Joanna Rifkin they/them
LightNews LightNews
joannarifkin.bsky.social
Joanna Rifkin they/them
@joannarifkin.bsky.social
930 followers 1.3K following 530 posts
Computational biologist, plant geneticist, gardener, SFF enthusiast, rock climber, not that kind of doctor, transplanted to Toronto, nonbinary, trans, Jewish, and more! Opinions my own.
Posts Replies Media Videos
joannarifkin.bsky.social
May I offer you a meme in this troubling time.
Ebenezer Scrooge (Michael Caine) is menaced by the ghosts of the Marleys (muppets Statler and Waldorf). The image is captioned "Why do you doubt your senses? / I'm a scientist. It's literally our whole deal."
October 30, 2025 at 4:28 PM
joannarifkin.bsky.social
There does seem to be theory supporting the evolution of separate sexes relating to life-history tradeoffs (e.g. doi: 10.1111/jeb.13335). It's really unevenly distributed across plants but has evolved many times ...
A phylogenetic tree of angiosperms showing clade size and percent of species with separate sexes.
September 25, 2025 at 5:25 PM
joannarifkin.bsky.social
Developmental biologists - can anyone explain what's up with this mutant Calendula?
The photo shows an orange flower with smaller flowers growing at odd angles out of its stalk. It is a Calendula with some kind of ... maybe homeobox mutation?
July 10, 2025 at 2:22 PM
joannarifkin.bsky.social
Update on office raccoon: now I have work-from-home raccoon at my house.

Double raccoon!! What does this meeean?

(Probably that I live in Toronto!)
The nose, right front paw, and right flank of a raccoon are visible under wooden decking resting on metal roofing material. The creature is resting between a deck and the roof under the upper deck / over the lower deck.
May 15, 2025 at 3:04 PM
joannarifkin.bsky.social
Update: still there!
A raccoon sleeping on its side on some plywood on top of metal scaffolding, with trees in the background.
May 13, 2025 at 7:39 PM
joannarifkin.bsky.social
Meanwhile in #Toronto, the city's favorite mammal is napping outside my office window! (Don't worry, it's alive and well.)
A sleeping raccoon with its head toward the camera, on a piece of plywood resting on scaffolding with trees in the background.
May 13, 2025 at 5:06 PM
joannarifkin.bsky.social
The picture shows a damaged stone statue. What remains is a male torso, with a partial right leg but no arms or head.
April 24, 2025 at 5:40 PM
joannarifkin.bsky.social
We even have an advertising campaign about this.
A billboard with a picture of an alcoholic beverage reading "9PMAPLE NEGRONI: It's always time for maple." The billboard is mounted on a brick wall with a black and white graffiti tag.
March 5, 2025 at 8:27 PM
joannarifkin.bsky.social
Ontario province liquor store yesterday:
Empty shelves labeled "CALIFORNIA | CALIFORNIE" in a liquor store. Through the empty shelves, bottles of wine are visible. A sign in the background reads "WINE VIN."
March 5, 2025 at 8:26 PM
joannarifkin.bsky.social
Happy #DarwinDay to those celebrating! Any figure from 200 years ago is going to be complicated, but I appreciate the love of and curiosity about nature that he bequeathed to my field.

And of course I'm wearing a Pokémon t-shirt to celebrate!

Image source: darwin-online.org.uk/EditorialInt...
Two pen-and-ink drawings of a young Charles Darwin riding giant beetles, from 1828.
February 12, 2025 at 7:09 PM
joannarifkin.bsky.social
Graphic of a bearded man in a helmet with text reading "Pick your battles. Pick fewer battles than that. Put some battles back. That's still too many battles."
January 30, 2025 at 7:03 PM
joannarifkin.bsky.social
One of those moments where knowing a bit of Latin and a bit of botany is really fun. "Ruta-muraria" just means "rue of the wall," and Ruta - rue - is the type genus of the Rutaceae (orange family!). So the scientific name is just a translation of the common name because this fern looks like rue!
Picture of the plant rue (Ruta graveolens) with lacy bluish green leaves and yellow flowers.
December 20, 2024 at 5:29 PM
joannarifkin.bsky.social
My house is surrounded by Red Admirals right now!
A black, orange, and white butterfly (Red Admiral) resting with its wings open on a brick wall.
April 15, 2024 at 3:14 PM
joannarifkin.bsky.social
It's basically just ever more horrific iterations of @alexblechman.bsky.social's timeless quip about The Torment Nexus.
Tweet from @AlexBlechman Sci-Fi Author: In my book I invented the Torment Nexus as a cautionary tale Tech Company: At long last, we have created the Torment Nexus from classic sci-fi novel Don't Create The Torment Nexus
April 10, 2024 at 5:24 PM
joannarifkin.bsky.social
Me as a professional geneticist: There's no evidence that coat color has anything to do with personality or intelligence in cats.
Me as a person who has ever interacted with cats: This thing is just too orange to brains.
An orange cat in an awkward position, exposing her belly and making a perplexed face, on a blue chair.
February 19, 2024 at 2:31 PM
joannarifkin.bsky.social
Excited for PAG next week! Lots of great talks from my team, and I'll be presenting on transposable elements in Hesperis matronalis! www.intlpag.org/31/
A bushy plant with fuchsia-purple flowers and green leaves. Hesperis matronalis, common name Dame's Rocket.
January 5, 2024 at 4:00 PM
joannarifkin.bsky.social
Hello world!

Have some cat tax. These furry nonsenses are Arkham (gray) and Samarkand (orange).
A gray cat and an orange cat sleeping together in a blue chair.
October 19, 2023 at 8:46 PM