Dr Darren Abbey
@thebiologistisn.bsky.social
@thebiologistisn on various other systems. PhD Genetics, UMN.
I do bioinformatics/genomics with a university lab.
I work unofficially to make new interesting varieties of food plants. I've made distinctly blue colored dry beans.
I make/sell art, too.
I do bioinformatics/genomics with a university lab.
I work unofficially to make new interesting varieties of food plants. I've made distinctly blue colored dry beans.
I make/sell art, too.
Reposted by Dr Darren Abbey
The best way to prevent getting norovirus is to wash hands with warm soap and water for 20 seconds. Hand sanitizer alone does not work well against norovirus. #RSNA25
abcnews.go.com/Health/us-ca...
abcnews.go.com/Health/us-ca...
US cases of norovirus on the rise with double the rate of positive tests since August
Cases of norovirus are rising across the United States, doubling over the last few months, according to updated data from the CDC.
abcnews.go.com
November 26, 2025 at 4:15 AM
The best way to prevent getting norovirus is to wash hands with warm soap and water for 20 seconds. Hand sanitizer alone does not work well against norovirus. #RSNA25
abcnews.go.com/Health/us-ca...
abcnews.go.com/Health/us-ca...
Reposted by Dr Darren Abbey
I wrote about the fake account blowup on X this weekend. A genuine post-truth nightmare and proof that these companies have polluted their platforms so thoroughly and traded reality for profit that they've undermined the very idea of what the internet is supposed to be.
That MAGA Account Might Be a Troll From Pakistan
How X blew up its own platform with a new location feature
www.theatlantic.com
November 24, 2025 at 4:33 PM
I wrote about the fake account blowup on X this weekend. A genuine post-truth nightmare and proof that these companies have polluted their platforms so thoroughly and traded reality for profit that they've undermined the very idea of what the internet is supposed to be.
Reposted by Dr Darren Abbey
Physicians: we have an ethical obligation to stand in solidarity with nurses. Nursing is a profession worthy of resources and respect. If we can’t say that out loud, we’re not practicing justice, we’re enforcing hierarchy.
November 24, 2025 at 10:13 PM
Physicians: we have an ethical obligation to stand in solidarity with nurses. Nursing is a profession worthy of resources and respect. If we can’t say that out loud, we’re not practicing justice, we’re enforcing hierarchy.
At 2.5 months post-harvest, only the purple/black fruit remains from that initial harvest.
The high concentration of anthocyanin pigments is supposed to help discourage some spoilage molds, so this fruit remaining is good to see.
I have plenty from a later harvest yet to be examined in detail.
The high concentration of anthocyanin pigments is supposed to help discourage some spoilage molds, so this fruit remaining is good to see.
I have plenty from a later harvest yet to be examined in detail.
At two weeks post-harvest, the tomatillos are still in good shape. This makes me pretty sure that they all have the long-storage trait. If so, the fruit will stay in good shape until I process them for seeds in early spring.
November 24, 2025 at 10:24 PM
At 2.5 months post-harvest, only the purple/black fruit remains from that initial harvest.
The high concentration of anthocyanin pigments is supposed to help discourage some spoilage molds, so this fruit remaining is good to see.
I have plenty from a later harvest yet to be examined in detail.
The high concentration of anthocyanin pigments is supposed to help discourage some spoilage molds, so this fruit remaining is good to see.
I have plenty from a later harvest yet to be examined in detail.
Reposted by Dr Darren Abbey
Setting aside the question of whether or not we are ready to phase out the use of animals in research (spoiler: we are not), there is an ethical way to do this. Abruptly shutting down research programs means that many animals are going to be euthanized! www.science.org/content/arti...
Exclusive: CDC to end all monkey research
Studies related to HIV and other infectious diseases will be phased out, sources say; fate of the agency's animals remains unclear
www.science.org
November 24, 2025 at 1:01 AM
Setting aside the question of whether or not we are ready to phase out the use of animals in research (spoiler: we are not), there is an ethical way to do this. Abruptly shutting down research programs means that many animals are going to be euthanized! www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted by Dr Darren Abbey
I’m getting more and more of these too. It’s depressing.
I am by no means a prominent public intellectual, but my inbox is increasingly filled with messages from people who have been convinced by sycophantic chatbots that they have discovered revolutionary theories that entirely upend our scientific understanding of the universe.
November 21, 2025 at 3:42 AM
I’m getting more and more of these too. It’s depressing.
Reposted by Dr Darren Abbey
My art shop has a collection of my original bird drawings.
Good news for buyers in the USA, your art will be sent duty paid, and art is exempt from the tariffs!
folksy.com/find/shop/th...
