Alex Keyes, PhD @neuropharmnerd.bsky.social · 02/10/2026from the city that brought us Gritty, a new nightmare to behold: 101
Reposted by Alex Keyes, PhDJohn Tuthill @tuthill.bsky.social · 01/10/2026two new preprints from Wangchu Xiang (@darbly.bsky.social, Ginty labs) about connectomic reconstruction from electron microscopy of somatosensory afferents and projection neurons in the dorsal horn of the mouse spinal cord www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... 43917
Alex Keyes, PhD @neuropharmnerd.bsky.social · 28/09/2026as a statement, my own institution specifically warns about this: "The UI prohibits the use of AI tools with University/Internal, Restricted, and Critical data types. Once the data is placed into AI tools, the data becomes available to the public and open source. "its.uiowa.eduUsing Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools in ResearchThe University of Iowa recognizes the rapidly evolving landscape of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its potential to advance knowledge, research, and scholarly work. AI tools can save researchers tim... 232
Alex Keyes, PhD @neuropharmnerd.bsky.social · 23/09/2026this sounds like both a miserable time (i feel so bad for that poor baby) and also exactly what i expect from BA at this point. 100
Reposted by Alex Keyes, PhDOlivia Davis @oliviadavis.bsky.social · 22/09/2026Our latest preprint continues our investigations into spinal mechanisms of human chronic pain! We find no evidence for a loss of neurons in the dorsal horn of donors with chronic lower limb pain, and the ratio of excitatory to inhibitory interneurons also remains consistent between pain states. 276
Reposted by Alex Keyes, PhDJoseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 18/09/2026OpenAI and Microsoft admitted LLMs are predatory tech built on “an astonishing theft of unprecedented proportions,” and the “largest theft of labor in human history.” An internal Microsoft document said AI has created a “doom loop” that is killing “the entire web.” www.404media.co/doom-loop-op...404media.co‘Doom Loop’: OpenAI and Microsoft Admits LLMs Are Destroying the Web and Built on Theft"Millions of people around the world will soon consider large models ‘hoovering up’ all their work to be an astonishing theft of unprecedented proportions." 401522709
Reposted by Alex Keyes, PhDTakuya Sasatani @takuyasasatani.bsky.social · 14/09/2026Miniscope Zero, the first fully wireless Miniscope, is on @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social! Wireless power + data enable neural recordings in enclosed mazes, 3D environments & from two animals at once! @miniscope.bsky.social Paper: doi.org/10.64898/202... Wiki: miniscope.org/wiki/Minisco... 48934
Reposted by Alex Keyes, PhDemily blight 🐦⬛ @threnody.northsky.social · 10/09/2026you know, seems a way to handle musk spending tens of millions on anti trans shit is to make his money worth nothing by saying “medical care is between patients & doctors & people are sick of you talking about children’s genitals. let’s move on—here are 10 ways you freaks made american lives worse.” 3726129
Reposted by Alex Keyes, PhDDr. Adeene Denton @spacewhalerider.com · 08/09/2026Oh, my H-Index? Well, 420825
Alex Keyes, PhD @neuropharmnerd.bsky.social · 07/09/2026if life is full of never-ending dishes, then life is also full of (hopefully) good meals 051
Reposted by Alex Keyes, PhDSimon W Davis @woodforbrains.bsky.social · 03/09/2026Ho-LEE fuck democrats-appropriations.house.gov/news/press-r...democrats-appropriations.house.govDefense Officials Attempt to Raid NIH Funds to Cover Department of Defense ActivitiesHouse Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) has learned that officials at the Department of Defense (DoD) are working to divert billions of dollars from the National Institute... 441433638
Reposted by Alex Keyes, PhDElizabeth Jacobs, PhD @elizabethjacobs.bsky.social · 03/09/2026Just in time for the 2026-2027 vaccines, a new review shows that COVID19 vaccination significantly reduces the risk of severe illness and hospitalization across all age groups, including kids. Pregnant women were also protected, as were their babies. Don’t forget to schedule your vaccination!jamanetwork.comCOVID-19 Vaccine Effectiveness and Safety for the 2026-2027 Respiratory SeasonThis Special Communication aims to identify and summarize the most recently published evidence evaluating the effectiveness and safety of US-licensed COVID-19 vaccines and report on the epidemiology o... 17267562674
