Sign in

Wilhelm Braun

@wilhelmbraun.bsky.social
110 followers 291 following 37 posts

Applied Mathematician and Theoretical Neuroscientist Junior Research Group Leader, CAU Kiel, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Electrical and Information Engineering ⛵️ I mainly post about papers that I read or write. Homepage: wilhelmbraun.github.io

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Wilhelm Braun
Pawel Burkhardt @pawelburkhardt.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Happy #CtenophoreDay! Ctenophores are back. Freshly sampled Mnemiopsis leidyi from Sotra, Norway. These beautiful comb jellies continue to surprise us and are helping reveal new insights into the early evolution of nervous systems. 🌊✨ #CombJellies #Evolution #Neuroscience 1/2
36614
Reposted by Wilhelm Braun
Ann Kennedy @antihebbiann.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Happy Monday! Come learn how jellyfish swim. In a review led by fluid dynamics maestro Alex Hoover, we outline how neuromechanical modeling will help us understand how modulation of neural activity allows jellyfish to jet and pirouette through fluids www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Figure 1. The fluid dynamics of jellyfish swimming. a) Minimum intensity projection of a video clip of swimming Clytia hemisphaerica recorded at 30 fps; dark spots capture trajectories of tentacle bulbs, mouth, and gonads over time. Blue outlines approximate the margin of jellyfish on the frame of maximum extent on two successive swim pulses; green arrow shows direction of swimming. b) Minimum intensity projection of the same animal during a period of turning, showing asymmetry in the movement of bulbs on the inside vs outside of the turn. c) 3D diagram of the bell of a swimming jellyfish, showing starting and stopping vortex rings and fluid flow into (blue) vs away from (purple) the bell during the passive energy recapture phase of swimming. d) Cross section of a swimming jellyfish showing fluid vorticity toward the end of a swim pulse relaxation phase, showing locations of the starting and stopping vortex rings and the boundary layer. e) Swim pulse dynamics of an oblate jellyfish under symmetric bell contraction, producing straight swimming. The starting vortex ring is generated by active muscle contraction of the bell (ii, purple arrows), while the stopping vortex ring is generated by passive elastic relaxation (iii-iv, green arrows) from the mesoglea. Forward motion during the relaxation phase arises from the interaction of the starting and stopping vortex rings, with the starting vortex ring pulling fluid away from the bell and the stopping vortex ring directing fluid into the subumbrellar cavity. f) Swim pulse dynamics under asymmetric bell contraction, producing turning. Initially at rest (i), the neuronal signal initiates a muscular contraction in the bell margin on the inside of the turn before a stronger contraction of the bell margin is observed on the outside of the turn (ii-iii, purple arrows). The corresponding passive restoration yields a stronger expansion of the bell margin on the outside of the turn (iv, green arrows).
48224
Wilhelm Braun @wilhelmbraun.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
Workshop at CNS*2026 organized with @steinkuehler.bsky.social, concluded successfully. Great talks on evolution, computation and the origins of nervous systems and discussed how biological neural circuits could inform the design of more efficient computing devices. I am excited about what's next!
030
Reposted by Wilhelm Braun
The Transmitter @thetransmitter.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
AI may soon enable researchers to generate high-quality science at a previously unimaginable speed. The effects for researchers will be as disruptive as industrial mass production was for artisan manufacturers, writes @kenneth-harris.bsky.social. #neuroskyence www.thetransmitter.org/artificial-i...
thetransmitter.org
Mass-produced science is coming. What happens to scientists?
Artificial intelligence may soon enable researchers to generate high-quality science at a previously unimaginable speed.
81810
Wilhelm Braun @wilhelmbraun.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
💯
000
Wilhelm Braun @wilhelmbraun.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
Interesting to read about a disconnect between learning and performance in this piece. On a more positive note, maybe outsourcing some cognitive skills helps us to go farther quicker? www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
Is AI ruining our skills? Early results are in — and they’re not good
Reliance on artificial-intelligence tools degrades the abilities of physicians and software engineers, studies show.
010
Wilhelm Braun @wilhelmbraun.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
This sounds great @richcompneuro.bsky.social
120
Reposted by Wilhelm Braun
Arseny Khakhalin @khakhalin.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
An absolutely fascinating read!! tldr: the hard and important part of math was always building the scaffolding, while proofs (results) were a byproduct to socially capitalize on this work. AI disrupts that, as it produces proofs without re-injecting useful scaffolding into the system!
