Erin Purcell
@erinpurcell.bsky.social
Alarmone signaling and stress survival in C. difficile. Why are these bacteria so hard to kill? I sort of love them for it. Books, board games, and baking when I remember to protect the time. She/her. Views my own.
Pinned
Erin Purcell
@erinpurcell.bsky.social
· Nov 21
I had fun with this site, and it looks like a good way to introduce myself to new Bluesky members.
Link: scholargoggler.com
Link: scholargoggler.com
Reposted by Erin Purcell
You may laugh, but the Macbeths are a much better role model for a marriage than Romeo and Juliet. They discuss their problems (killing the king of Scotland), share their hobbies (killing the king of Scotland), and resolve their conflicts (by killing the king of Scotland).
February 13, 2026 at 5:09 PM
You may laugh, but the Macbeths are a much better role model for a marriage than Romeo and Juliet. They discuss their problems (killing the king of Scotland), share their hobbies (killing the king of Scotland), and resolve their conflicts (by killing the king of Scotland).
Reposted by Erin Purcell
Ill be clear about why I am so angry and critical about it: Im seeing a good portion of my students who have imbibed the notion that they dont have to read, think or write for themselves because ChatGPT/CoPilot will do their thinking for them, and its terrifying. It should scare all of us.
February 12, 2026 at 1:21 PM
Ill be clear about why I am so angry and critical about it: Im seeing a good portion of my students who have imbibed the notion that they dont have to read, think or write for themselves because ChatGPT/CoPilot will do their thinking for them, and its terrifying. It should scare all of us.
Reposted by Erin Purcell
Not preparing for the next pandemic doesn't prevent pandemic from happening.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Exclusive: Key US infectious-diseases centre to drop pandemic preparation
Staff members have been instructed to scrub this topic and ‘biodefense’ from the agency’s website.
www.nature.com
February 14, 2026 at 2:27 AM
Not preparing for the next pandemic doesn't prevent pandemic from happening.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
I would actually watch the heck out of a prequel to the book Goldfinger, where Pussy Galore leads a gang of lesbian acrobat jewel thieves. They toned her WAY down for the movies!
Every time someone lobbies to bring James Bond 'back to the serious and grounded tone of the novels' I remind them that the novels feature things such as James Bond fighting a giant squid and a supervillain who builds a garden full of poisonous plants and animals to help people commit suicide
February 13, 2026 at 3:01 AM
I would actually watch the heck out of a prequel to the book Goldfinger, where Pussy Galore leads a gang of lesbian acrobat jewel thieves. They toned her WAY down for the movies!
Reposted by Erin Purcell
Happy birthday to one of my favourite haters, Charles Darwin
February 12, 2026 at 4:31 PM
Happy birthday to one of my favourite haters, Charles Darwin
Reposted by Erin Purcell
Terrible. The bill now goes to the Senate. Make those calls. 202-224-3121
www.nbcnews.com/politics/con...
www.nbcnews.com/politics/con...
House passes SAVE America Act, sending Trump-backed election bill to the Senate
The legislation would overhaul federal election laws in all 50 states by imposing new voter ID and proof-of-citizenship requirements. But it faces a daunting path in the Senate.
www.nbcnews.com
February 12, 2026 at 1:37 AM
Terrible. The bill now goes to the Senate. Make those calls. 202-224-3121
www.nbcnews.com/politics/con...
www.nbcnews.com/politics/con...
Reposted by Erin Purcell
It will be interesting to see if any other pharma or biotech companies will speak up. A refusal to file after years of discussions is bad news for everyone…
www.statnews.com/2026/02/10/f...
www.statnews.com/2026/02/10/f...
February 11, 2026 at 12:29 AM
It will be interesting to see if any other pharma or biotech companies will speak up. A refusal to file after years of discussions is bad news for everyone…
www.statnews.com/2026/02/10/f...
www.statnews.com/2026/02/10/f...
Reposted by Erin Purcell
ATTENTION EVERYONE, I BRING EXCUSES!!
Moderate daily consumption of caffeine is associated with a lower risk of dementia and slower cognitive decline, according to a new study.
Drinking coffee or tea daily linked to lower dementia risk, study show
Moderate daily consumption of caffeine is associated with a lower risk of dementia and slower cognitive decline, according to a new study.
l.euronews.com
February 10, 2026 at 9:58 AM
ATTENTION EVERYONE, I BRING EXCUSES!!
Reposted by Erin Purcell
Next time someone asks you about energy and land use, maybe remind them that the ~35 million acres that currently grow corn for ethanol in the US could produce ~15 PWh per year of electricity from solar photovoltaics. That's ~3.5 times more than *total annual generation from all US power plants*.
