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Craig Kaplan

@triggerloop.bsky.social
4K followers 808 following 8.9K posts

Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh. RNA polymerase II mechanism, classic films, #classiccountdown once in awhile

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Reposted by Craig Kaplan
Ben Winters @benwinters.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
that chatbot doing that unsafe/violative thing is not it 'going rogue' or an 'unfortunate incident of unintended consequences,' it’s the logical and devastating consequences of an unsafe product put out by irresponsible companies that have been conditioned to believe consequences dont exist for them
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Cees Dekker @ceesdekker.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Here's our latest #CDlab paper in Nature Comm: a study of nucleocytoplasmic transport via nuclear pore complexes (NPCs), involving designer Nups, biomimetic NPCs, condensates, extensive MD simulations. Great collaboration with particularly the Onck lab. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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Souf Oaklin fo’ Life!!! @soufoaklin.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
The Cathedral is 100! And we’ve been covering her the whole time. Read the best stories from the past century.
soufoaklin.wordpress.com
Celebrating 100 years of the Cathedral of Learning
To mark 100 years of Oakland’s favorite stone monolith, we dove deep into the vault to bring you the real, unvarnished history of the Cathedral of Learning. From gothic angst and basement bangers t…
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Dr. Peter Paul Rubens @peterpaulrubens.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Roses, peonies, passion flower & more in a glass vase, plus ladybug crawling up table. And butterfly. All by Carstian Luyckx. It's been his day.
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Mark Peifer (He, him) @peiferlabunc.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
For the last 34 years I have been on the faculty of the UNC-Chapel Hill Department of Biology and have never regretted that decision. This year we are hiring TWO new Assistant Professors in the broad area of Molecular, Cell, Developmental Biology 1/n bio.unc.edu
Front page of the website
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Craig Kaplan @triggerloop.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
“I’m sorry. It was wrong to poison the other team’s water. I shouldn’t have done that. I’ve updated my model to prevent that in the future”
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Carl Zimmer @carlzimmer.com · 28/09/2026
Bundibugyo outbreak tops 8,000 confirmed cases as disease remains out of control apnews.com/article/cong...
apnews.com
Congo's Ebola outbreak tops 8,000 confirmed cases as disease remains out of control
The number of confirmed Ebola cases in Congo has surged past 8,000 as the country struggles with a shortage of health workers. The new statistics were released Sunday.
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Craig Kaplan @triggerloop.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
A24 (2027 release)
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c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
I'll save you the click-through: A lab at University of Copenhagen had been feeding draft manuscripts & data into "Claude Science" & then Anthropic announces a discovery that this lab made a year ago but hasn't published yet. It's plausible that Claude found the same signatures independently...
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Matt Zoller Seitz @mattzollerseitz.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Chicago: don't miss this one One of the best horror films of the 60s Also chef's kiss B&W CinemaScope, absolutely gorgeous
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Craig Kaplan @triggerloop.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
This is a fascinating story but the top throughline should be current administration destruction of science
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Craig Kaplan @triggerloop.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Chewing Gum came on other day and it goes so hard
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Stereogum @stereogum.com · 27/09/2026
🔥
David Lowery: “When my younger son was about 12 he decided he needed me to stop telling him stories about meeting members of the various bands he was listening to. ‘Dad, these stories you tell us, I'm sure were really important moments in your life, and you should be proud of them, but you know sometimes it takes the magic out of the music.’ Last week he's driving me to the airport and he decides to play me Jason Molina. I let him tell me all about Songs:Ohia, Magnolia Electric Company and The Sojourner Series. I didn't say a word. Now I'm roasting him here.”Jason Molina interview:

You also worked with David Lowery. How did you first meet David?
I HAVE BEEN A CAMPER VAN BEETHOVEN FAN FOR YEARS AND YEARS. THAT WAS ONE BAND THAT STOOD OUT IN THE YEARS WHEN I WAS LISTENING TO A LOT OF HEAVY MUSIC, I THOUGHT BRINGING ALL OF THESE FOLK MUSIC ELEMENTS INTO THIS PUNK ROCK WORLD WAS BRILLIANT. I STILL COULD LISTEN TO BIG BLACK OR BLACK SABBATH AND NOT FEEL THAT CAMPER WAS OUT OF LINE. IT WAS ALL ABOUT GOOD SONGS, SO WHEN I HEARD THAT ALL OF THEIR GEAR HAD BEEN STOLEN I OFFERED UP WHAT I HAD TO THE BAND, THAT WAS HOW WE FIRST MET.

