NEW: Federal agents rolled into MacArthur Park in LA in an unmarked armored vehicle. My source tells me Mayor Bass showed up with LAPD—and the so-called “agents” got the hell out. Shady AF! (Just west of DTLA)

Today is supposed to be a celebration of freedom and liberty for all. Today, the Marines are being used on American soil in Florida. Alligator Alcatraz is open for business, and a Canadian citizen has died in Florida under ICE custody. Free America, unless we are all free; nobody is free.

“This 4th of July is yours not mine”

NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya used sickle cell disease research as an example of something he would not call DEI and cut. It's being cut. www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/n...

Some personal news: amid everything going on, I’ve been promoted to Professor. I am so deeply grateful to all of the past and present members of the lab, who allowed me to be a part of their journey. I am so honored to call all of you my colleagues.

I’ve been using UCSC Genome browser for 13 years Whoever is in charge of it, thank you 🫡

New NIH Civil Rights Notice: What It Means for Public Health and Science Professionals thisweekinpublichealth.com/blog/2025/04...

This is a pitch perfect example of #TheDoubleTax. Pre order: www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/734115...

"“Sinners” has grossed $122.5 million in North America and $161.6 million globally against a $90 million production budget." WHOA. The fact that an original movie starring people of color in the South, directed by a Black man, is doing well at THIS moment is beautiful. #Sinners

If you haven't seen it yet, what is currently happening at the NIH got attention last night on both 60 Minutes (www.cbsnews.com/video/nih-cu...) and Last Week Tonight (youtu.be/8H34jcpEsFs?...)

Updated lab picture. Missing some undergrads 😅

JHU students from the Mexican American Student Assoc organized Kermés. I think my booth was the most popular 😏. We painted calaveras and frames. Thanks to JHUs MASA for bringing our culture to campus 💖

It has been a while since I advertised some of the tools we have released to help researchers analyze the zebrafish genome. So a brief Bluetorial on our zebrafish genomics UCSC public data hub and the bigger effort led by @ferencmueller.bsky.social to create a zebrafish ENCODE project (Danio-CODE):

Harvard has set an example for other higher-ed institutions - rejecting an unlawful and ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom, while taking steps to make sure students can benefit from an environment of intellectual inquiry, rigorous debate and mutual respect. Let’s hope others follow suit.

We called out Harvard in the past for inaction. So now we are happy to speak out with praise. This is a major step forward. It’s not just a lack of capitulation. It’s an aggressive effort leaning into public comms — exactly what is needed. Bravo to Harvard 👏

What does any sane person focus on now? Another horror story on petty miseries inflicted on dedicated federal employees. A Seattle lab without janitorial services, hazardous waste removal etc waiting for Lutnick to personally approve all contracts over $100,000. www.propublica.org/article/noaa...

The #LatinoFreezeMovement has the following companies in their boycott list and some have presence in Europe. As we say in Mexico: information that heals. Amazon Target Walmart HobbyLobby HomeGoods Marshalls Sam's Club Starbucks Lowe's Goya FruitoftheLoom DairyQueen Coca Cola BaskinRobbins (1/2)

I was invited by Duke DSCB grad students to give a talk for their colloquium class. The colloquium talks are selected and organized by the grad students. You could see how much effort was put into the 1-1s & the visit. Thanks to Janae, Allison, students & faculty, Dr. Silver & the DSCB program!

Yes!!! Finally a university leader standing up publicly for what is right. No to anticipatory compliance. Thank you UMich Dean Carlos F. Jackson: may you be an inspirational for many others. mailchi.mp/04bd06b0c03c...

Super useful guide for how to focus efforts (donation, time, keeping informed, etc.) to resist this administration

Another sobering update. If these don’t uptick with the coming councils do we need to consider that these are new spending targets/cuts?

📌 Need a "Know Your Rights" card? Get a free one from @the-ilrc.bsky.social to know what to do if approached by ICE at home, work, or in your car: buff.ly/LWuJxK0.

🚨 RED CARD UPDATE 🚨 Due to unprecedented demand, our original Red Card portal is backlogged and these are not available for order via the non-profit and private firm portals right now. However, this 🔗 guides you to the raw Red Card page you can print for 🆓 RIGHT NOW 👇🏽 ilrc.org/red-cards

Your job today is to come up with a plan for what you will personally do if ICE shows up at your workplace, school, or place of worship, and tries to disappear someone. Talk about it with friends and coworkers. Write down phone numbers you’ll need. Role-play scenarios. Practice what you will say.

