Ben Saunders
@bensaunders.bsky.social
📤 4823
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Neuroscientist and gardener Lab site- saunderslab.com
pinned post!
Check out our new paper, led brilliantly by Dr. Megan Brickner, in early view form at
@natcomms.nature.com
. We characterize BLA dopamine signaling in emotional learning - lots of insights into broad dopamine heterogeneity beyond classic value learning signals!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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17 days ago
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Society for Neuroscience
3 days ago
The comment period on the proposed OMB rule closes July 13. Your input can help protect merit-based science funding. Join fellow
#NeuroAdvocates
and submit a comment today:
vist.ly/59mbt
#neurosky
#neuroskyence
#scisky
#medsky
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Bethany Brookshire
4 days ago
You may have heard about the OMB rule change that will put politics over federal grants. However bad you think it is? It's probably worse. Thanks to
@theverge.com
for letting me report this one out. There is still time to comment.
bit.ly/4v2X4nQ
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The war against ‘woke’ could end US science as we know it
“Everyone will be affected, not just scientists. Every community in the country.“
https://bit.ly/4v2X4nQ
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Keri Martinowich
7 days ago
I am so excited to get to share this paper that extends our work on understanding how circuitry between locus coeruleus and prefrontal cortex control attention. Just huge congrats to
@rehg-j.bsky.social
and
@jorge-miranda.bsky.social
- I am so proud of both of you 💙💙!!!
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Kristina Visscher
8 days ago
Y'all this tool from FASEB for responding to the OMB rule is spectacular! It makes it easy to figure out how the rule will impact you (spoiler: a lot!), gives you the relevant section names, and if you want, it helps you write it yourself! Please, use it now!
www.faseb.org/science-poli...
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Bethany Brookshire
10 days ago
This news breaks my heart. SciAm being sold and a PILE of great editors getting fired. The Sciam editorial team is one of the best I've had the pleasure to work with. Smart, incisive, they make every piece better and I'm so proud to have worked with them.
group.springernature.com/gp/group/med...
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Springer Nature to divest its consumer media businesses | Springer Nature Group | Springer Nature
Strategic divestment of consumer media portfolio enables Springer Nature to focus on its core business Transaction supports the long-term development
https://group.springernature.com/gp/group/media/press-releases/divestment-consumer-media/52799204
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David Ho
11 days ago
This amount would fund the US National Science Foundation for a decade. 🧪
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Pentagon seeks $80 billion from Congress for Iran war
The Pentagon has told lawmakers it needs roughly $80 billion, mostly to cover the cost of the war in Iran.
https://apnews.com/article/iran-war-costs-trump-senate-hegseth-4648071a31afceaa55638c69ea021fd8?__vfz=medium%3Dstandalone_top_pages
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Fun to write about this cool recent paper from Emily Sylwestrak's lab in
@currentbiology.bsky.social
www.cell.com/current-biol...
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Neuroscience: Habenula neurons help learn from loss
Adjusting expectations is key for thriving in a dynamic environment. A new study suggests that a specific set of neurons in the habenula contributes to this process by specifically signaling worse tha...
https://www.cell.com/current-biology/abstract/S0960-9822(26)00582-8
11 days ago
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Check our new work! Studies led brilliantly by
@louisakuper.bsky.social
. We investigate the parafascicular thalamus as an interface of sensory, attention, and movement signals that guide exploration and cue-related learning.
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14 days ago
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Check our new work! Studies led brilliantly by
@louisakuper.bsky.social
. We investigate the parafascicular thalamus as an interface of sensory, attention, and movement signals that guide exploration and cue-related learning.
add a skeleton here at some point
14 days ago
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Check out our new paper, led brilliantly by Dr. Megan Brickner, in early view form at
@natcomms.nature.com
. We characterize BLA dopamine signaling in emotional learning - lots of insights into broad dopamine heterogeneity beyond classic value learning signals!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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17 days ago
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Colette Delawalla, PhD
15 days ago
HAVE YOU SUBMITTED YOUR OMB PUBLIC COMMENT YET???? If not, join us tomorrow at 2pm et:
events.standupforscience.net/stand-up-for...
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Rapid Response Hour: Writing Effective OMB Public Comments
This is a working session designed to help all of us submit strong, effective comments that protect scientific integrity and federal research capacity. Every voice and every example matters in buildin...
https://events.standupforscience.net/stand-up-for-science/writing-omb-public-comments
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Super excited for Jeremiah to join us!
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15 days ago
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Kurt Fraser
16 days ago
I'm looking to hire a research technician/lab manager. This role is ideal for someone looking to gain experience and independence after undergraduate research on their way to graduate school. Please encourage anyone interested to apply:
hr.myu.umn.edu/jobs/ext/374...
