David Schoppik
@schoppik.com
Studying how balance develops, functions, and fails at NYU Langone. http://www.schoppiklab.com .
"And worse I may be yet: the worst is not so long as we can say, 'This is the worst.’” -- King Lear (Act IV Scene I)
"And worse I may be yet: the worst is not so long as we can say, 'This is the worst.’” -- King Lear (Act IV Scene I)
Pinned
David Schoppik
@schoppik.com
· Nov 19
Lighting and circadian cues shape locomotor strategies for balance and navigation in larval zebrafish
Most fish are inherently unstable and must swim to stabilize posture. How diurnal fish reduce activity at night while maintaining postural control remains unclear. We defined distinct locomotor strate...
doi.org
Like most animals, fish move less at night. Underwater, stable posture requires movement. Find out how fish don't fall down at night in: Lighting and circadian cues shape locomotor strategies for balance and navigation in larval zebrafish from @yunluzhu.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Reposted by David Schoppik
I watch the bulk of ashleythebaroness videos, despite rarely sharing them.
But this one hit today.
And she's right! We're not dealing with some foreign ideology. We're dealing with a uniquely American phenomenon.
fascism wrapped in our own flag
But this one hit today.
And she's right! We're not dealing with some foreign ideology. We're dealing with a uniquely American phenomenon.
fascism wrapped in our own flag
January 13, 2026 at 9:10 PM
I watch the bulk of ashleythebaroness videos, despite rarely sharing them.
But this one hit today.
And she's right! We're not dealing with some foreign ideology. We're dealing with a uniquely American phenomenon.
fascism wrapped in our own flag
But this one hit today.
And she's right! We're not dealing with some foreign ideology. We're dealing with a uniquely American phenomenon.
fascism wrapped in our own flag
Reposted by David Schoppik
Keeping the head steady during walking is critical for stable vision and posture - how is it accomplished at the level of motor control? Postdoc Ruihan Wei shows that this fundamental behavior results from context-sensitive neck muscle coordination in macaques.
www.nature.com/articles/s42...
www.nature.com/articles/s42...
thecullenlab.org
January 13, 2026 at 3:47 PM
Keeping the head steady during walking is critical for stable vision and posture - how is it accomplished at the level of motor control? Postdoc Ruihan Wei shows that this fundamental behavior results from context-sensitive neck muscle coordination in macaques.
www.nature.com/articles/s42...
www.nature.com/articles/s42...
Damn you I had things to do
I clearly need some distraction these days - who doesn't - and it probably says definite things about my personality that I'm finding this so engrossing. Two thousand twenty-five words and phrases, which it is your job to assemble into their forty-five groups of forty-five members each:
2025
thomaswc.com
January 13, 2026 at 3:51 AM
Damn you I had things to do
Reposted by David Schoppik
Sometimes the best thing about this place is having the thought “man I could actually really eat a lox bagel right now” and ten minutes later you’re having the best damn lox bagel on the planet with this view
January 11, 2026 at 4:23 PM
Sometimes the best thing about this place is having the thought “man I could actually really eat a lox bagel right now” and ten minutes later you’re having the best damn lox bagel on the planet with this view
Reposted by David Schoppik
For decades, imaging has forced the same trade-off:
Set a frame rate → sacrifice resolution or field of view to go fast.
We break that rule
Using an EVENT-BASED CAMERA, we record neural activity without frames. Signals are captured only where and when they occur:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Set a frame rate → sacrifice resolution or field of view to go fast.
We break that rule
Using an EVENT-BASED CAMERA, we record neural activity without frames. Signals are captured only where and when they occur:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Ultrafast Frame-Free Imaging of Neural Activity with Event Cameras
Frame-based fluorescence imaging has long defined how neural activity is optically measured. This approach requires acquiring all pixels within an image, regardless of whether they carry meaningful ne...
www.biorxiv.org
January 10, 2026 at 1:41 PM
For decades, imaging has forced the same trade-off:
Set a frame rate → sacrifice resolution or field of view to go fast.
We break that rule
Using an EVENT-BASED CAMERA, we record neural activity without frames. Signals are captured only where and when they occur:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Set a frame rate → sacrifice resolution or field of view to go fast.
