Rebecca Varney
@rebeccavarney.bsky.social
Assistant Prof @ UNL | "finds animals that should be dead and asks how they're alive" | loves invertebrates | talks to code and lab equipment | evolutionary biology, 'omics, and more
Congratulations to all those who pushed “apply” on their GRFPs. You navigated this process despite uncertainty- well done! Take pride in how you have developed as a scientist and a writer as you worked through the application. No grant writing is ever wasted- this is only the start for all of you.
a group of minions are standing next to each other and they are laughing and saying yay
ALT: a group of minions are standing next to each other and they are laughing and saying yay
media.tenor.com
November 10, 2025 at 2:39 PM
Congratulations to all those who pushed “apply” on their GRFPs. You navigated this process despite uncertainty- well done! Take pride in how you have developed as a scientist and a writer as you worked through the application. No grant writing is ever wasted- this is only the start for all of you.
This is the best common name ever.
I have no idea who decided to call it a wandering meatloaf, but they deserve some kind of award
#MarineLife
#MarineLife
Gumboot chiton are giant sea mollusks, also known as the wandering meatloaf.
September 30, 2025 at 6:27 PM
This is the best common name ever.
Reposted by Rebecca Varney
The Meselson and Stahl experiment demonstrated in 1958 that DNA replicated semi-conservatively.
Meaning, each of the two strands of DNA serves as a template for a new copy to made of the complementary strand.
Foundational finding, elegant experimental design.
Meaning, each of the two strands of DNA serves as a template for a new copy to made of the complementary strand.
Foundational finding, elegant experimental design.
July 8, 2025 at 1:49 AM
The Meselson and Stahl experiment demonstrated in 1958 that DNA replicated semi-conservatively.
Meaning, each of the two strands of DNA serves as a template for a new copy to made of the complementary strand.
Foundational finding, elegant experimental design.
Meaning, each of the two strands of DNA serves as a template for a new copy to made of the complementary strand.
Foundational finding, elegant experimental design.
Had a nightmare that somebody called CPS on me about my chiton larvae. I’m not sure what that means… probably that I should sleep more? I PROMISE I JUST CLEANED THE BOWLS 🤣
July 12, 2025 at 9:09 PM
Had a nightmare that somebody called CPS on me about my chiton larvae. I’m not sure what that means… probably that I should sleep more? I PROMISE I JUST CLEANED THE BOWLS 🤣
We told our Marine Invertebrate Zoology course here at #FHL that we would be dissecting a squid as a class. We surprised them with the species. This beautiful animal washed ashore dead a few weeks ago on San Juan & #FHL was kind enough to freeze it until we covered cephalopods. ❤️🦑
June 28, 2025 at 1:52 AM
Grocery shopping while covered in anoxic mud? Check. Washington State cherries are a required stop, but so are the hemichordates! Can’t wait to be back at #FHL!
June 13, 2025 at 9:05 PM
Grocery shopping while covered in anoxic mud? Check. Washington State cherries are a required stop, but so are the hemichordates! Can’t wait to be back at #FHL!
First run of Dev Bio is done. My students’ final exam included a “design an experiment”, and one of them asked “how many organizers can you add to a Xenopus at once?”. 1) I love my job 2) Anybody know? Their hypothesis was 3. 🤣
May 16, 2025 at 11:02 PM
First run of Dev Bio is done. My students’ final exam included a “design an experiment”, and one of them asked “how many organizers can you add to a Xenopus at once?”. 1) I love my job 2) Anybody know? Their hypothesis was 3. 🤣
It’s a students running Hello World on SLURM kind of day 😊
a cartoon of a dragon holding a towel with the words so proud of you above it
ALT: a cartoon of a dragon holding a towel with the words so proud of you above it
media.tenor.com
April 29, 2025 at 5:01 PM
It’s a students running Hello World on SLURM kind of day 😊
Today I was working at the kitchen table and I said “I forgot to cat it” and my 15 month old responded “cat cat cat”, and I don’t think I’ve ever been this fond of a script.
a kitten is standing on top of a laptop computer looking at the screen .
