Reposted by Ben de BivortJoe Bak-Coleman @jbakcoleman.bsky.social · 6hAs scientists we don’t often consider or lean on how our humanity gives us skin in the game, and what value that provides to the public. We can face professional consequences for cheating or getting it wrong; it’s that skin in the game that breeds trust. LLM Prof Theseus doesn’t have that. 0135
Reposted by Ben de BivortQuanta Magazine @quantamagazine.org · 6hThe late mathematician Ronald Graham was also a skilled juggler. Fifty-five years ago, he posed a question that may have stemmed from the hobby. This year, it was finally solved. www.quantamagazine.org/mathematicia… 1166
Reposted by Ben de BivortTessa Montague @tessamontague.bsky.social · 29/09/2026I'm excited to share our new preprint: Generation of a transgenic cephalopod tinyurl.com/pc86jxz8 Cephalopods (cuttlefish, octopus & squid) are crazy critters that dynamically camouflage to their surroundings by changing the color, pattern, & texture of their skin, which they control w their brain. 13324101
Reposted by Ben de BivortAmmon Perkes @alltheperkes.bsky.social · 21/09/2026🐟🚨 Fish paper alert! 🚨🐟 You might already know that individuals are unique, even when they’re genetically identical clones raised in identical environments. But what about groups? Groups of clones are distinct from birth, but (unlike individuals) those differences do not predict later behavior!authors.elsevier.comGroup-level phenotypes are idiosyncratic yet unpredictable over development in a clonal fishBehavioral differences among groups can have profound impacts on individual fitness,1 yet how group-level phenotypes arise and change during developme… 32719
Reposted by Ben de BivortVenki Murthy @neurovenki.bsky.social · 25/09/2026Signal boost to our tenure track faculty search in "AI in Life Sciences". Broadly construed, so PLEASE apply!!mcb.harvard.eduTenure-Track Professor in Life Science and AI - Harvard University - Department of Molecular & Cellular BiologyThe Life Sciences Departments in Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences seek to recruit a tenure-track professor whose research is at the interface of AI and life sciences, […] 1108
Reposted by Ben de BivortFélicie Dhellemmes @felicie-dhellemmes.bsky.social · 25/09/2026Proud to present our latest work "Tracking human foragers and their prey reveals adaptive predator-prey dynamics", now hosted on BioRxiv! 🧵 doi.org/10.64898/202... @ralfkurvers.bsky.social @scioi.bsky.social @arc-mpib.bsky.social @alexschakowski.bsky.social @dominikdeffner.bsky.social 26527
Reposted by Ben de BivortKate Laskowski @katelaskowski.bsky.social · 25/09/2026Okay this is just wildly cool - they tracked human ice-fishers *and* the fish they're hunting. Even though humans can't see the fish *at all* the humans are still surprising good at zero-ing on their prey. Probably the most complete picture of predator AND prey movement together. 🤯🎣 0259
Reposted by Ben de BivortPookleblinky @pookleblinky.bsky.social · 25/09/2026Reminder that in Canada upon becoming an engineer you get an iron ring made of a collapsed bridge, purposely designed to be uncomfortable, to remind you that your ethics demand you give a fuck even about the boring grudgework of such as double-checking your math. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Ringen.wikipedia.orgIron Ring - Wikipedia 2072902267
Reposted by Ben de BivortBrittney Elizabeth Stoneburg @brittandbone.bsky.social · 24/09/2026I've worked for a natural history museum for 11 years at this point (man, yikes) and while it is sad, it isn't surprising to see two major institutions facing closure this year. 36832
Reposted by Ben de BivortPortugues Lab @portugueslab.bsky.social · 24/09/2026The Department of Neurobiology and Behavior at Cornell University is hiring! Come and do cutting edge research on the neural basis of natural behaviors at NBB (nbb.cornell.edu). No animal too small, no behavior too strange! Apply here: academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/32592 14834
Reposted by Ben de BivortBart⚓️ @bartgonnissen.bsky.social · 23/09/2026The Facial Expressions of Tethys by artist Julius von Bismarck. A suspended high-sea buoy that moves in real time. Sensors on a twin buoy out in the Atlantic Ocean send live satellite data to motors inside the museum. This makes the indoor buoy copy the exact, real-time movements of the ocean waves. 10380532777
Ben de Bivort @debivort.bsky.social · 23/09/2026We are hoping that word of this search goes far and that we draw a wide and diverse pool of applicants. Please take a look and share if you're inclined. 5 departments involved! • Organismic & Evol Bio • Mol & Cell Bio • Stem Cells & Regen Bio • Earth & Planetary Sci • Human Evolutionary Bio 166
