iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Dr. Katharine Dickson @metaomicsnerd.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

I need to do some Noble Farmerposting. Hiromu Arakawa, besides creating Fullmetal Alchemist, made this utterly bonkers little series about the material reality of agriculture - she grew up on a dairy farm in Hokkaido.

The key visual for Noble Farmer by Hiromu Arakawa.

081

Dr. Katharine Dickson @metaomicsnerd.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

I found some professors dragging Colossal Biosciences through the mud on LinkedIn. I googled what their office looks like and am still gobsmacked that Dallas allocated that much real estate to “what if we revived woolly mammoths, bro.”

If you've been excitedly awaiting the return of the woolly mammoth, you'll have to be patient a little longer. It was in 2021 that the newly established, Dallas-based company _Colossal Biosciences announced plans to use modern gene-editing technology and DNA harvested from mammoth remains to manufacture a mammoth embryo, implant it in the womb of an elephant surrogate, and bring the great, gentle, six-ton beast-which vanished from the planet more than 4,000 years ago-back into the modern world. The target date for a pregnancy was 2027; the target date for the birth was 2028.
No more. In a recent conversation with TIME, Colossal CEO and co-founder Ben Lamm concedes that those goalposts have moved more than a little. "We are thinking it will be in the early 2030s," he says. "We don't have a hard date. Not 2036, but not 2030 either."

2131

Dr. Katharine Dickson @metaomicsnerd.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Probably the single biggest factor in my belief that this will be a short-lived problem is that in order to successfully impose an authoritarian regime for long periods of time, you have to improve the standard of living.

Real GDP per capita, constant 1936 Reichsmarks:
The approximate data used were:

Year, real GDP in billion constant 1936 Reichsmarks, population in millions, real GDP per capita in 1936 Reichsmarks per person:

1933, 58, 65,4, 887
1934, 63, 66, 955
1935, 68, 66.6, 1021
1936, 74, 67.2, 1101
1937, 81, 67.8, 1195
1938, 88, 68.5, 1285
1939, 95, 69.3, 1371

151

Dr. Katharine Dickson @metaomicsnerd.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Manuscript writing is better when you’re housesitting with pets

My friend’s bulldog Barnaby, who is a whole mood.

1360

Dr. Katharine Dickson @metaomicsnerd.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Please stop using those of us who are non-rural, college educated women as sock puppets for what is very clearly YOUR bigotry, Scott. Source: williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/publications...

Figure III from the linked report, “Predicted Transgender Rights Scale Score by Individual-level Characteristics,” showing decreases of the score with age, an increase among women, an increase with education and income, and an increase with having transgender family/friends.

• Respondents who reported that they had transgender family members and friends were more supportive of transgender rights than those who did not have such close relationships with transgender people. About 10% of the respondents report having transgender friends or family members. There was a 24.6% increase in support for transgender rights for these individuals compared to respondents who did not report having transgender family members or friends.13
• Younger respondents were slightly more supportive of transgender rights than older respondents. There was about a 10.7% increase in level of support for transgender rights comparing 18 year olds to 64 year olds.
• There was a noticeable gender gap between men and women as it relates to attitudes towards transgender rights. Women were more supportive of transgender rights than men.
Respondents who are women have a 10.7% increase compared to men in their score on the transgender rights scale.
• Individuals with medium and high levels of education'* were slightly more supportive of transgender rights than those with low levels of education. The differences by educational attainment, while statistically significant, were not substantively great. Being highly educated was associated with an increase of 3.4% on the scale.

2193

Dr. Katharine Dickson @metaomicsnerd.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

I have a small overnight guest until they can go to the rehabber tomorrow morning

A baby bird being protected by a plastic food container

0200

Dr. Katharine Dickson @metaomicsnerd.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

dug this up on an old Discord channel I’m on. good memories

A Reddit post in /r/UCSantaBarbara by dininghallperson that says "Are you materials science people doing Half-Life style experiments over there at Elings Hall? Are they waiting for you, Gordon? In the test chamber?"

150

Dr. Katharine Dickson @metaomicsnerd.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

Today I learned Yatagarasu is on the JFA logo and honestly it’s perfect

060

Dr. Katharine Dickson @metaomicsnerd.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

proud of me britmonkey.com/2020s-politi...

