iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Tessa Montague @tessamontague.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I'm excited to share our new preprint: Generation of a transgenic cephalopod tinyurl.com/pc86jxz8 Cephalopods (cuttlefish, octopus & squid) are crazy critters that dynamically camouflage to their surroundings by changing the color, pattern, & texture of their skin, which they control w their brain.

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International Society for Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions @ismpmi.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Plant-Microbe enthusiasts! The next Road to Jeju Legends of ISMPMI series speaker is Jonathan Jones. The webinar is free to attend, but you must register: uchicago.zoom.us/webinar/regi... Attend live on September 30, 2026 3pm UTC or watch it later on the ismpmi.org.

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Kacy Gordon @kacylynn.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

JOB ALERT: UNC Bio is hiring 2 tenure track assistant profs doing molecular, cell, and dev bio. The search is intentionally broad, so please share widely and spread the word! Find more information and apply here: unc.peopleadmin.com/postings/325... Application review begins Nov 1.

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Mycology and Microbiology Center @myco-microbio.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Eight years and thousands of samples later, results from one of our biggest long-term projects are finally published! 🌍💧🍄 The FunAqua dataset brings together aquatic fungal biodiversity data from 1,452 sites across 87 countries. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

nature.com

The FunAqua dataset of global fungal biodiversity in aquatic ecosystems - Scientific Data

Scientific Data - The FunAqua dataset of global fungal biodiversity in aquatic ecosystems

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Julian Liber @liberjulian.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

If you want to see how transformational an ebike can be, just look at the reviews here. Age, chronic illness, or simply not having to drive. Luckily found a quality used one! www.velotricbike.com/products/vel...

velotricbike.com

Velotric Fold 1 | Reliable Folding Ebike for Everyday Use

Explore the Velotric Fold 1 — a compact, durable folding ebike with 750W power, 55-mile range, and easy fold design for city commutes or travel.

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Brooke Fitzwater, PhD (she/her) 🐟🪱🏳️‍🌈♾️ @oceanfilly.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

I will be attending #SICB2027 this year! I am also actively looking for a postdoc position and would love to connect with PIs looking for postdocs! I have interest/expertise in behavior, mate choice/sexual selection, host-parasite interactions, and disability/neurodivergent advocacy in biology.

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SK Winnicki, PhD 🏳️‍⚧️ @skwinnicki.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Doesn't surprise me that this is their (garbage) take But it does remind me that so many social movements (successful and failed alike) were driven by underemployed, overcredentialed, and aggrieved young people, even movements that primarily benefit other groups we're dangerous to the WSJ types

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Colin Carlson @colincarlson.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

David Quammen's essay in The New York Times today closes with this paragraph. It's both a scientific falsehood, and an incredibly dangerous narrative. If you're willing to give me five minutes of your time, I'd like to explain why.

The Ebola virus doesn’t need to spill back. It abides in its reservoir host, and awaits its next opportunity. A virus can’t climb out of a bat or a monkey and fly off in search of human prey. It can only spill over. If humans left the reservoir host alone — not hunting it, not capturing it, not eating it, not exporting it live, not disturbing its forest habitat — the virus wouldn’t re-emerge in humans. It would remain where it is, harming no one. But of course that’s not what happens. And when viruses spill, they often spill into us, because the human population is such a big, busy target.

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Tal Lavin @swordsjew.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

in today's newsletter, @davidswanson.bsky.social explores how a bread roll from the Vienna World's Fair became a beloved Latin American sandwich.... with much discussion of how World's Fairs came about and sometimes caused cholera epidemics: buttondown.com/theswordandt...

buttondown.com

Notable Sandwiches #151: Pebete

Welcome back to Notable Sandwiches, the feature where my editor David Swanson and I eat our way through Wikipedia’s List of Notable Sandwiches. This week,...

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Julian Liber @liberjulian.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Is this too much squash? Time to find out!

A very large blue squash taking up most of a sink.

Same squash cut in half on a cutting board, with chef's knife for reference.

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Michael Grunwald @mikegrunwald.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

It’s here! WE ARE EATING THE EARTH in paperback, with a new afterword. Just in time for NY Climate Week! (I’m still skipping NY Climate Week.) www.simonandschuster.com/books/We-Are...

simonandschuster.com

We Are Eating the Earth

From the author of New York Times bestseller The New New Deal, a groundbreaking piece of reportage from the trenches of the next climate war: the f...

