iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Lesley MacNeil

Itai Yanai @itaiyanai.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

1. CRISPR came from basic research on bacteria. 2. Optogenetics started with a discovery in algae. 3. The GFP protein comes from jellyfish. The biggest breakthroughs all trace to scientists following their curiosity, and this is one huge reason why we must keep funding basic research!

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Lesley MacNeil @steeltownworms.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

I'm trying to think like a stupid person, but I still can't find the motivation for this.

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Michael Hendricks 🇨🇦 @michaelhendricks.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE PROJECT GRANT PROGRAM EXCEPT IT IS UNDERFUNDED. Breaking it, redesigning it, etc, cannot fix this.

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Lesley MacNeil @steeltownworms.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

I have all the Ottolenghi cookbooks - I love them!

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Lesley MacNeil @steeltownworms.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Some tell Jay Ingram so he can stop giving talks explaining how nothing was stolen from Franklin.

static.klipy.com

Judge Judy's Annoyed Expression

ALT: Judge Judy's Annoyed Expression

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Genetics Society of America @genetics-gsa.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

🪱 Read the latest work from @barrlab.bsky.social in #GENETICS that describes a #Celegans pipeline for mechanistic classification of conserved Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) associated missense variants. 🔗 buff.ly/R2nrikZ

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Canadian Paintings @canadianpaintings.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

The road to reconciliation begins with truth Mishiikenh Kwe ~ Anishinaabe c. 2022

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W. Brent Derry @wbderry.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Faculty position at the University of Toronto 👇 jobs.utoronto.ca/job/Toronto-...

jobs.utoronto.ca

Assistant Professor - Systems Neurophysiology

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Anne C. Hart @ach-ceneuro.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Position available to work on Alternating Hemiplegia of Childhood; develop assays & test compounds using Hart lab #Celegans disease models. Ideal for scientist with Bachelors or Masters degree seeking mentorship, but previous at-the-bench experience is required. See REQ211438 on Brown Univ website.

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Lesley MacNeil @steeltownworms.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

I'm writing a lay summary and I really want to write "because we can't do experiments on humans"......

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Spock: Flawlessly Logical

ALT: Spock: Flawlessly Logical

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Cezar Khursigara @cmkhursigara.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Molecular & Cellular Biology at the University of Guelph is recruiting an Assistant Professor in Molecular & Cellular Biotechnology through the Canada Impact+ Emerging Leaders program. Please share widely! careers.uoguelph.ca/job/Guelph-A...

careers.uoguelph.ca

Assistant Professor (Canada Impact+ Emerging Leader)

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Lesley MacNeil @steeltownworms.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Trizol, then cleanup with RNA columns - DNAse treat on column. Sequencing facilities can poly-A select and prep the libraries for you. If you're not making a lot of libraries, it's not worth optimizing library construction and buying library kits.

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Lesley MacNeil @steeltownworms.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Also, so that any criticism of the program can be pushed aside: "That program has been discontinued; it was very unpopular. We now have a new program: the Superstar Talent from Abroad Research (STAR) program"

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Man Exhausted on Floor After a Bad Day

ALT: Man Exhausted on Floor After a Bad Day

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Lesley MacNeil @steeltownworms.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

So, Canada Impact+ Research Chairs has been renamed? I'm having a flashback to CERC. Does this mean the program will continue past this year?

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Lesley MacNeil @steeltownworms.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Disciplinary actions at universities are almost never decided by one person. She may have "handled" the intake of the case, but anything that carries the possibility of suspension generally requires a committee decision and formal proceedings where the student is allowed to speak.

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AAU @aau.edu · 28/09/2026

Most major scientific and medical advances began with federally funded basic research. Tonight, the Golden Goose Award will honor scientists whose fundamental, curiosity-driven research led to unexpected breakthroughs.

aau.edu

Golden Goose Award a Reminder That Federally Funded Basic Research…

These examples of past Golden Goose Award stories help demonstrate why curiosity-driven basic research matters, even when its value is not at first…

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Michel Cayouette @michelcayouette.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

If you are a postdoc looking for opportunities to present your latest results, apply to our Early-Career Scientists Seminar Series (ECS3) to get invited to our Institute, all expenses paid. A unique opportunity! Apply here: www.ircm.qc.ca/en/ecs3

ircm.qc.ca

ECS3

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Lesley MacNeil @steeltownworms.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

How do I join this department? We don't get any exciting emails like this.

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Lesley MacNeil @steeltownworms.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

The math seems to hinge on the idea that a single competition, rather than two, would reduce application numbers by almost a third. That doesn't seem realistic.

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Lesley MacNeil @steeltownworms.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Are they subtracting grants that were not funded in the first competition and were resubmitted in the next one, and using that as the denominator? That feels logically and mathematically wrong. The last category is a head-scratcher- unless they are also factoring in a 2-grant max per competition.

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Lesley MacNeil @steeltownworms.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Done! Sadly, the options we have to vote on do not include "add more money to the project grant budget"

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BCCHR ResDev (DM) @resdevbcch.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

‼️ attention Canadian health researchers ‼️ #CIHR has posted the Project Grants Discussion Paper and a related *survey* cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/54821.html Please please participate 🙏

photo of the “help shape the future of the project grant program” announcement by CIHR. TEXT is accessible in the hyperlink in this post.

