iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by John Tuthill

K. VijayRaghavan @kvijayraghavan.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I am in Delhi, visiting only thankfully, and walked into a library before dinner 10 minutes ago, and from the shelf picked a copy of the @lrb.co.uk I always read the letters first, hoping to find interesting humans who write interesting letters (most fume).

192

Reposted by John Tuthill

Matt Lovett-Barron @mlovettbarron.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

New lab preprint: @grace-padilla.bsky.social studied how zebrafish respond to chemical cues of death and decay. Brief exposure initiated a persistent state, but not through olfaction. Instead, these cues' basic pH was detected by trigeminal neurons and TrpA1 channels www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

biorxiv.org

Decay chemicals activate a pH-sensing pathway to initiate a persistent state

Animals use multiple sensory systems to identify signs of danger, including dead conspecifics. Fish can identify decaying conspecifics from chemosensory cues, which prompt a long-lasting avoidance; th...

12410

John Tuthill @tuthill.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

The legend Heiner Römer, who was among the first to do intracellular electrophysiological recordings in the field. His work showed that auditory tuning curves measured in the lab poorly predict communication outdoors. link.springer.com/article/10.1... At the sensory ecology course in Lund.

0353

John Tuthill @tuthill.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

this story about @couchmicroscopy.bsky.social captures science at its best: a scrappy team, a homemade microscope in a motel room, working under funding duress, pursuing a fundamental question about the evolution of photosynthetic organelles. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/26/s...

nytimes.com

In an $80 Motel Room, a Discovery to Shed Light on the Origins of Life

A scrappy science project led to a significant discovery: two new species of a rare organism that could elucidate a fundamental transition in the history of life on our planet.

24611

Reposted by John Tuthill

Sven Dorkenwald @sdorkenw.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Applications are now open for the San Juan Winter School 2027 on Connectomics and Brain Simulation! Join us to learn how to analyze and simulate connectomes. sjcabs.com

01920

Reposted by John Tuthill

Davi Bock @dddavi.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

This stuff may be fun, but sorry to say, it is thin soup, scientifically. See: www.thetransmitter.org/systems-neur... for a readable description of the issue.

thetransmitter.org

‘Digital sphinx’ raises questions about connectome models

The sphinx, with a worm’s brain and a fly’s body, illustrates the potential pitfalls of using deep-learning techniques to model biological processes.

0134

John Tuthill @tuthill.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

supposedly, NIH study section members can still submit grants a couple weeks late if the panel meets within four weeks of the deadline. but the language is vaguely ominous. has anyone actually done this successfully? grants.nih.gov/grants-proce...

221

Reposted by John Tuthill

Sweta Agrawal @hokuba.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

The Agrawal lab has published its first paper! "Sticking the landing: leg mechanosensory feedback coordinates the transition from flight to landing" www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... This project was led by a technician in the lab, Tse-Wei (Wayne) Kuo. Brief 🧵on what we found

agrawal-lab-workspace.slack.com

Slack

88228

John Tuthill @tuthill.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

We just updated our preprint. A few new analyses, but biggest change is a much larger, well-curated, freely available dataset: 3D keypoints from 75 flies across a range of behaviors (including courtship), ~24h of tracked video at 800 Hz. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

1201

John Tuthill @tuthill.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

a good summary of how we got here and what it means. i would add is that everyone who works with the fly connectome datasets knows that they all far from "complete". each one, though monumental, has major reconstruction/annotation issues, not to mention the lack of a peripheral nervous system.

1399

Reposted by John Tuthill

Corinna Gebehart @corinnagebehart.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

This article is so frustrating to read. First, this is not just “google’s brain” - there has been so much effort made by scientists around the world to get these connectomes to where they are today, and none of that is recognized here, instead it’s all turned into “big tech company 👍🏻”. And second -

14017

John Tuthill @tuthill.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

The sphinxes are multiplying! I can't believe our preprint didn't solve this issue.

2190

Reposted by John Tuthill

The Transmitter @thetransmitter.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Biologists have tried to uncover the mechanism behind the magnetic sense of animals for so long that some call it a holy grail. New work in insects offers fresh leads. By @callimcflurry.bsky.social www.thetransmitter.org/sensory-syst...

thetransmitter.org

Finally, a new route for the magnetic-sense field

Researchers have dueled for years over how the magnetic sense works. New data from monarch butterflies could finally help settle the debate.

071

Reposted by John Tuthill

The Transmitter @thetransmitter.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

In his essay, Auke Ijspeert discusses why physics-based simulators and robotics models are particularly useful for demonstrating the sufficiency of specific mechanisms of motor control as opposed to just their necessity. www.thetransmitter.org/motor-behavi...

thetransmitter.org

Neuromechanical models help explain animal motor control

Progress in physics-based simulators and robotics makes it easier to use neuromechanical modeling to test hypotheses about animal movement.

0155

Reposted by John Tuthill

The Transmitter @thetransmitter.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

When fruit flies catch a whiff of apple cider vinegar, they zigzag along the edge of the odor plume rather than traveling through the middle, new work shows. #neuroskyence By @callimcflurry.bsky.social www.thetransmitter.org/olfaction/fr...

thetransmitter.org

Fruit flies use memory to track odors

When flies encounter a tasty smell, they stroll in and out of the odor plume to keep track of it, encoding a memory of the angle they need to travel.

