Dr Dr Oona Snoeyenbos-West
@oonawest.bsky.social
Research Scientist: University of Arizona, Carini Lab.
Co Founder, MycoMine 🍄🟫Environmental Microbiologist /Geomicrobiologist, First Gen Scientist 🇺🇸 Manifesting Microbes 🪄🦠🧫🪄💫
Co Founder, MycoMine 🍄🟫Environmental Microbiologist /Geomicrobiologist, First Gen Scientist 🇺🇸 Manifesting Microbes 🪄🦠🧫🪄💫
Pinned
Mycoremediation and Its Fungal Powers with Dr. Oona Snoeyenbos-West
The Future is Fungi · Episode
open.spotify.com
Interested in how Fungi are shaping the future of our planet? 🍄 🌍🌎🌏🍄🟫Check out the latest “The Future is Fungi podcast”featuring yours truly ! 👇🏻
open.spotify.com/episode/2ddA...
open.spotify.com/episode/2ddA...
Reposted by Dr Dr Oona Snoeyenbos-West
Beauty Playing with a Cat — Utagawa Kuniyoshi, ca. 1845
December 31, 2025 at 7:02 PM
Beauty Playing with a Cat — Utagawa Kuniyoshi, ca. 1845
Reposted by Dr Dr Oona Snoeyenbos-West
Erbar et al. (2016), “Aristolochia species are generally assumed to be brood-site fraudsters [that] simulate carrion or fungi.” They look & smell like a good place to lay eggs & are pollinated by ovipositing flies. 📷: A. arborea, which mimics fungi. #TropicalBotany #Aristolochiaceae #Botany 🌾🧪🌱
December 30, 2025 at 11:30 AM
Erbar et al. (2016), “Aristolochia species are generally assumed to be brood-site fraudsters [that] simulate carrion or fungi.” They look & smell like a good place to lay eggs & are pollinated by ovipositing flies. 📷: A. arborea, which mimics fungi. #TropicalBotany #Aristolochiaceae #Botany 🌾🧪🌱
Reposted by Dr Dr Oona Snoeyenbos-West
Mycoparasites are both eerie and beautiful. This is Spinellus fusiger, or Bonnet Mold, overtaking a small Mycena mushroom. Its cap transforms into a radiating crown of spores.
#MacroMonday #photography #mushroom #fungi #nature #naturephotography #forestfloor #macro #mycology #MushroomMonday
#MacroMonday #photography #mushroom #fungi #nature #naturephotography #forestfloor #macro #mycology #MushroomMonday
December 29, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Mycoparasites are both eerie and beautiful. This is Spinellus fusiger, or Bonnet Mold, overtaking a small Mycena mushroom. Its cap transforms into a radiating crown of spores.
#MacroMonday #photography #mushroom #fungi #nature #naturephotography #forestfloor #macro #mycology #MushroomMonday
#MacroMonday #photography #mushroom #fungi #nature #naturephotography #forestfloor #macro #mycology #MushroomMonday
Reposted by Dr Dr Oona Snoeyenbos-West
🐧🧊 Incredible underwater footage of penguin life, shot from the first person of one of them.
🇺🇦 This beauty was captured thanks to Ukrainian scientists from the Vernadsky Station in Antarctica, who put a GPS tracker and a tiny camera on the bird.
🇺🇦 This beauty was captured thanks to Ukrainian scientists from the Vernadsky Station in Antarctica, who put a GPS tracker and a tiny camera on the bird.
December 29, 2025 at 4:52 PM
🐧🧊 Incredible underwater footage of penguin life, shot from the first person of one of them.
🇺🇦 This beauty was captured thanks to Ukrainian scientists from the Vernadsky Station in Antarctica, who put a GPS tracker and a tiny camera on the bird.
🇺🇦 This beauty was captured thanks to Ukrainian scientists from the Vernadsky Station in Antarctica, who put a GPS tracker and a tiny camera on the bird.
