iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Mike Wiser @drmikewiser.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Remember: Darwin's note of "I am very poorly today & very stupid & hate everybody & everything" was written on Oct 1 (1861). Thus we are free to celebrate Very Poorly And Very Stupid Hatred Day today.

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depths of wikipedia @depthsofwikipedia.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

when i mention "claude" you can assume i'm talking about the albino alligator not the llm

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Alex Wenzel @alexwenzel.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

For every one of these men who get a dramatic front page story, there are 25-50 postdocs who leave the country much less voluntarily.

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Kayce Bell @kaycebell.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Funds to support student research! October 1 deadline for @nhm.org Student Collections Study Award. Get $$ for travel expenses to collect data in our collections. Open to: - current undergrad & grad students - *not* local to Los Angeles (international applicants welcome) nhm.org/student-coll...

nhm.org

Student Collections Study Award

The NHM Collections Study Awards provide funding for undergraduate and graduate students to visit and study the collections of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, the La Brea Tar Pits & ...

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Society of Vertebrate Paleontology @societyofvertpaleo.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology stands with the Academy of Natural Sciences (ANSP) staff, and preservation of the ANSP Museum. SVP urges our member community and anyone who enjoys and supports the natural sciences to speak up on behalf of the ANSP and their staff! #SaveTheAcademy

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Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Please repost! Drexel announced that it will close the Academy of Natural Sciences public museum- the oldest nat history museum in the US. There are 2 petitions to support the academy. Please sign both & come to our rally Tues. actionnetwork.org/petitions/pe... www.change.org/p/the-academ...

A poster featuring the T-Rex at the cognitive natural sciences, which says save the Academy natural sciences, museum rally in front of the academy 1900 Ben Franklin Parkway, Tuesday, September 8 10 AM. The T-Rex is saying tell Drexel keep the museum open. There’s an RSVP QR code and then the logos of Philly Science Action Skype scientist In Philly on the bottom.

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Ellie Armstrong @elliecat.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

fellowships.si.edu/opportunity/... Please reach out if you are interested in developing an independent application for this postdoc opportunity with myself and Michael Campana. We have a lot of great bear genomics data that could be leveraged!

fellowships.si.edu

Smithsonian Biodiversity Genomics Postdoctoral Fellowship Program (BioG)

node:field_teaser]

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Jacob @tullamore-jew.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Strongly recommend this excellent passage from the intro to The Mismeasure of Man's second edition on the cyclical surge to popularity of interest in race science. I actually forgot what a great writer Gould was

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Genome Biology and Evolution @genomebiolevol.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Agwamba et al. identify the western Iberian Peninsula as the primary source of American populations of house mice; divergence dates are consistent with post-15th-century European maritime expansion and settlement in the Americas 🔗 academic.oup.com/gbe/article/... #societyjournal #evolution #genome

GBE | New Country for Old Mice: The Recent Colonization History of Mus musculus domesticus in the Americas

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Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Ecololgists!! This fall, the LEGO league's theme for their annual competition is ecosystems/biodiversity themed. We are going to need *a lot* of ecologists to help meet the demand. If you are willing to have a conversation with k-8 students about ecology, pls sign up here forms.gle/NbxitaXamK7B...

A teacher who is a fish has his fin on his hip and another pointing to the chalkbaord that says "Calling all ecologists skype a scientist needs you!" and a shrimp says "lego league jis coming" and a snail thinks "HELP!" and a seahorse says "This year's theme is ecosystems" and hot fish teacher says "Volunteer to speak with classrooms"

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SK Winnicki, PhD 🏳️‍⚧️ @skwinnicki.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Got an email saying that @skypeascientist.bsky.social is especially in need of ecologists this year (to sign up to match with classrooms). I've been doing it for years and it's always a lot of fun (and a great reward: effort ratio), I very much recommend! Open to grad students too!

