Orit Peleg
@oritpeleg.bsky.social
Dreaming of a cloudy sky | Associate Prof. | Computer Science & BioFrontiers, CUBoulder | Ext. Faculty, Santa Fe Institute | www.peleglab.com
Boulder friends: if you’re into animal behavior or vision, come to The Language of Light: Bioluminescence in the Deep Sea with Sönke Johnsen (Duke)!
Fri Nov 14, 4-5:30 pm, Benson Earth Sciences Auditorium, Room 180. Reception 5:30-6:30 at the Earth Sciences & Map Library
Free and open to all!
Fri Nov 14, 4-5:30 pm, Benson Earth Sciences Auditorium, Room 180. Reception 5:30-6:30 at the Earth Sciences & Map Library
Free and open to all!
November 9, 2025 at 8:54 PM
Boulder friends: if you’re into animal behavior or vision, come to The Language of Light: Bioluminescence in the Deep Sea with Sönke Johnsen (Duke)!
Fri Nov 14, 4-5:30 pm, Benson Earth Sciences Auditorium, Room 180. Reception 5:30-6:30 at the Earth Sciences & Map Library
Free and open to all!
Fri Nov 14, 4-5:30 pm, Benson Earth Sciences Auditorium, Room 180. Reception 5:30-6:30 at the Earth Sciences & Map Library
Free and open to all!
Reposted by Orit Peleg
I'm really looking forward to hosting this @metagov.bsky.social seminar on the governance of bees, fireflies, and plants with my colleage @oritpeleg.bsky.social: luma.com/pzbp4zq1
Seminar: Governance Among Plants & Insects with Dr. Orit Peleg · Zoom · Luma
Dr. Orit Peleg seeks to understand the behavior of disordered living systems by merging tools from physics, biology, engineering, and computer science. At the…
luma.com
September 27, 2025 at 9:43 PM
I'm really looking forward to hosting this @metagov.bsky.social seminar on the governance of bees, fireflies, and plants with my colleage @oritpeleg.bsky.social: luma.com/pzbp4zq1
Reposted by Orit Peleg
#NetSI 's first-year PhD student Chethan Kavaraganahalli Prasanna co-authored a study with Univ. of Colorado Boulder featured in the NYT and published in PLOS Biology (shorturl.at/iHeXb)!
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/s...
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/s...
Even on a Rough Construction Site, Honeybees Figure It Out
www.nytimes.com
August 30, 2025 at 2:03 PM
#NetSI 's first-year PhD student Chethan Kavaraganahalli Prasanna co-authored a study with Univ. of Colorado Boulder featured in the NYT and published in PLOS Biology (shorturl.at/iHeXb)!
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/s...
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/s...
Reposted by Orit Peleg
How do #honeybees adapt their comb-building to different spatial constraints? A new study from @oritpeleg.bsky.social &co uses 3D printed panels and X-ray microscopy to reveal the existence of three distinct construction modes, from tilting cells to building complex 3D structures.🧪
plos.io/4n1g6Hs
plos.io/4n1g6Hs
Honeybees adapt to a range of comb cell sizes by merging, tilting, and layering their construction
Honeybees often need to build their comb under conditions that prevent a regular hexagonal lattice. This study uses 3D printed panels and X-ray microscopy to explore their adaptive process when differ...
plos.io
August 27, 2025 at 9:42 AM
How do #honeybees adapt their comb-building to different spatial constraints? A new study from @oritpeleg.bsky.social &co uses 3D printed panels and X-ray microscopy to reveal the existence of three distinct construction modes, from tilting cells to building complex 3D structures.🧪
plos.io/4n1g6Hs
plos.io/4n1g6Hs
New paper in PLOS Biology: as we raise the difficulty of our 3D printed puzzles, bees keep landing on combs with ever stranger hexagonal order! 🐝
Led by the brilliant Golnar Gharooni Fard, in collaboration with CK Prasanna & FL Jiménez
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
Led by the brilliant Golnar Gharooni Fard, in collaboration with CK Prasanna & FL Jiménez
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
August 26, 2025 at 5:51 PM
New paper in PLOS Biology: as we raise the difficulty of our 3D printed puzzles, bees keep landing on combs with ever stranger hexagonal order! 🐝
Led by the brilliant Golnar Gharooni Fard, in collaboration with CK Prasanna & FL Jiménez
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
Led by the brilliant Golnar Gharooni Fard, in collaboration with CK Prasanna & FL Jiménez
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
More on collective behavior: Our new Annual Review of Biophysics piece - with the stellar Danielle Chase - explores how animals sense, share information, and make group decisions. In honeybees and beyond 🐝
www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...
www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...
