Swipe up to try a new variant on Conway's Game of Life. And another. And another. This is how artificial-life researchers spread the joy after the #ALIFE2025 conference! They say it's like TikTok, but I wouldn't know.... ⚙️🧫 rulehunt.org?rulesetHex=7... #cellularautomata #gameoflife

It's addictive, like an ALife gacha...

A tiktok for cellular automata rules!
This project was developed during the #ALife2025 hackathon (can you believe how fast people make things?) and won the hackathon prize!

rulehunt.org?rulesetHex=7...

Lost Science is a new NYT series of accounts from scientists who have lost their jobs or funding. You can send your story to the Times here www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/c...

Yesterday I dreamed that there were several pythons in my house.
So I looked up some python specialist to get rid of the snakes... but I could only find ads for programmers

Lol the Nobels can't even acknowledge women's contribution to discovery. But sure let's acknowledge The Machines.

This new Boston Dynamics video solidifies it for me: they've lost the edge.
This is their new robot and it's cool. But it's behind Galbot.

youtu.be/gS4rOqNDTBk?...

Today my @nytimes.com colleagues and I are launching a new series called Lost Science. We interview US scientists who can no longer discover something new about our world, thanks to this year‘s cuts. Here is my first interview with a scientist who studied bees and fires. Gift link: nyti.ms/3IWXbiE

Many sea stars begin life as young fairy-like creature (called a brachiolaria) that float through the open ocean. Eventually, a small star forms within them (here in yellow). The fairy-like brachiolaria sinks under the star’s weight, and the star pops out!
🎥@the_story_of_a_biologist (on Insta)

Evolution has an arrow of time toward greater complexity. It's driven neither by mutation nor by crossover/sex but by symbiogenesis, argued @blaiseaguera.bsky.social (following Lynn Margulis) at #ALIFE2025. He showed lots of cool CoreWar-like competing programs. whatisintelligence.antikythera.org ⚙️🧫

Tech is depleting not only material resources but also intellectual resources, especially common knowledge. Political polarization erodes agreement on the most basic facts and concepts. "It's almost like seeing the ozone layer deplete before our eyes," said @audreyt.org at #ALIFE2025. ⚙️🧫

Another mirroring illusion for your puzzling pleasure, created by @eijiwatanabe.bsky.social, demonstrated by @sinalana.bsky.social at #ALIFE2025. ⚙️🧫

Richard Löffler creates lifelike oil droplets during the public event at #ALIFE2025. ⚙️🧫

Dominik Woiwode designs and builds rotation-invariant hardware modules for NCA
(Each module costs just 10 euros!)
#ALIFE2025

So, you know, when your leaders say you have to compromise on your values to appease conservatives... you really don't. If the morally corrupt are mad you're doing something right.
No goodwill for those without good faith 👋

(Conservatives are never opposed to anything in principle - they only pretend to. They are ok with everything... as long as it benefits only them! They rage at stuff that benefits someone else. DEI no, nepotism yes. Make ICE a protected minority. LGBT books no, Bible in class yes. Etc)

“I’m English on my mom’s side and ethnically a kidnapper on my dad’s”

Last week, a Dutch court ordered Meta to give Facebook & Instagram users the right to set a chronological feed by default - one of the first EU cases applying the DSA in civil proceedings.

To unpack what this means, I spoke with @bitsoffreedom.bsky.social:

www.techpolicy.press/what-a-dutch...

the most delightful version of logging on to see what news you've missed

Best poster title #ALIFE2025

Forgot: #ALIFE2025

If you haven't yet, come see our poster designed by my coauthor Harrison.
Tl;dr: if some lifeforms were going around terraforming planets, we could detect them* even without a working definition of "life" or "habitability"

*terms and conditions apply

Amazing title slide I have to share before even watching @scriptingjapan.bsky.social

youtu.be/TElWjeFmtl4?...