Marcus Alexander, MD, PhD
@mrcxndr.bsky.social
Resident Physician @UCSF. Previously, Neurosurgery @Miami, Scientist @Yale, PhD @Harvard, MPhil @Oxford, BA @Yale. Interested in systems neuroscience of human social cognition, social networks, and neuromodulation.
Ancient genomes from eastern Kazakhstan reveal dynamic genetic legacy of Inner Eurasian hunter-gatherers | Science Advances www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Ancient genomes from eastern Kazakhstan reveal dynamic genetic legacy of Inner Eurasian hunter-gatherers
Inner Asian hunter-gatherers were structured by riverine geography and contributed genetically to later pastoralists.
www.science.org
October 18, 2025 at 1:43 AM
Ancient genomes from eastern Kazakhstan reveal dynamic genetic legacy of Inner Eurasian hunter-gatherers | Science Advances www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Marcus Alexander, MD, PhD
Inventive and cool 2020 paper on the universality of facial expressions (and emotions): the occurrence of 16 expressions in 6M videos from 144 countries was examined using machine learning: facial expressions had distinct associations with a set of contexts. nature.com/articles/s41...
@nature.com
@nature.com
October 11, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Inventive and cool 2020 paper on the universality of facial expressions (and emotions): the occurrence of 16 expressions in 6M videos from 144 countries was examined using machine learning: facial expressions had distinct associations with a set of contexts. nature.com/articles/s41...
@nature.com
@nature.com
Reposted by Marcus Alexander, MD, PhD
How We Misread the Social World—and Why That Matters datascience.columbia.edu/news/2025/ho...
How We Misread the Social World—and Why That Matters - The Data Science Institute at Columbia University
Most people assume they have a clear sense of the social world around them. They think that they know who spends time together, who confides in whom, and which relationships … Continued
datascience.columbia.edu
July 13, 2025 at 12:29 PM
How We Misread the Social World—and Why That Matters datascience.columbia.edu/news/2025/ho...
Reposted by Marcus Alexander, MD, PhD
@ericfeltham.bsky.social, Laura Forastiere & @nachristakis.bsky.social show how people mis-perceive social ties between others, using data from >10,000 rural Hondurans
Tl;dr they know kinship ties well, then incorrectly base friendship/advice judgements on kinship
Tl;dr they know kinship ties well, then incorrectly base friendship/advice judgements on kinship
Cognitive representations of social networks in isolated villages - Nature Human Behaviour
Feltham et al. develop a sampling strategy to evaluate social network cognition across 82 Honduran villages, systematically mapping the underlying village networks.
www.nature.com
July 15, 2025 at 12:52 PM
@ericfeltham.bsky.social, Laura Forastiere & @nachristakis.bsky.social show how people mis-perceive social ties between others, using data from >10,000 rural Hondurans
Tl;dr they know kinship ties well, then incorrectly base friendship/advice judgements on kinship
Tl;dr they know kinship ties well, then incorrectly base friendship/advice judgements on kinship
Reposted by Marcus Alexander, MD, PhD
A study, led by Dr. Melanie Morrison of @ucsfimaging.bsky.social, of 231 patients with Parkinson's shows that combining fractal dimension metrics from routine MRI with clinical data improves predictions of DBS outcomes. Full study in @natcomms.nature.com: bit.ly/4ey6p0l
July 16, 2025 at 4:17 PM
A study, led by Dr. Melanie Morrison of @ucsfimaging.bsky.social, of 231 patients with Parkinson's shows that combining fractal dimension metrics from routine MRI with clinical data improves predictions of DBS outcomes. Full study in @natcomms.nature.com: bit.ly/4ey6p0l
Reposted by Marcus Alexander, MD, PhD
@timmiller.bsky.social had on @nickkristof.bsky.social on The @thebulwark.com Podcast earlier this week. Kristof described in detail how there have ALREADY been innumerable deaths & suffering as a result of Elon’s USAID cuts.
youtu.be/-em2VqmUMj0?...
youtu.be/-em2VqmUMj0?...
How Trump’s USAID Cuts Wrecked Lives and Killed Children (w/ Nick Kristof)
YouTube video by The Bulwark
youtu.be
July 1, 2025 at 10:57 PM
@timmiller.bsky.social had on @nickkristof.bsky.social on The @thebulwark.com Podcast earlier this week. Kristof described in detail how there have ALREADY been innumerable deaths & suffering as a result of Elon’s USAID cuts.
youtu.be/-em2VqmUMj0?...
youtu.be/-em2VqmUMj0?...
