iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Ariel Steele, Ph.D. (she/her) @arielsteele.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

It was such a pleasure getting to be a part of this paper and being in community with everyone involved! My hope is that there's a little something for everyone in this paper and the take away is that we are not alone and we belong in science

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Ariel Steele, Ph.D. (she/her) @arielsteele.bsky.social · 05/08/2025

I am two weeks away from starting my new faculty position - any advice for new faculty?

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Reposted by Ariel Steele, Ph.D. (she/her)

Stephen Heard @stephenbheard.bsky.social · 31/07/2025

If you're teaching Scientific Writing this fall (especially if it's new to you!) and are getting worried about just how close the fall is getting: reminder that I share my syllabus and all my course materials. Here: scientistseessquirre...

scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com

Steal this (updated) syllabus for Scientific Writing

I’ve just finished the 3rd go-around of my Scientific Writing course. When I first signed up to teach it, I was very scared, but now that I’ve been through it a few times, I’m quite pleased with h…

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Reposted by Ariel Steele, Ph.D. (she/her)

Holly Bik @hollybik.bsky.social · 13/07/2025

And “hard science” careers are also WRITING INTENSIVE jobs! Want to be an astronomer, biologist, or chemist? You’ll spend years writing reports, grants, papers, reviews, reference letters, etc. Writing is never easy, but it’s much *easier* if you’re trained how to outline and structure text.

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Reposted by Ariel Steele, Ph.D. (she/her)

Raul Pacheco-Vega @raulpachecovega.bsky.social · 13/07/2025

Thinking about description, analysis and interpretation in social science research. (I may have one too many coloured fineliners)

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Reposted by Ariel Steele, Ph.D. (she/her)

Nature Portfolio @natureportfolio.nature.com · 03/07/2025

Birds have an excellent ability to learn to discriminate harmless insects from those that they mimic on the basis of subtle differences in appearance, according to a study in Nature. go.nature.com/44yj4M5 🧪

This is figure 1, which gives an overview of the methods used to generate artificial mimetic stimuli.

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Reposted by Ariel Steele, Ph.D. (she/her)

Science Magazine @science.org · 28/05/2025

Several mammal species live in cold-water environments thanks to adaptations like blubber and large size. A notable exception is the sea otter—so how does it stay warm? A 2021 Science study found an answer: skeletal muscle thermogenesis. Learn more on #WorldOtterDay: scim.ag/4jjvMDL

Fig. 2 Whole-body estimates of sea otter metabolism scaled to body mass.

Estimated scaled whole-body metabolic rates include predicted [BMR; predicted on the basis of scaled rate for eutherian mammals], sea otter resting metabolic rate, and whole-body skeletal muscle leak capacity.

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Reposted by Ariel Steele, Ph.D. (she/her)

Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 23/05/2025

You've got ~a week left to pre-order our collab w/@franzanth.bsky.social, Bigger Than Binaries! I'll order some extras in orange in a limited size range because I lack a warehouse, I have only a room full of lizards. Printed locally on 100% cotton. Get 'em while you can! squidfacts.bigcartel.com

2 versions of the same design, all of which say "Biology is bigger than binaries", with a central image of a bee, a clownfish, and a lily. The one on. the left is pink, the right is orange,

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Ariel Steele, Ph.D. (she/her) @arielsteele.bsky.social · 23/05/2025

Does anyone have any templates or guidance on writing letters of recommendation for undergraduate students? Especially for medical/dental school? I've gotten a bunch of requests since the end of the semester from students in my class and I've never written these before #academics #STEM #DBER

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Reposted by Ariel Steele, Ph.D. (she/her)

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education (JQTSIE) @jqtsie.bsky.social · 19/05/2025

🥳📣 Call for abstracts: Special Issue of JQTSIE: "Critical Approaches to Queering STEM Education" edited by @drjgutz.bsky.social & @ftmathteacher.bsky.social! Abstracts are due SOON: May 30, 2025! 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ www.jqtsie.com @kamdenstrunk.bsky.social @drantonioduran.bsky.social @sashelton.bsky.social

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Ariel Steele, Ph.D. (she/her) @arielsteele.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

There is no one right way to solve a problem, just like there is no one right answer to a question and really showcases why diversity is so important. My students may not have directly gotten that out of this class, but my goal is to make those connections more explicit in future courses I teach

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Ariel Steele, Ph.D. (she/her) @arielsteele.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

I'm grading final papers for my comparative animal physiology course and one group wrote in their conclusion a sentence that essentially said that physiology shows us there is more than one way to solve a common problem and THAT is such an important lesson!

