‘Virtual cells’ aim to turn raw data into predictive models of biology www.nature.com/articles/d41...

‘Virtual cells’ aim to turn raw data into predictive models of biology

Simulations of biological systems could transform biomedical research, but researchers are still learning how to reproduce life’s complexity without drowning in data.

nature.com

Researchers have identified superparamagnetic macrophages in the livers of rock pigeons to be crucial for magnetic sensing. The finding uncovers an unexpected role for immune cells in sensory perception and may fundamentally change our understanding of animal navigation. https://scim.ag/4nTQ3nq

"I would like to emphasize the importance of question-driven science...young scientists might enjoy science more if they are thinking about questions rather than just collecting data" journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/...

Interview with Noboru Mizushima – President of the Japan Society for Cell Biology

Noboru Mizushima is Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Tokyo, Japan, where he runs a laboratory studying the mechanisms and physiological functions of autophagy and o...

journals.biologists.com

Honeybees understand the concept of zero, or "null set", putting them in the same cognitive class as parrots, dolphins and primates in that regard. What's more interesting to me is HOW WE CAN KNOW THAT. The experimental design is what I want to focus on:

It’s starting to seem like changes in cell volume are turning up in many different cases of cell state transitions. Would be nice to collect examples.

Journal of Cell Biology@jcb.org · 3mo ago

#PressRelease 📰 How #macrophages interpret and respond to immune danger signals remains a mystery. Researchers @manchester.ac.uk have found that increases in cell volume reprogram macrophage gene expression and induce #inflammation. 👉 www.eurekalert.org/news-release...

This week, NASA announced it had shut down one of that spacecraft's remaining science instruments — not because the mission has failed, but to keep it alive a little longer. n.pr/41HfdLS

The Little Probe That Could: Why Voyager 1 Matters, and Why NASA Just Switched Part of It Off

This week, NASA announced it had shut down one of that spacecraft's remaining science instruments — not because the mission has failed, but to keep it alive a little longer.

n.pr

Is there somewhere a list of all the definitions of "complexity" especially in the context of biology, information theory, evolution, complex systems? #ALife

What does it take to truly understand #cancer in all of its complexity? Delighted to share our Review in Cell "Cancer ecosystems: A dynamic interplay across scales" with Daniela Quail, where we propose a multi-scale framework connecting tumor ecology with physiology 🧪⚕️ www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

In the town of Quartzsite I picked up a beautiful chunk of labradorite. This mineral creates an eerie blue shimmer in the sunlight - a phenomenon called 'labradorescence'. It's a form of feldspar. 60% of the Earth's crust is feldspar, and I know so little about this stuff! (1/n)

In episode 886, I talk with Dr. Randall Beer about autopoiesis, enactivism, dynamical systems, and evo-devo approaches in #Biology. #CognitiveScience #Science youtu.be/1YcSgczYqKk

#886 Randall Beer: Autopoiesis, Enactivism, Dynamical Systems, and Evo-Devo Approaches in Biology

YouTube video by The Dissenter

youtu.be

there's so much bad in the world but there's also people who lift up and carry an elderly bat around every day so he can pretend he's flying again, and that's the part of the world I think is worth fighting for

The bluebirds are rethinking their migration plans

The hepatitis B vaccine is amazing. It was the first viral protein subunit vaccine, the first recombinant vaccine, AND the first vaccine to prevent a type of cancer. That's right: we've had a cancer vaccine for over 40 years. Our new three-hour episode of Hard Drugs is all about it:

The first cancer vaccine

open.spotify.com

The online gallery for 2026 Joint Mathematics Meetings Exhibition of Mathematical Art is now live: gallery.bridgesmathart.org/exhibitions/....

One proposed strategy to promote a youthful immune system and human healthspan is to rejuvenate our thymus gland. Can we learn from this exceptional (and peculiar looking) vertebrate that can do this? science.org/doi/10.1126/...

With nearly 10 million neurons & 26 billion synapses, a supercomputer-powered virtual brain model, developed by our scientists and collaborators, could allow risky or impossible experiments to be run safely in software. @reuters.com reports: www.reuters.com/video/watch/...