(job code 374183)
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Careers
The Fraser Lab at the University of Minnesota (https://fraserlab.psych.umn.edu/) is recruiting a full-time research technician to support the lab. As a part of the Department of Psychology we are involved in the greater neuroscience research community at the University of Minnesota which provides excellent access to training and professional development. The Fraser Lab is interested in the neurobiological basis of motivated behavior and investigates how defined brain circuits contribute to behavioral regulation. We make use of modern neuroscience approaches to record and manipulate neural activity in real-time as rodents perform complex behavioral tasks to relate precise aspects of neural activity to well-defined psychological processes. To do so, we regularly use optogenetics, chemogenetics, calcium imaging, biosensors, pharmacology, and immunohistochemistry. Our ultimate goal is to decipher the neural mechanisms regulating behavior and to characterize how these are altered in psychiatric illness, such as addiction, or by differences in lived experience, such as after early life adversity, to potentially identify novel therapeutics. We seek a team member who can play a lead role in lab operations, collaborate closely with the PI, and engage in team-building and growth.Duties:Laboratory logistics, maintenance and operations (30%):
https://hr.myu.umn.edu/jobs/ext/374183
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Jeremiah Cohen
16 days ago
Excited to move to the Department of Neuroscience at the University of Minnesota in the fall. We will continue our work on neuromodulators and behavior. Positions available in the lab. Please get in touch if interested, and share broadly!
hr.myu.umn.edu/jobs/ext/374...
hr.myu.umn.edu/jobs/ext/374...
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abby (sports)
17 days ago
Everyone shut up I finally got a video of Jyn doing her cartoon snoring thing
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Christos Constantinidis
17 days ago
NIH announces the creation of the Office of Research Innovation, Validation, and Application (ORIVA) to reduce use of animals in research.
dpcpsi.nih.gov/oriva
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Office of Research Innovation, Validation, and Application (ORIVA) | DPCPSI
The NIH Office of Research Innovation, Validation, and Application (ORIVA) will coordinate NIH-wide efforts to develop, validate, and scale the use of human-based approaches across NIH biomedical rese...
https://dpcpsi.nih.gov/oriva
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Check out our new paper, led brilliantly by Dr. Megan Brickner, in early view form at
@natcomms.nature.com
. We characterize BLA dopamine signaling in emotional learning - lots of insights into broad dopamine heterogeneity beyond classic value learning signals!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
add a skeleton here at some point
17 days ago
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Robert Reich
18 days ago
Ths is flying under the radar, but Russ Vought is advancing a new scheme to give Trump's cronies total control of nearly $179B in federal grant funds. Billions for lifesaving disaster relief and medical research would be subject to Trumpian loyalty oaths. Make no mistake: this is fascism.
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Alarm Grows Over Vought Plan to Give Trump Cronies Control of Federal Grant Money | Common Dreams
"The test will be a simple one: Are you sufficiently loyal to the president? If the answer is no, it will result in the
https://www.commondreams.org/news/vought-grant-funding
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Olivier George
18 days ago
great paper by
@bensaunders.bsky.social
and a nice example that a neurotransmitter has no intrinsec function, it is a signal whose consequences are defined by the circuit that receives it. the function emerges.
doi.org/10.1038/s41...
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Olivier George
18 days ago
Clever use of a complex behavioral task to show that BLA dopamine tracks emotional salience, not value or prediction error. Threat/Safety cues drive larger, sustained signals than reward/neutral cues. Dopamine in the BLA is very much different than in the striatum.
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Ben Saunders
25 days ago
❤️ Howard will be greatly missed
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Andrew Hardaway
about 1 month ago
If you have not left a public comment on the draconian OMB-2026-0034, here's a quick thread to make it easy.
#standupforscience
#neuroskyence
Click here:
www.regulations.gov/document/OMB...
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Regulations.gov
https://www.regulations.gov/document/OMB-2026-0034-0001/comment
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Terry McGlynn
about 1 month ago
Call your reps -- blue, red, purple, it doesn't matter -- about the proposed OMB science funding rule. The house can stop this. Let them know it matters for your district.
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Dr. Cate Peña
about 1 month ago
It’s worth the time to read, and it’s worth the time to comment. No, it’s not completely futile. Even if the current admin steamrolls ahead, comments become part of the record that legislatures, judges, and advocates can use in the future. Summary 👇🏻 Comment here:
www.regulations.gov/document/OMB...
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Minilla Jovovich 🍉
about 1 month ago
A lot of news might be *worse* but I don't know if there's anything quite as *emblematic* for our current moment as the fuckin Candy Crush guy saying "science is for losers ya gotta listen to chatgpt"
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Don Moynihan
about 1 month ago
A proposed Trump policy would put Russ Vought in charge of American science. Its an example of the slow creep of politicization into processes that both parties traditionally understood as needing nonpartisan and expert guidance. What can you do about it? 🧵
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/the-creep-...