Reposted by Alex Keyes, PhDjp flores (he/him) @jpflores.rbind.io · 01/09/2026We aren’t abandoning academia. We're asking whether academia, as currently structured, deserves our trust. Lauren Chambers and I wrote about what it really means to “save” academia for @insidehighered.com 👇 www.insidehighered.com/opinion/care... @sciforgood.bsky.social @snapcoalition.orginsidehighered.comGrad Students Wonder if Academia Is Worth Saving (opinion)It’s not just the federal government that’s telling grad students their work doesn’t matter. 12812
Reposted by Alex Keyes, PhDKatie Mack @astrokatie.com · 02/09/2026There are endless studies showing this and also the financial and societal benefits of universal basic income and or housing-first policies but the U.S. never goes for any of it because it would require allowing the poor to receive benefits that the rich consider “undeserved” 20591073163
Alex Keyes, PhD @neuropharmnerd.bsky.social · 02/09/2026something tells me this won't end well, given:krcrtv.comThree Mount Shasta climbers rescued after relying on AI to plan climbThree novice climbers were rescued from Mount Shasta on Sunday after becoming lost, running low on supplies and spending an unplanned night in Mud Creek Canyon, 150
Reposted by Alex Keyes, PhDKatelyn Burns @katelynburns.com · 02/09/2026Everywhere he went, Ed Markey's biggest applause line was about protecting trans people. The Massholes yearn for trans liberation. 152991396
Reposted by Alex Keyes, PhDCheryl Lynn Eaton @cheryllynneaton.bsky.social · 02/09/2026You cannot say this and remain in office. He has to go. And Democrats have to make an enormous deal out of threats to exterminate an entire group of people. 11730503
Reposted by Alex Keyes, PhDIris van Rooij 💭 @irisvanrooij.bsky.social · 09/03/2026"Often you not only are the product — yes, they will steal & sell your data — but you are also robbed of learning. When the hype inevitably dies down, as it has done many times before, through AI summers & winters …, you want to have skills. You want to have a degree that matters."— @olivia.scienceolivia.scienceWhy does cheating matter?A personal anecdote and an appeal to junior colleagues. 19435
Alex Keyes, PhD @neuropharmnerd.bsky.social · 01/09/2026i'm a trans person in iowa and i'm gettin' really tired of being asked to vote against my own self interests. why are you asking me to vote for someone who doesn't respect my humanity or my rights? how would i trust that he wouldn't throw others under the bus as soon as it's convenient? 130
Reposted by Alex Keyes, PhDMatthew Cortland (they) @matthewcort.land · 31/08/2026This is an ongoing, fluid situation. I understand it's confusing, and that bad actors are in charge. I get it. At the same time, my advice for years now has been 'get two covid shots per 365 day period' — if you're not going to follow my longstanding guidance, please don't email me threats. ffs. 617141
Alex Keyes, PhD @neuropharmnerd.bsky.social · 31/08/2026this is where i sit on this: any thought process that leads to even attempting a synthesis that goes thru dimethyl mercury at some point suggests poor judgement. like, bad enough that maybe chemistry as a career is not for you, since you cannot be trusted with lab safety. 040
Reposted by Alex Keyes, PhDErin Biba @erinbiba.bsky.social · 29/08/2026If AI actually did what the evangelists claim it does that would be amazing?! It would be groundbreaking? And we’d be ALL ABOUT IT! We wouldn’t need all these constant attempts at convincing us to use it. Because it would be fucking incredible! But it’s not! It doesn’t do what you say it does! 21599
Alex Keyes, PhD @neuropharmnerd.bsky.social · 31/08/2026i've had people insist to me that these are powerful but we've spent what, a trillion dollars or so? on computers that can't count to 100. for the money that's been put into these things, i would actually expect something that's better than this. but hey, i guess ELIZA got a nice makeover. 000
Reposted by Alex Keyes, PhDFrankie Huang 黄碧赤 @ourobororoboruo.bsky.social · 25/08/2026Today’s Iowa is a "crop factory" and an "agricultural desert” but it was not always so. Found this lovely long read while strolling TikTok and had to share.noemamag.comWhere The Prairie Still Remains | NOEMAAre pioneer cemeteries key to the Iowa prairie’s revival, or its final resting place? 0104
