Emma Scales
@emmascales.bsky.social
PhD student at 🌽LL studying molecular bases of fungal symbiosis with bacteria 🍄🦠🧫🤓
Science communication & science advocacy 💚🌱
Co-founder #McClintockLetters initiative
Co-Pres @cornellasap.bsky.social
Founding member @snapcoalition.bsky.social
Science communication & science advocacy 💚🌱
Co-founder #McClintockLetters initiative
Co-Pres @cornellasap.bsky.social
Founding member @snapcoalition.bsky.social
Reposted by Emma Scales
Print version of my new commentary ("Bill Gates’s climate comments are a dangerous distraction") on #COP30, Bill Gates and more, in the latest issue of @nature.com: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
November 19, 2025 at 6:36 PM
Print version of my new commentary ("Bill Gates’s climate comments are a dangerous distraction") on #COP30, Bill Gates and more, in the latest issue of @nature.com: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Emma Scales
I think these blinded tests have lost the plot. I don't normally say something is "academic" as a criticism, but this sort of thing is academic.
Fine-tuning and other sorts of stage-setting to boost the appearance of humanlike outputs in restricted domains is interesting yet not especially useful.
Fine-tuning and other sorts of stage-setting to boost the appearance of humanlike outputs in restricted domains is interesting yet not especially useful.
November 19, 2025 at 3:12 PM
I think these blinded tests have lost the plot. I don't normally say something is "academic" as a criticism, but this sort of thing is academic.
Fine-tuning and other sorts of stage-setting to boost the appearance of humanlike outputs in restricted domains is interesting yet not especially useful.
Fine-tuning and other sorts of stage-setting to boost the appearance of humanlike outputs in restricted domains is interesting yet not especially useful.
Reposted by Emma Scales
Thoughtful piece on the importance of "DEI" in health research, published in Time Magazine.
time.com/7333975/dei-...
This presents the case in the context of lupus.
time.com/7333975/dei-...
This presents the case in the context of lupus.
DEI Isn’t Wasteful. It’s Necessary for Good Medicine
Lupus patients pay the price when we erase inclusion from medical research.
time.com
November 19, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Thoughtful piece on the importance of "DEI" in health research, published in Time Magazine.
time.com/7333975/dei-...
This presents the case in the context of lupus.
time.com/7333975/dei-...
This presents the case in the context of lupus.
Reposted by Emma Scales
Here's a big thank you to everyone at NIH who is trying to get everything regarding grants and reviews re-started!!!
November 13, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Here's a big thank you to everyone at NIH who is trying to get everything regarding grants and reviews re-started!!!
Reposted by Emma Scales
Nature research paper: Two residues reprogram immunity receptors for nitrogen-fixing symbiosis
go.nature.com/43c5b6C
go.nature.com/43c5b6C
Two residues reprogram immunity receptors for nitrogen-fixing symbiosis - Nature
An investigation of plant receptor-like kinases identifies regions of these proteins that control whether immune or symbiotic signalling pathways are activated, with minimal changes to specific residues in one of these regions being sufficient to alter signalling specificity.
go.nature.com
November 12, 2025 at 9:36 AM
Nature research paper: Two residues reprogram immunity receptors for nitrogen-fixing symbiosis
go.nature.com/43c5b6C
go.nature.com/43c5b6C
Northern Lights through the clouds!!! Could actually see the glowing colors - hopefully more tonight!!
November 12, 2025 at 11:38 AM
Northern Lights through the clouds!!! Could actually see the glowing colors - hopefully more tonight!!
Reposted by Emma Scales
America’s chickenshit elites problem continues to be the biggest obstacle to fighting Trump www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
November 10, 2025 at 3:25 PM
America’s chickenshit elites problem continues to be the biggest obstacle to fighting Trump www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
Reposted by Emma Scales
Fungi coat the eggs of stinkbugs, creating a shield that protects the embryos from parasitic wasps, researchers report.
Learn more: https://scim.ag/43kl3np
Learn more: https://scim.ag/43kl3np
November 10, 2025 at 11:26 PM
Fungi coat the eggs of stinkbugs, creating a shield that protects the embryos from parasitic wasps, researchers report.
Learn more: https://scim.ag/43kl3np
Learn more: https://scim.ag/43kl3np
Reposted by Emma Scales
An excerpt from my remarks to the annual gathering of Cornell trustees & alumni from Oct. 23 as part of a plenary panel “Research at risk”. I stand by what I said. Cornell continues to fail its researchers. In light of this week’s news, I’m afraid the timing of this event was too convenient. (1/🧵)
November 10, 2025 at 11:35 AM
An excerpt from my remarks to the annual gathering of Cornell trustees & alumni from Oct. 23 as part of a plenary panel “Research at risk”. I stand by what I said. Cornell continues to fail its researchers. In light of this week’s news, I’m afraid the timing of this event was too convenient. (1/🧵)
Reposted by Emma Scales
Add Cornell to the list
November 7, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Add Cornell to the list
Reposted by Emma Scales
Shame on Cornell.
