Ian Sudbery @iansudbery.bsky.social · 4hI'm all in favour a a robin hood tax. But surely £2 a month per household is more likely £548 million, rather than billion. 000
Reposted by Ian SudberyMatthew Cobb @matthewcobb.bsky.social · 10hI wrote up that thread on the new paper on Rosalind Franklin as a Substack post. matthewcobb2.substack.com/p/how-our-vi... 02213
Reposted by Ian SudberyMing Tommy Tang @tommytang.bsky.social · 10hThe novel transcripts we keep rediscovering www.nature.com/articles/s4... 032
Reposted by Ian SudberyRichard Sever @richardsever.bsky.social · 23hAnd finally any version of “Do you know who I am?”. Really no answer to that benefits you in the face of a rejection, and worst-case scenario the retort will be “yeah and you’re lucky we didn’t factor that in to the decision”. 🤣 2162
Reposted by Ian SudberyKrista Koeller @kristalerista.bsky.social · 07/10/2026We were already crowdfunding all these things that benefit society. It’s called taxes. 0285
Ian Sudbery @iansudbery.bsky.social · 06/10/2026My memory was the previous story was that she had suggested the double helical solution, but not followed it up? Can remember where I read that though. 000
Ian Sudbery @iansudbery.bsky.social · 05/10/2026Pretty much no UK institution allows the use of IF in academic moderation. So instead everyone thete own personal journal ranking uses there own private "head IF", I.e. what they would guess the IF of a journal would be. I don't know if this is better of worse. 030
Reposted by Ian SudberyThe Francis Crick Institute @crick.ac.uk · 28/09/2026Applications are open for our new AI/ML clinical fellowships, combining formal MSc-level training in AI and machine learning with PhD or postdoctoral research at the Crick. Find out more about the programme and apply by 11 November: bit.ly/4hxmAgncrick.ac.ukAI/ML clinical fellowsOur clinical training pathway integrating AI and machine learning with discovery research. 055
Reposted by Ian SudberyNucleic Acids Research @narjournal.bsky.social · 01/10/2026⭐ Celebrating the Launch of the Human Genome Project (HPG) 🧬36 years ago today, scientists launched one of biology’s most ambitious experiments: reading the ~3 billion bases of the human genome. On Oct. 1, 1990, HPG began with a seemingly impossible question: Could we sequence the human genome? 1/5 173
Ian Sudbery @iansudbery.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Personally I.often find it easier to describe what I'm thinking in code than in English. 110
Ian Sudbery @iansudbery.bsky.social · 30/09/2026What I don't see anyone taking about is now a piece of software written by Facebook manage to get root access to an OS. That's not (only) a flaw in Muse, it's a flaw in the apple OS. 040
Ian Sudbery @iansudbery.bsky.social · 29/09/2026Two things surprise me about this: 1. People aren't more mad at Apple. Surely it should not be possible for an app to ignore a permission set at the OS level. That does not sound like secure OS design. 2. People think that not using anything by Meta makes them safe from this. 031
Reposted by Ian SudberyMelissa Johnson, PhD @ladyhistorian.bsky.social · 28/09/2026I am tired of having to pretend that the value of studying my discipline solely rests on the "marketable skills" we teach. Sometimes things are just worth knowing and doing because they make your life bigger and richer. 131250269
Reposted by Ian SudberyCarl Zimmer @carlzimmer.com · 27/09/2026Four days ago, a scientist was surprised by the news that Anthropic discovered new virus genes for making DNA. He says he’s been studying them for years—and feeding his data to Anthropic’s AI as part of his own research. Coincidence? Here’s my story. nyti.ms/3VSWaycnyti.msDid Anthropic’s A.I. Really Make a Scientific Discovery on Its Own? (Gift Article)An expert at the University of Copenhagen said his team had been sharing its research with the company’s A.I. model, Claude, and that its new finding matched their work. 882123874
Reposted by Ian SudberyIan Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 27/09/2026The chipping away at citizenship, which started with Shamima Begum, is utterly poisonous. Anytime now, Restore will support the removal of citizenship on the basis of race or religion. 351037282
Reposted by Ian SudberyStephen Turner @stephenturner.us · 26/09/2026Personal essay, weekend edition. My relationship with AI is changing. 1.8k words, 8 min reading time. doi.org/10.59350/bh7...doi.orgMy relationship with AI is changingWhen the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir? 06715
