Swam with a pod of Waymos on 19th Avenue this morning.

I'm rarely on Bluesky so maybe I've missed this shared before. But I stumbled upon a fun, daily game called Metaflora (and it's partner Metazooa). You guess the mystery plant or animal by navigating through the tree of life. I figured folks here would enjoy it! flora.metazooa.com

The stuff of legends

Some winter scenes in California.

Did you know there are 2 types of avocado varieties? A-types switch from female to male, B-types male to female, within a single day. This reciprocal sex alternation promotes cross-pollination and has a simple genetic basis. Read more in this recent preprint from the final chapter of my PhD thesis 🥑

The National Science Foundation starts 2026 with a new management structure that affects every scientist with--or applying for--NSF funding. Here's what you need to know. www.science.org/content/arti...

Devastating read.

Preparing a traditional coastal Northern Californian Christmas Dinner.

Congrats @jeffgroh.bsky.social et al. Some avocado trees open female-phase flowers in the morning & then male in afternoon. Others show complementary pattern (m->f), to synchronize pollination of two types. Jeff show this to be a >45Mya polymorphism at a transcription factor across 100s of species.

There are some magic little lands out there in the world.

Happy Solstice to all who experience the joy of the tilt of the Earth.

New special issue in Molecular Ecology on Conservation Genomics #popGen #evolution 🧪🧬🖥️ onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/1365294x...

Happy Hanukkah

We’re excited to share the MSU Plant Resilience Institute’s 2025 Annual Report! From breakthrough discoveries to global collaborations, join us in celebrating another year of extraordinary growth and scientific achievement at PRI. 🌱 Explore the report: plantresilience.msu.edu/about/annual...

My essay on Bill Burger's contribution to ecological species / syngameon concepts is in revision for International Oak Society. Preprint here, comments appreciated. @roderickcameron.bsky.social @davidlowry.bsky.social @roblanfear.bsky.social @cavenderg9.bsky.social ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...

Nice new review on my favorite topic. www.cell.com/trends/ecolo...

Second time in a row being stuck at the Westchester Airport (HPN) for 5+ hours waiting for a Delta flight. I do not recommend.

Cool!

Rapid adaptation follows experimental assisted gene flow in subset of annual monkeyflower populations www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

NIGMS R35 Maximizing Investigator's Research Award (MIRA) for Outstanding Investigators new NOFO is available!! Submission dates starting in January 2026 through May 2028. See link below: simpler.grants.gov/opportunity/...

Frozen Delaware Water Gap.

A resurrection study of scarlet monkeyflower populations across the species' range finds relatively little adaptive response to a seven-year drought event, showing that evolutionary rescue is not as predictable as we might hope 🌿 buff.ly/L8o4hhr

UNC-Wilmington is hiring 3 faculty positions: Assistant Professor of Invertebrate Biology: jobs.uncw.edu/postings/38056 Distinguished Professor of Marine Science: jobs.uncw.edu/postings/37951 Distinguished Professor of Marine Biology: jobs.uncw.edu/postings/38009

Comment in @nature.com: "Food will be more affordable — if we double funds for agriculture research now" www.nature.com/articles/d41... A global drop in public and private investment in agricultural science in the past four decades is partly to blame for high food prices, an analysis reveals.

Our plant-focused REU program, led by Prof Nagel, is open for applications, please forward to undergrads and reskeet etap.nsf.gov/award/7573/o... 🌱 🧪

The new Enabling Discovery through GEnomics (EDGE) Program page is posted. Please contact us at [email protected] if you have questions. www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...

Are we trying too hard with overly complex models? Alex Lipka and Reeka Howard argue that we do when it comes genomic prediction! 🧬🧪 Open Access: G3 Genes Genome Genetics, jkaf244, doi.org/10.1093/g3jo...

Reposting this as a reminder that we will continue to accept applicants for this postdoctoral position until December 23rd.

