Becca

Becca

@sciencelizard.bsky.social

Science, snark, lizards

810 followers894 following5.5K posts

Regretting the life choices that conspired to allow my spawn to reach the age of 17 years on a Saturday Halloween year. I really planned this badly.

Me: "Who TF is Jennnings??* *reads wikipedia* "Welp, wouldn't be his first bogus claim of malice"

me, reading the headline: well, he’s a public figure and actual malice is a hard standard to reach me, reading the article: ohhhhhhh

Becca reposted

In a world that wishes you to be small and quiet, the bravest thing you can do is take up space and use your voice. If you’re in the US, remember to vote early or in a week. It will take all of us, but we are enough.

AI makes it about a thousand times easier to write a generic cover letter. It also makes it a thousand times easier to gush about your scientific passions and dreams and have it turn them into a professional cover letter to a faculty member who can actually care. Choose wisely.

Rebecca Fielding-Miller@rebeccafieldingmiller.com

Some advice if you are a grad student and want to ask a prof about a program directly! I've gotten a big uptick in direct email from prospective doctoral students this fall. I assume its a mix of how easy AI makes it to tailor and send inquiries and grad school competitiveness?

Ohhhhhh *this* is why there are more stonk loans than credit card debt!!!

Steven T. Dennis@steventdennis.bsky.social

For the fabulously wealthy, paying taxes is pretty much optional. They can borrow against their vast wealth, which is mostly an untaxed capital gain, without paying taxes. When they die, the capital gain goes to zero. And loopholes exist to bypass the estate tax too.

“Sciliz, if you live at 742 EVERGREEN TERRACE, computer models say the likelihood of you voting is: LIKELY. Vote by 11/3! -NextVote Stop to end” See, this creepy stuff is why people hate computer models!

Also why didn’t the model tell you not to waste electrons texting me? Why do I get 6000 texts a day all for Texas? We need a constitutional amendment to fix citizens united

Pick one billionaires: you can keep creepy computer models or have money be speech. Living in a world with both is just pissing off normal folk.

Becca reposted

FACULTY POSITION: We are seeking an Assistant Professor to join our growing and vibrant Department of Microbiology at Cornell! FOCUS: Using bacteria to address 21st century challenges. (part of a cohort hire in SynBio). *please repost* academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/33098 #MicroSky

academicjobsonline.orgCornell University, Microbiology/CALS Job #AJO33098, WDR-00061962 Assistant Professor - Harnessing the Power of Synthetic Biology, Microbiology/CALS, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, US

Becca reposted

Microsoft spent about $100B in AI buildout compared to about $300B in revenue. They're in a really tricky spot where people can probably vibe code around most of the barriers that made using Open Office ect. annoying

Ken Tremendous@kentremendous.bsky.social

No you see AI won’t replace jobs it will simply make the jobs easier

The real utility of AI is the ability to use Google to pull up an up to date “best practices for treatment of X” article while you are in the waiting room and ask the right questions to get the right care

rich harris@rich-harris.dev

So now I have to complete a course of antibiotics I don't need, and throw away other medication I paid for, because a human with years of training and experience - who performed a physical examination - underperformed the next token predictor.

My incredibly hot take is that patents should go to the people who get things through phase 3 trials, and we should socialize all the discovery research, BUT in exchange the government should set the prices

Jim Woodgett@jwoodgett.bsky.social

What makes this drug particularly extortionate, is the many years of federally funded research into Ras on which it builds. It’s a major feat to bring it through clinical trials but they’re pricing at “what the “market” can bear” rather than reasonable cost to bring to patients.

I got the premium plan with radioactive and magnetic neouranium! Only $40/month, comes with AI!

The Onion@theonion.com

Chemists Announce Upgraded Periodic Table With Dozens Of New Elements For Just $4 A Month https://theonion.com/chemists-announce-upgraded-periodic-table-with-dozens-o-1839288701/

Covid was tremendously disruptive, not just at the level of one particular nation state. It taught me I’m much less attached to most societal choices than their collective momentum. I’m not an anarchistic, but we couldn’t even rally behind paid universal sick leave after a pandemic???

