Dr Darren Abbey
@thebiologistisn.bsky.social
@thebiologistisn on various other systems. PhD Genetics, UMN.
I do bioinformatics/genomics with a university lab.
I work unofficially to make new interesting varieties of food plants. I've made distinctly blue colored dry beans.
I make/sell art, too.
I do bioinformatics/genomics with a university lab.
I work unofficially to make new interesting varieties of food plants. I've made distinctly blue colored dry beans.
I make/sell art, too.
Reposted by Dr Darren Abbey
The reason the top 10% of income earners pay more than half of all tax revenue is NOT because they are taxed more than ever.
Their tax rate has been cut FIVE times in the last 25 years.
They are paying more because their INCOME has increased astronomically, where the income of the bottom half has
Their tax rate has been cut FIVE times in the last 25 years.
They are paying more because their INCOME has increased astronomically, where the income of the bottom half has
November 29, 2025 at 12:23 PM
The reason the top 10% of income earners pay more than half of all tax revenue is NOT because they are taxed more than ever.
Their tax rate has been cut FIVE times in the last 25 years.
They are paying more because their INCOME has increased astronomically, where the income of the bottom half has
Their tax rate has been cut FIVE times in the last 25 years.
They are paying more because their INCOME has increased astronomically, where the income of the bottom half has
Though it doesn't work with all of them, I have found I will return to locations where it does work.
2nd button from top on the right mutes sound
please refrain from sending me money for this protip, instead consider giving to a charity of your choice
please refrain from sending me money for this protip, instead consider giving to a charity of your choice
Little TV screens at the gas station pump blaring ads directly in your face as you spend $70 on a tank of gas is enough to radicalize a person
November 30, 2025 at 7:28 PM
Though it doesn't work with all of them, I have found I will return to locations where it does work.
Reposted by Dr Darren Abbey
When i lived in IA, it was a purple state. In the last 20 years, IA took a hard right turn and its politics are indistinguishable from Alabama's, complete with abortion ban and regressive taxes. Now they have horrible brain drain and credulously wonder what caused it.
tinyurl.com/2fyah23c
tinyurl.com/2fyah23c
Iowa needs more doctors. Here's what physicians say must change.
New policy wins — including $150 million for residency expansion and new prior-authorization rules — are giving Iowa physicians hope, but health leaders warns real improvements will take years.
www.thegazette.com
November 30, 2025 at 2:50 PM
When i lived in IA, it was a purple state. In the last 20 years, IA took a hard right turn and its politics are indistinguishable from Alabama's, complete with abortion ban and regressive taxes. Now they have horrible brain drain and credulously wonder what caused it.
tinyurl.com/2fyah23c
tinyurl.com/2fyah23c
Reposted by Dr Darren Abbey
If LLM data centres that serve generative AI platforms were erased from the Earth…
…we’d be fine.
They prop up nothing of essential value we can’t do ourselves.
If we let them proliferate for a generation, we may lose institutional expertise.
…we’d be fine.
They prop up nothing of essential value we can’t do ourselves.
If we let them proliferate for a generation, we may lose institutional expertise.
November 30, 2025 at 5:16 PM
If LLM data centres that serve generative AI platforms were erased from the Earth…
…we’d be fine.
They prop up nothing of essential value we can’t do ourselves.
If we let them proliferate for a generation, we may lose institutional expertise.
…we’d be fine.
They prop up nothing of essential value we can’t do ourselves.
If we let them proliferate for a generation, we may lose institutional expertise.
Reposted by Dr Darren Abbey
“why the fuck are we invading Venezuela” should really be on at least a couple of chyrons
November 29, 2025 at 2:36 PM
“why the fuck are we invading Venezuela” should really be on at least a couple of chyrons
Reposted by Dr Darren Abbey
There is talk going around that DHS is now arresting people who fly *domestically* if they have final orders of removal.
Undocumented youth should consider consulting a lawyer to find out what their record is -- especially those whose parents had prior interactions with immigration.
Undocumented youth should consider consulting a lawyer to find out what their record is -- especially those whose parents had prior interactions with immigration.
I feel much safer today knowing that we deported a Babson College student back to a country where she hasn't lived since childhood.
She wasn't even flying internationally. She was flying to Texas.
She wasn't even flying internationally. She was flying to Texas.
A Babson College student wanted to surprise her family for Thanksgiving. She was deported instead. - The Boston Globe
Any Lucia Lopez Belloza was at Logan to catch a flight to Texas when immigration authorities detained her as she was about to board the plane.
www.bostonglobe.com
November 27, 2025 at 4:55 PM
There is talk going around that DHS is now arresting people who fly *domestically* if they have final orders of removal.
Undocumented youth should consider consulting a lawyer to find out what their record is -- especially those whose parents had prior interactions with immigration.
