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Dr. Kassandra Ford @kassthefish.bsky.social · 11d

As a note, this needs to be transported in a mini van, bigger SUV, or a truck of some kind!

Dr. Kassandra Ford @kassthefish.bsky.social · 11d

Help needed!! The summer got the best of me in terms of getting my shark sculpture to Minnesota, but now I really REALLY need some help!

If anyone is making road trip legs between Baltimore or Pittsburgh towards the Midwest, PLEASE let me know!

My fish lab would love to see this happen! Thanks 🦈

Gen Wojcik @genandgenes.bsky.social · May 22

Come meet me to transfer a shark sculpture! It fits in my Honda Odyssey, so any vehicle with at least that much space would work.

The first leg is to Pittsburgh and I can meet you halfway.

In this hellscape, bring a little good to your world. Also, my kids think I'm moderately cool now.

Dr. Kassandra Ford @kassthefish.bsky.social · May 22

Hi folks, I've got a follow up request about my large (~10ft) shark sculpture 🦈

Can this network help me come up with a caravan of folks who can transport the sculpture from the Baltimore area to the Illinois/Wisconsin/Minnesota area?

The sculpture fit in a minivan! And I can help w/ gas money

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Reposted by Dr. Kassandra Ford

Jess McLaughlin, PhD (they/them) @jfmclaughlin92.bsky.social · May 30

71.5% cut to BIO. Just...jesus fucking christ on a bike

Dan Garisto @dangaristo.bsky.social · May 30

Presidential budget is out. Here's NSF. Biggest cut, by amount, is $1 billion, or 66.8%, from MPS (Physics & Math directorate). nsf-gov-resources.nsf.gov/files/00-NSF...

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Dr. Kassandra Ford @kassthefish.bsky.social · May 28

I was briefly interviewed by NPR about the housing market!

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Reposted by Dr. Kassandra Ford

Gen Wojcik @genandgenes.bsky.social · May 22

Come meet me to transfer a shark sculpture! It fits in my Honda Odyssey, so any vehicle with at least that much space would work.

The first leg is to Pittsburgh and I can meet you halfway.

In this hellscape, bring a little good to your world. Also, my kids think I'm moderately cool now.

Dr. Kassandra Ford @kassthefish.bsky.social · May 22

Hi folks, I've got a follow up request about my large (~10ft) shark sculpture 🦈

Can this network help me come up with a caravan of folks who can transport the sculpture from the Baltimore area to the Illinois/Wisconsin/Minnesota area?

The sculpture fit in a minivan! And I can help w/ gas money

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Dr. Kassandra Ford @kassthefish.bsky.social · May 22

Oooo could work!!! Thanks, Milton!

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Dr. Kassandra Ford @kassthefish.bsky.social · May 22

Please send me a DM or reply here!

Thank you!!!! 🦈

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Dr. Kassandra Ford @kassthefish.bsky.social · May 22

The amazing @genandgenes.bsky.social can meet someone halfway to Pittsburgh from Baltimore.

Some possible other stops:
Pittsburgh
Cleveland
Toledo
Chicago*
Milwaukee*
Madison*

I can likely pick it up from one of the * locations if it can be stored for a couple of days/weeks in a garage or basement

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Dr. Kassandra Ford @kassthefish.bsky.social · May 22

Hi folks, I've got a follow up request about my large (~10ft) shark sculpture 🦈

Can this network help me come up with a caravan of folks who can transport the sculpture from the Baltimore area to the Illinois/Wisconsin/Minnesota area?

The sculpture fit in a minivan! And I can help w/ gas money

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Dr. Kassandra Ford @kassthefish.bsky.social · May 22

Was looking (first casually then more seriously) from Dec-April to buy with my mom for some multi-gen housing in MN. Now waiting at least 6mo to 1y due to concerns about interest rates, wild markets, and trying to save more for a down payment. She moved into my unit and we resigned the 1y lease.