We break that rule
Using an EVENT-BASED CAMERA, we record neural activity without frames. Signals are captured only where and when they occur:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by David Schoppik
Happy New Year! NEW LAB PREPRINT testing how best4+ intestinal epithelial cells develop! best4+ cells are conserved across vertebrates and altered in IBD & colorectal cancer. But they were first molecularly IDed in 2019. We barely know anything about them yet! What do they do?? HOW DO THEY GET MADE?
Closing out 2025 with our new preprint where
@jeffreyafarrell.bsky.social and I explore development and function of zebrafish intestinal best4+ cells – molecularly described in 2019, conserved in evolution, absent in 🐭, and altered in inflammatory bowel disease.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
@jeffreyafarrell.bsky.social and I explore development and function of zebrafish intestinal best4+ cells – molecularly described in 2019, conserved in evolution, absent in 🐭, and altered in inflammatory bowel disease.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Developmental regulation of intestinal best4+ cells
best4+ /CFTR-high expressing cells are a recently described intestinal epithelial cell type potentially altered in inflammatory bowel disease and colorectal cancer. However, their developmental origin...
www.biorxiv.org
January 9, 2026 at 3:26 PM
Happy New Year! NEW LAB PREPRINT testing how best4+ intestinal epithelial cells develop! best4+ cells are conserved across vertebrates and altered in IBD & colorectal cancer. But they were first molecularly IDed in 2019. We barely know anything about them yet! What do they do?? HOW DO THEY GET MADE?
Cool cool now do “principal investigator” not “principle investigator”
It's also "hit the brakes" to stop rather than "hit the breaks", "toe the line" instead of "tow the line", to be "fazed" by something rather than "phased" by it, and "for all intents and purposes" rather than "for all intensive purposes". While we're at it.
This is coming from a place of love and support, but…
It’s ‘shoo-in,’ not ‘shoe-in.’
It’s ‘case in point,’ not ‘case and point.’
It’s ‘moot point,’ not ‘mute point.’
It’s ‘hunger pangs,’ not ‘hunger pains.’
It’s ‘jibe with,' not 'jive with.'
It’s ‘shoo-in,’ not ‘shoe-in.’
It’s ‘case in point,’ not ‘case and point.’
It’s ‘moot point,’ not ‘mute point.’
It’s ‘hunger pangs,’ not ‘hunger pains.’
It’s ‘jibe with,' not 'jive with.'
January 8, 2026 at 8:17 PM
Cool cool now do “principal investigator” not “principle investigator”
Reposted by David Schoppik
1/6: New publication from the lab: “Plastic landmark anchoring in zebrafish compass neurons” by Ryosuke Tanaka (@ryosuketanaka.bsky.social) and Ruben is available here:
rdcu.be/eX1L4
rdcu.be/eX1L4
Plastic landmark anchoring in zebrafish compass neurons
Nature - Using two-photon microscopy with a panoramic virtual reality setup, how head direction cells in larval zebrafish integrate visual landmarks and optic flow to track orientation is revealed.
rdcu.be
January 7, 2026 at 8:53 PM
1/6: New publication from the lab: “Plastic landmark anchoring in zebrafish compass neurons” by Ryosuke Tanaka (@ryosuketanaka.bsky.social) and Ruben is available here:
rdcu.be/eX1L4
rdcu.be/eX1L4
Reposted by David Schoppik
Excited to share @rbrianroome.bsky.social ‘s beautiful paper on development of the dorsal horn of the mouse spinal cord @science.org
This is how the anatomical organization and cell types that process pain, touch, body position and more are laid down.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
This is how the anatomical organization and cell types that process pain, touch, body position and more are laid down.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Ontogeny of the spinal cord dorsal horn
The dorsal horn of the mammalian spinal cord is organized into laminae where each layer is populated by different neuron types, has distinctive circuit connections, and plays specialized roles in beha...
www.science.org
January 8, 2026 at 7:59 PM
Excited to share @rbrianroome.bsky.social ‘s beautiful paper on development of the dorsal horn of the mouse spinal cord @science.org
This is how the anatomical organization and cell types that process pain, touch, body position and more are laid down.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
This is how the anatomical organization and cell types that process pain, touch, body position and more are laid down.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by David Schoppik
Yep, I've got a History degree and the lessons from it are far less predictive of what will happen in contemporary society than Gender Studies and Critical Race Theory, which are like that sports almanac in Back to the Future II.
kind of darkly funny that "gender studies" is the stereotypical "useless degree" because gender studies will help you understand a large and important chunk of the current psychosis in american life
January 6, 2026 at 11:06 AM
Yep, I've got a History degree and the lessons from it are far less predictive of what will happen in contemporary society than Gender Studies and Critical Race Theory, which are like that sports almanac in Back to the Future II.
