Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Ted Pavlic (he/him/his) @tedpavlic.bsky.social · 6h

She is not related to Michael Keaton. Interestingly, that's also not his birth name. He too changed his name because his birth name was already registered -- to Michael Douglas.

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Ted Pavlic (he/him/his) @tedpavlic.bsky.social · 6h

Interesting trivia related to Diane Keaton. She was born Diane Hall but changed her name to avoid collision with another Diane Hall in equity registry. It's interesting that she became so well known for her role as Annie Hall, returning to her birth name.

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Ted Pavlic (he/him/his) @tedpavlic.bsky.social · 10h

Giant betelgeuse has a tiny companion star smaller than our sun. Surprising to see a binary pair with such a ~17:1 mass ratio! #Betelbuddy 🧪
www.universetoday.com/articles/bet...

Betelgeuse's Secret Companion Finally Revealed

Betelgeuse, the stunning red star in Orion's shoulder, has been hiding a secret companion for years but proving it has been somewhat challenging. When the elusive

www.universetoday.com

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Reposted by Ted Pavlic (he/him/his)

Scott Kardel aka Palomar Skies @palomarskies.bsky.social · 12h

The geology professor in the office next to me got me a banded agate that was cut as a sphere making it look like Jupiter! It’s awesome. 😎

A hand holding up a banded rock that has been shaped to look like a sphere. It is in front of a poster of the Juno mission to Jupiter.

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Reposted by Ted Pavlic (he/him/his)

Tim Curran @timcurran.bsky.social · 5d

Great PhD opportunity with an excellent supervisor:

Quantify traits of tree species across the western US to determine how tree populations and forest communities will respond to drought and fire.

plant-traits.net/lab-openings/

Lab openings | Laughlin Research Lab

plant-traits.net

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Ted Pavlic (he/him/his) @tedpavlic.bsky.social · 5d

For those that would prefer a test where they both had the same number of parts. Wouldn't you prefer that maybe the top and bottom would have the same number of points (and maybe top is better)? Doesn't this create headaches explaining partial-credit scores to students?

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Ted Pavlic (he/him/his) @tedpavlic.bsky.social · 5d

Some would argue that the matching problem on top and the multiple-answer problem on the bottom should receive the same score, but #Instructure does not. Rather than choosing one convention for how to score them, #CanvasLMS decided to just use two different conventions...

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Reposted by Ted Pavlic (he/him/his)

Department of Microbiology, The University of Chicago @uocmicrobiology.bsky.social · 7d

UChicago Microbiology is searching for tenured or tenure-track faculty working in host-pathogens interactions, viral and bacterial pathogenesis, and emerging infectious diseases. Come join our vibrant Department! microbiology.uchicago.edu
Apply here apply.interfolio.com/174404

Department of Microbiology | The University of Chicago

microbiology.uchicago.edu

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Reposted by Ted Pavlic (he/him/his)

Entomological Society of America @entsocamerica.bsky.social · 6d

Weevils aren't known for being noisy, but some do indeed chirp like some of their insect cousins. A new study examines the acoustic signals of soybean weevils to shed light on how they signal each other for mating or emitting distress calls.

Eavesdropping on Soybean Weevils: Scientists Detect Subtle Acoustic Signals

A new study examines the acoustic signals of soybean weevils to shed light on how they signal each other for mating or emitting distress calls.

entomologytoday.org

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Reposted by Ted Pavlic (he/him/his)

闵娅(Min Ya; Minya) PhD @minyaaa.bsky.social · 9d

And look at this graphic abstract….. 😱🤯

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Ted Pavlic (he/him/his) @tedpavlic.bsky.social · 12d

After that speech, I just feel so bad for the winner of #FatBearWeek...

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Reposted by Ted Pavlic (he/him/his)

Morgan Piczak (she/her) @morganpiczak.bsky.social · 14d

Rob Lennox and I are hiring a PhD student based out of Dalhousie to study the movement ecology of imperilled Atlantic mackerel starting in January 2026! In collaboration with DFO and @oceantracking.bsky.social Please share widely!!!

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Ted Pavlic (he/him/his) @tedpavlic.bsky.social · 16d

Flu and COVID -- no issues getting them at Arozona Walgreens without a doctor's Rx. Both covered by major insurance.

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Ted Pavlic (he/him/his) @tedpavlic.bsky.social · 16d

For those very disappointed in the news about the #NSFGRFP yesterday (2nd year PhD students excluded), don't forget to look into #NDSEG, which is actually a little better fellowship but just requires connecting to a DOD theme. 🧪
ndseg.sysplus.com/NDSEG/about/...

ndseg.sysplus.com

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Ted Pavlic (he/him/his) @tedpavlic.bsky.social · 19d

We're not raising prices on everyone else! No, actually we're saving YOU more through your legacy bundle arrangement! MORE SAVINGS! Lucky you!

