Nels Elde
LightNews LightNews
banner
elearlybird.bsky.social
Nels Elde
@elearlybird.bsky.social
3.2K followers 810 following 10 posts
Evolutionary genetics and cell biology. And co-host of This Week in Evolution: www.microbe.tv/twievo/ Elde lab: cellvolution.org Opinions: my own, not employers
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Nels Elde
mollyschumer.bsky.social
I am so excited to share new work on a TE insertion that regulates iridescence in swordtails, led by fantastic grad student @nadiahaghani.bsky.social and with help from many coauthors! In a time that has been so difficult to navigate, this & other projects have kept my spirits up: shorturl.at/NE65A
Insertion of an invading retrovirus regulates a novel color trait in swordtail fish
For over a century, evolutionary biologists have been motivated to understand the mechanisms through which organisms adapt to their environments. Coloration and pigmentation are remarkably variable wi...
shorturl.at
November 12, 2025 at 8:34 PM
Reposted by Nels Elde
lhmoncla.bsky.social
Our lab's paper describing the North American H5N1 epizootic is out now in Nature! So thrilled to have this out, and congratulations to @lambod50.bsky.social for all the fantastic work on this: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Ecology and spread of the North American H5N1 epizootic - Nature
The panzootic of highly pathogenic H5N1 since 2021 was driven by around nine introductions into the Atlantic and Pacific flyways, followed by rapid dissemination through wild migratory birds, primaril...
www.nature.com
November 12, 2025 at 7:33 PM
Reposted by Nels Elde
phillewis.bsky.social
OutKast is inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame:

“We started in a little room. Great things start in little rooms”
November 9, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Reposted by Nels Elde
needhibhalla.bsky.social
“This weight presses on me every day. I am flooded with stories. There are so many I cannot remember them all; cannot keep straight who was gassed, beaten, abducted, or shot. I write to leave a record, to stare at the track of the tornado. I write to leave a warning. I write to call for help.”
bgrueskin.bsky.social Bill Grueskin @bgrueskin.bsky.social · 3d
Kyle Kingsbury is not a journalist. He is not an op-ed writer.

He is a computer safety researcher.

And he has written one of the most compelling, comprehensive accounts of the ongoing hell in Chicago that you could possibly imagine.

In under 1600 words.

aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...
I Want You to Understand Chicago Politics Chicago 2025-11-08 I want you to understand what it is like to live in Chicago during this time. Every day my phone buzzes. It is a neighborhood group: four people were kidnapped at the corner drugstore. A friend a mile away sends a Slack message: she was at the scene when masked men assaulted and abducted two people on the street. A plumber working on my pipes is distraught, and I find out that two of his employees were kidnapped that morning. A week later it happens again. An email arrives. Agents with guns have chased a teacher into the school where she works. They did not have a warrant. They dragged her away, ignoring her and her colleagues’ pleas to show proof of her documentation. That evening I stand a few feet from the parents of Rayito de Sol and listen to them describe, with anguish, how good Ms. Diana was to their children. What it is like to have strangers with guns traumatize your kids. For a teacher to hide a three-year-old child for fear they might be killed. How their relatives will no longer leave the house. I hear the pain and fury in their voices, and I wonder who will be next. Understand what it is to pray in Chicago. On September 19th, Reverend David Black, lead pastor at First Presbyterian Church of Chicago, was praying outside the ICE detention center in Broadview when a DHS agent shot him in the head with pepper balls. Pepper balls are never supposed to be fired at the head because they can seriously injure, or even kill. “We could hear them laughing as they were shooting us from the roof,” Black recalled. He is not the only member of the clergy ICE has assaulted. Methodist pastor Hannah Kardon was violently arrested on October 17th, and Baptist pastor Michael Woolf was shot with pepper balls on November 1st. Understand what it is to sleep in Chicago. On the night of September 30th, federal agents rappelled from a Black Hawk helicopter to execute a raid on an apartment building on the South Sho…
November 10, 2025 at 1:24 PM
Reposted by Nels Elde
docbecca.bsky.social
Mamdani- style graphic that says “funding for basic science”
November 8, 2025 at 9:49 PM
Reposted by Nels Elde
mitpress.bsky.social
We're disappointed to see Ben Barres's powerful book "The Autobiography of a Transgender Scientist" among the ~400 titles removed from the Naval Academy Library. Needless to say, we're proud to have published his book and will keep it — and his memory — alive.
The Coming Out of a Transgender Scientist
"I know that I am making the right decision because whenever I think about changing my gender role, I am flooded with feelings of relief."
thereader.mitpress.mit.edu
April 8, 2025 at 8:24 PM
Reposted by Nels Elde
karalmarshall.bsky.social
Gave a talk at my parents’ retirement community to describe how science is done, and what is at stake. There was a ton of interest, and anyone can do this. Get the word out about how science affects everyone. I’m happy to share slides with anyone who asks- just get in touch! youtu.be/BY_SFgi-Cig
Kara Marshall PHD-History of Science in America - Trilogy at Tehaleh 04/27/25
YouTube video by Steve Lawson
youtu.be
May 3, 2025 at 7:20 PM
Reposted by Nels Elde
virginiagewin.bsky.social
"Science is being destroyed across many agencies" say federal researchers.

