Matthew A. Barnes
@drbarnes.org
He/Him/Él; Associate Professor at Texas Tech; environmental DNA, freshwater ecology, biological invasions; BA from Southwestern University; PhD from University of Notre Dame. Posts are mine alone and do not represent my employer or other affiliations.
Really feels like we are doing a huge disservice to our students here www.texastribune.org/2026/02/04/t...
Texas Tech struggles with new policy on gender, race
The system’s chancellor meant to instill clarity and accountability, but three weeks into the spring semester, some instructors say the standards have led to “censorship.”
www.texastribune.org
February 10, 2026 at 9:27 PM
Really feels like we are doing a huge disservice to our students here www.texastribune.org/2026/02/04/t...
Reposted by Matthew A. Barnes
Amber Glenn won Olympic gold on Sunday. That same day, she left social media because of death threats. Her offense: she'd told reporters the queer community is going through "a hard time." The headline called it "backlash." www.readtpa.com/p/the-thresh...
The Threshold
The right used to attack athletes who protested. Now they attack athletes who express feelings at all.
www.readtpa.com
February 10, 2026 at 7:17 PM
Amber Glenn won Olympic gold on Sunday. That same day, she left social media because of death threats. Her offense: she'd told reporters the queer community is going through "a hard time." The headline called it "backlash." www.readtpa.com/p/the-thresh...
Fun story about lifelong connections with two of my most important scientific role models, HS biology teacher @thebiospace.bsky.social and undergraduate research mentor @profromi.bsky.social : www.southwestern.edu/live/news/17...
Lee Silva Ferguson ’95 and Matt Barnes ’06: Shared Connections
www.southwestern.edu
February 9, 2026 at 11:34 AM
Fun story about lifelong connections with two of my most important scientific role models, HS biology teacher @thebiospace.bsky.social and undergraduate research mentor @profromi.bsky.social : www.southwestern.edu/live/news/17...
The American academy is currently suffering from a severe and potentially fatal lack of leadership
"Todd Wolfson, president of the American Association of University Professors, says, 'Six or seven [US Supreme Court] rulings from 1920 onwards all held that the federal government cannot use purse strings to control speech.'" And yet: an inventory of universities that have caved
February 1, 2026 at 3:04 PM
The American academy is currently suffering from a severe and potentially fatal lack of leadership
Reposted by Matthew A. Barnes
Took me way too long to realize that its super easy to just merge pdfs in R rather than fussing with Adobe #rstats
library(pdftools)
pdf_combine(
input = c("file1.pdf", "file2.pdf"),
output = "merged.pdf"
)
library(pdftools)
pdf_combine(
input = c("file1.pdf", "file2.pdf"),
output = "merged.pdf"
)
January 30, 2026 at 6:43 PM
Took me way too long to realize that its super easy to just merge pdfs in R rather than fussing with Adobe #rstats
library(pdftools)
pdf_combine(
input = c("file1.pdf", "file2.pdf"),
output = "merged.pdf"
)
library(pdftools)
pdf_combine(
input = c("file1.pdf", "file2.pdf"),
output = "merged.pdf"
)
Reposted by Matthew A. Barnes
I won’t stop reporting the truth. The First Amendment is the bedrock of our democracy, and I’ll continue to fight to protect it 🤝🏾🇺🇸
January 31, 2026 at 4:40 AM
I won’t stop reporting the truth. The First Amendment is the bedrock of our democracy, and I’ll continue to fight to protect it 🤝🏾🇺🇸
Reposted by Matthew A. Barnes
If you are a student whose NSF GRFP application was returned without review for vague 'eligibility' reasons:
1) Let your department chair & Graduate School know. Encourage them to contact NSF & congress
2) Write to your congressional reps.
3) Write to grfp@nsf.gov to request re-consideration;
1) Let your department chair & Graduate School know. Encourage them to contact NSF & congress
2) Write to your congressional reps.
3) Write to grfp@nsf.gov to request re-consideration;
January 30, 2026 at 5:15 PM
If you are a student whose NSF GRFP application was returned without review for vague 'eligibility' reasons:
1) Let your department chair & Graduate School know. Encourage them to contact NSF & congress
2) Write to your congressional reps.
