José Dinneny

This is great!
Last week at @instmolplantsci.bsky.social I was asked what lessons about plants I wish were covered in schools, and my response was "Developmental Plasticity" 🌱
We still have so much to learn about and from plants, and this short video is a good one to share with your educator pals!

U.S. Plans to Scrutinize Foreign Tourists’ Social Media History

This would deal another major blow to science exchange in the U.S. When the comment period opens, please speak out AGAINST this proposal that will affect visitors in the U.S. Visa waiver program that want to make short visits to the U.S., eg for a conference!

www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/t...

YouTube video by Science Communication Lab The Hidden World of Plant Roots with Stanford Biologist José R. Dinneny

From the Science Communication Lab: a new mini documentary highlighting my lab’s work on roots and their environmental responses! Beautiful videography helps to communicate the wonder of this hidden world of plants below our feet. youtu.be/vqZ3LT8sCIQ?...

YouTube video by NAASC 2025 Community Impact Awards: Jose Dinneny, Jade Bleau & Joanna Friesner

Watch the Community Impact Awards Presentations!
Times: 5:20-15:06: Jose Dinneny.
19:35-30:07: Jade Bleau.
33:30-15:06: Joanna Friesner.
46:40-1:01: Q&A by Mary Gehring
@jadebleau.bsky.social @jfriesner.bsky.social @josedinneny.bsky.social
@stanfordstomata.bsky.social @spoel-lab.bsky.social

Algal pyrenoids—condensates that mediate ~1/3 of Earth’s CO2 fixation—change size and number as cells divide. Our data suggest a simple control mechanism: a kinase that continuously ejects material from the condensate! ☀️🌍🔬💧 #Biophysics #Photosynthesis
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

University admin & faculty- read this and consider what your core beliefs are- are they: free expression, rewarding merit, and inclusion?

Dear Madam Secretary, I write in response to your letter of October 1, inviting MIT to review a "Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education." I acknowledge the vital importance of these matters. I appreciated the chance to meet with you earlier this year to discuss the priorities we share for American higher education. As we discussed, the Institute's mission of service to the nation directs us to advance knowledge, educate students and bring knowledge to bear on the world's great challenges. We do that in line with a clear set of values, with excellence above all. Some practical examples: • MIT prides itself on rewarding merit. Students, faculty and staff succeed here based on the strength of their talent, ideas and hard work. For instance, the Institute was the first to reinstate the SAT/ACT requirement after the pandemic. And MIT has never had legacy preferences in admissions.

• MIT opens its doors to the most talented students regardless of their family's finances. Admissions are need-blind. Incoming undergraduates whose families earn less than $200,000 a year pay no tuition. Nearly 88% of our last graduating class left MIT with no debt for their education. We make a wealth of free courses and low-cost certificates available to any American with an internet connection. Of the undergraduate degrees we award, 94% are in STEM fields. And in service to the nation, we cap enrollment of international undergraduates at roughly 10%. • We value free expression, as clearly described in the MIT Statement on Freedom of Expression and Academic Freedom. We must hear facts and opinions we don't like - and engage respectfully with those with whom we disagree.

These values and other MIT practices meet or exceed many standards outlined in the document you sent. We freely choose these values because they're right, and we live by them because they support our mission - work of immense value to the prosperity, competitiveness, health and security of the United States. And of course, MIT abides by the law. The document also includes principles with which we disagree, including those that would restrict freedom of expression and our independence as an institution. And fundamentally, the premise of the document is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone. In our view, America's leadership in science and innovation depends on independent thinking and open competition for excellence. In that tree marketplace of ideas, the people of MIT gladly compete with the very best, without preferences. Therefore, with respect, we cannot support the proposed approach to addressing the issues facing higher education.

As you know, MIT's record of service to the nation is long and enduring. Eight decades ago, MIT leaders helped invent a scientific partnership between America's research universities and the U.S. government that has delivered extraordinary benefits for the American people. We continue to believe in the power of this partnership to serve the nation. Sincerely, Sally Kornbluth CC Ms. May Mailman Mr. Vincent Haley

MIT President Sally Kornbluth just issued a statement to the campus community saying NO to Trump’s authoritarian compact

“And fundamentally, the premise of the document is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone.”

Mens et manus! Thanks for standing up to bullies, MIT!

Ohio State just advised all staff and students not to attend the SACNAS (Society for the advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science) annual meeting of 6000+ scientists -- which is in Columbus, OH this year! -- saying it may be exclusionary, even though it is open to all.

Compelling and quite disturbing...

I attended a really inspiring talk by Jose Dinneny today as the Thornton-Massa speaker at Colorado State University. His vision for the future of agriculture with synthetic biology was really thought-provoking. It’s great to learn AND get inspired! @josedinneny.bsky.social @csuagbio.bsky.social

August 22, 2025 Dear Director Bhattacharya: I write to you regarding your plans after the Supreme Court ruling yesterday. As you know, the Supreme Court did allow a stay on the required grant reinstatements based on a controversial jurisdictional issue but also found that the grant termination processes used were likely illegal. I know you are deeply concerned about public trust in NIH. I hope that you understand that proceeding to fail to reinstate or to re-terminate grants that had been found to have been illegally terminated will not increase the public trust in NIH. This would also be substantially damaging to science.