#Birds #OriginalArt #Drawing #Painting #Artwork #GiftIdeas #ArtShop #ShopIndy #ChristmasGifts #bsnm
Good news for buyers in the USA, your art will be sent duty paid, and art is exempt from the tariffs!
folksy.com/find/shop/th...
#Birds #OriginalArt #Drawing #Painting #Artwork #GiftIdeas #ArtShop #ShopIndy #ChristmasGifts #bsnm
November 19, 2025 at 4:01 PM
My art shop has a collection of my original bird drawings.
Good news for buyers in the USA, your art will be sent duty paid, and art is exempt from the tariffs!
folksy.com/find/shop/th...
#Birds #OriginalArt #Drawing #Painting #Artwork #GiftIdeas #ArtShop #ShopIndy #ChristmasGifts #bsnm
Good news for buyers in the USA, your art will be sent duty paid, and art is exempt from the tariffs!
folksy.com/find/shop/th...
#Birds #OriginalArt #Drawing #Painting #Artwork #GiftIdeas #ArtShop #ShopIndy #ChristmasGifts #bsnm
Reposted by Dr Darren Abbey
Graptolites are some of the coolest animals you may not have heard of. Colony creatures, zooids at the tip add on to the branches. Eventually sexually-born larvae swim out to start new colonies that stretch out zooid by zooid.
Robert Parr Whitfield's illustration of (what was then called) Graptolithus octobrachiatus, engraved by James Duthie. Part of James Hall's classic Graptolites of the Quebec Group (1865). A 10/10 graptolite and there's a lot of competition.
November 19, 2025 at 4:14 PM
Graptolites are some of the coolest animals you may not have heard of. Colony creatures, zooids at the tip add on to the branches. Eventually sexually-born larvae swim out to start new colonies that stretch out zooid by zooid.
Reposted by Dr Darren Abbey
I'm struck by this clip of former Obama speechwriter Sarah Hurwitz saying Holocaust education has backfired in part because people Palestinians as victims: "They think the lesson of the Holocaust is…you fight the big powerful people hurting the weak people."
www.reddit.com/r/JewsOfCons...
www.reddit.com/r/JewsOfCons...
From the JewsOfConscience community on Reddit: Former Obama speechwriter Sarah Hurwitz speaking to the Jewish Federation and lamenting that young people are learning the wrong lessons from Holocaust e...
Explore this post and more from the JewsOfConscience community
www.reddit.com
November 18, 2025 at 7:24 PM
I'm struck by this clip of former Obama speechwriter Sarah Hurwitz saying Holocaust education has backfired in part because people Palestinians as victims: "They think the lesson of the Holocaust is…you fight the big powerful people hurting the weak people."
www.reddit.com/r/JewsOfCons...
www.reddit.com/r/JewsOfCons...
Reposted by Dr Darren Abbey
LLMs destroy context. You used to be able to tell a crank website from a good source partly by its style.
But now we have a tool that puts careful research, incoherent garbage, and intentional shitposting through a kind of grammatical instagram filter, presenting them all with the same credibility
But now we have a tool that puts careful research, incoherent garbage, and intentional shitposting through a kind of grammatical instagram filter, presenting them all with the same credibility
The bigger change is presentation, historically, these emails were visually chaotic: sudden colour changes, ALL CAPS, screenshots pasted at random. Classic signs of disordered thinking. Now they’re neat, structured, and grammatically consistent. The delusion hasn't changed, but the formatting has.
November 19, 2025 at 4:12 PM
LLMs destroy context. You used to be able to tell a crank website from a good source partly by its style.
But now we have a tool that puts careful research, incoherent garbage, and intentional shitposting through a kind of grammatical instagram filter, presenting them all with the same credibility
But now we have a tool that puts careful research, incoherent garbage, and intentional shitposting through a kind of grammatical instagram filter, presenting them all with the same credibility
Reposted by Dr Darren Abbey
An ICE employee was among 16 men arrested after trying to solicit a minor for sex in Bloomington, Minnesota, police say
"When he was arrested, he said, 'I'm ICE, boys,'" Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges said during a press conference. "Well, unfortunately for him, we locked him up."
"When he was arrested, he said, 'I'm ICE, boys,'" Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges said during a press conference. "Well, unfortunately for him, we locked him up."
November 19, 2025 at 2:34 AM
An ICE employee was among 16 men arrested after trying to solicit a minor for sex in Bloomington, Minnesota, police say
"When he was arrested, he said, 'I'm ICE, boys,'" Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges said during a press conference. "Well, unfortunately for him, we locked him up."
"When he was arrested, he said, 'I'm ICE, boys,'" Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges said during a press conference. "Well, unfortunately for him, we locked him up."
