Xantha Karp
@xanthakarp.bsky.social
1.5K followers 3.2K following 77 posts
C. elegans geneticist, how diapause affects development, microRNA, equity in STEM, professor at Central Michigan University, she/her/hers. https://karplab.org https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6602-5583
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Reposted by Xantha Karp
jeremymberg.bsky.social
This is a powerful account from a PhD student whose fellowship was terminated by NIH because it was part of a "diversity" program without any other considerations or understanding of what the program or the students were actually doing.

undark.org/2025/10/09/o...

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NIH Student Grant Cancellation Will Weaken Scientific Innovation
The termination of federal F31 diversity fellowships puts many graduate students in a bind — and U.S. science at risk.
undark.org
Reposted by Xantha Karp
labgrosshans.bsky.social
Watch Lucas' amazing artistic/musical rendition of C. elegans larval development and our work on developmental timing and molting here youtu.be/-hGHYRvw87w and read on his inspiration and challenges below
Reposted by Xantha Karp
vambros.bsky.social
An excellent piece by Joachim Frank, 2017 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, about how we must resist the Trump Administration's crackdown on universities.

www.usnews.com/opinion/arti...
www.usnews.com
Reposted by Xantha Karp
ercanlab.bsky.social
C. elegans is a little animal with sexually dimorphic tails. Fitch lab does wonderful work on the evolution and transcriptional regulation of tail tip morphogenesis in nematodes.
genetics-gsa.bsky.social
New in #GENETICS: Using Chip-seq and mutant analysis, Fernandez et al. show the transcriptional control of the male tail tip morphogenesis during development by the master regulator of a male-specific morphogenesis gene DMD-3. buff.ly/EGahYv2
Reposted by Xantha Karp
labgrosshans.bsky.social
Paper alert! doi.org/10.1038/s443... - "A scheduler for rhythmic gene expression". We show how 9 txn factors suffice for rhythmic gene expression of thousands of genes with any phase or amplitude in #Celegans larvae (and also look at the tissues where oscillations happen) 1/n
Reposted by Xantha Karp
sarahmackattack.bsky.social
I'm doing another print run of these "Biology is Bigger than Binaries" shirts!

Back, quite literally, by popular demand. Bullying works, sure, but so does a bunch of nice cutie patooties politely asking!

Order 'em now, I'll mail 'em in early November.

SquidFacts.net
a woman with short bown hair, glasses, and tassel earrings, wears a purple KN95 and looks cool as hell in her biology is bigger than binaries shirt, in orange a woman with green glasses takes a selfie lookin' cool as hell in her pink biology is bigger than binaries shirt. She's also got ice cream, that lucky dog. a woman with long brown hair and glasses hangs out in the back yard with her pink biology is bigger than binaries shirt A man with a hat and sunglasses stands in hero-pose with his biology is bigger than binaires shirt (orange)
Reposted by Xantha Karp
jeremymberg.bsky.social
I have been trying to get this published as an op-ed, but I am going to post it here since I think it is timely in light of the "consent" extortion events.

Deafening Quiet from the Scientific Establishment

jeremymberg.github.io/jeremyberg.g...

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jeremymberg.github.io
Reposted by Xantha Karp
celjauebel.bsky.social
Hi fellow C. elegans scientists, I've made a few videos that may be of use for new trainees working in worm labs. Hoping to add more in the future, but figured I'd share this resource as is in case it's helpful :)
www.youtube.com/@Workingwith...
Working with C. elegans
This channel provides clear demonstrations of core C. elegans lab skills, including: recognizing life stages and common phenotypes, picking and manipulating worms, and maintaining healthy cultures. De...
www.youtube.com
Reposted by Xantha Karp
Reposted by Xantha Karp
barrlab.bsky.social
Worm peeps: nominate a newly minted PhD for the Sydney Brenner Thesis Award! #celegans
genetics-gsa.bsky.social
📢 Deadline extended! Apply by Oct 3 for the 2025 Sydney Brenner Thesis Award—honoring outstanding theses in nematode biology (defended Oct 1, 2024–Sept 30, 2025).
Send in your nomination today! 🔗:
2025 Brenner Award Nomination
This nomination form is for the 2025 Brenner Award Nomination. Due: September 30th, 2025. Please do not include any information besides what is asked as a formal nominee form and recommendation…
buff.ly
Reposted by Xantha Karp
bethanclark.bsky.social
I wrote something on developmental biology and disability and put it up on the node last night:

thenode.biologists.com/developmenta...

I've been nervous to share because some of it veers a bit personal but they are thoughts that won't stay quiet. Would love to know what people think about it!
Developmental Biology and Disability - the Node
Hopeful monsters. Morphospace. Mutation. Natural variation. Mutagenesis screens. Polymorphism. Deformity. Phenotype. Disease. Adaptation. Anomaly.
thenode.biologists.com
Reposted by Xantha Karp
devbiol.bsky.social
#DBFeature
Connecting developmental biology to societal and political issues in the classroom boosts student engagement and critical thinking, fostering a deeper understanding of both science and social justice.
- Megan Morgan Hoffman
#SpecialIssue on teaching #DevelopmentalBiology for #SocialChange
Hand written notes on the developmental cascade leading to ovaries, testis, and their hormonal and genetic interconnections
Reposted by Xantha Karp
labonnelab.bsky.social
Continuing efforts to hurt the research pipeline, the very late NSF GFRP solicitation no longer allows 2nd year PhD students to apply. Lots of these students chose not to apply last year because they were told they would have a better change once in their thesis lab www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...
NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)
www.nsf.gov
xanthakarp.bsky.social
Congratulations!! Wonderful to see this out, and great discussing your work with you recently :)
Reposted by Xantha Karp
surojitsural.bsky.social
Very excited to share this finding from my postdoctoral work that is now published in #ScienceAdvances. We show how the gut’s epithelium modifies enteric behaviors during nutritional adversity via distinct peptidergic signaling axes.

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Thread ⬇️

(1/n)
Gut epithelium modifies enteric behaviors during nutritional adversity via distinct peptidergic signaling axes
Gut epithelium modulates output from distinct enteric circuits by altering secretion of insulin and noninsulin peptides.
www.science.org
xanthakarp.bsky.social
Wow, congrats on this amazing work!
Reposted by Xantha Karp
wormsrock.bsky.social
C. elegans is a real animal and we set out to understand how it comes to have its distinctive biogeography. Its ancestral center of diversity is in the higher elevation forests of Hawaii. Its closest relatives are spread across east Asia. Did they travel from Asia? [Preprint 🧵]
Reposted by Xantha Karp
Reposted by Xantha Karp
kdac.bsky.social
Save the McNair Scholars Program! Funding could end on Sept 30th!

#SaveMcNair #McNairScholars #TRIOWorks
Fight for McNair’s Future!

Here’s how you can help:

1) Call your Members of Congress

2) Share why McNair matters to you 

3) Encourage friends, colleagues, alumni to do the same

McNair Day of Action
Tuesday, September 16, 2025

Call Congress! Defend McNair!