Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

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Jeff Yang @originalsp.in · 53m

ICE arrested comedian Robby Roadsteamer for singing a parody of Rod Stewart’s “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy” in a Jeffrey Epstein the Giraffe costume outside their facility.

He sings “If you hate brown people / and you are a Nazi” and ICE thugs grab him and drag him into detention. No violence—just speech.

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David Lowry @davidlowry.bsky.social · 2d

Excited by this breakthrough work led by Dr. Lauren Stanley (now Assistant Professor at Central Michigan University). Lauren was able to develop for the first time floral dip/spray transformation methods in the yellow monkeyflower (Mimulus guttatus). bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Just add water: A simple floral bud injection method for stable Agrobacterium‐mediated transformation in two ecotypes of Mimulus guttatus

Premise Stable transformation is the biggest barrier to studying gene function in plants. In most species, transformation requires tissue culture and regeneration methods that may be arduous and cau...

bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

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Erol Akcay @akcay.theoretical.bio · 17h

😂😂😂

Screencap from the Turkheimer article reading: “In our email exchange, Murray said that any argument I'd lay out here would be insufficient to make this case. "We're not talking about something that lends itself to 1,500 words, or 3,000 for that matter, written for a lay audience, but a 20-page (at least) technical presentation," he wrote. (He did not respond to an invitation to elaborate on this, or respond to the argument made in this piece.) Certainly …”

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Emily Mullin @emilymullin.bsky.social · 19h

The CDC's union estimates that a quarter of the agency been gutted under the Trump administration. Here's our story at @wired.com: www.wired.com/story/cdc-te...

A Quarter of the CDC Is Gone

Another round of terminations, combined with previous layoffs and departures, has reduced the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention workforce by about 3,000 people since January.

www.wired.com

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Jess Calarco @jessicacalarco.com · 17h

And here's a link to a letter from the IDS editors about the firing of the student newspaper director.

www.idsnews.com/article/2025...

LETTER FROM THE EDITORS: IU fires student media director after he refused to censor the IDS

Indiana University directed the IDS to stop printing news.

www.idsnews.com

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Jessie Williamson @jlwilliamson.bsky.social · 21h

My lab is hiring a 2-yr hummingbird evolution and genomics postdoc and a 1-yr salaried research and lab tech. Both with full U. Wyoming benefits. Please spread the word! Info below. Best consideration date Nov 1, start dates early Spring 2026.

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Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 23h

Turns out your assumptions about what republican group chats are like is correct www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

‘I love Hitler’: Leaked messages expose Young Republicans’ racist chat

Thousands of private messages reveal young GOP leaders joking about gas chambers, slavery and rape.

www.politico.com

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Mónica Medina @momedinamunoz.bsky.social · 1d

Join our session to discuss the role of art in coral reef conservation at the International Coral Reef Symposium in Auckland, New Zealand July 19-24, 2026. Abstract deadline Dec 1, 2025. 🧪🪸🌎🌊🧬🌐🌿🐡🐙

Call for abstracts Reefs Reimagined: Art and Reefs. International Coral Reef Symposium July 19-24, 2026. Submission deadline Dec 1, 2025.

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Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 1d

After getting zero firm commitments to this point from the first nine invitees, the Trump administration is extending its proposed compact to all colleges. Expect some red-state publics to say yes.

Trump Offers All Colleges Preferential Funding Plan Rejected by MIT

The Trump administration is inviting all US colleges to participate in a compact — initially rejected by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology — that would grant preferential federal funding in re...

www.bloomberg.com

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Reuters @reuters.com · 1d

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to lay off about 550 workers reut.rs/4302N2L

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to lay off about 550 workers

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory said on Monday it will cut nearly 550 jobs as part of a restructuring, not related to the current U.S. government shutdown.

reut.rs

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Deborah McDowell @dem8z.bsky.social · 2d

PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD!!

The University of Texas-Austin is beginning a process to eliminate the Black Studies, Latino Studies, and Gender Studies departments in the College of Liberal Arts. This is a grave threat to the educational liberty of students, faculty, staff, and the people of Texas. 1/

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Derek Fox @partialobserver.bsky.social · 3d

This has been a big local story for us. Years of effort on the case (prosecutors withheld evidence), winning a retrial, which was then abandoned by the state. And ICE waiting to imprison him immediately on his release.

Lynn Becker @cmgiulini.bsky.social · 3d

After spending 43 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, evidence hidden by the prosecution reversed his conviction. Rather than finally enjoying freedom, ICE abducted him for deportation

Depraved.

www.miamiherald.com/news/local/i...

