Katherine Drotos
@spiritofcavalia.bsky.social
Evolutionary biologist | Ongoing #fishgenomics & #lichens work | Evolution, philosophy, pedagogy, fungi, genomics | Justice & climate | she/her
Reposted by Katherine Drotos
To put this in perspective chestnut trees used to be dominant species in the United States. Billions of trees were killed by fungal blight and now fully grown America chestnuts are functionally extinct. There is no getting them back. Ever. All for a data center.
www.gadgetreview.com/one-of-ameri...
www.gadgetreview.com/one-of-ameri...
One of America’s Last Chestnut Groves Is About to Be Destroyed for a Data Center
A rare 200-tree American chestnut grove in West Virginia may be cleared for data-center development, but the project denies the site is on its land.
www.gadgetreview.com
October 7, 2026 at 7:20 PM
To put this in perspective chestnut trees used to be dominant species in the United States. Billions of trees were killed by fungal blight and now fully grown America chestnuts are functionally extinct. There is no getting them back. Ever. All for a data center.
www.gadgetreview.com/one-of-ameri...
www.gadgetreview.com/one-of-ameri...
Reposted by Katherine Drotos
It’s simply unimaginable that CDC Director Dr. Erica Schwartz has just bowed to RFK Jr. and approved funding for an utterly unethical clinical trial that will withhold the birth dose of HepB vaccine in Guinea Bissau.
It is to be conducted by researchers accused of academic misconduct.
It is to be conducted by researchers accused of academic misconduct.
CDC Is Moving Forward With a Previously Shelved Controversial Hepatitis B Vaccine Study
“It’s a wholly unethical trial, and it shouldn’t be allowed,” says Dr. Paul Offit of Guinea-Bissau study
www.rollingstone.com
October 8, 2026 at 12:51 PM
It’s simply unimaginable that CDC Director Dr. Erica Schwartz has just bowed to RFK Jr. and approved funding for an utterly unethical clinical trial that will withhold the birth dose of HepB vaccine in Guinea Bissau.
It is to be conducted by researchers accused of academic misconduct.
It is to be conducted by researchers accused of academic misconduct.
Reposted by Katherine Drotos
The Sameer Project has put out a call for emergency funding:
"But as aggression, displacement, and destruction increase, donations are falling. We cannot respond on the scale people need without the funding to do so."
www.instagram.com/p/DeND7SlDTvl/
"But as aggression, displacement, and destruction increase, donations are falling. We cannot respond on the scale people need without the funding to do so."
www.instagram.com/p/DeND7SlDTvl/
October 7, 2026 at 9:33 PM
The Sameer Project has put out a call for emergency funding:
"But as aggression, displacement, and destruction increase, donations are falling. We cannot respond on the scale people need without the funding to do so."
www.instagram.com/p/DeND7SlDTvl/
"But as aggression, displacement, and destruction increase, donations are falling. We cannot respond on the scale people need without the funding to do so."
www.instagram.com/p/DeND7SlDTvl/
Reposted by Katherine Drotos
My ex was jealous of the time I spent reading to my kids and would constantly interrupt our sessions.
This guy doesn't see there are multiple benefits--not just the learning to read and the engaging with language, but also the building of relationships.
This guy doesn't see there are multiple benefits--not just the learning to read and the engaging with language, but also the building of relationships.
It's telling that men would rather try to invent tech to replace humans' role in caregiving than step up as equal partners in parenting.
Telling, that is, in that it shows how financial capitalism and patriarchy work together to dissuade men from doing "unprofitable" labor, like the work of care.
Telling, that is, in that it shows how financial capitalism and patriarchy work together to dissuade men from doing "unprofitable" labor, like the work of care.
October 8, 2026 at 1:52 PM
My ex was jealous of the time I spent reading to my kids and would constantly interrupt our sessions.
This guy doesn't see there are multiple benefits--not just the learning to read and the engaging with language, but also the building of relationships.
This guy doesn't see there are multiple benefits--not just the learning to read and the engaging with language, but also the building of relationships.
Reposted by Katherine Drotos
This picture will always be iconic. RIP Margaret Hamilton who wrote the software that successfully guided NASA’s Apollo missions through the moon.
October 7, 2026 at 11:43 PM
This picture will always be iconic. RIP Margaret Hamilton who wrote the software that successfully guided NASA’s Apollo missions through the moon.
Khalil has been working so hard, hasn't had a proper night's sleep in who knows how long, and still is struggling to pay for food and medicine for his children.
