Jessica Tollkuhn
@tollkuhn.bsky.social
scientist.
tollkuhnlab.org
tollkuhnlab.org
Reposted by Jessica Tollkuhn
This is a spectacular thread. So many interesting things.
Long ago on the hell site I made long list of historically interesting things to use in dnd ttrpgs and I'll start dragging them over here starting with
2000 years-old sapphire ring presumably belonged to Roman emperor Caligula, depicting his fourth wife Caesonia.
2000 years-old sapphire ring presumably belonged to Roman emperor Caligula, depicting his fourth wife Caesonia.
November 14, 2025 at 5:02 AM
This is a spectacular thread. So many interesting things.
Reposted by Jessica Tollkuhn
Dogs have been part of human culture for far longer than previously thought based on genomic evidence from @lachiescarsbrook.bsky.social and team. Great read. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Genomic evidence for the Holocene codispersal of dogs and humans across Eastern Eurasia
As the first domestic species, dogs likely dispersed with different cultural groups during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. To test this hypothesis, we analyzed 73 ancient dog genomes, including 17 ...
www.science.org
November 13, 2025 at 10:26 PM
Dogs have been part of human culture for far longer than previously thought based on genomic evidence from @lachiescarsbrook.bsky.social and team. Great read. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Jessica Tollkuhn
And here is the story after peer review. This work highlights our current approach, which is to use Piezo channels to uncover new areas of biology that are shaped by mechanical forces: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
November 13, 2025 at 10:05 PM
And here is the story after peer review. This work highlights our current approach, which is to use Piezo channels to uncover new areas of biology that are shaped by mechanical forces: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Jessica Tollkuhn
We are grieving our friend and brilliant colleague Natalia Duque-Wilckens. A creative scientist, artist, caring mentor, and force for change. Words can’t describe the impact she had on lives at UC Davis, MSU, NC State and beyond. I feel lucky to have known her and wish her time didn’t end so soon
November 13, 2025 at 6:58 PM
We are grieving our friend and brilliant colleague Natalia Duque-Wilckens. A creative scientist, artist, caring mentor, and force for change. Words can’t describe the impact she had on lives at UC Davis, MSU, NC State and beyond. I feel lucky to have known her and wish her time didn’t end so soon
Reposted by Jessica Tollkuhn
Look I’m willing to say it: maybe James Watson got two things right
![Sent:
To:
Subject:
Attachments:
Robert Trivers
6/25/2018 2:19:44 AM
jeffrey E. [jeevacation@gmail.com]
Re:
EPSTEIN.docx
Importance: High
perhaps i misunderstood "let's concentrate on you"
Jamaica is bad enough but i have mastered that-at least the danger-4th highest murder rate in the world as for the us i have alienated large stretches of it-i will spare you the details i was amused that you are now friends with JD Watson he single-handedly prevented me from getting a Junior Fellowship at Harvard
In 1972 I got my PhD in Biology and it was conventional to nominate the very best post-docs for a Junior Fellowship, Harvard's most prestigious award-it provided three years of research support without any duties. I was the best student out of Evolutionary and Organismic Biology in more than 20 years. The entire department was behind me.
but Watson was on the 3-man committee, in charge of all the science candidates and he deemed my two papers, reciprocal altruism and parental investment and sexual selection as "not being science" and dismissed me in one sentence. Well bless his soul, he now does not even understand his own subject-yes, i speak of genetics-because having remained resolutely ignorant of evolutionary logic and biology he can neither understand the shape and form of the genotype nor how it differs systematically within life
i have been preparing something for you for a long time on human intelligence, Africa, parasites etc because i prefer to get things right but i am ready to send you what i have main focus is-Africans stupid or smart?](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:misyogthncmyejlvlflkvjbh/bafkreidoxuuq447qbvuj3edxli6qr7gzjy2y4ctod5a6363tjgtv4lb6ve@jpeg)
November 13, 2025 at 8:25 PM
Look I’m willing to say it: maybe James Watson got two things right
on caltrain for the first time since electrification. ❤️❤️❤️
November 13, 2025 at 7:50 PM
on caltrain for the first time since electrification. ❤️❤️❤️
Reposted by Jessica Tollkuhn
NSF is open again!
A few comments:
*Please be patient.
During a shutdown NSF employees cannot open computers or respond to emails.
*Merit review will continue. However panels won’t resume until after Dec 8th.
*POs remain excited and committed to advancing science and the scientific workforce.
A few comments:
*Please be patient.
During a shutdown NSF employees cannot open computers or respond to emails.
*Merit review will continue. However panels won’t resume until after Dec 8th.
*POs remain excited and committed to advancing science and the scientific workforce.
November 13, 2025 at 5:58 PM
NSF is open again!
