Mike Levin
@drmichaellevin.bsky.social
I'm a scientist at Tufts University; my lab studies anatomical and behavioral decision-making at multiple scales of biological, artificial, and hybrid systems. www.drmichaellevin.org
Pinned
Mike Levin
@drmichaellevin.bsky.social
· Nov 19
Forms of life, forms of mind | Dr. Michael Levin
Thoughts on the science and philosophy of embodied minds, and the lives that can be.
thoughtforms.life
Wordpress blog thoughtforms.life. Unlike drmichaellevin.org, here I post speculative ideas, personal thoughts on what our research means, nature photography, essays, interviews, etc. Register to be notified of books' progress, events, and news, access downloadable content, etc.
Reposted by Mike Levin
"Cognition all the way down". Great to see this fine new paper from @robertchisciure.bsky.social & @drmichaellevin.bsky.social out now in Synthese - introducing a new metric to quantify biological intelligence as search efficiency in multidimensional problem spaces link.springer.com/article/10.1...
November 10, 2025 at 2:46 PM
"Cognition all the way down". Great to see this fine new paper from @robertchisciure.bsky.social & @drmichaellevin.bsky.social out now in Synthese - introducing a new metric to quantify biological intelligence as search efficiency in multidimensional problem spaces link.springer.com/article/10.1...
New preprint:
arxiv.org/abs/2510.19976
"Morphological computational capacity of Physarum polycephalum"
Suyash Bajpai, Aviva Lucas-DeMott, @msahsorin.bsky.social, Philip Kurian
arxiv.org/abs/2510.19976
"Morphological computational capacity of Physarum polycephalum"
Suyash Bajpai, Aviva Lucas-DeMott, @msahsorin.bsky.social, Philip Kurian
Morphological computational capacity of Physarum polycephalum
While computational capacity limits of the universe and carbon-based life have been estimated, a stricter bound for aneural organisms has not been established. Physarum polycephalum, a unicellular, mu...
arxiv.org
November 10, 2025 at 2:16 PM
New preprint:
arxiv.org/abs/2510.19976
"Morphological computational capacity of Physarum polycephalum"
Suyash Bajpai, Aviva Lucas-DeMott, @msahsorin.bsky.social, Philip Kurian
arxiv.org/abs/2510.19976
"Morphological computational capacity of Physarum polycephalum"
Suyash Bajpai, Aviva Lucas-DeMott, @msahsorin.bsky.social, Philip Kurian
new paper with @robertchisciure.bsky.social
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
"Cognition all the way down 2.0: neuroscience beyond neurons in the diverse intelligence era"
🧪
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
"Cognition all the way down 2.0: neuroscience beyond neurons in the diverse intelligence era"
🧪
Cognition all the way down 2.0: neuroscience beyond neurons in the diverse intelligence era - Synthese
This paper formalizes biological intelligence as search efficiency in multi-scale problem spaces, aiming to resolve epistemic deadlocks in the basal “cognition wars” unfolding in the Diverse Intellige...
link.springer.com
November 7, 2025 at 12:31 AM
new paper with @robertchisciure.bsky.social
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
"Cognition all the way down 2.0: neuroscience beyond neurons in the diverse intelligence era"
🧪
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
"Cognition all the way down 2.0: neuroscience beyond neurons in the diverse intelligence era"
🧪
New paper:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
"New insights in the gut–brain axis: the role of bioelectrical microbiome"
Juan Lombardo-Hernandez, Jesús Mansilla-Guardiola, Stefano Geuna, Michael Levin, Celia Herrera-Rincon
#bioelectricity #microbiome
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
"New insights in the gut–brain axis: the role of bioelectrical microbiome"
Juan Lombardo-Hernandez, Jesús Mansilla-Guardiola, Stefano Geuna, Michael Levin, Celia Herrera-Rincon
#bioelectricity #microbiome
New insights in the gut–brain axis: the role of bioelectrical microbiome
The gut–brain axis describes the complex, bidirectional communication network connecting the central nervous system, the enteric nervous system, and t…
www.sciencedirect.com
October 22, 2025 at 11:37 PM
New paper:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
"New insights in the gut–brain axis: the role of bioelectrical microbiome"
Juan Lombardo-Hernandez, Jesús Mansilla-Guardiola, Stefano Geuna, Michael Levin, Celia Herrera-Rincon
#bioelectricity #microbiome
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
"New insights in the gut–brain axis: the role of bioelectrical microbiome"
Juan Lombardo-Hernandez, Jesús Mansilla-Guardiola, Stefano Geuna, Michael Levin, Celia Herrera-Rincon
#bioelectricity #microbiome
Official version is out - aging as loss of goal-directedness:
advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....
