iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Laura Bacete @laurabacete.eurosky.social · 06/10/2026

I will leave Kyoto grateful, inspired, and more determined. There is still a lot to do to build a fair system, and a lot to fight for to keep it free. Thank you to everyone who made these days so rich! Och ett särskilt stort tack till @sverigesungaakademi.se för nomineringen och allt stöd!

A group photograph taken at the STS Forum in Japan, showing three participants standing together in front of a green and lime-coloured STS Forum backdrop. From left to right are Carolin Schütze, Laura Bacete Cano, and Sverker Lundin from the Young Academy of Sweden. All three are wearing conference name badges and lanyards. Carolin is dressed in a black suit with a light-coloured blouse and glasses. Laura is wearing a dark navy suit with a light blue shirt and a smartwatch. Sverker is wearing a light blue suit with a white shirt. They are standing side by side and smiling at the camera. The backdrop features a repeating checkerboard pattern with the words “STS” and “forum” in alternating shades of green.

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Laura Bacete @laurabacete.eurosky.social · 06/10/2026

Protected bottom-up funding, long-term grants and stable positions that give time to fail, assessing impact (?) rather than counting papers, and public, open AI infrastructure instead of renting black boxes. But I would love to hear the ideas of the Bluesky community too!

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Laura Bacete @laurabacete.eurosky.social · 06/10/2026

Because curiosity-driven research needs #AcademicFreedom, and breakthroughs rarely come from fitting into the boxes we are given. So how do we protect that freedom in practice? Some ideas came up during these days:

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Laura Bacete @laurabacete.eurosky.social · 06/10/2026

Tools anchored in the past seem a curious bet for breakthroughs. So in the session on new pathways for breakthrough research, I asked how we keep academic freedom when funding goes to "priority areas" and we are told, again and again, to feed our data into big companies' black boxes.

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Laura Bacete @laurabacete.eurosky.social · 06/10/2026

We also discussed the risks: compute concentrated in a few companies and countries, a two-speed science where the frontier can be bought, and a drift towards homogeneous outputs if we all rely on the same models and datasets.

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Laura Bacete @laurabacete.eurosky.social · 06/10/2026

In the AI in research round table, we discussed what remains ours: choosing which questions matter, judging how robust a result is, and being accountable for what we call knowledge. Models are powerful predictors, but they are not physical reality, and hypotheses still need to be falsified.

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Laura Bacete @laurabacete.eurosky.social · 06/10/2026

From then on, the gravity of the meeting shifted towards AI. Deep learning and purpose-built models help us see what we otherwise cannot. But the tools being pushed on us are commercial LLMs, which give us a statistical prediction of what we want to read, based on what we already know.

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Laura Bacete @laurabacete.eurosky.social · 06/10/2026

The US chose the forum to launch its "Kyoto Vision" for AI-powered science, endorsed by 17 countries. No budget, no binding commitments: signatories agree to "endeavour". A golden age of science, announced by an administration proposing to cut the NSF budget by 55%. www.techtimes.com/articles/328...

techtimes.com

Kyoto Vision Rallies 17 Nations for AI-Powered Science: No Budget, No Binding Vows

Kyoto Vision for a Golden Age of Science: 17 nations including the US, Germany, Japan, and South Korea endorsed an AI-driven research declaration at the STS Forum in Kyoto, committing to closed-loop A...

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Laura Bacete @laurabacete.eurosky.social · 06/10/2026

And that connects with the hot topic of the forum: AI. We have already handed most of what we eat to systems run for profit by a handful of companies. We cannot afford to make the same mistake with what we think. Yet that is exactly where we are being nudged, judging from what happened in parallel:

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Laura Bacete @laurabacete.eurosky.social · 06/10/2026

Resilience needs diversity: of crops, trading partners and production systems; of nutrients, not just calories; of knowledge, including local and indigenous knowledge co-created with farmers. All hard to achieve in a system that rewards scale above everything else.

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Laura Bacete @laurabacete.eurosky.social · 06/10/2026

In the food security round table on day 1, we discussed how we have built a vertical food system optimised for production rather than resilience, just as climate change makes resilience essential. The room for manoeuvre left to smaller farmers keeps shrinking, especially in the Global South.