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Genome Biology and Evolution @genomebiolevol.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Kappelhof et al. used WGS across all four Asian elephant subspecies to show that extreme variation in inbreeding, rather than subspecies-specific divergence, primarily drives differences in genome-wide diversity. 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/... 📷 Sander van Iersel & Tim Visser #societyjournal #congen

GBE | Massive Genetic Diversity Loss Within Asian Elephant Subspecies: New Insights for Determining Conservation Priorities

Close-up of an Asian elephant (Elephas Maximus) at the Rotterdam Zoo

Photo: Sander van Iersel & Tim Visser

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Madeleine Becker @mabscientist.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Thanks Regina!! Can you believe it's already been 7 years since we were interns?? feeling old 😵‍💫

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Madeleine Becker @mabscientist.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

first day at NMNH, this time as a historical/ancient DNA technician with the Laboratories of Analytical Biology. so excited to be back!! 🧑‍🔬🧬

selfie outside the Smithsonian national museum of natural history, including one of the new bison statues!

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Madeleine Becker @mabscientist.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

Finally PhinisheD!!! Successfully defended my dissertation on Evolutionary Genomics of Channel Island Peromyscus this Wednesday 🐭🧬👩‍🔬 Enormously grateful for the support of my family, friends, labmates, collaborators, and amazing committee members for seeing me through the last 6 years!!!

photo of me and my parents celebrating post-defense!

photo of me and my committee after my defense

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Madeleine Becker @mabscientist.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

if any of this piqued your interest, follow for more breadcrumbs from my thesis, or stop by my hybrid defense tomorrow morning!!! 🐭👩‍🔬🧬

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Madeleine Becker @mabscientist.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

my entire dissertation was borne out of the incredible opportunity created by having such an incredible spatial and chronological diversity of specimens to work with. while genomic "before" and "after" comparisons are becoming increasingly common, this kind of time series is really rare and special

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Madeleine Becker @mabscientist.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

last meme on the eve of my defense, for my third chapter exploring a time series of genomic data from 1892-2015 across the channel islands. this one goes out to the scientists who originally collected these mice and the many people who have worked to preserve these historic collections

meme template, marty mcfly at the end of back to the future "I guess you guys aren't ready ready for that, but your kids are gonna love it" (https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.knowyourmeme.com/memes/but-your-kids-are-gonna-love-it). Marty is labeled "collectors", and his guitar is labeled "hundreds of preserved island deer mice". the edited text appears: "I guess you guys aren't ready for that yet, but geneticists are gonna love it."

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Madeleine Becker @mabscientist.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

okay, now shifting gears: this meme is for a more conservation genomics oriented chapter about diversity on Anacapa island. my intention was to put diversity decrease after rat eradication into historical context. what we found is even more surprising: evidence of historical mainland gene flow!

meme template is iCarly's "um whatcha got there?/A smoothie" (Know Your Meme https://share.google/kvjCZaARDrNHNCvQW). Carly is labeled "me", Spencer is "1940 mice from a <1 sq mi island" and the ostrich is "higher diversity than the mainland"

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Madeleine Becker @mabscientist.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

putting everything together, we inferred a recent mainland expansion across mainland California/Baja California. but! we think that Northern Chanel Island mice may descend from a distinct southern CA ecotype which was extirpated and replaced by the expanding lineage! the meme reflects that turnover

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Madeleine Becker @mabscientist.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

aaah I'm behind on my memes! okay this was the follow up: in my next chapter I investigated this dynamic with greater taxonomic and geographic sampling, and added mitogenomes, low coverage genomic data, and ultra-conserved elements: this was my interpretation of our results!

the meme is Moe throwing out Barney (https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/moe-tossing-barney-out). Moe is "SoCal end-Pleistocene extinctions" and Barney is "P. gambelii. when Barney is out of the bar (briefly), it's labeled"newly available niches"

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Madeleine Becker @mabscientist.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

P. gambelii (deer mice found in southern/Baja California) have surprisingly low mitochondrial diversity for such a widespread and populous species. this indicates recent expansion, but *because* Peromyscus populations are so large, rare haplotypes can linger...more on what this means tomorrow

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Madeleine Becker @mabscientist.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

okay meme of the day is pretty niche, but will expand on tomorrow. this one is from my first chapter which was published in a proceedings for the 10th California islands symposium! bioone.org/journals/wes...

the template is "just making sure I don't fit in", with a line of faceless white humanoid figures, while one orange figure steps out of line, gazing at the others. my caption: " one random deer mouse from 1995 retaining a wildly divergent cyt b haplotype from all other mainland mice, sending us into a panic"

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Madeleine Becker @mabscientist.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

TLDR some sneaky P. truei were accidentally introduced to San Clemente Island some 80 years ago in hay bales, some of which were collected and labeled as native island deer mice in collections, and two ended up in my genomic dataset! Check out how this story unraveled here: bsky.app/profile/kayc...

