Katherine Drotos
Evolutionary biologist trying to do a bit of good | Ongoing #fishgenomics & #lichens work | Evolution, philosophy, pedagogy, fungi, genomics | Justice & climate | she/her
- Reposted by Katherine Drotos🚨 Requesting help: I am looking for an agent who can facilitate more speaking gigs, podcast appearances, and interviews with journalists I want to more widely share my story and expertise as a trans geneticist who understands the reality and complexity of "biological sex" 🏳️⚧️🧬 Please signal boost?
- Reposted by Katherine DrotosI am hearing that RFK Jr.’s minions are going to go after HPV vaccines. I’ve got problems with these people and now you’re going to hear about them, first from a personal perspective and then from a professional one. It all boils down to this: WE HAVE A SAFE VACCINE THAT PREVENTS CANCER.
- Khalil and Noreen are doing an amazing job keeping their children safe in a very difficult situation. Please help them feed their children if you can.
- Reposted by Katherine Drotos1. The thing about science that these jokers don't understand is that science cannot be vibe-coded. Whatever its flaws, the point with vibe coding is that you're trying to quickly make something that sorta works, where you can immediately sorta see if it sorta works and then sorta use it.
- When Noreen asks for help, she only ever asks for her children. But she is in dire need too - she has an eye condition (has had it since before the war) and now without regular care it has gotten much worse. Please share.
- It's a great day to send some mutual aid to a Palestinian family. ♥️
- Reposted by Katherine DrotosI think a lot of us get hope wrong. Hope, I do not believe, is an emotion. In fact, hope makes space for lots of emotions to exist alongside it. You can DO hope scared, angry, sad etc... Hope doesn't find us. We make hope through action and struggle. It's a practice of living and is re-made daily.
- Reposted by Katherine Drotos"As many as 30,000 people could have been killed in the streets of Iran on Jan. 8 and 9 alone, two senior officials of the country’s Ministry of Health told TIME—indicating a dramatic surge in the death toll." time.com/7357635/more...
- [I know things are insane right now, and] This is wild!! Another scientific factoid coming from an unevidenced claim:
- I hate to foil your dream: outdoor.wildlifeillinois.org/articles/deb...
- I say another because this was a side quest during my PhD: "8% of the world is covered in lichens" has no basis. academic.oup.com/bioscience/a...
- Oh this is cool
- Gram negative bacteria may get skewered when settling onto the wrong animal surfaces. Nice writeup of research on @asm.org asm.org/articles/202...
- Reposted by Katherine DrotosNational media should really be covering the fact thay every major school, museum, and arts institution in the Twin Cities, and hundreds of local businesses are closed tomorrow to protest federal occupation. Nothing like this at this scale has happened anywhere in America anytime in living memory.
- Reposted by Katherine DrotosHis name is Liam Ramos, and he is 5. He was abducted from Minneapolis and trafficked to a detention camp in Texas.
- Thanks to her tenacity and the generosity of others, Noreen was able to buy the nebulizer for her son! They still need help daily to buy food. If you are able, consider setting up a small recurring donation. It's easy, and makes a huge difference to them. chuffed.org/project/emer...
- Reposted by Katherine DrotosI have sat here and screamed "A baby!" inside my heart so often that I do not have any words left. Help, share at least!
- Noreen still needs help to buy a nebulizer for her son, on top of their regular expenses. I know a lot of folks are tired of seeing these accounts and their pleas, but they post so much because they are desperate. Everything is expensive and that hasn't changed.
- I got an update from Noreen this morning that Ghaith's symptoms are worsening. They really need a nebulizer to treat his illness. Please share!
- Things have once again become dire for Noreen and her family. Her youngest child has been diagnosed with an illness that requires a piece of medical equipment to treat, which is very challenging and expensive to get in Gaza. They need our help! Verified: chuffed.org/project/emer...
- Things have once again become dire for Noreen and her family. Her youngest child has been diagnosed with an illness that requires a piece of medical equipment to treat, which is very challenging and expensive to get in Gaza. They need our help! Verified: chuffed.org/project/emer...
- Reposted by Katherine Drotospulling this reflection on white silence/fear over here, too:
- Reason #286 to ditch Spotify. Pay artists. It's not hard.
- I know there are a million serious things vying for our attention, but the situation is still dire in Gaza. Noreen's family's tent was once again badly damaged in a storm. The weather and bombing have not let up recently. Please share and donate if you can. ♥️ chuffed.org/project/emer...
