office, leading to increased taxpayer costs and worse QoL for employees www.abc10.com/article/news...

Microbiology professors/PIs, would you like to join the microPI slack? Microbiology is defined broadly. This is an open tent. Professor/PI is inclusive to teaching focused roles, or pure research PI roles like a National lab PI. Reply or DM me and I will send you a link.

This misunderstands the role of private vs. public R&D. Private R&D is great but is connected to R&D tax exemptions, & often doesn't spill out into the public domain. There's a notion we can ramp federal R&D spending down & be competitive. We can’t & we shouldn’t. www.whitehouse.gov/releases/202...

OSTP Director Releases Landmark Report and Recommendations for Renewing American Scientific Discovery

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Michael Kratsios

whitehouse.gov

America's R1 universities educate ~8–9 million students (undergraduate + graduate) -> more than 1/3 of U.S. college students (vs. the ~0.6% of Ivies). Undermining this system threatens the institutions that train our workforce and drive scientific innovation. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

An American research crisis with real human consequences

Ivy League universities have dominated recent news headlines, having become popular targets for critics of higher education. But the threats they face—cuts to federal research funding, assaults on aca...

science.org

I learned about Epscore when I started my lab. I did not love knowing that the same grant from California is less likely to be funded than if it was submitted from a state with low research funding. However, I think grant funding should be geographically distributed across the US.

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

Initial notes: There's a lot of emphasis on the GRFP (and similar funding mechanisms, such as CAREER awards) because of its ability to target high-performing individuals on the basis of merit—in contrast to institutions and diversity programs.

I just saw a meme that said “get in losers, we’re reclaiming the emdash”. People. PEOPLE. Where are your STANDARDS? It CLEARLY should be “get in, losers — we’re reclaiming the em dash.”

NEW: Taylor Farms is a big player in conservative politics. The company donated $2 million to conservative political groups in 2025 and its CEO has personally donated more than $900,000 to Republican PACs and candidates. It's also spent $810,000 on anti-regulatory lobbying since 2025

Taylor Farms Spent Big on MAGA and Anti-Regulatory Lobbying Before Diarrhea Outbreak

The company donated more than $3.6 million to conservative groups between 2020 and 2025, including $1 million to the MAGA Inc. super PAC.

wired.com

I really want salad this week, but I'm not going to risk it.

📢 Postdoc opening — Antony-Babu Lab @txresearch, College Station TX. Lead field pathology + pathogen genomics of cotton soil-borne disease: field → genome → diagnostics. @USDA_ARS funded. PhD req'd. Apply 👇 tamus.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/AgriLife_Res... #PlantPath #Genomics

"The investigation has raised questions about whether there is more lettuce posing potential risk." www.usatoday.com/story/news/h...

FDA: Taylor Farms lettuce that's not part of recall tests positive for cyclospora

Taylor Farms de Mexico lettuce sample tested positive for cyclospora, FDA said, as officials investigate a multistate outbreak of the parasite.

usatoday.com

"parasite outbreak blamed on taco bell because they're the only company reporting it" feels very "1918 flu blamed on Spain because they're the only country reporting it"

We (the globe) are not in any way prepared for the scale of fires coming our way. Might not want to nuke the few tools we currently have at our disposal (MUTUAL FUCKING COOPERATION) This happened barely more than a year ago

Canadian ‘Super Scooper’ plane grounded after hitting civilian drone over Los Angeles wildfires | CNN

A Canadian “Super Scooper” aircraft fighting the Palisades Fire in Los Angeles had to be grounded after it hit a drone flying in restricted airspace over the devastating blaze on Thursday, the local f...

cnn.com

Anyone else avoiding work commitments for the week after election day so that there's bandwidth for whatever happens?

Facts, plain and straightforward 💯🎯

People have become jaded to it, but a President who threatens to outlaw media in a free society should be immediately removed from office. Trump's words are completely antithetical to the core American commitments of free speech and free press.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 3w ago

Trump accuses NBC and ABC of being part of "a plot. They want to continue this fraud" and says "fraud like this should mean a revocation of their licenses"

ICE agent David Brouillette murdered Joan Sebastian Guerrero in Maine last week. www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...

ICE agent in Maine shooting has history of violent behavior, relatives say

Relatives said David Brouillette should have never been issued a badge and firearm

independent.co.uk

This is what fighting fascism looks like.

It’s really a great question because it immediately reveals whether someone is unfit for public service. bsky.app/profile/atru...

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 3w ago

OSSOFF: Who won the 2020 election? CLAYTON: Uhm, you know, I'm not going to do this with you O: This is a job interview. You have an obligation to be honest with the committee. Who won the 2020 election? C: I'm not gonna get into that with you O: You're not being honest or forthright C: ...

The CDC is so underfunded now that it's like: "Just remove the three outer layers of lettuce, so you don't consume any feces, then wash each interior leaf individually, so you remove any hidden feces. Good luck!"

This Cell paper on the mechanisms behind stimulant meds on mitigating disability aspects of ADHD has 213 references. Having lots of refs on my papers always felt like a positive outcome of my ADHD phenotype. I'll avoid armchair diagnosing any of the authors' phenotypes. www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

Stimulant medications affect arousal and reward, not attention networks

Stimulant medications (e.g., methylphenidate) were thought to improve attention by acting on the brain's attention networks. Functional connectivity data now reveal that stimulants are associated with...

cell.com

Read this article over lunch (h/t @alanmcn1.bsky.social ), and it's excellent. I highly recommend educators and researchers read it to help you think twice before commenting on someone's accent. Have awareness of the intersection between classism and accents and try to avoid microaggressions

Unofficial BBCNews (UK) Bot@bbcnews-uk-rss.bsky.social · 3w ago

Mocking regional accents is last form of acceptable discrimination, says MP

Y’ALL. Seems like I was looking at the wrong number this whole time?? Where I would have said they got 52,320 comments (circled) - if I look not on my phone, maybe the real number is 341,699?!?!?!? Holy smokes. That’s way better. Wahoooooooo.

Sarah Hird, PhD@sarahhird.bsky.social · 2mo ago

On Monday, there were 18,800 comments. Right now there are 22,150.

My cat likes to drag his cushions from his cat tree. He doesn't necessarily use the for naps, but he likes to redecorate.