Sophia Aredas

Higher methanotroph abundance and bottom-water methane in ponds with floating photovoltaic arrays https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.07.24.666521v1

Higher methanotroph abundance and bottom-water methane in ponds with floating photovoltaic arrays https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.07.24.666521v1

White mug with a picture of a frog wearing a fedora and green text that says “my tummy hurts and I’m mad at the government.”

I like this mug

Columbia Agrees to $200 Million Fine to Settle Fight With Trump

You can never bend the knee enough to appease an authoritarian bully.

This is a devastating blow to academic freedom & freedom of speech at Columbia.

Never in the history of this nation has there been an administration so intent on the utter destruction of higher education as we know it.

a black and white cartoon of spongebob squarepants sitting at a table with a cup of coffee . ALT: a black and white cartoon of spongebob squarepants sitting at a table with a cup of coffee .

The emptiness of wanting a final sip of coffee and picking up the mug and realizing you already drank it all

Today is a great day to be a Great Lakes aquatic microbial ecologist🤩 Just a few photos from our #LakeMichigan cruise 🌊 Microbial community sampling isn’t so bad especially when your office for the week looks like this🌅

We’re excited to share a new CRISPR-Cas12 genome editing system, highly efficient across multiple brown algae species!

Brown algae transformation has been challenging despite many thoughtful approaches over the years.

We hope this one is kelpful 🌿😅
🔗 doi.org/10.1101/2025...
#CRISPR #Algae

Interpreting UniFrac with Absolute Abundance: A Conceptual and Practical Guide Microbial ecologists routinely use β-diversity metrics to compare communities, yet these metrics vary in the ecological dimensions they capture. Popular for incorporating phylogenetic relationships, U...

Microbial ecologists! Do you use Unifrac distances? Are you curious about absolute abundances? Then I’ve got a paper for you!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... (1/4)

Reminders to myself and others • Apply often, apply broadly, and diversify funding. • Fight misinformation about science and scientists (publicly and/or privately). • Use social media for advocacy, branding, and SciComm- expand your network. • Maximize your resources- learn how to do science on a budget. • Bring your whole self to science (when you can safely). • Celebrate All of your wins, big and small! • Always keep your options open and approach science and academia with flexibility.

“Approach difficult conversations with empathy.”

Important words from Crystal Rogers at #worm25

Wrapping up #ASMicrobe day 1 with the @bsingletons.bsky.social mixer. Great program to support and welcome first-timers to the conference. Huge shout out to #JoeJames for doing so much to support fellow microbiologists! @ASMICROBIOLOGY.BSKY.SOCIAL

To those who weren’t born yet or those like me who didn’t remember, this is why we have the EPA.

THANK U DREA!!!! Its been so awesome so far💖

Pet peeve: I hate how often ppl claim “all the researchers will just move to Europe/Canada!” You vastly under-estimate how little money there is there vs the USA- and unless that changes ASAP this loss is just going to decimate global science, full stop. 🧪🔭

#ASMMicrobe Day ✌️

Presented my poster and met so many incredible scientists! Please be welcome to come my rapid fire talk tomorrow in AES: Microbial Pioneers: Colonizing Earth’s Unique Habitats at 11:45AM😀

An empty booth at ASM that should have housed the NSF

Well this is f’in sad #ASMicrobe

Hey all - check this post if you’re at #ASMicrobe this weekend.

Let’s have a meet up tomorrow for a photo op of microbiologists on @bsky.app who are at #ASMicrobe!

Be there at 3 PM at the main entrance giant ASM sign!

In person meetups are super fun - please be there!

And plz repost!

I will be presenting my work: “Understanding the Ecological Effects of Floating Photovoltaics on Microbial Communities in Freshwater Ponds”

Poster Presentation AES09 Saturday Marine and Freshwater Microbiology 🌊

AND

AES-RF-404 - AES Sunday Rapid Fire Talk🔥

So excited to rep the Schmidt lab at #ASMMicrobe this week! I will be presenting my work on how microbial communities respond to disturbances like floating photovoltaics (solar panels)☀️If you love microbes, ponds, community dynamics, etc. let’s chat 🤠

Time for Episode 95 of #MattersMicrobial! This time, Dr. Tory Hendry of Cornell University joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss aphids, symbiosis, and fluorescent bacteria. Please spread the #GoodMicrobialWord? microbe.tv

youtu.be/i9xoWApANNM?...

Going to ASM Microbe 2025?

Check out the in-depth symposium "Phage Ecology: From Prophage Decision Making to Ecosystem Modulation" hosted by Dr. Hernandez (@cathyhernandez.bsky.social) and I!

We have some really cool talks lined up.
Hope to see you there!

🧪🦠🔬
#Phagesky
#Microsky

Trump is such a small, selfish man. He would rather extract personal and political revenge on Californians because they didn’t vote for him than actually lead this nation.

This is blatantly illegal and California will absolutely block this action in court.

URGENT: FlyBase has lost practically all its funding overnight; even user fees are tied up in denied grant funding. 🤬🤯

Any lab using @flybase.bsky.social please donate using the link in post below.

This incredible community, on whose backs our #Drosophila labs depend, can't be left out to dry.

Simons Graduate Fellowships in Ecology and Evolution The purpose of these awards is to provide support for students entering U.S.-based Ph.D. programs with a plan to perform research in ecology and evolution. While we will consider all projects in ecolo...

Fantastic opportunity for ecology and evolution focused prospective grad students

www.simonsfoundation.org/grant/simons...

BIO getting absolutely killed

Not just private institutions. Public universities should not be subject to kowtowing to the whims of the political party in charge. It is un-American to not serve all that live in the country and to pursue ideology instead of the truth.

“The NIH monopoly on directing scientific research should be broken”.

Project 2025, page 462.

RFK Jr. and Bhattacharya are falling right in line with this document produced by the right-wing extremist Heritage Foundation.

Academic freedom my butt.

A Fungus Devastated North American Bats. A New Species Could Deliver a Killer Blow. (Gift Article) Scientists have learned that another species of fungus found in Europe and Asia causes white-nose disease, which has ravaged bat populations in the United States and Canada.

The Last of Us may be over for now, but fungus pandemic news endures. Here's my story on how white-nose disease, which has battered North American bats, may have more devastation in store. 🧪 Gift link: nyti.ms/4mGRyV8

Happy Memorial Day!
Don't forget to tune in tomorrow, May 27th, for the next episode of Ask an Astrobiologist, featuring The Colorful World of Microbes & the Search for Life on Exoplanets, with Dr. Ligia Fonseca Coelho!
Starts at 12.00pm, PDT/3.00pm EST
astrobiology.nasa.gov/ask-an-astro...

They blame pollution but cut the EPA and clean air and water regulations. They blame poor nutrition but cut SNAP and programs to bring local produce to schools. They blame increased screen time while destroying public infrastructure that connects people. All while they take millions off healthcare.

This is absolutely horrifying - especially in the current financial climate.