Bluetorial-Jim Watson I met Jim Watson a few times but did not know him well. However, I was greatly influenced by his book “The Double Helix”. He was a complicated human being with some very, very bad features, but some good contributions. What follows is my personal perspective. 1/41

“”I think this is the turning point for the field of pancreatic cancer,” said Brian Wolpin, director of the Hale Family Center for Pancreatic Cancer Research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute” The drug is a unique mutant RAS inhibitor based on discoveries at UCSF. apple.news/AGm0mNKLJTa6...

NYT obituary of Jim Watson. A long and fairly balanced view of a complicated man who participated in one of the greatest discoveries in biology. [Gift Link] www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/s...

Did you know? In 2025, the U.S. quarter features Vera Rubin, honoring her landmark discovery of the existence of dark matter — a tribute that perfectly coincides with the first light of the Rubin Observatory(@vrubinobs.bsky.social), celebrating her enduring legacy in unveiling the unseen universe.

My quote of the day As I reflect on my life, I recognize that our greatest achievements often arise from our most profound struggles. Embrace challenges and view failures as opportunities for growth. It is through these trials that we learn, adapt, and ultimately succeed. Marie Curie

The developing brain? Yeah, we have it covered. The first brain cell atlas of the developing mammalian brain is now available to curious minds and researchers everywhere. Check out the findings in @nature.com: www.nature.com/collections/... 🎨 Cover art by Jasiek Krzysztofiak

On the event of James Watson's death, I highly recommend this 2023 commentary from @matthewcobb.bsky.social and Nathaniel Comfort with crucial new insights into the discovery of the double helix. (And also check out Cobb's brand new biography of Francis Crick) www.nature.com/articles/d41...

“”I think this is the turning point for the field of pancreatic cancer,” said Brian Wolpin, director of the Hale Family Center for Pancreatic Cancer Research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute” The drug is a unique mutant RAS inhibitor based on discoveries at UCSF. apple.news/AGm0mNKLJTa6...

My quote of the day Hope lies in dreams, in imagination, and in the courage of those who dare to make dreams into reality. Jonas Salk

As a neuroscientist, I’d suggest there is a profound disconnect between what *some* computer scientists think is representative of “intelligence”, cognitive ability, or descriptions of consciousness from some in AI work. LLMs are not how neural systems process information, nor how brains function.

NEW STUDY! Building on pioneering work by Dr. Alison Goate, an international team of researchers, led by #IcahnMountSinai's Anne Schaefer, ID'd distinct population of neuroprotective #Microglia that may point to new therapeutic approach for #Alzheimers. @nature.com 👉 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

They say the sincerest form of flattery is mimicry, and we really love histidine! ❤️ Check out our most recent work on histidine mimics: Genetic incorporation of diverse non-canonical amino acids for histidine substitution. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Please RT. Post-doc opportunity alert! 💥 closing 10th December.. Come join our team (www.thelowlab.org) at Imperial, London, working on the structure and mechanism of bacterial secretion systems. For more details and to apply please see www.imperial.ac.uk/jobs/search-...

The brain drain cont'd. Trump's attacks on Higher Ed- in the form of banned words, broad & vague anti-DEI sentiment, funding cuts, grant terminations & pulling investment from mRNA technology development is pushing our scientists to apply for funding in Europe. 🧪 archive.today/O7a3J

I could not disagree more. There are many reasons that MMR is given as one shot. Separating it out means: -Babies more vulnerable to preventable disease for no reason -Three times as many doc visits -Three times more shitty days for baby -Three times more copays -Three times more work absences

Nature suggests you use their "Manuscript Adviser" bot to get advice before submitting I uploaded the classic Watson & Crick paper about DNA structure, and the Adviser had this to say about one of the greatest paper endings of the century:

harvard medical school got bombed yesterday and it barely made news

Those marketing (totally bunk) "stem cell" supplements love lean on meaningless wellness-woo phrases, like natural, GMO-free, pure, organic, toxin-free... Science-y nonsense + wellness nonsense = BS Supergroup! Our study: www.cell.com/stem-cell-re... cc @stemcellnetwork.ca @isscr.org

This post is natural, GMO-free, pure, and organic… Everyone should like it.

A word that has become a euphemism for promoting and selling things without data or evidence

“two myths should be dispelled: that fundamental science is less important than other types of research, and that it has no long-term impact.” 🧪

Perhaps that’s the reason. Or it might be the ultralong CDR3 antibodies that give them immune superpowers. www.nature.com/articles/nat...

“ future studies should focus on how UA shapes the immune system in patients with systemic malignancy and how it can be potentially harnessed to enhance response to immune-based therapies.”