@bhartl.bsky.social
Léo Pio-Lopez
advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....
@bhartl.bsky.social
Léo Pio-Lopez
Aging as a Loss of Goal‐Directedness: An Evolutionary Simulation and Analysis Unifying Regeneration with Anatomical Rejuvenation
You have to enable JavaScript in your browser's settings in order to use the eReader.
advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
October 15, 2025 at 10:46 PM
Official version is out - aging as loss of goal-directedness:
advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....
@bhartl.bsky.social
Léo Pio-Lopez
advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....
@bhartl.bsky.social
Léo Pio-Lopez
Reposted by Mike Levin
New paper dropped!
Led by @thosvarley.bsky.social and Pai Vaibhav, we show that flows of information within a #xenobot resemble flows of information observed in adult human brains.
Thomas provides caveats and context below.
w/ @drmichaellevin.bsky.social, Caitlin Grasso, & Jeantine Lunshof.
Led by @thosvarley.bsky.social and Pai Vaibhav, we show that flows of information within a #xenobot resemble flows of information observed in adult human brains.
Thomas provides caveats and context below.
w/ @drmichaellevin.bsky.social, Caitlin Grasso, & Jeantine Lunshof.
October 12, 2025 at 12:52 PM
New paper dropped!
Led by @thosvarley.bsky.social and Pai Vaibhav, we show that flows of information within a #xenobot resemble flows of information observed in adult human brains.
Thomas provides caveats and context below.
w/ @drmichaellevin.bsky.social, Caitlin Grasso, & Jeantine Lunshof.
Led by @thosvarley.bsky.social and Pai Vaibhav, we show that flows of information within a #xenobot resemble flows of information observed in adult human brains.
Thomas provides caveats and context below.
w/ @drmichaellevin.bsky.social, Caitlin Grasso, & Jeantine Lunshof.
Reposted by Mike Levin
For those interested in our growing body of work on "polycomputation", here's my attempt to summarize it in 40 minutes:
youtu.be/XnObbF2FkE4?...
youtu.be/XnObbF2FkE4?...
Computational granular metamaterials (CGMMs)
YouTube video by Josh Bongard
youtu.be
October 9, 2025 at 4:33 PM
For those interested in our growing body of work on "polycomputation", here's my attempt to summarize it in 40 minutes:
youtu.be/XnObbF2FkE4?...
youtu.be/XnObbF2FkE4?...
Here's a talk that's quite different from ones I've given before, although it has connections to everything I often talk about, presented at #alife2025:
thoughtforms.life/meet-a-new-s...
(downloadable slides link there too). 🧪
thoughtforms.life/meet-a-new-s...
(downloadable slides link there too). 🧪
Forms of life, forms of mind | Dr. Michael Levin | Meet a new synthetic colleague: robot science as a translation tool between diverse intelligences
A video, and downloadable slides, of a presentation I gave on robot science and Xenobots at the 2025 Artificial Life meeting.
thoughtforms.life
October 11, 2025 at 8:12 PM
Here's a talk that's quite different from ones I've given before, although it has connections to everything I often talk about, presented at #alife2025:
thoughtforms.life/meet-a-new-s...
(downloadable slides link there too). 🧪
thoughtforms.life/meet-a-new-s...
