Darren Irwin (he / him)

Aren't they wonderful?

Science of sex and gender being misrepresented by Trump officials, experts warn Scientists say crackdown on gender-affirming care could have impact on healthcare of all Americans

Major thanks to @melodyschreiber.com for interviewing me about what biology actually says about sex & gender

Unscientific attacks on trans rights are fueled by fascism, not science, and harm all of us - cis or trans

Excellent reporting 🧬🏳️‍⚧️

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

As of tonight, licenses of trans people across Kansas are being invalidated en masse, enabling the overnight criminalization of an entire group of people for going about our lives. It’s often said you never know when you’re living through history, so let me assure you: that’s what’s happening now.

Kansas Sends Letters To Trans People Demanding The Immediate Surrender Of Drivers Licenses "The legislature did not include a grace period." ERIN REED FEB 25, 2026 88 5 21 Share Kansas Sate Capitol // farzinvousoughian

1. Numerous transgender people in Kansas are reporting that the state has sent them a letter demanding the immediate surrender of drivers licenses.

Those driving could be arrested, charged, and see privileges revoked.

Subscribe to support our journalism.

www.erininthemorning.com/p/kansas-sen...

Wow, Pluto is incredible. Because of my python muscle-memory I've just been running julia in jupyter whenever I needed a notebook but I finally took the plunge and it's crazy how many features this thing has. #julialang

If you want to send support to those most impacted by the recent events in Tumbler Ridge, here's a link to donate to the Red Cross specifically for this purpose (and recommended by the BC government):

give.redcross.ca/page/26TRTA?...

Supporting people through the Tumbler Ridge tragedy The government of British Columbia is working to ensure every possible support is available for the community of Tumbler Ridge, and for people around the province dealing with the impacts of this trag...

Here is the BC government's webpage on how to help, including a link to donating to the Canadian Red Cross, specifically in support of people affected by this event:

www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/...

My heart goes out to the people of Tumbler Ridge. I have many happy memories of this wonderful small town on the northeastern slope of the Canadian Rockies. Many kind people there helped support me during field research in that region over the years. May we all support them in this time of need.

Julia is quickly becoming the successor to Fortran, once the standard for high-performance computing in science, mathematics, and engineering. It’s powerful and fun to use. Get a solid foundation with a good book:

lee-phillips.org/amazonJuliaB...

#julialang #physics #programming #mathematics

Computing has a rich history in biological discovery, and the needs of biologists are continuing to drive algorithm development in multiple domains. Close alignment between developers and deep biological domain expertise is crucial in this field and a programming language such as Julia provides an ideal platform for such tight collaborations that require a range of access points to the software. Julia provides interactive and notebook-based interfaces commonly used by experimentalists whilst also giving algorithm developers the opportunity create more complex workflows and structures, and optimize performance as needed. In this minisymposium, we aim to highlight ways in which computational biologists* are using Julia to advance our understanding of living systems, in academia and industry, while also contributing to the package ecosystem and core language on multiple fronts. "Computational biology" is a broad tent. Topics presented include algorithms for text matching and search (bioinformatics), modeling and machine learning (systems biology and quantiative pharmacology),statistics and data science (experimental analysis, epidemiology), and imaging and geospatial statistics (microscopy), among others.

@kevinbonham.com, Rasmus Henningsson, Elisabeth Rösch, and Jakob Nybo Andersen are running a minisymposium on "Julia for Biology" at JuliaCon 2026!

Find out more at pretalx.com/juliacon-202... and submit your talk to juliacon.org/2026/cfp

#julialang #biology

the struggle is real

Questions have I … Do the chromosomes somehow replicate to three copies rather than two or four?

Stapler and staple remover, both of which look sort of like dinosaurs but are actually dragons (biologists have not actually done the DNA work to see how dragons and dinosaurs are related).

