Guest Editors: Kristina Rusimova, University of Bath, UK Oleg Kolosov, Lancaster University, UK Jamie Hobbs, University of Sheffield, UK Deadline for submissions: 30 June 2026 www.rms.org.uk/resources/jo...

Call for Papers - 40 Years of AFM

The Journal of Microscopy is pleased to announce a new special issue dedicated to 40 years of Atomic Force Microscopy

rms.org.uk

something powerfully depressing about "seeing your friends" and "cooking food" apparently being seen as "making life harder" I hate it here!

The Washington Post@washingtonpost.com · 4mo ago

Making life harder sounds deeply unfun, but it might be good for your brain. We talked to experts to find out how modern ease affects brain health, and how you can try friction-maxxing, a way of reintroducing challenges to enhance cognitive function: https://wapo.st/4meA4j1

The language in this X post is horrendous. Other than the obvious cruel nature of such rhetoric, student visa ‘crackdown’ is an act of self-destruction. The UK higher education sector is suffering because of this mindless mimicking of Reform.

Sam Freedman@samfr.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Of course no one from *checks notes* Sudan or Afghanistan could be in genuine danger.

Centimeter Wavelengths xkcd.com/3224/

On the “History of Science” I came across this interesting post yesterday and thought I'd share it here for the edification of my several readers.

The median age in Britain is about 40. The median Briton has not experienced sustained economic growth in their adult life time.

It occurs to me that Sadiq Khan is in reality what Sir Kier advertises himself as: working class kid made good turned blandly competent centre left administrator. It turns out I don't mind it when someone really is that! Not my favourite politics but definitely in the "willing to vote for it" range.

@lastpositivist.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Do it www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

This is an excellent rule for storytelling but also implies that Philip Pullman witnessed the death of God as a boy.

Darach Ó Séaghdha@darach.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Philip Pullman said that anything that a child might encounter in their childhood is appropriate material for a children's story.

this is what it feels like to post on bluesky

The Green victory in Denton is the result which will have the biggest effect on Labour, far more so than a Reform win. The blithe assumption progressives have nowhere else to go has been proved catastrophically wrong. Can’t help thinking of this quote from a Labour minister, a year ago…

"If I was to use ChatGPT for my designs rather than our designer Sean, that's taking money out of the local area into the hands of a multibillionaire ... removing value from the local community and local artists [and] into the hands of some of the richest people in the world." #AIslop #refuseresist

Newcastle pubs ban AI art from breweries to protect local creatives

As two pubs in Newcastle ban AI art, artists discuss the impact it can have on creatives.

bbc.com

This is causing despair in academe. (1) We were forced to close during Covid. We had no choice! (2) We're not service providers like a restaurant, we are institutions of state. (3) We did everything we could. (4) This will cripple current students' education. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The students claiming uni Covid compensation 'for the principle'

Dozens of universities have received legal letters over what students say they missed out on during Covid.

bbc.co.uk

What can you do to turn around isolated towns that have lost their main industry? Some good discussion on here this morning I thought, I’m catching up. Imo the answer is the same for any other place: focus as much as you can on the assets you do have. Easier said than done, but better than nothing…

I haven't encountered this too much (that I can tell!) but it's also more than zero, and I have a similar reaction to Rose here. As she says... it's just very bizarre to do a philosophy degree if you don't actually want to think and work through ideas. What... what are you doing here?

Rose Schmits@roseschmits.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Yesterday my friend told me about her PHILOSOPHY students all using ai for their assignments and like come the fuck on man you’re in Uni doing the subject thats Thinking about Thinking and u refuse to Think

the loss of the World Service would be a tragedy and huge lost of soft power for Britain

Melissa Chemam@melissaontheroad.bsky.social · 6mo ago

And another bites the dust? The BBC World Service will run out of funding in just seven weeks. Its funding arrangement with the Foreign Office finishes at the end of March. There is no plan for what happens next. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Because it tells us what they think about creativity and about the nature of the human. It's all about creating product quickly - getting the job done fast, and not about the value of the process. It's profoundly depressing, and diminishes us.

