Devin Boyles

Map of the United States showing reported cases of Lyme disease in 1995. One dot placed in county of residence for each reported case. Source: CDC data.

This is a map of Lyme disease cases in 1995 via CDC. Keep it in mind when I show you the 2023 map in the next post.

A baby platypus is called a puggle (or 'platypup' 😁)

And anytime you post a video like this one, someone always points out they have venomous spurs.

The adult males DO, but *only* the adult males!

Let's talk about the amazing venom cocktail produced by this adorable little beaver-duck.

This is an incredible initiative! Does anyone in the Pittsburgh area want to work on this with me?

If you’re a scientist with even a little bit of experience talking about your science to the public, I’d encourage you to sign up to do one of these. I can help. 🧪🌎🦑

GIF of ReDead (tall, brown zombie enemy) attached to Link, stealing his health.

Dr. Naomi Wolf. 8 NYT Bestsel... & Follow @naomirwolf I have a horrible feeling that many vaccinated people will never fully recover their heart energy. Do you know what I mean? That warm glow you used to get from heart to heart hugging of people, is diminished with some vaccinated people, to a brief flicker, much fainter life force? Energy healers, does anything work to heal this in your experience?

When you’re an anti-vaxxer and also bad at Zelda

A screenshot of the termination notice showing "Outstanding Investigator Grants"

A screenshot of the termination notice with "This award is terminated effective the date of this award, due to unsafe antisemitic actions that suggest the institution lacks concern for the safety and wellbeing of Jewish students." highlighted

Yesterday, the NIH R35 “Outstanding Investigator” grant to fund scientists in my lab studying antibiotic resistance was terminated for reasons not related to the content of the science, or any actions taken by me or members of my lab

“dont rake your leaves until nights are above 50 so pollinators can hatch” is good advice that combines 3 great loves: having the moral high ground, not doing chores, and bugs

Any recommendations on someone who would make for a good guest to discuss Lyme disease?

New EO banning “dangerous gain-of-function” experiments dropped Monday.

Allow me to break out my deranged anti-vax kakistocrat translator.

Will this improve the safety & security of biological research?

Hell yes, because biological research won’t exist anymore!

Mushroom mushroom

If you see this, post the most recent photo of yourself from your camera roll. No cheating!

Link to actual EO - www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...

Screencap of Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. A dialogue box says 'I think I mentioned this before, but man, I am really into bugs.'

Me, talking to my friends

If you see this post your getaway vehicle

I got hit by some rather sudden and extreme financial hardship so if anyone is in need of remote wetlab contract research, strictly BSL1, do let me know. Currently scrambling for gigs.

Plant, Bacterial, Archaeal Non-model Bioeng
Custom Lab Hardware
Turn Key Genetic Design

Please repost for reach 💚

RFK Jr.'s HHS Orders Lab Studying Deadly Infectious Diseases to Stop Research NIAID's Integrated Research Facility is one of the few federal facilities charged with studying Ebola. Tuesday afternoon, all of its work was put on indefinite pause by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s departm...

This work is critical to us responding to Ebola outbreaks and strengthening medical countermeasures - “RFK Jr.'s HHS Orders Lab Studying Deadly Infectious Diseases to Stop Research”

A group of 7 chocolate-band snails resting along the rounded top of an older, weathered headstone. An additional snail is along the center over the headstone text.

Chocolate-band snails along the top of a cross-shaped, weathered headstone.

Chocolate-band snails along the bottom of the cross on an older, weathered cross-shaped headstone.

Cemetery snails for #invertfest!

A circular illustration of 19 colorful different species of invertebrates across various phyla (arthropods, cnidarians, echinoderms, sponges, mollusks, annelids, flatworms). Black arching text surrounding them reads “Celebrate Invertebrate Biodiversity”. They are illustrated on a light blue background.

Happy #Invertefest! Celebrate invertebrate biodiversity 🐛💕

The Return of the Dire Wolf Colossal Biosciences has genetically engineered the first dire wolf to live in over 10,000 years. Here's what that means for other extinct species.

TIME's cover story this week is about using genetic engineering to bring back a recently-extinct species.

I don't know the technical details of this case, which may or may not be as awesome as it sounds. But some thoughts on this topic in general as a conservation biologist:

🧵

🧪🌎

Inside you there are two wolves

Huh I probably should have scrolled a bit of news before posting this.

SCIENTISTS AREN'T SAFE! RIF notice from https://www.reddit.com/r/DeptHHS/comments/1jo4emu/rif_notices/

Secretary Kennedy has said that making HHS more efficient means getting rid of administrative bloat.

But is it only administrators getting “streamlined”? Happy April Fools Day, except this is not remotely funny.

Destroyed homes and debris cover the ground as a new storm moves into Joplin, Missouri, on May 23, 2011, a day after a devastating tornado struck the city. (Julie Denesha/Getty Images)

2011: an EF5 tornado hit Joplin, MO with a path length of 21 miles. Estimated wind speeds were 250 mph (402 km/h).

There were 1,150 injuries reported, 4,380 houses destroyed, $2.8B in damages. 158 people lost their life in the storm.

Another 5 died from flesh-eating fungus. Let's talk about it.

A screen grab from the iNaturalist newsletter with a photo of a tiny translucent insect. The text says: One of the smallest and least known insect orders is Zoraptera, known in English as "Angel Insects". Thanks to data from iNaturalist, scientists have been able to summarize & update worldwide distributions of this lesser-known group of insects. Pictured here is one found by @aperturesciencebydan.

Look who has a sighting featured in the @inaturalist.bsky.social March newsletter - it’s @apsciencebylyn.bsky.social

You can contribute to the vast iNaturalist database by uploading sightings of your favorite critters. Scientists will thank you. 🧪 🌿

It's an Airpods case with two isopods in it, curled up with black scales and yellow highlights. Big Apple-sytle text reads: "iSopods". There's a watermark logo I can barely make out: "ZTH Photography" in the lower right. Stolen from the Internet.

whispering voice in your head:
"...put them in your ears..."

Outgoing head of heralded U.S. global HIV/AIDS program urges Trump to reverse cuts John Nkengasong, who had helmed PEPFAR since 2022, says “history will remember we showed humanity”

“Each moment, each day, people don’t access their antiretroviral treatment is clearly a recipe for a disaster.”

My colleague @cohenjon.bsky.social spoke to John Nkengasong, the outgoing head of PEPFAR
🧪 #IDsky

Description: It's a microscopic image of a type of red-stained neuron in the cerebellum, and it looks like some sort of undersea coral structure waving in the water, with a long thin line stretching "down". The rest of the tissue on the slide is either beige or outlined in blue, long thin dendrites or descending fibers, I think? Not great at neurobiology. Image of Distinction, 2018 Photomicrography Competition "Dye-injected Purkinje cells in mouse cerebellum" CREDIT: Benjamin Barti Affiliation: Hungarian Academy of Sciences - Institute of Experimental Medicine, Department of Molecular Neurobiology, Budapest, Hungary Technique: Confocal, Magnification 20x (objective lens magnification)

Benjamin Barti at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences - IEM, took this 20X micrograph by confocal microscopy for Nikon's 2018 Photomicrography Competition.

You're seeing dye-injected Purkinje cells in a mouse cerebellum. These are some of the largest neurons in the brain.