Reposted by Dr Darren Abbey
my wife and her entire team were fired over Zoom from their program manager jobs at a local nonprofit Seattle hospital this Spring because Trump just stopped paying Medicaid reimbursements. and this is a relatively affluent urban center
we're really not prepared for what's coming
we're really not prepared for what's coming
As a direct result of President Trump's Big Ugly Bill, almost 300 jobs will be cut from Providence Swedish's First Hill, Cherry Hill, Ballard, and Issaquah hospitals and clinics. These are not the only layoffs we've seen in our health care system in Washington state in recent months.
Providence Swedish to eliminate nearly 300 positions
The cuts will affect jobs at Providence Swedish’s First Hill, Cherry Hill, Ballard and Issaquah hospitals and nearby clinics.
www.seattletimes.com
November 19, 2025 at 3:49 PM
my wife and her entire team were fired over Zoom from their program manager jobs at a local nonprofit Seattle hospital this Spring because Trump just stopped paying Medicaid reimbursements. and this is a relatively affluent urban center
we're really not prepared for what's coming
we're really not prepared for what's coming
Reposted by Dr Darren Abbey
Someone on the Minneapolis subreddit caught Waymos being delivered. We need the City Council need to ban the use of driverless cars. The technology isn't there. Our city cannot be a testing ground for 1.5 ton autonomous projectiles.
November 16, 2025 at 10:39 PM
Someone on the Minneapolis subreddit caught Waymos being delivered. We need the City Council need to ban the use of driverless cars. The technology isn't there. Our city cannot be a testing ground for 1.5 ton autonomous projectiles.
Reposted by Dr Darren Abbey
“High deductibles” just mean poor people are left behind.
Disabled people are left behind.
People with pre-existing conditions are left behind
Disability & poverty aren’t moral failings
They can happen to anyone no matter how healthy they are
Enough blame. Healthcare for all.
Disabled people are left behind.
People with pre-existing conditions are left behind
Disability & poverty aren’t moral failings
They can happen to anyone no matter how healthy they are
Enough blame. Healthcare for all.
November 17, 2025 at 4:54 AM
“High deductibles” just mean poor people are left behind.
Disabled people are left behind.
People with pre-existing conditions are left behind
Disability & poverty aren’t moral failings
They can happen to anyone no matter how healthy they are
Enough blame. Healthcare for all.
Disabled people are left behind.
People with pre-existing conditions are left behind
Disability & poverty aren’t moral failings
They can happen to anyone no matter how healthy they are
Enough blame. Healthcare for all.
Reposted by Dr Darren Abbey
“Many of the women say that they were pressured to have unwanted or unnecessary gynecological procedures while in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement”
"They tried to shut me up by deporting me."
www.npr.org/2020/12/22/9...
www.npr.org/2020/12/22/9...
Dozens Of Women Allege Unwanted Surgeries And Medical Abuse In ICE Custody
More women are coming forward to say they were pressured to have reproductive surgeries they did not want or understand, offering a glimpse into alleged medical abuses at an ICE detention center.
www.npr.org
November 15, 2025 at 3:11 AM
“Many of the women say that they were pressured to have unwanted or unnecessary gynecological procedures while in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement”
Reposted by Dr Darren Abbey
No justice, no peace is a fact, not a threat.
Something the US needs to accept too is that without a large-scale correction imposing consequences on a large number of people, the crisis of governance here will continue indefinitely
November 15, 2025 at 3:08 AM
No justice, no peace is a fact, not a threat.
Reposted by Dr Darren Abbey
btw, have you looked at etymonline.com ? One of those fantastic, crap-free, labor of love websites. I learned stuff about late antique / early medieval cross-borrowing between Romance and Germanic while I was looking up spy, espionage, sabotage, sabot
Online Etymology Dictionary
The online etymology dictionary (etymonline) is the internet's go-to source for quick and reliable accounts of the origin and history of English words, phrases, and idioms.
etymonline.com
November 15, 2025 at 4:17 AM
btw, have you looked at etymonline.com ? One of those fantastic, crap-free, labor of love websites. I learned stuff about late antique / early medieval cross-borrowing between Romance and Germanic while I was looking up spy, espionage, sabotage, sabot
Reposted by Dr Darren Abbey
ok you know what? in this instance i fully support anish kapoor being aggressively litigious
In the official photo provided by Bongino, the faces are blurred out.
That's ... not how any of this works.
That's ... not how any of this works.
'The Bean' artist, Chicago nonprofit respond to Border Patrol photo op: report
www.fox32chicago.com
November 15, 2025 at 2:11 AM
ok you know what? in this instance i fully support anish kapoor being aggressively litigious
Reposted by Dr Darren Abbey
Plant geeks giddy about finding a parasitic flower.
