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Matt Johnson, PhD

@mossmatters.bsky.social
1.4K followers 334 following 224 posts

Associate Professor, Texas Tech University Director, E.L. Reed Herbarium bryophyte evolution, plant phylogenomics mossmatters.com ORCID: 0000-0002-1958-6334 he/his

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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
The two astronauts meme, where the first one is asking "Wait it's all CAM?" and the other with the gun says "always has been"
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Or Everyone is On a Planet Whose Entire Society is Based on 1920s Gangster Movies for Some Reason
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Haley A Branch @stressedbranch.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
PSA to #faculty #SearchCommittees as you gear up for this year’s round. Send out questions in advance! This is #inclusive and levels the playing field. It is #equitable and easy to do. #academia #faculty #eeb #disabledinstem #hiring #evojobs #ecoevo #ecoevojobs #Botany2026 #Ecology #Evolution
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BCEENET @bceenet.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Join us in supporting these undergraduate presenters from the Johnson Lab @mossmatters.bsky.social at #Botany2026!
BCEENET Guide to Botany 2026 graphic recommending attendees to visit Johnson Lab undergraduate posters on Monday, August 3, from 5:30–7:00 PM in the Arizona Grand Ballroom. Four Texas Tech University student presenters are featured with headshots and poster numbers: P10, Charles Huff, “Friends Don’t Let Friends Use Spreadsheets: How to Develop a Modular LIMS”; P41, Evelyn Lavielle, “Behind the Fronds: PCR Sex Identification in Cycas micronesica”; P42, Sofia Rodriguez, “A New Prairie Dawn: Exploring Genetic Health in the Rare Plant Hymenoxys texana and Inspiring Conservation through Science Communication”; and P179, Rylee Creek, “Fun Sized Library Prep: Cost-Effective Target Capture Sequencing with Miniaturization, as a Service.” BCEENET, Texas Tech University, and Botany 2026 logos appear along the bottom of the graphic.
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Texas Conference of the AAUP @texasaaup.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Faculty groups sued Texas Tech Chancellor Brandon Creighton + the system’s regents Wednesday, asking a federal judge to block classroom restrictions they say have censored professors who teach about race, gender identity and sexual orientation + intentionally discriminated against Black faculty.
texastribune.org
Texas Tech sued over limits on race, gender instruction
The lawsuit asks a federal judge to halt the restrictions as discriminatory, improperly vague and a violation of free speech.
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 04/07/2026
🫡
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Caroline Bishop @doctorepiscopa.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
One more comment about this. You thought A&M was bad for censoring Plato's Symposium? Well, Texas Tech said "hold my beer" and banned Plato's REPUBLIC from a philosophy class because there's a brief mention of homosexual love in it.
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
Ten of us!!! Lazy river takeover by the Johnson Lab
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
From Palm Springs pool to Alabama bog that would be a dream team for sure!
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
If you need someone to ID the mosses I know a guy…
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
You’ve heard of Moon Joy, but have you ever considered: BOG JOY?!
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
Recent panel service here - four of the proposals I was asked to review include the word "biodiversity" in the proposal text.
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Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 07/04/2026
#Artemis II lunar flyby images are showing up! 😍 A crescent Earth setting behind the Moon.
Earthset captured through the Orion spacecraft window at 6:41 p.m. EDT, April 6, 2026, during the Artemis II crew’s flyby of the Moon. A muted blue Earth with bright white clouds sets behind the cratered lunar surface. The dark portion of Earth is experiencing nighttime. On Earth’s day side, swirling clouds are visible over the Australia and Oceania region.  In the foreground, Ohm crater has terraced edges and a flat floor interrupted by central peaks. Central peaks form in complex craters when the lunar surface, liquefied on impact, splashes upwards during the crater’s formation.
[alt text from NASA]
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
TFW you studied lunar geology for your PhD and you just heard the Artemis II crew describe lunar meteor impact flashes from the far side of the moon science.gsfc.nasa.gov/sci/bio/kels...
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Dr. Jessie Christiansen @aussiastronomer.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
I went back to capture what the astronauts said in full when the clock was stopped at T-10 minutes and they were asked if they were go for launch: This is Victor. We are going for our families. This is Christina. We are going for our teammates. This is Jeremy. We are going for all humanity.
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Shelly Gaynor @shellygaynor.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
Did you know it costs us $64 a month to host Biology PhD stipends? Excited for this upgrade which takes our hosting costs to $0! mlgaynor.com/BiologyPhDSt...
mlgaynor.com
Biology PhD Stipends
Biology Ph.D. stipend database with live summaries from the shared Google Sheet.
