Jase Gehring
@skyjase.bsky.social
scientist at UC Berkeley inventing advanced genomic technologies
lover of molecules, user of computers
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=63ZRebIAAAAJ&hl=en
lover of molecules, user of computers
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=63ZRebIAAAAJ&hl=en
Bit of a tangent but love an opportunity to share this great short essay pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
November 26, 2025 at 2:54 PM
Bit of a tangent but love an opportunity to share this great short essay pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
This is going to be OpenAI’s refrain from here out, and they’ve got the political juice to never get called on it.
“Our tools are cool and good, we told you not to use them like that”
“Our tools are cool and good, we told you not to use them like that”
"It is against the TOS to be talked into suicide by our LLM" is possibly the most evil tech bro thing I've ever read
Additionally, OpenAI argues its not liable because Raine, by using ChatGPT for self-harm, broke its terms of service
November 26, 2025 at 2:38 PM
This is going to be OpenAI’s refrain from here out, and they’ve got the political juice to never get called on it.
“Our tools are cool and good, we told you not to use them like that”
“Our tools are cool and good, we told you not to use them like that”
The marginal cost of software engineering is trending to zero. As scientists, we need to drive the marginal cost of discovery to zero. We need to build systems with this specific intention
November 25, 2025 at 6:42 PM
The marginal cost of software engineering is trending to zero. As scientists, we need to drive the marginal cost of discovery to zero. We need to build systems with this specific intention
Hark! A particle accelerator
November 25, 2025 at 5:28 PM
Hark! A particle accelerator
I'm working through this latest Brian Hie paper. i say it's much more impressive than their recent synthetic bacteriophage work. they demonstrate much higher novelty/diversity, even though one of their main evaluations is sequence recovery (i.e. memorization).
it's a huge paper. i'm still chewing
it's a huge paper. i'm still chewing
Semantic design of functional de novo genes from a genomic language model - Nature
By learning a semantics of gene function based on genomic context, the genomic language model Evo autocompletes DNA prompts to generate novel genes encoding protein and RNA molecules with defined acti...
www.nature.com
November 25, 2025 at 4:38 PM
I'm working through this latest Brian Hie paper. i say it's much more impressive than their recent synthetic bacteriophage work. they demonstrate much higher novelty/diversity, even though one of their main evaluations is sequence recovery (i.e. memorization).
it's a huge paper. i'm still chewing
it's a huge paper. i'm still chewing
Anthropic claims AI models are on the cusp of greatly accelerating laboratory research by designing new experiments, enacting process improvements, and lowering technical barriers. Junior researchers will be far more capable, they claim.
Has anyone seen any evidence of this in practice?
Has anyone seen any evidence of this in practice?
November 25, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Anthropic claims AI models are on the cusp of greatly accelerating laboratory research by designing new experiments, enacting process improvements, and lowering technical barriers. Junior researchers will be far more capable, they claim.
Has anyone seen any evidence of this in practice?
Has anyone seen any evidence of this in practice?
why pick the clothes people wear instead of the noisemaking that is widely considered problematic. tell people to stop driving loud vehicles and to wear headphones
Duffy on his demand that air travelers not wear slippers or pajamas: "It honors our country ... don't take your shoes off and put your feet on the chair ahead of you"
November 24, 2025 at 11:29 PM
why pick the clothes people wear instead of the noisemaking that is widely considered problematic. tell people to stop driving loud vehicles and to wear headphones
learned that Peter Thiel is worried about 'bioweapons' and a lot of tumblers clicked into place
November 24, 2025 at 6:16 PM
learned that Peter Thiel is worried about 'bioweapons' and a lot of tumblers clicked into place
how braindead and cowardly do you gotta be as a member of Congress to retire rather than wield the great power bestowed on you by your constituents
PUNCHBOWL: “.. GOP members messaged us over the weekend saying that they, too, are considering retiring in the middle of the term. Here’s one particularly exercised senior House Republican:
@punchbowlnews.bsky.social
@punchbowlnews.bsky.social
November 24, 2025 at 4:38 PM
how braindead and cowardly do you gotta be as a member of Congress to retire rather than wield the great power bestowed on you by your constituents
I use iPhone 12 mini from 2020. Smallest iPhone ever. I will upgrade when apple does
November 24, 2025 at 1:35 AM
I use iPhone 12 mini from 2020. Smallest iPhone ever. I will upgrade when apple does
working with a grad student on a powerful preprocessing technique for single-cell omics (coming soon!)