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Laura Bacete @laurabacete.eurosky.social · 06/10/2026

The parallel sessions and round tables were the part I enjoyed most. I joined three: agriculture, food and water security; AI in research; and new pathways for breakthrough research. Different topics, but the same question kept surfacing: who decides where science goes?

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Laura Bacete @laurabacete.eurosky.social · 06/10/2026

I do not want a system that accommodates me. I want a system in which I can be comfortable. If that is not the system we have, we need to dismantle it and build a new one. Not the easiest message to deliver to a Nobel laureate, but one worth delivering!

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Laura Bacete @laurabacete.eurosky.social · 06/10/2026

One laureate told us he had children in his fifties. When I said that is not an option for me as a woman, the answer was "you can freeze your eggs". Joke or not, it is not a good answer, and I told him why:

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Laura Bacete @laurabacete.eurosky.social · 06/10/2026

Where we were not aligned was on careers. "Work 24/7 and don't complain, it's your passion" is not good advice, it is a description of an unhealthy system. And a tremendously unfair one, unfair to everyone who cannot afford it, for many reasons, including (but not only) wanting a family.

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Laura Bacete @laurabacete.eurosky.social · 06/10/2026

The advice itself was precious: keep an open, curious mind, and do not give up before doing the experiment (then do at least three replicates I guess!). Never assume something is impossible, irrelevant or unfundable. On funding and academic freedom, we were aligned on the fundamentals.

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Laura Bacete @laurabacete.eurosky.social · 06/10/2026

I spent four days discussing the future of science and technology, and the material basis that makes it possible. The Young Leaders dialogue with Nobel laureates was a privilege, but also a bit disappointing: only one of the nine laureates there was a woman.

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Laura Bacete @laurabacete.eurosky.social · 06/10/2026

As the #STSforum in Kyoto comes to an end, I took a dusk walk through the bamboo forest to reflect on these days as a Young Leader. Deeply grateful to the organisers for this opportunity. Some reflections follow: 🧵👇

A scenic view along the famous Arashiyama Bamboo Forest in Kyoto, Japan. A gently curving paved path winds through a dense grove of tall, slender bamboo, whose green stalks rise high overhead and form a natural canopy. Sunlight filters through the leaves, creating warm, dappled light and bright patches of green along the path. Traditional bamboo railings line the walkway, with rustic stone edging and a low stone wall covered in moss and vegetation adding to the natural setting. Mature broadleaf trees frame the bamboo grove on the right, while the tightly packed bamboo creates a striking vertical pattern on the left and in the distance. A few visitors can be seen walking further along the path, giving a sense of scale without dominating the scene. The peaceful, winding pathway and towering bamboo capture the characteristic atmosphere of Arashiyama.

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Reposted by Laura Bacete

Mary Williams @PlantTeaching @plantteaching.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Good grief. What a depressing article. Plants mentioned briefly once, about their interactions with animals. How can the New York Times pretend to have captured "the biggest question in science" without reference to the most important kingdom, which sustains us? 😤 www.nytimes.com/2026/10/05/s...

nytimes.com

What Are the Biggest Questions in Science Today? 100 Scientists Weigh In. (Gift Article)

We asked 100 scientists about unsolved problems in their fields. They sent back provocations — on the origins of life, the possibilities for human progress and much more.

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Laura Bacete @laurabacete.eurosky.social · 27/09/2026

How scientific misconduct looks in practise:

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Laura Bacete @laurabacete.eurosky.social · 08/09/2026

Jag röstar! – My first time voting in the Swedish elections (local and regional for now).

Selfie of a smiling woman with long curly brown hair, wearing glasses, a beige coat, and a light patterned scarf, holding two Swedish election ballot envelopes ("VALKUVERT") printed with voting instructions in Swedish, with a dark computer monitor and an office ceiling visible in the background.

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Reposted by Laura Bacete

Mariana Schuster @marischuster.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

I'm excited to share that my newly funded #ERCStG FRONTERA is recruiting two postdoctoral researchers at @ipbhalle.bsky.social 🌱🔬 If you are passionate about plant immunity, proteolysis, membrane proteins, or proteomics, I'd love to hear from you. 🧵 Please RT/share!