And because you have Disney+, Hulu, ESPN Select Bundle Legacy through Verizon, after October 21, 2025, you will be saving even more: $24.99 per month.

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Ted Pavlic (he/him/his) @tedpavlic.bsky.social · 21d

New from Jenner et al. in TREE -- Rethinking venom as an allomone, with potential "for unifying the field of venomics with the fields that study invertebrate–plant interactions and sexual conflict." 🧪

"What is animal venom? Rethinking a manipulative weapon"
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

What is animal venom? Rethinking a manipulative weapon

The scientific study of animal venoms covers a broad phylogenetic domain. We argue that the true extent of this domain has been obscured by researcher…

www.sciencedirect.com

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Ted Pavlic (he/him/his) @tedpavlic.bsky.social · 21d

Kimmel's ratings will be huge Tuesday night
www.cnbc.com/2025/09/22/d...

Disney says 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' will return to ABC on Tuesday

ABC had pulled Kimmel's show after he made comments linking the alleged killer of conservative activist Charlie Kirk to President Donald Trump's MAGA movement.

www.cnbc.com

Ted Pavlic (he/him/his) @tedpavlic.bsky.social · 22d

Could make it difficult for H-1B holders to get back to the USA to avoid possible penalties from the Friday proclamation.

Al Jazeera: Delays continue to affect thousands as cyberattack hits Europe's airports
www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/9/...

Delays continue to affect thousands as cyberattack hits Europe’s airports

London’s Heathrow and Brussel airports tell passengers to expect more delays on Sunday as interruption persists.

www.aljazeera.com

Reposted by Ted Pavlic (he/him/his)

Gillian Branstetter @gbbranstetter.bsky.social · Sep 12

Transgender people are owed a retraction and apology from @wsj.com. The lie has already become canon to millions and it seems the least they could do.

Phil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social · Sep 12

From the Charlie Kirk press conference:

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Ted Pavlic (he/him/his) @tedpavlic.bsky.social · Sep 11

It's like a Lenz's Law but for transcription factors.

"As such, TFs are predicted to have an innate property that buffers physiological or genetic perturbations to the promoter to maintain a steady level of regulated expression. We demonstrate this buffering across all TFs studied."

Ollie Rando @epididymosome.bsky.social · Sep 11

E. coli transcription factors regulate promoter activity by a universal, homeostatic mechanism | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

E. coli transcription factors regulate promoter activity by a universal, homeostatic mechanism

Transcription factors (TFs) may activate or repress gene expression through an interplay of different mechanisms, including RNA polymerase (RNAP) recruitment, exclusion, and initiation. However, depen...

www.science.org

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Reposted by Ted Pavlic (he/him/his)

Jennifer Biddle @jenbiddle.bsky.social · Sep 11

Our campus is reviving their chapter of the Society of Women in Marine Science. I've offered to help fund raise for them.

Anyone want to contribute? Even a small amount can help at this point, they are starting from zero.

Venmo JenBiddle302 with a note "SWMS" ;) TIA!

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Ted Pavlic (he/him/his) @tedpavlic.bsky.social · Aug 22

I thought it was weird that a Google Home in my kitchen was playing Nirvana the other day (it normally has NPR on). Then I realized that ~30 minutes earlier I accidentally activated it and told it to "Nevermind"...

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Reposted by Ted Pavlic (he/him/his)

Phil Plait @philplait.bsky.social · Aug 21

Cripes, the things we humans can do when we look up to the sky instead down into the depths of hatred and internalized bigotry. The whole goddamned cosmos is out there waiting for us to understand it, but we're too busy trying to make life miserable for others on this isolated speck of dust.

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Ted Pavlic (he/him/his) @tedpavlic.bsky.social · Aug 20

Found this (new?) setting in the Course Accommodation settings in #CanvasLMS. I can understand giving students more time, but randomly dropping an incorrect answer from all multiple-choice questions?! How does someone determine that THIS is the right accommodation for anyone?

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Ted Pavlic (he/him/his) @tedpavlic.bsky.social · Aug 19

There are neurosymbolic techniques that couple knowledgebases in to aid in computer vision tasks (e.g., Logic Tensor Networks). I wonder if these would end up having similar effects as the humans if the knowledge became particularly salient in shaping the rewards during training.