Jonathan Eisen
@phylogenomics.bsky.social
Prof at #UCDavis
Work: evolution, ecology, function & phylogenomics of host-microbiome systems; #openscience;
Other: #birds; baseball; T1D
Lab phylogenomics.me
Pics jonathaneisen.smugmug.com
Links linktr.ee/jonathaneisen
TED go.ted.com/6WPm
Work: evolution, ecology, function & phylogenomics of host-microbiome systems; #openscience;
Other: #birds; baseball; T1D
Lab phylogenomics.me
Pics jonathaneisen.smugmug.com
Links linktr.ee/jonathaneisen
TED go.ted.com/6WPm
Pinned
Jonathan Eisen
@phylogenomics.bsky.social
· Aug 31
Gratitude. Just made a little video while out for a walk on my birthday to express my gratitude to all the people and organizations that help protect and preserve the natural world and make it accessible. Thanks to all of you. #gratitude #nature #birds #hiking #birthday #california #yolobypass
Reposted by Jonathan Eisen
When I was in graduate school my life and carreer were completely transformed by a seminar I attended at Stanford by Dr. Hamilton Smith. In the talk he discussed how TIGR was sequencing whole genomes of organisms. Here is a scan of P1 of my notes. 1/n
November 11, 2025 at 5:42 AM
When I was in graduate school my life and carreer were completely transformed by a seminar I attended at Stanford by Dr. Hamilton Smith. In the talk he discussed how TIGR was sequencing whole genomes of organisms. Here is a scan of P1 of my notes. 1/n
Reposted by Jonathan Eisen
Ham Smith and JCV's sequencing of H. flu' was a watershed moment for me as well. I was in grad school and, looking at the first annotated gene list, I realized that I knew at least crudely what maybe half of the proteins in *an entire organism* were doing. that notion of comprehensibility was 🤯.
November 11, 2025 at 5:51 AM
Ham Smith and JCV's sequencing of H. flu' was a watershed moment for me as well. I was in grad school and, looking at the first annotated gene list, I realized that I knew at least crudely what maybe half of the proteins in *an entire organism* were doing. that notion of comprehensibility was 🤯.
When I was in graduate school my life and carreer were completely transformed by a seminar I attended at Stanford by Dr. Hamilton Smith. In the talk he discussed how TIGR was sequencing whole genomes of organisms. Here is a scan of P1 of my notes. 1/n
November 11, 2025 at 5:42 AM
When I was in graduate school my life and carreer were completely transformed by a seminar I attended at Stanford by Dr. Hamilton Smith. In the talk he discussed how TIGR was sequencing whole genomes of organisms. Here is a scan of P1 of my notes. 1/n
Reposted by Jonathan Eisen
Reposted by Jonathan Eisen
Football was good to watch today because the teams I was rooting for never gave up. Alas can’t say that for another team I root for.
November 10, 2025 at 4:43 AM
Football was good to watch today because the teams I was rooting for never gave up. Alas can’t say that for another team I root for.
Reposted by Jonathan Eisen
He also thought women should be genetically engineered to make them all sexier. Just an utterly jaw-dropping thing for someone who lived through WWII to say.
November 8, 2025 at 2:20 AM
He also thought women should be genetically engineered to make them all sexier. Just an utterly jaw-dropping thing for someone who lived through WWII to say.
Reposted by Jonathan Eisen
Ah, but you forgot: personally off-putting and unpleasant
November 8, 2025 at 10:41 PM
Ah, but you forgot: personally off-putting and unpleasant
Reposted by Jonathan Eisen
Yes, some people's legacies are complicated. For example, Watson. After all, though he was racist, don't forget his other traits. For example, he was also sexist. And also anti-semitic. And a data / idea thief. So let's not forget all the different facets.
November 8, 2025 at 12:52 AM
Yes, some people's legacies are complicated. For example, Watson. After all, though he was racist, don't forget his other traits. For example, he was also sexist. And also anti-semitic. And a data / idea thief. So let's not forget all the different facets.
