Reposted by Will ShoemakerIlhan Omar @ilhanmn.bsky.social · 11hI’m ok. Make no mistake: this is an attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement. For ten years, Trump has targeted me with baseless lies and smear campaigns. This is just the latest escalation in his campaign of political intimidation. I will not be silenced. 13134366410539
Reposted by Will ShoemakerDr. Kat Napaaqtuk❄️ @napaaqtuk.bsky.social · 17hHappy Indigenous People's Day! We are still here :) 51305376
Reposted by Will ShoemakerAnjali Dayal @anjalikdayal.bsky.social · 09/10/2026The Trump administration is pushing forward with sanctions against the ICC. A coalition of domestic political opposition and concerned foreign firms governments supporting the ICC is vital for future accountability against human rights abusers, including the Trump administrationforeignpolicy.comHere’s What to Do About Trump’s War CrimesDespite the obstacles, foreign governments and U.S. lawmakers can begin the process of holding the president accountable. 58835
Reposted by Will ShoemakerMP Broache @mbroache.bsky.social · 09/10/2026This is an excellent piece. On the ICC, I would add that the next Democratic administration could lodge an Article 12(3) declaration accepting ICC jurisdiction for the period of the Trump administration; this would not require ratification of the Rome Statute (and so would avoid the Senate) 22813
Reposted by Will ShoemakerThibaut Brunet @thibautbrunet.bsky.social · 09/10/2026How fast can speciation be? In less than 100 years, certain strains of lab mice have already (partly) lost the ability to hybridize with each others. The molecular mechanism has just been worked out - read below for a genetics detective story ⬇️ 04217
Reposted by Will ShoemakerMoby Dick @mobydickatsea.bsky.social · 08/10/2026in this world, head winds are far more prevalent than winds from astern 111641
Will Shoemaker @shoestrapped.bsky.social · 08/10/2026It cheats the author out of a chance to engage with a peer. A recent review I received was clearly written by AI but passed the AI tests. This was disappointing, as I had difficulty securing feedback on the manuscript before submission and was genuinely hoping for reviewer engagement 110
Reposted by Will ShoemakerMatt Olm @mattolm.bsky.social · 07/10/2026My final postdoc project is out today in Nature! We show microbes co-migrated with humans out of Africa; three independent methods agree, and timing matches archaeological / genetic evidence (Fig. 4c). Seeing Fig. 4c for 1st time was one of my most memorable "eureka" moments! doi.org/10.1038/s415...doi.orgPrehistoric global migration of vanishing gut microbes with humans - NatureMicrobial species disappearing from industrialized populations have evolved with humans over millennia and migrated worldwide with them—this may have consequences for human health. 411748
Reposted by Will ShoemakerJournal of the History of Ideas @jhideas.bsky.social · 05/10/2026For the Blog’s forum on the conceptual history of technology, Tianyi Ding traces zero’s emergence through a series of material practices, from bookkeeping in Renaissance Italy and weaving in eighteenth-century France to the 1890 US census and birth of IBM.web.sas.upenn.eduHow Nothing Came to Matter: Zero as a Technique of Absence"Zero" exists only in the apparatuses and techniques that produce it.... 093
Reposted by Will ShoemakerThomas Piketty @thomaspiketty.bsky.social · 06/10/2026Le mouvement lycéen et étudiant signe le crépuscule du macronisme: les jeunes veulent se former et accéder aux études, et un pouvoir élitiste leur répond en réduisant de 20% le budget par étudiant entre 2017 et 2026 et en gérant la pénurie avec un algorithme opaque (Parcoursup) 16501314
Reposted by Will ShoemakerMichael Manhart @michaelmanhart.bsky.social · 06/10/2026I am co-organizing the Ecological Dynamics session at the 2027 APS Global Physics Summit (Apr 11-16, Atlanta). The session will span all domains of life and theory/data/exps (more here tinyurl.com/382vkbrh). If you're interested, submit your abstract to this session by Oct 22! tinyurl.com/4jfpyux5summit.aps.orgAPS Global Physics Summit abstract submissionPresent your physics research to over 14,000 physicists from around the world. 085
