A screenshot of the first page of the PDF of the SI Review Article, A life-history perspective on exercise, by Jerry Husak and Simon Lailvaux. The publication information states: © 2026. Published by The Company of Biologists | Journal of Experimental Biology (2026) 229, jeb251271. doi:10.1242/jeb.251271. The first sentence of the abstract says, 'Exercise has been extensively studied in humans because of its multiple benefits, yet it is unclear how relevant ‘exercise’ is to nonhuman animals and whether the effects of exercise are identical to those in humans'.

Species from fish to lizards have similar responses to exercise. In their SI Review, Husak & Lailvaux suggest that this response plays a role in life-history strategies and advocate for considering exercise from a life-history perspective in future studies
doi.org/10.1242/jeb....

A life-history perspective on exercise Summary: The phenotypic responses to exercise are ancestral in vertebrates, but a lack of studies that restrict resources during training limits our knowledge of whether exercise-induced trade-offs are consistent or common.

This paper was so fun to write! Special @jexpbiol.bsky.social issue on the integrative physiology of exercise. Check it out for the description of trying to train flounder!

A life-history perspective on exercise url: journals.biologists.com/jeb/article-...

PREPRINT ALERT !!!
Excited to share our #reptile #embryo cryopreservation method optimised on peri-gastrulation veiled chameleon embryos! This lays the foundation for functional studies & reptile #conservation efforts!
#devbio #squamates #evodevo

www.biorxiv.org/content/bior...

A line graph of the number of NSF awards in fiscal 2026 compared to fiscal years 2021-2025. The fiscal year 2026 is well below the other curves and increasing only very slowly.

NSF Update through March 13, 2026

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🚨Massive: The AMA has issued a statement saying that they still fully support gender affirming care and don’t endorse the new ASPS position!

They say that their media misinterpreted their statement regarding surgeries and their position remains unchanged!

Link below:

if you want to know the history of this kind of policy, I made a podcast two years ago that explained why these tests make no sense, how they were already used and eventually abandoned by the IOC in the 80's and 90's, and the devastating impacts they have on real athletes: www.tested-podcast.com

This line graph illustrates the percentage change in agency staff levels from the previous year for nine major U.S. federal scientific and health organizations between the fiscal years 2016 and 2025. The agencies tracked include the CDC, Department of Energy, EPA, FDA, NASA, NIH, NIST, NOAA, and NSF. For the majority of the timeline between 2016 and 2023, the agencies show relatively stable fluctuations, generally staying within a range of +5% to -5% change per year. However, there is a dramatic and uniform plummet starting in the 2024–25 period. Every agency depicted shows a sharp downward trajectory, with staffing losses ranging from approximately -15% to over -25%. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shows the most significant decline, dropping to roughly -26%, while the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) shows the least severe but still substantial drop at approximately -15%.

This is the most astonishing graph of what the Trump regime has done to US science. They have destroyed the federal science workforce across the board. The negative impacts on Americans will be felt for generations, and the US might never be the same again.

www.nature.com/immersive/d4...

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It’s never been more important for scientists to break out of the ivory tower and engage with the public.

I am excited to announce that I’m now booking professional development workshops focusing on public science engagement for summer and fall 2026!

#Scicomm 🧪🦑🌎

We're hiring a *post doc*!

Are you a global change ecologist (broadly defined) and want to work with Jenny McGuire, @benjaminfreeman.bsky.social, me & many others?!🦎🐦🦴⛰️

Come join an amazing, hungry, and very exciting eco-evo group here at GT!

careers.hprod.onehcm.usg.edu/psc/careers/...

In the last two weeks, 1% of new NSF awards were in biology. Just one grant of 97. One.
Biology in the US is on hold until there’s a regime change.

I’m an NIH whistleblower. The scientific community cannot afford to avoid politics “Scientists are often encouraged to avoid politics. But this advice is outdated, if it was ever correct in the first place,” writes Jenna Norton, NIH whistleblower.

A heads down approach will not save science. We need to speak up, live our values, and demand integrity.

www.statnews.com/2026/03/12/n...

There is No Consensus on Biological Sex At this critical moment when misinformation about sex is being applied to policy globally, scientific clarification on the definition of biological sex is valuable. Here, we evaluate the primary appr...

New paper out in ecology letters! with @andylee.bsky.social @allydefduf.bsky.social

We synthesized the active debate on how scientists define sex, including limitations and assumptions. We believe this discussion will lead to more accurate science.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Simon Lailvaux and I have a new podcast! We talk to big-name biologists about how science has changed over their careers. Here’s the first episode - look for more every couple of weeks!

Many heat-stressed tropical insects are reaching their limits Vast study in Peru and Kenya confirms limited defenses against rising temperatures, redoubling climate concerns

Insects living in the lowland tropics have evolved to deal with brutal heat. But many of them are close to their limit, according to a massive study that assessed the heat tolerance of hundreds of species. https://scim.ag/406Y5yh

🏆 Our science communication awards are now open!

