Alister Burt
@alisterburt.bsky.social
Computational Cryo-EM/ET at Genentech
Love people, the outdoors and building stuff
Complexity is the enemy
All opinions my own
Love people, the outdoors and building stuff
Complexity is the enemy
All opinions my own
very long but lots of interesting views about copyright expressed here
www.questioncopyright.org/promise/
www.questioncopyright.org/promise/
The Surprising History of Copyright and The Promise of a Post-Copyright World – Question Copyright
www.questioncopyright.org
February 18, 2026 at 4:30 PM
very long but lots of interesting views about copyright expressed here
www.questioncopyright.org/promise/
www.questioncopyright.org/promise/
Reposted by Alister Burt
Rewrote my Python bioformats wrapper (from aicsimageio/bioio) as a standalone package:
- fully bootstrapped Java setup (just pip install)
- lazy, repeatably-indexable Array object
- fully spec-compliant OME-Zarr group obj.
- xarray/dask exports
github.com/imaging-form...
v0.0.rc1 on PyPI
- fully bootstrapped Java setup (just pip install)
- lazy, repeatably-indexable Array object
- fully spec-compliant OME-Zarr group obj.
- xarray/dask exports
github.com/imaging-form...
v0.0.rc1 on PyPI
GitHub - imaging-formats/bffile: Modern Bio-Formats wrapper with clean lazy Python API
Modern Bio-Formats wrapper with clean lazy Python API - imaging-formats/bffile
github.com
February 16, 2026 at 9:06 PM
Rewrote my Python bioformats wrapper (from aicsimageio/bioio) as a standalone package:
- fully bootstrapped Java setup (just pip install)
- lazy, repeatably-indexable Array object
- fully spec-compliant OME-Zarr group obj.
- xarray/dask exports
github.com/imaging-form...
v0.0.rc1 on PyPI
- fully bootstrapped Java setup (just pip install)
- lazy, repeatably-indexable Array object
- fully spec-compliant OME-Zarr group obj.
- xarray/dask exports
github.com/imaging-form...
v0.0.rc1 on PyPI
Reposted by Alister Burt
Every time you speak up - and every time you don't - there are people watching and learning about you and the world you help create.
The drunk uncle theory.
You don’t argue with the casually homophobic uncle at Thanksgiving dinner to change his mind; you argue so that the closeted cousin at the kids table knows there’s safe people and better possibilities out there
You don’t argue with the casually homophobic uncle at Thanksgiving dinner to change his mind; you argue so that the closeted cousin at the kids table knows there’s safe people and better possibilities out there
agree with this (hah) but also think a particular mistake the left made for a long time online, and still makes to an extent, is failing to understand that the person whose mind you may actually change is the one reading the argument you're having, not the one you're arguing with
February 17, 2026 at 3:52 AM
Every time you speak up - and every time you don't - there are people watching and learning about you and the world you help create.
Reposted by Alister Burt
Not enough chatter on my timeline about the upcoming centenary of the 1926 UK General Strike. This'll fix that. youtu.be/jcrQvxteO08?...
General Strike Number 1 (1926)
YouTube video by British Pathé
youtu.be
February 12, 2026 at 11:30 PM
Not enough chatter on my timeline about the upcoming centenary of the 1926 UK General Strike. This'll fix that. youtu.be/jcrQvxteO08?...
Reposted by Alister Burt
This is fascinating:
Many people have no mental imagery. What’s going on in their brains?
People with aphantasia are offering a window into consciousness.
www.nature.com
February 13, 2026 at 3:18 PM
This is fascinating:
Reposted by Alister Burt
I gave a talk at Blender Conference yesterday, showing how biological volumes work, and how to visualize them in Blender 😋 youtu.be/WPajSWX730o?... #bcon25
Microscopy Nodes: handling large biological volumes — Blender Conference 2025
YouTube video by Blender
youtu.be
September 19, 2025 at 7:35 AM
I gave a talk at Blender Conference yesterday, showing how biological volumes work, and how to visualize them in Blender 😋 youtu.be/WPajSWX730o?... #bcon25
Reposted by Alister Burt
According to multiple NYT sources, it wasn’t even military personnel at Fort Bliss that fired an anti-drone laser at alleged cartel drones. It was CBP who used the weapon on loan from DoD against a child’s party balloon they mistook for a drone. The Pentagon gave CBP an anti-aircraft weapon.
February 12, 2026 at 3:28 AM
According to multiple NYT sources, it wasn’t even military personnel at Fort Bliss that fired an anti-drone laser at alleged cartel drones. It was CBP who used the weapon on loan from DoD against a child’s party balloon they mistook for a drone. The Pentagon gave CBP an anti-aircraft weapon.
holy shit
PR from an ‘agent’ gets closed so it writes a blog post with a personal takedown
Some interesting comments from the maintainers too
Slop machine go brr, dead internet theory x1000
github.com/matplotlib/m...
PR from an ‘agent’ gets closed so it writes a blog post with a personal takedown
Some interesting comments from the maintainers too
Slop machine go brr, dead internet theory x1000
github.com/matplotlib/m...
