David Hu
@drdavidhu.bsky.social
Scientist and author of HOW TO WALK ON WATER AND CLIMB UP WALLS https://goo.gl/vVHv3d Profile in @nytimes: https://goo.gl/mu2rMT Proud winner of @IgNobel
Pinned
David Hu
@drdavidhu.bsky.social
· May 24
New True Facts! Insect Waterbenders!
youtu.be/H5bZ4Vk2u7M?...
youtu.be/H5bZ4Vk2u7M?...
True Facts: Insect Water Walkers
YouTube video by Ze Frank
youtu.be
this hilarious video is going in my first lecture to ME undergrads this fall!
Insightful analysis. A squirrel tail looks like a rat tail when wet
Just glad Splatatouille's family can finally have some closure x
Scientists Studied The Infamous "Chicago Rat Hole" And They Have Some Bad News
The "Chicago rat hole" became so famous it is now housed in the City Hall-County Building. Scientists studying it found a few surprises, and some grim news.
www.iflscience.com
October 16, 2025 at 7:40 AM
Insightful analysis. A squirrel tail looks like a rat tail when wet
Reposted by David Hu
WOW! Our survey of scientists who stopped using Twitter and started using Bluesky is now the #1 most-shared on social media article in the history of the journal Integrative and Comparative Biology! Thanks for reading it, everyone! @sicbjournals.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1093/icb/... 🧪
doi.org/10.1093/icb/... 🧪
Scientists no Longer Find Twitter Professionally Useful, and have Switched to Bluesky
Synopsis. Social media has become widely used by the scientific community for a variety of professional uses, including networking and public outreach. For
doi.org
October 15, 2025 at 7:29 PM
WOW! Our survey of scientists who stopped using Twitter and started using Bluesky is now the #1 most-shared on social media article in the history of the journal Integrative and Comparative Biology! Thanks for reading it, everyone! @sicbjournals.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1093/icb/... 🧪
doi.org/10.1093/icb/... 🧪
My kid drew figure 2. Great chance to share @danielecarlesso.bsky.social with the family
Excited to share an awesome piece by @drdavidhu.bsky.social in @currentbiology.bsky.social @cellpress.bsky.social about our latest paper!
Curious to know how weaver #ants achieve superefficiency when working together? Check it out! 🐜🐜🐜
www.cell.com/current-biol...
Curious to know how weaver #ants achieve superefficiency when working together? Check it out! 🐜🐜🐜
www.cell.com/current-biol...
Cooperative behavior: Superefficient weaver ants
Teamwork has long faced a dilemma: as team members are added, the effectiveness of
each individual decreases — a phenomenon known as ‘Ringelmann’s effect’. A new study
shows that weaver ants in pullin...
www.cell.com
September 10, 2025 at 6:54 PM
My kid drew figure 2. Great chance to share @danielecarlesso.bsky.social with the family
“The ability to tell the truth, especially when it does not suit any particularly partisan aims, is an essential prerequisite for a free society” great article
My new @science.org editorial on the role of scientists in defending democracy is out today. As authoritarianism takes hold in the US, we must fight for the democratic principles that enable a free society and scientists have a key role. I hope you'll join us.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Scientists’ role in defending democracy
The United States’ democratic leadership, commitment to freedom of expression, and investment in the pursuit of knowledge have long enabled its preeminence in science and technology. Yet today we are ...
www.science.org
August 15, 2025 at 11:03 AM
“The ability to tell the truth, especially when it does not suit any particularly partisan aims, is an essential prerequisite for a free society” great article
Reposted by David Hu
Look. At. This. (!). A fungus spore landed on this weevil. Grew inside and caused it to climb to the top of this plant- while the fungus killed it. Consumed its body. Used that energy to shoot up a red fruiting body to release more spores. To zombify more weevils. A mind controlling killer fungus.
May 29, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Look. At. This. (!). A fungus spore landed on this weevil. Grew inside and caused it to climb to the top of this plant- while the fungus killed it. Consumed its body. Used that energy to shoot up a red fruiting body to release more spores. To zombify more weevils. A mind controlling killer fungus.
Reposted by David Hu
Call for contributions to our symposium on animal collective movement in complex environments at SICB 2026 in Portland, OR! Submit your abstract to our complementary sessions and join us for two days of fun discussing and exchanging research on the biomechanics and energetics of animal movement!
August 1, 2025 at 8:53 PM
Call for contributions to our symposium on animal collective movement in complex environments at SICB 2026 in Portland, OR! Submit your abstract to our complementary sessions and join us for two days of fun discussing and exchanging research on the biomechanics and energetics of animal movement!
