The Tattooed Professor
@schwessinger.bsky.social
Professor at the Australian National University. Biosecurity, fungal and plant genomics, evolution, and biochemistry. Dad. Swimming, reading, nature.
Reposted by The Tattooed Professor
Reposted by The Tattooed Professor
My doomer-worry about AI is not that the LLMs become omnipotent and take over the world but that the wealthy and powerful use it as a means to consolidate power and marginalize or lay off skilled workers and also everything about our technological and political and social life gets worse
February 11, 2026 at 8:20 PM
My doomer-worry about AI is not that the LLMs become omnipotent and take over the world but that the wealthy and powerful use it as a means to consolidate power and marginalize or lay off skilled workers and also everything about our technological and political and social life gets worse
Reposted by The Tattooed Professor
#DeepMutationalScanning (DMS) experiments are limited by gene size due to library complexity & costs. @christianlandry.bsky.social &co develop an efficient & cost-effective barcoded cloning strategy for plasmid-based DMS libraries that enables study of large genes @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4abhyUf
February 11, 2026 at 7:19 PM
#DeepMutationalScanning (DMS) experiments are limited by gene size due to library complexity & costs. @christianlandry.bsky.social &co develop an efficient & cost-effective barcoded cloning strategy for plasmid-based DMS libraries that enables study of large genes @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4abhyUf
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Check out our new op-ed! With @taniaduarte.bsky.social @markwong.bsky.social, @suoman.bsky.social, & @timdavies.org.uk.
We argue that these collabs normalize close relationships w/Big-Tech, setting them up to be key actors in governance who provide tech solutions to important social ‘problems’.
We argue that these collabs normalize close relationships w/Big-Tech, setting them up to be key actors in governance who provide tech solutions to important social ‘problems’.
The UK's "free AI training for all" program may offer free courses, but there is a cost to society for the government's approach. Elinor Carmi, Tania Duarte, Mark Wong, Susan Oman & Tim Davies argue it deepens Big Tech dependency while sidelining critical AI literacy and community organizations.
The Real Cost of the UK’s ‘Free AI Training for All’ is Democracy
Researchers argue the UK's 'AI Skills Hub' should be re-thought with input from civil society groups and public interest organizations.
buff.ly
February 11, 2026 at 7:41 AM
Check out our new op-ed! With @taniaduarte.bsky.social @markwong.bsky.social, @suoman.bsky.social, & @timdavies.org.uk.
We argue that these collabs normalize close relationships w/Big-Tech, setting them up to be key actors in governance who provide tech solutions to important social ‘problems’.
We argue that these collabs normalize close relationships w/Big-Tech, setting them up to be key actors in governance who provide tech solutions to important social ‘problems’.
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Fun news! @gcbias.bsky.social and I are teaching a 2-week online population genetics workshop this summer to raise money for the Center for Population Biology at UC Davis. We're trying to gauge interest -- please fill this out if you might be interested! And please share broadly!
Davis Summer Population Genomics Program
Want to learn population genetics? Please fill out this form to indicate your potential interest in a 2-week intensive online summer population genetics course taught by Jeffrey Ross-Ibarra and Graham...
docs.google.com
February 9, 2026 at 6:24 PM
Fun news! @gcbias.bsky.social and I are teaching a 2-week online population genetics workshop this summer to raise money for the Center for Population Biology at UC Davis. We're trying to gauge interest -- please fill this out if you might be interested! And please share broadly!
Reposted by The Tattooed Professor
Benthamiana rhapsody 🎶 🌱
How benthi is the go-to system for cracking the activation mechanism of an Arabidopsis TIR-NLR immune receptor— that’s the rhapsody.
Congrats He Zhao and Selvaraj for this wonderful collaboration 👇🏼 doi.org/10.64898/202...
How benthi is the go-to system for cracking the activation mechanism of an Arabidopsis TIR-NLR immune receptor— that’s the rhapsody.
Congrats He Zhao and Selvaraj for this wonderful collaboration 👇🏼 doi.org/10.64898/202...
February 7, 2026 at 11:58 AM
Benthamiana rhapsody 🎶 🌱
How benthi is the go-to system for cracking the activation mechanism of an Arabidopsis TIR-NLR immune receptor— that’s the rhapsody.
Congrats He Zhao and Selvaraj for this wonderful collaboration 👇🏼 doi.org/10.64898/202...
How benthi is the go-to system for cracking the activation mechanism of an Arabidopsis TIR-NLR immune receptor— that’s the rhapsody.
Congrats He Zhao and Selvaraj for this wonderful collaboration 👇🏼 doi.org/10.64898/202...
Reposted by The Tattooed Professor
' Ronald Barnett describes the contemporary fascination with skills as a form of ‘bewitchment’ (others have put it more strongly elsewhere)....When individuals are defined in this way, they become more easily interchangeable in the labour market, increasing workers’ vulnerability.'
