#research articles

[miss-biophys]

Beautiful view on the water canal from my home office today.

Calm place for some scientific writing. I am working on a grant application and an article with my latest findings.

[justanotherconfusedman]

One thing that has really struck me doing research into queer studies is just how much is on how being queer effects the people around you and not on how others treatment of you being queer effects you

There's mountains of research on the children raised by queer people and how being the parent of a trans child affects the parent and so little research on what it's like being a queer parent and being a trans child of adult in comparison

It makes me sad

[mothykleo]

Breaking news: local girl has run out of books to read and now shes very upset :(

[crabussy]

slightly furious reminder that fish do in fact feel pain and do in fact experience fear and distress when in pain since people seem to love spreading the myth that fish don't feel pain. what is it with people assuming a creature is incapable of feeling pain or emotion just because it doesn't have complex facial muscles. come on gang

[shiryouji]

Please be more inclusive in your discussions around PCOS, not everyone with a uterus is a woman. Some of us are men, some of us are nonbinary, third gender, agender, or one of the infinite genders under the sun.

I’ll continue to repeat this until appropriate room is made for everyone with PCOS, not just cis women.

[aabms]

Observation types and record-keeping methods

Observation as a research method has to be methodical, narrowly focused and well-documented with a clear goal in mind. It needs to go through the standard processes of validity, reliability, and accuracy tests like any other research technique. The observer has to be aware of exactly what to watch out for and notice. The validity and reliability of observations are enhanced when the same observer…

[pandemic-info]

UPDATE: a judge blocked this for now: https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-pause-federal-grants-aid-f9948b9996c0ca971f0065fac85737ce

—

This is a huge fucking problem.

These grants account for more than 10% of the GDP. 3 trillion – wiped out.

From the article:

The funding freeze by the Republican administration could affect trillions of dollars and cause widespread disruption in health care research, education programs and other initiatives. Even grants that have been awarded but not spent are supposed to be halted.

“The use of Federal resources to advance Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering policies is a waste of taxpayer dollars that does not improve the day-to-day lives of those we serve,” said a memo from Matthew Vaeth, the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget.

(Use of that language, that entire segment, "Marxist equity ... policies" is disgusting. If you think you're wary of propaganda and you do not see the enormous red flags in that statement, I do not know how to help you. If you're not beyond it, maybe pick up a history book — the 1930s are particularly pertinent.)

The average person may not understand just how far-reaching this is, how many programs and services are covered by grants, that regular people rely on all across the US and globally.

Not to mention how many people just had their livelihood demolished.

Researchers, for example, spend months and years writing grant proposals, their work and income relies on these cycles. So even if this is "temporary", a lot of people are going to struggle.

This is not just a few people in lab coats somewhere, working on something you don't care about. Government-funded research is released to the public, since we paid for it, and is very typically about things the public will want to know:

Is this product safe or deadly?

Is this medication actually a "wonder drug" or does it harm you in the long term?

Is this pollution going to affect us long-term?

Etc.

Seriously, if you wanted any of those things to get better — you wanted lower rates of cancer and other deadly and disabling disease? You worry about trusting public health guidelines because you're concerned about bias and vested interests in research? You want "small government" that doesn't interfere with people's bodies based on a small group's religious dogma, with zero basis in factual, verifiable reality?

Then you should have voted to keep this administration out of government.

Because their idea — which is outlined in Project 2025, and they are following it closely — is that research will be required to rely 50% on private funding.

Guess what private funding introduces a ton more of: private interests, private bias. The interests of stakeholders who do not give a shit if you are being killed by their product, as long as line goes up in the short run.

But even beyond scientific researchers — and those who rely on that work, e.g. journalists, science communicators, public health advocates, scientific artists —

grants fund others like: teachers, police, farmers, women's and homeless shelters, native orgs, medical workers, and on the list goes.

All pending "review" by a thoroughly unqualified gang of convicted criminals and cronies.

[asgardian--angels]

**URGENT** HELP SAVE THE USGS BEE LAB!

PLEASE circulate this as widely as possible, as soon as possible.

