Zen Faulkes | Lightnews

Zen Faulkes @doctorzen.net · 20h

Sometimes it’s money, yes. But pride can also motivate people.

Zen Faulkes @doctorzen.net · 21h

Reading up on cell death to prepare a lecture and was not expecting to stumble across a figure of "Death playing pool" in a scientific journal.

Happy I did, yes, expecting I would, no.

doi.org/10.1038/s414...

Death playing pool with balls marked with molecules that regulate cell death, and pockets labelled "Survival," "Apopotosis," Pyroptosis," and "Necroptosis."

Zen Faulkes @doctorzen.net · 22h

WARNING ⚠️: Contains me.

Also: Free! 🆓

Reproducibility for Everyone (R4E) @repro4everyone.bsky.social · 23h

R4E is hosting a webinar for all, no cost. Learn how to design an effective poster webinar
www.repro4everyone.org/blog/r4e-web...
Thank-you to @addgene.bsky.social for sponsorship! #AcademicSky #EduSky #neuroskyence

Zen Faulkes @doctorzen.net · 23h

Typography matters, example #491,360.

Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 23h

And my personal favorite poster, "Which Bounce Cunts"

a posterboard with black text that reads "Which bounce counts" but the o in counts is a basketball and too small so it just looks like it's saying "Which bounce cunts". It has the question "how does the drop height affect the bounce of a ball?" and test "I dropped a ball from 3 heights measured the height of the bounce"

Zen Faulkes @doctorzen.net · 23h

Fixating on a single thing to "prove" is VERY common in science deniers and cranks and quacks.

They think, "If we can be right about THIS, it proves that the establishment is wrong and corrupt."

They are still mad about decisions made 5 years ago and are trying to prove themselves right.

Reproducibility for Everyone (R4E) @repro4everyone.bsky.social · 23h

R4E is hosting a webinar for all, no cost. Learn how to design an effective poster webinar
www.repro4everyone.org/blog/r4e-web...
Thank-you to @addgene.bsky.social for sponsorship! #AcademicSky #EduSky #neuroskyence

Zen Faulkes @doctorzen.net · 23h

It's typical crank behaviour. As I said earlier today, MAHA is obsessed with ivermectin for the same reason creationists are stuck on peppered moths.

They think if they can be right about ONE THING it proves that "the establishment" AS A WHOLE is not only wrong but corrupt, and it vindicates them.

Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 23h

And my personal favorite poster, "Which Bounce Cunts"

Zen Faulkes @doctorzen.net · 1d

Somehow missed last week that a university employee got fired after saying on hidden camera how they had adjusted events in light of anti-DEI laws.

Karen Benjamin Guzzo @karenguzzo.bsky.social · 1d

Yesterday, there were rumors that there were undercover groups on campus trying to record UNC faculty or staff saying something on camera that could get them fired. Similar to what happened other campuses, like NC State.

NC State Pride Center official no longer employed after new undercover video

An activist group shared a video Thursday of the employee explaining his approach to DEI. By Friday morning, he was no longer employed by NC State.

www.newsobserver.com

Zen Faulkes @doctorzen.net · 1d

MAHA is obsessed with ivermectin for the same reason creationists are stuck on peppered moths.

They think if they can be right about just this one thing it proves that "the establishment" as a whole is wrong and corrupt.

Colette Delawalla @cdelawalla.bsky.social · 1d

Top line NIH funding levels DOES NOT MATTER when the people who control the purse strings are bad actors.

Thanks for coming to my "seething commentary" TEDtalk.

www.statnews.com/2026/02/10/i...

National Cancer Institute studying ivermectin’s ‘ability to kill cancer cells,’ alarming career scientists

The National Cancer Institute is studying ivermectin as a potential cancer treatment, according to its top official, alarming career scientists.

www.statnews.com

Zen Faulkes @doctorzen.net · 1d

More than half of biologists serving on search committees or reviewing grants report using the journal Impact Factor to judge credibility of research articles - despite all the known problems of Impact Factors.

😖

Hey! Sign DORA!

peerj.com/articles/205...

A survey of how biology researchers assess credibility when serving on grant and hiring committees

Researchers who serve on grant review and hiring committees have to make decisions about the intrinsic value of research in short periods of time, and research impact metrics such Journal Impact Facto...

peerj.com

Karen Benjamin Guzzo @karenguzzo.bsky.social · 1d

Yesterday, there were rumors that there were undercover groups on campus trying to record UNC faculty or staff saying something on camera that could get them fired. Similar to what happened other campuses, like NC State.