Reposted by Jonathan Eisen
Homophobic too.
November 8, 2025 at 1:34 AM
Homophobic too.
Reposted by Jonathan Eisen
Scientific breakthroughs are rarely unique; someone else would’ve made them soon enough. But when prominent scientists cause harm, that harm isn’t inevitable; the world might simply have been better had the harm not been inflicted.
liorpachter.wordpress.com/2018/05/18/j...
liorpachter.wordpress.com/2018/05/18/j...
James Watson in his own words
“Some anti-Semitism is justified” “Whenever you interview fat people, you feel bad, because you know you’re not going to hire them” “Japan should be bombed for d…
liorpachter.wordpress.com
November 8, 2025 at 4:29 AM
Scientific breakthroughs are rarely unique; someone else would’ve made them soon enough. But when prominent scientists cause harm, that harm isn’t inevitable; the world might simply have been better had the harm not been inflicted.
liorpachter.wordpress.com/2018/05/18/j...
liorpachter.wordpress.com/2018/05/18/j...
Reposted by Jonathan Eisen
But he was also an asshole.
November 8, 2025 at 12:57 AM
But he was also an asshole.
Yes, some people's legacies are complicated. For example, Watson. After all, though he was racist, don't forget his other traits. For example, he was also sexist. And also anti-semitic. And a data / idea thief. So let's not forget all the different facets.
November 8, 2025 at 12:52 AM
Yes, some people's legacies are complicated. For example, Watson. After all, though he was racist, don't forget his other traits. For example, he was also sexist. And also anti-semitic. And a data / idea thief. So let's not forget all the different facets.
Reposted by Jonathan Eisen
¿Hiciste tu doctorado en México? ¿Quieres hacer un postdoc en California? ¿Te interesa la genética evolutiva? ¡Checa esta beca y mándame un mensaje! alianzamx.universityofcalifornia.edu/research-and...
Postdoctoral Research Fellowships - University of California Alianza MX
Submitting an Application Current Fellows 2025 Cohort Additional Information Humberger Toggle Menu Interested in applying for a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship? Eligibility The program seeks applican...
alianzamx.universityofcalifornia.edu
November 7, 2025 at 10:47 PM
¿Hiciste tu doctorado en México? ¿Quieres hacer un postdoc en California? ¿Te interesa la genética evolutiva? ¡Checa esta beca y mándame un mensaje! alianzamx.universityofcalifornia.edu/research-and...
Reposted by Jonathan Eisen
Great profile of @ruthlessruth15.bsky.social www.the-scientist.com/postdoc-port...
Postdoc Portrait: Ruth Isenberg
This postdoc explores how gut and oral bacteria wage microscopic battles that shape infection and health.
www.the-scientist.com
November 7, 2025 at 4:45 PM
Great profile of @ruthlessruth15.bsky.social www.the-scientist.com/postdoc-port...
Reposted by Jonathan Eisen
Hey folks, as news of Watson's demise spreads, please don't set aside his weighty legacy of misogyny and racism. He was truly among the worst of us. www.vox.com/2019/1/15/18...
DNA scientist James Watson has a remarkably long history of sexist, racist public comments
“People say it would be terrible if we made all girls pretty,” he said in 2003. “I think it would be great.”
www.vox.com
November 7, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Hey folks, as news of Watson's demise spreads, please don't set aside his weighty legacy of misogyny and racism. He was truly among the worst of us. www.vox.com/2019/1/15/18...