45114
Wilhelm Braun @wilhelmbraun.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
Abstracts for talks in our workshop organized at CNS*2026 in Halifax🇨🇦 are in, have a look at them on our homepage: sites.google.com/view/cns2026... Looking forward to July 14 and 15!🌊💻🧠🪼🪰🤖🕸️ @steinkuehler.bsky.social
sites.google.com
CNS*2026 workshop
Workshop description Even putatively simple nervous systems exhibit a high degree of complexity that is not fully understood. The recent discovery of associative learning in box jellyfish, for example...
010
Reposted by Wilhelm Braun
Kayson Fakhar @kayson.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
And after a hot (literally and figuratively) #OHBM, we're closing this term's seminar series with a presentation by Claus Hilgetag on Thursday this week. Here's more information + the registration link sites.google.com/view/makingc... Making Connections continues after the summer break. Don't worry.
042
Reposted by Wilhelm Braun
The Transmitter @thetransmitter.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Hear from Larry Abbott, @neurograce.bsky.social, @gjorjulijana.bsky.social, @neural-reckoning.org, @talmo.bsky.social, @neurokim.bsky.social and @tonyzador.bsky.social on what that tectonic change will bring to the field.
0102
Wilhelm Braun @wilhelmbraun.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
„The field risks becoming prolific but shallow […]“- this indeed could be a risk for all of computational biology especially when there is fewer exp-theo cross talk because of fewer colabs due to AI taking over theoretical and coding work from human scientists.
110
Wilhelm Braun @wilhelmbraun.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
Recent experimental work from my colleagues showing that halocline boundary layers restrict the movement of box jellyfish. A nice example of how observations in the field can be supported by AI-powered data analysis and models. www.uni-kiel.de/de/detailans... journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...
uni-kiel.de
Was Quallen am Aufsteigen hindert
Grenzschichten zwischen Süß- und Salzwasser könnten bewegliche Wasserorganismen stärker beeinflussen als bislang angenommen. Kieler Forschende zeigen am Beispiel von Würfelquallen, wie ein physikalisc...
031
Reposted by Wilhelm Braun
Hadas Weiss @hadas.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
gen z told me they hated ai. they had chatgpt explain why
1256
Reposted by Wilhelm Braun
QED Science @qedscience.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
AI agents can already scan the literature, analyze data, and generate hypotheses. Some predict they’ll revolutionize medicine. Others warn they’ll flood science. Tomorrow, @drmichaellevin.bsky.social and @odedrechavi.bsky.social discuss this topic. Register here: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
1156
Wilhelm Braun @wilhelmbraun.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
Highly recommended!
000
Reposted by Wilhelm Braun
Kayson Fakhar @kayson.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
🚨 The actual paper is now out on @cp-trendscognsci.bsky.social: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... In this opinion piece, @duncanastle.bsky.social and I explore the human brain through the lens of optimality and Pareto-optimality theory.
sciencedirect.com
Embracing the suboptimal organization of the human brain
Human brain architecture is guiding brain-inspired artificial intelligence (AI) and has been treated as an optimal template, whose deviations could ma…
13814
Reposted by Wilhelm Braun
Steven R. Shaw, PhD @shawpsych.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
This mug should be awarded to every academic who served as department chair.
A coffee mug that says—I  accidentally became important at work and it’s ruining my life.
28713
Wilhelm Braun @wilhelmbraun.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
Happy to announce our two posters at @cnsorg.bsky.social 2026 in Halifax: 1.🪼Modeling obstacle avoidance in box jellyfish with small neuronal networks (joint with Ozan Can Okay and Jan Bielecki) 2.🕸️Modeling comb jellyfish nerve nets (joint with @steinkuehler.bsky.social ). Looking forward to ✈️🇨🇦!
021
Wilhelm Braun @wilhelmbraun.bsky.social · 25/04/2026
I feel the pain
010
Reposted by Wilhelm Braun
Oded Rechavi @odedrechavi.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
"Please stay another year to do the revisions"
0786
Reposted by Wilhelm Braun
Digital Brain @yourdigitalbrain.bsky.social · 21/03/2026
🔥 Whale Shark gliding through Bioluminescent Algae looks like its floating through space. By Mike Nulty
11066721290
Reposted by Wilhelm Braun
Rainer Engelken @rainerengelken.bsky.social · 14/03/2026
We are recruiting PhD students and postdocs at UIUC ECE interested in learning dynamics, spiking networks, and dynamical systems. Details: rainerengelken.github.io/join/
rainerengelken.github.io
Rainer Engelken | Join the Lab
Uncovering theoretical principles of learning and computation in neural circuits, from single neurons to brain-wide systems.
