Breaking: Congress is pushing back on the Trump administration's termination of National Science Board members, with the House calling for their reinstatement and the Senate asking pointed questions about OMB's political interference. My reporting for @science.org:

I'm hiring a postdoc to lead sedimentary aDNA reconstructions of alpine plant biodiversity as part of a broader project exploring the mechanisms of alpine plant resilience. Come join a collaborative team working in beautiful places! Bonus: postdocs at UMaine are unionized!

Please share widely. The new (simpler) MIRA R35 for Early Stage Investigators (ESI) NOFO is published. First due date is 10/2/2026. files.simpler.grants.gov/opportunitie...

NEW: NAACP on Supreme Court allowing Alabama to redraw map to dilute power of Black voters "We are witnessing a return to Jim Crow. Anybody who is alarmed by these developments—as everybody should be—better be making a plan to vote in November to put an end to this madness"

well that's enough internet for me for the week

Metabolic modeling links leaf anatomy to environment-specific benefits on the C3-C4 spectrum by Tiago M. Machado, Alejandro León-Ramírez, Sezin Dogan, Andreas P.M. Weber, Urte Schlüter, and Nadine Töpfer buff.ly/DadgXje via @biorxiv-plants.bsky.social #PlantScience #Photosynthesis

excuse me what

ATTENTION. This is NOT a 2024 repost. We are hiring NOW and the deadline for applying is fast approaching.

New response to grant reviews, no matter what they are.

The rise of polyploids during environmental upheaval: Cell www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

Was signing off on an email with "Happy Friday!" and outlook autocorrected it to "Happy Friday, May 8th, 2026!" Yes perfect thank you.

New Article: "Water lily complete genomes illuminate the innovations of water lilies and early angiosperms" rdcu.be/fhdEb Gapless genomes for three water lily species: genetic keys to fertilization, floral colour and scent, and evolution of early flowering plants.

Immediate PTSD

🌱 We’re hiring in Plant Biology at Penn State! The Department of Biology at Penn State University Park is searching for a tenure-track Assistant or Associate Professor in any area of plant biology.

Breaking: Tennessee Republicans pass new 9-0 gerrymander after SCOTUS destruction of Voting Rights Act eliminating state’s only majority-Black district & last Democratic seat. Splits Memphis, which is 63% Black, into 3 districts to disenfranchise Black voters. Quite literally a return to Jim Crow

vibes

I just said "floaty across time" to try to describe gene expression that changes across the day. Coffee please.

*REGISTRATION EXTENDED UNTIL 15 MAY 2026!* C460 From Kranz to Crops: Celebrating 60 Years of C4 Discovery and Innovation meeting 23 - 25 July at Lancaster University.

Ok, hearing from multiple (very believable) NSF sources that this slowness is due largely to transitions and budget shutdown but that they’re moving a bunch of money out (all the money) by end of fiscal year

...why? What specific K-12 related skill does this help?

Variance in Calvin-Benson cycle intermediate levels between closely-related species in the tomato clade academic.oup.com/jxb/article/... @jxbotany.bsky.social

Welcome to the last half of the US federal fiscal year. Here is where we're at with National Science Foundation--the agency that funds basically everything other than biomedical research at American universities--grant numbers. grant-witness.us/funding_curv...

Deleting all my during-the-semester recurring meetings out of my calendar 🎉

Lmao

We've had the perfect mix of rain and sunshine in the past week and it is VERDANT outside.

Improved mesophyll–bundle sheath connectivity is achieved via different mechanisms in C2 vs C4 Alternanthera nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Those were the days

Now accepting applications for our 2027 Simons Graduate Fellowships in Ecology and Evolution! These awards support students entering U.S.-based Ph.D. programs to conduct #ecology and #evolution research. Deadline is June 30, 2026: bit.ly/4umYKZd #science

Prickly pears are going nuts in the greenhouse 🌵

Penn State Biology is hiring! We have an opening for a tenure-line faculty position in plant biology - if you'd like to pursue awesome science in a supportive and interdisciplinary community of researchers, consider applying! psu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/PSU_Ac...

*screams*

It is with great sadness that we announce J. Craig Venter has died. 🧪🧬 www.jcvi.org/media-center...

Ticks can just....gtfo. Please and thank you.

17-20% cuts to NSF and NASA and no additional funds to the Census Bureau to prepare for the 2030 decennial census 🎶time to call your representatives again🎶

Thank you so much to David, @botsocamerica.bsky.social , and the Kaplan family! I am so excited to spend the next year figuring out how monkeyflowers make their rhizomes.

Hi friends, does someone have an example of a cover letter for non-profits/government scientific positions (if these are a thing)? Looking to share with grad students!

Guys there are like five corpse flowers that just bloomed or are about to and uhm while I'm not superstitious I'm maybe a little stitious...

1) There's no reason an administrator at NASA should care how a Solar System body is categorized. 2) NASA isn't the org that makes classification determinations for Solar System objects. 3) If Isaacman wants Pluto reclassified again, he can lobby the International Astronomical Union on his own time.

Skunk cabbage vibes (helping grad student Claire with some field work today). 🥬

More details on the firing of the National Science Board. The NSF now has no director, deputy director, or board. They have issued almost no new awards in 2026. The plan appears to be to completely destroyed the agency. The details are horrifying and have Russ Vought written all over them.

Everything is awful but I spent the day protecting my berry bushes, planting veggies and flowers, and soaking in the spring sunshine, so that helped a little. 🌞

My story on the NSB terminations:

U.S. President Donald Trump has fired all 24 members of the National Science Board, the body that oversees the National Science Foundation. https://scim.ag/4cxQWhl

History will not look kindly on this administration for many reasons, but the systematic silencing of independent expertise is particularly troubling. The NSF was established more 75+ years ago and has endeavored to balance research autonomy and political accountability.

I resigned from the National Science Board in May when meaningful oversight became untenable. I respect colleagues who stayed to serve the NSB's mission. Today's news clarifies that was an erosion of oversight and function has become open elimination of the Board itself. 🧵 time.com/7285045/resi...

well that's not great

🔥🔥🔥

Our titan arum is starting to cook at the base of the spadix!

hah jk it's happening tonight! plants gonna plant.

Hey regional friends, UConn's Titan arum is blooming next week! Follow the botanical conservatory (instagram: @uconnbotanicalconservatory) and come visit! We'll have extended hours on the night of the bloom. 🪰👃🌿