My results: 91% woke, 9% chud, 45% techbro, 55% neo-luddite, 53% hopepilled, 47% doomer, 92% davos, 8% dubai, closest match Zohran Mamdani

1120

Dr. Katharine Dickson @metaomicsnerd.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

Werth mentions water as a challenge, especially in feed crop production. Apropos of nothing, this map exists.

273

Dr. Katharine Dickson @metaomicsnerd.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

Birdsong mentions our ambitious goal to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 85% by 2045. Agriculture generated 8% of California’s total greenhouse gas emissions (MMT CO2e) in 2023.

A pie chart of California emissions in 2023: 360.4 MMT CO2e total, 22% industrial, 12% electricity in state, 4% electricity imports, 8% agriculture, 7% industrial, 10% residential, 38% transportation.

1103

Dr. Katharine Dickson @metaomicsnerd.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

The State of the Science Summit on Reducing Methane from Animal Agriculture resumes once again at UC Davis this beautiful summer afternoon! Folks are filtering in but I’ll give you the play-by-play as often as I can.

My State of the Science Summit conference badge.

1496

Dr. Katharine Dickson @metaomicsnerd.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

reminder that this is a pro California high speed rail account

stop using anti-train language. instead of “that meeting was a train wreck” try saying “trains are wonderful and efficient and that meeting was terrible in comparison"

1172

Dr. Katharine Dickson @metaomicsnerd.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

We call them screwworms because their larvae have hairs in rings and they burrow into their animal host to munch on them much like a screw. They are a problem chiefly because the animal hosts they munch on include people, pets, and livestock. (Image spoilered because it’s fly larvae.)

151

Dr. Katharine Dickson @metaomicsnerd.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

Since everyone’s talking screwworms now, let’s talk about #screwworm, why it's bad, and what it’s doing to your burgers. The New World screwworm fly, Cochliomyia hominivorax (“man-eating screw-fly” - apt name there!), used to be distributed from roughly the southern US to northern Argentina. 🧵

A New World screwworm fly on what looks to be a blade of grass.

12815

Dr. Katharine Dickson @metaomicsnerd.bsky.social · 16/05/2026

Sometimes I miss the predatory journals who had utmost confidence in me in grad school

Tweet from MV Kiang
@mathewkiang
Predatory journals are the mentors I need in 2020. Hoping I'm doing well.
Recognizing my eminence.
Impressed by my work. Confident I can rapidly produce another outstanding manuscript. Looking forward to my reply.
Be the International Epidemiology Journal of America to somebody.

1357

Dr. Katharine Dickson @metaomicsnerd.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

man, we’re branching out from farm animals I guess

UC Davis: Aggie Alert: A juvenile bear has been reported on campus. If seen, do not approach and call UCDPD 530-752-1727. ucdavis.edu/warnme

4130

Dr. Katharine Dickson @metaomicsnerd.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

My climate nonprofit endorsed Tom Steyer and honestly I’m good with it.

Tom Steyer’s website climate policies:

Make polluters pay
Make climate polluters, not taxpayers or consumers, pay to address the effects of climate pollution.
Set the global standard for fire prevention, management, and disaster response.
Make life more affordable for all Californians by deploying new technologies to advance clean and green solutions
Electrification = decarbonization. Make electricity cheap.
Make the most advanced technologies like home batteries, rooftop solar, heatpumps, and EVs accessible to all.
Lead the world in climate research, environmental research, R&D, sequestration and clean energy technology – regardless of what Washington thinks.
Bring environmental justice into policymaking considerations
Name and address the structural racism that has impacted the health and livelihood of communities across California.
Staunchly defend California’s landmark climate laws and governing bodies, including the California Air Resources Board, Cap & Trade, and climate disclosure laws.
Lead in nature based solutions
California will lead the world in fire prevention, forest management, new sequestration technologies, and regenerative agriculture.

1157

Dr. Katharine Dickson @metaomicsnerd.bsky.social · 16/04/2026

in fact, they buried one of the ledes real hard here

Burge says young men are more drawn to religion now because it is a space where they feel more accepted in a world where other institutions are “less interested in white men compared to women and people of color.”

