Tony Zador
@tonyzador.bsky.social
Neuroscientist at CSHL. Interests: neuroAI, molecular connectomics, & cortical circuits. Co-founder of Cosyne and NAISys meetings.
Pinned
Tony Zador
@tonyzador.bsky.social
· Nov 28
A wonderful paper from @tonyzador.bsky.social and colleagues: Encoding innate ability through a genomic bottleneck www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Encoding innate ability through a genomic bottleneck | PNAS
Animals are born with extensive innate behavioral capabilities, which arise from neural
circuits encoded in the genome. However, the information ca...
www.pnas.org
Thanks Kevin!
And thanks to my collaborators @alexkoulakov.bsky.social
Sergey Shuvaev and Divyansha Lachi !
(S & D -- have you joined the party here yet?)
And thanks to my collaborators @alexkoulakov.bsky.social
Sergey Shuvaev and Divyansha Lachi !
(S & D -- have you joined the party here yet?)
🤯😡😱🤮
"The Trump administration recently installed Kyle Walsh, a close friend of Vice President JD Vance, as the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)."
"The Trump administration recently installed Kyle Walsh, a close friend of Vice President JD Vance, as the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)."
Important info on #NIH here. The institute directors are the top officials at NIH below the director, and they control each institute’s budget.
This post 👇 describes the real gold standard scientific hiring process used at NIH pre-Trump. 🧪
This post 👇 describes the real gold standard scientific hiring process used at NIH pre-Trump. 🧪
NIH has for decades used a rigorous recruitment process to hire its top scientists, the institute directors.
The Trump NIH is changing that. They’ve already installed one political hire this way, reportedly a friend of JD Vance.
This post describes the process. Demand the Trump people follow it.
The Trump NIH is changing that. They’ve already installed one political hire this way, reportedly a friend of JD Vance.
This post describes the process. Demand the Trump people follow it.
December 6, 2025 at 7:47 PM
🤯😡😱🤮
"The Trump administration recently installed Kyle Walsh, a close friend of Vice President JD Vance, as the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)."
"The Trump administration recently installed Kyle Walsh, a close friend of Vice President JD Vance, as the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)."
Reposted by Tony Zador
I read the caption first and thought the illusion might be because the y-axis was on a log scale, but it's not!
My brain was bamboozled regardless.
My brain was bamboozled regardless.
November 19, 2025 at 12:15 PM
I read the caption first and thought the illusion might be because the y-axis was on a log scale, but it's not!
My brain was bamboozled regardless.
My brain was bamboozled regardless.
Reposted by Tony Zador
80% of Democratic voters want a new leader in the Senate.
Does that matter at all to Democratic senators?
Does that matter at all to Democratic senators?
November 10, 2025 at 3:25 AM
80% of Democratic voters want a new leader in the Senate.
Does that matter at all to Democratic senators?
Does that matter at all to Democratic senators?
Nightmare #423:
-- 1,140 sq ft spider web
-- populated by a metropolis of 111,000 spiders
-- in a cave
😱
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/s...
-- 1,140 sq ft spider web
-- populated by a metropolis of 111,000 spiders
-- in a cave
😱
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/s...
Stinking, Spongy, Dark, Huge: A Spider Web Unlike Any Seen Before
www.nytimes.com
November 8, 2025 at 7:44 PM
Nightmare #423:
-- 1,140 sq ft spider web
-- populated by a metropolis of 111,000 spiders
-- in a cave
😱
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/s...
-- 1,140 sq ft spider web
-- populated by a metropolis of 111,000 spiders
-- in a cave
😱
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/s...
Reposted by Tony Zador
Excessive force. PERIOD!
They called them “violent mobs,” but the violence came from the guys with badges and body armor.
📌 Keep sharing videos, everyone, because they’re evidence.
They called them “violent mobs,” but the violence came from the guys with badges and body armor.
📌 Keep sharing videos, everyone, because they’re evidence.
November 6, 2025 at 1:02 AM
Excessive force. PERIOD!