I just sent this email to Director Bhattacharya and am sending him a hard copy by registered mail.

1/14

Catching some falling stars

Final Program announced for the Mech. of Plant Development FASEB (Aug 24-28 in Southbridge MA USA).: tinyurl.com/2cfa8keo

Group leader (m/f/d) | Plant Development and Diversity The successful applicant will be expected to build an independent research group to study plant development and/or its natural variation.

Junior #GroupLeader position @mpipz.bsky.social
on Plant Development & Diversity ‼️ #plantsci www.mpipz.mpg.de/5697690/job_...

Donald Trump’s war on climate science has staggering implications Even a policy of “drill, baby, drill” would imply more climate research, not its evisceration, says Ralph Keeling

“For decades we have known that our burning of fossil fuels is the chief driver of the current global warming. Gutting today’s climate research won’t change that”

Donald Trump’s war on climate science has staggering implications

🧪

economist.com/by-invitatio...
from The Economist

Cellulose Synthase Complex and Remorin Nanodomains Mediate Stress Resilience Through Cell Wall-Plasma Membrane Attachments https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.08.01.664786v1

I didn't know what personate flowers are until I heard about @trinitydepatie.bsky.social's Penstemons. My conclusion is that these cute little flowers in fact dial up discrimination to max, and they make the entrance of their corolla tube sooo occluded that only the most buffed bees can enter. 👀🧪

‘This wasn’t obvious’: the potato evolved from a tomato ancestor, researchers find Hybridisation event took place about 9 million years ago, helping to ‘spark the emergence of a new organ’

www.theguardian.com/science/2025...

This includes a Director position at one of the world's leading #PlantScience institutes, the @mpipz.bsky.social.

Group Leader in Discovery Plant Sciences | John Innes Centre The John Innes Centre (JIC) seeks a visionary Group Leader to lead research on Discovery Plant Science.

New group leader opportunity at @johninnescentre.bsky.social!

We're looking for interests in (but not limited to) growth and development, environmental / organismal interactions, physiology, signalling, quantitative cell biology, biochemical and modelling approaches.

www.jic.ac.uk/vacancies/gr...

Excited to share our improved paper now in @NatureComms
We found that growth-induced water potentials shape the pattern of water fluxes in shoot meristems, aiding boundary formation.

rdcu.be/dQPWq

Very proud to share our latest preprint: postdoc/LRSF fellow Yue Rui studies the mechanisms regulating attachment of the cell wall to the plasma membrane. The Cellulose Synthase Complex and REMORINs determine the extent of attachment and root osmotic stress tolerance. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

It’s been an amazing privilege to serve my Arabidopsis and plant biology community!

Three scientists recognized for their dedication to positively impacting the Arabidopsis Community — Arabidopsis Community as supported by NAASC The North American Arabidopsis Steering Committee (NAASC) is deeply committed to the development, participation and recognition of Arabidopsis researchers from a diversity of backgrounds and experienc...

Announcing the 2025 NAASC Arabidopsis Community Impact Awardees:
Early Career Category: Jade Bleau, Univ. of Dundee, Scotland
Later Career Category: José Dinneny, Stanford Univ., USA & Joanna Friesner, NAASC, USA www.arabidopsiscommunity.org/news-events/...

Promotional image for the "Single-Cell Approaches in Plant Biology GRC Conference" focusing on meeting the speakers. This promo includes an image of Dr. Jose Dinneny from Stanford University with a short bio on Dr. Dinneny.

The last day for applications is July 13th!
To Apply to the GRC: lnkd.in/gvkMxuKR

Meet The Speakers of the Single-Cell Approaches in Plant Biology GRC Conference!

To Learn More About Dr. Dinneny's Research: dinnenylab.me

@josedinneny.bsky.social

Applying to Biology PhD programs this year? Let us help!

At BPP, we aim to support students from all backgrounds through the grad school application process. Learn more about grad student life and receive 1-on-1 feedback on your application materials!

Apply here: forms.gle/EvTyUWXFMRSL...

Plot showing skewed distribution toward comp science and applied physics

The 500 additional GRFPs NSF awarded were not very evenly distributed across fields, it seems.
www.science.org/content/arti...

National Science Foundation Staff Booted From Headquarters - Eos Staff at the National Science Foundation (NSF) were notified on 25 June that the agency’s office space, located in Alexandria, Va., will be taken over by Department of Housing and Urban Development (H...

I know there’s a lot of news right now but this is really crazy. They’re booting the National Science Foundation out of its newish building with no plans for where 1800 people are going to go.