A few comments:
*Please be patient.
During a shutdown NSF employees cannot open computers or respond to emails.
*Merit review will continue. However panels won’t resume until after Dec 8th.
*POs remain excited and committed to advancing science and the scientific workforce.
A few comments:
*Please be patient.
During a shutdown NSF employees cannot open computers or respond to emails.
*Merit review will continue. However panels won’t resume until after Dec 8th.
*POs remain excited and committed to advancing science and the scientific workforce.
Reposted by Jessica Tollkuhn
The link between the gut #microbiome and autism is not backed by science, researchers say.
Read the full opinion piece in @cp-neuron.bsky.social: spkl.io/63322AbxpA
@wiringthebrain.bsky.social, @statsepi.bsky.social, & @deevybee.bsky.social
Read the full opinion piece in @cp-neuron.bsky.social: spkl.io/63322AbxpA
@wiringthebrain.bsky.social, @statsepi.bsky.social, & @deevybee.bsky.social
November 13, 2025 at 4:00 PM
The link between the gut #microbiome and autism is not backed by science, researchers say.
Read the full opinion piece in @cp-neuron.bsky.social: spkl.io/63322AbxpA
@wiringthebrain.bsky.social, @statsepi.bsky.social, & @deevybee.bsky.social
Read the full opinion piece in @cp-neuron.bsky.social: spkl.io/63322AbxpA
@wiringthebrain.bsky.social, @statsepi.bsky.social, & @deevybee.bsky.social
Reposted by Jessica Tollkuhn
Oxytocin isn’t just the “love hormone”: it helps wire the brain’s metabolic circuits! 🧠
In our new @plosbiology.org study, we show that OT neurons guide the postnatal development of POMC and AgRP pathways that control energy balance
In our new @plosbiology.org study, we show that OT neurons guide the postnatal development of POMC and AgRP pathways that control energy balance
Oxytocin neurons drive melanocortin circuit maturation via vesicle release during a neonatal critical period
The melanocortin circuit of the hypothalamus is crucial for regulating energy balance, but the development of this circuit is incompletely understood. This study in mice shows that activity and vesicl...
journals.plos.org
November 13, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Oxytocin isn’t just the “love hormone”: it helps wire the brain’s metabolic circuits! 🧠
In our new @plosbiology.org study, we show that OT neurons guide the postnatal development of POMC and AgRP pathways that control energy balance
In our new @plosbiology.org study, we show that OT neurons guide the postnatal development of POMC and AgRP pathways that control energy balance
Reposted by Jessica Tollkuhn
#MondayMood 🛫
A striking white coloration makes this spiny skate (Bathyraja spinosissima) easy to spot. These active swimmers hover and glide well above the seafloor, while their relatives tend to stay close to the bottom. This species is especially common in rocky lava fields.
A striking white coloration makes this spiny skate (Bathyraja spinosissima) easy to spot. These active swimmers hover and glide well above the seafloor, while their relatives tend to stay close to the bottom. This species is especially common in rocky lava fields.
November 10, 2025 at 10:41 PM
#MondayMood 🛫
A striking white coloration makes this spiny skate (Bathyraja spinosissima) easy to spot. These active swimmers hover and glide well above the seafloor, while their relatives tend to stay close to the bottom. This species is especially common in rocky lava fields.
A striking white coloration makes this spiny skate (Bathyraja spinosissima) easy to spot. These active swimmers hover and glide well above the seafloor, while their relatives tend to stay close to the bottom. This species is especially common in rocky lava fields.
Reposted by Jessica Tollkuhn
Delighted to see this finally out: rdcu.be/eO9oW
We tested whether brief striatal dopamine release events influence the vigor of skilled movements. Despite popular belief, we did not find any evidence linking rapid dopamine dynamics to motor vigor on a moment-by-moment basis.
We tested whether brief striatal dopamine release events influence the vigor of skilled movements. Despite popular belief, we did not find any evidence linking rapid dopamine dynamics to motor vigor on a moment-by-moment basis.
Subsecond dopamine fluctuations do not specify the vigor of ongoing actions
Nature Neuroscience - Liu and colleagues show that the vigor (that is, speed and amplitude) of dexterous movements is not controlled by ongoing fluctuations in extracellular dopamine within the...
rdcu.be
November 10, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Delighted to see this finally out: rdcu.be/eO9oW
We tested whether brief striatal dopamine release events influence the vigor of skilled movements. Despite popular belief, we did not find any evidence linking rapid dopamine dynamics to motor vigor on a moment-by-moment basis.
We tested whether brief striatal dopamine release events influence the vigor of skilled movements. Despite popular belief, we did not find any evidence linking rapid dopamine dynamics to motor vigor on a moment-by-moment basis.
