Shawn Burgess
@burgesslab.bsky.social
zebrafish researcher, genetics and genomics of regeneration
All posts are my personal opinions and do not reflect the position of the NIH or US government
All posts are my personal opinions and do not reflect the position of the NIH or US government
Pinned
Shawn Burgess
@burgesslab.bsky.social
· May 15
Danio rerio Annotation ReportTwitterFacebookLinkedInGitHubNCBI Insights BlogTwitterFacebookYoutube
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Some exciting news! NCBI has finished the annotation pipeline for our new #zebrafish reference sequence GRCz12tu:
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/refseq/annot...
This is a big step up in data depth and quality and should be super helpful going forward.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/refseq/annot...
This is a big step up in data depth and quality and should be super helpful going forward.
Reposted by Shawn Burgess
www.sciencenews.org/article/rege... @josanesousa.bsky.social @gabrielalima19.bsky.social @perezlouise.bsky.social @patyschneider22.bsky.social
Regeneration of fins and limbs relies on a shared cellular playbook
The findings strengthen the case that regeneration is an old trait, offering insights into how complex tissues rebuild themselves.
www.sciencenews.org
February 18, 2026 at 6:33 PM
Reposted by Shawn Burgess
What even is this?
February 18, 2026 at 2:34 PM
What even is this?
Reposted by Shawn Burgess
I got a tip that all over the world, people are using a dead-simple hack to manipulate AI behavior. It turns out changing what AI tells other people can be as easy as writing a blog post *on your own website*
I didn’t believe it, so I decided to test it myself www.bbc.com/future/artic...
I didn’t believe it, so I decided to test it myself www.bbc.com/future/artic...
I hacked ChatGPT and Google's AI – and it only took 20 minutes
I found a way to make AI tell you lies – and I'm not the only one.
www.bbc.com
February 18, 2026 at 4:37 PM
I got a tip that all over the world, people are using a dead-simple hack to manipulate AI behavior. It turns out changing what AI tells other people can be as easy as writing a blog post *on your own website*
I didn’t believe it, so I decided to test it myself www.bbc.com/future/artic...
I didn’t believe it, so I decided to test it myself www.bbc.com/future/artic...
Reposted by Shawn Burgess
That experience changed me profoundly as a scientist. I always read preprints eagerly, and the sooner amazing science comes out, the better! Journal names may help me get grants or make other people read my work, but it is still the bioRxiv I celebrate!
a group of people are jumping in the air in a room while a man holds a woman 's hand .
Alt: a group of people are jumping in the air in a room while a man holds a woman 's hand .
media.tenor.com
January 15, 2026 at 4:19 PM
That experience changed me profoundly as a scientist. I always read preprints eagerly, and the sooner amazing science comes out, the better! Journal names may help me get grants or make other people read my work, but it is still the bioRxiv I celebrate!
Reposted by Shawn Burgess
"by the time the scientific community had developed an effective vaccine, bioRxiv/medRxiv had posted more than 20,000 COVID papers" 🤯
Brilliant retrospective by @richardsever.bsky.social on the origins, growth and resounding success of bioRxiv and medRxiv ⬇️
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
Brilliant retrospective by @richardsever.bsky.social on the origins, growth and resounding success of bioRxiv and medRxiv ⬇️
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
The Story behind the Science: Preprints of pandemic potential—how bioRxiv and medRxiv brought preprints to the life sciences | mBio
When we launched medRxiv in mid-2019, we never could have anticipated that just a
few months later, New York would be at the epicenter of a rapidly escalating global
pandemic, and we would be handling...
journals.asm.org
January 15, 2026 at 4:07 PM
"by the time the scientific community had developed an effective vaccine, bioRxiv/medRxiv had posted more than 20,000 COVID papers" 🤯
Brilliant retrospective by @richardsever.bsky.social on the origins, growth and resounding success of bioRxiv and medRxiv ⬇️
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
Brilliant retrospective by @richardsever.bsky.social on the origins, growth and resounding success of bioRxiv and medRxiv ⬇️
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
Reposted by Shawn Burgess
I can’t believe you lefty Luddites hate tech so much that you embrace mRNA vaccines, heat pumps, electric bikes, hybrid work, renewable power (and awesome advancements in storage), space telescopes, and hot/cold running water but reject the planet destroying plagiarism enrich the worst people bots!
