Snek!

Join us for a weekend of weird science and wonder!

Breaking news: Indiana University plant microbiologist Roger Innes has been locked out of his laboratory by the school in response to a request by one of his federal funders. The move comes after Innes complained about the government’s prosecution of Chinese postdocs. https://scim.ag/4tsDqRr

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Talking about weird biology and my writing. Definitely overlapping topics.

It’s that time again. Reply with your submissions for my Top 10 Best Signs of No Kings contest. As always, my epic Top 10 will be posted tomorrow morning, which always gets millions of views across social media. Originality is key. Post your favorite signs below to enter!

Same. Keep fighting. Keep going. One day this will end.

Next up on guest announcements: A.M. Giddings is a writer, scientist, cellist, independent filmmaker and aspiring swamp hag from North Carolina. She has a PhD in Microbiology and has authored multiple scientific articles in virology, cell line design, and gene therapy. @gyromita.bsky.social

This blood is on your hands, Elon.

148 clinical trials have been impacted, with 138k patients due to be enrolled or already enrolled. Once research stops, some won't pick up where they left off. Even when terminated funding was reinstated, things do not go back to normal. There is so much waste happening. 🧪 archive.today/Rii7f

Continued degradation of science and medicine in the US. Since they don't understand the science, Trump political appointees at NIH will use lists of words to disallow highly rated research grants. 🧪 kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

🍃 🦠 🧪

An HIV outbreak reveals the risks of Trump's crackdown on homelessness & drug use. Clearing encampments while defunding harm reduction programs sparks more outbreaks. In Penobscot County Maine, the largest HIV outbreak in state history —28 cases back-to-back—is evidence of mindless clearing👇

The Trump administration knew that the vast majority of the 230+ Venezuelan immigrants it sent to El Salvador in mid-March had not been convicted of crimes in the U.S. before it labeled them as terrorists and deported them, according to Homeland Security data. (Published May)

💚Whoever interrupted acting CDC director Jim O'Neill with these songs and messages including "Dedicated to the Americans who continue their tireless daily fight for our health.", thank you! 💚 We salute you 🫡 Keep fighting. www.dogshirtdaily.com/p/this-happe...

Sedation dentistry is no longer weird. Phone cameras are really good. The price of solar panels has dropped by tens of thousands. Southern white rhinos, giant pandas, Arabian oryx and Stellar sea lions are no longer endangered. And, I can testify, modern cancer treatments are fucking amazing.

Here’s your first look at our new baby armadillo! 🧪 Backpack is a screaming hairy armadillo, one of only four born in human care since 2020. Born right here at the Museum of Science in Boston, they started out tiny, with a soft shell and a look that resembled a pink gummy bear.

Here is a pretty substantial northward range expansion for a mosquito (detected by several authors, including @mannamacdonald.bsky.social & @stephenbheard.bsky.social). 🪲🪳🧪 www.cambridge.org/core/journal... But don't worry, this one won't bite you. It only seems to feed on... wait for it... (1/2)

One of the ways a democracy disappears: the legislative branch neuters itself and takes orders from the leader. This week Senate Republicans will go "nuclear" to change the body's rules. The change? Stop having separate votes on nominees. Just do 50 at a time. Not kidding.

Russians dropped a glide bomb on elderly people who were waiting in line for their pensions. More than 20 dead. Please. Don’t look away and don’t be silent. This is all I could ask for

Vaccines are battle training for your immune system. If you could give it intel on the enemy, why would you withhold that? Give me ALL the vaccines! I want to be prepared for everything!

Now this? THIS is art.

Cells swapping their #mitochondria - this sounded like science fiction 🧪 when the first studies started coming out! But now this has been observed in #cancer, #yeast, #molluscs, and under normal physiology - as a way to regulate energy demands, metabolism, cell fate & much more - true #powerhouses!

This is gorgeous! Thanks to @authormsbev.bsky.social for the link.

New Mexico is overriding the federal government on the topic of COVID19 vaccines to ensure their residents can access them. States hold a tremendous amount of public health power. They should use it.

The bracket is there! #MinCup25 is about to start! Lots of unusual minerals this year... I will learn so many new things and this time I am prepared to show all my colleagues (who are mainly chemists and have nothing to do with minerals at all) the joys of MinCup 😁⚒️🧪🧑‍🔬

Trump & RFK Jr are allegedly planning to ban the #Covid vaccine within months, according to news reports. During his 1st regime, Trump declared the vaccine a monumental achievement. Although nothing definite has been stated publicly, RFK killed $500 million in mRNA vax research earlier this month👇

Good news for a change! 🎉 A new clinical trial in South Africa appears to have cured* a young woman of HIV. 🎉 10 people have been cured before, but this time is different 👇 *(Cure= in remission for 2+ years w/o treatment)

The administration isn’t just taking vaccines away. They aren’t responding to outbreaks. They are not preventing disease. They are enabling it. Essential reading from @amymaxmen.bsky.social. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

This song pretty much encapsulates my hope for the future. And I just came from a theater where everyone was singing it together, which I really, really needed. youtu.be/TbMEMCvFbZk?...

Are the mRNA vaccines incredible? YES! Are the mRNA vaccines perfect? No. Have the mRNA vaccines saved millions of lives? YES! Can we make the mRNA vaccines even better? YES! Can we use mRNA vaccine technology to prevent and treat many other diseases? YES! Fund mRNA research!

Gotta love mushrooms the size of a dinner plate.

In case your day needed some happy bird boats as much as mine has. Siri and Stomp the black vultures, contented pancake mode activated, are glad to oblige. 🪶

Rain, rain, go that way. No ego parades on Saturday.

I swear I have a miniature black hole/singularity following me around sending random things into other dimensions.

🧬✨ World's first personalised use of CRISPR A baby with a deadly genetic disorder received a custom CRISPR base-editing therapy - designed in just 6 months. A glimpse of ultra-personalised gene editing, but can it ever scale? 🔗 doi.org/10.1038/d415... #CRISPR #Genetics #SciComm 🧪

Trump's EPA just moved to reverse state and local bans on toxic "forever chemicals" that can lead to birth defects and cancer.  So much for "Make America Healthy Again." https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/apr/05/trump-pfas-toxic-forever-chemicals

Adorable. The Boston ducks have protest signs #handsoff

The message is: crowd large. Many politicians, administrators, and business leaders, in bowing to Trump, have drawn confidence and comfort from the perceived vibe shift. Events like this puncture that delusion.

I can't stress enough how important this is. A lot of people are contacting SSA right now because of what they're hearing in the news. That's a huge waste of time. SSA employees don't know any more than you do. Call your reps instead. Let them know you'll blame them if SSA dies. (202) 224-3121

Breaking: RFK Jr. has forced out PETER MARKS, the nation’s top vaccine regulator. In his resignation letter, obtained by the Post, Marks said he was willing to work with RFK Jr on his vaccine concerns — but said Kennedy wishes “subservient confirmation of his misinformation and lies.”