Mark A. Hanson
@hansonmark.bsky.social
New PI interested in #immune #evolution, host #pathogen interactions, and #ScientificPublishing @ University of Exeter, UK. He/him.
#immunity #infection #antimicrobialpeptides #microbiome #Drosophila #AcademicSky #AcademicChatter #OpenScience 🇨🇦
#immunity #infection #antimicrobialpeptides #microbiome #Drosophila #AcademicSky #AcademicChatter #OpenScience 🇨🇦
Pinned
Mark A. Hanson
@hansonmark.bsky.social
· Aug 14
A reminder you/your lab can support FlyBase at Cambridge through the following link. Every bit helps. Please share if you yourself can't donate.
www.philanthropy.cam.ac.uk/give-to-camb...
www.philanthropy.cam.ac.uk/give-to-camb...
People can appreciate science without AI?
Sorry to dunk on this but someone has to break up the chorus - qed isn't ready @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social
Do you implicitly want to send people to AI spin over the paper itself? Not what we're fighting for in #SciPub #AcademicSky #ResearchIntegrity
Sorry to dunk on this but someone has to break up the chorus - qed isn't ready @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social
Do you implicitly want to send people to AI spin over the paper itself? Not what we're fighting for in #SciPub #AcademicSky #ResearchIntegrity
IT'S HAPPENING! 💥 I'm psyched to launch the collaboration between @qedscience.bsky.social & @openrxiv.bsky.social @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social! Preprint + q.e.d = your science is out there, and anyone can appreciate it. Let's care about making discoveries, and not on “getting published” (1/3) 👇
November 11, 2025 at 7:52 AM
People can appreciate science without AI?
Sorry to dunk on this but someone has to break up the chorus - qed isn't ready @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social
Do you implicitly want to send people to AI spin over the paper itself? Not what we're fighting for in #SciPub #AcademicSky #ResearchIntegrity
Sorry to dunk on this but someone has to break up the chorus - qed isn't ready @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social
Do you implicitly want to send people to AI spin over the paper itself? Not what we're fighting for in #SciPub #AcademicSky #ResearchIntegrity
Reposted by Mark A. Hanson
disappointed that @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social is implicitly endorsing the use of LLMs to replace scientific thought
@richardsever.bsky.social this is a short-sighted move and a net negative for science
@richardsever.bsky.social this is a short-sighted move and a net negative for science
IT'S HAPPENING! 💥 I'm psyched to launch the collaboration between @qedscience.bsky.social & @openrxiv.bsky.social @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social! Preprint + q.e.d = your science is out there, and anyone can appreciate it. Let's care about making discoveries, and not on “getting published” (1/3) 👇
November 7, 2025 at 9:06 AM
disappointed that @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social is implicitly endorsing the use of LLMs to replace scientific thought
@richardsever.bsky.social this is a short-sighted move and a net negative for science
@richardsever.bsky.social this is a short-sighted move and a net negative for science
Reposted by Mark A. Hanson
proof that science mis- and disinformation are effective and have profound consequences for society. This is a shameful milestone.
UPDATE: Canada has announced that it has lost its measles elimination status.
This is a direct result of the increase in anti-vax disinformation, which has caused large, sustained outbreaks in the country over the last year.
This is a direct result of the increase in anti-vax disinformation, which has caused large, sustained outbreaks in the country over the last year.
November 10, 2025 at 8:09 PM
proof that science mis- and disinformation are effective and have profound consequences for society. This is a shameful milestone.
Reposted by Mark A. Hanson
Fungi coat the eggs of stinkbugs, creating a shield that protects the embryos from parasitic wasps, researchers report.
Learn more: https://scim.ag/43kl3np
Learn more: https://scim.ag/43kl3np
November 10, 2025 at 11:26 PM
Fungi coat the eggs of stinkbugs, creating a shield that protects the embryos from parasitic wasps, researchers report.
Learn more: https://scim.ag/43kl3np
Learn more: https://scim.ag/43kl3np
Reposted by Mark A. Hanson
Poniendo los puntos sobre las íes 👏
Beigel, F., Brockington, D., Crosetto, P., Derrick, G., Fyfe, A., Barreiro, P. G., Hanson, M. A., Haustein, S., Larivière, V., Noe, C., Pinfield, S., & Wilsdon, J. (2025). The Drain of Scientific Publishing (No. arXiv:2511.04820). arXiv. doi.org/10.48550/arX...