Reposted by Dr Dr Oona Snoeyenbos-West
It’s FunguSunday! Have a gorgeous, green Parrot Waxcap mushroom. I love these, they’re so exotic looking but they’re actually quite common. They love sheep fields particularly 🍄🟫💛
#mushroom
#mushroom
December 28, 2025 at 5:21 PM
It’s FunguSunday! Have a gorgeous, green Parrot Waxcap mushroom. I love these, they’re so exotic looking but they’re actually quite common. They love sheep fields particularly 🍄🟫💛
#mushroom
#mushroom
Reposted by Dr Dr Oona Snoeyenbos-West
Found a giant patch of the bizarre and equally beautiful Collared Calostoma (Calostoma lutescens). I observed this mycorrhizal fungus in this same exact spot 5 years ago but hadn’t been back to check on it until today! #Mushrooms #FungiFriends
December 26, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Found a giant patch of the bizarre and equally beautiful Collared Calostoma (Calostoma lutescens). I observed this mycorrhizal fungus in this same exact spot 5 years ago but hadn’t been back to check on it until today! #Mushrooms #FungiFriends
Reposted by Dr Dr Oona Snoeyenbos-West
Well now, would you look at that? A massive, 4-YEAR-LONG study of NEARLY 30 MILLION people in France found that individuals who received a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine had a 74% LOWER risk of death from severe COVID-19 compared to unvaccinated individuals and ZERO increased risk of all-cause mortality.
December 26, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Well now, would you look at that? A massive, 4-YEAR-LONG study of NEARLY 30 MILLION people in France found that individuals who received a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine had a 74% LOWER risk of death from severe COVID-19 compared to unvaccinated individuals and ZERO increased risk of all-cause mortality.
Reposted by Dr Dr Oona Snoeyenbos-West
Syntrichia ruralis #moss growing on crustose #lichen (Rhizocarpon sp, I think). NWT, Canada. Such a beautiful little moss. #bryophyte #botany #fungifriends
December 22, 2025 at 12:23 PM
Syntrichia ruralis #moss growing on crustose #lichen (Rhizocarpon sp, I think). NWT, Canada. Such a beautiful little moss. #bryophyte #botany #fungifriends
Reposted by Dr Dr Oona Snoeyenbos-West
December 22, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Reposted by Dr Dr Oona Snoeyenbos-West
Those “acorns” are full of “smoke”! #Fungi #Mushrooms
December 20, 2025 at 11:49 PM
Those “acorns” are full of “smoke”! #Fungi #Mushrooms
Reposted by Dr Dr Oona Snoeyenbos-West
Closing out my year with a journal editor shocker 🧵
Checking new manuscripts today I reviewed a paper attributing 2 papers to me I did not write. A daft thing for an author to do of course. But intrigued I web searched up one of the titles and that's when it got real weird...
Checking new manuscripts today I reviewed a paper attributing 2 papers to me I did not write. A daft thing for an author to do of course. But intrigued I web searched up one of the titles and that's when it got real weird...
December 19, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Closing out my year with a journal editor shocker 🧵
Checking new manuscripts today I reviewed a paper attributing 2 papers to me I did not write. A daft thing for an author to do of course. But intrigued I web searched up one of the titles and that's when it got real weird...
Checking new manuscripts today I reviewed a paper attributing 2 papers to me I did not write. A daft thing for an author to do of course. But intrigued I web searched up one of the titles and that's when it got real weird...
Reposted by Dr Dr Oona Snoeyenbos-West
"A carnivorous pitcher plant has recently been found to use a chemical nerve agent to drug its prey and lead them to a deadly end, being consumed in digestive juices at the bottom of the pitcher traps."
#Plants #PitcherPlants #Toxins
#Plants #PitcherPlants #Toxins
Plantwatch: Pitcher plant’s sweet nectar is laced with toxic nerve agent
Nepenthes khasiana oozes an enticing liquid on the rim of its pitchers that tempts its prey into a deadly trap
www.theguardian.com
December 18, 2025 at 1:27 PM
"A carnivorous pitcher plant has recently been found to use a chemical nerve agent to drug its prey and lead them to a deadly end, being consumed in digestive juices at the bottom of the pitcher traps."
#Plants #PitcherPlants #Toxins
#Plants #PitcherPlants #Toxins
Reposted by Dr Dr Oona Snoeyenbos-West
Elegant orange sunburst #lichen, Rusavskia elegans. This photo was taken at around -40C/F…amazing how they thrive in pretty extreme environments. Northwest Territories, Canada. #fungi #fungifriends.