(downloadable slides link there too). 🧪
Reposted by Mike Levin
Thanks for hosting us Foresight Institute!
(w/ @tarinz.bsky.social and @drmichaellevin.bsky.social)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCq2...
(w/ @tarinz.bsky.social and @drmichaellevin.bsky.social)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCq2...
Tarin Ziyaee, Mike Levin and Josh Bongard | Embodied Natural Intelligence VS Embodied AI
YouTube video by Foresight Institute
www.youtube.com
September 29, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Thanks for hosting us Foresight Institute!
(w/ @tarinz.bsky.social and @drmichaellevin.bsky.social)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCq2...
(w/ @tarinz.bsky.social and @drmichaellevin.bsky.social)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCq2...
New paper: Santosh Manicka
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
"Field-mediated bioelectric basis of morphogenetic prepatterning"
#morphogenesis #bioelectricity #fields
🧪
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
"Field-mediated bioelectric basis of morphogenetic prepatterning"
#morphogenesis #bioelectricity #fields
🧪
Field-mediated bioelectric basis of morphogenetic prepatterning
The endogenous electric field of a simplified bioelectric network model of an embryo
facilitates the autonomous formation of voltage patterns. Transient exogenous electric
fields can leverage this pro...
www.cell.com
September 29, 2025 at 3:07 PM
New paper: Santosh Manicka
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
"Field-mediated bioelectric basis of morphogenetic prepatterning"
#morphogenesis #bioelectricity #fields
🧪
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
"Field-mediated bioelectric basis of morphogenetic prepatterning"
#morphogenesis #bioelectricity #fields
🧪
New paper!
www.frontiersin.org/journals/psy...
"Temporal depth in a coherent self and in depersonalization: theoretical model"
@lancelotdacosta.bsky.social
@tolchinsky.bsky.social
Chris Fields
Daniel Friedman
Rachael Murphy
David Pincus
www.frontiersin.org/journals/psy...
"Temporal depth in a coherent self and in depersonalization: theoretical model"
@lancelotdacosta.bsky.social
@tolchinsky.bsky.social
Chris Fields
Daniel Friedman
Rachael Murphy
David Pincus
Frontiers | Temporal depth in a coherent self and in depersonalization: theoretical model
Multiple theoretical models of dissociative experiences have been formulated over the last century. These theories are clinically useful; however, it remains...
www.frontiersin.org
September 18, 2025 at 7:34 PM
New paper!
www.frontiersin.org/journals/psy...
"Temporal depth in a coherent self and in depersonalization: theoretical model"
@lancelotdacosta.bsky.social
@tolchinsky.bsky.social
Chris Fields
Daniel Friedman
Rachael Murphy
David Pincus
www.frontiersin.org/journals/psy...
"Temporal depth in a coherent self and in depersonalization: theoretical model"
@lancelotdacosta.bsky.social
@tolchinsky.bsky.social
Chris Fields
Daniel Friedman
Rachael Murphy
David Pincus
New #preprint - @bhartl.bsky.social , Léo Pio-Lopez
arxiv.org/abs/2509.11131
"Neural cellular automata: applications to biology and beyond classical AI"
arxiv.org/abs/2509.11131
"Neural cellular automata: applications to biology and beyond classical AI"
Neural cellular automata: applications to biology and beyond classical AI
Neural Cellular Automata (NCA) represent a powerful framework for modeling biological self-organization, extending classical rule-based systems with trainable, differentiable (or evolvable) update rul...