3) Write to grfp@nsf.gov to request re-consideration;
1) Let your department chair & Graduate School know. Encourage them to contact NSF & congress
2) Write to your congressional reps.
3) Write to grfp@nsf.gov to request re-consideration;
Reposted by Matthew A. Barnes
There is a cost to science denial.
January 27, 2026 at 9:29 PM
There is a cost to science denial.
Reposted by Matthew A. Barnes
For every new STEM PhD hired by the US Government in 2025, 11 quit/retired/fired. Eleven.
Scientists being purged has never been a good thing for a society.
January 27, 2026 at 9:23 PM
For every new STEM PhD hired by the US Government in 2025, 11 quit/retired/fired. Eleven.
It's annual review time, so I was looking at my CV and decided to add up total, formal manuscripts reviewed in my approximately 10 years of reviewing. Without double-counting times I reviewed a revised manuscript, my total is 121. There are sooo many PhDs; why is it so hard to find reviewers?
January 27, 2026 at 8:00 PM
It's annual review time, so I was looking at my CV and decided to add up total, formal manuscripts reviewed in my approximately 10 years of reviewing. Without double-counting times I reviewed a revised manuscript, my total is 121. There are sooo many PhDs; why is it so hard to find reviewers?
I edited a special issue in Frontiers as an early career researcher, and even though I am proud of the editorial into we wrote for it and think the papers we solicited are all high quality, it does give me mixed emotions on my CV
We've got ISSUES. Literally.
We scraped >100k special issues & over 1 million articles to bring you a PISS-poor paper. We quantify just how many excess papers are published by guest editors abusing special issues to boost their CVs. How bad is it & what can we do?
arxiv.org/abs/2601.07563
A 🧵 1/n
We scraped >100k special issues & over 1 million articles to bring you a PISS-poor paper. We quantify just how many excess papers are published by guest editors abusing special issues to boost their CVs. How bad is it & what can we do?
arxiv.org/abs/2601.07563
A 🧵 1/n
January 27, 2026 at 12:39 PM
I edited a special issue in Frontiers as an early career researcher, and even though I am proud of the editorial into we wrote for it and think the papers we solicited are all high quality, it does give me mixed emotions on my CV
This is the most astonishing graph of what the Trump regime has done to US science. They have destroyed the federal science workforce across the board. The negative impacts on Americans will be felt for generations, and the US might never be the same again.
www.nature.com/immersive/d4...
www.nature.com/immersive/d4...
January 27, 2026 at 5:42 AM
I am so thankful to be safe in Spain right now and not on the federally terrorized streets of America
January 25, 2026 at 4:22 PM
I am so thankful to be safe in Spain right now and not on the federally terrorized streets of America
❗Violence Warning❗ But please share this as widely as possible on every platform. Americans need to watch this and say enough is enough. edition.cnn.com/2026/01/25/u...
CNN video analysis sheds new light on killing of Alex Pretti | CNN
CNN analyzed cellphone footage of immigration officers fatally shooting Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. Taken together, they appear at odds with the Department of Homeland Security’s claims about the kill...
edition.cnn.com
January 25, 2026 at 4:21 PM
❗Violence Warning❗ But please share this as widely as possible on every platform. Americans need to watch this and say enough is enough. edition.cnn.com/2026/01/25/u...
Due process is enshrined in the Constitution, so it should be patriotic to demand it. I wish more people - especially our elected officials - were patriots.
January 25, 2026 at 5:24 AM
Due process is enshrined in the Constitution, so it should be patriotic to demand it. I wish more people - especially our elected officials - were patriots.
Reposted by Matthew A. Barnes
The United States has officially withdrawn from the World Health Organization.
This is a shameful move that puts both Americans and people all over the world at greater risk from disease outbreaks, which require international collaboration to contain.
This is a shameful move that puts both Americans and people all over the world at greater risk from disease outbreaks, which require international collaboration to contain.
January 23, 2026 at 1:57 AM
The United States has officially withdrawn from the World Health Organization.
This is a shameful move that puts both Americans and people all over the world at greater risk from disease outbreaks, which require international collaboration to contain.
This is a shameful move that puts both Americans and people all over the world at greater risk from disease outbreaks, which require international collaboration to contain.