August 9, 2025 at 9:16 PM
More on collective behavior: Our new Annual Review of Biophysics piece - with the stellar Danielle Chase - explores how animals sense, share information, and make group decisions. In honeybees and beyond 🐝
www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...
www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...
Reposted by Orit Peleg
It was an honor to write this, but also great fun. A chance to look back at the classics, and think about the path forward. #Physics is a beautiful human endeavor. journals.aps.org/prxlife/abst...
Emergence of Brains
This review traces how ideas from statistical physics evolved into foundational models of neural computation, shaping modern AI and culminating in the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics.
journals.aps.org
August 9, 2025 at 2:19 PM
It was an honor to write this, but also great fun. A chance to look back at the classics, and think about the path forward. #Physics is a beautiful human endeavor. journals.aps.org/prxlife/abst...
New review in PRX Life, where we propose a tangibility scale for the physics of social interactions, and highlight a few tangible examples - from dead fish “swimming” to efficient schooling, warm penguin huddles, and dry ant rafts.
Written with the brilliant Chantal Nguyen 🐟🐧🐜
tinyurl.com/naet5tdh
Written with the brilliant Chantal Nguyen 🐟🐧🐜
tinyurl.com/naet5tdh
July 27, 2025 at 12:11 AM
New review in PRX Life, where we propose a tangibility scale for the physics of social interactions, and highlight a few tangible examples - from dead fish “swimming” to efficient schooling, warm penguin huddles, and dry ant rafts.
Written with the brilliant Chantal Nguyen 🐟🐧🐜
tinyurl.com/naet5tdh
Written with the brilliant Chantal Nguyen 🐟🐧🐜
tinyurl.com/naet5tdh
Reposted by Orit Peleg
Fireflies are still generally declining, & light pollution is one big reason why, but a few species are also carrying on in places that are bathed in artificial light. Which is pretty wild!
Featuring Sriram Murali's excellent photography! 🧪
www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/arti...
Featuring Sriram Murali's excellent photography! 🧪
www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/arti...
Fireflies are flourishing in places you wouldn't expect
Pesticides, habitat loss, and light pollution are threatening firefly populations worldwide, but even in urban areas, some lightning bugs continue to shine.
www.nationalgeographic.com
July 14, 2025 at 2:37 PM
Fireflies are still generally declining, & light pollution is one big reason why, but a few species are also carrying on in places that are bathed in artificial light. Which is pretty wild!
Featuring Sriram Murali's excellent photography! 🧪
www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/arti...
Featuring Sriram Murali's excellent photography! 🧪
www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/arti...
Reposted by Orit Peleg
Nearly a century before the invention of the microscope and even longer before entomology became a field of research, Joris Hoefnagel (1542-1600) devoted himself to studying the natural world. He's thought to have created the first compendium of its kind.
The 16th-Century Artist Who Created the First Compendium of Insect Drawings
Before the invention of the microscope and the field of entomology emerged, Joris Hoefnagel devoted himself to the natural world.
www.thisiscolossal.com
July 14, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Nearly a century before the invention of the microscope and even longer before entomology became a field of research, Joris Hoefnagel (1542-1600) devoted himself to studying the natural world. He's thought to have created the first compendium of its kind.
📣 We're on the lookout for a creative postdoc with strong computational skills!
Be the go-to person in the lab for building simple but powerful simulations that test wild ideas on biological rythems: from daily cycles of mussel groups at deep sea, to firefly flash synchronization!
More info below👇
Be the go-to person in the lab for building simple but powerful simulations that test wild ideas on biological rythems: from daily cycles of mussel groups at deep sea, to firefly flash synchronization!
More info below👇
July 3, 2025 at 1:11 AM
📣 We're on the lookout for a creative postdoc with strong computational skills!
Be the go-to person in the lab for building simple but powerful simulations that test wild ideas on biological rythems: from daily cycles of mussel groups at deep sea, to firefly flash synchronization!