arxiv.org
September 16, 2025 at 11:40 AM
New #preprint - @bhartl.bsky.social , Léo Pio-Lopez
arxiv.org/abs/2509.11131
"Neural cellular automata: applications to biology and beyond classical AI"
arxiv.org/abs/2509.11131
"Neural cellular automata: applications to biology and beyond classical AI"
New #preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
@pigozzife.bsky.social, Tom Cirrito
- how to re-set memories in GRNs
- erasing memories doesn't reduce gains in causal emergence made while learning
- higher causal emergence is associated with more learning
-> asymmetric ratchet for intelligence
🧪
@pigozzife.bsky.social, Tom Cirrito
- how to re-set memories in GRNs
- erasing memories doesn't reduce gains in causal emergence made while learning
- higher causal emergence is associated with more learning
-> asymmetric ratchet for intelligence
🧪
AI-Guided Resetting of Memories in Gene Regulatory Network Models: biomedical and evolutionary implications
Molecular pathways such as gene-regulatory networks regulate numerous functions in cells and tissues that impact embryonic development, regenerative repair, aging, cancer, and many other aspects of he...
www.biorxiv.org
September 15, 2025 at 8:44 AM
New #preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
@pigozzife.bsky.social, Tom Cirrito
- how to re-set memories in GRNs
- erasing memories doesn't reduce gains in causal emergence made while learning
- higher causal emergence is associated with more learning
-> asymmetric ratchet for intelligence
🧪
@pigozzife.bsky.social, Tom Cirrito
- how to re-set memories in GRNs
- erasing memories doesn't reduce gains in causal emergence made while learning
- higher causal emergence is associated with more learning
-> asymmetric ratchet for intelligence
🧪
Final version:
"The Role of Bioelectrical Patterns in Regulative Morphogenesis: An Evolutionary Simulation and Validation in Planarian Regeneration"
ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/110...
🧪
"The Role of Bioelectrical Patterns in Regulative Morphogenesis: An Evolutionary Simulation and Validation in Planarian Regeneration"
ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/110...
🧪
The Role of Bioelectrical Patterns in Regulative Morphogenesis: An Evolutionary Simulation and Validation in Planarian Regeneration
Endogenous bioelectrical patterns are an important regulator of anatomical pattern during embryogenesis, regeneration, and cancer. While there are three known classes of instructive bioelectric patter...
ieeexplore.ieee.org
September 13, 2025 at 2:37 AM
Final version:
"The Role of Bioelectrical Patterns in Regulative Morphogenesis: An Evolutionary Simulation and Validation in Planarian Regeneration"
ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/110...
🧪
"The Role of Bioelectrical Patterns in Regulative Morphogenesis: An Evolutionary Simulation and Validation in Planarian Regeneration"
ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/110...
🧪
Reposted by Mike Levin
Can a single cell learn? Even without a brain, some microbes show simple forms of cognition. Can this basal cognition be engineered? Check our new paper with @jordiplam.bsky.social on the minimal synthetic circuits & their cognitive limits. @drmichaellevin.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
September 10, 2025 at 11:48 AM
Can a single cell learn? Even without a brain, some microbes show simple forms of cognition. Can this basal cognition be engineered? Check our new paper with @jordiplam.bsky.social on the minimal synthetic circuits & their cognitive limits. @drmichaellevin.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
New preprint,
osf.io/preprints/ps...
a commentary to @anilseth.bsky.social's pice at
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
🧪
osf.io/preprints/ps...
a commentary to @anilseth.bsky.social's pice at
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
🧪
September 9, 2025 at 1:53 AM
New preprint,
osf.io/preprints/ps...
a commentary to @anilseth.bsky.social's pice at
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
🧪
osf.io/preprints/ps...
a commentary to @anilseth.bsky.social's pice at
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
🧪
Reposted by Mike Levin
Our paper is published. Co-authored with @drmichaellevin.bsky.social , Chris Fields, @lancelotdacosta.bsky.social ta.bsky.social, Daniel Friedman, Rachael Murphy, David Pincus
www.frontiersin.org/journals/psy...
this work presents a computational model of dissociations
www.frontiersin.org/journals/psy...
this work presents a computational model of dissociations
Bluesky
ta.bsky.social
September 4, 2025 at 1:52 PM
Our paper is published. Co-authored with @drmichaellevin.bsky.social , Chris Fields, @lancelotdacosta.bsky.social ta.bsky.social, Daniel Friedman, Rachael Murphy, David Pincus
www.frontiersin.org/journals/psy...
this work presents a computational model of dissociations
www.frontiersin.org/journals/psy...
this work presents a computational model of dissociations
Are there computational models of the chemistry thought to be relevant to the origin of life? I know there's no consensus, but does anyone have an actually runnable simulation of any plausible chemical soup or reaction dynamics of any kind that are thought to be realistic for an OoL scenario?