What was Lowery’s Sound of Music studio like? How was Lowery’s method different from Albini’s?
FOR THE SESSIONS WITH LOWERY, HE ACTUALLY WOULD PUT ON A GUITAR OR A BASS OR WHATEVER AND WORK OUT IDEAS ON THE FLOOR. THIS SESSION WAS MOSTLY A SITUATION LIKE "THE PYRAMID ELECTRIC COMPANY" WHERE I WOULD SLEEP IN THE STUDIO AND WRITE ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT AND MORNING AND TRY TO COME UP WITH IDEAS TO SHOW TO THE BAND. DAVID WAS VERY GOOD AT HELPING TO GET THE ARRANGEMENTS TO BE INTERESTING. ALSO ON THE SESSIONS' CONTROLS AND OTHER MUSICAL DUTIES WAS ALAN WEATHERHEAD. HE BROUGHT A BRILLIANT STYLE AND A LOT OF TASTE TO THE FINAL RECORD.
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Craig Kaplan @triggerloop.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
I love what he has been doing. Paper out this week even on how to increase drug efficacy by targeting two sites by molecules with linkers.
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Apoorva Mandavilli @apoorvanyt.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
I’ve been reporting on the CDC for years, and have written about many of its troubles over the past year. I was still shocked by the extent of the staff losses and political interference I found when reporting this one. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/26/h...
nytimes.com
‘Zombified’ C.D.C., Hobbled by Cuts, Struggles to Fulfill Scientific Mission (Gift Article)
The agency has lost its independence and nearly a third of its staff, as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and associates have tightened control.
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Emily Nussbaum @emilynussbaum.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Every week, the Muppets have to put on a show to salvage a new institution: the Kennedy Center, the Supreme Court, the No-Mask Lesbian Bar, the Wonka Experience, Kozmo Dot Com (this has a time travel dimension, à la Quantum Leap), Cafe Loup in the West Village, democracy, the third season of GLOW
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anil oza @aniloza.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
O.M.B. announcing a set of pocket rescissions (including funding at HHS) this evening www.statnews.com/2026/09/25/t...
statnews.com
Trump administration uses rare authority to claw back nearly $1B in spending approved by Congress
President Trump is canceling nearly $1 billion in spending approved by Congress, and most of the cuts are focused on HHS programs that serve refugees and unaccompanied minors.
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Mark Histed @markhisted.org · 26/09/2026
Science world (and everyone who knows someone with cancer or dementia): Keep an eye on this! It looks like another try at the pocket rescission gambit.
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Craig Kaplan @triggerloop.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
This is dystopian
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Craig Kaplan @triggerloop.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Arbitrary new rules to create administrative traps
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Annika Barber @annikabarber.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
🚨🚨🚨 Very urgent for many of us. I also just learned this today. Tell your friends. Tell your grant admins. 🧪
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Upbeat Former Prof @upbeatprof.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
*brings durian to job interview*
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Craig Kaplan @triggerloop.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Another Cryo-ET paper showing the tremendous power of getting structures in situ- it really is mind blowing
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Neckties of Noir @neckties-of-noir.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
#filmsky #moviesky #Hitchcock Happy Friday first fall weekend with Hitch and the Beave. THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY (1955)
This is a still from the movie, THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY by Alfred Hitchcock. It is a dark comedy. 
Actor Jerry Mathers, as a very young boy is standing on a forest hillside carrying a large toy plastic machine gun. He has another toy gun on his belt.  He’s wearing a T-shirt and shorts and standing under a leaned over tree. The trees in the background are full of fall colors, mostly gold and orange. The boy is looking at something in front of him with curiosity. 
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Craig Kaplan @triggerloop.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
What an interesting story
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PLOS Biology @plosbiology.org · 25/09/2026
Protein function depends on dynamic conformational changes. Patrick Barth &co present AlloPool, a #DeepLearning framework that reveals how protein motions give rise to biological function across diverse systems. 🧪 #ProteinStructure buff.ly/sTHTDBQ
PDZ3 protein structure with peptide agonist binding site highlighted in cyan, an allosteric loop in red, and purple lines tracing the binding path; right panels show WT conformations with a green arrow for enhanced and red arrow for decreased allosteric coupling.
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Reposted by Craig Kaplan
Arrianna Marie Planey, PhD MA @arrianna-planey.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
If you're preparing a NIH grant submission, you may have to re-download and re-certify your biosketch if you updated on/prior to Sept 18. And make sure NOT to change the file name.
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Tamara Caspary @tamaragenes.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
« I would personally mouth-pipette a solution of pure chloroform right now, today, in front of God and the NIH Director and the entire Office of Research Safety, if it meant a young scientist in my department could get a payline above 20%. » inpreparation.substack.com/p/opinion-re...
inpreparation.substack.com
Opinion: I Miss When The NIH Payline Was 40% And We All Mouth-Pipetted Phenol
By Dr. Douglas R. Waverly, Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry, Yale University
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Craig Kaplan @triggerloop.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Cryo-EM peeps are living the dream www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
In-cell structures visualize human pre-ribosome assembly in the nucleolus
In eukaryotes, ribosome biogenesis initiates within the nucleolus, a hallmark multilayered compartment of the nucleus. Structures of pre-ribosomes have been characterized ex situ, but their assembly p...
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Craig Kaplan @triggerloop.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
This is so awesome
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Jenna Norton @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
