Jamie Cate

Called it.

Reporter: Are affirming that you think Trump is a fascist?

Mamdani: We’ve spoken about—

Trump: That’s ok, you can just say it.

In agreement with my friend @kkjetelina.bsky.social who writes today: "I suggest the general public avoid the CDC website."
yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/cdc-false-...

www.wsj.com/health/healt...

Biochemical Tungsten - Really

Catching up on blog posts: a biochemical role for the element tungsten, of all things. Don't look for it in your multivitamins any time soon, though:

I do not regret to inform you that we are going to win

maps of rainfall deficit & agricultural drought for the last 5 years over Iran and the Euphrates and Tigris basin.

Two years ago, we did a study on a devastating drought in the Fertil Crescent. Due to climate change and water governance disputes the drought is still ongoing. Teheran might be running out of water, if it doesn't start raining soon. Our update: www.worldweatherattribution.org/human-induce...

2) With today’s dismissal of the Briggs criminal information, none of these cases remains pending today – all have been dismissed. 3) As the docket entries reflect in all five of the cases, the undersigned magistrate judge obtained a sworn statement from the affiants in each affidavit, at the time of complaint issuance, that not only were the affidavit allegations true, but that video evidence of the encounters existed, that the affiants had reviewed the video evidence, and that the video evidence corroborated the version of events set forth in the affidavits. Mazur (D.E. 11); Collins/Robledo (D.E. 26); Ivery (D.E. 13); and Briggs (D.E. 14). Yet: a. In Mazur, the government promptly dismissed the misdemeanor criminal complaint upon its disclosure that after the arrest, the government reviewed additional bodyworn camera footage of the encounter and then decided to drop the charges on October 7, 2025. Mazur (D.E. 11). As this case was charged as a misdemeanor, it appears not to have been presented to a federal grand jury. b. In Collins/Robledo, the government promptly dismissed the felony complaint on October 8, 2025, upon its disclosure that on October 7, the federal grand jury returned a “no bill” against these persons and thus refused to indict them on the felony Section 111 charge. Collins/Robledo (D.E. 26). During the dismissal hearing, the prosecutor referred to a third recent “no bill” case that was not identified further on the record. c. In Ivery, the government promptly dismissed the felony complaint on October 9, 2025, stating a basis on the record that had to do with Mr. Ivery’s medical or mental

Here's the dismissal opinion in the Dana Briggs case. Everyone should read it.

Among other things it describes that none of the very celebrated (by DHS) arrests on September survived.

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Brand new preprint from my lab, showing that TnpB, the ancestor of Cas12, acts as a gene drive in plasmids! And it turns out in conjugative plasmids that it acts as a primitive anti-self defense system, providing a potential link between its transposon effect and becoming CRISPR!

Intracellular competition shapes plasmid population dynamics From populations of multicellular organisms to selfish genetic elements, conflicts between levels of biological organization are central to evolution. Plasmids are extrachromosomal, self-replicating g...

Hot off the press! Our latest paper led by @fernpizza.bsky.social, understanding how plasmids evolve inside cells. These small, self-replicating DNA circles live inside bacteria and carry antibiotic resistance genes, but also compete with one another to replicate. 1/
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

I'm posting these signs around my Department, resisting the temptation to use the F word in the last sentence

Headshots of Veronika, Jill, and Alanna

Out today in Science Magazine — First author Veronika Kivenson and PIs Jill Banfield (The Banfield Lab) and Alanna Schepartz team up to reveal a new genetic code in #archaea, with implications for #methane and #climate, and #bioengineering! Learn more: https://ow.ly/Kuem50Xurh0

Engineered probiotic restores GLP-1 signaling to ameliorate fiber-deficiency exacerbated colitis Engineered probiotic delivers bacterial peptide that enhances GLP-1 and restores barrier integrity in diet-modulated colitis.

🚨 A probiotic that secretes a GLP-1–triggering peptide.

By engineering E. coli Nissle to secrete a microbial peptide that stimulates host GLP-1 release, we uncovered a new connection between the microbiome, metabolism, and gut inflammation.
👉 science.org/doi/10.1126/...

And another new one from IGI's Carlotta Ronda!

Judith Klinman - Wikipedia

Judith Klinman is shutting down her lab at UCB Chemistry at the age of 84.

One of the most hardcore biochemists to ever live.

Judith became the first female professor of physical sciences at Berkeley in 1978. ponder that and take a minute to learn about her amazing career

An entire argument dismantled in two words.

Great job Senator Cassidy. Rfk and his maha freaks are giving you the finger

bsky.app/profile/nyti...

Lots of dynamite jokes today I bet.

Lysenkoism in the U.S.

The Eric Schickler essay in Larry Bartel's symposium on "What Trump Has Taught Us About Political Science" is one of the most insightful pieces I've read in 2025.

US institutions turned out to be weak, and we have to rethink conventional wisdom.

open access: academic.oup.com/psq/advance-...

Opinion | The White House Gold Rush Is On

wrote about the president’s flagrant and destructive corruption in a column that references street fighter, the simpsons, machiavelli, and a host of revolutionary-era americans (gift link)

Opinion | The White House Gold Rush Is On

“The Constitution was meant, in other words, to be a bulwark against corruption of the system and thus of the people. It is obviously not working.”

