Elisabetta Versace
@elisabettaversace.bsky.social
into the rabbit holes of cognition, physics, perception, evolution, animal behaviour, research culture, solaristics, "War and peace". Freedom and peace. Head of @preparedmindslab.bsky.social - https://www.youtube.com/@preparedmindslab9276
Pinned
1/n We have discovered that bees can keep track of time duration!
Bees can discriminate long 🟡🟡 vs short🟡 flashes, a bit like the "dash" and "dot" of the Morse code.
Check our new paper royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/... and videoclip youtu.be/hsGxU65OMQk?... @preparedmindslab.bsky.social
Bees can discriminate long 🟡🟡 vs short🟡 flashes, a bit like the "dash" and "dot" of the Morse code.
Check our new paper royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/... and videoclip youtu.be/hsGxU65OMQk?... @preparedmindslab.bsky.social
For this grant proposal I am writing, they require a non-scientific part longer and more difficult to understand and complete than the scientific one! Solidarity to my fellow grant writers and: this also impacts cost–benefit analyses of grant proposals www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Point of no returns: researchers are crossing a threshold in the fight for funding
With so little money to go round, the costs of competing for grants can exceed what the grants are worth. When that happens, nobody wins.
www.nature.com
January 18, 2026 at 9:45 PM
For this grant proposal I am writing, they require a non-scientific part longer and more difficult to understand and complete than the scientific one! Solidarity to my fellow grant writers and: this also impacts cost–benefit analyses of grant proposals www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Elisabetta Versace
"We find that questionable research practices (QRPs) are widespread across all fields of research and seniority levels. Yet, younger, more prolific researchers, and those dismissing the seriousness of QRPs admitted to more QRPs"
journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...
journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...
The ‘shades of grey’ in research integrity—Researchers admit to questionable research practices that they do not perceive to be serious
Research misconduct practices like fabrication, falsification and plagiarism (FFP) are serious deviations from good research conduct, which have attracted attention in the literature due to the damage...
journals.plos.org
January 18, 2026 at 2:02 PM
"We find that questionable research practices (QRPs) are widespread across all fields of research and seniority levels. Yet, younger, more prolific researchers, and those dismissing the seriousness of QRPs admitted to more QRPs"
journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...
journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...
Reposted by Elisabetta Versace
Can also recommend, and there was a nice chapter-by-chapter reading club of it with Georg and lots of other great speakers - videos still up here:
sites.google.com/view/bbtread...
sites.google.com/view/bbtread...
January 17, 2026 at 12:04 PM
Can also recommend, and there was a nice chapter-by-chapter reading club of it with Georg and lots of other great speakers - videos still up here:
sites.google.com/view/bbtread...
sites.google.com/view/bbtread...
On the responsibility of those that kill people and condemn people to suffering… for the “after” if this can’t be stopped now
… www.thenation.com/article/soci...
… www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Trump’s Death Eaters Are Coming for Our Kids
After taking countless lives around the world, RFK Jr. and his ghoulish compatriots want American children to suffer too.
www.thenation.com
January 15, 2026 at 11:29 PM
On the responsibility of those that kill people and condemn people to suffering… for the “after” if this can’t be stopped now
… www.thenation.com/article/soci...
… www.thenation.com/article/soci...
very interesting "On Evaluating Cognitive Capabilities in Machines (and Other "Alien" Intelligences)" open.substack.com/pub/aiguide/... by @melaniemitchell.bsky.social
On Evaluating Cognitive Capabilities in Machines (and Other "Alien" Intelligences)
(Apologies for the length of this post, which means it gets cut off in the email version.
open.substack.com
January 14, 2026 at 9:14 PM
very interesting "On Evaluating Cognitive Capabilities in Machines (and Other "Alien" Intelligences)" open.substack.com/pub/aiguide/... by @melaniemitchell.bsky.social
Reposted by Elisabetta Versace
Some days feel like the universe is piling it on just to see if you’ll finally crack, and yet you still put your boots back on and keep going. #CalvinandHobbes #OneOfThoseDays
January 12, 2026 at 7:01 PM
Some days feel like the universe is piling it on just to see if you’ll finally crack, and yet you still put your boots back on and keep going. #CalvinandHobbes #OneOfThoseDays
oh wow! This is made very clear in the details! 🤍
"The Brains of Reptiles and Birds"
Güntürkün, M. Stacho, F. Ströckens
www.sciencedirect.com/science/chap...
www.bio.psy.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/bpsy/mam/con...
"The Brains of Reptiles and Birds"
Güntürkün, M. Stacho, F. Ströckens
www.sciencedirect.com/science/chap...
www.bio.psy.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/bpsy/mam/con...
