Aleeza Gerstein
@acgerstein.bsky.social
Associate professor in microbiology (human fungal pathogens) & statistics (really just evolutionary genetics) at UManitoba in Winnipeg 🇨🇦
Keeps two small humans alive.
Served with a side of politics. Because it's 2025.
(she/her)
)'(
Keeps two small humans alive.
Served with a side of politics. Because it's 2025.
(she/her)
)'(
Pinned
Aleeza Gerstein
@acgerstein.bsky.social
· May 11
I wrote this in a week where it felt like professoring while parenting (and equally, parenting while professoring) was impossible. This feeling ebbs and flows. Seems like Mothers Day is as good a time as any to share, maybe it will help someone else feel less alone.
The More Paradox
1/8
The More Paradox
1/8
Update: the sidewalk over the bridge has finally been cleared, as of this morning. Apologies for taking a photo, it was chilly. This means that for *15* days this bridge was impassable to anyone with a mobility aid or pushing a stroller. 15 days. #activeTransportation #Winnipeg
I admit I have no domain expertise in this, but surely it can't be that hard to schedule the sidewalk and bike lane plow to come after the road one? Alas, I think this is a feature, not a bug, for #Winnipeg, which purposefully prioritizes cars over #activeTransportation at every opportunity.
January 21, 2026 at 12:04 AM
Update: the sidewalk over the bridge has finally been cleared, as of this morning. Apologies for taking a photo, it was chilly. This means that for *15* days this bridge was impassable to anyone with a mobility aid or pushing a stroller. 15 days. #activeTransportation #Winnipeg
Reposted by Aleeza Gerstein
January 12, 2026 at 2:27 AM
Reposted by Aleeza Gerstein
Holy hell, what an obituary
Renfrew Christie Dies at 76; Sabotaged Racist Regime’s Nuclear Program
www.nytimes.com
January 15, 2026 at 4:57 PM
Holy hell, what an obituary
Every politics/politics-adjacent journalist in every jurisdiction should ask this of their elected officials. This should have happened years ago; the next best time is today.
Thanks for asking them in Winnipeg/Manitoba, @bkives.bsky.social
Thanks for asking them in Winnipeg/Manitoba, @bkives.bsky.social
I asked Mayor Gillingham Wednesday whether he will continue to maintain an account on what used to be Twitter.
He said he’s having that discussion with his staff.
The mayor expressed dismay with the comments and vitriol on Facebook and X but said he must have means to get messages out.
He said he’s having that discussion with his staff.
The mayor expressed dismay with the comments and vitriol on Facebook and X but said he must have means to get messages out.
January 9, 2026 at 8:00 PM
Every politics/politics-adjacent journalist in every jurisdiction should ask this of their elected officials. This should have happened years ago; the next best time is today.
Thanks for asking them in Winnipeg/Manitoba, @bkives.bsky.social
Thanks for asking them in Winnipeg/Manitoba, @bkives.bsky.social
How did humanity get so ugly when the world is so beautiful?
January 9, 2026 at 3:04 PM
How did humanity get so ugly when the world is so beautiful?
Winter moment of zen for a world that seems to have gone crazy. Hoarfrost morning #3! This time with blue skies and a beautiful moon view.
Everyone @umanitoba.bsky.social should really take a morning walk today, it’s utterly beautiful out there.
Everyone @umanitoba.bsky.social should really take a morning walk today, it’s utterly beautiful out there.
January 7, 2026 at 3:15 PM
Winter moment of zen for a world that seems to have gone crazy. Hoarfrost morning #3! This time with blue skies and a beautiful moon view.
Everyone @umanitoba.bsky.social should really take a morning walk today, it’s utterly beautiful out there.
Everyone @umanitoba.bsky.social should really take a morning walk today, it’s utterly beautiful out there.
I admit I have no domain expertise in this, but surely it can't be that hard to schedule the sidewalk and bike lane plow to come after the road one? Alas, I think this is a feature, not a bug, for #Winnipeg, which purposefully prioritizes cars over #activeTransportation at every opportunity.
January 5, 2026 at 3:40 PM
I admit I have no domain expertise in this, but surely it can't be that hard to schedule the sidewalk and bike lane plow to come after the road one? Alas, I think this is a feature, not a bug, for #Winnipeg, which purposefully prioritizes cars over #activeTransportation at every opportunity.
That simultaneous feeling of guilt about neither parenting well or doing the work you should be doing. I’ve clearly purposefully forgotten that particular stress of lockdown while parenting. I’m happy the kids got a snow day but I wish I could have just been a mom today instead of also prof-ing.
December 18, 2025 at 10:32 PM
That simultaneous feeling of guilt about neither parenting well or doing the work you should be doing. I’ve clearly purposefully forgotten that particular stress of lockdown while parenting. I’m happy the kids got a snow day but I wish I could have just been a mom today instead of also prof-ing.