How did skills take over higher education? One short history - HEPI
Over the weekend HEPI published blogs on the freezing of student loan thresholds, and the Westminster Hall debates on duty of care. This blog was kindly authored by Dr. Josh Patel, Senior Education an...
www.hepi.ac.uk
February 9, 2026 at 8:54 AM
' Ronald Barnett describes the contemporary fascination with skills as a form of ‘bewitchment’ (others have put it more strongly elsewhere)....When individuals are defined in this way, they become more easily interchangeable in the labour market, increasing workers’ vulnerability.'
Reposted by The Tattooed Professor
Reminder that the abstract deadline for the Biology of Genomes meeting at CSHL is on Feb 13! We have a fantastic lineup of keynote speakers (Janet Kelso and Jonathan Pritchard) and session chairs. Submit your best science to this exciting and engaged meeting!
meetings.cshl.edu/meetings.asp...
meetings.cshl.edu/meetings.asp...
The Biology of Genomes
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Meetings & Courses -- a private, non-profit institution with research programs in cancer, neuroscience, plant biology, genomics, bioinformatics.
meetings.cshl.edu
February 5, 2026 at 2:24 PM
Reminder that the abstract deadline for the Biology of Genomes meeting at CSHL is on Feb 13! We have a fantastic lineup of keynote speakers (Janet Kelso and Jonathan Pritchard) and session chairs. Submit your best science to this exciting and engaged meeting!
meetings.cshl.edu/meetings.asp...
meetings.cshl.edu/meetings.asp...
Reposted by The Tattooed Professor
This idea that one can discern a technology is fascist and then still conclude "we need to collect data" is nonsense! www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/a...
AI Is Hollowing Out Higher Education
Olivia Guest & Iris van Rooij urge teachers and scholars to reject tools that commodify learning, deskill students, and promote illiteracy.
www.project-syndicate.org
February 1, 2026 at 7:06 AM
This idea that one can discern a technology is fascist and then still conclude "we need to collect data" is nonsense! www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/a...
Reposted by The Tattooed Professor
February 7, 2026 at 6:48 PM
Reposted by The Tattooed Professor
Get fucked Chris.
Sure, keep the protests and Herzog a couple of kays from each other at all times, but to completely shut down any protest, that members of his own backbench will attend, utter plonker
Sure, keep the protests and Herzog a couple of kays from each other at all times, but to completely shut down any protest, that members of his own backbench will attend, utter plonker
Minns invokes special powers for NSW police to restrict protests during Israeli president’s visit
Thirteen state and federal NSW MPs appeal to police to allow planned march protesting against the visit
www.theguardian.com
February 7, 2026 at 3:33 AM
Get fucked Chris.
Sure, keep the protests and Herzog a couple of kays from each other at all times, but to completely shut down any protest, that members of his own backbench will attend, utter plonker
Sure, keep the protests and Herzog a couple of kays from each other at all times, but to completely shut down any protest, that members of his own backbench will attend, utter plonker
Reposted by The Tattooed Professor
Sydney CBD + Eastern suburbs shut down for 5 days for the Israeli President’s arrival.
Meanwhile our democratic right to protest is an “unnecessary burden” according to Chris Minns.
This government will accommodate a mass murder but not the rights of the people who live here.
Meanwhile our democratic right to protest is an “unnecessary burden” according to Chris Minns.
This government will accommodate a mass murder but not the rights of the people who live here.
February 6, 2026 at 9:08 PM
Sydney CBD + Eastern suburbs shut down for 5 days for the Israeli President’s arrival.
Meanwhile our democratic right to protest is an “unnecessary burden” according to Chris Minns.
This government will accommodate a mass murder but not the rights of the people who live here.
Meanwhile our democratic right to protest is an “unnecessary burden” according to Chris Minns.
This government will accommodate a mass murder but not the rights of the people who live here.
Reposted by The Tattooed Professor
"By the end of the two-year period, 94% of participants reported they were housed."
A million pilot programs show the same thing: when people are given enough money to afford housing, homelessness ends.
Other supports matter, but housing comes first. Not policing. Not moralizing. Homes.
A million pilot programs show the same thing: when people are given enough money to afford housing, homelessness ends.
Other supports matter, but housing comes first. Not policing. Not moralizing. Homes.
Homeless Oregon youth got $1,000 a month for two years. Most found housing after • Oregon Capital Chronicle
Oregon is the second of its kind in the nation to implement the direct cash transfer program after New York City.
oregoncapitalchronicle.com
February 4, 2026 at 2:12 PM
"By the end of the two-year period, 94% of participants reported they were housed."
A million pilot programs show the same thing: when people are given enough money to afford housing, homelessness ends.