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Which is to say, I’m more than happy to have the “what do we want in our next Constitution?” conversation. But the vast majority of people aren’t ready to change. Half the reason we have so much Luddite zeitgeist is that we are desperately craving stability in an increasingly volatile climate.

By and large, populism and “we have to tear this down and build something new” is more powerful in motivating actions in those that like to tear down than those that like to build.

Becca reposted

"When those guys go back to work, how long are they employed? If it's "Well, four months, and then steady employment," I see your point. If it's "four months off, two months on, four months off," then...that'd be bad?" *stares silently in "early career" academic*

My Hot Take on Elizabeth Holmes is she should not be in prison, and as long as she promises never to go near a patient again, we should introduce her to Melon Husk, Teter Phiel, and Beff Jezos.

Becca reposted

Believe it or not, this absolute unit of a goliath grouper is still just a youngster; adults can weigh over 800 pounds! 🫡🫡🐟 #goliathgrouper #grouper #endangeredspecies #bigfish #coralcitycamera

“Too smutty for Willy” is a weird thing to quote this guy on. Like it’s more compelling because of who he is, but ick

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com

Bill Clinton: "I think Congress made a mistake not protesting turning the Rose Garden into what looks like the entrance to Liberace's bathroom"

Becca reposted

We acknowledge that no one has the bandwidth for this, but if it helps: -It’s ‘sleight of hand’ -It’s ‘bated breath’ -It’s ‘lo and behold’ -It's 'buck naked' -It’s ‘brass tacks’ -It’s ‘free rein’ -It’s ‘toe the line'

This and acid rain decreases should really get talked about more. Climate change is a slower timeline and harder to address, but both regulation and cap and trade systems can address global problems.

Colette Delawalla, PhD@cdelawalla.bsky.social

We have almost COMPLETELY fixed the hole in the ozone layer!!

My teenager is leaving the house at 8:27 in October and friends, I’ve never yearned so much for Covid disruption in toilet paper supply chains or bird flu related inflation in egg prices. Please send banana costumes!

The internet escaping containment is the weirdest part about 2026. Also it made me mostly get off the internet??? I mean by being *here* I’m admitting my weirdness. But I used to be Extremely Online and now it is less friendly to weirdos and I’m just not as into politics now???

Ben Cotton (he/him)@funnelfiasco.bsky.social

Shouldn't they be flying planes?!

Look I’m not saying that 99.9999999% of funding for the 2026 midterms is going to one specific Texas race, but I am saying that is the conclusion one would logically draw from my text messages

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Importantly, $ESGV still has a 30% tilt toward technology. NVIDIA has increased emissions from 2019 by anywhere from 300-800% (direct vs indirect), Amazons carbon emissions have tripled since 2019, Meta increased 90%, Google 80%. Tech greenwashed itself and AI really tore it to shreds.

Kevin J. Kircher@kevinjkircher.com

Many energy people who used to describe themselves as climate activists or renewable champions have chased the AI gold rush and are now getting rich off of the data center boom, pollution be damned. Should anyone take these people seriously ever again when they talk about clean energy or climate?

This is great news! I was gonna write a long, technical and boring proposal about obtaining neodymium via bioleaching. Now I can just propose mugging children outside birthday parties!!!

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Becca reposted

1) This rules 2) Your dad annoying you so profoundly that you drew 478 fish is the most relatable thing I have ever seen.

HulloThere@jethroreading32.bsky.social

Three years ago, my dad said that all fish are the same shape. Out of spite, I decided to draw all 478 families of bony fish listed in Nelson 2016. There's still some stuff I need to edit and some fish I want to redraw but, after 985 days, I finished my big dumb fish project last night.

Ok but what if, just for the sake of discussion, sometimes being a Canonical Ideal Blonde Mother is a fate more constraining than prison? Asking for an egg apron aficionado.

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