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
For example, Sphagnum spores get ejected at over 60 mph and fly a distance more than 120x the size of the spore capsule thanks to vortex rings: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
Sphagnum Moss Disperses Spores with Vortex Rings
Fluid dynamics similar to those known to drive smoke rings shoot moss spores far and wide.
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 14/03/2026
A
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
Me when I mess up my R plot
Photo of a shipping container that says EW LINES. I suppose a letter fell off?
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Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
Here is a link to a video of the speech. xcancel.com/netflix/stat...
xcancel.com
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Lisa Limeri @lisalimeri.bsky.social · 01/03/2026
Guess who’s got two thumbs, a sword, and tenure? 🎉🍾 grateful to the wonderful friends and colleagues and collaborators who have enabled me getting here 💕 @mossmatters.bsky.social
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
Good news is hard to come by, so I must celebrate a great week: • Paper accepted • Paper submitted • 3 of my lab undergrads got into grad school • Scholarship offers to both of my prospective PhD students • My faculty development leave approved for Spring 2027 • @lisalimeri.bsky.social got tenure!
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phy_papers @phypapers.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
SPrOUT: A computational and targeted sequencing approach for mixed plant DNA identification with Angiosperms353 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/20…
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
Github page: github.com/nhu92/SPrOUT
github.com
GitHub - nhu92/SPrOUT: A computational pipeline designed for predicting species taxonomic information from single and mixed plant samples, using target sequencing arrays.
A computational pipeline designed for predicting species taxonomic information from single and mixed plant samples, using target sequencing arrays. - nhu92/SPrOUT
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
New from our lab! Introducing SPrOUT: Species Prediction of Unknown Taxa. We developed and tested a novel method to ID plants in mixed DNA with Angiosperms353 using cumulative phylogenetic distances. >98% accuracy to family level for in silico and real test data. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
logo for SPrOUT: Species Prediction of Unknown Taxa - a line drawing of a plant with two green leaves emerging from a flask containing multiple DNA helices. Logo designed by Lisa Limeri, with images from the Noun Project flask from Noun Project user Humam flower from Noun Project user Vanicon studio DNA from Noun Project user Akhmad Zaini
Figure from the linked preprint, showing the relationship between the number of Angiosperms353 reference genes and Accuracy of detecting plant families in mixed reads. Based on several z-score values, SPrOUT is generally at 98% accuracy with fewer than 100 genes.
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 22/02/2026
Well well well. We witch, ya?
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 14/02/2026
roses are red violets are blue anthocyanin! (betalain, too)
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
It was "orgo" for us at Duke in the 00s, "o-chem" at Texas Tech since I've been here. In my Bio department, "organic" would get it confused with our "Organic Evolution" course.
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
www.texastribune.org/2026/02/04/t...
texastribune.org
Texas Tech struggles with new policy on gender, race
The system’s chancellor meant to instill clarity and accountability, but three weeks into the spring semester, some instructors say the standards have led to “censorship.”
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Dr. Kat Napaaqtuk❄️ @napaaqtuk.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
A number of our students got the following comment back on a rejection for the NSF GFRP. They are in an eligible STEM field. Is this something people in other places are getting too? Is it a quirk or targeted?
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Nathan K. Hensley @nathankhensley.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
This must be weird news to see if you’re one of the literally hundreds or even thousands of university administrators who preemptively censored faculty, scrubbed websites, changed the names of centers, etc.
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
Reflecting today on this quote etched into a bench on campus, as I wonder how many on that campus understand its message. "You died when you refused to stand up for right, you died when you refused to stand up for truth, you died when you refused to stand up for justice." youtu.be/pOjpaIO2seY?...
A curved stone bench with a chiseled inscription: "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter" - Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 16/01/2026
Stop scrolling and post two characters who bring you happiness.
media.tenor.com
two men are looking at each other in front of a window that says peacock
ALT: two men are looking at each other in front of a window that says peacock
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 18/12/2025
If not equally important, did they give a ratio of importance? Or generally how broader impacts would be evaluated?
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
Here to stay, I’m afraid
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Botanical Society of America @botsocamerica.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
We 💚 the Stranger Plants—and now they’re on #BSAswag! The shirts feature bold illustrations by BSA’s own Catrina Adams, with a list of each species by common & scientific name on the back. BSA members (exp. 2026+) get 10% off—email aneely@botany.org for code. www.bonfire.com/store/bsa-wi...
Promotional graphic on a red background featuring two black-and-white raglan shirts from the Botanical Society of America’s “Stranger Plants” collection. One shirt shows a large illustrated plant scene; the other displays a grid of illustrated unusual plants. White text reads “We love the Stranger Plants BSA SWAG!” Below, descriptive text explains that the shirts highlight strange plants, with common and scientific names listed on the back in a concert-style format. A QR code labeled “Scan to Shop” appears at the lower right, along with BSA logos and text promoting additional BSA apparel.