They called them “violent mobs,” but the violence came from the guys with badges and body armor.
📌 Keep sharing videos, everyone, because they’re evidence.
They called them “violent mobs,” but the violence came from the guys with badges and body armor.
📌 Keep sharing videos, everyone, because they’re evidence.
Reposted by Tony Zador
Amen to this from @anamariecox.bsky.social talkingpointsmemo.com/tpm-25/patro...
Patron-Supported Journalism Can’t Be the Future of News
Writing about the failure of patron-supported journalism is itself a kind of...
talkingpointsmemo.com
October 29, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Amen to this from @anamariecox.bsky.social talkingpointsmemo.com/tpm-25/patro...
Reposted by Tony Zador
The oligarchy wants full control of what we watch and read.
October 27, 2025 at 8:30 PM
The oligarchy wants full control of what we watch and read.
Reposted by Tony Zador
Apply to become a CSHL-Simons Fellow in Neuroscience!
Run your own lab, pursue bold ideas, join a highly collaborative community!
All areas including experimental or computational neuro, including NeuroAI & systems
PhD required; ≤~1 yr postdoc
www.cshl.edu/about-us/car...
Run your own lab, pursue bold ideas, join a highly collaborative community!
All areas including experimental or computational neuro, including NeuroAI & systems
PhD required; ≤~1 yr postdoc
www.cshl.edu/about-us/car...
Fellows Positions | Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
CSHL Simons Fellow in NEUROSCIENCE Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) is seeking to fill a Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Fellow position in the area of NEUROSCIENCE (experimental and/or computationa...
www.cshl.edu
October 24, 2025 at 7:16 PM
Apply to become a CSHL-Simons Fellow in Neuroscience!
Run your own lab, pursue bold ideas, join a highly collaborative community!
All areas including experimental or computational neuro, including NeuroAI & systems
PhD required; ≤~1 yr postdoc
www.cshl.edu/about-us/car...
Run your own lab, pursue bold ideas, join a highly collaborative community!
All areas including experimental or computational neuro, including NeuroAI & systems
PhD required; ≤~1 yr postdoc
www.cshl.edu/about-us/car...
Reposted by Tony Zador
Carney: But this decades-long process of an ever-closer economic relationship with the United States is now over. And as a consequence, many of our former strengths as a country—more particularly, our economic strengths based on close ties to America—have now become our vulnerabilities…
October 23, 2025 at 3:31 AM
Carney: But this decades-long process of an ever-closer economic relationship with the United States is now over. And as a consequence, many of our former strengths as a country—more particularly, our economic strengths based on close ties to America—have now become our vulnerabilities…
Apply to the new CSHL grad program in BioAI/neuroAI!
(Masters degree or equivalent required in a quantitative area such as computer science, physics, mathematics, or engineering)
www.cshl.edu/phd-program/...
(Masters degree or equivalent required in a quantitative area such as computer science, physics, mathematics, or engineering)
www.cshl.edu/phd-program/...
October 22, 2025 at 11:59 PM
Apply to the new CSHL grad program in BioAI/neuroAI!
(Masters degree or equivalent required in a quantitative area such as computer science, physics, mathematics, or engineering)
www.cshl.edu/phd-program/...
(Masters degree or equivalent required in a quantitative area such as computer science, physics, mathematics, or engineering)
www.cshl.edu/phd-program/...
Number of times the Wikipedia entry about the ship of Theseus has been edited since it was published in 2003 :
2,052
Number of sentences from the original entry that remain today : 0
October 2025 • Source: Harper's research
2,052
Number of sentences from the original entry that remain today : 0
October 2025 • Source: Harper's research
October 21, 2025 at 3:47 AM
Number of times the Wikipedia entry about the ship of Theseus has been edited since it was published in 2003 :
2,052
Number of sentences from the original entry that remain today : 0
October 2025 • Source: Harper's research
2,052
Number of sentences from the original entry that remain today : 0
October 2025 • Source: Harper's research
Reposted by Tony Zador
Trump's thugs aren't just abducting undocumented immigrants.
