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Anna Vlasits

@annaintegrated.bsky.social
1.3K followers 629 following 113 posts

Retina neurobiologist. My lab opened at University of Illinois, Chicago in January 2024. vlasitslab.org Views my own.

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Reposted by Anna Vlasits
Miranda Scalabrino, PhD @icanhasmiranda.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Incredible weekend in Madison for the inaugural Midwest Retinal Neurobiology Workshop, focused on trainees and community building. All the trainees absolutely killed it, including Taylor Rau from my lab. Happy to have this group and major thanks to @annaintegrated.bsky.social for initiating.
Woman standing at a podium in front of a giant projector screen

Half eaten yellow cake with chocolate icing that says “Midwest retina” in the center
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Dr. Brittany J. Carr @drbjcarr.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Yi-Rong is looking for a postdoctoral fellow! She's not on Bluesky so helping spread the word. Please follow the link to apply #retina 🧪 www.nature.com/naturecareer...
nature.com
Postdoctoral Scholar in Visual System Neurobiology & Multi-Omics - Los Angeles, California job with University of California Los Angeles | 12864661
We are seeking a highly motivated scientist trained in neuroscience with expertise in molecular biology and bioinformatics
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Bike Lane Uprising @bikelaneuprising.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Driver was cited for “failing to yield” In less than 24 hours we have learned of 3 crashes involving bicyclists/scooter riders. 2 of the crashes were fatal and the 3rd crash victim is currently believed to be in critical condition.
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UCLA Neuroscience Theme @uclaneurotheme.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Congrats to YiRong Peng, Greg Field, & Alex Huk on $8.9M BRAIN Initiative U01 from NINDS & NEI to build precision viral tools targeting specific retinal cell types. Combines genetics, viral engineering, retinal physiology, & visual processing, aimed at therapeutic potential for retinal degeneration.
Yirong Peng, Greg Field, & Alex Huk
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c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 04/07/2025
Passenger railway systems, by travel length: 202,000 km - European passenger railway 162,000 km - Chinese passenger railway 69,000 km - Indian passenger railway 34,000 km - US passenger railway 33,000 km - Australian passenger railway 12,000 km - Canadian passenger railway
Passenger Railway Networks 2020, showing Europe, North America, SE Asia, and Australia.  The European map is dense and all-encompassing.  The SE Asia map shows dense Indian train system.  North America is sparse and wispy, and Australia's map reflects vast distances between coastal areas, with little transit across the center of the island continent.
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Sweta Agrawal @hokuba.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Towards this end, Wayne developed a novel behavioral assay, informally referred to as the "Hokie Pokie." Flies are tethered and flying in the dark, and then we raise a platform to contact their legs and see what happens.
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Sweta Agrawal @hokuba.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
The Agrawal lab has published its first paper! "Sticking the landing: leg mechanosensory feedback coordinates the transition from flight to landing" www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... This project was led by a technician in the lab, Tse-Wei (Wayne) Kuo. Brief 🧵on what we found
agrawal-lab-workspace.slack.com
Slack
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Supraja Varadarajan @suprajagv.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
If you missed these 4 talks by @wertlaboratory.bsky.social @annaintegrated.bsky.social @axonreg2lab.bsky.social and Laura Campello be sure to find them and talk to them about their awesome science! And another plug for the newly minted Campello Lab and Schaeffer Labs. #iser2026 #womeninscience
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Wert Laboratory (PI: Katherine Wert) @wertlaboratory.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Great way to end #ISER2026, with a Valencian beach sunset and the amazing company of incredible scientists @suprajagv.bsky.social @annaintegrated.bsky.social
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Caustic Autistic @causticautistic.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
Because capitalism. The automotive(/tire/oil) companies wouldn't be making nearly as much if people across this vast country had, say, an extensive passenger rail system, the one that allowed all those small towns and rural communities to connect to each other and major cities.
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👻madeline bOoOoOoOodent👻 @oldenoughtosay.com · 31/07/2026
Happy Friday everyone, as promised, here is my personal theory on this. I think Redwall takes place in our world, after an apocalyptic event of the nuclear variety caused rapid but varied growth of all animals, including humans, leading to our extinction and their mental development. Okay? 🧵
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Carl Zimmer @carlzimmer.com · 10/07/2026
The @nytimes.com Lost Science series continues. USG killed funding for Jessica Cantlon's study of cognitive skills, saying it was turning from basic to applied science. "There won’t be more discoveries, and we’ll just stop at what we already know," Cantlon says. Gift link: nyti.ms/4hbDmCS
Photo of scientist Jessica Cantlon sitting in front of fMRI scanner and computers. Photo by Jake Reinhart for The New York Times