In this new study, we provide evidence that switchgrass evolutionary adaptations to fungal pathogens led to shifts in concentrations of saponins, which in turn interfere with the downstream industrial process of fermentation by yeasts to make biofuels. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

The UC Davis Ecology and Evolution in Working Landscapes REU provides undergrads with research experience in ecology and evolution in natural and managed landscapes. Apply now through Feb 15 via etap.nsf.gov Contact me or @clhom.bsky.social for questions!

“Zaha Hadid Was an Architectural Visionary. Here’s Where to Find Her Most Iconic Buildings.” We are lucky to have one of them right here in East Lansing, MI. www.afar.com/magazine/zah...

​The @mortonarboretum.bsky.social NSF REU program ​is open for summer 2026! $7500 stipend + housing / travel. Apply by 31 Jan 2026 and share with your networks! Details at ​​https://mortonarb.org/science/opportunities-in-science/research-experiences-for-undergraduates-program/

PRI is proud to highlight the extraordinary achievements of 3 faculty recognized with awards from the College of Natural Science: Emily Josephs: Teacher-Scholar Award David Lowry: Postdoctoral Mentoring Award Sue Rhee: Research Leadership Award Read more: plantresilience.msu.edu/pri-news/202...

EEB Postdoctoral Fellowship @ U.Toronto app deadline Jan 15 2026. Opportunity for independent research, encourages collab across labs/disciplines. Lots of great folks to interact with, Come join us! eeb.utoronto.ca/employment-2/

New York Times article on science funding with some depressing but familiar curves with interactive graphics. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Congratulations to @alaynamead.bsky.social and the entire #PopUpPoplars team for this collaborative effort predicting genotypic responses across environments. This research uses 17 replicated ‘mini gardens’ to predict role of mixed ancestry to growth, survival, and expansion to novel environments

Excited to see our first paper for this 17 common garden collaborative study on hybrid Poplar performance now out in New Phytologist. nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Took me all the way to Season 5 Episode 4 of Stranger Things to Google whether it was a coincidence that the names of roads in Hawkins match those of the west side of Durham, NC. Apparently not…https://www.newsobserver.com/entertainment/tv/warm-tv-blog/article261972280.html

Australia recorded ZERO cases of cervical cancer in women under 25 for the first time since they started tracking the cancer in the 80s. This is the power of vaccines. The HPV vaccine is extremely effective at preventing cancer. Viruses can be oncogenic. Get your vaccines and protect yourself!

Big bluestem has been a lovely and complex system to work with for the majority of my PhD and will always have a piece of my heart! Very excited to share this work with the community.

Professorship Plant Physiology. Kaiserslautern, Germany #plantscijobs #plantscijob www.academics.de/jobs/w2-prof...

Professorship Plant Stress Resilience. Aachen, Germany. #plantscijobs #plantscijob www.academics.de/jobs/w3-univ...

"Her wit was as sharp as her convictions, and her honesty was refreshing and rare." A wonderfully written (by @gbaucom.bsky.social) obituary for my grad school friend and Auburn University Prof. Vanessa Koelling, who passed away last week. www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/m...

Spatiotemporal dynamics of CYCLOIDEA expression during early floral development in monkeyflower www.cell.com/current-biol...

Applications due by Dec. 1st.

I wrote a little bit about the "missing heritability" question and several recent studies that have brought it to a close. A short 🧵

Now hiring! 📣 @davidlowry.bsky.social's lab at MSU is searching for a new postdoctoral researcher to study the evolution, genetics, and physiology of cold acclimation and freezing tolerance in switchgrass. Learn more and apply: careers.msu.edu/jobs/researc... #PlantSciJobs #PlantScience

We are recruiting field technicians to contribute to a field study of adaptation to climate in Chamaecrista fasciculata in Raleigh/Chapel Hill, NC. My collaborators at UGA will soon post similar positions in Ithaca, NY and Archbold Biological Station, FL. Please share jobs.ncsu.edu/postings/225...

#UBC Botany is hiring an Assistant Professor in Non-Seed Plant Diversity - come work with us in beautiful #Vancouver, BC! Please repost! academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/31140