Wei Wen
@wwenneuro.bsky.social
Ex- neuroscientist used to patch stuff and still crazy about how circuits work. Feminist | Traveler | Coffee addict. Formerly with Turrigiano Lab @Brandeis. 🧠👩🔬🚴♀️📷🏳️🌈 She/Her/她. 讲中文.
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1422-856X
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1422-856X
Clearly now I feel obligated to follow all food celebrations of Christian holidays. (Or I just really really want a good galette des rois👀)
January 6, 2026 at 6:03 AM
Clearly now I feel obligated to follow all food celebrations of Christian holidays. (Or I just really really want a good galette des rois👀)
Reposted by Wei Wen
“Decant after headlines.”
January 5, 2026 at 10:59 PM
“Decant after headlines.”
Former T lab friend asked me about Ephys stuff, I'm glad I still remember what voltage sag means and how to measure it lol
a man in a black jacket holds a cup of coffee and says " still got it "
Alt: a man in a black jacket holds a cup of coffee and says " still got it "
media.tenor.com
January 5, 2026 at 1:20 PM
Former T lab friend asked me about Ephys stuff, I'm glad I still remember what voltage sag means and how to measure it lol
Reposted by Wei Wen
Another post from a Venezuelan friend:
January 4, 2026 at 6:07 PM
Another post from a Venezuelan friend:
Reposted by Wei Wen
If this result generalises, then the field's great dendritic computation dream is over
Some things we learned: 1. CA1 pyramidal neuron dendritic voltage dynamics during behavior are low-dimensional, well described by just two or three compartments (basal, soma, apical). This rules out models in which dendritic branches act as distinct computational compartments.
January 4, 2026 at 8:54 PM
If this result generalises, then the field's great dendritic computation dream is over
Reposted by Wei Wen
Pro democracy arab intellectuals used to say that there was a difference between the US and Russia or China, because the US at least rhetorically espoused particular ideals. That space between reality and rhetoric could be leveraged, they thought.
There's no such delusion today
There's no such delusion today
The kidnapping of Maduro inaugurates a highly dangerous era of U.S. empire that for perhaps the first time in an era of mass media is not pretending to be anything other than a violent, extractive enterprise of domination.
A Criminal Empire
The United States launches a conquest and occupation of Venezuela to extract its oil wealth. The neocon dream is the America First dream
www.forever-wars.com
January 3, 2026 at 9:31 PM
Pro democracy arab intellectuals used to say that there was a difference between the US and Russia or China, because the US at least rhetorically espoused particular ideals. That space between reality and rhetoric could be leveraged, they thought.
There's no such delusion today
There's no such delusion today
Reposted by Wei Wen
Reposted by Wei Wen
I don't think you non-science people realize what it takes to get a grant funded by NIH. Started experiments in Sept 2021 to generate 3 new mouse mutants to model human disease. Prelim dara shows they have relevant disease phenotypes worthy of study. Need a small grant first to characterize /1
January 2, 2026 at 3:19 AM
I don't think you non-science people realize what it takes to get a grant funded by NIH. Started experiments in Sept 2021 to generate 3 new mouse mutants to model human disease. Prelim dara shows they have relevant disease phenotypes worthy of study. Need a small grant first to characterize /1
Wow!
ROV pilots filmed this giant phantom jelly, or Stygiomedusa gigantea, at 253 meters during an ROV descent to explore the Colorado-Rawson submarine canyon wall. #ArgentinianDeepSeeps
January 2, 2026 at 1:30 PM
Wow!
This is def a recurring theme in China on many spatial scales. Common CH people rarely regard natives of the metropolitan cities (like Beijing) as their own. Within a province, the culture in the capital city are often belittled by the rest as “not authentic” (“they don’t know how to cook that!”).
Do other countries have this weird notion that you’re not a “real” representative of the nation if you live in an urban center? Like do the French say Parisians aren’t really French? Are you considered not a real German if you live in Berlin? Or is this mainly a weird American thing?
January 1, 2026 at 10:31 PM
This is def a recurring theme in China on many spatial scales. Common CH people rarely regard natives of the metropolitan cities (like Beijing) as their own. Within a province, the culture in the capital city are often belittled by the rest as “not authentic” (“they don’t know how to cook that!”).
Reposted by Wei Wen
You can see some of these stereotypes - the simple, morally pure countryside vs. the morally compromised, inauthentic city - play out in Greek and Roman literature.
So this is a very old idea that recurs regularly.
So this is a very old idea that recurs regularly.
