"Pain may be what the brain makes of a signal, but somewhere, Basbaum insists, there is a signal" a fantastic article by Stephani Southerland about the remarkable career of Allan Basbaum aeon.co/essays/a-res...
aeon.co
Simon Beggs
@simonbeggslab.bsky.social
UCL Neuroscientist. Otherwise dowsed in cocktails and slathered in fetid whimsy. Views unreliable.
#PedSky #MedSky#EpiSky #addictionsci #neuroskyence #neurosci #PainResearch🛟💊🧪 🌍⚖️ Howard Fields was a giant in pain research and treatment at a time the field was literally in the dark ages. By @iasp.bsky.social In Memory of Howard L. Fields
In Memory of Howard L. Fields - International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP)
IASP is deeply saddened to hear of the recent death of Honorary IASP Member, Prof Howard Fields, and we offer our condolences to his family, friends and colleagues. We are […]
iasp-pain.org
Our paper is out! Work by Christopher Black in collaboration with Liam Browne, Rob Brownstone, and Marco Beato. Here, we describe the unique kinematic signatures of multi-limb coordination in freely climbing mice and show how these flexibly adapt to changing environments. tinyurl.com/4bnw88wk
Naturalistic climbing reveals adaptive strategies for interlimb coordination in freely moving mice
Multi-limb coordination is vital for mammalian locomotion. While coordination requires reliable organization of limb movements, it also requires flexibility to adapt to environmental demands. In natur...
tinyurl.com
do y'all remember when using Wikipedia (an incredibly accurate and well-sourced database of information) was the scholastic equivalent of a war crime? now we've got education officials encouraging the plagiarism machine with no regard to how its impacting learning
Ward Q. Normal (he/him)@wardqnormal.bsky.social · 4mo agoA student handed in a lab assignment, and one of his answers ended with "Is there anything else I can help you with?" and I want to leave teaching forever. Not only did he feel the need to ask the environment-destroying plagiarism machine, he didn't even have the motivation to delete the evidence.
Want to learn about what some of are thinking about chronic #pain? Gillian Best interviewed pain researchers, including Melanie Noel, @richellemychasiuk.bsky.social, @simonbeggslab.bsky.social, @tedpricethepainguy.bsky.social, @jeffreymogil.bsky.social, @daspainbrain.bsky.social, me, & many more.
We’re hiring! The University of Pittsburgh is recruiting a tenure-track faculty member in pain research to join the Department of Neurobiology and the Pittsburgh Center for Pain Research—an outstanding and highly collaborative community. Please share. More here: cfopitt.taleo.net/careersectio...
We have FIVE GTA PhD Studentships available at UCL Life Sciences. See here for a chance to work in the Medawar Pain and Somatosensory Labs on the influence of early life experience on lifelong pain vulnerability: bit.ly/4bDLg4Z Deadline 23rd April- repost widely! @ucllifesciences.bsky.social
FindAPhD : Biosciences Graduate Training Assistant PhD Studentships at University College London
Apply for a PhD: Biosciences Graduate Training Assistant PhD Studentships at University College London
findaphd.com
Whenever anyone raises the idea that AI can take the place of translators, point them in this direction.
Patrick Samphire 🏴@patricksamphire.bsky.social · 5mo agoIn the vein of this, and as an example, this blog post about the work of translator Anthea Bell is excellent: auntymuriel.com/2012/12/23/a...
Holy moly this is cool! Ex vivo prep of a human sensory neuron and spinal cord circuit, used for studying Nav1.8 and CGRP activity.
