Gokul Rajan @gokulrajan.bsky.social · 05/10/2026Congratulations to @deisseroth.bsky.social, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel! 🎉 100
Gokul Rajan @gokulrajan.bsky.social · 24/09/2026happy postdoc appreciation week, y'all! p.s. that's a real note i came across today in an indian faculty recruitment drive! 000
Reposted by Gokul RajanSergiu P. Pasca @sergiuppasca.bsky.social · 16/09/2026Today in Nature @nature.com, we report a new approach to studying human brain development and modeling disease in vivo. Open article link below 👇 49032
Gokul Rajan @gokulrajan.bsky.social · 28/08/2026I just funded: Pharmacological Restoration of Adult Neurogenesis in the Aged Brain on ResearchHub! www.researchhub.com/proposal/328...researchhub.comPharmacological Restoration of Adult Neurogenesis in the ...Pharmacological Restoration of Adult Neurogenesis in the Aged Brain 1. Overview Aging is the greatest risk factor for cognitive decline, mild cognitive ... 010
Reposted by Gokul RajanScience Magazine @science.org · 24/06/2026The once-obscure Danionella fish takes center stage as a model research organism in a major new project funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Learn more: scim.ag/3QFj4XM 1427
Gokul Rajan @gokulrajan.bsky.social · 06/07/2026a lightweight, flexible GUI for quickly exploring large-scale, terabyte-sized 4D brain acquisitions alongside optogenetic or other stimulation protocols: github.com/gklrajan/sho...github.comGitHub - gklrajan/show4Dbrain: Memory-efficient PyQt viewer for large 4D image stacks (HDF5/MATLAB v7.3): scrub Z and time, drop ROIs, and read raw + rolling-baseline dF/F traces with stimulus shading...Memory-efficient PyQt viewer for large 4D image stacks (HDF5/MATLAB v7.3): scrub Z and time, drop ROIs, and read raw + rolling-baseline dF/F traces with stimulus shading. - gklrajan/show4Dbrain 110
Gokul Rajan @gokulrajan.bsky.social · 22/03/2026www.nature.com/articles/s41...nature.comClarifying the conceptual dimensions of representation in neuroscience - Nature Reviews NeuroscienceAppeals to representation are widespread, despite neuroscientists’ uncertainty about what kind of findings count as evidence for such claims. In this Perspective, Pohl and colleagues develop a unified... 030
Reposted by Gokul RajanBenjamin Judkewitz @benjulab.bsky.social · 12/03/2026Tiny, transparent, and now charted! Our brain atlas of adult Danionella cerebrum includes >200 annotated regions, 29 whole-brain in situs, and male/female reference volumes – openly available, versioned and extendable. Work by @nkadobyansky.bsky.social and team. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... 59025
Reposted by Gokul RajanPrakash Lab at Stanford @prakashlab.bsky.social · 13/03/2026“.global catastrophe since many incredible programs are not currently being funded. Parasites don’t carry passports. Diseases spread across countries, so being able to survey & address these pathogens in one part of the world benefits public health everywhere.” www.the-scientist.com/a-low-cost-s...the-scientist.comA Low-Cost, Self-Driving Microscope Could Speed Up Infection DiagnosticsEngineer Manu Prakash helped develop a malaria-finding microscope that works in low-resource settings, improving access to sensitive infectious disease diagnostics. 0289
Reposted by Gokul RajanAlex Schier @schierlab.bsky.social · 12/03/2026Very happy to see this out. 👏 @yinanwan.bsky.social Bogdan Bintu and team. Whole-embryo spatial transcriptomics at subcellular resolution from gastrulation to organogenesis | free link Science www.science.org/eprint/5MHTM...science.orgWhole-embryo spatial transcriptomics at subcellular resolution from gastrulation to organogenesisGene expression patterns underlie development, but their systematic detection in whole embryos has remained elusive. We introduce a whole-embryo imaging platform using multiplexed error-robust fluores... 618780
Reposted by Gokul RajanBenjamin Judkewitz @benjulab.bsky.social · 05/03/2026First whole-brain recording of social sound processing in a vertebrate. Surprises start in the hindbrain; thalamus gates conspecific calls; male and female brains diverge downstream. Work by @joerghenninger.bsky.social, @mh123.bsky.social sky.social and team. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... 712749
Gokul Rajan @gokulrajan.bsky.social · 05/03/2026there is a very good case for replacing all paper pushers with LLMs. 000
Reposted by Gokul RajanMichael Orger @daniobrain.bsky.social · 24/02/2026Very happy to see this paper come out from Lucas Martins @d-lucas.bsky.social and Alexandre Laborde. They developed an awesome framework, built with .NET, for developing software to run demanding high-speed behavior and functional imaging experiments. dx.plos.org/10.1371/jour... 175