Reposted by Ben de BivortAnn Clemens @annmclemens.bsky.social · 23/09/2026if you're in Edinburgh and looking for research experience 👩🔬 🧑🔬 we're offering opportunities to join our work on **the sticky sense** in humans and rodents with potential for field research 🫎 🔭 get in touch 💻 📫 📞 @sidb-edinburgh.bsky.social @edinburgh-uni.bsky.social @edinunineuro.bsky.social 0125
Reposted by Ben de BivortBen de Bivort @debivort.bsky.social · 22/09/2026Hello friends, the Harvard Life Science departments have banded together to hire a new colleague working at the intersection of Life Sciences and AI. Could be primarily an experimentalist, or could be primarily a compute/theorist. academicpositions.harvard.edu/postings/16773academicpositions.harvard.eduTenure-Track Professor in Life Science and AIThe Life Sciences Departments in Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences seek to recruit a tenure-track professor whose research is at the interface of AI and life sciences, from methodological developme... 34051
Reposted by Ben de BivortBeijingPalmer @beijingpalmer.bsky.social · 22/09/2026bit weird given the play is written in early modern English but I'd pay to hear Ēalā Rōmēo, Rōmēo, for hwȳ eart þū Rōmēo? Wiðsace þīnum fæder and forsac þīnne naman; oþþe, gif þū nelt, swere mē þæt þū mīn lēofa sīe, and ne bēo iċ nā lenġ Capulēting. 26611128
Ben de Bivort @debivort.bsky.social · 22/09/2026Hello friends, the Harvard Life Science departments have banded together to hire a new colleague working at the intersection of Life Sciences and AI. Could be primarily an experimentalist, or could be primarily a compute/theorist. academicpositions.harvard.edu/postings/16773academicpositions.harvard.eduTenure-Track Professor in Life Science and AIThe Life Sciences Departments in Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences seek to recruit a tenure-track professor whose research is at the interface of AI and life sciences, from methodological developme... 34051
Reposted by Ben de BivortAnn Kennedy @antihebbiann.bsky.social · 22/09/2026Preprint time! This is a cool one. Complex systems, be they neural nets, interacting genes, or power grids, can produce diverse dynamics-- things like point attractors, limit cycles, and chaos. The dynamic landscape you get depends on how elements interact. But those interactions can also change! 28124
Reposted by Ben de BivortBob Kopp @bobkopp.net · 22/09/2026NEW PAPER: In a new paper, jointly published in @agu.org Earth's Future & @ametsoc.org BAMS, and co-led by Melissa Kenney, @costasamaras.com and me, 175 authors outline priorities to guide the future of scientific assessments of climate change in the United States. 🧵doi.orgResearch Priorities for Robust Climate Assessments in the United StatesA network of climate assessments plays a critical role in synthesizing the state of science to support evidence-based decision-making To support future U.S. and sub-national climate assessments, ... 114781
Reposted by Ben de BivortKirsten Sheehy @ksheehy.bsky.social · 21/09/2026📣 New paper! 📣 ❓Do clonal fish and their sexually reproducing heterospecifics differ in parasite load? 🤒 We found that clonal Amazon mollies were more likely to be infected than Sailfin mollies, but parasite loads were largely the same. 🤔 Could behavior have something to do with this pattern? 1/3doi.orgDifferences in Parasite Infection Status and Behavior Between a Clonal Fish and Her Sexually Reproducing HeterospecificsWe found that Amazons and Sailfins differed in their qualitative, but not quantitative, resistance to parasites. Amazons had worse qualitative resistance (i.e., were more likely to be infected with a... 2167
Reposted by Ben de BivortChris Schnaitmann @cschnaitmann.eurosky.social · 20/09/2026Exciting PhD and Postdoc positions at Straw Lab, UniFreiburg to study mushroom body function and how honey bees navigate: combine insect VR, reinforcement learning, and two-photon imaging! #Neuroscience #PhD #Postdoc 041
Reposted by Ben de BivortDavi Bock @dddavi.bsky.social · 17/09/2026This stuff may be fun, but sorry to say, it is thin soup, scientifically. See: www.thetransmitter.org/systems-neur... for a readable description of the issue.thetransmitter.org‘Digital sphinx’ raises questions about connectome modelsThe sphinx, with a worm’s brain and a fly’s body, illustrates the potential pitfalls of using deep-learning techniques to model biological processes. 0134
Reposted by Ben de BivortSven Dorkenwald @sdorkenw.bsky.social · 17/09/2026Applications are now open for the San Juan Winter School 2027 on Connectomics and Brain Simulation! Join us to learn how to analyze and simulate connectomes. sjcabs.com 01920