Reposted by Alex Keyes, PhDJonathan W. Gray @elmcitytree.blacksky.app · 23/08/2026Watching so many people in the last 48 hours across the ideological spectrum insist that gutter racism is an intellectual position open to debate rather than a toxic belief has certainly been clarifying. People lose their lives & you continue to treat this as an intellectual exercise. 2546160
Reposted by Alex Keyes, PhDAparna Nair @disabilitystor1.bsky.social · 13/08/2026Rhiannon Gidden's gorgeous rendition of Elizabeth Cotten's Freight Train, which is more than 120 years old. Gorgeous. www.youtube.com/watch?v=LACn...youtube.comRhiannon Giddens - Freight Train (Official Video)YouTube video by Rhiannon Giddens 88925
Reposted by Alex Keyes, PhDbioRxiv Neuroscience @biorxiv-neursci.bsky.social · 11/08/2026Fast calcium-dependent fluorescent labeling for recording of neuronal activation www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/20… 052
Alex Keyes, PhD @neuropharmnerd.bsky.social · 10/08/2026i really love playing hidden object games, and have a particular fondness for those involving cats. learned really quickly how much indie developers pay attention to their reviews because i'd commented about a few bugs and those bugs got fixed! i found a new set of bugs, they fixed it again. - 110
Reposted by Alex Keyes, PhDDrug Monkey @drugmonkey.bsky.social · 07/08/2026Additional reporting on this plan, I emphasize *plan*, to align NIH K99 eligibility with other training mechs. I.e., citizens, green cards and Samoans only. 1119
Reposted by Alex Keyes, PhDThe Journal of Pain @thejournalofpain.bsky.social · 07/08/2026Original: Drs. Adetayo ( @uofalabama.bsky.social), Burel, et al. highlight the impact of intersecting identities and the value of caregiver support and patient-centred care in children with painful disorders of gut-brain interaction facing stigma Full: www.jpain.org/article/S152...jpain.orgElevating the voices of Black youth with painful disorders of gut brain interaction: A qualitative study of stigma and resilienceChildren with painful disorders of gut brain interaction (DGBIs) report stigmatization from medical providers, school personnel, family members, and peers. The consequences of pain-related stigma… 011
Alex Keyes, PhD @neuropharmnerd.bsky.social · 07/08/2026i'm a neuropharmacologist who researches chronic pain & i have been denied pain management & labeled a drug seeker for things like: going in after 3 straight days of a migraine. had actual brain surgery and got nothing more than 2 days' worth of pain management post. 116234
Alex Keyes, PhD @neuropharmnerd.bsky.social · 06/08/2026top one for me: "well don't you want to be sterilized, given <genetic disorder>?" honorable mention: "no, your migraines are caused by stress." (they were, in fact, caused by a tumor. this denial meant 5 years of constant migraines until i got surgery to remove the tumor.) 0111
Reposted by Alex Keyes, PhDSpencer LaVere Smith @spencerlaveresmith.bsky.social · 25/07/2026Two-photon calcium imaging. What makes for good data? How can we optimize experiments to get good data? New post labrigger.com/blog/2026/07... and new free web apps from @filip-tomaska.bsky.social (1/8) 17321
Reposted by Alex Keyes, PhDDr. Rebecca Barnes (she/her) @waterbarnes.bsky.social · 20/07/2026Wealth influences participation, persistence, and recognition in science, affecting not just who enters the pipeline but also who can afford to stay. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.govToo poor to science: How wealth determines who succeeds in STEMSTEM is profoundly shaped by wealth, yet financial privilege is rarely acknowledged in discussions of diversity and inclusion. Wealth influences participation, persistence, and recognition in science,... 1199
Reposted by Alex Keyes, PhDBarbara Mellone 🇺🇦 @centromellone.bsky.social · 16/07/2026Manuscripts with women as corresponding authors are less frequently sent out for review at Science. The ones reviewed receive less favorable reviews by both male and female reviewers. 511074
Alex Keyes, PhD @neuropharmnerd.bsky.social · 15/07/2026i'm originally from Arizona so i never experienced the spring forward/fall back until i was an adult and frankly i've thought it was nonsense the whole time. 020