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The War on Cars @thewaroncars.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
New "3,000 feet to pass a cyclist" law just dropped.
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The Transmitter @thetransmitter.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
In this month’s “Liftoff,” @marisosa.bsky.social discusses the challenges and excitement of task-switching as a new PI, and @debyee.bsky.social shares how she plans to foster a culture of reproducibility in her lab. #neuroskyence By @franciscorr25.bsky.social www.thetransmitter.org/liftoff-new-...
thetransmitter.org
Liftoff: New lab alerts
Learn about early-career scientists starting their own labs.
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Leading Edge Fellows Program @leadingedgeprogram.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
We are thrilled to announce the 2026 Zara Weinberg Leading Edge Fellows! 40 remarkable postdocs pursuing transformative research in biological/biomedical sciences. This is the 7th Leading Edge cohort and we are so excited to welcome them! www.leadingedgesymposium.org/fellows/
Congratulations to the 2026 Zara Weinberg Leading Edge Fellows! 
Airi Yoshimoto, Yijun Yang, Alexandra Wells, Simran Virdi, Archana Venkataraman, Emery Usher, Marianna Tannus Ruckert, Wenzhi Song, Kathryn Shelley, Selin Schamiloglu, Julia Peloggia de Castro, Ines Patop, Ruhi Patel, Suranjana Pal, Bernie Simone Owusu Yaw, LaShae Nicholson, Sivapratha Nagappan Chettiar, Dallas Mould, Jessica Moore, Deka Mohamed, Sierra Marable, Annie Ly, Xi (Lucy) Lu, Deirdre Logsdon, Anna Lipkin, Ellen Lesser, Mia Konjikusic, Veronika Kondev, Cayla Jewett, Lucia Ichino, Erin Huiting, Maggie Horst, Isabella Gaeta, Martha Echevarria-Andino, Natasha Claxton, Sarah Cherkaoui, Nikita Bhalerao, Merci Best, Meenakshi Asokan, Alicer Andrew
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Miranda Scalabrino, PhD @icanhasmiranda.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Really lucky to have this group of new PIs to traverse academia together. Continuing the legacy of the tight knit, collaborative, and kind retina neurobiology community. #RetNeuroSRC @annaintegrated.bsky.social @juanonyme.bsky.social
Group of 3 women and 2 men sitting in chairs in a circle, smiling at the camera.
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@arvoinfo.bsky.social‬ @arvoinfo.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
OMB proposed policies may dramatically affect federal funding of research/related activities. @arvoinfo.bsky.social believes such decisions should be based on expertise, peer review and scientific merit. We urge the #VisionResearch community to oppose these changes. Learn how: bit.ly/4udtFa1
bit.ly
OMB’s Proposed Federal Financial Assistance Rule
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Dan Garisto @dangaristo.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
About as strong a statement as we've seen from AAAS over the course of this presidency. A good barometer for how seriously they're taking the OMB rule.
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Anna Vlasits @annaintegrated.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
It's my half birthday which is also #worldbikeday The last time my family owned a car was in 2017. We live in the Chicago suburbs with 2 kids, before that we lived in a small town in Germany. One can't be #carless everywhere. It takes effort. But for us, the pros vastly outweigh the cons.
A bike with a huge load of toilet paper on the rack
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Noam Ross @noamross.net · 03/06/2026
If you're wondering *how* to speak as a united front, @standupforscience.net is here for you. fight2win.standupforscience.net is where to go, @cdelawalla.bsky.social is rallying the troops bsky.app/profile/cdel...
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Pam Herd @pamherd.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
Please read this thread and write a comment!!! Agencies have to read and take seriosuly these comments. The comments matter. Also, call your reps. www.regulations.gov/document/OMB...
regulations.gov
Regulations.gov
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Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 30/05/2026
While regulations.gov incorrectly lists this action as "closed for comments", you can submit your comments directly here: www.regulations.gov/commenton/OM... My response is below, but don't feel that you need to draft anything nearly so long-winded. A short statement will also be very helpful.
For the better part of a century, US science has been the envy of the world, propelled by Eisenhower-era investment in every level of research and education, up through and including the American research university system. The best and brightest from around the world have come to the United States to study and work. Some stayed, bringing their exceptional talent here; others returned home, often carrying with them professional norms, institutional ties, and democratic ideals encountered in the United States, a process that has been a critical form of US soft power for many decades. This vibrant ecosystem of science, technology, engineering, and medicine has led the US through its transformation from a manufacturing economy to a technology and information economy, and ensured US prosperity and economic power up to the present day. Our funding agencies have not only promoted the technological discoveries and medical breakthroughs that transform our world and extend our lives, but also have been instrumental in developing the human capital that flows into our commercial science and technology sector and generates the growth and innovation that has given US businesses a worldwide competitive advantage. 

