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Reposted by Vivek Nityananda

ASAB Spring 2026

@asab-meetings.bsky.social

Reminder that the abstract and travel grant deadlines for #ASABSpring2026 are due in less than 2 weeks!

This is an especially fantastic conference for students and ECRs 🌼 Hope you can join us in beautiful Bristol

asab-spring-conference2026.github.io

ASAB Spring 2026 @asab-meetings.bsky.social · 28d

Registration for #ASABSpring2026 is now open!

asab-spring-conference2026.github.io

Don't forget the travel grant AND abstract deadlines are Feb 1!

ASAB SPRING Conference 2025 Bristol 23rd 25th March. Drawing of gorilla with baby on back.

January 20, 2026 at 1:47 PM

Vivek Nityananda

@viveknityananda.bsky.social

Both points below true for any conference!

Berna Devezer @devezer.bsky.social · 6h

To everyone organizing a metascience/open science/research integrity event: You know you are allowed to choose your keynote speakers from a pool greater than the same five people? Give early- and mid-career scientists a chance to shine (so you don't have to listen to the same narratives forever).

January 20, 2026 at 4:45 PM

Reposted by Vivek Nityananda

Rabih Alameddine

@rabihalameddine.bsky.social

Charley Harper, "Darwin's Finches", from "The Giant Golden Book of Biology", 1961

January 20, 2026 at 2:57 PM

Reposted by Vivek Nityananda

Berna Devezer

@devezer.bsky.social

This looks 🔥🔥🔥

"we show that half of the research published in top journals has disclosable ties to industry in the form of prior funding, collaboration, or employment. However, the majority of these ties go undisclosed in the published research."

Joe Bak-Coleman @jbakcoleman.bsky.social · 1d

Ever wonder what proportion of high profile social media research is tied to the tech industry?

New from me, @cailinmeister.bsky.social, @jevinwest.bsky.social and @carlbergstrom.com.

Thread tomorrow.

arxiv.org/abs/2601.11507

Industry Influence in High-Profile Social Media Research

To what extent is social media research independent from industry influence? Leveraging openly available data, we show that half of the research published in top journals has disclosable ties to indus...

arxiv.org

January 19, 2026 at 3:49 AM

Reposted by Vivek Nityananda

Premee Mohamed

@premeemohamed.com

REMINDER that AND WHAT CAN WE OFFER YOU TONIGHT is still on sale at @libro.fm ! :) A drowned city, a furious revenant, and an ode to friendship, resistance, and rage.

libro.fm/audiobooks/9...

And What Can We Offer You Tonight Audiobook on Libro.fm

In a far future city, where you can fall to a government cull for a single mistake, And What Can We Offer You Tonight by Premee Mohamed tells the story of Jewel, established courtesan in a luxurious H...

libro.fm

January 18, 2026 at 7:11 PM

Reposted by Vivek Nityananda

Serge Ahmed

@sergeahmed.bsky.social

This book is a wonderful, synthetic and richly illustrated journey through the natural history of the vertebrate brain 🤩

A big thank you to the authors 🙏

"A major theme in the evolution of the telencephalon has been the emergence of novel pathways...

1/2

January 17, 2026 at 9:05 AM

Reposted by Vivek Nityananda

Indrapramit Das

@indrapramitdas.bsky.social

ICYMI, I wrote a book about dragoners, refugees to our reality, set in 90s/00s Calcutta.

July 31, 2025 at 4:53 PM

Reposted by Vivek Nityananda

$profrachelgan.bsky.social$

Prof Rachel Oliver

@profrachelgan.bsky.social

Following coverage over the weekend of Sir Paul Nurse's comments that suggested that the only reason that a Fellow should be expelled from @royalsociety.org is scientific misconduct, I have written to him to explain the risks such an attitude poses of increasing sexual harassment in STEM.

Dear Sir Paul,

Re: Royal Society Code of Conduct

I am sure that many scientists have written to you about the specific question of Elon Musk’s Fellowship and whether, under the Royal Society’s Code of Conduct, his retaining that Fellowship is appropriate. I will not rehash these issues. Instead, as a female scientist with extensive experience of activities aiming to increase equality, diversity and inclusion in the engineering and physical sciences sector, I am writing to you (in a personal capacity) to ask you to reconsider the statements you have recently made in this context to the UK press about the Royal Society’s Code of Conduct and how it is applied.

