The Tattooed Professor
@schwessinger.bsky.social
Professor at the Australian National University. Biosecurity, fungal and plant genomics, evolution, and biochemistry. Dad. Swimming, reading, nature.
Reposted by The Tattooed Professor
Just $1B is more than you can ever spend. You can spend $1M *every week* and not run out, ever!
If you have $100B, the *only* thing you can do with it is give it away.
It's a colossally dumb argument that billionaires are somehow better at allocating money to causes, but they don't even do that!
If you have $100B, the *only* thing you can do with it is give it away.
It's a colossally dumb argument that billionaires are somehow better at allocating money to causes, but they don't even do that!
Fascinating chart with one outlier: Warren Buffett.
At the low end, giving 0.06% of one's wealth is equivalent to:
Net worth -> Lifetime Giving
50K->$30
100K->$60
500K->$300
$1M->$600
Most folks give far more by % in a *single year*.
www.forbes.com/sites/forbes...
At the low end, giving 0.06% of one's wealth is equivalent to:
Net worth -> Lifetime Giving
50K->$30
100K->$60
500K->$300
$1M->$600
Most folks give far more by % in a *single year*.
www.forbes.com/sites/forbes...
February 17, 2026 at 5:24 AM
Just $1B is more than you can ever spend. You can spend $1M *every week* and not run out, ever!
If you have $100B, the *only* thing you can do with it is give it away.
It's a colossally dumb argument that billionaires are somehow better at allocating money to causes, but they don't even do that!
If you have $100B, the *only* thing you can do with it is give it away.
It's a colossally dumb argument that billionaires are somehow better at allocating money to causes, but they don't even do that!
Reposted by The Tattooed Professor
DELAY: the work associated with protecting Australian research from foreign interference are causing hold ups and issues for grant applications. www.timeshighereducation.com/news/grant-d... “The requirements we now have to go through…are more extensive and time-consuming than we had imagined,”
Grant delays feared as ARC ramps up ‘due diligence’
Researchers brace for renewed funding uncertainty as security checks prove ‘more time-consuming than imagined’
www.timeshighereducation.com
February 17, 2026 at 5:32 AM
DELAY: the work associated with protecting Australian research from foreign interference are causing hold ups and issues for grant applications. www.timeshighereducation.com/news/grant-d... “The requirements we now have to go through…are more extensive and time-consuming than we had imagined,”
My predictions are that grant delays have a much more severe impact on Australia's productivity than any real foreign interference enabled by any ARC grants.... maybe the delay was always the intended interference.
DELAY: the work associated with protecting Australian research from foreign interference are causing hold ups and issues for grant applications. www.timeshighereducation.com/news/grant-d... “The requirements we now have to go through…are more extensive and time-consuming than we had imagined,”
Grant delays feared as ARC ramps up ‘due diligence’
Researchers brace for renewed funding uncertainty as security checks prove ‘more time-consuming than imagined’
www.timeshighereducation.com
February 17, 2026 at 5:43 AM
My predictions are that grant delays have a much more severe impact on Australia's productivity than any real foreign interference enabled by any ARC grants.... maybe the delay was always the intended interference.
Reposted by The Tattooed Professor
The Australian Human Rights Commission’s Racism@Uni study has been released and its findings are incredibly confronting… “racism is deeply embedded across Australian universities and has profound impacts on students and staff.”
humanrights.gov.au/about-us/med...
humanrights.gov.au/about-us/med...
February 17, 2026 at 5:35 AM
The Australian Human Rights Commission’s Racism@Uni study has been released and its findings are incredibly confronting… “racism is deeply embedded across Australian universities and has profound impacts on students and staff.”
humanrights.gov.au/about-us/med...
humanrights.gov.au/about-us/med...
Reposted by The Tattooed Professor
Revealed: The true toll of female suicides in UK with domestic abuse at their core
Revealed: The true toll of female suicides in UK with domestic abuse at their core
Exclusive: Research suggests official statistics could track as few as 10% of the true number of cases
The number of women who are driven to suicide by domestic abusers is being under-reported, and their cases overlooked by police, in what has been described by experts as a “national scandal”.