ReBilD: Emerging Leaders in Regenerative Biology and Development 2025: July 13-23, 2025 This innovative 10-day course explores invertebrate & vertebrate models for both developmental and regenerative biology, comparative biology experiments, lectures, and seminars. Register today! 🧪 🤝 🧬 🐟🎸 🍎 👩‍🔬 🐁

Yesterday was #EqualPayDay and for every $1 white men make: Asian women: 94 cents White women: 80 cents Black women: 66 cents Native and Latina women: 58 cents Women get paid less, but across racial lines the pay is even LOWER. This is #TheDoubleTax. www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/734115...

Very excited to share (most of) my PhD work, in which we use human retinal organoids to understand how thyroid hormone signaling is regulated in the developing retina to promote robust and accurate photoreceptor subtype specification. Turns out, it's a lot more complicated than we expected. 1/n

Would anyone blame them if they said “hell no” to that?

This is probably one the most infuriating things I’ve read: removing women, gender minorities and POC as outside reviewers? How can they keep claiming that THEY are the ones protecting against discrimination?!? www.statnews.com/2025/03/24/n...

Firing public health officials is so dangerous. I joined my colleagues in demanding that 750 CDC employees - people who keep our nation healthy and safe - be immediately reinstated. These mass firings are going to cost lives. www.reuters.com/business/hea...

Citizens should be VERY CONCERNED anytime Nurse strike or protest www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

So some happy family news, my oldest daughter has been trying to become a writer for TV. She just got her first writer's room gig (as the writers' assistant) working on season 3 of School Spirits: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_... So now you all have to watch it please...

The more people who sign the less risky it is for all of us. We're over 900 in just about 13 hours since we first posted it. Share with your colleagues, your friends, your list servs, your professional associations, your department and campus email lists - bit.ly/DemocracyAndHigherEd

Support those who support you 🤝

My kids gave me an @effinbirds.com calendar and it continues to be my source of inspiration, wisdom, and guidance:

Our paper "Optimizing gRNA selection for high-penetrance F0 CRISPR screening for interrogating disease gene function" is now published in @narjournal.bsky.social doi.org/10.1093/nar/.... This work was led by our super postdoc @sheng-jia.bsky.social

💔

Not sure what we did in this life to deserve #AbbottElementary but I am sure damn grateful for it!

First seen in Biorxiv and now published and updated with more data in @naturecomms.bsky.social. With this work we have further enhanced CRISPR-Cas RNA targeting in vivo using transient approaches such as RNP or mRNA-gRNA in zebrafish embryos as vertebrate model. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Drop everything you’re doing and read this piece. It’s that good and that important. “We’re in the midst of an authoritarian takeover of the US gov’t… [but it’s] not yet an accomplished fact.” [email protected] 1/5

GOOD MORNING! I just found out that #TheDoubleTax has cracked top lists on #Amazon. WOW. Keep pre-ordering. 🤯 - Top 10 books on Income Inequality - Top 100 books on Women & Business - Top 100 books on Sociology of Class www.amazon.com/gp/product/0... #econsky #blacksky #bluesky #booksky

How does gene regulation shape brain evolution? Our new preprint dives into this question in the context of mammalian cerebellum development! rb.gy/dbcxjz Led by @ioansarr.bsky.social, @marisepp.bsky.social and @tyamadat.bsky.social, in collaboration with @steinaerts.bsky.social

Tesla Model 3 crushed by an Olmec statue By Mexican sculptor @chavismarmol.bsky.social

First-gen/early-gen high schoolers from AZ visited. The visit was orchestrated by a grad student in my dept & Southwest Leadership Initiative. Despite the current challenges the future is still bright and we need to support our communities to ensure the next generation can thrive.

Looking for a fun activity? Try this step-by-step guide to make pipe cleaner #zebrafish! For instructions on how to make them, visit: insitutech.wordpress.com/2016/07/20/f... 🧪

Comparative Biology is at the heart of our history & research at the MDI Biological Laboratory. Take a deeper look into what it is and how it works. 🧪 🤝 🧬 🐟🎸 🍎 👩‍🔬 #standwithscience #standupforscience2025

Excited to be contribute with @johagen.bsky.social to this project from Leah Nielsen and Harald Beck at @towsonu.bsky.social looking at color vision in sugar gliders!! www.nature.com/articles/s41... rdcu.be/eb9J8

The new PI experience is thinking you’re busy and then you start doing something else new like teach and then realize that you weren’t busy before. 😅

"To protect scientists and scientific output, US stakeholders must work to protect [racial] affinity groups from government interference," write the authors of a new #LetterToScience. scim.ag/4ki1MtL