iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Eleanore Ritter (she/her)

Alex Wild @alexwild.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

I’m so tired of US politics, I propose we abolish existing states and make new ones based on the ancient Cicada brood territories.

Map “Active Periodical Cicada Broods of the United States” showing various colored splotches across the eastern central United States.

1626749

Reposted by Eleanore Ritter (she/her)

Joelle Lafond, PhD @joellelafond.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

🚨Our new preprint is out! 🤩 🌟 Mutation rates vary widely across taxa, and decades of research have sought to explain why. ♀️♂️ Reproductive modes, and evolutionary shifts between them, could help explain some of this variation. ❓ So what does the evidence tell us? 👀 Read our preprint to find out!

doi.org

Reproductive mode and the evolution of mutation rate

11713

Reposted by Eleanore Ritter (she/her)

David Lowry @davidlowry.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Fun to see Senator Slotkin learning about the Michigan Monkeyflower. It is a great community in Michigan that has built up around protecting and studying one of the state's only endemic plant species.

0103

Eleanore Ritter (she/her) @eleanoreritter.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

I've accepted that Mimulus will never beat cult allegations (that I have directly perpetuated) But hey, like any good cult, we always love new members!

030

Eleanore Ritter (she/her) @eleanoreritter.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

Good morning, #SMBE2026! To purge, or not to purge, *that* is the question 🧬 I'll be giving a talk on how mating system transitions shape transposable element dynamics in monkeyflowers this morning in S24 at 11:20 AM - come for the Hamlet pun, stay for the cool comparative genomics!

A dirt road alongside a rocky meadow of yellow flowers and a stand of dead trees

094

Reposted by Eleanore Ritter (she/her)

Heng Li @lh3lh3.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

Minibwa is a hybrid of bwa-mem and minimap2 and the successor of bwa-mem for short-read mapping. ~4X/2.5X as fast as bwa-mem/bwa-mem2 for WGS reads at comparable accuracy. Native support of directional bisulfite-seq. Applicable to long reads. Preprint at arxiv.org/abs/2606.15357

1193109

Reposted by Eleanore Ritter (she/her)

Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution @official-smbe.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

#SMBE2026 S24: Molecular mechanisms of selfish elements and strategies 🗓️ Mon Jun 29, 10:20am 🔗 smbe2026.org/programme Talks by: @levine-lab.bsky.social Yu Hua @cecilecourret.bsky.social @eleanoreritter.bsky.social Elli Cryan @alexand-kwak.bsky.social Steve Perlman @antisense.bsky.social

076

Reposted by Eleanore Ritter (she/her)

Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

Time for an experiment! You know those cute little roadside stands with honors-system eggs or produce? Look, I know I live in "big scary Philadelphia oooh 👻" but I'm gonna try it. What's the worst that can happen? Thieves create habitat for native bees? Jokes on them! I wanted them to do that!

A shit ton of plants in front of Sarah's house and a little box of plants labeled swamp milkweed, ironweed, and aster, in front of a little sign that's not really legible but has pictures of each mature plant. In the background is sarah's science library with bits of seaweed painted on it and little shrimpies on the seaweed.

29924177

Reposted by Eleanore Ritter (she/her)

Dr Wernerehl @drwernerehl.bsky.social · 03/04/2026

Great field #botany story of the difficulties of collecting seed from endangered species. Featuring the tireless and talented @naomibot.bsky.social . Lots of field photos in the story. I'm so glad this story got some coverage. #rareplants #conservation www.npr.org/sections/the...

npr.org

A botanist searches for the seeds of the rare Death Valley Sage

For more than 15 years, botanist Naomi Fraga has been trying to collect seeds from the rare Death Valley sage, for safekeeping in a vault of native California seeds.

13914

Reposted by Eleanore Ritter (she/her)

Daniel Bolnick @danielbolnick.bsky.social · 16/03/2026

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.

36845

Reposted by Eleanore Ritter (she/her)

New Phytologist @newphyt.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

On the cover of our #LatestIssue: Orange jewelweed (Impatiens capensis) being visited by a bumblebee (Bombus) in a remnant patch of floodplain forest in Wisconsin, USA. Image courtesy of Rachel Toczydlowski. 📖 See Schoen & Toczydlowski nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... #PlantScience

On the cover of New Phytologist volume 250, issue 1: Orange jewelweed (Impatiens capensis) being visited by a bumblebee (Bombus) in a remnant patch of floodplain forest in Wisconsin, USA.

0113

Reposted by Eleanore Ritter (she/her)

Mario Vallejo-Marin @nicrodemo.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

Stay tuned for the release of this new documentary at the end of the month! I think our buzz pollination clip might have just made the cut!