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 07/12/2025
If Stranger Things were released today, it would be set in 1992. Feeling old yet?
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
Will also feature Sofia Rodriguez, an undergraduate researcher in my lab who attended COP30. Should be a fun conversation! Link below👇
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Katharine Hayhoe @katharinehayhoe.com · 01/12/2025
Join me and my @texastech.bsky.social Climate Center colleagues for a breakdown of all things COP30, in an hour. Nick is an ecologist, Ting is an engineer, Bryan is a humanities scholar, and you know me: so it should be a great discussion. Free & virtual! www.eventbrite.com/e/inside-cop...
A banner for the event listing the title "Inside COP30" and headshots of the four participants.
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Kuba Sawicki @kubasawicki.bsky.social · 29/11/2025
Our paper “Giant chromosomes of a tiny plant” is out in @gigascience.bsky.social! We present a T2T genome assembly of the simple thalloid liverwort Apopellia endiviifolia with truly giant chromosomes. 🌱🧬 #plantgenomics #T2T #liverworts @nanoporetech.com Thanks @ncn.gov.pl ! tinyurl.com/m8tkkxd3
tinyurl.com
Giant chromosomes of a tiny plant - the complete telomere-to-telomere genome assembly of the simple thalloid liverwort Apopellia endiviifolia (Jungermanniopsida, Marchantiophyta)
AbstractBackground. The liverwort A. endiviifolia, a dioicous, simple thalloid species, is notable for its cryptic diversity, habitat adaptability, genomic
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
Since I had baked a loaf of bread in anticipation of leftovers, I mourned the loss of turkey that evening
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
Everyone is sure to remind my dad of the time he packed up the leftover turkey in Ziploc bags but for lack of counter space placed them… in the open dishwasher. This was discovered only hours later after the dishwasher ran. The Ziploc bags were open.
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Shelly Gaynor @shellygaynor.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
New paper just posted with @rschley.bsky.social et al: doi.org/10.1111/nph.... (1/n)
doi.org
The frequency and importance of polyploidy in tropical rainforest tree radiations
The presence of two or more copies of the genome in an organism, termed ‘polyploidy’, is a crucial force in plant evolution, generating genetic, phenotypic and ecological diversity. The Amazonian tr...
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 20/11/2025
Update: the university is now allegedly offering compensation to faculty who move their exams because of a football game we're not even guaranteed to play in yet.
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SMBC Comics @smbccomics.bsky.social · 18/11/2025
There's got to be SOME hypothesis that makes our experiment useless. THINK! COMIC ◆ www.smbc-comics.com/comic/stats-3 PATREON ◆ www.patreon.com/ZachWeinersm... STORE ◆ smbc-store.myshopify.com
1-panel SMBC comic update - Two people are talking while seated at computers. One of them says : "Wait! Look, if we change our hypothesis a little, run this other model, and then make a few tweaks to the variables... BAM! No need to publish. The weekend if free." A caption below the panel reads as follows : "New scientific trend: reverse p-hacking. P-hacking is the practice of manipulating data until a statistically significant result is found, here they are doing the opposite to avoid work.
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 18/11/2025
We do use student eval scores (among many other things) in T&P decisions. I was thinking the opposite, by releasing this guidance now any faculty who DOESN'T change their final (to value 🎓over 🏈) will now be blasted in their student evals. And faculty have to decide before evals close...
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 18/11/2025
Look, I get being a fan. This is me at the 2010 National Championship game. Despite winning on a weeknight, Duke did not cancel classes. I know because I had get someone to fill in as a TA because I was in Indianapolis. Nobody asked the faculty to pretty please let academics take a back seat.
Man in a Duke t-shirt with face painted blue and white, arm outstretched at the 2010 National Championship game
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 18/11/2025
Because the Big XII championship game is during final exams, our Provost suggests faculty choose from ideas including "exempt students from the exam" and "change your whole method of assessment" with 1 week notice More than usual I'm feeling I work for a football team with a school on the side.
Exempt the final exam for students who have maintained a high average in the course.
Give students a choice to adjust grading by weighting another exam more heavily or revising the grading schema. Contact [email redacted] for assistance with changes in RaiderCanvas.
Replace the final exam with an alternative assignment that meets the course’s learning goals.
Move the final exam online and consider a broader testing window.
Continue with your scheduled exam time on Saturday, Dec. 6.
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
Wahlund Effect Wednesdays?
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 03/11/2025
Use an LLM to write a proposal about using AI in the classroom, get the money, use it to take students to do field work instead?
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