Reposted by David Schoppik
The sun rising behind lower Manhattan and One World Trade Center in New York City, Monday morning #newyork #newyorkcity #nyc #sunrise
January 5, 2026 at 9:07 PM
The sun rising behind lower Manhattan and One World Trade Center in New York City, Monday morning #newyork #newyorkcity #nyc #sunrise
Reposted by David Schoppik
Vegetarian Greek food restaurant called Don't Meat Your Gyros
January 5, 2026 at 2:54 PM
Vegetarian Greek food restaurant called Don't Meat Your Gyros
Reposted by David Schoppik
1/n: A new collaborative preprint from the lab to start the year: "A multi-ring shifter network computes head direction in zebrafish" together with Siyuan Mei, Martin Stemmler and Andreas Herz from the LMU, Munich.
January 2, 2026 at 5:52 PM
1/n: A new collaborative preprint from the lab to start the year: "A multi-ring shifter network computes head direction in zebrafish" together with Siyuan Mei, Martin Stemmler and Andreas Herz from the LMU, Munich.
Reposted by David Schoppik
Over the past weeks I have been reading the earliest papers on zebrafish development, and came to realize that in the “canonized" version of zebrafish history we neglect some important people pre-Streisinger. I will try to correct here the record. Let’s start with Edward C. Roosen-Runge. (1/7)
January 2, 2026 at 10:42 AM
Over the past weeks I have been reading the earliest papers on zebrafish development, and came to realize that in the “canonized" version of zebrafish history we neglect some important people pre-Streisinger. I will try to correct here the record. Let’s start with Edward C. Roosen-Runge. (1/7)
Reposted by David Schoppik
Portrait: David Schoppik @schoppik.com in Times Square
bryanwjones.com/2025/11/port...
#Scientist #BalanceScientist
bryanwjones.com/2025/11/port...
#Scientist #BalanceScientist
December 31, 2025 at 10:04 PM
Portrait: David Schoppik @schoppik.com in Times Square
bryanwjones.com/2025/11/port...
#Scientist #BalanceScientist
bryanwjones.com/2025/11/port...
#Scientist #BalanceScientist
Reposted by David Schoppik
The first painting of 2025 and the last painting of 2025.
December 31, 2025 at 9:29 AM
The first painting of 2025 and the last painting of 2025.
Maybe @grimalkina.bsky.social might know?
Crowdsourcing: Scales for degrees of evidence
I'm looking for simple scales (eg 0-5) that capture degreees of evidence for (scientific) claims. A bit along the lines of this one proposed by @shansiddiqi.bsky.social et al but perhaps a bit more generic. Know any?
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
I'm looking for simple scales (eg 0-5) that capture degreees of evidence for (scientific) claims. A bit along the lines of this one proposed by @shansiddiqi.bsky.social et al but perhaps a bit more generic. Know any?
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
December 31, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Maybe @grimalkina.bsky.social might know?
Reposted by David Schoppik
"My New Year's Resolution is to find a principled way to think about all those cell types in the brain"
Why friend, you are in luck, because @rgast.bsky.social has just the perspective for you: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Why friend, you are in luck, because @rgast.bsky.social has just the perspective for you: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
How heterogeneity shapes dynamics and computation in the brain
Much effort has been spent clustering neurons into transcriptomic or functional cell types and characterizing the differences between them. Beyond sub…
www.sciencedirect.com
December 30, 2025 at 4:54 PM
"My New Year's Resolution is to find a principled way to think about all those cell types in the brain"
Why friend, you are in luck, because @rgast.bsky.social has just the perspective for you: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Why friend, you are in luck, because @rgast.bsky.social has just the perspective for you: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Christmas morning puzzle! Keep small children busy for maybe a minute with just a rubber band and a mug.
