Dr. Dust Mite
@alynnbuchanan.bsky.social
Amanda Buchanan. Pharmaceutical entomologist, ecologist, ex-academic. She/they
Reposted by Dr. Dust Mite
Trying to wrap your mind around what's happened this week (it's Wednesday)? Same...
So for our clarity (and possibly yours) we're resharing some WIRED scoops in this refresher thread, starting with business leaders paying millions of dollars to dine with President Donald Trump.
So for our clarity (and possibly yours) we're resharing some WIRED scoops in this refresher thread, starting with business leaders paying millions of dollars to dine with President Donald Trump.
People Are Paying Millions to Dine With Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago
Business leaders are paying as much as $5 million to meet one-on-one with the president at his Florida compound, sources tell WIRED, while others are paying $1 million apiece to dine with him in a gro...
www.wired.com
March 5, 2025 at 2:54 PM
Trying to wrap your mind around what's happened this week (it's Wednesday)? Same...
So for our clarity (and possibly yours) we're resharing some WIRED scoops in this refresher thread, starting with business leaders paying millions of dollars to dine with President Donald Trump.
So for our clarity (and possibly yours) we're resharing some WIRED scoops in this refresher thread, starting with business leaders paying millions of dollars to dine with President Donald Trump.
Reposted by Dr. Dust Mite
Notably they already failed this test on immigration and it has gotten them nothing
As a cishet dude, when I see a Dem ditch trans rights, it sends a message: you ain't got no fight in you, no principles, just another empty suit.
Think I'm some too-online outlier? Go ask your expensive consultants why people don't bother to vote. It's because they know you're all empty suits.
Think I'm some too-online outlier? Go ask your expensive consultants why people don't bother to vote. It's because they know you're all empty suits.
This is basically the attitude of democrats up and down the ticket and it’s pathetic and unamerican
March 3, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Notably they already failed this test on immigration and it has gotten them nothing
Reposted by Dr. Dust Mite
We threw out a hundred years of anti-corruption reforms overnight and so far barely anyone has even noticed.
This sort of comic book corruption is quite literally illegal in every single country in the world that has written laws. I don't even know what else you say about this, it's amazing
March 3, 2025 at 1:07 PM
We threw out a hundred years of anti-corruption reforms overnight and so far barely anyone has even noticed.
Reposted by Dr. Dust Mite
SCOOP: Elon Musk's men at HUD are from an AI real estate firm and a mobile home operator. They have access to vast stores of personal and financial data—and control over who can access which HUD systems. www.wired.com/story/doge-h...
DOGE Staffers at HUD Are From an AI Real Estate Firm and a Mobile Home Operator
Elon Musk's men at HUD come from the real estate sector. They have access to vast stores of personal and financial data—and control over who can access which HUD systems.
www.wired.com
February 26, 2025 at 9:58 PM
SCOOP: Elon Musk's men at HUD are from an AI real estate firm and a mobile home operator. They have access to vast stores of personal and financial data—and control over who can access which HUD systems. www.wired.com/story/doge-h...
Reposted by Dr. Dust Mite
my latest newsletter is about trump's takeover of the white house press pool, free speech discourse, and what the first amendment has to say about it
Trump Seizes the Press Pool
The Trump administration is flexing its control over the White House press pool and testing the boundaries of the First Amendment
stringinamaze.net
February 26, 2025 at 7:06 PM
my latest newsletter is about trump's takeover of the white house press pool, free speech discourse, and what the first amendment has to say about it
Reposted by Dr. Dust Mite
Entomologists: Is your work affected by recent actions of the federal government? ESA is collecting stories about how insect science is hindered by layoffs, funding and communication freezes, website data removals, travel bans, and more. 1/3
February 26, 2025 at 2:20 PM
Entomologists: Is your work affected by recent actions of the federal government? ESA is collecting stories about how insect science is hindered by layoffs, funding and communication freezes, website data removals, travel bans, and more. 1/3
Reposted by Dr. Dust Mite
NEW: DOGE put a $1 spending limit on government employee credit cards. Employees say overspending and fraud in the program was exceedingly rare. www.wired.com/story/doge-g...
DOGE Puts $1 Spending Limit on Government Employee Credit Cards
The restrictions are already in place at the General Services Administration along with several other agencies. Soon they'll roll out to most of the federal government, sources say.
www.wired.com
February 20, 2025 at 5:03 PM
NEW: DOGE put a $1 spending limit on government employee credit cards. Employees say overspending and fraud in the program was exceedingly rare. www.wired.com/story/doge-g...
Reposted by Dr. Dust Mite
Science (and science policy, and conservation) friends, I need your help!
We are collecting *specific, clear* examples of harms caused by the Trump administration's attacks on science, to be included in an open letter.
Can be links to news stories/social media posts. 🧪🦑🌎 #SciComm #SciPol
We are collecting *specific, clear* examples of harms caused by the Trump administration's attacks on science, to be included in an open letter.