Domestic violence suicides are already growing at such a rate that a woman in an abusive relationship is now more likely to take her own life than be killed by a partner. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
February 15, 2026 at 9:07 PM
Revealed: The true toll of female suicides in UK with domestic abuse at their core
Reposted by The Tattooed Professor
🚨📢📄 Article in press in Genome Biology doi.org/10.1186/s130...
We introduce panREPET, a reference-free pipeline to detect shared transposable element (TE) insertions across pangenomes and retrace their evolutionary dynamics #TEsky 🧵👇
We introduce panREPET, a reference-free pipeline to detect shared transposable element (TE) insertions across pangenomes and retrace their evolutionary dynamics #TEsky 🧵👇
A reference-free pipeline for detecting shared transposable elements from pan-genomes to retrace their dynamics in a species - Genome Biology
Background The role of transposable elements (TEs) in host adaptation has gained interest in recent years. Individuals of the same species undergo independent TE insertions, providing genetic variabil...
doi.org
February 16, 2026 at 8:38 AM
🚨📢📄 Article in press in Genome Biology doi.org/10.1186/s130...
We introduce panREPET, a reference-free pipeline to detect shared transposable element (TE) insertions across pangenomes and retrace their evolutionary dynamics #TEsky 🧵👇
We introduce panREPET, a reference-free pipeline to detect shared transposable element (TE) insertions across pangenomes and retrace their evolutionary dynamics #TEsky 🧵👇
Reposted by The Tattooed Professor
And save >80% on the cost by pooling 6 or more plasmids into a single sample using our free SAVEMONEY algorithm!
elifesciences.org/articles/88794
colab.research.google.com/github/Masaa...
elifesciences.org/articles/88794
colab.research.google.com/github/Masaa...
February 15, 2026 at 3:03 AM
And save >80% on the cost by pooling 6 or more plasmids into a single sample using our free SAVEMONEY algorithm!
elifesciences.org/articles/88794
colab.research.google.com/github/Masaa...
elifesciences.org/articles/88794
colab.research.google.com/github/Masaa...
Reposted by The Tattooed Professor
Fine mapping and genomic analyses reveal a tandem kinase-pseudokinase candidate underlying OrDeb2-mediated resistance to Orobanche cumana in sunflower https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.02.12.705495v1
February 14, 2026 at 8:02 AM
Fine mapping and genomic analyses reveal a tandem kinase-pseudokinase candidate underlying OrDeb2-mediated resistance to Orobanche cumana in sunflower https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.02.12.705495v1
Reposted by The Tattooed Professor
I'm super excited to share that this article was published today in Science! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
All made possible by the fantastic group of donors, volunteers and scientists at The American Chestnut Foundation (tacf.org), HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, and our collaborators.
All made possible by the fantastic group of donors, volunteers and scientists at The American Chestnut Foundation (tacf.org), HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, and our collaborators.
February 12, 2026 at 7:26 PM
I'm super excited to share that this article was published today in Science! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
All made possible by the fantastic group of donors, volunteers and scientists at The American Chestnut Foundation (tacf.org), HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, and our collaborators.
All made possible by the fantastic group of donors, volunteers and scientists at The American Chestnut Foundation (tacf.org), HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, and our collaborators.
