Gitta Coaker
@gittacoaker.bsky.social
Professor at UC Davis, studying plant immunity and bacterial pathogens. Loves weightlifting, running, and the outdoors. Views are my own.
Reposted by Gitta Coaker
Mismatch screening in Nicotiana benthamiana to explore Pik-1/Pik-2 paired NLR platforms for receptor engineering
A #Letter by Xi & Banfield
👇
📖 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
#LatestIssue
A #Letter by Xi & Banfield
👇
📖 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
#LatestIssue
February 19, 2026 at 3:01 PM
Mismatch screening in Nicotiana benthamiana to explore Pik-1/Pik-2 paired NLR platforms for receptor engineering
A #Letter by Xi & Banfield
👇
📖 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
#LatestIssue
A #Letter by Xi & Banfield
👇
📖 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
#LatestIssue
Reposted by Gitta Coaker
📣 12 open postdoc positions in @ceplas.bsky.social !! www.ceplas.eu/en/training-...
We @teamthomma.bsky.social look for a postdoc on The Secret Lives of Soil-Borne Fungal Pathogens: Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Intermicrobial Interactions in Soils (see project 4)
We @teamthomma.bsky.social look for a postdoc on The Secret Lives of Soil-Borne Fungal Pathogens: Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Intermicrobial Interactions in Soils (see project 4)
CEPLAS: Call 2026
www.ceplas.eu
February 18, 2026 at 10:55 AM
📣 12 open postdoc positions in @ceplas.bsky.social !! www.ceplas.eu/en/training-...
We @teamthomma.bsky.social look for a postdoc on The Secret Lives of Soil-Borne Fungal Pathogens: Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Intermicrobial Interactions in Soils (see project 4)
We @teamthomma.bsky.social look for a postdoc on The Secret Lives of Soil-Borne Fungal Pathogens: Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Intermicrobial Interactions in Soils (see project 4)
Reposted by Gitta Coaker
STEM Black History Fact 15/28
Dr. Louis T. Wright introduced safer intradermal vaccination methods, improving smallpox immunization practices.
www.pbs.org/education/bl...
Dr. Louis T. Wright introduced safer intradermal vaccination methods, improving smallpox immunization practices.
www.pbs.org/education/bl...
Ten Black Scientists That Science Teachers Should Know About
Help your students see the possibilities of careers in STEM fields by providing them with diverse role models.
www.pbs.org
February 18, 2026 at 4:20 AM
STEM Black History Fact 15/28
Dr. Louis T. Wright introduced safer intradermal vaccination methods, improving smallpox immunization practices.
www.pbs.org/education/bl...
Dr. Louis T. Wright introduced safer intradermal vaccination methods, improving smallpox immunization practices.
www.pbs.org/education/bl...
Reposted by Gitta Coaker
Giant DNA viruses encode a hallmark translation initiation complex of eukaryotic life @cellcellpress.bsky.social
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
February 17, 2026 at 7:57 PM
Giant DNA viruses encode a hallmark translation initiation complex of eukaryotic life @cellcellpress.bsky.social
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Fake pro-family, pro-life, Christian nationalist party
Leviticus 19:34: “The foreigner who resides with you must be to you like a native citizen among you; so you must love him as yourself, because you were foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.”
Leviticus 19:34: “The foreigner who resides with you must be to you like a native citizen among you; so you must love him as yourself, because you were foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.”
“I don’t want to be in this place I want to go to my school.”
- 7 year old imprisoned by ICE for 70 days in a concentration camp in Texas.
Today, after @propublica.org published this story, the camp was raided to confiscate letters from the children.
www.propublica.org/article/ice-...
- 7 year old imprisoned by ICE for 70 days in a concentration camp in Texas.
Today, after @propublica.org published this story, the camp was raided to confiscate letters from the children.
www.propublica.org/article/ice-...
February 18, 2026 at 2:42 AM
Fake pro-family, pro-life, Christian nationalist party
Leviticus 19:34: “The foreigner who resides with you must be to you like a native citizen among you; so you must love him as yourself, because you were foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.”
Leviticus 19:34: “The foreigner who resides with you must be to you like a native citizen among you; so you must love him as yourself, because you were foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.”
Reposted by Gitta Coaker
The Bart Lab at UC Berkeley is looking for a postdoc. Please share!
February 17, 2026 at 12:03 AM
The Bart Lab at UC Berkeley is looking for a postdoc. Please share!
Reposted by Gitta Coaker
A conserved extracellular LRR-only protein disrupts BAK1-mediated immune receptor formation to negatively regulate plant immunity
Zhu et al.
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/KJMN84...
Zhu et al.
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/KJMN84...
February 12, 2026 at 10:27 AM
A conserved extracellular LRR-only protein disrupts BAK1-mediated immune receptor formation to negatively regulate plant immunity
Zhu et al.
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/KJMN84...
Zhu et al.
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/KJMN84...
Reposted by Gitta Coaker
This chart tells the story.
The grey line is originally published total private monthly job growth with 90% confidence bands. The blue line is what BLS now says actually happened.
