Kathleen Rhoades, PhD
@kathleenrhoades.com
Tree breeder 🧬🌳🍒
Beekeeper 🐝🍯🐝
Opinions expressed here are representative of Doc Rhoades Honey Company and no other entities
she/her
https://kathleenrhoades.com/
Beekeeper 🐝🍯🐝
Opinions expressed here are representative of Doc Rhoades Honey Company and no other entities
she/her
https://kathleenrhoades.com/
Pinned
UGH FINE I'M HERE. I have BROKEN my PROMISE to MYSELF I am ONCE AGAIN MICROBLOGGING UNDER MY GOVERNMENT NAME.
WI is moderate but Madison has a not-really-controlled measles outbreak happening atm, so 🫠
PMC COVlD Report, Week of Feb 16, 2026 (U.S.)
14 states are still experiencing High/Very High COVlD levels amid a lingering 12th wave.
Minnesota may be at an all-time high.
THREAD 1 of 4 🧵
14 states are still experiencing High/Very High COVlD levels amid a lingering 12th wave.
Minnesota may be at an all-time high.
THREAD 1 of 4 🧵
February 18, 2026 at 12:53 AM
WI is moderate but Madison has a not-really-controlled measles outbreak happening atm, so 🫠
Reposted by Kathleen Rhoades, PhD
I refuse to accept a future where we continue to do this.
“I don’t want to be in this place I want to go to my school.”
- 7 year old imprisoned by ICE for 70 days in a concentration camp in Texas.
Today, after @propublica.org published this story, the camp was raided to confiscate letters from the children.
www.propublica.org/article/ice-...
- 7 year old imprisoned by ICE for 70 days in a concentration camp in Texas.
Today, after @propublica.org published this story, the camp was raided to confiscate letters from the children.
www.propublica.org/article/ice-...
February 17, 2026 at 10:16 PM
I refuse to accept a future where we continue to do this.
do any biologist friends want to record ourselves watching through these for some sort of podcast
February 17, 2026 at 10:17 PM
do any biologist friends want to record ourselves watching through these for some sort of podcast
Reposted by Kathleen Rhoades, PhD
Historian of medicine here. Yes. Yes, they did.
before antibiotics did people just die all the time from everything?
February 17, 2026 at 5:47 PM
Historian of medicine here. Yes. Yes, they did.
in case anybody ELSE was wondering, there are THREE chromosome-scale Diospyros lotus genomes, two are on NCBI and one is on its own special website with a google drive link to download
February 17, 2026 at 3:36 PM
in case anybody ELSE was wondering, there are THREE chromosome-scale Diospyros lotus genomes, two are on NCBI and one is on its own special website with a google drive link to download
Reposted by Kathleen Rhoades, PhD
The price is up to $12,100 which is still less than a used pickup or a year's rent on an apartment & this boat can do so much more than a truck (and has living quarters)
In the event anyone would like to start their own Great Lakes research team the state govt is selling a boat mibid.state.mi.us/DTMB_MiBid/A...
1967 Steelhead Boat 65-foot, Steel Hull, Aluminum Superstructure Research Vessel Offsite: Charlevoix, MI - MiBid
mibid.state.mi.us
February 17, 2026 at 3:07 PM
The price is up to $12,100 which is still less than a used pickup or a year's rent on an apartment & this boat can do so much more than a truck (and has living quarters)
Reposted by Kathleen Rhoades, PhD
hale peaches, painted by royal charles steadman, 1920
February 17, 2026 at 2:18 PM
hale peaches, painted by royal charles steadman, 1920
Reposted by Kathleen Rhoades, PhD
The drunk uncle theory.
