Jess Foster 🏳️‍🌈 🌱 🧪 she/her
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jfplantstuff.bsky.social
Jess Foster 🏳️‍🌈 🌱 🧪 she/her
@jfplantstuff.bsky.social
Plant researcher at Indiana University
~ plant pathogen interactions ~
also janky cats, tropical fruit trees, tiny goats
Apprentice Petalsmith
vaguely ominous 😅
October 31, 2025 at 10:19 PM
waiting for ligations to ligate and just acquired some marchantia liverwort starts from a neighboring lab. look at these tiny babies! 🥰 i made them a little greenhouse so here’s to hoping they stay alive. thank you @rhcalderon.bsky.social lab!
October 23, 2025 at 8:01 PM
just me over here anxiously waiting to see if a three year old agar stab will grow
a person standing in front of a bed with the words `` are you alive '' written on it .
Alt: a cat looking very concerned with the caption, "are you alive?"
media.tenor.com
October 16, 2025 at 10:41 PM
sometimes science feels like magic
October 10, 2025 at 2:22 PM
just discovered that they make hot water heaters these days where you have to press a button to spark the pilot light, but the pilot is located behind a non-removable metal panel such that you physically cannot just use a match to light it if, say, the stupid cheap plastic button is not working. 🫠
October 9, 2025 at 10:12 PM
just dropped my foundling kitten off at the vet to get fixed. i know exactly how safe and beneficial it is but my anxiety brain is still 😭😭😭
October 1, 2025 at 12:09 PM
omggg look what i found in my tiny potted sugar apple treeeee 🤩 fingers crossed that it actually grows
September 19, 2025 at 11:59 PM
love this 🤩 making photosynthesis more efficient without modifying rubisco!
Dual-cycle CO2 fixation enhances growth and lipid synthesis in Arabidopsis thaliana
Carbon fixation through the Calvin-Benson-Bassham (CBB) cycle accounts for the majority of carbon dioxide (CO2) uptake from the atmosphere. The CBB cycle generates C3 carbohydrates but is inefficient ...
www.science.org
September 19, 2025 at 2:31 PM
gorgeous images 😍
This might be one of the simplest images I captured, but very fascinating nonetheless, as it shows how tight the cytoplasm in a plant cell is. The cytosol and all other organelles are squished between the plasma membrane (magenta) and the central vacuole (its membrane is green)
#MicroscopyMonday
September 8, 2025 at 6:22 PM
we need more of things like this! fantastic opportunity for someone to GROW as a scientist 😃 🌱
Applications for the 2026 Pivot to Plants Fellows Program at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center are now open.

Location: St. Louis, MO
Application Deadline: October 15, 2025
Dates: Jan. 5, 2026 – Dec. 23, 2026
Estimated Stipend: $37,275

Learn more: www.danforthcenter.org/our-work/edu...
Pivot to Plants: Training Program for Plant and Data Science | Danforth Plant Science Center
The Pivot2Plants Fellows Program is a 1-year training program for people interested in pivoting to a career in plant science or data science but have limited research experience.
www.danforthcenter.org
September 6, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Reposted by Jess Foster 🏳️‍🌈 🌱 🧪 she/her
To promote the collection, I’ve launched a designer clothing line where synthetic biology meets aesthetics.

I will give out 100 free limited edition shirts to the first who retweet and order with their handle in the name! Available here → nickdesnoyer.com 🧵(6/7)
August 11, 2025 at 6:54 PM
got home from work today, stepped outta my car and immediately heard faint mewing coming from my back yard. nothin like an hour of feral kitten herding in 90* heat 🤣 but lookit this face 🥰
June 30, 2025 at 10:35 PM
my barn nest’s baby birbs all fledged today 🥲 this little guy got caught up in a cobweb so i had to help him get outside. such tiny anger
June 24, 2025 at 12:09 AM
found a bird nest in my little goat barn 🥰 nest is comprised of half moss, half goat hair 🤣
June 19, 2025 at 12:31 PM
i consider myself extremely lucky to have landed in the Innes lab. congratulations again, Roger! :)
IU biologist Roger Innes, newly elected to the National Academy of Sciences, is advancing research on plant immune systems that could increase crop yields and reduce costs for farmers. @inneslab.bsky.social @msr20.bsky.social @luciaborniego.bsky.social

Read more: go.iu.edu/8tDD
June 11, 2025 at 2:11 PM
Reposted by Jess Foster 🏳️‍🌈 🌱 🧪 she/her
FlyBase, a crucial resource for drosophila research, has lost its funding because its grant is awarded to Harvard. The team is scrambling to find other sources of funds, including donations from labs. Read more: www.thetransmitter.org/community/fl... @flybase.bsky.social
FlyBase funding squashed amid Harvard grant terminations
The team behind the Drosophila genetics database is now requesting donations from labs to keep the resource afloat.
www.thetransmitter.org
June 4, 2025 at 9:11 PM
a mystery
May 30, 2025 at 1:49 PM
i found a two-headed dandelion 😁 i’m choosing to assume it means good luck
May 20, 2025 at 3:41 PM
note to self: codon optimize *before* designing all the primers 🥲
May 16, 2025 at 12:42 AM
the plant gods have smiled upon me with this beautiful red finger lime i found at my local feed store of all places 🤩 i don’t question i just accept
May 3, 2025 at 10:49 PM
side benefit of your PI getting inducted into the National Academy of Sciences: free cronuts 🥳 🥳 congratulations again, Roger!! @inneslab.bsky.social
May 1, 2025 at 5:47 PM
yangmei grafting attempt #2! 🤞
April 26, 2025 at 8:42 PM
Reposted by Jess Foster 🏳️‍🌈 🌱 🧪 she/her
Preprint review alert 🚨 we're looking for a preprint to review in our class, ideally containing genetics, molecular biology and biochemistry, reply with the link if interested!
#preprint
@prereview.bsky.social
#plantscience #microbiology #drosophila #bacteriophage
@biorxivpreprint.bsky.social
April 24, 2025 at 8:20 PM
my emotions this week
April 22, 2025 at 9:40 PM
finally got around to starting some seeds for Garden Attempt 2025. i'm trying to limit myself to a reasonable number of plants this year but i keep finding little hidden stashes of seeds that i forgot about because apparently i'm part squirrel and then i have to plant more 🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱
April 5, 2025 at 10:59 PM