New on the Archive:
Baxter, Janella (2026) From the Elephant to Butyric Acid Bacterium – it is [Not] all the Same! How the Genetic Code is Not Universal (with apologies to Albert Jan Kluyver). [Preprint]
https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/28372/
@laurennross.bsky.social I am teaching your paper Multiple Realizability from a Causal Perspective to my philosophy of biology students this week. I'm using it to help them answer the question: why is there diversity in the life sciences? It's been a pleasure to prepare lecture. It is so clear!
The latest changes are designed to "protect academic integrity and restore public trust," Tommy Williams, the university's interim president, said in a statement.
What a disgusting distortion of what public trust requires.
I feel like Americans are so desperate for wholesome, mundane news that Mamdani's NYC weather briefings have become top views on Youtube this weekend.
A long-time shero to me and many feminist scholars, Elizabeth Spelman, has passed away. She was one of several feminist philosophers who inspired me as an undergraduate. Our community has lost a tremendous scholar.
www.legacy.com/us/obituarie...
Mayor Mamdani visited a pre-k school with Ms. Rachel and it is the best of humanity. Check it out if you need a few moments of happiness.
I love how my Philosophy of Biology syllabus features so many women authors! It's so lovely.
What wonderful news! Such a well-deserved promotion. I'm so happy for you.
As a side note: my former undergraduate advisor is in your department -- Alicia Carlson. I really loved learning from her. I hope she's an equally lovely colleague.
Sending love @drjustincaouette.bsky.social
Things can get much weirder, creepier, and worse. Faculty have been required to post their syllabuses to University websites (at least) since I've been here (2022). Now all Texas faculty must conduct a comprehensive review of our classes to (among other things) check for compliance with SB37.
My new Gould paper is out today in Paleobiology (OA)! It is, in effect, a synthesis of some of my historical work on Stephen Jay Gould’s early career, which explores the curious position of punctuated equilibria in his early vision for evolutionary paleontology
www.extinctblog.org/palaeonews/2...
🚨We're hiring! A tenure track position at McGill University in the area of #bioethics and / or philosophy of science, with a special focus on the ethics of medical technologies. Please share widely. #philsky #ethics #philsci philjobs.org/job/show/30402
Also, I love buses!
Following the brilliant @ruthbenghiat.bsky.social: I've been performing small acts of resistance by holding on to hope, practicing empathy, and finding levity in times of darkness.
There is hope.
#philsci at a meeting where an upper administrator is telling us there's no problem of scientific funding when there's plenty of private funding to go around...
Great pictures, Yoshi! Thanks for sharing them.
I hope you are settling in well in Copenhagen, Yoshi! Glenn, Tourmaline, and I send you lots of well wishes.
It's always a great day when I get to cite Jonathan Harwood's work. #philsci
Hello bluesky community!
I'm hiring a postdoc to do machine learning in population genetics.
Starting to build up a lab at Indiana University Bloomington where I just started a faculty position.
Apply with the below link: indiana.peopleadmin.com/postings/30325
I've just completed a draft of the paper on the frozen accident's logic and what nonstandard genetic codes mean for it. If you'd like to read it, please let me know. I'm not a trained historian, but I do use some archival materials along with Crick's published works. Feedback is always welcome.
3 Tenure-Track Assistant Professor Positions in the History of Science, Technology, Medicine, and the Environment at Texas State University 🗃️ #HPS
#histsci #histmed #envhist
networks.h-net.org/jobs/68829/t...
Thanks so much! I will follow up with Nick. Very much appreciate the reply.
Or perhaps it was the Landweber and Hurst work you name.
In Life's Greatest Secret (if my memory serves me) you name Freeland and Landweber as the first authors of genetic code optimization theory. (My copy is in the office. Apologies if I don't get this exactly right.) Would like to hear more about this.
Perhaps you address this in the forthcoming book?
@matthewcobb.bsky.social
I'm working on a paper on the frozen accident, nonstandard genetic codes, and the great man history that surrounds Crick. I have some questions about the influence work of Sonneborn (1965) and Zuckerkandl & Pauling (1965) had on Crick's 1968 paper.
The HOPOS 2026 website is up. Detailed call for papers coming soon. Keynotes by Peter R. Anstey and Heather Douglas. hopos2026.dryfta.com #philsci
Check out our newly released special issue, "Reproductive Objects"! Through a collection of stellar articles, it traces the material "stuff" that constitutes the uneven tapestries of power, authority, and knowledge making around human reproduction.
www.press.jhu.edu/journals/bul...
And know this: the day will come when all these skirmishes and battles, these moments of defiance will have flooded the banks of the Empire’s authority and then there will be one too many. One single thing will break the siege.
And then remember this: The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear.
Random acts of insurrection are occurring constantly throughout the galaxy. There are whole armies, battalions that have no idea that they’ve already enlisted in the cause. Remember that the frontier of the Rebellion is everywhere. And even the smallest act of insurrection pushes our lines forward.
Nemik's manifesto from Andor.
There will be times when the struggle seems impossible. I know this already. Alone, unsure, dwarfed by the scale of the enemy. Remember this: Freedom is a pure idea. It occurs spontaneously and without instruction.