Reposted by Jonathan Eisen
What was the hardest part of grad school for you? Was it having a kid, the thesis defense? I told them nope, it was being the only & the first. The only Inupiaq at UW Madison for most of my years there, one of 250 Natives on a campus of over 40K, the first Native to earn a PhD in my program🧵
November 6, 2025 at 12:00 PM
What was the hardest part of grad school for you? Was it having a kid, the thesis defense? I told them nope, it was being the only & the first. The only Inupiaq at UW Madison for most of my years there, one of 250 Natives on a campus of over 40K, the first Native to earn a PhD in my program🧵
Reposted by Jonathan Eisen
"World's first potential trillionaire has killed 600,000 people, including 400,000 children" is the only headline that anyone should ever read about Elon Musk
One analytical model shows that, as of November 5th, the dismantling of U.S.A.I.D. has already caused the deaths of 600,000 people, two-thirds of them children. https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/jUzNSc
The Shutdown of U.S.A.I.D. Has Already Killed Hundreds of Thousands
The short documentary “Rovina’s Choice” tells the story of what goes when aid goes.
newyorkermag.visitlink.me
November 7, 2025 at 1:33 AM
"World's first potential trillionaire has killed 600,000 people, including 400,000 children" is the only headline that anyone should ever read about Elon Musk
Reposted by Jonathan Eisen
There is something deeply broken about an economy that creates trillionaires while people get buried under the cost of living and 42 million go hungry. The ultra-rich should realize that my Billionaires Income Tax, aimed at ensuring they pay their fair share, represents the moderate path forward.
Tesla shareholders have approved a pay package that could make CEO Elon Musk, already the world’s richest person, the world’s first trillionaire. https://cnn.it/43KZnkA
November 7, 2025 at 1:57 AM
There is something deeply broken about an economy that creates trillionaires while people get buried under the cost of living and 42 million go hungry. The ultra-rich should realize that my Billionaires Income Tax, aimed at ensuring they pay their fair share, represents the moderate path forward.
Reposted by Jonathan Eisen
Great to see this finally published!
Metalog: curated and harmonised contextual data for global metagenomics samples
now out in @narjournal.bsky.social
academic.oup.com/nar/advance-...
Metalog: curated and harmonised contextual data for global metagenomics samples
now out in @narjournal.bsky.social
academic.oup.com/nar/advance-...
Metalog: curated and harmonised contextual data for global metagenomics samples
Abstract. Metagenomic sequencing enables the in-depth study of microbes and their functions in humans, animals, and the environment. While sequencing data
academic.oup.com
October 31, 2025 at 3:16 PM
Great to see this finally published!
Metalog: curated and harmonised contextual data for global metagenomics samples
now out in @narjournal.bsky.social
academic.oup.com/nar/advance-...
Metalog: curated and harmonised contextual data for global metagenomics samples
now out in @narjournal.bsky.social
academic.oup.com/nar/advance-...
Reposted by Jonathan Eisen
Me finding out @zohrankmamdani won. Captured by the great Faraz Ansari
November 5, 2025 at 8:18 PM
Me finding out @zohrankmamdani won. Captured by the great Faraz Ansari
Reposted by Jonathan Eisen
And today in Microbiome News:
"there is a “high potential” that fecal matter and disease-causing organisms have entered the town’s infrastructure."
www.sfgate.com/renotahoe/ar...
"there is a “high potential” that fecal matter and disease-causing organisms have entered the town’s infrastructure."
www.sfgate.com/renotahoe/ar...
Tahoe’s billionaire enclave might have a poop problem
A Nov. 3 notice cited a "loss of pressure in the distribution system."
www.sfgate.com
November 5, 2025 at 3:04 AM
And today in Microbiome News:
"there is a “high potential” that fecal matter and disease-causing organisms have entered the town’s infrastructure."
www.sfgate.com/renotahoe/ar...
"there is a “high potential” that fecal matter and disease-causing organisms have entered the town’s infrastructure."
www.sfgate.com/renotahoe/ar...
Best audiobook I have listened to in ages. I had read the book many times but not recently. The book is so good …
November 4, 2025 at 5:16 AM
Best audiobook I have listened to in ages. I had read the book many times but not recently. The book is so good …