Will Shoemaker @shoestrapped.bsky.social · 05/10/2026They should reach out as early as possible to ensure they’re eligible for fellowships. 010
Reposted by Will ShoemakerRobin Hayward 🌳 🏳️⚧️ @canopyrobin.com · 05/10/2026Did a little interview about the new trans-inclusive guidance 🙂 heart-magazine.com/2026/10/04/t...heart-magazine.comReseachers publish guidelines for inclusive fieldwork for trans+ peopleOn Friday 25th of September 2026, three researchers at Leeds university released the Trans+ Guidelines for Inclusive Fieldwork. 03014
Reposted by Will ShoemakerGavin Jackson @gavinjackson.bsky.social · 05/10/2026I visited the Amazon rainforest a year ago ahead of the cop conference in Belem. Historically the only thing that has stopped deforestation has been electing Lula da Silva has Brazilian president. www.economist.com/the-americas... 1453157
Reposted by Will ShoemakerLiam U. Taylor @liamtaylor.bsky.social · 03/10/2026Thread for bangers from The Dialectical Biologist 23813
Reposted by Will ShoemakerÁkos T Kovács @evolvedbiofilm.bsky.social · 30/09/2026The phenotypic landscape of the model firmicute Bacillus subtilis PNAS from Carol A. Gross www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...pnas.orgThe phenotypic landscape of the model firmicute Bacillus subtilis | PNASFirmicutes are gram-positive bacteria with important roles in human health, disease, and industry. However, more than a quarter of genes in the mod... 12311
Will Shoemaker @shoestrapped.bsky.social · 29/09/2026Cannot believe this graph. From Adam Tooze's Chartbook 011
Reposted by Will Shoemakerjohnny connolly @jcons.bsky.social · 29/09/2026As the use of metagenomics methods continues to expand, it is inevitable that researchers will attempt to use frontier AI for analysis. It is therefore critical that we have some kind of assessment of agent capabilities. I give you: MetagenomicsBench #MicroSky 🧪 🧬🖥️ blog.latch.bio/p/c55a6336-7...blog.latch.bioLatchBioIntelligence Infrastructure for Biology. Click to read LatchBio, a Substack publication with tens of thousands of subscribers. 162
Reposted by Will ShoemakerJL Weissman @jlw-ecoevo.bsky.social · 28/09/2026Two weeks left to apply for these postoc positions! We seek two postdocs interested in 1) building trait prediction models capable of resolving complex microbial traits from genomes and metagenomes, and/or (2) building mathematical models of microbial community dynamics in the human microbiome. 0514
Reposted by Will Shoemakermaria_from_ga @mariafromga.bsky.social · 26/09/2026Given how the Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb closure will likely continue until 2029 and green technology is going more available and cheaper (esp solar), wouldn’t be surprised if this further power a Green Industrial Revolution that US will be forced to partake in just bc of the economics 517035
Reposted by Will ShoemakerEvoBio Crash Course @evobiocc.bsky.social · 23/09/2026The Evobio Crash Course is coming back for its fifth edition! Join us from December 7 to December 18 for an incredible line up of classes and tutorials from amazing researchers in the field! The course is open to all, completely free and held online. Registration is OPEN, please share widely! 11822
Reposted by Will ShoemakerGiorgio Nicoletti @giorgionicoletti.bsky.social · 21/09/2026Let's come back with a big update: our latest work landed us on the cover of PRL! 061
Reposted by Will ShoemakerRowan Kuminski @rowankuminski.bsky.social · 17/09/2026⚠️Please share!⚠️ We are recruiting participants to complete a written interview for a PhD chapter on linguistic experiences of ecologists from Catalonia. Participants do not need to currently reside in Catalonia and can participate in Catalan, Spanish, and/or English. Thank you! 🪶🕷️🌲🐡🍄 #ecology 159
Will Shoemaker @shoestrapped.bsky.social · 20/09/2026Two weeks of troubleshooting wonky statistics later… 000
Will Shoemaker @shoestrapped.bsky.social · 20/09/2026FYI don’t upload *subsampled* raw reads to NCBI 100
