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John Fowler (he/him)

@jefowlerjr.bsky.social
947 followers 393 following 122 posts

At heart, still mostly a geneticist; admittedly over-enthusiastic about maize; in 2026, reminding everyone that the @TheB52s should be in the @rockhall !

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by John Fowler (he/him)
Representative Becca Balint @balint.house.gov · 29/09/2026
It’s almost as if there are more ways to measure the value of work than just the amount of money it makes people.
 A country with fewer social workers and teaching aides, with less study of the arts and history, is a country that’s not investing in its own future.
newrepublic.com
Trump Moves to Cut Off Student Loans for Tons of Degrees
Under a new rule, if your degree doesn’t make enough money, you won’t be able to get a student loan.
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German Society for Plant Sciences (DBG) @plantsciencedbg.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
#PlantSciJobs #PlantSciJob PhD position: Plant Development - how cell fate is established during male germline initiation in #maize @uniregensburg.bsky.social www.deutsche-botanische-gesellschaft.de/en/job-openi...
deutsche-botanische-gesellschaft.de
Job Openings
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Liz Haswell @ehaswell.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
NSF employees speaking out: democrats-science.house.gov/imo/media/do...
democrats-science.house.gov
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Marco Rogers @polotek.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
I can understand why the features of a supposed AI assistant are compelling. I kinda wanna try it too. But I know too much about how these things work. Do not give a cloud-based agent access to your shit. Especially one from the big tech companies.
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Umeå Plant Science Centre @umeaplantsciencecentre.se · 29/09/2026
🧪🌾NEWS: Aspen leaf cells change shape during drought Cells on an aspen leaf surface look like a jigsaw puzzle under the microscope.🔬 @srobertgroup.bsky.social identified a gene controlling this shape and found that drought affects both its activity and cell shape. 🔗 www.upsc.se/about-upsc/n...
Puzzle-shaped cells on the surface of an aspen leaf seen under a microscope with blue coloured surroundings.
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Jenna Norton @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
A great overview of how the Trump admin cultivated fear inside NIH to force compliance, even with harmful, unethical & unlawful orders. Also covers origins of the Bethesda Declaration community. From my friend & co-organizer Dr. Wen-Ying Sylvia Chou. www.psychologicalscience.org/publications...
psychologicalscience.org
NIH Employees Lived in A Culture of Fear, So They Started Keeping Receipts
Sylvia Chou, former NIH program director, says “nobody’s OK” after massive disruptions to funding policies and infrastructure.
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Mark Peifer (He, him) @peiferlabunc.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
For the last 34 years I have been on the faculty of the UNC-Chapel Hill Department of Biology and have never regretted that decision. This year we are hiring TWO new Assistant Professors in the broad area of Molecular, Cell, Developmental Biology 1/n bio.unc.edu
Front page of the website
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Journal of Cell Science @jcellsci.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Read more about this research in our ‘First person’ interview with Stephanie Martinez @stephanieemartinez.bsky.social: journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/...
Stephanie Martinez
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Journal of Cell Science @jcellsci.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Cutting corn-ers: @stephanieemartinez.bsky.social and @carolynplants.bsky.social discover that KATANIN p60 guides asymmetric division plane positioning in maize. Highlight: journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/... Article: journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/...
Figure showing that PPBs are incompletely formed in p60 mutants.
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Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Are Black Democrats not a thing or…
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Sebastian S. Cocioba @atinygreencell.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Feeling proud of where SpliceCraft is at right now. Still got more details to add and UI jank to solve, but powerful af and open source. Made, with love, for this community. Enjoy. SpliceCraft.bio
splicecraft.bio
SpliceCraft — the in-terminal plasmid workbench
Design, clone & mutate plasmids in a mouse-friendly terminal workbench. Everything runs on your own computer — no cloud, no account.
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Reposted by John Fowler (he/him)
Daniel Kierzkowski @kierzkowskilab.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
🌱We are looking for an Assistant Professor in Plant Molecular Genetics @irbv.bsky.social If you are passionate about genetics, molecular biology, or imaging, this is your chance to join a community of researchers working on plant development, cell biology, evolution, ecology, and biodiversity. 👇
rh-carriere-dmz-eng.synchro.umontreal.ca
Careers
Through your undergraduate and graduate-level teaching, and your research activities, you will contribute to the faculty’s pursuit of excellence. Furthermore, you will promote your discipline and actively participate in the daily activities of a renowned institution. As such, you will:
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Reposted by John Fowler (he/him)
Jared Yates Sexton @jysexton.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Just helping with editing here. These bots aren’t sentient. They’re doing what they’re programmed to do. OpenAI, a private company supposedly bound by laws, committed federal crimes.
