Sign in

Claire W

@sciclaire.bsky.social
103 followers 140 following 29 posts

Neuroscientist & Science Educator 🧬 Past Civic Science Fellow in #sciengage #neuroethics 🧠 Cat Herder 🐱 Connoisseur of #kidlit 📚 She/Her

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Claire W
Dr. Katy Croff Bell @katycroffbell.bsky.social · 03/05/2025
📣🧪 $25k grants for those who: 1. are working on research on STEM and education (including AI and CS, graduate education and MSIs, and scholarship that aims to reduce inequality), and 2. have had a recently terminated or cancelled grant from NSF. Early-career scholars prioritized
211280
Reposted by Claire W
Alt CDC (they/them) @altcdc.altgov.info · 16/04/2025
Friends, many of us are finding it hard to feel hopeful. And that’s ok. When you can’t feel hope, do hope. Hope is getting out of bed. Hope is telling jokes, writing that paper, smiling at a stranger, permission to rest. Hope is a practice. What does hope in action look like for you? Goodnight 💚
1052320324
Reposted by Claire W
Hank Green @hankgreen.bsky.social · 02/03/2025
We are experiencing an assault on science unparalleled by anything I’ve seen in my life. It’s not one issue or another anymore, the entire institution is under attack by the most powerful individuals in the country. This Friday, where will you be? standupforscience2025.org
standupforscience2025.org
STAND UP FOR SCIENCE
March 7, 2025. Washington DC and nationwide. Because science is for everyone.
6404399912016
Reposted by Claire W
E. Rosalie @erosalie.infoepi.com · 01/03/2025
Since February 26, an additional 1,322 adults (from 14,482 to 15,804) and 141 infants (from 1,541 to 1,682) have died as a consequence of a single frozen USAID program.
16602265
Reposted by Claire W
Stand Up for Science! @standupforscience.net · 02/03/2025
WHERE WILL YOU BE ON MARCH 7TH!? Head to www.standupforscience2025.org/local-event-information/ or the link in our bio to find your closest event—or add one if you're hosting one! #standupforscience2025
Map of Stand Up for Science events, with official SUFS events in Red and solidarity events in Blue
7722471152
Reposted by Claire W
Alt NIH Bluesky 🧪 @altnih4science.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
NIDA has announced it, but all the NIH summer internship programs are likely cancelled. Sorry college students interested in STEM jobs, sorry high school students looking at science 🧪 careers. Trump and Musk are cancelling your futures.
12470232
Reposted by Claire W
e.w. niedermeyer @niedermeyer.online · 16/02/2025
I feel like I'm going insane every time I see a media story about DOGE that doesn't also mention the fact that the Government Accountability Office exists and performs the exact function that DOGE pretends to, only in a credibly constitutional, non-partisan, and conflict-of-interest-free manner
173167754738
Reposted by Claire W
Alt CDC (they/them) @altcdc.altgov.info · 25/02/2025
Today has been a DAY but we are happy to have shared it with all of you. Rest well knowing they fumbled HARD this weekend. And send photos of your emotional support pets! See you in the morning!
A person kissing their cat and the cat looks alarmed. The text above the cat reads “pov: my cat realizing just how much emotional support he’s gonna have to provide after RFK Jr takes away my meds.”
8398657
Reposted by Claire W
Liz Neeley @lizneeley.bsky.social · 23/02/2025
I want to see every scientific society going into emergency mode. This is a good example of how an organization can flex its specific power in a time of great need. What else is possible?
6923345
Claire W @sciclaire.bsky.social · 22/02/2025
Less than a month away! Seattle folks, spread the word!
000
Claire W @sciclaire.bsky.social · 17/02/2025
Gotta love nerds raising over $3 million for charity in 48 hrs - what a great distraction from the world this weekend. It's not too late to donate and/or vote on the recipient nonprofits at www.projectforawesome.com
020
Reposted by Claire W
Prof Christina Pagel @chrischirp.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
🧵"So this is how liberty dies..." Trump’s first 3 weeks have been a relentless flood of actions. It's incredibly hard to keep up. I’ve gone through 69 actions & mapped out the pattern - showing how they fall within 5 broad domains consistent with authoritarian states 1/9
This is a venn diagram showing how 69 Trump actions map onto domains covering: undermining democratic institutions; suppressing dissent and media; dismantling social protections; attacking science and education; destabilising the global order. A table version is available here https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1LZN7QnbSyFfUZJG8Sn1MWpK0VnfBtb0OSyZ1jxP3xBk/edit?usp=sharing
47999485725
Reposted by Claire W
Alt NIH Bluesky 🧪 @altnih4science.bsky.social · 17/02/2025