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eLife @elife.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

In this ecrLife blog two Research Development Strategists tell us about a book that transformed how they advise grant writers, and how you can learn how to centre creativity in your research ecrlife.org/transformati...

ecrlife.org

A Book That Transformed How We Advise Grant Writers

A must-read to learn how to center creativity in your research

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Reposted by Laura Bacete

IceLab @icelabumu.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Congratulations @laurabacete.bsky.social on your early career award! If you are interested in a #postdoc in #plantscience using #modelling to uncover cell wall dynamics in algae working with Laura & others, apply here: www.umu.se/en/work-with...

umu.se

Three multidisciplinary postdoctoral scholarships (2 years)

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Laura Bacete @laurabacete.eurosky.social · 25/08/2026

Noting which brands to avoid from now on. But this is bigger than that. The antibodies with fake images still work fine, at least the ones I’ve used. It’s all about having the *perfect* western blot. But nothing is perfect, not blots, not science, not life!! And that’s fine!

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Laura Bacete @laurabacete.eurosky.social · 20/08/2026

Thrilled to receive the Scandinavian Plant Physiology Society (@plantspps.bsky.social) Early Career Award 2026 at #SPPS2026! Deeply grateful to the Society and to everyone who has supported my research on plant cell wall integrity signalling along the way 🌱🏆

Photo of a woman with long dark wavy hair, smiling at the camera and holding an award certificate titled “SPPS Early Career Award 2026.” She wears a lavender suit and stands in a tall wall alcove above a dark green leather sofa, in a room with beige walls and two vertical wall sconces.

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Laura Bacete @laurabacete.eurosky.social · 11/08/2026

None of this is about having a perfect CV. It’s about care: sending and application meant for us, to us, about you, in your own words. That alone puts you ahead of a surprising number of applicants. Good luck! 🍀

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Laura Bacete @laurabacete.eurosky.social · 11/08/2026

What worked: candidates who read our actual, meaningful papers and got them right (not just name dropping). Candidates who wrote “I haven’t done X, but here’s the closest thing I have done”. Candidates that showed their own voice and what motivates them to give this next step in their career.

static.klipy.com

The Simpsons: Lisa's A++++ Grade

Alt: The Simpsons: Lisa's A++++ Grade

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Laura Bacete @laurabacete.eurosky.social · 11/08/2026

5. Letters that sound like nobody wrote them. Use AI to tighten a sentence if you want, fine. But when it drafts whole paragraphs for you, it shows: generic, weirdly smooth, no actual voice behind it. We can tell, and it costs you.

static.klipy.com

Jordi Baste Tv3: Reem C Robot Waving

Alt: Jordi Baste Tv3: Reem C Robot Waving

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Laura Bacete @laurabacete.eurosky.social · 11/08/2026

4. Generic enthusiasm instead of engagement. “I am passionate about plant biology” tells us nothing. Naming the actual question the lab works on, and why it interests you, tells us a lot.

static.klipy.com

Simon Cowell: I Love Your Enthusiasm

Alt: Simon Cowell: I Love Your Enthusiasm

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Laura Bacete @laurabacete.eurosky.social · 11/08/2026

3. Letters that claim skills the CV doesn’t back up. “Extensive experience with X” next to a skills list with no X anywhere is the fastest way to lose trust, not gain it.

static.klipy.com

Lance Geiger: Exceptional Skill

Alt: Lance Geiger: Exceptional Skill

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Laura Bacete @laurabacete.eurosky.social · 11/08/2026

2. A “research statement” that’s actually last year’s statement for a different call. If it doesn’t mention the actual lab, system, or research question, it reads as recycled. Because it is.

static.klipy.com

Green Recycle Symbol

Alt: Green Recycle Symbol

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Laura Bacete @laurabacete.eurosky.social · 11/08/2026

1. Wrong lab, wrong PI. More than one letter was clearly written for someone else: a different professor, a different project, sometimes a different university entirely. Check the name at the top before you hit send.

static.klipy.com

Psyduck's Confusion Turmoil

Alt: Psyduck's Confusion Turmoil

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Laura Bacete @laurabacete.eurosky.social · 11/08/2026

It’s hiring season in my lab, and I’m always impressed by how many young, ambitious scientists are out there, just needing a chance to shine. Too often, though, that chance gets obscured by avoidable mistakes. Here are 5 common mistakes, and also some things that work 🧵👇

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Laura Bacete @laurabacete.eurosky.social · 01/08/2026

Siempre es gente muy desesperada y con una visión muy idealizada de Escandinavia que han visto en las redes sociales o que les ha contado el primo de un amigo. Gente con iniciativa y ganas de trabajar que han comprado la idea equivocada. Supongo que lo mismo en Ceuta. Nos puede tocar a cualquiera.