A 2018 report from the joint National Academies of the United States of America, concluded that “sexual harassment is common in academic science, engineering, and medicine” and that “greater than 50 percent of women faculty and staff and 20–50 percent of women students encounter or experience sexually harassing conduct in academia”. This report described codes of conduct that make clear that sexual harassment is unethical and will not be tolerated as a “powerful incentive for change”. The authors also noted that sexual harassment can have significant and damaging effects on the integrity of research. In my own praxis, I have found that clear and consistently-implemented codes of conduct that address these issues make female scientists and engineers safer, and allow them to focus more effectively on their research. For codes of conduct to have such a positive effect, it is vital that sanctions for actions which transgress the code are meaningful and substantial.

I was hence aghast to realise that in an interview with the Financial Times published on 9/1/26, you appear to have suggested that the Royal Society “should only expel fellows if their science proved “faulty or fraudulent or highly defective””. Moreover, in a further interview with the Guardian on 11/1/26 you suggested that the code “may need to be looked at again”, with the implication that your aim would be to remove the option of sanctions on Fellows for reasons not strictly related to faults or defects in their research.

I suggest that changing the Royal Society’s code of conduct so that the likelihood of serious sanctions for sexual harassment is reduced, would directly endanger women who interact with the Royal Society at events or otherwise, and would provide a licence to harass to the already powerful people on whom the Society bestows fellowship. The implications of your words - that under your leadership the only infringements of the code which are likely to receive the sanction of the Fellowship being removed are those related to research misconduct - already risk empowering harassers. You stated, in the Financial Times interview, that “there’s many bad people around, but they have made scientific advances”. Given this awareness of the possibility of bad actors in our scientific community, it is wholly irresponsible to suggest that the Royal Society would not act to sanction these people if they harass more vulnerable scientists.

I am hence writing to request that you retract any suggestion that the Society’s Code of Conduct should be changed so that the only reason a Fellow might be sanctioned by the removal of their Fellowship is “faulty or fraudulent or highly defective” research. This action is necessary to safeguard female scientists, a requirement placed on the Society by safeguarding legislation and UK statutory guidance.

Yours sincerely,

Professor Rachel A. Oliver.

January 12, 2026 at 8:59 AM

Reposted by Vivek Nityananda

Sunder Katwala (sundersays)

@sundersays.bsky.social

Ukip have submitted a new logo and slogan to the Electoral Commission, swapping the £ pound sterling symbol for a cross, that looks very much like it is modelled on the Iron Cross used by Prussia & Germany 1871-1918 and Hitler's Nazi regime from 1933-45

January 13, 2026 at 8:20 AM

Vivek Nityananda

@viveknityananda.bsky.social

The saddest news about a friend who was warm, funny and incredibly creative. So wish I had spent more time with him when I could have.

Blaft Publications @blaft.bsky.social · 7d

Just received the devastating news that our friend and author Jugal Mody has passed away, age 39.

An incredibly positive, funny, creative person. We'll really miss him.

January 13, 2026 at 6:12 AM

Reposted by Vivek Nityananda

Scientific American

@sciam.bsky.social

New research links same-sex behaviors in nonhuman primates to the evolution of complex social structures

New Study Probes How Same-Sex Behaviors Evolved in Nonhuman Primates

New research links same-sex behaviors in nonhuman primates to the evolution of complex social structures

www.scientificamerican.com

January 12, 2026 at 5:56 PM

Reposted by Vivek Nityananda

trace press

@tracepress.bsky.social

"During those nights of bombardment, I understood translation as something more than literary craft: it was an act of resistance, of staying put, of holding on."
- Amir Mehdi Hagighat.

A moment that changed me: in the bombed-out ruins of an apartment block, I saw a book I’d translated

The sight of my work, torn and singed but still legible, made me realise the importance of translating and protecting stories – so they remain when everything else falls away

www.theguardian.com

January 12, 2026 at 12:49 PM

Reposted by Vivek Nityananda

Stephen Montgomery

@ebablab.bsky.social

Last weekend to apply!

