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Giorgio Gilestro

@giorgio.gilest.ro
2.5K followers 1.9K following 400 posts

Associate Professor at Imperial College London. lab.gilest.ro | lab website, science blog giorgio.gilest.ro | politics and science comms drosophila.social/@giorgiogilestro | mastodon

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Reposted by Giorgio Gilestro
Stephen Turner @stephenturner.us · 26/09/2026
Personal essay, weekend edition. My relationship with AI is changing. 1.8k words, 8 min reading time. doi.org/10.59350/bh7...
doi.org
My relationship with AI is changing
When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?
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Giorgio Gilestro @giorgio.gilest.ro · 21/09/2026
Biology is not safe. What I actually fear the most about biology is the funding squeeze: if on one hand you have AI promising thick and thin, funders will ask themselves is it even ethical to keep funding a small group studying the chemical composition of lizards saliva? (Not a random example!)
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paveltomancak.bsky.social @paveltomancak.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Wow. Amazing, prescient vision of the future of academia by @giorgio.gilest.ro You don’t need to agree, but read and consider.
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Jean-Yves Tinevez @jytinevez.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
An incredible, eye opening piece
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Giorgio Gilestro @giorgio.gilest.ro · 20/09/2026
Academia has seen inflation in the past 30 years but it is now entering Republic of Weimar territory, with value of knowledge moving from "paper to land". In all this, Open hardware is an act of armed resistance to Technofeudalism. giorgio.gilest.ro/the-weimar-o...
giorgio.gilest.ro
The Weimar of knowledge – la bottega
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Giorgio Gilestro @giorgio.gilest.ro · 16/09/2026
Writing a manuscript with this new generations of LLMs became an impossible task. I feel that moving away from RLHF towards RLVR increased problem-solving abilities at the cost of conceptual clarity and exposure. LLMs became brilliant engineers who cannot longer comunicate with humans.
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Jose Jimenez @jjimenez.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
We are recruiting!! We are looking for an expert in the metabolic engineering of non model microorganisms to join our team working on plastic waste upcycling. For details please check the link below. www.imperial.ac.uk/jobs/search-...
imperial.ac.uk
Description
Please note that job descriptions are not exhaustive, and you may be asked to take on additional duties that align with the key responsibilities ment...
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Giorgio Gilestro @giorgio.gilest.ro · 13/09/2026
Here's an idea. Arxiv could peer review the papers and accept only those that pass peer review. Then even get an IF maybe! Insanity all around.
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Giorgio Gilestro @giorgio.gilest.ro · 08/09/2026
On the Navier-Stokes drama. From this exchange, I find OpenAI to be rather accomodating and I would interpret the "why would you damage your career line" as "by publishing something that is rushed, AI slopped and half baked". The request to drop Alpoge is indeed weird but I can see the complcation.
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Reposted by Giorgio Gilestro
Richard Sever @richardsever.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
$3.7 billion spent on APCs in 2025. That's ~1000X more than it costs to run bioRxiv/medRxiv. Worth thinking about as we consider how to fund infrastructure... arxiv.org/pdf/2608.16322
arxiv.org
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Giorgio Gilestro @giorgio.gilest.ro · 20/08/2026
The reason for sleep to exist is still a mystery. "Why do I have to sleep" is not just a question every toddler asks, but, at some point, every curious mind. Many hypotheses have been put forward, some more fundamental than others. In this preprint, I try a different approach doi.org/10.32942/X22...
doi.org
Sleep elasticity: accessory, useful and vital components of a single state
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Giorgio Gilestro @giorgio.gilest.ro · 16/08/2026
Four claims about Jason Arday spread like wildfire in the days around his death: that he was unqualified, that he plagiarised his thesis, that he was hired as a poster boy, that he lied his way to the top. All four are checkable, so I checked them. giorgio.gilest.ro/four-lies-ar...
giorgio.gilest.ro
Four lies about Jason Arday that spread too easily – la bottega
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Giorgio Gilestro @giorgio.gilest.ro · 15/08/2026
It was alleged that Jason Arday was an academic fraud mainly based on accusation of plagiarism initially moved by Nathan Cofnas. I have compared Arday's thesis with the one he's been accused of copying and found a bare 4.2% similarity.
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Gregory Kohn @kohngregory.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
In the wake of Arday's death, Nathan Cofnas (who led the X mob against him) states his motivation. Beyond whistleblowing, he states that after a 'revolution' removes professors like Arday, it will open opportunities for him to become 'head of the department of eugenics and race science at Harvard'.
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Richard Sever @richardsever.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
“move from preprint to peer-reviewed publication leaves the central claims of most abstracts intact, indicating preprints are a reliable source…papers that were never posted as preprints were retracted at roughly twice the rate of those that were…” www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
biorxiv.org
Tracking claim changes from preprint to publication across 72,644 biomedical studies using large language models
Preprints now disseminate a large share of biomedical research before peer review. Because they have not yet passed peer review, some scientists regard preprint claims as unverified or potentially unr...
