These 14 states have 3 close Senate races (ME, MI, NH) and about 25 close Congressional races - close to half of the competitive federal races in the 2026 election. Great care by citizens, election administrators, and advocates will be needed to ensure fair and orderly contests.

I really wish that NIH SBIR grants would be reauthorized... any time now...

and the Reviewer's held applicants to the same scientific standards--I watched my PhD student revise and apply again after thoughtful critiques and the work resulted in two first author papers in @jcb.org and MBOC

As a both a PI that received a Diversity Supplement to support a student on my R01, and a PO that reviewed them, they were never about "handing out money at the end of the year based on race" and always about the training potential and commitment.

the energy i’m bringing to 2025

The Heritage Foundation is cracking

In a normal administration, this would be a career-ending, weeks-long scandal

If you’ve “Followed All” in my SciArt Starter Pack before, make sure to do so again. Added some new people! 🐡🧪🎨

Effects from old smelters are visible throughout the country. In my still-unpublished data set (which I hope to get written up sometime in the next year), you can see artifacts from the old Asarco copper smelter in Tacoma, WA...which closed in 1985.

Also, what's the deal with all the club kids selling massagers and tens machines at conferences?

Im at a conference that focuses on career and technical education. A lot of the vendors are selling mannequins for medical training. When they leave their booth they just cover the mannequins with a sheet and it looks really funny to me.

So between all my social media channels, we raised more than $350. This is the best birthday present ever and I am so grateful.

These awful scams exists and succeed because many people cannot get the quality care they deserve And as care gets worse in rural America due to cuts this will only increase Only moments until RFK branded “health centers” www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

Go 'berg!

As parents are helping their kids consider colleges, this is my perennial reminder that state schools often have lower price tags, yes, but private schools, including many small liberal arts schools, often have better aid packages, and are thus often cheaper in the end (but may be more competitive).

Vitamin K Shot Given at Birth Prevents Lethal Brain Bleeds, but More Parents Are Opting Out | Scientific American www.scientificamerican.com/article/vita...

Let me just say: I have run more than a dozen marathons and an ultramarathon and I have worked 13-hour days in a cornfield in the scorching-ass sun, and none of those things broke me like breastfeeding. It’s not a question of will. I am a determined person. Sometimes your body just WONT DO IT.

I would prefer protection from predatory pricing and mandated easy refunds, thanks!

And please stop telling women to just do more & just try harder & just go longer, women got the mf memo and a majority have healthy breastfeeding goals, but don't reach them because SOCIETY IS FAILING THEM.

Breastfeeding advocates often fall into three broad groups: #1 Folks working to improve human health & know breastmilk is key, but also know that not all parents can BF & need safe, healthy alternatives...

I hate this shit. I support breastfeeding and did for both kids. I could never produce enough for them. I also relied on formula, which is safe and nutritionally balanced for babies. Bullshit like this negatively affects families and mothers that are unable to produce human milk for their kids.

Fun facts: the hepatitis B test has a 5% false negative rate, which means 1 in 20 people who have hep B may test negative. The test is usually given in the first trimester, but pregnant people can acquire hep B later in pregnancy. Some 50-70% of people have no idea where they got it.

I taught Genetics again this year. We need to include discussion of the problematic history of our field, especially as the claims of eugenics are once again centered in our political discourse. Last year I wrote this piece, explaining my reasoning and approach 🧪 1/n www.cell.com/trends/genet...

A point that was made repeatedly in reporting this story: NIH's definition of diversity does include racial diversity, but it's much more expansive than that. This has been taken down from the website. As @jeremymberg.bsky.social put it, “It’s a good cross section of America"

NIH shut out hundreds of young scientists from funding to start their own labs www.statnews.com/2025/12/08/t... via @statnews.com

Realizing a betta fish is way more involved than I was expecting.

TIL Maine didn't let Native Americans vote until 1954. This Silver Star recipient was told he couldn't vote after he showed up in uniform.

Alt text for those who need it. This is amazing.

#Romancelandia Holiday Fairies is BACK for our 6th year! 🎁✨ This community-powered gifting initiative is all about mutual aid, kindness, and making sure no one goes without a little magic this season. Let’s make 2025 our most generous year yet! Learn more: bit.ly/holidayfairies

Today on Volts: I've had more requests to cover this than almost any other topic in the pod's history, so now, at long last, balcony solar! We dig into how "plug-in solar" took off in Europe & how it's making its way to the US, starting in Utah. Backyard DIY types rejoice!

PFAS exposure has been shown to decrease fertility; increase high blood pressure during pregnancy, increase the rate of prostate, kidney, and testicular cancers; increase cholesterol levels; disrupt hormones; reduce immune response; and cause developmental effects or delays in children. Fun times!

(A) stop feeling pressure to be perfect; (B) normalize asking questions, because that is normalizing learning; (C) do not ask AI if your turkey is done; ask a meat thermometer

If you've proactively made public health worse... boy, has Bobby got the job for you. A CDC job was among the highest aspirations of my colleagues in public health, epidemiology, infectious disease research. And now here we are. My feelings for the remaining staff amount to those I feel at a wake.

I cannot imagine what could possibly go wrong in trying to court-martial an astronaut and pilot decorated multiple times for valor and exceptional service, who is also a sitting senator, for correctly making the point that service members are obliged not to follow unlawful orders

Open faculty position (Assistant or Associate) in UW Medical Genetics. As you might expect, faculty often end up also interacting with Genome Sciences, so we're hoping for some great prospects! Note the clinical requirements for the position. apply.interfolio.com/176466

No. #SavedYouAClick

It's time for everyone's favorite chronologically unanchored holiday, The Story of the Lizard in the Leg.

I am super-pro-public transit, and use it way more than the average American, but I live near a light rail station with very, very stable and predictable scheduling, and even then I would not use it for many things I use a car for because the cost of transit is time.

40 signatures to 229k on the #savewot petition! EXCITEMENT! #WheelofTime

Twitter had to turn off its location feature within hours because thousands of prominent and "verified" MAGA accounts turned out to be foreign and I think it's hilarious that Elon was the one who exposed them all

If I’m understanding this correctly, X is owned by a white nationalist who pays poor people of color in developing countries to pretend to be working class white Americans to scare other white Americans into being afraid poor people of color from developing countries are going to ruin America?

Really important to stress that the Crown Jewels of the US higher education system were never the Ivies or elite SLACs (other countries have equivalents of these) but the well-funded, large, cheap, and excellently staffed public state university systems bringing high quality education to the masses.

Geneticist and microbiologist Rita Rossi Colwell was born #OTD in 1934. She was the first researcher in the US to use computers to analyze bacteriological data, and the first woman to serve as director of the NSF. 🧪 👩‍🔬

Post a movie where you are from.

We’d like to say another thank you to Bob Ross Inc. for donating an original Bob Ross painting to our auction for public media! Their incredible generosity has “Cabin at Sunset” currently going for over a million dollars, with bidding continuing until Monday at 11:59pm. Bob & Peapod would be proud!

Every once in a while I go back and rewatch this performance, and every time I'm glad I did youtu.be/6SFNW5F8K9Y