Author | Lightnews

Georgy Kurakin @georgykurakin.bsky.social · 6d

Translators across the world are experiencing income crisis due to partial replacement by AI, @financialtimes.com tells

I am one of those translators who has learned this hard way, and now I am out of translation work. Jessica Spengler’s story is also my story

www.ft.com/content/50b1...

‘They wanted me to make myself obsolete’: translators find themselves at the sharp end of AI

One linguist on the challenges of working in an industry most at risk from automation

www.ft.com

Georgy Kurakin @georgykurakin.bsky.social · 7d

Three members of the Petersburg street band Stoptime have been sentenced to 12 and 13 days in prison for their “unauthorised” concerts. Singer Diana Loginova (aka Naoko), drummer Vladislav Leontyev and guitarist Aleksandr Orlov often play songs by artists who have been declared “foreign agents”.

Geert Groot Koerkamp @koerkamp.bsky.social · 9d

Drie leden van de Petersburgse straatband Stoptime zijn veroordeeld tot 12 en 13 cel dagen voor hun ‘ongeoorloofde’ concerten. Zangeres Diana Loginova (artiestennaam Naoko), drummer Vladislav Leontjev en gitarist Aleksandr Orlov spelen vaak nummers van tot ‘buitenlandse agent’ verklaarde artiesten.

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Georgy Kurakin @georgykurakin.bsky.social · 7d

Russia jails street band for performing antiwar songs.

The group, called Stoptime, had been performing anti-Kremlin songs for months and gaining in popularity before the authorities moved against the open dissent.

The story by @nytimes.com

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/17/w...

Russia Jails Street Band for Performing Antiwar Songs

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Georgy Kurakin

The New York Times @nytimes.com · 8d

Halloween decorations from big stores can cost several hundred dollars. Now that’s terrifying! Skip the pricey big-box decor and conjure up these scare tactics using devices you may already own.

Be a Neighborhood Legend With These 5 Halloween Tricks From a Wirecutter Gadget Expert

Skip those pricey big-box Halloween decorations and conjure up these kid-safe front porch scare tactics using devices you may already own.

nyti.ms

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Reposted by Georgy Kurakin

Kungahuset @kungahuset.bsky.social · 9d

A photograph worth remembering

The year 2025. Eighteen-year-old Diana Loginova, arrested for singing "extremist" songs on the street, looks at a police officer who will put handcuffs on her in a few seconds.

Diana will probably now receive a prison sentence of 15-20 years.

#Putin #Russia #Russian

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Georgy Kurakin @georgykurakin.bsky.social · 8d

Thank you very much for noticing it! I have corrected this misprint.

Georgy Kurakin @georgykurakin.bsky.social · 8d

A teenage Russian street musician Diana "Naoko" Loginova was jailed for 13 days on Thursday after she played a banned anti-Kremlin song on St Petersburg's central avenue

www.reuters.com/world/russia...

www.reuters.com

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Georgy Kurakin @georgykurakin.bsky.social · 8d

Thanks a lot ! :-)

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Georgy Kurakin @georgykurakin.bsky.social · 8d

Thank you very much for such a feedback 😊

It seems like mischief managed, and I have successfully generated an alien-like world :-) I was a little bit concerned that it looked too usual due to technical restrictions of AI.

I'll make a note to watch Scavenger's Reign and to compare the worlds 🌎

Georgy Kurakin @georgykurakin.bsky.social · 9d

I am pleased that my post seemed interesting to you 😊

The feedback on the hypothesis itself (if any) would be appreciated

Georgy Kurakin @georgykurakin.bsky.social · 9d

I appreciate your complimentary feedback and am pleased that my post is valuable for you 😊

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Georgy Kurakin @georgykurakin.bsky.social · 9d

What if a time traveler accidentally killed Asgard archaea, and eukaryotes never emerged? Giant sulfur bacteria might still develop complex life. Using neural networks, I try to show this alternative living world 🧪🦠
#BiologyWeek

communities.springernature.com/posts/altern...

Alternative history of life on Earth: complex life evolving from giant sulfur bacteria

What if a time traveler accidentally killed Asgard archaea, and eukaryotes never emerged? Giant sulfur bacteria might still develop complex life. Using neural networks, I try to show this alternative ...

communities.springernature.com

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Reposted by Georgy Kurakin

Frank Ashwood @frankashwood.bsky.social · 10d

This tiny jumping spider refused to surrender its hard-earned meal when faced with a camera lens, impressive!

I finally managed to get out with the camera, now I'm on parental leave. We're still waiting for the little one to grace us with her presence, it could be any day now!

#Macrophotography 🧪

A photograph of a small jumping spider holding onto a thin yellow fly that it has caught.

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Reposted by Georgy Kurakin

Meghan Bartels @meghanbartels.bsky.social · 10d

Congratulations to bicyclists: you're one of the most efficient movers in the animal kingdom! 🧪 www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-hu...