He was wrongfully imprisoned for 43 years. Moments after being released, ICE took him

Subramanyam “Subu” Vedam now faces deportation.

www.miamiherald.com

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Laguna Beach Democratic Club @lagunabeachdems.bsky.social · 3d

Northwest Chicago Suburb: ICE Agents Rip 15-Year-Old Girl from Car, Slam Her to Ground She Screams “I’m 15!” as Man Kneels on Her Neck

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Stephen Turner @stephenturner.us · 5d

Lost Science is a new NYT series of accounts from scientists who have lost their jobs or funding. You can send your story to the Times here www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/c...

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Mike Grillo @mikegrillo.bsky.social · 4d

I am hiring a postdoc to examine the genomic and evolutionary basis of plant microbiome variation in legumes. There are opportunities to gain teaching experience. Chicago is a great city to live in! Please help spread the word.
share.google/gukbzS1zdIx6...

Postdoctoral Researcher in Plant Evolutionary Genomics

The postdoctoral researcher will work in Dr. Michael Grillo’s plant evolutionary genetics lab. The goal of this research project is to understand the genomic basis of plant-microbiome variation in leg...

share.google

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Tita Chico @titachico.bsky.social · 5d

www.statesman.com/opinion/colu...

After 35 years at UT Austin, I hardly recognize my university | Opinion

What was once a beacon of access and discovery is now fighting for its soul and mission as political attacks upend norms, rules and rights, Lisa L. Moore writes.

www.statesman.com

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Jack Tripper @chadstanton.blacksky.app · 5d

“We should replace Bad Bunny with Lee Greenwood” is an also a perfect summation of the “deal” they’ve offered universities.

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Laurasaurus @laurasaurus.bsky.social · 5d

It is frankly strange to be this obsessed with college if you no longer attend one and do not work in education. More people in legacy media need to be told that.

Dan Sinykin @dan-sinnamon.bsky.social · 5d

And who is the author of this op-ed? The billionaire CEO of an asset management firm who helped author the compact.

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ProPublica @propublica.org · 5d

Kristi Noem, while governor of South Dakota, supplemented her roughly $130,000 salary by secretly accepting $80,000 donated to a political nonprofit she was affiliated with, records show.

She never disclosed this income on federal ethics forms.

(Published June)

Kristi Noem Secretly Took a Cut of Political Donations

A dark money group paid $80,000 to Noem’s personal company when she was governor of South Dakota. She did not include this income on her federal disclosure forms, a likely violation of ethics requirem...

www.propublica.org

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Carl Zimmer @carlzimmer.com · 6d

We will be writing more of these. If you’re a scientist and your science has been disrupted, we want to hear from you: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/c...

Has Your Scientific Work Been Cut? We Want to Hear.

www.nytimes.com

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Carl Zimmer @carlzimmer.com · 6d

Today my @nytimes.com colleagues and I are launching a new series called Lost Science. We interview US scientists who can no longer discover something new about our world, thanks to this year‘s cuts. Here is my first interview with a scientist who studied bees and fires. Gift link: nyti.ms/3IWXbiE

nyti.ms

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Cody Coyotee @wile-phylote.bsky.social · 8d

Join us at the University of Central Florida! 🍊🚀🌴

We’re seeking an Assistant Professor of Plant Physiology! We’ve got growth chambers, hoop houses, greenhouse space, an arboretum, and students chomping at the bit for more plant courses!

#PlantPeopleFTW #IAmABotanist

jobs.ucf.edu/jobs/assista...

Assistant Professor, Plant Physiology - Orlando, Florida, United States

The OpportunityThe Department of Biology at the University of Central Florida (UCF) invites applications for the position of tenure track Assistant Professor, Plant Physiology (9-month appointment), a...

jobs.ucf.edu

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Kristen Nolting, PhD 🌻🌿 @kristennolting.bsky.social · 8d

Hi #PlantPeeps! I'm doing some re-organizing in our small herbarium - mostly trying to organize our teaching specimens! Does anyone have a lead on where to buy plastic sleeves (clear, and sealed on 3 sides so you can slide in your specimen, but still access the label on the bottom)? #iamabotanist

a cartoon cat wearing sunglasses with the website pusheen.com underneath it

Alt: pusheen the cat dancing and waving, wearing black sunglasses

media.tenor.com

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Filip Husnik @filiphusnik.bsky.social · 8d

OIST is seeking up to four tenure-track or tenured faculty in Ecology, Environmental Science, Earth Science, and Oceanography. Application deadline: Oct 15. Please share. Thx!
www.oist.jp/careers/facu...

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Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 7d

Kristi Noem confronts enemy combatants in the Portland war zone today.

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