Even $5 goes a long way toward helping them stay alive. They are so grateful for every dollar.
chuffed.org/project/from...
Even $5 goes a long way toward helping them stay alive. They are so grateful for every dollar.
chuffed.org/project/from...
From the Heart of Gaza... Please Help Khalil and Noreen's Family
Please join us in defending Khalil and Noreen's kids from the brutality of war, winter, hunger and illness. Noreen suffers from damaged cartilege. She can't move easily. She also needs a corneal trans...
chuffed.org
October 7, 2026 at 5:17 PM
Khalil has been working so hard, hasn't had a proper night's sleep in who knows how long, and still is struggling to pay for food and medicine for his children.
Even $5 goes a long way toward helping them stay alive. They are so grateful for every dollar.
chuffed.org/project/from...
Even $5 goes a long way toward helping them stay alive. They are so grateful for every dollar.
chuffed.org/project/from...
Reposted by Katherine Drotos
That time I put almost all the chipmunk species in the western USA on one map.
Did you know there’s 1 species of chipmunk in Asia, 1 in eastern USA & >20 in western USA?
(I’m not the crazy one here. The chipmunks are the crazy ones.)
Did you know there’s 1 species of chipmunk in Asia, 1 in eastern USA & >20 in western USA?
(I’m not the crazy one here. The chipmunks are the crazy ones.)
October 7, 2026 at 12:49 PM
That time I put almost all the chipmunk species in the western USA on one map.
Did you know there’s 1 species of chipmunk in Asia, 1 in eastern USA & >20 in western USA?
(I’m not the crazy one here. The chipmunks are the crazy ones.)
Did you know there’s 1 species of chipmunk in Asia, 1 in eastern USA & >20 in western USA?
(I’m not the crazy one here. The chipmunks are the crazy ones.)
Reposted by Katherine Drotos
Not sure I’ve ever seen an essay that so precisely hits the mark as this. Read it. Share it.
"I don’t know what every person in that group saw or knew. But I am raising one of the others. The boy who might someday be in the room. Or holding the phone. The boy who didn’t do it. The boy who could therefore spend the rest of his life explaining that he didn’t do anything."
buff.ly/z7yWbR2
buff.ly/z7yWbR2
An Open Letter to Cornell University from the Mother of a Prospective Male Student
“Seven former Cornell students are accused in a civil lawsuit of sexually assaulting another Cornell student who says she was incapacitated. Messages alleged...
buff.ly
October 7, 2026 at 1:22 PM
Not sure I’ve ever seen an essay that so precisely hits the mark as this. Read it. Share it.
Reposted by Katherine Drotos
"So much of what I found was that universities were violating their own policies constantly, doing a completely different process than what they told students they would do or what federal regulation required."
I spent a year watching school administrators do their jobs—and interviewing the students most impacted.
I spoke to @thecut.com in a long-form Q&A about what I saw. Mainly, a system designed to protect perpetrators and punish victims in each and every case.
I spoke to @thecut.com in a long-form Q&A about what I saw. Mainly, a system designed to protect perpetrators and punish victims in each and every case.
The Reason Why Colleges Still Fail to Address Sexual Violence
The “Cornell Seven” case highlights what’s wrong with Trump’s Title IX rules — and how the system was always designed to fail.
www.thecut.com
October 6, 2026 at 10:27 PM
"So much of what I found was that universities were violating their own policies constantly, doing a completely different process than what they told students they would do or what federal regulation required."
Thank you to the kind souls who donated!! $95 left, can anyone do $10?
So close to getting this baby's medicine ...
So close to getting this baby's medicine ...
Khalil still doesn't have enough to buy his son's asthma medication!
Remember that they are living in a tent with constant dust swirling around them - this is incredibly dangerous for a child with asthma.
Please donate if you can, share if you can't.
chuffed.org/project/from...
Remember that they are living in a tent with constant dust swirling around them - this is incredibly dangerous for a child with asthma.
Please donate if you can, share if you can't.
chuffed.org/project/from...
From the Heart of Gaza... Please Help Khalil and Noreen's Family
Please join us in defending Khalil and Noreen's kids from the brutality of war, winter, hunger and illness. Noreen suffers from damaged cartilege. She can't move easily. She also needs a corneal trans...
chuffed.org
October 6, 2026 at 4:20 PM
Thank you to the kind souls who donated!! $95 left, can anyone do $10?
So close to getting this baby's medicine ...
So close to getting this baby's medicine ...
Reposted by Katherine Drotos
In the last couple of years, we've seen multiple critical collections (museums, herbaria) close. The IUCN--the global authority on the status of biodiversity--recently published on how important these kinds of facilities are in conservation. Every day, the dead are working to protect the living.
From collections to conservation: the indispensable role of natural history museums
The IUCN Species Survival Commission has published a Position Statement on the vital role of biological collections in biodiversity conservation: a formal acknowledgement that natural history museums,...
iucn.org
October 5, 2026 at 9:56 PM
In the last couple of years, we've seen multiple critical collections (museums, herbaria) close. The IUCN--the global authority on the status of biodiversity--recently published on how important these kinds of facilities are in conservation. Every day, the dead are working to protect the living.
Reposted by Katherine Drotos
"It's more of a cormorant than a question", I say, with a wry smile, as my pet cormorant repeatedly dive bombs the panel, pecking at their eyes
October 6, 2026 at 1:00 PM
"It's more of a cormorant than a question", I say, with a wry smile, as my pet cormorant repeatedly dive bombs the panel, pecking at their eyes
Reposted by Katherine Drotos
It's my birthday and we're keeping hope alive 🎈 I'm after YOUR pledges for a new campaign partnered with 12 families + experts on the ground to meet emergency needs.
I want 32 people to gift a monthly pledge of 32. Click "Divya's birthday drive." Let's DO IT 💖 chuffed.org/project/hope...
I want 32 people to gift a monthly pledge of 32. Click "Divya's birthday drive." Let's DO IT 💖 chuffed.org/project/hope...
October 5, 2026 at 11:01 PM
It's my birthday and we're keeping hope alive 🎈 I'm after YOUR pledges for a new campaign partnered with 12 families + experts on the ground to meet emergency needs.
I want 32 people to gift a monthly pledge of 32. Click "Divya's birthday drive." Let's DO IT 💖 chuffed.org/project/hope...
I want 32 people to gift a monthly pledge of 32. Click "Divya's birthday drive." Let's DO IT 💖 chuffed.org/project/hope...
Khalil still doesn't have enough to buy his son's asthma medication!
Remember that they are living in a tent with constant dust swirling around them - this is incredibly dangerous for a child with asthma.
Please donate if you can, share if you can't.
chuffed.org/project/from...
Remember that they are living in a tent with constant dust swirling around them - this is incredibly dangerous for a child with asthma.
Please donate if you can, share if you can't.
chuffed.org/project/from...
From the Heart of Gaza... Please Help Khalil and Noreen's Family
Please join us in defending Khalil and Noreen's kids from the brutality of war, winter, hunger and illness. Noreen suffers from damaged cartilege. She can't move easily. She also needs a corneal trans...
chuffed.org
October 6, 2026 at 1:59 PM
Khalil still doesn't have enough to buy his son's asthma medication!
Remember that they are living in a tent with constant dust swirling around them - this is incredibly dangerous for a child with asthma.
Please donate if you can, share if you can't.
chuffed.org/project/from...
Remember that they are living in a tent with constant dust swirling around them - this is incredibly dangerous for a child with asthma.
Please donate if you can, share if you can't.
chuffed.org/project/from...
Reposted by Katherine Drotos
📰 A province-wide Amber Alert is active for seven-year-old Aspen Wilson, who police say was taken from a Valleyview home by her stepfather Alexander Stone. Investigators believe the pair may be travelling in a grey 2004 Chevrolet Venture van toward Slave Lake or Red…
📡 Read full story here 👇
📡 Read full story here 👇
Amber Alert issued for Aspen Wilson in Alberta
A province-wide Amber Alert is active for seven-year-old Aspen Wilson, who police say was taken from a Valleyview home by her stepfather Alexander Stone. Investigators believe the pair may be travelling in a grey 2004 Chevrolet Venture van toward Slave Lake or Red Deer.
ctcnews.ca
October 5, 2026 at 5:02 PM
📰 A province-wide Amber Alert is active for seven-year-old Aspen Wilson, who police say was taken from a Valleyview home by her stepfather Alexander Stone. Investigators believe the pair may be travelling in a grey 2004 Chevrolet Venture van toward Slave Lake or Red…
📡 Read full story here 👇
📡 Read full story here 👇
It's a beautiful day to do some good.
Khalil has been working around the clock but still needs $165 to buy his son's asthma medication. Ghaith is only 2.5 and with the horrific air conditions he cannot go long without the medicine.
Please help this baby breathe!
chuffed.org/project/from...
Khalil has been working around the clock but still needs $165 to buy his son's asthma medication. Ghaith is only 2.5 and with the horrific air conditions he cannot go long without the medicine.
Please help this baby breathe!
chuffed.org/project/from...
From the Heart of Gaza... Please Help Khalil and Noreen's Family
Please join us in defending Khalil and Noreen's kids from the brutality of war, winter, hunger and illness. Noreen suffers from damaged cartilege. She can't move easily. She also needs a corneal trans...
chuffed.org
October 5, 2026 at 5:04 PM
It's a beautiful day to do some good.
Khalil has been working around the clock but still needs $165 to buy his son's asthma medication. Ghaith is only 2.5 and with the horrific air conditions he cannot go long without the medicine.
Please help this baby breathe!
chuffed.org/project/from...
Khalil has been working around the clock but still needs $165 to buy his son's asthma medication. Ghaith is only 2.5 and with the horrific air conditions he cannot go long without the medicine.
Please help this baby breathe!
chuffed.org/project/from...
Reposted by Katherine Drotos
Bara’a writes directly from her tent in Gaza:
"In the absolute dark, when the sounds of fear outside grow too loud, I hold Ibrahim’s tiny hand. His skin is warm, his breath quiet, and in that small touch, I hold my entire universe."
🧵
"In the absolute dark, when the sounds of fear outside grow too loud, I hold Ibrahim’s tiny hand. His skin is warm, his breath quiet, and in that small touch, I hold my entire universe."
🧵
October 4, 2026 at 6:33 PM
Bara’a writes directly from her tent in Gaza:
"In the absolute dark, when the sounds of fear outside grow too loud, I hold Ibrahim’s tiny hand. His skin is warm, his breath quiet, and in that small touch, I hold my entire universe."
🧵
"In the absolute dark, when the sounds of fear outside grow too loud, I hold Ibrahim’s tiny hand. His skin is warm, his breath quiet, and in that small touch, I hold my entire universe."
🧵
Reposted by Katherine Drotos
“‘Learning happens as a consequence of cognitive processing. Cognitive processing is typically effortful, & that’s what AI effectively removes,’ says cognitive psychologist Daniel Willingham at UVA. ‘People are really worried about that’.”🧪
October 3, 2026 at 1:54 AM
“‘Learning happens as a consequence of cognitive processing. Cognitive processing is typically effortful, & that’s what AI effectively removes,’ says cognitive psychologist Daniel Willingham at UVA. ‘People are really worried about that’.”🧪
It's been a rough few days but there is hope:
Khalil is still free, and paid for Noreen's care (thanks to those who helped!!!). He needs to now pay for the license for his e-bike so he can continue to work. He's mostly there, just needs $50 more! chuffed.org/project/from...
Khalil is still free, and paid for Noreen's care (thanks to those who helped!!!). He needs to now pay for the license for his e-bike so he can continue to work. He's mostly there, just needs $50 more! chuffed.org/project/from...
From the Heart of Gaza... Please Help Khalil and Noreen's Family
Please join us in defending Khalil and Noreen's kids from the brutality of war, winter, hunger and illness. Noreen suffers from damaged cartilege. She can't move easily. She also needs a corneal trans...
chuffed.org
October 3, 2026 at 2:20 AM
It's been a rough few days but there is hope:
Khalil is still free, and paid for Noreen's care (thanks to those who helped!!!). He needs to now pay for the license for his e-bike so he can continue to work. He's mostly there, just needs $50 more! chuffed.org/project/from...
Khalil is still free, and paid for Noreen's care (thanks to those who helped!!!). He needs to now pay for the license for his e-bike so he can continue to work. He's mostly there, just needs $50 more! chuffed.org/project/from...
Reposted by Katherine Drotos
If you are part of an academic society or a professor of any kind, public statements that you do not condone Drexel cutting off the academy of natural sciences from the public of Philadelphia is very important right now. We need your voices. Urgently.
October 2, 2026 at 10:52 PM
If you are part of an academic society or a professor of any kind, public statements that you do not condone Drexel cutting off the academy of natural sciences from the public of Philadelphia is very important right now. We need your voices. Urgently.
Reposted by Katherine Drotos
What will our world feel like when the Climate collapses?
Sci-Fi authors partnered with artists and scientists to imagine. They created the prototypes of our uncertain future
#ManufacturedEcosystems is funded by @sshrc-crsh.canada.ca New Frontiers in Research
books.lib.uoguelph.ca/manufactured...