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Reposted by Ariel Steele, Ph.D. (she/her)

Daniel Bolnick @danielbolnick.bsky.social · 05/05/2025

Thread with an email being sent to @asn-amnat.bsky.social @sse-evolution.bsky.social @systbiol.bsky.social members today calling for a Tri-society week of action for NSF: Dear members: The tri-societies (ASN, SSE,SSB) are running a ‘Week of Action for NSF’. Your engagement is crucial.

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Ariel Steele, Ph.D. (she/her) @arielsteele.bsky.social · 02/05/2025

I literally wouldn't have been able to go to college if it wasn't for the federal work study program

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Ariel Steele, Ph.D. (she/her) @arielsteele.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

I did my master's thesis project with them! They're so cool 🤩

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Ariel Steele, Ph.D. (she/her) @arielsteele.bsky.social · 27/04/2025

I ended up parking my car at an underground parking garage downtown because I don't have a garage and don't want to deal with possible hail damage! but otherwise going to hope the tree outside my house doesn't fall 😩

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Ariel Steele, Ph.D. (she/her) @arielsteele.bsky.social · 25/04/2025

Super excited to announce that I've accepted a Teaching Assistant Professor of biology position in the Lyman Briggs College at Michigan State University!

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Reposted by Ariel Steele, Ph.D. (she/her)

Tammie Visintainer @proftv.bsky.social · 24/04/2025

If you, like me, had you NSF granted terminated, here’s what I learned from a hopeful meeting with my VP of research: 1. We have 30 days to act! Meet with your admin asap 2. APPEAL: Everyone can appeal! It must go through your institution, there’s a template, sent registered mail. My VP told me ⬇️

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Ariel Steele, Ph.D. (she/her) @arielsteele.bsky.social · 24/04/2025

What are your most unhinged writing tips? For example, I wrote the first draft of my dissertation in Comic Sans because writing in Times New Roman feels permanent, and Comic Sans made it feel more like a draft. #academics #academicwritingtips #unhinged #dber #STEM

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Reposted by Ariel Steele, Ph.D. (she/her)

Lydia Smith @seriouslydiaonly.bsky.social · 22/04/2025

"But it didn’t take me long to look around me and realize that some of the most effective people doing DEI work weren’t “doing DEI work.” They’re just excellent mentors, do things equitably and fairly, support institutional transparency, and all that."

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Reposted by Ariel Steele, Ph.D. (she/her)

Dr. K. Lotterhos @drk-lo.bsky.social · 22/04/2025

Action Alert: Ask Your U.S. Representative to Support Investment in NSF by signing a Dear Colleague Letter. AIBS has this nice template that you can send to your Rep! www.congressweb.com/AIBS/3?frame...

congressweb.com

Action Alert: Ask Your U.S. Representative to Support Investment in NSF

Congress has begun debating funding levels for federal programs for fiscal year (FY) 2026. Please show your support for the National Science Foundation (NSF) by asking your Representative to sign a De...

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Ariel Steele, Ph.D. (she/her) @arielsteele.bsky.social · 22/04/2025

What's currently happening to science funding and higher education in the U.S. feels similar to what happened in Hungary several years ago. I reread a paper I co-authored on this topic, and oof, this is basically the same thing www.proquest.com/openview/db0...

proquest.com

Institutional Autonomy and Academic Freedom in Hungary: A Historiography of Hungarian Higher Education - ProQuest

Explore millions of resources from scholarly journals, books, newspapers, videos and more, on the ProQuest Platform.

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Reposted by Ariel Steele, Ph.D. (she/her)

Scott Delaney @scott-delaney.bsky.social · 19/04/2025

🙏 We need your help 🙏 The government continues to cancel grants at both NIH and NSF to censor science it doesn't like. We're tracking terminations to organize and advocate. Please report your terminated grants: NIH: forms.gle/J2znQ7y7YpeP... NSF: airtable.com/appGKlSVeXni... w/ @noamross.net

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Reposted by Ariel Steele, Ph.D. (she/her)

Cissy Ballen @cissyballen.bsky.social · 08/04/2025

Undergrad biology instructors! Paid opportunity to participate in research that tests the impacts of highlighting scientist role models in instructional materials. 🐌 🧪 🦋 🔬 Check it out and apply! docs.google.com/document/d/1...

docs.google.com

Recruitment instructors_IUSE2.docx

Which elements of scientist role model stories are effective in improving equity and success in undergraduate STEM education? Interested? Fill out this poll! We are searching for undergraduate bio...