Dinosaurs And Non-Dinosaurs

Excellent classification. xkcd.com/3204/

Recording and Documenting Police and Federal Agents The First Amendment protects your right to take photos and videos of law enforcement officers performing their duties in public. This applies to ICE agents, police, FBI, National Guard troops, and any other government officials. If you're not under arrest, a law enforcement officer needs a warrant to confiscate your device or to view its contents without your consent.

The First Amendment fully protects our right to record ICE agents, police, FBI, National Guard troops, and other government officials performing their duties in public.

Know your rights while filming, how to protect your digital privacy, and what to do if you're stopped or arrested for recording.

Large anniversary the size of a small anniversary:

Twitter post screenshot of the San Miguel Sheriff account. 5 years ago they posted about a boulder on the road but referred to it as "Large boulder the size of a small boulder".

Happy 6th "Large boulder the size of a small boulder" anniversary to those who celebrate! #Geology ⚒️

YouTube video by Darren Irwin Taiga Flycatcher in Vancouver!

If you need a 12-minute break from [[gestures all around]] and want to have a virtual visit to see and learn about the first-ever Taiga Flycatcher in Canada, I've made this for you:

youtu.be/GCsGUhkifCA

#birds
#birding
#TaigaFlycatcher

Thank you Syd! Maybe the bird will stop by Whitehorse on its way back to Siberia.

YouTube video by Darren Irwin Taiga Flycatcher in Vancouver!

If you need a 12-minute break from [[gestures all around]] and want to have a virtual visit to see and learn about the first-ever Taiga Flycatcher in Canada, I've made this for you:

youtu.be/GCsGUhkifCA

#birds
#birding
#TaigaFlycatcher

A reminder to the news media: “conflicting accounts” is what you say BEFORE the incontrovertible video evidence appears. After that, your job is to ask why one side is lying, not to repeat the lie and pretend no one knows the truth.

To those American academics out there who have chosen to remain silent/mostly silent about the horror going on in the USA these days at every corner of the federal government, please start speaking out and fighting back.

January 24, 2026 at 18:42 Statement from Michael and Susan Pretti Parents of Alex Jeffrey Pretti "We are heartbroken but also very angry. Alex was a kindhearted soul who cared deeply for his family and friends and also the American veterans whom he cared for as an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA hospital. Alex wanted to make a difference in this world. Unfortunately, he will not be with us to see his impact. I do not throw around the 'hero' term lightly. However, his last thought and act was to protect a woman. The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting. Alex is clearly not holding a gun when attacked by Trump's murdering and cowardly ICE thugs. He had his phone in his right hand and his empty left hand is raised above his head while trying to protect the woman ICE just pushed down, all while being pepper sprayed. Please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man. Thank you.

“Please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man.”

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. dedicated his life fighting for equity and justice. He taught us that even in the face of intimidation and discrimination, we must never stop working towards a better future – a lesson that feels especially relevant today.

Master Projects available in the Qvarnström lab @qvarnstromlab.bsky.social studying climate adaptation and speciation using a natural flycatcher hybrid zone on Öland, Sweden!

Check available projects here 👇👇
drive.google.com/file/d/1B69x...

He's caused a tremendous boost to the Canadian wine industry

Assistant professor in botany job description for University of Northern British Columbia

Come work with us! We are seeking a tenure-track botanist, preferably in the areas of non-vascular, systematics, physiology or cell. Happy to answer questions.

unbc.njoyn.com/CL/xweb/xweb...

🧪🌱 #botany

The Story behind the Science: Preprints of pandemic potential—how bioRxiv and medRxiv brought preprints to the life sciences | mBio When we launched medRxiv in mid-2019, we never could have anticipated that just a few months later, New York would be at the epicenter of a rapidly escalating global pandemic, and we would be handling...

Terrific origin story, history, and future of bioRxiv and medRxiv by @richardsever.bsky.social in @mbio.bsky.social

journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

Yes I think so, but can mention that drift is always a factor and that together with limited dispersal distances leads to IBD (and selection can enhance that or even work against it)

“And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer.” JRR Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings

#Whitehorse #Yukon