David L. Stern
@gallseeker.bsky.social
Biologist
A little obsessed by aphid galls
Run a little lab @hhmijanelia.bsky.social
Moving to @stowersinstitute.bsky.social Feb 1, 2026
Provide unsolicited advice to improve your science (or any) talk at howtogiveatalk.com
A little obsessed by aphid galls
Run a little lab @hhmijanelia.bsky.social
Moving to @stowersinstitute.bsky.social Feb 1, 2026
Provide unsolicited advice to improve your science (or any) talk at howtogiveatalk.com
Reposted by David L. Stern
How has this pun never occurred to me?
October 18, 2025 at 12:59 AM
How has this pun never occurred to me?
Watch the video.
Classroom learning has approximately nothing to do with being a scientist.
I fondly recall John sitting in the front row of seminars, shielding his eyes from the Powerpoint garbage so that he could listen intently to the spoken words. A true inspiration.
Classroom learning has approximately nothing to do with being a scientist.
I fondly recall John sitting in the front row of seminars, shielding his eyes from the Powerpoint garbage so that he could listen intently to the spoken words. A true inspiration.
It is with great sadness that the University shares the news of the death of Professor Sir John Gurdon, founder of the @gurdoninstitute.bsky.social
Read our tribute to the visionary Nobel Laureate and watch an interview from 2012, just after he won: https://bit.ly/4mM8o3r
Read our tribute to the visionary Nobel Laureate and watch an interview from 2012, just after he won: https://bit.ly/4mM8o3r
October 12, 2025 at 11:20 AM
Watch the video.
Classroom learning has approximately nothing to do with being a scientist.
I fondly recall John sitting in the front row of seminars, shielding his eyes from the Powerpoint garbage so that he could listen intently to the spoken words. A true inspiration.
Classroom learning has approximately nothing to do with being a scientist.
I fondly recall John sitting in the front row of seminars, shielding his eyes from the Powerpoint garbage so that he could listen intently to the spoken words. A true inspiration.
Reposted by David L. Stern
Mamdani talking lucidly and passionately about trans rights and history in a video that should frankly shame every politician who has hemmed and hawed and triangulated and said, "Well, but sports..." It's not that hard to tell the truth and stand for what's right. www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEvV...
Until It's Done: Sylvia Rivera
YouTube video by Zohran Mamdani for NYC
www.youtube.com
October 11, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Mamdani talking lucidly and passionately about trans rights and history in a video that should frankly shame every politician who has hemmed and hawed and triangulated and said, "Well, but sports..." It's not that hard to tell the truth and stand for what's right. www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEvV...
Reposted by David L. Stern
Why would a healthy cell decide to die? Investigator Randal Halfmann joined @npr.org's "All Things Considered" to discuss his #research on how and why cells decide to self-destruct—a process known as programmed cell death. #SciSky
🎧 Listen here: n.pr/3L4i1gF
🎧 Listen here: n.pr/3L4i1gF
October 10, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Why would a healthy cell decide to die? Investigator Randal Halfmann joined @npr.org's "All Things Considered" to discuss his #research on how and why cells decide to self-destruct—a process known as programmed cell death. #SciSky
🎧 Listen here: n.pr/3L4i1gF
🎧 Listen here: n.pr/3L4i1gF
Reposted by David L. Stern
In the history of authoritarian regimes promoting pseudoscience for ideological reasons, one that I just learned about: "World Ice Theory" and the Nazis.
www.laphamsquarterly.org/roundtable/s...
www.laphamsquarterly.org/roundtable/s...
A Song of Ice and Fire | Eric Kurlander
World Ice Theory and the supernatural imaginary of the Third Reich.
www.laphamsquarterly.org
October 8, 2025 at 6:37 PM
In the history of authoritarian regimes promoting pseudoscience for ideological reasons, one that I just learned about: "World Ice Theory" and the Nazis.
www.laphamsquarterly.org/roundtable/s...
www.laphamsquarterly.org/roundtable/s...
Reposted by David L. Stern
Very sad to learn of the death of Sir John Gurdon. He made a huge contribution to developmental biology & should be an inspiration to anyone whose potential is dismissed in school. It was a pleasure to work with him when he was Chair of the COB Board. www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/john-gurdon-...
John Gurdon (1933 – 2025) - MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology
Renowned developmental biologist John Gurdon, former Group Leader and Head of the LMB’s Cell Biology Division, has died aged 92.
www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk
October 8, 2025 at 11:47 AM
Very sad to learn of the death of Sir John Gurdon. He made a huge contribution to developmental biology & should be an inspiration to anyone whose potential is dismissed in school. It was a pleasure to work with him when he was Chair of the COB Board. www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/john-gurdon-...