More than 170 American citizens — including children — have been detained and assaulted by ICE since he took office.
No one is safe. https://www.propublica.org/article/immigration-dhs-american-citizens-arrested-detained-against-will
More than 170 American citizens — including children — have been detained and assaulted by ICE since he took office.
No one is safe. https://www.propublica.org/article/immigration-dhs-american-citizens-arrested-detained-against-will
More Than 170 U.S. Citizens Have Been Held by Immigration Agents. They’ve Been Kicked, Dragged and Detained for Days.
The government does not track how often immigration agents grab citizens. So ProPublica did. Our tally — almost certainl
www.propublica.org
October 17, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Trump's thugs aren't just abducting undocumented immigrants.
More than 170 American citizens — including children — have been detained and assaulted by ICE since he took office.
No one is safe. https://www.propublica.org/article/immigration-dhs-american-citizens-arrested-detained-against-will
More than 170 American citizens — including children — have been detained and assaulted by ICE since he took office.
No one is safe. https://www.propublica.org/article/immigration-dhs-american-citizens-arrested-detained-against-will
Reposted by Tony Zador
"I believe that Americans would agree that the government can’t just make people disappear without any process or explanation. Second, because I want to give the government a chance to admit that they were wrong.
So far the government has not done so."
newsletter.ofthebrave.org/p/im-a-us-ci...
So far the government has not done so."
newsletter.ofthebrave.org/p/im-a-us-ci...
I’m a US citizen and a veteran. ICE arrested me for no reason.
Jailed for three days without an explanation or ability to notify anyone, George Retes argues the only path to healing starts with the government taking accountability for its actions.
newsletter.ofthebrave.org
October 4, 2025 at 3:10 PM
"I believe that Americans would agree that the government can’t just make people disappear without any process or explanation. Second, because I want to give the government a chance to admit that they were wrong.
So far the government has not done so."
newsletter.ofthebrave.org/p/im-a-us-ci...
So far the government has not done so."
newsletter.ofthebrave.org/p/im-a-us-ci...
Reposted by Tony Zador
🚨BREAKING: Rep. Ro Khanna just motioned to SUBPOENA FCC chairman Brendan Carr in the House Oversight Committee to stop the intimidation of private businesses and assault on free speech
September 18, 2025 at 5:48 PM
🚨BREAKING: Rep. Ro Khanna just motioned to SUBPOENA FCC chairman Brendan Carr in the House Oversight Committee to stop the intimidation of private businesses and assault on free speech
Disney is ABC's parent company
September 18, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Disney is ABC's parent company
Interesting strategy for proposing democracy after 2026
September 8, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Interesting strategy for proposing democracy after 2026
Interesting proposal on how to preserve democracy in 2026
September 8, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Interesting proposal on how to preserve democracy in 2026
Reposted by Tony Zador
Two flagship papers from the International Brain Laboratory, now out in @Nature.com:
🧠 Brain-wide map of neural activity during complex behaviour: doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09235-0
🧠 Brain-wide representations of prior information in mouse decision-making: doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09226-1 +
🧠 Brain-wide map of neural activity during complex behaviour: doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09235-0
🧠 Brain-wide representations of prior information in mouse decision-making: doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09226-1 +
September 3, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Two flagship papers from the International Brain Laboratory, now out in @Nature.com:
🧠 Brain-wide map of neural activity during complex behaviour: doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09235-0
🧠 Brain-wide representations of prior information in mouse decision-making: doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09226-1 +
🧠 Brain-wide map of neural activity during complex behaviour: doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09235-0
🧠 Brain-wide representations of prior information in mouse decision-making: doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09226-1 +
Reposted by Tony Zador
In the 1990s, neuroscientists often complained “that theorists were completely out of touch with experimental data,” says @tonyzador.bsky.social. Today, in part thanks to the Sloan-Swartz Centers, “I very rarely hear that.”
By @callimcflurry.bsky.social
www.thetransmitter.org/theoretical-...
By @callimcflurry.bsky.social
www.thetransmitter.org/theoretical-...