These awards recognize exceptional science journalists, communicators, and researchers whose work in 2025 made #STEM accessible and engaging for broad audiences.

Deadline: April 3, 2026

Apply now: www.nationalacademies.org/awards/excel... #scicomm

A line graph showing NSF grant awards made through 2/27/26 for fiscal year 2026 compared with grant awards for fiscal years 2021-2025.

NSF Update (Awards through 2/27/26)

Directorates to follow

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Every day Vought withholds $ from these agencies is a day where a grad student doesn’t get funding, a day where a postdoc has to look for work elsewhere, a day where early career scientists lose gap funding with a fundable grant sitting on this clowns desk. We’re losing a generation of scientists.

Thrilled to be featured on the cover of @devdynamics.bsky.social

highlighting our 2 anole studies published:

anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
&
anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Thanks so much @thomsanger.bsky.social for hosting me when I took this image!

it's the AI PRFB now 🙃

It is always a pleasure to work with you, Bonnie! Let's do it more often.

Oogenesis and germinal bed morphology of the brown anole (A. sagrei) Background The brown anole is a model species of the genus Anolis, a squamate (encompassing lizards and snakes) group widely studied in evolutionary, behavioral, and developmental biology. Full geno...

Excited that our study on oogenesis and germinal bed morphology in the brown anole is published! Find it here:
anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

@stowersinstitute.bsky.social @mdandersn.bsk.social @oxfordwomenshealth.bsky.social @cambiochem.bsky.social @ox.ac.uk @cam.ac.uk

Rand Paul up to his usual dipshittery. "The NSF spent $8 billion to study whether Japanese qual are more sexually promiscuous while on cocaine"

The total NSF budget was 9 billion. I doubt they spend 89% of it on quail.

On this final day of #SICB2026, we want to thank everyone who has taken part in our PUI Action Group events! It's been a blast connecting with all of you. If you want to learn more about the PUI Action Group, check out our website: sicb.org/committees/p...

What a #SICB2026 conference! If you’d like to talk science and monsters with me on YouTube (Monster vs Data!) let me know below! Tell your colleagues too!

gformsapp.com/f/1uLFcN-EsG...

Getting ready to come to #SICB? www.instagram.com/reel/DS-8tUU...

Be sure to make time for these great things to do in #Portland🙌
thegetaway.com/destinations...

& don’t miss the cuisine 👍
www.chefdenise.com/all/famous-f...
www.voodoodoughnut.com

Percentage change in US counties’ annual income per capita due to climate change, averaged over 2000 to 2019. The first four rows depict impacts from changes in the number of days in that temperature bin, and the final row depicts impacts from changes in days of all types. Columns indicate different calculations. Greens indicate benefits and purples indicate losses from climate change. Gold coloring indicates no days of that type.

Climate change has affected the US economy, reducing per capita income by as much as 12.1% when accounting for indirect effects from temperature changes in all counties. Americans in the Great Plains and Midwest have been hurt the most. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/bR5t50XQ1m8

A ChatGPT diagram of a skull with some weird labels. The lower jaw is both the mandible and the occipital bone. Also, the nasal cavity is between two teeth!

Given all the recent buzz about how great ChatGPT has gotten, including its prowess with images, I figured I'd check in on its anatomical skills. Nope.

Apply for Development's Pathway to Independence programme - the Node Development are currently welcoming applications for our Pathway to Independence (PI) programme, which aims to support a small number of researchers in

Apply for Development's Pathway to Independence programme

The programme aims to support a small number of researchers in the fields of developmental biology, stem cells and regeneration as they transition from postdoc to group leader. Read more ⬇️

thenode.biologists.com/apply-for-de...

Biology and Women’s Studies and Gender Studies, Lecturer (Gender, Sexuality, and the Biology of Sex ), Non-Tenure track Salary Range: $65,000 - $75,000Benefits Information: https://www.luc.edu/hr/benefits/The Department of Biology and the Women’s Studies and Gender Studies (WSGS) Program in the College of Arts and Scie...

Hey SICB, this is a great time to remind you about an open position at Loyola University Chicago that combines the biology of sex with the humanities and social sciences. If you are interested and have questions, please let me know. The app. deadline is Jan. 1.

www.careers.luc.edu/postings/34131

Boxing up the NSF at Eisenhower Av for the forced relocation. Boxes have “Details Matter” signage.

NSF

- Forced reorg

- POs down ~ 40% (DRP, most rotators not renewed, retirements)

- Forced move (and we have to pack and clean) to a building with no furniture, little to no conference space for panels, inadequate 🛜, …)

I personally love the boxes they gave us for packing.
“Details matter” 🙃