Reposted by The Tattooed Professor
Reposted by The Tattooed Professor
My doomer-worry about AI is not that the LLMs become omnipotent and take over the world but that the wealthy and powerful use it as a means to consolidate power and marginalize or lay off skilled workers and also everything about our technological and political and social life gets worse
February 11, 2026 at 8:20 PM
My doomer-worry about AI is not that the LLMs become omnipotent and take over the world but that the wealthy and powerful use it as a means to consolidate power and marginalize or lay off skilled workers and also everything about our technological and political and social life gets worse
Reposted by The Tattooed Professor
#DeepMutationalScanning (DMS) experiments are limited by gene size due to library complexity & costs. @christianlandry.bsky.social &co develop an efficient & cost-effective barcoded cloning strategy for plasmid-based DMS libraries that enables study of large genes @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4abhyUf
February 11, 2026 at 7:19 PM
#DeepMutationalScanning (DMS) experiments are limited by gene size due to library complexity & costs. @christianlandry.bsky.social &co develop an efficient & cost-effective barcoded cloning strategy for plasmid-based DMS libraries that enables study of large genes @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4abhyUf
Reposted by The Tattooed Professor
Check out our new op-ed! With @taniaduarte.bsky.social @markwong.bsky.social, @suoman.bsky.social, & @timdavies.org.uk.
We argue that these collabs normalize close relationships w/Big-Tech, setting them up to be key actors in governance who provide tech solutions to important social ‘problems’.
We argue that these collabs normalize close relationships w/Big-Tech, setting them up to be key actors in governance who provide tech solutions to important social ‘problems’.
The UK's "free AI training for all" program may offer free courses, but there is a cost to society for the government's approach. Elinor Carmi, Tania Duarte, Mark Wong, Susan Oman & Tim Davies argue it deepens Big Tech dependency while sidelining critical AI literacy and community organizations.
The Real Cost of the UK’s ‘Free AI Training for All’ is Democracy
Researchers argue the UK's 'AI Skills Hub' should be re-thought with input from civil society groups and public interest organizations.
buff.ly
February 11, 2026 at 7:41 AM
Check out our new op-ed! With @taniaduarte.bsky.social @markwong.bsky.social, @suoman.bsky.social, & @timdavies.org.uk.
We argue that these collabs normalize close relationships w/Big-Tech, setting them up to be key actors in governance who provide tech solutions to important social ‘problems’.
We argue that these collabs normalize close relationships w/Big-Tech, setting them up to be key actors in governance who provide tech solutions to important social ‘problems’.
Reposted by The Tattooed Professor
Fun news! @gcbias.bsky.social and I are teaching a 2-week online population genetics workshop this summer to raise money for the Center for Population Biology at UC Davis. We're trying to gauge interest -- please fill this out if you might be interested! And please share broadly!
Davis Summer Population Genomics Program
Want to learn population genetics? Please fill out this form to indicate your potential interest in a 2-week intensive online summer population genetics course taught by Jeffrey Ross-Ibarra and Graham...
docs.google.com
February 9, 2026 at 6:24 PM
Fun news! @gcbias.bsky.social and I are teaching a 2-week online population genetics workshop this summer to raise money for the Center for Population Biology at UC Davis. We're trying to gauge interest -- please fill this out if you might be interested! And please share broadly!
Reposted by The Tattooed Professor
Benthamiana rhapsody 🎶 🌱
How benthi is the go-to system for cracking the activation mechanism of an Arabidopsis TIR-NLR immune receptor— that’s the rhapsody.
Congrats He Zhao and Selvaraj for this wonderful collaboration 👇🏼 doi.org/10.64898/202...
How benthi is the go-to system for cracking the activation mechanism of an Arabidopsis TIR-NLR immune receptor— that’s the rhapsody.
Congrats He Zhao and Selvaraj for this wonderful collaboration 👇🏼 doi.org/10.64898/202...
February 7, 2026 at 11:58 AM
Benthamiana rhapsody 🎶 🌱
How benthi is the go-to system for cracking the activation mechanism of an Arabidopsis TIR-NLR immune receptor— that’s the rhapsody.
Congrats He Zhao and Selvaraj for this wonderful collaboration 👇🏼 doi.org/10.64898/202...
How benthi is the go-to system for cracking the activation mechanism of an Arabidopsis TIR-NLR immune receptor— that’s the rhapsody.
Congrats He Zhao and Selvaraj for this wonderful collaboration 👇🏼 doi.org/10.64898/202...
