New preprint from the lab. This has been a looong project -- checking how well do genome features (conservation, transcription, epigen, population var, repeats, sequence stats, etc) discriminate coding & noncoding genes from the genomic background.

Not exactly Austen's area of expertise -- we can let unbiased science historians argue out the origins of modern AI. We certainly all agree that a broad base of discovery drives good applied research.

Why mission-led funding is mission impossible Comment from Auckland University: A science system focused only on outcomes risks becoming a Christmas tree with no roots – pretty to look at, but destined not to last.

Austen Ganley on how mission-led science depends on exploratory science. Describes the new NZ science proposal as a Christmas Tree model -- no roots, doomed to die.
newsroom.co.nz/2026/04/19/w...

10 years ago, Elisabeth Bik published a preprint heard around the world Elisabeth Bik If you are at all familiar with scientific sleuthing, you’re familiar with Elisabeth Bik. She is quoted so often in the mainstream media it is probably difficult to imagine a time bef…

10 years ago today, @elisabethbik.bsky.social published a preprint heard around the world.

More sketchy articles discovered by my 4th year class. Image duplication and the same errors in each of these reviews:

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

I would certainly exclude these for being odd.

Pubpeer submissions. Which we can send to the editors. :-)

Figure 1 has been reused in:
doi.org/10.1016/j.cb...
doi.org/10.3390/mole...
www.mdpi.com/2076-3921/11...
doi.org/10.1155/2022...
doi.org/10.1007/s120...
doi.org/10.3390/life...
doi.org/10.3390/life...
doi.org/10.3390/mole...

@elisabethbik.bsky.social any advice? I'll try to find some time to pubpeer in the next few weeks.

This is after just 20 mins with a Google image search. Similar authors, completely whacky number reporting -- I'm guessing no raw data in the "papers" either.

I set my 4th year biochemistry class to work screening some papers being published by a fishy group of authors. Check out the numbers in these "PRISMA" style plots:

Small Model, Big Insight: RNA Structure Rules Emerge from Minimal Data - Harvard University - Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology MCB Senior Research Fellow Elena Rivas and colleagues have demonstrated that the fundamental rules governing RNA structure can be learned using a remarkably simple computational model—challenging assu...

Small Model, Big Insight: RNA Structure Rules Emerge from Minimal Data 🧬 #AcademicSky #higherEd #RNA
www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/n...
@rachellegaudet.bsky.social @naoshigeuchida.bsky.social @nature.com @harvard.edu

This was nearby, just off the cliffs at Matanaka. There were two of them circling me for quite a while, one about 2m, the other closer to 3m. Beautiful creatures.

A little blue shark action from a kayak. ♥️

Anaemic northern hemisphere cows produce anaemic butter.

This is very interesting! The purpose of pseudouridine modifications in rRNA has not been fully characterised AFAIK.

Not all ribosomes age equally.

Profiling rRNA modifications reveals that collisions driven by aged ribosomes are enriched for ribosomes lacking the pseudouridine Ψ18S-210, demonstrating to a vulnerable ribosome subpopulation. (5/10)

We're thrilled to announce the Ctrl-Z Award, a US$2,500 prize for researchers “who discover substantial errors in their published work and take meaningful steps to correct the scientific record."
Covered by @nature.com today; read more here: centerforscientificintegrity.org/2026/03/10/a...

TPM will likely post recordings (they funded the visit). He already has a bunch of stuff on the YouTubes.

A portion of the Strøget pedestrian street in Copenhagen that widens into a grand people-place.

One of the most successful pedestrian streets in the world, the Strøget in Copenhagen, was filled with cars until a 2 year pedestrianization pilot project in 1962. The opposition argued “no cars means no business,” but the street has been a massive retail success, the city’s busiest shopping street.

Wait a second!...

Two chocolate labradors on Waikouaiti Beach.

This feed needs more puppies and beaches!

Working at HIRI At the HIRI, we do not just value excellent research. Short distances, an open door policy, and a good working atmosphere—this is what distinguishes us from others. Have a look at our current job…

🧬 Shape the future of #RNA-based infection research!
We are inviting applications for @helmholtz.de Junior Research Group Leader Positions (f/m/d). 👉 Apply by February 15 at www.helmholtz-hiri.de/en/jobs-tale...
(1/2)

Thanks. That's what prompted me to verify the quote. ;-)

Someone finally did it!

Inclusion of Retracted Studies in Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses of Interventions This systematic review and meta-analysis identifies reports of systematic reviews that included retracted studies in their meta-analyses, and assesses the impact of these retracted studies on the resu...

A pleasingly meta-meta-analysis with a very displeasing outcome: jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

"I hate a Barnacle as no man ever did before"
www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docI...