Screenshot of BBC article: OpenAI bots (struck through) meddled with multiple US government agency sites
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Lord Sedge of Sedgley @lordsedge.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
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Carl Prothman | Photography @carlprothman.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Two hours of stars over Mount Rainier, compressed into one minute. 🌌 I photographed this from the White River area as the Milky Way moved across Little Tahoma Peak toward Mount Rainier. Airplanes, satellites, and even a searchlight crossed the frame.
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Joshua Weitz @joshuasweitz.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
A telling quote in this @npr.org analysis: "I think it was clear to just about every observer, left, right, and center, that the NIH of recent decades is a very unhealthy institution and has really desperately needed substantial reform." -Ian Banks, Foundation for American Innovation 🧵
npr.org
These 6 charts show how NIH research funding has been reshaped under Trump
Stories of science funding being cut, labs shutting down and scientists losing jobs have flooded the media under Trump's administration. These six graphics show how those changes have affected U.S. biomedical research.
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Prof. Keiko Torii @keikoutorii.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
I am proud to share my No-AI-assisted perspective review "Plant Peptide Hormones: Three Decades of Discovery and Emerging Paradigms" for the Centennial issue of @plantphys.bsky.social 🌱🍅. It's OA, so everyone can access! 1/ academic.oup.com/plphys/advan...
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Tiffany Lowe-Power stands with Minnesota @tlowepower.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Please repost/share We're hiring! UC Davis Plant Pathology seeks a tenure-track Assistant Professor in plant health & microbiomes. recruit.ucdavis.edu/JPF07904 My department is full of great colleagues, and we look forward to recruiting our new colleague!
recruit.ucdavis.edu
Assistant Professor of Plant Pathology
University of California, Davis is hiring. Apply now!
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Maitreya Dunham @maitreya.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Exciting news: @uwgenome.bsky.social will be hiring for two tenure-track faculty positions this year, one open rank and one assistant professor. Both are “Genome Sciences” interpreted broadly so we welcome applicants working in a variety of fields and methods. Ad will be out shortly.
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Josh Chafetz @joshchafetz.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
There's a lot to say about this, and other folks are saying most of it. I just want to focus on one thing: the claim about the relationship between universities and "the real world."
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Tanja Slotte @tanjaslotte.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Interested in testing hypotheses on pollen evolution using genomic data? Apply for our open 4-year PhD student position at Stockholm University! Application via the SU website, deadline Oct 24, 2026. #evolution #pollen #pollinationmode #plants #genomics #RNAseq su.varbi.com/what:job/job...
su.varbi.com
Doktorand i ekologi och evolution
Institutionen för ekologi, miljö och botanik (DEEP) bedriver forskning och utbildning vid Arrheniuslaboratorierna på campus Frescati. Vi är cirka 100 medarbetare, inklusive doktorander och postdok
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Plant Physiology @plantphys.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Loss of ZmDMP increases phosphatidic acid production and disrupts lipid homeostasis in maize sperm cells (Shuaibing Yao , Zhengzhi Zhang , Shaohua Tang , Hua Liu , Bing Yang , Xuemin Wang) doi.org/10.1093/plph... #PlantScience @aspbofficial
doi.org
Loss of ZmDMP increases phosphatidic acid production and disrupts lipid homeostasis in maize sperm cells
DUF679 domain membrane protein (DMP) and phosphatidic acid both promote membrane fusion, but DMP suppresses phosphatidic acid production in sperm cells.
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TW @twesq.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
this is fantastic and I learned something new
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Moi Expósito-Alonso (MOILAB) @mexpositoalonso.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Fantastic Asst Professor positions open across multiple UC Berkeley departments @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social Plant/Algae/Microb aprecruit.berkeley.edu/JPF05522 Plant/Env aprecruit.berkeley.edu/JPF05382 Gen/Dev/Evo aprecruit.berkeley.edu/JPF05481 Eco aprecruit.berkeley.edu/JPF05489
aprecruit.berkeley.edu
Assistant Professor – Plant or Macroalgae-Associated Microbial Communities and Interactions - Plant and Microbial Biology
University of California, Berkeley is hiring. Apply now!
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Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD @elizabethjacobs.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
The person who thinks that he has the ability to decide which science to fund out of hundreds of subfields is exactly the person who should not make that decision. There is a reason that expert committees of scientists review and give recommendations for funding. No one person can know all of it.
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Jacob Tennessen @jacobphd.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Reviewing another paper. There’s an AI generated figure with at least ten distinct errors easily seen just by comparing it with the accompanying table. It’s just a map of collection sites, nothing sophisticated. If AI is this bad and authors this lazy in these simple cases, what else is wrong?