The supplement Urolithin A, in a small randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial of adults (mean age 53 years), shifted the immune system away from age-related decline nature.com/articles/s43...

We've just launched the first large, site-less (home, direct to participant) randomized trial for treatment of #LongCovid, testing tirzepatide (a GLP-1 drug) vs placebo. Please help spread the word www.scripps.edu/news-and-eve...

A new bat coronavirus discovered in Brazil confirms what we already knew: nature handles furin cleavage sites just fine. Lab leakers, don’t worry, you've got the track record to pivot seamlessly to a career in creative fiction writing. Quick update on the news: open.substack.com/pub/protagon...

Really cool study: a fully recombinant antivenom made not from horse serum but from nanobodies i.e. tiny, single-chain antibodies derived from alpacas and llamas. These molecules are smaller, more stable, cheaper to produce, and less likely to trigger immune reactions. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Neurodevelopmental Outcomes of 3-Year-Old Children Exposed to Maternal Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Infection in Utero I hate to say “I told you so…” but nevertheless: I told you so.

HHS hasn't provided evidence for breaking up the MMR vaccine because none exists. As I wrote earlier this month, "No safety data justify abandoning a program that has protected millions of children for more than 50 years." @cidrap.bsky.social www.cidrap.umn.edu/childhood-va...

Technology is radically restructuring so many elements of social life, from development and education to dating and politics. Watch what happens to dating around 2007...

Someone asked me the other day*: How do we replace all the science that’s being lost across the US as NIH, NSF etc are being lawlessly destroyed? The answer is: we cannot. It is impossible. The task now is to defend #NIH and public funding for medical research. 1/ 🧪 #neuroscience

According to @jeremymberg.bsky.social the number of new Alzheimer’s research projects receiving funding this yr is down 49% Fewer projects will be funded as awards will be given in lump sum upfront. This has been shown to lower success rates & stifle innovation. 🧪 beingpatient.com/alzheimers-r...

More for Dark Age 2.0... Scientists had to change more than 700 grant titles to receive NIH funding. www.statnews.com/2025/10/29/n... "They are trying to make people afraid to use the word ‘equity.’ They’re trying to make people afraid to use the term ‘transgender.’"

The genetic code is full of synonymous codons that, for decades, were assumed to be interchangeable. Today, with NVIDIA, co-led by @genophoria.bsky.social, we announce CodonFM, a family of open-source AI models that reveal the grammar underlying codon choice: developer.nvidia.com/blog/introdu...

Recent coverage of our Nature Paper on the Evolution of Human Bipedalism: www.sciencenews.org/article/gene...

In 2025 it is important to get the right information from the right people. Here is a starter pack with journalists, experts in biology, history and other fields. Their posts are informative and put things in perspective. go.bsky.app/DWMxg97

I received an email today from a woman who believes that the MMR vaccine caused her daughter’s multiple sclerosis. Given my own personal experience with MS, I have looked into this. There is no association between MMR vaccine and MS; in fact, the study below suggests that MMR may be protective.

I am an infectious disease Dr and I would gladly find something else to do with my life if we were able to eliminate all infections through vaccination and public health measures.That's how strongly I feel about infection prevention & the positive impact of vaccines. I am ok with being out of a job.

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ICYMI: Sharing my Ars Technica publication on the AI hallucination, sycophancy, & black box algorithms threatening trust in health research! Links in the 🧵 below to the article plus a companion Substack post. #MedSky #ArtificialIntelligence #AI #HealthPolicy

Did you know that snakes do not pee, but excrete crystals instead? Few scientists looked deeper at this, but a team who bothered to study it found potential implications for gout and kidney stones pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1...

Another interesting potential application of basic research

It is a true pleasure to celebrate these outstanding #scicomm innovators, who engage on everything from whale farts to vaccine safety. Highly recommend clicking through & following their feeds 🎉 A huge thank you to @scicommexcellence.nationalacademies.org @nationalacademies.org too!

Go math nerds apple.news/AO93lJTqiTyS...

Go math nerds apple.news/AO93lJTqiTyS...

From the Archive: Placing credit where it is due drugmonkey.wordpress.com/2011/04/14/p...

I will be recruiting 🌟PhD students🌟 for my newish lab! If you're interested in learning & memory mechanisms applied to individual, interactive & collective behavior using computational modeling, real-world experiments and fMRI, email me! RTs much appreciated 🙏 rouhanilab.com

👏 👏 👏 www.studlife.com/news/2025/10...

ICYMI: Why the FDA show regulate some supposed stem cell supplements as drugs. Hint: these products actually are drugs ipscell.com/2025/10/fda-... #stemcells #stemcell

Covid vaccines enhance the anti-tumor response of checkpoint inhibitors through innate immune activation. 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/s41...