December 19, 2025 at 9:02 PM
Elegant orange sunburst #lichen, Rusavskia elegans. This photo was taken at around -40C/F…amazing how they thrive in pretty extreme environments. Northwest Territories, Canada. #fungi #fungifriends.
Reposted by Dr Dr Oona Snoeyenbos-West
Photorealistic AI fakes are a serious challenge to public understanding of science. We are all going to have to pay close attention to reputation and data provenance chains. A useful post on distinguishing the fake from the real:
AI slop has made it to the deep sea.
That’s not a blobfish: Deep Sea Social Media is Flooded by AI Slop
www.southernfriedscience.com/thats-not-a-...
That’s not a blobfish: Deep Sea Social Media is Flooded by AI Slop
www.southernfriedscience.com/thats-not-a-...
That’s not a blobfish: Deep Sea Social Media is Flooded by AI Slop
Well, it finally happened. Over the last two week, my usually well-curated feeds of videos from the deep sea have been overrun with AI slop masquerading as authentic images of strange and delightfu…
www.southernfriedscience.com
December 19, 2025 at 7:18 PM
Photorealistic AI fakes are a serious challenge to public understanding of science. We are all going to have to pay close attention to reputation and data provenance chains. A useful post on distinguishing the fake from the real:
Reposted by Dr Dr Oona Snoeyenbos-West
AI slop has made it to the deep sea.
That’s not a blobfish: Deep Sea Social Media is Flooded by AI Slop
www.southernfriedscience.com/thats-not-a-...
That’s not a blobfish: Deep Sea Social Media is Flooded by AI Slop
www.southernfriedscience.com/thats-not-a-...
That’s not a blobfish: Deep Sea Social Media is Flooded by AI Slop
Well, it finally happened. Over the last two week, my usually well-curated feeds of videos from the deep sea have been overrun with AI slop masquerading as authentic images of strange and delightfu…
www.southernfriedscience.com
December 19, 2025 at 5:10 PM
AI slop has made it to the deep sea.
That’s not a blobfish: Deep Sea Social Media is Flooded by AI Slop
www.southernfriedscience.com/thats-not-a-...
That’s not a blobfish: Deep Sea Social Media is Flooded by AI Slop
www.southernfriedscience.com/thats-not-a-...
Reposted by Dr Dr Oona Snoeyenbos-West
Mosses love to decorate with slime molds. Northwest Territories, Canada.
#slime #fungifriends #myxo #moss #bryophyte #botany
#slime #fungifriends #myxo #moss #bryophyte #botany
December 19, 2025 at 1:15 PM
Mosses love to decorate with slime molds. Northwest Territories, Canada.
#slime #fungifriends #myxo #moss #bryophyte #botany
#slime #fungifriends #myxo #moss #bryophyte #botany
Reposted by Dr Dr Oona Snoeyenbos-West
I love to be told that feminism has failed women by women whose careers and ability to flourish in public life, let alone have a credit card, only exist because of feminism
December 19, 2025 at 4:03 PM
I love to be told that feminism has failed women by women whose careers and ability to flourish in public life, let alone have a credit card, only exist because of feminism
Reposted by Dr Dr Oona Snoeyenbos-West
Rare sighting of a vegan slime mold returning from the hunt.
NWT, Canada.
#slime #myxo #fungifriends
NWT, Canada.
#slime #myxo #fungifriends
December 19, 2025 at 2:30 AM
Rare sighting of a vegan slime mold returning from the hunt.
NWT, Canada.
#slime #myxo #fungifriends
NWT, Canada.
#slime #myxo #fungifriends
Reposted by Dr Dr Oona Snoeyenbos-West
And there are those of us with terminal degrees in staff roles supporting our academic communities, often doing parallel work.
Yet in too many places, we're seen as "lesser than", are often overworked (or seen as Star Trek Original Series Red Shirts), and expected to do more with less. ⬇️🧵
Yet in too many places, we're seen as "lesser than", are often overworked (or seen as Star Trek Original Series Red Shirts), and expected to do more with less. ⬇️🧵
THERE ARE NO JOBS IN ACADEMIA! NO JOBS! DOZENS OF HYPER QUALIFIED APPLICANTS PER JOB!
December 19, 2025 at 3:18 PM
And there are those of us with terminal degrees in staff roles supporting our academic communities, often doing parallel work.
