“Society will always have an opinion of our research… I really hope that this is a field that will be resilient” Opening plenary for #SMBE2026!

Using Liliopsida in your gene tree phylogeny paper is how I know you're a real one.

bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... new paper on the evolution of desiccation tolerance in land plants. it was a fun project with two of my fav young scientists @bryophyter.bsky.social @youngeukaryote.bsky.social

2/10

Members of the Social Cognition Lab presented 4 exciting posters at #SPSP2026, all of which are now available via OSF:

So I pleased to announce the conceptual spawn of FigTree: PearTree (acronym still to be finalised). If you want to dive right in it is hosted as a web app here: artic-network.github.io/peartree (click the “Example...” button for immediate candy and then click every button you can find).

The department of Philosophy and Moral Sciences at Ghent University is proud to present a lecture series on the topic of eugenics. As philosophers and ethicists, we are concerned about the revival and normalization of eugenic discourse. humanitiesacademie.ugent.be/eugenics

Our eLetter github.com/caseywdunn/s... responding to a recent Science paper was just posted. The paper found more genes with consistent support for sponge-sister than ctenophore-sister. We found several technical issues that, when corrected, reverse the conclusions and recover ctenophore-sister.

“…some bodies are ‘in an instant,’ judged as suspicious or as dangerous, as objects to be feared, a judgment that can have lethal consequences. There can be nothing more dangerous to a body than a social agreement that that body is dangerous.” — Sara Ahmed, "Making Strangers"

I'm begging a major news org to cover the fact NSF is defying the courts to enact Trump's unconstitutional executive order

I’m an NSF panel reviewer that was scheduled to meet today. Just got notice that all NSF panels were canceled today. I reviewed some innovative proposals in support of students. Devastating if these scholars don’t get to do this work. For the love of science & students I hope this is just a delay.💔

When you start physically writing in markdown format, is that like dreaming in a new language? 😅

100+ species for #Plantsgiving is 😲! Our highest count was in 2022: 75 species, 44 families, 31 orders. I wanna share our 2022 sheet here to encourage more people to participate: docs.google.com/spreadsheets... We have an elaborated menu planned this year to enter this competition! 🧪🌱 #iamabotanist

My first time giving a talk on my birthday & my first time sharing my blusky link in a presentation!

coming down to the wires on #LGBTQSTEMDay to share a little starter pack of QPOC EEB scientists!! help grow this community and nominate your fave QPOC EEBer! CCmment/DM if you'd like to be added, I would love to connect :) go.bsky.app/S5fpXWm

💫 Huge thanks to @insidenatgeo for supporting our research through the #2019NationalGeographicExplorer grant! Funding from visionary organizations like @insidenatgeo makes it possible for us to deepen our understanding of #Brassica diversity and resilience.🌍🙏 (9/9)

🇮🇹 Finishing up in Palermo with @jchrispires.bsky.social and @alexmcalvay.bsky.social ! We found B. rupestris in rocky areas, while a ferry and bike journey took us to a nearby island to locate B. macrocarpa. 🚗🚲🚢 These plants offer crucial insights into the evolutionary pathways of Brassica! 🥦 (8/9)

🇮🇹 Next stop: Sicily! In Catania, we had the privilege of spending time with Dr. Ferdinando Branca and his fantastic team. A world-class Brassica expert, Branca shared invaluable insights as we explored B. incana populations together. (Vespa spotting with a Brassica!) #Brassica (7/9)

🚗🌿 In Naples, Dr. Giovanni Scopece and his team gave us an incredible tour of B. incana populations, going above and beyond to show us these unique sites. Truly grateful for their kindness and expertise! (Check out our journey!) #FieldBotany #Collaboration (6/9)

🐐 Tough terrain may be key to B. cretica survival in Crete—likely safe from hungry goats! It’s amazing how plants adapt to their environment in ways we’re only beginning to understand. #EvolutionaryBiology (5/9)

We connected with Dr. Panagiotis Sarris and his dedicated team in Crete, who are doing amazing work on the B. cretica genome🧬 doi.org/10.1186/s128.... Collaborations like these deepen our understanding of plant diversity and resilience. 🌍#Genomics #Botany (4/9)

🚗🌿 In Crete, we found B. cretica thriving in the most unexpected places, from roadsides to steep cliffs (Check out the cliffs where we found them!). Some populations seem to survive by growing in areas too rugged for goats to reach. Fieldwork always has its surprises! #Botany (3/9)