Reposted by David L. Stern
High levels of Cas9 are toxic in sensory neurons. Reducing Cas9 levels with uORFs avoids toxicity and is compatible with efficient editing. From @thompsonpeerlab.bsky.social. Fly lines @vdrc-flies.bsky.social
#CRISPR #Drosophila
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
#CRISPR #Drosophila
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
October 4, 2025 at 9:10 PM
High levels of Cas9 are toxic in sensory neurons. Reducing Cas9 levels with uORFs avoids toxicity and is compatible with efficient editing. From @thompsonpeerlab.bsky.social. Fly lines @vdrc-flies.bsky.social
#CRISPR #Drosophila
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
#CRISPR #Drosophila
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by David L. Stern
“Terrible things are happening outside. Poor helpless people are being dragged out of their homes. Families are torn apart. Men, women, and children are separated. Children come home from school to find that their parents have disappeared.”
Diary of Anne Frank
January 13, 1943
Diary of Anne Frank
January 13, 1943
October 4, 2025 at 8:17 PM
“Terrible things are happening outside. Poor helpless people are being dragged out of their homes. Families are torn apart. Men, women, and children are separated. Children come home from school to find that their parents have disappeared.”
Diary of Anne Frank
January 13, 1943
Diary of Anne Frank
January 13, 1943
Reposted by David L. Stern
There's an update on the state of FlyBase on the FlyBase.org front page. You can contribute to FlyBase at this link wiki.flybase.org/wiki/FlyBase...
We express enormous gratitude to the people, labs, groups, and foundations who have already helped us.
#FlyBase #Drosophila
We express enormous gratitude to the people, labs, groups, and foundations who have already helped us.
#FlyBase #Drosophila
October 3, 2025 at 6:19 PM
There's an update on the state of FlyBase on the FlyBase.org front page. You can contribute to FlyBase at this link wiki.flybase.org/wiki/FlyBase...
We express enormous gratitude to the people, labs, groups, and foundations who have already helped us.
#FlyBase #Drosophila
We express enormous gratitude to the people, labs, groups, and foundations who have already helped us.
#FlyBase #Drosophila
Reposted by David L. Stern
Reposted by David L. Stern
(Part 1) Hear from @hhmi_news Investigator David Stern about his research program and what he's uncovering in the lab.
Stern will join the Institute in February 2026, bringing his lab and HHMI appointment to Kansas City. @hhmi.org
Read more: bit.ly/4np96Fb
Stern will join the Institute in February 2026, bringing his lab and HHMI appointment to Kansas City. @hhmi.org
Read more: bit.ly/4np96Fb
September 30, 2025 at 5:10 PM
(Part 1) Hear from @hhmi_news Investigator David Stern about his research program and what he's uncovering in the lab.
Stern will join the Institute in February 2026, bringing his lab and HHMI appointment to Kansas City. @hhmi.org
Read more: bit.ly/4np96Fb
Stern will join the Institute in February 2026, bringing his lab and HHMI appointment to Kansas City. @hhmi.org
Read more: bit.ly/4np96Fb
Reposted by David L. Stern
(Part 2)
“From my first visit, I was struck by the energy and excitement...It feels like being a graduate student again, chasing curiosity wherever it leads."
@hhmi.org Investigator David Stern will join the Stowers Institute in Feb. 2026 from @hhmijanelia.bsky.social.
Read more: bit.ly/4np96Fb
“From my first visit, I was struck by the energy and excitement...It feels like being a graduate student again, chasing curiosity wherever it leads."
@hhmi.org Investigator David Stern will join the Stowers Institute in Feb. 2026 from @hhmijanelia.bsky.social.
Read more: bit.ly/4np96Fb
September 30, 2025 at 5:14 PM
(Part 2)
“From my first visit, I was struck by the energy and excitement...It feels like being a graduate student again, chasing curiosity wherever it leads."
@hhmi.org Investigator David Stern will join the Stowers Institute in Feb. 2026 from @hhmijanelia.bsky.social.
Read more: bit.ly/4np96Fb
“From my first visit, I was struck by the energy and excitement...It feels like being a graduate student again, chasing curiosity wherever it leads."
@hhmi.org Investigator David Stern will join the Stowers Institute in Feb. 2026 from @hhmijanelia.bsky.social.
Read more: bit.ly/4np96Fb
It's official! We are moving to Stowers!
Very exciting opportunity to expand our studies of insect-plant interactions. We have many opportunities available in biochemistry, development, behavior, genetics, evolution, genomics, AI, and even pest control. Interested in any of these things? Reach out!