Hi all, you may not know me but I am a native bee researcher in the eastern US. People like me work to study and protect the 3600 species of native bees in North America, many of which are in severe decline.

We just received devastating news, that unfortunately was not surprising. The Trump administration's proposed 2026 budget is set to defund most of the ecological research happening at the USGS, and that includes zeroing out the budget for the USGS Native Bee Inventory & Monitoring Lab.

Don't know them? Maybe you've seen stunning photos like this:

These gorgeous and evocative focus-stacked photos of native bees on black backgrounds - all of which are public domain - come from the USGS Bee Lab (here's their Flickr). Through these, they've helped bring the beauty and importance of native bees to the public's attention. Hundreds if not thousands of news articles, videos, and publications use these photos.

But that is just one tiny slice of what the USGS Bee Lab does for pollinator conservation. Its primary role is much bigger; they provide technical support, research collaborations, and financial & grant partnerships to federal and state agencies, academic institutions and researchers, and much more, so we can study, manage, and protect North America's wild pollinators. They conduct research of their own that has led to species rediscoveries, and produce invaluable resources that have greatly advanced our understanding of wild bees and our approaches to studying and conserving them. They also provide the essential and irreplaceable service of bee identification. For those who don't know, identifying bees is hard. Sometimes Really Hard. And this lab is one of just a handful of places in the entire country who can identify some of the toughest groups of bees, and who sit on the forefront of breakthroughs on taxonomy and identification that the rest of us in this field rely on. Without this service, agencies and researchers trying to survey and monitor bees in order to track population declines, manage land, and get policy changed are stuck with a lot of nameless bees, severely limiting the usefulness of that data.

Tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of bee specimens pass through this lab annually, plus the thousands in permanent storage, from long-term monitoring efforts by state and federal agencies, and researchers like myself. They operate at a greater capacity than basically any other institution doing this kind of work. Few if any bee researchers in the eastern US, or even the country, have not benefitted from this lab's work, and those benefits are passed on to you through being able to protect pollinators and the services they provide both in agriculture and ecosystems.

This lab is headed up by scientist Sam Droege, who has dedicated decades of his life to this cause, and whom I consider not just a research partner but, humbly, a friend. I am utterly indebted to him for helping me get my start in this field, and for the support and kindness he has shown me and every other young professional who is passionate about pollinators. The Lab operates with an insanely small budget already, and a very limited staff, yet the impact they have is exponentially outsized. Losing the USGS Bee Lab would be a devastating blow to pollinator conservation in this country, at a time when native bee species are sitting on the precipice, and sustainable agriculture is non-negotiable for our future.

You can read more about the Bee Lab here. The Lab is not well-publicized, but it's a lifeline for the many dedicated people who work to try and protect pollinators and the environment at large.

SO WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Sam Droege has sent out a request for help, and has encouraged us to post on social media. This is what he wants you to do to help us save the Bee Lab.

This is verbatim:

What is Happening: ·       The USGS Bee Lab is at risk of being permanently closed due to cuts in the 2026 Federal Budget and looming federal RIF’s ·       Specifically, the Ecosystem Mission Area (EMA) budget, which funds the USGS Bee Lab and the Eastern Ecological Science center has been zeroed out ·       Thousands of layoffs to hit Interior, National Parks imminently - Government Executive What you can do ·       Write to your representatives, the White House, and the Department of the Interior that they should restore the funding for the USGS Bee Lab ·       Send digital or physical letters, write emails, post to social media What you should be highlighting: ·       Personal anecdotes about how the Bee Lab has impacted you or your organization ·       How important the research the Bee Lab is conducting is to your state Contact Information: 1.      Representatives: Find Your Representative | house.gov 2.      Senators: U.S. Senate: Contacting U.S. Senators 3.      White House: Contact Us – The White House 4.      Interior: feedback@ios.doi.gov Send a copy of the letter to droegesam@gmail.com Pass this email around.  Post your response to social media

IT'S OK if you are not a scientist and have not directly interacted with the Bee Lab. Have you seen the lab's photos? Are you concerned about native pollinator declines? Are you aware of any pollinator conservation initiatives or policies in your own state - those almost certainly have drawn, directly or indirectly, from work the Lab has done. Speak about American food production and agriculture, how the Lab's research and collaborations are essential to safeguarding pollination services (this might help reach across the aisle).