🌍 Recently, @youngeukaryote.bsky.social and I journeyed to Crete to study Brassica cretica, a close relative of B. oleracea 🥦—and what a trip it was! First stop: the herbarium, where local experts helped us pinpoint key field sites. (2/9)

Hello Bluesky! I’m Paul, a Data Scientist and Computational Geneticist. I love programming, analyzing data, and building software tools – which means I spend a lot of my time battling bugs, but even more time battling my cat’s desire to sit on my keyboard

🥦 Hi! I’m Makenzie, and I study plant biodiversity, focusing on wild relatives of crops in the Brassica family—think cabbages, mustards, and leafy greens. My research explores how these plants adapt to diverse and often challenging environments, revealing insights into resilience and survival. (1/9)

Aloe there 👋🏽 Here is a starter pack with Black researchers, practitioners & orgs working with plants in the broadest sense (botany, forestry, plant ecology, crop science, herbaria, botanic gardens) Hoping this will help set seed for a nurturing community! Reply 🔽 to be added go.bsky.app/7Gn2NCb

I'm so glad someone had the foresight to take a photo of me while I was working as the student Herbarium Curator of my high school. Really helps tell the story of how I got where I am today!

Carolina Maple (Acer carolinianum). Mary Vaux Walcott, 1923. Smithsonian American Art Museum. 🌿 #SciArt #Botany 🌱

I was today years old when I found out that you can store seeds in liquid nitrogen for two years and they will still germinate. Yet another reason why plants are so cool! 🌱 Thank you @vgeshkovski.bsky.social for indulging in my weird science questions

Just got out of a coffee social with postdocs from my University and only one other person had even heard of Blue sky. I sometimes feel pressure to be really active in these spaces, despite struggling with text based social media #dyslexic and then realize “oh yeah, this really isn’t the real world”

Ohio just passed a transgender bathroom ban, SB 104. Please, fellow Ohioans, call Governor DeWine at 614-466-3555 and ask him to veto the bill. I’m scared.

Please stop using terms like “higher” or “lower” plants! It’s not evolutionary and creates a lot of misunderstandings about how evolution works. All extant species are equally evolved, just different.

A grad student in our 3 lab group lab meeting has started including a “Shawn” slide, in her snap bean genomics project, that describes why snap bean is so diverse. #MyImpact Apparently their diversity is owed to two independent domestication events and subsequent admixture!

Our new paper is just out in Nature Communications: Microplastic diversity increases the abundance of antibiotic resistance genes in soil A collaboration with the group of Yong-Guan Zhu #SoilHealth #microplastic www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Hi all! I'm excited to announce a tenure track faculty position in conservation genomics in EEB at UCLA! We're looking for candidates who use genomic tools to study evolutionary processes related to conservation. Note, the actual application deadline is Nov 29. recruit.apo.ucla.edu/JPF09875

Genomics, evolution, and more starter pack! Help build community with this starter pack. This list is currently incomplete. Want to be included? Reply and I will remedy that! go.bsky.app/JjvzkWU

🦋 New to BlueSky? 🧪 Interested in science? 👀 Wanna find posts by scientists in specific fields? 📃 Here’s a list of +220 science-related feeds and their associated hashtags. #AcademicSky #PhDSky

And so many people who contributed will never be able to be credited because of the forces of colonialism and enslavement that erased their humanity. Working with science historians to tell part of this story has been a real career highlight so far. nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Hi new folks! I'm Shawn. My research utilizes a combination of systems biology, systematics, and comparative genomics to understand trait evolution in plants. My current work took me to the northern Sahara in search of desert-adapted wild relatives of Brassica crops (🥦🧪). Here's how it went:

Started a starter pack for botanist! go.bsky.app/5JTxuk1

📢Calling all researchers! We are studying what makes a great (or not-so-great) supervisor from the perspective of PhD students and postdocs. Our goal? To improve academic mentorship and research environments. Got 5-10 minutes? Take the survey!✍️ forms.gle/WT9GoiaHxypX...

What a day for the new internet enabled voting system to be down! Come on Champaign County, get it together! 😩

“It was racism all along!” * Bum-bum, bum-bum-bum, bum-ba-bum-bum-bum!* 🧪

Biologists offer a revised model for teaching about "the Evolution of Human Skin Color" online.ucpress.edu/abt/article-...

If ya don’t know, now ya know

For context, the regret rate amongst cis women for breast implants is 19.5%, breast reduction 5% and knee surgery (across genders) is between 6-30%. Gender affirming care for trans folks is some of the most successful medical intervention possible

There is nothing like the indignity of getting whole milk in your latte after spending an $1 lactose intolerant tax to ask for oat milk.