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Reposted by Small Brain Cognition Lab

HaDi MaBouDi @maboudi.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Can we build truly intelligent machines without first understanding how intelligence works in nature? Following two days of discussion at our Theo Murphy meeting in Bristol, we explored the gap between natural and artificial intelligence. www.linkedin.com/pulse/nature... #Ai #AnimalMind #Cognition

linkedin.com

Nature of Intelligence 2026: Bridging Animal and Artificial Intelligence, Bristol

What an inspiring two days. Our Theo Murphy meeting, Nature of Intelligence: Bridging Animal and Artificial Intelligence, has successfully concluded in Bristol after two days of stimulating talks, cha...

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Small Brain Cognition Lab @minibraincognition.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Perception is active: animals, neurons and synapses move to compute efficiently. Our new review explores how movement shapes neural information processing, from sensory sampling to synaptic computation. Out now in Physics of Life Reviews: doi.org/10.1016/j.pl...

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Small Brain Cognition Lab @minibraincognition.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

Very pleased that our recent paper doi.org/10.1038/s414... has been selected by QED Science for its “top 1%” preprint collection. the-one-percent.qedscience.com?selection=10... A kind recognition of our work on how tiny brains can achieve remarkably fast and precise visual processing.

the-one-percent.qedscience.com

QED — The most compelling preprints of 2025

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Reposted by Small Brain Cognition Lab

Small Brain Cognition Lab @minibraincognition.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

doi.org/10.1038/s414... Vision is often modelled with tuned filters, noise and fixed bandwidth limits. But speed, dynamic range and hyperacuity need not be assumed. See how they emerge from real biophysics: quantal sampling, refractory dynamics, cellular motion and synaptic high-frequency jumping.

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Small Brain Cognition Lab @minibraincognition.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

Heliox has made a podcast episode about our latest paper on how houseflies see and react so fast. It gives a nice, accessible overview of synaptic high-frequency jumping and why fly vision can outperform conventional expectations for biological neural systems. 🎧 www.buzzsprout.com/2405788/epis...

buzzsprout.com

🪰 Why Houseflies See Faster Than AI - Heliox: Where Evidence Meets Empathy 🇨🇦‬

📖 Read: https://helioxpodcast.substack.com/archive?sort=newThrough self-motion, flies efficiently translate image motion into temporally-precise, predictive high-speed vision.The humble, infuriating, ...

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HaDi MaBouDi @maboudi.bsky.social · 17/05/2026

I am very pleased to announce our upcoming Theo Murphy meeting at the Royal Society: Nature of Intelligence: Bridging Animal and Artificial Intelligence 21–22 September 2026 - Bristol, UK Registration deadline: 1 July Register here: lnkd.in/eGDAux-M #AI #AnimalCognition #Neuroscience

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Small Brain Cognition Lab @minibraincognition.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

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Small Brain Cognition Lab @minibraincognition.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

New paper out today! Insect eyes do not just record images - they actively sample the world in rapid bursts. We show that this drives synaptic high-frequency jumping, reshaping visual signals to boost speed, timing and hyperacute vision during flight. doi.org/10.1038/s414...

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Small Brain Cognition Lab @minibraincognition.bsky.social · 17/03/2026

Delighted to share our new review preprint: www.preprints.org/manuscript/2... Beyond Static Perception - showing how animals, neurons and synapses actively move to sample and compute information efficiently.

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Small Brain Cognition Lab @minibraincognition.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

Updated version of our manuscript now available on bioRxiv: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1.... We show how synaptic high-frequency jumping and morphodynamic sampling synchronise vision to high-speed behaviour in the housefly, extending visual bandwidth to ~1,000 Hz while minimising synaptic delays.

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Dr Alice Bridges @adbridges.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

New paper by our group! 🧪🐝 Confirmation of the spread of "behavioural traditions" in groups - and between groups! - of bumblebees, using the string-pulling paradigm! With @procenko.bsky.social @larschittka.bsky.social and @minibraincognition.bsky.social . doi.org/10.1016/j.an...

Figure 1 from the paper, depicting experimental set-up schematics and the training protocol for string pulling.

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Small Brain Cognition Lab @minibraincognition.bsky.social · 19/11/2025

Join us! 🧬🪰🎉🔬🧠 We are currently advertising a PhD project to study how the brains of #Drosophila and #zebrafish synchronise visual information processing. www.findaphd.com/phds/project... Deadline for applying is Wednesday, January 7, 2026. Get in touch for more info!

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Small Brain Cognition Lab @minibraincognition.bsky.social · 09/09/2025

ASAB Interdisciplinary Workshop Nature of Intelligence: Bridging Animal and Artificial Intelligence sites.google.com/sheffield.ac... 4-5 September 2025: Extraordinary meeting - many thanks to HaDi for organising, and to all the speakers and participants! See you all next year in Bristol!

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Small Brain Cognition Lab @minibraincognition.bsky.social · 22/08/2025

Flies keep their vision razor-sharp even at top speed: we found their synapses “jump” into higher frequencies during saccades, wiping out delays and boosting acuity. This self-sharpening trick shows how brains sync perception with rapid behaviour. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

biorxiv.org

Synaptic high-frequency jumping synchronises vision to high-speed behaviour

During high-speed behaviour, animals must predict, detect, process, and respond synchronously to rapid environmental changes, including those caused by their own movements. How neural systems achieve ...

