Lover of soft things. Canadian Century
Joined December 2013
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🍁Aelfinn🍁 retweeted
Here's the entirety of Trump's bonkers call to C-SPAN, which began with a woman (not Melania) giggling in the background, continued with him going on a fascist diatribe about Venezuela, and ended with the C-SPAN host gently trying to nudge him off the line mid-psychotic rant
🍁Aelfinn🍁 retweeted
Massie introduces articles of impeachment against Hegseth on the House floor and details the charges
🍁Aelfinn🍁 retweeted
Please stop. The person who did this was fired. VAC doesn't have the ability to offer MAID anyway. That's not how this works.
Fucking stupid British Tabloid.
They fought for their country. Their reward? Euthanasia. Veterans with serious injuries or PTSD reveal they are being invited to end their lives under Canada's assisted dying system trib.al/EZ20wxT
🍁Aelfinn🍁 retweeted
THE HOUSE HIPPO PSA IS BACK!
THIS IS NOT A DRILL! IT'S HAPPENING.
WAKE UP CANADA!!! 🇨🇦
🍁Aelfinn🍁 retweeted
In Budget 2026, we’re cutting Canada’s marginal effective tax rate on new business investment from 13% to 6.4% — the lowest of any major economy in the world.
That means businesses, large and small, can deduct the full cost of most new investments.
Making Canada the best place in the world to build.
🍁Aelfinn🍁 retweeted
>be comp biologist in 2005
>chimp genome just dropped
>everyone comparing genes, looking for protein differences
>nah, i have a better idea
>find DNA that mouse, rat, and chimp all agree on
>stuff that hasn't changed in 300 million years
>*ultraconserved*
>then check if it suddenly breaks in humans anyway
>run the scan
>49 regions light up
>only 2 of them code for proteins
>mfw the most human parts of the genome aren't even protein genes
>top hit: 118 bases
>chicken vs chimp: 2 changes in 310 million years
>chimp vs human: 18 changes in ~6 million
>name it HAR1
>human accelerated region 1
>cyberpunk name af
>"what does it do?"
>"we'll find out later"
>be wet lab biologist down the hall
>handed a 118-base mystery
>colleague in Brussels is staining embryonic brain tissue
>mail him a probe, "try this"
>months pass
>email arrives
>it lights up in Cajal-Retzius neurons
>7 to 9 weeks gestation, right when the cortex is building its layers
>it's an RNA gene, folds into a new shape in humans
>10 of the 18 changes keep the fold intact
>evolution was being careful
>still can't say what it actually does
>be enhancer lab in 2008
>run your own human accelerated scan
>top hit: HACNS1, another HAR
>stick human version into a mouse embryo with a blue dye reporter
>blue in the paw
>specifically where the thumb and wrist will form
>chimp version barely does it
>swap 13 human mutations into the chimp version
>now it does it
>we may have found part of the genetic story of the human hand
>still not sure of the general human accelerated function though
>be population geneticist
>see everyone celebrating "positive selection"
>notice the mutations are suspiciously biased toward G and C
>gc_biased_gene_conversion.jpg
>recombination can fake a selection signal for free
>build a model to separate them
>somehow the HARs survive the cut
>about a fifth of them are probably just gene conversion
>be the guy who brings this up at every conference
>nobody likes this guy
>but this guy is right
>be autism geneticist in 2016
>if these regions made the human brain
>breaking them should break something human
>check families where parents are related
>find HAR mutations disrupting both copies
>up to 5% of autism cases in those families
>some reviewers: "most of those CNVs hit genes too"
>shrug
>be machine learning guy, 2023
>train a model to read enhancers
>score every human-chimp difference in ~2,600 HARs
>expect all mutations to push the same direction
>43% of HARs have mutations fighting each other
>one turns the enhancer up, the next turns it down
>evolution overshot and corrected
>let's keep pushing
>huh, human DNA folds differently in the nucleus than chimp DNA
>structural rearrangements over a million years ago
>suddenly old enhancers are next to new genes
>"enhancer hijacking"
>post it, feels good, finally solved
>be yale lab, 2025
>map what 1,590 HARs actually touch, human and chimp side by side
>nearly 3,000 targets
>almost all shared between species
>no hijacking, just retuning old genes
>say the other guys were wrong
>post it, this is *not*solved
>be 2025
>we have CRISPR, organoids, and humanized mice
>put human HARs in chimp neurons
>they grow more branches
>put human HARE5 in mice
>more neurons, bigger cortex
>delete HAR123
>mice get worse at unlearning things
>finally testing them one at a time
>~3,000 to go
>be present day, present time
>telomere-to-telomere genomes for every great ape
>find whole new rapidly evolved regions that weren't even in the old reference
>call them HAQERs
>mfw more HARs
>the list keeps growing
>these things keep popping in every genome scan
>mfw the only thing accelerating here is our confusion
>mfw we still don't fully know what HAR1 does
>be cell biology postdoc at UCLA, 1986
>job: purify vesicles from rat liver
>ez
>purify the vesicles
>something else in the tube
>weird little barrels, way bigger than a ribosome
>fkisdis
>purify the barrels instead
>mostly protein, tiny bit of RNA
>not related to vesicles at all
>new organelle just dropped?
