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Annika Barber

@annikabarber.bsky.social
5.3K followers 1.2K following 2.3K posts

Drosophila enthusiast. Assistant Professor of Mol Bio and Biochem. Runner. Reader. Uses brain to think about brains. All around curious person.

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Reposted by Annika Barber
Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · 11h
~Approximately no one in the general public knows because the leaders of the R1 research universities - whose budgets, programs, & personnel are entirely or significantly dependent on federal funding - have been totally absent from the public square in explaining & collectively protesting this.
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Annika Barber @annikabarber.bsky.social · 3h
When you want to sleep in but the attention-needer needs attention:
Small grey dog stands on a bed and gazes directly at you in stern disappointment that he is not receiving snuggles.
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Reposted by Annika Barber
Joey Politano🏳️‍🌈 @josephpolitano.bsky.social · 21h
Sort of insane fact about how broken US urban planning is—America now spends more building *just the lights for roads and highways* than on all subways & ground mass transit combined Spending on roadway *pavement* is 18x transit spending
a graph of roadway and mass transit lights
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Reposted by Annika Barber
Cole Donovan @colesci.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
So if I'm going to seriously ask the question if the government is using its R&D resources wisely, it makes sense to spend a lot of time focusing on business and federal internal expenditures, as opposed to relentlessly focusing on less than a quarter of the overall pie.
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Annika Barber @annikabarber.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
In professional settings where using the word "fuckery" would be ill-advised, I have been substituting the word "skulduggery," which has proved quite satisfying.
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Annika Barber @annikabarber.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Terrifying wake up at 1:30 am as a massive oak tree blew over and obliterated our deck. 🌳 The wind is still scary.
Big snapped off tree trunk. A brick house in the background. A former deck obscured by leaves at right. Annikas unscathed car in the corner!
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Annika Barber @annikabarber.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
🚨🚨🚨 Very urgent for many of us. I also just learned this today. Tell your friends. Tell your grant admins. 🧪
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Annika Barber @annikabarber.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Did Aristotle form a peripatetic school because the crumbling institutional infrastructure was so bad that the offices, labs, and classrooms were frequently unusable? I write this from a random corner of my building, as my office is being deconstructed to fix the 3-months-broken A/C. #academicsky
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Annika Barber @annikabarber.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
My husband and I often comment that if it’s this difficult for two financially secure parents with graduate degrees, flexible schedules for calls & appointments, and reliable internet access & transportation to get our kids disability services- how does anyone less privileged succeed?
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Annika Barber @annikabarber.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Nephew (age 4) came to visit lab today. He loves to hang out with Real Scientists and do Real Science at my lab. My lab members are very kind about welcoming him in as a valued colleague. He can’t stop talking about his science friends.
Overhead view of annika and a red haired child at a microscope. Annika is helping the child anesthetize fruit flies.
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Annika Barber @annikabarber.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Academia: Where someone sends you a work email to your work email address at 7:30 pm on a Saturday and then follows up with a call to your personal cell phone at 9:02 am on Monday morning to ask you to please respond. 🫠
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Annika Barber @annikabarber.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Coffee shop grant-writing with my husband (he’s grading, not grant writing) in a cute spot with live Sunday afternoon music. Gotta find the joy in the despair of writing doomed grants. 💜 😭 🧪
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Annika Barber @annikabarber.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
(Another) 5 alarm fire for biomedical research in America.
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Annika Barber @annikabarber.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
4 yo nephew is in town and the number one household object that has him captivated is…the trash grabber. No leaf or stick or scrap of trash in the vicinity of my house is safe!
Red headed child striding down a sidewalk with a trash grabber.
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Reposted by Annika Barber
Ko-Fan Chen 陳克帆 @kofanchen.biologists.social.ap.brid.gy · 18/09/2026
Interested in understanding how environmental light control #sleep in #Drosophila and other #Diptera species? Two potential #PhD opportunities to work in my lab from 2027 September, please see details in www.kofanchenlab.net/come-join-us and spread the words
kofanchenlab.net
Come Join US
Potential PhD project A