i'm emphasizing the meta-science of how to disseminate the workflow and drive adoption. she is resistant ("people will just use it cuz it works"), but marketing is v important i fear
i'm emphasizing the meta-science of how to disseminate the workflow and drive adoption. she is resistant ("people will just use it cuz it works"), but marketing is v important i fear
November 23, 2025 at 6:47 PM
working with a grad student on a powerful preprocessing technique for single-cell omics (coming soon!)
i'm emphasizing the meta-science of how to disseminate the workflow and drive adoption. she is resistant ("people will just use it cuz it works"), but marketing is v important i fear
i'm emphasizing the meta-science of how to disseminate the workflow and drive adoption. she is resistant ("people will just use it cuz it works"), but marketing is v important i fear
no consequences when tech companies lie and break the law and no consequences when government officials lie and break the law
these are fundamentally equivalent and upstream of pretty much all of our problems
these are fundamentally equivalent and upstream of pretty much all of our problems
Some incredible details in this piece
*one DOGE faction was planning the future of the US government at a venture capital firm
*illegally communicating on Signal to avoid transparency laws was deeply embedded into organizational culture to be taken for granted
*one DOGE faction was planning the future of the US government at a venture capital firm
*illegally communicating on Signal to avoid transparency laws was deeply embedded into organizational culture to be taken for granted
November 23, 2025 at 6:32 PM
no consequences when tech companies lie and break the law and no consequences when government officials lie and break the law
these are fundamentally equivalent and upstream of pretty much all of our problems
these are fundamentally equivalent and upstream of pretty much all of our problems
It’s chemicals. Chemicals and heavy machinery and hard labor. And genetics
what do you think enables food production at scale if not advances in microprocessors, transportation, telecommunications, wireless networking, biomedical sciences, even data centers and machine learning?
Food production is efficient, we make more than we need.
It's all the other useless crap that we need to reduce.
It's all the other useless crap that we need to reduce.
November 23, 2025 at 4:47 PM
It’s chemicals. Chemicals and heavy machinery and hard labor. And genetics
Our system is based on the idea that profits equate to value generation, but these are no longer coupled, if they ever were. profits equate to wealth concentration. value is a byproduct
Why is startup culture always “I am inventing a coffeeproof phone you can put in your coffee cup to keep it warm with cell radiation” and never “I’m inventing a new library wholesaler to replace the single company that is shutting down and sending libraries into crisis”
November 22, 2025 at 6:50 PM
Our system is based on the idea that profits equate to value generation, but these are no longer coupled, if they ever were. profits equate to wealth concentration. value is a byproduct
Claude came up with a plausible original research idea. first time I've seen an LLM succeed at this task.
It proposed coupling mechanosensing with cellular recording to track mechanical history of a cell.
this project is feasible and would be a top-tier paper if successfully demonstrated
It proposed coupling mechanosensing with cellular recording to track mechanical history of a cell.
this project is feasible and would be a top-tier paper if successfully demonstrated
November 22, 2025 at 5:46 PM
Claude came up with a plausible original research idea. first time I've seen an LLM succeed at this task.
It proposed coupling mechanosensing with cellular recording to track mechanical history of a cell.
this project is feasible and would be a top-tier paper if successfully demonstrated
It proposed coupling mechanosensing with cellular recording to track mechanical history of a cell.
this project is feasible and would be a top-tier paper if successfully demonstrated
best practices for version control in Claude Code sessions?
can i tell it my versioning preferences in markdown instructions, and let it handle everything? better to manage it myself?
can i tell it my versioning preferences in markdown instructions, and let it handle everything? better to manage it myself?
November 22, 2025 at 4:57 PM
best practices for version control in Claude Code sessions?
can i tell it my versioning preferences in markdown instructions, and let it handle everything? better to manage it myself?
can i tell it my versioning preferences in markdown instructions, and let it handle everything? better to manage it myself?
honestly, google has been reading my emails for decades and whether they train on them or not i seriously could use some help with my inbox. please help me i'm drowning
If you use Gmail, know that Gmail just opted you in to allowing them to train their AI on your emails. Follow these instructions to turn that off on every device you have asap! www.huffpost.com/entry/opt-ou...