Undocumented youth should consider consulting a lawyer to find out what their record is -- especially those whose parents had prior interactions with immigration.
Reposted by Dr Darren Abbey
USians? United Statesians? Wut?
Not happening. In Persian the demonym for the US is Amrikaii for American
In Arabic it's Amriki
Turkish is Amerikalı
I'm not using USians in any language unless I'm saving character count in a post on here
Not happening. In Persian the demonym for the US is Amrikaii for American
In Arabic it's Amriki
Turkish is Amerikalı
I'm not using USians in any language unless I'm saving character count in a post on here
I'm sorry our linguistic, educational, and nationalist traditions taught us different things, but I'm just not USian
November 27, 2025 at 5:57 PM
USians? United Statesians? Wut?
Not happening. In Persian the demonym for the US is Amrikaii for American
In Arabic it's Amriki
Turkish is Amerikalı
I'm not using USians in any language unless I'm saving character count in a post on here
Not happening. In Persian the demonym for the US is Amrikaii for American
In Arabic it's Amriki
Turkish is Amerikalı
I'm not using USians in any language unless I'm saving character count in a post on here
Reposted by Dr Darren Abbey
Cacao was for everyone.
In Maya society, cacao use was for everyone, not just royals
Previously considered a preserve of Maya elites, cacao was consumed across all social strata, a new study finds.
www.sciencenews.org
November 27, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Cacao was for everyone.
Reposted by Dr Darren Abbey
PSA to neurotypicals - asking “why” is not arguing. “Here is how a thing is.” “Why?” Is not an argument. It’s a request for more information. Why is the thing that way? Teach me.
November 27, 2025 at 12:14 AM
PSA to neurotypicals - asking “why” is not arguing. “Here is how a thing is.” “Why?” Is not an argument. It’s a request for more information. Why is the thing that way? Teach me.
Reposted by Dr Darren Abbey
I felt like this story wasn't being discussed enough by mainstream media, so we jumped on it for our live coverage today.
Leaked Recordings Prove Trump Is Still Putin's Puppet
Shocked.
www.thegodpodcast.com
November 27, 2025 at 12:22 AM
I felt like this story wasn't being discussed enough by mainstream media, so we jumped on it for our live coverage today.
Reposted by Dr Darren Abbey
The best way to prevent getting norovirus is to wash hands with warm soap and water for 20 seconds. Hand sanitizer alone does not work well against norovirus. #RSNA25
abcnews.go.com/Health/us-ca...
abcnews.go.com/Health/us-ca...
US cases of norovirus on the rise with double the rate of positive tests since August
Cases of norovirus are rising across the United States, doubling over the last few months, according to updated data from the CDC.
abcnews.go.com
November 26, 2025 at 4:15 AM
The best way to prevent getting norovirus is to wash hands with warm soap and water for 20 seconds. Hand sanitizer alone does not work well against norovirus. #RSNA25
abcnews.go.com/Health/us-ca...
abcnews.go.com/Health/us-ca...
Reposted by Dr Darren Abbey
I wrote about the fake account blowup on X this weekend. A genuine post-truth nightmare and proof that these companies have polluted their platforms so thoroughly and traded reality for profit that they've undermined the very idea of what the internet is supposed to be.
That MAGA Account Might Be a Troll From Pakistan
How X blew up its own platform with a new location feature
www.theatlantic.com
November 24, 2025 at 4:33 PM
I wrote about the fake account blowup on X this weekend. A genuine post-truth nightmare and proof that these companies have polluted their platforms so thoroughly and traded reality for profit that they've undermined the very idea of what the internet is supposed to be.
Reposted by Dr Darren Abbey
Physicians: we have an ethical obligation to stand in solidarity with nurses. Nursing is a profession worthy of resources and respect. If we can’t say that out loud, we’re not practicing justice, we’re enforcing hierarchy.
November 24, 2025 at 10:13 PM
Physicians: we have an ethical obligation to stand in solidarity with nurses. Nursing is a profession worthy of resources and respect. If we can’t say that out loud, we’re not practicing justice, we’re enforcing hierarchy.
At 2.5 months post-harvest, only the purple/black fruit remains from that initial harvest.
The high concentration of anthocyanin pigments is supposed to help discourage some spoilage molds, so this fruit remaining is good to see.
I have plenty from a later harvest yet to be examined in detail.
The high concentration of anthocyanin pigments is supposed to help discourage some spoilage molds, so this fruit remaining is good to see.
I have plenty from a later harvest yet to be examined in detail.
At two weeks post-harvest, the tomatillos are still in good shape. This makes me pretty sure that they all have the long-storage trait. If so, the fruit will stay in good shape until I process them for seeds in early spring.