They’re firing NIH scientists and replacing them with people with this level of crappy chart-making? Sounds like the DOGE kids would benefit from going through the NIH postbac program. 🧪
2853489
Reposted by Claire W
Liz Neeley @lizneeley.bsky.social · 16/02/2025
Information hygiene request - please circulate & take action. I’m getting bombarded with frantic fragments. Information flow is crucial right now, and every link in the chain matters. This is a concrete place where you can play a massive role in improving transmission. Start with SIFT method:
The SIFT method - STOP, Investigate the source, Find better coverage, Trace claims, quotes & media
16858416
Reposted by Claire W
Alt CDC (they/them) @altcdc.altgov.info · 11/02/2025
⏱️ ACTION STEPS ⏱️ 💥Call your reps and demand they oppose RFK Jr, NIH Cuts and the Musk Takeover 5calls.org 💥Call your state’s Attorney General and demand they fight Musk’s access to data and funding cuts. www.usa.gov/state-govern...
5calls.org
5 Calls
Spend 5 minutes. Make 5 calls. Make your voice heard.
514154
Reposted by Claire W
Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 08/02/2025
Thinking back on all this I better understand the pain I feel to see science under devastating attack here. It’s not just about my livelihood or my university. It’s about my identity. And it’s about a pursuit that I see as standing along with art, literature, and music as among our highest callings.
481484195
Reposted by Claire W
Katie Hinde @mammalssuck.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
And Academic T&P committees, maybe take a beat & consider how the continuous & unsustainable push for CV conspicuous production has been a competitive inhibitor of scientists & scholars being engaged in their communities in meaningful ways as a bulwark to the shitstorm happening now.
media.tenor.com
a woman in a black and white jacket is sitting at a table in a diner .
Alt: a woman in a black and white jacket is sitting at a table in a diner saying "There, I said it."
518147
Reposted by Claire W
Ashley Juavinett, PhD @ashleyjuavinett.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
Dear biologists & neuroscientists -- I'd like to collect some cursory data on what the "typical" breakdown of funding between federal & private looks like in labs. If you run a research lab or know enough about yours, could you fill this small form out? forms.gle/PEzWEYojBjfj...
forms.gle
Neuroscience & biology lab funding
What is the current rough breakdown of funding sources for your lab? The answers below should add to 100%!
36464
Reposted by Claire W
Alt National Park Service @altnps.bsky.social · 07/02/2025
What started as a small group of park rangers has grown into a movement of over 100,000 federal employees. People all across the nation have risked everything to challenge Elon, his staffers, and the Trump administration, ensuring the truth reaches the public.
315253332
Reposted by Claire W
Governor Tim Walz @governorwalz.mn.gov · 03/02/2025
Elon Musk is a terrible president.
16085240214990
Claire W @sciclaire.bsky.social · 04/02/2025
Welp I'm not going to the AAAS conference this year but now I want to renew my membership just for the shirt...
010
Reposted by Claire W
Ilana Masad @ilanaslightly.bsky.social · 03/02/2025
How are y'all dealing with the cognitive dissonance of much of your daily life continuing as normal right now even as really really really bad shit is happening in government (that will certainly have ripple effects that will reach us all)? Because I'm honestly feeling a little insane right now.
2823145332
Reposted by Claire W
Alt CDC (they/them) @altcdc.altgov.info · 01/02/2025
The entire archive of CDC datasets can be found here. HUGE shoutout to data archivists- this work is important 👏🙌🏻 archive.org/details/2025...
224117764627
Reposted by Claire W
Mombian @mombian.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
This week has seen a stream of appalling, transphobic executive orders from the new administration. We shouldn’t minimize the harm these will cause—but we can find some hope in the actions being taken to stop them. Click thru to learn more & find resources to help. #trans mombian.com/2025/01/31/f...
mombian.com
Fighting Back: Actions Being Taken Against Transphobic Executive Orders - Mombian
This week has seen a steady stream of appalling, transphobic executive orders from the new administration. We shouldn’t minimize the harm these will cause—but we can find some hope in the actions alre...
1127
Reposted by Claire W
Elizabeth No War or ICE @fenbeast.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
I am genuinely, viscerally terrified of what might happen to PubMed.
screenshot of a Facebook post that reads:
CDC databases are being purged of anything not in keeping with the agenda of the current administration.

