Craig Kaplan
@triggerloop.bsky.social
Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh. RNA polymerase II mechanism, classic films, #classiccountdown once in awhile
Reposted by Craig Kaplan
now that gifts are opened, my five year old is running around the house chanting "I'm a bad boy!"
December 25, 2025 at 3:29 PM
now that gifts are opened, my five year old is running around the house chanting "I'm a bad boy!"
It really hit this year
December 25, 2025 at 4:52 PM
It really hit this year
Reposted by Craig Kaplan
Reposted by Craig Kaplan
December 24, 2025 at 12:34 PM
Reposted by Craig Kaplan
Pancreatic cancer is still one of the deadliest cancers. However, there are promising strategies currently under investigation that have been delayed or harmed because of the Trump administration and Elon Musk's DOGE.
CDMRP cuts left no money for many forms of cancer research including pancreatic.
CDMRP cuts left no money for many forms of cancer research including pancreatic.
Former Nebraska U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse on Tuesday said he was diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer. https://to.pbs.org/49cDtIV
Former Nebraska U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse says he has stage-four pancreatic cancer
Sasse expressed determination to fight the disease, highlighting advancements in immunotherapy and other treatments as part of his hope.
www.pbs.org
December 23, 2025 at 9:45 PM
Pancreatic cancer is still one of the deadliest cancers. However, there are promising strategies currently under investigation that have been delayed or harmed because of the Trump administration and Elon Musk's DOGE.
CDMRP cuts left no money for many forms of cancer research including pancreatic.
CDMRP cuts left no money for many forms of cancer research including pancreatic.
Reposted by Craig Kaplan
My AP English teacher in high school. A principled voice in a gerrymandered legislature where the majority are self dealing and poorly represent their constituents. She will be missed but I applaud her tireless efforts.
Rep. Carol Moss, the longest-serving female legislator, announced she will not seek reelection next year, meaning the upcoming legislative session, Moss' 26th, will be her last.
Utah’s longest-serving female legislator is retiring after a political career that ‘inspired countless others’
Rep. Carol Moss, the longest-serving female legislator, announced she will not seek reelection next year, meaning the upcoming legislative session, Moss' 26th, will be her last.
www.sltrib.com
December 23, 2025 at 11:14 PM
My AP English teacher in high school. A principled voice in a gerrymandered legislature where the majority are self dealing and poorly represent their constituents. She will be missed but I applaud her tireless efforts.
Reposted by Craig Kaplan
It made many of the paragraphs read almost identically across assignments — different words, same structure. Substituting the LLM’s voice for the students’ own. And many did not realize this was happening — it’s obvious looking at many at once, though.
December 23, 2025 at 5:37 PM
It made many of the paragraphs read almost identically across assignments — different words, same structure. Substituting the LLM’s voice for the students’ own. And many did not realize this was happening — it’s obvious looking at many at once, though.
Reposted by Craig Kaplan
At least about 15% of the students in my course used Grammarly, which used to be a grammar checker and now uses a LLM, and which Rutgers site licenses, on some of the written assignments.
December 23, 2025 at 5:37 PM
At least about 15% of the students in my course used Grammarly, which used to be a grammar checker and now uses a LLM, and which Rutgers site licenses, on some of the written assignments.
Useful thread on how John Ioannidis appears to be dishonest and thumb on the scale for his covid research.
I did the following:
- I took the sera studies for West Europe (incl DE/FR/SP/IT/PT/AT ...) which were considered as good by Ioannidis in his seminal paper on IFR from 2023
- I matched that with the info I have on covid deaths per certificate
Result? Covid IFR was >1% in Western Europe in 2020
- I took the sera studies for West Europe (incl DE/FR/SP/IT/PT/AT ...) which were considered as good by Ioannidis in his seminal paper on IFR from 2023
- I matched that with the info I have on covid deaths per certificate
Result? Covid IFR was >1% in Western Europe in 2020
December 23, 2025 at 1:44 AM
Useful thread on how John Ioannidis appears to be dishonest and thumb on the scale for his covid research.