For my latest @nature.com piece, I spoke to 19 different scientists across EPA, NOAA, NIH, NASA, and USGS to document how science is being dismantled across US federal agencies.
Dismantling of US federal agencies will ‘destroy science’
From NASA to the National Institutes of Health, federal agencies conduct research that universities cannot. Agency scientists speak out about the irreplaceable facilities, institutional knowledge and ...
www.nature.com
November 4, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Reposted by Nels Elde
lizneeley.bsky.social
For 41 weeks now, I’ve been sitting down every Friday night to chronicle the damage this administration is doing to science & higher ed.

We must stay focused. We’re in this for the long haul. We are finding ways not just to block them, but build something better.

buttondown.com/liminalcreat...
Week 41
October 25-31 - a seasonal shift
buttondown.com
November 1, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Reposted by Nels Elde
jeremymberg.bsky.social
From Senate hearing on Wednesday

www.medpagetoday.com/washington-w...
Expert Warns of Irreparable Damage to Biotech Industry Unless Congress Acts
U.S. owes its 'vibrant pipeline' to high levels of public funding, says Aaron Kesselheim
www.medpagetoday.com
October 31, 2025 at 1:50 AM
Reposted by Nels Elde
harmitmalik.bsky.social
DeSantis orders Board of Governors to ‘pull the plug’ on H1-B visas in universities floridaphoenix.com/2025/10/29/_...
DeSantis orders Board of Governors to 'pull the plug' on H1-B visas in universities • Florida Phoenix
Gov. Ron DeSantis is directing Florida's top higher education board to prevent state universities from hiring foreign specialty workers, he announced Wednesday.
floridaphoenix.com
October 30, 2025 at 4:56 AM
Reposted by Nels Elde
shiraweingarten.bsky.social
🚨 Systems Virology Journal Club – 8th Series! 🚨
#BillSchneider and I are delighted to announce another round of cutting-edge talks in #SystemsVirology! 🦠💡
Join us and an outstanding lineup of speakers, starting Oct 30.
Free registration: shiraweingartengabbay.com/systems-viro... 🔬✨
October 20, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Reposted by Nels Elde
democracynow.org
Many of the people on food stamps work at “the same corporations that got large tax breaks and are not paying people livable wages,” says Gina Plata-Nino from the Food Research and Action Center.
October 28, 2025 at 1:36 PM
Reposted by Nels Elde
madhupai.bsky.social
Humanity has missed 1.5C climate target

And with climate change denialism peaking, I fear the worst

www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘Change course now’: humanity has missed 1.5C climate target, says UN head
Exclusive: ‘Devastating consequences’ now inevitable but emissions cuts still vital, says António Guterres in sole interview before Cop30
www.theguardian.com
October 28, 2025 at 12:29 AM
Reposted by Nels Elde
sbagen.bsky.social
This is a really outstanding post. "That’s the point of the compact. .... It is about control. Specifically it is about turning existing federal law, over which the administration has limited control, into terms of a 'deal' that offers the government much more control."
fishkin.bsky.social Joey Fishkin @fishkin.bsky.social · Oct 4
I thought I'd put the administration's proposed "compact" with universities in context, so I wrote the blog post below.

It's especially for journalists covering this story!

