# Introducing CrisprCAS9

**URL:** <https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/introducing-crisprcas9/11659>\
**Category:** Conversation\
**Tags:** Introduction\
**Created:** [September 10, 2020, 6:09pm UTC](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/introducing-crisprcas9/11659 "2020-09-10T18:09:48Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 11\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![swamidass](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.peacefulscience.org/swamidass/32/3_2.png) [@swamidass](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/u/swamidass)\
**Post date:** [September 10, 2020, 6:09pm UTC](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/introducing-crisprcas9/11659/1 "2020-09-10T18:09:48Z")

</div>

Pleasure to meet you @CrisprCAS9. Your profile says:

> I move very small volumes of extremely expensive, clear liquids from one tiny plastic tube to another. And then write stuff about it.

What can you tell us about you and your work? Sounds interesting. You must be a Biologist, right?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![CrisprCAS9](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.peacefulscience.org/crisprcas9/32/9145_2.png) [@CrisprCAS9](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/u/CrisprCAS9)\
**Post date:** [September 10, 2020, 6:43pm UTC](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/introducing-crisprcas9/11659/2 "2020-09-10T18:43:45Z")

</div>

I am a former cancer research lab manager, current grad student in evolutionary biology, and long-time participant in some of the pseudoscience discussions common on YouTube. I am interested in bioinformatics, population genetics, and systematics, among other things.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![swamidass](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.peacefulscience.org/swamidass/32/3_2.png) [@swamidass](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/u/swamidass)\
**Post date:** [September 10, 2020, 6:45pm UTC](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/introducing-crisprcas9/11659/3 "2020-09-10T18:45:03Z")

</div>

Great to have you here. Some other grad students are here too, e.g. @davecarlson and @evograd.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![T.j\_Runyon](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.peacefulscience.org/t.j_runyon/32/9662_2.png) [@T.j\_Runyon](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/u/T.j_Runyon)\
**Post date:** [September 10, 2020, 6:52pm UTC](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/introducing-crisprcas9/11659/4 "2020-09-10T18:52:21Z")

</div>

> [@CrisprCAS9](#):
>
> I am a former cancer research lab manager

As someone who is currently going through cancer, I appreciate your hard work.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![John\_Harshman](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.peacefulscience.org/john_harshman/32/1121_2.png) [@John\_Harshman](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/u/John_Harshman)\
**Post date:** [September 11, 2020, 4:36pm UTC](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/introducing-crisprcas9/11659/5 "2020-09-11T16:36:33Z")

</div>

Do you have a thesis project yet? Could I interest you in whistling duck systematics and/or phylogeography?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![CrisprCAS9](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.peacefulscience.org/crisprcas9/32/9145_2.png) [@CrisprCAS9](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/u/CrisprCAS9)\
**Post date:** [September 11, 2020, 4:51pm UTC](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/introducing-crisprcas9/11659/6 "2020-09-11T16:51:12Z")

</div>

> [@John\_Harshman](#):
>
> Do you have a thesis project yet?

I’m drafting things now, more interested in methods than specific taxa.

> [@John\_Harshman](#):
>
> Could I interest you in whistling duck systematics and/or phylogeography?

You are welcome to try! My lab is not wedded to a particular clade, although my major professor certainly has his preferred groups… I don’t think he has ever had a student work with any birds, but he wouldn’t object. Feel free to DM your arguments.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![John\_Harshman](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.peacefulscience.org/john_harshman/32/1121_2.png) [@John\_Harshman](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/u/John_Harshman)\
**Post date:** [September 11, 2020, 5:01pm UTC](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/introducing-crisprcas9/11659/7 "2020-09-11T17:01:31Z")

</div>

DM? Sorry, too old to immediately comprehend what that means.

Briefly, whistling ducks are morphologically very conservative yet genetically and behaviorally very divergent. There are also questions of ILS or other confounding factors in the phylogeny of the greater part of the genus. As far as phylogeography, which has never been looked at, there are a couple of species with unusually broad distribution — over South America, Africa, and, in one case, India too, crossing two (count 'em) two oceans — but zero described subspecific variation. I have a PowerPoint presentation if you’re interested further.

Plenty of other interesting problems in bird phylogeny at all levels, if you’re into in that sort of thing.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![CrisprCAS9](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.peacefulscience.org/crisprcas9/32/9145_2.png) [@CrisprCAS9](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/u/CrisprCAS9)\
**Post date:** [September 11, 2020, 5:14pm UTC](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/introducing-crisprcas9/11659/8 "2020-09-11T17:14:20Z")

</div>

DM = direct message

I’d prefer to not discuss my specific research group in too much detail publicly, but I don’t mind doing so in private messages.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![davecarlson](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.peacefulscience.org/davecarlson/32/2139_2.png) [@davecarlson](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/u/davecarlson)\
**Post date:** [September 12, 2020, 3:53pm UTC](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/introducing-crisprcas9/11659/9 "2020-09-12T15:53:25Z")

</div>

> [@swamidass](#):
>
> Some other grad students are here too, e.g. @davecarlson and @evograd.

We’re taking over!

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![John\_Harshman](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.peacefulscience.org/john_harshman/32/1121_2.png) [@John\_Harshman](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/u/John_Harshman)\
**Post date:** [September 12, 2020, 5:31pm UTC](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/introducing-crisprcas9/11659/10 "2020-09-12T17:31:19Z")

</div>

> [@davecarlson](#):
>
> We’re taking over!

Inevitable, as the old folks die off. I for one am glad to welcome our new youthful overlords.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Roy](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.peacefulscience.org/roy/32/3799_2.png) [@Roy](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/u/Roy)\
**Post date:** [September 15, 2020, 2:06pm UTC](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/introducing-crisprcas9/11659/11 "2020-09-15T14:06:30Z")

</div>

> [@John\_Harshman](#):
>
> DM? Sorry, too old to immediately comprehend what that means.
> 
> Briefly, whistling ducks are morphologically very conservative yet genetically and behaviorally very divergent.

How about a biogeographical comparison of whistling ducks vs whistling dicks? You could throw in a few cannonical references too.