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Reposted by Dr. Kassandra Ford

Jess McLaughlin, PhD (they/them) @jfmclaughlin92.bsky.social · Apr 12

alright i have my laptop, guess i'm livetweeting the dire wolf preprint.

so a quick reminder: this is not yet peer-reviewed, so there's some different expectations re: quality.

also let's be clear, i'm a hella biased reader, bc i don't trust the hype they're courting

Jess McLaughlin, PhD (they/them) @jfmclaughlin92.bsky.social · Apr 12

Briefly read through this and...hmm. I have thoughts that may merit a deeper dive.

One big concern: while their reference method seems reasonable for research uses, I'm thinking that if you want to claim you're cloning one, I'm sorry but you've actually gotta de novo that.

Graham Coop @gcbias.bsky.social · Apr 11

Dire wolf genomes from Colossal.

bsky.app/profile/bior...

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Reposted by Dr. Kassandra Ford

Joe Heras, Ph.D. @sebastesinblue.bsky.social · Apr 10

Thanks RC @rchoover.bsky.social for giving a really toothy talk about dentition in Stichaeids to my ichthyology class, today! Also, special thanks to the research mentors as well! @kassthefish.bsky.social, @karlycohen.bsky.social, and @cmdonatelli.bsky.social

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Reposted by Dr. Kassandra Ford

Science Sam @samanthayammine.com · Apr 8

Scientists love to debate and argue, but if there are 3 things every scientist absolutely agrees on, it's that:

1. Climate change is real
2. Vaccines work
3. Those are NOT dire wolves 😤

🧪

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Reposted by Dr. Kassandra Ford

Dr. Headbutt 🌈🧪 @nicoleackermans.com · Apr 8

And this is why science communication and science literacy is so important. 🧪

"spooky sukkot" daniel s. @self.agency · Apr 8

in case you're wondering, "what's the harm in claiming an extinct species has been brought back from the dead" when it most certainly has not, our interior secretary is already using it to justify taking animals off the endangered species list

The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is to work with others to “conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people.”

The Department of the Interior is excited about the potential of “de-extinction” technology and how it may serve broader purposes beyond the recovery of lost species, including strengthening biodiversity protection efforts and helping endangered or at-risk species.

The Endangered Species List has become like the Hotel California: once a species enters, they never leave. In fact, 97 percent of species that are added to the endangered list remain there. This is because the status quo is focused on regulation more than innovation.

It’s time to fundamentally change how we think about species conservation. Going forward, we must celebrate removals from the endangered list - not additions. The only thing we’d like to see go extinct is the need for an endangered species list to exist. We need to continue improving recovery efforts to make that a reality, and the marvel of “de-extinction” technology can help forge a future where populations are never at risk.

Since the dawn of our nation, it has been innovation – not regulation – that has spawned American greatness. The revival of the Dire Wolf heralds the advent of a thrilling new era of scientific wonder, showcasing how the concept of “de-extinction” can serve as a bedrock for modern species conservation.

The Dire Wolf revival carries profound cultural significance as it embodies strength and courage that is deeply encoded within the DNA of American identity and tribal heritage.

Breakthroughs of this nature will inspire leading minds and future generations of innovators to chase the impossible, capture it, and unleash its potential!

The Department of the Interior looks forward to a vibrant future full of innovation that advances core missions such as wildlife conservation.

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Reposted by Dr. Kassandra Ford

Darren Incorvaia @megadarren.bsky.social · Apr 8

“De-extinction” is to biodiversity loss what “Mars colonization” is to climate change—wishful thinking that is at its core impossible but nevertheless sucks up attention and resources from actual solutions to these crises (which, ultimately, might be the whole point)

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Dr. Kassandra Ford @kassthefish.bsky.social · Apr 9

All jokes I've made about species concepts during my career aside....

YIKES. This is BS.

