iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Stephen Royle @steveroyle.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

A few days late, but I realised I have now been a PI for 20 years. Wow. How time has flown… I wrote the post below in 2016, after 10 years of running a lab, about the miracle of surviving startup. quantixed.org/2016/09/26/t...

quantixed.org

Ten Years Gone – quantixed

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Jez Carlton @jezcarlton.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Hey! Submit your papers, and spread the word, this will be great! Thanks for inviting us @jcellsci.bsky.social and great to work with @pihanson.bsky.social on this issue!

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HHMI @hhmi-science.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Our bodies create around 330 billion new cells every day through cell division. Andrew Moore at our Janelia Research Campus captured that process in stunning detail — a feat that earned him 4th place in Nikon's 2026 Small World in Motion Competition. bit.ly/4yT5d0k

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Snezhka Oliferenko @alebenoit.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

People!!! This workshop will be ACE - please share, please apply!

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Katrina Velle @katrinavelle.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

In case it is useful for anyone out there, here’s a thread of papers that have worked well for journal clubs in my advanced cell bio class (~15 undergrads + 5 grad students) Please add your own favorites, or your own work if you think it’s suitable! (1/6)

static.klipy.com

ALT:

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Stephen Royle @steveroyle.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Arrrgh. I am on ScienceDirect. I just want to read a paper. ✨ Reading Assistant powered by LeapSpace Ask a question about this paper. AI responses may vary in quality. Downloading the PDF and closing the tab is an act of resistance!

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Alana Cowell 🔬 @alanacowell.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

What do scientists do while in-between positions? How do you handle these gaps? Funding options are limited and getting a position that matches what I want to work on is starting to feel impossible.

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John Stott @jpsastro.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Had a UKRI funded grant proposal rejected at the "AI triage stage". "This AI-based triage was used only to identify approximately 50% of the strongest proposals to take forward to full human review." 🧪 #academicsky

I am writing to let you know that, unfortunately, your application was not successful.

Review process

As part of the initial triage of the 179 proposals submitted to this call, each was assessed using an AI-based review. Every proposal was read independently by several different AI models against the same seven criteria used to shape this call (including cyber security relevance, research quality and novelty, importance of the problem addressed, feasibility of the project plan, likely outputs and impact, value for money, and responsible research practice), with each model asked to give a score and a written justification with supporting quotations from the text. To guard against any one model's idiosyncrasies, we also ran a second, independent process in which different AI models debated the merits and weaknesses of each proposal before reaching a judgement, again against the same criteria. Scores from both processes were combined to produce an overall ranking.

This AI-based triage was used only to identify approximately 50% of the strongest proposals to take forward to full human review. Projects selected for funding were drawn from those that progressed to the full human review stage. We recognise that AI-assisted assessment is a new and evolving part of the review process, and we are continuing to evaluate how well it aligns with the judgements of human reviewers on this call. We will soon produce a document detailing our method, so that others can build upon it and improve it.

Feedback on your application

Your application was not selected to progress beyond the AI triage stage. To provide transparency on the outcome of this assessment, we are sharing below the scores (out of 5) from each of the two AI review processes described above, together with the mean score across the two processes.

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Eugene Katrukha 🇺🇦 @ekatrukha.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Preparing my submission for the next year's "Nikon Small World in Motion". It should qualify, since I wrote it on a PC connected to a microscope. No AI, pure GLSL GPU code www.shadertoy.com/view/f333Dj

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Stephen Royle @steveroyle.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

I agree with this. TBH I find this pretty bleak. It might only be an imaging competition, not a Nature paper or a grant, but people who use AI to supercharge their way past honest scientists doing real work... and then collecting the spoils... and getting endorsed for doing so.... well, it sucks.

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Stephane Vassilopoulos @stefvass.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Great to see this finally out! ✨ A real pleasure to contribute to this special issue celebrating 50 years of #Clathrin and to revisit how this superstar coat keeps surprising us ⚽🔬

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Anh Hoang Le, PhD 🏳️‍🌈🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇻🇳 @anhhle2702.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Happy #MicroscopyMonday. I found this very pretty COS-7 cell expressing LifeAct-mCherry from my old data. Look at how dense its actin network is. Also, many of the moving dots are endosomal to seemingly push them through the cytoplasm, similar to actin comet tail, but just a lot shorter.

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Stephen Royle @steveroyle.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

If anyone out there relies on tyke (text scratchpad in the menu bar) and was despairing about it dying because it's an Intel-based app... there's a new version in Testflight (spaces available). tyke.app

tyke.app

Tyke.app

Tyke - a handy text box that lives in your macOS menu bar.