>lab holds a naming contest
>"vaults" "sure, "great name" "
>write it up, publish
>conclusion section: "function: unknown"
>surely we'll figure it out in a couple years
>reviewers: "are you sure this isn't just a virus"
>prove it isn't a virus
>apply for grants to study it
>first question on every call: "what does it do"
>"we're working on it"
>be early 90s
>vaults hang around the nucleus
>"they must plug the nuclear pores"
>they do not
>be different scientist, Netherlands, 1995
>chasing LRP, mystery protein that shows up in chemo-resistant tumors
>clone it
>~88% identical to rat vault protein
>it was vaults the whole time
>whole cancer field piles on
>a decade of papers on vaults and drug resistance
>nobody ever proves vaults cause it
>back at UCLA
>one of the vault proteins binds telomerase
>"guys what if this is the fountain of youth"
>knock it out in mice
>telomeres fine, aging fine, mice fine
>2002
>knock out the main vault protein
>mice: perfectly healthy
>knock out all three vault proteins
>completely vaultless mice
>mice: basically fine, some subtle immune stuff
>mfw something in every cell since the dawn of eukaryotes does nothing obvious
>"just test it in yeast"
>yeast don't have vaults
>"worms then"
>no vaults
>"fruit flies"
>no vaults
>mfw every easy model organism dropped them
>try making recombinant vaults in insect cells
>expecting to get some loose protein at best
>get fully assembled vaults
>can't find a single free copy of the protein anywhere
>turns out ribosomes 3D-print the barrel straight off the mRNA
>lolwut
>still no function
>be structural biologists
>spend years modeling it as 96 proteins with 8-fold symmetry
>2009 X-ray structure
>it's 78 proteins, 39-fold
>caps still blurry
>2025: caps are closed, 13-fold, tiny hole in the middle
>still no function
>NIH funds vault research for 15 years
>NIH: "so what does it do"
>"...we're working on it"
>NIH stops returning calls
>if we can't figure out what it does, we'll make it do something
>stuff a cancer-fighting chemokine inside the barrel
>inject into mouse lung tumors
>immune cells swarm in, tumors shrink
>2011: "human trials within three years"
>2024: "human trials next year"
>2025 database: preclinical
>start a YouTube channel explaining vaults to anyone who'll listen
>be different scientist, Broad Institute
>want to record what genes a cell turned on over time
>try tethering mRNA to a bacterial protein
>doesn't work
>stumble onto a YouTube channel about some obscure barrel organelle
>engineer vaults to grab mRNA
>RNA half-life goes from ~17 hours to ~132 hours
>publish in Science, 2026
>use it to catch drug-resistance genes in lung cancer cells before the drug even hits
>the vault guy is thrilled
>still nobody knows what vaults are for
>be epigeneticists
>screen the whole genome for methylation set at random in the early embryo
>separately study kids conceived in different seasons in rural Gambia
>both screens independently point at the same gene
>it's the goddam vault RNA gene
>its methylation depends on conditions around conception, locked in for life
>linked to cancer outcomes, blood sugar, cleft palate
>mfw the mystery barrel has a mystery RNA that remembers when you were conceived
>40 years later
>one of the most abundant structures in your cells
>still not in a single textbook cell diagram
>we use it anyway because yolo
>function: unknown
🍁Aelfinn🍁 retweeted
Hank Scorpio: "Back to the hammocks, my friend. You know, there's a little place called Mary Ann's Hammocks. The nice thing about that place is Mary Ann gets in the hammock with you."
Hank Scorpio:"I'm just kidding."
Homer: "Oh."
Hank Scorpio:"You know who invented the hammock, Homer?"
Homer:" No."
Hank Scorpio: "There's something for you to do: find that out."