0165

Reposted by John Tuthill

Andrej Spiridonov @andrejpaleo.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Surprisingly wide range of prey of the extinct "American cheetah": "Yukon population occupying an elevated trophic position consistent with exploitation of anadromous fish, while the Wyoming population functioned as a generalist terrestrial predator." cell.com/current-biol... 🧪⚒️ #Geology #Paleobio

Geographic distribution and sample localities for M. trumani

Miracinonyx catching salmon. Artwork by Hodari Nundu.

03613

Reposted by John Tuthill

MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology @mrclmb.ac.uk · 03/09/2026

The complete #connectome of the adult Drosophila male CNS has allowed researchers, inc @jefferis.bsky.social’s group, to compare male & female brains at synaptic-resolution for the first time. Read more here: mrclmb.ac.uk/news-events/... #LMBResearch 1/2

18129

John Tuthill @tuthill.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

A working scientist in the Massachusetts state legislature. Congrats to @benforward3.bsky.social!

082

John Tuthill @tuthill.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

longtime reader, first time writer to @lrb.co.uk www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

Letter to the LRB correcting James Wood's account of his father's 1957 PhD thesis, which was on stick insect legs rather than wings.

2163

Reposted by John Tuthill

John Tuthill @tuthill.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

My department, Neurobiology and Biophysics at the University of Washington (nbio.uw.edu), is hiring a new tenure-track Assistant Professor, application deadline 09/30/26. It's a broad search — molecular to organismal, all of neuroscience/physiology/biophysics welcome. apply.interfolio.com/187735

110789

Reposted by John Tuthill

Joshua Weitz @joshuasweitz.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

NSF just announced its GRFP solicitation due in October - deadline varies by field: www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo... Now for the bad news... * NSF estimates they will issue 1,500 awards, down from 2,500+ last year. * NSF removed STEM Education and Learning Research as a Major Field.

nsf.gov

NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)

6139169

Reposted by John Tuthill

Sue Biggins @suebiggins.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Junior faculty position in Basic Sciences @fredhutch.org! Please repost!

38096

Reposted by John Tuthill

Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

New story in the Wall Street Journal highlighting some of the investigators and their research disrupted by all of the chaos. nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com?url=https%3A...

nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com

Scientists Scramble for Private Cash in Response to Fresh Funding Turbulence

Additional changes are looming, prompting more researchers to downsize labs or pursue money outside government.

13414

John Tuthill @tuthill.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Our digital sphinx, a cautionary tale about the interpretation of connectome-body models, is now a reviewed preprint at @elife.bsky.social. We are grateful to the reviewers for engaging seriously with what we hope is a useful (if absurd) demonstration. elifesciences.org/reviewed-pre...

elifesciences.org

The digital sphinx: Can a worm brain control a fly body?

16115

Reposted by John Tuthill

Duncan Leitch @polyodon.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Check out our newest research paper! We looked at touch in Surinam toads (Pipa pipa), showing huge neural representation of and reliance upon their unusual fingertips. rdcu.be/fy3SE

Illustration of brown frog with large, elaborate branching fingertips

4206

Reposted by John Tuthill

Jasmine Stone @jasmine-stone.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Thank you to @annmclemens.bsky.social and Michael Brecht for their support and mentorship as we brought this project that started @mblscience.bsky.social @nsb-mbl.bsky.social this summer from idea to paper form, it was so much fun to work with Sandra, @simonerencken.bsky.social, Adam, Tom and Pam.

0102

John Tuthill @tuthill.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

this would be a huge blow to US biomedical science. the K99/R00 program has historically played a key role in recruiting top international post-docs to stay in the US to start their own labs.

1177

John Tuthill @tuthill.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

great interview with the always thoughtful and lucid @ishmailsaboor.bsky.social

1130

John Tuthill @tuthill.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5MM... A King just wiped one of your folks from his face Well I guess you all just own the place House fly, house fly You’re sitting by the phone in the back on a keg With your see through wings and your strange little legs

youtube.com

Tom Waits - "The Fly" (Lyric Video)

YouTube video by Tom Waits

151

John Tuthill @tuthill.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

When you start running, your breathing speeds up before your body needs the oxygen. Turns out flies do the same thing and @camellyc.bsky.social worked out the circuit that makes it happen. Check out our new preprint on how the nervous system coordinates breathing with movement.

2437

Reposted by John Tuthill

Senator Patty Murray @murray.senate.gov · 02/08/2026

This short-term funding bill blocks a corrupt policy that would allow Trump to hold even more federal grants hostage—and it closes House Republicans' loophole to pull funding for other agencies to give to Border Patrol. My full statement.⬇️

appropriations.senate.gov

Senator Murray on Release of CR Text | United States Senate Committee on Appropriations

United States Senate Committee on Appropriations

3526899

Reposted by John Tuthill

International Society for Neuroethology @neuroethology.org · 31/07/2026

And here we go: Final day of the #ICN2026 is started by Maude Baldwin with the plenary talk "Functional #evolution of taste and digestive system in #vertebrates" #icn2026vancouver

0101

Reposted by John Tuthill

Stanley Heinze @stanley-heinze.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

New preprint! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... Nearly a decade after starting the project, the first major results from our comparative connectomics work is online! Comparing the head direction circuits of the central complex in bees, ants and flies, recapitulating >300million years of evolution.