February 1, 2026 at 8:55 PM
Next time someone asks you about energy and land use, maybe remind them that the ~35 million acres that currently grow corn for ethanol in the US could produce ~15 PWh per year of electricity from solar photovoltaics. That's ~3.5 times more than *total annual generation from all US power plants*.
Reposted by Erin Purcell
I'm convinced AI is our generation's radium - a discovery with genuinely useful applications in specific, controlled circumstances that we stupidly put in everything from kid's toys to toothpaste until we realised the harm far too late where future generations will ask if we were out of our minds.
February 8, 2026 at 10:23 PM
I'm convinced AI is our generation's radium - a discovery with genuinely useful applications in specific, controlled circumstances that we stupidly put in everything from kid's toys to toothpaste until we realised the harm far too late where future generations will ask if we were out of our minds.
Reposted by Erin Purcell
every year i make a 'super bowl advertisement' bingo card for my friends. in these trying times,,, here's this year's:
February 8, 2026 at 4:54 PM
every year i make a 'super bowl advertisement' bingo card for my friends. in these trying times,,, here's this year's:
Reposted by Erin Purcell
GM: Charisma check.
Mamdani: [rolls natural 20]
GM: that’s a d6 how did you
Mamdani: [direct to camera] Did you know you can check out board games at your local public library? 😊
Mamdani: [rolls natural 20]
GM: that’s a d6 how did you
Mamdani: [direct to camera] Did you know you can check out board games at your local public library? 😊
February 7, 2026 at 5:01 AM
GM: Charisma check.
Mamdani: [rolls natural 20]
GM: that’s a d6 how did you
Mamdani: [direct to camera] Did you know you can check out board games at your local public library? 😊
Mamdani: [rolls natural 20]
GM: that’s a d6 how did you
Mamdani: [direct to camera] Did you know you can check out board games at your local public library? 😊
Reposted by Erin Purcell
This is so true. The curse of competence is talented folk don’t get much practice in learning to fail —gracefully or not — and almost never in small ways. So when we do fail, it’s huge and noisy and devastating.
The best favor you can do your kids is keeping them appropriately challenged.
The best favor you can do your kids is keeping them appropriately challenged.
In my experience, talent is a *detriment* to learning.
I didn't have to practice early on so I *didn't know how*. I didn't start to learn how to practice until my 30s! (When much of my life was taken up with parenting, so I didn't have time!)
I didn't start to improve as a musician until my 40s!
I didn't have to practice early on so I *didn't know how*. I didn't start to learn how to practice until my 30s! (When much of my life was taken up with parenting, so I didn't have time!)
I didn't start to improve as a musician until my 40s!
I'm going to say this again in case you haven't heard this one: I was a talented writer and it did *nothing whatsoever* because I hadn't put in the work, and I put in the work for ten years (subtracting the bit where I had to quit for my mental health) to write Witchmark
talent alone could *never*
talent alone could *never*
February 8, 2026 at 2:08 AM
This is so true. The curse of competence is talented folk don’t get much practice in learning to fail —gracefully or not — and almost never in small ways. So when we do fail, it’s huge and noisy and devastating.
The best favor you can do your kids is keeping them appropriately challenged.
The best favor you can do your kids is keeping them appropriately challenged.
Reposted by Erin Purcell
it's why the current admin's attacks on vaccines hit us all in such a deep, raw, emotional place of apocalyptic righteous anger. we could convert the death sentence diagnoses of today into manageable chronic conditions if we funded the research that's already making inroads
February 7, 2026 at 1:43 AM
it's why the current admin's attacks on vaccines hit us all in such a deep, raw, emotional place of apocalyptic righteous anger. we could convert the death sentence diagnoses of today into manageable chronic conditions if we funded the research that's already making inroads
Reposted by Erin Purcell
one of the greatest human triumphs of my lifetime is the relentless, unceasing, heroic effort by DECADES' worth of doctors and scientists to find a cure for a disease much of the world didn't take seriously for years because it predominantly affected a community they thought kinda deserved it
Just because good news is worth celebrating:
There is now a Prep medication that is an *every six month* injection.
HIV has, effectively, a vaccination.
There is now a Prep medication that is an *every six month* injection.
HIV has, effectively, a vaccination.