Reposted by Marcus Alexander, MD, PhD
‼️🚨 postdoc position 🚨‼️
I am looking for a postdoc in psychoneuroimmunology - come join our group to work on sickness behavior in humans 🤒🦠 at Karolinska Institutet @ki.se !!
ki.varbi.com/en/what:job/...
deadline July 31st
@pnirs.bsky.social #neuroskyence #PsychSciSky #interoception
I am looking for a postdoc in psychoneuroimmunology - come join our group to work on sickness behavior in humans 🤒🦠 at Karolinska Institutet @ki.se !!
ki.varbi.com/en/what:job/...
deadline July 31st
@pnirs.bsky.social #neuroskyence #PsychSciSky #interoception
Postdoctoral Researcher in Psychoneuroimmunology
Do you want to contribute to improving human health? Join a dynamic and inclusive research group at the forefront of psychoneuroimmunology, where we investigate the interplay between behavior, brain f
ki.varbi.com
June 21, 2025 at 11:38 AM
‼️🚨 postdoc position 🚨‼️
I am looking for a postdoc in psychoneuroimmunology - come join our group to work on sickness behavior in humans 🤒🦠 at Karolinska Institutet @ki.se !!
ki.varbi.com/en/what:job/...
deadline July 31st
@pnirs.bsky.social #neuroskyence #PsychSciSky #interoception
I am looking for a postdoc in psychoneuroimmunology - come join our group to work on sickness behavior in humans 🤒🦠 at Karolinska Institutet @ki.se !!
ki.varbi.com/en/what:job/...
deadline July 31st
@pnirs.bsky.social #neuroskyence #PsychSciSky #interoception
Reposted by Marcus Alexander, MD, PhD
Our preprint “How Malicious AI Swarms Can Threaten Democracy” is now online.
We show how coordinated multi-agent LLM swarms can infiltrate communities, craft synthetic grassroots “consensus,” and erode institutional trust—and what we can do now to stop it.
osf.io/preprints/os...
We show how coordinated multi-agent LLM swarms can infiltrate communities, craft synthetic grassroots “consensus,” and erode institutional trust—and what we can do now to stop it.
osf.io/preprints/os...
OSF
osf.io
June 3, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Our preprint “How Malicious AI Swarms Can Threaten Democracy” is now online.
We show how coordinated multi-agent LLM swarms can infiltrate communities, craft synthetic grassroots “consensus,” and erode institutional trust—and what we can do now to stop it.
osf.io/preprints/os...
We show how coordinated multi-agent LLM swarms can infiltrate communities, craft synthetic grassroots “consensus,” and erode institutional trust—and what we can do now to stop it.
osf.io/preprints/os...
Reposted by Marcus Alexander, MD, PhD
Have a dog and want to know how long it can be expected to live (in this modern era when dogs no longer 'run loose' and get hit by cars, and where they get much improved veterinary care)?
Here is the relevant lifetable from an excellent 2022 study. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Here is the relevant lifetable from an excellent 2022 study. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
May 18, 2025 at 11:51 PM
Have a dog and want to know how long it can be expected to live (in this modern era when dogs no longer 'run loose' and get hit by cars, and where they get much improved veterinary care)?
Here is the relevant lifetable from an excellent 2022 study. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Here is the relevant lifetable from an excellent 2022 study. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Marcus Alexander, MD, PhD
Folks, Sara Niksic / Inner Child is fundraising for the next iteration of her phenomenal whale song/music science communication project - please consider a small donation to help make this happen 🎶🦑🐋 whydonate.com/en/fundraisi...
Fundraiser by Sara Niksic | Whale Song Revolution
Sara Niksic Needs Your Help | Do you want to be part of the Whale Song Revolution ??? My name is Sara Niksic , also known...
whydonate.com
May 17, 2025 at 7:09 PM
Folks, Sara Niksic / Inner Child is fundraising for the next iteration of her phenomenal whale song/music science communication project - please consider a small donation to help make this happen 🎶🦑🐋 whydonate.com/en/fundraisi...
Definitely the bet book I read part year. Happy to see it recognized. ‘James’ Won the Pulitzer, but Not Without Complications www.nytimes.com/2025/05/06/b...
‘James’ Won the Pulitzer, but Not Without Complications
www.nytimes.com
May 8, 2025 at 2:36 PM
Definitely the bet book I read part year. Happy to see it recognized. ‘James’ Won the Pulitzer, but Not Without Complications www.nytimes.com/2025/05/06/b...
Reposted by Marcus Alexander, MD, PhD
Neural signature underlying the effect of intranasal vasopressin on emotional responses to spontaneous social comparison https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.05.01.651624v1
May 8, 2025 at 1:16 AM
Neural signature underlying the effect of intranasal vasopressin on emotional responses to spontaneous social comparison https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.05.01.651624v1
Reposted by Marcus Alexander, MD, PhD
Better tech is giving scientists new insights into how our brains encode language and perform other uniquely human functions. In @thetransmitter.bsky.social, @neurosurgucsf.bsky.social’s Dr. Edward Chang (@changlabucsf.bsky.social) & Dr. Jason Chung break it down & discuss what comes next.
Tracking single neurons in the human brain reveals new insight into language and other human-specific functions
Better technologies to stably monitor cell populations over long periods of time make it possible to study neural coding and dynamics in the human brain.
www.thetransmitter.org
May 2, 2025 at 8:10 PM
Better tech is giving scientists new insights into how our brains encode language and perform other uniquely human functions. In @thetransmitter.bsky.social, @neurosurgucsf.bsky.social’s Dr. Edward Chang (@changlabucsf.bsky.social) & Dr. Jason Chung break it down & discuss what comes next.