bioRxiv Neuroscience@biorxiv-neursci.bsky.social · 6mo agoNav1.8 mediates peripheral-to-central nociceptive transmission independently of central presynaptic mechanisms in human DRG-spinal cord circuits https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.02.27.708640v1
I'm always amazed by the complexity and nuance of the neuroscience of pain. In this Perspective, @simonbeggslab.bsky.social and @franklandlab.bsky.social do a great job of explaining some important new findings on the role of time in the mechanisms of chronic pain www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Pain across time
Two brain circuits facilitate the interaction between chronic pain and time
science.org
I don’t know who needs to hear Jesse Jackson leading the kids on Sesame Street in this beautiful call-and-response reminding them that every child is somebody, but here it is
I watched much of Ian Chapman's (Head of @ukri.org) appearance this morning at @ukparliament.parliament.uk Science, Innovation and Technology Committee.. A few points and new information that bioscientists may find interesting... A 🧵
Both MRC and BBSRC responsive modes now withdrawn until further notice. Existing applications unlikely to succeed (late 2025 round expecting 1-5% success rate). Listen, I get that UKRI wants to pivot. But killing both at once is devastating. Let's hope at least one opens by summer... #AcademicSky
MRC instructs grant review boards to slash funding rates - Research Professional News
Boards asked to recommend just three applications for funding, as BBSRC also suspends calls
researchprofessionalnews.com
Startling that this is being broadcast in the absence of any public communications by @ukri.org The academic community has a right to expect to be told first hand what is happening with response mode funding and what the immediate future looks like www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...
MRC instructs grant review boards to slash funding rates - Research Professional News
Boards asked to recommend just three applications for funding, as BBSRC also suspends calls
researchprofessionalnews.com
COVID saw a shift in the status quo of publishing – it’s time to embrace it. In our piece in @timeshighered.bsky.social, Damian Pattinson explores the barriers and new approaches, like the eLife Model, that can help move science in the right direction. buff.ly/9PmrV9O
Covid prompted new ways to publish research – it’s time to embrace them
The pandemic showed the benefits of a system based around reviewing preprints. Why was eLife the only journal to respond, asks Damian Pattinson
buff.ly
She was absolutely right. And she would have been an amazing President.
Why should we read Henri Bergson's "Creative Evolution" today? There is more than just one reason, see my extended book review, just published in Mind: academic.oup.com/mind/advance... #Bergson #philosophy #philbio #ProcessPhilosophy #biology #science #HenriBergson
Creative Evolution, by Henri Bergson
A search for the term ‘Bergson’ in the search box provided on the website of this journal reveals a lively debate among eminent anglophone philosophers on
academic.oup.com
In the strain on scientific publishing, we showed that total publications have grown out of control. A huge part of that was guest edited special issues by groups like #MDPI and #Frontiers. This ongoing practice is the largest delegation of editorial power academia has ever seen. 2/n
The strain on scientific publishing
Abstract. Scientists are increasingly overwhelmed by the volume of articles being published. The total number of articles indexed in Scopus and Web of Science has grown exponentially in recent years; ...
direct.mit.edu
🧠⚡️💊New @nature.com publication ! Mimicking opioid analgesia in cortical pain circuits We built a brain-behavior framework to decode spontaneous chronic pain in mice—and to biologically mimic morphine with a synthetic opioid gene therapy nature.com/articles/s41... @pennmedicine.bsky.social
Nature@nature.com · 8mo agoResearchers identify the neurons involved in the emotional distress associated with pain go.nature.com/4qIKkB8
Not being in a cage makes mice less stressed, feels like one of those things that shouldn't take a massive experiment to verify, but here we are. I suspect this may lead, down the line, to requiring new lab standards to certin experiment with these animal models. 🧪 Link: www.cell.com/current-biol...
.... when injected at large doses in pregnant mice.
PsyPost@psypost.bsky.social · 8mo agoPrenatal THC exposure linked to lasting brain changes and behavioral issues
Lab Christmas party enhanced by some disguised Morgenthaler Magic: tequila-sherry egg nog. If you have a crowd, this will please
From January 1st 2026, the CNRS will cut access to one of the largest commercial bibliometric databases, Clarivate Analytics' Web of Science, along with the Core Collection and Journal Citation Reports.
The CNRS is breaking free from the Web of Science
From January 1st 2026, the CNRS will cut access to one of the largest commercial bibliometric databases, Clarivate Analytics'
cnrs.fr