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Nastassia Patin @microbesatsea.bsky.social · 20h

@ucsandiego.bsky.social @uofcalifornia.bsky.social please take note, this is how you can show courage and integrity.

Kathleen Clark @kathleenclark.bsky.social · 22h

A master class from MIT in responding to authoritarian overreach:

Your “premise … is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone.
… America’s leadership in science & innovation depends on independent thinking & open competition for excellence.

Dear Madam Secretary,
I write in response to your letter of October 1, inviting MIT to review a "Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education." I acknowledge the vital importance of these matters.
I appreciated the chance to meet with you earlier this year to discuss the priorities we share for American higher education.
As we discussed, the Institute's mission of service to the nation directs us to advance knowledge, educate students and bring knowledge to bear on the world's great challenges.
We do that in line with a clear set of values, with excellence above all. Some practical examples:
• MIT prides itself on rewarding merit. Students, faculty and staff succeed here based on the strength of their talent, ideas and hard work. For instance, the Institute was the first to reinstate the SAT/ACT requirement after the pandemic. And MIT has never had legacy preferences in admissions.
• MIT opens its doors to the most talented students regardless of their family's finances. Admissions are need-blind. Incoming undergraduates whose families earn less than $200,000 a year pay no tuition. Nearly 88% of our last graduating class left MIT with no debt for their education. We make a wealth of free courses and low-cost certificates available to any American with an internet connection. Of the undergraduate degrees we award, 94% are in STEM fields. And in service to the nation, we cap enrollment of international undergraduates at roughly 10%.

source:
https://orgchart.mit.edu/letters/regarding-compact

• We value free expression, as clearly described in the MIT Statement on Freedom of Expression and Academic Freedom. We must hear facts and opinions we don't like - and engage respectfully with those with whom we disagree.
These values and other MIT practices meet or exceed many standards outlined in the document you sent. We freely choose these values because they're right, and we live by them because they support our mission - work of immense value to the prosperity, competitiveness, health and security of the United States. And of course, MIT abides by the law.
The document also includes principles with which we disagree, including those that would restrict freedom of expression and our independence as an institution. And fundamentally, the premise of the document is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone.
In our view, America's leadership in science and innovation depends on independent thinking and open competition for excellence. In that free marketplace of ideas, the people of MIT gladly compete with the very best, without preferences. Therefore, with respect, we cannot support the proposed approach to addressing the issues facing higher education.
As you know, MIT's record of service to the nation is long and enduring. Eight decades ago, MIT leaders helped invent a scientific partnership between America's research universities and the U.S. government that has delivered extraordinary benefits for the American people. We continue to believe in the power of this partnership to serve the nation.
Sincerely,
Sally Kornbluth

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Nastassia Patin @microbesatsea.bsky.social · 7d

@bluegenes.bsky.social

Reposted by Nastassia Patin

David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 11d

The Department of Energy has added these terms to its growing “list of words to avoid” because words are dangerous:

climate change
green
decarbonization
emissions
energy transition
sustainability
sustainable
clean energy
dirty energy
carbon footprint
CO₂ footprint
tax breaks
tax credits
subsidies

Energy Dept. adds ‘climate change’ and ‘emissions’ to banned words list

It is the latest in a series of Trump administration efforts to dispute, silence or downplay climate change.

www.politico.com

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Reposted by Nastassia Patin

Mike Dettinger @mdettinger.bsky.social · 20d

EPA has ordered scientists in its Office of Water to immediately pause almost all research & stop publishing studies. Researchers were told that, unless scientific journals had already returned proofs, studies will be subject to an additional EPA review.

www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...

EPA tells scientists to stop publishing studies, employees say

Staff from the EPA’s Office of Water were summoned to a town hall meeting this week and told to pause the publication of most research, pending a review.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Karen Attiah @karenattiah.bsky.social · 26d

Some personal news:

I've been fired from the Washington Post in the aftermath of the Charlie Kirk shooting.

Thread incoming.

substack.com/@karenattiah...

The Washington Post Fired Me — But My Voice Will Not Be Silenced.

I spoke out against hatred and violence in America — and it cost me my job.

substack.com

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Scripps Institution of Oceanography @scrippsocean.bsky.social · 29d

Congress is considering a budget request that proposes slashing the
federal science agencies by up to 50%. These cuts would devastate
@UCSanDiego & Scripps Oceanography by cutting off funding for critical
research and innovation. Tell Congress to invest in science!
#SpeakUp4Science

Speak Up for Science

U.S. innovation and global leadership is at risk.

universityofcalifornia.quorum.us

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Reposted by Nastassia Patin

lukethompsonphd.bsky.social @lukethompsonphd.bsky.social · Sep 8

My group at NOAA/Miami is hiring a postdoc to lead a marine eDNA biodiversity effort (Bio-GO-SHIP). You'll develop and deploy high-throughput metabarcoding assays for ocean DNA. Help make foundational contributions to global marine biodiversity monitoring! t.co/p53s7E0YiL

https://explore.msujobs.msstate.edu/cw/en-us/job/509519

t.co

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Nastassia Patin @microbesatsea.bsky.social · Sep 4

How are we not talking more about his history of abusing women to the point where his former wife committed suicide? Everyone should read “Ask Not: The Kennedy Men and the Women they Destroyed” to learn more.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · Sep 4

RFK Jr on anti-depressants: "Are we actually preventing suicide, or are we creating more suicide?"