September 1, 2025 at 10:33 PM
Are there computational models of the chemistry thought to be relevant to the origin of life? I know there's no consensus, but does anyone have an actually runnable simulation of any plausible chemical soup or reaction dynamics of any kind that are thought to be realistic for an OoL scenario?
Final version of paper is out:
www.cell.com/iscience/ful...
"Bioelectric characterization of senescing human keratinocytes"
#bioelectricity #aging
www.cell.com/iscience/ful...
"Bioelectric characterization of senescing human keratinocytes"
#bioelectricity #aging
Bioelectric characterization of senescing human keratinocytes
Biological sciences; Biotechnology; Bioengineering
www.cell.com
August 31, 2025 at 10:48 AM
Final version of paper is out:
www.cell.com/iscience/ful...
"Bioelectric characterization of senescing human keratinocytes"
#bioelectricity #aging
www.cell.com/iscience/ful...
"Bioelectric characterization of senescing human keratinocytes"
#bioelectricity #aging
New paper! Remember this:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
showing massive nerve growth following zolmitriptan application in frog model?
Well, now here it is in mammals!
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
"Sustained Serotonergic Stimulation Platform for Peripheral Axonal Regeneration"
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
showing massive nerve growth following zolmitriptan application in frog model?
Well, now here it is in mammals!
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
"Sustained Serotonergic Stimulation Platform for Peripheral Axonal Regeneration"
Serotonergic stimulation induces nerve growth and promotes visual learning via posterior eye grafts in a vertebrate model of induced sensory plasticity - npj Regenerative Medicine
A migraine drug that modulates neurotransmitter signaling can boost the neural connections of eyes grafted onto tadpoles to enhance vision. Michael Levin and colleagues from Tufts University in Medfor...
www.nature.com
August 26, 2025 at 10:08 PM
New paper! Remember this:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
showing massive nerve growth following zolmitriptan application in frog model?
Well, now here it is in mammals!
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
"Sustained Serotonergic Stimulation Platform for Peripheral Axonal Regeneration"
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
showing massive nerve growth following zolmitriptan application in frog model?
Well, now here it is in mammals!
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
"Sustained Serotonergic Stimulation Platform for Peripheral Axonal Regeneration"
New preprint: arxiv.org/abs/2508.11423
"Open Questions about Time and Self-reference in Living Systems"
by Samson Abramsky, Wolfgang Banzhaf, Leo S. D. Caves, Michael Levin, Penousal Machado, Charles Ofria, Susan Stepney, Roger White
🧪
"Open Questions about Time and Self-reference in Living Systems"
by Samson Abramsky, Wolfgang Banzhaf, Leo S. D. Caves, Michael Levin, Penousal Machado, Charles Ofria, Susan Stepney, Roger White
🧪
Open Questions about Time and Self-reference in Living Systems
Living systems exhibit a range of fundamental characteristics: they are active, self-referential, self-modifying systems. This paper explores how these characteristics create challenges for convention...
arxiv.org
August 18, 2025 at 10:05 AM
New preprint: arxiv.org/abs/2508.11423
"Open Questions about Time and Self-reference in Living Systems"
by Samson Abramsky, Wolfgang Banzhaf, Leo S. D. Caves, Michael Levin, Penousal Machado, Charles Ofria, Susan Stepney, Roger White
🧪
"Open Questions about Time and Self-reference in Living Systems"
by Samson Abramsky, Wolfgang Banzhaf, Leo S. D. Caves, Michael Levin, Penousal Machado, Charles Ofria, Susan Stepney, Roger White
🧪
August 13, 2025 at 11:19 AM
