Tonight at 7pm: Nancy Kanwisher will be on On Point!! Talking about the brain. @nancykanwisher.bsky.social @npr.org

Awake infant fMRI offers a rare window into early brain and cognitive development. In a new paper out now in Infancy, we leverage data from hundreds of infant scans from the Saxe and Turk-Browne Labs to reveal what factors drive scanning success — and how future studies can maximize data retention!

Congratulations to @lillianbehm.bsky.social, Nick Turk-Browne, and a huge team for putting together this paper (out today) on lessons from a decade of attempts to study awake infants with fMRI: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

If you are at MIT today come to the Open Data prize celebration at 3pm in the Nexus! libraries.mit.edu/opendata/ope...

My sister @shoshannasaxe.bsky.social In this podcast, just rocks. So proud. www.podbean.com/ep/pb-bqngw-...

Totally agree with Mikes description of this project as a wild journey, utterly joyous true collaboration, and satisfying first step for quantitative predictive rational model of habituation. Not the first time I’ve suggested a “first step” in research that required a whole PhD to complete. 😉

Ever wonder how habituation works? Here's our attempt to understand: A stimulus-computable rational model of visual habituation in infants and adults doi.org/10.7554/eLif... This is the thesis of two wonderful students: @anjiecao.bsky.social @galraz.bsky.social, w/ @rebeccasaxe.bsky.social

Total disaster for the #drosophila community if flybase disappears

So pleased and proud to share this work. I started trying to think clearly about authority punishment in 2018. This new paper with Setayesh Radkani is the first fruit of that labour. Why so much struggle? See thread. 1/17

Also sharing a beautiful illustration of these ideas by my lovely and talented 👩‍🎨 friend, Adhara Martellini!

🚨Out in PNAS🚨 with @joshtenenbaum.bsky.social & @rebeccasaxe.bsky.social Punishment, even when intended to teach norms and change minds for the good, may backfire. Our computational cognitive model explains why! Paper: tinyurl.com/yc7fs4x7 News: tinyurl.com/3h3446wu 🧵

Reading this book and really enjoying it. Even the parts that are familiar are fun to hear again in this new succinct and thoughtful voice.

In case you missed it, our discussion with Professor Rebecca Saxe (@rebeccasaxe.bsky.social‬) is live! Give it a listen, why don't ya?

Beliefs about Social Dynamics and Open Science, w/ @ashleyjthomas.bsky.social & @rebeccasaxe.bsky.social - royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/... While perceptions of social dynamics of your field don't predict open science attitudes, we did find high levels of support for open science (YAY) ..

thanks for sharing @jenikubota.bsky.social - and delighted to see our paper on virtual contact is now *out* (led by @shirahebelsela.bsky.social and with @boazhameiri.bsky.social Samantha Moore-Berg, @rebeccasaxe.bsky.social, @eranhalperin75.bsky.social and Emile Bruneau as co-authors) 🙏🏻

This is either interesting scientific research or the start of one incredible heist

Please help: Do you know a baby, less than 12 months old, who can walk? We are trying to complete a project, 7 years in the works. And all we need are 3 infants who are less than a year old and can walk, to do a short online looking-time study. 🆘

In case you missed CDS last week, here is the preprint for Young-Eun Lee's presentation:, "Children learn what is right or wrong selectively from a legitimate authority’s punishment" osf.io/preprints/os...

🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🤞🏻

HHMI is hiring two full-time 'Open Science fellows': www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/op...

This paper is the final piece of @kosakowski.bsky.social’s thesis. So, after a decade of infant fMRI research in my lab, a brief personal history of this research and some links to learn more.

The question we ask: when do face responses arise in human infant cortex? Neuroscientists and developmental psychologists (my two disciplines) have different intuitions.

Also I love the beautiful thread that @kosakowski.bsky.social wrote about it:

Very excited to share this new paper, out this week. An attempt to express an idea I have been working on for more than a decade. Responses, questions, critiques, suggestions encouraged!

NEW: No fewer than 10 principle scientists at NIH investigating emerging infectious diseases and neural disorders were among those fired by RFK Jr. today. One is an esteemed scientist awarded for breakthrough research into the causes of Parkinson's disease. By me and @emilymullin.bsky.social:

Proud to be a signatory of this statement from 1900 members of NASEM: We call on the administration to cease its wholesale assault on U.S. science, and we urge the public to join this call. docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Proud to speak at the StandUpForScience rally in Boston today!