1227
Reposted by Wilhelm Braun
Rainer Engelken @rainerengelken.bsky.social · 14/03/2026
Belated update: I joined UIUC ECE as an Assistant Professor. Our lab works at the intersection of theoretical neuroscience, machine learning, and dynamical systems, with a focus on learning and spiking networks. I had to miss #COSYNE2026 for visa reasons. 1/2
Poincare section of chaotic spiking network. Colors indicate local Lyapunov exponents.
4496
Wilhelm Braun @wilhelmbraun.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
Looking forward to reading this.
000
Reposted by Wilhelm Braun
Fatemeh_Hadaeghi @fatemehhadaeghi.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
🎉 🎉 Excited to share that our paper has just been published in Chaos. Here, we introduce Network Reciprocity Control (NRC) #algorithms that make it possible to systematically tune #reciprocity and directional #asymmetry in #networks while preserving density or total weight.
pubs.aip.org
Controlling reciprocity in binary and weighted networks: A novel density-conserving approach
We introduce efficient Network Reciprocity Control (NRC) algorithms for steering the degree of asymmetry and reciprocity in binary and weighted networks while p
2124
Reposted by Wilhelm Braun
Curious news @curiousnews.bsky.social · 07/02/2026
In 2005, Thousands Of Toads Exploded In A Bizarre Amphibian Apocalypse
iflscience.com
In 2005, Thousands Of Toads Exploded In A Bizarre Amphibian Apocalypse
The year saw the creation of YouTube, a new pope, and popping amphibians.
001
Reposted by Wilhelm Braun
Guillaume Bellec @bellecguill.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
These days I drink Iranian tea everyday so I don't forget. Media coverage of these events have been very poor in my internet bubble so far.
0152
Wilhelm Braun @wilhelmbraun.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
Often
000
Reposted by Wilhelm Braun
Kayson Fakhar @kayson.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
This Thursday at 3PM (UTC), we'll host @barabasi.bsky.social at the Making Connections seminar series. I'm sure it'll be a very stimulating and inspiring talk, so if you'd like to join, register via the link below: sites.google.com/view/makingc...
063
Reposted by Wilhelm Braun
Nature Portfolio @natureportfolio.nature.com · 19/01/2026
The sleep patterns of jellyfish and sea anemones share similarities with those of humans, according to research published in Nature Communications. The findings support the hypothesis that sleep evolved across a range of species to protect against DNA damage. 🧪
go.nature.com
DNA damage modulates sleep drive in basal cnidarians with divergent chronotypes - Nature Communications
Here, the authors use the diurnal upside-down jellyfish and the crepuscular starlet sea anemone as simple nerve net models to examine the potential evolutionary origins of sleep. They describe and define sleep patterns in these species, finding that sleep deprivation increases neuronal DNA damage and that sleep facilitates genome stability.
25822
Wilhelm Braun @wilhelmbraun.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
Teaching linear network analysis without solving a ten-variable system on the blackboard feels incomplete… But saves a lot of chalk.
020
Reposted by Wilhelm Braun
Dr. Or M. Bialik |📚|🔬|🌊|⚒️ @obialik.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
Jellyfish sleep, which is already bizarre given they have no brains. DNA damage accumulates in their neurons when jellyfish are awake, and it gets repaired when they sleep. This might be something fundamental, evolutionarily, to the role of sleep. 🧪🌊 Link: nature.com/articles/s41...
a,b Average sleep time during 36 h under LD in C. andromeda (a) and N. vectensis (b). White, black, and red horizontal bars represent light, dark, and SD periods, respectively (C. andromeda: ZT17-23, N. vectensis: ZT20-ZT4). c, d Sleep time accumulation of the previous 12 h (sliding average) in C. andromeda (c) and N. vectensis (d) during 36 h under LD. Black arrowheads indicate sampling time for the DNA damage assay presented in (i–l). e Confocal z-projection of a C. andromeda rhopalium and adjacent peri-rhopalial tissue. White squares mark representative single nucleus in the mesoglea. Red asterisk indicates rhopalium. Scale bar 150 μm. f Confocal z-projection showing the mOrange-positive endodermal nervous system in tg(-2.4NvElav1b:mOrangeCAAX) N. vectensis. White squares mark representative single neurons. Scale bar 100 μm. g Representative images of cells in the peri-rhopalial tissue of C. andromeda sampled at ZT11, ZT23, and the following day (Day2 ZT11). Nucleus stained by DAPI (gray), and γH2AX foci (magenta) are stained using immunohistochemistry. Scale bar 4 μm. h Representative images of γH2AX staining (magenta) in mOrange-positive neurons (green) of tg(-2.4NvElav1b:mOrangeCAAX) N. vectensis sampled at ZT17, ZT8, and the following night (Night2 ZT17). Nucleus stained by DAPI (gray). Scale bar 2 μm. i, k Normalized number of γH2AX foci per nucleus of control and sleep-deprived C. andromeda under LD. i Control: Day1 (n = 24, 1.00 ± 0.64), Night (n = 22, 0.55 ± 0.55), Day2 (n = 26, 1.31 ± 0.63). k Sleep-deprived: Day1 (n = 27, 1.00 ± 1.09), Night (n = 31, 2.11 ± 1.13), Day2 (n = 28, 1.42 ± 1.12). Values are mean ± s.d. (n=rhopalia from 8-10 animals per time point).
