Thomas Stroud

From left to right, Dr. Albert Mulenga, William Tae Heung Kim, Dr. Thu Thuy Nguyen, Dr. Alex Kiarie Gaithuma, Dr Hassan Hakimi and Emily Bencosme Cuevas. Kim is a Texas A&M researcher who was detained in San Francisco last Monday despite being a permanent resident of the United States and a green card holder. COURTESY OF TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY

I NEED to tell you the story of Tae Heung “William” Kim.

He's a graduate student at Texas A&M where he's working on a vaccine for Lyme disease.

He's a *legal permanent resident* of the United States.

And he's been in ICE detention for 12 days & counting, transferred Tuesday to South Texas.

New Comparative Anatomy Textbook! Completely free to read and open access!

doi.org/10.59319/YHF...

📣I’m hiring!
Two weeks to apply for an October start.
Start date is also flexible.
#PhD #Morphology #evolution

Three‑row table linking scales: fish, penguin, ant. Each row shows an individual silhouette, a pair‑level interaction image, and the emergent collective - schooling fish, penguin huddle, and an ant raft.

New review in PRX Life, where we propose a tangibility scale for the physics of social interactions, and highlight a few tangible examples - from dead fish “swimming” to efficient schooling, warm penguin huddles, and dry ant rafts.
Written with the brilliant Chantal Nguyen 🐟🐧🐜

tinyurl.com/naet5tdh

A 3d rendering of a CT scan of a Rio Cauca caecilian with transparent body and bone colored skeleton, showing 7 baby caecilians inside, each rendered in a different color - counter-clockwise from tail to head - red, orange, yellow, green, light blue, dark blue, purple.

Say hello to Florida's newest established species, Typhlonectes natans - the Rio Cauca Caecilian! You can read about their relative abundance, distribution, & natural history, in our brand new paper:

journals.ku.edu/reptilesanda...

Here is one individual I CT scanned that had 7 babies inside!

One of the most irritating things about RFK Jr is how he makes things that are usually fun biologist anecdotes ("I found some neat roadkill, I got to hold a lamprey" etc) seem uncool and weird

Be the vigilante arborist you want to see in the world

btw did you know you can subscribe to PBS for only like $5/mo or a $60 one-time for a year donation, and get access to their Passport streaming service? They mail you a little live programming guide and everything, too. The 40-something seasons of NOVA alone are worth it.

The Mayerl Lab at NAU is looking to recruit a PhD student for Fall 2026! We take an integrative approach that bridges engineering, clinical, and evolutionary approaches to study feeding physiology of vertebrates. Our lab website is linked in our bio, and feel free to reach out on here or via email.

Are you a PI in a biology field looking for students to join your lab as a PhD student? I made a Starter Pack to help PIs and potential PhD students connect! If you would like to be added to this pack, please let me know! go.bsky.app/EFj87fi

‘Stealth flippers’ helped this extinct mega-predator stalk its prey Hear the biggest stories from the world of science | 16 July 2025

This week on the pod:

🦈 The ancient mega-predator with a ‘stealth mode’
💤 ‘Leaky’ mitochondria could be the root cause of sleep
📄 The secret messages used to trick peer-review AI
go.nature.com/3IrcyQ5

Being true to yourself amidst a changing world [for over 150 million years]

Maybe that's the real punk rock👍

One of my favorite moments I’ve ever captured back from my master’s work on Basiliscus plumifrons water-running mechanics. Each splash you see is approximately equivalent to one stride length. I like to think of these as almost “footprints” at the water’s surface.

This baby pterosaur is no bigger than my thumb

A wobbegong shark propped up on the pectoral fins and looking up for food.

Happy Nonbinary Day and Shark Awareness Day from your neighborhood trans, agender, shark person :)

I love learning about the sensory systems and mechanics of these amazing animals!

🦈 🐟 🦑 #sharks #sensory #neuromechanics #science #research #TransInStem #agender

Our paper reviewing the neurophysiology of swallowing just came out! We detail 70 years of progress towards understanding neuromotor functioning in feeding, and highlight several emerging technologies for the future

Check it out at the link below -
journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10....

