Alejandro Olmedo-Velarde

Grateful with @genewiz.bsky.social, I received the first grant ever of my lab!

Many years ago I thought I wanna have an opentron, when I have my lab. Now that I do, I saw it is unfortunately priced at the same range of other ‘robots’

ChatGPT: please write an email for me to the admission committee

Pro tip: always delete the ChatGPT prompt before sending your motivation letter for a position in my group.

I would love to know if they work; I will order right away !!

GitHub - RILAB/statements: Successful Job Applications and Grants Successful Job Applications and Grants. Contribute to RILAB/statements development by creating an account on GitHub.

Regular ask to send me successful job applications, grants, and fellowships to share with others! Thanks to @isabelott.bsky.social for sharing her GRFP (and congrats!). github.com/RILAB/statem...

So excited that the first visiting scholar arrived safely to ISU @collazoonias.bsky.social. Hoping this is the first of many more in the future …

Drosophila follicle showing retrotransposons (pink & yellow) expressed in somatic cells infecting the oocyte

1/ Transposable elements are often called "jumping genes" because they mobilize within genomes. 🧬
But did you know they can also jump 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 cells? 🤯
Our new study reveals how retrotransposons invade the germline directly from somatic cells.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
A short thread 🧵👇

Fund SCIENCE not billionaires!

Standing up for science in Philly!

The U.S. is cutting research funding, the weather service, park rangers, Social Security Admin staff, lifesaving foreign aid, plus billions in Medicaid and food stamps. For what? To potentially buy crypto with taxpayer dollars and to give more tax cuts to the rich.

Full page in today’s Anchorage Daily News:

If you haven’t this week, reach out to your pre-tenured faculty. Especially the ones pre-3 year review. It’s a …. It’s been a lot 🥲

The broader effects of the anti-science measures of these times, for the whole society, are coming sooner rather than later unfortunately

FDA cancels meeting to select flu strains for next season's shots The canceled meeting comes just days after a CDC vaccine advisory committee meeting was abruptly postponed.

The FDA just cancelled a meeting to select flu strains for next season's flu shots.

"It's unclear what the canceled meeting will mean for Americans who want to get a flu vaccine next season."

www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...

After trade dispute, Mexico officially bans the planting of GM corn Mexico's lower house of Congress on Tuesday approved a constitutional reform to ban the planting of genetically modified (GM) corn, a move that could lead to more tension with the United States after the resolution of a trade dispute, analysts said.

After trade dispute, Mexico officially bans the planting of GM corn www.reuters.com/markets/comm...

Anyone in the UK have my chromoprotein plasmid set that are willing to share with Charlotte? Vendor registration is a nightmare. TYIA

A graphic promoting GLPSC 2025 with a background image of blurred leaves in the background and an outline of the Great Lakes. The text says, "1st Great Lakes Plant Science Conference, September 12-14, 2025, the Lansing Center, Lansing, MI. Registration Open! Organized by 10 universities around the Great Lakes to push the boundaries of plant science, promote collaborations, and empower the next-generation plant science leaders. Hosted by Michigan State University and the Plant Resilience Institute." The logos of the following participating institutions are at the bottom: Michigan State University, Plant Resilience Institute, Indiana University, Ohio State University, Purdue University, University of Chicago, University of Guelph, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of Michigan, University of Toronto, and University of Wisconsin-Madison.

🌿 Registration is now OPEN for the 1st Great Lakes Plant Science Conference! Join us Sept 12-14, 2025, in Lansing, MI for cutting-edge #plantscience research, networking, and professional development opportunities. #GLPSC2025

Learn more and register: research.msu.edu/glpsc2025

Measles is more serious than a rash and fever: it also causes immune amnesia, leaving patients vulnerable to secondary infection. Vaccination prevents the spread of measles & reduces immune amnesia's impact. Read the article: asm.org/Articles/201...

This morning at Dept of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) HQ in DC as mandatory return to office began, this video played on loop for ~5 mins on screens throughout the building, per agency source.

Building staff couldn’t figure out how to turn it off so sent people to every floor to unplug TVs.

Demand your GOP congressman cut their budget and lay off some staff.

Congress spends 6.4billion/year on their own operations.

Video Former USDA employee terminated days before her due date Justine Beaulieu was impacted by the Trump layoffs days before she was due to give birth, losing her maternity leave and her health insurance in limbo.

Dr. Justine Beaulieu is an excellent Agricultural Scientist who was serving our country evaluating risk for importing plant material into the US.

She was illegally fired in Musk's purge just days before giving birth.

abcnews.go.com/Politics/vid...

U.S. early-career researchers struggling amid chaos Uncertain funding, government firings, and distressed universities hit vulnerable groups especially hard

“What part of diversity, equity, and inclusion do you have a problem with?”
www.science.org/content/arti...

For every $1 the IRS spends auditing the top 1%, it can collect $13.

For every $1 the IRS spends auditing the top 0.1%, it can collect $26.

Laying off 7,000 IRS employees (during tax season) isn't about efficiency.

It's about making it easier for the rich to evade taxes.

Interesting data in light of current events. More about welfare queen Elon Musk: www.profgalloway.com/elon-musk-we...

I have now about a dozen friends with the Park Service, Forest Service, and Fish & Wildlife who have lost their job. Rangers, scientists, researchers, passionately dedicated to the mission.

As one of them wrote: "What they are doing is wrong. And it should make you angry."

We got a Costco membership for the first time in our lives today. They asked why & I said because treat your workers well, you value diversity, & you didn’t cave in to authoritarian demands. He said: “We’ve been getting lots of folks saying that, thanks for joining.”

Who needs a gallon of ketchup?

As an undergraduate, when I learnt about virophages made me realize I wanted to become a virologist and keep learning about 🦠