Amanda KK
@theetreefern.bsky.social
I'm here for the science (🧬 🪱🧠). And the animal videos. And the Bay Area earthquake updates.
Disclaimer: Posts represent my own personal views only, not those of any employer.
Disclaimer: Posts represent my own personal views only, not those of any employer.
Reposted by Amanda KK
This rings true w GeminiDR too. Tried prompting for a specific author on a narrow topic, using 4 example refs. Output had Frankenstein refs with made-up DOIs. Iteratively correcting the errors eventually got me the same 4 refs back, but nothing new. Next author, even worse. So, I ❤️ PubMed.
Just in case there was any doubt, ChatGPT 5.0 still makes up completely random citations that don't exist and should not be used for literature search.
August 16, 2025 at 2:19 PM
This rings true w GeminiDR too. Tried prompting for a specific author on a narrow topic, using 4 example refs. Output had Frankenstein refs with made-up DOIs. Iteratively correcting the errors eventually got me the same 4 refs back, but nothing new. Next author, even worse. So, I ❤️ PubMed.
A nice change from #KarlTheFog and drizzle
August 3, 2025 at 9:53 PM
A nice change from #KarlTheFog and drizzle
Reposted by Amanda KK
A local NYC baseball coach says he fended off ICE agents during a recent practice.
Youman Wilder said caught feds questioning youth about where they're from & country of origin, so, he told feds to back off & kids to not answer!
Shoutout all of our local heroes!
Youman Wilder said caught feds questioning youth about where they're from & country of origin, so, he told feds to back off & kids to not answer!
Shoutout all of our local heroes!
A Baseball Coach Says He Fended Off ICE Agents Questioning Kids on the Upper West Side
The baseball field in Riverside Park near 72nd Street and Youman Wilder. Photo 1: Google Maps. Photo 2: Courtesy of
www.westsiderag.com
July 10, 2025 at 8:05 PM
A local NYC baseball coach says he fended off ICE agents during a recent practice.
Youman Wilder said caught feds questioning youth about where they're from & country of origin, so, he told feds to back off & kids to not answer!
Shoutout all of our local heroes!
Youman Wilder said caught feds questioning youth about where they're from & country of origin, so, he told feds to back off & kids to not answer!
Shoutout all of our local heroes!
Reposted by Amanda KK
Please read and share this statement from Sophie and Colin Hortman, children of Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark.
(via WCCO reporter Caroline Cummings on X)
(via WCCO reporter Caroline Cummings on X)
June 17, 2025 at 1:16 AM
Please read and share this statement from Sophie and Colin Hortman, children of Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark.
(via WCCO reporter Caroline Cummings on X)
(via WCCO reporter Caroline Cummings on X)
Many good signs at the SF #NoKingsDay march. One of my favorites.
June 14, 2025 at 10:58 PM
Many good signs at the SF #NoKingsDay march. One of my favorites.
Waited for the light to change crossing 5th Avenue outside Bergdorf’s with Candace Bergen
Right folks. Feeling rather down at the moment so bringing back an oldie
Please Quote this with your most minor celebrity interaction
Please Quote this with your most minor celebrity interaction
June 14, 2025 at 1:12 AM
Waited for the light to change crossing 5th Avenue outside Bergdorf’s with Candace Bergen
Our #agave plant, Daughter of Panofsky, has decided to send up a flower spike after 10 years of good times in the garden. It’s grown over a foot this week! Cool to watch, but I’ll be sad to see her go.
May 10, 2025 at 2:45 AM
Our #agave plant, Daughter of Panofsky, has decided to send up a flower spike after 10 years of good times in the garden. It’s grown over a foot this week! Cool to watch, but I’ll be sad to see her go.
If you look really, really closely, there’s a hummingbird perched on the echia flowers, enjoying the skyline. #SanFrancisco #hummingbird #Couldn’tGetAnyCloserAlas
May 5, 2025 at 4:42 AM
If you look really, really closely, there’s a hummingbird perched on the echia flowers, enjoying the skyline. #SanFrancisco #hummingbird #Couldn’tGetAnyCloserAlas
My PhD dissertation was supported by a NSF fellowship. Beyond the support, knowing my ideas were competitive and fund-able helped me believe I could belong in science. #WithoutNSF I wouldn’t be where I am today.
May 4, 2025 at 1:51 PM
My PhD dissertation was supported by a NSF fellowship. Beyond the support, knowing my ideas were competitive and fund-able helped me believe I could belong in science. #WithoutNSF I wouldn’t be where I am today.
20 years? This is one of those albums where I hear a song on KEXP (usually This Year, transcendent) and my world stops.
didn't know @tombreihan.bsky.social was working on this -- an intense read for me that brings up many memories, both of the time the album came out, the times that led to its writing, and the time since.
@themountaingoats.bsky.social gets even better with age www.stereogum.com/2304727/moun...
April 25, 2025 at 2:31 AM
20 years? This is one of those albums where I hear a song on KEXP (usually This Year, transcendent) and my world stops.
Thank you Harvard. Columbia, please take note.
April 14, 2025 at 11:08 PM
Thank you Harvard. Columbia, please take note.
