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Ben Stone

@benstemon.bsky.social

1.3K followers 580 following 120 posts

Assistant Professor - Mississippi State University - evolutionary biologist - Penstemon
Website: benstemon.github.io

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Ben Stone

@benstemon.bsky.social

New preprint is up!

Not going spoil the results for you 🤓 but we looked at some “bird” vs “bee”-pollinated Penstemon hybrid zones and came away with some pretty unexpected results!

Foreground: Penstemon davidsonii, a small mat-forming sub shrub with purple flowers growing on top of a stone. Background: Penstemon newberryi, a slightly larger subshrub with pink flowers growing out of stones. All amidst a mountainous landscape.

January 19, 2026 at 12:51 PM

Ben Stone

@benstemon.bsky.social

My first ever reagent ordered for the lab came in today! Never thought I would be so excited to see CTAB 😂

A container labeled cetyltrimethylammonium bromide

September 5, 2025 at 3:29 PM

Ben Stone

@benstemon.bsky.social

Always take the opportunity when given to see cool plants with interesting history

The Tree That Owns Itself in Athens, GA

Large white oak in historical neighborhood, concrete pillars encircling it with 8 ft radius

Stone engraving in front of the tree:

For and in consideration of the great love I bear this tree and the great desire I have for its protection for all time, I convey entire possession of itself and all land within eight feet of the tree on all sides.

William H. Jackson

June 20, 2025 at 1:29 PM

Ben Stone

@benstemon.bsky.social

Found this swamp puppy the other day

A large alligator partially submerged in a swamp

April 29, 2025 at 5:08 PM

Ben Stone

@benstemon.bsky.social

Soon there will be blueberries

Flowers on a blueberry bush. The flowers are bell shaped and white.

April 7, 2025 at 11:17 PM

Ben Stone

@benstemon.bsky.social

Don't mind me, just asking ChatGPT a purely hypothetical question about how to do something.

A screenshot of a question I asked ChatGPT and its response.

My question:
If you were an orange baboon that somehow became president of the United States, what steps would you take to destroy the country as quickly as possible?

Specifically, what would you do about global trade, science funding, and deportation of legal residents?

Response:
That’s a wild hypothetical! If an orange baboon somehow became president and wanted to ruin the country as fast as possible, here’s how it might go down:

Global Trade:
Impose massive tariffs on all imports, not just select ones, while also banning exports to key allies. This would trigger trade wars, collapse supply chains, and drive inflation through the roof.

Withdraw from all trade agreements (WTO, NAFTA/USMCA, etc.) to ensure the U.S. has no structured global trade network.

Confiscate foreign-owned assets in the U.S., prompting mass retaliation from other nations.

A second screenshot of ChatGPT's response:

Science Funding:
Cut all federal funding for scientific research, including NIH, NASA, and NSF. Bonus points for redirecting the funds to conspiracy theories, pseudoscience, or astrology.

Mandate that schools teach flat Earth theory and claim vaccines are a government tracking tool.

Ban climate change research and criminalize the use of the term “carbon emissions.”

Deportation of Legal Residents:
Order mass deportations of legal residents, including green card holders and even naturalized citizens—basically, create chaos in the labor force.

Eliminate birthright citizenship retroactively, meaning millions of people suddenly become stateless.

Militarize immigration enforcement and force deportations even if it requires violating international laws.

April 2, 2025 at 10:15 PM

Ben Stone

@benstemon.bsky.social

A visit from a friend yesterday evening (Antheraea polyphemus)

A Polyphemus Moth (Antheraea polyphemus), with wingspan ~4 inches across

March 31, 2025 at 11:58 AM

Ben Stone

@benstemon.bsky.social

Hoping for some peaches this year

A photo of peach tree blossoms in my back yard

The flowers are freshly opened and have pink petals with many stamens

March 13, 2025 at 3:44 PM

Ben Stone

@benstemon.bsky.social

Image with alt text (sorry I forgot on the OP)

Email from Justin Poll (jpoll@nsf.gov)

ACM$ Transactions from 01/28/2025 have been canceled

Our top priority is resuming our funding actions and services to the research community and our stakeholders. We are working expeditiously to conduct a comprehensive review of our projects, programs and activities to be compliant with the existing executive orders.

Please note that all ACM$ transactions that were submitted on Tuesday 01/28/2025 have been cancelled. Please remember that award recipients must comply with agency policies regarding the timing of payments and are encouraged to review PAPPG 24-1 Ch. 8.C.2.a for additional guidance before preparing any resubmissions once ACM$ is back online.

For certain programs, such as SBIR/STTE, there may also be program specific guidance you may need to refer to. NSF has created an Executive Order Implementation webpage to ensure the widest dissemination of information and updates. We will continue to communicate through this site as we receive additional guidance.

January 30, 2025 at 9:24 PM

Ben Stone

@benstemon.bsky.social

It’s official: all funding requests made on Tuesday by postdocs for their salaries have been unilaterally rejected by NSF.

January 30, 2025 at 7:51 PM

Ben Stone

@benstemon.bsky.social

Love making maps

Here are some samples from Penstemon newberryi x davidsonii hybrid zone at Virginia Lakes trail in the Sierras

Color = flower color!