Can be links to news stories/social media posts. 🧪🦑🌎 #SciComm #SciPol
February 21, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Reposted by Dr. Dust Mite
CA Dep Fish and Wildlife is hiring! I can't vouch for the team or the quality of the job, but thought I'd spread the word since so many folks just got fired.
There are 2 Cannabis Restoration Grant Program Senior Environmental Scientist Specialist positions.
calcareers.ca.gov/CalHrPublic/...
There are 2 Cannabis Restoration Grant Program Senior Environmental Scientist Specialist positions.
calcareers.ca.gov/CalHrPublic/...
February 20, 2025 at 2:58 PM
CA Dep Fish and Wildlife is hiring! I can't vouch for the team or the quality of the job, but thought I'd spread the word since so many folks just got fired.
There are 2 Cannabis Restoration Grant Program Senior Environmental Scientist Specialist positions.
calcareers.ca.gov/CalHrPublic/...
There are 2 Cannabis Restoration Grant Program Senior Environmental Scientist Specialist positions.
calcareers.ca.gov/CalHrPublic/...
Reposted by Dr. Dust Mite
Today, the USDA lost experts in Psylloidea, Thysanoptera, Cerambycidae, Hymenoptera, Pseudococcidae, and Malacology. This is a devastating loss of expertise, occuring without warning. Their union's official statement on the issue can be found here: aginspectors.org/2-14-2025-a-... #entomology 🧪
February 14, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Today, the USDA lost experts in Psylloidea, Thysanoptera, Cerambycidae, Hymenoptera, Pseudococcidae, and Malacology. This is a devastating loss of expertise, occuring without warning. Their union's official statement on the issue can be found here: aginspectors.org/2-14-2025-a-... #entomology 🧪
Reposted by Dr. Dust Mite
History buffs will know that every authoritarian leader eventually converges on some version of: "I *am* the state. I can not break the law, I am the law, the law is instantiated in me."
Our march to authoritarianism so far has been excruciatingly by-the-book. Hitting every beat. No surprises.
Our march to authoritarianism so far has been excruciatingly by-the-book. Hitting every beat. No surprises.
February 15, 2025 at 7:03 PM
History buffs will know that every authoritarian leader eventually converges on some version of: "I *am* the state. I can not break the law, I am the law, the law is instantiated in me."
Our march to authoritarianism so far has been excruciatingly by-the-book. Hitting every beat. No surprises.
Our march to authoritarianism so far has been excruciatingly by-the-book. Hitting every beat. No surprises.
Reposted by Dr. Dust Mite
Washington Post got their hands on internal documents from DOGE showing the entire plan to implement resegregation. They're going to purge minorities from government by calling them DEI.
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
See inside DOGE’s playbook for eliminating DEI
Documents detail step-by-step plans by the U.S. DOGE Service to purge federal agencies of diversity, equity, and inclusion workers and offices. Here’s what comes next.
www.washingtonpost.com
February 15, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Washington Post got their hands on internal documents from DOGE showing the entire plan to implement resegregation. They're going to purge minorities from government by calling them DEI.
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
Reposted by Dr. Dust Mite
Most people in the US have no idea about the attacks on federally funded science or our government institutions. Many (or most!) of your family, coworkers, neighbors, and friends have no idea. My own MAGA dad thinks DOGE is just identifying waste, and that nothing has been cut. We have to tell them.
February 15, 2025 at 1:52 PM
Most people in the US have no idea about the attacks on federally funded science or our government institutions. Many (or most!) of your family, coworkers, neighbors, and friends have no idea. My own MAGA dad thinks DOGE is just identifying waste, and that nothing has been cut. We have to tell them.
Reposted by Dr. Dust Mite
Whenever you hear someone sneer about scientific research that seems useless to them — “they’re studying the spit of lizards?!” — remind them that’s exactly how we got Ozempic.
globalnews.ca/news/9793403...
globalnews.ca/news/9793403...
How a Canadian scientist and a venomous lizard helped pave the way for Ozempic - National | Globalnews.ca
In 1984, Dr. Daniel Drucker, an endocrinologist from the University of Toronto, discovered a hormone that helped pave the way for popular diabetes drugs such as Ozempic.
globalnews.ca
February 9, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Whenever you hear someone sneer about scientific research that seems useless to them — “they’re studying the spit of lizards?!” — remind them that’s exactly how we got Ozempic.
globalnews.ca/news/9793403...
globalnews.ca/news/9793403...
Reposted by Dr. Dust Mite
In case folks are interested in contacting their congresspeople about the NIH indirect cuts with some estimates of what they would mean for institutions in their state, here are some estimates based on published F&A rates and funding ... let me know if you want a particular state
February 8, 2025 at 2:14 PM
In case folks are interested in contacting their congresspeople about the NIH indirect cuts with some estimates of what they would mean for institutions in their state, here are some estimates based on published F&A rates and funding ... let me know if you want a particular state
Reposted by Dr. Dust Mite
A lungless salamander (Bolitoglossa) crawling on a leaf in the forest floor in Honduras. As the name suggests, these amphibians lack lungs and rely on their skin for respiration. Many species also have webbed feet to assist movement in flooded or muddy areas... and for cuteness.