Reposted by Craig Kaplan
For my last Buying Power of the year, I wrote about one way to think about the divergence in consumer sentiment (bad) and behavior (free-spending) this year: It’s the YOLO economy, typified by the expanding popularity of services like Klarna and Affirm. Gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
The United States of Klarna
Want to understand the state of the economy? Just look to all the shoppers flocking to “buy now, pay later” services.
www.bloomberg.com
December 22, 2025 at 2:50 PM
For my last Buying Power of the year, I wrote about one way to think about the divergence in consumer sentiment (bad) and behavior (free-spending) this year: It’s the YOLO economy, typified by the expanding popularity of services like Klarna and Affirm. Gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Reposted by Craig Kaplan
Here is the link for Helene's preferred charity. Family requests donations to the fight against pancreatic cancer in lieu of flowers
letswinpc.kindful.com
letswinpc.kindful.com
Let's Win Pancreatic Cancer | Kindful
letswinpc.kindful.com
December 22, 2025 at 8:40 PM
Here is the link for Helene's preferred charity. Family requests donations to the fight against pancreatic cancer in lieu of flowers
letswinpc.kindful.com
letswinpc.kindful.com
Helene was so giving to others about her battle, and went through to make it into maybe the top 1% of survivors of pancreatic cancer, before succumbing Dec 19, 2025 all while losing her father to it. She supported @letswinpc.org and the family asks for you to consider supporting them as well.💔
Pancreatic cancer survivor Helene Andrews-Polymenis and Dr. John Chabot discuss strategies for preparing for a Whipple procedure.
Preparing for a Whipple Procedure: A Roadmap for Patients and Caregivers
Pancreatic cancer survivor Helene Andrews-Polymenis and Dr. John Chabot discuss strategies for preparing for a Whipple procedure.
buff.ly
December 22, 2025 at 8:28 PM
Helene was so giving to others about her battle, and went through to make it into maybe the top 1% of survivors of pancreatic cancer, before succumbing Dec 19, 2025 all while losing her father to it. She supported @letswinpc.org and the family asks for you to consider supporting them as well.💔
Helene was *truly* special. She was an outstanding scientist, colleague, friend, spouse, and mom. Many of you know that Helene had been battling pancreatic cancer for ~7 years and shared her courageous fight. My thoughts are with her husband, Michael Polymenis, and their two children.
Helene Andrews-Polymenis @hpolymenis.bsky.social passed away on Dec 19, 2025
There will be an on campus memorial service in Jan or Feb
There will be an on campus memorial service in Jan or Feb
December 22, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Helene was *truly* special. She was an outstanding scientist, colleague, friend, spouse, and mom. Many of you know that Helene had been battling pancreatic cancer for ~7 years and shared her courageous fight. My thoughts are with her husband, Michael Polymenis, and their two children.
Looks awesome and makes a huge amount of sense
Intrigued by a long-standing conundrum in small RNA biology—how nuclear Argonaute proteins silence transposons when they *need* target transcription for their own recruitment—we studied the piRNA pathway.
And found a hidden RNA-decay axis from Piwi to the RNA exosome.
And found a hidden RNA-decay axis from Piwi to the RNA exosome.
RNA decay via the nuclear exosome is essential for piwi-mediated transposon silencing https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.16.694471v1
December 22, 2025 at 7:43 PM
Looks awesome and makes a huge amount of sense
Reposted by Craig Kaplan
When it comes to the national security implications of windmills, the military has of course a long history of rational suspicion and justified aggression.
December 22, 2025 at 3:59 PM
When it comes to the national security implications of windmills, the military has of course a long history of rational suspicion and justified aggression.