011637
Reposted by Wilhelm Braun
allen institute @alleninstitute.org · 06/12/2025
How does a couple of cells become a brain? Join us on 12/9, 10-12pm PT for a webinar presenting the findings from 12 papers mapping brain development in new detail. 🔗 alleninstitute-org.zoom.us/webinar/… Image: Jasiek Krzysztofiak/@nature.com
084
Reposted by Wilhelm Braun
Oded Rechavi @odedrechavi.bsky.social · 03/12/2025
Closing tabs with papers I promised myself i'll read
216410
Reposted by Wilhelm Braun
Hadas Weiss @hadas.bsky.social · 27/11/2025
pursuing an academic career is like thinking the stripper loves you
713513
Reposted by Wilhelm Braun
Per Engzell @pengzell.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
Every academic has one superpower: the ability to turn a five-minute task into a three-month digression
4515
Reposted by Wilhelm Braun
Matt Perich @mattperich.bsky.social · 06/11/2025
If you're interested in dynamical systems analysis for neuroscience, definitely check out @oliviercodol.bsky.social 's revised version of our RL paper! Very cool results in the new Fig 6, worth it regardless of if you saw our previous version or if it's all new. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
biorxiv.org
Brain-like neural dynamics for behavioral control develop through reinforcement learning
During development, neural circuits are shaped continuously as we learn to control our bodies. The ultimate goal of this process is to produce neural dynamics that enable the rich repertoire of behavi...
03711
Reposted by Wilhelm Braun
Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 02/11/2025
Another casualty of the LLM revolution. In "arXiv’s CS category, review articles and position papers must now be accepted at a journal or a conference and complete successful peer review."
blog.arxiv.org
Attention Authors: Updated Practice for Review Articles and Position Papers in arXiv CS Category – arXiv blog
832575
Reposted by Wilhelm Braun
P. Djéli Clark | The Disgruntled Haradrim @pdjeliclark.bsky.social · 31/10/2025
Happy Halloween
Halloween gravestone reading “I Did My Own Research” in a yard with two skeleton arms sticking out of the grass.
3757971228
Reposted by Wilhelm Braun
Oded Rechavi @odedrechavi.bsky.social · 31/10/2025
“The bad review will come from your list of suggested reviewers”
422538
Reposted by Wilhelm Braun
Oded Rechavi @odedrechavi.bsky.social · 28/10/2025
Having a PhD means you can find the word “unfortunately” in an email faster that the search function
838840
Wilhelm Braun @wilhelmbraun.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
Talk announcement (on site/ hybrid): Tuesday, October 28 at 10:00 am. The talk will be given by our guest from Zurich, Prof. Dr. Melika Payvand. The title of the talk is: Physical Computation: From Neural Morphology to Silicon (and beyond) Substrates More details in the attached PDF.
130
Reposted by Wilhelm Braun
oli @olil.bsky.social · 20/10/2025
Edinburgh castle failing to render, likely thanks to the AWS outage
A picture of a foggy street
8490731385
Reposted by Wilhelm Braun
Per Engzell @pengzell.bsky.social · 14/10/2025
The true academic method: overthink, underdeliver, cite yourself.
0565
Reposted by Wilhelm Braun
Per Engzell @pengzell.bsky.social · 10/10/2025
In academia, the pinnacle of achievement is a pdf no one can access and I think that's beautiful
46711
Reposted by Wilhelm Braun
Hiroki Sayama @hirokisayama.bsky.social · 07/10/2025
Sidney Pontes-Filho uses critical neural CA for reservoir computing #DistributedCiphers #ALIFE2025
153
Reposted by Wilhelm Braun
Hiroki Sayama @hirokisayama.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
Takashi Ikegami and Hiroki Iizuka open the Generative Artificial Life satellite #ALIFE2025
022
Wilhelm Braun @wilhelmbraun.bsky.social · 04/10/2025
010
Reposted by Wilhelm Braun
bioRxiv Neuroscience @biorxiv-neursci.bsky.social · 04/10/2025
Distributed neural computation and the evolution of the first brains www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/202…
0105