Mar Huertas
@olfactlady.bsky.social
600 followers 690 following 28 posts
Fish physiologist focused on the sense of smell. Associate Professor at Texas State University. #WomenInSTEM. Fish model and non-model fan. #zebrafish #goldfish #trout #bass #xiphophorus #catfish Sometimes hiking and thinking of fish.
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olfactlady.bsky.social
I'm so happy that they continue this program. The emerging community of neurobiology in the changing environment is thriving and growing. We have a slack group, too, if you want to join us

join.slack.com/t/nice-commu...
olfactlady.bsky.social
Doesn't make bread. I tried.
olfactlady.bsky.social
A neurilion cells, give or take
Reposted by Mar Huertas
whysharksmatter.bsky.social
My latest for American Scientist Magazine helps give scientists the tools to fight back against politicized charges that our research is silly or pointless- tools that will work whether you’re asked “why are we funding this” from your asshole uncle at Thanksgiving or an asshole US Senator.
🧪🌎
“Why Are We Funding This?”
Long-standing myths about “silly science” have contributed to the reckless slashing of government-supported research.
www.americanscientist.org
Reposted by Mar Huertas
jcellsci.bsky.social
Why would anyone want to be a scientist?

Check out our new Essay from Martin Schwartz: journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/...
Screenshot of Essay from Martin Schwartz on 'Why would anyone want to be a scientist'. An anniversary article from The Company of Biologists published in Journal of Cell Science.

The first few lines are: It is difficult to fathom why anyone intelligent enough to be a scientist would actually choose to be one. Doing good science requires the utmost exertion of body, mind and spirit, yet is consistently filled with failure and rejection. But, strange even to myself, I not only don't question the unfavorable risk-to-reward ratio but consider myself astonishingly lucky to be a scientist. There are three fundamental pleasures that have sustained me through 50 years of this madness.
Reposted by Mar Huertas
princess-vimentin.bsky.social
This is an important read. The #NIH is shifting away from animal research towards a preference for 3D in-vitro organoid models. The field of 3D organoid models is growing & are they being refined, but still need be validated against animal based models.

🧪 www.genengnews.com/topics/trans...
Why We Still Need Animal Research in a World of AI and Organoids
The portrayal of uncaring scientists without any thought for the animals being used in their research is far from the truth.
www.genengnews.com
Reposted by Mar Huertas
davidho.bsky.social
If people think American scientists are somehow going to land in Europe, I've got news for you about the difference between millions and billions.

www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Bar chart titled "Matters of Scale" comparing proposed US research budget cuts to the European Union's €500-million (US$571-million) "Choose Europe" fund. The chart shows:

* National Institutes of Health (NIH): $8 billion in cancelled grants and $18 billion in proposed cuts by 2026 (long orange bar).
* National Science Foundation (NSF): $5.1 billion in proposed cuts by 2026 (shorter orange bar).
* EU's Choose Europe fund: $571 million (very short blue bar).

The graphic highlights that the EU fund is much smaller in scale compared to the US budget cuts. Text above the chart explains the EU’s intention to attract US researchers in response to policy decisions by the convicted felon and rapist Donald Trump.
Reposted by Mar Huertas
saxenalab.bsky.social
How an ol'factory' assembly line constantly manufactures neurons: Pleased to share our work in @stemcellreports.bsky.social, led by Sriivatsan G. Rajan in collab w/ L. Nacke, J. Lombardo, K. Wong, E. Somodji, J. Garcia, and the lab of dearly departed Dr. Jie Liang. 1/3 www.cell.com/stem-cell-re...
olfactlady.bsky.social
Congrats! Great paper.
Reposted by Mar Huertas
drsalinaslab.bsky.social
Please DO NOT USE AI to make this kind of terrible "diagrams" (whatever this is) to showcase our work. What are the pink and purple things? And what is "secrentry"? Trying to contact Scienmag.com
@science.org but there is not name written in this article. scienmag.com/secretory-ig...
Reposted by Mar Huertas
whysharksmatter.bsky.social
New paper!

Social media for fisheries science and management professionals: How to use Bluesky and Instagram, and why you should.

This is the *first* paper in the peer reviewed scientific literature to explain how Bluesky works and how to use it for #SciComm 🧪🦑🐠

academic.oup.com/fisheries/ad...
Social media for fisheries science and management professionals: How to use Bluesky and Instagram, and why you should
ABSTRACT. Social media tools have revolutionized how people communicate with one another. A 2018 paper in Fisheries summarized the use of Twitter, Facebook
academic.oup.com
olfactlady.bsky.social
Did you know fish can have huge noses? This pink flower in front of the eye of a striped bass is the olfactory rosetta. The olfactory nerve of these species is almost 3 cm long!
Reposted by Mar Huertas
boehninglab.com
Budget released today:
40% cut to NIH
50% cut to NSF
If enacted, this will destroy academic research in the United States. It will also have a major trickle down effect on the entire academic ecosystem
Reposted by Mar Huertas
annealiz1.bsky.social
I wish they didn’t neglect to mention USDA. 100% reduction in plant science grants this year!
Reposted by Mar Huertas
jeremymberg.bsky.social
Male PIs have an average of 1.44 awards in a given year with 68.6% having only a single award.

Female PIs have an average of 1.35 awards with 73.8% having only a single award.

Thus, 7% more female investigators are vulnerable to becoming unfunded through loss of a single grant.

13/n
Reposted by Mar Huertas
jeremymberg.bsky.social
NIH just posted a Notice with the new Terms and Conditions...

grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
Reposted by Mar Huertas
gobyone.bsky.social
In good tradition, here are a few tiny fishes with bunny ears 🐰
Reposted by Mar Huertas
coreywelch.bsky.social
All grants from the Training and Workforce Development Division of the NIGMS were terminated a few days ago nationwide. These funds go directly to supporting future scientists prepare for a career as Biomedical Researchers.

Bridges to Bac
MARC/URISE
IMSD/GRISE
PREP
Bridges to Doc
IRACDA.

1/x