Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by William Hammond

Niels de Winter @nielsjdewinter.bsky.social · 1d

Such a sad story, but good that it can be told in full in museums now.
doi.org/10.1126/scie...

Fate of the last female great auk is finally solved

DNA and historical sleuthing have traced the extinct bird’s remains to a museum in Ohio

doi.org

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Reposted by William Hammond

Lars Brudvig @lars-brudvig.bsky.social · 1d

Apply to become the next MSU EEB Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow!

These are two year positions with research stipend, working with 2+ MSU EEB faculty. Applications due 10 November 2025. More here:

eeb.msu.edu/initiatives/...

Postdoctoral Fellowship - Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior

eeb.msu.edu

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Reposted by William Hammond

Walter Andriuzzi @walterandriuzzi.bsky.social · 1d

Sheng et al. call for greater survey efforts and broader conservation initiative to protect the 11 (ELEVEN!) felid species of the Tibetan Plateau.

(Strong contender for the Correspondence, or indeed article of any kind, with the best figure we ever published)

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Protect the Tibetan Plateau’s rich felid diversity - Nature Ecology & Evolution

Nature Ecology & Evolution - Protect the Tibetan Plateau’s rich felid diversity

www.nature.com

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Reposted by William Hammond

Neil Pederson @yellowbuckeye.bsky.social · 1d

I am teaching a course on ancient trees and tree rings at the NY Botanical Garden on Sunday, October 26th and Sunday, November 2nd.

We will learn about past environments, the amazing lives of trees, and what old trees tend to look like.

Sign up at this link: www.enrole.com/nybg/jsp/ses...

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Reposted by William Hammond

Simon Donner @simondonner.bsky.social · 2d

Most of the world has recently set all-time heat records - valuable analysis from @hausfath.bsky.social to show that climate change is real and global... even it was hotter in one town 80 years ago. www.theclimatebrink.com/p/most-of-th...

Most of the world has recently set all-time heat records

Regional exceptions like the 1930s in the continental US notwithstanding

www.theclimatebrink.com

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Reposted by William Hammond

José M. Torres-Ruiz @torresruizjm.bsky.social · 2d

Great to see this paper out!📰

Fifty shades of fade: linking transmittance loss to cellular death during leaf dehydration 🌿🔬

@irnase.bsky.social

Marylou Mantova @maryloumantova.bsky.social · 2d

Just published by Gonzalez et al. in @newphyt.bsky.social:

Fifty shades of fade: linking transmittance loss to cellular death during leaf dehydration 🌳🔬

Check out our new way to follow cellular mortality using cavicams at: doi.org/10.1111/nph....

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Reposted by William Hammond

Kate Johnson @kateplantphys.bsky.social · 2d

Our 300th episode!!! What a team, what a show💙🧡. Check us out on most major podcast platforms, or here: thatsscience.org

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Reposted by William Hammond

Zach Urness @oregonoutdoors.bsky.social · 4d

Drought and insects have killed an unprecedented number of Oregon’s Douglas fir trees during the last decade, costing billions in timber value, damaging infrastructure and ramping up wildfire danger.

What is Douglas fir dieback? Where is it happening? What is being done? tinyurl.com/5n9amvx6

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Reposted by William Hammond

Steve Voelker @thetreecorener.bsky.social · 2d

Good reporting on widespread Douglas-fir mortality in SW Oregon.

I lived on the edge of the Ashland watershed mentioned in the article ca. 2012-2014.

Even then I was seeing patchy mortality from crowding/drought that I knew would get much worse as temps warmed.

Zach Urness @oregonoutdoors.bsky.social · 4d

Drought and insects have killed an unprecedented number of Oregon’s Douglas fir trees during the last decade, costing billions in timber value, damaging infrastructure and ramping up wildfire danger.