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Annika Barber @annikabarber.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Re-reading the Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass, I'm in awe of just how good a writer he is. And how petty. He'll describe a slave-owner's abuse, violence, pious hypocrisy, and then finish with a parting dig like "also, he thought he could sing but he totally sucked at it." 💙📚
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Michael Hobbes @michaelhobbes.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Great system, no notes www.propublica.org/article/scho...
Voucher programs and the private schools they increasingly fund have proliferated across the country. Yet those schools often reject children with disabilities — the very kids who were used to help sell early voucher programs to lawmakers and the public - for having needs that are too costly, complex or disruptive. That leaves those children with few options beyond the public schools. And as public schools lose enrollment as a result of more and more
voucher use, they lose resources that would benefit children who remain, including those with disabilities.
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Annika Barber @annikabarber.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Sure! Why write a paper at all? Just upload an AI parseable dataset and a methods description and let people ask the AI all the questions. Rationale? Citations? Interpretation? Up to the “reader” and their choice of AI prompts. 🧪
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States United Democracy Center @statesunited.org · 16/09/2026
💰🚨 NEW: Since January 2025, the Trump administration has disrupted $177 billion across 17 funding sectors in all 50 states and DC. Our new project with @grantwitness.org tracks every dollar, grant by grant, and shows the impact of disruptions 🔗 www.lostfunds.org
lostfunds.org
Lost Funds — $177 Billion Gone
Track the Trump administration’s federal funding disruptions state by state — what was cut or frozen, who it hurts, and how states are fighting back in court.
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Annika Barber @annikabarber.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
More academics should take up embroidery. It can be good to have something socially acceptable to stab over and over during certain meetings. 🪡 🧵 🪲 #academicsky
Embroidery hoop with white fabric being stitched with colorful beetles. Two beetles are finished, one is in progress, and one is outlined but not yet started.
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Reposted by Annika Barber
David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
NSF has reduced the research budget for all atmospheric, ocean, and earth sciences by ~80%. 80%! A lot of us will not be conducting new research or training new students for the foreseeable future.
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Patrick Mineault @patrickmineault.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Are virtual flies playing Beat Saber? SM64? Doom? No. The new fly connectome is an incredible achievement! Less is going on in the sim videos than it seems. I'm stoked to see people engage with neuroscience though. My breakdown: www.neuroai.science/p/are-flies-...
neuroai.science
Are flies playing Beat Saber?
What a time to be alive!
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Annika Barber @annikabarber.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Goose before vs. Goose after! He’s such a good boy at the groomer and is always happy to get to see Ms. Brittany. And yes, he does roll around town in a little car seat. 🪿 🐶
Shaggy little dog harnessed in a car seat booster. Little dog in the same car seat with a fresh cut that makes his head a sphere and a dapper lil yellow paw print bandanna.
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Annika Barber @annikabarber.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
My perspective on reading is the same as on exercise. The best exercise is one you enjoy and want to do again. The best book to read is one that makes you want to keep reading. Unless you're designing a literature or PE syllabus, do things you enjoy! Slogging through "classics" isn't extra points.
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Reposted by Annika Barber
Coalition for Life Sciences @c4lifesciences.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
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Annika Barber @annikabarber.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Goosey’s getaway continues! 🪿 🐶
Goose visits the children’s section of a pet friendly indie bookstore Goose poses with a goose decoy outside an antique shop.
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Annika Barber @annikabarber.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
It’s Gustav’s first time on a weekend getaway with us. I think he’s finding that the bougie bed and breakfast lifestyle suits him. 🪿 🐶
Gustav, aka Goose, a small grey dog in a green harness lunges on a big four poster bed with white linens. On the bedside table is a kinda creepy lamp with a pirate monkey.
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Manuela Casasoli @manuelacasasoli.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
A common rhythm across a remarkably diverse set of species. "From flashing fireflies to human music, many biological rhythms appear to converge on the same rhythmic range." 🧪 #Science #Biology #Neuroscience #Ecology 1- www.scientificamerican.com/article/natu... 2- journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
Image Source:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/nature-may-have-a-preferred-tempo/

