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Alexander Mark Weber

@weberam2.bsky.social
147 followers 246 following 140 posts

Assistant Professor 🔍 in the Department of Pediatrics at UBC, Vancouver, Canada 🇨🇦 Interested in multi-model quantitative MRI 🧲 in developing baby brains 👶🧠. Outdoor enthusiast 🧗🏂🚴🏻‍♂️🥾 weberlab.github.io @weberam2@mastodon.social

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Alexander Mark Weber @weberam2.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
We include lessons learned and suggestions for future work, including higher-field MRI, improved spectroscopy methods, and alternative approaches to estimating E:I in vivo. Science moves forward by testing hypotheses—even when the answer is "not yet." #fMRI #MRI #Neuroscience #MRS #OpenScience
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Alexander Mark Weber @weberam2.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Negative results are important. Our findings challenge a common assumption in the literature and help define the limits of what H can tell us about brain physiology. They also highlight the need for more direct tests of hypotheses linking criticality, E:I balance, and fMRI dynamics.
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Alexander Mark Weber @weberam2.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Interestingly, H increased during movie watching compared with rest. However, the glutamate/GABA ratio remained stable across conditions. This suggests that H is sensitive to changes in brain state, but those changes are not simply explained by shifts in E:I balance.
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Alexander Mark Weber @weberam2.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
What did we find? We did not observe a correlation between H and the glutamate/GABA ratio under either condition. At least with 3T MRI and our acquisition/analysis methods, H does not appear to be a straightforward surrogate for E:I balance.
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Alexander Mark Weber @weberam2.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
To test this, we scanned 18 healthy adults at 3T using: 🧲 Resting-state fMRI 🎬 Movie-watching fMRI 📈 Single-voxel MR spectroscopy to measure glutamate and GABA This is the first in vivo human study directly testing whether H and E:I are related.
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Alexander Mark Weber @weberam2.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
The theory proposes that healthy brains operate near a "critical" point between order and disorder, maximizing information processing and adaptability. E:I balance has been proposed as a control parameter for this critical state, while H is thought to reflect how close the brain is to it.
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Alexander Mark Weber @weberam2.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
🚨NEW PAPER OUT IN #ImagingNeuroscience🚨 In our new study, we tested whether the Hurst exponent (H) from fMRI reflects the brain's excitatory:inhibitory (E:I) balance measured with MR spectroscopy. 🧠🧵 The idea comes from critical brain theory... direct.mit.edu/imag/article...
direct.mit.edu
Does the brain’s E:I balance really shape long-range temporal correlations? Lessons learned from 3T MRI
Abstract. A 3T multimodal MR study of healthy adults (n = 18; 10 female; 21.3–53.4 years) was performed to investigate the relationship between functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) long-range ...
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Alexander Mark Weber @weberam2.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
University Professors in the Neoliberal Academic Ecosystem m.youtube.com/watch?v=PGO4... Crossposted with @openvibe.social
m.youtube.com
University Professors in the Neoliberal Academic Ecosystem
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Alexander Mark Weber @weberam2.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
"Contemporary academic job management culture is fundamentally incompatible with quality research and lecturing." www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
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Alexander Mark Weber @weberam2.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
www.experimental-history.com/p/text-is-king Is reading dying? Some interesting thoughts in here
experimental-history.com
Text is king - by Adam Mastroianni - Experimental History
read on, queen
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Michael Reeves @integralpilot.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
On Apple M3, a Linux KDE plasma desktop under Fedora Asahi Remix is now WORKING! Super excited to share this update and happy to answer any questions! Co-credits to noopwafel and Shiz. :)
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Alexander Mark Weber @weberam2.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
" a submission tsunami fueled by generative AI, paper mills, and publication pressure has strained these conferences' review pipelines to the breaking point" gptzero.me/news/neurips/
gptzero.me
GPTZero finds 100 new hallucinations in NeurIPS 2025 accepted papers
GPTZero's analysis 4841 papers accepted by NeurIPS 2025 show there are at least 100 with confirmed hallucinations
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Alexander Mark Weber @weberam2.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
Original post: mastodon.online/@parismarx/1...
