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Jess McLaughlin, PhD (they/them)

@jfmclaughlin92.bsky.social

11K followers 1.1K following 12K posts

Evolutionary biologist and professional nerd. Asst Prof, University of Alaska Anchorage. queer af, they/them. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️✡️ jfmclaughlin.org

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Jess McLaughlin, PhD (they/them) @jfmclaughlin92.bsky.social · Oct 21

Hello new followers! I'm Jess (they/them), and I'm a newly minted Assistant Professor at U University of Alaska Anchorage! I study evolutionary genomics, mostly in birds, and mainly post my various (mis)adventures and pet pictures. Welcome!

Jess leans against a purple computer in a shared lab space. They are grinning like the absolute dork they are.

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Reposted by Jess McLaughlin, PhD (they/them)

Aparna Nair @disabilitystor1.bsky.social · 1h

For those of us in higher education this company has snaked its way into our institutions—and this is the kind of care and thought they put into the risks of their products.
Do you imagine our students are safe with these people?

Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 2h

Altman claims the company didn’t anticipate people not wanting their deepfakes to say “offensive things or things that they find deeply problematic,” which sounds like a lie but is also indicative of how they recklessly release tech into the world.

OpenAI wasn’t expecting Sora’s copyright drama

It felt “more different to images than people expected.”

www.theverge.com

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Jess McLaughlin, PhD (they/them) @jfmclaughlin92.bsky.social · 10h

Right?? I'm very glad I did not see that one until I was an adult because it would have scared the utter bejeesus out of me

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Jess McLaughlin, PhD (they/them) @jfmclaughlin92.bsky.social · 10h

Whenever someone uses Ghibli or Miyazaki as a synonym for "quaint, charming, unthreatening" I'm always like "bro did we watch the same movies?"

Wendy Xu @wendyxu.bsky.social · 11h

every ai bro who has reduced miyazaki to empty gentle aesthetic should no exaggeration get the judas cradle bc this man's markmaking & passion about telling WAR STORIES

three panels from the nausicaä manga depicting ohmu & giant insects

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Reposted by Jess McLaughlin, PhD (they/them)

Kennebel @kennebel.com · 28d

If you happen across this, and have the right type of music exposure, I'm looking for suggestions:

I would like to find more "fantasy dwarf/dwarven themed" music.

Wind Rose is good, though a bit aggressive. I really enjoy Clamavi De Profundis, like a lot, and wish I could find more like them. :)

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Jess McLaughlin, PhD (they/them) @jfmclaughlin92.bsky.social · 11h

No there was just a button to upload it in the actual application portal when I went to upload everything else 🙃

Jess McLaughlin, PhD (they/them) @jfmclaughlin92.bsky.social · 13h

Made by an artist up in Fort Yukon! One of my favorites

Jess McLaughlin, PhD (they/them) @jfmclaughlin92.bsky.social · 13h

I just love these little treats you just can't get easily if you don't fish/hunt/gather/etc

Jess McLaughlin, PhD (they/them) @jfmclaughlin92.bsky.social · 13h

Still need to figure out how to get the skein completely off of the eggs and can probably use less salt next time, but this trout caviar experiment went much better than the week before

Jess McLaughlin, PhD (they/them) @jfmclaughlin92.bsky.social · 14h

Look at me being a fancy bitch over here

A plate of little bread slices topped with goat cheese, trout caviar, and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.

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Jess McLaughlin, PhD (they/them) @jfmclaughlin92.bsky.social · 14h

okay grant submitted, i'm feeling real imposter vibes bc how the hell did i end up in a position to be asking for *checks notes* 1.4 million dollars for anything??

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Jess McLaughlin, PhD (they/them) @jfmclaughlin92.bsky.social · 14h

there's a cover letter never mentioned elsewhere in the RFP!!! why??????

Reposted by Jess McLaughlin, PhD (they/them)

old uncle BATface @catfacejoe.bsky.social · 1d

tweet screenshot
Matt the outlaw
@cursedgloryhole
Lady behind me at the thing screening last night to her partner "why are they shooting at the dog?" and her partner says very firmly "have you never seen a film before? you watch and information is revealed"

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Jess McLaughlin, PhD (they/them) @jfmclaughlin92.bsky.social · 15h

"RFPs actually list all required docs and not add a few Secret Extra Requirements in the application portal" challenge: impossible

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Reposted by Jess McLaughlin, PhD (they/them)

Robin Hayward 🌳 🏳️‍⚧️ @canopyrobin.com · 1d

I've just dropped the price on these because literally zero orders is usually a bad sign 😅 canopyrobin.etsy.com

Robin Hayward 🌳 🏳️‍⚧️ @canopyrobin.com · 2d

Just added a couple of limited edition stickers at canopyrobin.etsy.com! They're an A6 trans flag and trans dropout loopdeloop.