#TheSimpsonsGoats #TheSimpsons #SimpsonsForever
Happy 30th Anniversary to @TheSimpsons episode "You Only Move Twice" Originally Airing November 3, 1996
#TheSimpsonsGoats #TheSimpsons #SimpsonsForever
🍁Aelfinn🍁 retweeted
OSC CEO Grant Vingoe isn’t looking to automatically follow the U.S. lead on digital asset regulation. At The Logic Summit, he said Canada needs to account for its own market and experience with investor losses.
The OSC wants to keep supervising stablecoins used on crypto trading platforms when the federal Stablecoin Act takes effect. It views stablecoins as securities, or potentially derivatives.
Vingoe sees little reason to duplicate requirements that already cover the same risks. “There’s no need to assert jurisdiction when it’s not serving a purpose,” he said.
Read The Logic’s reporting ⬇️
thelogic.co/news/summit-gran…
🍁Aelfinn🍁 retweeted
30 years ago today, The Simpsons first met Hank Scorpio (and Homer said goodbye to a shoe for the second time in his life).
“You Only Move Twice” first aired November 3, 1996.
🍁Aelfinn🍁 retweeted
TJHS HAS GONE VIRAL! 🐾
3.1 MILLION VIEWS AND COUNTING!
TJHS senior Layla Clark and the TJHS Marching Band are taking the internet by storm! What an incredible spotlight on our Jaguars!
Watch the viral performance!
🍁Aelfinn🍁 retweeted
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to:
Johns Hopkins Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center Fund
alzresearch.org/giving/
Alzheimer’s Foundation of America Caregiver Resources
alzfdn.org/donate/
Photo Credit: Tommy Garcia
🍁Aelfinn🍁 retweeted
For all the heads of business groups who keep saying to get “back to the table” - you know the rest of us can hear him right?
🍁Aelfinn🍁 retweeted
#SaveMassEffect - A Message from the founder.
First, I want to say thank you.
When I started this petition and created #SaveMassEffect, I had no idea how quickly the community would come together. What began as one fan refusing to quietly accept the loss of something that meant so much to so many has grown into a movement supported by tens of thousands of people around the world.
And we’re only getting started.
Mass Effect has never been just another video game franchise. For many of us, it represents years of unforgettable stories, characters, friendships, and choices. It’s a universe that inspired us, brought us together, and reminded us that even against impossible odds, our actions matter.
That’s why this campaign exists.
Our goal is simple: Give Mass Effect a future.
We’re asking Electronic Arts to seriously consider two paths forward:
1. Commit to continuing Mass Effect’s development, with the resources, talent, and time necessary to deliver the experience this franchise deserves.
2. Explore licensing Mass Effect to a qualified development studio capable of carrying the franchise forward if EA no longer intends to develop it.
We’re not demanding rushed development, unrealistic promises, or an immediate announcement of a new game. We’re asking EA to recognize that this franchise still matters and that its community deserves to be heard.
I also want to make something very clear: This campaign is not against the developers, artists, writers, or employees of EA and BioWare. These are the people who helped create the universe we love. They deserve our respect and support.
Our campaign will remain respectful, organized, and focused on constructive solutions.
Where We Go From Here
As the founder of #SaveMassEffect, I’m working to turn the incredible support we’ve received into an organized effort.
Over the coming days, I’ll be focusing on expanding our outreach, connecting with gaming journalists and community creators, bringing volunteers into the campaign, and establishing a professional line of communication with EA.
With N7 Day approaching on November 7, we have an opportunity to show just how much this universe still means to people around the world.
Our next milestone is 100,000 signatures. But signatures alone aren’t the ultimate goal. Our goal is meaningful dialogue and a genuine opportunity to secure Mass Effect’s future.
How You Can Help
- Keep sharing the petition and using #SaveMassEffect.
- Encourage fellow fans to participate respectfully.
- Share what Mass Effect means to you and why you want to see its story continue.
- Help spread the campaign beyond our existing communities.
I’m currently organizing this effort independently, and I know I can’t do everything alone. As we grow, I’ll be looking for dedicated community members who want to help build something lasting.
Finally, I want everyone supporting this campaign to remember something:
We cannot guarantee that EA will change its plans. But we can make sure the community’s voice is impossible to overlook.
Every signature represents someone who believes this universe is worth preserving.
You have already shown me that I am far from alone in that belief.
Thank you for standing with me. Thank you for standing with the developers who gave us this incredible universe. And thank you for refusing to let Mass Effect’s future go unquestioned.
Our choices matter. Our voices matter.
#SaveMassEffect
— Joe Smith, #SaveMassEffect