These proposed changes to the Regulations for Federal Financial Assistance undercut all of this. By transferring decision-making authority from scientific experts to political appointees in the grantmaking process, we lose the competitive edge and innovative capacity provided by the most effective research funding system in history. The numerous provisions allowing administrators to exclude individuals and institutions based on political litmus tests serve to squander the diverse talent available in this country, undermine basic principles of free speech, and run counter to the very ethos of science as described by Robert Merton in 1942. 

Science costs money, and scientific research is planned out on the scale of years. When any grant can be terminated at any time for…
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Alex Wild @alexwild.bsky.social · 30/05/2026
tl,dr; Scientists no longer allowed to use federal funding to publish, attend meetings, or talk to the public. They cannot collaborate internationally. Grants can be cancelled for any reason, at any time, political appointees have a final say over what gets funded, and who gets funded.
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John Tuthill @tuthill.bsky.social · 03/05/2026
Interesting side note, the 2p microscopes Peter gave us turned out to be the prototypes for the Sutter MOM, which Peter built with Denk and Euler in Heidelberg to do retina calcium imaging. Learned this from Rick Ayer (of Sutter) when he stopped by the lab once. www.nature.com/articles/nat...
nature.com
Directionally selective calcium signals in dendrites of starburst amacrine cells - Nature
Nature - Directionally selective calcium signals in dendrites of starburst amacrine cells
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John Tuthill @tuthill.bsky.social · 03/05/2026
We received the sad news that my emeritus colleague Peter Detwiler passed away at his home in Prague last week. nbio.uw.edu/people/entry... Peter was an amazing scientist, builder, and artist, who was always very modest about his accomplishments. And he was very kind. A quick example...
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Stand Up for Science! @standupforscience.net · 01/05/2026
Today at 12 PM ET, join Stand Up for Science for our Virtual & Accessible May Day Rally! Join the movement to fight for our science, defend our workers, and protect our future. Register now at the link in our bio or here: zurl.co/fm0Hc (1/2🧵)
The graphic contains an image of a laptop with a fist held up high emerging from the screen. The graphic reads: "MAY DAY VIRTUAL & ACCESSIBLE RALLY, ORGANIZED BY STAND UP FOR SCIENCE. TODAY! NOON ET. Register at link in bio." The graphic also contains the Stand Up for Science and May Day Strong logos.
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The War on Cars @thewaroncars.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
Happy Bike Month to all who observe.
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Gregg Gonsalves @gregggonsalves.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
"Too many scientists are willing to collaborate with Trumpism in the mistaken assumption that obedience will save their own necks." www.thenation.com/article/soci...
thenation.com
The Rise of the Vichy Scientists
Too many scientists are willing to collaborate with Trumpism in the mistaken assumption that obedience will save their own necks.
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University of Pittsburgh Ophthalmology Department @pittophthalmology.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
From photoreceptors to visual processing — #Webvision is your open-access deep dive into how we see. Now hosted at our Department, continuing its mission to make vision science accessible to all. Start exploring → www.webvision.pitt.edu #Ophthalmology #Neuroscience
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Anna Vlasits @annaintegrated.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Job posting closes tomorrow! Join us.
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Lisa Schmors @lisaschmors.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘺𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘷𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘣? 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘄! 🎉 📄 Paper: doi.org/10.64898/202... 💻 Colab notebook: colab.research.google.com/drive/1k9411... 🗂️ Code: github.com/yongrong-qiu... (1/🧵)
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International Society of Developmental Biology @isdb.bsky.social · 31/10/2025
In the spirit 👻 of Freaky Friday 🎃, here is a beautiful yet eery video of zebrafish retina development showing horizontal cells (🔵) finding their way out of the crowded amacrine (🟠) layer to settle beneath the photoreceptors. Happy #Halloween! 🎥: PhD student Rae Wong from the @nordenlab.bsky.social
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Anna Vlasits @annaintegrated.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
The Vlasits Lab is hiring a technician because our current technician was accepted into a PhD program! This position combines lab management and experiments. If you are interested in gaining experience with #retina research in Chicago, please apply. vlasitslab.org uic.csod.com/ux/ats/caree...
vlasitslab.org
Vlasits Lab
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Jenna Norton @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
NIH is not okay. @nytimes.com highlights how grant-making & ability to obligate funding is at risk from staff shortages and time consuming screening processes designed to censor research to align with the administration's political ideology. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/22/s... Some highlights:
nytimes.com
Pace of N.I.H. Funding Slows Further in Trump’s Second Year
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Anna Vlasits @annaintegrated.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
The Vlasits Lab is hiring a technician because our current technician was accepted into a PhD program! This position combines lab management and experiments. If you are interested in gaining experience with #retina research in Chicago, please apply. vlasitslab.org uic.csod.com/ux/ats/caree...
vlasitslab.org
Vlasits Lab
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Clara Jeffery @clarajeffery.bsky.social · 11/04/2026
Science is good. We should fund it.
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Daniel Kerschensteiner @kerschensteiner.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
New study led by Ning Shen w/ @phruzycki.bsky.social: a genome-wide in vivo CRISPR screen in a retinitis pigmentosa mouse model identifies genes whose loss accelerates photoreceptor death. Overexpressing two, UFD1 and UXT, preserves photoreceptors, retinal function, and vision. 🧵
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Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 09/04/2026
Our PhD student Kennedy Orwa, who studies applications of AI to health care, was hastily deported today to Kenya along with his 13-year-old son without opportunity to speak to legal counsel. King 5 reports that he held a valid visa that was rescinded without explanation.
king5.com
UW graduate student deported through SEA as protesters demand answers
A union representing University of Washington graduate student workers says Kennedy Orwa’s student visa was rescinded without explanation.
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Faine Greenwood @faineg.com · 09/04/2026
Contrary to increasingly popular belief, there are, in fact, still things computers can’t do - as @sifu.tweety.fish reminds us:
buttondown.com
It's still what computers still can't do
The cover of John McPhee’s book Oranges, which is about, you guesed it, oranges. It’s great. The New Yorker writer John McPhee, perhaps the 20th century's...
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Steve Randy Waldman @interfluidity.com · 04/04/2026
what if running the global economy on the liquefacted corpses of ancient beings somehow cursed us?
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Dan Garisto @dangaristo.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
BREAKING: In response to huge cuts in Trump's budget request, NSF is shuttering its SBE directorate. Staff will be transferred to other parts of the agency and "grants that align with Administration priorities" will be maintained. That & more w/ @maxkozlov.bsky.social & @edwrdchen.bsky.social
nature.com
Massive budget cuts for US science proposed again by Trump administration
Budget proposal would also curb federal payments for scientific publishing.
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Simon Fisher @profsimonfisher.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
“Flexible rhythm perception underpins human music, dance & speech. We show that bees form robust abstract rhythm representations. Results suggest an insect brain can encode & generalize arbitrary complex temporal patterns, pointing to deep evolutionary roots for domain‐general rhythm cognition.”😲 🐝🧪
science.org
Flexible, abstract rhythm perception in bumble bees
Flexible, abstract rhythm perception underpins human music, dance, and speech, but thus far, it has only been demonstrated in a few birds and mammals. In this work, we show that bumble bees also form ...
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Jared Rennie @jjrennie.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
HOLY CRAP! @nasaspaceflight.com @wxfront.bsky.social
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Miranda Scalabrino, PhD @icanhasmiranda.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
Only two competitive grants funded by NEI in FY26 so far.
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Tom Flood @tomflood.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
These machines fight traffic. Our @thebikinglawyer.bsky.social billboard is live.
Purple billboard with two bikes: 

