Philip Bender

Whenever a new person learns I'm American they look at me like I just told them I am dying.

It's going! Slow start but it's getting there

Rough watching things going on over there

Hey USA friends, how are you all holding up?

Come visit! I'll get you pastries!

Okay but being in Paris helps a little 😋

Research Spotlight 💡
Wu et al. (*Science*, 2025) report the first human microglia replacement therapy. Bone marrow transplantation replaced defective #microglia in ALSP patients, halting disease progression and improving neurological function.
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adr1015

I am looking for examples of a 2-3 hour lab activity for a course that would allow college students to get some experience connected to environmental DNA studies (e.g., e-DNA, rRNA/ITS PCR, metagenomics, etc). Ideally this would have some DNA extraction and some follow up processing / analysis.

Notes on winter When the world turns whimsical

Wild fact from @billmckibben.bsky.social's latest newsletter:

"The last colder-than-average month on planet earth was in February of 1985, which means that no one under the age of forty has ever known one."

PLEASE REPOST AND SHARE!

My intro biology course has an "Interview a Biologist" project where students connect with a wide range of biologists using cell/molecular tools.

If you are willing to speak with a student for ~30 minutes on Zoom, please fill out this form: forms.gle/BCjJPgURsgSr...

I wishhhhj

“I’m mad I can’t understand Bad Bunny’s lyrics because they’re not in English”

my brother millions of metalheads around the world have been happily listening to incomprehensible Finnish shrieks and Japanese death grunts since we were teens, you’re just boring and racist

First pass for imaging experiments on a new rig tomorrow!

I'm sure there will be troubleshooting but right now just excited to get back into it!

French Response * @FrenchResponse X.com Investigating child sexual abuse material isn't controversial. Turning it into political theater is manipulation. Maybe that logic flies on some island. Doesn't fl in France. Elon Musk & X @elonmusk • 3h This is a political attack

My apologies to France, I was not familiar with your game.

Feeling in a bit of a slump, which is a funny thing to feel given the amount of good fortune I've had to be where I am right now

I feel guilty for struggling right now

TENURED YALE PROFESSOR IN AN OP-ED: In our society we have too often accepted the heckler’s veto, allowing the perfect to be the enemy of the good and making the refusal to forgive our highest virtue

TENURED YALE PROFESSOR IN AN EMAIL: hii jfefrey Can I come to rape party w/a plusone this weekend

‘Trump manufacturing a crisis to make Americans afraid to vote in the midterms’ | The News Agents Donald Trump lost the 2020 election – and has never let it go. This week, the FBI seized ballots from Georgia, a state he claims he won. Is his ego still bruised, or is this part of a far more…

Donald Trump has always claimed he won Georgia in the 2020 election - which he lost.

The FBI has now seized the ballots, and commissioner Mo Ivory says she has "no confidence" they won't be tampered with so Trump finally gets the result he wants

www.thenewsagents.co.uk/article/trum...

Nobody warned me that Paris would be so damp

Back-scratching bovine leads scientists to reassess intelligence of cows Brown Swiss in Austria has been discovered using tools in multiple ways – something only ever seen in humans and chimpanzees

COW TOOLS COW TOOLS COW TOOLS

Really disappointed that @natmed.nature.com is amplifying propaganda that sets out to justify the destruction of biomedical research in the US and around the world. Just because people are in power does not mean journals should launder their credibility.

These are concentration camps. And these are the numbers they're comfortable sharing.

Venezuela’s Machado gave Trump her Nobel prize. In return she received a swag bag but no promise of support | CNN When Venezuela’s opposition leader María Corina Machado walked into the White House on Thursday, she came bearing the gift US President Donald Trump has long coveted: a Nobel Peace Prize.

Imagine giving away your Nobel peace prize medal hoping for a presidency and getting a Trump-signed gift bag instead

No words

edition.cnn.com/2026/01/15/a...

Banned from travel to #ACNP2026 at the last minute, the NIH Institute Directors will join the meeting via remote. Koob, Volkow and Acting Director Beckel-Mitchener for NIAAA, NIDA and NIMH.

U.S. Attacked Boat With Aircraft That Looked Like a Civilian Plane

Breaking NYT:

The Pentagon used a secret aircraft painted to look like a civilian plane in its first boat attack, according to officials briefed on the matter.

The laws of armed conflict forbid combatants from feigning civilian status.

That is a war crime called "perfidy."

Take a second to really think about this: After one of its agents murdered an American citizen, the Trump-Vance administration is now straight up ignoring the judicial branch's order to let the legislative branch conduct basic oversight over said agents.

Beautiful day in Paris*

*sarcasm

Roxy is home now, on a bunch of medicines for the next couple weeks. Hopefully she recovers fully

And if you find yourself in paris anytime soon... let me know!

... and yeah fresh baguettes and French butter every day 🤷🏻‍♂️

I literally did this. Cost of living and lack of a car essentially makes up for the salary reduction. Spaces are smaller, but the world is bigger because you can easily go everywhere