Do other countries have this weird notion that you’re not a “real” representative of the nation if you live in an urban center? Like do the French say Parisians aren’t really French? Are you considered not a real German if you live in Berlin? Or is this mainly a weird American thing?
January 1, 2026 at 7:24 PM
You can see some of these stereotypes - the simple, morally pure countryside vs. the morally compromised, inauthentic city - play out in Greek and Roman literature.
So this is a very old idea that recurs regularly.
So this is a very old idea that recurs regularly.
It’s already 2026 for me so I’ve shredded off the cover of my new desk calendar. Love the first quote- from a poem by Mark Strand:
One foot in front of the other. The hours pass.
One foot in front of the other. The years pass.
The colors of arrival fade.
This is the way I do it.
One foot in front of the other. The hours pass.
One foot in front of the other. The years pass.
The colors of arrival fade.
This is the way I do it.
December 31, 2025 at 11:28 PM
It’s already 2026 for me so I’ve shredded off the cover of my new desk calendar. Love the first quote- from a poem by Mark Strand:
One foot in front of the other. The hours pass.
One foot in front of the other. The years pass.
The colors of arrival fade.
This is the way I do it.
One foot in front of the other. The hours pass.
One foot in front of the other. The years pass.
The colors of arrival fade.
This is the way I do it.
2025 has been the year of change for me. I said goodbye to people and things I hold dear, moved back to the other side of the globe, got a new job, rekindled some old relationships, and despite the lingering sadness in me, I have, surprisingly, found peace in this new way of life.
December 31, 2025 at 2:21 PM
2025 has been the year of change for me. I said goodbye to people and things I hold dear, moved back to the other side of the globe, got a new job, rekindled some old relationships, and despite the lingering sadness in me, I have, surprisingly, found peace in this new way of life.
Reposted by Wei Wen
Finally, skin brightness – but not skin color – recorded in darkness in the sleeping panther chameleon oscillates at this infraslow rhythm, possibly reflecting blood oxygenation, and bouts of eye movements occurred markedly during one half of the cycle, which could be a marker of vigilance. 6/8
December 29, 2025 at 4:17 PM
Finally, skin brightness – but not skin color – recorded in darkness in the sleeping panther chameleon oscillates at this infraslow rhythm, possibly reflecting blood oxygenation, and bouts of eye movements occurred markedly during one half of the cycle, which could be a marker of vigilance. 6/8
Reposted by Wei Wen
⚠️ New paper alert and what a way to end 2025! 🎉
Happy to share our story “Sleep-dependent infraslow rhythms are evolutionarily conserved across reptiles and mammals.” published today in Nature Neuroscience.
Sleeping dragons 🦎 and functional ultrasound!
Read the full paper here: rdcu.be/eWJHb 1/8
Happy to share our story “Sleep-dependent infraslow rhythms are evolutionarily conserved across reptiles and mammals.” published today in Nature Neuroscience.
Sleeping dragons 🦎 and functional ultrasound!
Read the full paper here: rdcu.be/eWJHb 1/8
Sleep-dependent infraslow rhythms are evolutionarily conserved across reptiles and mammals
Nature Neuroscience - Bergel et al. show that an infraslow rhythm connecting the brain and body during sleep is shared by lizards, mammals and birds, revealing an ancestral process and reshaping...
rdcu.be
December 29, 2025 at 4:17 PM
⚠️ New paper alert and what a way to end 2025! 🎉
Happy to share our story “Sleep-dependent infraslow rhythms are evolutionarily conserved across reptiles and mammals.” published today in Nature Neuroscience.
Sleeping dragons 🦎 and functional ultrasound!
Read the full paper here: rdcu.be/eWJHb 1/8
Happy to share our story “Sleep-dependent infraslow rhythms are evolutionarily conserved across reptiles and mammals.” published today in Nature Neuroscience.
Sleeping dragons 🦎 and functional ultrasound!
Read the full paper here: rdcu.be/eWJHb 1/8
Reposted by Wei Wen
BREAKING: The National Institutes of Health has agreed to evaluate grant applications that were wrongfully frozen due to the Trump administration’s ideological purge of biomedical research.
December 29, 2025 at 11:14 PM
BREAKING: The National Institutes of Health has agreed to evaluate grant applications that were wrongfully frozen due to the Trump administration’s ideological purge of biomedical research.