Other supports matter, but housing comes first. Not policing. Not moralizing. Homes.
A million pilot programs show the same thing: when people are given enough money to afford housing, homelessness ends.
Other supports matter, but housing comes first. Not policing. Not moralizing. Homes.
I was asked to review two back-to-back papers in Cell twice. Once initially and once for re-review... they were each 150 pages long including rebuttal. This means 300 pages to evaluate critically and for free. Simply impossible.
February 4, 2026 at 11:51 PM
I was asked to review two back-to-back papers in Cell twice. Once initially and once for re-review... they were each 150 pages long including rebuttal. This means 300 pages to evaluate critically and for free. Simply impossible.
Reposted by The Tattooed Professor
🌱 IMS Early Career Researcher Travel Award 🍄
Congrats to Ningkang Sun 🇨🇳
🏆 Asia awardee
Supported by The New Phytologist Foundation @newphyt.bsky.social
This award supports her attendance at #ICOM2026, where she will give an oral presentation
#Mycorrhiza
Congrats to Ningkang Sun 🇨🇳
🏆 Asia awardee
Supported by The New Phytologist Foundation @newphyt.bsky.social
This award supports her attendance at #ICOM2026, where she will give an oral presentation
#Mycorrhiza
February 4, 2026 at 3:59 PM
🌱 IMS Early Career Researcher Travel Award 🍄
Congrats to Ningkang Sun 🇨🇳
🏆 Asia awardee
Supported by The New Phytologist Foundation @newphyt.bsky.social
This award supports her attendance at #ICOM2026, where she will give an oral presentation
#Mycorrhiza
Congrats to Ningkang Sun 🇨🇳
🏆 Asia awardee
Supported by The New Phytologist Foundation @newphyt.bsky.social
This award supports her attendance at #ICOM2026, where she will give an oral presentation
#Mycorrhiza
Reposted by The Tattooed Professor
🌱 IMS Early Career Researcher Travel Award 🍄
Congrats to Beatrice M. Bock USA
🏆 North America awardee
Supported by The New Phytologist Foundation @newphyt.bsky.social
This award supports her participation with oral presentation at #ICOM2026
#Mycorrhiza
Congrats to Beatrice M. Bock USA
🏆 North America awardee
Supported by The New Phytologist Foundation @newphyt.bsky.social
This award supports her participation with oral presentation at #ICOM2026
#Mycorrhiza
February 4, 2026 at 3:38 PM
🌱 IMS Early Career Researcher Travel Award 🍄
Congrats to Beatrice M. Bock USA
🏆 North America awardee
Supported by The New Phytologist Foundation @newphyt.bsky.social
This award supports her participation with oral presentation at #ICOM2026
#Mycorrhiza
Congrats to Beatrice M. Bock USA
🏆 North America awardee
Supported by The New Phytologist Foundation @newphyt.bsky.social
This award supports her participation with oral presentation at #ICOM2026
#Mycorrhiza
Reposted by The Tattooed Professor
🌱IMS Early Career Researcher Travel Award🍄
🎉Congrats to Maycon Cristiano Barbosa 🇧🇷
🏆 Latin America awardee
Award supported by the New Phytologist Foundation
@newphyt.bsky.social
This award supports his participation with an oral presentation at #ICOM2026
#Mycorrhiza
🎉Congrats to Maycon Cristiano Barbosa 🇧🇷
🏆 Latin America awardee
Award supported by the New Phytologist Foundation
@newphyt.bsky.social
This award supports his participation with an oral presentation at #ICOM2026
#Mycorrhiza
February 3, 2026 at 1:24 PM
🌱IMS Early Career Researcher Travel Award🍄
🎉Congrats to Maycon Cristiano Barbosa 🇧🇷
🏆 Latin America awardee
Award supported by the New Phytologist Foundation
@newphyt.bsky.social
This award supports his participation with an oral presentation at #ICOM2026
#Mycorrhiza
🎉Congrats to Maycon Cristiano Barbosa 🇧🇷
🏆 Latin America awardee
Award supported by the New Phytologist Foundation
@newphyt.bsky.social
This award supports his participation with an oral presentation at #ICOM2026
#Mycorrhiza
Reposted by The Tattooed Professor
🌱 IMS Early Career Researcher Travel Award 🍄
Congrats to Amara Santiesteban-Serrano 🇪🇸
🏆 Europe awardee
Supported by the New Phytologist Foundation @newphyt.
This award supports her participation with oral presentation at #ICOM2026
#Mycorrhiza
@csic.es
Congrats to Amara Santiesteban-Serrano 🇪🇸
🏆 Europe awardee
Supported by the New Phytologist Foundation @newphyt.