Emergence and Self-organisation across biological scales! I hope you are ready for next year conference! It will be an incredible event April 20-22 2026. The first of many #LakeConference organised by @ehannezo.bsky.social @alleninstitute.org and James Sharpe @embl.org

allen institute@alleninstitute.org · 9mo ago

#CellBio community, this one is for you! Applications are open for the #LakeConference on Modeling Life from Cells to Tissues – co-hosted with Circuit Neuroscience Basel! 📆 April 20-22, 2026 📍 Seattle, USA 🔬 All career stages welcomed. Apply to attend by 12/12: alleninstitute.org/events/aics-...

Another thing that is making this an "interesting" time to be the head of Integrity in Publishing at a scientific publisher 🥲 We really need major oversight at institutions, before things are sent for publication. Data provenance is key.

Pedro Beltrao@pedrobeltrao.bsky.social · 9mo ago

I tried an even harder example on Gemini Pro image generation and this is quite scary/amazing. I asked for a microscopy image of around 20 HeLa cells, GFP tagged 20% nuclear, 10% membrane, +1 nuclear staining, + overlap. Image below and prompt in the following post.

Competitor enters a major AI competition (RNA folding) GPU poor so can't train an AI Builds a "classic" eng pipeline instead. (90s tech) Wins and beat everyone using DL 💀 Their winning "hybrid" model had an AI in it. Their original one did not and had a higher score So they won despite the AI 😂

Kaggle@kaggle.com · 10mo ago

While many teams relied on deep learning, the winning team (jaejohn) surprised everyone with a highly optimized pipeline that revived classic template-based modeling. 👇 www.kaggle.com/competitions...

What are your favourite biographies of mathematicians? 🧪 📚💙

Two leading voices in medicine – Lee Hood and Eric Topol – will explore what it means to live longer and healthier in a free virtual conversation hosted by @isbscience.org. 🗓️ November 4, 10-11 a.m. PT 💻 Register here – isbscience.zoom.us/webinar/regi... #Longevity #DigitalHealth #SuperAgers

bioRxiv partners with Dryad to enable easier, better linking to curated datasets connect.biorxiv.org/news/2025/09...

Dryad partnership brings easier data sharing to bioRxiv

bioRxiv - the preprint server for biology, operated by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, a research and educational institution

connect.biorxiv.org

Manu Prakash practices “recreational biology,” a scientific approach that explores life in the same playful way that puzzles probe math. “Basic science is not at the service of something, but the groundwork that is our entire society’s foundation.” www.quantamagazine.org/how-paradoxi...

Opinion: Susan Stamberg, trailblazer and NPR Founding Mother, retires - NPR

Our new collection offers cell biologists practical, expert-driven guidance and best practices in the design, execution, and analysis of experiments, and the subsequent communication of their results to their peers. 👉 rupress.org/jcb/collecti... #Reproducibility

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/30/o...

Opinion | The Era of the American Lawn Is Over

nytimes.com

Are different cell types like oil and water? Over a century ago, researchers found that dissociated sponges and embryonic tissues can self-assemble into functional structures. Join me, @benswedlund.bsky.social to explore the differential adhesion hypothesis & its applications in tissue engineering!

My recent postdoctoral work is out today in @nature.com! We found that physical confinement makes melanoma cells more invasive and drug tolerant. Thanks to all who made this work possible @whitefishlab.bsky.social @mskcancercenter.bsky.social #NIH #NCI www.nature.com/articles/s41...

For some three billion years, unicellular organisms ruled Earth. Then, around one billion years ago, a new chapter of life began go.nature.com/3JyRV4S

How did life get multicellular? Five simple organisms could have the answer

Single-celled species that often stick together in colonies have researchers rethinking the origin of animals.

go.nature.com

We need (good) science journalism now more than ever. And you'll find me and other journalists saying just that in this smart piece.

Why newsrooms must rethink science journalism before the next crisis

Despite climate extremes, pandemics and a global AI revolution, science reporting remains underfunded and undervalued.

nature.com