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Peter Morrell

@peterlmorrell.bsky.social
122 followers 195 following 60 posts
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Reposted by Peter Morrell
Erin J. Wamsley 🧠📈😴 @wamsleylab.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Yeah, that's a problem www.chronicle.com/article/high... #academicsky #edusky
A line graph demonstrating the nonacademic spending has outpaced academic spending, from 2010 to 2024. The note indicates this is for 146 R1 institutions. Source: NCES, Created with Datawrapper
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Peter Morrell @peterlmorrell.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
A+ for thoroughness
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Peter Morrell @peterlmorrell.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Crosswalk Bricks! m.youtube.com/shorts/8kP6R...
m.youtube.com
How to make streets safer with just a brick
YouTube video by About Here
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Reposted by Peter Morrell
Molecular Biology and Evolution @molbioevol.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Gaut et al. synthesize key lessons and outstanding challenges concerning the action of natural selection on plant genomes, revealing the power and some of the limits of population genomics to infer the dynamics of selection on plant genomes. 🔗 academic.oup.com/mbe/article/... #societyjournal
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Reposted by Peter Morrell
David Lowry @davidlowry.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
A new Primer on QTL mapping. academic.oup.com/genetics/adv...
academic.oup.com
QTL mapping
Abstract. Most biologically relevant traits are quantitative, controlled by multiple genes, and can be influenced by the environment. The multiple genes, c
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Peter Morrell @peterlmorrell.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
QTL mapping academic.oup.com/genetics/art... Whether you are new to QTL mapping or have years of experience, you’re sure to learn something new and interesting from Shizhong Xu’s Primer. Don’t fret over the equations; there is a terrific narrative here about the past and future of QTL mapping!
academic.oup.com
QTL mapping
Abstract. Most biologically relevant traits are quantitative, controlled by multiple genes, and can be influenced by the environment. The multiple genes, c
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Peter Morrell @peterlmorrell.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
What has population genomics told us about the dynamics of selection and plant adaptation? academic.oup.com/mbe/article/... After a quarter century, what have we learned from plant resequencing studies? Thanks to Brandon Graut, Stephen Wright, and Tianpeng Wang for being great coauthors. 1 of 2
academic.oup.com
What has population genomics told us about the dynamics of selection and plant adaptation?
Abstract. Population genomics has transformed our understanding of how natural selection shapes plant genomes. The explosion of whole-genome resequencing d
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Peter Morrell @peterlmorrell.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
@jonathanfwendel.bsky.social sounds a lot like Ira Flatow (@heyira.bsky.social) on Science Friday, discussing the origins of domesticated cotton. It’s a fun story! tinyurl.com/2aoopmbn
google.com
The origins of cotton are traced to the Caribbean
From exotic flowers to t-shirts
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Peter Morrell @peterlmorrell.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
@gruber.foo - Really enjoyed The Talk Show episode with John Siracusa; one of the best in a long time. The issue with the Newton wasn't really the lack of connectivity to the Mac. You could sync with a serial cable, and contacts showed up in Claris Organizer or Outlook. 1 or n
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Peter Morrell @peterlmorrell.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
Just out @molecology.bsky.social - an exploration of adaptation to heat and water limitations in cowpea, a staple food source in West Africa. Thanks to FFAR for funding from @gatesfoundation.bsky.social! @rakakpo.bsky.social with extensive input from coauthors... doi.org/10.1111/mec....
doi.org
Identification of Genetic Variation Associated With Heat Tolerance in Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.)
Heat tolerance is an important trait in cowpea, a crop that is the primary protein source for a large portion of the human population in sub-Saharan Africa. Cultivated, landrace, semi-wild, and wild ...
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Peter Morrell @peterlmorrell.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
I did a long-form interview for a local podcast. Hosts David Nicolai and Seth Naeve did a great job of asking interesting questions. mncropcast.transistor.fm/episodes/dee...
mncropcast.transistor.fm
Minnesota CropCast | Deep Roots & Big Data: The Evolution of Our Crops: A conversation with Dr. Peter Morrell, Professor of Agronomy and Plant Genetics
Please join us for episode #59 of MN CropCast.  In this episode, Dave and Seth are diving deep into the DNA of the plants that feed us, and we are thrilled to sit down with Dr. Peter Morrell, a Pro...