Long-standing theoretical neuroscience fellowship program loses financial support
Funding from the Swartz and Sloan Foundations helped bring physicists and mathematicians into neuroscience for more than 30 years.
www.thetransmitter.org
August 26, 2025 at 2:22 PM
In the 1990s, neuroscientists often complained “that theorists were completely out of touch with experimental data,” says @tonyzador.bsky.social. Today, in part thanks to the Sloan-Swartz Centers, “I very rarely hear that.”
By @callimcflurry.bsky.social
www.thetransmitter.org/theoretical-...
By @callimcflurry.bsky.social
www.thetransmitter.org/theoretical-...
Reposted by Tony Zador
www.theatlantic.com/science/arch...
Critical read: As noted by a colleague, from the examples in this article, it is amazing how quickly German physics collapsed (and US exploded) after 1934. #academicsky, #neuroskyence , is there time and a route to prevent the collapse of research in the US?
Critical read: As noted by a colleague, from the examples in this article, it is amazing how quickly German physics collapsed (and US exploded) after 1934. #academicsky, #neuroskyence , is there time and a route to prevent the collapse of research in the US?
Every Scientific Empire Comes to an End
America’s run as the premiere techno-superpower may be over.
www.theatlantic.com
August 1, 2025 at 12:18 AM
www.theatlantic.com/science/arch...
Critical read: As noted by a colleague, from the examples in this article, it is amazing how quickly German physics collapsed (and US exploded) after 1934. #academicsky, #neuroskyence , is there time and a route to prevent the collapse of research in the US?
Critical read: As noted by a colleague, from the examples in this article, it is amazing how quickly German physics collapsed (and US exploded) after 1934. #academicsky, #neuroskyence , is there time and a route to prevent the collapse of research in the US?
Reposted by Tony Zador
👇
I don’t think anyone is prepared for what they just did w/ ICE.
This is not a simple budget increase. It is an explosion - making ICE bigger than the FBI, US Bureau of Prisons, DEA,& others combined.
It is setting up to make what’s happening now look like child’s play. And people are disappearing.
This is not a simple budget increase. It is an explosion - making ICE bigger than the FBI, US Bureau of Prisons, DEA,& others combined.
It is setting up to make what’s happening now look like child’s play. And people are disappearing.
July 3, 2025 at 10:22 PM
👇
Reposted by Tony Zador
I don’t think anyone is prepared for what they just did w/ ICE.
This is not a simple budget increase. It is an explosion - making ICE bigger than the FBI, US Bureau of Prisons, DEA,& others combined.
It is setting up to make what’s happening now look like child’s play. And people are disappearing.
This is not a simple budget increase. It is an explosion - making ICE bigger than the FBI, US Bureau of Prisons, DEA,& others combined.
It is setting up to make what’s happening now look like child’s play. And people are disappearing.
July 3, 2025 at 6:58 PM
I don’t think anyone is prepared for what they just did w/ ICE.
This is not a simple budget increase. It is an explosion - making ICE bigger than the FBI, US Bureau of Prisons, DEA,& others combined.
It is setting up to make what’s happening now look like child’s play. And people are disappearing.
This is not a simple budget increase. It is an explosion - making ICE bigger than the FBI, US Bureau of Prisons, DEA,& others combined.
It is setting up to make what’s happening now look like child’s play. And people are disappearing.
Reposted by Tony Zador
Axios story about the path forward for restored terminated grants.
The administration will continue to pursue appeals and other steps.
www.axios.com/2025/06/24/n...
The administration will continue to pursue appeals and other steps.
www.axios.com/2025/06/24/n...
NIH grantees may face long wait for restored money
Researchers who saw their NIH grants restored could face long waits accessing the money.
www.axios.com
June 24, 2025 at 1:24 PM
Axios story about the path forward for restored terminated grants.
The administration will continue to pursue appeals and other steps.
www.axios.com/2025/06/24/n...
The administration will continue to pursue appeals and other steps.
www.axios.com/2025/06/24/n...