615963

Reposted by John Tuthill

Rune W. Berg @runewberg.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

New paper: Spinal circuitry modeled for locomotion using spatial transcriptomics and cell-type projections. Local excitation, long-range inhibition, and a longitudinal skew—an asymmetric "Mexican hat"—give rhythm, rotational dynamics, and gait, with no pacemakers. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

03011

Reposted by John Tuthill

Michalis Averof @michalis-averof.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

Probably the first scientific description of regeneration in crustaceans, by Réaumur 1712 The paper starts like this: Scholars are as wary of the marvellous as common people are ready to believe it. ... 🧵 1/3

drawing of regenerating crustacean leg by Arthur Monternier

3307

Reposted by John Tuthill

Kit D. Longden @theflyside.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

Revised preprint on mitochondria in central brain of Drosophila now online: much new analysis + details of largest resource for analyzing neuronal mitochondria generated so far, with ~6M mitochondria, >20k neurons, >5k cell types. Much thanks to all coauthors, enjoy! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

biorxiv.org

Connectomic Analysis of Mitochondria in the Central Brain of Drosophila

Mitochondria are integral to the metabolism and cell biology of a neuron. Electron microscopy images of fly brain volumes, taken for connectomics, can be analyzed for mitochondria as well as the cells...

0308

Reposted by John Tuthill

Yvette Fisher @yvetteefisher.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Thank you Natalia Mesa at the @thetransmitter.bsky.social for highlighting our labs preprint on synaptic mechanisms of head direction learning!! 🪰🧭 Work from @markplitt.bsky.social in my lab in collaboration with the Jayaraman lab! www.thetransmitter.org/learning-and...

thetransmitter.org

Unique learning mechanism drives navigation in fruit flies

The neuromodulator octopamine, the insect counterpart to norepinephrine, helps flies get their bearings in an unfamiliar environment.

04011

Reposted by John Tuthill

UW Neurobiology & Biophysics @uw-nbio.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

We're hiring! NBIO is looking for a tenure-track Assistant Professor whose research & teaching will strengthen our department. 🧠 Deadline: 9/30/2026 Apply → apply.interfolio.com/187735 Please share with your network!

apply.interfolio.com

Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio

053

John Tuthill @tuthill.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

110789

Reposted by John Tuthill

Miguel Clavero @chikichanka.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

Natural history on canvas: Brueghel knew about bird-eating noctule bats Just published in @pnas.org, OA for all eyes Led by the one-and-only @romero-vidal.bsky.social, with the amazing @elena-tena.bsky.social and Sonia Sánchez-Navarro @ebdonana.bsky.social LINK: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

420575

Reposted by John Tuthill

Aaron Milstein @neurosutras.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

Excited to share this preprint from @ianoldenburg.bsky.social . To evoke movement with holo stim, you need the right pattern at the right time! Interestingly, the preparatory state before spont motion is not the same as the state permissive for evoked motion. Dig in! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

biorxiv.org

The Importance of Synchrony in the Neural Control of Movement

Throughout the mammalian cortex, populations of neurons must work together to enact behaviors. While population recordings in motor cortex have revealed many aspects of when neurons fire during behavi...

17023

Reposted by John Tuthill

Maria Antonietta Tosches @matosches.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

Better late than never... an update on the recent work from the lab. First of all, the Foundation: @astridd93.bsky.social phenomenal paper on the evolution of layering in the cerebral cortex 🧵1/7 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

13215

Reposted by John Tuthill

Ajay Narendra @pipilika.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

Very excited to share our discovery of an engineering masterpiece from the Australian rainforest! In our latest paper in @currentbiology.bsky.social we report a hunting strategy in a spider, whose web outperforms every known biological catapult system.

Propostira sp spider with egg sac resting underneath a leaf during the day.

17331

Reposted by John Tuthill

Zhiwen Ye @zhiwenneuron.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

1/ Complex behavior demands the sequential coordination of hundreds of muscle groups. The body is mapped topographically in the brain, but does neural activity actually propagate across these maps to organize sequential action? Our new paper in Science: doi.org/10.1126/scie... 🧵

26419

John Tuthill @tuthill.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

Neural activity in mouse cortex forms rotating spiral waves. The architecture of individual axons matches the wave geometry, centered on somatosensory cortex. Beautiful new pape from our colleagues in the @steinmetzneuro.bsky.social lab. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

15114

Reposted by John Tuthill

Matt Smear @mattsmear.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

I am a neurodivergent neuroscientist. My bipolar brain brings struggle but it also helps me think off-the-map ideas. To help others who are similarly different, I co-founded the Neurodiversity Innovation Center for Excellence in Neuroscience (niceinneuro.org) with Leah Blankenship and Lila Kaye.

1349