You don’t argue with the casually homophobic uncle at Thanksgiving dinner to change his mind; you argue so that the closeted cousin at the kids table knows there’s safe people and better possibilities out there
You don’t argue with the casually homophobic uncle at Thanksgiving dinner to change his mind; you argue so that the closeted cousin at the kids table knows there’s safe people and better possibilities out there
agree with this (hah) but also think a particular mistake the left made for a long time online, and still makes to an extent, is failing to understand that the person whose mind you may actually change is the one reading the argument you're having, not the one you're arguing with
The secret to engaging in social media debate is knowing you will never win anyone over. The best you can hope for is to have people who already agree with tell you you're awesome. You might great a dopamine thrill from the righteousness of your anger! Fine benefits, all. But you will never win.
February 16, 2026 at 11:35 PM
The drunk uncle theory.
You don’t argue with the casually homophobic uncle at Thanksgiving dinner to change his mind; you argue so that the closeted cousin at the kids table knows there’s safe people and better possibilities out there
You don’t argue with the casually homophobic uncle at Thanksgiving dinner to change his mind; you argue so that the closeted cousin at the kids table knows there’s safe people and better possibilities out there
awful dark in gary indiana........what are they hiding
February 17, 2026 at 11:48 AM
awful dark in gary indiana........what are they hiding
Reposted by Kathleen Rhoades, PhD
A Postdoctoral Associate position is available in the Roeder Laboratory at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY with a focus on researching Polyploidy. Apply by March 1. Please spread the word. apps.hr.cornell.edu/recruiting/f...
February 14, 2026 at 9:14 PM
A Postdoctoral Associate position is available in the Roeder Laboratory at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY with a focus on researching Polyploidy. Apply by March 1. Please spread the word. apps.hr.cornell.edu/recruiting/f...
Reposted by Kathleen Rhoades, PhD
unfortunately I am a huge sucker for this kind of thing
Hey there. I’m a pop culture YouTuber. here’s a 45 minute long video where I basically just explain the concept of subjectivity. luckily I have many other videos you can watch where I basically just explain the concept of subjectivity
February 16, 2026 at 7:36 PM
unfortunately I am a huge sucker for this kind of thing
Reposted by Kathleen Rhoades, PhD
Its kind of wild to watch academic publishing collapsing in real time and the wheels of the system (journals, tenure & promotion committees, etc) just keep moving as tho publishing more and chasing high impact factor journals is gonna help science and society.
(Below is not an outlier situation)
(Below is not an outlier situation)
February 16, 2026 at 4:22 PM
Its kind of wild to watch academic publishing collapsing in real time and the wheels of the system (journals, tenure & promotion committees, etc) just keep moving as tho publishing more and chasing high impact factor journals is gonna help science and society.
(Below is not an outlier situation)
(Below is not an outlier situation)
Reposted by Kathleen Rhoades, PhD
Looks like a post-punk trio doing the cover shoot for their next album
February 16, 2026 at 4:03 PM
Looks like a post-punk trio doing the cover shoot for their next album
Reposted by Kathleen Rhoades, PhD
One of the most prominent biologists to appear in the Epstein files, repeatedly and in the creepiest of ways, is Robert Trivers, who was a champion of the haplodiploid theory of insect social evolution.
An update on how that's holding up:
An update on how that's holding up:
📄 No evidence that haplodiploidy favors the evolution of eusociality 🐝🐜
⬇️
www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1...
⬇️
www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1...
No evidence that haplodiploidy favors the evolution of eusociality | PNAS
The potential role of haplodiploid sex determination in promoting the evolution of
altruism and eusociality has been the subject of intense debate ...
www.pnas.org
February 16, 2026 at 2:12 PM
One of the most prominent biologists to appear in the Epstein files, repeatedly and in the creepiest of ways, is Robert Trivers, who was a champion of the haplodiploid theory of insect social evolution.
