Larry W. Hunter | Lightnews

Larry Hunter @proflhunter.bsky.social · 2h

1988!

Larry Hunter @proflhunter.bsky.social · 3h

Bostrum is among the coauthors, so the prose is sometimes ponderous and oversold, but they do have a legitimate concern. "Algorithmic overcompensation can then elevate celebrity and elite voices while sidelining ordinary citizens." www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

How malicious AI swarms can threaten democracy

The fusion of agentic AI and LLMs marks a new frontier in information warfare

www.science.org

Joe Yracheta (A ∩ & ∪ Ω) @joseph-yracheta.bsky.social · 3h

Here's a presentation that I am proud of. www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAYT...

Bezos to Bottlenecks: The Chasm between... - Joseph Yracheta - ISCBacademy Indigenous Voices

YouTube video by ISCB

www.youtube.com

Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa @sanjanah.bsky.social · 7h

Pope warns against risks of AI algorithms www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/5...

Pope warns against risks of AI algorithms

In a message marking the World Day of Social Communications, the pope said AI systems reflect the worldview of their creators.

www.rnz.co.nz

Admirable Women @admirablewomen.bsky.social · 8h

Jane Richardson was born #OTD in 1941

+ Developed the Richardson (ribbon) diagram to represent proteins' 3D structure (becoming a standard representation for protein structures)
+ MacArthur Fellow, 1985
+ Elected, Nat'l Academy of Sciences, 1991
+ President, Biophysical Society, 2012

#WomenInSTEM

Vibrant color portrait of Jane S. Richardson, the visionary biophysicist and artist who revolutionized structural biology with her invention of ribbon diagrams. She gazes warmly at the camera with a bright, knowing smile that radiates quiet brilliance and decades of curiosity. Her silver-blonde hair woven with gentle waves. Large, elegant dangling earrings catch the light, and she wears a richly patterned brown blouse embroidered with intricate turquoise paisley motifs and delicate beadwork that echoes the molecular elegance she has spent her life depicting. Behind her floats a luminous, dreamlike backdrop of glowing molecular structures--interlocking hexagonal and ribbon-like forms in electric blues, teals, and greens--blending science and art in a single, living canvas.

Hand-drawn and hand-colored (by Jane Richardson) scientific artwork known as a Richardson ribbon diagram (or “ribbon model”), one of the iconic visual inventions of Jane Richardson that transformed the way we see and understand protein structures. A graceful, three-dimensional tangle of protein backbone ribbons twists and spirals through space, rendered in soft pencil lines and luminous watercolor hues. Smooth golden-brown coils represent α-helices that curl like elegant ribbons, while broad teal-green arrows trace the flat, pleated strands of β-sheets slicing through the molecule with directional purpose. Thin, looping golden threads connect the secondary structures, creating a delicate, almost dance-like choreography of biology’s hidden architecture. The entire form is framed by a simple olive-green mat and dark border, giving the drawing the quiet dignity of both fine art and precise scientific illustration—a timeless bridge between molecular reality and human imagination.

Nate Brought @antifaspecops.bsky.social · 19h

Attached is the letter I sent this afternoon to State Secretary Belio (Spain), and Mrs. Roberta Metsola (President of the European Parliament) regarding recent events in the United States, asking them to take action to preserve the dignity and sanctity of human life and to preserve global democracy.

Larry Hunter @proflhunter.bsky.social · 1d

Stay tuned! There's a Big Island project to make Ulu Vodka that might happen this year.

Larry Hunter @proflhunter.bsky.social · 1d

I have an unshakable faith that there are important things about the Universe that I do not know.

Here's a really interesting take on that idea: "a vision of life in which it’s defined by what we will never know"

www.newyorker.com/culture/open...

How Do You Write About the Inexplicable?

In Karl Ove Knausgaard’s new cycle of novels, old mysteries reassert themselves.

www.newyorker.com

Larry Hunter @proflhunter.bsky.social · 1d

Impressive how picking the right target for learning can suddenly solve a bunch of previously disparate problems simultaneously.

deepmind.google/blog/d4rt-te...

D4RT: Unified, Fast 4D Scene Reconstruction & Tracking

Meet D4RT, a unified AI model for 4D scene reconstruction and tracking.

deepmind.google

Kevin Bird @stairwaytokevin.bsky.social · 1d

An excellent, bone-chilling story about a cadre of online racists who stole genetic data from studies on children so they could make specious arguments for the innate inferiority of non-white people, it's embrace by Elon Musk/twitter & how the Trump administration might make it easier to do again.