How to destroy strong working relationships, camaraderie and collaboration among staff: Create a system that evaluates staff in comparison to one another rather than based on how well they do their jobs. www.fedweek.com/fedweek/opm-...
fedweek.com
OPM Sets Cap on Top Two Ratings Levels of 40 Percent; Not a "Target"
OPM has set a cap of 40 percent for the top two ratings levels combined in performance evaluations for the large majority of employees under the GS system
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Mark Baxter 🏳️‍🌈🧂 @markgbaxter.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
If you work with international personnel, you may want to comment on this proposed rule change that would put visa holders out of status immediately (instead of after a 60 day grace period) when their employment ends keepthe60days.com
keepthe60days.com
Keep the 60 Days: H-1B, E-3, L-1, O-1 & TN grace period
DHS proposes ending the 60-day grace period after a layoff for H-1B, E-3, L-1, O-1 and TN visa holders. Comment on USCIS-2026-0364 before November 10, 2026.
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Nahel Belgherze @wxnb.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Unbelievable footage from NOAA’s Hurricane Hunters inside the eye of Category 5 Hurricane Polo. Simply incredible.
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Cedric Feschotte @cedricfeschotte.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Thrilled to see this published today! Truly special because we made the initial discovery >15 yrs ago! We found two copies of a human gene called BC200 embedded in a human poxvirus. BC200 blurs the line between gene & transposon—both functional & mutagenic! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... 🧵1/n
science.org
Escape of the BC200 gene to a human poxvirus reveals its persistent transposition in primates
Transposable elements mobilize within and occasionally between genomes, including from host to virus. We identified two insertions of the human BC200 noncoding RNA gene in the poxvirus molluscum conta...
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Christophe 🔬 Leterrier @christlet.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
I think I'm going to lose it being lectured on microscopy image presentation integrity by the winner of the Small Artificial World in Motion competition
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Craig Kaplan @triggerloop.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
This place was just normal pizza place- they moved from Atwood onto Forbes and they have a new AI slop menu. The breadsticks look diseased
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Jamie Cate @jhdcate.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Here’s the thing about the Anthropic story. When I worked on biofuels at the EBI funded by BP, it was clear that BP did not have the capacity to think about any product less than 1 MMT (million metric ton for those who use eppendorf tubes). Where does Anthropic see this going?
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Craig Kaplan @triggerloop.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Underrated
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Maksim Kalutskii @maksimkalutskii.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Excited to share our new preprint! 📜 Here, we used CALVADOS and ultra-CG models to show how the kinetochore establishes a robust attachment to the dynamic microtubule end. Spoiler: IDRs 🧵 1/n www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
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Katherine Yon Ebright @ebrightyon.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
In a speech at the UN, Trump called the International Criminal Court a "rogue institution." Across his administration, he's used emergency powers to sanction ICC judges and staff. @brennancenter.org just filed a brief explaining why *Trump's sanctions* are rogue and illegal. /1
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Craig Kaplan @triggerloop.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
I guess I will be interested to read this preprint or paper
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Craig Kaplan @triggerloop.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
If this is true, I’m glad about it. I have no trust. Alternative explanation is they wanted to generate a “win” for Collins and this was an easy way to do it.
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bioRxivpreprint @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Transcription factors read a second regulatory code in chromatin www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/20…
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Craig Kaplan @triggerloop.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Let me talk about this OpEd from GOP PA Senator Dave McCormick (whose office doesn't answer phones or respond to emails) 1
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Alfred Soto @sotoalfred.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Thinking about THE LANDLORD yesterday, I got inspired to write about my favorite directorial debuts. I did not write about CITIZEN KANE. wp.me/pzXeC-lIM
wp.me
My favorite directorial debuts
As insistently as I advise students to renounce the cult of the director, a worship laden with the annoyances of macho cultdom, there’s no other way to discuss consistency, preoccupations, an…
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Craig Kaplan @triggerloop.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Nancy meta in 1949!
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John Greally @greally.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Tim Bestor has left us. This obituary captures him well — you always had to be at your intellectual peak with him, while his trainees always spoke highly of their experiences. He made a massive contribution to epigenetics, a giant in our field. www.genetics.cuimc.columbia.edu/news/memoria...
genetics.cuimc.columbia.edu
In memoriam of Professor Timothy H. Bestor
In memoriam: Professor Timothy H. Bestor 1952-2026
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Craig Kaplan @triggerloop.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Guys, you gotta look closely- it is a DNA gel!!!!
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Kathryn VanArendonk @kvanaren.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
this is not paywalls, fyi - this chart looks roughly the same for sites that have had paywalls since long before 2022. this is all former SEO traffic that has now vanished in exchange for ai search summaries
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Scott Lemieux @lemieuxlgm.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
And critical context for the Supreme Court’s Republicans finding no racial animus in Trump terminating protected status for refugees although the conditions in their home countries had gotten objectively worse
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