Yet in too many places, we're seen as "lesser than", are often overworked (or seen as Star Trek Original Series Red Shirts), and expected to do more with less. ⬇️🧵
Yet in too many places, we're seen as "lesser than", are often overworked (or seen as Star Trek Original Series Red Shirts), and expected to do more with less. ⬇️🧵
Reposted by Dr Dr Oona Snoeyenbos-West
Fun fact: western academia has more jobs now than at any point. They aren't jobs doing anything useful for the function of a university
It's all administrators, deanlets, and their various underlings bullshit jobs
Which is by design. Here's a book about it
politicalscience.jhu.edu/faculty-book...
It's all administrators, deanlets, and their various underlings bullshit jobs
Which is by design. Here's a book about it
politicalscience.jhu.edu/faculty-book...
Fall of the Faculty: The Rise of the All-Administrative University and Why it Matters | Political Science
Until very recently, American universities were led mainly by their faculties, which viewed intellectual production and pedagogy as the core missions of higher education. Today, as Benjamin Ginsberg w...
politicalscience.jhu.edu
December 19, 2025 at 4:33 PM
Fun fact: western academia has more jobs now than at any point. They aren't jobs doing anything useful for the function of a university
It's all administrators, deanlets, and their various underlings bullshit jobs
Which is by design. Here's a book about it
politicalscience.jhu.edu/faculty-book...
It's all administrators, deanlets, and their various underlings bullshit jobs
Which is by design. Here's a book about it
politicalscience.jhu.edu/faculty-book...
Reposted by Dr Dr Oona Snoeyenbos-West
Given all the recent buzz about how great ChatGPT has gotten, including its prowess with images, I figured I'd check in on its anatomical skills. Nope.
December 19, 2025 at 3:35 PM
Given all the recent buzz about how great ChatGPT has gotten, including its prowess with images, I figured I'd check in on its anatomical skills. Nope.
Reposted by Dr Dr Oona Snoeyenbos-West
A dinosaur perk was that worn teeth got replaced. A section of the lower jaw of a big iguanodontian from the #IsleofWight shows the process. Tooth replacement was organised in waves known as Zahnreihen, so that large sections of the jaw weren’t left toothless (enlarge to see numbers). #FossilFriday
December 19, 2025 at 8:31 AM
A dinosaur perk was that worn teeth got replaced. A section of the lower jaw of a big iguanodontian from the #IsleofWight shows the process. Tooth replacement was organised in waves known as Zahnreihen, so that large sections of the jaw weren’t left toothless (enlarge to see numbers). #FossilFriday
Reposted by Dr Dr Oona Snoeyenbos-West
I am taking the opportunity to once again remind you of the time Naomi Wolf thought Apple invented time machines run by vaccines
December 19, 2025 at 2:18 PM
I am taking the opportunity to once again remind you of the time Naomi Wolf thought Apple invented time machines run by vaccines
Reposted by Dr Dr Oona Snoeyenbos-West
Perseverance Can Continue To Operate On Mars Until At Least 2031
astrobiology.com/2025/12/pers... #Astrobiology #Mars #robotics #AGU25
astrobiology.com/2025/12/pers... #Astrobiology #Mars #robotics #AGU25
Perseverance Can Continue To Operate On Mars Until At Least 2031 - Astrobiology
The rover has been acing a long-term series of durability tests, making the most of its enhanced navigation capabilities, and ferreting out new findings about Mars’ geologic past.
astrobiology.com
December 17, 2025 at 10:14 PM
Perseverance Can Continue To Operate On Mars Until At Least 2031
astrobiology.com/2025/12/pers... #Astrobiology #Mars #robotics #AGU25
astrobiology.com/2025/12/pers... #Astrobiology #Mars #robotics #AGU25
Reposted by Dr Dr Oona Snoeyenbos-West
Of all the sins of AI, this is an unexpected and deeply annoying one
Funny animal videos no longer being trustworthy just fucking sucks all around. I love the wonder of animal behavior and what it says about the experience of being alive. It's because it happened in reality that it's so fun. It's not fun if it was just made up. There's no wonder there.
December 19, 2025 at 2:36 AM
Of all the sins of AI, this is an unexpected and deeply annoying one