Stephen Montgomery @ebablab.bsky.social · Nov 21

🚨RA/PhD position available in evolutionary neurobiology 🚨

Working on a deep dive into circuit changes during mushroom body expansion in Heliconius butterflies @camzoology.bsky.social

- employment benefits
- 4 years funding
- 1000% fun

Deadline: 14/1/2026

Details:
www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/researc...

Shades of blue and red in a slice through an immuno stained brain showing some deliciously lovely looking mushroom body lobes - ripe for investigation during a funded PhD - and the central complex. Image credit: Dr Max Farnworth

January 9, 2026 at 9:50 AM

Reposted by Vivek Nityananda

Nicolette Jones

@nicolettejones.bsky.social

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay is back with a hopeful picturebook for the New Year. The Big Green: Everyone can make a difference by Ken Wilson-Max, about the planting that created the Great Green Wall of Africa. Otter-Barry Books 8 Jan. May your 2026 be full of illustration. @otterbarrybooks.bsky.social

January 1, 2026 at 9:23 AM

Reposted by Vivek Nityananda

Ethan M. Aldridge

@ethanmaldridge.bsky.social

Every year since we started dating, I've made a hand-painted illustration for my husband. Here's the one from this past year, inspired by our recent trip to Japan

A watercolor painting showing me, my husband Matt, and our dog hiking through a tunnel of red Torii gates

January 7, 2026 at 6:52 PM

Reposted by Vivek Nityananda

Not In Our Name (NION) Women

@nionwomen.bsky.social

Useful reporting from Translucent. When we’ve suggested that trans women don’t pose a risk, people have argued that’s because of under reporting. These FOI requests suggest that might not be the case

www.lgbtqnation.com/2026/01/almo...

Almost no one is complaining about trans women in women's spaces, study finds - LGBTQ Nation

“This is a manufactured controversy, not a documented crisis.”

www.lgbtqnation.com

January 7, 2026 at 9:05 AM

Reposted by Vivek Nityananda

Andrew King

@shoalgroup.bsky.social

Our paper is published today in Current Biology and is featured on the cover!

We report a neat, and somewhat counter-intuitive, finding: higher-ranking baboons get less and more interrupted night-time rest.

January 6, 2026 at 9:39 AM

Reposted by Vivek Nityananda

Dr. Divya 🇵🇸🧿

@divyampersaud.com

Don't forget these six families and displacement camp! This week we're matching your contributions towards their survival needs! Current priorities are emergency healthcare and winter supplies.

Click "weekly" to sustain this meaningful help: chuffed.org/project/hope...

A banner with a black ink sketch of a perched falcon. Title: Keep hope alive: a Gaza giving circle. The text says: “Help six families & a displacement camp continue to survive under continued bombardment, blockade, and hunger. It’s still life-and-death. Click weekly to join: tinyurl.com/HopeGivingCircle.” On the right is a pinned note reading: “New year’s match! The next £4,000 ($5,350) will be matched!”

January 7, 2026 at 7:00 AM

Reposted by Vivek Nityananda

Davina Hill

@davinahill.bsky.social

Apply for @glasgow.ac.uk's James McCune Smith #PhD Scholarship on this and other topics:

Indicators of #hibernation quality in #hedgehogs with me
@sbohvm.gla.ac.uk & @julianowack.bsky.social @ljmuofficial.bsky.social

Link to apply: www.gla.ac.uk/scholarships...

📅 Deadline: 31st Jan 2026

December 19, 2025 at 11:05 AM

Reposted by Vivek Nityananda

Dr. Divya 🇵🇸🧿

@divyampersaud.com

Appreciate shares, can't really type these anymore, BUT we have an exciting match opportunity this week (up to £4,000, yall).

Your support doubled for six families & a camp: medical emergencies, families in tents, a newborn. Click “weekly” on anything, it helps. chuffed.org/project/hope...

Keep Hope Alive: a Gaza Giving Circle

We are a team of volunteers in the US and UK, led by two sisters passionate about helping our friends on the ground keep their families and neighbors alive with food, water, & shelter. We saw that…

chuffed.org

January 4, 2026 at 8:00 AM

Reposted by Vivek Nityananda

Jayaprakash has a mastertape

@jayaprakash777.bsky.social

“Every empire, however, tells itself and the world that it is unlike all other empires, that its mission is not to plunder and control but to educate and liberate."

― Edward Said

January 4, 2026 at 4:27 AM