I found this article super-interesting: Why more social interactions lead to more polarization in societies | PNAS www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Brilliant episode of All in the Mind with @claudiahammond.bsky.social, who discusses autism with @utafrith.bsky.social, brain development with @catherineloveday.bsky.social, as well as memory, music and other interesting topics www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Very concerning. Thank you Dorothy, for calling out this folly.

For a thorough dismissal of the acetaminophen scare read this editorial by Eric Fombonne First published: 17 October 2025 doi.org/10.1111/jcpp... ..."no evidence for a causal association...singling out acetaminophen use to ‘prevent’ autism was unscientific and truly irresponsible".

What could be better to uplift you on a grey day.

An important analysis and warning. How spreading mental health information can be (un‐) helpful – a dynamic systems approach - Marcotulli - Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry - Wiley Online Library acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

New research in Rwanda has started ! We continue to try to understand what differs those who participate in a génocide, and those who instead risk their lives to save others. Here is a picture of our novel and ecological risk-taking task, inspired by the BART.

Making a real difference.

Many congratulations, Masud!!

A brilliant book- can’t recommend it highly enough. Congratulations to Masud Husain!

Here's a nice clear explainer of the main findings from the new autism study, by @hannahdevlin.bsky.social, including comments from @utafrith.bsky.social.

If you’ve been following the RFK Jr autism news, then you’ve probably heard that there’s a systematic review “proving” Tylenol causes autism. Here’s my review of that paper👇🏼 open.substack.com/pub/epiellie...

Here's the key chart from that piece. Note what's on here with significant risk: genetic inheritance (twin on autism spectrum, sibling), third trimester stress, and factors that can affect maternal/paternal DNA. What doesn't carry risk? SSRIs. Sonograms. And vaccination. All very well tested.

Is the outgroup is immoral (dishonest, corrupt) by definition?

Marthe Vogt FRS, who was born #OnThisDay in 1903, was one of the 20th century's leading neuroscientists, with a research career spanning 50 years. She is best known for her work to understand the role of neurotransmitters like epinephrine. #WomenInSTEM

Many congratulations, Roger. Looking forward to your lecture already.

A review just in time for our 59th Wedding Anniversary on 1st September Scenes from a Marriage: How We Found Our Way from Experimental Psychology to Social Neuroscience | Annual Reviews - www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...

As Philip K. Dick said, "Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away."

Gemeinsam mit drei Ärzten wollte der Schweinfurter Mediziner Georg Balthasar Metzger „die Natur erforschen zur Ehre Gottes und zum Wohle der Menschen“. Hierfür gründete das Quartett 1652 die Academia Naturae Curiosorum – die heutige Leopoldina. Mehr zu Metzger: www.leopoldina.org/mitgliederve...

Mysteries of the past were appreciated in the past.

No empirical support for 'Double Empathy' hypothesis from preregistered study: doi.org/10.1038/s415... "We hypothesized that information transfer would deteriorate faster and rapport would be lower in mixed-neurotype compared with single-neurotype chains." But no difference was found.

Here's your chance to download not only my book 'Slime Mould and Philosophy' , but download ALL the books in Cambridge Elements Philosophy of Biology series from the 20th to the 25th of July for FREE! I highly recommend Jan Baedke's (2025) book 'The Organism'. cup.org/4kEgivL #ISHPSSB #philosophy

Thought provoking and important.

One of my favourites.

Delighted to see London philosopher @davidpapineau.bsky.social being rightly honoured by @BritishAcademy Many congratulations, David!

Two years in the making.

Happy birthday Brenda Milner! 🧠🎉 Today is her 107th birthday, she's a legend, a superhero.

#HappyBirthday to astrophysicist Dame (Susan) Jocelyn Bell Burnell (15 July). As a postgraduate student in 1967, she discovered the first radio 'pulsars'. See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jocelyn...

Neil Shubin, a University of Chicago researcher known for co-discovering a ′missing link’ fossil fish, will lead the National Academy of Sciences if ratified by members go.nature.com/4lqrjRx

Join Royal Society Ferrier Prize winner Professor Gillian Bates FRS on 06 October at the Royal Society as she unravels the molecular basis of Huntington's disease: royalsociety.org/science-even...

Modern theories of emotion (especially “interoceptive inference”) often cite William James as a key inspiration. But what did James actually say about emotion, and is it supported by the data? Here’s a brief look at the core arguments and classic evidence. 🧵

This great paper provokes a lot of thought, e.g., about the incredible power of education. Also tests are not the same as the putative underlying cognitive abilities they purport to tap. Performance vs competence. The cultural construction of “executive function” www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

An exciting finding about the foundations of our prosocial preference. Human newborns spontaneously attend to prosocial interactions. Geraci, A., Surian, L., Tina, L.G. et al. Nat Commun 16, 6304 (2025). doi.org/10.1038/s414...

We’ve opened the call for @britishacademy.bsky.social postdoctoral fellowships. We provide three years of funding for early career researchers in the humanities and social sciences to complete a significant piece of publishable research www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/funding/post...

At #SummerScience discover the incredible power of ultrasound and how it can change lives through non-invasive surgery, speed up healing, and create new ways to deliver medication: fuse-cdt.org.uk/extraordinar...

A child's love of reading.

Natural hydrogen could be part of a green future but scientific rigor is needed to balance the hype, states our new report. Unlike most other hydrogen used today, natural hydrogen (or 'white' or 'gold' hydrogen) forms naturally in the Earth's crust and could be a low-carbon energy resource.

Surely worth supporting.

Sad to see this decline. Can it be reversed?

Here's how nanotechnology and virtual reality (and a certain flappy bird) are helping make surgery safer. #SummerScience www.ucl.ac.uk/hawkes-insti...

Today is the final day of the Young Researcher Zone at the Summer Science Exhibition! Visit the exhibition for free and explore 8 of our Royal Society-funded #PartnershipGrants schools showcasing their incredible STEM research projects. #SummerScience royalsociety.org/science-even...

A most useful catch-up on what we now know about implicit bias, and concise recap of what the IAS does and does not show. Thank you Paul! smallpotatoes.paulbloom.net/p/implicit-b...

Fascinating paper on ‘Unexpected Bilingualism in Autism: Enhanced Sensitivity to Non‐Adjacent Dependencies’ onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

He’s a treasure!

Lovely pictures by Charlie Bibby St Paul’s marks 350th anniversary with rare glimpse of its inner sanctum on.ft.com/4nmR5I0

It's completely right. Humans *cannot not* interpret communicative stimuli as if it was generated by an agent with communicative intent. (It's like, say, seeing in colour: I can't not do that, even if I wanted to!)

The overwhelming need to belong. Confirmation of the force of alignment with your ingroup in football fans Route of fire: Pregame rituals and emotional synchrony among Brazilian football fans | PNAS www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Looking forward to exciting findings.

Excited to read. about a new theoretical framework to interpret cognitive functions in autism.