the Rhynie chert is amazing

Can a single brain cell decide whether to eat or not? 🧠🪰

Turns out... yes. And we found it in the fruit fly.
A pair of neurons called SELKs (subesophageal leucokinin neurons) can drive feeding behavior in both directions. They promote it or suppress it. Here's how: 🧵

Meet 'CC' the first cloned cat Dr. Duane Kramer and his team created the first cloned cat 15 years ago. He shares his cloning accomplishment with us.

There are commercial pet cloning services. I won't comment on the ethics of it.

But reputable services will inform you of the likely outcome: a new animal with their own traits, personality... just identical DNA.

A copy that is just as unique as the original.

We Need to Prepare for the Mammoth Task of De-Trumpification The damage he and his cronies have wrought could take decades to repair, particularly when it comes to science and public health.

The task of de-Trumpification of science and public health will take a generation and a "Marshall Plan" to rebuild. Without a bold, expansive vision to guide us, there is no coming back. Small-bore, poll-tested versions of the future will not help us. www.thenation.com/article/soci...

The first panel shows a crow with the title "How to live a good life". The second panel shows a crow cawing at itself in the mirror with the subheading "Make friends". The next panel says "Explore" and shows a crow looking into a commercial waste bin. The next says "Try new things" with a crow eating something vile. The next one says "Be curious" and shows the crow grabbing a hissing cat's tail". The final frame says "Get a hobby" and shows the crow looking closely at a book of matches.

How To Live A Good Life #oldknees

his birthday (their anniversary)

slash optional?

A Forbes article about a father who killed eight children, with an embedded prediction widget inviting people to speculate on whether "Congress will pass new gun safety legislation before 31st December 2026"

ghoulish

Excited to share a new review by @kocherlab.bsky.social and me:

Nature-inspired neuroscience

We discuss diverse sensory systems and behaviors across the animal kingdom and argue for their integration into neuroscience. New tools in diverse systems are making this possible ✨

tinyurl.com/y5y9du27

We’re hiring! The University of Pittsburgh is recruiting a tenure-track faculty member in pain research to join the Department of Neurobiology and the Pittsburgh Center for Pain Research—an outstanding and highly collaborative community.
Please share. More here: cfopitt.taleo.net/careersectio...

Rümeysa Öztürk, Tufts University grad arrested by ICE agents last year, returns to Turkey - The Boston Globe The government and Öztürk’s legal team have jointly moved to dismiss her immigration proceedings.

“That Rümeysa felt she had to return to Turkey to escape the shadow of state violence says everything you need to know about the state of free speech and academic freedom in this country,” said Ramya Krishnan, an attorney at the Knight First Amendment Institute. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/04/17/m...

congratulations!

We already KNOW how to make super babies, you eugenicist creeps! And it's all the things you fucking fucks are fucking up! THREAD!

Good catch.

Nice work, Iain!

What the report does not say—but that people like Rufo say very openly—is that the current American right wing aims to use its power in the political sphere to conquer the rest of the seven mountains, of which higher education is one.

That's the story—not Yale forgot to teach Edmund Burke.

huh, I wasn't previously thinking about radioactive bombing dust.

Final version of record here: elifesciences.org/articles/107... Enjoy tracking

For the cost of one Harvard Professor of the Constitution Only Applies to White People, you could endow 10 professorships of any less commonly taught language at any university in the USA

It has always been interesting to consider why US companies do not push for universal healthcare. This makes clear that for the ruling class, control over workers takes precedent over profit. Tethering healthcare to employment forces people to stay in situations they would otherwise contest or exit.

!!!

initially thought they were an oribatid beetle mite... then freaked out upon taking a few photos - realizing they were BAEUS - a *tiny* (~600µm) parasitic wasp!

Lost them after trying to stop lens down for a bit more depth of field! Underneath a log, NE Oklahoma

2 young gray squirrels sniffing each other

OMG you guuuuyyyyys I saw the baby squirrels at Montrose and I think there are more than 2! And I should really save this for SOTD but I had to show you right now because we deserve nice things #sqrlpix ❤️

2,599 applicants offered NSF GRFP awards! Congrats to all the NSF GRFP award winners and recipients of honorable mention. https://www.research.gov/grfp/AwardeeList.do?method=loadAwardeeList

Massive and important positive news...

#NSF #GRFP awards are out.

2,599 awards!
+
1,440 Honorable Mentions.

A significant boost from last year.

Congratulations to the winners (and HM-s)!

& many thanks to the reviewers & program officers who made this possible.

www.research.gov/grfp/Awardee...

Take note, Dems. I want this here.

ha++

Okay, sure, but there are five whole continents where Vance didn’t take an L this week.

I watched it last night, and whoo boy was it bad

Are you a computational scientist? Within 7 years of your PhD? Come join us at Lund University! We have two new positions as assistant professor! Deadline: 25th of May. The advert is broad, but this is your chance to push computational neuroscience in a fantastic place!
lu.varbi.com/en/what:job/...

feels like a lifetime ago, but yes!

UW graduate student deported through SEA as protesters demand answers A union representing University of Washington graduate student workers says Kennedy Orwa’s student visa was rescinded without explanation.

Our PhD student Kennedy Orwa, who studies applications of AI to health care, was hastily deported today to Kenya along with his 13-year-old son without opportunity to speak to legal counsel.

King 5 reports that he held a valid visa that was rescinded without explanation.

Who does not want an AMAZING 3D printed fly????

This Drosophila was printed for me today as a prop for a talk at the @rigb.org

It caused a minor commotion on the tube on my way home. And I LOVE IT

- @bittelmethis.bsky.social 🤓🪰🤘