#Winnipeg elementary and high schools closed today, as of 7:48 am. @umanitoba.bsky.social announced a closure much earlier (and a pre-emptive email during the work day yesterday with exam rescheduling info). Why did it take schools so long to announce? @winnipegfreepress.com
December 18, 2025 at 1:59 PM
#Winnipeg elementary and high schools closed today, as of 7:48 am. @umanitoba.bsky.social announced a closure much earlier (and a pre-emptive email during the work day yesterday with exam rescheduling info). Why did it take schools so long to announce? @winnipegfreepress.com
Building new power plants and handing over land and water to foreign corporations/billionaires to build data centres is seriously like the premise of a dystopian novel. I feel like I’m taking crazy pills.
Across Alberta, municipalities are weighing the pros and cons of hosting AI data centres. I used @nationalobserver.com's Civic Searchlight tool to figure out which towns are looking at data centres and dig into how they are thinking about the costs & benefits www.nationalobserver.com/2025/12/16/n...
Alberta towns see AI data centres as 'second coming of oil' — but some worry at what cost
Municipalities across Alberta are trying to figure out whether they can — or should — try to cash in on the influx of AI data centre developers looking to set up shop in the province. For some council...
www.nationalobserver.com
December 16, 2025 at 8:24 PM
Building new power plants and handing over land and water to foreign corporations/billionaires to build data centres is seriously like the premise of a dystopian novel. I feel like I’m taking crazy pills.
I met Jewish Australian brothers many years ago while backpacking in Guatemala. Their parents were born in South Africa and, like many other families, left there because of racism. Today I’m thinking about them and their family and their community.
December 14, 2025 at 9:14 PM
I met Jewish Australian brothers many years ago while backpacking in Guatemala. Their parents were born in South Africa and, like many other families, left there because of racism. Today I’m thinking about them and their family and their community.
Winter morning zen.
Aka, a thing I saw because I biked to work in -20 °C (-30 °C with the windchill) weather!
Aka, a thing I saw because I biked to work in -20 °C (-30 °C with the windchill) weather!
December 12, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Winter morning zen.
Aka, a thing I saw because I biked to work in -20 °C (-30 °C with the windchill) weather!
Aka, a thing I saw because I biked to work in -20 °C (-30 °C with the windchill) weather!
I got a Starbucks gift card so am treating myself to a vanilla latte. I brought my own mug. They are making it in a disposable cup to pour into my mug and then throw away. I know that one reusable cup doesn’t change the systemic problems of capitalism overconsumption but this is very depressing.
December 10, 2025 at 4:46 PM
I got a Starbucks gift card so am treating myself to a vanilla latte. I brought my own mug. They are making it in a disposable cup to pour into my mug and then throw away. I know that one reusable cup doesn’t change the systemic problems of capitalism overconsumption but this is very depressing.
Reposted by Aleeza Gerstein
There are still people cutting Carney all kinds of slack on the climate front. But I now think I was naïve to believe Carney would support Trudeau-style, regulatory climate policy. www.nationalobserver.com/2025/12/10/o...
Mark Carney is making a cynic out of me
What to do in a political ecosystem where, for anyone concerned about climate change or whose politics run even slightly left of centre, there is precious little choice?
www.nationalobserver.com
December 10, 2025 at 2:26 PM
There are still people cutting Carney all kinds of slack on the climate front. But I now think I was naïve to believe Carney would support Trudeau-style, regulatory climate policy. www.nationalobserver.com/2025/12/10/o...
A lot of crazy things are happening in the world right now. And I don’t want to dilute the seriousness of all that deserves discussion. But, can we talk for a minute about JT and KP? Wtf, universe?
December 6, 2025 at 11:02 PM
A lot of crazy things are happening in the world right now. And I don’t want to dilute the seriousness of all that deserves discussion. But, can we talk for a minute about JT and KP? Wtf, universe?
Reposted by Aleeza Gerstein
I finally got around to reading this. You should read it too.
"We are exporting the very labor of teaching and learning—the slow work of wrestling with ideas, the enduring of discomfort, doubt and confusion, the struggle of finding one’s own voice."
www.currentaffairs.org/news/ai-is-d...
"We are exporting the very labor of teaching and learning—the slow work of wrestling with ideas, the enduring of discomfort, doubt and confusion, the struggle of finding one’s own voice."
www.currentaffairs.org/news/ai-is-d...
AI is Destroying the University and Learning Itself
Students use AI to write papers, professors use AI to grade them, degrees become meaningless, and tech companies make fortunes. Welcome to the death of higher education.
www.currentaffairs.org
December 4, 2025 at 1:52 PM
I finally got around to reading this. You should read it too.
"We are exporting the very labor of teaching and learning—the slow work of wrestling with ideas, the enduring of discomfort, doubt and confusion, the struggle of finding one’s own voice."
www.currentaffairs.org/news/ai-is-d...