“This trabecular bone is highly anisotropic with trabecular orientations reflecting the mechanical load distribution along the limb” very interesting . I didn’t know bone could grow like that
lovely to come back from holiday to find this paper is now out -- I really enjoyed collaborating with @camillebader.bsky.social, @houssayecnrs.bsky.social, @johnrhutchinson.bsky.social et al on this 🦣🦴
Oh! Another paper! From @camillebader.bsky.social Camille Bader's PhD, with Alexandra Houssaye @houssayecnrs.bsky.social. Elephant limb bone microanatomy reflects bone function and posture.
Paper:
academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/a...
Tons of CT scan DICOM files:
figshare.com/articles/dat...
Paper:
academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/a...
Tons of CT scan DICOM files:
figshare.com/articles/dat...
July 31, 2025 at 11:20 AM
“This trabecular bone is highly anisotropic with trabecular orientations reflecting the mechanical load distribution along the limb” very interesting . I didn’t know bone could grow like that
Reposted by David Hu
@biologycarly.bsky.social has new #book The Salmon Cannon and the Levitating Frog,
featuring @drdavidhu.bsky.social & many more!
www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/carly....
"A brilliant new voice in #science writing—”witty, whip-smart, truly one of our best” (Mary Roach)
#science #research
featuring @drdavidhu.bsky.social & many more!
www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/carly....
"A brilliant new voice in #science writing—”witty, whip-smart, truly one of our best” (Mary Roach)
#science #research
May 30, 2025 at 2:36 PM
@biologycarly.bsky.social has new #book The Salmon Cannon and the Levitating Frog,
featuring @drdavidhu.bsky.social & many more!
www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/carly....
"A brilliant new voice in #science writing—”witty, whip-smart, truly one of our best” (Mary Roach)
#science #research
featuring @drdavidhu.bsky.social & many more!
www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/carly....
"A brilliant new voice in #science writing—”witty, whip-smart, truly one of our best” (Mary Roach)
#science #research
this hilarious video is going in my first lecture to ME undergrads this fall!
New True Facts! Insect Waterbenders!
youtu.be/H5bZ4Vk2u7M?...
youtu.be/H5bZ4Vk2u7M?...
True Facts: Insect Water Walkers
YouTube video by Ze Frank
youtu.be
May 24, 2025 at 8:40 AM
this hilarious video is going in my first lecture to ME undergrads this fall!
Reposted by David Hu
I know you all know this, but apparently it needs to be said that basic science is a NECESSARY PRECURSOR to translational science
NSF to ONLY fund research in five areas: artificial intelligence, quantum information science, biotechnology, nuclear energy, and translational science. Can this be happening?
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
NSF slashes number of ‘rotators’ and well-paid managers as part of restructuring
Smaller future budgets will require fewer people, NSF official tells staff
www.science.org
May 9, 2025 at 11:57 PM
I know you all know this, but apparently it needs to be said that basic science is a NECESSARY PRECURSOR to translational science
funding research is not a cost...its an investment!
This response by @jeremymberg.bsky.social is powerful. Saying the US does more than its share of scientific research is "like saying we're getting more than our share of economic growth", given our 2 1/2 fold return on every dollar invested in research. Forbes says cuts will cost the US $10bn/yr.
Senator Durbin noted that some (I believe Republican Senators) had indicated the US had been doing more than its share of biomedical research and it was time for other countries take a turn.
I felt I had to interrupt to respond...
I felt I had to interrupt to respond...
May 24, 2025 at 7:41 AM
funding research is not a cost...its an investment!
A figure is worth a thousand words-- especially true for scientific papers. Great article by double major in journalism and biology @mckennasweet.bsky.social . Thanks to @kaytrue.bsky.social for getting me into the UW Daily!
Very nice article by UW undergraduate @mckennasweet.bsky.social on @drdavidhu.bsky.social's lecture at @uwchemistry.bsky.social in which McKenna explores how David found inspiration for some of his scientific directions and how he communicates his results effectively: www.dailyuw.com/science/mosq...
‘Mosquitoes, earwax, and bird baths’: David Hu gives 2025 Paul C. Cross Endowed Lecture in Physical Chemistry
Professor David Hu educated an audience about where mosquitoes target people, how mammal earwax protects against insects, and the specifics of birds bathing in just under an hour May 6
www.dailyuw.com
May 22, 2025 at 8:45 PM
A figure is worth a thousand words-- especially true for scientific papers. Great article by double major in journalism and biology @mckennasweet.bsky.social . Thanks to @kaytrue.bsky.social for getting me into the UW Daily!
hydrostatic paradoxes are a great way to engage undergraduates
May 12, 2025 at 2:12 PM
hydrostatic paradoxes are a great way to engage undergraduates