Gokul Rajan @gokulrajan.bsky.social · 13/02/2026so, it is 45; and not 42. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...science.orgA small polymerase ribozyme that can synthesize itself and its complementary strandThe emergence of a chemical system capable of self-replication and evolution is a critical event in the origin of life. RNA polymerase ribozymes can replicate RNA, but their large size and structural ... 020
Gokul Rajan @gokulrajan.bsky.social · 12/02/2026correlation doesn't mean causation, but does lack of correlation mean lack of causation? www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...biorxiv.org 000
Gokul Rajan @gokulrajan.bsky.social · 12/02/2026there is hope www.nature.com/articles/s41...nature.comTrust in scientists and their role in society across 68 countries - Nature Human BehaviourWhat is the state of trust in scientists around the world? To answer this question, the authors surveyed 71,922 respondents in 68 countries and found that trust in scientists is moderately high. 100
Gokul Rajan @gokulrajan.bsky.social · 11/02/2026phone autocorrected omw to omr. luckily the receiver of the text shares an interest in sensorimotor integration! 😂 000
Gokul Rajan @gokulrajan.bsky.social · 06/02/2026put the biology back in computational biology. it's getting ridiculous. 010
Gokul Rajan @gokulrajan.bsky.social · 03/02/2026human-level intelligence benchmarks are a trap. the more humans become dependent on LLM, the lower the threshold becomes to achieve human-level intelligence without any absolute increase in machine intelligence. 😄 000
Reposted by Gokul RajanFilippo Del Bene @filodelbene.bsky.social · 26/01/2026Proud to share our new paper uncovering how Lrrn-mediated targeting of retinal ganglion cells assembles circuits for brightness and contrast detection — led by my outstanding PhD student Elena Putti and made possible through wonderful collaborations. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...lnkd.inLinkedInThis link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn 0123
Gokul Rajan @gokulrajan.bsky.social · 23/01/2026ZVV's in-app check-in/out toggle is probably one of the best public transport ticketing systems i've ever come across. 🇨🇭 000
Gokul Rajan @gokulrajan.bsky.social · 22/01/2026The second best immersive way to experience the depressing state of science funding in the US. www.nature.com/immersive/d4...nature.comUS science after a year of Trump: what has been lost and what remainsA series of graphics reveals how the Trump administration has sought historic cuts to science and the research workforce. 000
Gokul Rajan @gokulrajan.bsky.social · 15/01/2026even if you exclude the 281 consortium authors, there are still 50 other authors in this paper, including 3 co-first authors. how does the responsibility fall on 1? i'd be very interested in understanding the investigation if it exists publicly (it should!!). 100
Gokul Rajan @gokulrajan.bsky.social · 14/01/2026As an alum of Marie Curie Actions COFUND program, I highly recommend this. It is easily one of the best PhD training programs in the world. 011
Gokul Rajan @gokulrajan.bsky.social · 12/01/2026every well written piece now gets labelled as "AI generated" by people (and softwares). this is bad for good writers. here is Watson and Crick's seminal paper from 1952 which is apparently "92% AI generated". (tested with tools that claim 99-100% accuracy!) 110
Gokul Rajan @gokulrajan.bsky.social · 12/01/2026never have i used the words "seminal" or "seminar" and thought of "semen of men". lol my 7th grade english teacher taught that "nice" originally meant ~foolish. a good reminder that etymology is great for appreciating evolution of language; but not for dictating contemporary usage. 000
Gokul Rajan @gokulrajan.bsky.social · 08/01/2026only three possibilities here: 1/ you can be the richest man and still not have the intelligence to objectively analyze a video evidence. 2/ you can be one of the most powerful people alive but still be unable to speak your mind, so as to please a few people. 3/ you're just vile. 000
Gokul Rajan @gokulrajan.bsky.social · 04/01/2026so, two authoritarian regimes (venezuela and china) were doing a peaceful, diplomatic energy trade when a "democracy" (usa) attacked them, kidnapped the leader and declared "to run" the country and oil reserves. and most of the western hemisphere sees nothing wrong with this. 120
Gokul Rajan @gokulrajan.bsky.social · 01/01/2026Many biological comparisons implicitly test one null: are labels exchangeable? Minimal label-flip/ sign-flip permutation tests for arbitrary user-defined statistics, with conservative, assumption-light inference. github.com/BioCommons-L...github.comGitHub - BioCommons-Lab/labelFlip-and-signFlip: Two-sample permutation tests in MATLAB for independent sample and paired sample designs, with support for arbitrary user-defined test statistics.Two-sample permutation tests in MATLAB for independent sample and paired sample designs, with support for arbitrary user-defined test statistics. - BioCommons-Lab/labelFlip-and-signFlip 010