What is Douglas fir dieback? Where is it happening? What is being done? tinyurl.com/5n9amvx6

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Reposted by William Hammond

Marylou Mantova @maryloumantova.bsky.social · 2d

Just published by Gonzalez et al. in @newphyt.bsky.social:

Fifty shades of fade: linking transmittance loss to cellular death during leaf dehydration 🌳🔬

Check out our new way to follow cellular mortality using cavicams at: doi.org/10.1111/nph....

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Reposted by William Hammond

Katie Holten @katieholten.bsky.social · 3d

Nature and the environment permeate the language viscerally. Irish predates English by a millennium. Its early writing system, Ogham, written vertically as a series of lines and strokes, has an alphabet based on trees. The Irish language is a joy.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Illustration of a new Irish Tree Alphabet. Twenty-six trees represent each letter of the English alphabet. At the bottom of the image are lines representing the Ogham alphabet, horizontal and vertical lines, looking like simple trees.

The Irish Tree Alphabet draws trees from existing native as well as non-natives that are now calling Ireland home due to the changing climate.

The trees are drawn in ink with colored water pencil filling in the leaves and fruit.

The work is rooted in the medieval Ogham alphabet which was used to write the early Irish language. The characters or letters were called feda "trees", or nin "forking branches" due to their shape.

Each letter of the Latin alphabet is given a corresponding tree: A = Ailm (Scots Pine), B = Beith (Birch), B = Coll (Hazel), etc.

The tree drawings were turned into a font called Irish Trees.

Irish Tree Alphabet by Katie Holten was made for Visual Carlow in 2020. The font is available to download, so everyone can write with Irish Trees.

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Reposted by William Hammond

Kirk Amundson @kirkamundson.bsky.social · 4d

UMass Amherst Biology is recruiting a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the area of Plant Physiology. Deadline Nov 1. Please spread the word and apply!

careers.massachusetts.edu/mob/en-us/jo...

Assistant Professor - Plant Physiology

The Department of Biology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst invites applications for a full-time, tenure-track Assistant Professor position in the area of Plant Physiology. The successful can...

careers.massachusetts.edu

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Reposted by William Hammond

Luiza Aparecido @luiza-aparecido.bsky.social · 7d

Hi all! If you are a PhD or soon to be PhD looking for a postdoc in plant thermotolerance, I would love to discuss project ideas for the University of Utah Wilkes Center Postdoc Fellowship, app due late Jan 2026!
Msg me if there is interest. Tnx!

wilkescenter.utah.edu/funding-oppo...

Wilkes Center Postdoctoral Program - The Wilkes Center for Climate Science & Policy

Apply to become a postdoctoral scholar! This postdoctoral scholar program will help create the next generation of leaders in climate science and policy. It endeavors...

wilkescenter.utah.edu

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Reposted by William Hammond

Silvia Caldararu🌿 @scaldararu.bsky.social · 7d

Come work with us - The School of Natural Sciences at Trinity College Dublin is looking for a tenure track assistant professor in plant biodiversity and conservation 🧪🌏🌾 my.corehr.com/pls/trrecrui...

Drop me a message if you want to chat about what it's like to work here or live in Ireland.

an old building with climbing plants around the door with purple flowers. The sign above the door says school of botany 1907

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Reposted by William Hammond

Alice Gauthey @a-gthy.bsky.social · 8d

New PhD position in tree ecophysiology at BiFoR-FACE (Uni of Birmingham) 🌳 Looking at tree carbon and water dynamics under elevated CO2 and warming 🌡️
Start Jan 2026. See more info here: euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/376950

Doctoral Research Fellow - FutureForests - School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences - 106218 - Grade 7

Position Details School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK Fixed salary of £49,747 additional allowances may be applicable depe...

euraxess.ec.europa.eu

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Reposted by William Hammond

Dan Sloan @sloanevolab.bsky.social · Sep 8

The Department of Biology at Colorado State University is hiring an Assistant Professor in the area of plant-microbe interactions! Please spread the word!

jobs.colostate.edu/postings/165...

