Please enjoy this new offering from the lab: we discover that #excavates - ancient flagellate lineages with a voracious appetite for bacteria - change their behaviour depending on the availability of said prey! Preprint here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... #protistsonsky

Very nice paper by @lljschoenmakers.bsky.social on how to interpret debates over adaptationism. He argues that the sides of the debate are divided by different commitments about what constitutes genuine scientific understanding.

Scientific understanding and the controversy over adaptationism in evolutionary biology - European Journal for Philosophy of Science

In this paper, I show how explanatory and objectual scientific understanding can be used to explain the early 1980s controversy over adaptationism. In this controversy, criticasters of adaptationism a...

link.springer.com

Last week, my dear colleague Guido I. Prieto gave a talk on our joint work on model organisms & scientific representation. 📺 www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWUG... For those interested, I’ve linked the 📃s below 👇 link.springer.com/article/10.1... link.springer.com/article/10.1... #philsci #HPbio 🧪

CEFISES Seminar, Guido Prieto: Are model organisms models?

YouTube video by CEFISES at UCLouvain

youtube.com

The KU Leuven AI Safety Lab studies the large-scale risks of #AI, from the concentration of power in the companies that build it to the loss of democratic control over its development: www.aisafetylab.eu 📢 You can apply for paid residencies atm 👇 www.aisafetylab.eu/open-calls/ #philsci #philsky 🧪

KU Leuven AI Safety Lab

Academic research on the large-scale risks of advanced AI and on who controls it.

aisafetylab.eu

Out today in @nature.com: our review on how single cells evolve into multicellular organisms. With Ozan Bozdag, @kaitong25.bsky.social, Peter Yunker, and @matthewherron.bsky.social. rdcu.be/9ZuiKow9twKa For an overview, check out the video below.

I am really happy to share that I have started as PI of an @fwovlaanderen.bsky.social-funded 3-year project @clpskuleuven.bsky.social. I'll investigate how scientists conceptualize, model & measure environments across the life, cognitive, social & Earth sciences! #philsci #philsky #evosky #envhum 🧪

This has been a really fun project to be a part of, and now we have a cool cover! My co-editors are Alison McConwell, Michael Dietrich, John Beatty, with authors from across biology, history, and philosophy (including one from me). It's due out in June 2027 -- can't wait! 🌱🐋

It is widely held that fitness is affected by population size, 'n.' But Grant Ramsey shows, in a new #openaccess paper in @jrnlofphil.bsky.social, that this familiar claim rests on both mathematical and conceptual mistakes.🔥 👇📃 doi.org/10.5840/jphi... #philsci #HPbio #evobio #philsky #HPS 🧪

Have you been thinking about the main challenges or theoretical frameworks of #ALife? Do you want to discuss the current directions & future prospects of the field? Then come to Leuven & join us in a great interdisciplinary environment open to both scientists & philosophers #philsky #MolBiol #HPS 🧪

The Ramsey Lab@theramseylab.bsky.social · 2w ago

Are you interested in the past, present & future of Artificial Life (ALife) as a scientific field? 🚨 We are hosting an interdisciplinary minisymposium this December, so send us your work & come along! Please share widely! 🔗 hiw.kuleuven.be/clps/events/... #philsci #academicsky #evobio #AI #HPS

It is widely held that fitness is affected by population size, 'n.' But Grant Ramsey shows, in a new #openaccess paper in @jrnlofphil.bsky.social, that this familiar claim rests on both mathematical and conceptual mistakes.🔥 👇📃 doi.org/10.5840/jphi... #philsci #HPbio #evobio #philsky #HPS 🧪

Are you interested in the past, present & future of Artificial Life (ALife) as a scientific field? 🚨 We are hosting an interdisciplinary minisymposium this December, so send us your work & come along! Please share widely! 🔗 hiw.kuleuven.be/clps/events/... #philsci #academicsky #evobio #AI #HPS