Genetic Data From Over 20,000 U.S. Children Misused for ‘Race Science’

www.nytimes.com

Larry Hunter @proflhunter.bsky.social · 2d

Hawaii governor Josh Green takes on RFKJr over vaccines. "Green said the Trump administration has laid a foundation of distrust, and 'now you’re seeing the terrible outcomes.'"
www.westhawaiitoday.com/2026/01/22/h...

Gov. Green blasts federal misinformation as measles cases surge in U.S. - West Hawaii Today

Gov. Green blasts federal misinformation as measles cases surge in U.S. – Hawaii News | West Hawaii Today

www.westhawaiitoday.com

I-270, Exit 1 @i270exit1.bsky.social · 3d

Tell your Rep to support @degette.house.gov who wants to:
Cap the number of political appointees at NIH,
Prohibit political appointees from NIH grant review processes, and
Prohibit NIH from terminating grants without scientific cause.
degette.house.gov/media-center...

DeGette Introduces Bill to Protect NIH From Political Interference

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Diana DeGette (CO-01), Ranking Member of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, introduced the Follow the Science Act to shield the National Institutes...

degette.house.gov

Rima I Anabtawi @rimaanabtawi.bsky.social · 3d

Just as this news was announced:

mRNA cancer vaccine shows protection at 5-year follow-up, Moderna and Merck say
The vaccines are tailor-made to target each patient’s unique cancer.

www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/...

Larry Hunter @proflhunter.bsky.social · 4d

Very cool work!

Lisa Spiering @lspiering.bsky.social · 4d

🎉 My PhD work has just been published in @natcomms.nature.com!

How do we learn who caused what - and how much control we had - when outcomes depend on multiple people? We studied how humans do so using a new social learning task, computational modelling and fMRI.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
🧵👇

Lisa Spiering @lspiering.bsky.social · 4d

🎉 My PhD work has just been published in @natcomms.nature.com!

How do we learn who caused what - and how much control we had - when outcomes depend on multiple people? We studied how humans do so using a new social learning task, computational modelling and fMRI.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
🧵👇

Science Friday @scifri.bsky.social · 5d

Two conversations, one question: What happens when science and lawmaking collide?🔬

Anti-science bills are on the rise across the U.S. Plus, a Louisiana law limits whether regulators can use environmental data collected by communities.

States Expected To See More ‘Anti-Science’ Bills This Year

In 2025, more than 420 bills were introduced to weaken public health measures for vaccines, milk safety, and fluoride. What will we see in 2026?

buff.ly

James Petruzzi @hawaiianimages.bsky.social · 5d

So it's #FeedingTime for the #BirdOfTheDay theme: through timing, luck and a very fast shutter got this 'auku'u (Black-crowned night heron) in mid-strike. :) 📷🦉🌿 #birds

A black crowned night heron lunging forward for a fish. One back foot can be seen rapidly moving forward trailing across the surface, the other is planted behind. The neck is just starting to dart forward, the beak is open and the lower bill just penetrated the water....without a single ripple. There is a thorny snag in front and above, and the water looks white in the pre-dawn with gentle ripples

Lindsay Beyerstein @beyerstein.bsky.social · 5d

Last time the US bought land from Denmark, Epstein’s island was purchased

The 70-acre island was bought by Epstein in 1998 and became his primary residence, playing host to many of his underage sex parties.

nypost.com

Katharine Hayhoe @katharinehayhoe.com · 5d

Must-read reporting by @virginiagewin.bsky.social on how US federal actions are affecting science.

By pairing the scale of the damage with the very human, personal stories behind the numbers, she paints a powerful and comprehensive picture of just how thoroughly US science is being hollowed out.

‘Shattered’: US scientists speak out about how Trump policies disrupted their careers

Researchers lay bare the human toll of lay-offs, funding cuts and attacks on science one year after the president’s return to the White House.

www.nature.com

Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 5d

Now for the money...

Overall, the budget is essentially flat.

The biggest winner is NINDS with a 5.9% increase. The biggest losers are NIEHS and NIDDK.

4/5

A table of funding for fiscal year 2025 and proposed for fiscal year 2026 by institute and center.

Dan Garisto @dangaristo.bsky.social · 5d

A year ago, under a flurry of executive orders, it became clear that the second Trump administration was going to make dramatic changes on US science. Here's our 10,000 foot look at the damage.

with @maxkozlov.bsky.social, Jeff Tollefson, and Rich Monastersky

US science after a year of Trump: what has been lost and what remains

A series of graphics reveals how the Trump administration has sought historic cuts to science and the research workforce.

www.nature.com

Ian L Morgan @ianlmorgan.bsky.social · 5d

The final LHHS bill with funding for Health and Human Services is out this morning! At first glance, it looks similar to the Senate bill with a roughly 1% increase in total funding for the NIH. While it doesn't match inflation, it avoids many of the problems in the presidential budget request. 1/n

Reto Fiolka @retof.bsky.social · 6d

RIP Gladys West, mathematician who measured the world to unheard precision (radius to tens of centimeters!), paving the way to GPS.