Very exciting opportunity to expand our studies of insect-plant interactions. We have many opportunities available in biochemistry, development, behavior, genetics, evolution, genomics, AI, and even pest control. Interested in any of these things? Reach out!
NEWS🎉 We’re excited to announce @hhmijanelia.bsky.social Investigator David Stern will join the Institute from Janelia Research Campus. His lab studies how aphids transform plants at the genetic level, uncovering secrets of #evolution & new strategies for pest control. @hhmi.org bit.ly/4np96Fb
Stowers Institute recruits renowned developmental and evolutionary…
David Stern, Ph.D., brings groundbreaking research on insect–plant interactions for next-generation pest control to the Institute.
bit.ly
September 30, 2025 at 8:15 PM
It's official! We are moving to Stowers!
Very exciting opportunity to expand our studies of insect-plant interactions. We have many opportunities available in biochemistry, development, behavior, genetics, evolution, genomics, AI, and even pest control. Interested in any of these things? Reach out!
Very exciting opportunity to expand our studies of insect-plant interactions. We have many opportunities available in biochemistry, development, behavior, genetics, evolution, genomics, AI, and even pest control. Interested in any of these things? Reach out!
Reposted by David L. Stern
I get that the news cycle is packed right now, but I just heard from a colleague at the Smithsonian that this is fully a GIANT SQUID BEING EATEN BY A SPERM WHALE and it’s possibly the first ever confirmed video according to a friend at NOAA
10 YEAR OLD ME IS LOSING HER MIND (a thread 🧵)
10 YEAR OLD ME IS LOSING HER MIND (a thread 🧵)
September 24, 2025 at 8:30 PM
I get that the news cycle is packed right now, but I just heard from a colleague at the Smithsonian that this is fully a GIANT SQUID BEING EATEN BY A SPERM WHALE and it’s possibly the first ever confirmed video according to a friend at NOAA
10 YEAR OLD ME IS LOSING HER MIND (a thread 🧵)
10 YEAR OLD ME IS LOSING HER MIND (a thread 🧵)
Reposted by David L. Stern
The final version of our paper on how ants and possibly other insects use a crazy mechanism involving extensive transcriptional interference to regulate odorant receptor expression is now open access in my favorite journal, @currentbiology.bsky.social
authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...
authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...
ScienceDirect.com | Science, health and medical journals, full text articles and books.
authors.elsevier.com
September 19, 2025 at 3:44 PM
The final version of our paper on how ants and possibly other insects use a crazy mechanism involving extensive transcriptional interference to regulate odorant receptor expression is now open access in my favorite journal, @currentbiology.bsky.social
authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...
authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...
Reposted by David L. Stern
How do neurons deal with fitting large regulatory proteins into small spaces to control plasticity and memory? By generating micropeptides via local translation of circRNAs, of course! Here’s to shedding new light on the ‘dark’ proteome in the brain.
www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...
www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...
Local translation of circular RNAs is required for synaptic activity and memory
Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are enriched in synapses and implicated in cognitive processes, and recent studies have shown that circRNAs can encode micropeptides, which suggests that there may be novel sy...
www.biorxiv.org
September 20, 2025 at 1:11 AM
How do neurons deal with fitting large regulatory proteins into small spaces to control plasticity and memory? By generating micropeptides via local translation of circRNAs, of course! Here’s to shedding new light on the ‘dark’ proteome in the brain.
www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...
www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...
Reposted by David L. Stern
GPU-accelerated MMseqs2 offers tremendous speedup for homology retrieval, protein structure prediction with ColabFold, and protein structure search with Foldseek. @martinsteinegger.bsky.social @milot.bsky.social @machine.learning.bio
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
GPU-accelerated homology search with MMseqs2 - Nature Methods
Graphics processing unit-accelerated MMseqs2 offers tremendous speedups for homology retrieval from metagenomic databases, query-centered multiple sequence alignment generation for structure predictio...
www.nature.com
September 18, 2025 at 8:09 PM
GPU-accelerated MMseqs2 offers tremendous speedup for homology retrieval, protein structure prediction with ColabFold, and protein structure search with Foldseek. @martinsteinegger.bsky.social @milot.bsky.social @machine.learning.bio
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by David L. Stern
#PhD applications are NOW OPEN! Hear from an alum⬇️
“Support. Connection. Coffee.” ☕ Three words Melvin Noe Gonzalez uses to describe their Stowers #PhD experience. Independently fully funded, hands-on, and collaborative, join a community that fuels curiosity.