Reposted by Ben de BivortElisabetta Versace @elisabettaversace.bsky.social · 17/09/2026"Enhancing dance learning by optimising instructional perspective: A preregistered study on the effect of dancers’ viewing perspective, cognitive load and expertise" journals.plos.org/plosone/arti... : our new study on dance larning and cognitive load, supported by www.wemovetogether.uk 1/n 1125
Reposted by Ben de BivortAlex Schier @schierlab.bsky.social · 08/09/2026The first Danionella paper from the lab. Danionella cerebrum is transparent, so you can see all of the internal organs. But what sensory information are the organs sending to the brain? In our new preprint, Emily Bayer wanted to find out. 1/4 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... 18134
Reposted by Ben de BivortSweta Agrawal @hokuba.bsky.social · 16/09/2026The Agrawal lab has published its first paper! "Sticking the landing: leg mechanosensory feedback coordinates the transition from flight to landing" www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... This project was led by a technician in the lab, Tse-Wei (Wayne) Kuo. Brief 🧵on what we foundagrawal-lab-workspace.slack.comSlack 88228
Reposted by Ben de BivortACLU @aclu.org · 16/09/2026BREAKING: We're suing Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and the National Institutes of Health Director for their ideologically-driven termination and censorship of biomedical research grants. Targeting views the government disagrees with for not aligning with a political agenda is unconstitutional. 151408365
Ben de Bivort @debivort.bsky.social · 16/09/2026SLR people — how do you set the focus of a lens to optical infinity at night for astro shots? I wish the focus rings would stop at inf. 101
Reposted by Ben de BivortCorinna Gebehart @corinnagebehart.bsky.social · 14/09/2026This article is so frustrating to read. First, this is not just “google’s brain” - there has been so much effort made by scientists around the world to get these connectomes to where they are today, and none of that is recognized here, instead it’s all turned into “big tech company 👍🏻”. And second - 14017
Reposted by Ben de Bivortflymuscles @flymuscles.bsky.social · 15/09/2026I am very happy to share our new preprint on #Drosophila muscles. @tiaramuld.bsky.social discovered flies have a tremendous ability to remodel their muscles after massive damage. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...biorxiv.orgEvidence of complete myofibril remodeling after severe damage in adult Drosophila.Muscle function depends on the ability of myofibrils to withstand and repair mechanical damage, yet how adult muscles remodel damaged myofibrils remains poorly understood. Here, we establish a Drosoph... 3116
Reposted by Ben de BivortPatrick Mineault @patrickmineault.bsky.social · 14/09/2026Are virtual flies playing Beat Saber? SM64? Doom? No. The new fly connectome is an incredible achievement! Less is going on in the sim videos than it seems. I'm stoked to see people engage with neuroscience though. My breakdown: www.neuroai.science/p/are-flies-...neuroai.scienceAre flies playing Beat Saber?What a time to be alive! 27021
Reposted by Ben de BivortDrug Monkey @drugmonkey.bsky.social · 14/09/2026You know who else is evolving into the presence of families generationally called to sacrifice in the service of our national interests? Scientists. 1174
Reposted by Ben de BivortAnita Devineni @anitadevineni.bsky.social · 13/09/2026My department (Biology at Emory) is hiring for a teaching track position! These are stable, well-respected, long-term positions with a path to promotion and ppl often staying for decades. The dept is wonderfully supportive and filled with amazing humans (faculty + staff) apply.interfolio.com/191814 08089
Reposted by Ben de BivortAndres Bendesky @bendeskylab.com · 11/09/2026We have a tenure-track faculty position in Evolutionary Biology in Columbia's E3B Department. Application deadline is October 15. Come be our colleague. Please RT! apply.interfolio.com/193016apply.interfolio.com Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio 082105
Reposted by Ben de BivortDavid Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · 12/09/2026"Attempted murder" is a thing. "Conspiracy to commit a crime" is a thing. We have a confession that people are building something that may destroy humanity. Whether you believe that or not, you could just round those people up. I don't think we need new liability laws for that. 410027
Reposted by Ben de BivortRiddha Manna @riddhamanna.bsky.social · 12/09/2026elifesciences.org/articles/112...elifesciences.orgEnvironmental Learning: How experience shapes individualityBehavioural diversity across fruit flies changes with individual learning, even when genetic, past and momentary environmental factors are held constant. 023
