Lesley MacNeil
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steeltownworms.bsky.social
Lesley MacNeil
@steeltownworms.bsky.social
Loves worms, dogs and nothing else. Opinions are my own and rarely reflect those of my employer.
Associate Professor at McMaster University.
Reposted by Lesley MacNeil
Integrative Biology at UT is hiring an Evolutionary Biologist! Happy to answer any questions about the position/dept/UT. Come join us!

integrativebio.utexas.edu
cns.utexas.edu
apply.interfolio.com/177547
Decoding Nature’s Networks
The Department of Integrative Biology at The University of Texas at Austin
integrativebio.utexas.edu
November 17, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Wait. They still haven't cut ties with him? Hasn't he been causing them trouble for 20 years?
Per CNN, Elizabeth Warren is calling on Harvard to cut ties with Larry Summers after Jeffrey Epstein's emails released last week by House Dems featured Summers making sexist comments + asking for Epstein’s romantic advice.
November 17, 2025 at 8:33 PM
Reposted by Lesley MacNeil
Trump claims his ICE raids are going after the "worst of the worst".

But his own DOJ admits that over 97% of immigrants detained in Chicago have no criminal record.

It was always about cruelty, not public safety.
November 17, 2025 at 7:15 PM
Reposted by Lesley MacNeil
📢 Our Dept. of Systems Biology at Columbia University has an open tenure-track Assistant Professor position in the broad area of quantitative biology. Come join our awesome department in NYC! Please circulate.
apply.interfolio.com/177622
Suggested deadline: 12/15/2025.
@columbiasysbio.bsky.social
November 15, 2025 at 4:02 AM
Reposted by Lesley MacNeil
When former Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers was pursuing a romantic relationship with a woman he described as a mentee, he turned to a longtime associate for guidance: Jeffrey E. Epstein.

Dhruv T. Patel and Cam N. Srivastava report.
As Summers Sought Clandestine Relationship With Woman He Called a Mentee, Epstein Was His ‘Wing Man’ | News | The Harvard Crimson
When former Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers was pursuing a romantic relationship with a woman he described as a mentee, he turned to a longtime associate for guidance: convicted sex offender…
www.thecrimson.com
November 17, 2025 at 1:45 AM
Reposted by Lesley MacNeil
Share your research at the next Canadian Neuroscience Meeting May 18-21, 2026 in Montreal!
Calls for Parallel Symposia, Satellite Meetings, Poster Abstract and Travel & Professional Awards are now open - Don't miss these opportunities!
can-acn.org/meeting-2026/
November 14, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Reposted by Lesley MacNeil
Transgenerational Epigenetic Inheritance: Twists and turns in the story of learned avoidance

Evidence that learned avoidance of a pathogenic bacterium can be transmitted to future generations in C. elegans is growing.

🔗
Transgenerational Epigenetic Inheritance
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buff.ly
November 15, 2025 at 2:59 PM
Reposted by Lesley MacNeil
"'I’m not sure what we’ve learned from it all,' Walter Johnson, a professor of History and African and African American Studies, wrote in a statement. 'I think Larry Summers told us who he was a long time ago.'"