"We are exporting the very labor of teaching and learning—the slow work of wrestling with ideas, the enduring of discomfort, doubt and confusion, the struggle of finding one’s own voice."
www.currentaffairs.org/news/ai-is-d...
Abstract submission fees are to conferences what baggage fees are to airplane travel and vehicle passes are to Burning Man. And I am old enough to remember when none of these things existed. #howAmISuddenlyMiddleAged
December 4, 2025 at 7:39 PM
Abstract submission fees are to conferences what baggage fees are to airplane travel and vehicle passes are to Burning Man. And I am old enough to remember when none of these things existed. #howAmISuddenlyMiddleAged
To the non-Manitoban NDPers who think Wab is the guy (I assume the Manitobans already know this) - this is not the droid you’re looking for.
When you're endorsed by the far-right National Post, it's time to change direction: you're most certainly doing something wrong. I'd be curious to know how many card-carrying Mb NDP members are happy with Mr. Kinew's lurch to the right. #MbPoli
nationalpost.com/opinion/np-v...
nationalpost.com/opinion/np-v...
NP View: The federal NDP needs Wab Kinew
Bill to detain meth addicts shows that Manitoba premier is a realist
nationalpost.com
November 9, 2025 at 6:28 PM
To the non-Manitoban NDPers who think Wab is the guy (I assume the Manitobans already know this) - this is not the droid you’re looking for.
Reposted by Aleeza Gerstein
A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death.
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers
James Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA who died Thursday at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers.
www.statnews.com
November 8, 2025 at 1:39 PM
A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death.
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
One of the best things that has happened on this platform for me so far is that on the day that Watson died I saw nothing positive about him but a wall of posts about Rosalind Franklin. This is the way.
This also seems as good a time as any to announce that this summer I got my first tattoo!
This also seems as good a time as any to announce that this summer I got my first tattoo!
November 8, 2025 at 5:49 PM
One of the best things that has happened on this platform for me so far is that on the day that Watson died I saw nothing positive about him but a wall of posts about Rosalind Franklin. This is the way.
This also seems as good a time as any to announce that this summer I got my first tattoo!
This also seems as good a time as any to announce that this summer I got my first tattoo!
Reposted by Aleeza Gerstein
“It suited the feminism of the 1960s & 1970s to portray her as a victim of male dominance, but she would have thought of herself simply as a scientist whose achievements should have been judged on their own terms, not as a ‘woman scientist’ striking a blow for the rights of women.”🧪
November 8, 2025 at 12:46 AM
“It suited the feminism of the 1960s & 1970s to portray her as a victim of male dominance, but she would have thought of herself simply as a scientist whose achievements should have been judged on their own terms, not as a ‘woman scientist’ striking a blow for the rights of women.”🧪
Reposted by Aleeza Gerstein
These changes would have made the difference in Rob Jenner living or dying in the summer of 2024. They might make the difference in keeping my family or yours alive, too. We have until December 12th to share how important these changes are to us. Let’s get it done.
The City of Winnipeg is seeking feedback on a proposed temporary bike lane design for Wellington Crescent.
Feedback sought on Wellington Crescent bike lanes
The City of Winnipeg is seeking feedback on a proposed temporary bike lane design for Wellington Crescent.
www.winnipegfreepress.com
November 7, 2025 at 1:59 AM
These changes would have made the difference in Rob Jenner living or dying in the summer of 2024. They might make the difference in keeping my family or yours alive, too. We have until December 12th to share how important these changes are to us. Let’s get it done.
Reposted by Aleeza Gerstein
Japan's "Mundane Halloween" costume contest is back!
Each year website DailyPortalZ holds a contest where people dress up as something super duper ordinary.
Here's a thread of some of my favorites from the 2025 contest!
#MundaneHalloween
Each year website DailyPortalZ holds a contest where people dress up as something super duper ordinary.
Here's a thread of some of my favorites from the 2025 contest!
#MundaneHalloween
November 2, 2025 at 9:15 AM
Japan's "Mundane Halloween" costume contest is back!
Each year website DailyPortalZ holds a contest where people dress up as something super duper ordinary.
Here's a thread of some of my favorites from the 2025 contest!
#MundaneHalloween
Each year website DailyPortalZ holds a contest where people dress up as something super duper ordinary.
Here's a thread of some of my favorites from the 2025 contest!
#MundaneHalloween
Pssst … it’s actually all about building community. What was gained isn’t tied to an undesired outcome in the last game. Last night brought back all the memories of grad school friends and beer and nachos in Vancouver during the 2011 cup run. Same bad end result, but the memories last a lifetime.
November 2, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Pssst … it’s actually all about building community. What was gained isn’t tied to an undesired outcome in the last game. Last night brought back all the memories of grad school friends and beer and nachos in Vancouver during the 2011 cup run. Same bad end result, but the memories last a lifetime.