The grey line is originally published total private monthly job growth with 90% confidence bands. The blue line is what BLS now says actually happened.
February 11, 2026 at 5:20 PM
This chart tells the story.
The grey line is originally published total private monthly job growth with 90% confidence bands. The blue line is what BLS now says actually happened.
The grey line is originally published total private monthly job growth with 90% confidence bands. The blue line is what BLS now says actually happened.
Reposted by Gitta Coaker
Interactions Review: Mishi V. Vachev et al. summarize current knowledge, identify knowledge gaps, and provide a summary of genomic and molecular tools currently available to study the #Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. fragariae–strawberry interaction. Read now: https://doi.org/10.1094/MPMI-03-25-0028-IRW
February 11, 2026 at 4:45 PM
Interactions Review: Mishi V. Vachev et al. summarize current knowledge, identify knowledge gaps, and provide a summary of genomic and molecular tools currently available to study the #Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. fragariae–strawberry interaction. Read now: https://doi.org/10.1094/MPMI-03-25-0028-IRW
Experimental evidence that flagellar rotation is controlled by rotation of multiple small wheels. "The MotA pentamer interacts with rotor of the flagellar motor in a manner resembling intermeshing gearwheels." www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
www.pnas.org
February 10, 2026 at 5:32 PM
Experimental evidence that flagellar rotation is controlled by rotation of multiple small wheels. "The MotA pentamer interacts with rotor of the flagellar motor in a manner resembling intermeshing gearwheels." www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Reposted by Gitta Coaker
Today in Nature Communications, a team of IGI researchers from The Banfield Lab and Pam Ronald's labs uncover a new way to reduce #methane emissions from rice by influencing the activity of rice paddy soil #microbes. Read more: https://ow.ly/45j150Y3WsI
February 10, 2026 at 3:25 PM
Today in Nature Communications, a team of IGI researchers from The Banfield Lab and Pam Ronald's labs uncover a new way to reduce #methane emissions from rice by influencing the activity of rice paddy soil #microbes. Read more: https://ow.ly/45j150Y3WsI
Reposted by Gitta Coaker
Fun news! @gcbias.bsky.social and I are teaching a 2-week online population genetics workshop this summer to raise money for the Center for Population Biology at UC Davis. We're trying to gauge interest -- please fill this out if you might be interested! And please share broadly!
Davis Summer Population Genomics Program
Want to learn population genetics? Please fill out this form to indicate your potential interest in a 2-week intensive online summer population genetics course taught by Jeffrey Ross-Ibarra and Graham...
docs.google.com
February 9, 2026 at 6:24 PM
Fun news! @gcbias.bsky.social and I are teaching a 2-week online population genetics workshop this summer to raise money for the Center for Population Biology at UC Davis. We're trying to gauge interest -- please fill this out if you might be interested! And please share broadly!
Reposted by Gitta Coaker
If Bad Bunny can cover the history of Puerto Rico, colonialism, transatlantic slavery, hemispheric consciousness, as well as contemporary life and politics in under 14 minutes, you can do your 15- or 20-minute conference presentation with time to spare.
February 9, 2026 at 11:56 PM
If Bad Bunny can cover the history of Puerto Rico, colonialism, transatlantic slavery, hemispheric consciousness, as well as contemporary life and politics in under 14 minutes, you can do your 15- or 20-minute conference presentation with time to spare.
Ouch. I’ve been there too. Recovery takes mental strength, dedication and many many hours of PT. If I can come back, Lindsey Vonn certainly can.
Lindsey Vonn says she sustained a complex tibia fracture during her Olympic crash that will require multiple surgeries to fix.
Lindsey Vonn says she has complex tibia fracture requiring multiple surgeries after Olympic crash
Lindsey Vonn says she “sustained a complex tibia fracture that is currently stable but will require multiple surgeries to fix properly” after her devastating crash in the Olympic downhill.
bit.ly
February 10, 2026 at 2:12 AM
Ouch. I’ve been there too. Recovery takes mental strength, dedication and many many hours of PT. If I can come back, Lindsey Vonn certainly can.
Reposted by Gitta Coaker
STEM Black History Fact 8/28
Dr. Charles H. Turner demonstrated learning and memory in insects, laying the foundations for behavioral neuroscience.
Dr. Charles H. Turner demonstrated learning and memory in insects, laying the foundations for behavioral neuroscience.
10 Black Scientists You Should Know
You might have heard of George Washington Carver and Neil deGrasse Tyson. But what about Patricia Bath? Or Percy Julian? Meet 10 African American scientists who have made the world a better place for…
science.howstuffworks.com
February 8, 2026 at 4:30 PM
STEM Black History Fact 8/28
Dr. Charles H. Turner demonstrated learning and memory in insects, laying the foundations for behavioral neuroscience.
Dr. Charles H. Turner demonstrated learning and memory in insects, laying the foundations for behavioral neuroscience.