This award supports her participation with oral presentation at #ICOM2026
#Mycorrhiza
@csic.es
February 3, 2026 at 2:07 PM
🌱 IMS Early Career Researcher Travel Award 🍄
Congrats to Amara Santiesteban-Serrano 🇪🇸
🏆 Europe awardee
Supported by the New Phytologist Foundation @newphyt.
This award supports her participation with oral presentation at #ICOM2026
#Mycorrhiza
@csic.es
Congrats to Amara Santiesteban-Serrano 🇪🇸
🏆 Europe awardee
Supported by the New Phytologist Foundation @newphyt.
This award supports her participation with oral presentation at #ICOM2026
#Mycorrhiza
@csic.es
Reposted by The Tattooed Professor
Now out in Synthese! 😊 "Reframing the free will debate: the universe is not deterministic", with Henry Potter and George Ellis rdcu.be/e2hIh
February 4, 2026 at 11:24 AM
Now out in Synthese! 😊 "Reframing the free will debate: the universe is not deterministic", with Henry Potter and George Ellis rdcu.be/e2hIh
Reposted by The Tattooed Professor
Striking paper from researchers at Anthropic using a randomised control trial to look at the effects of AI use on skills acquisition.
TL:DR ‘We found that using AI assistance led to a statistically significant decrease in mastery.’
www.anthropic.com/research/AI-...
TL:DR ‘We found that using AI assistance led to a statistically significant decrease in mastery.’
www.anthropic.com/research/AI-...
February 4, 2026 at 7:47 AM
Striking paper from researchers at Anthropic using a randomised control trial to look at the effects of AI use on skills acquisition.
TL:DR ‘We found that using AI assistance led to a statistically significant decrease in mastery.’
www.anthropic.com/research/AI-...
TL:DR ‘We found that using AI assistance led to a statistically significant decrease in mastery.’
www.anthropic.com/research/AI-...
Reposted by The Tattooed Professor
'to treat peer review as a throughput problem is to misunderstand what is at stake. Review is not simply a production stage in the research pipeline; it is one of the few remaining spaces where the scientific community talks to itself.' 1/3
AI is not a peer, so it can’t do peer review
If we still believe that science is a vocation grounded in argument, curiosity and care, we can’t delegate judgement to machines, says Akhil Bhardwaj
www.timeshighereducation.com
February 3, 2026 at 8:17 AM
'to treat peer review as a throughput problem is to misunderstand what is at stake. Review is not simply a production stage in the research pipeline; it is one of the few remaining spaces where the scientific community talks to itself.' 1/3
Reposted by The Tattooed Professor
AI hallucinations in science manuscripts are a nuisance. Paranormal citations, or paracites, will be a nightmare.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... (w/ @sina.bio & @lauraluebbert.com).
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... (w/ @sina.bio & @lauraluebbert.com).
February 3, 2026 at 5:19 PM
AI hallucinations in science manuscripts are a nuisance. Paranormal citations, or paracites, will be a nightmare.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... (w/ @sina.bio & @lauraluebbert.com).
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... (w/ @sina.bio & @lauraluebbert.com).
Reposted by The Tattooed Professor
"There is still life in the old dog."
Brian Charlesworth on Fisher's Fundamental Theorem in @journal-evo.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1093/evol...
Brian Charlesworth on Fisher's Fundamental Theorem in @journal-evo.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1093/evol...
Is the Fundamental Theorem of Natural Selection of any use?
Abstract. There have been many recent discussions of the Fundamental Theorem of Natural Selection, with an emphasis on its mathematical accuracy. It is arg
doi.org
February 2, 2026 at 8:38 PM
"There is still life in the old dog."
Brian Charlesworth on Fisher's Fundamental Theorem in @journal-evo.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1093/evol...
Brian Charlesworth on Fisher's Fundamental Theorem in @journal-evo.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1093/evol...
Reposted by The Tattooed Professor
PFAS, also known as "forever chemicals," helped spur innovation. But they're also insidious to human health. https://to.pbs.org/4qRXD2m
How PFAS harm our health — and why they're everywhere - Horizons
What do non-stick pans, firefighting foam and many of our couches, carpets and cosmetics have in common? They’re all made with PFAS. The so-called forever chemicals helped spur innovation, but they’re...
to.pbs.org
February 3, 2026 at 2:00 PM
PFAS, also known as "forever chemicals," helped spur innovation. But they're also insidious to human health. https://to.pbs.org/4qRXD2m
Reposted by The Tattooed Professor
Check out this Rolling Stone article featuring a quote from PSA President Craig Callender about AI and fake academic citations:
AI Is Inventing Academic Papers That Don’t Exist — And They’re Being Cited in Real Journals
Academic articles from authors using large language model are creating an ecosystem of fake research that threatens human knowledge itself.
www.rollingstone.com
February 2, 2026 at 5:27 PM