These machines fight traffic
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BWJones @bwjones.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
850 Tomahawk missiles could be $3,060,000,000... That is 3 billion sixty million US dollars. That is 1224 5 year biomedical research grants. Literally, over 6 millennia of biomedical research.
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Emanuel Maiberg @emanuelmaiberg.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
after much deliberation and giving AI the benefit of the doubt, Wikipedia editors have had enough of AI slop. New policy bans LLM generated content, periodt www.404media.co/wikipedia-ba...
404media.co
Wikipedia Bans AI-Generated Content
“In recent months, more and more administrative reports centered on LLM-related issues, and editors were being overwhelmed.”
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Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
NSF Update through March 13, 2026 1/2
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.
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Michael Beyeler @mbeyeler.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
New @annualreviews.bsky.social #neuroscience article 👁️🧠: bionicvisionlab.org/publications... w/ @crisniell.bsky.social, @michaelgoard.bsky.social, @spencerlaveresmith.bsky.social Grateful to be part of this collaboration & learn from such a sharp group while rethinking vision in natural settings!
bionicvisionlab.org
Ecological visual processing in the mouse | Bionic Vision Lab
We review computations that are engaged in ecological contexts, including active sensing, motion processing, scene analysis, distance estimation, and spatial perception.
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Stand Up for Science! @standupforscience.net · 22/03/2026
NO KINGS 3 VIRTUAL RALLY Organized by Stand Up for Science Protect Our Health, Defend Our Democracy An accessible and inclusive rally for everyone, everywhere. March 28th, 12:30 - 2:00pm CT followed by live stream of flagship Twin Cities event Details coming soon #NoKings #NoKings3 #VirtualRally
Graphic with text that reads "NO KINGS 3 VIRTUAL RALLY
Organized by Stand Up for Science
Protect Our Health, Defend Our Democracy
March 28th, 12:30 - 2:00pm CT
An accessible and inclusive rally for everyone, everywhere."
Also has logos for NO KINGS and STAND UP FOR SCIENCE
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