Dr. Karen Muller Smith (She/Her)

He can Fuck all the way off.

For those on the job market, University of Toronto 🇨🇦 is hiring a tenure-track Assistant Professor in Zebrafish Models of Genetic and Metabolic Pathologies 🐟 Yes, they want #zebrafish!

🔗 jobs.utoronto.ca/job/Toronto-...

It's about arctic resources...classic colonialism. Be happy of your benefactors who come to steal your natural resources.

Interesting, and I almost posted the LA infant mortality rate to make a point. We are on the same wavelength. Interesting that theirs is higher.

Ugh, feeling sick for the 1st time in a while. This is going to be one of those that triggers bronchitis and asthma.

Sending Louisiana Healthcare to Greenland? Uhm..

Awe

Love it!

Truth

Black cat cuddling on a lap, under a blanket, dog sitting next to human and cat.

Caturday vibes. With a side of pup cuddles. My husband brought home donuts and koulachs earlier while running errands.

Prior abortion or miscarriage not linked to increased risk of pre- or postmenopausal breast cancer A prior abortion or miscarriage was not linked with an increased risk of developing pre- or postmenopausal breast cancer in a study published in Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica.

A new study has shown that miscarriage or induced abortion is NOT a potential risk factor for breast cancer, contrary to continued anti-choice propaganda. Even several abortions or miscarriages does not increase risk. The study used high-quality Finnish registry data.

Mardi Gras vibes for my last lecture before the break. I am need this break, even though I have work to catch up on, no meetings or teaching on Monday and Tuesday is a nice treat.

Owl on power line, pic from below

A Superb Owl indeed. This is from my phone camera. I did take some better pics with our Canon camera, but I will have to download them tonight.

Owl sitting on a power line.

Squee! The owl is out!

We had a SuperbOWL day yesterday, complete with a great view of the Barn Owl I have been spotting in our neighborhood recemtly. He was hunting worms near the drainage ditches across from our house. He got a bit nervous when the truck went by in this vid, but he caught a worm 5 min later.

I am watching this closely. My so n is a PLC in his troop, and he is a founding member of his troop. Scouting means a lot to him. If he was barred from participating, it would devastate him.

Sunflower pastel with an eye in the center and surrounded by smaller eye shapes and vine-like leaves

This is the pastel he worked on last night, a bit of surrealism in there.

Cream colored cake with coconut almond buttercream frosting, decorated with strawberry,blackberry, and raspberry.

Look at this amazing creation by my 15yo son. Baking is an outlet for his creativity and his stress. I wish he wasn't going through such a rough time, but his art and baking is wonderful to me.

Thousands of people filled the streets of downtown Minneapolis in protest of federal immigration enforcement for the second consecutive Friday.

📷️: Aaron Lavinsky

Gorgeous

The Accidental Winners of the War on Higher Ed Go to a small liberal-arts college if you can.

About small liberal-arts colleges, Ian Bogost writes in @theatlantic.com: “The form of higher ed that they provide seems poised to be the most resilient in the years to come.” 🎓
#educationmatters #academia #liberalarts #academicsky #SLAC

This Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program is funded by the National Science Foundation to create "points of entry" for students interested in research. Students apply from across the country to spend 10 weeks in Bozeman, Montana this summer (May 26, 2026 - August 1, 2026). Admitted students are paired with a faculty mentor, who serves as an advisor for a student's summer project. Each student receives a stipend ($7000 for 10 wks). Travel compensation, room, and board are also provided. Our program leverages MSU’s unique microbiology expertise, focusing specifically on microbes living with little or no oxygen (like those in the hot springs of nearby Yellowstone). Low oxygen microbes are essential to human and ecosystem health. They influence (or control) such processes as the breakdown of food in the GI tract, removal of toxins from our bodies and the environment, and production of greenhouse gases. They are also models for understanding the origins of life on this planet, and the potential for life on other planets. A key goal of our program is to recruit students from schools with limited research infrastructure. Being in Montana, a state with a vibrant Native American community, we are particularly interested in applications from students at tribal colleges. However, ANYONE with an interest in microbiology - or biology/science in general - can and should apply. If willing and able, please share/tweet/spread the word far and wide. Applications are due February 14, 2026. Full details can be found through our website http://www.montana.edu/mbi/reu/

Friends, please help spread the word about our microbiology REU program at Montana State University.
www.montana.edu/mbi/reu/

Each student receives a stipend ($7000 for 10 wks). Travel compensation, room, and board are also provided.

Details in the attached pic--Feb 14 deadline
🧫🧪🦠#microsky

Ugh, I hate those days

Black and Orange cat on top of the fridge. Possibly stealing pet treats.

Black and Orange cat on top of the fridge. Possibly stealing pet treats.

Kitty shenanigans. These kitties help keep me stay sane in a world that is being engineered to create chaos to steal elections and rights. The right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of justice is being stolen from us as citizens.

Murphy: "It's always been the fear & now is closer to the reality that the Trump admin is creating this mayhem, particularly in cities in swing states, to take control of elections. They're trying to trade the presence of ICE & the murder & mayhem they are causing for control of MN's elections"

I read this last night, and it truly dissected the murder of Nurse Pretti.

Alex Pretti "used to tell people off when they made sexist comments to female physicians. He bought me coffee when I had a really bad day as an intern...I laughed alongside him daily. He made a point to teach medical residents without judgement, but with a smile on his face and a joke."

Chantilly Cake decorated with berries

NY style Cheesecake with candles.

I made a NY style Cheesecake and a Chantilly Cake for my Twins' 15th Birthday. They were awesome!

Another thing that I do to support my students is that I acknowledge what’s happening, and I don’t pretend that stuff like this is normal, and that everything’s fine.

I have had students tell me that they feel like they’re going crazy because they see what is happening but no one will speak of it.

Two days ago it was Elissa Slotkin. Last week it was Jerome Powell. Before that, Mark Kelly. Weaponizing the justice system against your opponents is an authoritarian tactic.

The only person not being investigated for the shooting of Renee Good is the federal agent who shot her.