Reposted by Ben de BivortPLOS Biology @plosbiology.org · 11/09/2026CO2 is an important cue used by #mosquitoes when searching for a human blood meal. @darbly.bsky.social @megyounger.bsky.social &co show that the wiring of #neurons that sense CO2 differs from that in #Drosophila, allowing robust detection of this key host cue @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4cFCPpV 1239
Reposted by Ben de BivortCaroline Bartman @cbartman.bsky.social · 10/09/2026Excited to share the first published paper from my lab! Postdoc Helen Jordan led this study on 1) how metabolites change differently in inflammation in tissues versus in cells in a dish and 2) the role of one of the most-increased metabolites, soluble sialic acid www.jbc.org/article/S002...jbc.orgMetabolomics of in vivo inflammation identifies soluble sialic acid as a conserved myeloid-cell metaboliteDuring an immune response, metabolism changes dramatically. Metabolites are oxidized to power immune cell functions, serve as building blocks for proliferation, and act as effectors to regulate pathog... 1114227
Reposted by Ben de BivortJames Ball @jamesrball.com · 11/09/2026This is the founder of Silk Road – which enabled international drugs trafficking on an industrial scale, among other things – speaking at President Trump's midterm convention (after getting a pardon from him), because lol nothing matters. 952440836
Reposted by Ben de BivortVikram Chandra @vchandra.bsky.social · 09/09/2026I am excited to announce that I will start the Brain Origins Lab at the Crick in March 2027! Using acoels as a model system, the lab will study how animal brains evolve, and how innovations in brain organisation enable new computational abilities and the evolution of complex behaviour. 1111124
Ben de Bivort @debivort.bsky.social · 09/09/2026Hey CsChrimson users — are you having difficulty purchasing ATR? 300
Reposted by Ben de Bivortjohn-pool.bsky.social @john-pool.bsky.social · 07/09/2026Bet you didn't have "John Pool starts youtube channel" on your 2026 bingo card! Emphasis on native landscaping / sustainability, & evolution/genetics for a general audience. If you watch, please let it play through (else youtube thinks it's bad). Feel free to share! www.youtube.com/channel/UCj8...youtube.comLife On EarthIn "Life On Earth", Professor John Pool delves into topics ranging from the natural world to life in general. He shares his iconic Wisconsin prairie style home, his native landscaping efforts, and hi... 073
Reposted by Ben de BivortAshley Juavinett, PhD @ashleyjuavinett.bsky.social · 06/09/2026If there are any PhD hopefuls on here, I wanted to share a few thoughts on your timeline for the upcoming admissions cycle, with apps due starting mid-November. What should you be doing right now? ✔️ Generating a list of schools ✔️ Reaching out to possible recommenders 🧵! 33924
Reposted by Ben de BivortBob Kopp @bobkopp.net · 06/09/2026Presidents are hired & evaluated by their boards, who predominantly prioritize fundraising & avoiding challenging the powerful—not teaching, research or service. To change the presidents’ behaviors, you need to change the boards. Which among other things means you need strong faculty unions. 25711
Ben de Bivort @debivort.bsky.social · 05/09/2026Outlook webmail experience: • can't get rid of UI prompts to use AI • can't reliably download attachments 010
Reposted by Ben de BivortComputational Cosmetologist @dferrer.bsky.social · 05/09/2026Every single Claude Code session on one machine for the last few weeks had developed a strange obsession with mentioning the bathroom in code comments (“this is the lock on the bathroom door for the model”) and naming things “privy” or “privi”. Thought I was going insane. Kept happening. 5988
Reposted by Ben de BivortOlúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 04/09/2026fun part if you ask me: higher ed institutions in secular democracies are the closest approximation of a 'marketplace of ideas' as you are likely to find this side of a global revolution and a lot of people who claim to like that idea do not seem to love its results 251756362
Reposted by Ben de BivortAndrew Straw @andrewstraw.bsky.social · 04/09/2026We are hiring! Come join us in the Straw Lab at the @biologyunifreiburg.bsky.social . Seeking a scientist to work on the neural and computational mechanisms of visual navigation in honey bees. uni-freiburg.de/en/job/00005... 18061
Reposted by Ben de Bivortjacob galapagos @jacobgalapagos.bsky.social · 03/09/2026It’s think for yourself thursday 241492353