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Christophe 🔬 Leterrier @christlet.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Acronyms in biology tools these days are either already used by another method or "Here we present sMLFNJCOIMZNJQM"

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Christophe 🔬 Leterrier @christlet.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Here's a way to get a pure science shot on Bluesky: a custom feed that only shows the posts from people you follow that are linked to a DOI bsky.app/profile/pape...

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Anna Bodzeta @annabodzeta.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Here it is my 1st preprint about synapse and rhomboid intramembrane protease: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... Using imaging and biochemistry, together with @adamgrieve.bsky.social we identify RHBDL2 as a membrane-immersed regulator of synapses architecture. 1/2

biorxiv.org

The unhindered lateral mobility of a rhomboid intramembrane protease enables synapse remodelling

Synapses must maintain their stable molecular organisation while retaining the capacity to remodel in response to changing demands. In order to flexibly change synaptic strength, the abundance of tran...

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Paul Francois @pfrancois.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

I am using Notability to read and annotate pdfs by hand. This morning, the app offered to quizz me on a grant I am reviewing (!), which led me to immediately switch off all AI features I did not know about . All of this is highly problematic.

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Sachin Kotak @spindlebehavior.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Can light build centrosome-like activity? 💡🔬 Yes! We introduce LISA (Light-Induced Spindle Assembly), now in @emboreports.org. By clustering Aurora A with optogenetics, we build centrosome-like activity that nucleates microtubules and rescues spindle defects after centrosome loss. shorturl.at/9h3VQ

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Justin Taraska @taraska.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Join us this Wednesday! "Biophysics of Clathrin Coat Assembly, Curvature, and Mechanics" Wednesday, September 16, 2026 1:00–3:00 PM Eastern Time Registration and meeting access my.biophysics.org/Events/Calen... Talks by Marko Kaksonen, Jeanne Stachowiak, Julien Berro, and Padmini Rangamani.

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British Society for Cell Biology @bscb-official.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

We are seeking new BSCB committee members in the following roles: - Science advocacy officer - Web & social media officer - PhD representative More info here: bscb.org/apply-to-joi... Apply by 16th October!

bscb.org

Apply to join BSCB committee - BSCB

We encourage BSCB members to apply for one of the following positions on the BSCB committee:- Shadow Web and Social Media Officer Shadow Science Advocacy Officer Shadow PhD Representative The posit...

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Nivedita Sarveswaran @neuroniv.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

And it did not disappoint! Thank you for the welcoming experience to York and the inspiring breadth of mol/cell neurobiology #NeuroBioUK26 - already looking to next time, September 17th 2027!

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Veijo Salo @veijosalo.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Really excited to talk about our recent work next week Thursday in Membrane Trafficking Virtual Community Seminar Series!

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Dave Barry @david-j-barry.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Are you a UK-based undergraduate considering a career in research, and looking for an industry placement? 🔬 Want to investigate how light exposure disrupts the cell cycle, using live imaging and AI-powered image analysis? ⏳ Deadline: October 6th 👇 Apply below www.crick.ac.uk/careers-stud...

crick.ac.uk

Investigating phototoxicity-induced cell cycle disruption in live cell imaging

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Journal of Cell Science @jcellsci.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Our latest interview is with Stephen Tait @mitosrus.bsky.social, winner of the 2026 @bscb-official.bsky.social Hooke Medal. We caught up with Stephen to discuss this award, his research and his career path. journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/...

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Europe PMC @europepmc.org · 09/09/2026

Researchfish closes in July 2027. When UKRI last went to tender, it found no viable alternative product. Kyle Deme (OpenAlex) and I think that was the wrong question, read this blog to find out more blog.openalex.org/after-resear...

blog.openalex.org

After Researchfish: Europe PMC & OpenAlex on the future of grant outcomes reporting - OpenAlex blog

Researchfish is closing on 31 July 2027. For the more than 90 funders that relied on it, including UKRI, NIHR, and many of the UK’s largest research charities, the question of how to track what their ...

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Janet Iwasa @jiwasa.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Interested in molecular animation? Give ProteinBlender a try! It's free and open source. animation-lab.github.io/ProteinBlend... The latest tools include a DNA builder (shown in the tutorial video below). We'd love to hear what you think! We have short tutorials that cover all the features!

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Maiato Lab @mitosisrocks.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

A long time in the making, now finally out.💥 Our new study shows that division stays on time when kinetochore–microtubule attachments form efficiently. When the process drags, that delay is remembered, limiting future cell proliferation. www.nature.com/articles/s41... #mitosis #biology #microscopy

nature.com

Low kinetochore-microtubule occupancy leaves a mitotic memory by delaying checkpoint silencing - Nature Communications

How do cells faithfully segregate chromosomes within an optimal time? Using naturally “super-resolved” kinetochores, the authors show that maximal microtubule occupancy prevents bad mitotic memories t...