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brunolemaitre.bsky.social @brunolemaitre.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
A short, informal intro to Drosophila genetics (with a French accent 🇫🇷): key concepts & techniques for new lab members. www.epfl.ch/labs/lemaitr...
epfl.ch
Short Introduction to Drosophila_Engl
If you like French accent:A short and informal introduction to Drosophila genetics, covering the basic knowledge and techniques that may be helpful when working with Drosophila. This series of short l...
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Julie Seibt @jseibt.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
Heading to FENS 2026 and curious about the latest thinking on sleep function(s)? Join us for a networking event exploring sleep across species, with amazing speakers Peter Meerlo (Netherlands), Meg Crofoot (Germany), @giorgio.gilest.ro (UK) More info: fens2026.abstractserver.com/program/#/de...
fens2026.abstractserver.com
Program
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Julie Seibt @jseibt.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
Applications are now open for the inaugural CAJAL Advanced Neuroscience Training Course on Neurobiology of Sleep 😴🧠!!! 📅 Dates: 19 November – 8 December 2026 ⏳ Application Deadline: 3 July 🔗 Information and application: cajal-training.org/on-site/neur...
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Harmit Singh Malik @harmitmalik.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
Beautiful creative work and a great 🧵 Kudos to all involved in this nice work 🧪
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Junior European Drosophila Investigators @fly-jedi.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
Calling all #Drosophila #NewPI #researchers! A few spots remain for the upcoming JEDI Conference - and you won’t want to miss this! Every attendee gives a talk, making the exchange dynamic, personal, and highly interactive - all at a stunning venue that inspires collaboration and creativity.
View of the historic hotel Pousada Castelo in Palmela.
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Giorgio Gilestro @giorgio.gilest.ro · 21/04/2026
Thanks to @tonysouthall.bsky.social for suggesting the feature!
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Carlos Ribeiro @ribeirocarlitos.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
Immense respect for handling this situation with this level of integrity. Mistakes happen. Science is a process.
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Giorgio Gilestro @giorgio.gilest.ro · 21/04/2026
Submitted my first manuscript to a social sciences journal nearly 3 months ago and it’s still stuck at "Editor Assigned." 🫠 We STEM folks love to complain about turnaround times, but the humanists have unlocked a new level of patience. This is a different league! 📄: philsci-archive.pitt.edu/28098/
philsci-archive.pitt.edu
The Mimicry Trap How We Define Intelligence to Exclude Inconvenient Minds - PhilSci-Archive
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Piali Sengupta @senguptalab.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
Well some of us are. Many top neuro journals straight up desk reject model organism papers nowadays. And if you want to get fast, detailed and precise mechanistic answers - some of these are still the best systems.
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Ariel K. Frame @arielframe.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
Very cool! Useful tool for #Drosophila folks. Would be great adopted by whole labs / institutions. Considering it's newness, add features? Tinkering & I don't yet see: 1) Retrospective dating / bulk stock flipping 2) Stock acquisition date 3) Column sort by chromosome 4) Reference usage citation
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Giorgio Gilestro @giorgio.gilest.ro · 10/03/2026
Happy to announce I've launched a new service for the fly community: flyRoom, a web-based comprehensive stock manager for all your fly pushing needs. Organise all your stocks, maps all your genotypes, plan your crosses, print and scan your labels. Give it a try and let your colleagues know!
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Kirsty Grainger @kirstygrainger.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
Can anyone think of an example of government spend of this magnitude and speed (excluding covid)?? 4 weeks from call announcement to submission (no advance warning) and within that only 2 weeks to flag your intention to submit. £40M total - individual awards £9.4M www.ukri.org/opportunity/...
Screen shot from the UKRI Funding Finder. Title: Fundamental AI Research Lab. Timeline Open 2nd March, intention to submit date 16 March, Closing Date 31 March 2026.
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Giorgio Gilestro @giorgio.gilest.ro · 02/03/2026
An example of how useless X has become. 2020 Twitter would have been the place to go to get real time news on the war. Now it's 100% noise. Just old clips repackaged as new and an ocean of conspirationists talking to a crowd of blue checked clueless idiots. Incredible.
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Stephen Curry @scurry.bsky.social · 15/02/2026
Richly perceptive analysis of UKRI’s funding ‘strategy’ by @ersatzben.com raises 2 questions: why do we still not understand how best to manage the interfaces between research & societal needs? And why doesn’t UKRI give Ben a job? open.substack.com/pub/johnsonb...
open.substack.com
The Bucket Stops Here
UKRI’s new funding framework takes a stab at classifying budgets – but doesn’t yet govern research
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Sarah J. Jackson @sjjphd.bsky.social · 15/02/2026
Someone has sure already made this observation but the fact they can convert all those empty warehouses into prison camps means they could have converted them into housing, community centers, job training centers or, hell, libraries or schools all along. It’s always a matter of will not resources.