ALT: a kitten is standing on top of a laptop computer looking at the screen .
media.tenor.com
April 25, 2025 at 2:55 AM
Today I was working at the kitchen table and I said “I forgot to cat it” and my 15 month old responded “cat cat cat”, and I don’t think I’ve ever been this fond of a script.
Reposted by Rebecca Varney
Inside me there are two wolves. One of them has a 15 genome edits the other 20 genome edits. Neither of them is a dire wolf.
April 8, 2025 at 1:56 PM
Inside me there are two wolves. One of them has a 15 genome edits the other 20 genome edits. Neither of them is a dire wolf.
This is a general note to nobody in particular that if you don’t keep your online CV updated, it’s harder to nominate you for things. ❤️
April 7, 2025 at 11:17 PM
This is a general note to nobody in particular that if you don’t keep your online CV updated, it’s harder to nominate you for things. ❤️
Three of my students chose papers on snails for their latest write-up. Apparently presenting the romantic plight of Jeremy the snail is a great way to get students excited about snail evo-devo!
April 3, 2025 at 2:09 PM
Three of my students chose papers on snails for their latest write-up. Apparently presenting the romantic plight of Jeremy the snail is a great way to get students excited about snail evo-devo!
Reposted by Rebecca Varney
The first genome-edited horseshoe crabs! 🧬
2024 Grass Fellow Guilherme Gainett spent a summer at @mblscience.bsky.social developing genetic tools for these ancient creatures to see what their eyes can teach us about the evolution of sensory systems. 👀
grassfoundation.org/first-genome...
2024 Grass Fellow Guilherme Gainett spent a summer at @mblscience.bsky.social developing genetic tools for these ancient creatures to see what their eyes can teach us about the evolution of sensory systems. 👀
grassfoundation.org/first-genome...
First Genome-Edited Horseshoe Crabs – The Grass Foundation
grassfoundation.org
March 10, 2025 at 6:09 PM
The first genome-edited horseshoe crabs! 🧬
2024 Grass Fellow Guilherme Gainett spent a summer at @mblscience.bsky.social developing genetic tools for these ancient creatures to see what their eyes can teach us about the evolution of sensory systems. 👀
grassfoundation.org/first-genome...
2024 Grass Fellow Guilherme Gainett spent a summer at @mblscience.bsky.social developing genetic tools for these ancient creatures to see what their eyes can teach us about the evolution of sensory systems. 👀
grassfoundation.org/first-genome...
Dev Bio: I got a student to make a paper airplane during class. We are studying juxtacrine and paracrine signaling,and they had to figure out how to signal a “cell” of students across the room. Paracrine Falcon for the win!
February 11, 2025 at 2:09 PM
Dev Bio: I got a student to make a paper airplane during class. We are studying juxtacrine and paracrine signaling,and they had to figure out how to signal a “cell” of students across the room. Paracrine Falcon for the win!
Reposted by Rebecca Varney
Excited about this new video that explains our research on how comb jelly membranes function under extreme pressure of the deep-sea.
Made by 1st author Jacob Winnikoff & Kyra Schlining for @mbarinews.bsky.social 🦑🧪🌊
Just in time for @dsbsoc.bsky.social! #ctenophore
www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7A0...
Made by 1st author Jacob Winnikoff & Kyra Schlining for @mbarinews.bsky.social 🦑🧪🌊
Just in time for @dsbsoc.bsky.social! #ctenophore
www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7A0...
Grace under pressure: How membranes help comb jellies thrive in the deep
YouTube video by MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute)
www.youtube.com
January 14, 2025 at 7:52 PM
Excited about this new video that explains our research on how comb jelly membranes function under extreme pressure of the deep-sea.
Made by 1st author Jacob Winnikoff & Kyra Schlining for @mbarinews.bsky.social 🦑🧪🌊
Just in time for @dsbsoc.bsky.social! #ctenophore
www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7A0...