January 11, 2026 at 5:50 PM
oh wow! This is made very clear in the details! 🤍
"The Brains of Reptiles and Birds"
Güntürkün, M. Stacho, F. Ströckens
www.sciencedirect.com/science/chap...
www.bio.psy.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/bpsy/mam/con...
"The Brains of Reptiles and Birds"
Güntürkün, M. Stacho, F. Ströckens
www.sciencedirect.com/science/chap...
www.bio.psy.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/bpsy/mam/con...
Reposted by Elisabetta Versace
Another little boy has just died from flu.
This year’s flu vaccine has been shown to reduce the risk of pediatric hospitalization from influenza by 72-75%.
It’s not too late to get vaccinated.
This year’s flu vaccine has been shown to reduce the risk of pediatric hospitalization from influenza by 72-75%.
It’s not too late to get vaccinated.
2-Year-Old Dies from the Flu: ‘Our Baby Boy Gained His Wings’
The New Jersey Department of Health confirmed that it has recorded its first pediatric flu death of the 2025-2026 season. The child's family identified him as 2-year-old Isaias Castillo IV of Livingst...
people.com
January 10, 2026 at 9:59 PM
Another little boy has just died from flu.
This year’s flu vaccine has been shown to reduce the risk of pediatric hospitalization from influenza by 72-75%.
It’s not too late to get vaccinated.
This year’s flu vaccine has been shown to reduce the risk of pediatric hospitalization from influenza by 72-75%.
It’s not too late to get vaccinated.
Reposted by Elisabetta Versace
Bertrand Russell - Message To Future Generations (1959)
YouTube video by PhilosophieKanal
www.youtube.com
February 25, 2025 at 11:30 AM
The Neurological Basis of Affective Touch www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDXF... by @frantac.bsky.social
The Neurological Basis of Affective Touch - Prof Francis McGlone Keynote Speech
YouTube video by Play Therapy UK (PTUK)
www.youtube.com
January 9, 2026 at 10:19 AM
The Neurological Basis of Affective Touch www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDXF... by @frantac.bsky.social
Reposted by Elisabetta Versace
In another legal win for U.S. universities, a panel of appellate judges has upheld a lower court ruling blocking the National Institutes of Health from sharply reducing the funding it gives institutions to cover the overhead costs of supporting their NIH grants. https://scim.ag/45C2KLt
Appeals court agrees that NIH cannot reduce overhead payments to academic institutions
Judges uphold injunction by lower court against a 15% flat rate for indirect costs
www.science.org
January 7, 2026 at 11:30 PM
In another legal win for U.S. universities, a panel of appellate judges has upheld a lower court ruling blocking the National Institutes of Health from sharply reducing the funding it gives institutions to cover the overhead costs of supporting their NIH grants. https://scim.ag/45C2KLt
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
"Chicken hens express their affective states via bare facial skin blushing and head feather movements"
"Chicken hens express their affective states via bare facial skin blushing and head feather movements"
January 7, 2026 at 5:31 PM
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
"Chicken hens express their affective states via bare facial skin blushing and head feather movements"
"Chicken hens express their affective states via bare facial skin blushing and head feather movements"
comparative perspective on pleasure + neuroscience www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Berridge, K. C., & Kringelbach, M. L. (2015).
Pleasure systems in the brain.
Neuron, 86(3), 646–664.
Berridge, K. C., & Kringelbach, M. L. (2015).
Pleasure systems in the brain.
Neuron, 86(3), 646–664.
www.sciencedirect.com
January 7, 2026 at 4:27 PM
comparative perspective on pleasure + neuroscience www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Berridge, K. C., & Kringelbach, M. L. (2015).
Pleasure systems in the brain.
Neuron, 86(3), 646–664.
Berridge, K. C., & Kringelbach, M. L. (2015).
Pleasure systems in the brain.
Neuron, 86(3), 646–664.