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Reposted by Peter Morrell
Li Lei @lilei0051.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
Excited to share our new Molecular Ecology paper with @peterlmorrell.bsky.social, @chaochihl.bsky.social, & collaborators: phenotypically wild barley shows evidence of introgression from domesticated barley in the WBDC collection. doi.org/10.1111/mec.... #Barley #Genetics
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Phenotypically Wild Barley Shows Evidence of Introgression From Domesticated Barley
Multiple studies have reported genetic evidence of crop-to-wild introgression in phenotypically wild accessions of wild barley (Hordeum vulgare ssp. spontaneum). We examined 318 Wild Barley Diversity...
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Peter Morrell @peterlmorrell.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
Maybe I spend too much time grading, but it seems like this should be in sentence case or title case, but it can’t be a mix. If you go with this style, shouldn’t “not” be capitalized?
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Peter Morrell @peterlmorrell.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
@jbyoder.org - I’m losing track of how many times I’ve posted a link to this blog post in a review. A national landmark! www.molecularecologist.com/2024/08/13/f...
molecularecologist.com
FAQ: Should I invent an acronym?
“Moveable type” (Flickr, David DeSandro) Q. I’m writing a research article, and the text frequently mentions the biological process that is the subject of the article. I’m a…
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Peter Morrell @peterlmorrell.bsky.social · 02/11/2025
Species: Catha edulis Common Name: Khat Active Compounds: Cathinone Medical or Cultural Use: Remedy for fatigue, depression, appetite suppression, and pain Risks of Use: Grandiose delusions, paranoia, nightmares, hallucinations, and hyperactivity
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Peter Morrell @peterlmorrell.bsky.social · 02/11/2025
My doctor said I should be talking about "The Science of Cannabis" outside the class - Species: Cannabis sativa - Common name: marijuana - Active compounds: delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol - Medical or cultural uses: pain relief, insomnia, antiemetic - Risks of use: reduced mental acuity, dependency
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Reposted by Peter Morrell
Sarah Hird, PhD @sarahhird.bsky.social · 21/10/2025
I wrote an opinion piece about parental/family leave at UConn. I’m only ~75% happy with it but … something needed to be said. Many things actually. Loudly. Repeatedly. And with as many voices as possible. “This is UConn: Zero paid family leave for professors” ctmirror.org/2025/10/21/t...
ctmirror.org
Opinion: This is UConn: Zero paid family leave for professors
UConn currently lets every pregnant/expecting individual reinvent the wheel, cobbling together a leave plan with whatever resources and departmental grace they can muster.
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Peter Morrell @peterlmorrell.bsky.social · 15/07/2025
I’m excited to contribute as an associate editor for “Primers in Genetics.” The focus is on educational materials. Should be fun! @genetics-gsa.bsky.social genestogenomes.org/genetics-exp...
genestogenomes.org
GENETICS Expands Primers Section
Beth De Stasio of Lawrence University will serve as Senior Editor and work with a newly formed team of six Associate Editors to expand the publication of Primers in GENETICS.
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Peter Morrell @peterlmorrell.bsky.social · 14/07/2025
Decoding nature’s grammar with DNA language models | PNAS www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... - Serguei Pakhomov was a great co-author for this commentary on PlantCaduceus
pnas.org
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
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Reposted by Peter Morrell
Kelly Zamudio @kzutaustin.bsky.social · 21/06/2025
Very happy with this perspective piece just published. Highlighting how anti DEI has the same impacts as good old racism on educational equity.
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Reposted by Peter Morrell
Jeffrey Ross-Ibarra @jrossibarra.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
My HPC team at UC Davis is hiring! Looking for an experienced sysadmin to help build and maintain clusters (hardware and software). HPC experience great, but if you’re an experienced sysadmin and willing to learn, please apply! careerspub.universityofcalifornia.edu/psc/ucdavis/...
careerspub.universityofcalifornia.edu
An error has occurred.
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Peter Morrell @peterlmorrell.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
New paper w/ @plos.org! @chaochihl.bsky.social identifies a unique mutational pattern among sodium azide-induced mutants. SNPs in 'CC' context and indels. Thanks to @justinfay.bsky.social @lilei0051.bsky.social @giuliafrascarelli.bsky.social @nanoporetech.com et al journals.plos.org/plosgenetics...
journals.plos.org
Sodium azide mutagenesis induces a unique pattern of mutations
Author summary Sodium azide is frequently used as a mutagen for experimental studies in plants. It induces primarily C → T changes. We find that these most often occur when a cytosine (C) is followed ...