Gokul Rajan @gokulrajan.bsky.social · 29/08/2025you're can't do any real science if you are not comfortable with feeling stupid. if you are doing science (at any level), you should absolutely read this ~17 years old piece -- the importance of "absolute stupidity" in science. journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/...journals.biologists.comThe importance of stupidity in scientific researchI recently saw an old friend for the first time in many years. We had been Ph.D. students at the same time, both studying science, although in different areas. She later dropped out of graduate school... 000
Gokul Rajan @gokulrajan.bsky.social · 26/08/2025Der Weg zur Höllen sey mit lauter gutem Vorsatz gepflastert. 000
Gokul Rajan @gokulrajan.bsky.social · 15/08/2025imho: skills are overrated; motivation is underrated. 1) with motivation, new skills come fast. 2) without it, skills mean nothing. 000
Gokul Rajan @gokulrajan.bsky.social · 12/08/2025two very different hunters i'm playing with: drosera and hippocampus. 020
Gokul Rajan @gokulrajan.bsky.social · 10/08/2025Peer-review and peer-fund pilot projects on @researchhubf.bsky.social! I just funded: NeuroSC: Leveraging Pretrained Single-Cell Models for Brain Cell Classification on ResearchHub. www.researchhub.com/fund/4262/ne...researchhub.comNeuroSC: Leveraging Pretrained Single-Cell Models for Bra...NeuroSC: Leveraging Pretrained Single-Cell Models for Brain Ce... 011
Gokul Rajan @gokulrajan.bsky.social · 01/08/2025Turns out that I had some research tokens on @researchhubf.bsky.social -- earned from my past publications(!!) -- that I could use to fund new research proposals submitted by others. I just did exactly that. Why have you not? Be the change you want to see. www.researchhub.com/fund/4261/ef...researchhub.comEffects of psilocybin and related compounds on neuroprote...Effects of psilocybin and related compounds on neuroprotection... 011
Gokul Rajan @gokulrajan.bsky.social · 30/07/2025Not kidding -- just read a paper where the person who made the discovery was thanked in the acknowledgements. How do I know? Because he was literally thanked as The discoverer! Welcome to science, where credit goes to the cool dude with the mic. 000
Gokul Rajan @gokulrajan.bsky.social · 26/07/2025When a paper cites everything around the key prior work but specifically skips the actual prior work that directly addressed their claim, it tells me more about the authors than the topic. 100
Gokul Rajan @gokulrajan.bsky.social · 25/07/2025when you select for "sexiness" and overlook rigor, science becomes clickbait. this arsenic life paper wasn’t just a one-off fluke -- it is a symptom of what happens when journals and funders chase headlines. www.science.org/content/arti...science.orgFifteen years later, Science retracts ‘arsenic life’ paper despite study authors’ protestsBelated decision on widely disputed 2010 study pleases some critics but puzzles and dismays others 010
Gokul Rajan @gokulrajan.bsky.social · 24/07/2025Just found out that my first-ever trainee -- a bachelor’s student from Sorbonne during my PhD -- is now doing a PhD in Neuroscience. Not taking any credit, but it still feels really good. :) 010
Gokul Rajan @gokulrajan.bsky.social · 15/07/2025Bold questions. Thoughtful reasoning. Smart tools. That's what it celebrates! 000
Gokul Rajan @gokulrajan.bsky.social · 13/07/2025Ever wonder if individuals can make a difference -- or if we must wait for institutions to catch up? Sometimes, it’s worth trying the former. The Danionella Prize: a tiny, personal gesture to reward curiosity, from India and Myanmar. danionellaprize.xyzdanionellaprize.xyzThe Danionella Prize 121
Gokul Rajan @gokulrajan.bsky.social · 12/07/2025A beautiful carnivore just entered our plant collection! 🌱 000
Gokul Rajan @gokulrajan.bsky.social · 11/07/2025Most people don’t lack values -- they just lack the courage to live them when it’s inconvenient to them. Integrity isn’t measured by what you say you care about -- it’s what you do when no one else speaks up. 000
Gokul Rajan @gokulrajan.bsky.social · 07/07/2025what?! www.nature.com/articles/s41...nature.comA biocompatible Lossen rearrangement in Escherichia coli - Nature ChemistryBiocompatible chemistry merges chemo-catalytic reactions with cellular metabolism for sustainable small-molecule synthesis. Now a biocompatible Lossen rearrangement has been demonstrated to control ba... 000
Gokul Rajan @gokulrajan.bsky.social · 07/07/2025why is this called gold open access? is it because it is fixed at the price of 146.6 gm of gold? 000
Gokul Rajan @gokulrajan.bsky.social · 07/07/2025Good ideas can cross continents in seconds but take years to cross an office desk. 000