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David M. Perry @lollardfish.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

There’s a whole cadre right wing professors, mostly middle aged, mostly men, mostly white, who went to university in the 80s and 90s. They want their nostalgic vision of academia back and thought partnering with the fascists might get them there. DEI gone too far. Also fat paychecks. Etc.

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Lesley MacNeil @steeltownworms.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

I don't see why Stephen Pinker and some other idiots who do not work in the Canadian system, and have never held or reviewed an NSERC or CIHR grant are being given a voice in this discussion. (Ok, I do know why. I'm being facetious)

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Jim Woodgett @jwoodgett.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

There’s a concerted campaign to undermine EDI in Canada. The evidence behind EDI policies reducing excellence are based on abysmal, flawed evidence. Look at who feels threatened by equity, diversity and inclusion. They’re the least diverse, least equitable and most exclusive people. Just no.

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Lesley MacNeil @steeltownworms.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

I just read the report and I feel dumber for it.

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Lesley MacNeil @steeltownworms.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Oh my mistake, the report is new - just recycling the garbage from public hearings in 2025.

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Lesley MacNeil @steeltownworms.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Why is this article coming out now? The report it references is from last year. The opinions heard were from lots of dudes who aren't Canadian researchers - LOL. Stephen Pinker is in there.

static.klipy.com

Judge Judy's Annoyed Expression

ALT: Judge Judy's Annoyed Expression

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Lesley MacNeil @steeltownworms.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

These recommendations are all over the place. They want to add/keep anything that isn't substantive, but get rid of any evaluation based on EDI and any actual protections, except for protections of French-language applications?

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Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 22/09/2026

NEW: OpenAI took 20 million ChatGPT responses and had one of its experts search for chunks of text—specifically chunks of 25 words in a row- that were identical between ChatGPT’s responses and a news article. They found more than 400,000 of these 25-word overlaps between ChatGPT and our articles.

motherjones.com

AI exec: We may have pulled off “the largest theft of labor in human history.”

Documents from our lawsuit reveal how tech leaders talk when they think no one is listening.

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WeberLab@McGill @weber-lab.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

🚨We're hiring!!🚨 @biomcgill.bsky.social is looking for a Quantitative Cell Biologist to join our diverse and interdisciplinary community. Please share this ad broadly, and reach out if you have any questions. mcgill.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/McGill...

mcgill.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com

Assistant Professor in Quantitative Cell Biology - Department of Biology

Please refer to the How to Apply for a Job (for External Candidates) job aid for instructions on how to apply. If you are an active McGill employee (ie: currently in an active contract or position at ...

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Lesley MacNeil @steeltownworms.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Reproducibility is very important.

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Nick Burton @nickburton.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Very excited to put out this new preprint from the lab that represents our 3rd paper now in the lab's move into the field of identifying bioactive molecules in bacteria using C. elegans and studying how they regulate animal physiology. Really excited about this space- www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

biorxiv.org

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Lesley MacNeil @steeltownworms.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

I'm willing to take 1-3 years off to see if it works.

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Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

The shape of the future unless we get our collective act together...

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Lesley MacNeil @steeltownworms.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

I'm guessing it's because those programs overwhelmingly favour white men? The whole point of the nonsense report these dudes wrote is to undermine EDI actions and support a system where thumbs can still be put on scales for the "right" people.

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Lesley MacNeil @steeltownworms.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Have they completely run out of ideas?

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Lesley MacNeil @steeltownworms.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Yes, and the other change was that Universities had to advertise CRC positions and let everyone apply (at least internally). Before this took effect, the process was very secretive; deadlines weren't advertised, and the availability of chairs wasn't advertised, which meant a lot of gatekeeping.

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Lesley MacNeil @steeltownworms.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

I'm guessing these people received a ton of support early on in their careers, but believed they did it all on their own. When things got hard and they weren't as successful as they expected, they deluded themselves into believing it was because ladies and minorities were stealing their awards.

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Lesley MacNeil @steeltownworms.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

I would have changed the title to "I completely misunderstood what the NSERC application was asking me for and I wrote my manifesto instead"

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Lesley MacNeil @steeltownworms.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Yes it is. My brain is exploding. The National Post (Canada's worst newspaper) just published an opinion piece that cites it.

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Lesley MacNeil @steeltownworms.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Wow. None of the authors are researchers in Canada!

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Lesley MacNeil @steeltownworms.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

This group is clearly in the James Watson fan club.

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Lesley MacNeil @steeltownworms.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

When we invest more money in one individual, and they publish more papers than someone we have invested less in, are we measuring excellence?

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Lesley MacNeil @steeltownworms.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

If your time is considered less valuable and you spend more time on assigned service and teaching are you less excellent? If one person has her teaching switched every other year, while another person teaches the same course for 7 years, is the extra time that second person has "excellence"?

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Lesley MacNeil @steeltownworms.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Their definition of "excellence" is shortsighted. To be excellent is to have the most papers and citations.... ok, that is the output, but if you work in a system where resources are consistently diverted to specific people, and those people succeed, is it excellence or money and opportunity?

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