Morgan Carter

My sense is that investigators and institutions are generally surviving on continuing funding and reserves for the moment, but they become more vulnerable to serious, perhaps even largely irreversible, damage with each passing day/week/month.

So I pleased to announce the conceptual spawn of FigTree: PearTree (acronym still to be finalised). If you want to dive right in it is hosted as a web app here: artic-network.github.io/peartree (click the “Example...” button for immediate candy and then click every button you can find).

Gotta wonder how much more productive I'd be in this super critical time in my career if it weren't for *gestures wordlessly at the country*

You put into words what I’ve been feeling so strongly lately

It really sucks to watch awesome early career folk get denied opportunities. I know this has always happened, but it feels so much more precarious now. and extra sucky because the time when I finally have folks in the lab looking for jobs comes at the same time as science falls off a cliff. 🙁

column for additional notes about my oligos. the first reads "worst hairpin I've ever seen," the next reads "low Tm, but couldn't get it any higher," and the third reads "sets a new record for worst hairpin I've ever seen"

looking at my primer list bc I'm thinking about clearing some of these out and my notes are so unserious lol

Please enjoy our research paper on how Bluesky is the preferred home of academics of all stripes, including professors of rare moths. (Yes, we actually have lots of entomologists here).

academic.oup.com/icb/article-... 🧪

After four months, the journal has not found a single reviewer for my PhD student's manuscript. The academic peer review system is broken.

I think we all should:

1. Review three papers for every one that we submit.
2. Promptly declined to review a paper when the request arrives.

#AcademicChatter

😢

Had a student with a straight up microbiology GRFP declined bc didn’t fit STEM focus

(Didn’t involve plants, not a human pathogen…)

A line plot with the numbers of NSF awards for fiscal years 2021-2026. The curve for fiscal year 2026 is quite a bit lower than those for 2021-2025 while the curve for fiscal year 2026 (in red) is much lower than all through the same date.

But, as they say, there is no time like the present

[OK, maybe the 1930s if you want to nitpick]

But, with some data wrangling, my first NSF Funding Curves!

2/3

Fig. 1. Schematic of the organization of an indeterminate nodule. The persistent meristem in indeterminate nodules produces a cylindrical shape with distinct zones (Vasse et al. 1990).

Editor’s Pick: “Non-Nitrogen-Fixing Sinorhizobium meliloti Can Escape Sanctions in Indeterminate Alfalfa Nodules, Exhibiting Parasitic Growth,” by Amanpreet K. Brar et al. Learn more: https://doi.org/10.1094/MPMI-06-25-0074-R

Independent, ongoing clade-specific expansions of IS5 elements in Pseudomonas syringae Insertion sequence (IS) elements are transposable regions of DNA present in a majority of bacterial genomes. It is hypothesized that differences in distributions of IS elements across bacterial strain...

Hey y’all,

New paper out from the lab in Microbial Genomics, starting down the rabbit hole of IS elements in Paeudomonas syringae

www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/jour...

Trying to find apt metaphors for the state of 🇺🇸 science rn

I had been using “arranging deckchairs on the titanic” but that’s too doomer

Right now I’m on “We’re arguing about how to saddle a horse when in reality we all ride emus now.”

Things have changed but we’re still chasing the same standards

PhytoFrontiers Protocols

Introducing a new article type in PhytoFrontiers: Protocol papers detail in-depth, reproducible methods relevant to plant health. Learn more about submitting a protocol paper (scroll to the bottom for more information): https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/page/phytofr/about

Host Matt Kasson talks with Dr. Alejandro Olmedo-Velarde of Iowa State University about multi-trophic interactions in vector-borne diseases affecting corn, soybean, and other crops—plus his journey from Ecuador to plant virus research in Hawaii.

🎧: https://www.plantopiapodcast.org/68

A number of our students got the following comment back on a rejection for the NSF GFRP. They are in an eligible STEM field. Is this something people in other places are getting too? Is it a quirk or targeted?

I am excited to offer a postdoctoral research position in my lab in Oxford studying the distribution of small RNAs during plant sexual reproduction. shorturl.at/7Goxt
Reposts appreciated!
Obligatory cat video to brighten your day. :-)

This line graph illustrates the percentage change in agency staff levels from the previous year for nine major U.S. federal scientific and health organizations between the fiscal years 2016 and 2025. The agencies tracked include the CDC, Department of Energy, EPA, FDA, NASA, NIH, NIST, NOAA, and NSF. For the majority of the timeline between 2016 and 2023, the agencies show relatively stable fluctuations, generally staying within a range of +5% to -5% change per year. However, there is a dramatic and uniform plummet starting in the 2024–25 period. Every agency depicted shows a sharp downward trajectory, with staffing losses ranging from approximately -15% to over -25%. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shows the most significant decline, dropping to roughly -26%, while the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) shows the least severe but still substantial drop at approximately -15%.

This is the most astonishing graph of what the Trump regime has done to US science. They have destroyed the federal science workforce across the board. The negative impacts on Americans will be felt for generations, and the US might never be the same again.

www.nature.com/immersive/d4...

Muttering to myself "AAT GCA..." and thinking that it is very obvious when I am writing questions for my Genetics course. That or I just sound like I've lost it, to anyone passing my office.

Dealing with ScienCV formatting Some tips for composing and making your new NIH biosketch not look like garbage

Been hearing some horrifying chatter about dealing with the new #NIH common form and #ScienCV system, so I put together a short video with some tricks for mitigating some of those pain points.

Hope it helps? 🧪

open.substack.com/pub/emptymod...

The Murphy Lab did our annual retreat this week. This year's theme was using AI (what it's good and bad for). I wanted to be open-minded to make sure we are not missing something we should be using it for, so we did a few exercises to test, and had presentations.

Got given a subscription to @humblebundle.com monthly bundle this year which has inspired me to play through more of my backlog as well. Goal is to play a new game a day (if I play any games that day) and post about it here.

One last read of this grant. Completely sick of it, so I know it’s ready.

Application Process Image Woman behind a podium presenting. Jessie Golding, BBCS postdoc, presenting at ICCB 2025. Apply to become a Lovejoy Fellow by submitting your resume, cover letter, and contact information for three references through the University of Arizona Talent Portal (link upcoming) by the first review date of January 30, 2026. Your cover letter should: Identify 1-2 Lovejoy BBCS faculty you would be interested in working with and explain the primary research directions you would want to pursue in collaboration with this faculty member. You are strongly encouraged to reach out to faculty before submitting your application. Describe your experience with or interest in inter- or transdisciplinary research. Explain how this experience will positively impact your career trajectory.

New postdoctoral fellowship opportunity! Please pass along. Excited to announce the launch of the Tom Lovejoy Fellowship Program at the University of Arizona for innovative research to protect species, sustain ecosystems, and promote a thriving planet lovejoycenter.arizona.edu/lovejoy-fell... 🧪🌐🌾

Confocal microscopy image of a juvenile sea star (Patiria miniata) viewed from the oral side. The animal has a five-armed, star-shaped body with a central nerve ring. The nervous system is labeled in green, forming radial nerve cords extending into each arm, and cell nuclei are labeled in red throughout the animal. The image appears against a black background and has a holiday-ornament-like appearance.

Felt a little festive at the microscope this morning for #FluorescenceFriday 🎄

Here’s the nervous system of a juvenile sea star ⭐️

Green = acetylated tubulin, red = nuclei

Happy holidays!

I’m more optimistic than Terry here about the fundamentals of the review process…. But I think the lack of money will make it so the borderline grants he mentions here (and yep, it definitely happens like he says) won’t be funded anyway bc theres less money overall

NSF bio hour - NSF BIO lost 40% of its staff 😑

Q&A

My favorite program has been archived, will it come back? Postdoc, etc…programs

They don’t know what’s coming back if they’re archived. They value postdoc program but they don’t know what’s coming back