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Madeleine Becker @mabscientist.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Okay, now 5 days until my defense, so here's a meme from chapter 5! This story was actually already beautifully explained by @kaycebell.bsky.social, so I'll link the thread and recently published paper below!

the meme template is "Bro thinks he's on the team", in which Drake is sitting with the Kentucky NCAA basketball team while wearing their matching warm up uniform (https://share.google/IFFTyuiJz625alwci). the basketball players have been [artfully] replaced with native channel island deer mice, while the outlier, Drake, is a Pinyon mouse (P. truei), circled in red. it is *obviously* different and NOT on the team, with its giant ears

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Madeleine Becker @mabscientist.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

Unfortunately, the subfossil I sequenced had been found in an exposed terrace deposit, and it seems that all the endogenous DNA degraded away over time. The only significant mammal DNA present was human. We know this wasn't lab contamination, since it was trace and degraded, but it was still sad :(

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Madeleine Becker @mabscientist.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

Starting with my sixth and most disappointing chapter: "Paleogenomics of an ancient Channel Island rodent, Peromyscus anyapahensis".

the meme template is Nathan fielder in the episode where he pranks the guy who cuts in line at Pink's I believe. The format is that they're on a boat, and in the first panel, Nathan sets a dish of something underneath a cloche while saying "I hope you're hungry...". The man smiles in anticipation.

In the second panel, Nathan takes off the cloche, finishing his sentence: "...for nothing." The dish is empty. The man is shocked.

In this meme, Nathan is labeled as my subfossil and I am the other man. The closed cloche appears to be a highly contiguous and deeply sequenced mitochondrial genome (indicating great data). Yet, when Nathan opens the cloche, the BLAST results are revealed: this mitochondrial DNA is all human contamination.

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Madeleine Becker @mabscientist.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

big things happening: I'll be defending my dissertation next week on July 15! to procrastinate preparing, I will be posting a meme for each of my chapters until the big day. also, please DM me if you'd like a zoom link to attend my public defense, but be prepared for 45 minutes of mouse toe talk!

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Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 01/07/2026

Mods are asleep. Post pinnipeds!

Young female pakake (New Zealand sea lion)

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Joshua Weitz @joshuasweitz.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

In the face of ongoing pressures and critique (including here by many), the public reaffirmation of the core mission of the National Academy of Sciences is a much-needed signal from incoming NAS President Neil Shubin. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

science.org

The enduring pursuit of science in America

Imagine an American organization that convenes scientific experts not to advance any ideology or interest but to provide the nation with a clear understanding of complex problems. Imagine this body wo...

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Madeleine Becker @mabscientist.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

First full day at #ASM2026 (mammals, not microbes)! I was so honored to give the Anna M. Jackson talk award this morning, going over [too] much of my dissertation work on Channel Island deer mice. Huge thanks to @mammalogists.bsky.social for the award and support throughout my graduate career!!

Slideshow screenshot of a PowerPoint title slide, with a faint picture of the Channel Islands in the background.
Text:: Colonization, Connectivity, and Chronology: Disentangling the Evolutionary History of Insular Peromyscus
105th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Mammalogists
Anna M. Jackson Award
Madeleine Becker, George Mason University
June 13, 2026

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Laurence Pearl 🔥 @laurencepearl.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

Not wanting to be snarky but this is true of every technological advance in science. My entire PhD in 1983 was the fitting and refinement of a single protein crystal structure. Today I could do the same within an hour - no AI required. Hyperbole does not help.

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Mike Boylan-Kolchin @mbkplus.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

"AI is operating at a PhD level" oh, so it's replying 'sorry for the late response' to every email and complaining about its labor conditions?

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Madeleine Becker @mabscientist.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

amazing thread about our latest paper, out in Therya today!! really cool and unexpected find from my Channel Island mouse dissertation research. thanks @kaycebell.bsky.social for all your detective work in the collections!

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Madeleine Becker @mabscientist.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

Smithsonian NZCBI Center for Conservation Genomics is looking for a new center-head!! An awesome opportunity to work at the coolest lab around! 🧬🧑‍🔬🐘🐅🐢🐸🦜🦊🦉🐼🐿️ www.usajobs.gov/job/870869600

usajobs.gov

Supervisory Research Zoologist

The Smithsonian Institution is the worlds largest museum, education, and research complex, with 21 museums and the National Zoo. This position is located in Smithsonians National Zoo and Conservation ...