Beigel, F., Brockington, D., Crosetto, P., Derrick, G., Fyfe, A., Barreiro, P. G., Hanson, M. A., Haustein, S., Larivière, V., Noe, C., Pinfield, S., & Wilsdon, J. (2025). The Drain of Scientific Publishing (No. arXiv:2511.04820). arXiv. doi.org/10.48550/arX...
The Drain of Scientific Publishing
The domination of scientific publishing in the Global North by major commercial publishers is harmful to science. We need the most powerful members of the research community, funders, governments and ...
doi.org
November 10, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Poniendo los puntos sobre las íes 👏
Beigel, F., Brockington, D., Crosetto, P., Derrick, G., Fyfe, A., Barreiro, P. G., Hanson, M. A., Haustein, S., Larivière, V., Noe, C., Pinfield, S., & Wilsdon, J. (2025). The Drain of Scientific Publishing (No. arXiv:2511.04820). arXiv. doi.org/10.48550/arX...
Beigel, F., Brockington, D., Crosetto, P., Derrick, G., Fyfe, A., Barreiro, P. G., Hanson, M. A., Haustein, S., Larivière, V., Noe, C., Pinfield, S., & Wilsdon, J. (2025). The Drain of Scientific Publishing (No. arXiv:2511.04820). arXiv. doi.org/10.48550/arX...
Reposted by Mark A. Hanson
Hey #AcademicSky, #ResearchIntegrity, and #ScientificPublishing crowd, question:
Has anyone received invitations to guest edit or submit to special issues organised by the Discover journal series?
link.springer.com/brands/disco...
I am curious about their email game.
Has anyone received invitations to guest edit or submit to special issues organised by the Discover journal series?
link.springer.com/brands/disco...
I am curious about their email game.
Open access journals | Discover journals
Discover journals support researchers in publishing their scientific discoveries, spanning the applied physical, life, medical and social sciences.
link.springer.com
November 7, 2025 at 10:36 AM
Hey #AcademicSky, #ResearchIntegrity, and #ScientificPublishing crowd, question:
Has anyone received invitations to guest edit or submit to special issues organised by the Discover journal series?
link.springer.com/brands/disco...
I am curious about their email game.
Has anyone received invitations to guest edit or submit to special issues organised by the Discover journal series?
link.springer.com/brands/disco...
I am curious about their email game.
Hey #AcademicSky, #ResearchIntegrity, and #ScientificPublishing crowd, question:
Has anyone received invitations to guest edit or submit to special issues organised by the Discover journal series?
link.springer.com/brands/disco...
I am curious about their email game.
Has anyone received invitations to guest edit or submit to special issues organised by the Discover journal series?
link.springer.com/brands/disco...
I am curious about their email game.
Open access journals | Discover journals
Discover journals support researchers in publishing their scientific discoveries, spanning the applied physical, life, medical and social sciences.
link.springer.com
November 7, 2025 at 10:36 AM
Hey #AcademicSky, #ResearchIntegrity, and #ScientificPublishing crowd, question:
Has anyone received invitations to guest edit or submit to special issues organised by the Discover journal series?
link.springer.com/brands/disco...
I am curious about their email game.
Has anyone received invitations to guest edit or submit to special issues organised by the Discover journal series?
link.springer.com/brands/disco...
I am curious about their email game.
Reposted by Mark A. Hanson
How do GWAS and rare variant burden tests rank gene signals?
In new work @nature.com with @hakha.bsky.social, @jkpritch.bsky.social, and our wonderful coauthors we find that the key factors are what we call Specificity, Length, and Luck!
🧬🧪🧵
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
In new work @nature.com with @hakha.bsky.social, @jkpritch.bsky.social, and our wonderful coauthors we find that the key factors are what we call Specificity, Length, and Luck!
🧬🧪🧵
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Specificity, length and luck drive gene rankings in association studies - Nature
Genetic association tests prioritize candidate genes based on different criteria.
www.nature.com
November 7, 2025 at 12:05 AM
How do GWAS and rare variant burden tests rank gene signals?
In new work @nature.com with @hakha.bsky.social, @jkpritch.bsky.social, and our wonderful coauthors we find that the key factors are what we call Specificity, Length, and Luck!
🧬🧪🧵
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
In new work @nature.com with @hakha.bsky.social, @jkpritch.bsky.social, and our wonderful coauthors we find that the key factors are what we call Specificity, Length, and Luck!