More info below👇
Be the go-to person in the lab for building simple but powerful simulations that test wild ideas on biological rythems: from daily cycles of mussel groups at deep sea, to firefly flash synchronization!
More info below👇
Help us record firefly flashes! 👇🙏
Do you have fireflies in your backyard? Biologist @oritpeleg.bsky.social is collecting data! #emergence docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Help us Record Firefly Flashes ✨
Firefly flashes are amazing ❤️ During mating season, fireflies gather in groups and flash their species-specific flash pattern. To better understand these communication signals, we developed a method ...
docs.google.com
June 25, 2025 at 9:32 PM
Help us record firefly flashes! 👇🙏
Reposted by Orit Peleg
Hello hello #complexity and #emergence people.
I'm getting a complexity+emergence (broadly defined) starter pack going.
I've focused on active accounts that often make original posts (not just reposts) and have at least a few thousand followers. Inclusion is not endorsement.
go.bsky.app/BLuVyWj
I'm getting a complexity+emergence (broadly defined) starter pack going.
I've focused on active accounts that often make original posts (not just reposts) and have at least a few thousand followers. Inclusion is not endorsement.
go.bsky.app/BLuVyWj
June 23, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Hello hello #complexity and #emergence people.
I'm getting a complexity+emergence (broadly defined) starter pack going.
I've focused on active accounts that often make original posts (not just reposts) and have at least a few thousand followers. Inclusion is not endorsement.
go.bsky.app/BLuVyWj
I'm getting a complexity+emergence (broadly defined) starter pack going.
I've focused on active accounts that often make original posts (not just reposts) and have at least a few thousand followers. Inclusion is not endorsement.
go.bsky.app/BLuVyWj
Reposted by Orit Peleg
Decoding 🌟 firefly communication & conservation in Colorado
Join us for a *free* evening talk by @oritpeleg.bsky.social at the Mountain Research Station (run by @colorado.edu + INSTAAR):
🗓 Wed Jun 18th
🕖 7:00 pm
📍 Near Ward CO
🔗 calendar.colorado.edu/event/orit-p...
Join us for a *free* evening talk by @oritpeleg.bsky.social at the Mountain Research Station (run by @colorado.edu + INSTAAR):
🗓 Wed Jun 18th
🕖 7:00 pm
📍 Near Ward CO
🔗 calendar.colorado.edu/event/orit-p...
June 16, 2025 at 10:20 PM
Decoding 🌟 firefly communication & conservation in Colorado
Join us for a *free* evening talk by @oritpeleg.bsky.social at the Mountain Research Station (run by @colorado.edu + INSTAAR):
🗓 Wed Jun 18th
🕖 7:00 pm
📍 Near Ward CO
🔗 calendar.colorado.edu/event/orit-p...
Join us for a *free* evening talk by @oritpeleg.bsky.social at the Mountain Research Station (run by @colorado.edu + INSTAAR):
🗓 Wed Jun 18th
🕖 7:00 pm
📍 Near Ward CO
🔗 calendar.colorado.edu/event/orit-p...
Reposted by Orit Peleg
Among the thousands of firefly species in the world, only a handful blink in sync. While both male and female fireflies flash, only the males synchronize. 🧪
The Mathematical Mysteries of Fireflies
What blinking bugs reveal about synchrony in the universe
nautil.us
May 4, 2025 at 2:42 PM
Among the thousands of firefly species in the world, only a handful blink in sync. While both male and female fireflies flash, only the males synchronize. 🧪
In these chaotic times, I’ve been grounding myself in my mentees’ successes: here’s a beautiful story by PhD candidate Owen Martin (@lepurplemartin.bsky.social) on Colorado’s fireflies 🌟✨ theconversation.com/fleeting-fir...
Fleeting fireflies illuminate Colorado summer nights − and researchers are watching
New research uses firefly flashing patterns to identify species and what they’re communicating.
theconversation.com
May 4, 2025 at 6:07 PM
In these chaotic times, I’ve been grounding myself in my mentees’ successes: here’s a beautiful story by PhD candidate Owen Martin (@lepurplemartin.bsky.social) on Colorado’s fireflies 🌟✨ theconversation.com/fleeting-fir...
