Hermina Ghenu (they/them)

A line plot of the cumulative number of respondents (y-axis) over time (x-axis) from late November until mid February. In that time there have only been almost 50 respondents in total, even though the upper limit of the y-axis implies that the researchers will need at least 100 responses.

We're about 1/3rd of the way there! 🎉

The best way to recruit participants is if lecturers can offer time in class for students to complete the survey.

Lecturing now and interested?
Bachelor students from anywhere in the world are eligible to participate! 🌎🌍🌏

📧 Contact me for the survey link 📧

Jeffrey Epstein and the scientists – podcast The release of the latest batch of documents relating to the late child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has shed further light on his close relationship with the world of science. To find out why he cult...

In a "Jeffrey Epstein and the scientists" podcast w/ @iansample.bsky.social of The Guardian, we delve into the ugly world of Epstein and the scholars hurt by the misogyny in science that the files reveal:

www.theguardian.com/science/audi...

Direct from Anthropic!

It rots your brain.

A line plot of the cumulative number of respondents (y-axis) over time (x-axis) from late November until early February. In that time there have only been 5 respondents in total, even though the upper limit of the y-axis implies that the researchers will need at least 100 responses.

Want to know how biology students' math confidence impacts their learning performance?

Our ethics‑approved, controlled study explores exactly that peischllab.github.io/MEEW.html

We’re at a stage where we need more participants!

📧Contact me for the survey link to share with bachelor students.

Data all the way down: How uncovering the data underlying research findings impacts every aspect of scholarly communication DataDryad & SORTEE are teaming up for a panel discussion for Love Data Week 2026 - join us for a lively chat about the present and future of data

Cool #OpenData and #reproducibility webinar coming up.
SORTEE + Dryad = 💘

"Data all the way down: How uncovering the data underlying research findings impacts every aspect of scholarly communication"

📅 Thu, 12 Feb, 5–6pm WEST
🆓 Free registration: events.humanitix.com/love-data-we...

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

New paper out today, 'Global North-South science inequalities due to language and funding barriers'

We highlight how language and funding barriers can compound inequity and offer practical recommendations to bridge these gaps.

Read the Open Access paper here! 👉 tinyurl.com/654ztk3w

Thanks to some great comments and suggestions, we've updated TADA!

Read it here: ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...

Transferable, Available, Documented, Annotated.

Do you want to help advance the profile of #ecology, #evolution, & #conservation in Canada? Do you want to be part of a team that gets things done on behalf of a broader community? Run for CSEE Council! Nominations due April 26. Learn more here: csee-scee.ca/elections/

UC Board of Regents approves dismissal of tenured ecology professor - Daily Bruin The UC Board of Regents approved the dismissal of a tenured UCLA professor Wednesday. Priyanga Amarasekare, an ecology and evolutionary biology professor who began at UCLA in 2005, was initially suspe...

Dammit! UCLA fired eminent ecologist Dr. Priyanga Amarasekare anyway, after putting her through 3 years of hell for speaking her mind about diversity (and violating faculty code of conduct, of course). Her punishment began soon after she was honored with ESA’s Robert MacArthur award.

Terrible news

Bacteriophages mobilize bacterial defense systems via lateral transduction Bacteriophages and PICIs spread bacterial defenses via lateral transduction, shaping microbial immunity and pathogen evolution.

@jakob-tr.bsky.social @jrpenades.bsky.social et al. 🔥!

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Graphical depiction of a 2-way study design for a learning experiment where the same material is presented in 3 different ways. The interactive & digital experimental treatment is compared to a passive & digital control treatment as well as to an interactive & analogue control treatment.

Digital apps make math-bio FEEL engaging and fun,
but we don't know how the LEARNING OUTCOMES compare to traditional pen-and-paper exercises.

Our study compares app, video and traditional exercises to see what works best.

Lecturing now? 🙏🏻 Help us recruit participants
peischllab.github.io/MEEW.html

As teachers we know that math is inaccessible for students, but we don't know exactly why.

Our study aims to understand how student's math confidence impacts their learning performance.

Learn more & participate: peischllab.github.io/MEEW.html

#mathbio #compbio #evolution #ecology

Forecasting is cool, I'm happy to help if I can and not very busy at the moment. Check out our website and send me a brief email with how the teaching study we are running could be helpful for you, I'd be excited to collaborate!

Can interactive web apps help biology students become better modellers?

peischllab.github.io/MEEW.html
We're running an ethics-approved, pre-registered study thanks to funding from the University of Bern.

Are you lecturing in the Spring?
Contact me to receive the survey link!