Reposted by Ian SudberyTan G. @tangandhara.bsky.social · 26/09/2026The section on reading was very relatable, especially this line: “Part of the reason I read the things I read is to understand how another person thinks.” 073
Reposted by Ian SudberyCaroline Bartman @cbartman.bsky.social · 25/09/2026Ok what is the most death metal biology term? Cytokine storm? Programmed death 1? Executioner caspase? Other? 589022
Ian Sudbery @iansudbery.bsky.social · 24/09/2026Personally I claimed benefits. And wrote a text book. 010
Ian Sudbery @iansudbery.bsky.social · 24/09/2026People returning slop reviews for an easy packet of cash? At the moment there is no incentive to cheat at reviews, and yet some people still do it. Think how much worse it.would be if they could be paid. 050
Reposted by Ian SudberyDuncan Sproul @sproullab.bsky.social · 24/09/2026Reposting this postdoc opening in our lab. We also now have an opening for a graduate research assistant for the same project. Deadline 23rd October 2026 and details here: elxw.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...elxw.fa.em3.oraclecloud.comResearch AssistantWe are looking for a self-motivated, enthusiastic research assistant to join the laboratory of Dr Duncan Sproul at the University of Edinburgh’s Institute of Genetics and Cancer and support research i... 064
Ian Sudbery @iansudbery.bsky.social · 24/09/2026I was earlier try to describe what I thought about the latest press release from Anthropic on the use of a Claude based agent in biology. I was trying to avoid saying that the agent "decided" something, but I realised that I just didn't have the any alternative language for the situation. 120
Ian Sudbery @iansudbery.bsky.social · 24/09/2026Right, so my understanding is that "terrorism law" about more than just what offense you are guilty of, but rather whether it is necessary to suspend part of the normal operation of the law to protect people. Seems to me that this should be avoided if at all possible. 100
Ian Sudbery @iansudbery.bsky.social · 24/09/2026A system that decides to rank the interestingness of new RTs by the weirdness of their flanking sequence without prompting is much more novel. 010
Ian Sudbery @iansudbery.bsky.social · 24/09/2026Like a tool that identifies uncategorized enzyme families and ranks them by the unusualness of their surrounding sequences is nice, probably worthy of an application note in bioinformatics, or perhaps even a genome biology methods paper (given they actual found a new family) 100
Ian Sudbery @iansudbery.bsky.social · 24/09/2026If, however, it has been instructed or trained to look at the surrounding sequences, then this becomes an interesting tool, but no more. The text of the press release says: "It then searches for family members or genomic neighbors that fit no described system", it's unclear exactly what this means 100
Ian Sudbery @iansudbery.bsky.social · 24/09/2026Interesting here is defined as having RNA repeats surrounding the gene. If Claude the model identified this feature without any promoting and you right this particular family because of this feature, then I think that is quite remarkable. 100
Ian Sudbery @iansudbery.bsky.social · 24/09/2026The interesting question here is to what extent was the model here following a prompt, and to what extent was it asking its own questions? At the top of the article it seems like they just said "find an interesting new enzyme family", a little further down it was "find an interesting new RT family" 120
Ian Sudbery @iansudbery.bsky.social · 24/09/2026Surely the game plan here is to convince every scientist in the world that they can no longer work with a Claude subscription? 010
Reposted by Ian SudberyFrances Yap @ribo1214.bsky.social · 24/09/2026TT faculty opening at Indiana University-Bloomington. ⬇️ 002
Ian Sudbery @iansudbery.bsky.social · 23/09/2026Seems to me that in a properly functioning system it should be possible deal with those slashing boats with resorting to terrorism legislation. 160
Reposted by Ian SudberyLyndsey Stonebridge @lyndseystonebri.bsky.social · 23/09/2026You're going to be needing specialists in: languages, narrative, history, psychology, information, mythology, conspiracies, etc, etc. then? #humanities #socialscience 1116861
Ian Sudbery @iansudbery.bsky.social · 21/09/2026Depends at switch stage you are at. If you've been given 5 minutes per application to get a applicant list of 200 down to a long list of maybe 10, then even that will be too much work. 000