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Alexander Mark Weber @weberam2.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
Well this paper seems to have a rosier idea Without considering all the bad (slop) ones
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Alexander Mark Weber @weberam2.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
As AI systems advance, they will challenge our fundamental assumptions about research quality, scholarly communication, and the nature of intellectual labor. gwern.net/doc/science/... #science #academia #publishing #llm
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Alexander Mark Weber @weberam2.bsky.social · 20/12/2025
I am! It's going to be 4 parts Starting with this paper, then three papers about alternatives to BOLD
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PessoaBrain @pessoabrain.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀, 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆? @lucinauddin.bsky.social explains many of the challenges and controversies! Great discussion too. Check out the latest Neuroscience & Philosophy Salon. youtu.be/pP5swFPR0Ns
youtu.be
Prof. Lucina Uddin from UCLA discusses her views on brain networks as studied with functional MRI
YouTube video by Neuroscience & Philosophy Salon
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Alexander Mark Weber @weberam2.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
bsky.app
@elife.bsky.social on Bluesky
New maps of brain folds from 26 carnivoran species show how differences in behaviour and ecology appear in their anatomy. buff.ly/IQvBHbh
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eLife @elife.bsky.social · 15/12/2025
New maps of brain folds from 26 carnivoran species show how differences in behaviour and ecology appear in their anatomy. buff.ly/IQvBHbh
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Alexander Mark Weber @weberam2.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
Blood flow ≠ oxygen consumption www.tum.de/en/news-and-...
tum.de
40 percent of MRI signals misinterpreted - TUM
Interpretation of numerous MRI data may be incorrect: blood flow is not a reliable indicator of brain activity.
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Alexander Mark Weber @weberam2.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
It feels like the average time is 3-6 months
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Alexander Mark Weber @weberam2.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
Damn these are excellent
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Dan Levenstein @dlevenstein.bsky.social · 07/12/2025
Some really good tips here. Wish I had learned number 3 earlier, or ever for that matter 🥲 www.reddit.com/r/GradSchool...
reddit.com
From the GradSchool community on Reddit
Explore this post and more from the GradSchool community
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Alexander Mark Weber @weberam2.bsky.social · 06/12/2025
Hi Kathryn, I sent you an email but haven't heard from you... Its been 10 days
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Alexander Mark Weber @weberam2.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
Does anyone know how to access the #Altmetric API now? They require an API key, which, when i applied for one they denies me. Very annoying, as I had a python script that pulled the Altmetric data and autopopulated my CV. Now I have to do this manually
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Alexander Mark Weber @weberam2.bsky.social · 24/10/2025
Thanks!
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Science in Vancouver @scienceinvancouver.com · 10/10/2025
A recent study led by Drs. @weberam2.bsky.social and Ruth Grunau explores an innovative way to measure how preterm infants’ brains use oxygen, using advanced MRI technology that is both safe and noninvasive. Learn more about the work from UBC and @bcchresearch.bsky.social: bit.ly/46HAZ5m
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Alexander Mark Weber @weberam2.bsky.social · 23/09/2025
Very cool explanation of Markov Chains and how LLMs are just fancier versions of an old idea elijahpotter.dev/articles/mar...
elijahpotter.dev
Markov Chains Are the Original Language Models
Back in my day, we used math for autocomplete.
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Alexander Mark Weber @weberam2.bsky.social · 20/09/2025
WILD www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/t...
smithsonianmag.com
These Ant Queens Seem to Defy Biology: They Lay Eggs That Hatch Into Another Species
Iberian harvester ant queens produce offspring of their own species and of the builder harvester ant, seemingly by cloning males
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Alexander Mark Weber @weberam2.bsky.social · 18/09/2025
I am giving a talk next week about how to use your computer in a more efficient way: #homerowmods, copy/paste with #copyq, screenshots with #flameshot, #wezterm, #tmux, #zsh, #vim, #neovim, #windowtilingmanager, #bat, #eza, #fzf, #rg, #fd, #zoxide, #yazi or #vifm, #lazygit Any other ideas?
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Alexander Mark Weber @weberam2.bsky.social · 18/09/2025
Big news! I was on a podcast for @bcchresearch.bsky.social This was research in #preterm #brains, #oxygenation measured with #arterialspinlabelling and #qsm, and looking at ventilation methods. Read more about the study here: bsky.app/profile/webe... plmlex.clicks.mlsend.com/tl/c/eyJ2Ijo...
plmlex.clicks.mlsend.com
Transforming neonatal care through MRI innovation - Best Lives
This episode explores new research from BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute (BCCHR) that uses an innovative MRI technique to measure brain oxygen metabolism in preterm infants. Dr. Alexander Web...
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Heejung Jung @jungheejung.bsky.social · 04/09/2025
New Open dataset alert: 🧠 Introducing "Spacetop" – a massive multimodal fMRI dataset that bridges naturalistic and experimental neuroscience! N = 101 x 6 hours each = 606 functional iso-hours combining movies, pain, faces, theory-of-mind and other cognitive tasks! 🧵below
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Alexander Mark Weber @weberam2.bsky.social · 05/08/2025
Publish or perish incentivises researchers to publish more, where scientific fraud has now become its own industry www.science.org/content/arti...
science.org
Scientific fraud has become an ‘industry,’ alarming analysis finds | Science | AAAS
Sophisticated global networks are infiltrating journals to publish fake papers
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Alexander Mark Weber @weberam2.bsky.social · 29/07/2025
My work is being highlighted by BCCHR Communications, but I don't use Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn: Facebook: www.facebook.com/share/p/1E3k... Instagram: www.instagram.com/p/DMqKEWAp-G... LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...
facebook.com
Redirecting...