@jamellebouie.net is absolutely right. Our Constitutional order has broken down. We can’t pretend otherwise and we have to start by realizing it.

A Researcher Made an AI That Completely Breaks the Online Surveys Scientists Rely On We can no longer trust that survey responses are coming from real people.”

"We can no longer trust that survey responses are coming from real people" www.404media.co/a-researcher...

Long a coveted voice, Larry Summers withdraws from a half-dozen groups amid Epstein ties. Harvard’s not among them. - The Boston Globe Former Harvard president Larry Summers is no longer affiliated with a series of centers and think tanks with which he’s long been involved, officials confirmed Tuesday.

I spoke with the Boston Globe about the Summers situation

TLDR: other professors like myself can no longer trust Summers to perform a key duty of a university professor, which is to advise & mentor students

www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/18/m...

Excited to share our new preprint in collaboration with Ahmet Yildiz's lab. Check out how our team uncovers a novel binding footprint and motor regulation mechanism for MAP9 Congrats to Burak Cetin and @aryantaheri.bsky.social

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

On official UC letterhead: UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA James B. Milliken President Office of the President 1111 Franklin Street Oakland, CA 94607 universityofcalifornia.edu CAMPUSES Berkeley Davis Irvine UCLA Merced Riverside San Diego San Francisco Santa Barbara Santa Cruz MEDICAL CENTERS Davis Irvine UCLA San Diego San Francisco NATIONAL LABORATORIES Lawrence Berkeley Lawrence Livermore Los Alamos DIVISION OF AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES November 18, 2025 Dear Chancellors: I'm writing with regard to the President's Postdoctoral Fellowship Program (PPFP) and the program's associated faculty hiring incentive. As you know, for more than 40 years, PPFP has provided postdoctoral research fellowships, professional development, and faculty mentoring to scholars in all fields whose research, teaching, and service advance the academic and research missions of the University of California. Since 2003, UC campuses that hire current and former PPFP fellows into ladder-rank positions have been eligible for a hiring incentive funded by the University that provides support for newly hired fellows for five years. Since the creation of the incentive, more than $162 million has been invested by the University to support PPFP faculty hires. This commitment has enabled our campuses to successfully recruit and retain outstanding faculty across a range of disciplines. Given the myriad challenges currently facing UC - including disruptions to billions of dollars in annual federal support, as well as uncertainty around the state budget- reasonable questions were raised in recent months about whether the University could maintain the commitment to current levels of incentive funding. After considering a recommendation to sunset the incentive program due to these significant fiscal constraints, I consulted with all of you as well as faculty and campus academic administrators and systemwide Academic Senate leadership. [continued on next image]

After learning more about the history and success of the program and weighing the thoughtful perspectives that have been shared, I have concluded that barring extraordinary financial setbacks, the PPFP faculty hiring incentive program will continue while the University continues to assess the program's structure as well as its long-term financial sustainability. As a result of our continuing consultation and review, there may be consideration of some changes to elements of the program including the total number of incentives supported, a number that has fluctuated significantly over the years, and how the awards are distributed among campuses. In the meantime, the University will continue to fund the PPFP faculty hiring incentive program and campuses may continue to take advantage of these incentives. We will have an opportunity to discuss any potential changes prior to adoption. As we look to the future, I will continue to engage with faculty leaders, program stakeholders, and UC community members about this important program. I especially appreciate the thoughtful perspectives shared in recent weeks by Academic Council Chair Palazoglu and Vice Chair Scott, the Council of Graduate Deans, UC faculty members, and you as our campus leaders. Sincerely, James B. Milliken President

WE JUST KEEP WINNING. (UC President's Postdoctoral Fellowship Program RESTORED!!!!)

Introgression impacts the evolution of bacteria, but species borders are rarely fuzzy Nature Communications - It is commonly thought that bacterial species borders tend to be fuzzy, due to frequent exchange of DNA. Here, Diop et al. quantify the patterns of gene flow between core...

Our latest paper is out with @adiop.bsky.social and @gmdouglas.bsky.social. We analyzed the extent of homologous recombination between bacterial species (introgression) and how it affects species borders (it can vary a lot depending on the approach used to classify species!). rdcu.be/eQAMf

Red seaweed supplementation suppresses methanogenesis in the rumen, revealing potentially advantageous traits among hydrogenotrophic bacteria - Microbiome Background Macroalgae belonging to the genus Asparagopsis have shown to reduce methane (CH4) production during rumen fermentation, while increasing feed efficiency when added to the feed of cattle. Ho...

We are thrilled to announce our latest publication in the Microbiome journal in collaboration with
@thehesslab.bsky.social
Supplementation with red seaweed in cows reduces methane and induces previously uncharacterized hydrogenotropic bacteria.
microbiomejournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....

An absolute disgrace that @ox.ac.uk hosted this celebration of murdering a journalist.

/4 Anyway, the notion we should be surprised when big corporations do overtly corrupt things is quaint, because megacorps do not acknowledge or understand things like moral or civic responsibility or good citizenship.