Dr. Kat Napaaqtuk❄️
@napaaqtuk.bsky.social
34K followers 2.1K following 6.7K posts
Inupiaq, scientist of host-microbe interactions, mom, runner, news junkie, not necessarily in that order. I speak for myself. She/her. Only reskeets posts with alt text. Unapologetically typo prone.
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napaaqtuk.bsky.social
Hi folks! I am an assistant professor in Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of Connecticut. In this thread for #YoungScientistNetworking (invited by @quantumtessera.bsky.social ), I will tell you a little bit about my career path.
But first, my Inupiaq introduction: 1/n
napaaqtuk.bsky.social
I made a list of Native songs by Native artists on tidal. It has punk, throat singer, R&B, pop, a little bit of everything.

Related, I noticed that a bunch of the artists don't have their albums on Tidal anymore, anyone know what's up with that? Did I miss something?

tidal.com/playlist/e2a...
Natives
Playlist - Natives - 58 items
tidal.com
Reposted by Dr. Kat Napaaqtuk❄️
jennabeet.bsky.social
For your timeline clense, may I offer a little grey parrot absolutely chugging some mint tea. Mr Beet co-stars with helpless giggling. (Volume up)
Reposted by Dr. Kat Napaaqtuk❄️
melaniebergma18.bsky.social
#FloodTheZoneWithBeauty 🤩
echinoblog.bsky.social
oh wow! A stunning Porpita shot from @natalipaqpa on the other site
A blue bottle jelly with many tentacles emerging from it
Reposted by Dr. Kat Napaaqtuk❄️
kaurr.bsky.social
#Wolbachia has puzzled scientists with its power to rewire insect reproduction. What if I tell you that we found one of the keys Wolbachia use to rewire its host AND a small molecule inhibitor uses this key to mimic what this microbe has mastered for millions of years.

www.cell.com/cell-reports...
Beyond Wolbachia—Can a small molecule control insect reproduction?
Kaur et al. demonstrate reduced histone acetylation as a key mechanism underpinning Wolbachia’s paternal-effect embryonic lethality trait in Drosophila melanogaster. Recapitulation of this trait by in...
www.cell.com
Reposted by Dr. Kat Napaaqtuk❄️
gibbological.bsky.social
Had a lovely time chatting with @markowenmartin.bsky.social for the second time on his Matters Microbial podcast!

Thanks for having me, Mark! And thanks for this service you provide to our community 🙏

@isbscience.org @asm.org @microbetv.bsky.social

youtu.be/wdwTma0gV4k
Matters Microbial #110: Enumerating the Microbiome
YouTube video by MicrobeTV
youtu.be
napaaqtuk.bsky.social
She's back! But totally suspicious, especially after they banned Link
Reposted by Dr. Kat Napaaqtuk❄️
blairbraverman.bsky.social
Love this idea that dogs are the official forest bathing pros.
jordansbrock.bsky.social
I think Bucky was the best example of suburban forest bathing I’ve ever seen. He was always so happy to just lounge on the deck and enjoy the atmosphere.
Bucky on the snowed deck Bucky, splatted on the deck Bucky, curled up on the snowy deck Bucky on a dog bed on the deck, looking at the camera upside down
napaaqtuk.bsky.social
I have a fabulous undergrad who has a lot of experience with QIIME2 & using R to analyze microbiome data. She is looking for a job starting in January. Would love to learn more bench and field skills (will be getting some in her last 2 months). Open to academic, industry, government jobs in the US.
Reposted by Dr. Kat Napaaqtuk❄️
authorwinifred.blacksky.app
I'm not gone yet but I'm downshifting until Blacksky is autonomous, for the record.
authorwinifred.blacksky.app
My in-bio site is functional in a static business card kind of way. I know newsletters are what all the cool authors have, the way my neurology is set up newsletters are hell. But Ko-fi is a great place to catch up with me, and if we're accustomed to interacting my DMs can get you my Signal.
Support Winifred Burton ❤️
Support "Magical Black Girls Burning Shit Down," buy a cup of tea (you know how she gets when she's had too much coffee) for Winifred Burton! Become a "Freddie" and get even better acquainted with the...
ko-fi.com
Reposted by Dr. Kat Napaaqtuk❄️
melodyschreiber.com
Are you pregnant or breastfeeding and having trouble getting a Covid vaccine? I'd love to hear from you! [email protected]
napaaqtuk.bsky.social
This thread does a good job describing why people are so pissed.
bsky.app/profile/shen...
shengokai.blacksky.app
Suspending Link after he pointed out the how following Jonathan Chait after being accused of transphobia does not allow you to beat the transphobia allegations. In fact, it does the opposite.

To be clear: suspending Link was certainly a choice. And we know what KIND of choice it is.
jazzpomegranate.com
so now link is suspended with no email
napaaqtuk.bsky.social
aliafonzy.blacksky.app
So @spacelawshitpost.me aka Link got banned. I just got text message.

So yeah. We stop saying things are accidents now?

Link of all people?

Apparently Jay said something to him before taking him down. He didn’t even get a chance to reply.

He sent this image.

This is sad.
“Screenshot of a social media post showing ‘Post not found’ error message at the top. Below is a post from user ‘KC Complains a Lot’ (@kcclyburn.bsky.social) that reads: ‘jay Responded to you and you haven’t copypasta’d her, Im disappointed in you link’ Posted on October 5, 2025 at 12:32 PM”​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
napaaqtuk.bsky.social
Free Link!

I'm starting to get tired of this app. I think I'm going to take a break. I'll post links to explainer posts about the Link banning below
miriamboosh.bsky.social
Let me get this straight: Link, a Black user, got banned for calling out the Bluesky CEO for following a racist. That’s not a good look, especially given Bluesky’s historical treatment of Black users here on bluesky.
Reposted by Dr. Kat Napaaqtuk❄️
gwenckatz.bsky.social
ICE had no idea what they were getting into in Portland.
Reposted by Dr. Kat Napaaqtuk❄️
Reposted by Dr. Kat Napaaqtuk❄️
jenbiddle.bsky.social
My Apple Watch recharges way faster than I do
napaaqtuk.bsky.social
Oh snap, I didn't realize Link was banned! Banning Link and not the person at the center of Jay's controversy tells me everything I need to know about this place.
Reposted by Dr. Kat Napaaqtuk❄️
matthewcort.land
I've been saying it for more than a year now, @jay.bsky.team is not fit to lead this project. Perma-banning Link (presumably because who is going to care about the Black disabled guy) is yet another immature and petulant action as if we needed more proof.

Here's my question
Reposted by Dr. Kat Napaaqtuk❄️
joshsternberg.com
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported 1,514 measles cases as of Sept. 24, the highest number of annual cases since the United States declared measles eliminated in 2000.

Gift link.

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Tracking U.S. Measles Outbreaks (Gift Article)
As new cases are reported, our maps show the spread of the virus.
www.nytimes.com
Reposted by Dr. Kat Napaaqtuk❄️
dirkscheffers.bsky.social
There’s an active drive in Europe - both at European as well as various national levels - to recruit faculty that would like to relocate from the US.
Reposted by Dr. Kat Napaaqtuk❄️
thibautbrunet.bsky.social
Latest from ours: www.cell.com/cell-reports...

This is two stories in one: a case study/cautionary tale on developing genetic tools in new organisms, and the first hint at a gene regulatory network for choanoflagellate multicellular development (which turn out to involve a Hippo/YAP/ECM loop!) A 🧵