November 24, 2025 at 10:24 PM
At 2.5 months post-harvest, only the purple/black fruit remains from that initial harvest.
The high concentration of anthocyanin pigments is supposed to help discourage some spoilage molds, so this fruit remaining is good to see.
I have plenty from a later harvest yet to be examined in detail.
The high concentration of anthocyanin pigments is supposed to help discourage some spoilage molds, so this fruit remaining is good to see.
I have plenty from a later harvest yet to be examined in detail.
Reposted by Dr Darren Abbey
Setting aside the question of whether or not we are ready to phase out the use of animals in research (spoiler: we are not), there is an ethical way to do this. Abruptly shutting down research programs means that many animals are going to be euthanized! www.science.org/content/arti...
Exclusive: CDC to end all monkey research
Studies related to HIV and other infectious diseases will be phased out, sources say; fate of the agency's animals remains unclear
www.science.org
November 24, 2025 at 1:01 AM
Setting aside the question of whether or not we are ready to phase out the use of animals in research (spoiler: we are not), there is an ethical way to do this. Abruptly shutting down research programs means that many animals are going to be euthanized! www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted by Dr Darren Abbey
I’m getting more and more of these too. It’s depressing.
I am by no means a prominent public intellectual, but my inbox is increasingly filled with messages from people who have been convinced by sycophantic chatbots that they have discovered revolutionary theories that entirely upend our scientific understanding of the universe.
November 21, 2025 at 3:42 AM
I’m getting more and more of these too. It’s depressing.
Reposted by Dr Darren Abbey
My art shop has a collection of my original bird drawings.
Good news for buyers in the USA, your art will be sent duty paid, and art is exempt from the tariffs!
folksy.com/find/shop/th...
#Birds #OriginalArt #Drawing #Painting #Artwork #GiftIdeas #ArtShop #ShopIndy #ChristmasGifts #bsnm
Good news for buyers in the USA, your art will be sent duty paid, and art is exempt from the tariffs!
folksy.com/find/shop/th...
#Birds #OriginalArt #Drawing #Painting #Artwork #GiftIdeas #ArtShop #ShopIndy #ChristmasGifts #bsnm
November 19, 2025 at 4:01 PM
My art shop has a collection of my original bird drawings.
Good news for buyers in the USA, your art will be sent duty paid, and art is exempt from the tariffs!
folksy.com/find/shop/th...
#Birds #OriginalArt #Drawing #Painting #Artwork #GiftIdeas #ArtShop #ShopIndy #ChristmasGifts #bsnm
Good news for buyers in the USA, your art will be sent duty paid, and art is exempt from the tariffs!
folksy.com/find/shop/th...
#Birds #OriginalArt #Drawing #Painting #Artwork #GiftIdeas #ArtShop #ShopIndy #ChristmasGifts #bsnm
Reposted by Dr Darren Abbey
Graptolites are some of the coolest animals you may not have heard of. Colony creatures, zooids at the tip add on to the branches. Eventually sexually-born larvae swim out to start new colonies that stretch out zooid by zooid.
Robert Parr Whitfield's illustration of (what was then called) Graptolithus octobrachiatus, engraved by James Duthie. Part of James Hall's classic Graptolites of the Quebec Group (1865). A 10/10 graptolite and there's a lot of competition.
November 19, 2025 at 4:14 PM
Graptolites are some of the coolest animals you may not have heard of. Colony creatures, zooids at the tip add on to the branches. Eventually sexually-born larvae swim out to start new colonies that stretch out zooid by zooid.
Reposted by Dr Darren Abbey
I'm struck by this clip of former Obama speechwriter Sarah Hurwitz saying Holocaust education has backfired in part because people Palestinians as victims: "They think the lesson of the Holocaust is…you fight the big powerful people hurting the weak people."
www.reddit.com/r/JewsOfCons...
www.reddit.com/r/JewsOfCons...
From the JewsOfConscience community on Reddit: Former Obama speechwriter Sarah Hurwitz speaking to the Jewish Federation and lamenting that young people are learning the wrong lessons from Holocaust e...
Explore this post and more from the JewsOfConscience community
www.reddit.com
November 18, 2025 at 7:24 PM
I'm struck by this clip of former Obama speechwriter Sarah Hurwitz saying Holocaust education has backfired in part because people Palestinians as victims: "They think the lesson of the Holocaust is…you fight the big powerful people hurting the weak people."
www.reddit.com/r/JewsOfCons...
www.reddit.com/r/JewsOfCons...
Reposted by Dr Darren Abbey
LLMs destroy context. You used to be able to tell a crank website from a good source partly by its style.
