Stacey D. Smith

Would it have been so much worse if it had been a nuke? Consider the fact that birth deficiencies and rates of leukemia and cancer in Iraq, post 2003- invasion, are worse than what was observed in Hiroshima. In Japan, rates of leukemia rose by 660% in the years following the bomb. In Falluja, it increased by 2,200%. The toxicity of war has never been greater, and we are in no way reckoning with the scope of the horror that's been unleashed.

The real damage comes years later, with elevated cancer rates, leukemia clusters, respiratory disease, cardiovascular failure, neurological damage, reproductive issues.

This is chemical warfare, with delayed carnage. Worse than radiation sickness.

I am ashamed to be American today.

2/2

holy shit

I love caves, inflatables and science communication. This month is #colorectal cancer awareness month - the disease that has been ruining me the last 20 months. Get a colonoscopy folks. It’s not as fun as what I’m doing here but it ain’t that bad either.

A photo of an ice cream machine with a sign reading, "Anything is possible with ice cream." Beneath that is a hand lettered sign reading, "No ice cream".

2026 basically

The seed fossil record of Solanaceae revisited is out!

Using morphometrics and micro-CT data from 110 fossils and 354 extant taxa, we described 6 new genera and 6 new species, doubling fossil diversity for the nightshades!

🔗 doi.org/10.1002/tax....

@iochromaland.bsky.social

today.

❤️

Screenshot of an X.com post by The Associated Press (@AP) stating that dozens of immigrant families protested for better treatment behind fences at a Texas detention facility, where a 5-year-old Ecuadorian boy and his father were sent after being detained in Minnesota. Below is a video thumbnail showing a crowd gathered outdoors along a fenced walkway; many people wear bright blue or red outerwear, and some hold signs.

After being held in two of them as a boy, I fought for decades urging America to never again build concentration camps and put human beings in them. It breaks my heart to watch this happen twice now in my own lifetime.

Systematic Biology’s January 2026 issue (75.1) is out! It launches our 75th anniversary series, debuts the new Invited Review article category, features a Tillandsia Spotlight, along with a nice mix of empirical & methods papers. Check it out: academic.oup.com/sysbio/issue...

@systbiol.bsky.social

Thank you so much, David!

NSF seeks public input on its Fiscal Year (FY) 2026–2030 NSF Strategic Plan

Do you care about the future of the US NSF and science in general? The agency is seeking feedback on the draft Strategic Plan. www.nsf.gov/od/updates/n...

Join @amsocplanttaxon.bsky.social for the first webinar in our 2026 series: "Taxonomy: What is it good for?"

Free to all! Join us to hear @sandyknapp.bsky.social's "Of course taxonomy matters! The story of the mega-genus Solanum (Solanaceae)"

Pls register & share:

us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Changes to NSF peer review They're not good. At all.

Y'all, I just got out of the NSF-BIO webinar where they explained changes to peer review. It's not good. 🧪 scienceforeveryone.science/changes-to-n...

AMNH REU

Come learn with us! #REU!

Russ Vought (piss man) tweet about doing piss man shit: The National Science Foundation will be breaking up the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado. This facility is one of the largest sources of climate alarmism in the country. A comprehensive review is underway & any vital activities such as weather research will be moved to another entity or location.

NSF is about to dismantle NCAR at Russell Vought's direction to protect the fossil fuel industry. It's hard to communicate just how much NCAR does, so let's take a look: I've never worked at NCAR, and I've worked with NCAR researchers once ever. What scientific discoveries has NCAR made possible? 👇

I am a student at Brown in communication with a friend at RIBC.

There is an urgent need for blood donations to support RI. Donations in NY, NJ, MN, NB, DE or NJ can help supply RI.

Spread the word.

www.ribc.org/donate-blood/

Oh noooooo, I am gen X and I learned from the students. I did wonder why the F was there. And I think I have used it in emails. 🤦‍♀️

Field Botanist - Roanoke, Virginia, United States Title: Field Botanist State Role Title: Scientist II Hiring Range: $55,000 - $65,000 Pay Band: 5 Agency: Dept Conservation & Recreation Location: Roanoke, VA Agency Website: www.dcr.virginia.gov R...

Field botanist job with Virginia Natural Heritage, based in Roanoke, VA. $55-65K pay range. Please share widely! www.jobs.virginia.gov/jobs/field-b...

Our plant-focused REU program, led by Prof Nagel, is open for applications, please forward to undergrads and reskeet etap.nsf.gov/award/7573/o... 🌱 🧪

Ok, we're down to the last 10 (!) spots available to register for #SSB2026 in Baton Rouge in January.

Who's in?

ssb2026.github.io

@systbiol.bsky.social

This story has been such a long time coming! We found that the family of MYB transcription factors that makes pink tomatoes has a wacky cousin involved in the evolution of red flowers in Iochroma. #MYBs4Ever

I'm hiring a full time fixed-term 1yr lab tech to assist with field and greenhouse projects related to floral evolution and plant reproductive ecology. Please share! Ideal start date early 2026.

jobs.clemson.edu/psc/ps/JOBS/...

Picture of MEME students on the beach

Do you want to do a Masters in Evolutionary Biology? The call for applying to the MEME program is now open! MEME is a fantastic 2-year MSc between four European Universities on all areas of Evolutionary Biology. Apply and study in Sweden/France/the Netherlands/Germany/USA/Switzerland! www.evobio.eu

Yay, codon alignment will be so handy!

Mesquite's two icons, one against a black background, and one against a sun on a sky blue background.

Mesquite 4.02 update released! It fixes a few bugs and adds Codon Alignment and various other improvements. Also, much faster with genomics files with 1000s of loci. www.mesquiteproject.org 🧪 #evolbio
@bembidion.bsky.social

I just got a call from my rheumatologist. Because of the changes to Medicaid, which no longer reimburses telemedicine appointments, I can either pay out of pocket or drive two hours away every three months, which is not possible for me most of the year due to my work schedule.

Yep, and I've been writing back to tell folks this in the nicest way I can think of (e.g., Prospective advisors want to hear *your* words; that's the only way we can help you figure out if this lab/program is good fit).

NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)

New: After a long wait, the GRFP solicitation is live! Deadlines have been extended to early November, so applicants have a bit over a month to submit. www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...

Unsolicited listicle: My list of the most criminally underused/underappreciated phylogenetic comparative methods. Note, I am not involved in ANY of these methods; but I see them as things people are often asking of comparative data but have been surprised at how infrequently they have been cited.