So here's the thing.

Any presidential administration that comes in DOES NOT OWN the information and data generated by scientists and scholars employed by previous administrations. That information belongs to the US taxpayer, who paid for the research that generated it. For them to make these data and the reports that were generated in the past inaccessible to the people who paid for them is outright theft (or vandalism, depending on what they're doing with the servers storing the data).

This is not just a nerd crying about the library of Alexandria, here. This is the real-time destruction of a huge repository of valuable information about health and wellness that has taken the United States decades to amass, being done to appease the prejudices and whims of people who are profoundly ignorant about health, mental health, and epidemiology.

Giving props to people on r/DataHoarder for frantically downloading terabytes of CDC data so it can be preserved.
10664291
Reposted by Claire W
The Transmitter @thetransmitter.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
In light of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s U.S. Senate confirmation hearings this week, The Transmitter has rounded up our past coverage of the false association between vaccines and autism. www.thetransmitter.org/spectrum/rou...
thetransmitter.org
Roundup: The false association between vaccines and autism
In light of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s U.S. Senate confirmation hearings this week, The Transmitter has rounded up our past coverage of the false association between vaccines and autism.
56832
Reposted by Claire W
Jason Herbert @herberthistory.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
If anything, RFK, Jr. permanently ended impostor syndrome. After today, no one should ever feel unqualified for anything, ever.
201574236
Reposted by Claire W
Dr Craig R McClain @drcraigmc.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
Somewhere in the U.S., there’s a scientist staring at their NSF/NIH grant application wondering why they bother. This post is for you. Science and society both need you. Hang in there and know there is a whole community supporting you.
423099724
Claire W @sciclaire.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
in case anyone else needs this reminder too... (I'm off to pet some cats and listen to an audiobook)
010
Reposted by Claire W
Alt National Park Service @altnps.bsky.social · 26/01/2025
This is becoming absurd—federal employees are now being told to remove pronouns from their email signatures. We will always stand by our commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, no matter how many things we’re asked to delete or change. Inclusivity is at the core of who we are.
542267963599
Reposted by Claire W
christine liu / two photon art @christineliu.art · 24/01/2025
Mentors and advisors, a very impactful thing you can do right now is to assure your mentees from all backgrounds that you will continue to support them because their worth is not contingent on any program or funding mechanism 💕
223264
Reposted by Claire W
Cat Hicks @grimalkina.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
I hate living in a timeline when we've alienated our society from the absolute wonder and joy that is science. No group or thing in society is perfect but my whole life is full of scientists doing basically modern day miracles all the time to help make our lives better. I love you all for it
2778
Reposted by Claire W
Heidi Schweingruber @hschweingruber.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
To console myself as I wait for the EO that will cancel the Dept of Ed, I'm going to post quotes pointing out the value of education, especially for democracy. I think this is a good one to lead with: Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use the change the world. Nelson Mandela
1166
Claire W @sciclaire.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
Heads up that you might get a human asking how to direct your call (instead of entering your zip code as noted below) - just tell them what state you're from and they will connect you with your senator's voicemail!
000
Reposted by Claire W
Shrew @shrewshrew.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
Sure would be a shame if a bunch of PhDs who suddenly have a lot of time on their hands due to no grant writing or reviewing spent all that energy calling and writing their elected officials every single fucking day
322756
Reposted by Claire W
Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 22/01/2025
Devastating for scientists and their research, and everyone who benefits from that research. I’m not sure if everyone outside academia is aware that a delay or “pause” in grant funding often means the researchers themselves are lost from the field, along with their expertise.
791242147820
Reposted by Claire W
Ellen Roche @ellroche.bsky.social · 22/01/2025
Fellow scientists, please consider speaking w/ media about what this means for "regular Americans." The link below is to contact a reporter who's collecting stories about the unfolding NIH situation - pls share anonymously or on record. @anniewaldman.bsky.social www.propublica.org/people/annie...
propublica.org
Annie Waldman
ProPublica is an independent, non-profit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest.
221260849
Reposted by Claire W
Plague Poems @plaguepoems.bsky.social · 20/01/2025
Please, my friend, do not say “we survived him once we can survive him again,” for now more than ever you must remember all of those who did not survive him the first time.
031874
Reposted by Claire W
Abra / Jessica Conwell, Carmella Creeper's Gender Doula🏳️‍⚧️ 🇲🇽🌼 @pairofclaws.bsky.social · 20/01/2025
To my nonbinary, agender, genderqueer, and otherwise off the binary friends & siblings: You are loved, you are valued, you are important to our community, you've been here longer than the tyrants, and you will still be here when their bones are dust and the names of their false gods are forgotten.
242225844
Claire W @sciclaire.bsky.social · 14/01/2025
Better than a lot of surveys written by people twice this age...
010
Claire W @sciclaire.bsky.social · 13/01/2025
Picture book recs for kids affected by the fires: ~ "Dear Wild Child" by Wallace Grayce Nichols & Wallace J. Nichols ~ "Simone" by Viet Thanh Nguyen ~ "We Will Live In This Forest Again" by Gianna Marino ~ "Hello, Tree" by Ana Crespo ~ "I Am the Storm" by Heidi E. Y. Stemple & Jane Yolen
Covers of the seven picture books listed in this post, shown on a black background.
142
Claire W @sciclaire.bsky.social · 08/01/2025
Lots of good stuff in here!
000
Reposted by Claire W
Lydia Polgreen @polgreen.bsky.social · 04/01/2025
It is truly wild that it is estimated that more than 20 million people died of Covid and the prevailing vibe is that the world overreacted. That is an astonishing toll! More people died of Covid in the US than in the Civil War. www.pbs.org/newshour/hea...
pbs.org
5 years after it appeared, things we know and still don't know about COVID
Five years after the virus that causes COVID emerged in China it still holds some mysteries.
294129664576
Reposted by Claire W
Dr. Cassie Freund @cassiefreund.bsky.social · 04/01/2025
I want to add to this by acknowledging that not everyone likes doing outreach and/or not everyone is good at it (and even if you ARE good at it, your outreach may not be impactful). If this is you, I have a couple tips. For context, I lead scicomm efforts professionally for a museum...
14421
Claire W @sciclaire.bsky.social · 01/01/2025
The last Calvin and Hobbes comic, in which Calvin and Hobbes are sledding while discussing how fresh snow makes the world look new, ending with Calvin's words, "It's a magical world, Hobbes ol' buddy... let's go exploring!"
010
Reposted by Claire W
David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 30/12/2024
If you are a scientist (including graduate students) or professional science communicator who is at least 18 years old and are using Bluesky for any kind of professional purposes, please consider taking our survey. Link: umiami.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_... Please help share. 🧪🌎 #SciComm
Scientists at the University of Miami are carrying out a research study on how scientists use online platforms like Twitter/X and Bluesky.

