iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Bloody hell, unbelievable level of insensitivity. I’m so sorry.

Ha, yes- his reaction was entirely appropriate in the circumstances 😁

I once spent ages trying to animate a linear amino acid sequence into a folded protein for a public lecture. Showed it to my co-speaker, the kindest of men, who paused, said " is that it?" and then burst out laughing 😬

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Luke Sjulson @lukesjulson.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Spot on. The whole point of the cover letter, as opposed to the formulaic CV, is to convey more about who you are as a person, and why you would be a good fit. It is SO obvious when people use AI- I would never ignore a genuine approach but I'm not responding to people who have made no effort.

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Reposted by Cathy Abbott

With the beginning of the new academic year, I'm reposting the info for our free online neuroscience methods course. If you're starting a PhD in neuroscience, or just want a refresher, this is for you!

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Cathy Abbott @cathyabbott.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Oh god, that’s brutal. I know from (long) experience that P/T hours never equate in any way to hours worked, though I hope you will feel able to stand firm. I am so sorry.

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Cathy Abbott @cathyabbott.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

No, I did think after I said it that it rather cast me in the role of Maleficent 😀It was definitely a compliment though!

Cathy Abbott @cathyabbott.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Really thoughtful and helpful reflections on the issues the sector is facing with peer review and demand management. And not the first time I have wished that @kirstygrainger.bsky.social was in charge of UKRI... ☺️

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Cathy Abbott @cathyabbott.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

I remember when I was a student I went to the science museum in Paris and they had punnet squares which essentially consisted of taxidermied (is that a word?) different coloured guinea pigs nailed to the wall 😱

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Cathy Abbott @cathyabbott.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Dear god, just when we thought it couldn't get any worse...

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Reposted by Cathy Abbott

Tim Behrens @behrenstimb.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

This made a social media buzz earlier this year, including an eLife paper. I am now pointing to the eLife correction. The authors used the correct antibody,but referred to the wrong one in the paper. They supplied the original receipts during the correction. elifesciences.org/articles/112...

elifesciences.org

Correction: p16 deficiency attenuates intervertebral disc degeneration by adjusting oxidative stress and nucleus pulposus cell cycle

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Cathy Abbott @cathyabbott.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

No, I can imagine! And I am sure I'd get dizzy trying to include everyone. I get why theatres do it for plays, but this just seems bonkers for all concerned.

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Reposted by Cathy Abbott

Chanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌 @chanda.blacksky.app · 06/09/2026

It’s actually ok to be a person who does not enjoy doing research but then you should not be doing research for pay

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Cathy Abbott @cathyabbott.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Or on having to give lectures in a circular lecture theatre- my blood is running cold just imagining it.

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Ah, that’s so kind, thank you!

No, knit flat and seamed- I hate knitting in the round! Never any more than 2 colours at a time, either.

Not much brain to be honest- but thank you!

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I know it’s just a scarf but honestly I think this is one of the nicest things I’ve ever made (forgive the brag!)

A brightly coloured fairisle knitted scarf with rainbow style stripes but more subtle than that sounds

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Probably just you and me, eh 😁

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It often seems to “resonate” with them now, I find…

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I reviewed a review for a fairly high IF journal a few weeks ago that was genuinely the worst thing I've ever been sent. It would have scraped a pass as a student dissertation, possibly, but was so incoherent and inaccurate that I honestly couldn't come up with a single positive comment 😬

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Ah, I have three words that use up 15 common letters between them- first two were a complete blank but the third was perfect. Still waiting for my starter word to come up though!

Johan Duchêne @johanduchene.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Reposted by Cathy Abbott

Wow! Only Good Antibodies has developed a new tool that lets you see, directly in a paper, which antibodies were tested and validated. A tool that comes at the right time, given all the issues surrounding antibody validation. Definitively a tool to get onlygoodantibodies.co.uk/extension/

onlygoodantibodies.co.uk

Browser Extension — Only Good Antibodies

A free browser extension that marks antibodies cited in a paper with their knockout-controlled validation status, for the application they were used in.

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Cathy Abbott @cathyabbott.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

We once went to Toronto because my husband had won the Gairdner Prize and the absolute main memory for my daughter is the pancakes for breakfast at the hotel. We sat next to Sydney Brenner at dinner but that counted for nothing 😁

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Reposted by Cathy Abbott

Rebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Re-upping this for the morning crowd. Already almost as many signatures as the other letter, in just half a day

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Cathy Abbott @cathyabbott.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

What's so mind boggling is the thought of the training of newly arrived staff. Are they just pointed to the library of background patterns, told to chose one and paste a band on it at the expected size? Imagine the disillusion if you'd come from a research background...

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Cathy Abbott @cathyabbott.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Actually, this was *exactly* how I approached molecular biology. If there were two reagents that were thought to encourage tricky PCRs, why use only one, I say 😀

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Cathy Abbott @cathyabbott.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

I love this: "the (well really his) brain" 😀

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Cathy Abbott @cathyabbott.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Four UoE in the last version I saw. Depressing.