Jesse Lasky
laskyjr.bsky.social
Jesse Lasky
@laskyjr.bsky.social

Evolution and ecology of plants. He/him.

Biology 42%
Environmental science 32%
My employer, Univ. Colorado will pay OpenAI $2M/year under the banner of “equity”. That’s 54 full scholarships / year. Plus, our IT will be able to read our chatGPT logs, and our chats can be requested under public records law. No thanks. Surveillance is not equity

www.axios.com/local/boulde...
CU signs $2M OpenAI deal for ChatGPT access
Students and faculty will gain access to ChatGPT Edu starting in March under a three-year deal.
www.axios.com
I'm super excited to share that this article was published today in Science! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

All made possible by the fantastic group of donors, volunteers and scientists at The American Chestnut Foundation (tacf.org), HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, and our collaborators.

Reposted by Jesse R. Lasky

In celebration of #DarwinDay, here are his decidedly mixed first impressions after landing on the Galápagos (17 Sept 1835; from 'the Voyage' Chap X):

"Nothing could be less inviting..."

Reposted by Jesse R. Lasky

Jeffrey Epstein’s emails show that then-Ohio State University Board of Trustees chairman Leslie Wexner was served in a Jane Doe lawsuit against the deceased sex trafficker in 2009.

Donald Trump was also served in the lawsuit.

Epstein later settled.

Full story:

www.rooster.info/p/ohio-state...
Ohio State should have known about Wexner's Epstein problems by Sept. 18, 2009
Epstein files show that then-Ohio State Board of Trustees chairman Leslie Wexner was served in a Jane Doe lawsuit against the since-deceased sex trafficker in 2009.
www.rooster.info

Indeed
Job opportunities...

Newly launched Quantitative Biology Initiative in the Department of Biology at the University of Maryland, College Park seeks applications for three collaborative postdoctoral fellowships. Best consideration date 3/14.

Full Details:
umd.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/UMCP/j...
A "professor of civics education" at OSU's much ballyhooed intellectual diversity center (funded by McCarthyites, of course) punches documentarian who deigns to ask Gordon Gee a single question.

The ironist who coded this simulation has no sense of subtlety.
Ohio State Chase Center professor placed on administrative leave after assaulting cameraman
The Ohio political blog, The Rooster, published video showing Chase Center Assistant Professor Luke Perez hitting a cameraman and then throwing him to the ground.
www.wosu.org

Reposted by Jesse R. Lasky

UNC Admin Can Now, Officially, Secretly Record Faculty
UNC Admin Can Now, Officially, Secretly Record Faculty
The new policy prohibits students from recording class without permission but explicitly allows administrators to surveil professors for any “lawful purpose.”
www.insidehighered.com

Reposted by Jesse R. Lasky

Ebo Taylor, who did for Ghanaian music what his friend Fela Kuti did for Nigeria, has been called the greatest rhythm guitarist in history.

His son Kweku Taylor:
“The world has lost a giant, a colossus of African music, leaving behind an unmatched artistry legacy. Dad, your light will never fade.”
Ebo Taylor, Ghanaian highlife pioneer and guitarist, dies age 90
Taylor, who did for Ghanaian music what his friend Fela Kuti did for Nigeria, has been called the greatest rhythm guitarist in history
www.theguardian.com
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.
Threads director Mick Jackson has expressed worry over the upcoming remake’s focus on finding “hope even in the most challenging of times.”

“That one phrase worried me,” he tells Empire. “Hope is not part of nuclear war.”

Read more: www.empireonline.com/movies/news/...

Reposted by Jesse R. Lasky

Happy #SuperbOwl🦉 Sunday! This is one of my favorite examples from ancient Egypt, the letter "M". Share your favorite Superb Owls.
Jeff Bezos' statement, his first since last week's layoffs: "The Post has an essential journalistic mission and an extraordinary opportunity. Each and every day our readers give us a roadmap to success. The data tells us what is valuable and where to focus."

Reposted by Jesse R. Lasky

Genome for Agalinis fasciculata, coming up! 🧬
@pedropezzi.bsky.social

Reposted by Jesse R. Lasky

Exciting new undergraduate research opportunities here at Carnegie Museum in Botany! Applications due March 1. drive.google.com/file/d/1jNNy...
Happening now in Silicon Valley: marchers have surrounded the Palantir building and are holding a prayer vigil for victims of ICE, while video of ICE and Palantir crimes is projected on the building. #abolishice #iceout #palantir #paloalto
As President Trump’s immigration crackdown continues in Minnesota, many immigrants who are detained in the Twin Cities are ending up in a desolate detention camp in the desert of West Texas, only to be released later in El Paso with no money and no obvious way to get home. trib.al/jyi6Rca

Reposted by Jesse R. Lasky

A link to SAUSA Julie Le's admission that ICE & DOJ haven't released individuals who were ordered released because no one in the entire system has responded to her repeated entreaties to get the individuals released.

Kafka told from the prosecutor's prospective.

drive.google.com/file/d/1FnY2...
Transcript of 2.3 Hearing, Segundo A.P.G. v. Bondi, No. 26-CV-603.pdf
drive.google.com

Reposted by Jesse R. Lasky

With @bourgeoisyann.bsky.social and @anaisgibert.bsky.social we are recruiting a post-doc to integrate multi-omic data to investigate the links between genotype, phenotype and fitness in Ophrys orchids evolutionary divergence. Feel free to contact us or share!

www.jorisbertrand.com/wp-content/u...
www.jorisbertrand.com
happening this morning in Minneapolis -- ICE agents drawing guns on observers. I reiterate again that it is only a matter of time before DHS kills more innocent people in Minnesota. Congress needs to shut this shit down right now.
Awesome opportunity for a 2 year mentored fellowship that transitions to a TT line at Stony Brook in ecological and/or evolutionary responses to global change through the SUNY Prodigy+ program: apply.interfolio.com/178040
Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
apply.interfolio.com
The genetic architecture of local adaptation is historically contingent https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.02.01.703099v1

Reposted by Jesse R. Lasky

The Yale Daily News now has a story on revelations about Epstein and Christakis. Christakis has blocked an account just for posting this story lol. yaledailynews.com/articles/nic...
yaledailynews.com
My department at Washington State University is recruiting an Assistant or Associate Professor in vector-borne disease 🕷️🦟🦠

Full job description is linked below.

Come join us on the Palouse!

Reposted by Jesse R. Lasky

Groundhog Harassed By Dipshits In Stupid Hats
PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. (AP) — Punxsutawney Phil is said to have seen his shadow, predicting 6 more weeks of winter weather.
4 federal agents pull over an elderly US citizen for the suspected crime of being brown, break her car window, throw her to the ground, then drive off after they find her US Passport in her purse. The Salem Police, when called, say there’s nothing they can do. www.salemreporter.com/2026/01/31/u...
U.S. citizen injured by federal agents in Salem who demanded to see “papers,” union says - Salem Reporter
A home care worker and union worker was pulled from her car and injured by federal agents Thursday according to a statement by SEIU 503. To comment on this story, use the form at the end of the repor...
www.salemreporter.com
This is just insane. It’s only a matter of time before DHS kills another innocent person here.

(clip via MPR and @davidjbier.bsky.social on X)
ICE pistol whips a 16 yr old with his hands up