Fireflies’ rhythmic flickering fits within a common tempo range.

Credit
Jeremy Hogan/Getty Images
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Annika Barber @annikabarber.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Does your laboratory or STEM department have an AI use policy that covers lab-related situations? My lab is working to create one for ourselves and would love to see examples - most stuff I find is focused on teaching and learning, not data analysis, coding, technical writing, etc. 🧪
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Annika Barber @annikabarber.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
If politicians really cared about safety in youth sports, they'd be focused on preventing traumatic brain injuries and eating disorders. Not keeping trans kids from playing.
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Annika Barber @annikabarber.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
NIH can't scrape together enough reviewers or study sections and they're simultaneously making reviews jump through more hoops. Realtime retraining for experienced reviewer. No more zip downloads of all apps. I regret agreeing to a Nov section because it's not just more work, it's more busywork.
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Annika Barber @annikabarber.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Writing NIH grants really feels like fiddling while Rome burns. Idk how y'all are doing this. Idk how I'm doing this. 😭
static.klipy.com
This Is Fine Dog Meme: House on Fire
Alt: This Is Fine Dog Meme: House on Fire
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Reposted by Annika Barber
Drug Monkey @drugmonkey.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
And there it is. As rumored, and as predicted by YHN from the gitgo, enhanced triage of NIH grants will continue. grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
grants.nih.gov
NOT-OD-26-114: Continuation of Modifications to Peer Review Practices
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts: Continuation of Modifications to Peer Review Practices NOT-OD-26-114. NIH
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Mark Histed @markhisted.org · 07/09/2026
Yes, and why does Jay Bhattacharya keep saying that he was censored and we need academic freedom for all views (no matter how fringe, no matter the consensus truth)? Because he wants to avoid their claims being regulated. 1/
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Annika Barber @annikabarber.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Spending 2 h on errands and whatnot to redo porch decor and touch up paint is why it's tedious that we are on the tour again. But it's also good to have a motivation to actually accomplish all the small non-urgent house projects that make it nice to live here!
Before-and-after of Annika's front porch. Brick steps lead to a black door with a sunburst over it. There are two big pots and a small planter of fake flowers that have been redone. Black paint has been touched up. Missing fake succulents to the right of the door have been replaced.
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Senator Chris Van Hollen @vanhollen.senate.gov · 07/09/2026
This Labor Day, if you've ever benefited from:   — The weekend — 40-hour work weeks — Workplace safety standards — A minimum wage — Paid time off   thank a union.   Unions don’t just improve working conditions for their members, they help every American worker.   Happy Labor Day!
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Annika Barber @annikabarber.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Agreed to put just the first floor of our house on our neighborhood historic home tour, but already having regretzzzz. But if you're an NJ local who wants to nose into historic Trenton homes, get your tickets. Proceeds benefit HomeWorks Trenton. www.dathil.com/cadwalader/C...
dathil.com
House Tour 2026
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Annika Barber @annikabarber.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
A fuzzy chonk friend I saw at Washington Crossing today. 🐝
A big fuzzy bee on a pink poofy flower
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Annika Barber @annikabarber.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Found a sticky note on my desk, in my own handwriting, that just says, “Find room for memory.” Poetic enough that I puzzled over it a moment! Then realized that it’s a reminder to find a physical small room suitable for performing fly courtship memory assays. 😂 🪰🧪
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Annika Barber @annikabarber.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
It’s rained so much in August that my yard has gone full cottagecore, all moss and mushrooms. 🍄
Mushroom that looks like a small pancake Red mushroom, could be a frogs umbrella Cup shaped white Mushroom with frills and toasted looking edges Tawny curly mushrooms
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Simon W Davis @woodforbrains.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Ho-LEE fuck democrats-appropriations.house.gov/news/press-r...
democrats-appropriations.house.gov
Defense Officials Attempt to Raid NIH Funds to Cover Department of Defense Activities
House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) has learned that officials at the Department of Defense (DoD) are working to divert billions of dollars from the National Institute...
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Annika Barber @annikabarber.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
I support trainees having kids as grad students or postdocs on principle. And today a trainee’s toddler who has seen me regularly on Zoom for her whole life asked if I would be her best friend. Which is another good reason to support your parent-trainees! 🥹
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Kolya Flower @kolyaflower.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
part of the ongoing omnicrisis is that experts in almost every field are finding themselves stuck explaining the Cookie Monster issue
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Champalimaud Research @champalimaudr.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
🧠Ever wonder how the brain turns a taste into the decision to eat – or not? For the 1st time @ribeirocarlitos.bsky.social team at @champalimaudf.bsky.social and their collaborators have mapped the complete neural circuitry behind an animal’s feeding decisions. 👉 www.fchampalimaud.org/news/bluepri...
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Annika Barber @annikabarber.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Drosophila people - I *really* need to know the story behind the naming of the Turandot genes. I have backtracked to the 2001 papers from the Hultmark lab and there's no explanation! @hansonmark.bsky.social do you know?? Any other fly stress response peeps? Opera fans? 🪰
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Annika Barber @annikabarber.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Riding the usual roller coaster of talk prep from "Oh no, I don't have enough to fill 45 minutes!" to "Oh no, I can't present 40 data slides within the time limit!" #academicsky
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Annika Barber @annikabarber.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Where did the idea that writing is a thing one becomes inspired to do and then sits down and does joyfully and seamlessly from start to finish come from? Cuz somehow nearly all of us expect this despite a lifetime of evidence to the contrary and against the admonishments of all instructors. 😭
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Annika Barber @annikabarber.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
The culture of "we'll wait 5 minutes for everyone to join" on zoom meetings has made me, a painfully punctual person, become my own nemesis. Because why should I join on time if we're all going to have to wait 5 minutes anyway?
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Annika Barber @annikabarber.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
For these reasons I spent an hour reading three papers to rule out the need to include a specific gene in a discussion of feeding rhythms. Reading to rule out is as important as reading to include- cuz now I know WHY that gene isn’t relevant and what aspects of feeding it does regulate. 🚫🤖
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Annika Barber @annikabarber.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Omg a grickledoodled fly based on my suggestion! 🤩 🪰
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