Alex Keyes, PhD @neuropharmnerd.bsky.social · 15/07/2026as much as i enjoy a nice salad, i'm gonna be cooking all my veg for a good long while 131
Reposted by Alex Keyes, PhDTayler Sheahan @taylersheahan.bsky.social · 07/07/2026Very proud to share the first preprint from the Sheahan Lab, where we answer, ‘How does the kappa opioid system influence pain in the spinal cord?’ www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...biorxiv.orgKappa opioid receptors in excitatory spinal neurons gate acute pain: evidence from mouse and humanThe kappa opioid receptor (KOR) has emerged as a promising, nonaddictive analgesic target, yet the neural mechanisms underlying KOR inhibition of pain are not entirely understood. Here, we provide con... 2195
Reposted by Alex Keyes, PhDSheryl Weikal says Prosecute ICE @leftistlawyer.com · 30/06/2026Here's why you should care about the trans athletes case today: Because if discrimination on the basis of gender identity doesn't violate equal protection, trans people can be segregated, outed, denied medical care, denied housing, denied jobs, and excluded by the government. 9915335
Reposted by Alex Keyes, PhDErica Picatinny ᛒᛉᛞᚹ 🖤🕊️ @picatinnyrailed.northsky.social · 30/06/2026Adolescent trans girls deserve to fucking *belong*. 110733
Reposted by Alex Keyes, PhDBen Collins @bencollins.bsky.social · 30/06/2026Trans rights are human rights always and forever. 104154544145
Reposted by Alex Keyes, PhDAlex Keyes, PhD @neuropharmnerd.bsky.social · 18/12/2025the trans agenda is for me and my friends to fucking survive. 117143
Reposted by Alex Keyes, PhDBig Dyke Energy @azurebitch.bsky.social · 30/06/2026Transness is eternal. There will be happy, fulfilled trans people that exist long after each and every one of these fuckers has long since passed. We will fight like hell for each and every one of our living and we will proceed in spiteful joy because unlike them we are building the future. 1690204
Alex Keyes, PhD @neuropharmnerd.bsky.social · 30/06/2026these are wet bulb temps that will heat stress most people in 30 minutes or less of direct sunshine. i treat this similarly to extreme cold - be careful about extended time outside, check in on vulnerable neighbors, etc. 110
Reposted by Alex Keyes, PhDBarred and Boujee aka Madiba Dennie @audrelawdamercy.blacksky.app · 30/06/2026Kavanaugh, Thomas, Gorsuch, and Alito should be impeached www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...supremecourt.gov 402299611
Alex Keyes, PhD @neuropharmnerd.bsky.social · 30/06/2026i reiterate what i said ~3 months ago: bsky.app/profile/neur... this time, tho, it's at the end of pride 042
Reposted by Alex Keyes, PhDJeff Lewis @lewislab.bsky.social · 28/06/2026"The biases do not disappear; they get encoded into the model and then laundered into outputs that feel objective because they are numerical. Replacing one prestige filter with another that is harder to see or challenge is not progress toward equity in science; it’s the opposite." 0103
Alex Keyes, PhD @neuropharmnerd.bsky.social · 27/06/2026my guitar's from 1929(?) but i think i have a few books older than that. it's a parlor-sized nylon string guitar, has a beautiful sound to it. really strange head and neck to it, hard to pin it to any one make/model from the head and atypical fret markings on the neck. 171
Reposted by Alex Keyes, PhDMarisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 26/06/2026NEW — The sentencing of the Prairieland demonstrators shows the brutality of Trump's war on dissent, but it's not without precedent, @kimkelly.bsky.social writes. History shows us the government has always punished anti-fascism. But this time we can change the narrative in real time. Read here:thehandbasket.coFrom Haymarket to Prairieland: How dissent has unleashed the long arm of the lawThe Prairieland sentencing has dark historical parallels, Kim Kelly writes. But we can change the end of the current story. 231703672
Reposted by Alex Keyes, PhDDavid Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 22/06/2026NYT investigates US car bloat: “About 200 to 400 pedestrians a year would not have died if vehicles had remained approximately the same size over the past quarter-century. That represents about 10 percent of the recent increase in pedestrian deaths.”nytimes.comThe Deadly Rise of Giant Trucks and S.U.V.sThe vehicles on American roads have grown larger — and they are killing thousands more pedestrians, a Times investigation found. 1631193