February 18, 2026 at 1:07 PM
I can’t believe you lefty Luddites hate tech so much that you embrace mRNA vaccines, heat pumps, electric bikes, hybrid work, renewable power (and awesome advancements in storage), space telescopes, and hot/cold running water but reject the planet destroying plagiarism enrich the worst people bots!
Confirming the old rule, if a headline has a question in it, the answer is always “no.”
AI-driven autonomous robots are coming to biology laboratories, but researchers insist that human skills remain essential
go.nature.com/46fYZfj
go.nature.com/46fYZfj
Will self-driving 'robot labs' replace biologists? Paper sparks debate
AI-driven autonomous robots are coming to biology laboratories, but researchers insist that human skills remain essential.
go.nature.com
February 18, 2026 at 1:08 PM
Confirming the old rule, if a headline has a question in it, the answer is always “no.”
Reposted by Shawn Burgess
Nature group: "DO YOU WANT MORE JOURNALS???"
Researchers: "um... not... really? no there are alread-"
Nature: "YESSS HERE YOU GO MORE JOURNALSSSS!!"
group.springernature.com/gp/group/med...
@springernature.com
Researchers: "um... not... really? no there are alread-"
Nature: "YESSS HERE YOU GO MORE JOURNALSSSS!!"
group.springernature.com/gp/group/med...
@springernature.com
Springer Nature responds to community feedback with its new journal series Nature Progress | Springer Nature Group | Springer Nature
Supported by Nature Portfolio’s in-house editorial expertise, Nature Progress journals will expand access to high impact publishing to more
group.springernature.com
February 18, 2026 at 12:59 PM
Nature group: "DO YOU WANT MORE JOURNALS???"
Researchers: "um... not... really? no there are alread-"
Nature: "YESSS HERE YOU GO MORE JOURNALSSSS!!"
group.springernature.com/gp/group/med...
@springernature.com
Researchers: "um... not... really? no there are alread-"
Nature: "YESSS HERE YOU GO MORE JOURNALSSSS!!"
group.springernature.com/gp/group/med...
@springernature.com
Reposted by Shawn Burgess
🧪 #episky #IDsky This is worth repeating
"Ultimately (in our view), this happens because the currency of scholarship—publication—is becoming increasingly
detached from the notion that publication is meant to add to the sum of human knowledge."
"Ultimately (in our view), this happens because the currency of scholarship—publication—is becoming increasingly
detached from the notion that publication is meant to add to the sum of human knowledge."
Improvements to methods should lead to more robust evidence and more rapid advances in knowledge. In their Perspective, Marcus Munafò & @mendelrandom.bsky.social look at why this hasn't been the case and what can be done about it #AcademicSky 🧪
Is scientific reform an unwinnable arms race?
Methodological improvements should, in theory, mean more robust evidence and inference, and more rapid advances in knowledge. However, these methods are often subsequently used in the pursuit of…
plos.io
February 18, 2026 at 11:48 AM
Reposted by Shawn Burgess
Counterpoint:
Don’t upload your medical records to any LLM.
That’s fucking insane.
Don’t upload your medical records to any LLM.
That’s fucking insane.
February 18, 2026 at 2:07 AM
Counterpoint:
Don’t upload your medical records to any LLM.
That’s fucking insane.
Don’t upload your medical records to any LLM.
That’s fucking insane.
Reposted by Shawn Burgess
🧬 #SGD evolution continues: Our #BLAST service has migrated to the @alliancegenome.bsky.social website, maintaining the functionality & comprehensive SGD datasets #Yeast researchers depend on while adding cross-species exploration & faster search results
🧪 #YeastResearch
🔗 bit.ly/newBLAST
🧪 #YeastResearch
🔗 bit.ly/newBLAST
February 17, 2026 at 11:02 PM
🧬 #SGD evolution continues: Our #BLAST service has migrated to the @alliancegenome.bsky.social website, maintaining the functionality & comprehensive SGD datasets #Yeast researchers depend on while adding cross-species exploration & faster search results
🧪 #YeastResearch
🔗 bit.ly/newBLAST
🧪 #YeastResearch
🔗 bit.ly/newBLAST
great opportunity to work for a terrific mentor...