Reposted by Craig Kaplan
Per NY Times’s Michael Grynbaum on X, this is Sharyn Alfonsi’s email to her “60 Minutes” colleagues in full:
December 22, 2025 at 3:37 AM
Per NY Times’s Michael Grynbaum on X, this is Sharyn Alfonsi’s email to her “60 Minutes” colleagues in full:
🫴🏻🌞⬆️
#filmsky #moviesky #comedysky #science #AxialTiltIsTheReasonForTheSeason
Happy Winter Solstice
TIME FOR A DRINK
Happy Winter Solstice
TIME FOR A DRINK
December 21, 2025 at 1:30 PM
🫴🏻🌞⬆️
Reposted by Craig Kaplan
@peterfineran.bsky.social and colleagues develop Tn-seq for phages by leveraging anti-CRISPR (Acr) as a positive
selectable marker in the presence of CRISPR-Cas counter-selection, and identify essential genes in phage from non model orgs
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
selectable marker in the presence of CRISPR-Cas counter-selection, and identify essential genes in phage from non model orgs
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
December 20, 2025 at 11:34 PM
@peterfineran.bsky.social and colleagues develop Tn-seq for phages by leveraging anti-CRISPR (Acr) as a positive
selectable marker in the presence of CRISPR-Cas counter-selection, and identify essential genes in phage from non model orgs
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
selectable marker in the presence of CRISPR-Cas counter-selection, and identify essential genes in phage from non model orgs
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
I do love this one #TCMbanger
#ComingUpOnTCM
REMEMBER THE NIGHT (1940) Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray, Beulah Bondi
Dir.: Mitchell Leisen 5:00 PM PT
An assistant D.A. takes a shoplifter home with him for Christmas.
1h 26m | Romantic Comedy | TV-G
#TCM #TCMParty
REMEMBER THE NIGHT (1940) Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray, Beulah Bondi
Dir.: Mitchell Leisen 5:00 PM PT
An assistant D.A. takes a shoplifter home with him for Christmas.
1h 26m | Romantic Comedy | TV-G
#TCM #TCMParty
December 21, 2025 at 1:59 AM
I do love this one #TCMbanger
Reposted by Craig Kaplan
The taste of American rich people never fails to amaze, but this is really something. Like Ellen says, make sure you check out the interior photos.
I've never lived so close to a What Are We Even Doing Here real estate listing, and I am here, gifting you this experience, make sure to open the pictures
www.redfin.com/MI/Ann-Arbor...
www.redfin.com/MI/Ann-Arbor...
414 S Main St #10, Ann Arbor, MI 48104 - 3 beds/3.5 baths
(SW Michigan MLS) For Sale: 3 beds, 3.5 baths ∙ 5000 sq. ft. ∙ 414 S Main St #10, Ann Arbor, MI 48104 ∙ $7,000,000 ∙ MLS# 25062388 ∙ This Downtown Ann Arbor penthouse stands among the finest residence...
www.redfin.com
December 20, 2025 at 10:35 PM
The taste of American rich people never fails to amaze, but this is really something. Like Ellen says, make sure you check out the interior photos.
Reposted by Craig Kaplan
A Safdie cast is something like Adrien Brody, Jennifer Lopez, the Rent Is Too Damn High guy, Maurice Dubois, Charles Oakley and the guy who did the whistle on the PC Richards commercials
It is with a heavy heart that I confirm Mr. Wonderful is *excellent* in MARTY SUPREME
December 20, 2025 at 7:20 PM
A Safdie cast is something like Adrien Brody, Jennifer Lopez, the Rent Is Too Damn High guy, Maurice Dubois, Charles Oakley and the guy who did the whistle on the PC Richards commercials
❤️
December 20, 2025 at 8:43 PM
❤️
Reposted by Craig Kaplan
I’ve spent the past two days as pediatric ward attending and frankly we need both more and even better vaccines not fewer
December 20, 2025 at 12:10 AM
I’ve spent the past two days as pediatric ward attending and frankly we need both more and even better vaccines not fewer
Reposted by Craig Kaplan