Reposted by Jessica Tollkuhn
Just got the best out-of-office message I've ever seen from a fellow academic:
"I am currently away on leave. If this is an emergency... well, I doubt it. What could possibly be an emergency in my line of work?"
"I am currently away on leave. If this is an emergency... well, I doubt it. What could possibly be an emergency in my line of work?"
November 8, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Just got the best out-of-office message I've ever seen from a fellow academic:
"I am currently away on leave. If this is an emergency... well, I doubt it. What could possibly be an emergency in my line of work?"
"I am currently away on leave. If this is an emergency... well, I doubt it. What could possibly be an emergency in my line of work?"
Reposted by Jessica Tollkuhn
Conrad Hal Waddington was born OTD in 1905.
His “epigenetic landscape” is a diagrammatic representation of the constraints influencing embryonic development.
On his 50th birthday, his colleagues gave him a pinball machine on the model of the epigenetic landscape.
🧪 🦫🦋 🌱🐋 #HistSTM #philsci #evobio
His “epigenetic landscape” is a diagrammatic representation of the constraints influencing embryonic development.
On his 50th birthday, his colleagues gave him a pinball machine on the model of the epigenetic landscape.
🧪 🦫🦋 🌱🐋 #HistSTM #philsci #evobio
November 8, 2025 at 4:03 PM
the coolest
New article from the lab out today, in which we discuss how social behavior evolves at the molecular level. From parenting across the animal tree of life to caste systems in social insects, it’s all connected (and, therefore, slowly starts to make sense)…
Parental care, and more complex cooperative systems of care, have independently evolved in hundreds of animal lineages. In an article published today, we explore how these behaviors evolve 𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭l shorturl.at/g5OPw /1
November 4, 2025 at 11:23 PM
the coolest
Reposted by Jessica Tollkuhn
First paper from the lab!
We propose a model that separates estimation of odor concentration and presence and map it on olfactory bulb circuits
Led by @chenjiang01.bsky.social and @mattyizhenghe.bsky.social joint work with @jzv.bsky.social and with @neurovenki.bsky.social @cpehlevan.bsky.social
We propose a model that separates estimation of odor concentration and presence and map it on olfactory bulb circuits
Led by @chenjiang01.bsky.social and @mattyizhenghe.bsky.social joint work with @jzv.bsky.social and with @neurovenki.bsky.social @cpehlevan.bsky.social
Simultaneous detection and estimation in olfactory sensing https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.01.686013v1
November 4, 2025 at 3:40 PM
First paper from the lab!
We propose a model that separates estimation of odor concentration and presence and map it on olfactory bulb circuits
Led by @chenjiang01.bsky.social and @mattyizhenghe.bsky.social joint work with @jzv.bsky.social and with @neurovenki.bsky.social @cpehlevan.bsky.social
We propose a model that separates estimation of odor concentration and presence and map it on olfactory bulb circuits
Led by @chenjiang01.bsky.social and @mattyizhenghe.bsky.social joint work with @jzv.bsky.social and with @neurovenki.bsky.social @cpehlevan.bsky.social
Reposted by Jessica Tollkuhn
In Kensington, at least one voter was thinking about her daughter's future:
hellgatenyc.com/election-day...
hellgatenyc.com/election-day...
November 4, 2025 at 2:57 PM
In Kensington, at least one voter was thinking about her daughter's future:
hellgatenyc.com/election-day...
hellgatenyc.com/election-day...
Reposted by Jessica Tollkuhn
🚨Job alert🚨
The lab has up to *3 postdoc openings* for comp systems neuroscientists interested in describing and manipulating neural population dynamics mediating behaviour
This is part of a collaborative ARIA grant "4D precision control of cortical dynamics"
euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/383909
The lab has up to *3 postdoc openings* for comp systems neuroscientists interested in describing and manipulating neural population dynamics mediating behaviour
This is part of a collaborative ARIA grant "4D precision control of cortical dynamics"
euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/383909
3 Postdoctoral Research Fellows
Champalimaud Foundation (Fundação D. Anna de Sommer Champalimaud e Dr.
euraxess.ec.europa.eu
November 4, 2025 at 5:11 PM
🚨Job alert🚨
The lab has up to *3 postdoc openings* for comp systems neuroscientists interested in describing and manipulating neural population dynamics mediating behaviour
This is part of a collaborative ARIA grant "4D precision control of cortical dynamics"
euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/383909
The lab has up to *3 postdoc openings* for comp systems neuroscientists interested in describing and manipulating neural population dynamics mediating behaviour
This is part of a collaborative ARIA grant "4D precision control of cortical dynamics"
euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/383909
Reposted by Jessica Tollkuhn
Thanks Barb, I guess many folks haven't heard. We lost Bill on October 7, 2025 to cancer.
news.ucsc.edu/2025/10/in-m...
news.ucsc.edu/2025/10/in-m...
