Each Friday, I summarize what is happening to American science & higher ed. 🧪 This was Week 34: - UC Berkeley feeds the administration a list of targets - Dept of Ed rescinds $350M from minority serving institutions - faculty firings at Texas A&M & so (SO) much more buttondown.com/liminalcreat...

Today was the Lee lab's (only slightly late) end-of-summer & also start-of-semester lab celebration! We celebrated everyone's hard work with sunshine, turtles, goats, and of course, ice cream at Great Brook Farm State Park. Here's to another great year with @kcs-umasslowell.bsky.social! 🤓🌞🐢🐐🍨🧬

🐥If this Senate hearing with Bobby "The Quack" Jr pissed you off, send a message: Quack-O-Gram delivery begins on 9/15🐥 🐥 $3. Man in a duck suit. Rubber duck with "impeach the quack" message to YOUR Rep🐥 Link: www.standupforscience.net/quack-o-grams #ImpeachTheQuack @standupforscience.bsky.social

Fly labs — Now is the time to show some solidarity and chip in support for this vital resource!

I love this idea for helping trainees learn how to become project closers & get their data all wrapped up and ready to publish 🎁 - can't wait to implement this ice-cream challenge for our next hot science summer!

Reskeeting with Alt Text so everyone can read this quote from Tressie McMillan Cottom in the NY Times

🔥my latest paper from @odedrechavi.bsky.social lab🔥 we found small RNAs act across tissues to regulate fertlity in C. elegans 🪱. Surprisingly, we also found that O2-sensing neurons inhibit germline maintenance. Follow along our journey👇https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.08.07.669182v1

Time for the 3rd annual summer Mondoux-Lee-Vieux mind-meld! (just more proof that worm-friends are the best friends🪱🤗) New PI Karl-Frederic Vieux hosted Michelle Mondoux & the Lee lab at WPI for a day full of fun, facility tours, burgers, and SO many talks about gametogenesis - thank you Vieux lab!

I loved having this convo with @genetics-gsa.bsky.social's Early Career Leadership program! 🤓🪱🧬These trainees had *such* insightful questions about leading a team & navigating a research career 🙌

After #worm25 comes a @katzlab.bsky.social & friends reunion in Napa Valley, enjoying the great weather & wine & company! 🪱🍷 Featuring new PIs Brandon Carpenter & Jadiel Wasson who enjoy never giving their former PI a break from the shenanigans when he takes a lil wine nap in the shade.

The Lee lab's back from #worm25 with new friends, new tips, and new ideas... another epic meeting in the books! Thanks to those who came by to hear about our latest work (as shown below, Tahreem & Marybeth were both kept busy at their posters!). Can't wait to catch up with everyone at #worm27!!!

Catching up with documenting #worm25! Here, the worm public eagerly awaits the Worm Show with beverages courtesy of genetics-friend S. cerevisiae. 🪱🍻 (including @gotworms.bsky.social, @jschisa.bsky.social, & @katzlab.bsky.social!)

A wormy tradition is the trading of meeting badges at the last night party 🪱🎉 I know I've made it as a PI bc #worm25 is the first time a trainee specifically asked for mine! Meet @ahnaskop.bsky.social (aka Kareem in @drohsopretty.bsky.social lab) & @rnareylab.bsky.social (aka @giosg.bsky.social)

Worm folks are the best folks!! And the proof lies in the twenty year tradition of WORM SHOW on the last night (all thanks to the heroic efforts of Morris Maduro & Curtis Loer) 🪱🪱🪱🪱🪱🪱🪱🪱

#worm25 is greatly missing the enthusiasm of @ethanewe.bsky.social at this meeting! He gave a great virtual talk this morning, featuring a hot-off-the-presses story from his postdoc in the Rechavi lab. 🤩 He's also applying for faculty jobs this cycle, so keep an eye out for his application! 🙌

Hitched a ride to the #worm25 poster session last night with Villenueve lab folks & Villenueve lab F2 @cahooncori.bsky.social, and lookit what we found in the parking lot! 🪱🪱🪱

"Meiosis is mysterious and dangerous." 🧬🪱 #worm25 gets to celebrate our keynote speaker Anne Villenueve, introduced by JoAnne Engebrecht for her creativity, clarity, & compassion, along with the many contributions her lab has made to chromosome biology. 🙌

It was such an amazing workshop!! An enjoyable experience organizing this!! Thank you very much to all wonderful speakers and to you, Teresa @snickclunk.bsky.social for joining this!! Let’s make more!! 🪱🔬🧬

“Do you have any advice for aspiring young scientists?” “Do genetics.” *mic drop* #worm25

What a treat! #worm25 gets to hear the latest Nobel laureates, Victor Ambrose & Gary Ruvkin, reflect on their discovery of microRNAs, our supportive worm community, and the impact of curiosity-driven science. 🪱🎉 @lcochella.bsky.social is moderating, but once they get going, they're on a roll!

For #worm25, here are updated lists of 200+ researchers for the #Celegans community to easily follow: C. elegans #1 (150 full) - go.bsky.app/HP1h3nW C. elegans #2 (50+) - go.bsky.app/J7soTHG ==> Reply to this if you'd like to be added! cc: @genetics-gsa.bsky.social #CeleganSky 🪱 🧪 1/n

WormAtlas will have a booth at the Worm Meeting during the poster sessions. Please stop by to see what is new and to enter our t-shirt giveaway. We have some free pens as well! #worm25

Great catching up with everyone at #worm25! If you're planning tomorrow's schedule, consider our workshop: @giosg.bsky.social & I have invited 5 folks who think differently about health and aging (incl ‪@rnareylab.bsky.social‬ & @scharflab.bsky.social). We promise you'll leave with new ideas! 🪱

Paul Sternberg with important WormBase news #worm25

I always love #worm25 CGC updates! But spread this impt reminder (*especially* in this funding climate): CREDIT THE CGC on papers!🪱 Include this to keep the CGC around forever: "Some strains were provided by the CGC, which is funded by NIH Office of Research Infrastructure Programs (P40 OD010440)."