We are hiring 2 Postdoctoral fellows for our lab (www.mueller-lab.org): 1, Transcription control of metabolic adaptation in development (shorturl.at/oeG6U).
2, Semantic rules of developmental gene regulation (shorturl.at/KdHmJ)
#jobs #transcription #zebrafish #zebrafishrock #IZFS
2, Semantic rules of developmental gene regulation (shorturl.at/KdHmJ)
#jobs #transcription #zebrafish #zebrafishrock #IZFS
Research Fellow at University of Birmingham
Discover Research Fellow jobs and more in higher education on jobs.ac.uk. Apply for further details on the top job board.
shorturl.at
February 17, 2026 at 6:12 PM
great opportunity to work for a terrific mentor...
Reposted by Shawn Burgess
Kid Rock Sells Entire Music Catalog For Extra-Large Bucket Of Cheese Balls
February 13, 2026 at 4:00 PM
Kid Rock Sells Entire Music Catalog For Extra-Large Bucket Of Cheese Balls
Reposted by Shawn Burgess
It was believed in medieval times that hedgehogs had spikes so they could roll over fruit to carry home to their children, which is not true but is a really cute idea
February 13, 2026 at 11:26 AM
It was believed in medieval times that hedgehogs had spikes so they could roll over fruit to carry home to their children, which is not true but is a really cute idea
Reposted by Shawn Burgess
Anyone who spent the past two decades waiting for the big shoe to drop, not taking it seriously until then, ignoring all the women going "listen my thesis advisor is literally not allowed to be in elevators with women," would have missed that the expulsion of women from academia was already there.
February 13, 2026 at 11:42 AM
Anyone who spent the past two decades waiting for the big shoe to drop, not taking it seriously until then, ignoring all the women going "listen my thesis advisor is literally not allowed to be in elevators with women," would have missed that the expulsion of women from academia was already there.
Reposted by Shawn Burgess
Switching fields or wanting to become an expert in #zebrafish research?
The @mblscience.bsky.social 2026 Zebrafish Development & Genetics course offers a fantastic opportunity to learn from leaders in the field!
Application deadline: March 2
Please spread the word!
www.mbl.edu/education/ad...
The @mblscience.bsky.social 2026 Zebrafish Development & Genetics course offers a fantastic opportunity to learn from leaders in the field!
Application deadline: March 2
Please spread the word!
www.mbl.edu/education/ad...
February 11, 2026 at 8:22 PM
Switching fields or wanting to become an expert in #zebrafish research?
The @mblscience.bsky.social 2026 Zebrafish Development & Genetics course offers a fantastic opportunity to learn from leaders in the field!
Application deadline: March 2
Please spread the word!
www.mbl.edu/education/ad...
The @mblscience.bsky.social 2026 Zebrafish Development & Genetics course offers a fantastic opportunity to learn from leaders in the field!
Application deadline: March 2
Please spread the word!
www.mbl.edu/education/ad...
Reposted by Shawn Burgess
Cross-institute teamwork between Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Centre for Organismal Studies Heidelberg & European Molecular Biology Laboratory driving progress on Medaka inbred strains. doi.org/10.1016/j.xg...
February 13, 2026 at 1:22 PM
Cross-institute teamwork between Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Centre for Organismal Studies Heidelberg & European Molecular Biology Laboratory driving progress on Medaka inbred strains. doi.org/10.1016/j.xg...
Reposted by Shawn Burgess
Last week, I hosted John Young for our departmental seminar & we heard about his evo-devo approach to understanding bird and amphibian limb development!🦤🐥🐸
We were in the same PhD cohort at Berkeley (we realized that it was nigh on 20 yrs ago😶) & I love catching up with his lab each year at NESDB.
We were in the same PhD cohort at Berkeley (we realized that it was nigh on 20 yrs ago😶) & I love catching up with his lab each year at NESDB.
February 13, 2026 at 1:24 PM
Last week, I hosted John Young for our departmental seminar & we heard about his evo-devo approach to understanding bird and amphibian limb development!🦤🐥🐸
We were in the same PhD cohort at Berkeley (we realized that it was nigh on 20 yrs ago😶) & I love catching up with his lab each year at NESDB.
We were in the same PhD cohort at Berkeley (we realized that it was nigh on 20 yrs ago😶) & I love catching up with his lab each year at NESDB.
