Roberto Bellon
@rebellon.bsky.social
Émigrée from and to America of Croatian, Venetian, and Spanish origins, musician and philosopher by nature, vulnerable and vulnus-inflicting wage-slave (sub)(ob)ject moved by the joys and sorrows of existing in the exceptional chance-case that life is
How much we do not know?
The ‘silent’ brain cells that shape our behaviour, memory and health
Astrocytes make up one-quarter of the brain, but researchers are only now realizing their true value.
www.nature.com
December 4, 2025 at 11:36 AM
How much we do not know?
Colonization - again
Did the Giant Heads of Easter Island Once Walk?
www.nytimes.com
November 27, 2025 at 8:26 PM
Colonization - again
The ages
Your brain undergoes four dramatic periods of change from age 0 to 90
Our brain wiring seems to undergo four major turning points at ages 9, 32, 66 and 83, which could influence our capacity to learn and our risk of certain conditions
www.newscientist.com
November 26, 2025 at 10:49 AM
The ages
How do I know anybody is not lying?
‘Mind-captioning’ AI decodes brain activity to turn thoughts into text
A non-invasive imaging technique can translate scenes in your head into sentences. It could help to reveal how the brain interprets the world.
www.nature.com
November 6, 2025 at 6:08 PM
How do I know anybody is not lying?
Mosquito porn
Glowing sperm helps to reveal secrets of mosquito sex
Female Aedes mosquitoes signal that copulation can proceed by subtly extending their genitalia.
www.nature.com
October 29, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Mosquito porn
When is it that an entity is considered an organ of a larger entity vs a symbiotic entity?
These stinkbugs coat their eggs in fungi to protect them from parasitic wasps
An unusual relationship could shed light on how insects choose their partners
www.science.org
October 23, 2025 at 9:00 AM
When is it that an entity is considered an organ of a larger entity vs a symbiotic entity?
Interesting - misophonia and rumination
Misophonia: having strong negative reactions to certain sounds is linked to mental inflexibility
Is misophonia related to inflexible thinking?
theconversation.com
October 16, 2025 at 7:14 PM
Interesting - misophonia and rumination
It is not American
Ancient chewing gum could reveal how early men and women split up their chores
Birch bark tar, used as chewing gum and glue, provides rare window into life 6000 years ago
www.science.org
October 15, 2025 at 5:21 PM
It is not American
Fabulous - all you need to know about AI (not really, but in a sense...)
About that Nobel Prize in Physics… - 3:16
When Geoffrey Hinton won a Nobel Prize in physics last year for his work on Boltzmann Machines and their contribution to artificial intelligence research, there was plenty of talk about it, mostly foc...
www.3-16am.co.uk
October 9, 2025 at 5:07 PM
Fabulous - all you need to know about AI (not really, but in a sense...)
“an internal surface area of 7,839 square metres — around the size of a football field — per gram of material”
World’s most porous sponges: intricate carbon-trapping powders hit the market
Metal-organic frameworks were the next big thing in chemistry when they were invented more than three decades ago. Now, these intriguing materials are becoming commercial tools for capturing carbon dioxide and harvesting water from the air.
www.nature.com
October 8, 2025 at 4:34 PM
“an internal surface area of 7,839 square metres — around the size of a football field — per gram of material”
Sooner rather than later
End GDP mania: how the world should really measure prosperity
The obsession with economic output as a measure of human development puts sustainability on the back burner. Researchers can now help to devise better indicators.
www.nature.com
October 8, 2025 at 5:42 AM
Sooner rather than later
But we will believe, as usual, only what we want to believe
Which diseases will you have in 20 years? This AI accurately predicts your risks
A modified large language model called Delphi-2M analyses a person’s medical records and lifestyle to provide risk estimates for more than 1,000 diseases.