Reposted by Orit Peleg
NEW PAPER, JUST OUT! 👀
Insects from the '70s and '80s were already collecting microplastic, decades before the term microplastic even existed. 🤯
A thread on the surprising history of this pollutant and the incredible insect larvae that helped us uncover it. 🐛
Let's dive in! 🧵👇 1/x
Insects from the '70s and '80s were already collecting microplastic, decades before the term microplastic even existed. 🤯
A thread on the surprising history of this pollutant and the incredible insect larvae that helped us uncover it. 🐛
Let's dive in! 🧵👇 1/x
April 9, 2025 at 10:07 AM
NEW PAPER, JUST OUT! 👀
Insects from the '70s and '80s were already collecting microplastic, decades before the term microplastic even existed. 🤯
A thread on the surprising history of this pollutant and the incredible insect larvae that helped us uncover it. 🐛
Let's dive in! 🧵👇 1/x
Insects from the '70s and '80s were already collecting microplastic, decades before the term microplastic even existed. 🤯
A thread on the surprising history of this pollutant and the incredible insect larvae that helped us uncover it. 🐛
Let's dive in! 🧵👇 1/x
Reposted by Orit Peleg
📢Excited to share our new paper in Nature Physics
@naturephysics.bsky.social: Cooperative hydrodynamics accompany multicellular-like colonial organization in the unicellular Stentor!
How do single-celled organisms benefit from teamwork? Let’s dive in! #Multicellularity nature.com/articles/s41...?
@naturephysics.bsky.social: Cooperative hydrodynamics accompany multicellular-like colonial organization in the unicellular Stentor!
How do single-celled organisms benefit from teamwork? Let’s dive in! #Multicellularity nature.com/articles/s41...?
April 2, 2025 at 12:14 PM
📢Excited to share our new paper in Nature Physics
@naturephysics.bsky.social: Cooperative hydrodynamics accompany multicellular-like colonial organization in the unicellular Stentor!
How do single-celled organisms benefit from teamwork? Let’s dive in! #Multicellularity nature.com/articles/s41...?
@naturephysics.bsky.social: Cooperative hydrodynamics accompany multicellular-like colonial organization in the unicellular Stentor!
How do single-celled organisms benefit from teamwork? Let’s dive in! #Multicellularity nature.com/articles/s41...?
Reposted by Orit Peleg
Great to see my work and the work of my advisor @oritpeleg.bsky.social featured by one of my media heroes @zefrank.bsky.social ! Alongside my conservation heroes Candace and Richard from the @xercessociety.bsky.social!
Let’s get talking about firefly conservation
www.youtube.com/watch?v=czt_...
Let’s get talking about firefly conservation
www.youtube.com/watch?v=czt_...
True Facts: Where Have All The Fireflies Gone!
YouTube video by Ze Frank
www.youtube.com
March 26, 2025 at 4:25 AM
Great to see my work and the work of my advisor @oritpeleg.bsky.social featured by one of my media heroes @zefrank.bsky.social ! Alongside my conservation heroes Candace and Richard from the @xercessociety.bsky.social!
Let’s get talking about firefly conservation
www.youtube.com/watch?v=czt_...
Let’s get talking about firefly conservation
www.youtube.com/watch?v=czt_...
Reposted by Orit Peleg
Continuing the recruitment trend! Our lab has 2 (!) open postdoc positions🥳
We're looking for creative and curious scientists to lead new projects: one on deep-sea biological rhythms and another on the evolution of biological communication🐚🦗🦋🐙🦉
If you know someone who'd be a good fit, please share!
We're looking for creative and curious scientists to lead new projects: one on deep-sea biological rhythms and another on the evolution of biological communication🐚🦗🦋🐙🦉
If you know someone who'd be a good fit, please share!
February 13, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Continuing the recruitment trend! Our lab has 2 (!) open postdoc positions🥳
We're looking for creative and curious scientists to lead new projects: one on deep-sea biological rhythms and another on the evolution of biological communication🐚🦗🦋🐙🦉
If you know someone who'd be a good fit, please share!
We're looking for creative and curious scientists to lead new projects: one on deep-sea biological rhythms and another on the evolution of biological communication🐚🦗🦋🐙🦉
If you know someone who'd be a good fit, please share!
Continuing the recruitment trend! Our lab has 2 (!) open postdoc positions🥳
We're looking for creative and curious scientists to lead new projects: one on deep-sea biological rhythms and another on the evolution of biological communication🐚🦗🦋🐙🦉
If you know someone who'd be a good fit, please share!