[PERF] Replace np.column_stack with np.vstack().T by crabby-rathbun · Pull Request #31132 · matplotlib/matplotlib
This PR addresses issue #31130 by replacing specific safe occurrences of np.column_stack with np.vstack().T for better performance.
IMPORTANT: This is a more targeted fix than originally proposed. ...
github.com
February 12, 2026 at 12:18 PM
holy shit
PR from an ‘agent’ gets closed so it writes a blog post with a personal takedown
Some interesting comments from the maintainers too
Slop machine go brr, dead internet theory x1000
github.com/matplotlib/m...
PR from an ‘agent’ gets closed so it writes a blog post with a personal takedown
Some interesting comments from the maintainers too
Slop machine go brr, dead internet theory x1000
github.com/matplotlib/m...
Reposted by Alister Burt
So enlightened
Ireland’s basic income for the arts scheme becomes permanent
When piloted, initiative that provided €325 a week to eligible artists recouped more than its net cost, study shows
www.theguardian.com
February 10, 2026 at 11:08 PM
So enlightened
👏
Ninth UK university confirms opting out of Elsevier deal.
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-o...
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-o...
Ninth UK university confirms opting out of Elsevier deal - Research Professional News
Sheffield Hallam and Swansea are the latest to drop agreements with the publishing giant
www.researchprofessionalnews.com
February 10, 2026 at 4:04 PM
👏
Reposted by Alister Burt
Isomorphic Labs Drug Design Engine (IsoDDE), a unified computational drug-design system
Announcement:
www.isomorphiclabs.com/articles/the...
Report:
storage.googleapis.com/isomorphicla...
Announcement:
www.isomorphiclabs.com/articles/the...
Report:
storage.googleapis.com/isomorphicla...
February 10, 2026 at 3:16 PM
Isomorphic Labs Drug Design Engine (IsoDDE), a unified computational drug-design system
Announcement:
www.isomorphiclabs.com/articles/the...
Report:
storage.googleapis.com/isomorphicla...
Announcement:
www.isomorphiclabs.com/articles/the...
Report:
storage.googleapis.com/isomorphicla...
Post a banger that’s not in English
February 9, 2026 at 9:20 PM
Post a banger that’s not in English
Reposted by Alister Burt
I think the trick (which I make no claim of having mastered) is to meet them just ahead of where they are and be like “hey check this thing out around the corner that you can’t quite see yet!”
I’m having an exhilarating time with my 12th graders reading a Latin epitome of the Aethiopica this year
I’m having an exhilarating time with my 12th graders reading a Latin epitome of the Aethiopica this year
February 8, 2026 at 2:30 AM
I think the trick (which I make no claim of having mastered) is to meet them just ahead of where they are and be like “hey check this thing out around the corner that you can’t quite see yet!”
I’m having an exhilarating time with my 12th graders reading a Latin epitome of the Aethiopica this year
I’m having an exhilarating time with my 12th graders reading a Latin epitome of the Aethiopica this year
Reposted by Alister Burt
Very happy to say that our work on how axonemes are generated is now available on bioRxiv: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... - if you’ve ever wondered how the incredibly beautiful, complex structures within motile #cilia are constructed then this is for you!
www.biorxiv.org
February 6, 2026 at 11:20 AM
Very happy to say that our work on how axonemes are generated is now available on bioRxiv: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... - if you’ve ever wondered how the incredibly beautiful, complex structures within motile #cilia are constructed then this is for you!
Reposted by Alister Burt
There was so much to unpack with this data, we teamed up with the marvellous @margotriggi.bsky.social to help explain what we think is going on. (Please also check out our model of central apparatus assembly here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...)
February 6, 2026 at 11:20 AM
There was so much to unpack with this data, we teamed up with the marvellous @margotriggi.bsky.social to help explain what we think is going on. (Please also check out our model of central apparatus assembly here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...)
Avicii - I'm Tim (2024) ⭐ 7.7 | Documentary, Biography, Music
1h 35m | TV-MA
www.imdb.com
February 7, 2026 at 2:32 AM
Reposted by Alister Burt
One of the funniest conversations I've ever had with Claude...
stick with it through the third image to watch it slowly realize it's broken, try to "play it cool", fail spectacularly, then attempt self-aware commentary and immediately faceplant again.
it's worth it, I promise.
stick with it through the third image to watch it slowly realize it's broken, try to "play it cool", fail spectacularly, then attempt self-aware commentary and immediately faceplant again.
it's worth it, I promise.
February 6, 2026 at 5:49 PM
One of the funniest conversations I've ever had with Claude...
stick with it through the third image to watch it slowly realize it's broken, try to "play it cool", fail spectacularly, then attempt self-aware commentary and immediately faceplant again.
it's worth it, I promise.
stick with it through the third image to watch it slowly realize it's broken, try to "play it cool", fail spectacularly, then attempt self-aware commentary and immediately faceplant again.
it's worth it, I promise.