Reposted by Wei Wen
A free, open-access library of high-quality organism illustrations for science communication
A free, open-access library of high-quality organism illustrations for science communication
We create vector graphics of model organisms and emerging biological research organisms to enhance our publications. We’re sharing these editable graphics under a CC0 license for other scientists to...
doi.org
December 29, 2025 at 6:03 PM
A free, open-access library of high-quality organism illustrations for science communication
Dad decided to get pet fishes because “they shouldn’t take too much effort to take care of”. And of course it turned out to be exactly the opposite. 👀
December 28, 2025 at 1:16 AM
Dad decided to get pet fishes because “they shouldn’t take too much effort to take care of”. And of course it turned out to be exactly the opposite. 👀
Reposted by Wei Wen
More on the continuing purges at #NIH. Now 13 out of 27 institute directors have been gotten rid of. This is not normal. @jonathanwosen.bsky.social www.statnews.com/2025/12/27/n...
Director of NIH neurological disorders institute is ousted, adding to leadership churn
Walter Koroshetz, director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, will soon be leaving his role, STAT has learned. His departure
www.statnews.com
December 27, 2025 at 7:05 PM
More on the continuing purges at #NIH. Now 13 out of 27 institute directors have been gotten rid of. This is not normal. @jonathanwosen.bsky.social www.statnews.com/2025/12/27/n...
Reposted by Wei Wen
Soon you may be able to type a new Chinese character: the gender-neutral pronoun
Soon you may be able to type a new Chinese character: the gender-neutral pronoun | CNN
Chinese pronouns are largely split between female and male – prompting LGBTQ activists to invent their own gender-neutral pronoun. That movement just took a big step forward.
edition.cnn.com
December 26, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Soon you may be able to type a new Chinese character: the gender-neutral pronoun
Cool data vis!
MECP2 Duplication Uncouples Mitochondrial and Purine Metabolism During neuronal maturation https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.24.696399v1
December 27, 2025 at 12:50 AM
Cool data vis!
Reposted by Wei Wen
This story is absolutely wild. Did you know that avocados change sex over the course of a day? And that it's controlled by a single ancient balanced polymorphism? This is flat our crazy
Balanced polymorphism in a floral transcription factor underlies an ancient rhythm of daily sex alternation in avocado https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.22.695989v1
December 25, 2025 at 6:33 AM
This story is absolutely wild. Did you know that avocados change sex over the course of a day? And that it's controlled by a single ancient balanced polymorphism? This is flat our crazy
Reposted by Wei Wen
Why do babies kick in the womb?
Today I'm delighted to share our latest paper, led with great creativity by postdoc @cpane94.bsky.social, in wonderful collaboration with Niamh Nowlan at UCD Dublin.
"Maternal exercise rescues fetal akinesia-impaired joint and bone development"
A paper thread:
Today I'm delighted to share our latest paper, led with great creativity by postdoc @cpane94.bsky.social, in wonderful collaboration with Niamh Nowlan at UCD Dublin.
"Maternal exercise rescues fetal akinesia-impaired joint and bone development"
A paper thread:
December 16, 2025 at 3:28 AM
Why do babies kick in the womb?
Today I'm delighted to share our latest paper, led with great creativity by postdoc @cpane94.bsky.social, in wonderful collaboration with Niamh Nowlan at UCD Dublin.
"Maternal exercise rescues fetal akinesia-impaired joint and bone development"
A paper thread:
Today I'm delighted to share our latest paper, led with great creativity by postdoc @cpane94.bsky.social, in wonderful collaboration with Niamh Nowlan at UCD Dublin.
"Maternal exercise rescues fetal akinesia-impaired joint and bone development"
A paper thread:
Reposted by Wei Wen
0.00003 foot tall xmas tree from a Drosophila flight steering muscle 🎄
image by @anne-sustar.bsky.social
image by @anne-sustar.bsky.social
December 24, 2025 at 11:34 PM
0.00003 foot tall xmas tree from a Drosophila flight steering muscle 🎄
image by @anne-sustar.bsky.social
image by @anne-sustar.bsky.social
Reposted by Wei Wen
Very cool paper from @jangrundemann.bsky.social lab! Axon initial segment dynamics during associative fear learning | Nature Neuroscience share.google/GH5iaWUINB5w...
Axon initial segment dynamics during associative fear learning - Nature Neuroscience
Benoit, Ganea et al. show that changes in axon initial segment (AIS) length in the prefrontal cortex of mice accompany fear learning and extinction, revealing AIS plasticity as a key feature of neuron...
share.google
December 24, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Very cool paper from @jangrundemann.bsky.social lab! Axon initial segment dynamics during associative fear learning | Nature Neuroscience share.google/GH5iaWUINB5w...