We're looking for creative and curious scientists to lead new projects: one on deep-sea biological rhythms and another on the evolution of biological communication🐚🦗🦋🐙🦉
If you know someone who'd be a good fit, please share!
February 13, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Continuing the recruitment trend! Our lab has 2 (!) open postdoc positions🥳
We're looking for creative and curious scientists to lead new projects: one on deep-sea biological rhythms and another on the evolution of biological communication🐚🦗🦋🐙🦉
If you know someone who'd be a good fit, please share!
We're looking for creative and curious scientists to lead new projects: one on deep-sea biological rhythms and another on the evolution of biological communication🐚🦗🦋🐙🦉
If you know someone who'd be a good fit, please share!
Our lab @CUBoulder is growing, and we are looking for a part-time lab manager! Please help spread the word 🙏
We’re excited to welcome someone who can help keep us organized and thriving as we explore collective behavior! 🎉
More info👇
jobs.colorado.edu/jobs/JobDeta...
We’re excited to welcome someone who can help keep us organized and thriving as we explore collective behavior! 🎉
More info👇
jobs.colorado.edu/jobs/JobDeta...
February 7, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Our lab @CUBoulder is growing, and we are looking for a part-time lab manager! Please help spread the word 🙏
We’re excited to welcome someone who can help keep us organized and thriving as we explore collective behavior! 🎉
More info👇
jobs.colorado.edu/jobs/JobDeta...
We’re excited to welcome someone who can help keep us organized and thriving as we explore collective behavior! 🎉
More info👇
jobs.colorado.edu/jobs/JobDeta...
Reposted by Orit Peleg
For the last day of 2024, #InverteFest, #InsertAnInvert2024 wildcard: This linocut shows three fireflies (Photinus pyralis, the common eastern firefly or big dipper firefly) in a field against the night sky. These bioluminescent insects are the most common firefly in North America and
December 31, 2024 at 2:26 PM
For the last day of 2024, #InverteFest, #InsertAnInvert2024 wildcard: This linocut shows three fireflies (Photinus pyralis, the common eastern firefly or big dipper firefly) in a field against the night sky. These bioluminescent insects are the most common firefly in North America and
Reposted by Orit Peleg
How do we assess intelligence? 🎙️ Episode 5 of the 'Nature of Intelligence' season is out on #Complexity podcast!
When it comes to assessing intelligence, people have all kinds of tests — the SAT, IQ tests, and so on. There’s controversy over how fairly these tests really measure human intelligence,
When it comes to assessing intelligence, people have all kinds of tests — the SAT, IQ tests, and so on. There’s controversy over how fairly these tests really measure human intelligence,
November 20, 2024 at 8:35 PM
How do we assess intelligence? 🎙️ Episode 5 of the 'Nature of Intelligence' season is out on #Complexity podcast!
When it comes to assessing intelligence, people have all kinds of tests — the SAT, IQ tests, and so on. There’s controversy over how fairly these tests really measure human intelligence,
When it comes to assessing intelligence, people have all kinds of tests — the SAT, IQ tests, and so on. There’s controversy over how fairly these tests really measure human intelligence,
Reposted by Orit Peleg
What's your grass-is-greener alt career choice?
Mine has long been navigating desert ants. But then I came across the terrific work of @oritpeleg.bsky.social l and now I dream about studying the collective behavior of fireflies and ants.
Definitely bugs for me. You?
www.cbc.ca/radio/asitha...
Mine has long been navigating desert ants. But then I came across the terrific work of @oritpeleg.bsky.social l and now I dream about studying the collective behavior of fireflies and ants.
Definitely bugs for me. You?
www.cbc.ca/radio/asitha...
November 23, 2024 at 1:05 PM
What's your grass-is-greener alt career choice?
Mine has long been navigating desert ants. But then I came across the terrific work of @oritpeleg.bsky.social l and now I dream about studying the collective behavior of fireflies and ants.
Definitely bugs for me. You?
www.cbc.ca/radio/asitha...
Mine has long been navigating desert ants. But then I came across the terrific work of @oritpeleg.bsky.social l and now I dream about studying the collective behavior of fireflies and ants.
Definitely bugs for me. You?
www.cbc.ca/radio/asitha...