iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Oscar Alejandro Pérez-Escobar @latinorchidbot.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

Super excited to share this short documentary on the orchid research we do at @rbgkew.bsky.social & how it supports conservation (feat. my amazing colleagues Viswambharan Sarasan, Bala Kompali, & myself!) 🌸 w huge thanks to Kew’s amazing social media team! 🎬 watch the full vid: youtu.be/68sMYtaffBE

022

Oscar Alejandro Pérez-Escobar @latinorchidbot.bsky.social · 03/04/2026

So thrilled that “The origin and speciation of orchids” is featured in the high-impact collection of @newphyt.bsky.social (124th anniversary) as the top cited & 2nd most read (34K+ reads, 83 cites) amongst +800 papers! A global effort of 48 researchers! 🔗 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/1469...

0122

Reposted by Oscar Alejandro Pérez-Escobar

Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD @elizabethjacobs.bsky.social · 19/02/2026

A new paper shows that less than 2 months of exposure to Twitter’s algorithmic feed significantly shifts people’s political views to the right. Moving from chronological feed to the algorithmic feed also increases engagement. This is one of the most concerning papers I’ve read in awhile.

The political effects of X's feed algorithm
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10098-2
Received: 16 December 2024
Accepted: 4 January 2026
Published online: 18 February 2026
Open access
• Check for updates
Germain Gauthier,5, Roland Hodler?5, Philine Widmer35 & Ekaterina Zhuravskaya3,4,5 m
Feed algorithms are widely suspected to influence political attitudes. However, previous evidence from switching off the algorithm on Meta platforms found no political effects'. Here we present results from a 2023 field experiment on Elon Musk's platform X shedding light on this puzzle. We assigned active US-based users randomly to either an algorithmic or a chronological feed for 7 weeks, measuring political attitudes and online behaviour. Switching from a chronological to an algorithmic feed increased engagement and shifted political opinion towards more conservative positions, particularly regarding policy priorities, perceptions of criminal investigations into Donald Trump and views on the war in Ukraine. In contrast, switching from the algorithmic to the chronological feed had no comparable effects.
Neither switching the algorithm on nor switching it off significantly affected affective polarization or self-reported partisanship. To investigate the mechanism, we analysed users' feed content and behaviour. We found that the algorithm promotes conservative content and demotes posts by traditional media. Exposure to algorithmic content leads users to follow conservative political activist accounts, which they continue to follow even after switching off the algorithm, helping explain the asymmetry in effects. These results suggest that initial exposure to X's algorithm has persistent effects on users' current political attitudes and account-following behaviour, even in the absence of a detectable effect on partisanship.

15764953271

Oscar Alejandro Pérez-Escobar @latinorchidbot.bsky.social · 04/09/2025

Thrilled & deeply humbled to be featured in @newphyt.bsky.social with a profile on my journey as a Colombian scientist working at @rbgkew.bsky.social M thanks to 🇨🇴 Embassy in 🇬🇧for the kind interview highlighting this story & the hidden secrets of #orchids nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

1195

Oscar Alejandro Pérez-Escobar @latinorchidbot.bsky.social · 21/04/2025

Watch a summary of our ongoing research on the evol of the sacred #coca tree (the most misunderstood useful plant!), including unpublished but v exciting results 🤓 Grateful w the McKenna Acad for the invite to participate in the coca summit last Feb! @natalia-asp.bsky.social youtu.be/D3AgmrF8daE?si…

050

Reposted by Oscar Alejandro Pérez-Escobar

The Mathers Foundation @mathersfoundation.bsky.social · 15/03/2025

Brilliant first day at the show. Delighted to win a Gold Medal for our display 🏅🌿 and a prize for the Best Hybrid in the Show for Masdevallia Mandy 🎉. Thanks everyone who came to visit. 🌿 #orchids #orquídeas #nature #conservation

0193

Reposted by Oscar Alejandro Pérez-Escobar

Kew Gardens @rbgkew.bsky.social · 14/03/2025

Using 90-million-year-old pollen fossils and DNA from a vast collection of global herbarium specimens, @benkuhnhaeuser.bsky.social has been able to map the spread of rattan palms across Asia, and understand the drivers that led to their astonishing diversity 🌴🏝️ 👉 www.kew.org/read-and-wat...

A figure from a paper shows a DNA tree of palms in Asia - each part of the tree is colour coded to the area of Asia that those families are found. There are also pictures of two species of large palm, and pollen fossils both ancient and modern

2308

Reposted by Oscar Alejandro Pérez-Escobar

Kew Gardens @rbgkew.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

JOB: Join us as a Postdoctoral Researcher in Biodiversity Genomics & help unlock the genetic secrets of Brazil’s Atlantic Forest 🌿 From microbial diversity to bioactive compounds, your work will help shape conservation & bioeconomy research 📅 Apply by 13 April 👉 careers.kew.org/vacancy/post...

An aerial shot of Brazil’s Atlantic Forest

03117

Oscar Alejandro Pérez-Escobar @latinorchidbot.bsky.social · 22/02/2025

V excited to participate in the #Cocaleaf summit organised by the McKennaAcad! It was a privilege to share our science with researchers, policymakers & indigenous leaders shaping coca future, incl David Choquehuanca, VP of Bolivia! Stay tuned for exciting research on coca! #Coca is not #cocaine

David Choquehuanca, vice president of Bolivia, with Dr Oscar Alejandro Perez Escobar. Photo taken by Fabiola Piñacue

Vice president David Choquehuanca delivering his speech

0120

Oscar Alejandro Pérez-Escobar @latinorchidbot.bsky.social · 01/02/2025

It was an incredible privilege to talk yesterday about the botanical and evolutive context of the #coca leaf during a conversation organised by OpenSociety at #UnitedNations! Keen on learning about the cultural and scientific value of this sacred plant? Watch here free! webtv.un.org/en/asset/k15...

081

Reposted by Oscar Alejandro Pérez-Escobar

Gary Swergold MD, PhD @gs314.bsky.social · 31/01/2025

🧪 If I were Canadian PM I would immediately: 1. Create a new $15B science fund 2. Offer any credentialed US scientist funding for lab startup and replacement of NIH grants if they move to Canada 3. Immediate permanent residency 4. Citizenship after 2 years Overnight a science superpower

1236409386967

Reposted by Oscar Alejandro Pérez-Escobar

Ryan P. O’Donnell @rpodonnell.bsky.social · 07/12/2024

The first chapter of my PhD has finally been published in Systematic Biology! “Discordance Down Under: Combining phylogenomics & fungal symbioses to detangle difficult nodes in a diverse tribe of Australian terrestrial orchids” - advance access link below 1/🧵

academic.oup.com

24410

Reposted by Oscar Alejandro Pérez-Escobar

Orchid Ecology @orchidecology.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

This paper attempts to bring a comprehensive perspective on the origin and evolution of the orchid family. In addition it emphasizes the geographical location of the origin of the family nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

The origin and speciation of orchids

Orchids constitute one of the most spectacular radiations of flowering plants. However, their origin, spread across the globe, and hotspots of speciation remain uncertain due to the lack of an up-to...

0135

Oscar Alejandro Pérez-Escobar @latinorchidbot.bsky.social · 24/11/2024

Ayer fue el Día Nacional de la #Orquídea en #Colombia, el país con +4,270 especies registradas. La mayor riqueza del mundo! Las orquídeas nos enseñan sobre evolución y cómo el #cambioclimático afecta su diversidad. Descarga gratis el Árbol de la Vida de las Orquídeas: 🔗 figshare.com/s/241e1bd47d...

262