2245

Reposted by Eleanore Ritter (she/her)

Laurie Belcher @lauriebelch.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

Calling all OrthoFinder users! We’ve just released GLADE, a tool to infer gene gains, losses, duplications, and ancestral genomes across a phylogeny. GLADE runs directly on OrthoFinder results. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... github.com/lauriebelch/... (1/10)

biorxiv.org

110548

Reposted by Eleanore Ritter (she/her)

John Lovell @jotlovell.bsky.social · 30/01/2026

This article is now published! academic.oup.com/nargab/artic... We’ve added a few new analyses. First off, we show that, while gene presence absence variation (PAV) scales with evolutionary distance in both plants and animals, the base level and rate of accrual are both twice as high in plants.

academic.oup.com

Evolutionary and methodological considerations when interpreting gene presence–absence variation in pangenomes

Abstract. While graph-based pangenomes have become a standard and interoperable foundation for comparisons across multiple reference genomes, integrating p

22417

Reposted by Eleanore Ritter (she/her)

Kai Ryssdal @kairyssdal.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

I mean, true.

952268

Reposted by Eleanore Ritter (she/her)

Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 02/01/2026

"I don’t know why my fellowship was terminated. I suspect that it has something to do with studying a species that doesn’t fit the binary of what we expect to see in nature, with completely different males and females." @carlzimmer.com profiles my wonderful coauthor @jjinsing.bsky.social Gift link.

nytimes.com

He Studied Why Some Female Birds Look Like Males

10577182

Reposted by Eleanore Ritter (she/her)

Gavin Woodruff @weirdworms.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

Very excited to share this work led by Austin Link, a graduate student in our lab. We have discovered a novel, fig-associated microbe that promotes reproductive success via variable life history mechanisms in two nematode species. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

biorxiv.org

A novel, fig-associated microbe promotes reproductive success via variable life history mechanisms in C. elegans and C. inopinata

Variation in life history strategies is among the most striking features of animal diversity. Simultaneously, the microbes an animal interacts with are a critical and dynamic aspect of the host enviro...

1145

Reposted by Eleanore Ritter (she/her)

Oded Rechavi @odedrechavi.bsky.social · 18/12/2025

Unpopular opinion: biologists are still the ones who understand biology best

1017813

Reposted by Eleanore Ritter (she/her)

Matthew Hahn @3rdreviewer.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

Have you ever wondered: just how strong *is* the evidence for Muller's ratchet on mtDNA? Well, wonder no more! (Project led by Yu Mo, with @smishra677.bsky.social and @yadirapga.bsky.social) "No molecular evidence for Muller's ratchet in mitochondrial genomes" www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

biorxiv.org

No molecular evidence for Muller's ratchet in mitochondrial genomes

Muller's ratchet predicts that non-recombining genomes can accumulate deleterious mutations, though molecular evidence for it is rare. Previous studies have tried to detect ratchet-like behavior in mi...

39236

Reposted by Eleanore Ritter (she/her)

Leslie Rissler @ljrissler.bsky.social · 11/12/2025

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” 🙃

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

12372203

Reposted by Eleanore Ritter (she/her)

Naomi Fraga @naomibot.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

We are hiring at California Botanic Garden! The Restoration Intern will have the opportunity to work on a variety of projects involving out-planting, seed collection, plant propagation and monitoring. This is a full time temp position (6 months) that can be extended. Please share! lnkd.in/gaNuNGxA

01818

Reposted by Eleanore Ritter (she/her)

Tadashi Fukami @fukamit.bsky.social · 04/12/2025

In these field experiments we did earlier this year in the town of Iijima, we found that spraying nectar yeast and bacteria to buckwheat fields increased insect pollination and seed set.

0172

Reposted by Eleanore Ritter (she/her)

Joanna Rifkin they/them @joannarifkin.bsky.social · 29/09/2025

Check out our new preprint! This was such a great paper to work on with @stairwaytokevin.bsky.social and the rest of the team!

042

Reposted by Eleanore Ritter (she/her)

Timothy Fuqua @timothyfuqua.bsky.social · 28/08/2025

Excited / nervous to share the “magnum opus” of my postdoc in Andreas Wagner’s lab! "De-novo promoters emerge more readily from random DNA than from genomic DNA" This project is the accumulation of 4 years of work, and lays the foundation for my future group. In short, we… (1/4)

biorxiv.org

De-novo promoters emerge more readily from random DNA than from genomic DNA

Promoters are DNA sequences that help to initiate transcription. Point mutations can create de-novo promoters, which can consequently transcribe inactive genes or create novel transcripts. We know lit...