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Zack Polanski @zackpolanski.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
There were 36 votes between the Green Party and Reform. 36 votes. Reform are absolutely stoppable - and the Green Party can win with our message to lower bills, protect the NHS and rebuild public services. Join.greenparty.org.uk
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Zack Polanski @zackpolanski.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
Labour’s vote is collapsing everywhere. In Peterborough last night, as in Gorton and Denton, voting Green is the only way to stop Reform.
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Zoe Gardner @zoejardiniere.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
If the PM reckons Jim Ratcliffe should apologise for spreading this exact same lie, should the Home Office apologise too, or? 🤨
Screenshot of a home office tweet
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Christopher Wiggins @cwnewser.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
A Reuters photographer captured this image of a page from Pam Bondi's "burn book," which she used to counter any questions from Democratic lawmakers during an unhinged hearing today. It looks like the DOJ monitored members of Congress’s searches of the unredacted Epstein files. Just wow.
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Cathy Abbott @cathyabbott.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
So now we have it- not only the reduction from 12-13 to 3 grants from each board recommended for funding but the budget for applicant-led research to be reduced from £200 million to £113 million per year. This is appalling, Especially given all that is happening with medical research in the US.
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Matthew Freeman @mjafreeman.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
Paywalled but visible to many uni-based people Apparently... Much reduced MRC success rate for grants now in pipeline Reduced MRC future funding for 'applicant-led' research But 'life sciences remain a priority'.... Lot of room for more clarity (and recognition of effects on ECRs)
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Giorgio Gilestro @giorgio.gilest.ro · 05/02/2026
Interesting discussions on this topic (here and on other socials) made me realise that English provides an interesting peculiarity that other languages do not have. A distinction between intelligent and smart. Q. for skeptics and everyone: would you say that LLMs are smart but not intelligent?
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Giorgio Gilestro @giorgio.gilest.ro · 04/02/2026
🧵 Why do we keep moving the goalposts on intelligence? When GPT-4 passed the bar exam, critics didn't dispute the score—they disputed whether it was "real" reasoning. When AI solved olympiad math problems, they questioned "genuine" understanding. This pattern has a history. (1/5)
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Zack Polanski @zackpolanski.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
Pleased to see the jury make this decision. We need to have eyes wide open this is exactly why the Government wants to abolish juries. People protesting against a genocide are not the criminals here - it's the politicians who continue to provide cover. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Palestine Action protesters not guilty of defence firm burglary
The group are cleared of aggravated burglary over the alleged raid at an Elbit Systems warehouse.
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Matthew Freeman @mjafreeman.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
I watched much of Ian Chapman's (Head of @ukri.org) appearance this morning at @ukparliament.parliament.uk Science, Innovation and Technology Committee.. A few points and new information that bioscientists may find interesting... A 🧵
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derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
every epstein file drop underscores how elite power operates through shared socio-economic networks, regardless of people's ideological differences, populist posturing, or public feuds
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Giorgio Gilestro @giorgio.gilest.ro · 02/02/2026
1 budget for 26-30 is rising 🎉 2 quota for basic research stable 🙂 BUT 3 we're slashing success rate for currently assessed grants 🫠 4 next call hopefully in Apri 2027 (with £s for lucky few going out months later, suppose) 💀 How does this make us more competitive? www.ukri.org/news/open-le...
ukri.org
Open letter from Ian Chapman to research and innovation community
UKRI Chief Executive outlines changes to UKRI investment approach, addressing concerns about research funding and the financial position of STFC.
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Alasdair Hubbard @dralhubb.bsky.social · 01/02/2026
Leaks everywhere and finally we get an official statement, one that somehow manages to say a lot while; No timelines. No clarity. No acknowledgement of impact on ECRs whose careers depend UKRI funding. “Later this year” isn’t a plan. And the sector deserves better than reassurance without detail.
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Selina Wray @selinawray.bsky.social · 01/02/2026
The pause of response mode funding will have a huge impact on ECRs who are not yet fellowship ready.When researchers leave academia they rarely return. Clarity on when RM will reopen is urgently needed & transitions to the new model need to avoid investment gaps that disproportionally affect ECRs
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Giorgio Gilestro @giorgio.gilest.ro · 01/02/2026
I think we should make a bigger fuss about this. It is as existential as Trump's cuts and could not come at a worst moment for UK science, beaten by Brexit through visa costs, fewer students, and inflation. Plus: these top-down approaches NEVER WORK. NEVER. Haven't they learned anything?
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derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
friend of mine is an undocumented immigrant and has been hiding in Melania theaters bc he knows people assume no one is in there
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Giorgio Gilestro @giorgio.gilest.ro · 29/01/2026
If it wasn't for the eggs, this would be the anti-me.
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Jonathan Eisen @phylogenomics.bsky.social · 25/01/2026
To those American academics out there who have chosen to remain silent/mostly silent about the horror going on in the USA these days at every corner of the federal government, please start speaking out and fighting back.
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Mark Peifer (He, him) @peiferlabunc.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
If you are a scientist funded by NIH and agree that if the HHS/NIH bill is held hostage by linkage for funding to DHS/ICE, we need to shutdown both and save lives, its time to speak up. Right now, with a few exceptions, the silence is deafening
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