Are you interested in the past, present & future of Artificial Life (ALife) as a scientific field? 🚨 We are hosting an interdisciplinary minisymposium this December, so send us your work & come along! Please share widely! 🔗 hiw.kuleuven.be/clps/events/... #philsci #academicsky #evobio #AI #HPS

I'm so excited to finally see the special issue "Addressing Biases in Animal Behaviour" fully published: www.sciencedirect.com/special-issu.... Huge thanks to my brilliant co-editors @viveknityananda.bsky.social & @nicolakoyama.bsky.social. Special issue grew from @asab.org's 2024 Winter Meeting 🧵

As a modeller, it’s sometimes hard to convey the idea that adding complexity to our models (ostensibly making them more realistic) doesn’t necessarily give us more explanatory power. This paper makes that point clear by arguing why simpler models are often more illuminating. Congrats to the authors!

Alejandro Fábregas-Tejeda@alejandrofabregastejeda.com · 2mo ago

As simulations grow in complexity, a set of non-trivial issues emerge: diminished identifiability as free parameters become too numerous relative to exp. constraints & difficulties grasping causality. In our new 📄, we point to potential avenues to move #CellBio forward 👇 arxiv.org/abs/2608.06998

I wrote an essay (presenting two arguments) after reading these wonderful books. here: link.springer.com/article/10.1... Measuring biological processes, counting biological individuals,… 🌱 @ellenclarke.bsky.social @roto-rub.bsky.social @universitypress.cambridge.org @oxfordunipress.bsky.social

Just got a physical copy of Pim Edelaar's new book, the Selective Organism: and Expanded Theory of Adaptive Evolution. This is a truly wonderful book, applying causal methods to real eco-evo problems. And better yet, it is freely available: academic.oup.com/book/63165 Congrats, Pim!

The Selective Organism: An Expanded Theory of Adaptive Evolution

Abstract. Adaptive evolution is often described as natural selection acting on the genetic variation that affects ecological performance. This description

academic.oup.com

Goodbye @theramseylab.bsky.social & @clpskuleuven.bsky.social … it’s been an absolute blast! ❤️🥹 Catching my next train (both physical and metaphorical) with a deep sense of gratitude. Thank y'all! #philbio #philsky #hpbio #evosky #paleosky

Hello, #AcademicSky! We are a highly collaborative philosophy group interested in the life sciences—esp. #evobio, #cellbio, #devbio, #PaleoSky, #ethology, #cogsci & #AI. Follow us for research updates & the work catching our eye across #philosophy & science! www.theramseylab.org #philsci #HPbio 🧪

Hello, #AcademicSky! We are a highly collaborative philosophy group interested in the life sciences—esp. #evobio, #cellbio, #devbio, #PaleoSky, #ethology, #cogsci & #AI. Follow us for research updates & the work catching our eye across #philosophy & science! www.theramseylab.org #philsci #HPbio 🧪

I have a new paper with @susanamonso.com and @kristinandrews.bsky.social. This one is intended to be a short guide for ECRs interested in doing some philosophy of comparative psychology, and wondering how to approach it. compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

The Philosophy of Comparative Psychology

The philosophy of comparative psychology investigates a range of issues connected to the study of animal minds. These include first-order questions about the nature of certain cognitive traits, the c...

compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

New preprint from the lab: The Latent Simplicity of Microbial Ecological Interactions www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... We're excited about this one. We find that high-order microbial interactions often obey simple linear laws making microbial communities far more predictable than one might expect

Interesting 📰 @theguardian.com by @samanthsubramanian.bsky.social on non-neural cognition: www.theguardian.com/news/ng-inte... Confronted with this polarizing debate, @philosobio.bsky.social & I wrote a balanced take on basal #cognition from an #evobio lens 👇 link.springer.com/article/10.1... #HPS

‘This is dangerous’: slime moulds and the bitter debate over the nature of intelligence

The long read: Scientists are battling over whether supposedly simple organisms should be considered ‘intelligent’. The outcome could reshape our understanding of the natural world – and our own place...

theguardian.com

Interested in doing a PhD in philosophy of animal minds in lovely Murcia? We have just published a call for expressions of interest to do a PhD as part of our research project on ecological validity in comparative cognitive science. Please consider applying if this is up your street!