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HaDi MaBouDi @maboudi.bsky.social · 18/07/2025

Call for Abstracts Extended! 🌟 Join us this September in Sheffield for 'Nature of Intelligence: Bridging Animal & Artificial Intelligence', an ASAB Interdisciplinary Workshop. @asab.org @sheffielduni.bsky.social #ArtificialIntelligence #AnimalCognition #Neuroscience I #AcademicWorkshop #ASAB

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HaDi MaBouDi @maboudi.bsky.social · 01/07/2025

Our latest paper reveals how active vision via scanning dynamically refines spatiotemporal neural representations, enabling efficient pattern recognition in minimal systems. A step forward in understanding embedded cognition & AI www.sheffield.ac.uk/news/new-stu... #bee #ActiveVision #Neuromorphic

sheffield.ac.uk

New study revealing bees' secret to super-efficient learning could revolutionise AI and robotics

A new discovery of how bees use their flight movements to facilitate remarkably accurate learning & recognition of complex visual patterns could mark a major change in how next-generation AI is develo...

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Small Brain Cognition Lab @minibraincognition.bsky.social · 01/07/2025

Exciting paper from our lab out today: New insights into how bees use flight movements—such as body, head, and eye wiggles—to actively support their brain’s pattern learning and recognition with remarkable accuracy could inspire advances in next-generation AI. elifesciences.org/articles/89929

elifesciences.org

A neuromorphic model of active vision shows how spatiotemporal encoding in lobula neurons can aid pattern recognition in bees

Active vision dynamically refines spatiotemporal neural representations, optimising visual processing through scanning behaviour and non-associative learning, providing insights into efficient sensory...

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Reposted by Small Brain Cognition Lab

HaDi MaBouDi @maboudi.bsky.social · 22/04/2025

Announcing the ASAB Interdisciplinary Workshop: Nature of Intelligence – Bridging Animal & Artificial Intelligence 📍 University of Sheffield, UK 📅 4–5 September 2025 📝 Abstracts due: 1 July 🔗 Register & learn more: sites.google.com/sheffield.ac... #AnimalIntelligence #NeuroAI #BioRobotics @asab.org

sites.google.com

Nature of Intelligence

NIBAI-2025: Nature of Intelligence, Bridging Animal and Artificial Intelligence Workshop Dates: 📅 Date: 4–5 September 2025 📍 Venue: The Diamond Building, University of Sheffield, UK 📝 Registration De...

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Dr Alice Bridges @adbridges.bsky.social · 10/03/2025

Our new preprint is live! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... 🐝🧪 “Bumblebee string pulling skill spreads between colonies under open diffusion conditions”! @procenko.bsky.social @minibraincognition.bsky.social @larschittka.bsky.social

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Brian Klaas @brianklaas.bsky.social · 01/01/2025

This is amazing: it’s incredibly windy in the UK right now, so only about 10% of the National Grid is currently being powered by fossil fuels.

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Doll Face Psycho 🫘 @living-sigh.bsky.social · 30/12/2024

Plot twist 😱

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AkaSci @akasci.bsky.social · 29/12/2024

In 1676, Danish astronomer Ole Roemer (1644–1710) became the first person to measure the speed of light. He did so by timing eclipses of Io by Jupiter, which occurred later when earth was farther away from Jupiter than when it was closer. www.amnh.org/learn-teach/...

amnh.org

Ole Roemer Profile: First to Measure the Speed of Light | AMNH

Before Ole Roemer's 1676 discovery, scientists assumed that light could not be measured.

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Thiago Carvalho @cyrilpedia.bsky.social · 25/12/2024

'Before there was arXiv, there was Joanne Cohn (...) She started an informal exchange of string theory manuscripts that eventually became the arXiv preprint server, which has since revolutionized the way scientists share ideas and announce findings.' pubs.aip.org/physicstoday...

pubs.aip.org

Joanne Cohn and the email list that led to arXiv

A strong sense of community led an early-career string theorist to share preprints in a scientifically competitive environment.

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Gonzalo de Polavieja @polavieja.bsky.social · 19/12/2024

Genesis: high quality generative Physics engine, genesis-embodied-ai.github.io

genesis-embodied-ai.github.io

Genesis

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Kevin Mitchell @wiringthebrain.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

If I cite a preprint, I am doing peer review. No editor needs to be involved. We don't need the high priests of Elsevier to sanctify this relationship.

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Small Brain Cognition Lab @minibraincognition.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

Exciting news! Our holistic approach to neural information, "Theory of Morphodynamic Information Processing: Linking Sensing to Behaviour," has been accepted for publication in Vision Research! 🎉 Dive deeper into the work with our extended version here: preprints.org/manuscript/202308.1210/v2.

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Prof Sarah-Jayne Blakemore @sjblakemore.bsky.social · 12/12/2024

I wrote an article about my dad's death, and how it affected my views on assisted dying Free version of the article in the next post Views are my own, not those of the institutions or academies I'm associated with www.thetimes.com/uk/healthcar...

thetimes.com

What my dad’s death taught me about the assisted dying debate

Sarah-Jayne Blakemore and her sisters knew their father, the neuroscientist Sir Colin Blakemore, had always planned to go to the Netherlands in the face of terminal motor neurone disease. But the real...

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John Tuthill @tuthill.bsky.social · 18/11/2024

Check out this fly boxing away a parasitic wasp who is trying to lay eggs in its abdomen. I've watched a lot of fly behavior, but never seen anything like this. Makes you wonder how much we miss by studying lab organisms in isolation from their natural threats. Vid from: doi.org/10.1038/s415...

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Small Brain Cognition Lab @minibraincognition.bsky.social · 02/12/2024

Two videos by devjoni.com showcasing our ongoing research into morphodynamic information processing (1/3)

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Small Brain Cognition Lab @minibraincognition.bsky.social · 28/11/2024

Hello! We are a group of scientists from the University of Sheffield excited about how the brain works, using flies & other insects as our models. 🧪🪰 Looking forward to sharing some of our work in the coming days!

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