The Most Efficient Traveler Isn’t a Bird or a Fish—It’s You on a Bike

A famous graphic, now updated, compares locomotion in the animal kingdom

www.scientificamerican.com

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Reposted by Georgy Kurakin

Asher Hellbein @asherelbein.bsky.social · 10d

In 2010, a scientist argued that 2.1 billion-year-old African specimens showed complex life appearing 500 million years ahead of schedule. His critics say they are — literally — fool's gold. At stake? The question of when and how complex life arose at all.

My cover story (!) for @sciam.bsky.social!

These Enigmatic ‘Fossils’ Could Rewrite the History of Life on Earth

Controversial evidence hints that complex life might have emerged hundreds of millions of years earlier than previously thought—and possibly more than once

www.scientificamerican.com

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Georgy Kurakin @georgykurakin.bsky.social · 12d

Thank you for the possibility to participate! If I have time, there will be one more post dedicated to #BiologyWeek - with a bit of sciencetainmental content

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Georgy Kurakin @georgykurakin.bsky.social · 12d

It's #BiologyWeek now, but I am posting a photo of mine out of a working environment — because I am no longer in academia.

But I am still a freelance science communicator, my computational research project in microbial biology is going on — thus still #IAmABiologist!

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Reposted by Georgy Kurakin

Ana Dorrego Rivas @adorrego.bsky.social · 25d

Today is Kelly's last day in the lab. She is the first research assistant I ever hired and made an enormous impact: quick to learn and delivering top-quality results. All while applying for a PhD - and she succeeded! I hope this book from @zjayres.bsky.social will help her with her journey.

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Reposted by Georgy Kurakin

ISS Piss Tracker @iss-piss-tracker.bsky.social · Aug 30

🧵 FAQ:

Q: What even is this?
This account tracks the live level of the urine tank on the International Space Station.

Q: So it's, like, real? Live? Right now?
Yes.

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Reposted by Georgy Kurakin

Mark O. Martin @markowenmartin.bsky.social · Sep 17

Today is #InternationalMicroorganismDay! My #Bio350 #Micronauts were offered extra credit to create artwork to celebrate the Small Masters of our #PlanetMicrobe. Please enjoy! This one celebrates ice nucleation bacteria! @univpugetsound.bsky.social @asm.org @microbetv.bsky.social #IMD2025

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Georgy Kurakin @georgykurakin.bsky.social · Sep 17

P.S. Many thanks to biological artist Anastasiia Samoukina for her drawings for my blog posts 💚 💛
You could see them in the posts above 🆙⬆️

Georgy Kurakin @georgykurakin.bsky.social · Sep 17

The fourth place medal goes to Acrasis kona — a beautiful slime mould. Its recently sequenced genome reveals that it is the eukaryote with the simplest multicellularitry toolkit.

Maybe this is the most minimalistic multicellularity in eukaryotes ℹ️

communities.springernature.com/posts/acrasi...

Acrasis kona: light version of aggregative multicellularity

Until recently, the genetic basis of aggregative multicellularity in a slime mould Acrasis kona remained obscure. Genome and transcriptome sequencing reveals its minimalistic multicellularity toolkit.

communities.springernature.com

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Georgy Kurakin @georgykurakin.bsky.social · Sep 17

The third place is taken by Beggiatoa — multicellular sulfur bacteria carrying lipoxygenase, which I propose as a marker of multicellularity.

Moreover: Beggiatoa are the close relatives of Thiomargarita magnifica — the largest microbe so far 🧵⬇️

communities.springernature.com/posts/beggia...

Beggiatoa's lipoxygenase: does a close relative of Thiomargarita magnifica carry a biochemical secret?

Discovery of Thiomargarita magnifica — the biggest-ever bacterium — urged us to revisit our recent bioinformatic finding of lipoxygenase enzyme in Beggiatoa, the closest relatives of Thiomargarita. Is...

communities.springernature.com

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Georgy Kurakin @georgykurakin.bsky.social · Sep 17

Jeongeupia sacculi takes the second place! This bacterium exists at the very at the boundary of unicellularity and multicellularity and challenges the very concept of multicellularity — and the classification of multicellularity we have so far 🧵⬇️

communities.springernature.com/posts/what-i...

What is to be multicellular? A question from a novel cave bacterium

We know two main types of multicellularity which until recently were enough to classify all bacterial multicellular-like behaviours. But a novel cave bacterium — Jeongeupia sacculi — is a discovery wh...

communities.springernature.com

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Georgy Kurakin @georgykurakin.bsky.social · Sep 17

The first place is deserved by cyanobacteria — the first "inventors" of multicellularity and probably the first "inventors" of lipoxygenase. Moreover, they have probably shared this enzyme with all of us — thus enabling us to be multicellular too!
🧵⬇️

communities.springernature.com/posts/bacter...

Bacterial oxylipins: a key to multicellularity and to combating antimicrobial resistance?

Oxylipins are ubiquitous in truly multicellular eukaryotes as cell-to-cell communication signals. But their functions in bacteria still remain poorly elucidated. Our recent research raises intriguing ...

communities.springernature.com

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