Kurt Vonnegut famously wrote abt this and called it "becoming" :)

learning lessons from HS2. The government will cancel your project half way through, so add extra stupid bits on it. When they cancel the bangor-dublin leg we pretend to be angry but we still get HS3.

Andrew Sissons@acjsissons.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Absolutely tremendous work here, no notes. (Apart from to say that this proposal is by the actual president of RIBA)

Very true. There are Reasons that I spend so much time banging on about properly implementing safeguarding and harassment prevention programs in academia and in the broader science and tech community.

Amelia Shevenell@ashevenell.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Trust me, the woman of academia are not at all surprised by the number of academic men orbiting Epstein.

Quick science policy thread 1 Changes in the governance of UK science since the mid 1980s make it extremely hard to be strategic (that was the point), in terms of both process (dropped) and capability (hollowed out).

me on phone: this is the worst possible time to dump me margaret tattoo artist: im not quite done so I could make it say I love margaritas

I'm no expert but I always thought "Our product will falter if people stop buying it" was the way business works. I suspect though that you'd need to be a tech bro to consider saying that as a warning to the *world*.

The Irish Times@irishtimes.com · 7mo ago

AI boom could falter without wider adoption, Microsoft chief Satya Nadella warns

Stressifily

Fabian was quicker :) But yes, we have an open postdoc position in bacterial bioenergetics and membrane biology, using on B. subtilis as the model. Come join us! @cbcb-newcastle.bsky.social is a great place to work, and we are a friendly, international lab. Visa+IHS fees covered. #microsky

Molecular Microbiology@molmicrounihoh.bsky.social · 7mo ago

PostDoc position in Newcastle upon Tyne: @henrikstrahl.bsky.social

wikipedia turns 25 today! the last unenshittified major website! backbone of online info! triumph of humanity! powered by urge of unpaid randos to correct each other! somehow mostly reliable! "good thing wikipedia works in practice, because it sure doesn't work in theory" - old wiki adage

Coverage in the Guardian of responses to Paul Nurse's comments on Musk & the Royal Soc Code of Conduct. Plenty of Nobel Prize Winners defending Nurse and Musk & Fellows seem uncomfortable to be named when they disagree. Also quotes from me & @scurry.bsky.social. www.theguardian.com/science/2026...

Royal Society president reignites Elon Musk row by defending lack of action

Society should only eject fellows for fraud or other defects in their research, says Paul Nurse

theguardian.com

Prof Rachel Oliver@profrachelgan.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Following coverage over the weekend of Sir Paul Nurse's comments that suggested that the only reason that a Fellow should be expelled from @royalsociety.org is scientific misconduct, I have written to him to explain the risks such an attitude poses of increasing sexual harassment in STEM.

fully into paternity leave mk. II, and what better time to get back into micro games, when there are a few (blessed) minutes to spare? Wordle 1,670 3/6 ⬛⬛⬛🟨🟩 🟩⬛🟩⬛🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

indeed, 𝘙𝘶𝘨𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘢 𝘰𝘳𝘺𝘻𝘢𝘦 looke like fusilli, which are notably better at holding on salsa di pomodoro than spaghetti... and as pasta addicts, we fell instantly in love with the shape of this newly described alphaproteo from the Rhizobiales 🤭 #MicroSky

FEMS@femsmicro.org · 8mo ago

As 2025 wraps up, we’re looking back at some of the most intriguing microbes that made their scientific debut this year. This blog highlights standout bacterial species that caught our eye. Read the full #FEMSmicroBlog: buff.ly/2wz7k16 #NewMicrobes

All of the companies that make the software I use are increasing their prices, to account for an "investment" in AI. I'm sat here imagining how my clients would feel if I added 30% to each invoice, because I "really got into gambling".