Many details about how the compact itself works and why the administration has retreated to this strategy.
Balkinization: The Art of Replacing the Law with the Deal
A group blog on constitutional law, theory, and politics
balkin.blogspot.com
October 5, 2025 at 12:34 PM
Reposted by Nels Elde
chrisgeidner.bsky.social
As Paul Weiss, Paramount, anyone who has capitulated to Trump has learned — it never ends. You are giving up your principles and (at least in the case of law firms and universities) reason for existence, and you are getting nothing in return other than letting Trump know you will give in.
chrisgeidner.bsky.social Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 21d
This is the statement the Department of Justice in the Trump administration released in regards to the University of Virginia's capitulation to authoritarianism.
The United States Department of Justice FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE WWW.JUSTICE.GOV/NEWS October 22, 2025 The Justice Department Announces Agreement with University of Virginia WASHINGTON - Today, the U.S. Department of Justice announced an agreement with the University of Virginia ("UVA") that will protect UVA's students, faculty, and employees from violations of federal civil rights laws, including from discrimination based on race, sex, or national origin. As part of the agreement, the University of Virginia agrees to be bound by the Department of Justice's "Guidance for Recipients of Federal Funding Regarding Unlawful Discrimination," ensuring that UVA does not engage in unlawful racial discrimination in its university programming, admissions, hiring, or other activities. UVA will provide relevant information and data to the Department of Justice on a quarterly basis through 2028. The President of UVA will personally certify each quarter that UVA is in compliance with the agreement. The Department will pause its pending investigations into the university's admissions policies and other civil rights concerns. The United States shall treat UVA as eligible for future grants and awards. If UVA completes its planned reforms prohibiting DEI at the university, the Department will close its investigations against UVA. "This notable agreement with the University of Virginia will protect students and faculty from unlawful discrimination, ensuring that equal opportunity and fairness are restored," said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Civil Rights Division. "We appreciate the progress that the university has made in combatting antisemitism and racial bias, and other American universities should be on alert that the Justice Department will ensure that our federal civil rights laws are enforced for every American, without exception." ###
October 22, 2025 at 10:29 PM
Reposted by Nels Elde
US measles cases top 1,600 as South Carolina outbreak grows www.cidrap.umn.edu/measles/us-m...
US measles cases top 1,600 as South Carolina outbreak grows
www.cidrap.umn.edu
October 22, 2025 at 8:51 PM
Reposted by Nels Elde
hollybik.bsky.social
This whole thread! Super accurate reflections on how hard and disincentivizing most #Scicomm is. And we don’t train science students in these strategic comms skills either, but we should!
grimalkina.bsky.social Cat Hicks @grimalkina.bsky.social · 22d
worth noting this is the exact approach you get a lot of flak from other scientists for trying
matthewfacciani.bsky.social Matthew Facciani @matthewfacciani.bsky.social · 22d
To compete in our attention-driven online spaces, science communicators should adopt networked coordination and emotional storytelling tactics to amplify accurate science information.
October 21, 2025 at 11:54 PM
Reposted by Nels Elde
markhisted.org
“My name is Dr. Sara Teichholtz.
And I’m here because in 2023, NIH saved my life.”

From the NIH #NoKings rally this weekend.

Powerful and honest and brave from Sara. 🧪
October 21, 2025 at 3:11 AM
Reposted by Nels Elde
lorenzothecat.bsky.social
Destruction of the White House East Wing began today. Here it is in better times with better residents.
October 20, 2025 at 8:09 PM
Reposted by Nels Elde
artologica.net
Incredible photo from yesterday's #nokings protests by Olga Fedorova for AP
protester dressed as the statue of liberty comes out of NY subway station
October 19, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Reposted by Nels Elde
markhisted.org
The energy at the #NIH rally today was amazing and contagious.

Huge turnout, huge pro-science energy.

1/ 🧪#NoKings
Big crowd Diversity Crowd Science
October 19, 2025 at 2:46 AM
Reposted by Nels Elde
joshuasweitz.bsky.social
Defend medical research
October 18, 2025 at 2:37 PM
Reposted by Nels Elde
jeremymberg.bsky.social
Happy "No Kings" Day!

I just sent this email to Director Bhattacharya regarding the recently appointment of a new NIEHS Director.
Dear Director Bhattacharya: I saw your announcement about the appointment of Dr. Kyle Walsh as Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. It is hard for me to express how disappointed and saddened that I am with this turn of events. This has little to do with Dr. Walsh or his qualifications. Instead, my concerns are based on the damage that this appointment, with the complete lack of any reasonable process, does to the NIH and the ability of this agency. which matters so much to the American people. to recruit and retain the best people for the 13 institute and center director positions that are now vacant.
October 18, 2025 at 12:23 PM