An aquatic armadillo paddling through water. Source unknown.

The 9 banded armadillo, the state mammal of Texas, is heavy-bodied but has two methods of crossing water.

1. They can hold their breath for 5-6 minutes at a time, and walk along the bottom.
2. They can gulp air to increase buoyancy and swim (dog paddle) for up to an hour.

Armored mermaids!

A map of the United states titled "United States of Science 2025" with the skype a scientist logo and 2000 tiny empty circles spread out across the USA. States with low population numbers have fewer than where there are more people.

Whew, ok, with a few hours to spare, the 2025 classroom map is ready! The 7th annual United States of Science competition starts tomorrow.

If you wanna get your region off to a head start, just between us night owls, here's that link 😘

givebutter.com/USS2025

Iraq had no WMDs in 2003.
Iran was not nuclear weapons capable.
Some people just want war.

A 3D print of a fossil that appears to be a particularly triangular croc skull

A view from the side showing the rainbow color gradient

A view from the underneath

On the plus side for today, my Pride Month Tiktaalik turned out pretty sweet, so guess I have that going for me

CLARIFICATION :

The Trevor Project's hotline will still be live. But basically this means LGBTQ people can no longer be connected to it through the US national 988 suicide prevention hotline.

They will need to be contacted DIRECTLY

So spread this around

They can be texted. They can be called.

I have work to do but I'm distracted by watching US scientific progress & leadership being irreversibly undermined because a few unelected malcontents are penalizing researchers for following legal requirements set out by congressional orders to augment basic research with benefits to society.

A message from Carl Sagan from 1995—some of his last prophetic words.

Proposed cut to NSF Biology budget is 70%.

70%. Seventy.

Call your senators & reps nonstop. Give them numbers on NSF impact for state/district. tableau.external.nsf.gov/views/NSFbyN... explain this will decimate the economy if their districts, especially if it has a major research univ. 🧪

An infographic about the National Sea Grant College Program's economic impact. The major figure is that a federal investment in Sea Grant of $94 million resulted in $828.3 million economic benefit.

Sea Grant work helps coastal communities become more resilient to disasters, promotes sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, and contributes to healthier coastal ecosystems for all. In 2023 alone, a federal investment in Sea Grant of $94 million resulted in $828.3 million economic benefit.

Giant soft-shelled turtle sculpture/slide at the Forest Park “Turtle Playground.” I believe it’s part of the St. Louis Zoo, which is right on the other side of the highway. Anyways, the turtle is about 3-4 feet tall and maybe 20-30 feet long and is on the side of a hill so kids can slide down its back.

Face of the soft-shelled turtle with its distinctive snout. I saw it as I was driving by and recognized what it was immediately.

Snapping turtle sculpture/play structure. I think this one is just for climbing on and maybe hiding out in its cavernous mouth.

View of the snapping turtle from the rear and to the side shows how big it is with the cars parked on the other side of it. It’s really big but just the right size for kids to climb on.

I ended up driving past the Forest Park “Turtle Playground” more or less by accident on the way somewhere else but immediately locked up the brakes and pulled over because it was just way too cool and you don’t get a chance to see a giant soft-shelled turtle every day.
St. Louis, MO
April 21, 2024

Salamander winking

In case this is helpful to someone out there: I'm moving to Ball State University this August, and I'll have a support for MS students over the next three years (RAs/TAs)

If your lab has talented students graduating this spring, I welcome them to reach out and talk about the opportunities.

I’m thinking I’ll do a couple more of these trans inspired animals and call the series Pronouns in Bio(logy)

A colorful San Francisco gartersnake resting on tall vegetation.

A San Francisco gartersnake basking on reddish vegetation, although the snake is in the open and vibrantly colored it blends in well and is difficult to see.

The San Francisco gartersnake - one of the USA's most beautiful and endangered snakes. Many people don't believe a bright blue and red snake can be discreet - but when seen in its habitat you can see how these snakes can evade notice.

Hey BlueSky! I’ll be defending my PhD dissertation on Monday, Feb 24 from 1–2pm US ET. Message me for Zoom info if you’re interested!