iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Janella @janellabaxter.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

After 15 years with my beloved, vintage motobecane, I've bought a new shiny bike with gears and disc breaks! With commuting my toddler to daycare, it was time for an upgrade. Bikes = ❤️

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Janella @janellabaxter.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

That's a great question! This paper is about Crick's frozen accident theory -- not the central dogma, although a few historians and philosophers of science have written about central dogma that you should consult. I recommend starting with papers by MP. Camacho.

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Janella @janellabaxter.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

Update on Effie's status: We've been home since her discharge in late June. She is growing steadily. She and her older sister seem to be flourishing despite their parents' daily (metaphorical) hair on fire. Fingers crossed things keep going in this direction.

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Janella @janellabaxter.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

So thrilled that my paper on Crick's philosophy of science -- at least in the 1950s & 60s is forthcoming in Studies in the History and Philosophy of Science! H/t @matthewcobb.bsky.social

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Janella @janellabaxter.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

She had one heart surgery in May and will need another at (hopefully) 6 months. I am so grateful to have access to the medicine that is helping her survive and hopefully come home. Her medical team has worked tirelessly to love and tend to her.

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Janella @janellabaxter.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

My daughter, Euphemia, was born this April with a pretty large whole in her heart. Her delivery and subsequent NICU stay is at one of the best pediatric cardio depts in the nation (2hrs from my home). I have not been home since she was born

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PhilSci-Archive @philsci-archive.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

New on the Archive: Baxter, Janella (2026) From the Elephant to Butyric Acid Bacterium – it is [Not] all the Same! How the Genetic Code is Not Universal (with apologies to Albert Jan Kluyver). [Preprint] philsci-archive.pitt.edu/28372

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Janella @janellabaxter.bsky.social · 23/02/2026

@laurennross.bsky.social I am teaching your paper Multiple Realizability from a Causal Perspective to my philosophy of biology students this week. I'm using it to help them answer the question: why is there diversity in the life sciences? It's been a pleasure to prepare lecture. It is so clear!

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Janella @janellabaxter.bsky.social · 30/01/2026

The latest changes are designed to "protect academic integrity and restore public trust," Tommy Williams, the university's interim president, said in a statement. What a disgusting distortion of what public trust requires.

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Janella @janellabaxter.bsky.social · 27/01/2026

I feel like Americans are so desperate for wholesome, mundane news that Mamdani's NYC weather briefings have become top views on Youtube this weekend.

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Janella @janellabaxter.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

A long-time shero to me and many feminist scholars, Elizabeth Spelman, has passed away. She was one of several feminist philosophers who inspired me as an undergraduate. Our community has lost a tremendous scholar. www.legacy.com/us/obituarie...

legacy.com

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Janella @janellabaxter.bsky.social · 10/01/2026

Mayor Mamdani visited a pre-k school with Ms. Rachel and it is the best of humanity. Check it out if you need a few moments of happiness.

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Janella @janellabaxter.bsky.social · 07/01/2026

I love how my Philosophy of Biology syllabus features so many women authors! It's so lovely.

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Janella @janellabaxter.bsky.social · 24/12/2025

What wonderful news! Such a well-deserved promotion. I'm so happy for you. As a side note: my former undergraduate advisor is in your department -- Alicia Carlson. I really loved learning from her. I hope she's an equally lovely colleague. Sending love @drjustincaouette.bsky.social

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Janella @janellabaxter.bsky.social · 20/12/2025

Things can get much weirder, creepier, and worse. Faculty have been required to post their syllabuses to University websites (at least) since I've been here (2022). Now all Texas faculty must conduct a comprehensive review of our classes to (among other things) check for compliance with SB37.

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Extinct blog @extinctblog.bsky.social · 12/11/2025

My new Gould paper is out today in Paleobiology (OA)! It is, in effect, a synthesis of some of my historical work on Stephen Jay Gould’s early career, which explores the curious position of punctuated equilibria in his early vision for evolutionary paleontology www.extinctblog.org/palaeonews/2...

extinctblog.org

Max’s New Gould paper — Extinct

My new paper in Paleobiology (OA), on some lesser known aspects of the early history of punctuated equilibria, is available to read online. It is, in effect, a synthesis of some of my older work on ...