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Pedro Beltrao @pedrobeltrao.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

I made a presentation to other faculty about recent progress in general AI, to facilitate the discussion around the impact for research and teaching in biology. It could be that the slides are useful for others trying to do that same. Feel free to re-use. docs.google.com/presentation...

docs.google.com

generalAI_for research_intro.pptx

Recent AI developments and what they mean for us Quick primer on general AI models* State-of-the-art in AI agent capabilities AI agents in biology (examples) Discussion - what does this mean for our r...

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Matthew Freeman @mjafreeman.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Feels like an interesting one... oh, wait...!

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Brian Mueller @brianscience.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

I'll be chasing this sample quality for a while.

electron micrograph of a rat hippocampal synapse

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Mitchell Stirling @mitchellst.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Five years of writing about the last song on albums, and today a peer-reviewed article based on the data is free to read: The cover feature in this month's Significance, the RSS magazine. 2,284 albums, 1953 to 2026 and one question: "Are closing tracks actually different?"

Cover of Significance magazine, September 2026 (volume 23, Issue 5). The masthead features the title "SIGNIFICANCE" in bold red text against a beige background. The left side includes logos for the Royal Statistical Society, the American Statistical Association, and the Statistical Society of Australia.

The central illustration depicts a stylized figure in a blue top holding a large red vinyl record with a white and blue centre directly in front of their face, completely obscuring it. In the bottom right corner, text in red capital letters reads "VINYL ANALYSIS" above the subtitle "WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH ALBUM CLOSING TRACKS?".

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Anh Hoang Le, PhD 🏳️‍🌈🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇻🇳 @anhhle2702.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Very happy to share my postdoc paper is out now in @natcellbio.nature.com titled "Tissue flow acts as a guidance cue for immune cell polarization and directional migration". If you love imaging and immune cells, this is for you! #microscopymonday www.nature.com/articles/s41... A 🧵: 1/n

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Ishier Raote @ishier.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Membrane Trafficking Seminar Series 2026 fall season is here! An exciting programme: membrane traffic, organelle biogenesis, lipid transport, endomembrane evolution, we have it all! Save the dates and join us for fun science and discussions. Details at felixcampelo.wixsite.com/membranetraf...

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FocalPlane @focalplane.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

We are excited to invite you to the second webinar in our cell migration series. In this webinar, we focus on new models for studying cell migration with talks from @ankita13jha.bsky.social, @raphclement.bsky.social & @katrinavelle.bsky.social. More info⤵️: focalplane.biologists.com/2026/09/03/f...

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Alex Johnson @ajcellbio.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Super happy to announce that in October I will be joining the University of Warwick as an assistant professor! We will be continuing to examine the molecular mechanisms of intracellular trafficking using a range of samples, including plants and diatoms ⚽️🌱🔬

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Stephen Royle @steveroyle.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

NEWS: @anne.mechanochemistry.org and I are the new Joint Directors of the Centre for Mechanochemical Cell Biology (CMCB) at Warwick @mechanochemistry.org We thank @rob.mechanochemistry.org who has been at the helm of CMCB since its inception. Looking forward to more exciting science in the future.

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MadScientist @mads100tist.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Hey there Delilah would you like to publish in this Special Issue

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Biomedical Picture of the Day BPoD @bpodaily.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Spindle elongation in cell division can rescue chromosomes straying to the poles so avoiding abnormal chromosome number/cell 📹 Isabella Koprivec & Valentina Štimac et al @ivatolic.bsky.social lab @institutrb.bsky.social in @natcomms.nature.com ➡️ bpod.org.uk/archive/2026... + John Ankers

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Richard Sever @richardsever.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

You can now update bioRxiv/medRxiv preprints with funding information after the fact. Authors often omit/don't have all funding info when submitting, but funders understandably want it there. This solves the problem without requiring you to submit a whole new paper. openrxiv.org/updating-fun...

openrxiv.org

Updating funder information on preprints - openRxiv

For the past year, bioRxiv and medRxiv authors have been able to include funder information with their preprints. This can be entered in a dedicated field during the submission process, using Research...

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Gerry Hammond @gerryhammond.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

I never get bored of watching my favorite lipid, PI(4,5)P2 - especially in real time! In this case imaged with a HaloTag-biosensor and 50 pM JF646.

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Maiato Lab @mitosisrocks.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

What is the sequence of events at the kinetochore? Our Spotlight article highlighting a beautiful study by Conway et al. is out now in Trends in Cell Biology! Click here for download: sl1nk.com/euzlpiq A temporal framework for error-free mitosis: Trends in Cell Biology www.cell.com/trends/cell-...