But now we have a tool that puts careful research, incoherent garbage, and intentional shitposting through a kind of grammatical instagram filter, presenting them all with the same credibility
But now we have a tool that puts careful research, incoherent garbage, and intentional shitposting through a kind of grammatical instagram filter, presenting them all with the same credibility
The bigger change is presentation, historically, these emails were visually chaotic: sudden colour changes, ALL CAPS, screenshots pasted at random. Classic signs of disordered thinking. Now they’re neat, structured, and grammatically consistent. The delusion hasn't changed, but the formatting has.
November 19, 2025 at 4:12 PM
LLMs destroy context. You used to be able to tell a crank website from a good source partly by its style.
But now we have a tool that puts careful research, incoherent garbage, and intentional shitposting through a kind of grammatical instagram filter, presenting them all with the same credibility
But now we have a tool that puts careful research, incoherent garbage, and intentional shitposting through a kind of grammatical instagram filter, presenting them all with the same credibility
Reposted by Dr Darren Abbey
An ICE employee was among 16 men arrested after trying to solicit a minor for sex in Bloomington, Minnesota, police say
"When he was arrested, he said, 'I'm ICE, boys,'" Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges said during a press conference. "Well, unfortunately for him, we locked him up."
"When he was arrested, he said, 'I'm ICE, boys,'" Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges said during a press conference. "Well, unfortunately for him, we locked him up."
November 19, 2025 at 2:34 AM
An ICE employee was among 16 men arrested after trying to solicit a minor for sex in Bloomington, Minnesota, police say
"When he was arrested, he said, 'I'm ICE, boys,'" Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges said during a press conference. "Well, unfortunately for him, we locked him up."
"When he was arrested, he said, 'I'm ICE, boys,'" Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges said during a press conference. "Well, unfortunately for him, we locked him up."
Reposted by Dr Darren Abbey
my wife and her entire team were fired over Zoom from their program manager jobs at a local nonprofit Seattle hospital this Spring because Trump just stopped paying Medicaid reimbursements. and this is a relatively affluent urban center
we're really not prepared for what's coming
we're really not prepared for what's coming
As a direct result of President Trump's Big Ugly Bill, almost 300 jobs will be cut from Providence Swedish's First Hill, Cherry Hill, Ballard, and Issaquah hospitals and clinics. These are not the only layoffs we've seen in our health care system in Washington state in recent months.
Providence Swedish to eliminate nearly 300 positions
The cuts will affect jobs at Providence Swedish’s First Hill, Cherry Hill, Ballard and Issaquah hospitals and nearby clinics.
www.seattletimes.com
November 19, 2025 at 3:49 PM
my wife and her entire team were fired over Zoom from their program manager jobs at a local nonprofit Seattle hospital this Spring because Trump just stopped paying Medicaid reimbursements. and this is a relatively affluent urban center
we're really not prepared for what's coming
we're really not prepared for what's coming
Reposted by Dr Darren Abbey
Someone on the Minneapolis subreddit caught Waymos being delivered. We need the City Council need to ban the use of driverless cars. The technology isn't there. Our city cannot be a testing ground for 1.5 ton autonomous projectiles.
November 16, 2025 at 10:39 PM
Someone on the Minneapolis subreddit caught Waymos being delivered. We need the City Council need to ban the use of driverless cars. The technology isn't there. Our city cannot be a testing ground for 1.5 ton autonomous projectiles.
Reposted by Dr Darren Abbey
“High deductibles” just mean poor people are left behind.
Disabled people are left behind.
People with pre-existing conditions are left behind
Disability & poverty aren’t moral failings
They can happen to anyone no matter how healthy they are
Enough blame. Healthcare for all.
Disabled people are left behind.
People with pre-existing conditions are left behind
Disability & poverty aren’t moral failings
They can happen to anyone no matter how healthy they are
Enough blame. Healthcare for all.
November 17, 2025 at 4:54 AM
“High deductibles” just mean poor people are left behind.
Disabled people are left behind.
People with pre-existing conditions are left behind
Disability & poverty aren’t moral failings
They can happen to anyone no matter how healthy they are
Enough blame. Healthcare for all.
Disabled people are left behind.
People with pre-existing conditions are left behind
Disability & poverty aren’t moral failings
They can happen to anyone no matter how healthy they are
Enough blame. Healthcare for all.
Reposted by Dr Darren Abbey
“Many of the women say that they were pressured to have unwanted or unnecessary gynecological procedures while in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement”
"They tried to shut me up by deporting me."
www.npr.org/2020/12/22/9...
www.npr.org/2020/12/22/9...
Dozens Of Women Allege Unwanted Surgeries And Medical Abuse In ICE Custody
More women are coming forward to say they were pressured to have reproductive surgeries they did not want or understand, offering a glimpse into alleged medical abuses at an ICE detention center.
www.npr.org
November 15, 2025 at 3:11 AM
“Many of the women say that they were pressured to have unwanted or unnecessary gynecological procedures while in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement”