#science and academia

[essence-inked]

Tendi from Lower Decks really is the epitome of how I feel about STEM - like, my favorite part about being in a STEM field is that I regularly wake up and realize that I get to figure out cool new stuff about how things work. And if I have a question about something and nobody knows the answer, I can go find it out for myself! My thesis started because I couldn’t find the answer to a question I had, so I decided if the answer didn’t exist yet, then I’d just have to go discover it. And it’s so neat to see that sort of enthusiasm represented on screen!

Also, STEM doesn’t have to be all monofocus, either - you can get funky and go interdisciplinary! Lower Decks having Tendi mess around with different types of STEM stuff just for fun was especially cool for me because I could see myself in that. Sure, there’s the trope of “Hollywood scientist who is an expert at literally every field,” but that’s inaccurate and misleading and all-around lame. The thing I like about Tendi is she’s not necessarily an expert in every STEM field; we just see her engaging in different areas a lot to learn and to have fun, and that is EXACTLY what makes her so good at what she does. Stuff like that is what I wish people saw more of about STEM, because sometimes it seems like people get scared away from it from thinking it’s all very serious and full of tedium, which sometimes it is, but it’s also exciting and fun and you get to find out cool stuff about the universe and tell people about it!

[daily-spooky]

Pastel colored moths 🌸

[ur-daily-inspiration]

[mysharona1987]

[belovedapollo]

bought this gem secondhand and can’t get over how stunning it is 🪐 reblog is okay, don’t repost/use

[floral-ashes]

For Nature’s new series on sex/gender, I wrote with the amazing Shari Brightly-Brown and G Nic Rider about gender modality, the limits of the cis/trans binary, and how to study gender more respectfully and accurately.

Gender modality is a term I coined in 2019 that has picked up a lot of steam in the last few years. It refers to the relationship between someone’s gender identity and gender assigned at birth. It’s a lot like ‘sexual orientation’ but for trans/cis instead of gay/straight.

The term helps us be more accurate and more respectful when describing the experiences of trans people, and opens up space beyond the trans/cis binary.

For instance, it’s often more accurate to say that discrimination against trans people is based on gender modality than based on gender identity. After all, a trans woman has the same gender identity as a cis woman, so that’s not the salient point.

There are also many people who don’t neatly fall in the trans/cis binary, and gender modality helps us talk about that. Non-binary people who don’t identify as cis or trans, gender questioning folks, detrans folks, people with culturally-specific identities, etc.

Our world is incredibly rich with experiences and our language should reflect that. As we say in the paper, the first step in science shouldn’t be assuming, it should be to engage in the world in all its magnificent complexity.

I am grateful to our editor for the opportunity to publish in such a prestigious journal with such amazing coauthors. I hope you all enjoy the read!

For those who prefer to listen, here’s an audio version.

[musiclovingmoth]

and when i say "specimens" i don't mean taxidermied mounts made to look lifelike for exhibit, i'm talking about the thousands to millions of specimens lying in drawers and shelves like this:

asking because i didn't know this until i was in high school. reblogs greatly appreciated, i want to reach as far out of science nerd tumblr as possible!

[acepumpkinpatrick]

Research for Gaza & Sudan

Hello everyone, this is my attempt in helping Raise funds for 3 campaigns that are in dire need and are extremely low on funds.

What I can do:

I am a physics major & have access to neat software such as HyperChem & Gaussian 09 and know how to use both efficiently. I can help build & do the necessary calculations for your modules. I can help you find resources for your research, and I am open to doing math and/or physics homework, as well.

How does this work?

DM me your requirements WITH CLEAR INSTRUCTIONS & a screenshot of your donations and I will start on it as soon as I can.

• For HyperChem & Gaussian 09: you need to donate €25 to each of the two gaza campaigns I have below.

I think this is a more than fair price given that licenses for both softwares range from 50$-2500$ (in the academics alone!)

• For searching resources: you need to donate €10 for the Sudanese campaign below.

• For homework: you need to donate €10 to any of the campaigns below.

NOTE: I am NOT responsible for Your deadlines. If your request needs time to run or I am doing someone else's commission before you, you WILL have to wait.

The campaigns:

Al-Najjar family - vetted here

Abdul Aziz's family - vetted here

ThomaSerena - vetted here & here

Sorry for the tags ♡

@commissions4aid-international @northgazaupdates2 @appsa @magnus-rhymes-with-swagness @wingedalpacacupcake @elksewer @a-shade-of-blue @tortiefrancis @mushroomjar @fromjannah @neechees @irhabiya @ibtisams @lacecap @dykesbat @socalgal @ankle-beez @mahoushojoe @transmutationisms @deepspaceboytoy @greelin @huckleberrycomics @zionistsinfilm @beserkerjewel @babacontainsmultitudes @spacebeyonce @mauesartetc @vakarians-babe @ghostofanonpast @c-u-c-koo-4-40k @ot3 @xinakwans @komsomolka @chilewithcarnage @akamanto0 @feluka @goodguydotmp3 @leotanaka @effen-draws @pkmnbutch @bilal-salah0 @ghostingarden

[wheres-your-paddle]

things i've heard environmental science majors say:

"For the test we'll need to tell the different flavours of mayflies apart." / "Did you just say flavours?"

"It amazes me how many city kids are in this program." / "We're all desperate to get out of this city."

"I think everyone who attended all the surface water pollution lab sections should be allowed to lick one piece of glassware of their choosing. Y'know, as a treat."

"Professor, nobody goes into this major unless they like to eat dirt." / "Great, so you can talk the Students' Association into convincing the board to give me funding for my trees?"

"What're we toasting to?" / "Nitrogen pollution."

"You look frustrated. What's up?" / "I had twenty-one Leptophlebiidae in my dish. He's going to think I'm lying about how many Leptophlebiidae are in my dish."

"If you weren't raised by Wall-E, do you even belong in this class?" / "The Onceler." / "Fuck, good point."

"Dude, I spent the whole exam trying not to sink my teeth into a really, really juicy bug in my sample—" / "Cranefly?" / "...yeah."

"Well, just make sure you're not (person)'s lab partner. Last weekend's trip involved him leaving too many fish in the dirt for the professor's liking."

[exhausted chorus] "And the fish go belly-up."

"What's the major difference between east coast and west coast soils?" / "Alcoholism."

"Got any plans for the holidays?" / "Gonna go home and listen to my entire extended family call me a tree-hugging hippie." / "Aren't we all?"

[mintiestcrystal]

i find it so unfair that i cant do all the science. like what do you MEAN I can't study bio and chem and biochem and atrophysics and physics and geology and climate science. what do you MEAN i have a limited lifespan and need to get out of school at some point to get a job. i want to collect the science fields like pokemon, this isn't fair

[puffycinnabunny]

Is it the finals week or my final week, stay tuned to find out fellas!

[essence-inked]

Fun productivity hack: replace "research" with "uncovering the mysteries of the universe" to add a little extra dramatic motivation to your work

[daily-spooky]

[ur-daily-inspiration]

[stemgirlchic]

why neuroscience is cool

space & the brain are like the two final frontiers

we know just enough to know we know nothing

there are radically new theories all. the. time. and even just in my research assistant work i've been able to meet with, talk to, and work with the people making them

it's such a philosophical science

potential to do a lot of good in fighting neurological diseases

things like BCI (brain computer interface) and OI (organoid intelligence) are soooooo new and anyone's game - motivation to study hard and be successful so i can take back my field from elon musk

machine learning is going to rapidly increase neuroscience progress i promise you. we get so caught up in AI stealing jobs but yes please steal my job of manually analyzing fMRI scans please i would much prefer to work on the science PLUS computational simulations will soon >>> animal testing to make all drug testing safer and more ethical !! we love ethical AI <3

collab with...everyone under the sun - psychologists, philosophers, ethicists, physicists, molecular biologists, chemists, drug development, machine learning, traditional computing, business, history, education, literally try to name a field we don't work with

it's the brain eeeeee

[prokopetz]

I don't have, like, hard data on this topic or anything, but having been in computer science education for the better part of a decade, my anecdotal experience is that the apparent discrepancy between "trans people with CS degrees" and "visible trans people in CS academia" is mostly explained by the fact that approximately zero of the trans people with CS degrees who I know were out while they were still in school. Like, I've bumped into exactly one person out of dozens who was actually, fully out while they were doing their degree – every single other person at the intersection of "trans" and "formally educated in computer science" that I know came out at some point after graduating. And frankly, I don't blame them; your average computer science department is not an environment that's exactly conducive to being anything other than straight, cis and male.