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Chapps @chapps.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

Art of the ancient Americas may not be your thing, but you have to love this earthenware crab vessel. I'm sorry, I don't make the rules. 🦀 This is going into our imaginary museum replica store, pronto. #LACMA Colombia, Calima style, Ilama period, ca. 1500 BCE-100 CE. 🏺 1/ 📸 me

Earthenware crab vessel with two spouts flanking a round handle on its back. It's painted a reddish-orange color and its stumpy claws are closed in front of its cute little face. It's standing up on its six non-claw legs, which are also stumpy. Insanely adorable.

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Bird account @dialecticbio.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

I implore everyone to read this brilliant book review of Kathryn Paige Harden new book on the genetics of criminality. It cuts right through the bullshit to state plainly what Harden's project really is: eugenics bullshit and grifting lareviewofbooks.org/article/orig...

lareviewofbooks.org

Natural Election | Los Angeles Review of Books

Kathryn Paige Harden’s new book offers a defense of a kind of Scientific Calvinism that converges with the eugenicist ideals of the contemporary Far Right.

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Artologica aka Michele Banks @artologica.net · 13/04/2026

Squirrel of the Day for April 13, 2026 gazes at the fallen cherry blossoms and ponders the fleeting nature of life #sqrlpix

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Harmit Singh Malik @harmitmalik.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

A star scientist showed that better genetics lessons could reduce racism. It was the death knell for his career The loss of Brian Donovan’s grants and job speak volumes about federal funding priorities — and academia www.statnews.com/2026/04/07/b...

statnews.com

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Jacquelyn Gill @jacquelyngill.bsky.social · 03/04/2026

The tech industry props up the richest people on the planet and pays far less than its fair share of taxes. It can absolutely afford its own R&D. But instead, it’s effectively hijacked our public science infrastructure because having more wealth than anyone could ever spend is still not enough.

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Katie Hinde @mammalssuck.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

MAMA HUMPBACK WHALE DEFEATS NILE CROCODILE! HUMPBACK WHALE is #2026MMM CHAMPION! Artwork by @veppart.bsky.social & @opellisms.bsky.social !!!

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Dan Conway @magisterconway.bsky.social · 22/03/2026

So, um... this is bad. Really bad. I looked at the letters that were translated by the AI, and the very first one I found was almost entirely hallucination. Thread:

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Megan Barkdull @meganbarkdull.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

Undergrad and graduate students! Could your work benefit from visiting one of the NHMLAC’s collections? Apply for our Collections Study Award, due Apr. 1. I’d love to have students make use of our Entomology collection! Details here: tinyurl.com/bdduefsy

Many brightly colored pinned moth specimens in an Entomology collection.

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Randall Munroe @xkcd.com · 05/03/2026

Dental Formulas xkcd.com/3213/

Comic. [Two people looking at a board with apparent formula (3.1.3.1)/(3.1.2.1)] PERSON: Do mammologists think these are hard? I mean, this one just evaluates to 3/2. [caption] Mathematicians encounter dental formulas

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Biodiversity Heritage Library @biodivlibrary.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

🎉 Huge news for BHL: The Field Museum is taking over the hosting of BHL’s website, servers & infrastructure, ensuring long-term stability and access for its 63+ million pages of open biodiversity literature. Learn more: blog.biodiversitylibrary.org/2026/02/tran... #BHLTransition #ILoveBHL 🌍 📚 🧪

An historic black and white illustration of a paper nautilus floating on the ocean. There are boats, a city and hills in the background.

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DrArchivalGenomics @ehekkala.bsky.social · 19/02/2026

Defunding science on the lowdown. Even while the budget “looks” stable.

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Elise Cutts @elisecutts.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

The genome isn't a blueprint. But what is it? I originally imagined this as a reported feature on metaphors of the genome, but it ended up being an essay. And at the end I share the metaphor I personally ended up landing on. If you want to tell me why it is wrong, you'll need to read the story ;)🧪

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Letters of Note @lettersofnote.com · 12/02/2026

Happy birthday to one of my favourite haters, Charles Darwin

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