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Reposted by Nastassia Patin

Raider @iwillnotbesilenced.bsky.social · Aug 28

National Guard doing landscaping in McPherson Square.
Washington, DC

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Nastassia Patin @microbesatsea.bsky.social · Aug 28

In this increasingly dark time, find some empathy with the permanent dwellers of the deep, beautifully portrayed in this @npr.org comic with the help of my wonderful @noaa.gov colleague Noelle Bowlin! www.npr.org/2025/07/21/g...

COMIC: Exploring the ocean's wonderous, mysterious depths

Scientists are far from knowing all of the complexities of Earth's ocean. With this comic, we explore some of what scientists do know, like its role as one of the world's largest carbon sinks and how ...

www.npr.org

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Mark Zaid, Esq @markzaidesq.bsky.social · Aug 27

Abbe Lowell and I represent CDC Director #SusanMonarez. Contrary to govt statements, Dr. Monarez has neither resigned nor yet been fired. She will not resign. We have issued the following statement:

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Jordan Meier @doc-jlmeier.bsky.social · Aug 26

This piece by @clauswilke.com on LLMs as the graduate student from hell is one of the funniest (and truest) things I've read this year.

substack.com/home/post/p-...

PhD-level intelligence or the graduate student from hell

AI companies love to tout that their models are approaching—or have reached—PhD-level intelligence. This is blatant nonsensical marketing geared towards an audience that deeply misunderstands what a P...

substack.com

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Nastassia Patin @microbesatsea.bsky.social · Aug 23

There was dramatic lightning off the coast of Carlsbad early this morning! Also thunder, rain, and a beautiful rainbow

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Joey Bernhardt @joeybernhardt.bsky.social · Aug 14

Please help us spread the word! Please amplify!

We are searching for an associate or full professor (Canada Excellence Research Chair) in Biodiversity Genomics at the University of Guelph! 🐟🌿🦠🐜🐸🐝

Applications are due October 6 2025.

careers.uoguelph.ca/job/Guelph-C...

#AcademicJobs #EvoBio

Canada Excellence Research Chair in Biodiversity Genomics

careers.uoguelph.ca

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Will Ratcliff @wcratcliff.bsky.social · Aug 12

Not sure how many scientists here have tried Claude Code or similar command line coding assistants. I had a complicated family property tax problem that was best solved by a brute force Monte Carlo simulation approach, so I spent a few days coding up and analyzing a model with Claude Code.

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Matt Lemay @littorina.bsky.social · Aug 7

New Paper:

We linked DNA in sediment cores with historical accounts from Indigenous community members to reconstruct ecosystem changes that occurred following a landslide event in the 1940s.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

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Nastassia Patin @microbesatsea.bsky.social · Jul 29

Thanks for this! Maybe not the best time to camp at Crater Lake?

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Nastassia Patin @microbesatsea.bsky.social · Jul 29

Proud to be part of this paper discussing the all the benefits of oceangoing vessels for advancing research, not only in oceanography but biology, climate science, and so many other fields! doi.org/10.1002/lno....

The essential role of large research vessels in marine ecosystem observations and ocean sustainability

Our understanding of marine ecosystems and ability to manage them sustainably has come from multidisciplinary observations made repeatedly over long periods of time. These long-term ecosystem observa...

doi.org

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Reposted by Nastassia Patin

Natalie Wright, Ph.D. @coereba.bsky.social · Jul 25

Kenyon is hiring a TT microbiologist! Please share widely. I’m the search chair & am happy to answer any questions. careers.pageuppeople.com/695/cw/en-us...

Kenyon College - Details - Assistant Professor of Biology (Tenure-Track)

careers.pageuppeople.com

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Reposted by Nastassia Patin

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution @whoi.edu · Jul 22

🤔How does defunding #oceanscience jeopardize US ntl security? Hear from #WHOI's @pdemenocal.bsky.social, @scrippsocean.bsky.social Dir. Margaret Leinen + Ret. Admiral John Richardson in @washingtonpost.com: go.whoi.edu/ocean-science-national-security

#TogetherforScience @savensf.bsky.social

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Nandita Garud @nanditagarud.bsky.social · Jul 22

I am seeking a postdoc for my group at UCLA. We work at the intersection of population genetics x microbiome (garud.eeb.ucla.edu). If interested, please message me!

Garud Lab

garud.eeb.ucla.edu

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Nastassia Patin @microbesatsea.bsky.social · Jul 17

It is only the first pass at these 200+ metagenomes, stay tuned for more! Also grateful for all my @mbarinews.bsky.social colleagues and my wonderful mentor Kelly Goodwin, who recently retired early from NOAA and is sorely missed by the community

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Nastassia Patin @microbesatsea.bsky.social · Jul 17

This work was an enormous effort over several years and would not have been possible without @noaa.gov research and the incredible scientists who drive actionable, cutting-edge work in marine Omics

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Nastassia Patin @microbesatsea.bsky.social · Jul 17

Taxonomic annotation is still a major hurdle for euks in metagenomes but lots of opportunity for progress there! Also, while each marker gene did better/worse for a suite of taxa, metagenomes got them all (but failed to id many at the genus and spp level)

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Nastassia Patin @microbesatsea.bsky.social · Jul 17

I found remarkable similarities in levels of some crucial protists, but maybe more intriguingly, detections of metazoans in the shotgun data that run counter to the dogma that they are useless for biomonitoring

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