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K.B. Spangler @kbspangler.com · 22/09/2026

Moral panics are manufactured concerns created to push an agenda, don't hold up under scrutiny, and the fallout always harms more people than will ever be helped. Stand up for trans people.

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Arienne Childrey @ari4ohio.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Thank you Lucas County Stonewall Democrats.

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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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Joshua Foust 🪖🎮 @joshuafoust.com · 18/09/2026

Again, there is clear evidence a data center moratorium would peel far more votes away from the GOP than the 10-15 (not thousand, literally 10-15 total) who might switch over this same crowd’s demand to betray queer people. It’s malpractice that the party won’t ditch these professional losers.

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Julian Liber @liberjulian.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

A new meta data center is being built in Bowling Green, OH in Kaptur's district. Driving by on I-75, you can see the 350 MW of gas turbines being installed, despite press releases saying it would run on 100% renewable energy. These companies lie. Serve your constituents, not AI companies.

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Shepherd @neolithicsheep.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Hang on why the fuck is anybody selling any kind of sprouts and anybody buying them?? In my wretched youth you could get alfalfa sprouts (they're delicious) and then a massive salmonella outbreak happened and it turns out there's no safe way to grow microgreens on an industrial scale and no more.

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JL Weissman @jlw-ecoevo.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

My lab is hiring two(!) postdocs interested in (1) building trait prediction models capable of resolving complex microbial traits from genomes and metagenomes, and/or (2) building mathematical models of microbial community dynamics www.microbialgamut.com/mGAMUT_postd...

microbialgamut.com

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Sophien Kamoun @kamounlab.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Peer-review ladies and gents. What’s your favorite? #BSPP26 #PPTATH2026

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Aaron Huertas @aaronhuertas.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Boycott is still on. No Starbucks till the union gets a contract.

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SK Winnicki, PhD 🏳️‍⚧️ @skwinnicki.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

someone tried to burn down this cool progressive church on the edge of campus

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SK Winnicki, PhD 🏳️‍⚧️ @skwinnicki.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

right-wing media is always hand-wringing about who is convincing young people to be anti-policing, like someone taught me a class on it or paid me or something as if watching police pour liquid all over trash cans full of every belonging my neighbors had wasn't enough to make me form an opinion

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Mark Histed @markhisted.org · 04/09/2026

Right. Vought and Bhattacharya tried to gut NIH in 2025 via stopping spending (Fed Reg bans) and rescission. That failed. Now in 2026, they’re still using bureaucracy inside the agency to try to slow spending. But they need a new way to get the leftover money (meant for science!) out of NIH. 1/

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Goodnews @goodnews.computer · 04/09/2026

Take a break from being depressed that everything you love is being destroyed by slop for a moment and let me tell you about the beautiful symbiotic relationship between graffiti writers, train yard workers, and model train enthusiasts.

A hand holding a model train with a replica of the same graffiti on the full scale train car behind it.

A model train with two graffiti pieces on opposite sides.

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Harmit Singh Malik @harmitmalik.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

The current NIH Director’s animus against NIAID to sign away much needed research funds so we can continue bombing another country is… a staggering betrayal of Congressional intentions and authority. Not surprising but still staggering.

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Julian Liber @liberjulian.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

They are available for Ohio too!

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itati santamaria de Collins @itativcs.latinsky.app · 28/08/2026

Sorry but if you have a bad mentor/mentee or even just an unsatisfying one, it’s not because your union fights for working protections and fair wages/benefits. If your PI is making you feel that way, it’s just because they want to exploit you further. Grow up.

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Julian Liber @liberjulian.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Today's the day! DM or email me if you'd like to join by Zoom!

A flyer with the text "Julian Liber’s PhD Defence
Phyllosphere Yeasts as a System for Understanding Phylogeny, Mating, and Commensal Host Adaptation. Aug 28th @ 1PM EDT
French Science 2231 (Bonk Auditorium)
DM for Zoom link
Join for light refereshments following
It’s the yeast you could do..."

Picture of Julian holding flowers.

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Julian Liber @liberjulian.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Irresponsibly enjoying the lunar eclipse at 1am the night before my defense because *checks notes* the fire alarm went off at my hotel.

A fire engine with lights on and several spectators outside a hotel. A sliver of the illuminated moon is visible.

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Maggie Astor @maggieastor.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Updated Covid vaccines for the 2026-27 season have been approved by the FDA. Article to come.