Reposted by The Tattooed Professor
' Ronald Barnett describes the contemporary fascination with skills as a form of ‘bewitchment’ (others have put it more strongly elsewhere)....When individuals are defined in this way, they become more easily interchangeable in the labour market, increasing workers’ vulnerability.'
How did skills take over higher education? One short history - HEPI
Over the weekend HEPI published blogs on the freezing of student loan thresholds, and the Westminster Hall debates on duty of care. This blog was kindly authored by Dr. Josh Patel, Senior Education an...
www.hepi.ac.uk
February 9, 2026 at 8:54 AM
' Ronald Barnett describes the contemporary fascination with skills as a form of ‘bewitchment’ (others have put it more strongly elsewhere)....When individuals are defined in this way, they become more easily interchangeable in the labour market, increasing workers’ vulnerability.'
Reposted by The Tattooed Professor
Reminder that the abstract deadline for the Biology of Genomes meeting at CSHL is on Feb 13! We have a fantastic lineup of keynote speakers (Janet Kelso and Jonathan Pritchard) and session chairs. Submit your best science to this exciting and engaged meeting!
meetings.cshl.edu/meetings.asp...
meetings.cshl.edu/meetings.asp...
The Biology of Genomes
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Meetings & Courses -- a private, non-profit institution with research programs in cancer, neuroscience, plant biology, genomics, bioinformatics.
meetings.cshl.edu
February 5, 2026 at 2:24 PM
Reminder that the abstract deadline for the Biology of Genomes meeting at CSHL is on Feb 13! We have a fantastic lineup of keynote speakers (Janet Kelso and Jonathan Pritchard) and session chairs. Submit your best science to this exciting and engaged meeting!
meetings.cshl.edu/meetings.asp...
meetings.cshl.edu/meetings.asp...
Reposted by The Tattooed Professor
This idea that one can discern a technology is fascist and then still conclude "we need to collect data" is nonsense! www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/a...
AI Is Hollowing Out Higher Education
Olivia Guest & Iris van Rooij urge teachers and scholars to reject tools that commodify learning, deskill students, and promote illiteracy.
www.project-syndicate.org
February 1, 2026 at 7:06 AM
This idea that one can discern a technology is fascist and then still conclude "we need to collect data" is nonsense! www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/a...
Reposted by The Tattooed Professor
February 7, 2026 at 6:48 PM
Reposted by The Tattooed Professor
Get fucked Chris.
Sure, keep the protests and Herzog a couple of kays from each other at all times, but to completely shut down any protest, that members of his own backbench will attend, utter plonker
Sure, keep the protests and Herzog a couple of kays from each other at all times, but to completely shut down any protest, that members of his own backbench will attend, utter plonker
Minns invokes special powers for NSW police to restrict protests during Israeli president’s visit
Thirteen state and federal NSW MPs appeal to police to allow planned march protesting against the visit
www.theguardian.com
February 7, 2026 at 3:33 AM
Get fucked Chris.
Sure, keep the protests and Herzog a couple of kays from each other at all times, but to completely shut down any protest, that members of his own backbench will attend, utter plonker
Sure, keep the protests and Herzog a couple of kays from each other at all times, but to completely shut down any protest, that members of his own backbench will attend, utter plonker
Reposted by The Tattooed Professor
Sydney CBD + Eastern suburbs shut down for 5 days for the Israeli President’s arrival.
Meanwhile our democratic right to protest is an “unnecessary burden” according to Chris Minns.
This government will accommodate a mass murder but not the rights of the people who live here.
Meanwhile our democratic right to protest is an “unnecessary burden” according to Chris Minns.
This government will accommodate a mass murder but not the rights of the people who live here.
February 6, 2026 at 9:08 PM
Sydney CBD + Eastern suburbs shut down for 5 days for the Israeli President’s arrival.
Meanwhile our democratic right to protest is an “unnecessary burden” according to Chris Minns.
This government will accommodate a mass murder but not the rights of the people who live here.