Breaking News: Cornell University reached an agreement with the Trump administration that would restore hundreds of millions in funding to the university. It's expected to pay a $30 million fine to the government and to invest $30 million in agriculture and farming programs.
Cornell Reaches Deal with Trump Administration to Restore Research Funds
The Ivy League university had warned of layoffs after the Trump administration stripped it of funds this year. The cuts were among the deepest in higher education.
nyti.ms
November 7, 2025 at 6:22 PM
Shame on Cornell.
An excerpt from my remarks to the annual gathering of Cornell trustees & alumni from Oct. 23 as part of a plenary panel “Research at risk”. I stand by what I said. Cornell continues to fail its researchers. In light of this week’s news, I’m afraid the timing of this event was too convenient. (1/🧵)
November 10, 2025 at 11:35 AM
An excerpt from my remarks to the annual gathering of Cornell trustees & alumni from Oct. 23 as part of a plenary panel “Research at risk”. I stand by what I said. Cornell continues to fail its researchers. In light of this week’s news, I’m afraid the timing of this event was too convenient. (1/🧵)
Reposted by Emma Scales
Kudos to @nejm.org for their work to #DefendResearch against censorship by launching this effort. The undermining of MMWR is a tragedy. #Academictwitter #PublicHealthTwitter
#StandUpForScience Sign the declaration to defend research @defendresearch.bsky.social!
www.statnews.com/2025/10/21/c...
#StandUpForScience Sign the declaration to defend research @defendresearch.bsky.social!
www.statnews.com/2025/10/21/c...
NEJM and public health group are launching rival to CDC’s MMWR publication
Two institutions are coming together to create an alternative to the CDC’s vaunted Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
www.statnews.com
November 3, 2025 at 2:33 PM
Kudos to @nejm.org for their work to #DefendResearch against censorship by launching this effort. The undermining of MMWR is a tragedy. #Academictwitter #PublicHealthTwitter
#StandUpForScience Sign the declaration to defend research @defendresearch.bsky.social!
www.statnews.com/2025/10/21/c...
#StandUpForScience Sign the declaration to defend research @defendresearch.bsky.social!
www.statnews.com/2025/10/21/c...
Reposted by Emma Scales
The wooly bear, or #Isabella tiger #moth #caterpillar, Pyrrharctia isabella, still looking for overwintering spots on warm days. I'm still collecting them for research. Many years ago I became allergic to the hairs, a painful reminder of my love gone sour: agrawal.eeb.cornell.edu/2018/11/24/c...
November 4, 2025 at 10:51 AM
The wooly bear, or #Isabella tiger #moth #caterpillar, Pyrrharctia isabella, still looking for overwintering spots on warm days. I'm still collecting them for research. Many years ago I became allergic to the hairs, a painful reminder of my love gone sour: agrawal.eeb.cornell.edu/2018/11/24/c...
Reposted by Emma Scales
One small thing people can do is refuse to consume shitty art that isn’t made by people
Interact with art made by real artists
Interact with art made by real artists
November 4, 2025 at 3:07 AM
One small thing people can do is refuse to consume shitty art that isn’t made by people
Interact with art made by real artists
Interact with art made by real artists
Reposted by Emma Scales
Nature research paper: Multiple LDLR family members act as entry receptors for yellow fever virus
go.nature.com/3L9hquu
go.nature.com/3L9hquu
Multiple LDLR family members act as entry receptors for yellow fever virus - Nature
The low-density lipoprotein receptor family members LRP1, LRP4 and VLDLR are entry receptors for yellow fever virus.
go.nature.com
November 4, 2025 at 11:02 AM
Nature research paper: Multiple LDLR family members act as entry receptors for yellow fever virus
go.nature.com/3L9hquu
go.nature.com/3L9hquu
Reposted by Emma Scales
Citizen-led pollution monitoring persists in Louisiana, despite law that limits its use - LA Illuminator lailluminator.com/2025/11/02/c...
Citizen-led pollution monitoring persists in Louisiana, despite law that limits its use • Louisiana Illuminator
Communities around Louisiana are taking environmental data collection into their own hands — despite a law restricting how their findings can be used to enforce regulations.
lailluminator.com
November 3, 2025 at 3:16 PM
Citizen-led pollution monitoring persists in Louisiana, despite law that limits its use - LA Illuminator lailluminator.com/2025/11/02/c...
Reposted by Emma Scales
Iowa has the worst-in-the-nation fertilizer contamination of drinking water, the fastest rising rates of new cancers, and a bunch of science showing these trends are likely linked.