Made by 1st author Jacob Winnikoff & Kyra Schlining for @mbarinews.bsky.social 🦑🧪🌊
Just in time for @dsbsoc.bsky.social! #ctenophore
www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7A0...
Reposted by Rebecca Varney
Meet our new fossils: Punk and Emo (their real names)
New Silurian aculiferans that look like nothing else; the anti-authoritarian, anti-establishment, non-conformist molluscs
out now in Nature
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
@sgn.one @oceanspecies.bsky.social @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social
New Silurian aculiferans that look like nothing else; the anti-authoritarian, anti-establishment, non-conformist molluscs
out now in Nature
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
@sgn.one @oceanspecies.bsky.social @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social
January 8, 2025 at 4:39 PM
Meet our new fossils: Punk and Emo (their real names)
New Silurian aculiferans that look like nothing else; the anti-authoritarian, anti-establishment, non-conformist molluscs
out now in Nature
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
@sgn.one @oceanspecies.bsky.social @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social
New Silurian aculiferans that look like nothing else; the anti-authoritarian, anti-establishment, non-conformist molluscs
out now in Nature
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
@sgn.one @oceanspecies.bsky.social @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social
Reposted by Rebecca Varney
We are looking for a small-molecule inhibitor of Wnt/b-cat signaling, ideally one that was teasted in a marine invertebrate. Any idea?
December 10, 2024 at 8:30 PM
We are looking for a small-molecule inhibitor of Wnt/b-cat signaling, ideally one that was teasted in a marine invertebrate. Any idea?
I hear marriage is built on trust. So the fact that I pulled a nitrile glove from my pocket along with my keys and threw it on the dining table, and my husband casually picked it up and tossed it while I dealt with the baby means he must trust me a lot? Whoops…
December 10, 2024 at 11:30 PM
I hear marriage is built on trust. So the fact that I pulled a nitrile glove from my pocket along with my keys and threw it on the dining table, and my husband casually picked it up and tossed it while I dealt with the baby means he must trust me a lot? Whoops…
Glow in the dark science is always a hit! Overheard a student say “look mom new genes!…wait bacteria are their own moms…”
November 21, 2024 at 12:02 AM
Glow in the dark science is always a hit! Overheard a student say “look mom new genes!…wait bacteria are their own moms…”
Reposted by Rebecca Varney
Working on teaching the undergrads in my lab how to ID these Pycnogonidae sea spiders (Pentapycnon spp) and how to use standard bioinformatic methods to assemble their mitochondrial genomes. 3D scans of these will be coming soon too! 🧪🦑🐧🌎🇦🇶🧬
November 14, 2024 at 12:51 PM
Working on teaching the undergrads in my lab how to ID these Pycnogonidae sea spiders (Pentapycnon spp) and how to use standard bioinformatic methods to assemble their mitochondrial genomes. 3D scans of these will be coming soon too! 🧪🦑🐧🌎🇦🇶🧬
Reposted by Rebecca Varney
We are pleased to announce that applications are now open for our new NSF RaMP postbaccalaureate program "Integrating Biodiversity Science with Genetic Evolutionary Mechanisms (BioGEM)." Please spread the word. biogem.ku.edu
February 2, 2024 at 6:55 PM
We are pleased to announce that applications are now open for our new NSF RaMP postbaccalaureate program "Integrating Biodiversity Science with Genetic Evolutionary Mechanisms (BioGEM)." Please spread the word. biogem.ku.edu
Reposted by Rebecca Varney
y’all - think a lot of us watching got to cross an item off the bucket list today. schmidt ocean came across a stygiomedusa (giant phantom jelly) on the way up today. i am so goddamn stoked. 🦑🧪
www.youtube.com/live/DlgTKD8...
www.youtube.com/live/DlgTKD8...
December 6, 2023 at 5:47 PM
y’all - think a lot of us watching got to cross an item off the bucket list today. schmidt ocean came across a stygiomedusa (giant phantom jelly) on the way up today. i am so goddamn stoked. 🦑🧪
www.youtube.com/live/DlgTKD8...
www.youtube.com/live/DlgTKD8...