I'm 50 years old today. Midlife crisis severity is off the scale. I'm not going to buy a jet ski, get a young girlfriend or start a podcast. Instead, I’m leaning into my disdain for sanitised language by allowing myself some entirely gratuitous profanity, because it is my f*cking birthday after all.

Over the holidays I re-read Michael Ende's fantasy novel “Momo”. Like most Germans of my generation, I read it as a child and also saw the 1986 movie adaptation on the big screen, but I didn’t get it at all back then. Because it’s not a children’s book. (1/2) 👇

We were extremely saddened to hear about the departure of Adam Kampff. He influenced our work in countless ways—both directly and indirectly—and he will remain a source of inspiration for years to come. Thank you for everything.

Last night Adam Kampff, the glue, the light, the catalyst, the builder, the smile, left us. He and his work transformed the lives of many labs, scientists, students. He inspired and was generous to his last transformation, working tirelessly to set up a foundation to continue the work.Thank you!

Join us for BonnBrain 2026! The official deadline for abstract submission is December 15th, but we only have a few slots left and might be sold out before the deadline. Apply quickly 👉 bonnbrain.de to be considered by our Scientific Committee!

Independent NeuroScience Services INSS was registered as a company on 14th November 2016, which means it's our 9th birthday today! As a birthday present we've treated ourselves to an SfN exhibitor booth for the first time ever. Come and say hello at Booth #3327

Are there any socials or parties at SfN this year that would be particularly suitable for meeting 2p nerds and sharing war stories in the spirit of these Xerox technicians from the 1980s?

For the first time ever, INSS will have a booth at SfN this year. Please come and say hello at Booth #3327 Would be lovely to see some familiar faces!

2p users -- Talk shop, troubleshoot, and trade notes in a slack-like community. I'm inspired by @brunopichler.bsky.social to renew this call. Invite link: 2p.ece.ucsb.edu/signup_user_... or email me. Bruno shared this fun read on technical communities: bsky.app/profile/brun...

Wonderful read about the work ethos among 1980s Xerox service technicians and the importance of practical wisdom and storytelling. That’s what drew me to the community of multiphoton microscope tinkerers, and it explains why I find meaning in the unglamorous process of troubleshooting.

Applications are now open for the SWC Systems Neuroscience PhD Programme. Join us in London! 🧠 World-class neuroscience training 💰 Fully-funded 4-year programme 🖥️ Close links to @gatsbyucl.bsky.social Apply by 3 Nov: www.sainsburywellcome.org/web/content/...

Always nice to see in (pre-)print what our clients investigate with their INSS Assisted DIY microscope. Congratulations, @alexegeaweiss.bsky.social @bturner-bridger.bsky.social @petrznam.bsky.social @flor-iacaruso.bsky.social and all co-authors.

...all due to passion and the enthusiasm of the wonderful TAs and lecturers that make TENSS happen (only some with handles here): @pgupta-cshl.bsky.social @open-ephys.org @antblot.bsky.social @brunopichler.bsky.social @mtkostecki.bsky.social @neuroetho.bsky.social @alecamera.bsky.social

Fantastic work (as always) from Che-Hang Yu and colleagues in Spencer LaVere Smith's lab. Very neat method to increase scan speed and/or FOV in 2p microscopy. Commercially available from @pacificoptica.bsky.social. I'd love to build this for a client at some point! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

I've been working with Class 4 lasers for 25 years and I have yet to meet someone who gets genuinely excited about laser safety risk assessments. Thanks to artificial intelligence you can now create a pep talk from two artificially excited narrators to prepare you for the dullest of tasks 😂

That was a fun project! Thanks to Rob Lees, Adam Packer, and all the co-authors for inviting me to participate. rdcu.be/edQXi

Question for my multiphoton friends: I've heard that Conoptics, manufacturer of Pockels Cells for laser power attenuation, will cease trading in June 2025. But I can't find any official announcement about this. Can someone confirm whether this is true or not?

RIP Garth Hudson. Thanks for inventing the wah-wah clavinet sound! youtu.be/NKu0OTDvQ-w?...

Interested in understanding how things work? In particular the tools you use to study the brain? Join us at TENSS 2025 where we brainstorm ideas, build and debug microscopes, electrophysiology and behavior rigs amidst the picturesque Transylvanian hills! tenss.ro Apply by: February 16th!

My wife found this Christmas tree stand in my parents' basement. It's a Kalliope Gloriosa stand with integrated music box, manufactured in 1904. The principle of using a perforated disc to pluck tuned lamellae to produce musical notes was patented in 1885 by Paul Lochmann.

Pls reskeet! Just five more days to apply for this cool (admittedly, I'm biased) and fully-funded #PhD project in our lab!

Have you ever wondered how memories are processed downstream of the #hippocampus and how this is affected by #Alzheimer's? We believe we may find some answers by riding all the way down the fornix to the mammillary body. Apply here for a fully-funded #PhD with us: ovgu.b-ite.careers/56yvk