Reposted by Will ShoemakerJason Leopold @jasonleopold.bsky.social · 18/09/2026HUGE EXCLUSIVE from @bloomberg.com Inside the US ‘Kill Chain’ That Destroyed an Iranian School Pentagon investigators discovered that flawed intel, outdated imagery & overreliance on AI contributed to a missile strike that killed 123 children in Minab 🎁 www.bloomberg.com/graphics/202...bloomberg.comInside the US ‘Kill Chain’ That Destroyed an Iranian SchoolPentagon investigators have discovered that flawed intelligence, outdated imagery and an overreliance on AI contributed to a missile strike that killed 123 children in Minab. 11026691409
Reposted by Will ShoemakerSnorre Sulheim @sulheim.bsky.social · 18/09/2026Finally online! Cross-feeding enables robust coexistence between four bacterial species | PNAS www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... #microskypnas.orgCross-feeding enables robust coexistence between four bacterial species | PNASResource supply is generally considered a dominant driver of microbial diversity. Here, using a four-species bacterial consortium, we asked whether... 15223
Reposted by Will ShoemakerNew York Times Opinion @nytopinion.nytimes.com · 17/09/2026“We’re living through a dispiriting moment of global climate fatigue, when companies worldwide are backtracking on their climate commitments, but someday the pendulum will swing back toward climate action,” Michael Grunwald writes.nyti.msOpinion | The Latest Corporate Climate RuseMaking deforestation look climate-friendly will encourage a lot more deforestation. 033
Will Shoemaker @shoestrapped.bsky.social · 17/09/2026Hitting me just now that community coalescence experiments are analogous to yeast crossing wrt function vs. fitness 010
Reposted by Will ShoemakerPurushottam Dixit @pdixit.bsky.social · 15/09/20261/ Our new paper is out in PRX Life. Physicists' often treat microbiomes as disordered systems with coexistence in very high-dimensional niche spaces. We asked whether empirical data supports this picture, and found the data point somewhere else: journals.aps.org/prxlife/abst...journals.aps.orgLow-Dimensional Coexistence in Complex Microbial EcosystemsAnalysis of nearly 200 human gut microbiome datasets shows that microbial coexistence is governed by a few effective ecological dimensions, rather than the high-dimensional niches assumed by prevailing theory. 12010
Reposted by Will ShoemakerPierre Charbonnier @picharbonnier.bsky.social · 10/06/2026Soon! Fall 26 in the UK Winter 26-27 in the US A book I wrote after the beginning of the Ukraine war, and that's unfortunately been vindicated by further events. Global security lies in decarbonization: in times of war, green energy means peace. 35215
Will Shoemaker @shoestrapped.bsky.social · 16/09/2026Incredible to see Fetterman doing his job for once. 000
Reposted by Will ShoemakerSridhar Ramesh @radishharmers.bsky.social · 14/09/2026terrytao.wordpress.com/2026/09/12/w... 1805
Reposted by Will ShoemakerJennifer Goff, PhD @jlgoff.bsky.social · 31/08/2026New preprint! This one is actually from my class! We did metagenomic sequencing on a Winogradsky column. In my Microbial Biochemistry class, the students learned to assemble and analyze the MAGs, directly applying what they learned in lecture to make predictions about their organism’s metabolism. 🧵 36714
Reposted by Will ShoemakerMoby Dick @mobydickatsea.bsky.social · 13/09/2026all that cracks the sinews and cakes the brain 28414
Reposted by Will ShoemakerSarah T Roberts, PhD @ubiquity75.xyz · 12/09/2026In a rare move, Chancellor Frenk just publicly and boldly affirmed academic freedom. Oh, wait, no. He did the opposite. The idea that anyone was advancing support for the attacks is absurd and obscene and that’s what they should be ashamed of. Use archive.ps for non-paywall.latimes.comUCLA chancellor rebukes law school event featuring attorney of alleged 9/11 'mastermind'After a UCLA law school symposium on 9/11 that featured an attorney who represented alleged 9/11 'mastermind' Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk issued a rare message distancing the u... 1121542
Reposted by Will ShoemakerYoung Biophysicists Meeting @youngbiophymeet.bsky.social · 11/09/2026Submission open for the 12th YBM Meeting (deadline - 28th September)! Abstract submission link: forms.gle/UK1fBmzGtLwn... 046