Reposted by Matthew A. Barnes
Almost all of the world’s mammal biomass is humans and our livestock and pets.
We're currently in the age of the Anthropocene, and the impact the dominance of humans is having on the world around is very clear.
We're currently in the age of the Anthropocene, and the impact the dominance of humans is having on the world around is very clear.
January 20, 2026 at 9:08 AM
Almost all of the world’s mammal biomass is humans and our livestock and pets.
We're currently in the age of the Anthropocene, and the impact the dominance of humans is having on the world around is very clear.
We're currently in the age of the Anthropocene, and the impact the dominance of humans is having on the world around is very clear.
Reposted by Matthew A. Barnes
Reposted by Matthew A. Barnes
Dr. Gladys West, the pioneering mathematician whose work laid the foundation for modern GPS technology, has died. She was 95.
Dr. Gladys West, Mathematician Whose Work Made GPS Possible, Dies at 95
ALEXANDRIA, VA — Dr. Gladys West, the pioneering mathematician whose work laid the foundation for modern GPS technology, has died. She passed away
thezebra.org
January 19, 2026 at 6:00 PM
Dr. Gladys West, the pioneering mathematician whose work laid the foundation for modern GPS technology, has died. She was 95.
Life update! I'm teaching in Sevilla, Spain this semester. Just arrived today and looking forward to a wonderful five months. If you are or know of any #eDNA researchers on the Iberian peninsula looking to develop new collaborations, please let me know!
January 11, 2026 at 6:52 PM
Life update! I'm teaching in Sevilla, Spain this semester. Just arrived today and looking forward to a wonderful five months. If you are or know of any #eDNA researchers on the Iberian peninsula looking to develop new collaborations, please let me know!
Reposted by Matthew A. Barnes
I have a very loud speaking voice. It carries very well.
I always use the mic
I always use the mic
Always use the mic at a conference even if you’re loud. People who can’t hear you *can’t hear you * when you ask if you can hear them in the back. Some of us went to one too many hardcore shows in our youth without ear plugs and our hearing ain’t what it used to be 🥺
#SICB2026
#SICB2026
January 6, 2026 at 9:06 PM
I have a very loud speaking voice. It carries very well.
I always use the mic
I always use the mic
Reposted by Matthew A. Barnes
Always use the mic at a conference even if you’re loud. People who can’t hear you *can’t hear you * when you ask if you can hear them in the back. Some of us went to one too many hardcore shows in our youth without ear plugs and our hearing ain’t what it used to be 🥺
#SICB2026
#SICB2026
January 4, 2026 at 6:42 PM
Always use the mic at a conference even if you’re loud. People who can’t hear you *can’t hear you * when you ask if you can hear them in the back. Some of us went to one too many hardcore shows in our youth without ear plugs and our hearing ain’t what it used to be 🥺
#SICB2026
#SICB2026
Reposted by Matthew A. Barnes
Honestly, anyone currently considering applying for an academic job in Texas should be re-considering until things change.
The GOP wants to make the UTexas and UFlorida system a model for their new UberUniversity system.
The GOP wants to make the UTexas and UFlorida system a model for their new UberUniversity system.
From an email to one of our faculty members....
Not even Plato can escape censorship at Texas A&M!
Not even Plato can escape censorship at Texas A&M!
January 7, 2026 at 12:25 AM
Honestly, anyone currently considering applying for an academic job in Texas should be re-considering until things change.
The GOP wants to make the UTexas and UFlorida system a model for their new UberUniversity system.
The GOP wants to make the UTexas and UFlorida system a model for their new UberUniversity system.
Reposted by Matthew A. Barnes
No science.
No debate.
No public participation.
This too is the stuff of authoritarian rule.
No debate.
No public participation.
This too is the stuff of authoritarian rule.
The changes announced Monday are effective immediately.
CDC Removes 6 Diseases From Childhood Vaccine Schedule
The changes announced Monday are effective immediately.
www.forbes.com
January 6, 2026 at 11:57 PM
No science.
No debate.
No public participation.
This too is the stuff of authoritarian rule.
No debate.
No public participation.
This too is the stuff of authoritarian rule.