Call for expressions of interest: PhD position

The Spanish Ministry for Science and Innovation is about to publish a call for pre-doctoral scholarships (FPI) adhered to scientific projects that have been approved for funding in 2026. We invite …

ecologicalvalidity.wordpress.com

New 📃🚨! @rosetrappes.bsky.social & I explore how #environment & #niche concepts are understood & mobilized across the life sciences & beyond, highlighting similarities & differences through a rich range of examples! 👇 philsci-archive.pitt.edu/30940/ #HPbio #philsci #philsky #evobio #envhum #HPS

We are immensely proud of @andrameneganzin.bsky.social on her new appointment at @pacea.bsky.social! We are sure she will make waves there & help consolidate the philosophy of #paleoanthropology as a thriving field! Be sure to keep an eye out for her future work! #HPBio #philsci #HPS #Paleosky 🧪

Andra Meneganzin@andrameneganzin.bsky.social · last mo.

I’m excited, and still quite dazed, to share some big news. Starting this fall, I'll be an Associate Professor (Maître de Conférences) in Philosophy & History of Biology/Biomedical Sciences at the University of Bordeaux. 🧪🦣💀🏺 philinbiomed.cnrs.fr/andra-menega...

We are immensely proud of @andrameneganzin.bsky.social on her new appointment at @pacea.bsky.social! We are sure she will make waves there & help consolidate the philosophy of #paleoanthropology as a thriving field! Be sure to keep an eye out for her future work! #HPBio #philsci #HPS #Paleosky 🧪

Andra Meneganzin@andrameneganzin.bsky.social · last mo.

I’m excited, and still quite dazed, to share some big news. Starting this fall, I'll be an Associate Professor (Maître de Conférences) in Philosophy & History of Biology/Biomedical Sciences at the University of Bordeaux. 🧪🦣💀🏺 philinbiomed.cnrs.fr/andra-menega...

Less is more!

International Society of Developmental Biology@isdb.bsky.social · 2mo ago

New #preprint by @alejandrofabregastejeda.com and @theramseylab.bsky.social argue that in computational modelling of complex biological systems, more is not necessarily better! It is the ratio of free parameters to the experimental constraints that is important! 👇👇👇 doi.org/10.48550/arX... #compbio

A perspective in @natmethods.nature.com on Why forces are fundamental to understanding how life comes into being - by us, @campaslab.bsky.social @yanlanmao.bsky.social @sarawickstrom.bsky.social Miguel Concha, Alba Diz-Muñoz and @streichan.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...

The physics of sculpting a living creature - Nature Methods

Cell biologists have long known that mechanical forces, such as tension and compression, influence tissue differentiation. Now, advanced methods are letting them observe and manipulate these forces in...

nature.com

Call for Abstracts International Society for the History, Philosophy & Social Studies of Biology biennial meeting ISHPSSB 18–23 JULY 2027 Buenos Aires, Argentina. Submissions deadline: October 15, 2026 #HPS congressin.com/e/ishpssb2027/

One week (!) left to apply to this #PhD opportunity with @sylviawenmackers.be investigating uncertainty & causality in climate models: www.kuleuven.be/personeel/jo... We would be grateful if you could share this with anyone who might be interested! More info in the 🧵👇 #philsci #philsky #HPS #AI 🧪

Centre for Logic and Philosophy of Science (CLPS)@clpskuleuven.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Are you interested in climate modeling & #ML? Sylvia Wenmackers is looking for a #philsci PhD student to examine #uncertainty & #causality in climate science 👇🌍🌡️ www.kuleuven.be/personeel/jo... Apply by August 31 & please help us spread the word! #philsky #academicsky #MLsky #envhum #HPS