Derek Lowe
@dereklowe.bsky.social
Medicinal chemist / chemical biologist, author of “In the Pipeline” at http://science.org/blogs/pipeline. [email protected] and on Signal at Dblowe.18
All opinions are mine; I don’t speak for my employer in any way.
All opinions are mine; I don’t speak for my employer in any way.
January 13, 2026 at 8:46 PM
As you may know, Sky and Telescope magazine publishes such a chart as a look ahead every year. You can certainly see the day/night length difference between their 40 degrees north version and yours from the Netherlands!
January 6, 2026 at 4:22 PM
As you may know, Sky and Telescope magazine publishes such a chart as a look ahead every year. You can certainly see the day/night length difference between their 40 degrees north version and yours from the Netherlands!
And a Downy woodpecker hitting the suet feeder:
December 28, 2025 at 6:13 PM
And a Downy woodpecker hitting the suet feeder:
Lots of bird action at the feeder in this weather. Here’s a Carolina wren:
December 28, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Lots of bird action at the feeder in this weather. Here’s a Carolina wren:
Grey squirrel vs. red squirrel size comparison, during a rare moment of harmony.
December 27, 2025 at 9:16 PM
Grey squirrel vs. red squirrel size comparison, during a rare moment of harmony.
Here’s an example of the well-fed local grey squirrel horde:
December 24, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Here’s an example of the well-fed local grey squirrel horde:
Red squirrel hitting the sunflower seeds - we only see those guys in the winter, as opposed to the huge grey squirrel population out there.
December 24, 2025 at 3:35 PM
Red squirrel hitting the sunflower seeds - we only see those guys in the winter, as opposed to the huge grey squirrel population out there.
That “The #1 movie when you were ten years old is how your 2026 is going to go” thing is not delivering me encouraging news:
December 19, 2025 at 6:20 PM
That “The #1 movie when you were ten years old is how your 2026 is going to go” thing is not delivering me encouraging news:
The latest from an honored member of the Royal Society. Every week he attacks the foundations of society in the UK and the EU and @royalsociety.org is apparently too worried about retribution to do anything about it.
December 7, 2025 at 6:27 PM
The latest from an honored member of the Royal Society. Every week he attacks the foundations of society in the UK and the EU and @royalsociety.org is apparently too worried about retribution to do anything about it.
Leftover basmati rice
November 28, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Leftover basmati rice
And finally pie #3. This one is just the classic pumpkin, and the recipe is the one printed on the Libby’s can! This one was last because there is basically nothing that can go wrong with it.
November 27, 2025 at 2:52 AM
And finally pie #3. This one is just the classic pumpkin, and the recipe is the one printed on the Libby’s can! This one was last because there is basically nothing that can go wrong with it.
Second pie of the day: chocolate pecan.
November 26, 2025 at 10:32 PM
Second pie of the day: chocolate pecan.
First pie is done! Cranberry-lime:
November 26, 2025 at 5:52 PM
First pie is done! Cranberry-lime:
Define “too many plants”
November 24, 2025 at 3:16 AM
Define “too many plants”
If you’re in North America and have a view to the north or northwest, there’s heavy auroral activity going right now!
November 12, 2025 at 2:06 AM
If you’re in North America and have a view to the north or northwest, there’s heavy auroral activity going right now!
The administration’s take on this protest has been offensive and idiotic. This isn’t millions of radical “Hamas-supporting America-haters”. I want my country back:
October 18, 2025 at 12:30 PM
The administration’s take on this protest has been offensive and idiotic. This isn’t millions of radical “Hamas-supporting America-haters”. I want my country back:
Here’s one of those copper MOF crystals mounted on an x-ray diffraction loop sample holder:
October 8, 2025 at 11:59 AM
Here’s one of those copper MOF crystals mounted on an x-ray diffraction loop sample holder:
I don’t think I’ve ever had more fun in the lab than when I was making MOFs myself (and trying to use them for small-molecule X-ray structure determination). So let me celebrate by posting a few of the MOF crystals I prepared:
October 8, 2025 at 11:54 AM
I don’t think I’ve ever had more fun in the lab than when I was making MOFs myself (and trying to use them for small-molecule X-ray structure determination). So let me celebrate by posting a few of the MOF crystals I prepared:
Post a perfect album from the 90s that isn’t Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, or Alice In Chains
September 8, 2025 at 12:10 AM
Post a perfect album from the 90s that isn’t Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, or Alice In Chains
The spotted lanternfly situation on the Connecticut coast. No sign of them in my MA town, but it’s surely just a matter of time.
September 5, 2025 at 3:37 PM
The spotted lanternfly situation on the Connecticut coast. No sign of them in my MA town, but it’s surely just a matter of time.
“Hardy hibiscus”, which are horticultural hybrids of several H. species. These live in a big pot, and every year I wonder if they’re even alive because they don’t even send up stems (with maple-like leaves) until like June.
I take them into the garage for the winter- “hardy” is a relative term.
I take them into the garage for the winter- “hardy” is a relative term.
August 31, 2025 at 5:25 PM
“Hardy hibiscus”, which are horticultural hybrids of several H. species. These live in a big pot, and every year I wonder if they’re even alive because they don’t even send up stems (with maple-like leaves) until like June.
I take them into the garage for the winter- “hardy” is a relative term.
I take them into the garage for the winter- “hardy” is a relative term.
Four o’clock flowers (Mirabilis jalapa), an old-fashioned flowering annual. I hadn’t realized that it forms a tuber, but this one is in its third year after being lifted in the fall and stored in a paper bag each winter. It’s bigger every year! The hummingbirds are big fans.
August 31, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Four o’clock flowers (Mirabilis jalapa), an old-fashioned flowering annual. I hadn’t realized that it forms a tuber, but this one is in its third year after being lifted in the fall and stored in a paper bag each winter. It’s bigger every year! The hummingbirds are big fans.