So proud to Stand up for science with these amazing scientists @kidsbrains.bsky.social

Thinking of my dear friend and colleague Emile Bruneau who envisioned and began this research more than a decade ago. He is sorely missed.

The Saxe Lab @ MIT is hiring! We seek one lab manager to start in summer 2025. Research in our lab focuses on social cognition (learn more on saxelab.mit.edu). Please apply at: tinyurl.com/saxe2025 (Job ID 31993). Review of applications starts on March 24, 2025. Sharing appreciated. Thank you!

Join us! Science Homecoming helps scientists reconnect with communities by writing about the importance of science funding in their hometown newspapers. We’ve mapped every small newspaper in the U.S. and provide resources to get you started. Help science get back home 🧪🔬🧬 🏠 sciencehomecoming.com

Welcome to the Bluesky account for Stand Up for Science 2025! Keep an eye on this space for updates, event information, and ways to get involved. We can't wait to see everyone #standupforscience2025 on March 7th, both in DC and locations nationwide! #scienceforall #sciencenotsilence

I will be there

I got laid off today, with the rest of 18F. 18F was an elite federal software shop. We made gov't websites work better, more efficiently for the American people. We saved taxpayers from getting screwed over by contractors. And were fired for it. We made this website to tell our story: 18f.org

This expression…

The firings at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are “going to affect safety of flight, safety of shipping, safety of everyday Americans,” Admiral Tim Gallaudet, who was acting NOAA chief during the first Trump term, told the AP. “Lives are at risk for sure.”

By @katherinejwu.com "The NIH... supported 99 percent of the drugs approved in the U.S. from 2010 to 2019. The agency has had a hand in “nearly all of our major medical breakthroughs over the past several decades,” The NIH is in a struggle for its (and our) lives. This is existential to America:

Anne Carpenter writes about the science cuts: “this is like suddenly announcing that you will pay for doctors and nurses but not the hospital building they work in” for the LaPorte Herald Dispatch in IN 🌽 🧪🧬🔬🏠 @drannecarpenter.bsky.social www.lpheralddispatch.com/opinion/gues...

Hope to see you there! www.bostonglobe.com/2025/02/20/m...

Stand Up for Science rally, March 7, 12-4 pm, Boston Common.

In the special issue of Daedalus about caregiving, Brian Christian’s article gives an excellent concise history of RL, AI alignment, and the nightmarish robot caregivers of sci-fi: www.amacad.org/daedalus/com...

Human infants require and receive enormous investments of caregiving. But what do they know or understand about caregiving relationships? New essay with @ashleyjthomas.bsky.social @alisongopnik.bsky.social and Christina Steele, in a special issue of Daedalus. www.amacad.org/daedalus/how...

Hello! I'm looking to hire a post-doc, to start this Summer or Fall. It'd be great if you could share this widely with people you think might be interested. More details on the position & how to apply: bit.ly/cocodev_post... Official posting here: academicpositions.harvard.edu/postings/14723

New Daedalus issue on the science of caregiving. In our paper, we ask, how might infants experience caregiving? Writing this paper with Christina Steele, @alisongopnik.bsky.social and @rebeccasaxe.bsky.social was incredibly fun. Our paper and the other awesome pieces here: www.amacad.org/daedalus

Stand Up for Science rallies will be held in DC and state capitals on March 7th. Share with friends. Sign-up here to get email updates with details: www.eventbrite.com/e/stand-up-f...

Please share Dick Aslin's excellent blog on indirect costs: dickaslin.substack.com/p/are-we-pay...

Before nodding along to yet another Bowling Alone reference, read this important post. Relatable, eloquent, and insightful.

The NYT asked me to write an op-ed on Musk and the Treasury and then took a pass. I hope it will still get read.

Interested in presenting a talk or poster at the Open Science in Undergrad Education Symposium? Here are some important deadlines! 🎙️ Feb. 22 - Abstracts for 20-minute talks 🖼️ April 1 - Abstracts for posters Learn more and submit your abstract: alleninstitute.org/events/opens... 🧬 #EduSky

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS!!! Harvard's graduate student organization, Women in Psychology, is super excited to host the 2025 Trends in Psychology Summit (TiPS) conference in May! Abstract submissions for poster presentations, blitz talks, and sketchpads closes Friday, February 14th at 12:00PM EST.