Reposted by Alister Burt
I've been working on Surface Morphometrics for a new version (coming soon), and made some significant (AI-assisted) performance improvements, especially in pycurv (20-50x!). If you've had technical issues or just felt like it was too slow, give it another try! #teamtomo github.com/GrotjahnLab/...
GitHub - GrotjahnLab/surface_morphometrics: Morphometrics for Membrane Surfaces Segmented from Cryo-ET or other volumetric imaging.
Morphometrics for Membrane Surfaces Segmented from Cryo-ET or other volumetric imaging. - GrotjahnLab/surface_morphometrics
github.com
February 4, 2026 at 12:32 AM
I've been working on Surface Morphometrics for a new version (coming soon), and made some significant (AI-assisted) performance improvements, especially in pycurv (20-50x!). If you've had technical issues or just felt like it was too slow, give it another try! #teamtomo github.com/GrotjahnLab/...
Reposted by Alister Burt
For anyone with current grants under review at #MRC, this is what's happening, according to Research Professional:
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...
We are facing a major
#UKsciencefundingcrisis but no outcry, no news. As we said in 2010, #ScienceIsVital, we need to do something!
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...
We are facing a major
#UKsciencefundingcrisis but no outcry, no news. As we said in 2010, #ScienceIsVital, we need to do something!
MRC instructs grant review boards to slash funding rates - Research Professional News
Boards asked to recommend just three applications for funding, as BBSRC also suspends calls
www.researchprofessionalnews.com
January 30, 2026 at 2:33 PM
For anyone with current grants under review at #MRC, this is what's happening, according to Research Professional:
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...
We are facing a major
#UKsciencefundingcrisis but no outcry, no news. As we said in 2010, #ScienceIsVital, we need to do something!
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...
We are facing a major
#UKsciencefundingcrisis but no outcry, no news. As we said in 2010, #ScienceIsVital, we need to do something!
Reposted by Alister Burt
Nobel winner and senior scientists slam cuts to UK physics
“These cuts are the inevitable consequence of the government’s choices,” Nobel winner Andre Geim tells me
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...
“These cuts are the inevitable consequence of the government’s choices,” Nobel winner Andre Geim tells me
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...
Nobel winner and senior scientists slam cuts to UK physics - Research Professional News
Science and Technology Facilities Council’s £162 million cost-saving measures “will have catastrophic consequences”, government warned
www.researchprofessionalnews.com
January 29, 2026 at 2:53 PM
Nobel winner and senior scientists slam cuts to UK physics
“These cuts are the inevitable consequence of the government’s choices,” Nobel winner Andre Geim tells me
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...
“These cuts are the inevitable consequence of the government’s choices,” Nobel winner Andre Geim tells me
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...
definitely the coolest microscopy course around
Join us at CSHL for Quantitative Imaging: From Acquisition to Analysis—two weeks of advanced imaging, analysis, and hands-on labs with cutting-edge microscopes and open source software!
📅 April 6–21, 2026
📝 Applications due Friday Jan 30, 2026
📅 April 6–21, 2026
📝 Applications due Friday Jan 30, 2026
January 29, 2026 at 2:38 AM
definitely the coolest microscopy course around
Reposted by Alister Burt
the key to me is to distinguish veracity (data provenance), quality (accuracy and competence), interest (who should read it), and importance (significance of the findings for the field). We currently conflate these too much in unidimensional indicators like journal brand/JIF
January 28, 2026 at 3:11 PM
the key to me is to distinguish veracity (data provenance), quality (accuracy and competence), interest (who should read it), and importance (significance of the findings for the field). We currently conflate these too much in unidimensional indicators like journal brand/JIF
Reposted by Alister Burt
Check out our new preprint! We uncover the full molecular mechanism of rotavirus membrane penetration and cytosolic escape using cryo-ET, live-cell imaging, and single-molecule assays. (1/3)
🔗 biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
🔗 biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
January 27, 2026 at 5:03 PM
Check out our new preprint! We uncover the full molecular mechanism of rotavirus membrane penetration and cytosolic escape using cryo-ET, live-cell imaging, and single-molecule assays. (1/3)
🔗 biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
🔗 biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Alister Burt
Philip Glass boycotting the Kennedy Center
Philip Glass boycotting the Kennedy Center
Philip Glass boycotting the Kennedy Center
Philip Glass
Philip Glass
Philip Glass
Philip Glass
Philip Glass boycotting the Kennedy Center
Philip Glass boycotting the Kennedy Center
Philip Glass boycotting the Kennedy Center
Philip Glass
Philip Glass
Philip Glass
Philip Glass
Philip Glass boycotting the Kennedy Center
January 27, 2026 at 4:17 PM
Philip Glass boycotting the Kennedy Center
Philip Glass boycotting the Kennedy Center
Philip Glass boycotting the Kennedy Center
Philip Glass
Philip Glass
Philip Glass
Philip Glass
Philip Glass boycotting the Kennedy Center
Philip Glass boycotting the Kennedy Center
Philip Glass boycotting the Kennedy Center
Philip Glass
Philip Glass
Philip Glass
Philip Glass
Philip Glass boycotting the Kennedy Center
Reposted by Alister Burt
