I told a European friend we have gone beyond “Kafkaesque “

Agree with your point re original Gaia hypothesis, although any provocative hypothesis is likely to be modified upon experimentation/reflection,no?
I think I was turned off by the mysticism. But calling it Earth Systems Science removes that.

I've only read preface so far -- I don't think WFD is all in on Gaia but is willing to entertain that evolutionary 'fitness' may be more than classical rendering of reproduction rate. That is, 'persistence' has value and he is willing to think about mechanisms for multi species evolution.
1/2

I came upon this 2024 open-access book by the estimable W Ford Doolittle --
Darwinizing Gaia: Natural Selection and Multispecies Community Evolution
direct.mit.edu/books/oa-mon...

Looks fascinating: an esteemed molecular biologist who has invested time in understanding philosophy
🧪🧫 #philsci

On schedule now for #MattersMicrobial: podcast releases every other Tuesday. This week, Dr. Nahui Medina-Chavez (of the Michael Travisano lab) joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss halophilic archaea and evolution in the lab. Please spread the #GoodMicrobialWord??

youtu.be/oz04oGDiRY0?...

Republican sports team owners … maybe when you write a book about the USFL …

I’d hold out hope that Barack Obama reads Moses and the Doctor and gives you a call

👀 🧪
My only question is whether this project was designed during a lab coffee break

New on Think Like a Microbe 🧪🧫 #philsci
Science's Social Contract
Where does it stand in 2026?
open.substack.com/pub/thinkmic...

Impact Dashboard - Impact Counter | Impact Counter Visualize the human impact of funding changes for aid and support organizations.

Counter paused at 1 year

www.impactcounter.com/dashboard?vi...

Think Like a Microbe | Allan Konopka | Substack Does Microbial Ecology have a philosophy? Should it? Click to read Think Like a Microbe, by Allan Konopka, a Substack publication with hundreds of subscribers.

Mark, FWIW -- if you are ever in a last minute pinch, I would be willing to help out. As a retiree, no longer active doing research but have 'philosophical' thoughts on microbial ecology
thinkmicrobe.substack.com

The DEI EO’s “worked” because Trump threatened/did withhold many $M feds had contractually obligated to unis [research grants]. Work stops/layoffs.
Will he be willing to do so cuz Alabama took on a QB whole has transferred 2X?

This is impressive 🧪🧫 work both conceptually and technologically

Reprogrammed SimCells for antimicrobial therapy
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

“Everything is everywhere “ 🤔

Microbes inhibiting viruses? Mosquitoes with Wolbachia symbionts don't replicate dengue virus -- and have been used for biocontrol!!
🧪🧫
Long-Term Durability and Public Health Impact of City-Wide wMel Wolbachia Mosquito Releases ... During a Dengue Epidemic Surge
www.mdpi.com/2414-6366/10...

I presume this is in response to the Tim Sands article in Inside Higher Ed?
Sort of a variation of pro owners pleading for someone to "save me from myself" wrt free agency

This was an exceptionally good piece today, Matt. Got me looking into the 'Flutie Effect,' the touchstone for all these presidents/ADs. It is better called the 'Moran Era' after BC president. He instituted 6 or 7 reforms beyond leveraging athletics.
So just pouring $ into athletics won't move needle

@lukeepplin.bsky.social
Page 63, man — c’mon … a Star Wars reference ?

[thoroughly enjoying the book so far!]

They’re just modeling the behavior of athletic directors & university presidents

Mapping the Structural Divide 1,556 U.S. colleges and universities mapped on Institutional Resilience, Post-College Market Position, and AI Exposure.

Nerd time! :)
I mapped every 4-year college in U.S. higher education along two dimensions (institutional resilience & post-college market position) using federal data plus a novel measure of institutional AI exposure I created.
Institution search on the front page!
kylesaunders.com/university-m...

“You Learn More From Failure—When Things Are Not Working Well.” Nobel Prize–winning biochemist Katalin Karikó, whose research laid the groundwork for COVID-19 vaccines, talks about how hard work and focus led to her scientific success.

Citation:
issues.org/interview-ka...
🧪 #philsci

I happened to come across an interview of Katalin Karikó from 2024 that was very good. IMO here is the money line re how the 'business' of science works

Mechanisms as explanations in biology and ecology Mechanicism, / machine mechanisms / causal mechanisms

Too long has gone by ... finally time for another edition of Think Like a Microbe
open.substack.com/pub/thinkmic...
🧪🧫 #philsci

Image of the cover of the 1st volume of ISME Host Microbe a new official journal of the International Society for Microbial Ecology. Cover images shows a plant stomata with bacteria around and entering.

Excited to announce our new journal from @isme-microbes.bsky.social ISME Host Microbe is live and now accepting submissions. Look forward to receiving your papers! #Microsky 🧫 🦠

Research on fruit flies and other ‘model’ organisms may be declining Analysis of published papers on eight widely studied species suggests work on them is fading, but not everyone is worried

Significant pearl-clutching here. But perhaps it is just that modern technologies have made it tractable to study phenomena in organisms of most direct interest!
🧪🧫

Research on fruit flies and other ‘model’ organisms may be declining | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...

Low bar, dude

A Look at the Enrollment Cliff What is Coming and How Badly will it Hurt?

Nice analysis here - TL;DR ... it's not a cliff, it's a steep hill
#HigherEd
open.substack.com/pub/findinge...

27 Ways to Access Scientific Research A complete guide to finding, reading, and evaluating scientific papers — and knowing what questions matter before you trust the findings.

Another great piece by Card Catalog -- most practicing scientists know this, but might be a useful primer for science undergraduate or even graduate students?
🧪 #philsci

substack.com/inbox/post/1...

Technically, the site of the UN building is not "U.S. soil" but rather international territory. -- ICE is not allowed to enter without permission

Thanks, Matt. Love it
This data nerd contests relationship is "strong" between RPI and expenses -- R-value (linear regression?) is not all that great (0.74) as R^2 says it only explains 50% of variance.
Due in part to plateau at high end but also all those >$1.5M spenders who don't do that great