February 7, 2026 at 1:37 AM
one of the greatest human triumphs of my lifetime is the relentless, unceasing, heroic effort by DECADES' worth of doctors and scientists to find a cure for a disease much of the world didn't take seriously for years because it predominantly affected a community they thought kinda deserved it
Reposted by Erin Purcell
Just because good news is worth celebrating:
There is now a Prep medication that is an *every six month* injection.
HIV has, effectively, a vaccination.
There is now a Prep medication that is an *every six month* injection.
HIV has, effectively, a vaccination.
February 7, 2026 at 12:12 AM
Just because good news is worth celebrating:
There is now a Prep medication that is an *every six month* injection.
HIV has, effectively, a vaccination.
There is now a Prep medication that is an *every six month* injection.
HIV has, effectively, a vaccination.
Reposted by Erin Purcell
No joke: I got angry hate mail today for writing an obituary of a Black woman scientist—because the person felt she did didn’t deserve the recognition.
Which just makes me want to share it again: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Which just makes me want to share it again: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Gladys Mae West obituary: mathematician who pioneered GPS technology
She made key contributions to US cold-war science despite facing huge barriers as a Black woman.
www.nature.com
February 6, 2026 at 9:09 AM
No joke: I got angry hate mail today for writing an obituary of a Black woman scientist—because the person felt she did didn’t deserve the recognition.
Which just makes me want to share it again: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Which just makes me want to share it again: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Erin Purcell
BREAKING: Over 680 members of the National Academy of Sciences, Medicine, and Engineering have endorsed articles of impeachment against RFK Jr.
(1/2 🧵)
(1/2 🧵)
February 5, 2026 at 9:08 PM
BREAKING: Over 680 members of the National Academy of Sciences, Medicine, and Engineering have endorsed articles of impeachment against RFK Jr.
(1/2 🧵)
(1/2 🧵)
I demand a streaming show that starts off all soapy with cartoonishly outlikely scenarios about why people are parking where they are and getting towed, with everyone improbably attractive, and sneaks in an increasingly dark narrative about police corruption and ties to organized crime.
I knew about the tow truck wars in Toronto but I did not know that MORE THAN 1 IN 8 bullets fired by guns anywhere in Toronto in the year 2024 were related to tow truck driver turf wars???
And the police force is not just complicit but LEAKING INFO TO HITMEN????
And the police force is not just complicit but LEAKING INFO TO HITMEN????
February 5, 2026 at 8:37 PM
I demand a streaming show that starts off all soapy with cartoonishly outlikely scenarios about why people are parking where they are and getting towed, with everyone improbably attractive, and sneaks in an increasingly dark narrative about police corruption and ties to organized crime.
Reposted by Erin Purcell
A February Haiku
February 5, 2026 at 7:00 PM
A February Haiku
Reposted by Erin Purcell
Whatever else they say about us, they'll never say we were out of ideas.
February 5, 2026 at 7:11 PM
Whatever else they say about us, they'll never say we were out of ideas.
Reposted by Erin Purcell
Highlighting the speaker who stood in front of the Surprise mayor and told him to consider what the Mayor of Ohrdruf must’ve thought before he died by suicide: “He might have thought ‘how is this my fault I had no jurisdiction over this’ maybe he said ‘this site was not subject to local zoning.’”
February 4, 2026 at 6:43 AM
Highlighting the speaker who stood in front of the Surprise mayor and told him to consider what the Mayor of Ohrdruf must’ve thought before he died by suicide: “He might have thought ‘how is this my fault I had no jurisdiction over this’ maybe he said ‘this site was not subject to local zoning.’”
Reposted by Erin Purcell
"I have only changed in spite of myself. Every scrap of progress has been torn from my clenched talons by citizens who loved me more than themselves and their neighbors more than me."
I’m Still Your America
Hey, patriot. It’s been a week. As ICE spreads terror through the streets, and Teacup Eichmann presided over the murder of yet another innocent civ...
buff.ly
February 4, 2026 at 2:02 PM
"I have only changed in spite of myself. Every scrap of progress has been torn from my clenched talons by citizens who loved me more than themselves and their neighbors more than me."
From the little I've been told of my various roots:
- possibly religion
- poverty
- poverty
- spite after losing argument to sister about taking horse to town
- possibly religion
- poverty
- poverty
- spite after losing argument to sister about taking horse to town
Genuinely curious: If your family is American, what brought them here?
Mine: religious nuttery & primogeniture
Mine: religious nuttery & primogeniture
February 3, 2026 at 4:42 AM
From the little I've been told of my various roots:
- possibly religion
- poverty
- poverty
- spite after losing argument to sister about taking horse to town
- possibly religion
- poverty
- poverty
- spite after losing argument to sister about taking horse to town