Apply now: bit.ly/44VM6DI
Apply now: bit.ly/44VM6DI
September 18, 2025 at 4:47 PM
#PhD applications are NOW OPEN! Hear from an alum⬇️
Reposted by David L. Stern
Recalling this bit of history — When the shooting of a German diplomat in 1938 was used by the Nazis as a pretext for Kristallnacht.
Individual violence doesn’t justify state bigotry and oppression, ever.
www.history.com/articles/kri...
Individual violence doesn’t justify state bigotry and oppression, ever.
www.history.com/articles/kri...
Kristallnacht Started When This Diplomat Was Murdered in Cold Blood | HISTORY
Ernst vom Rath’s murder triggered a two-day pogrom against German Jews.
www.history.com
May 22, 2025 at 12:34 PM
Recalling this bit of history — When the shooting of a German diplomat in 1938 was used by the Nazis as a pretext for Kristallnacht.
Individual violence doesn’t justify state bigotry and oppression, ever.
www.history.com/articles/kri...
Individual violence doesn’t justify state bigotry and oppression, ever.
www.history.com/articles/kri...
Reposted by David L. Stern
Looking for a PhD? I am advertising two industry sponsored PhD projects. One on black soldier fly genetics with #betabugs and another on searching insect biodiversity for novel enzymes #Syngenta. Get in touch if you are interested!! bbsrcdtp.lifesci.cam.ac.uk/available-ic...
Available iCASE projects | Cambridge Biosciences DTP PhD Programme
iCASE projects for academic year 2026-2027 line_divider.png Project: Understanding cellulose digestion by cryo-EM structure of cellulose microfibril-enzyme complexes Project reference: ICS-BIO-PD26 S...
bbsrcdtp.lifesci.cam.ac.uk
September 10, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Looking for a PhD? I am advertising two industry sponsored PhD projects. One on black soldier fly genetics with #betabugs and another on searching insect biodiversity for novel enzymes #Syngenta. Get in touch if you are interested!! bbsrcdtp.lifesci.cam.ac.uk/available-ic...
Reposted by David L. Stern
As the world rapidly heads into #climate #overshoot I've noticed a disturbing pattern in journal articles recently.
I'll summarize it quickly in this thread 🧵
I'll summarize it quickly in this thread 🧵
September 10, 2025 at 9:22 AM
As the world rapidly heads into #climate #overshoot I've noticed a disturbing pattern in journal articles recently.
I'll summarize it quickly in this thread 🧵
I'll summarize it quickly in this thread 🧵
Reposted by David L. Stern
minimap2.com is potentially a phishing site. Please don't use anything from that website.
github.com/lh3/minimap2...
github.com/lh3/minimap2...
Phishing site : minimap2.com · Issue #1316 · lh3/minimap2
Not sure how to label this one, but I have come across a website minimap2.com which appears to be AI generated but is serving it's own copy of the Github repository. If you search the address or em...
github.com
September 9, 2025 at 3:40 PM
minimap2.com is potentially a phishing site. Please don't use anything from that website.
github.com/lh3/minimap2...
github.com/lh3/minimap2...
Reposted by David L. Stern
We're going to see a lot of bullshit in the coming days and weeks about "causes of autism", and most will be based on flawed, over-interpreted observational studies (1/n)
September 7, 2025 at 10:57 AM
We're going to see a lot of bullshit in the coming days and weeks about "causes of autism", and most will be based on flawed, over-interpreted observational studies (1/n)
Just imagine, to these ants, giving birth to individuals of only one species is weird.
The discovery of an unusual reproductive system for one ant species solves a long-standing puzzle
go.nature.com/47mxGkM
go.nature.com/47mxGkM
Ant queens produce sons of two distinct species
The discovery of an unusual reproductive system for one ant species solves a long-standing puzzle about a missing population of another ant species.
go.nature.com
September 6, 2025 at 2:09 AM
Just imagine, to these ants, giving birth to individuals of only one species is weird.
Reposted by David L. Stern
Please join us in welcoming Arvind Pillai, our newest Assistant Investigator! He’s exploring how #evolution creates proteins: the intricate molecules that power life.
This #research could unlock breakthroughs in drug delivery & #Alzheimers treatment: bit.ly/4lYqIWO
This #research could unlock breakthroughs in drug delivery & #Alzheimers treatment: bit.ly/4lYqIWO
September 3, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Please join us in welcoming Arvind Pillai, our newest Assistant Investigator! He’s exploring how #evolution creates proteins: the intricate molecules that power life.
This #research could unlock breakthroughs in drug delivery & #Alzheimers treatment: bit.ly/4lYqIWO
This #research could unlock breakthroughs in drug delivery & #Alzheimers treatment: bit.ly/4lYqIWO