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Peter Morrell @peterlmorrell.bsky.social · 28/05/2025
A cool trick from AI coding companions. Creating temporary intermediate files in a shell script is pretty easy! Saves IO. log " -> Convert a GFF of gene positions to a BED file" intermediate_bed=$(mktemp) awk '$3 == "gene" {print $1"\t"$4-1"\t"$5}' "${GFF}" > "${intermediate_bed}"
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Reposted by Peter Morrell
European Research Council (ERC) @erc.europa.eu · 19/05/2025
Are you based in the U.S. 🇺🇸 or Canada 🇨🇦 and thinking of doing research in Europe? ERC grants offer up to €4.5 million to support groundbreaking, investigator-driven frontier research in all fields. Watch the dedicated info session for researchers in your region👉 youtu.be/92QYink1Lik #ChooseEurope
youtu.be
ERC Grants: EU funding for your bottom-up research proposal (2025)
YouTube video by EURAXESS North America
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Reposted by Peter Morrell
Ferric Fang, MD @fangferric.bsky.social · 19/05/2025
“Cutting basic science doesn’t save money.”
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Reposted by Peter Morrell
Aaron Sojourner @aaronsojourner.org · 06/05/2025
Very facts. Very statistics. bsky.app/profile/jona...
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Reposted by Peter Morrell
bioRxiv Evolutionary Biology @biorxiv-evobio.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
Identification of genetic variation associated with high-temperature tolerance in cowpea www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/202…
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Reposted by Peter Morrell
Leonie Moyle @speciationlab.bsky.social · 22/03/2025
foolish & malicious "the food you consume is the result of generations of work by agricultural scientists and plant breeders... This work is only possible because of the availability of...extensive collections of plant genetic resources."
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Reposted by Peter Morrell
Bobby Kogan @bbkogan.bsky.social · 13/03/2025
New analysis says ~2/3 of unpaid taxes come from the top 10% of households, w/ 28% coming from the top 1%. The GOP CR would cut $20.2 billion of IRS funding for catching rich tax cheats - because the GOP is laser-focused on helping the rich cheat on their taxes. budgetlab.yale.edu/research/rev...
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Peter Morrell @peterlmorrell.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
One aspect of this story caught my attention. The interviewee notes that Target pledged to spend $2B with black businesses and rescinded the pledge after the inauguration! Unless the need for investment in the community no longer exists, Target should keep their pledge. www.npr.org/2025/03/13/n...
npr.org
Some congregations are giving up Target for Lent after it rolled back DEI commitments
NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with Pastor Jamal Bryant of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church about leading a movement to swear off shopping at Target for Lent.
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Peter Morrell @peterlmorrell.bsky.social · 02/03/2025
www.eventbrite.com/e/stand-up-f...
eventbrite.com
Stand Up for Science 2025 - St. Paul, MN
Stand up for science with us on March 7th, 2025, because science is for everyone! More info at www.standupforscience2025.org
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Reposted by Peter Morrell
Jacquelyn Gill @jacquelyngill.bsky.social · 23/02/2025
Here’s something concrete you can do to defend science: lots of states need coordinators and organizers for the March 7 rally!
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Peter Morrell @peterlmorrell.bsky.social · 22/02/2025
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is firing women and minorities from prominent roles because he thinks they didn’t earn those positions. Did his race or gender play any part in his appointment? Allegations of alcohol and sexual abuse and poor fiscal management can be disqualifying for most jobs!
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Reposted by Peter Morrell
Matt Carling @mdcarling.bsky.social · 18/02/2025
This is absolutely devastating www.wired.com/story/nation...
wired.com
National Science Foundation Fires 168 Workers as Federal Purge Continues
Firings at the NSF included permanent employees who had already completed their one-year probationary period, as well as at-will workers.
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Reposted by Peter Morrell
Miriam Goldstein @miriamgoldstein.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
Just in case you thought that removing DEI criteria would mean that everyone is competing equally: NIH is removing grad students from underrepresented backgrounds from the applicant pool altogether. Their applications will not be considered. Other students, not from these backgrounds, will be.
Update: They were removed from our reviewer assignments completely. I'm so sorry to all those graduate students. 

Anonymous to protect the identity of the NIH employee I spoke to...I am on study section next month to discuss F awards. We were just instructed to put the F31-Diversity applications on the bottom of our priority list for review because there is a chance we may not be able to review them. My heart is breaking for the grad students and their mentors that put so much work into these just for them to be disqualified and thrown out.
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Peter Morrell @peterlmorrell.bsky.social · 03/02/2025
Not sure why this needs to be pointed out, but real diversity, equity, and inclusion in the hiring process should result in a larger and more highly qualified pool of candidates. The equity and inclusion parts (in particular) are requirements under multiple federal, state, and local laws.