🧬🧪🧵
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Mark A. Hanson
My prediction is that LLM peer review will slow down science. It will do this for precisely the same reasons that contemporary peer review does and some extra ones. Start by reading @hansonmark.bsky.social thread below, then read on. 🧵
Just tried q.e.d. by @odedrechavi.bsky.social et al. with a few papers including by myself & others where I knew a claim within was flawed based on a misunderstanding of the signal.
1) it was impressive. I see what the hype is about.
2) it hallucinated.
www.qedscience.com
Overly long #SciPub🧵 1/n
1) it was impressive. I see what the hype is about.
2) it hallucinated.
www.qedscience.com
Overly long #SciPub🧵 1/n
q.e.d Science
Critical Thinking AI for constructive criticism and science evaluation
www.qedscience.com
November 6, 2025 at 9:30 PM
My prediction is that LLM peer review will slow down science. It will do this for precisely the same reasons that contemporary peer review does and some extra ones. Start by reading @hansonmark.bsky.social thread below, then read on. 🧵
Reposted by Mark A. Hanson
Europe's MSCA postdoctoral fellowships are now attracting many researchers who would have gone to the US. So the payline has dropped below 10% (~1,600 fellowships to 17k applicants). Super tough situation. One more reason to double the next Horizon budget, as proposed by the EU Commission.
Applications for MCSA are up 64%! 50% now come from outside the EU. Trump effect?
The European Research market just got a hell of a lot more crowded.
EU should turn on the tap
marie-sklodowska-curie-actions.ec.europa.eu/news/msca-po...
The European Research market just got a hell of a lot more crowded.
EU should turn on the tap
marie-sklodowska-curie-actions.ec.europa.eu/news/msca-po...
MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2025 receives record number of 17,058 proposals
This year’s annual MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships call has attracted considerable interest from the research community with 17,058 proposals submitted.
marie-sklodowska-curie-actions.ec.europa.eu
November 3, 2025 at 8:24 AM
Europe's MSCA postdoctoral fellowships are now attracting many researchers who would have gone to the US. So the payline has dropped below 10% (~1,600 fellowships to 17k applicants). Super tough situation. One more reason to double the next Horizon budget, as proposed by the EU Commission.
Reposted by Mark A. Hanson
You might want to have a look at Refine, a tool developed by @bengolub.bsky.social that looks generally similar to q.e.d. -- more focused on providing pre-review feedback to spot mistakes and inconsistencies.
www.refine.ink
www.refine.ink
refine
AI feedback for research.
www.refine.ink
November 3, 2025 at 1:38 PM
You might want to have a look at Refine, a tool developed by @bengolub.bsky.social that looks generally similar to q.e.d. -- more focused on providing pre-review feedback to spot mistakes and inconsistencies.
www.refine.ink
www.refine.ink
Reposted by Mark A. Hanson
Reposted by Mark A. Hanson
"I’m actually biased in favor of the intuitive value of preregistration; but things that seem intuitively sensible can turn out to be wrong anyway. Increasingly, I’m wondering if this is one of those things."
Preregistration Isn’t the Chief Executive of Science, It’s a Small Part of the Quality Control Department
And I'm Beginnning to Think It Should Be Fired for Poor Performance
open.substack.com
November 2, 2025 at 7:35 AM
"I’m actually biased in favor of the intuitive value of preregistration; but things that seem intuitively sensible can turn out to be wrong anyway. Increasingly, I’m wondering if this is one of those things."
It's worth saying we also accomplished most all of that without modern peer review. It used to be fine to just submit articles to journals, editors accepted and published them, and THEN we judged their utility.
November 2, 2025 at 2:59 PM
It's worth saying we also accomplished most all of that without modern peer review. It used to be fine to just submit articles to journals, editors accepted and published them, and THEN we judged their utility.
Reposted by Mark A. Hanson
arXiv will no longer accept review articles and position papers unless they have been accepted at a journal or a conference and complete successful peer review.
This is due to being overwhelmed by a hundreds of AI generated papers a month.
Yet another open submission process killed by LLMs.
This is due to being overwhelmed by a hundreds of AI generated papers a month.
Yet another open submission process killed by LLMs.
Attention Authors: Updated Practice for Review Articles and Position Papers in arXiv CS Category – arXiv blog
blog.arxiv.org
November 1, 2025 at 5:28 PM
arXiv will no longer accept review articles and position papers unless they have been accepted at a journal or a conference and complete successful peer review.