www.nature.com
September 18, 2025 at 5:35 PM
But we will believe, as usual, only what we want to believe
Using LLM for good
The Hobbyist Restorer Who Rocked the Art World With an A.I. Innovation
www.nytimes.com
August 22, 2025 at 10:39 AM
Using LLM for good
Hacking the mind of other people - God, please…
A mind-reading brain implant that comes with password protection
A brain–computer interface decodes in near-real time the imagined speech of people who have difficulty enunciating words.
www.nature.com
August 16, 2025 at 7:02 AM
Hacking the mind of other people - God, please…
What it needs - like anything else
What Can a Cell Remember? | Quanta Magazine
A small but enthusiastic group of neuroscientists is exhuming overlooked experiments and performing new ones to explore whether cells record past experiences — fundamentally challenging what memory is...
www.quantamagazine.org
July 31, 2025 at 8:37 PM
What it needs - like anything else
We are the others - or the Other
The brain fires up immune cells when sick people are nearby
When people viewed virtual avatars with coughs or rashes, their brains triggered an immune response.
www.nature.com
July 29, 2025 at 5:15 PM
We are the others - or the Other
Counter-surveillance
Masked, Armed and Forceful: Finding Patterns in Los Angeles Immigration Raids - bellingcat
Bellingcat collected videos and images from recent immigration raids in Los Angeles, analysing trends and apparent tactics used by law enforcement.
www.bellingcat.com
July 13, 2025 at 8:21 AM
Counter-surveillance
Interesting
Science on the catwalk: Iris van Herpen gives gowns a glow up
Microorganisms, materials and movement inspire high-fashion dress designs.
www.nature.com
July 9, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Interesting
Replicants are here
AI is more persuasive than people in online debates
When given information about its human opponents, the large language model GPT-4 could make particularly convincing arguments.
www.nature.com
May 21, 2025 at 10:23 AM
Replicants are here
So glad that Bellingcat - and other agencies like it - exists. Thanks @bellingcat.com
Unmasking MrDeepFakes: Canadian Pharmacist Linked to World’s Most Notorious Deepfake Porn Site - bellingcat
Double life: open source investigation reveals Canadian hospital pharmacist's links to MrDeepFakes, the most notorious deepfake porn website in the world.
www.bellingcat.com
May 19, 2025 at 7:19 AM
So glad that Bellingcat - and other agencies like it - exists. Thanks @bellingcat.com
“Making” laws doesn’t make us human
AI language models develop social norms like groups of people
When LLMs are grouped together, they exhibit similar characteristics to human societies.
www.nature.com
May 16, 2025 at 8:45 PM
“Making” laws doesn’t make us human
The level of mass cruelty is so high and diffused... I just hope that what's happening in the U.S. will tear off the mask off the face of the West - yes, because the West is the main enabler of it - in front of the people of the West themselves, I mean...
Open Sources Show Myanmar Junta Airstrike Damages Despite Post-Earthquake Ceasefire - bellingcat
Photo: Reuters
www.bellingcat.com
May 4, 2025 at 4:47 PM
The level of mass cruelty is so high and diffused... I just hope that what's happening in the U.S. will tear off the mask off the face of the West - yes, because the West is the main enabler of it - in front of the people of the West themselves, I mean...
Reposted by Roberto Bellon
Last week, Bellingcat conducted an audio analysis to uncover more details in a video that showed a convoy of aid workers struck by gunfire in Gaza. Audio forensics can provide crucial details in open source investigations and help to complete the picture. 🧵⬇️ www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/04...
What Audio Analysis Reveals About Aid Workers Killed in Gaza - bellingcat
Hundreds of shots fired at aid convoy that resulted in deaths of multiple aid workers, audio analysis shows.
www.bellingcat.com
April 18, 2025 at 11:55 AM
Last week, Bellingcat conducted an audio analysis to uncover more details in a video that showed a convoy of aid workers struck by gunfire in Gaza. Audio forensics can provide crucial details in open source investigations and help to complete the picture. 🧵⬇️ www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/04...