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itati santamaria de Collins @itativcs.latinsky.app · 26/08/2026

Hi friends! Would anyone who has won the HHMI Gilliam Fellowship in evo/eco be willing to share their materials with my lab mate/chat with her about crafting a successful app? I think she’s a strong candidate but would appreciate all the help! pls RT. 🧪🌎🌱🧬

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Julian Liber @liberjulian.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

For all the fungi hunters out there, the Heitman Lab at Duke University is looking for Cryptococcus luteus found associated with crust fungi on fallen logs. Every sample helps! #mycology

A wanted poster for the fungus Granulobasidium vellereum and its parasite Cryptococcis luteus. Searchers should check the underside of fallen logs (especially elm) for white to cream crusts on the bottom side. The parasite appears as pale-yellow circular patches on the fungal surface. If found, searchers should record the location, host, take a photo, and send the whole branch/piece in a paper bag to the Heitman lab.

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no brain, only alison @alisonborealis.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

I was thinking about this story recently, and today feels like a good day to share it again.

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babs ✨ @itsbabs.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

quip aside, this is not a joke haha covid vaccine update is ABYSMAL 🤪 if you consider yourself “fully vaxx’d” but haven’t gotten a new one in the last 6-12mo, please go get an updated formulation! they don’t last forever! “fully vaxx’d” in 2021 is great but bestie is the bit 2026! let’s act like it!

an original image macro showing a young Taylor Swift with the rainbow text saying “oh my God a hit tweet” very poorly Photoshopped to read “a hit skeet” with Dolly Parton‘s face over taylor’s

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Starbucks Workers United @sbworkersunited.org · 25/08/2026

🚨AFL-CIO has endorsed the Starbucks Boycott!

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Kevin J. Kircher @kevinjkircher.com · 24/08/2026

Underappreciated: US farmland *already substantially produces energy, not food*, and does so very inefficiently. Corn ethanol (~40% of all US corn) requires about 100 times more land per vehicle-mile driven than solar photovoltaics -> electric vehicles. Shifting corn to solar *would free up land*.

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PM2.5 Kills ~9 Million People Each Year Worldwide @tkovach.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

"I can't really overstate how significant this change in position is. It is now the position of the United States government that people with disabilities don't have a right to be part of their communities."

npr.org

They grew up with disability rights. Now, they're fighting to keep them

Siblings Cody and Kaleigh Brendle have grown up with the right to community integration. Now, they worry those protections for people with disabilities like them are being eroded.

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Sarah Taber @sarahtaber.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

The ag lobby really, really, really, really, really, really, really wants you to think AI is the reason reservoirs are going empty. It's not. It's agriculture.

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Silvia Secchi @profsecchi.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Like everyone knows 🌽 ethanol is a terrible idea but there's people now seriously researching how it can be used for "sustainable" aviation fuels while others still argue for cellulosic ethanol while it's obvious electrification makes a lot more sense. Same for biodigesters in confined livestock. 2/

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Anna Allen @akallen10.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

New NSF BIO solicitation is live.... this replaces the previous IOS, MCB, DEB solicitation www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...

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Julian Liber @liberjulian.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Dissertation sent to committee, two weeks until defense. Almost there!

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Lune 🐈‍⬛ @lune.monster · 13/08/2026

Stole this from the comments because this shit shouldn't be behind a paywall.

Crucially, the GLOVE has limitations, chief among them that for the device to work effectively and deliver its restraining pain shock, it must come into contact with the subject's bare skin. According to Compliant Technologies, the gloves won't work through dry clothing or thick hair. The gloves will work, however, if the subject is wearing thin, wet clothing, such as soaked T-shirts or blouses. The GLOVE also does not like being dunked in water and will likely be rendered inoperable if this happens.

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Mark Peifer (He, him) @peiferlabunc.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Want to help a second grade teacher in Durham NC (who also happens to be our daughter Lily) equip their classroom?? Check out their wishlist 😀 www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/...

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Albert Pinto @70sbachchan.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

You can't predict the turns this sentence takes. Extreme heat is threatening Italy’s “cheese banks,” where hundreds of thousands of Parmigiano-Reggiano wheels are stored as loan collateral. fortune.com/2026/08/10/i...

fortune.com

Italy's $4.7 billion cheese economy is feeling the heat as climate change threatens its cheese banks that hold Parmigiano wheels as loan collateral | Fortune

Extreme heat is straining the vaults that hold Parmigiano wheels as loan collateral, and economists say the damage runs wider than the vault

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