Well there goes the rest of whatever Frontiers still had left as a reputation… (I personally stopped publishing in and editing/reviewing for Frontiers and MDPI journals ~5 yrs ago, because while some individual papers are definitely up to standard - the whole editorial process/experience was not)

I like my job, but some of my better life decisions of 2026 have been to 1) take time off hike the Cotswolds way and 2) see Harry Styles at the Amsterdam Arena. Bucket list events should not be postponed. Also: I think I might be very good at retirement.

Champagne ready to pop as we finally got the official acceptance of our paper in which we dissected the WNT4 enhancer landscape in the mammary gland. Yay! Details to follow once the paper is available via Cell Reports in its final lay out!

I guess I should be nothing but happy that a paper is moving through the acceptance pipeline, but seriously - the amount of menial editing stuff journals are making authors do is insane.

Old (as in Feb 2026) video but it’s a happy thought to end the week. youtube.com/shorts/-tbAa...

I've already seen the OK Boomer Tik Tok video's so I don't necessarily need to be directed to those (although I'm always in for a good laugh), but seriously - help a (proud) GenX-er out here: Can anyone find anything on Sharepoint?

Happy birthday to one of the goats, biologically speaking.

Why do hacker groups target Canvas and then ask random money from universities? As far as I’m aware that’s the last place where money is to be found these days.

Time to start with a blank Canvas?

You had me at “invest in understanding signaling networks”

This is an absolutely stunning piece of research and visualisation! Tracking letters from one merchant’s company in the 14th-15th century. He was trading spices from the eastern med and importing English wool into Tuscany. Click on the link for an interactive map!

The Academy has banned AI from being eligible for Oscar nominations or wins. • Only roles demonstrably performed by humans with their consent are eligible for nomination or victory. • Screenplays must be human-authored to qualify for nomination or victory.

It's official. AI cannot win an Oscar for acting or screenwriting.

another day, another grant rejection. that's another two weeks in January (or was it February?) I will never get back.

Wie heeft performance manager succesfactor ontworpen en heeft die persoon het zelf wel eens gebruikt om door een paar 100 sollicitaties te gaan? Het performs niet en het is geen succes. Wel een irritatie factor.

I love how this is news, but let’s be real(istic): who hasn’t messed up stuff on their phone because they were typing and swiping away in bed without their reading glasses on when they should just put the bloody thing down and get some sleep?

In @nytopinion.nytimes.com As a college professor, there’s something gloomy to John McWhorter “about A.I. making it unnecessary to write an essay from the ground up,” he writes. “A.I. will put more people under the sort of suspicion that DEI does.”

New life hack: ChatGPT does allow you to find what you need on EU websites which are otherwise impossible to navigate (or penetrate if you wish) as they are typically a link to a link to a link to a link to a …

Ik weet dat de benzine duurder wordt en dat het kabinet tegenvaller op tegenvaller krijgt, maar het is ook niet echt een goed teken dat het subsidie plafond van de #NWO open competitie in maart (!) ipv in juli al bereikt is. Dus help! @rianneletschert.bsky.social @robjetten.bsky.social

Telkens wanneer er "een nieuw systeem" of "een nieuwe manier" wordt ingevoerd, vraag je je toch af: voor wie levert dit nu wél precies tijdswinst op? Voor mij namelijk nooit.

Total humble brag post 'cause our paper just got accepted, but shout out to Plos Genetics (only @plos.org journal not on Bluesky?) for sending out a clear, good old acceptance e-mail that starts with "we are pleased to inform you" with an actual exclamation mark (!) at the end of the sentence?

We're hiring! The vacancy for a PhD student position in our lab, working on a KWF-funded project "Targeting WNT/CTNNB1 signaling in breast cancer" is now open. Check it out (or forward it) if you are (or know) someone who might be interested and a good fit: werkenbij.uva.nl/en/vacancies...

I know my age is showing but if I am forced to make a Microsoft cloud form which ends up somewhere in Sharepoint, then how on earth do I ever find it back? And yes I have seen the TikTok videos of boomers asking for folders. But seriously, how am I supposed to organize an keep track of shit?