Reposted by Amanda KK
of all the things the administration is doing, i am a little mystified by this effort to completely destroy the science, technology and medical research sector in the united states
Exclusive: Weeks after President Donald Trump’s administration ordered NIH to pull $250 million in biomedical research grants to Columbia University, the agency is freezing all remaining grant money owed to the university until further notice. scim.ag/4if5Rg1
NIH freezes all research grants to Columbia University
Amid negotiations with Trump, the university could risk losing nearly $700 million
scim.ag
April 9, 2025 at 7:46 PM
of all the things the administration is doing, i am a little mystified by this effort to completely destroy the science, technology and medical research sector in the united states
Loved this book, and deeply appreciated when Ben Barres gave me advice and encouragement during a tough time in my training. Such an inspiring neuroscientist and kind person. Rest in power, your inspiration endures.
We're disappointed to see Ben Barres's powerful book "The Autobiography of a Transgender Scientist" among the ~400 titles removed from the Naval Academy Library. Needless to say, we're proud to have published his book and will keep it — and his memory — alive.
The Coming Out of a Transgender Scientist
"I know that I am making the right decision because whenever I think about changing my gender role, I am flooded with feelings of relief."
thereader.mitpress.mit.edu
April 9, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Loved this book, and deeply appreciated when Ben Barres gave me advice and encouragement during a tough time in my training. Such an inspiring neuroscientist and kind person. Rest in power, your inspiration endures.
Reposted by Amanda KK
A reminder that if the government can send migrants to a prison camp without any due process, it can send U.S. citizens there, too. I know because this happened to me and my family in 1942.
April 7, 2025 at 8:30 PM
A reminder that if the government can send migrants to a prison camp without any due process, it can send U.S. citizens there, too. I know because this happened to me and my family in 1942.
Excited to use my new Chemistry of Coffee mug. Diacetyl is the smell of C. elegans 🪱 chemotaxis experiments from long ago, and this makes me inordinately happy.
April 7, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Excited to use my new Chemistry of Coffee mug. Diacetyl is the smell of C. elegans 🪱 chemotaxis experiments from long ago, and this makes me inordinately happy.
Fantastic article, well worth reading. Captures the grit and beauty of persisting through earning a science PhD, and the myriad ways that NIH spending has benefited our world.
I have had it up to here with people who complain that NIH-funded research hasn’t made enough progress or contributed enough.
The generations of amazing scientists trained in US programs—who have gone on to work in government, academia, & industry alike—are a priceless return on investment.
The generations of amazing scientists trained in US programs—who have gone on to work in government, academia, & industry alike—are a priceless return on investment.
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/03/o...
Really important piece to share widely. Too many Americans don’t know how severe a threat this Administration poses to our scientific infrastructure, global leadership, and health security
Really important piece to share widely. Too many Americans don’t know how severe a threat this Administration poses to our scientific infrastructure, global leadership, and health security
April 5, 2025 at 2:24 AM
Fantastic article, well worth reading. Captures the grit and beauty of persisting through earning a science PhD, and the myriad ways that NIH spending has benefited our world.
So, how’s your 401k looking this fine Friday?
April 4, 2025 at 11:40 PM
So, how’s your 401k looking this fine Friday?
How the dipshit in chief came up with a formula for tariffs on penguin imports www.inc.com/james-surowi...
Take a Look at Trump's Actual Tariff Math, and You'll See How Bad It Really Is
What the tariff rates Trump rolled out yesterday made clear is that his goal isn’t, ultimately, to bring down trade barriers.
www.inc.com
April 4, 2025 at 2:40 AM
How the dipshit in chief came up with a formula for tariffs on penguin imports www.inc.com/james-surowi...
Go Cory Go!
15 hours & counting: Senator Cory Booker fillibuster continues @booker.senate.gov
He's currently engaging in questions from his great friend Senator @coons.senate.gov re: humanitarian matters at home & abroad
Booker: Stanford grad (BA & MA), NCAA football player, Rhodes Scholar has stamina
He's currently engaging in questions from his great friend Senator @coons.senate.gov re: humanitarian matters at home & abroad
Booker: Stanford grad (BA & MA), NCAA football player, Rhodes Scholar has stamina
April 1, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Go Cory Go!
#CrazyCloud near the Penryn exit on I-80W. NorCal looking a little dramatic tonight.
March 31, 2025 at 1:56 AM
#CrazyCloud near the Penryn exit on I-80W. NorCal looking a little dramatic tonight.
Some disturbingly large boulders have rolled down the steep grade to the safety barrier along I-80W near Emigrant Gap. #rockandroll #ilikerocks #granite #assemblingcalifornia
March 31, 2025 at 1:19 AM
Some disturbingly large boulders have rolled down the steep grade to the safety barrier along I-80W near Emigrant Gap. #rockandroll #ilikerocks #granite #assemblingcalifornia
Reposted by Amanda KK
Science is under threat in the US. @elife.bsky.social have commissioned a series of articles discussing the implications and what we can do. The first three articles are now live. More to follow:
elifesciences.org/articles/106...
elifesciences.org/articles/106...
elifesciences.org/articles/106...
elifesciences.org/articles/106...
elifesciences.org/articles/106...
elifesciences.org/articles/106...
Science Under Threat in the United States: How scientists and institutions should respond
Individual researchers and university leaders need to make the case for science to their elected representatives and to the public at large.
elifesciences.org
March 25, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Science is under threat in the US. @elife.bsky.social have commissioned a series of articles discussing the implications and what we can do. The first three articles are now live. More to follow:
elifesciences.org/articles/106...
elifesciences.org/articles/106...
elifesciences.org/articles/106...
elifesciences.org/articles/106...
elifesciences.org/articles/106...
elifesciences.org/articles/106...