Assistant Professor Plant-Microbe Interactions

We seek a creative, collaborative, and visionary plant biologist to establish an internationally recognized research program at the forefront of plant-microbe interactions aimed at understanding how t...

jobs.colostate.edu

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Reposted by William Hammond

Lauren Kuehne @omfishient.bsky.social · 9d

We created an urgent petition about the #GRFP eligibility changes - please sign and share if you can!

bsky.app/profile/omfi...

Lauren Kuehne @omfishient.bsky.social · 9d

🧪 Were you one of the many thousands of STEM students (and mentors) impacted by the sudden change in #NSF #GRFP eligibility last week?

We created a petition to NSF leadership and Congress to reverse the changes - please sign and share your stories here!!

laurenkuehne.github.io/grfpChanges/

Petition to NSF to Restore Eligibility for the 2026 Graduate Research Fellowship Program Competition

laurenkuehne.github.io

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Reposted by William Hammond

Adam Csank @acsank.bsky.social · 12d

I love that this particular bristlecone looks like a dragon

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Reposted by William Hammond

profchoat.bsky.social @profchoat.bsky.social · 11d

Travel to Japan has inspired a new line of research into causes of mortality in
really small, really old trees…

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Katie Langin @klangin.bsky.social · 11d

Today was a hard day for Ph.D. students who found out that they can no longer apply for NSF's prestigious Graduate Research Fellowship Program. "Devastating“ was how one student described it to me. #GradSchool #NSFGRFP

www.science.org/content/arti...

‘Completely shattered.’ Changes to NSF’s graduate student fellowship spur outcry

The announcement comes months later than usual, leaving many would-be applicants stranded

www.science.org

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Reposted by William Hammond

Jacquelyn Gill @jacquelyngill.bsky.social · 12d

These fellowships should be accessible to ALL students, not just those who come from elite undergraduate institutions who get a lot of mentoring support before they even start graduate school.

Maybe some of Trump's $20 billion Argentinian bail-out money could be repurposed to invest in US students?

Daniel Bolnick @danielbolnick.bsky.social · 12d

The GRFP announcement from NSF cuts out an entire cohort of 2nd year students from consideration, without warning. This is so deeply unfair that it warrants a formal protest from the scientific community. If someone wants to work with me to craft an open letter and solicit signatures, LMK.

Dan Garisto @dangaristo.bsky.social · 12d

New: After a long wait, the GRFP solicitation is live! Deadlines have been extended to early November, so applicants have a bit over a month to submit. www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...

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Reposted by William Hammond

Science Magazine @science.org · 11d

NSF today released instructions for the next round of applicants to its Graduate Research Fellowship Program. A key group—second-year Ph.D. students—is no longer eligible, and students who are still able to apply will face an unusually narrow timeframe. https://scim.ag/3KlQkQk

‘Completely shattered.’ Changes to NSF’s graduate student fellowship spur outcry

The announcement comes months later than usual, leaving many would-be applicants stranded

www.science.org

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Reposted by William Hammond

Daniel Bolnick @danielbolnick.bsky.social · 11d

Science news article about 2nd year grad students being unceremoniously dropped from the GRFP eligibility with no explanation or warning:
www.science.org/content/arti...

‘Completely shattered.’ Changes to NSF’s graduate student fellowship spur outcry

The announcement comes months later than usual, leaving many would-be applicants stranded

www.science.org

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William Hammond @wmhammond.bsky.social · 11d

Removing 2nd year PhD students will keep people like me out of science. I didn't come from the ivy league, or from a family of academics, or from a traditional path. I didn't know I was supposed prepare early, or even how to begin. This policy change by NSF is harmful and exclusionary (7/7).

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William Hammond @wmhammond.bsky.social · 11d

Today, my lab @ UF is still asking #WhatKillsTrees, & I pour my heart & soul into developing research projects and funding that can provide a stable seat at the table for the next generation of scientists to push the boundaries of knowledge further (they're AWESOME, see: ecophyslab.com/people; 6/7).

people — ecophyslab

people of the ecophyslab at the University of Florida

ecophyslab.com

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