Graham Coop @gcbias.bsky.social · Apr 8

Joking aside, this stuff about species concepts is such transparent BS.
[deleted & reposted, as first draft was too annoyed.]
www.newscientist.com/article/2475...

And Colossal claims it has turned grey wolves into dire wolves by making just 20 gene edits?
That is the claim. In fact, five of those 20 changes are based on mutations known to produce light coats in grey wolves, Shapiro told New Scientist. Only 15 are based on the dire wolf genome directly and are intended to alter the animals’ size, musculature and ear shape. It will be a year or so before it’s clear if those changes have had the intended effects on the genetically modified animals, says Shapiro.

So these pups aren’t really dire wolves at all, then?
It all comes down to how you define species, says Shapiro. “Species concepts are human classification systems, and everybody can disagree and everyone can be right,” she says. “You can use the phylogenetic [evolutionary relationships] species concept to determine what you’re going to call a species, which is what you are implying… We are using the morphological species concept and saying, if they look like this animal, then they are the animal.”

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Reposted by Dr. Kassandra Ford

Dan Garisto @dangaristo.bsky.social · Apr 8

The NSF's flagship fellowship program typically gives offers to 2,000+ young scientists. This year, in the face of looming budget cuts, that number was halved: only 1,000 received an offer. Our story on what that means for the science talent pipeline: www.nature.com/articles/d41...

NSF slashes prestigious PhD fellowship awards by half

US National Science Foundation announces lowest number of Graduate Research Fellowship Programme recipients in 15 years.

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Dr. Kassandra Ford

Heather Randell @heatherrandell.bsky.social · Mar 28

Well, UMN has officially been hit. We just got an email from our president that an international grad student was detained yesterday. No further details provided.

This. Is. Crushing.

Dear students, faculty and staff,

We are writing to inform you about a deeply concerning situation involving one of our international graduate students at the University of Minnesota.

We learned that, on March 27 at an off-campus residence, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials detained a graduate student enrolled on our Twin Cities campus. We are actively working to gather more details about this incident.

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Reposted by Dr. Kassandra Ford

Bell Museum @bellmuseum.bsky.social · Mar 28

Congratulations to Bell affiliate @pjhundt.bsky.social on his recent publication, which describes several new species of studfish! Peter Hundt has added many fish specimens to the Bell’s collections. Read more about his research in our blog post: www.bellmuseum.umn.edu/blog/newly-d...

Phylogenomic species delimitation of studfishes (Fundulidae: Fundulus ): evidence for cryptic species in agreement with the central highlands vicariance hypothesis | Zootaxa

www.mapress.com

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Dr. Kassandra Ford @kassthefish.bsky.social · Mar 28

Ordered IMMEDIATELY 👀

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Dr. Kassandra Ford @kassthefish.bsky.social · Mar 28

Trying to come up with the words to say.

I'm terrified for our students.

We just received an email that an international grad student at UMN has been detained. Minnesota has laws stating police are not required to provide info to ICE. Admin claims no info was given.

How can we protect our people?

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Dr. Kassandra Ford @kassthefish.bsky.social · Mar 23

I would buy the heck out of this 👀👀

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Dr. Kassandra Ford @kassthefish.bsky.social · Mar 6

TransGENETIC ≠ TransGENDER

Say it again louder for those in the back (and apparently also those in the front who are unable to read things correctly)

Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · Mar 6

Transgenic means that genes from 1 organism have been put into another. We make transgenic mice to understand how genes influence biological processes. We make transgenic plants to make them more nutrient rich. We make transgenic bacteria so they make medicine for us. It's wide-ranging & v. useful.

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Dr. Kassandra Ford @kassthefish.bsky.social · Mar 5

I think I'm set! Found a wonderful person in town who can hang on to it until I can coordinate getting it 😊 thank you though!

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Dr. Kassandra Ford @kassthefish.bsky.social · Mar 5

Is this what I expected for my life? No. Would I change it? Also no 😂

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