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Reposted by Peter Morrell
Karolina Heyduk @kheyduk.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
My god, spot on
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Peter Morrell @peterlmorrell.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
www.404media.co/declassified...
404media.co
Declassified CIA Guide to Sabotaging Fascism Is Suddenly Viral
The World War II-era "Simple Sabotage Field Manual" is full of steps that office workers can take to resist leadership.
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Peter Morrell @peterlmorrell.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
Years ago, a young person asked me to explain Bowie’s song “Space Oddity.” @briandilkes.bsky.social found themes that a 6-year old wasn’t hearing. Copilot says the song is about loneliness and isolation with a hint of tragedy, perhaps splitting the difference in the two interpretations?
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Peter Morrell @peterlmorrell.bsky.social · 27/01/2025
This may interest @vsbuffalo.bsky.social (and maybe not even him), but some MacOS utilities now also implement the GNU version of the tool. To transfer files and then verify file integrity, you need `md5` (Mac) and `md5sum` (Linux). MacOS now offers the GNU version of most checksum tools!
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Peter Morrell @peterlmorrell.bsky.social · 21/01/2025
When Siri sent my voice query below to ChatGPT, ChatGPT didn’t understand what I was searching for. I think there is a weak link in the chain. “what are some Gino maligners that deal with long chromosomes besides Minnie mouse two”
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Peter Morrell @peterlmorrell.bsky.social · 21/01/2025
Fortunately, we now have AI to explain how M365 Copilot differs from GitHub Copilot and Copilot. Both Siri and Copilot have the answer.
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Peter Morrell @peterlmorrell.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
Does Google violate user privacy? Let's ask Google and the new LLM.
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Peter Morrell @peterlmorrell.bsky.social · 23/10/2024
I had a revision due back at a journal today. One major task was updating references. I’m fortunate to have picked a winner when I started using Bookends bibliography software many years ago. Great application for the MacOS & iPadOS and it just keeps improving! www.sonnysoftware.com/bookends-for...
sonnysoftware.com
Bookends — Bookends for Mac
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Peter Morrell @peterlmorrell.bsky.social · 24/09/2024
Checked my junk folder for the first time in a while. So many pleas to submit a manuscript to the Journal of [Something I Don’t Work On]. Those messages were always a part of junk mail, but now there can be 30+ day! Sorry, my great new manuscript on [sleep disorders] is already in review!
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Peter Morrell @peterlmorrell.bsky.social · 08/08/2024
This paper from Gaia Cortinovis, Roberto Papa, et al. is now out. Multiple domestications and introductions of common bean beyond the New World make this an interesting system for studying the genetic nature of adaptation. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Adaptive gene loss in the common bean pan-genome during range expansion and domestication - Nature Communications
Common bean is an evolutionary model for studying adaptive diversity in legumes. Here, the authors present the common bean pangenome based on five high-quality genomes and whole-genome reads of 339 wi...
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Reposted by Peter Morrell
umnagronomy.bsky.social @umnagronomy.bsky.social · 17/07/2024
UMN's Peter Morrell's research on a century-old barley population is in the latest issue of Science. @peterlmorrell.bsky.social
science.org
Natural selection drives emergent genetic homogeneity in a century-scale experiment with barley
Direct observation is central to our understanding of adaptation, but evolution is rarely documented in a large, multicellular organism for more than a few generations. In this study, we observed evol...
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Peter Morrell @peterlmorrell.bsky.social · 08/07/2024
Chaochih Liu, @lilei0051.bsky.social, and many others contributed to our study of introgression from cultivated into wild barley. ~ 16% of wild barley accessions appear introgressed. Some individuals display domestication-relate traits, but typically, the portion of the genome affected is small.
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Peter Morrell @peterlmorrell.bsky.social · 24/05/2024
I hate comparing versions of manuscripts to find changes. I wondered if there is a good `diff` function for PDFs. "Compare files" in Adobe Acrobat does exactly what you would want. Why did it take me so long to find this? Did everyone else already know this trick? @lilei0051.bsky.social
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Peter Morrell @peterlmorrell.bsky.social · 08/05/2024
We've found that the common chemical mutagen sodium azide produces a very specific pattern of mutations in a specific nucleotide context. The 2 nucleotide context limits the types of amino acid changes observed. We also find small indels are more abundant in treated lines. doi.org/10.1101/2024...
doi.org
Sodium azide mutagenesis induces a unique pattern of mutations
bioRxiv - the preprint server for biology, operated by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, a research and educational institution
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