Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

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Die Sankoré-Schriften @sankoreschriften.bsky.social · Aug 14

The Birth of the Transgenic Alzheimer's Model #neuroskyence #Alzheimer

Of Mice and Mechanisms: Part 1

The Birth of the Transgenic Alzheimer's Model

journalclubwithmyka.substack.com

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UCL Centre for Education Policy & Equalising Opportunities @cepeo-ucl.bsky.social · Aug 13

Check out this new collection of essays looking back at education policy in England since 2010

Includes a chapter from CEPEO’s Jake Anders

books.google.com/books/about/...

Education Policy in England 2010–2024

This text presents an informative overview of Conservative-led education policy over the last 14 years. The book provides a broad and detailed picture of the developing education landscape in England ...

books.google.com

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aejbowen.bsky.social @aejbowen.bsky.social · Aug 13

Another example of blinkered scientism… unfortunately too common.

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Evan Spotte-Smith (they/them) @ewcspottesmith.bsky.social · Aug 13

This essay is disappointing on multiple levels. Science is not "largely apolitical", as the author claims, and the separation of science from humanities will only lead to more scientists ignoring their responsibilities to society and the sociopolitical implications of their work.

#AcademicSky 🧪

Matthew J Kuiper @matthewjkuiper.bsky.social · Aug 13

In which a Yale prof calls for jettisoning humanities to make way for science-only universities.

“scientists… are being punished for the sins of [humanities scholars] because we all live under one roof. I cannot see a compelling reason for our continued cohabitation.”

Unyoke the Sciences From the Humanities

Arts and sciences typically cohabitate. Should they?

thedispatch.com

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Steve "It's TAY-tro" Tetreault @drtlovesbooks.bsky.social · Aug 13

"Now if you are a novice... you may be puzzled and not know what is so wrong about that [AI] ‘definition’ in the screenshot above. This is the crux. For experts it is obvious!"

THIS. This is why AI in schools is a MAJOR problem!

#TLSky #EduSky #SchoolLibrarians #SchoolLibrary #AIIsTheProblem

Iris van Rooij 💭 @irisvanrooij.bsky.social · Aug 12

AI slop and the destruction of knowledge irisvanrooijcogsci.com/2025/08/12/a...

AI slop and the destruction of knowledge

This week I was looking for info on what cognitive scientists mean when they speak of ‘domain-general’ cognition. I was curious, because the nuances are relevant for something I am researching at t…

irisvanrooijcogsci.com

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aejbowen.bsky.social @aejbowen.bsky.social · Aug 12

#edusky #edneurosky

aejbowen.bsky.social @aejbowen.bsky.social · Aug 12

I have also made a longer LinkedIn post with additional insights and reflections on the study www.linkedin.com/posts/astrid...

My PhD research project conducted at the Centre for Educational Neuroscience (CEN) Birkbeck, University of London in collaboration with Evolve: A Social Impact Company provided a unique opportunity… |...

My PhD research project conducted at the Centre for Educational Neuroscience (CEN) Birkbeck, University of London in collaboration with Evolve: A Social Impact Company provided a unique opportunity to...

www.linkedin.com

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aejbowen.bsky.social @aejbowen.bsky.social · Aug 12

Delighted to announce that one of the original research studies from my PhD project is now available as a preprint! Anyone interested in bridging the research-practice gap would be interested in my findings on how educational intervention developers use evidence in their work: osf.io/preprints/ps...

OSF

osf.io

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aejbowen.bsky.social @aejbowen.bsky.social · Jul 29

Super interesting new publication with systemic implications for early education.

Ana Whitaker @anawhit.bsky.social · Jul 29

Using data across 4 studies, we found that:

• Structural features (like ratios, teacher ed) were linked to classroom quality only when regulations were low.
• Once structural standards improved, those links weakened.
• Classroom process quality didn’t significantly predict preschoolers’ outcomes.

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Peter Ellis @freerangestats.info · Jul 26

Ok so this Pinheiro and Bates book - physical copy on my shelf having survived multiple international moves and downsizings - has been my bible on mixed effects models. But it's 25 years old, is there a modern (#rstats) equivalent i should upgrade to?

Pinheiro and Bates 'Mixed-Effects Models in S and S-Plus', Springer, 2000. Yellow cover.

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aejbowen.bsky.social @aejbowen.bsky.social · Jul 28

This is an interesting conversation. I think that when knowledge is surface level it manifests as fad chasing. Knowledge without understanding. Science of learning needs to become properly embedded in the philosophy and support structures of teaching in the U.K. - it’s on its way but not there yet 🌅

Shell @risu.bsky.social · Jul 28

Stuff like this makes me laugh as someone who has worked in education all around the world.