It's really lovely.
It's really lovely.
Resurrecting Wellington's Flowers of the Underworld episode of Our Changing World
Until late 2024, nobody had seen te pua o Te Rēinga “the flower of the underworld” in the Wellington region for more than a hundred years. A chance discovery of a small struggling population has kick ...
www.rnz.co.nz
November 15, 2025 at 2:37 AM
Plant geeks giddy about finding a parasitic flower.
It's really lovely.
It's really lovely.
Reposted by Dr Darren Abbey
Two true things.
1. Marjorie is crazy and has no greater ambition than self-promotion.
2. She has a keen understanding of where the Republican base is, and moves there before her other colleagues do.
(1) is why I don’t trust her. (2) is why Trump is scared of her.
1. Marjorie is crazy and has no greater ambition than self-promotion.
2. She has a keen understanding of where the Republican base is, and moves there before her other colleagues do.
(1) is why I don’t trust her. (2) is why Trump is scared of her.
November 15, 2025 at 2:27 AM
Two true things.
1. Marjorie is crazy and has no greater ambition than self-promotion.
2. She has a keen understanding of where the Republican base is, and moves there before her other colleagues do.
(1) is why I don’t trust her. (2) is why Trump is scared of her.
1. Marjorie is crazy and has no greater ambition than self-promotion.
2. She has a keen understanding of where the Republican base is, and moves there before her other colleagues do.
(1) is why I don’t trust her. (2) is why Trump is scared of her.
Reposted by Dr Darren Abbey
Republicans have "won" the right to uninsure millions of Americans, nearly all of them self-employed, farmers, and business owners, the exact people they pretend they want us to be.
Millions of Americans are going to be destroyed by their insurance costs, at best, or lose their insurance and possibly die at worst. And millions more every year of Trump's term due to Trump's bill. This has never happened in American history, and I don't think anyone can predict what happens next.
A deal that does nothing to lower costs does not serve my constituents and it is not what the American people want. They need relief ASAP.
November 10, 2025 at 7:52 PM
Republicans have "won" the right to uninsure millions of Americans, nearly all of them self-employed, farmers, and business owners, the exact people they pretend they want us to be.
Reposted by Dr Darren Abbey
I would not say the voicemails I just left for Wyden and Merkley were particularly charming or articulate but I do think my panic was clear, as a freelancer who only has access to healthcare at all because the ACA exists
If you have a Dem senator and you're seeing this right now, CALL THEM RIGHT NOW and tell them NO. If you don't know anyone who would be affected by this, call them for my friend Lisa. She cannot afford insurance without ACA subsidies and without health insurance I'm terrified she will die.
! A key group of Senate Democrats is leaning toward voting for a deal to end the shutdown, provided final details can be worked out like worker protections (Gift link)
(Deal does NOT include an ACA extension.)
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
(Deal does NOT include an ACA extension.)
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
November 9, 2025 at 11:22 PM
I would not say the voicemails I just left for Wyden and Merkley were particularly charming or articulate but I do think my panic was clear, as a freelancer who only has access to healthcare at all because the ACA exists
Reposted by Dr Darren Abbey
I just.
we were WINNING
we were WINNING
November 9, 2025 at 11:39 PM
I just.
we were WINNING
we were WINNING
Reposted by Dr Darren Abbey
Why has the government been closed at all if Senate Dems cave now? Didn't they say that they could not go along with throwing millions of people off health care?
What's materially changed? A *promise* is not action. ALSO fascists lie and I've been told by some Senate Dems that the GOP is fascist.
What's materially changed? A *promise* is not action. ALSO fascists lie and I've been told by some Senate Dems that the GOP is fascist.
November 9, 2025 at 11:43 PM
Why has the government been closed at all if Senate Dems cave now? Didn't they say that they could not go along with throwing millions of people off health care?
What's materially changed? A *promise* is not action. ALSO fascists lie and I've been told by some Senate Dems that the GOP is fascist.
What's materially changed? A *promise* is not action. ALSO fascists lie and I've been told by some Senate Dems that the GOP is fascist.
Reposted by Dr Darren Abbey
STAY. AWAY. FROM. WILDLIFE. Keep your trash locked up. Do not feed wildlife or otherwise encourage it to hang around human habitation.
Apparently missing out on some exciting rabid fox neighborhood drama
Got this photo via two different group chats
Got this photo via two different group chats
November 9, 2025 at 11:39 PM
STAY. AWAY. FROM. WILDLIFE. Keep your trash locked up. Do not feed wildlife or otherwise encourage it to hang around human habitation.