417159

Eleanore Ritter (she/her) @eleanoreritter.bsky.social · 04/08/2025

When you write to your senator (weeks ago) about proposed cuts to NSF and they respond this morning saying that they will always support NIH and never mention NSF... Thanks, Jon, totally what I meant ☹️

media.tenor.com

a man with a mustache is sitting on a swing in the park .

Alt: a man with a mustache is sitting on a swing in the park .

010

Eleanore Ritter (she/her) @eleanoreritter.bsky.social · 17/07/2025

This is my favorite fact of the day, it's just too precious 🥹

020

Reposted by Eleanore Ritter (she/her)

Emily J @emexastris.bsky.social · 07/07/2025

Are you from one of these states? Then we need your help to save American science! The Senate Appropriations Committee will be marking up the President's Budget Request for science on Wednesday. People have been saying the proposed cuts "decimated" US science, but that's wrong: they are apocalyptic

A map of the US with the states the republican senators are from marked in red and states the democratic senators are from marked in blue:
Senator Susan Collins (Republican - Maine)
Senator Mitch McConnell(Republican - Kentucky)
Senator Lisa Murkowski(Republican - Alaska)
Senator Lindsey Graham(Republican - South Carolina)
Senator Jerry Moran(Republican - Kansas)
Senator John Hoeven(Republican - North Dakota)
Senator John Boozman(Republican - Arkansas)
Senator Shelley Moore Capito(Republican - West Virginia)
Senator John Kennedy(Republican - Louisiana)
Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith(Republican - Mississippi)
Senator Bill Hagerty(Republican - Tennessee)
Senator Katie Britt(Republican - Alabama)
Senator Markwayne Mullin(Republican - Oklahoma)
Senator Deb Fischer(Republican - Nebraska)
Senator Mike Rounds(Republican - South Dakota)
Patty Murray(Democrat - Washington)
Richard Durbin(Democrat - Illinois)
Jack Reed(Democrat - Rhode Island)
Jeanne Shaheen(Democrat - New Hampshire)
Jeff Merkley(Democrat - Oregon)
Christopher Coons(Democrat - Delaware)
Brian Schatz(Democrat - Hawaii)
Tammy Baldwin(Democrat - Wisconsin)
Chris Murphy(Democrat - Connecticut)
Chris Van Hollen(Democrat - Maryland)
Martin Heinrich(Democrat - New Mexico)
Gary Peters(Democrat - Michigan)
Kirsten Gillibrand(Democrat - New York)
Jon Ossoff(Democrat - Georgia)

17370317

Reposted by Eleanore Ritter (she/her)

Nat Prunet @nat-prunet.bsky.social · 27/06/2025

Incredible diversity of #pollen grains! Pollen autofluorescence acquired with @zeiss-microscopy.bsky.social #superresolution Airyscan & color-coded for depth #microscopy #bioimaging #bioart #sciart #botany #plantscience #fluorescencefriday

415041

Eleanore Ritter (she/her) @eleanoreritter.bsky.social · 26/06/2025

A very important, inspiring read, even for us biology folks outside of medicine

122

Reposted by Eleanore Ritter (she/her)

Kevin Bird @stairwaytokevin.bsky.social · 10/06/2025

Based on some quick math, this alone could fund the NSF Plant Genome Research Program for ~4 years; the NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology, which was totally axed in the NSF budget request, for ~9 years; and ~ half the total NSF GRFP budget

3252141

Eleanore Ritter (she/her) @eleanoreritter.bsky.social · 19/05/2025

FINAL DAY to submit a comment about the changes to the Endangered Species Act! It takes 5 minutes and could make the difference in protecting America's flora and fauna.

010

Reposted by Eleanore Ritter (she/her)

Mike Sowden @mikeachim.bsky.social · 12/05/2025

OK, this is wild. In September 2023, geophysicists across the world started monitoring a very odd signal coming from the ground under them. It was picked up in the Arctic. And Antarctica. It was detected everywhere, every 90 seconds, as regular as a metronome, for *nine days*. What the HELL? 1/

Unsplash image of the Earth, mostly the nightside with a tracery of city lights on every continent.

737225147754

Reposted by Eleanore Ritter (she/her)

Daniel Bolnick @danielbolnick.bsky.social · 09/05/2025

This seems like a good day to re-up this advice.

1106

Reposted by Eleanore Ritter (she/her)

Ossoff's Office @ossoff.senate.gov · 30/04/2025

Sen. Ossoff: Who out there in the American public is sitting at home demanding that we shut down cancer research and Alzheimer's research?

623288508545

Reposted by Eleanore Ritter (she/her)

Bita Moghaddam @bita137.bsky.social · 25/04/2025

“Mr. Musk’s cuts to the bureaucracy will cost taxpayers $135 billion this fiscal year.” That is 3 times the entire NIH budget www.nytimes.com/2025/04/24/u...

nytimes.com

Elon Musk and DOGE’s Savings May Be Erased by New Costs

An expert on the federal work force estimates that the speed and chaos of Mr. Musk’s cuts to the bureaucracy will cost taxpayers $135 billion this fiscal year.