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The Creep of Politicization
A new assault on science highlights a broader pattern
https://donmoynihan.substack.com/p/the-creep-of-politicization
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Jason Koebler
about 1 month ago
New: Hackers have been stealing high-profile Instagram accounts by simply asking Meta's AI support chatbot to change the email associated with the account they want to steal. Shockingly easy, terrible flaw associated with offloading support to AI:
www.404media.co/hackers-simp...
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Hackers Simply Asked Meta AI to Give Them Access to High-Profile Instagram Accounts. It Worked
The exploit shows the extreme risk of offloading technical support to AI.
https://www.404media.co/hackers-simply-asked-meta-ai-to-give-them-access-to-high-profile-instagram-accounts-it-worked/
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Daniel Castro
about 1 month ago
First Castro Lab paper, brought to you by the hard work of Dr. Kathryn Braden
@katybraden.bsky.social
In this manuscript we investigate the role of endogenous enkephalin or dorsal raphe nucleus. We find that it is incredibly important for buffering negative affect 😱
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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Dorsal raphe nucleus enkephalin peptide modulates behavioral preference - Neuropsychopharmacology
Neuropsychopharmacology - Dorsal raphe nucleus enkephalin peptide modulates behavioral preference
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41386-026-02456-5
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Jeremy Berg
about 1 month ago
Several people have asked for possible content and structure for comments regarding the proposed OMB regulations. With some suggestions from others, I have posted on example (as a Word document) for downloading).
jeremymberg.github.io/jeremyberg.g...
I hope this is helpful.
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https://jeremymberg.github.io/jeremyberg.github.io/OMB%20comment%20template-5-30-26.docx
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Colette Delawalla, PhD
about 1 month ago
AS PROMISED: Stop Vought. Save Science. The
@standupforscience.net
action center is live:
fight2win.standupforscience.net
REGISTER for our Emergency Science Meeting (6/2, 4pm et), Call and email Congress, and leave your public comment all in one place!
#standupforscience
#TakeActionNow
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Colette Delawalla, PhD
about 1 month ago
OH GREAT! Universities are “grateful” that the OMB proposal gives them “some breathing room”… Your weekly reminder that no one is coming to save us. Take action with
@standupforscience.net
here:
fight2win.standupforscience.net
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Chanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌
about 1 month ago
In this newsletter I outline important actions to take. 1. Submit a comment opposing the rule change. 2. Contact state legislators to ensure states are engaged with the impact at the state and local level. 3. Contact members of Congress. 4. Spread awareness. This rundown is a great source:
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Summary of Key Changes in OMB’s Proposed Federal Financial Assistance Rule
Russell Vought is going to destroy American Science
https://open.substack.com/pub/elizabethginexi/p/summary-of-key-changes-in-ombs-proposed?r=3p512&utm_medium=ios
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anil oza
about 1 month ago
OMB has a new proposal for the regulation of all federal grants, which would -deemphasize peer review -ban $ for publication costs and conference travel -make it easier to terminate grants we read the 400 page document () so you don't have to
www.statnews.com/2026/05/29/n...
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Trump administration seeks to overhaul federal grant-making process, alarming researchers
The Trump administration has released a sweeping proposal to overhaul the bedrock regulation for all federal grants.
https://www.statnews.com/2026/05/29/nih-grants-uniform-guidance-proposal-political-control/
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Coleen Murphy
about 1 month ago
The public comment period closes approximately July 13, 2026 (45 days from May 29 publication). Comments must be submitted to
regulations.gov
, Docket OMB-2026-0034
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Stand Up for Science!
about 1 month ago
BREAKING: New proposed OMB regulation, applying to all federal grants, requiring grant reviews by senior political appointees and re-emphasizes that "peer review remains advisory and does not replace agency discretion".
#standupforscience
public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2026-10817.pdf
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https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2026-10817.pdf
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Jeremy Berg
about 1 month ago
(2) The plan is, indeed, to have an RFI to collect input. THIS IS A HUGE SHIFT IN NIH PRACTICES. FOLKS NEED TO THINK ABOUT THIS AND PREPARE TO WEIGH IN. 3/3
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Dan Garisto
about 1 month ago
Scoop: NSF has been quietly blocking new funds and grants to four top universities: Duke, Harvard, Princeton, and Yale. Dozens of proposals from PIs at these universities—and their collaborators—have been stuck at the Office of Award Management awaiting finalization for months.
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Exclusive: NSF puts new research grants to top universities on hold
US science funder once again restricts awards to Harvard University and other research institutions.
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-01667-6
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Josh Johansen
about 1 month ago
doi.org/10.53053/RUK...