- Look at this level of bravery. And she shouldn't have to.
- Stunning photos from Minneapolis, including this one by John Locher for the Associated Press. www.theatlantic.com/photography/...
- Reposted by Katherine DrotosAmazing visual. I'll only add that this species is holding on by a THREAD. 🧪
- Reposted by Katherine DrotosFor Canadian scholars, the reality is bleak . Ottawa is dangling money for American researchers, but what about our own? #academicsky #neuroskyence #psychscisky
- Adventures in job hunting ... LinkedIn: Here are 40 biologist jobs. Are they all AI scams? Probably, but your skills match is 97%! Indeed: You do "bioinformatics"? How about software development, can you do that? Glassdoor: Would you like to be a financial analyst in Moose Jaw?
- Reposted by Katherine DrotosSo many folks - even, maybe especially, those I like & respect - have wrongly tried to convince me that insisting on clearly articulating & using values for decision making is not pragmatic. Pragmatism not rooted in acting in alignment with values isn’t pragmatic - it’s capitulation & cowardice.
- Reposted by Katherine DrotosPermafrost (frozen ground) is the backbone of northern ecosystems. Watch this field video for a visual demonstration of what happens when we lose that permafrost to thaw.
- Hey all, it's Noreen's oldest son's birthday today. He's been sick, and it's been hard for him to get better between regularly going without food and often not being warm enough. Share and give if you can!
- Noreen needs help desperately to feed her children. She and her husband cannot get work due to a disability, and they are also caring for her sick father. Please share and donate if you can!
- Reposted by Katherine DrotosIf any journalist wants to talk to a trans man with a PhD in Human Genomics who was trained in labs that studied the evolution of sex, I'm right here Or just keep platforming Republicans who have a 5th grade understanding of biology so they get more trans people killed, sure 🤷🏻♂️
- Even tiny amounts go a long way for families in need. ♥️
- Reposted by Katherine Drotos"This promise of an AI future, is really just a collective anxiety that wealthy people have about how well they're gonna be able to control us in the future." - @tressiemcphd.bsky.social with an absolute mic drop moment about AI bullshit. Incredible words. Listen to all of it!
- Reposted by Katherine Drotospls read my ecomodernist manifesto—we could make a massive dent in our planetary crises by reducing our dependence on the two great efficiency sinks in American life: meat and cars. And we can do so in a way that's consistent with growth and democratic principles www.vox.com/future-perfe...
- Reposted by Katherine Drotos💥 Check out this new #AJB essay! 💥 Urban #lichens as an emerging model for urban #evolution By Ann Evankow, Jeremy Howland, James Lendemer & Jason Munshi-South doi.org/10.1002/ajb2... #plantscience #fungi
- This is fascinating.
- This is incredibly important. If you read one thing this week: marcusolang.substack.com/p/im-kenyan-...
- Reposted by Katherine DrotosA nice cluster of Cladonia #lichen spp...plus the remains of what was a cloudberry flower. #fungi #fungifriends #wildflower
- Reposted by Katherine DrotosREAD: Israel keeps blocking aid into the strip, delaying reconstruction efforts, and leaving hospitals short on supplies, while people go hungry every day. mondoweiss.net/2025/12/a-ne...
- Noreen and her family are still in dire straits - southern Gaza is experiencing extreme flooding and its fallout. Please donate and share to help them purchase a new tent and warm clothes for their kids!
- 🚨Urgent: as you may have heard, Khan Younis has been hit by flooding in the past 24 hours. Noreen and her family's tent was completely destroyed. They have already gone many days in the past several weeks without eating & with inadequate clothing. Please donate & share!!! chuffed.org/project/emer...
- Reposted by Katherine DrotosLook, I know that STEM faculty might not pay attention, b/c the bill focuses on non-STEM research. But this is just a foothold into crushing tenure and academic freedom. Anyone whose research doesn't pass muster w/ administration will be stopped, e.g. climate researchers, mRNA vaccine researchers...
- 🚨Urgent: as you may have heard, Khan Younis has been hit by flooding in the past 24 hours. Noreen and her family's tent was completely destroyed. They have already gone many days in the past several weeks without eating & with inadequate clothing. Please donate & share!!! chuffed.org/project/emer...
- Reposted by Katherine DrotosAbsolute nonsense. Researchers who are already here punch above their weight despite low levels of support. We do not need to spend a billion dollars recruiting Americans, we need to fund the excellent scientists we already have.