“It’s the only place where you don’t have to apologize for being a white man,” he said. “American religion is very white male dominated and young men are drawn to institutions that elevate them and give them influence and power.”

240

Dr. Katharine Dickson @metaomicsnerd.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

Wait, I thought it was (fully automated luxury) gay SPACE communism

020

Dr. Katharine Dickson @metaomicsnerd.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

Zooming out to the shift in political allegiances between bachelor’s+ degree holders and those without

Which best describes your education? You have:
Sample: 22,582
Harris
Trump
Never attended college (15%)
36%
62%
Attended college but received no degree (26%)
47%
51%
Associate's degree (AA or AS)
(16%)
41%
57%
Bachelor's degree (BA or BS)
(24%)
53%
45%
An advanced degree after a bachelor's degree (such as JD, MA, MBA, MD, PhD) (19%)
59%
38%

034

Dr. Katharine Dickson @metaomicsnerd.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

The educational demographics tell a lot of the story. www.cbsnews.com/elections/20...

Education by White by Sex:
Sample: 22199
White women college graduates (17%): 58% Harris, 41% Trump
White women non-college graduates (20%): 35% Harris, 73% Trump
White men college graduates (16%): 48% Harris, 50% Trump
White men non-college graduates (18%): 29% Harris, 69% Trump
Non-whites: 64% Harris, 33% Trump

152

Dr. Katharine Dickson @metaomicsnerd.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

Professor Colin Orpin passed away last month. His discoveries challenged the idea that all fungi were aerobic and laid the foundation for the fundamental understanding of one of the most remarkable and economically significant fungal phyla. Photo courtesy of the Anaerobic Fungi Network.

081

Dr. Katharine Dickson @metaomicsnerd.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

Putting edits in my accepted policy journal submission after my reviewers got back with comments.

Boromir meme. One does not simply summarize enteric methane mitigation approaches in a half-page table.

041

Dr. Katharine Dickson @metaomicsnerd.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

oh man I forgot I had this in my phone

An edit of the XKCD comic “compiling”. The caption says “The number one bioinformatician excuse for legitimately slacking off: ‘My reads are aligning’”. Two stick figures are jousting on computer chairs. A voice from the lab yells “Hey! Get back to work!” One of the stick figures yells “Aligning!”. The voice from the lab says “Oh. Carry on.”

080

Dr. Katharine Dickson @metaomicsnerd.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

Strictly, any fungus capable of surviving under anaerobic conditions, but I usually use it to mean en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neocall...

I know what fungi are. I know what anaerobic means. What is an Anaerobic Fungi? Thanks Doc!

010

Dr. Katharine Dickson @metaomicsnerd.bsky.social · 02/01/2026

Here is the literal text in the caringsunshine link in your post

Turmeric (Curcuma longa) has a longstanding history in traditional medicine systems such as Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine, where it has been used for various ailments, including skin conditions that may have a fungal origin. The primary active compound in turmeric, curcumin, has been studied for its antimicrobial properties, including antifungal activity. Laboratory (in vitro) studies have shown that curcumin can inhibit the growth of several fungal species, including Candida spp., Aspergillus spp., and dermatophytes responsible for skin infections. Curcumin appears to disrupt fungal cell membranes and interfere with biofilm formation, which may make fungi less virulent or easier to eradicate. However, these effects have mostly been observed in petri dish studies or animal models. Human clinical trials investigating turmeric or curcumin specifically for fungal infections are limited and have not established definitive efficacy, especially with oral supplementation where bioavailability is low. Topical turmeric preparations may have more promise, but robust clinical evidence is lacking.

In summary, while there is a scientific rationale and some laboratory evidence supporting turmeric’s antifungal properties, clinical validation in humans is still insufficient. Thus, turmeric use for fungal infections is partially justified by scientific evidence, but the strength of evidence is currently low (rated 2 out of 5).

230

Dr. Katharine Dickson @metaomicsnerd.bsky.social · 30/12/2025

fun fact, the anime phone Jesus meme is actually him

Anime Shoko Asahara on the phone. Not Jesus.

040

Dr. Katharine Dickson @metaomicsnerd.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

haha they finally figure it out months after the rest of us, they’re so busy chasing profits and short term metrics that they don’t realize how much of their wealth is in their people and can’t build for the long term