As 2025 comes to a close, my university (Dalhousie U in Halifax, Canada) is recruiting faculty, including outstanding early career researchers, and Canada Research Chairs. Applications are due January 19 2026 (was just notified today!). Please repost.

Big new blogpost! My guide to data visualization, which includes a very long table of contents, tons of charts, and more. --> Why data visualization matters and how to make charts more effective, clear, transparent, and sometimes, beautiful. www.scientificdiscovery.dev/p/salonis-gu...

Chapel Hill is a great place to do biology and a great place to live. Start early in 2026 to maximize overlap with three senior grad students who are getting ready to move on to their own postdocs. Please share widely!

Going to Cell Bio 2025 in Philly? Join us at the Science and Art session on Sunday! You may know that I love the intersection of art and science. I'll be talking about the art of microscopy 🔬👨‍🎨 #sciart #bioart #cellbio #cellfie #microscopy #scicomm

Reposting these beauties 🤩

I wrote a “How to” book for conference posters that’s a great present for early career researchers or a lab resource! If you’d like to give one a a gift with a little something extra, DM me for a bookplate! pelagicpublishing.com/products/bet...

I made an infographic for this very reason! Every year I encourage my viewers to print it out for their Thanksgiving turkey dinner, Christmas goose feast, Boxing Day budgie buffet, or any other ritual when people gather to dismember bird carcasses. I'm not a meat eater, but I try not to judge

I think this should get more media attention, but it won't. People are just going to find out the hard way. www.newsweek.com/full-list-de...

The fight has come to NC, and it just hit close to home. Our daughter teaches in Durham public schools and she said almost all of the Latinx kids are not in school today. ICE is targeting everyone who "looks Hispanic", citizen or not. I am even more angry today-kids need to go to school!

Louder for everyone in the back

We were all relieved that this didn’t happen on 9/11.

My quote of the day The essence of optimism is that it takes no account of the present, but it is a source of inspiration, of vitality and hope where others have resigned; it enables a man to hold his head high, to claim the future for himself and not to abandon it to his enemy Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Congrats to my amazing colleague Bob Goldtein, winner of UNC's prestigious Edward Kidder Graham Faculty Service Award, which recognizes the outstanding service of Carolina’s voting faculty. 1/n www.unc.edu/posts/2025/0...

Phew!!! Thank goodness we have a 2025 GRFP announcement!

If your state hasn't done this yet, call your governor's office as well as top public health official in your state, and request that they do this. If enough people start calling, they will hear us loud and clear!

New Mexico has issued a public health order that removes federal restrictions to COVID-19 vaccine access so that pharmacies in New Mexico can vaccinate people of all ages and risk profiles. Every state need to do this!

“A respected network of hospitals and cancer centers is halting enrollment in clinical trials for children with brain cancer after the federal government said it would no longer provide funding to the group”

Important.

Seeking scientist volunteers for this fall! Want to practice science communication and help author a 🌟comic🌟 about your research? I need collaborators for the next cohort of SciComm & Comics art and design students. All countries and scientific fields eligible.

Tomorrow (Thursday 8/21/25) at 1pm ET join IOS for a virtual office hour on... "Tips on Proposal Writing". Everyone can use some tips! See you there! You know y'all want to hear from me. 😆 www.nsf.gov/events/nsf-i...

As always, Ted Chiang is great in this interview. cdh.princeton.edu/blog/2025/08...

The funds are approved! We're hiring a postdoc to build a CRISPRa toolkit to identify new aging mechanisms in C. elegans. Email or DM me to find out more. Please share & repost!

This is one of the best things I've listened to in a long time. Heroic team effort by Elizabeth Mynatt and @seanmcarroll.bsky.social to explain (with lots of examples) what the US is in the process of losing by gutting research. youtu.be/tm_EtHbqtQY?...

👇

Any updates on wormbase? We have been having trouble logging in for the past few weeks.

RFK Jr. has now officially stated that he will dismantle the United States Preventive ServicesTask Force (USPSTF). This is an independent body of expert scientists who volunteer their time to review data and provide guidance to Americans on important things like cancer screenings.

It breaks my heart to see the best scientific system in the world collapsing before our eyes. Bravo @wyomingwormboy.bsky.social ! Keep fighting the good fight.

Ten simple rules for faculty members building just and equitable environments in academic science | PLOS Computational Biology

And if you're wondering, "wait...I thought last week's Big Bill already codified these science funding cuts?" Nope! Those are completely separate processes. FY26 appropriations process is still early stages in Congress. Here's the best explainer I've seen so far on that:

Here are three pieces of life advice for survival under a government that hates you, from a Native. None of them are going to be the prepper bullshit I see currently circulating around- that's all bad advice, by the way, that one's free.

If you, like me, are confused about the relationship of the "Big Beautiful Bill" to the 2025-2026 Federal budget and its relevance to science funding and other issues, here is a GREAT explainer from my friend Kevin Wilson 🧪@ascbiology.bsky.social

Court invalidates NSF 15% indirect cost cap. Strong ruling. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

I’m hearing this from many people - now is a REALLY GOOD TIME to submit proposals, to show there is persistent demand for grant funding

This sort of thing is Resistance catnip, but it's not true and didn't happen All the filings in the case are available for anyone, online here: iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/Docum... Also: the "Supreme Court" in New York is just their trial-level court, basically the opposite of everywhere else

Flood the CDC with public comments by 6/20 demanding that ACIP retain its independent expert advisory role to the CDC, be staffed by relevant biomedical experts not antivax pawns. open.substack.com/pub/peoplesc...

NIH APPLICANTS: Your application will be WITHDRAWN BEFORE REVIEW if you have an international collaboration and do not include a Foreign Justification. Normally this could be provided after review as JIT but NOT ANYMORE. You have been warned.

Relevant, as the National Day of Protest is coming up on Saturday. Know your free speech rights.

Senate Republicans want to sell off up to 3.3 million acres of federally owned land in 11 Western states. Their draft of the budget bill includes this massive and unpopular sale of public, federal land. www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...

This is a map of Los Angeles. The arrow points to a red dot. That red dot (roughly) represents the protest area seen on TV. To me, the gross mischaracterization of what’s happening in Los Angeles looks like an excuse to deploy the military—to protect government assets like ICE.

Fight the Empire.

Our global petition to save NASA science closes this Thursday, and we’re just shy of 15,000 signatures! Every name counts, this petition will be hand-delivered to members of Congress. Add yours today, Save NASA Science. planet.ly/petition

Please join the chorus of voices, including my own, in support of the talented, hardworking and dedicated scientists and staff at NIH. They serve their country by deploying their training and skills to improve the health and quality of life of all Americans 🙏 🇺🇸

VIVA! These are the courageous NIH staffers who have spoken out against what the Trump administration is doing to biomedical research in the US. This is incredibly brave and honorable. They need our support. Spread the word. www.cnn.com/2025/06/09/h...

This gift link needs to be shared far and wide. All of the NIH cancellations and delays in one place with several infographics for exploring them. 🧪

🪱C. elegans folks: If you can afford to keep this resource available for our fly colleagues, please help 🧪

FlyBase needs our help.

Damn... I wonder why scientists wouldn't want to come to the US to compete at the highest levels for highly-restricted funding that then gets pulled surreptitiously for some imagined reason or no reason at all, all while being vilified by the federal government for their work? A mystery! 🤔

“I was hungry” and you cut SNAP. “I was thirsty” and you cut funding to ensure clean water. “I was sick” and you cut medicaid. “I was a stranger” and you deported me. “I was in prison” and you just left me there to rot. “Whatever you do to the least of these, you do unto me.”-Jesus