I've said it before: everything giant pandas do makes more sense if you imagine they are six drinks in on a Friday night. But I feel like we haven't fully celebrated their triumphant return. See, the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) is no longer Endangered. A conservation success story!

Bluetorial-Jim Watson I met Jim Watson a few times but did not know him well. However, I was greatly influenced by his book “The Double Helix”. He was a complicated human being with some very, very bad features, but some good contributions. What follows is my personal perspective. 1/41

Excited to launch an openRxiv partnership with the scientist-run AI review service qed (@qedscience.bsky.social), the brainchild of @odedrechavi.bsky.social 1/n openrxiv.org/enabling-rev...

🧪 Two of my favorite sci-things! Already run q.e.d on my latest bioRxiv submissions :)

🚨 NASA scientists warn: critical equipment at Goddard Space Flight Center could be discarded during the shutdown, jeopardizing decades of Earth & space science missions. 📢 Act now: agu.quorum.us/campaign/146... #sciencepolicy #saveNASA

An Asgard archaeon with internal membrane compartments Brilliant study led by @fmacleod.bsky.social and Andriko von Kügelgen. Tight collaboration with @buzzbaum.bsky.social and lab. Congrats to all authors! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

The Leading Edge Fellows gathered this week to celebrate Zara Weinberg, a beloved member of our community. Our 7th cohort of Leading Edge Fellows (2026) will be named in her honor. The Zara Weinberg Leading Edge Cohort application is now open! Due Feb 2. www.leadingedgesymposium.org/apply/

Love the idea of the "deletion test" posed by @needhibhalla.bsky.social & coauthors in their commentary about costs of cutting DEI efforts in science. What if that student were "deleted?" What will the costs be? Screenshots attached to enhance access. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Scaling back DEI isn’t just a moral setback—it’s a loss of innovation. Bhalla, Trejo & @marymunson4.bsky.social in Nature Cell Biology: limiting who can participate in science “weakens research capacity and stifles discovery.” doi.org/10.1038/s415...

We've got you 👍

I was blown away by the response to my trans "It's Dr, Actually" pins so, by popular demand, I made nonbinary ones too. They were so successful, I've now expanded to a whole range of gender pride flag variants, as well as some plain and shimmery colour versions! canopyrobin.etsy.com/listing/1841...

We are all better because of the energy, inspiration, brilliance, and tenacity that Zara was. A bright light, role model, advocate & snarky tweeter... everything I needed in a person when I was navigating dark times when we met in 2021. You will be missed deeply, Zara, but never forgotten ❤️

Zara was one of the best people I've crossed paths with in this career, in this life. A fissure has opened with her departure, and I will miss her terribly.

Here are some of Zara's contributions. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...

We have progressed from data collection to data analysis.

“Children born to mothers who had COVID-19 while pregnant face an elevated risk of developmental disorders by the time they turn 3 years old, including speech delays, autism, motor disorders, and other developmental delays” #Covid19 #Pregnancy #ReproSky 🧪 www.massgeneralbrigham.org/en/about/new...

CovidDoom and antivax disinformation accounts thrive on fear. They claim science hides “the truth,” but offer no solid evidence of their own, only conjecture. By turning uncertainty into conspiracy, they erode trust in experts and data, making evidence itself seem suspicious. 1/4

Zara Weinberg passed away earlier this week. She joined my lab earlier this year when her postdoc lab formally closed. She was a brilliant scientist, supportive mentor, dear friend, avid music fan, rabid believer in public transit, open science champion, and above all just an amazing human.

Truly one of the best. We worked on various initiatives/wrote a paper together, and had the best conference meet ups. She was a bold and tireless advocate for change. Last time we met, we had a great time trying new cuisine and imagining a future that’s so different for trainees than we experienced.

100% all of this 👇. So grateful to have had you in my life, Zara, and I will miss you so much.

Science needs to be part of our day to traditions. For many years - I have continued to give Foldscope @teamfoldscope.bsky.social with the candy on Halloween. Try it out and surprise the kids with the capacity to see and discover real #microMonsters crawling on our planet. 🎃👻 #FoldscopeHalloween

Cover of "When Trees Testify: Science, Wisdom, History, and America's Black Botanical Legacy"!!! published by @henryholtbooks.bsky.social. I can't tell you all adequately how proud of & eager I am to share this with the world!!! Coming January 20, 2026 Pre-order NOW: bookshop.org/p/books/when...