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Eran Tal @erantal.bsky.social · 25/11/2025

🚨We're hiring! A tenure track position at McGill University in the area of #bioethics and / or philosophy of science, with a special focus on the ethics of medical technologies. Please share widely. #philsky #ethics #philsci philjobs.org/job/show/30402

philjobs.org

Assistant Professor (Tenure Track), Department of Equity, Ethics, and Policy and Department of Philosophy, McGill University - PhilJobs:JFP Assistant Professor (Tenure Track), Department of Equity...

An international database of jobs for philosophers

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Janella @janellabaxter.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

Following the brilliant @ruthbenghiat.bsky.social: I've been performing small acts of resistance by holding on to hope, practicing empathy, and finding levity in times of darkness. There is hope.

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Janella @janellabaxter.bsky.social · 19/10/2025

#philsci at a meeting where an upper administrator is telling us there's no problem of scientific funding when there's plenty of private funding to go around...

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Janella @janellabaxter.bsky.social · 28/09/2025

Great pictures, Yoshi! Thanks for sharing them.

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Janella @janellabaxter.bsky.social · 26/09/2025

I hope you are settling in well in Copenhagen, Yoshi! Glenn, Tourmaline, and I send you lots of well wishes.

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Janella @janellabaxter.bsky.social · 17/08/2025

It's always a great day when I get to cite Jonathan Harwood's work. #philsci

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Chris Smith @chriscrsmith.bsky.social · 11/08/2025

Hello bluesky community! I'm hiring a postdoc to do machine learning in population genetics. Starting to build up a lab at Indiana University Bloomington where I just started a faculty position. Apply with the below link: indiana.peopleadmin.com/postings/30325

indiana.peopleadmin.com

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

The department of Biology is a large, unified department with strong undergraduate degrees, nationally-ranked graduate programs, and world-class research spanning the breadth of biological questions a...

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Janella @janellabaxter.bsky.social · 30/07/2025

I've just completed a draft of the paper on the frozen accident's logic and what nonstandard genetic codes mean for it. If you'd like to read it, please let me know. I'm not a trained historian, but I do use some archival materials along with Crick's published works. Feedback is always welcome.

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Alisa Bokulich @alisabokulich.bsky.social · 22/07/2025

3 Tenure-Track Assistant Professor Positions in the History of Science, Technology, Medicine, and the Environment at Texas State University 🗃️ #HPS #histsci #histmed #envhist networks.h-net.org/jobs/68829/t...

networks.h-net.org

Texas State University - Cluster Hire: Three Tenure-Track Assistant Professor Positions in the History of Science, Technology, Medicine, and the Environment | H-Net

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Janella @janellabaxter.bsky.social · 14/07/2025

Thanks so much! I will follow up with Nick. Very much appreciate the reply.

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Janella @janellabaxter.bsky.social · 13/07/2025

Or perhaps it was the Landweber and Hurst work you name.

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Janella @janellabaxter.bsky.social · 13/07/2025

In Life's Greatest Secret (if my memory serves me) you name Freeland and Landweber as the first authors of genetic code optimization theory. (My copy is in the office. Apologies if I don't get this exactly right.) Would like to hear more about this. Perhaps you address this in the forthcoming book?

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Janella @janellabaxter.bsky.social · 13/07/2025

@matthewcobb.bsky.social I'm working on a paper on the frozen accident, nonstandard genetic codes, and the great man history that surrounds Crick. I have some questions about the influence work of Sonneborn (1965) and Zuckerkandl & Pauling (1965) had on Crick's 1968 paper.

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Alan Richardson @alanrichardson.bsky.social · 10/07/2025

The HOPOS 2026 website is up. Detailed call for papers coming soon. Keynotes by Peter R. Anstey and Heather Douglas. hopos2026.dryfta.com #philsci

hopos2026.dryfta.com

HOPOS 2026

Paper and symposium proposals for HOPOS 2026 can now be submitted through this web site. For detailed instructions, plea

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Scottie Buehler @midwifehistory.bsky.social · 07/07/2025

Check out our newly released special issue, "Reproductive Objects"! Through a collection of stellar articles, it traces the material "stuff" that constitutes the uneven tapestries of power, authority, and knowledge making around human reproduction. www.press.jhu.edu/journals/bul...

press.jhu.edu

Bulletin of the History of Medicine

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Janella @janellabaxter.bsky.social · 04/07/2025

And know this: the day will come when all these skirmishes and battles, these moments of defiance will have flooded the banks of the Empire’s authority and then there will be one too many. One single thing will break the siege.