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Mike Hoerger, PhD, MSCR, MBA @michael-hoerger.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
PMC COVlD Update, Sep 21, 2026 (US) 🔥13th COVlD wave 🔥40 states/territories with outbreaks (see Alt text) 🔥3.8 million estimated weekly infections 🔥Outbreaks in NYC 🔥Extremely high levels on the Big Island of HI Mask up and get boosted. 🧵THREAD (1/4)
The US has at least 34 states and territories with COVlD outbreaks. These include Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Hawai'i, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and West Virginia. Levels on the Big Island of Hawai’i are particularly high. Note also, the NYC area is seeing outbreaks.

There are likely outbreaks in additional states. The summary statistic of 40 only includes counties with observed data, rather than estimated data. For example, Idaho, Louisiana, Maryland, and Tennessee likely have outbreaks, but monitoring is poor.
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Abdul El-Sayed @abdulelsayed.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
This is about one thing and one thing alone. Steering our research dollars for cancer, heart disease, and new infectious diseases to Trump’s political allies and friends.
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Politico @politico.com · 20/09/2026
Trump asked budget chief to draft order bringing health research funding under his control
dlvr.it
Trump asked budget chief to draft order bringing health research funding under his control
The move came after the NIH director refused Trump’s request to cut Harvard grants in an Oval Office meeting.
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Sophie Labelle @assignedmale.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
It takes a toll.
4 frame comics. first frame shows espresso in a portafilter. second shows a coconut milk carton and a cup to foam milk with a thermometer. 4rd frame shows a small espresso machine making espresso. 4th frame shows a foamy cappuccino in a promotional Frozen the Musical coffee cup. The text, spread over the four frames, reads :
I wish that I could give cis
people a glimpse of what it
feels like. 
to be villainized and
dehumanized in the media
every day.
to see your existence
being legislated against all
around the planet.
to see friends and
family members vote for
politicians who promise to
make the lives of people
like you worse.
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Jenna Norton @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Excellent article by @jessicaglenza.bsky.social at @us.theguardian.com that highlights how the Trump-Bhattacharya NIH grant terminations undermine trust built in communities and waste public resources by terminating critical, rigorous cutting edge science. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
‘Clear retribution’: dismay as key Alzheimer’s study cancelled amid Trump attacks on science
Participants in Pittsburgh may never learn the results of their cognitive tests – and funding cuts that target ‘DEI’ have the potential to delay vital diagnoses
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SK Winnicki, PhD 🏳️‍⚧️ @skwinnicki.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
it's like the news is constantly designed to get me riled up me, personally
Kronk angel and devil meme, showing the loveable himbo from the emperor's new groove with an angel and a devil arguing on his shoulder. The angel is labeled " eugenics is atrocious because all humans have inherent worth" and the devil is labeled "eugenics is atrocious because it fundamentally misunderstands evolution" and Kronk is labeled "me, a disabled evolutionary biologist"
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Rebecca (BeKa) Leuschen-Kohl @bleuschenkohl.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Week 1 of 50X50 Science Across America begins this week!! They’re partnering with 50 creators and 50 scientists across each of the 50 states to publish 50 videos in celebration of American science. Check it out: www.5050science.com
5050science.com
50x50 Science Across America
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Stand Up for Science! @standupforscience.net · 17/09/2026
Everybody keeps talking about how natural treatments and cures should be utilized, well here's exactly that. A cancer treatment that harnesses the power of your immune system to take down cancer cells. It only took four decades to make, thanks to reliable funding of science and research.
The graphic contains a photo of an IV bag and all graphics contain the white Stand Up for Science logo. The graphic reads: "Harnessing the Immune System to Treat Cancer. A series on how cancer treatments are discovered and developed."
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in silico Plants @insilicoplants.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
📢 Could you be the next Chief Editor of in silico Plants? We are seeking applications from established plant scientists with proven editorial experience and a passion for computational plant science. 📅 Hurry! The application deadline is next week ℹ️ More information: buff.ly/DKuXDng #PlantSciJobs
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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 15/09/2026
“trump will destroy everything he cannot own in perpetuity” is one reason i am filled with dread over 2028
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Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 03/09/2026
“The tech industry wants us to believe that AI in early education is not only inevitable, but that it is necessary. We do not see it that way.”
motherjones.com
Mamdani issues AI moratorium in NYC schools
Kids "need to wrestle with tough problems on their own,” New York's mayor said Wednesday.