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Laura Bacete @laurabacete.eurosky.social · 01/08/2026

Sigue pasando. Yo viví en Noruega del 2019 al 2023, desde el 2023 en Suecia. Todos los meses pregunta alguien en FB que donde se puede encontrar trabajo (o ayudas) sin saber el idioma o inglés. Alguna vez en Noruega me tocó echar una mano a gente en situaciones muy jodidas.

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Laura Bacete @laurabacete.eurosky.social · 01/08/2026

Interesting. So the time saved does not come back as thinking time, it comes back as pressure to start the next paper. More, faster, worse. Worth asking which incentive structure ever made that look like a solution.

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COST Action PlantWallK @plantwallk.org · 21/07/2026

🔬 Postdoc opportunity: how do plant cells sense and respond to changes in their cell walls? Join the @cellwalldynamics.com lab @umeaplantsciencecentre.se, integrating Brillouin, O-PTIR & spatial transcriptomics on the Arabidopsis root. Deadline 31 Aug 2026 🔗 buff.ly/cPFemXd #PlantScience #Postdoc

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Reposted by Laura Bacete

Izzy Jayasinghe @ijayas.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

Hey Siri, show me a system that looks to filter out the scientific discoveries of women with seniority. The paper confirms the hostility many of us feel is baked into the editorial & peer review community (sitting behind a veil of anonymity) that prefer to see papers led by women thrown out.

Excerpt from the paper:

Gendered effects in peer review
At Science and Science Advances, manuscripts with women corresponding authors make up a gradually declining share from submission to review to acceptance (20.9% → 20.8% → 19.7% → 17.9% and 22.3% → 21.4% → 21.3% → 20.1%, respective-ly; Fig. 2B). Accounting for available covari-ates via multiple logistic regression reveals a small but statistically significant association with corresponding author gender in being sent to review or accepted after review (B =
-0.08, P < 0.001 for sent to review; B = -0.13, P
= 0.011 for accepted; tables S8 and S11).

% plot of women’s representation among first authors (solid symbols), corresponding authors (open symbols), and among first-round peer reviewers (crossed symbols) over the evaluation process. Red line and symbols indicate the journal Science, blue indicating Sci Adv. all lines generally trending down from Submission stage, through editorial and peer review stages to acceptance stages.

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Reposted by Laura Bacete

FocalPlane @focalplane.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

See you at 15:00 BST today for our quantitative plant imaging webinar with @laurabacete.bsky.social and @sventruckenbrodt.bsky.social.

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FocalPlane @focalplane.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Less than one week to go! We're excited to hear talks from @laurabacete.bsky.social and @sventruckenbrodt.bsky.social. Join us online on Thursday 16 July at 15:00 BST.

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Magnus Palmblad @magnuspalmblad.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Tired of AI-generated figures? I asked our talented scientific illustrator Manon Zuurmond to draw some of the instruments and lab equipment we missed in NIH's otherwise fantastic BioArt resource. First batch now available as CC BY. Free for everyone to use in publications: github.com/Center-for-P...

Drawings of various laboratory equipment (liquid chromatography system, mass spectrometers and a centrifuge).

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Laura Bacete @laurabacete.eurosky.social · 03/07/2026

It was a pleasure to be a small part of this story!

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Reposted by Laura Bacete

Umeå Plant Science Centre @umeaplantsciencecentre.se · 03/07/2026

🧪A fantastic opportunity to join an interdisciplinary research environment! Interested in combining mathematical modelling with cell wall biology? Take a closer look at the first project, led by @laurabacete.bsky.social, Christiane Funk and Yanjun Zan, and 📅 Apply by 17 September

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Laura Bacete @laurabacete.eurosky.social · 30/06/2026

Join the team for this very cool project! Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions. And since it’s a very interdisciplinary project, reposts to reach the right person (not necessarily with a plant background) are appreciated 😁

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Laura Bacete @laurabacete.eurosky.social · 25/06/2026

We are hiring! Come and join the team reach out here, by email, or find me in person at #ICAR2026 if you happen to be in Singapore this week 🌱🧱🚨

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