November 4, 2025 at 1:55 AM
Thanks Barb, I guess many folks haven't heard. We lost Bill on October 7, 2025 to cancer.
news.ucsc.edu/2025/10/in-m...
news.ucsc.edu/2025/10/in-m...
Reposted by Jessica Tollkuhn
Most importantly, the Chinese names are homophonous with "Zohran Kwame" when pronounced in both Cantonese (the spoken language used by first-wave Chinese immigrants from the South) and Mandarin (the spoken language used by new-wave Chinese immigrants from the North).
What an absolute masterstroke.
What an absolute masterstroke.
November 3, 2025 at 9:54 PM
Most importantly, the Chinese names are homophonous with "Zohran Kwame" when pronounced in both Cantonese (the spoken language used by first-wave Chinese immigrants from the South) and Mandarin (the spoken language used by new-wave Chinese immigrants from the North).
What an absolute masterstroke.
What an absolute masterstroke.
Reposted by Jessica Tollkuhn
I'm incredibly honored to receive the Janett Rosenberg Trubatch Career Development Award from @sfn.org SFN was the first research conference I ever attended and presented at. I feel truly humbled! Thanks to my fab research team who make me look good!
Congratulations to the 2025 SfN award & prize recipients!
Their dedication to advancing the understanding of the brain paves the way for future discoveries.
SfN looks forward to celebrating their achievements at #SfN25.
Learn about the recipients.
🔗 vist.ly/4cni8
#neurosky
Their dedication to advancing the understanding of the brain paves the way for future discoveries.
SfN looks forward to celebrating their achievements at #SfN25.
Learn about the recipients.
🔗 vist.ly/4cni8
#neurosky
November 3, 2025 at 6:58 PM
I'm incredibly honored to receive the Janett Rosenberg Trubatch Career Development Award from @sfn.org SFN was the first research conference I ever attended and presented at. I feel truly humbled! Thanks to my fab research team who make me look good!
Reposted by Jessica Tollkuhn
I was laid off from Teen Vogue today along with multiple other staffers, and today is my last day.
certainly more to come from me when the dust has settled more, but to my knowledge, after today, there will be no politics staffers at Teen Vogue.
certainly more to come from me when the dust has settled more, but to my knowledge, after today, there will be no politics staffers at Teen Vogue.
November 3, 2025 at 7:52 PM
I was laid off from Teen Vogue today along with multiple other staffers, and today is my last day.
certainly more to come from me when the dust has settled more, but to my knowledge, after today, there will be no politics staffers at Teen Vogue.
certainly more to come from me when the dust has settled more, but to my knowledge, after today, there will be no politics staffers at Teen Vogue.
Reposted by Jessica Tollkuhn
Steven Spielberg as a clerk in the Cook County Assessors Office. #BluesBrothers
November 3, 2025 at 2:35 AM
Steven Spielberg as a clerk in the Cook County Assessors Office. #BluesBrothers
Reposted by Jessica Tollkuhn
Picard: there ARE FOUR GUYS! FOUR
November 3, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Picard: there ARE FOUR GUYS! FOUR
Reposted by Jessica Tollkuhn
feel a kind of sadness every time i see a street called "station road" that's right next to a train line but doesn't have a train station anymore. this is what they took from us.
November 3, 2025 at 4:55 PM
feel a kind of sadness every time i see a street called "station road" that's right next to a train line but doesn't have a train station anymore. this is what they took from us.
Reposted by Jessica Tollkuhn
We’re hiring a technician!!
We’re an inclusive team of behavioral neuroscientists trying to discover the brain circuits of learning, decision making, and habit. More info👇
wassumlab.psych.ucla.edu/join-the-lab/
Job posting:
jobs.ucla.edu/jobs/8968
We’re an inclusive team of behavioral neuroscientists trying to discover the brain circuits of learning, decision making, and habit. More info👇
wassumlab.psych.ucla.edu/join-the-lab/
Job posting:
jobs.ucla.edu/jobs/8968
November 3, 2025 at 3:52 PM
We’re hiring a technician!!
We’re an inclusive team of behavioral neuroscientists trying to discover the brain circuits of learning, decision making, and habit. More info👇
wassumlab.psych.ucla.edu/join-the-lab/
Job posting:
jobs.ucla.edu/jobs/8968
We’re an inclusive team of behavioral neuroscientists trying to discover the brain circuits of learning, decision making, and habit. More info👇
wassumlab.psych.ucla.edu/join-the-lab/
Job posting:
jobs.ucla.edu/jobs/8968