26237

Reposted by Eleanore Ritter (she/her)

Dr. David Miller 🏳️‍🌈 @davidimiller.bsky.social · 24/04/2025

Triple fuck: 1. White House proposed to cut NSF’s budget by 55%. 2. White House told NSF to fire half of staff. 3. “NSF announced it was terminating what could be more than $1 billion in grants already awarded” If true for #3, that’s at least three times what was terminated last Friday. FUCK

15223

Reposted by Eleanore Ritter (she/her)

Mary Feeney @mkfeeney.bsky.social · 24/04/2025

Cancelling research grants that were peer reviewed, recommended & awarded because it threatens the current regime’s political agenda is the real infringement of our rights + a violation of the NSF’s duty to honor contracts & ethically manage public funds appropriated by the US Congress. 12/

124574

Reposted by Eleanore Ritter (she/her)

Mary Feeney @mkfeeney.bsky.social · 24/04/2025

The NSF discontinuing “misinformation” research b/c it threatens free speech is laughable. 9/

NSF Q&S highlighting response to question "Are you still funding research on misinformation?". RESPONSE: NSF will not support research with the goal of combating "misinformation" "disinformation" or "malinformation" that could be used to infringe on the constitutionally protected speech rights of American citizens across the US

330672

Reposted by Eleanore Ritter (she/her)

Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 23/04/2025

If six months ago you'd told me that in autumn 2025 I'd have to go to Canada to get my annual COVID vaccine but I wouldn't do it because coming back through immigrations was too risky for someone who had criticized the government, I would have looked at you like you were having a stroke.

422033542

Reposted by Eleanore Ritter (she/her)

Scott Delaney @scott-delaney.bsky.social · 23/04/2025

Yeah, things are grim. But I gotta tell you: Over the past 7 weeks of organizing around terminated grants, I've met so many inspiring folks both inside and outside of NIH and NSF. Our country is chock-full of badass scientists and Federal employees. We got this, y'all. Keep up the fight 💪

39322

Reposted by Eleanore Ritter (she/her)

Asher HELLbein @asherelbein.bsky.social · 21/04/2025

TLDR: the administration wants to remove habitat loss from the definition of "harm" for endangered species, which will effectively gut the ESA. I just commented. If you're in any way interested in ecology, nature, and the protection of endangered species, you should, too. Free daily action!

5637625

Reposted by Eleanore Ritter (she/her)

Randy Renstrom @randyrenstrom.bsky.social · 18/04/2025

Re-watching Season 1 of "Andor" before Season 2 drops next week and boy does it have extra resonance now

231265382

Reposted by Eleanore Ritter (she/her)

Tanja Slotte @tanjaslotte.bsky.social · 18/04/2025

New preprint! We investigated the evolution of supergenes and mechanisms underlying distyly in Linum species that diverged ca 33 Mya. 1/8 bsky.app/profile/bior...

33516

Reposted by Eleanore Ritter (she/her)

The Peregrine Fund @theperegrinefund.bsky.social · 16/04/2025

First California Condor Hatch of the 2025 Season for Propagation! Our Propagation Team is happy to report that on March 22, 2025 California Condor 1333 hatched successfully and is doing well being raised by its parents! Condor 1333 at 14 days old 📷 Chelsea Haitz #raptor #birds #conservation

05516

Reposted by Eleanore Ritter (she/her)

Cédric Moisy @cedric-moisy.bsky.social · 16/04/2025

𝐕𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 are packed and ready for their trip to Lyon, France! 🍇🚛 Early departure today: I'm heading to the CREATIS-INSA lab to test their cutting-edge 𝐒𝐏𝐂𝐂𝐓 𝟑𝐃 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫 — to peek inside their trunks and... uncover hidden secrets ? 👀🌱 #VITIMAGE #SMIYC #SPCCT #PlantImaging #CREATIS #3D #Xrays @IFV

Vine plants packed in a car for travel to the imaging laboratory in Lyon, France.

062

Reposted by Eleanore Ritter (she/her)

Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 15/04/2025

As a biologist, I'm appalled at pride the White House takes in willful ignorance. In yesterday's executive order about NPR and PBS, their first example of "the trash that passes for `news' at NPR and PBS" is the statement that "banana slugs are hermaphrodites." But this is unequivocal fact.

whitehouse.gov

The NPR, PBS Grift Has Ripped Us Off for Too Long

For years, American taxpayers have been on the hook for subsidizing National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), which spread

18249941189