Working on it as we speak.

Few things are more satisfying than timing a complex project just right. Especially when you make the grant deadline (which also asked for a video) because of your superb* movie making (so you shot the right clips) and video editing skills Thank you past self, for having hobbies * all is relative

We definitely need more offbeat paths (yay actor/scientist combos) and scientists on TikTok (yay science communication), but burying the scientist this far down in a piece seems like… a missed opportunity to promote STEM. Or is this a fear that science is too difficult or (worse) controversial?

🎉 After a very long one (appropriately…), I’m excited to share work revealing an unexpected role for the epigenetic regulator ZFP57 - linking development, lactation, milk composition and lifelong health. Check it out: www.nature.com/articles/s41... #MammaryGlandBiology #DOHaD

Pitching our work at the @uva.nl Faculty of Science Deep Tech day.

I feel seen.

If you’re like me and you are also trying to organize your life between Xmas and new years, then you are probably also looking for a calendar. I’m a fan of quarterly ones. Here’s a clean one for 2026 without holidays of a country you don’t live in: www.calendar.best You’re welcome.

Can we normalize that journals just append the supplementary PDF files to the PDF of the main manuscript of they are too lazy to include an actual clickable link in the PDF? Because I'm too lazy/busy/fragmented to go look for them.

I am amazed by how many people apparently read and like stuff on LinkedIn. Has Science Twitter really secretly moved over there?

Ik heb inmiddels een grondige hekel aan dashboards en cute interfaces die ergens voor iemand in de content management workflow vast super lekker werken maar nooit voor de eind user.

Out of touch with reality, screaming overcompensation for something from a mile away.

Another Friday, another grant rejection. Was really looking forward to this #RareDisease one. Time to seek alternative ways of funding. #AdoptAScienctist #AdopteerEenWetenschapper

Ja, dit had je dus óók van mijlenver kunnen zien aankomen. Laat NextCloud in vredesnaam niet die happy party Hyves vibes van Teams overnemen, dan heeft het kans van slagen. www.folia.nl/nl/actueel/1...

Life actually: over taaie systemen en bonte details. Mijn oratie van 20 november 2025 komt binnenkort nog beschikbaar als PDF maar is nu al terug te kijken via tinyurl.com/OratieRenee

I saw James Watson IRL only once, in 2002, when I was a PhD student taking a summer course at CSHL (marvelous time, by the way). I only knew him by name and DNA discovery fame at the time, but wondered why someone of his stature would sit and eat chocolate cake alone in the cafeteria.

Academics worldwide have bigger fish to fry than worry about this new random imperfect metric, but let’s hope this gets Sh’ssed.

Why does what’s app still put through a full call the minute you accidentally touch the call button for a microsecond and then hang up? Why does MS Teams calendar invite first give you the link to their help function and only then the link to the teams meeting you really need? #firstworldproblems

Find 'filmmakers' Replace with 'wetenschappers'

When a paper suggests that a homologue of your favorite, understudied protein may be conserved in invertebrates and could help protect shrimp from bacterials infections. #FRAT2

Ik had het beter aan de experts circulaire economie kunnen vragen die ik vanmiddag sprak, maar hoeveel stroom kost het om elk kwartier nieuwe stroom prijzen te bepalen en door te berekenen aan je klanten? www.nu.nl/economie/636...

Deze blijft hier even vast bovenin hangen tot aan de verkiezingen van 29 oktober. Lees meer op www.universiteitenvannederland.nl/files/public...

Zelden een gebruikersonvriendelijker systeem tegen gekomen dan ANS. Wie heeft daar wel een simpele manier om een randomized tentamen te maken uit een goede question bank? Sowieso al een mesjokke zoektocht door de hulp functie voor de meest relevante en basic question: hoe maak ik een tentamen.

I am happy to let you know that there comes a time in your life where you honestly don’t care what your new passport picture looks like - you’re just happy that you get to have another passport and are healthy enough to use it for travel.