A month ago we bought a house - this is my state since: youtu.be/5W4NFcamRhM?...

Hal fixing a lightbulb (Malcolm in the Middle S03E06)

YouTube video by Flashman

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Engaging alumni meeting of @zukunftskolleg.bsky.social Marie-Curie fellows in Konstanz - I almost forgot the pretty view on the lake!

New FlyBase commentary: Using AI to get FlyBase data. I'm going to post some brief talking points, but please read the whole thing: flybase.org/commentaries...

UK, as seen from outside:

New Fedex rules for low value imports to the EU - minimal value raised to 3 EUR customs duty and documentation required: www.fedex.com/en-gb/suppor...

I am INCREDIBLY lucky to get to be an astronomer as my day job - and if it has taught me anything, it is that 99.99999999999% of our Universe is an inhospitable shithole. This blue speck in a sea of darkness is the only place we have, and we should really start treating it like that.

Technically, they’re Remains now.

Mark Chadbourn@chadbourn.bsky.social · last mo.

A fifth of Leave voters have died.

Now published - the #BANC! A full central nervous system (CNS) connectome of a limbed animal at single-synapse resolution, enabling us to follow sensory-motor arcs and understand how the CNS controls the body. rdcu.be/fncjS. #neuroscience. Video by @quorumetrix.bsky.social 1/18

How to make tea, the right way

Zandawala lab is looking to recruit a postdoc to work on neuromodulation of feeding in Drosophila and other arthropods at KU Leuven (Leuven, Belgium). Details for the position can be found here: www.kuleuven.be/personeel/jo... Please share!

Postdoctoral Researcher in Neuromodulation of Feeding

We are recruiting a postdoctoral scientist to join the recently opened Zandawala Lab at KU Leuven. The position is funded by an Odysseus grant from FWO (Research Foundation – Flanders). For more infor...

kuleuven.be

Want to do a #Postdoc with us? Together with @clarahowcroft.bsky.social I'm sure we can find a project for you: #Drosophila #Insect #affectiveState #Play #Social #Fear #Neuropeptide #DecisionMaking #Intentionality #Sentience Hit us with your ideas and get in touch! bsky.app/profile/ec.e...

European Commission@ec.europa.eu · 4mo ago

Big opportunities for researchers 🌍 We are investing nearly €400 million to help researchers share their work and collaborate with the best scientific teams across the EU. The 2026 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Postdoctoral Fellowships are now open. More: link.europa.eu/PNxpxw

A year ago !!! « I am very happy to share this piece, exploring the link between inventiveness and play in our fellow nonhuman animals. It was written with care and a sincere desire to convey what science and philosophy can teach us about this fascinating topic. » aeon.co/essays/how-e...

Churches to lecture theatres! @Scotfly26 in Glasgow, Sir Charles Wilson Building

De-extinction for giant dragonflies is in the books again.

Henry Gee 亨利·纪@endofthepier.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Contrary to popular belief, the concentration of oxygen in the atmosphere does not constrain the size of insects - paper in @nature.com www.nature.com/articles/s41...

@helephantmylne.bsky.social Hi Helen, could you please add me to the animal behaviour list? Thanks!

🧵 New preprint led by @bingbrunton.bsky.social, @elliottabe.bsky.social, @lawrencehu.bsky.social We gave a worm brain control of a fly body and it walked What did we learn? Nothing, other than deep reinforcement learning is effective We call it the digital sphinx www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

It’s the little things that wouldn’t cost much to get right… I’m sure many hospital series must be painful to watch for an MD.

Jessica Tollkuhn@tollkuhn.bsky.social · 5mo ago

I said “oh no” out loud when ryan gosling didn’t balance the centrifuge

You‘d be looking grumpy too if you were surrounded by snakes…

If anyone is friends with any Georgian air traffic controllers, buy them a nice bottle of wine. As guardians of pretty much the only narrow gap still available between Europe and Asia that avoids both Iran, the Gulf, Ukraine and Russia, they are under some substantial pressure.

Career Week in Primary School with @clarahowcroft.bsky.social: fun times talking about flies and brains!

Today I learned that the Toy Dolls were from Sunderland. Olga was a sundancer! Apparently it was banned from local pubs as it all got out of hand every time it was played... www.youtube.com/watch?v=9m7t...

Toy Dolls - Nellie the Elephant (We're Mad, Sunderland, UK, 1984)

YouTube video by Cherry Red Records

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“…but that’s just because it wasn’t properly implemented!” Reality doesn’t matter anymore.

Scott Horton@robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 6mo ago

New data shows #Brexit has lowered UK GDP by 6-8% over the past decade. Investment down 12-18%, employment down 3-4%. It's even worse than economists had predicted pre-referendum, because they thought there would be a bounce-back long term. "Economists were roughly right on the

🚨 Postdoc opportunity to study memory or nutrition in #Drosophila 🪰 I am looking for a candidate to support for a 3 year Addison Wheeler Fellowship application lnkd.in/e2rvNf5x Interested? Please send a CV & cover letter with brief research outline by 20th February to vincent.croset@durham.ac.uk

Come hear me stir up some controversy* next month with my take on the evidence for insect sentience. *or not, depending on your point of view.

Insect Welfare Research Society@insectwrs.bsky.social · 6mo ago

What does the evidence actually tell us about insect sentience? Join us on March 11 as @viveknityananda.bsky.social examines frameworks for investigating insect welfare, including key debates around insect emotions and pain. bit.ly/4bFAITn

Time perception follows Weber's law in Drosophila https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.02.04.703894v1

Monday

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

Sponges or comb jellies first - where do you stand? https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-00238-z?WT.ec_id=NATURE-20260129 1️⃣ Sponges - always was, always will be! 2️⃣ Clearly it's Comb Jellies! 3️⃣ Who cares (prepare to be blocked) 📊 Show results

Early Arthropods xkcd.com/3199/

I had a fabulous day at the Psych department in Durham, talking at their LAMP seminar - thanks @marcobocchio.bsky.social for the invite! And I found this gem pinned at the shared fridge in their department kitchen: #spinthewheelandfindout