New blog post up! "The unsolvable problem of AI writing: On writing instructions for a PB&J sandwich and explicit knowledge" meresophistry.substack.com/p/the-unsolv...

The unsolvable problem of AI writing

On writing instructions for a PB&J sandwich and explicit knowledge

meresophistry.substack.com

I freakin' love the em-dash — we go way back, to my green olivetti "Prior to the arrival of LLMs & genAI, most people had probably never heard of the em-dash. But the propensity of AIs to use this particular punctuation mark has now made everyone interpret the em-dash as a kind of AI watermark"

Dashing in a rush (a short guide to hyphens, en-dashes, and em-dashes)

“I find it a major concern that throughout this manuscript”, wrote the reviewer, “there are stylistic patterns and phrasing which are characteristic of AI-generated text. This is exemplified by usi…

totalinternalreflectionblog.com

Re-upping this one for #Halloween: the 9 types of horror lab 😱🎃👻(Hope you’ve never experienced any of these first hand)👇 totalinternalreflectionblog.com/2022/10/31/t...

The 9 types of Horror Lab

A special Hallowe’en posting. Horror movies and PhD/postdoc projects sometimes unfortunately have a lot in common, with naive and idealistic young things being gobbled up by a gallery of nasties. B…

totalinternalreflectionblog.com

New posting! This one was prompted by a reviewer claiming that the use of different dashes (none an em-dash, funnily enough) was a sign of #AI involvement. But what's the difference between the hyphen, en-dash, & em-dash, and when should they be used?👇 totalinternalreflectionblog.com/2026/10/27/d...

Dashing in a rush (a short guide to hyphens, en-dashes, and em-dashes)

“I find it a major concern that throughout this manuscript”, wrote the reviewer, “there are stylistic patterns and phrasing which are characteristic of AI-generated text. This is exemplified by usi…

totalinternalreflectionblog.com

New posting! This one was prompted by a reviewer claiming that the use of different dashes (none an em-dash, funnily enough) was a sign of #AI involvement. But what's the difference between the hyphen, en-dash, & em-dash, and when should they be used?👇 totalinternalreflectionblog.com/2026/10/27/d...

Dashing in a rush (a short guide to hyphens, en-dashes, and em-dashes)

“I find it a major concern that throughout this manuscript”, wrote the reviewer, “there are stylistic patterns and phrasing which are characteristic of AI-generated text. This is exemplified by usi…

totalinternalreflectionblog.com

The “Romantische Straße” (romantic road) links some of the most picturesque towns in southern Germany. These pics taken on a weekend visit to Dinkelsbühl - not as well-known as Rothenburg ob der Taube to the north, but equally pretty.😍🤩

I have this theory that Damon Albarn has become the artist that David Bowie (in his later years) was trying to be 🧐

I’m a graduate of this #PhD programme at @mrclmb.ac.uk and I can honestly say it was the happiest and most exciting time of my entire time in #academia.🤩 Great institute, great environment, world-class training. Do it and don’t look back 😀👇

MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology@mrclmb.ac.uk · 2w ago

📢 Calling all prospective PhD students! Why not consider the LMB for your PhD? 🎓🧑‍🔬 Applications are now open to join us in October 2027. Explore what’s on offer here: https://mrclmb.ac.uk/careers-and-people/phd-students/research-projects/

New cross-posting to @febspress.bsky.social Network! I first wrote it as a #newPI & it's possibly even more relevant in the teams-based environment of #MedComms: the difference between dumping & delegating,& why good leadership involves the latter but not the former. network.febs.org/posts/dumpin...

Dumping and Delegating

network.febs.org

Deleted - or rather, tried to delete - my #ResearchGate in what became an increasingly Kafkaesque chain of events.🥴The existing profile was inaccurate (still had my Uni affiliation), but I was unable to log in as my uni email address no longer works & the verification code could only go there...🫠

It’s National Poetry Day today and apparently the 2026 theme is “wonder”. Here’s a piece of doggerel I did a few years ago - a science-orientated poem about miso soup 🤭👇 totalinternalreflectionblog.com/2021/03/18/m...

Miso Soup (the origin of life)

Visit the post for more.

totalinternalreflectionblog.com

New posting! And another more personal one - some reflections on how a career in #MedComms has unexpectedly provided the life of the mind that I was always searching for in #academia.😊👇 totalinternalreflectionblog.com/2026/09/28/a...

MedComms offers a true life of the mind

It is a tremendous irony that my present work in MedComms is closer to how I pictured an academic career than academia itself turned out to be.

totalinternalreflectionblog.com

Hey! Submit your papers, and spread the word, this will be great! Thanks for inviting us @jcellsci.bsky.social and great to work with @pihanson.bsky.social on this issue!

Journal of Cell Science@jcellsci.bsky.social · last mo.

Our second special issue for 2027 will focus on the topic of membrane dynamics and repair. We invite you to submit your latest research to this issue, which will be coordinated by our Guest Editors @jezcarlton.bsky.social and @pihanson.bsky.social. journals.biologists.com/jcs/pages/me...

New posting! And another more personal one - some reflections on how a career in #MedComms has unexpectedly provided the life of the mind that I was always searching for in #academia.😊👇 totalinternalreflectionblog.com/2026/09/28/a...

MedComms offers a true life of the mind

It is a tremendous irony that my present work in MedComms is closer to how I pictured an academic career than academia itself turned out to be.

totalinternalreflectionblog.com

Great 🧵 from @hansonmark.bsky.social on why all academics should be opting to publish in non-profit journals 👏👏👏👇

Mark A. Hanson@hansonmark.bsky.social · last mo.