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In memoriam: Howard Fields, pain research pioneer
Over six decades, Fields mapped out the circuits of both pain and addiction.
https://doi.org/10.53053/RUKL8627
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Michael D. Green, PhD
about 1 month ago
At the start of ur research career funding can make or break it. You use it to run experiments, hire ppl, and share findings.
@elizabethginexi.bsky.social
and I wrote about 5 programs that support early career researchers. New awards fell 20% from FY24- 25
www.notbeinggreen.com/p/politics-h...
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BWJones
about 1 month ago
NIH funded peeps: This is insane and coming for us.
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Stephanie M. Lee
about 1 month ago
NEW: They Got the Best NIH Scores of Their Careers. A Year Later, They Still Don’t Have Funding. As the NIH bankrolls new research at a significantly slower-than-usual pace, I talked to scientists left in the lurch about the toll on their research and careers:
www.chronicle.com/article/they...
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They Got the Best NIH Scores of Their Careers. A Year Later, They Still Don’t Have Funding.
The NIH’s spending on new medical research is significantly slower than in previous years, leaving confused scientists in the lurch.
https://www.chronicle.com/article/they-got-the-best-nih-scores-of-their-careers-a-year-later-they-still-dont-have-funding
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Lisa Fazio
about 1 month ago
Glad to see this from the president of Johns Hopkins and the chancellor of U Kansas A rare public acknowledgement from university leaders that the current NIH and NSF funding delays are not okay and are a violation of Congressional intent.
www.wsj.com/opinion/get-...
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Opinion | Get the Federal Science Money Flowing
The NIH has been holding back grants from funds Congress has already approved.
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/get-the-federal-science-money-flowing-ec14cdbf?st=Pvikwy
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Nicola Sambuco
about 1 month ago
After years following
@flagel-lab.bsky.social
's work on sign-trackers and goal-trackers in rodents, we asked: can we find this dissociation in the human brain? And does ST depend on dopamine, like in rodents? Preprint out, 5 cohorts, N=1,251. 🧵
#RewardSignals
#neuroskyence
#Neuroimaging
#Science
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Dr Kathleen Millen
about 1 month ago
🚨🧪🧵URGENT INPUT NEEDED: NIH asks input for next strategic plan-including emphasis on non-animal models (NAMs) to replace animals. Per NIH insider, anti-animal responses now outnumber scientists 200-700x. Please please provide input. Deadline: May 26, 11:59 PM ET.
grants.nih.gov/news-events/...
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NIH Seeks Input on Framework for Next NIH-Wide Strategic Plan | Grants & Funding
https://grants.nih.gov/news-events/nih-extramural-nexus-news/2026/03/nih-seeks-input-on-framework-for-next-nih-wide-strategic-plan
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Talia Lerner
about 2 months ago
The Lerner Lab is excited for
#Dopamine2026
next week! Make sure to check out these sessions and say hello 👋
@dopaminesociety.bsky.social
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Jess Cardin
about 2 months ago
Do brain circuits really sit in a 'soup' of neuromodulators? Are neurons like soggy bits of bread soaked in signaling factors? Is the whole brain just squelching around in one big pool of warm modulators?
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Drew Schreiner
about 2 months ago
Where, exactly, does learning happen in the brain? Out today in
@nature.com
, we identify a synaptic locus of birdsong learning and show that the circuit can be tuned to make birds learn faster - but at a cost. Read on👇
#neuroskyence
🧪
#prattle
💬
#bioacoustics
Shareable link:
rdcu.be/fiyrS
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A synaptic locus of song learning - Nature
Combining a computational framework and optogenetic and chemogenetic manipulations within and downstream of the cortico-basal ganglia circuit identifies the specific cortico-basal ganglia synapse...
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10510-x
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Ishmail Abdus-Saboor
about 2 months ago
Long-term editing of brain circuits with engineered electrical synapses! I still remember years ago when Kafui Dzirasa from
@dukeuni.bsky.social
@hhmi-science.bsky.social
called me beaming with excitement about this new technology. Here it is today in Nature.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
.
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Long-term editing of brain circuits using an engineered electrical synapse - Nature
Connexin proteins found in white perch fish were used to engineer synthetic electrical synapses, enabling precision circuit editing in mammals.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10501-y
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Grace Lindsay
about 2 months ago
If you've ever sought NIH funding, do this now
www.bioniclab.org/news/request...
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B.I.O.N.I.C. Lab - Request for Information NIH
Subject: NIH Strategic Plan RFI (NOT-OD-26-047), deadline May 16. 5 minutes of your time matters. Colleagues, NIH is developing its Strategic Plan for FY 2027-2031 and has issued an RFI (NOT-OD-26-0...
https://www.bioniclab.org/news/request-for-information-nih
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