“We are glad the SAVE Act died in the Senate. We are grateful to every senator who stood firm against it. To every American who called, wrote and organized to make their voice heard, thank you – your voice matters." #BlackskyNews
www.splcenter.org/presscenter/...
No please don't summarize my emails. I can read my emails faster than you can summarize them.
Yes, other colleagues heard from the PO recently, and the PO was attending some NSF related events. I am debating if I should send another email, or send the email to a different person.
This person clearly has an axis to grind. They even spent the time to compile the list. And for an internal application? Holy cow.
I sent an email to an NSF PO a week ago and didn't hear back. Can't really tell if this is the new normal or what.
Mammalian-like steroidogenesis in plants gives rise to endocrine-mimetic cardenolides
#PlantScience #SecMet
From: www.science.org/doi/full/10....
Still accepting applicants for a postdoc! Here's the evoldir link if you're interested:
evol.mcmaster.ca/brian/evoldi...
Please reach out! Share with a friend!
A graphic with text that reads "ASPB Advocacy and Science Policy Update. Call to action: Support the NSF BIO Plant Biology Act. Strengthening U.S. Leadership in Plant Science."
The NSF BIO Plant Biology Act (H.R.7949) would strengthen investments in plant and microbial research—helping drive innovation and protect U.S. agriculture. Learn why it matters and how to take action 👉 buff.ly/xRu6Eqz #PlantScience #SciencePolicy
The politicisation of climate change over time in one graph.
In August, Jay Bhattacharya said “Training future biomedical scientists” was the 1st priority for his version of NIH.
But talk is cheap. Let’s see how JB’s doing. 🤔
NIH supports trainees mostly via fellowship (F), training (T), and career development (K) awards.
Here are funding curves for each.🧵
The VIB-UGent Center is seeking a postdoc in evolutionary systems biology to study whole-genome duplication impacts on plant evolution. Apply here: jobs.vib.be/j/133506/postdoc-in-evol... #postdoc
Photo of a white bacterial colony excreting a yellow liquid droplet
Bacterium: Here, look, I made this for you
🦀
My super department @warwicklifesci.bsky.social is hiring 6 assistant profs in the wake of recent retirements. We're looking for people in microbiology/infection, cellular disease / immunity; environmental biology; and plant/crop science. #MicroSky warwick-careers.tal.net/vx/lang-en-G...
Transformers! More than meets the eye!
This VERY ANGRY ROCK is actually a brown box crab (Echidnocerus foraminatus), a king crab found off the Pacific coast of North America.
The impressively compact shape is a defense posture, but there's an even neater feature not shown here.
(📷:zedasd)
Multiyear funding is an intentional scheme by Russ Vought to follow the letter of the appropriations law while still absolutely devastating American scientific leadership
A diagram showing that 24 annually funded grants becomes only 15 funded grants if 50% of the funds for competitive grants are used for multi-year funding.
I was preparing for a talk I gave last evening to a lay audience and came up with this graphic to explain multi-year funding and why it leads to fewer competitive awards and funding investigators and projects.
6/8
21. Some cultures have produced vital advances; others remain dysfunctional and regressive. All cultures are now equal. Criticism and value judgments are forbidden. Yet this new dogma glosses over the fact that certain cultures and indeed subcultures . . . have produced wonders. Others have proven middling, and worse, regressive and harmful.
Point 21 is the giveaway, some cultures produce "wonders," others are "regressive and harmful." Once you accept that hierarchy, you've quietly been given permission to apply different standards of verification to different actors. The form of verification stays, but the democratic function doesn't.
There's just a few more days left to apply for a technician/research assistant position working on diploid potato breeding with my group and with the Eastern USDA ARS potato breeding program -- application will close on April 22nd 🧪 🌱 🥔 #potato2.0 tinyurl.com/sknkxzey
Doing dishes, taking a shower, taking a walk, laying in bed…
Feels like this paper on protein-templated DNA synthesis by a natural enzyme warrants some comment.
So here's a 🧵. /1
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
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...
or if the croissants wrote their own recipe, but the recipe is just "add 1 tsp of" over and over again
I might argue that this is more like a croissant suddenly leaking butter back out as a raw ingredient to make more. Very bizarre.
Certainly nothing like CRISPR, but counter acts years of expectations that a finished product could turn into the recipe again (or in this case, a part)
A cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase scaffold organizes monoterpenoid indole alkaloid biosynthesis www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.04...
Three Botrytis/Eudicot papers accepted.
A reevaluation point on a question about generalism started with @katherinedenby.bsky.social 's sabbatical 24 years ago. Continued by a broad team of undergrads to post-docs including @annajomu.bsky.social @ccaseys.bsky.social and more not on bsky.
“NSF Plant Biology Act.”
H.R. 7949
www.congress.gov/bill/119th-c...
This bill would expand NSF funding for plant and microbial biology grants with $150 million authorized each year from FY2026 through 2031.
Reach out to your representatives.
www.house.gov/representati...
Postdoctoral Scholar position in the Coaker group University of California, Davis We are seeking a Postdoctoral Scholar to join our research program focused on immune receptor engineering and spatial analyses of plant pathogens interactions using computational and imaging approaches. The position will involve integration of molecular, imaging, and computational approaches. Relevant publications from the laboratory include Nature Plants (2025, PMID: 40721669), Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2024, PMID: 38814867), and Cell Reports (2023, PMID: 37342910). https://www.coakerlab.org/ Qualifications: • Ph.D. in plant biology, molecular biology, genetics, computational biology, or a related field • Strong background in genomics and/or computational biology • First author publications in peer-reviewed journals • Ability to work both independently and collaboratively in a multidisciplinary environment • Experience in plant innate immunity is preferred Application Instructions: The position is initially available for two years, with the possibility of extension based on performance and funding. Salary is based on the University of California postdoctoral salary scale (https://www.ucop.edu/academic-personnel-programs/_files/2025-26/represented-oct-2025-scales/t23.pdf). The salary range for this position is $69,073-$82,836 US Dollars/year. Review of applications will begin June 1, 2026 and will continue until the position is filled. Please submit a CV, a brief statement of research interests (~1 page), and contact information for three references to glcoaker@ucdavis.edu. The research statement should describe your previous work, how your expertise aligns with ongoing research in the lab, and potential future research directions.
We are hiring! We’re excited to recruit a postdoc to our lab at UC Davis to work on plant immune engineering and single-cell analyses of plant pathogen interactions. Apply by June 1. Please repost. www.coakerlab.org/postdoctoral...
Ahem, tree beats crab both in cool morphology and number of independent evolutions.