Professor Johnson knows wassup.
Harvard Faculty Disturbed by Revelations of Summers’ ‘Cozy Friendship’ With Epstein | News | The Harvard Crimson
Harvard professors responded with outrage to a tranche of emails showing a close yearslong correspondence between former Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers and sex offender Jeffrey E. Epstein, reop...
www.thecrimson.com
November 14, 2025 at 2:33 PM
Reposted by Lesley MacNeil
Something absolutely perfect about Larry Summers riffing about the scourge of woke cancel culture being unfair to predatory men in a friendly email to his pal JEFFREY EPSTEIN.
November 13, 2025 at 12:25 AM
Reposted by Lesley MacNeil
Tri-Councils had our backs: "...at no time did CIHR consider disclosing individual EDI and/or self-identification data, information about individual unsuccessful applications or peer reviewers’ review notes and scores" in response to demands of the Parliamentary Committee on Science and Research.
November 13, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Life in the Hammer.
When a man hijacked a bus in Hamilton, Ontario, on Tuesday, the potentially catastrophic scenario ended happily. It turns out he was a pretty decent bus driver. He made regular stops to pick up passengers, the police reported. At one point someone tried to board with an expired bus pass. No dice.
A Man Took a Bus for a Joyride. Turns Out, He’s Not a Bad Driver.
The incident in Hamilton, Ontario, ended safely with an arrest and no injuries (and all fares paid).
nyti.ms
November 13, 2025 at 5:46 PM
Reposted by Lesley MacNeil
This month's Alliance webinar "Introduction to MicroPublication Biology", presented by Tim Schedl, will be Thurs. Nov. 20 at noon ET. To get the Zoom link, please register tinyurl.com/4f9ycybt by Weds. Nov. 19 (before midnight ET). Note: you can now request to registered for all future webinars.
Alliance Of Genome Resources Event Registration
Webinar recordings are posted at https://www.youtube.com/@AllianceOfGenomeResources A schedule of future events is on the Alliance Events Calendar https://www.alliancegenome.org/event-calendar
tinyurl.com
November 11, 2025 at 9:17 PM
I wrote this insight for eLife. A friend said, "Why would you want to step on that rake?". Well, I guess that's just who I am. Enjoy. elifesciences.org/articles/109...
Transgenerational Epigenetic Inheritance: Twists and turns in the story of learned avoidance
Evidence that learned avoidance of a pathogenic bacterium can be transmitted to future generations in C. elegans is growing.
elifesciences.org
November 11, 2025 at 7:37 PM
🥲
November 10, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Reposted by Lesley MacNeil
It's irritating that they describe the effects of his racism as limited to causing controversy within science and reputational consequences for himself rather than giving an immeasurable boost, false veneer of legitimacy, and idiot-friendly prestige to modern scientific racism and eugenics.
November 7, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Reposted by Lesley MacNeil
On Oct 1 the Standing Committee on Science and Research passed an egregious motion calling for the disclosure of disaggregated data for research applications to federal granting council from 2020-2025. On Oct 20 they amended the timeframe to 2000-2025.
@picardonhealth.bsky.social
November 4, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Reposted by Lesley MacNeil
If you are a Canadian scientist interested in the protection of identifying information about applicants and reviewers of tricouncil grants please read and sign this letter. Thank you. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Open Letter to Protect Tri-Council EDI Data
Why do we need urgent action to protect our data? The mandate of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Science and Research is to review and report on topics relating to science and research in ...
docs.google.com
October 31, 2025 at 6:31 PM
Reposted by Lesley MacNeil
Canadian graduate students... how do you feel about members of parliament going through your transcripts and the personal information you disclosed in your applications in order to question whether you deserved your fellowship or not?
@supportourscience.bsky.social
Canadian researchers should be aware the there is a motion before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Research to force Tricouncils to hand over disaggregated peer review data on all applications:
Applicant names, profiles, demographics
Reviewers names, profiles, comments, and scores
October 31, 2025 at 2:23 PM
Reposted by Lesley MacNeil
Yes! Contact them and sign this petition here —it’s not just about EDI data! So much personally identifying information for applicants and reviewers will not be protected!
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Open Letter to Protect Tri-Council EDI Data
Why do we need urgent action to protect our data? The mandate of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Science and Research is to review and report on topics relating to science and research in ...
docs.google.com
October 30, 2025 at 11:36 PM
You need to know how the car works before you can fix the car.
October 29, 2025 at 8:27 PM
For the "AI will replace us all" crowd
"An artificial intelligence system (AI) apparently mistook a high school student’s bag of Doritos for a firearm and called local police to tell them the pupil was armed." 🤨
US student handcuffed after AI system apparently mistook bag of chips for gun
Baltimore county high schools have gun detection system that alerts police if it sees what it deems suspicious
www.theguardian.com
October 24, 2025 at 10:12 PM
Reposted by Lesley MacNeil
@joann-trejo.bsky.social, @marymunson4.bsky.social and I have a commentary in @natcellbio.nature.com on recent attacks on DEI in biomedical research: "If scientific research, especially biomedical research, is meant to serve everyone, then it requires that everyone has an opportunity to participate"
Scaling back DEI programmes and the loss of scientific talent
Nature Cell Biology - Programmes that support diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in science are under attack in the USA. Data indicate that diversity in the scientific workforce increases...
www.nature.com
October 23, 2025 at 4:36 PM
Reposted by Lesley MacNeil
We’ve developed a really cool model of human diabetic neuropathy with demyelination, and have now gotten data showing we can prevent it.

Opinions welcomed:

- we’re doing small drug screens
- trying to find funding (where??)
- anyone interested in collaborating?
a close up of a feather on a rock with the words `` hello '' written in white letters .
ALT: a close up of a feather on a rock with the words `` hello '' written in white letters .
media.tenor.com
October 23, 2025 at 5:44 AM
Reposted by Lesley MacNeil
Check out this cool new paper from my Toronto colleagues Kieran Campbell and Anne-Claude Gingras.
How can we scale subcellular spatial proteomics across many experiments and conditions?

Our new paper presents a genetic algorithm and evaluation framework that optimizes bait subsets for proximity proteomics platforms like BioID enabling context-specific proteome mapping.
October 23, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Reposted by Lesley MacNeil
Cue the cuts to NSERC, CIHR, SSHRC and CFI and new investments for industrial partnerships for universities that will piss away millions
To build the Canada we want for ourselves, we have to make responsible choices and bet big on Canadians.

We’re going to cut waste and spend less on government operations — so we can make the big investments that will grow our economy and create new opportunities for Canadians.
October 22, 2025 at 10:58 PM