Harvard Signals It Will Resist Trump’s Efforts to Revoke Tax-Exempt Status www.nytimes.com/2025/05/02/u...
Trump Says He’s ‘Taking Away’ Harvard’s Tax Exempt Status
President Trump on Friday said he would be “taking away” the university’s status, renewing a threat he made last month. It was not immediately clear if the I.R.S. was moving forward with a change.
www.nytimes.com
May 3, 2025 at 6:56 PM
Harvard Signals It Will Resist Trump’s Efforts to Revoke Tax-Exempt Status www.nytimes.com/2025/05/02/u...
Harvard’s President Is Fighting Trump. He Also Agrees With Him. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/03/u...
Harvard’s President Alan Garber Talks About His Legal Fight With Trump
Alan Garber became a hero to liberals after Harvard resisted the federal government. At the same time, he is trying to remake campus culture in ways the Trump administration might appreciate.
www.nytimes.com
May 3, 2025 at 6:56 PM
Harvard’s President Is Fighting Trump. He Also Agrees With Him. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/03/u...
Reposted by Marcus Alexander, MD, PhD
On the Berkeley Voices podcast, @berkeleyengineer.bsky.social's Gopala Anumanchipalli, PhD & Kaylo Littlejohn discuss their latest milestone with a neuroprosthesis developed by @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social & @ucsanfrancisco.bsky.social scientists to restore speech for people with paralysis. 🧠📈 🧪
Berkeley Voices: A stroke left her ‘locked in.’ With the help of AI, she heard her voice again. - Berkeley News
UC Berkeley researchers explain how a brain-computer interface restored Ann Johnson’s ability to speak after 18 years.
news.berkeley.edu
May 1, 2025 at 5:20 PM
On the Berkeley Voices podcast, @berkeleyengineer.bsky.social's Gopala Anumanchipalli, PhD & Kaylo Littlejohn discuss their latest milestone with a neuroprosthesis developed by @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social & @ucsanfrancisco.bsky.social scientists to restore speech for people with paralysis. 🧠📈 🧪
Reposted by Marcus Alexander, MD, PhD
Halting NIH foreign awards means that “more children and adults in low-income countries will now lose their lives because of research that didn’t get done about diseases like malaria and TB.”
Plus: sometimes we collect data abroad about a scientific concern that affects all humans, including us!
Plus: sometimes we collect data abroad about a scientific concern that affects all humans, including us!
Exclusive: NIH to suspend funds for research abroad as it overhauls policy
Move by US biomedical agency threatens thousands of projects on infectious diseases, cancer and more.
www.nature.com
April 30, 2025 at 11:37 PM
Halting NIH foreign awards means that “more children and adults in low-income countries will now lose their lives because of research that didn’t get done about diseases like malaria and TB.”
Plus: sometimes we collect data abroad about a scientific concern that affects all humans, including us!
Plus: sometimes we collect data abroad about a scientific concern that affects all humans, including us!
What makes Wynwood in Miami one of the most important inspiring urban places.
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/26/a...
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/26/a...
In Miami, Wynwood Walls and Street Art Continue to Evolve
Jessica Goldman Srebnick, the museum’s curator and the daughter of its creator, Tony Goldman, discussed her role and her vision for the neighborhood’s artistic future.
www.nytimes.com
May 1, 2025 at 3:35 PM
What makes Wynwood in Miami one of the most important inspiring urban places.
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/26/a...
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/26/a...
Reposted by Marcus Alexander, MD, PhD
National Adopt a Shelter Pet Day is on April 30. To bring awareness to the day, the Up First newsletter is sharing some stories from readers about how their pet has impacted their lives.
From dogs to rabbits, NPR readers share how adopting shelter pets impacted them
National Adopt a Shelter Pet Day is on April 30. To bring awareness to the day, the Up First newsletter is sharing some stories from readers about how their pet has impacted their lives.
www.npr.org
April 27, 2025 at 3:17 PM
National Adopt a Shelter Pet Day is on April 30. To bring awareness to the day, the Up First newsletter is sharing some stories from readers about how their pet has impacted their lives.
Reposted by Marcus Alexander, MD, PhD
Happy birthday to the Hubble Space Telescope, launched from the Kennedy Space Center #OTD in 1990. Here's to a remarkable 35 years of imaging the Cosmos. 🧪 🔭 ⚛️
Leave your favorite Hubble images in the replies!
Leave your favorite Hubble images in the replies!
April 24, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Happy birthday to the Hubble Space Telescope, launched from the Kennedy Space Center #OTD in 1990. Here's to a remarkable 35 years of imaging the Cosmos. 🧪 🔭 ⚛️
Leave your favorite Hubble images in the replies!
Leave your favorite Hubble images in the replies!