Larry Hunter @proflhunter.bsky.social · 8d

Tooze on China and climate change: “My deep conviction is that the west needs to accept the end of its era of global domination. ... Ours is a bit part and not the starring role. We’re not the love interest. This song is not about us.” Worth the read!

Yuliya Komska @ykomska.bsky.social · 8d

“Many of the same countries that chose 80 years ago to ally with the Soviet Union to fight Germany will have to decide whether and on what terms they want to work with an economically dominant China on the climate problem.” Wow what a profile www.theguardian.com/business/202...

The crisis whisperer: how Adam Tooze makes sense of our bewildering age

The long read: Whether it’s the financial crash, the climate emergency or the breakdown of the international order, historian Adam Tooze has become the go-to guide to the radical new world we’ve enter...

www.theguardian.com

Steve Joffe @stevejoffe.bsky.social · 8d

"If this change happens, over 100,000 children who are diagnosed with autism each year could claim compensation from the VICP...The expected groundswell of compensation claims and lawsuits will easily bankrupt the vaccine compensation pool..."

From @zekeemanuel.bsky.social.

wapo.st/3NyZ9Yt

Opinion | How RFK Jr. plans to bankrupt vaccine manufacturers

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wants to flood the vaccine injury compensation program to hurt vaccine access in the U.S.

wapo.st

Yuliya Komska @ykomska.bsky.social · 8d

“Many of the same countries that chose 80 years ago to ally with the Soviet Union to fight Germany will have to decide whether and on what terms they want to work with an economically dominant China on the climate problem.” Wow what a profile www.theguardian.com/business/202...

The crisis whisperer: how Adam Tooze makes sense of our bewildering age

The long read: Whether it’s the financial crash, the climate emergency or the breakdown of the international order, historian Adam Tooze has become the go-to guide to the radical new world we’ve enter...

www.theguardian.com

Steven Salzberg @stevensalzberg.bsky.social · 9d

very sad news. Peer Bork was one of the leaders of our field, a wonderful scientist, and he's much too young to be gone. www.embl.org/news/embl-an...

In remembrance of Peer Bork | EMBL

EMBL and its community are deeply saddened by the death of Peer Bork, the organisation’s Interim Director General.

www.embl.org

Larry Hunter @proflhunter.bsky.social · 9d

Interesting perspective on the rise of Chinese tech, from @bruces.bsky.social

If you say, "what does a Chinese flying car look like," that sounds
corny and goofy. If you ask "what does a Xiaomi-Huawei pilotless
taxi-drone look like when it's a new-energy-vehicle," then the Saudi
investors would fret about that.

"Room temperature superconductors" are also an old idea, but if ten
thousand Chinese lab engineers ground-it-out force-of-numbers style,
and some Chinese heavy-industry managed to mass-build those, the
world would be set on its ear. Of course the world would still be
stricken with the ongoing climate crisis, but everybody would kowtow
to them because it would transform the grid worldwide.

The Xi Jinping "Chinese Dream" is about the kowtows. It's about
historically overcoming the "century of humiliation" and having the
world bow the knee in awed respect of a rejuvenated hegemonic
techno-superpower. I get it why that would be a Chinese
ethnonationalist aspiration, but if everybody else is
auto-humiliating themselves by comparison, that makes them look even
more impressive. I'm not all that "impressed" by them, but I'm sure
I'll be paying more attention to them. If they're setting the pace,
it behooves you to look.

Larry Hunter @proflhunter.bsky.social · 10d

Burrata is from Apulia, so for local authenticity I might try to find a Castel del Monte Nero di Troia Riserva. Alternatively, Masi Campofiorin (which has pretty wide distribution) is made from the same Nero di Troia grape.

It was lunch for me, so I paired it with fizzy water & grapefruit juice.

Larry Hunter @proflhunter.bsky.social · 10d

Burrata, surrounded by cavatappi in a sauce of lion's mane mushrooms, spinach, and fresh tomatoes, topped with basil and pecorino Romano.

A milky circle of cheese, surrounded by curly pasta in a dark sauce, topped with green leaves and flakes of cheese, in a yellow bowl on a brown table.

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