Crystal Concepcion 🦋

Today I gave a guest #lecture in a 1st yr #PlantBiology UG class at @UofIllinois My talk was about “Light: Needed But Not In Excess” I tackled the light reactions, #Photosystem II in detail, #Photoinhibition, various mechanisms of #Photoprotection used by plants & #Photodamage.

A friend of mine used to say: “Show up on time, with a good attitude, and do what you said you’d do. That’s it. That’s 90% of winning in life." The older I get, the more I realize just how right he was.

🚨Update: Iran is using infrared and heat signatures to target US warplanes. The Iranians leaned that the US target all radar sites, making them useless. US can’t stop their passive targeting systems!!

Social media companies have shown us they won't step up, so Illinois is stepping in. It's time to pass the Children's Social Media Safety Act.

I hope no one needs an MRI this year. The world's largest producer of liquified helium is in Qatar and is shut off. We just got a notice that our supply for the year will be at least cut in half. No one could have predicted this (unless they thought about it).

Major cheat code for life: Be patient with yourself when you’re trying to become someone you’ve never been. You’ll feel lost, unsure, and tempted to quit. Don't. Change feels chaotic because your old self is fighting for survival. Expect it to be a battle. But also expect to win.

Eid Mubarak, Illinois. As we mark Eid al-Fitr, may today be filled with family, friends, and blessings after a long month of reflection.

A massive advantage in life: Being a pleasure to deal with. Kind when others aren’t. Calm when things go sideways. Reliable under pressure. Intelligence alone is overrated. Be someone who lightens the load for folks around them. People value people who make their lives easier.

When the government tells you: “We’re in the same boat”

After much reflection, I have decided to resign from my position as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, effective today. I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby. It has been an honor serving under @POTUS and @DNIGabbard and leading the professionals at NCTC. May God bless America.

Regular exercise is linked to slower biological aging - but only in people sleeping 7+ hours. People who slept under 6 hours and exercised actually aged faster.

Well, when a child is conceived, the DNA split is 50/50 from both parents. Except for one small detail: mitochondrial DNA. It’s passed down only through the mother and never through sperm. Which means something interesting: all living humans can trace their mitochondrial line back to one woman, not one man. And every daughter born continues passing that same line forward. Happy Women’s Day 💐

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is open to studying the implementation of a four-day work week proposed by Senator Win Gatchalian, according to Palace press officer Claire Castro. The proposal was raised after the President urged Filipinos to save energy as oil prices are projected to soar amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Castro, however, noted that the proposal has not yet been discussed by the Marcos Cabinet. | @dexcabalzaINQ

If the job pays under $80K, it shouldn’t require a cover letter and 5 rounds of interviews

I’m a landlord. It’s a tough business. I had a tenant, Mr. Alvarez. Never late on rent for 5 years. Then, the checks stopped. I went to his apartment. He didn’t open the door. I used my key. The apartment was empty. No furniture. Just a mattress on the floor and Mr. Alvarez sitting on it. “I’m sorry,” he said, looking down. “My wife got sick. The medication… I sold everything. I’ll leave today.” I looked at the empty room. I went to my truck. I grabbed my tools. “I’m not kicking you out,” I said. “But I am raising the rent.” He looked terrified. “I’m raising it to $0 for the next six months.” He started to cry. “And,” I added, “I’ve got an extra sofa in storage. And a table. Let’s get this place looking like a home again.” That was three years ago. His wife recovered. He’s back on his feet. He insists on paying me double rent now to "pay back the debt." I put the extra money into a fund for other tenants who struggle. A roof over someone’s head is a business. Keeping a roof over their head when they’re drowning? That’s a duty. Anonymous participant

Don't worry about Barron Trump. Rich kids don't have to go to war. That's for poor kids from Missouri and Mississippi.

The United States of America and Israel has just bombed a school full of students in Iran. ~40 students killed and 48 injured. This violates Article 52 of Additional Protocol (I) Geneva Conventions, but international law clearly doesn’t apply to the U.S. and Israel.

My mother had me in 1962. Her pediatrician told her to feed me every four hours, no exceptions. “Babies need to learn discipline from day one,” he said. “If you feed on demand, you’ll spoil them.” I was a small baby, struggling to gain weight. I cried constantly between feedings. My mother told me years later that it was torture. She’d sit outside my nursery door, crying herself, listening to me scream, watching the clock. Fifteen more minutes. Ten more minutes. Her own mother—my grandmother—begged her to just feed me. “The baby is hungry. Listen to your instincts.” But my mother trusted the doctor more than herself. “He went to medical school. He must know better than I do.” By my two-month checkup, I’d barely gained any weight. The doctor said I was “failing to thrive” and put me on a supplement formula. My mother said, “Should I feed her more often?” He said, “Absolutely not. Stick to the schedule. She’ll adjust.” It wasn’t until my grandmother secretly started feeding me when my mother was out of the house that I started gaining weight properly. My mother carries guilt about this sixty years later. “I ignored every instinct I had because a man in a white coat told me to.” ~Amelia Carter Via FB

You're a man. Neverrrrrr share pictures of: 1. Your kids. 2. Where you live. 3. Where you are travelling until you are back. Protect your children. You never know who hates them just because they’re yours.

Today, the Trump administration repealed the endangerment finding: the ruling that served as the basis for limits on tailpipe emissions and power plant rules. Without it, we’ll be less safe, less healthy and less able to fight climate change — all so the fossil fuel industry can make even more money.