Here’s an on-point thread re: the latest news on all that from a leading ag scholar at U of Iowa (and go follow her):
Here’s an on-point thread re: the latest news on all that from a leading ag scholar at U of Iowa (and go follow her):
Iowa Public Radio doing some cropaganda about fall fertilizer application in the form of a big ag dude saying it’s OK if the soil is warm enough and absolutely no critical rejoinder was not something I wanted to hear this morning.
November 3, 2025 at 11:05 PM
Iowa has the worst-in-the-nation fertilizer contamination of drinking water, the fastest rising rates of new cancers, and a bunch of science showing these trends are likely linked.
Here’s an on-point thread re: the latest news on all that from a leading ag scholar at U of Iowa (and go follow her):
Here’s an on-point thread re: the latest news on all that from a leading ag scholar at U of Iowa (and go follow her):
Reposted by Emma Scales
Great/devastating interactive dashboard from our friends at @firedbutfighting.bsky.social!
CDCDataProject.org
CDCDataProject.org
November 3, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Great/devastating interactive dashboard from our friends at @firedbutfighting.bsky.social!
CDCDataProject.org
CDCDataProject.org
Reposted by Emma Scales
Enshittification is a term coined by Cory Doctorow in 2022. In his new book, Doctorow lays out how tech companies have made our lives progressively worse, finds Matthew Sparkes
Has life today been enshittified? Cory Doctorow's new book explores
Enshittification is a term coined by Cory Doctorow in 2022. In his new book, Doctorow lays out how tech companies have made our lives progressively worse, finds Matthew Sparkes
www.newscientist.com
November 2, 2025 at 9:17 AM
Enshittification is a term coined by Cory Doctorow in 2022. In his new book, Doctorow lays out how tech companies have made our lives progressively worse, finds Matthew Sparkes
Reposted by Emma Scales
Ozempic, MRI machines and flat screen televisions all emerged out of fundamental research decades earlier — the very types of study being slashed by the US government
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
7 basic science discoveries that changed the world
Ozempic, MRI machines and flat screen televisions all emerged out of fundamental research decades earlier — the very types of study being slashed by the US government.
www.nature.com
October 29, 2025 at 11:10 AM
Ozempic, MRI machines and flat screen televisions all emerged out of fundamental research decades earlier — the very types of study being slashed by the US government
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Emma Scales
I got an invitation to use the "Nature Research Assistant", put up a paper on intuitive physics and asked it for more references to relevant papers; can you guess why I marked those parts in red
October 28, 2025 at 1:08 PM
I got an invitation to use the "Nature Research Assistant", put up a paper on intuitive physics and asked it for more references to relevant papers; can you guess why I marked those parts in red
Reposted by Emma Scales
Remarkable work revealing how histone proteins in the closest relatives of eukaryotes package DNA 🧪
Lab’s first paper is out!! We show the first structures of #Asgard #chromatin by #cryo-EM 🧬❄️
Asgard histones form closed and open hypernucleosomes. Closed are conserved across #Archaea, while open resemble eukaryotic H3–H4 octasomes and are Asgard-specific. More here: www.cell.com/molecular-ce...
Asgard histones form closed and open hypernucleosomes. Closed are conserved across #Archaea, while open resemble eukaryotic H3–H4 octasomes and are Asgard-specific. More here: www.cell.com/molecular-ce...
October 29, 2025 at 11:46 AM
Remarkable work revealing how histone proteins in the closest relatives of eukaryotes package DNA 🧪
Reposted by Emma Scales
@bdavisbio.bsky.social @isakoditomassi.bsky.social @emmascales.bsky.social @erinmorrow.bsky.social @mjarnett.bsky.social @alexlando.bsky.social @kassstem.bsky.social @gator-pase.bsky.social @scipolucla.bsky.social @pspdg.bsky.social
Guest piece for #Inform&Influence detailing how SNAP has succeeded as a #grassroots org coordinating multiple nationwide initiatives.
#SciPol #SciAdvocacy #SciComm #McClintockLetters
www.linkedin.com/posts/debora...
#SciPol #SciAdvocacy #SciComm #McClintockLetters
www.linkedin.com/posts/debora...
Inform & Influence 51 Guest Writer: Oh, SNAP! Getting Early-Career Scientists to Engage with Policy and Community. | Deborah D. Stine
Hello Newsletter Readers,
Exciting news! While I am off on my trip to Southern Africa, I asked several organizations to talk about their activities in science and technology policy through my newslet...
www.linkedin.com
October 27, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Reposted by Emma Scales
The Nobel Prizes, 5 of 6 having so far gone to US based scientists, are a reminder of why we must stand up for science against this horrid administration. Here are some great Scientist Activists to follow.
go.bsky.app/14W5Rdk
go.bsky.app/14W5Rdk
October 8, 2025 at 1:16 AM
The Nobel Prizes, 5 of 6 having so far gone to US based scientists, are a reminder of why we must stand up for science against this horrid administration. Here are some great Scientist Activists to follow.
go.bsky.app/14W5Rdk
go.bsky.app/14W5Rdk