Reposted by Gitta Coaker
Sad to read of the death of Steve Long who contributed a huge amount to #plantscience
February 6, 2026 at 11:33 AM
Sad to read of the death of Steve Long who contributed a huge amount to #plantscience
@yichangsung.bsky.social gave a great talk on tandem kinases for the UC Davis Plant Path seminar.
February 2, 2026 at 6:03 PM
@yichangsung.bsky.social gave a great talk on tandem kinases for the UC Davis Plant Path seminar.
Reposted by Gitta Coaker
🧵Good news out of #NIH today.
(1) NIH is extending #ESI and #K99/R00 eligibility to accommodate researchers whose eligibility would have ended during the previous shutdown. Take a look at NOT-OD-26-020. If your ESI status would have ended in 2025, you get an automatic extension through 2026/03/31.
(1) NIH is extending #ESI and #K99/R00 eligibility to accommodate researchers whose eligibility would have ended during the previous shutdown. Take a look at NOT-OD-26-020. If your ESI status would have ended in 2025, you get an automatic extension through 2026/03/31.
NOT-OD-26-020: Notice of Temporary Extension to Early-Stage Investigator (ESI) Eligibility Period
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts: Notice of Temporary Extension to Early-Stage Investigator (ESI) Eligibility Period NOT-OD-26-020. OD
grants.nih.gov
January 30, 2026 at 7:34 PM
Reposted by Gitta Coaker
Join us in Montpellier in July. pem26.cnrs.fr
January 29, 2026 at 11:56 PM
Join us in Montpellier in July. pem26.cnrs.fr
Reposted by Gitta Coaker
Fantastic morning read.
"This leads us to ask whether delegating judgment to LLMs ...transforms it into what we call epistemia... producing the illusion of knowledge when surface plausibility substitutes for evidence-based reasoning."
www.pnas.org/doi/full/10....
"This leads us to ask whether delegating judgment to LLMs ...transforms it into what we call epistemia... producing the illusion of knowledge when surface plausibility substitutes for evidence-based reasoning."
www.pnas.org/doi/full/10....
The simulation of judgment in LLMs | PNAS
Large Language Models (LLMs) are increasingly embedded in evaluative processes, from
information filtering to assessing and addressing knowledge ga...
www.pnas.org
January 28, 2026 at 12:58 PM
Fantastic morning read.
"This leads us to ask whether delegating judgment to LLMs ...transforms it into what we call epistemia... producing the illusion of knowledge when surface plausibility substitutes for evidence-based reasoning."
www.pnas.org/doi/full/10....
"This leads us to ask whether delegating judgment to LLMs ...transforms it into what we call epistemia... producing the illusion of knowledge when surface plausibility substitutes for evidence-based reasoning."
www.pnas.org/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Gitta Coaker
Please forward this REU opportunity (paid summer internship) to undergraduates interested in plant biology and related fields etap.nsf.gov/award/7573/o...
January 27, 2026 at 4:37 PM
Please forward this REU opportunity (paid summer internship) to undergraduates interested in plant biology and related fields etap.nsf.gov/award/7573/o...
ICE in Minnesota:
They tear gas protestors detained on the ground.
They murdered Renee Good
They kidnapped a 5 year old and used him as bait; kidnapped 2 year old
They beat and murdered a VA nurse
Then ICE leaders went on TV and lied about it
Ultimate gaslighting
They tear gas protestors detained on the ground.
They murdered Renee Good
They kidnapped a 5 year old and used him as bait; kidnapped 2 year old
They beat and murdered a VA nurse
Then ICE leaders went on TV and lied about it
Ultimate gaslighting
January 25, 2026 at 12:09 AM
ICE in Minnesota:
They tear gas protestors detained on the ground.
They murdered Renee Good
They kidnapped a 5 year old and used him as bait; kidnapped 2 year old
They beat and murdered a VA nurse
Then ICE leaders went on TV and lied about it
Ultimate gaslighting
They tear gas protestors detained on the ground.
They murdered Renee Good
They kidnapped a 5 year old and used him as bait; kidnapped 2 year old
They beat and murdered a VA nurse
Then ICE leaders went on TV and lied about it
Ultimate gaslighting
Fix your weak headline @nytimes. The video contradicts the government’s lies. Minneapolis Live Updates: Videos Appear to Contradict Federal Account of Killing www.nytimes.com/live/2026/us...
Minneapolis Live Updates: Videos Appear to Contradict Federal Account of Killing
www.nytimes.com
January 24, 2026 at 11:56 PM
Fix your weak headline @nytimes. The video contradicts the government’s lies. Minneapolis Live Updates: Videos Appear to Contradict Federal Account of Killing www.nytimes.com/live/2026/us...
Reposted by Gitta Coaker
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Excited to share that PNAS published our research article focused on "Why are Ralstonia goofy?"
Excited to share that PNAS published our research article focused on "Why are Ralstonia goofy?"
January 23, 2026 at 5:43 AM
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Excited to share that PNAS published our research article focused on "Why are Ralstonia goofy?"
Excited to share that PNAS published our research article focused on "Why are Ralstonia goofy?"