If you are 18 years of age or older and are a scientist who uses these platforms for professional purposes, please click the link below to complete a short survey.

If you are interested in learning more about this research study, please e-mail us at Julia.wester @ miami.edu. In the body of your email please provide your full name, and if you would prefer to be contacted by phone, your phone number and the best time to reach you. 

Contacting us for more information does not commit you to participating, and should you decide to participate you may terminate your participation at any time.
26553552
Claire W @sciclaire.bsky.social · 31/12/2024
Continuing my tradition of donations as holiday gifts, this year's theme was "prevent future horrible politicians" - each family member received a chocolate bar with their donation, except my brother, who got these "brain worms" with a donation to a vaccine education/advocacy org :P
A bag of Haribo gummy worms, with the word "BRAIN" taped over it so the label now reads "Brain Worms" instead.
120
Reposted by Claire W
Rosa Ritunnano @rritunnano.bsky.social · 20/12/2024
Instead of listing my publications, as the year draws to an end, I want to shine the spotlight on the commonplace assumption that productivity must always increase. Good research is disruptive and thinking time is central to high quality scholarship and necessary for disruptive research.
211145373
Reposted by Claire W
Association of Science and Technology Centers @sciencecenters.bsky.social · 20/12/2024
As we look forward to a new year, we're pleased to share this PDF list of books (new and old) recommended by ASTC staff, members, partners, and friends. We hope you enjoy these books as much as we have! www.astc.org/wp-content/u...
About this year's card
Stellar Snowflake Cluster
Newborn stars, hidden behind thick dust, are revealed in this image of a section of the Christmas Tree cluster from NASA Spitzer Space Telescope, created in joint effort between Spitzer infrared array camera and multiband imaging photometer instrument. (Image credit: https://images.nasa.gov/details/PIA03244)

With text saying “wishing you brightness and joy…from your friends at ASTC – Association of Science and Technology Centers)”
021