This is due to being overwhelmed by a hundreds of AI generated papers a month.
Yet another open submission process killed by LLMs.
This is due to being overwhelmed by a hundreds of AI generated papers a month.
Yet another open submission process killed by LLMs.
Just tried q.e.d. by @odedrechavi.bsky.social et al. with a few papers including by myself & others where I knew a claim within was flawed based on a misunderstanding of the signal.
1) it was impressive. I see what the hype is about.
2) it hallucinated.
www.qedscience.com
Overly long #SciPub🧵 1/n
1) it was impressive. I see what the hype is about.
2) it hallucinated.
www.qedscience.com
Overly long #SciPub🧵 1/n
q.e.d Science
Critical Thinking AI for constructive criticism and science evaluation
www.qedscience.com
November 1, 2025 at 12:15 PM
Just tried q.e.d. by @odedrechavi.bsky.social et al. with a few papers including by myself & others where I knew a claim within was flawed based on a misunderstanding of the signal.
1) it was impressive. I see what the hype is about.
2) it hallucinated.
www.qedscience.com
Overly long #SciPub🧵 1/n
1) it was impressive. I see what the hype is about.
2) it hallucinated.
www.qedscience.com
Overly long #SciPub🧵 1/n
Reposted by Mark A. Hanson
Our new paper is out in PLOS Biology! I'm very conflicted about the project: proud because it feels like the most important project I've ever been a part of, but also very sad that we found so many problems in our field.
Read the paper here: journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
Read the paper here: journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
Erroneous articles can undermine scientific progress & mislead future research. Rene Aquarius &co show that 40% of articles on early #BrainInjury in animal studies have #ImageDuplication & #ImageManipulation problems, but correction by #journals remains limited @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4p59QzN
October 31, 2025 at 6:29 AM
Our new paper is out in PLOS Biology! I'm very conflicted about the project: proud because it feels like the most important project I've ever been a part of, but also very sad that we found so many problems in our field.
Read the paper here: journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
Read the paper here: journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
Reposted by Mark A. Hanson
Government has published one of those quiet but important documents that might get overlooked as it is not 'newsy'. The headline finding is that £1 of public R&D investment generates £8 in net economic benefits for the UK over the long term
www.gov.uk/government/p...
www.gov.uk/government/p...
The value of public R&D
www.gov.uk
October 30, 2025 at 1:28 PM
Government has published one of those quiet but important documents that might get overlooked as it is not 'newsy'. The headline finding is that £1 of public R&D investment generates £8 in net economic benefits for the UK over the long term
www.gov.uk/government/p...
www.gov.uk/government/p...
Reposted by Mark A. Hanson
PhD studentship for interested chinese nationals funded by the China Scholarship Council!
Come work with us to investigate how innate immunity works in an important agricultural pest, and disentangle how the immune system evolves. 🇬🇧🇨🇳
For more info, see: bit.ly/4ntrsEe
#Drosophila #Aphid #Immunity
Come work with us to investigate how innate immunity works in an important agricultural pest, and disentangle how the immune system evolves. 🇬🇧🇨🇳
For more info, see: bit.ly/4ntrsEe
#Drosophila #Aphid #Immunity
October 28, 2025 at 1:44 PM
PhD studentship for interested chinese nationals funded by the China Scholarship Council!
Come work with us to investigate how innate immunity works in an important agricultural pest, and disentangle how the immune system evolves. 🇬🇧🇨🇳
For more info, see: bit.ly/4ntrsEe
#Drosophila #Aphid #Immunity
Come work with us to investigate how innate immunity works in an important agricultural pest, and disentangle how the immune system evolves. 🇬🇧🇨🇳
For more info, see: bit.ly/4ntrsEe
#Drosophila #Aphid #Immunity
Reposted by Mark A. Hanson
🪰 folks! I spoke to the Transmitter about FlyBase. As noted at flybase.org, bridge $ ran out and many staff were laid off.
Good news is stopgap contributions will keep core FlyBase operations active. But community support remains essential. Please donate @FlyBase and share! 1/2
tinyurl.com/FlyBase
Good news is stopgap contributions will keep core FlyBase operations active. But community support remains essential. Please donate @FlyBase and share! 1/2
tinyurl.com/FlyBase
FlyBase secures funding for year, but future still uncertain
The FlyBase team’s fundraising efforts have proven successful in the short term, but restoration of its federal grant remains uncertain.
tinyurl.com
October 29, 2025 at 12:31 PM
🪰 folks! I spoke to the Transmitter about FlyBase. As noted at flybase.org, bridge $ ran out and many staff were laid off.