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Ariel Steele, Ph.D. (she/her) @arielsteele.bsky.social · 29/03/2025

and limitations in location, job availability, and funding really cause a lot of mental and emotional strain.

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Ariel Steele, Ph.D. (she/her) @arielsteele.bsky.social · 29/03/2025

As someone on the job market as a dual career couple with a non-academic partner, I really appreciate this timely paper because it is extremely frustrating and and challenging navigating the academic job market. There are a lot of tough, heartbreaking decisions that have to be made

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Ariel Steele, Ph.D. (she/her) @arielsteele.bsky.social · 10/03/2025

I think The Onion needs to actually start labeling these as satire because it's getting really hard not to believe them as true in this current state of dumpster fire that is the United States

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Ariel Steele, Ph.D. (she/her) @arielsteele.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

Thanks Allison! I remembered seeing it on Twitter but don't use that garbage site anymore so couldn't remember who it was

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Ariel Steele, Ph.D. (she/her) @arielsteele.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

Updating my "rejection prizes" spreadsheet, I am 2 rejections away from my next reward. Honestly, this is the best thing I've done to help soften the blow of the constant rejections in academia. This was not an original idea - someone suggested it on Twitter, I just don't remember who it was

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Ariel Steele, Ph.D. (she/her) @arielsteele.bsky.social · 12/02/2025

Someone in our department made my lab "Ted Cruz is afraid of me" merit badges as a response to this since two of my PI's grants are listed

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Reposted by Ariel Steele, Ph.D. (she/her)

Dr. Kat Napaaqtuk❄️ @napaaqtuk.bsky.social · 12/02/2025

From reddit: a letter from a postdoc who survived the Bolsonaro years. This is helpful framing for how to science in this administration. 🧪 www.reddit.com/r/labrats/s/...

reddit.com

From the labrats community on Reddit

Explore this post and more from the labrats community

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Reposted by Ariel Steele, Ph.D. (she/her)

Anne Fausto-Sterling @birdlady.bsky.social · 08/02/2025

I've started to take apart the first EO on Sex and Gender. I'm doing it in easy-to-digest bites. Here's part 1. open.substack.com/pub/sterling... #transrights #feministsky #lgbtSTem #transSTEM #womeninscience

open.substack.com

Biological truth? WTF? (Part 1)

On sex, gender, men, women, identity, ideology, science and truth

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Reposted by Ariel Steele, Ph.D. (she/her)

Yasmiyn Irizarry @dryasmiyn.bsky.social · 01/02/2025

🚨 Are you "Too Quant to Crit?" New pub w/ @carltonfong.bsky.social in Contemporary Educational Psychology. We critique quant researchers' reliance on objectivity & neutrality by drawing attetion to methodological trauma & describing QuantCrit as an alternative approach. doi.org/10.1016/j.ce...

doi.org

Redirecting

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Reposted by Ariel Steele, Ph.D. (she/her)

Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 28/01/2025

Academic Skyers: I am compiling a list of policies and statements from various universities about how they are handling the "pause" in terms of stopping expenditures (or not). Please respond to this post with your institution and materials. THANK YOU!

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Reposted by Ariel Steele, Ph.D. (she/her)

Chris Martine | Plant People FTW @martinebotany.bsky.social · 23/01/2025

Incorporating Sex-Diverse and Gender-Inclusive Perspectives in Higher Education Biology Courses. Really glad to finally see this in print. And proud to have played a small role in writing it. #sex #gender #STEMeducation @sicbjournals.bsky.social #SICB2025 academic.oup.com/icb/article-...

First page of the journal article from the December 2024 issue of Integrative and Comparative Biology, which arrived in my mailbox yesterday.

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Ariel Steele, Ph.D. (she/her) @arielsteele.bsky.social · 22/01/2025

I pre-ordered and am so excited to read it!

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