January 25, 2025 at 4:39 PM
A lungless salamander (Bolitoglossa) crawling on a leaf in the forest floor in Honduras. As the name suggests, these amphibians lack lungs and rely on their skin for respiration. Many species also have webbed feet to assist movement in flooded or muddy areas... and for cuteness.
Reposted by Dr. Dust Mite
My friend Danya has a new shirt made from my drawings of Hawaiian native bees! If you like Hawaii flora and fauna she also has lots of other great stuff. laulima.store/collections/...
January 25, 2025 at 10:46 PM
My friend Danya has a new shirt made from my drawings of Hawaiian native bees! If you like Hawaii flora and fauna she also has lots of other great stuff. laulima.store/collections/...
Reposted by Dr. Dust Mite
Ever wonder what snow in the swamp would look like? This is 5 miles into the Louisiana swamps in the Atchafalaya basin... it's unreal... having lived down there for the first 28 years of my life, we never saw anything like this.
Smashed records.
Curtesy of Garrett Roberts.
Smashed records.
Curtesy of Garrett Roberts.
January 25, 2025 at 9:56 PM
Ever wonder what snow in the swamp would look like? This is 5 miles into the Louisiana swamps in the Atchafalaya basin... it's unreal... having lived down there for the first 28 years of my life, we never saw anything like this.
Smashed records.
Curtesy of Garrett Roberts.
Smashed records.
Curtesy of Garrett Roberts.
Reposted by Dr. Dust Mite
Check out these huge caterpillar turds! 🐛💩
Thank you for attending my TED talk.
Thank you for attending my TED talk.
January 25, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Check out these huge caterpillar turds! 🐛💩
Thank you for attending my TED talk.
Thank you for attending my TED talk.
Reposted by Dr. Dust Mite
You want to talk about what’s ’natural?’ As a marine ecologist, gender fluidity is so common in the natural world it’d be weird to me if trans people didn’t exist. 😡
Trans, intersex, and queer people will always exist because humans are biological creatures and biology - inevitably and always - creates variability and diversity.
If there is any “biological truth,” it’s that a biological system will never conform to the strictures of human machinations.
If there is any “biological truth,” it’s that a biological system will never conform to the strictures of human machinations.
Trump signed an executive order that tries to write trans people out of existence today.
It's mostly symbolic.
It's still gonna make for a LOT of pain for the trans community--just probably not where you think it will.
It's gonna be real bad for grant funding, which means medical research.
A 🧵
It's mostly symbolic.
It's still gonna make for a LOT of pain for the trans community--just probably not where you think it will.
It's gonna be real bad for grant funding, which means medical research.
A 🧵
January 21, 2025 at 3:27 AM
You want to talk about what’s ’natural?’ As a marine ecologist, gender fluidity is so common in the natural world it’d be weird to me if trans people didn’t exist. 😡
Reposted by Dr. Dust Mite
Hello! I’m a visible mending enthusiast, trying to find some platforms not controlled by meta or musk… It feels like now is the perfect time for mending- from clothing upwards
#visiblemending #darning #repair
#visiblemending #darning #repair
January 21, 2025 at 12:57 PM
Hello! I’m a visible mending enthusiast, trying to find some platforms not controlled by meta or musk… It feels like now is the perfect time for mending- from clothing upwards
#visiblemending #darning #repair
#visiblemending #darning #repair
Reposted by Dr. Dust Mite
Friendly reminder that these are the only type of boots you should be licking.
Choose femdom, not fascism.
Choose femdom, not fascism.
January 21, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Friendly reminder that these are the only type of boots you should be licking.
Choose femdom, not fascism.
Choose femdom, not fascism.
Reposted by Dr. Dust Mite
Reposted by Dr. Dust Mite
We've opened registration for our annual BugShot insect photography workshop! This summer we'll be in Portal, Arizona for the start of the monsoon.
And for the first time, slo-motion video guy @dradriansmith.bsky.social is on board as an instructor.
www.bugshot.net/bugshot-port...
And for the first time, slo-motion video guy @dradriansmith.bsky.social is on board as an instructor.
www.bugshot.net/bugshot-port...
BugShot Portal Arizona — BugShot
4 days in Portal, Arizona photographing cool bugs with Adrian Smith, Alex Wild, and John Abbott!
www.bugshot.net
January 21, 2025 at 9:18 PM
We've opened registration for our annual BugShot insect photography workshop! This summer we'll be in Portal, Arizona for the start of the monsoon.
And for the first time, slo-motion video guy @dradriansmith.bsky.social is on board as an instructor.
www.bugshot.net/bugshot-port...
And for the first time, slo-motion video guy @dradriansmith.bsky.social is on board as an instructor.
www.bugshot.net/bugshot-port...