Reposted by Ian SudberyMatthew Cobb @matthewcobb.bsky.social · 20/09/2026This is true of many places - higher education is not only a cultural good, it is a massive driver of economies in otherwise left behind places that politicians and journalists rarely visit. What will happen if/when the financial crisis in HE leads to closures? 14416
Reposted by Ian SudberyThe Empty City @davidallengreen.bsky.social · 18/09/2026Too late to change now, but the above should really be: Criminal law should be enforced against those committing criminal acts, says minister responsible for enforcing the criminal law against those committing criminal acts 113426
Ian Sudbery @iansudbery.bsky.social · 17/09/2026Why do all these AI generated infographics all looks the same? Down to their blue backgrounds and glowing 3D lines? Outs not like it would be hard to all for something different in the prompt. 000
Reposted by Ian SudberyRobin Moira White @robinmoirawhite.bsky.social · 16/09/2026Curiously unreported by mainstream media. Carried by a show of hands with no opposition. labourlist.org/2026/09/tuc-...labourlist.orgTUC Congress backs motion opposing EHRC guidance and calls for gender self-ID - LabourListUnions have backed calls to campaign for gender ‘self ID’ and for a change in “discriminatory and unworkable” guidance around transgender rights. 7412156
Ian Sudbery @iansudbery.bsky.social · 16/09/2026It's not that your average biologist doesn't think that curing diseases is important, its what allows them to tell themselves that their work is socially good. But for many, deep down, its that urge to understand stuff that really drives them. Until now there was no contradiction between these. 110
Ian Sudbery @iansudbery.bsky.social · 16/09/2026Now this machine comes along that makes understanding unnecessary to generating to cure. If this were to become genuinely effective to would destroy that deal. 110
Ian Sudbery @iansudbery.bsky.social · 16/09/2026Plenty of biologists are worried about this. One way to do biology had always been that a deal is made between society and the researcher. The researcher works towards a cure, but they do that by generating understanding. The understanding its goal of the researcher, the cure society's goal. 110
Reposted by Ian Sudberymerr-itt came from outer space @merrittk.com · 15/09/2026god, i was born in the wrong era. imagine being around in the Cambrian period. you could just evolve something simple like shell or legs that nobody had thought of before and coast on that your whole life 101023152
Reposted by Ian SudberyKristian G. Andersen @kgandersen.bsky.social · 14/09/2026There is absolutely nothing to support that any of these scientists were "trying to weaponize pathogens". While I don't have access to the underlying data, reading the examples given by Anthropic, they all appear to be basic virological research. 1177
Reposted by Ian SudberyHarmit Singh Malik @harmitmalik.bsky.social · 14/09/2026I don’t know which is greater: my inertia at getting going on Monday morning or my disappointment at all that I accomplished (or did not accomplish) in that week on Friday evening. Probably equal I would say. 3211
Reposted by Ian SudberyDr Radu Zabet @raduzabet.bsky.social · 14/09/2026Great lab and excellent project. Highly recommend 012
Ian Sudbery @iansudbery.bsky.social · 14/09/2026No idea. I wondered if the functionality of biomart was constraining the structure of the database? Once upon a time you could connect directly to the Ensembl db mysql server, as far as I can tell, that option is no longer available, so perhaps the whole architecture of the backend is different. 110
Reposted by Ian SudberyJoanna Hardy-Susskind @joannahs.bsky.social · 10/09/2026Well. Would you look at that. 216554
Reposted by Ian SudberyEllie Mae O'Hagan @elliemaeohagan.bsky.social · 13/09/2026The anthropic whistleblower is like "no other activity has the potential to create human extinction." Well, speaking as someone who works for a climate think tank, I can think of one 431800309
Ian Sudbery @iansudbery.bsky.social · 13/09/2026I'm an academic. I was once in a bar after graduation. You are supposed to wear the academic uniform of the university you graduated from, so I was wearing a white bow tie, undone by this point. Someone came over and asked if I was a conductor. 010
Ian Sudbery @iansudbery.bsky.social · 13/09/2026Those are not really fully functional, maintained, and widely used wrappers that abstract away the underlying technical structure in the way the biomaRt package does. 020