December 25, 2025 at 2:14 PM
Christmas morning puzzle! Keep small children busy for maybe a minute with just a rubber band and a mug.
Reposted by David Schoppik
#JoyScrolling: ASL Theathre (an initiative in Florida)
Students performing "Wait for it" (@suzbrockmann.bsky.social watch it, it's lovely)
Students performing "Wait for it" (@suzbrockmann.bsky.social watch it, it's lovely)
Wait for It in ASL
YouTube video by ASL Theatre
www.youtube.com
December 22, 2025 at 3:44 AM
#JoyScrolling: ASL Theathre (an initiative in Florida)
Students performing "Wait for it" (@suzbrockmann.bsky.social watch it, it's lovely)
Students performing "Wait for it" (@suzbrockmann.bsky.social watch it, it's lovely)
Reposted by David Schoppik
Well it’s been quite a year 🫠 but I’m happy and tremendously grateful to close it out on a personal science high-note - Ill be going to my first ever Cosyne, and I officially received the NOA for my K99/R00 from NIDCD 🙏 thank you Santa ie hardworking NIH staff for the best possible holiday gift 🥹
December 22, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Well it’s been quite a year 🫠 but I’m happy and tremendously grateful to close it out on a personal science high-note - Ill be going to my first ever Cosyne, and I officially received the NOA for my K99/R00 from NIDCD 🙏 thank you Santa ie hardworking NIH staff for the best possible holiday gift 🥹
Reposted by David Schoppik
It’s the “season of love and giving”…but this year, doesn’t it seem more like a “season of fear and taking”? Like many of you, I’ve been saddened by the human impact of draconian government budget cuts and how angry many housed Americans are at unhoused Americans.
🧵 1 of 9
🧵 1 of 9
December 21, 2025 at 2:51 AM
It’s the “season of love and giving”…but this year, doesn’t it seem more like a “season of fear and taking”? Like many of you, I’ve been saddened by the human impact of draconian government budget cuts and how angry many housed Americans are at unhoused Americans.
🧵 1 of 9
🧵 1 of 9
Seems like a great way to illustrate the notion that if you just do 20 experiments one result should be significant?
Wow this is a seriously serious supplementary figure from @cellpress.bsky.social today. Panels A through UU.
I get that Cell likes to minimize the number of supplementary figures. But is this really what is happening here?
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
I get that Cell likes to minimize the number of supplementary figures. But is this really what is happening here?
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
December 17, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Seems like a great way to illustrate the notion that if you just do 20 experiments one result should be significant?
Reposted by David Schoppik
This is incredibly important. If you read one thing this week: marcusolang.substack.com/p/im-kenyan-...
I'm Kenyan. I Don't Write Like ChatGPT. ChatGPT Writes Like Me.
I'm calm. I'm calm. I promise.
marcusolang.substack.com
December 16, 2025 at 9:47 AM
This is incredibly important. If you read one thing this week: marcusolang.substack.com/p/im-kenyan-...
Reposted by David Schoppik
*First preprint from our lab* !!!!!
How does the brain learn to anchor its internal sense of direction to the outside world? 🧭
led by Mark Plitt @markplitt.bsky.social & Dan Turner-Evans, w/ Vivek Jayaraman:
“Octopamine instructs head direction plasticity” www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Thread ⬇️
How does the brain learn to anchor its internal sense of direction to the outside world? 🧭
led by Mark Plitt @markplitt.bsky.social & Dan Turner-Evans, w/ Vivek Jayaraman:
“Octopamine instructs head direction plasticity” www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Thread ⬇️
December 15, 2025 at 6:26 PM
*First preprint from our lab* !!!!!
How does the brain learn to anchor its internal sense of direction to the outside world? 🧭
led by Mark Plitt @markplitt.bsky.social & Dan Turner-Evans, w/ Vivek Jayaraman:
“Octopamine instructs head direction plasticity” www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Thread ⬇️
How does the brain learn to anchor its internal sense of direction to the outside world? 🧭
led by Mark Plitt @markplitt.bsky.social & Dan Turner-Evans, w/ Vivek Jayaraman:
“Octopamine instructs head direction plasticity” www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Thread ⬇️