An update on how that's holding up:
An update on how that's holding up:
Reposted by Kathleen Rhoades, PhD
Reposted by Kathleen Rhoades, PhD
Current* conditions near Chicago, IL:
February 16, 2026 at 3:06 PM
Current* conditions near Chicago, IL:
fuck this is dark
My god do we need UBI
“Researchers have found that when a new plasma center opens in a neighborhood, foot traffic at local grocery stores increases, interest in payday loans declines and crime goes down, an indication of the way money from plasma props up households’ finances for necessities.“
“Researchers have found that when a new plasma center opens in a neighborhood, foot traffic at local grocery stores increases, interest in payday loans declines and crime goes down, an indication of the way money from plasma props up households’ finances for necessities.“
Middle-class Americans are selling their plasma to make ends meet
Last year, people in the U.S. made an estimated $4.7 billion selling their plasma. Donation centers are popping up in middle-class neighborhoods, including suburban strip malls and college towns.
www.nbcnews.com
February 16, 2026 at 2:57 PM
fuck this is dark
Reposted by Kathleen Rhoades, PhD
Writing is thinking.
It's not some marginal boring task you can skip. It's the heart of it.
It's not some marginal boring task you can skip. It's the heart of it.
It’s easy to think writing is mainly the transcription of ideas you already have—that is, until you try to write something worthwhile, and you find what you thought were saying transform into something far more interesting in the process. This skips that last step, and that is *not* an improvement.
“We plan to hire an AI rewrite specialist to ingest the reporting by Hannah and others and use AI to convert it into stories.”
The editor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer said it will use AI to ‘write’ its articles.
www.cleveland.com/news/2025/10...
The editor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer said it will use AI to ‘write’ its articles.
www.cleveland.com/news/2025/10...
February 16, 2026 at 2:55 PM
Writing is thinking.
It's not some marginal boring task you can skip. It's the heart of it.
It's not some marginal boring task you can skip. It's the heart of it.
Reposted by Kathleen Rhoades, PhD
**It is important to understand that cultivating a class of intellectually powerful scientists who are given lots of cash and little social accountability is a structural feature that Epstein was taking advantage of, not inventing.**
🧪🔭⚛️
🧪🔭⚛️
February 16, 2026 at 1:56 PM
**It is important to understand that cultivating a class of intellectually powerful scientists who are given lots of cash and little social accountability is a structural feature that Epstein was taking advantage of, not inventing.**
🧪🔭⚛️
🧪🔭⚛️
Reposted by Kathleen Rhoades, PhD
Science — particularly the areas of physics that captured Epstein’s attention like particle physics, quantum gravity and cosmology — is being defunded. And the people hardest hit by this are those most likely to be victims of harassment and deresourcing. Women, men of color, working class folks
February 16, 2026 at 2:43 PM
Science — particularly the areas of physics that captured Epstein’s attention like particle physics, quantum gravity and cosmology — is being defunded. And the people hardest hit by this are those most likely to be victims of harassment and deresourcing. Women, men of color, working class folks
Also in my google scholar alerts this morning: wat
February 16, 2026 at 2:45 PM
Also in my google scholar alerts this morning: wat
I'm not saying anything about this study in particular, but I get a lot of studies like this in my inbox and I would like to say now that I take no ownership of weird grifty persimmon "health" products in the future, I just think it's a good fruit
February 16, 2026 at 2:42 PM
I'm not saying anything about this study in particular, but I get a lot of studies like this in my inbox and I would like to say now that I take no ownership of weird grifty persimmon "health" products in the future, I just think it's a good fruit
Reposted by Kathleen Rhoades, PhD
Me after eating that third paczki knowing I should have stopped at one
February 16, 2026 at 2:24 PM
Me after eating that third paczki knowing I should have stopped at one
Reposted by Kathleen Rhoades, PhD
How dare they presume to know what would dazzle a penguin.
A ‘ring of fire’ solar eclipse will dazzle people and penguins in Antarctica
'Ring of fire' solar eclipse visible in Antarctica
The first solar eclipse of the year will grace Antarctica, and only a lucky few will get to bask — or waddle — in its glow.
www.ctvnews.ca
February 13, 2026 at 3:47 PM
How dare they presume to know what would dazzle a penguin.