Reposted by Shawn Burgess
Facebook plans to put facial recognition in its glasses and they think we’re too stupid to fight back.
Their internal memo: “We will launch during a dynamic political environment where many civil society groups that we would expect to attack us would have their resources focused on other concerns.”
Their internal memo: “We will launch during a dynamic political environment where many civil society groups that we would expect to attack us would have their resources focused on other concerns.”
Meta Plans to Add Facial Recognition Technology to Its Smart Glasses
www.nytimes.com
February 13, 2026 at 12:16 PM
Facebook plans to put facial recognition in its glasses and they think we’re too stupid to fight back.
Their internal memo: “We will launch during a dynamic political environment where many civil society groups that we would expect to attack us would have their resources focused on other concerns.”
Their internal memo: “We will launch during a dynamic political environment where many civil society groups that we would expect to attack us would have their resources focused on other concerns.”
Reposted by Shawn Burgess
An animal model for cerebral small vessel disease
Zebrafish can be used to study the cellular mechanisms responsible for cerebral small vessel disease, which is a leading cause of stroke and dementia.
🔗 buff.ly/wchKmpT
Zebrafish can be used to study the cellular mechanisms responsible for cerebral small vessel disease, which is a leading cause of stroke and dementia.
🔗 buff.ly/wchKmpT
February 12, 2026 at 11:28 PM
An animal model for cerebral small vessel disease
Zebrafish can be used to study the cellular mechanisms responsible for cerebral small vessel disease, which is a leading cause of stroke and dementia.
🔗 buff.ly/wchKmpT
Zebrafish can be used to study the cellular mechanisms responsible for cerebral small vessel disease, which is a leading cause of stroke and dementia.
🔗 buff.ly/wchKmpT
I hope you are all watching #SchoolSpirits on Paramount+
The best TV show ever made (with involvement from one of my offspring).
www.imdb.com/title/tt2105...
The best TV show ever made (with involvement from one of my offspring).
www.imdb.com/title/tt2105...
School Spirits (TV Series 2023– ) ⭐ 7.7 | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
49m | TV-MA
www.imdb.com
February 12, 2026 at 9:15 PM
I hope you are all watching #SchoolSpirits on Paramount+
The best TV show ever made (with involvement from one of my offspring).
www.imdb.com/title/tt2105...
The best TV show ever made (with involvement from one of my offspring).
www.imdb.com/title/tt2105...
Reposted by Shawn Burgess
he's a nazi. he told us he was a nazi, he keeps doing nazi things. he's a nazi.
The silence of US elites about this remains stunning & utterly damning.
Elon Musk posted about race almost every day in January
Many social media posts by Tesla CEO on his platform are indiscernible from those of white supremacists, say experts
www.theguardian.com
February 12, 2026 at 8:38 PM
he's a nazi. he told us he was a nazi, he keeps doing nazi things. he's a nazi.
Reposted by Shawn Burgess
Reposted by Shawn Burgess
New preprint out!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
One of the most salient lessons I learned in all my adventures with screening and protein engineering is the importance of context. The context in which you test a gene or protein determines what function it has.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
One of the most salient lessons I learned in all my adventures with screening and protein engineering is the importance of context. The context in which you test a gene or protein determines what function it has.
February 6, 2026 at 4:32 PM
New preprint out!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
One of the most salient lessons I learned in all my adventures with screening and protein engineering is the importance of context. The context in which you test a gene or protein determines what function it has.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
One of the most salient lessons I learned in all my adventures with screening and protein engineering is the importance of context. The context in which you test a gene or protein determines what function it has.
Reposted by Shawn Burgess
Check out FlyCADD, a functional impact prediction tool ⚒️ for single-nucleotide variants in #Drosophila.
Read more in #GENETICS about how to use this tool for studying functional impacts of variants. buff.ly/Hts9Mjp
Read more in #GENETICS about how to use this tool for studying functional impacts of variants. buff.ly/Hts9Mjp
February 6, 2026 at 7:02 PM
Check out FlyCADD, a functional impact prediction tool ⚒️ for single-nucleotide variants in #Drosophila.
Read more in #GENETICS about how to use this tool for studying functional impacts of variants. buff.ly/Hts9Mjp
Read more in #GENETICS about how to use this tool for studying functional impacts of variants. buff.ly/Hts9Mjp