Sam urges that these letters, emails, phone calls, etc, must happen quickly - within the next couple days. This information went out on May 8th and that is the day I am posting this. So please, don't wait.

If 'save the bees' has ever meant anything to you, this is the agency that is playing one of the biggest roles in this country in making that happen. Please, contact your representatives, and pass this call to action along however you can. Thank you.

[heartless-aro]

People when a character is aromantic or aromantic coded: Wowie! They’re aroACE! Because they aren’t interested in romance! Look at how aroace they are!

People when a character is aroace or aroace coded: Isn’t it cool that this character is asexual? Asexual icon! They’re such great asexual representation :)

[it-was-dead-when-i-found-it]

Ask and ye shall receive...

For context y'all I wrote a 30+ page thesis about vampires, a piece I've been uhhh more than a little obsessed with for the last little bit. But it's done now!! And it's exciting!

Anyway I DID manage to fit "lizard fashion" into it on page 31 (footnote) and if you find every vampire pun I made, you get a prize (your own self satisfaction and my unending delight)

[jstor]

The editors at JSTOR Daily have compiled all of their favorite articles for Black History Month!

Peruse the articles to explore historical contributions from Black Americans and the African diaspora at large–supported by scholarship from JSTOR.

[the-moon-is-bi]

Journal of Bisexuality

Hello bisexuals! I have compiled all of the volumes and articles of Journal of Bisexuality and you can access it for free! Don't worry about paywalls anymore. I will keep updating the drive.

[dclovesdanny]

Dead Tired x Soulmate au

Tim could tell everyone was confused why he was so insistent on going on this mission. The Amity Park Disaster was terrible, sure, but he had never fought so hard to join a mission, even threatening to go by himself if he wasn’t included. He could feel the concerned stares, but he didn’t give a shit. It wasn’t like he could tell them that his soulmate was in Amity.

When they arrived, they were greeted by a teenager who showed them around. He tried to focus on her words, because she was really interesting and this was the girl who had managed to catch Bruce at a gala and slip a note about the Anti Ecto Acts into his suit jacket, but he just felt jittery.

It wasn’t until they got to a restaurant nearby (all while the locals stared at them with suspicion and anger. He understood it, but this was the first time he’d been flipped off by an old lady in his Red Robin costume.) called Nasty Burger that they ran into the first GIW agents, who were trying to grab a kid who was contaminated.

(Tim knew if Bruce was there he would probably disapprove of Tim beating the agent to a near corpse, but the locals seemed slightly less hostile towards him now. A waitress even gave him a free burger.)

Phantom came not long after, chattering and smiling as he rifled through the agent’s pockets. He even arranged to meet with them later. However, a comment from Phantom made something click in Tim’s soul.

“I’ll have to buy you an extra Nasty Burger for beating Agent E up so much.” Phantom winked at him, and he felt his cheeks flush slightly as the words he kept so carefully hidden were finally spoken.

Tim barely choked out a “sure” before Phantom left to go fight a ghost named Skulker, and Tim had to lean heavily on Kon.

Holy shit his soulmate was a hero!

Holy shit his soulmate was Phantom.

(Holy shit his soulmate was dead)

[subpar-celestial]

Apocalypse au Thiam

[papier-ciseaux]

I want this guy to start enacting french rural courtship tradition. Like putting a whole tree by someone's window in the night.

The tradition is mostly known as "l'arbre de mai" [may tree] but the trees can also just be called "Mais". You may know the german "Maibaum", but it's also a tradition in France, with variants depending on where you live. Basically, in the night of the first of may, young men will bring decorated trees (usually birch in germany and beech in france, but some trees can have additional meaning) to the window of unmarried girls from their village. This is done anonymously and the girls can try to figure out who did that. It's also linked to marriage.

In some region, instead of a small tree, all the young men bring a large tree to the village center and use the branches to make bouquet to leave on the window sill of girls.

There are many variants.