Nowhere is perfect. But to posit that U.K. schools and teachers are super far ahead in thinking on learning etc is ….interesting. I find U.K. teachers often “know” cogsci stuff as pop science only,

Holly Korbey @hollykorbey.bsky.social · Jul 28

“That is one of the hallmarks, typically, of professions: There’s an agreed-upon body of knowledge that constitutes the things that professionals need to know in order to be practitioners in that space. And education, at least in the United States, has never really done that.”

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aejbowen.bsky.social @aejbowen.bsky.social · Jul 28

Congratulations Claire!!

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UCL Institute of Education @ioe.bsky.social · Jul 26

How can the government create better access to early education for disadvantaged children?

Remove barriers to take-up, including those related to the working families entitlement – writes Claire Crawford on the IOE Blog: blogs.ucl.ac.uk/cepeo/2025/0...

@cepeo-ucl.bsky.social

Two children and two educators sit at a table doing crafts. Mat Wright for UCL.

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PLOS Biology @plosbiology.org · Jul 16

Long-term #MusicalTraining can provide neural resources to help cope with effects of #aging, but how? @leicogsci.bsky.social &co show that cognitive reserve acquired via music training holds back age-related neural recruitment during speech-in-noise perception @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/44NIkxZ

An older violinist stands in silhouette, while her younger self plays within, symbolizing how lifelong musical training preserves youth-like brain function. Just as melodies transcend time, playing music holds back age-related neural upregulation, supporting better speech perception in older musicians. Credit: Mohan Yuan (myuan@research.baycrest.org), CC-BY 4.0

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aejbowen.bsky.social @aejbowen.bsky.social · Jul 26

🤣🤣🤣

aejbowen.bsky.social @aejbowen.bsky.social · Jul 26

I know what you mean, with such a small effect size you never know though. Let me know if you find an alternative interpretation, I’d love to hear if there’s another explanation :)

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aejbowen.bsky.social @aejbowen.bsky.social · Jul 26

Bayesian basically asks “what is the likelihood of this result/model given the data”; if I were you I’d do a full power calculation (lack of alignment between the results suggests power is likely to be your issue using the traditional method) and then just report everything.

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Emily R. Trunnell, Ph.D. @ertrunnell.bsky.social · Jul 25

Newborn brains already show individual patterns of functional organization. 🧠✨

Using #fMRI for precision mapping, researchers at @washumedicine.bsky.social found that each baby's brain has a unique layout—already present just after birth.

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

#neuroskyence #MRI 🧪

Precision Functional Mapping of the Individual Human Brain Near Birth

Cortical areas are a fundamental organizational property of the brain, but their development in humans is not well understood. Key unanswered questions include whether cortical areas are fully establi...

www.biorxiv.org

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aejbowen.bsky.social @aejbowen.bsky.social · Jul 16

A shot of my poster at #QMiP2025 last week - this paper on educational intervention company leaders’ use of research is currently under review. QMiP was such a great experience and left me feeling up-skilled, can’t wait for the next one #edusky #academicsky

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TCEA @tcea.org · Jul 7

Staring at a blank page? 🧠✍️
Freewriting might be the cure. No pressure, no editing—just a timer and your thoughts. This TCEA blog dives into how a few minutes of messy writing can unlock creativity, speed, and student voice. Bonus: It’s easy to start tomorrow. ⬇️

buff.ly/Z4BMtTZ
#edusky #writing

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Dark Academia otter @acerbicotter.bsky.social · Jul 6

tell me how to make a kid hate reading without telling me how to make a kid hate reading....

Adrianna Cuevas @adriannacuevas.bsky.social · Feb 10

Oof.

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John Kounios @johnkounios.bsky.social · Jul 5

The jury is out. Just because a model can predict or mimic human responses in psych experiments doesn't mean that the model explains how people think. Cognitive psychologists have been grappling with model mimicry - that qualitatively different models can predict the same human data - for decades.

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aejbowen.bsky.social @aejbowen.bsky.social · Jun 7

I agree with you, this doesn’t seem right to me and the original sources should definitely be cited as in any summary of work done on a topic

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The Transmitter @thetransmitter.bsky.social · Jun 5

Ignoring different patterns of risk for brain-based conditions among males and females does us all a disservice, writes @bogglerapture.bsky.social. Part of our series on sex differences in the brain.

#neuroskyence

www.thetransmitter.org/sex-differen...

Males and females show different patterns of risk for brain-based conditions. Ignoring these differences does us all a disservice.

Although studying sex differences in the brain is complex, technically awkward and socioculturally loaded, it is absolutely essential.

www.thetransmitter.org

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Daniel Ansari 🇨🇦 @numcog.bsky.social · Jun 7

The brilliant @rastokke.bsky.social showing how shoddy evidence can spread like wildfire and how this has serious consequences #rEDTO25

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