- The situation in Gaza is desperate for many, as the cold sets in and the weather damages tents. Most of Noreen and Khalil's supplies are damaged or too wet to use, and they need help buying new blankets and clothes for their children.
- Reposted by Katherine DrotosToday I'm talking about contributing to base R 💻 Are you curious about how to improve the language we love, at its core? This is a thread for you! #RStats
- Reposted by Katherine DrotosThe deadline to apply to the Access, Inclusion, and Community (AIC) Committee has been extended to December 15!
- Want to get more involved with SSE? Consider contributing your skills and ideas by joining an SSE committee! Applications close at midnight Eastern tonight. Must be a current SSE member to apply. All career stages welcome! www.evolutionsociety.org/news/display...
- Noreen's father is not doing well and needs medication, which is wildly expensive. Please donate if you can, share if you can't. ♥️ chuffed.org/project/emer...
- Reposted by Katherine DrotosA study on 1.7 million people in Hong Kong shows superior hybrid immunity to Covid in people who got vaccinated before infection vs. people who got infected first. "Our findings are a direct rebuttal to arguments for natural immunity," the authors write. doi.org/10.1016/j.va...
- Reposted by Katherine DrotosHere's the reality this example illustrates: It's not even just about people blindly trusting what ChatGPT tells them. LLMs are poisoning the entire information ecosystem. You can't even necessarily trust that the citations in a published paper are real (or a search engine's descriptions of them).
- Reposted by Katherine DrotosNot everyone can make it to a theater, so Robert Reich, former U.S. Secretary of Labor, author, and policy expert, is hosting a special one-time-only online watchalong of The Last Class on Mon, Dec 8 at 5:30pm PT / 8:30pm ET. Join here,
- Reposted by Katherine DrotosAlong Israel’s expanding Yellow Line, the war in Gaza never ended Israeli forces are advancing beyond stipulated boundaries, where Palestinians say supposedly safe neighborhoods are coming under fire without warning. By Ruwaida Amer www.972mag.com/gaza-yellow-...
- A reminder for some of what these folks are facing right now: 1) Calling the situation a "ceasefire" has led to a significant drop in donations. 2) Very little aid is getting in. 3) What is getting in is often diverted by bad actors. 4) Resulting prices at markets for good food is scary high.
- Reposted by Katherine DrotosI am Nourin from Gaza. I have three children and my husband is injured. My children and husband need your help. We haven't eaten for two days and urgently need $300. Please donate before it's too late. 💔😭 chuffed.org/project/emer...
- Is anyone able to help Noreen today? The Bluesky mods are ruthless with deleting Palestinian accounts ... Winter has hit Gaza, adding costs for shelter and winter clothes to the already difficult task of scraping together enough money for food. chuffed.org/project/emer...
- Khalil is Noreen's husband, for whom I have been sharing the past while. Donations to them have slowed and they currently have no other way to get money - Noreen, her husband, and her father all have illnesses/injuries preventing them from working. Please share and donate if you can!
- Their fundraiser is here: chuffed.org/project/emer...
- In my inbox: "Want to improve your pipeline? Get Ferret IgA Native Protein!" I don't know how I managed to land on this mailing list but honestly at this point I'm interested in how ferret proteins will improve my pipeline.
- Reposted by Katherine DrotosGeneticist here. Anyone telling you that they can just change intelligence (which isn't what IQ measures well anyways) by fiddling with a few genes is just straight-up grifting, it doesn't work like that. And yes it's basically definitionally eugenics.
- The situation in Gaza is becoming more dire as winter arrives. There is basically no change in how much aid is coming in, and so food and medicine prices are exceedingly high. Even $5 helps their situation. If everyone who saw this shared or donated $5, Noreen could feed her children today.
- I HATE how Bluesky immediately labels these accounts as spam. I get that they post a lot of similar posts, but what choice do they have?
- I know we are numbed by constantly seeing fundraisers for Palestinians, and worried about which ones are scams, but we can't let that stop us from acting. Noreen and her family are real people suffering under the genocide. I have spoken with her daily. She is verified by RadioWatermelon.
- Remember that a lot of the language used in these posts might seem odd to English readers because they're usually going through google translate! Tone and nuance is difficult to incorporate.
- Reposted by Katherine DrotosI’m 56 years old, and for my whole life we’ve been asking some version of the question “what would WE, our generation, have done to stop the Nazis, either in Germany as they were rising, or around the world to fight for freedom. Now we’re answering the question in real time. Each of us & all of us.
