Washington Post article on STEM cuts at federal agencies. NSF tops it at -42%!

“Between January 2025 and February 2026, STEM and health employees at science-focused agencies saw nearly 15,000 jobs cut. The rate outpaced cuts among other federal workers.”

OPM data - Figure from Wash Post article 19 April. (Where US science has been hit hardest.)

NSF at -42%!

Shepherd’s Purse for the #cabbagefamily #wildflowerhour not very open flowers

Montage showing Oil-seed rape, Honesty, Red campion and Thale cress.

Oil-seed rape, Honesty and Thale cress for the #CabbageFamily challenge, with bonus Red campion. #WildflowerHour

Fantastic photos!

Some #CabbageFamily plants flowering in N. Wilts. for #WildflowerHour: Wavy Bittercress, Garlic Mustard, Shepherd's Purse, Lady's Smock (white & pink forms), Wintercress, Honesty (white form) & Rapeseed. @bsbibotany.bsky.social @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

Lady’s smock (cuckoo flower) —
four petals in a cross, a quiet member of the cabbage family.

One of the wildflowers I wait for each spring —
and with it, the return of orange tip butterflies.

Their first food. Their beginning.

#WildflowerHour #CabbageFamily
#ClothOfNature #NatureInspiredArt

Back in the field: Eneza @enezer.bsky.social, Maria, and this year’s students are on Spiekeroog again in 2026, continuing to phenotype wild Arabidopsis in 2026. The dataset grows, and the story continues: Watching climate shape plants - in real time, in real environments.

White Thale cress with blurred Ivy-leaved toadflax in the background.

Thale cress. #CabbageFamily #WildflowerHour

White brassica flowers by the river Irwell

Dames rocket 🌱

#WildflowerHour #CabbageFamily #bloomscrolling #UKWildflowers

This Yellow Rocket caught my eye on my evening dog walk, just before dusk and just in time for the #CabbageFamily challenge #WildflowerHour

#WildflowerHour #WildflowerAllotment Some more Thale Cress growing near the fruit trees..

International Conference on Arabidopsis Research (ICAR #36) icar2026.sg is held annually & rotates between Asia, Europe, & North America. This tiny brassica plant revolutionised our understanding of how genes control plant development, nutrient uptake, & defense against pathogens. #WildflowerHour

Two wee Cardamine growing in the gaps of a floor mat.

A moulded metal cast of an Arabidopsis thaliana rosette.

I loved this week's challenge and took a lot of terrible pics of Cardamine spp.
I'm also sharing a photo of my Arabidopsis thaliana necklace. It is such a celebrity: the first plant whose genome was sequenced, growing in labs all around the world. There's also an annual conference! #WildflowerHour

Bill Alert!
US House Bill HR 7949 - NSF Plant Biology Act
hozzl.com/p/bill/congress-119-bill...


The NSF Plant Biology Act, designated as H.R. 7949 in the 119th Congress and introduced on March 16, 2026...

I love this so much.

Barack Obama sat down with Mayor Zohran Mamdani in a Bronx child care center, reading “Alone and Together,” a book about connection, community, and belonging to preschoolers.

Sidebar: Not sure these little-ones knew who Obama was 😂

Identification of a plasma membrane complex that interacts with phyB to regulate ROS production Phytochorme B interacts with a plasma membrane complex containing respiratory burst oxidase homolog D to regulate reactive oxygen species production during

Identification of a plasma membrane complex that interacts with phyB to regulate ROS production

academic.oup.com/plphys/advan...

GitHub - RILAB/statements: Successful Job Applications and Grants Successful Job Applications and Grants. Contribute to RILAB/statements development by creating an account on GitHub.

That time of year again! If you'd like an example of job apps in academia or industry, here's a good resource. If you got a job in industry or academia in the last few years, please consider adding yours! github.com/RILAB/statem...

Fantastic new review article by @e-frangedakis.bsky.social on synbio of bryophytes.

Bryophytes are fascinating plants and their potential to advance synbio is huge. Please check it out:

pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

Meet our Speakers: Dr. Emmanuelle Bayer, Research Director, Laboratory of Membrane Biogenesis, CNRS-Bordeaux University Dr. Emmanuelle Bayer is a Principal Investigator, CNRS Research Director (class 1 since 2024, ranked 1st at the national level) at the Laboratory of Membrane

Next i am going to Yale Medicine School for a seminar on how plant cells communicate ☘️ 📳 !! Can't wait

thank you Pietro De Camilli for the invitation @pdc-lab.bsky.social

m.yale.edu/dhjp

Bee sculptures made by the Year 2 pupils from Purbrook Infant School. The photos show some of the different stages. The children drew, constructed, strengthened, and coloured these sculptures in just one day.

I've been at Purbrook Infant School today, helping the Year 2 children to create 3D bees!
Even kids this young can create sophisticated results if you break things right down. The children did every part of these, drawing, construction and colour. 🙂
www.darrellwakelam.com
#Edusky #UKEd

🧪 We have a major new report out today with @wellcometrust.bsky.social on trust in science. While we find that the UK has so far avoided the polarisation of science we see elsewhere and science is a source of optimism. There are signs the public’s trust is becoming lukewarm & conditional.

Excellent!!

Vibrant street art in Limerick, Ireland. A standard street bollard is painted as a bright blue octopus head, with its tentacles sprawled playfully across the pavement for a local scavenger hunt.

🐙 Painted Octopus — By Lumen Street Theatre in Limerick 🇮🇪 This Is Clever (14 Photos): streetartutopia.com/2026/04/17/c...

Schizio commune mushrooms showing off their pretty gills on a stick

Good morning and happy #FungiFriday

US lawmakers intensify scrutiny of scientific-publishing practices A congressional hearing covered the rise of paper mills and the costs of open-access publishing — but there was little agreement on what reform would entail.

In a rare show of unity, both R and D US lawmakers agree: the scientific publishing industry needs reform.

Lawmakers are worried about the literature being flooded with 'AI slop' and the high open-access fees that some publishers charge.

Read more @nature.com on this week's House Science hearing

Registrations are open for PADiBa2026!

Cool!!!

A promotional graphic for the Anhydrobiosis Research, Tools & Techniques Webinar Series hosted by WALII that includes a blue water background and an image of the speaker.

We are excited to announce the next Anhydrobiosis Research, Tools & Techniques Webinar, hosted by the Water and Life Interface Institute (WALII)!

Join us May 14, 2026, for a seminar presented by Dr. Pedro Humberto Lebre on the extreme microbial ecology of the Namib Desert!

Register: bit.ly/4cvco5z

Big congratulations to my postdoc Ran on receiving Marie Sklodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship! Well done 👍 @johninnescentre.bsky.social

The venue of the MAdLand Meeting 2026: The Alte Mensa in Göttingen, Germany

‼️ Registration for the Annual MAdLand Meeting 2026 is now open!
Join us in Göttingen from Sep 29–Oct 2, 2026 to discuss the latest trends in plant science & reconnect with an amazing #Plantsci community #MAdLand2026 #Evolution
🌱 Learn more and register here:
madland-meeting.de/2026/