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Janella @janellabaxter.bsky.social · 04/07/2025

And then remember this: The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear.

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Janella @janellabaxter.bsky.social · 04/07/2025

Random acts of insurrection are occurring constantly throughout the galaxy. There are whole armies, battalions that have no idea that they’ve already enlisted in the cause. Remember that the frontier of the Rebellion is everywhere. And even the smallest act of insurrection pushes our lines forward.

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Janella @janellabaxter.bsky.social · 04/07/2025

Nemik's manifesto from Andor. There will be times when the struggle seems impossible. I know this already. Alone, unsure, dwarfed by the scale of the enemy. Remember this: Freedom is a pure idea. It occurs spontaneously and without instruction.

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Alisa Bokulich @alisabokulich.bsky.social · 29/06/2025

Postdoc opportunity w/ @rachelankeny.bsky.social & philosophy group at Wageningen University on topics such as philosophy of science & technology, philosophy of biology, agricultural & food ethics, human-animal relations for 2026-27. For full consideration, application draft by 30 August #philsci

wur.nl

prof.dr. RA (Rachel) Ankeny

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Adrian Currie @adrian-currie.bsky.social · 24/06/2025

New special issue in HPLS! Rethinking the History of Microbiology, edited by Matheus Alves Duarte da Silva & Mathilde Gallay Keller. link.springer.com/collections/... #hps #philsci

link.springer.com

Rethinking the History of Microbiology

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Adrian Currie @adrian-currie.bsky.social · 19/06/2025

3 year postdoc in STS of health (“health” and “STS” construed broadly) here at Egenis! jobs.exeter.ac.uk/hrpr_webrecr...

jobs.exeter.ac.uk

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Janella @janellabaxter.bsky.social · 17/06/2025

I was not aware of your channel! Gonna watch them all...your channel is like Pokemon.

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Janella @janellabaxter.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

On the surface, this sort of reasoning seems analogous to political centrists blaming the "left" (or progressive groups) for the take over by fascism. (I'm sure there's interesting differences, but there seems to be a structural similarity.)

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DrDinD.bsky.social @drdind.bsky.social · 08/06/2025

Williams College declines federal research funding because of the Trump administration insistence on omitting DEI language www.science.org/content/arti...

science.org

U.S. college is first to decline federal science grants because of new DEI language

Williams College says NSF and NIH requirement related to discrimination “undermines” academic freedom

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Janella @janellabaxter.bsky.social · 08/06/2025

Also: Sahotra Sarkar's Molecular Models of Life

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Janella @janellabaxter.bsky.social · 08/06/2025

There is a very rigorous literature in the history and philosophy of science on the information metaphor in biology and the significant costs and benefits that come from this paradigm. To start, I recommend Lily E. Kay Who Wrote the Book of Life and E.F. Keller The Century of the Gene.

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Janella @janellabaxter.bsky.social · 08/06/2025

The NHGRI and its historical archive of genomics research at the NIH is an invaluable asset to our public memory and ongoing research (including my own!). I send my friends at the NHGRI all my love. I stand with you.

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Janella @janellabaxter.bsky.social · 06/06/2025

When nonstandard genetic codes were first discovered in mitochondrial DNA, their significance was minimized for various reasons. My favorite: "all sorts of nefarious genetics" are possible in the strange and mysterious organelle (Niels Lehman "Molecular Evolution: Please Release me, Genetic Code")

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Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science @mcps-philsci.bsky.social · 04/06/2025

Only a few days left to apply for the postdoc position in the Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists. Deadline 9 June.

buff.ly

Call for Applications: Open PostDoc-Position

...

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Janella @janellabaxter.bsky.social · 03/06/2025

#philsci Texas, not to be outdone by Utah, has passed SB37 -- a bill that imposes significant political/administrative oversight of college curriculum and has the power to eliminate programs with a small number of majors -- i.e., my own department. www.texastribune.org/2025/05/24/t...

texastribune.org

Bill to give political appointees more oversight over Texas universities wins final passage

The latest version of the proposal eliminates language that would have required university curricula not to advocate that “any race, sex, ethnicity or religious belief is inherently superior to anothe...

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