IWM25 just started!!! #worm25 @genetics-gsa.bsky.social

We're psyched to share our #worm25 posters! 🔵 On Sunday, Tahreem will show our latest story on how DAF-12 germline-to-soma affects transgenerational heterochromatin accumulation (coming soon to a preprint near you!) 🎉 🔵On Tuesday, Marybeth will show off some new-to-the-lab transcriptomic analysis 🧬🙌

Good early morning #worm25!!! The Lee lab is en route to California for grad students Tahreem & Marybeth's first-ever worm meeting 🪱🪱🪱 Are we completely awake? No! Are we super excited to see worm friends very soon? You betcha! 🥳

Loved this workshop at #2025ICDB, where @rebeccacalisi.bsky.social & Kevin Alicea-Torres helped us understand that the best way to combat misinfo is to start with curiosity (instead of correction).💪 Thanks to @rogerslabucd.bsky.social & @spiraldoc.bsky.social for pushing us out of our comfort zones!

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Time for awards at #2025ICDB! First, @mads100tist.bsky.social wins the @socdevbio.bsky.social SciComm award for his advocacy of science & inclusion, but also for being hilarious, thoughtful, and the most online. 🤩🔥 He reminds us to resist, because our strength lies in community & diversity 💪 🙌

Look who found me at #2025ICDB! I first met @sadewill.bsky.social at a southeast regional @socdevbio.bsky.social meeting waaaay back when - now we're both in new positions AND she's on the cusp of starting her own lab 🤩. Meet people at conferences, folks!! Science-friends are the best!

Protect transgender scientists | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

So excited to be bringing Choose Development! fellow Thiago Borges to gorgeous San Juan for the @socdevbio.bsky.social & Int'l Congress of Dev Bio meeting! 🇵🇷 👉Check out our latest story at his poster on Saturday, abstract 359, board C20 (coming soon to a preprint near you!) #2025ICDB

🎉The lab celebrated tech-extraordinaire Scott with a boardgame+ party night! We had Uno, Overcooked!, Mario Kart, Monopoly (now a card game??), & Tetris (now a board game??? Also guess who's a bad loser at Tetris...) Scott's starting his PhD at Minnesota, & we wish him the best on his new adventure!

🚨#G3journal has announced a new article type: Omics Report! Share high-quality results from transcriptomics, proteomics, & more—even if big insights are still developing. Learn more and submit your data today: buff.ly/ZkmoLYJ

The Lee lab held our fourth annual bootcamp week to kick off yet another hot science summer! 🧬🪱🤓 Apparently word has spread, because we had a special guest peeking in throughout the week... here lab tech Scott is showing all humans & avians how to autoclave biohazard trash appropriately.

Words of wisdom from @youngshull.bsky.social on how to consider my role as an educator & mentor! A super a helpful framing for me as I re-think my assignments for the upcoming year...

Gov. Walz: “I’m just going to say it, shame on any of us who throws a trans child under the bus for thinking they’re going to get elected.” www.startribune.com/gov-tim-walz...

Flybase is in trouble and needs emergency support. #Celegans community I know we have a friendly feud but maybe consider a donation to honor a fly colleague/mentor?

amidst bad stuff these days, check this awesome initiative Shefali @iamshef.bsky.social started last year, and expanding in 2025. #FlyCROSS is a mentor-mentee matching program to help early career Fly scientists at all levels. not only students and PDs, but young faculty. pls participate and share!🪰

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

Opening for a #postdoc in the lab available immediately. Please spread the word. DETAILS HERE: jobrxiv.org/job/baylor-c... cc: #academicJobs #postdocJobs #microbiome #Celegans #organoids #IBD #PathSky #Medsky #AcademicSky 🧪 🧬 🦠

US NSF funding cut in half Details of cuts to US National Science Foundation (NSF) www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

I hope you are attending Worm2025 in June. Please consider submitting to our awesome Worm Art Show. It is as good as the science. Submissions accepted till June 27, 2025. Started by Ahna Skop @ahnaskop.bsky.social the event continues to enrich our community. genetics-gsa.org/worm-2025/wo...

Erin Cram @erincram.bsky.social and Javier Apfeld ‪ @javierapfeld.bsky.social, biology professors, are part of an elite group of scientists in the Boston area who study worms! But with the ongoing federal budget cuts can worm research survive? 🧪 Learn more: www.bostonmagazine.com/news/c-elega...

A good morning to read about birthright citizenship from the perspective of the great-grandson of Wong Kim Ark, the plaintiff whose case in 1898 affirmed that birthright citizenship is guaranteed to the children of undocumented migrants born in the U.S. wapo.st/3F9Djae

Had a blast "stole-ing" our honors thesis students at the @honorscollegeuml.bsky.social brunch today! Alex & Allie both joined the lab in their first year, and it's been a joy to watch them grow into strong leaders & excellent scientists (and even better to watch their family get a bit misty-eyed) 🥰

Congratulations to honors Biology major Alex Beaudoin who presented his honors project "The dauer stress response in long-lived C. elegans mutants"! Thank you, mentor @snickclunk.bsky.social and committee member Erin Smith! #umasslowell #umlhonorscollege #honorscollege #honorscompleter

Celebration season continues with Alex Beaudoin's senior honors defense! 🎉 He found a surprise interaction between dauer stress & our long-lived chromatin mutants (stay tuned for the manuscript coming soon!) And huge thanks to @honorscollegeuml.bsky.social for supporting his three years in the lab 🙌