Reposted by Elisabetta Versace
The U.S. Congress has delivered another rebuke of President Donald Trump’s plans to slash this year’s budgets of several science agencies. https://scim.ag/49G7Zwe
Congress set to reject Trump’s major budget cuts to NSF, NASA, and energy science
Appropriators agree instead to keep this year’s spending nearly level
www.science.org
January 7, 2026 at 2:35 PM
The U.S. Congress has delivered another rebuke of President Donald Trump’s plans to slash this year’s budgets of several science agencies. https://scim.ag/49G7Zwe
Reposted by Elisabetta Versace
Highly recommended! I just finished a cover-to-cover read, and it's a great addition to the avian sensory ecology literature with excellent discussions of the links between brain & behavior. I prefer reading paper books (better retention) but the whole thing is freely downloadable! bit.ly/482xPZm 🦉🧠
November 20, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Highly recommended! I just finished a cover-to-cover read, and it's a great addition to the avian sensory ecology literature with excellent discussions of the links between brain & behavior. I prefer reading paper books (better retention) but the whole thing is freely downloadable! bit.ly/482xPZm 🦉🧠
Reposted by Elisabetta Versace
December 31, 2025 at 9:03 PM
Caterpillars suppress nocifensive behaviours during the quiescent ‘sphinx’ state
doi.org/10.1098/rsbl...
doi.org/10.1098/rsbl...
January 4, 2026 at 8:59 PM
Caterpillars suppress nocifensive behaviours during the quiescent ‘sphinx’ state
doi.org/10.1098/rsbl...
doi.org/10.1098/rsbl...
a reminder that humankind is also capable of things other than violence and the worship of money www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zy3U...
Albrecht Dürer the printmaker | National Gallery
YouTube video by The National Gallery
youtu.be
January 4, 2026 at 6:41 PM
a reminder that humankind is also capable of things other than violence and the worship of money www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zy3U...
Article11 Italian constitution
"Italy rejects war as an offensive instrument against the freedom of other peoples and as a means for settling international disputes;[…] it promotes and encourages international organizations furthering such an order.” More here www.senato.it/istituzione/...
"Italy rejects war as an offensive instrument against the freedom of other peoples and as a means for settling international disputes;[…] it promotes and encourages international organizations furthering such an order.” More here www.senato.it/istituzione/...
La Costituzione - Articolo 11 | Senato della Repubblica
L'Italia ripudia la guerra come strumento di offesa alla libertà degli altri popoli e come mezzo di risoluzione delle controversie internazionali; consente, in condizioni di parità con gli altri Stati...
www.senato.it
January 3, 2026 at 11:00 PM
Article11 Italian constitution
"Italy rejects war as an offensive instrument against the freedom of other peoples and as a means for settling international disputes;[…] it promotes and encourages international organizations furthering such an order.” More here www.senato.it/istituzione/...
"Italy rejects war as an offensive instrument against the freedom of other peoples and as a means for settling international disputes;[…] it promotes and encourages international organizations furthering such an order.” More here www.senato.it/istituzione/...
on the benefits of ‘open science’ (not sure why the titleemphasises doubts rather than the documented benefits) www.science.org/content/arti...
Is ‘open science’ delivering benefits? Major study finds proof is sparse
It’s hard to measure social and economic impacts of making papers and data free, researchers say
www.science.org
January 3, 2026 at 1:40 PM
on the benefits of ‘open science’ (not sure why the titleemphasises doubts rather than the documented benefits) www.science.org/content/arti...
"A systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials of well-being-focused interventions" www.nature.com/articles/s41... confirms the effect of different well-being approaches (including a cumulative effect of psychological + physical approaches)
A systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials of well-being-focused interventions - Nature Human Behaviour
This network meta-analysis of 183 trials of well-being interventions from across disciplines found that yoga, mindfulness, compassion, exercise and positive psychology improved adult well-being, with ...
www.nature.com
January 2, 2026 at 6:21 PM
"A systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials of well-being-focused interventions" www.nature.com/articles/s41... confirms the effect of different well-being approaches (including a cumulative effect of psychological + physical approaches)
Reposted by Elisabetta Versace
From glowing neurons to newborn memories, here are the most fascinating brain discoveries of 2025
The 10 Most Mind-Blowing Discoveries About the Brain in 2025
From glowing neurons to newborn memories, here are the most fascinating brain discoveries of 2025
www.scientificamerican.com
December 31, 2025 at 7:21 PM
From glowing neurons to newborn memories, here are the most fascinating brain discoveries of 2025
"Poisoning Attacks on LLMs Require a Near-constant Number of Poison Samples" arxiv.org/abs/2510.07192
December 30, 2025 at 7:51 AM
"Poisoning Attacks on LLMs Require a Near-constant Number of Poison Samples" arxiv.org/abs/2510.07192
After “slaughterhouse-5” by Kurt Vonnegut, these essays by Sebald on “Luftkrieg und Literatur” —> “Storia naturale della distruzione” / “Natural history of devastation”
December 27, 2025 at 11:28 AM
After “slaughterhouse-5” by Kurt Vonnegut, these essays by Sebald on “Luftkrieg und Literatur” —> “Storia naturale della distruzione” / “Natural history of devastation”