Unlike my normal easy-peel stickers, these are an eggshell design with extra-strong adhesive, so they'll break at the edges if tampered with and become very hard to remove

a large trans flag sticker, broken along one edge where someone has tried to remove it

the dropout game changer loop de loop symbol as a sticker in the trans flag colours, with text that says we've been here the whole time. The design is broken down one edge where someone has tried to remove it

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Jess McLaughlin, PhD (they/them) @jfmclaughlin92.bsky.social · 17h

where are we having this insurrection at that gas is $1.19 a gallon and the restaurants still advertise they have pay phones?

CNN @cnn.com · 1d

"President Donald Trump and his top aides are using the word 'insurrection' more frequently to describe anti-ICE protests in places like Portland," writes Zachary B. Wolf. https://cnn.it/4pWYmzr

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Jess McLaughlin, PhD (they/them) @jfmclaughlin92.bsky.social · 17h

i'm shocked @tkingfisher.com hasn't written it yet?

(or maybe she has and i simply can't keep up)

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Reposted by Jess McLaughlin, PhD (they/them)

闵娅(Min Ya; Minya) PhD @minyaaa.bsky.social · 3d

And look at this graphic abstract….. 😱🤯

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Reposted by Jess McLaughlin, PhD (they/them)

Oregon 🕎🎲 @oregonthedm.bsky.social · 20h

An interesting thing about this report is how it shows five animals and like 12 plant species make up 75% of the food we eat

www.bbc.com/future/bespo...

The forgotten foods that could excite our tastebuds

A tiny handful of crops make up the bulk of our food, but can expanding the number of plants we consume improve food security and make our diets more exciting at the same time?

www.bbc.com

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Jess McLaughlin, PhD (they/them) @jfmclaughlin92.bsky.social · 21h

i don't pre-order a ton, but for things i would plan to, the single biggest factor? "will my shipping address be the same by the time this comes out?"

(god i hate being a renter so much)

Alexandra Rowland @alexandrarowland.bsky.social · 1d

There's a lot of received wisdom about what motivates readers to preorder, but I've been wondering if cold hard data can back that up -- so I'm doing SCIENCE!

Got ~20 minutes to do a survey on your preorder habits (or non-habits)? forms.gle/RhfegAyrAWcM...
Please signal boost for sample size! 📖✨

Reader Survey: What Drives Preorders?

Hello, and thank you for taking the time to participate in this survey! As an author, I've heard a lot of “received wisdom” about how preorders work for readers, what motivates someone to preorder, an...

forms.gle

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Jess McLaughlin, PhD (they/them) @jfmclaughlin92.bsky.social · 21h

yeah mine's the best dentist i've ever had for sure. apparently he specializes in people with dental phobias/other things that make dental work challenging, and he's great at it. and of course he always wears a cap with fish on it lol

Jess McLaughlin, PhD (they/them) @jfmclaughlin92.bsky.social · 21h

a soft pretzel with some warm yellow stuff from a vat that has a homeopathic suggestion of "spicy" and may even have once been in the same room as a dairy product? it's not a proper sporting event without it.

Reposted by Jess McLaughlin, PhD (they/them)

Aparna Nair @disabilitystor1.bsky.social · 23h

this is the real legacy of Charlie Kirk

Audrey Truschke @audreytruschke.bsky.social · 1d

A Rutgers professor has been forced to flee the country for his safety, after targeting by a far-right student group that was *checks notes* claiming they felt unsafe.

I'm horrified.
I'm angry.

A short 🧵 #AcademicFreedom #Rutgers #violence #antifa

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Rutgers professor moving to Europe after threats over antifa accusations

Mark Bray says threats intensified after a Turning Point USA petition accused him of promoting political violence

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Jess McLaughlin, PhD (they/them)

Bookshop.org @bookshop.org · 1d

Can’t decide what to buy on Prime Day?

Try: absolutely nothing, and then go support indie bookstores instead 📚

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Reposted by Jess McLaughlin, PhD (they/them)

Esther Schindler @estherschindler.bsky.social · 1d

I just saw someone use the abbreviation “AI;DR” and I’ll be laughing for a while.

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Jess McLaughlin, PhD (they/them) @jfmclaughlin92.bsky.social · 22h

lotta absolutely wild shit on the TL today