Important article from @marymunson4.bsky.social @joann-trejo.bsky.social @needhibhalla.bsky.social

Hey! I spent a good little while working on the cover story for the summer issue of the Walrus. Read, share, shower me with praise, write me hate mail etc thewalrus.ca/ai-hype/

Under Trump, the draconian future of homelessness policy is coming into focus: mass internment. Utah is building a 16-acre site to detain up to 1,300 homeless people inside locked "accountability centers." This is profoundly alarming. Vital reporting from @ellenbarry.bsky.social and Jason DeParle:

The Principled Investigator is a great source of news affecting NIH and science for anyone on Substack: open.substack.com/pub/theprinc...

The UC Regents finally released the “settlement agreement” the Trump administration proposed in August. It’s a doozy. UC alumni, faculty, staff, students, parents, donors—and all citizens of California: Now is the time to let the UC Regents know you do not want them to sign this bad deal.

Measles was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000. RFK Jr. must resign.

Giving a talk to science undergraduates in a red state soon. Normally this is a "what my career has been" talk, but I feel like that is less important than discussing the current situation. OTOH, I don't want to be too discouraging to trainees... suggestions? (will be after upcoming elections)

💡 Kudos to Lara Goudsouzian, DeSales University, on receiving ASCB’s 2025 Innovation in Education Award! This honor celebrates a novel educational accomplishment in the past 3 years that advances ASCB’s mission. #ASCB #CellBiology

A timely read deserving of broader dissemination beyond the readership of Nature Cell Biology.

It was such an honor for me to work with awesome colleagues Needhi Bhalla and JoAnn Trejo on this important piece 👇

Picture of the East Wing demolition of the White House taken on my flight out of DCA.

Hey #TeamTomo …would you like to try some 🍦ICECREAM!? Our @unibas.ch colleagues over at the @ivandokmanic.bsky.social lab have developed a stunningly effective tool to de-noise and de-wedge your tomograms. The contrast and details will give you brain freeze! 🍨❄️🤯 Please try, we need feedback 🧪🧶🧬🔬

TT faculty job opening in #Neuroscience! We are looking for a colleague to join us in our fantastic Biology Department and Neuroscience Program at Brandeis. We are a group of *very* collaborative, supportive, and productive scientists (& humans!) so please apply academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/30961

Our home department of Molecular Biology & Biochemistry at UC Irvine is looking to hire a new tenure-track assistant professor in the broad area of structural biology. Come be our colleague! recruit.ap.uci.edu/JPF09887 Please apply and/or share this post.

Well this is interesting: COVID vaccines can boost cancer immunotherapy treatments Have you had your COVID booster yet?

Dismantling the Institutional Review Board (IRB), that oversees all human subjects research, is bad. Really bad.

Peruse the history of why we have human research ethics. And I don't mean Nuremberg... Tuskegee, Willowbrook...all "well meaning" scientists by their own internal moral compasses.

cc: @gavinnewsom.bsky.social

A university that signs the “compact” is one that acknowledges its own inability to compete and succeed based talent and merit. It would signal insecurity and mediocrity to current and future students and faculty. Say no. Recruit the best people, protect their freedom and support their hard work.

white house has joined bluesky click here to block all official us government accounts instantly bsky.app/profile/did:...

My stock solution of Triton X-100 10% got contaminated with some critter so now following in the footsteps of the inimitable @bielleogy.bsky.social and the #BlueSoup saga, I am sequencing it. Will share data.and strain. Place your bets! Who can this intrepid surfactant enjoyer be???

I am truly honored to be selected as incoming Editor of JID Innovations. I look forward to promoting the science and innovation in our communities and beyond! #dermsky #Dermatology #WomenInSTEM #innovation

I was supposed to serve on study section today and can't because of the shutdown Blame the GOP and this regime for stalling science so that they can terrorize immigrants and anyone who is brown or black, give tax breaks to billionaires, cut essential social services and raise costs on healthcare

And if this bothers you as much as it bothers me, please find the nearest #NoKings protest and join in solidarity. We are meant to have checks on the power of the president and if Congress and the Court won't do it, the people must: www.nokings.org

Chemists call for ban on generative AI for chemical structures: "serious errors could damag[e] the next generation of scientists" As ever, the problem seems to be not AI but lazy application of it and lack of checks. Whether _that_ problem is solvable... www.chemistryworld.com/news/the-che...

Apparently Bluesky is seeing an influx of new users. Welcome! If you're interested in science, journalism, and/or science writing, here are a bunch of folks worth following. go.bsky.app/7Z8u31b

Attention membrane traffickers! I'm recruiting a post-doc to my lab in Dundee. We're dissecting the functions of intrinsically disordered domains of COPII coat proteins. We think they control timing of coat assembly and morphology of carriers. www.dundee.ac.uk/work-for-us/...