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Michael Baym @baym.lol · 13/09/2026
Ten years ago Tami, Roy, and I released a movie we made of antibiotic resistance evolving in real time. I thought maybe a couple thousand people tops would see it. I couldn't have imagined it would be seen millions of times, and be taught from middle school through the graduate level worldwide
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Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 13/09/2026
This is going to do so much damage.
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Arif Ashraf @aribidopsis.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Final episode of Season 4 of #No_Time_To_Read podcast! I had the privilege to have my grad student as a guest for the first time! Olivia @ohazel.bsky.social discussed about her recent @newphyt.bsky.social paper. Podcast: tinyurl.com/9kfppcpr Article: nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
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Arif Ashraf @aribidopsis.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
It's a pleasure to work on my podcast, No Time To Read, for past several years. It gave me the opportunities to talk to some amazing plant biologists about their recent research articles. I just wrapped up Season 4. Thanks for your kind support. Podcast: tinyurl.com/3abx6khm
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John Fowler (he/him) @jefowlerjr.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Last night was a beautiful night out in Portland, lucky to see Liz Phair and Sleater-Kinney play to an enthusiastic crowd. S-K closed with a tremendous, energetic & suitably LOUD rendition of 'Entertain' off of their classic album The Woods. Highly recommend seeing them live if you can!
A concert stage with four band members visible, along with bright red & blue lighting and fog. Two guitarists are in the front, Carrie Brownstein on the left and Corin Tucker on the right. A large crowd is in front of the stage, visible as the tops of many heads.
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International Association of Sexual Plant Reproduction Research @iasprr.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
At #ICSPR2026 we announced the winners of our IASPRR awards!! 🏅Plant Reproduction Medal goes to... - Ueli Grossniklaus. 🏅Early Career Research Award in Plant Reproduction goes to... - Thomas Widiez @thomaswidiez.bsky.social . Thanks for voting and congratulations to our winners!! 👏👏👏
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Arvid Herrmann 🍃 @arvidhema.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Very happy to see this work out as a preprint! 🌽🌱 How are shoot stem cells specified in the maize embryo? We uncover a small RNA-driven morphogenic circuit linking positional information with auxin, cell wall mechanics & cell division patterning. Check it out 👇 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
biorxiv.org
Specification of embryonic shoot stem cells via a small RNA-driven morphogenic circuit
The specification of embryonic stem cells capable of self-renewing and differentiation into virtually any cell type, is one of the most consequential events in the development of a multicellular organ...
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Harmit Singh Malik @harmitmalik.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Completing the Connectome: How Pursuing a Map of the Fly Brain Rewired Neuroscience (Really worth sharing this video with your science-curious middle and high schoolers) www.hhmi.org/news/scienti... www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uMQ...
hhmi.org
Completing the Connectome: How Pursuing a Map of the Fly Brain Rewired Neuroscience | HHMI
Janelia scientists and collaborators have completed a wiring diagram of the central nervous system of an adult male fruit fly, the culmination of nearly two decades of groundbreaking research.
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Plant Physiology @plantphys.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Decoding pollen hydration: the role of FERONIA-mediated signaling in stigmatic actin cytoskeleton dynamics (Yong-jun He , Shuo Xu , Xin-qin Liu , Zhi-wen Liu , Yang Zhang , Kai-mei Zhang , Chao Li , Chen Liu) doi.org/10.1093/plph... #PlantScience @aspbofficial
doi.org
Decoding pollen hydration: the role of FERONIA-mediated signaling in stigmatic actin cytoskeleton dynamics
Stigmatic RALF33 and pollen-derived PCP-B peptides influence pollen hydration by regulating actin cytoskeleton organization in stigmatic papillae through t
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Mark Jacob @markjacob.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
One of the most frightening things about the Republican attempt to overthrow our democracy is how many people are completely unaware that the Republicans are attempting to overthrow our democracy.
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Arif Ashraf @aribidopsis.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Latest episode of #No_Time_To_Read podcast! I had a wonderful discussion with @morpholosophist.bsky.social about his recent @currentbiology.bsky.social article Avilash just started his new role as an Assistant Professor this month 🎉🔬🍀 Podcast: tinyurl.com/2s38n5k8 Article: tinyurl.com/yfcwrhk9
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Tatsuya Nobori @tatsuyanobori.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Great work by Ingram & Zipfel labs. Congratulations, everyone! An embryo-derived peptide signal directs endosperm polarity in Arabidopsis www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
An embryo-derived peptide signal directs endosperm polarity in Arabidopsis
Angiosperm seed formation requires the coordinated development of the products of double fertilization—the embryo and the endosperm. The endosperm mediates efficient nutrient transfer from surrounding...
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Elle Cordova @ellecordova.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Rough Draft vs Final Draft
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