NC State Pride Center official no longer employed after new undercover video

An activist group shared a video Thursday of the employee explaining his approach to DEI. By Friday morning, he was no longer employed by NC State.

www.newsobserver.com

Zen Faulkes @doctorzen.net · 1d

🤔

Not setting off AI alarm bells for me. Looks more like misued BioRender stock images.

Zen Faulkes @doctorzen.net · 1d

Is it cheating if the band does both a French and English version?

French version, anyway.

youtu.be/w_-VhNwRg0k

Zen Faulkes @doctorzen.net · 1d

Laura Branigan had a hit with an English cover, but I always preferred the original French version.

youtu.be/7udfLxRfnXs

Zen Faulkes @doctorzen.net · 1d

I don't think there is a more iconic invasive species, full stop, end of story.

Theo Sanderson @theo.io · 2d

I made a map of 3.4 million Bluesky users - see if you can find yourself!

bluesky-map.theo.io

I've seen some similar projects, but IMO this seems to better capture some of the fine-grained detail

Bluesky Map

Interactive map of 3.4 million Bluesky users, visualised by their follower pattern.

bluesky-map.theo.io

Zen Faulkes @doctorzen.net · 3d

I live in one state and work in another! So weird!

Zen Faulkes @doctorzen.net · 3d

Read the replies.

Adam Rothman aced his cognitive test @adamrothman.bsky.social · 4d

I'd watch a muppet show movie where the muppets infiltrate an academic conference.

Adam Rothman aced his cognitive test @adamrothman.bsky.social · 4d

I'd watch a muppet show movie where the muppets infiltrate an academic conference.

Andy Moore @aaandmoore.bsky.social · 4d

Not something you see in textbooks very often: tripolar mitosis.

Emily Gardner @emfurd.bsky.social · 4d

Many students said they were careful to avoid "banned words" in their GRFP applications, but in some cases it was unavoidable. Now they're wondering if these words led to their RWR notifications.

“My project is about bears and ‘black’ is a trigger word,” one Redditor wrote. “Insane.”

Eos @eos.org · 4d

Students applying for NSF funding are having their applications “returned without review” for being “ineligible,” despite their proposed research falling squarely within the application guidelines. eos.org/research-and...

Graduate Students’ NSF Fellowship Applications Are Being “Returned Without Review” - Eos

Graduate students applying for NSF funding have had their applications returned without review—even though their proposed research appears to fall squarely within the fields of study outlined in the p...

eos.org

Zen Faulkes @doctorzen.net · 4d

Link card preview #fail.

International Society for Neuroethology @neuroethology.org · 4d

It is not only about "reward" or "punishment" when insects learn. A new study @royalsocietypublishing.org shows that Drosophila larvae learn relative values to a set of odors, i.e., less or more rewarding than other odors. royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article...

Relative value learning in Drosophila melanogaster larvae

Abstract. The ability to learn from past experiences to inform future decision making is crucial for humans and animals alike. One question with important

royalsocietypublishing.org

International Society for Neuroethology @neuroethology.org · 4d

It is not only about "reward" or "punishment" when insects learn. A new study @royalsocietypublishing.org shows that Drosophila larvae learn relative values to a set of odors, i.e., less or more rewarding than other odors. royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article...

Relative value learning in Drosophila melanogaster larvae

Abstract. The ability to learn from past experiences to inform future decision making is crucial for humans and animals alike. One question with important

royalsocietypublishing.org

Zen Faulkes @doctorzen.net · 4d

I'm thinking period costume drama. Elizabeth: The Golden Age.

Zen Faulkes @doctorzen.net · 4d

Except Suicide Squad.

Zen Faulkes @doctorzen.net · 4d

Long but good analysis of recent Science editorial.

Organizations like AAAS (and so many more) are failing to meet the moment because they cannot imagine the status quo collapsing. They have no "crisis mode."

Joshua Weitz @joshuasweitz.bsky.social · 5d

Science EIC Thorp would like to have it both ways:

1) Credited for being reasonable in acknowledging the importance of (i) quiet insiders & (ii) activists in confronting cuts to science.

2) Clear on who he thinks really deserves the credit for the wins: insiders.

🧵
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

A tale of many twos

For the American scientific enterprise, the past year has seemed awash in contradiction. On the one hand, it has produced great upheavals and losses for US science. Many universities experienced some ...

www.science.org

The girl with the Garfield tattoo @themaplewitch.bsky.social · 4d

Everyone brings up a Muppets Christmas Carol as an example of a movie where the human actor plays against Muppets like it’s serious film, but what if we made A completely human movie, however the female lead is Miss piggy, completely straight laced, as if it is Miss piggy’s dramatic acting debut.

Zen Faulkes @doctorzen.net · 5d

Conference poster challenge:

Your poster in the style of a 1950s jazz album

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