I'm surprised a community of publishing writers can blame AI for the problems of peer review when those same writers cite our study, "the strain on scientific publishing", which characterizes how this problem existed before AI. bit.ly/StrainQSS It's the incentives structure, not the AI. 1/n

This article is everything commentary should be - insightful, thought-provoking, informative, & with a framing that both clarifies the situation and stimulates extrapolation from it. You might not agree with everything here, but you should definitely read it (thanks @cyrilpedia.bsky.social!) 👏👏👏😊👇

Thiago Carvalho@cyrilpedia.bsky.social · last mo.

'Academia has of course been inflating for the past 20–30 years (...) Perverse incentives, in economic terms: they sustained the publishing industry as we know it and blew up the bubble. AI is now pushing that trend into Weimar territory, and papers will be worth nothing.'

Fellow #WordPress bloggers, anyone else getting a weird spike in traffic today? I’ve had a month’s-worth of views in the space of about an hour 🤯, and it’s almost all just to the blog homepage instead of a specific article. Bot traffic maybe? Would love it to be real 🤣 @wordpress.org

#membranetrafficking seminars are back for the fall session! This Thursday two exciting talks from Roger Pons Lanau from @felixmendu.bsky.social lab and @veijosalo.bsky.social #ER #lipiddroplets and lots of wonderful imaging! From single molecules to cryo EM! Please repost

Researchers across the country are turning to side hustles to fund their work. Behind the cuts sits a bigger shift: whether American science can still sustain durable research capacity. @lindseydcameron.bsky.social and I examine the stakes in a new piece @science.org: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

The wrong platform for science

Daniel Blumstein recently sat in a Colorado meadow waiting for yellow-bellied marmots to appear, as the ecologist and evolutionary biologist had done many times before, the New York Times reported. Bu...

science.org

Really powerful essay from @angierasmussen.bsky.social on Lysenkoism & the warnings it holds for #NIH & 🇺🇸 science. The comparison isn’t trite: it’s an illustration of what happens when a warped ideology gets coupled to an authoritarian regime 👏👇 rasmussenretorts.substack.com/p/bhattachar...

Bhattacharya is the New Lysenko

Starving the NIH through ineptitude, bitterness, and thirst for revenge

rasmussenretorts.substack.com

@cyrilpedia.bsky.social once again providing great community service by highlighting this really outstanding blog posting on viruses, pandemic viruses, & why AI-designed superviruses are sci-fi and not near-future events. Fascinating, authoritative & insightful 👏👇

Thiago Carvalho@cyrilpedia.bsky.social · 2mo ago

'There are deadly viruses all around us, and viruses routinely jump from animals to humans and cause severe outbreaks. This is a real, documented risk. This is the risk we should worry about. This is the risk we should prepare for. But instead, we worry about fictitious AI-designed viruses'

Fascinating @kakape.bsky.social article on the ability of #AI to sway people’s opinions, but there’s 1 nuance I think I missed. In this age of misinformation, we hear over & over again how combating (e.g) conspiracies with facts & rational rebuttal is inefficient /1 www.science.org/content/arti...

AI chatbots are becoming experts at changing people's minds. What's their secret?

ChatGPT and other AIs use a flood of facts, and the occasional lie, to persuade humans

science.org

Here’s the thing about the letter supporting one of Dr. Arday’s abusers, every year there is a loud back channel that revs up warning potential students who NOT to apply to for their PhD. When I was applying, I was warned by three women about a prof who raped a student (w/out consequences). 🧵

I’ve taken this survey from @biologists.bsky.social & you should too! 👇 Important to have a discussion about the use of #AI tools in publishing instead of using them & pretending not to…

The Company of Biologists@biologists.bsky.social · 2mo ago

We are gathering feedback from our readers, authors and reviewers about the use of AI tools in scholarly publishing. Have your say at: www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZBFC663

Agree💯. In the space I inhabit, we’re firewalled off from corporate & marketing, & it’s populated almost exclusively by scientists & physicians developing new therapies or analysing existing ones. Real-world relevance baked into everything, & health improvements paramount. Wonderful environment.😊🤩

Alex Merz 🇺🇸🇨🇦🇺🇦@merz.bsky.social · 2mo ago

The idea that pharma companies don't want to cure diseases is one of the most insidious and nonsensical bits of "wisdom" in the entire modern world.

Are you a PhD student interested in #SciComm, disease biology and publishing? DMM is seeking an intern through BBSRC DTP/PIPS or equivalent schemes Find out about how to apply: www.biologists.com/about-us/wor...

Work for us

Explore career opportunities at The Company of Biologists. Join a team passionate about science, publishing and community support.

biologists.com

Good advice from @tirscienceblog.bsky.social, but I would add: dont try to do this in one slide! 'The general rule for Results slides is “Tell them what you’re going to show them, show them the data, then tell them what they’ve seen”.' network.febs.org/posts/centre...

Centre stage (a short guide to scientific presentations)

network.febs.org

Genuinely one of the most rewarding things about blogging is when an older posting suddenly gets a surge of fresh attention.😊This one, proposing a kind of “jury service” for #newPI scientists on funding panels, is having such a moment. Artwork by Oliver Hoeller👇 wp.me/p76cuy-uv

Learning the lingo

Should there be a kind of “jury service” for young faculty on grant funding panels?

wp.me

If infidelity or other risky behaviours are signs that a relationship is in trouble, what are the social behaviours that indicate a society is in trouble? 🤔

Not a new posting, but a new category of postings! I've now collected all of the enduringly popular #Movember "Great scientists, great moustaches" articles into a single space. The plan is to also provide occasional pieces on men's health. Enjoy!👇 totalinternalreflectionblog.com/2026/08/11/n...

New category: Movember, men’s health

One of the most enduringly popular postings – or rather, series of postings – on Total Internal Reflection is “Great scientists, great moustaches”. Posted every November, an…

totalinternalreflectionblog.com