Sci-Fi authors partnered with artists and scientists to imagine. They created the prototypes of our uncertain future
#ManufacturedEcosystems is funded by @sshrc-crsh.canada.ca New Frontiers in Research
books.lib.uoguelph.ca/manufactured...
Manufactured Ecosystems
Manufactured Ecosystems offers seven visions of ecosystems services in the future by science fiction writers from across Canada and North America. Featuring stories by Chinelo Onwualu, Jennifer Gougé,...
books.lib.uoguelph.ca
October 2, 2026 at 1:23 PM
What will our world feel like when the Climate collapses?
Sci-Fi authors partnered with artists and scientists to imagine. They created the prototypes of our uncertain future
#ManufacturedEcosystems is funded by @sshrc-crsh.canada.ca New Frontiers in Research
books.lib.uoguelph.ca/manufactured...
Sci-Fi authors partnered with artists and scientists to imagine. They created the prototypes of our uncertain future
#ManufacturedEcosystems is funded by @sshrc-crsh.canada.ca New Frontiers in Research
books.lib.uoguelph.ca/manufactured...
Please continue to support this family if you can.
If Khalil can't pay for Noreen's medical care, he will be arrested. His wife will be stuck and his kids will be alone. I really want to emphasize how serious this is. They do not have anyone else there they can rely on.
If Khalil can't pay for Noreen's medical care, he will be arrested. His wife will be stuck and his kids will be alone. I really want to emphasize how serious this is. They do not have anyone else there they can rely on.
The Farwanas desperately need help to survive. I know we say it daily, but it needs repeating: it is very expensive to be poor.
Khalil must pay his wife's medical bills, or authorities will arrest him. His wife will be stuck in the hospital and his children alone.
chuffed.org/project/from...
Khalil must pay his wife's medical bills, or authorities will arrest him. His wife will be stuck in the hospital and his children alone.
chuffed.org/project/from...
From the Heart of Gaza... Please Help Khalil and Noreen's Family
Please join us in defending Khalil and Noreen's kids from the brutality of war, winter, hunger and illness. Noreen suffers from damaged cartilege. She can't move easily. She also needs a corneal trans...
chuffed.org
October 2, 2026 at 1:25 PM
Please continue to support this family if you can.
If Khalil can't pay for Noreen's medical care, he will be arrested. His wife will be stuck and his kids will be alone. I really want to emphasize how serious this is. They do not have anyone else there they can rely on.
If Khalil can't pay for Noreen's medical care, he will be arrested. His wife will be stuck and his kids will be alone. I really want to emphasize how serious this is. They do not have anyone else there they can rely on.
Reposted by Katherine Drotos
Hope your day was better than Darwin’s, on this day 165 years ago
October 1, 2026 at 9:03 PM
Hope your day was better than Darwin’s, on this day 165 years ago
The Farwanas desperately need help to survive. I know we say it daily, but it needs repeating: it is very expensive to be poor.
Khalil must pay his wife's medical bills, or authorities will arrest him. His wife will be stuck in the hospital and his children alone.
chuffed.org/project/from...
Khalil must pay his wife's medical bills, or authorities will arrest him. His wife will be stuck in the hospital and his children alone.
chuffed.org/project/from...
From the Heart of Gaza... Please Help Khalil and Noreen's Family
Please join us in defending Khalil and Noreen's kids from the brutality of war, winter, hunger and illness. Noreen suffers from damaged cartilege. She can't move easily. She also needs a corneal trans...
chuffed.org
October 1, 2026 at 4:50 PM
The Farwanas desperately need help to survive. I know we say it daily, but it needs repeating: it is very expensive to be poor.
Khalil must pay his wife's medical bills, or authorities will arrest him. His wife will be stuck in the hospital and his children alone.
chuffed.org/project/from...
Khalil must pay his wife's medical bills, or authorities will arrest him. His wife will be stuck in the hospital and his children alone.
chuffed.org/project/from...
Reposted by Katherine Drotos
Hello plant folks - anyone have a kit they'd recommend for short-read whole genome sequencing library prep? We have about 500 samples, so looking for a high-throughput/96-well workflow. Thanks!
September 30, 2026 at 9:05 PM
Hello plant folks - anyone have a kit they'd recommend for short-read whole genome sequencing library prep? We have about 500 samples, so looking for a high-throughput/96-well workflow. Thanks!