Reposted by Will ShoemakerCar Talk Names @cartalknamebot.bsky.social · 14/06/2026Statistician: Marge Innovera 0122
Reposted by Will ShoemakerVictor Jack @victorjack.bsky.social · 10/09/2026NEW: The U.S. asked NATO allies to help “systematically dismantle” the ICC, according to three NATO diplomats. In July, Washington requested allies quit the international body as part of its campaign to take down the court. www.politico.eu/article/us-p...politico.euUS pressures NATO allies to destroy International Criminal CourtWashington said it “would be watching closely” to see which allies help in its campaign against the court during a closed-door meeting this summer. 115450
Reposted by Will ShoemakerProf Ian Hall @ianhall.bsky.social · 10/09/2026Understatement of the year… “Humanity has now spent more than 38 years trying collectively to stop climate change, with sub-optimal results.” www.ft.com/content/2bec...ft.comAn IPCC stand-off risks a historic climate rupturePointless obstruction by governments over publishing scientific climate evaluation is threatening crucial work 58334
Reposted by Will ShoemakerQuantian @quantian.bsky.social · 08/09/2026Dancing very very VERY close to saying “OpenAI stole our almost-complete proof of Navier-Stokes from internal access to our ChatGPT sessions because they were desperate to scoop Anthropic” which is absolutely 100% a believable thing OpenAI would do right now cims.nyu.edu/~tristanb/st... 381557449
Will Shoemaker @shoestrapped.bsky.social · 08/09/2026Make a short list of the groups that make you excited about science and reach out. Mention that you are open to obtaining funding to join, time permitting. If you end up interviewing with someone you did not reach out to or previously consider, be as clear as possible about what you do/do not want. 010
Reposted by Will ShoemakerMolecular Microbiology @molmicrounihoh.bsky.social · 07/09/2026super interesting paper: 👇 Evolutionary Maintenance of Amino Acid Prototrophy in Escherichia coli! academic.oup.com/gbe/article/...academic.oup.comThe Evolutionary Maintenance of Amino Acid Prototrophy in Escherichia coliAbstract. Escherichia coli is a prototroph and can synthesize all twenty proteinogenic amino acids when required to grow in minimal medium. There are appro 1177
Reposted by Will ShoemakerJavier Aguilar @javiersanguilar.bsky.social · 07/09/2026New paper with my good friend Pablo Moreno-Spiegelberg! We propose a simple noise-driven mechanism to explain excitability in ecological populations: rapid growth followed by sudden disappearance 👀 ⬇️ pubs.aip.org/aip/cha/arti...pubs.aip.orgNoise-induced excitability: Bloom, bust, and extirpation in autotoxic population dynamicsSpecies populations often modify their environment as they grow. When environmental feedback operates more slowly than population growth, the system can undergo 171
Reposted by Will ShoemakerNick Stroustrup @nstroustrup.bsky.social · 05/09/2026The effect is fairly dramatic in both nematodes and mice. For example: a young adult nematode (equivalent to a teen-ager) contains ~700 million mRNA molecules total. This drops eight-fold by old-age. 3/22 1217
Will Shoemaker @shoestrapped.bsky.social · 05/09/2026But certain forms of heterogeneity may be required to get something interesting. E.g., how types of fitness perturbations do/do not break WF universality in Ben's lecture notes. 000
Will Shoemaker @shoestrapped.bsky.social · 05/09/2026Thanks! Yes, w/ increased focus on heterog. in the microbe lit, it seemed hard to square its existence w/ the relevant pop gen regime. My naive guess would be interesting behavior arises as a fxn of "fitness" variance per-genotype (heterogeneity) vs. inheritable fitness variance over the population 100
Will Shoemaker @shoestrapped.bsky.social · 05/09/2026Congrats John! I was wondering how Cvijović, Good et al. would relate to the MM regime. Have you all looked at plasticity/heterogeneity in your model? As in, how selection operates on trade-offs under MM when genotypes encode params controlling the dist of s_i rather than constant s_i across cells? 210