Meanwhile our democratic right to protest is an “unnecessary burden” according to Chris Minns.
This government will accommodate a mass murder but not the rights of the people who live here.
Reposted by The Tattooed Professor
"By the end of the two-year period, 94% of participants reported they were housed."
A million pilot programs show the same thing: when people are given enough money to afford housing, homelessness ends.
Other supports matter, but housing comes first. Not policing. Not moralizing. Homes.
A million pilot programs show the same thing: when people are given enough money to afford housing, homelessness ends.
Other supports matter, but housing comes first. Not policing. Not moralizing. Homes.
Homeless Oregon youth got $1,000 a month for two years. Most found housing after • Oregon Capital Chronicle
Oregon is the second of its kind in the nation to implement the direct cash transfer program after New York City.
oregoncapitalchronicle.com
February 4, 2026 at 2:12 PM
"By the end of the two-year period, 94% of participants reported they were housed."
A million pilot programs show the same thing: when people are given enough money to afford housing, homelessness ends.
Other supports matter, but housing comes first. Not policing. Not moralizing. Homes.
A million pilot programs show the same thing: when people are given enough money to afford housing, homelessness ends.
Other supports matter, but housing comes first. Not policing. Not moralizing. Homes.
I was asked to review two back-to-back papers in Cell twice. Once initially and once for re-review... they were each 150 pages long including rebuttal. This means 300 pages to evaluate critically and for free. Simply impossible.
February 4, 2026 at 11:51 PM
I was asked to review two back-to-back papers in Cell twice. Once initially and once for re-review... they were each 150 pages long including rebuttal. This means 300 pages to evaluate critically and for free. Simply impossible.
Reposted by The Tattooed Professor
🌱 IMS Early Career Researcher Travel Award 🍄
Congrats to Ningkang Sun 🇨🇳
🏆 Asia awardee
Supported by The New Phytologist Foundation @newphyt.bsky.social
This award supports her attendance at #ICOM2026, where she will give an oral presentation
#Mycorrhiza
Congrats to Ningkang Sun 🇨🇳
🏆 Asia awardee
Supported by The New Phytologist Foundation @newphyt.bsky.social
This award supports her attendance at #ICOM2026, where she will give an oral presentation
#Mycorrhiza
February 4, 2026 at 3:59 PM
🌱 IMS Early Career Researcher Travel Award 🍄
Congrats to Ningkang Sun 🇨🇳
🏆 Asia awardee
Supported by The New Phytologist Foundation @newphyt.bsky.social
This award supports her attendance at #ICOM2026, where she will give an oral presentation
#Mycorrhiza
Congrats to Ningkang Sun 🇨🇳
🏆 Asia awardee
Supported by The New Phytologist Foundation @newphyt.bsky.social
This award supports her attendance at #ICOM2026, where she will give an oral presentation
#Mycorrhiza
Reposted by The Tattooed Professor
🌱 IMS Early Career Researcher Travel Award 🍄
Congrats to Beatrice M. Bock USA
🏆 North America awardee
Supported by The New Phytologist Foundation @newphyt.bsky.social
This award supports her participation with oral presentation at #ICOM2026
#Mycorrhiza
Congrats to Beatrice M. Bock USA
🏆 North America awardee
Supported by The New Phytologist Foundation @newphyt.bsky.social
This award supports her participation with oral presentation at #ICOM2026
#Mycorrhiza
February 4, 2026 at 3:38 PM
🌱 IMS Early Career Researcher Travel Award 🍄
Congrats to Beatrice M. Bock USA
🏆 North America awardee
Supported by The New Phytologist Foundation @newphyt.bsky.social
This award supports her participation with oral presentation at #ICOM2026
#Mycorrhiza
Congrats to Beatrice M. Bock USA
🏆 North America awardee
Supported by The New Phytologist Foundation @newphyt.bsky.social
This award supports her participation with oral presentation at #ICOM2026
#Mycorrhiza