Good news is stopgap contributions will keep core FlyBase operations active. But community support remains essential. Please donate @FlyBase and share! 1/2
tinyurl.com/FlyBase
Good news is stopgap contributions will keep core FlyBase operations active. But community support remains essential. Please donate @FlyBase and share! 1/2
tinyurl.com/FlyBase
And don't forget, labs in the UK and Europe can donate to the Cambridge side of FlyBase through this link:
www.philanthropy.cam.ac.uk/give-to-camb...
www.philanthropy.cam.ac.uk/give-to-camb...
October 30, 2025 at 7:47 AM
And don't forget, labs in the UK and Europe can donate to the Cambridge side of FlyBase through this link:
www.philanthropy.cam.ac.uk/give-to-camb...
www.philanthropy.cam.ac.uk/give-to-camb...
PhD studentshipship available through @swbiodtp.bsky.social! This project will take advantage of an incredible RNAseq dataset we are generating using 40 species and multiple infection types to learn how immune systems evolve.
For more info, see: bit.ly/43zNa20
#Drosophila #Immunity
For more info, see: bit.ly/43zNa20
#Drosophila #Immunity
October 29, 2025 at 4:08 PM
PhD studentshipship available through @swbiodtp.bsky.social! This project will take advantage of an incredible RNAseq dataset we are generating using 40 species and multiple infection types to learn how immune systems evolve.
For more info, see: bit.ly/43zNa20
#Drosophila #Immunity
For more info, see: bit.ly/43zNa20
#Drosophila #Immunity
Reposted by Mark A. Hanson
When ~90% of your papers are guest edited by people invited from a 100+ cold call email list, it's no wonder the fringe takes the opportunity to hock misinformation in "peer reviewed" journals.
The plurality of the strain we described came from #MDPI.
#SciPub #AcademicSky #AcademicChatter
The plurality of the strain we described came from #MDPI.
#SciPub #AcademicSky #AcademicChatter
October 29, 2025 at 7:42 AM
When ~90% of your papers are guest edited by people invited from a 100+ cold call email list, it's no wonder the fringe takes the opportunity to hock misinformation in "peer reviewed" journals.
The plurality of the strain we described came from #MDPI.
#SciPub #AcademicSky #AcademicChatter
The plurality of the strain we described came from #MDPI.
#SciPub #AcademicSky #AcademicChatter
When ~90% of your papers are guest edited by people invited from a 100+ cold call email list, it's no wonder the fringe takes the opportunity to hock misinformation in "peer reviewed" journals.
The plurality of the strain we described came from #MDPI.
#SciPub #AcademicSky #AcademicChatter
The plurality of the strain we described came from #MDPI.
#SciPub #AcademicSky #AcademicChatter
October 29, 2025 at 7:42 AM
When ~90% of your papers are guest edited by people invited from a 100+ cold call email list, it's no wonder the fringe takes the opportunity to hock misinformation in "peer reviewed" journals.
The plurality of the strain we described came from #MDPI.
#SciPub #AcademicSky #AcademicChatter
The plurality of the strain we described came from #MDPI.
#SciPub #AcademicSky #AcademicChatter
PhD studentship for interested chinese nationals funded by the China Scholarship Council!
Come work with us to investigate how innate immunity works in an important agricultural pest, and disentangle how the immune system evolves. 🇬🇧🇨🇳
For more info, see: bit.ly/4ntrsEe
#Drosophila #Aphid #Immunity
Come work with us to investigate how innate immunity works in an important agricultural pest, and disentangle how the immune system evolves. 🇬🇧🇨🇳
For more info, see: bit.ly/4ntrsEe
#Drosophila #Aphid #Immunity
October 28, 2025 at 1:44 PM
PhD studentship for interested chinese nationals funded by the China Scholarship Council!
Come work with us to investigate how innate immunity works in an important agricultural pest, and disentangle how the immune system evolves. 🇬🇧🇨🇳
For more info, see: bit.ly/4ntrsEe
#Drosophila #Aphid #Immunity
Come work with us to investigate how innate immunity works in an important agricultural pest, and disentangle how the immune system evolves. 🇬🇧🇨🇳
For more info, see: bit.ly/4ntrsEe
#Drosophila #Aphid #Immunity