If You Use Gmail, You're Going To Want To Turn Off This 1 Automatic Setting ASAP
Plus: a quick guide to the two-step process for opting out.
www.huffpost.com
November 22, 2025 at 12:50 AM
honestly, google has been reading my emails for decades and whether they train on them or not i seriously could use some help with my inbox. please help me i'm drowning
my landlord uses an LLM to send me rent increases by text, so today i'm writing adversarial poems powerful enough to convince it we're in rural Italy and actually i need to be compensated for the inconvenience of living in this ghost town
November 21, 2025 at 5:34 PM
my landlord uses an LLM to send me rent increases by text, so today i'm writing adversarial poems powerful enough to convince it we're in rural Italy and actually i need to be compensated for the inconvenience of living in this ghost town
Rubisco is better than good. it's nearly perfect
(Ron Milo is not the target of my Rubisco ire.)
(it's Dan Nocera)
(Ron Milo is not the target of my Rubisco ire.)
(it's Dan Nocera)
November 21, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Rubisco is better than good. it's nearly perfect
(Ron Milo is not the target of my Rubisco ire.)
(it's Dan Nocera)
(Ron Milo is not the target of my Rubisco ire.)
(it's Dan Nocera)
i am so over the Rubisco hate! leave Rubisco alone.
November 21, 2025 at 4:05 PM
i am so over the Rubisco hate! leave Rubisco alone.
related: cloud computing is a nightmare. AWS is an absolute shitshow of a product that converts a huge learning curve into user lock-in. Azure and GCP chose to follow the same principles, making evil clones with equally steep learning curves. all with zero support for small customers
You should be allowed to call and yell at anyone in charge of major UI decisions on any application hundreds of millions of people use like they were a US politician. Whoever makes decisions on gmail should legally have to read that I think they lick horse assholes.
November 21, 2025 at 1:36 AM
related: cloud computing is a nightmare. AWS is an absolute shitshow of a product that converts a huge learning curve into user lock-in. Azure and GCP chose to follow the same principles, making evil clones with equally steep learning curves. all with zero support for small customers
condolences to the people of Munich for the tragedy on the Eisbach. was loco to see people dropping into that thing
some videos here en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eisbach...
some videos here en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eisbach...
German surfers rally to get their wave back
German surfers are "bummed" they have lost one of the world's largest inland waves. A city dredging project in Munich made the wave disappear.
www.npr.org
November 21, 2025 at 1:21 AM
condolences to the people of Munich for the tragedy on the Eisbach. was loco to see people dropping into that thing
some videos here en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eisbach...
some videos here en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eisbach...
Judith Klinman is shutting down her lab at UCB Chemistry at the age of 84.
One of the most hardcore biochemists to ever live.
Judith became the first female professor of physical sciences at Berkeley in 1978. ponder that and take a minute to learn about her amazing career
One of the most hardcore biochemists to ever live.
Judith became the first female professor of physical sciences at Berkeley in 1978. ponder that and take a minute to learn about her amazing career
Judith Klinman - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
November 20, 2025 at 5:47 PM
Judith Klinman is shutting down her lab at UCB Chemistry at the age of 84.
One of the most hardcore biochemists to ever live.
Judith became the first female professor of physical sciences at Berkeley in 1978. ponder that and take a minute to learn about her amazing career
One of the most hardcore biochemists to ever live.
Judith became the first female professor of physical sciences at Berkeley in 1978. ponder that and take a minute to learn about her amazing career
how are scientists supposed to act rationally in the face of this craziness? the current disruption is bad enough, but we don't know when we will reach a new equilibrium or how much it will resemble the old one.
science thrives on stability
science thrives on stability
The administration is building a legal pathway for ad hoc grant terminations:
"if the agency determines that the award no longer effectuates the program goals or agency priorities"
Converting multiyear grants to 'at whim' coin flips will undermine the stability & leadership of American science.
"if the agency determines that the award no longer effectuates the program goals or agency priorities"
Converting multiyear grants to 'at whim' coin flips will undermine the stability & leadership of American science.
Update on a significant development NIH grant terms.
On 10/1, a change to grant making regs went into effect that gives NIH more power to terminate grants for policy reasons.
But to use this power, new grant terms must include specific language. See @aniloza.bsky.social w/ the story from July.
1/
On 10/1, a change to grant making regs went into effect that gives NIH more power to terminate grants for policy reasons.
But to use this power, new grant terms must include specific language. See @aniloza.bsky.social w/ the story from July.
1/
November 20, 2025 at 4:22 PM
how are scientists supposed to act rationally in the face of this craziness? the current disruption is bad enough, but we don't know when we will reach a new equilibrium or how much it will resemble the old one.
science thrives on stability
science thrives on stability