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Nature @nature.com · 23/07/2025
Scientists overwhelmingly recognize the value of sharing null results, but rarely publish them in the research literature go.nature.com/450KElr
go.nature.com
Researchers value null results, but struggle to publish them
Survey finds that fear of reputational harm and a lack of support and publication platforms are among respondents’ key concerns.
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Berna Devezer @devezer.bsky.social · 23/07/2025
I believe at this time we can afford more nuance and precision than this. Most null results are uninformative because most experiments are uninformative because we use NHST to replace the scientific process. We can't keep avoiding the root problem forever. Also the focus on efficiency is jarring.
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Alexander Mark Weber @weberam2.bsky.social · 29/06/2025
Interesting theory re #schizophrenia www.psychiatrymargins.com/p/schizophre...
psychiatrymargins.com
Schizophrenia Is the Price We Pay for Minds Poised Near the Edge of a Cliff
Cliff-edged fitness functions and the evolution of schizophrenia
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Alexander Mark Weber @weberam2.bsky.social · 29/06/2025
Interesting theory re #schizophrenia www.psychiatrymargins.com/p/schizophre...
psychiatrymargins.com
Schizophrenia Is the Price We Pay for Minds Poised Near the Edge of a Cliff
Cliff-edged fitness functions and the evolution of schizophrenia
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Katherine Pearson @kpear.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
Basic science is essential. "Most drugs don’t begin with research intended to make that drug. In fact, the results of their study showed that 80% of the medicines on their list led back to a discovery from basic research without any intention of creating a new drug" www.chronicle.com/article/in-d...
chronicle.com
In Defense of ‘Silly’ Science
Basic research and the value of curiosity.
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Alexander Mark Weber @weberam2.bsky.social · 22/06/2025
"As we report below, even well-meaning scientists provided with identical data and freed from pressures to distort results may not reliably converge in their findings because of the complexity and ambiguity inherent to the process of scientific analysis." #metascience
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Alexander Mark Weber @weberam2.bsky.social · 22/06/2025
Utterly fascinating "Researchers using the same data and hypothesis arrive at different conclusions" www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
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Aidan Wright @aidangcw.bsky.social · 10/06/2025
Pro tip, folks: if you make a figure for a publication, don’t just hand the copyright over to the publisher. Post it on OSF first and then give yourself permission to use it in the first publication and then all future publications. That way, no permissions issues.
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Alexander Mark Weber @weberam2.bsky.social · 09/06/2025
Am I crazy, or did this paper get published with very low resolution figures? www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
sciencedirect.com
Developmental patterns of white matter functional networks in neonates
In recent years, the development of neonatal brain networks has become a research focus, with traditional studies primarily emphasizing gray matter (G…
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Diedrich Bader @diedrichbader.bsky.social · 04/06/2025
This is breathtakingly shortsighted and just plain dumb
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Alexander Mark Weber @weberam2.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
Yikes!
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Alexander Mark Weber @weberam2.bsky.social · 27/05/2025
Excited to share my #biocommentary for @springernature.com in @pediatricresearch.bsky.social 📝✨ From #neuroscience at UofT 🧠 to discovering #MRI 🧲 at McMaster, then moving to BC to work with @rauschermri.bsky.social🏔️ My journey as an #assistantprofessor over the last 5 years! 👩‍🔬📚 rdcu.be/enUNo
rdcu.be
ECI biocommentary
Pediatric Research - ECI biocommentary
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Alexander Mark Weber @weberam2.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
Seems useful for grant and paper writing 128 words to use instead of "very" #grants #papers #academia
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Alexander Mark Weber @weberam2.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
Good point. I think I do that by default for some of the newer programs. But likely fail to do so for more mainstream programs... something I should think about and try to do as well
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Alexander Mark Weber @weberam2.bsky.social · 20/05/2025
📄 Read the full paper for all the details! This is just the beginning of what multimodal MRI can reveal about early brain health. Stay tuned! 🔬✨ #AcademicResearch #Neuroscience 🧵 9/9
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Alexander Mark Weber @weberam2.bsky.social · 20/05/2025
🚀 Bottom line: Our novel MRI method helps map how preterm infant brains use oxygen—and shows noninvasive respiratory support might promote healthier brain oxygenation. #ResearchMatters #PreemiePower 🧪📊🫁 🧵 8/9
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