Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Brianna Vandrey

Dr Jen Ryan @drjenryan.bsky.social · 15h

Memory problems will change how you see the world...literally 👀

Across two new papers, we examined the eye movement patterns of younger adults, older adults, individuals with mild cognitive impairment, and amnesic cases.

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Aidan Horner @aidanhorner.bsky.social · 19d

Grid cell distortion is associated with increased distance estimation error in polarized environments

www.cell.com/current-biol...

Grid cell distortion is associated with increased distance estimation error in polarized environments

Duncan et al. demonstrate that distance estimation is impaired in polarized environments like trapezoids relative to regular rectangular environments. Grid cells recorded in the trapezoid environment ...

www.cell.com

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Brianna Vandrey @brivandrey.bsky.social · Aug 26

🚨 New preprint! 🚨 Proud to have been a small part of this project

RatDISCO is a simple & affordable tissue-clearing protocol that works in rodent brains and organoids. Enormous potential for imaging long-range projections and labelled neuron populations in the whole brain 🧠

👉 tinyurl.com/670723v1

RatDISCO, a tissue clearing and immunolabelling protocol for large rat brains

RatDISCO is a simple, cost-effective, and reproducible tissue-clearing protocol optimised for immunolabeling in adult rat brains. It enables robust detection of diverse neuronal subtypes, glial popula...

www.biorxiv.org

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Princess Vimentin PhD | Cancer Biologist @princess-vimentin.bsky.social · Aug 3

Europe is watching as America loses its "Gold Standard" status on #science following Trump's cuts. The EU is preparing to ramp up their own data collection systems to monitor climate change & weather extremes.

They are also aiming to recruit American scientists.
www.reuters.com/sustainabili...

Europe is breaking its reliance on American science

European governments are taking steps to break their dependence on critical scientific data the United States historically made freely available to the world, and are ramping up their own data collection systems to monitor climate change and weather extremes, according to Reuters interviews.

www.reuters.com

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Brianna Vandrey @brivandrey.bsky.social · Aug 3

Bittersweet that this is my last Edinburgh Fringe festival working in George Square. I'm going to miss this view of the cow from the wet lab windows! 🐄

(I definitely won't miss commuting through the crowds though)

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Sam Gershman @gershbrain.bsky.social · Jul 30

A wonderful article on work (both old and new) pushing the frontier of memory research.

Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.bsky.social · Jul 30

If you’ve ever tried to cram for an exam, you know that it’s easier to memorize something if you learn the information in shorter, spaced-out sessions. These dynamics are as relevant to each individual cell’s existence as they are to ours. Claire Evans reports: www.quantamagazine.org/what-can-a-c...

What Can a Cell Remember? | Quanta Magazine

A small but enthusiastic group of neuroscientists is exhuming overlooked experiments and performing new ones to explore whether cells record past experiences — fundamentally challenging what memory is...

www.quantamagazine.org

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Ralph Emilio Peterson @ralphpeterson.bsky.social · Jul 25

New preprint!  

tl;dr — We ran around late at night to record wild rats in NYC and figured out how to quantify their behavior and environment. 🧵

w/ Dima Batenkov, @zamakany.bsky.social, Emily Mackevicius

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

Computational Urban Ecology of New York City Rats

Urban rats are highly adaptable, thriving in the dynamic and often inhospitable conditions of modern cities. Despite substantial mitigation efforts, they remain an enduring presence in urban environme...

www.biorxiv.org

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Sam Gershman @gershbrain.bsky.social · Jul 29

This is unfortunate:
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/28/u...
I wrote to the president of Harvard. I hope other faculty will speak their conscience, even if it means more struggle ahead.

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Princess Vimentin PhD | Cancer Biologist @princess-vimentin.bsky.social · Jul 28

Yet another study (Danish) has found no association between aluminum in childhood vaccines & 50 different health conditions, including autism, asthma & autoimmune diseases. In this study, they tracked 1 million kids over 21 years.

🧪🔗 en.ssi.dk/news/news/20...

Large Danish Study: No link between vaccines and autism or 49 other health conditions

A new Danish study finds no association between aluminum in childhood vaccines and 50 different health conditions, including autism, asthma, and autoimmune diseases. The findings reaffirm the safety o...

en.ssi.dk

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Kevin Mitchell @wiringthebrain.bsky.social · Jul 29

Reminder! Tenure track position in Genetics at Trinity College Dublin! Come join us, we're nice... 😊 Please repost! 🙏

Kevin Mitchell @wiringthebrain.bsky.social · Jul 23

Very pleased to say we have an Assistant Professor job opening (tenure track) in the Department of Genetics at Trinity College Dublin! 😀
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOA399/a... - deadline is August 19th! Please repost!

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katja heuer @k4tj4.bsky.social · Jul 27

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To predict the behaviour of a primate, would you rather base your guess on a closely related species or one with a similar brain shape? We looked at brains & behaviours of 70 species, you’ll be surprised!

🧵Thread on our new preprint with @r3rt0.bsky.social , doi.org/10.1101/2025...

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The New York Times @nytimes.com · Jul 28

Two of Israel’s best-known human rights groups said Monday that Israel was committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, adding fuel to an international debate over whether the death and destruction there have crossed a moral red line.

In a First, Leading Israeli Rights Groups Accuse Israel of Gaza Genocide

Israel says it is fighting against Hamas, not Palestinians as a group. But two of Israel’s best-known rights groups — long critical of Israeli policy — now say they disagree.

nyti.ms

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Jacquelyn Gill @jacquelyngill.bsky.social · Jul 24

I’m thinking today about all the women doing DEI work in universities, and how all of our canceled grants and shuttered initiatives means that not only are we losing the time we’ve already put in, we’re now even more behind our male peers who stayed focused on their research.

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NPR @npr.org · Jul 23

More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since May while trying to get food in Gaza, mostly near food sites run by an American contractor, the U.N. human rights office said.

Israeli forces have killed over 1,000 aid-seekers in Gaza since May, the U.N. says

More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since May while trying to get food in Gaza, mostly near food sites run by an American contractor, the U.N. human rights office said.

n.pr

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Jason Climer @jrclimer.bsky.social · Jul 23

I’m excited to share my final co-first author paper from my postdoc in Dan Dombeck's lab!

We explored how behavior, senses, and neurons influence how much information in the brain changes over time.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

#science #research #neuroscience #hippocampus #placecells

Hippocampal representations drift in stable multisensory environments - Nature

Tracking of individual place cells in mouse CA1 shows that representational drift is not influenced by changes in environment or behaviour, and is lower for more excitable place cells.

www.nature.com

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Rachel Maddow @maddow.msnbc.com · Jul 23

"In the letter, the signatories warned that National Science Foundation grants now underwent a 'covert and ideologically driven secondary review process'...”

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/22/s...

Amid Fear of Retaliation, N.S.F. Workers Sign Letter of Dissent

www.nytimes.com

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Brianna Vandrey @brivandrey.bsky.social · Jul 23

"At least 101 people are known to have died of hunger during the conflict... including 80 children, most of them in just the last few weeks"

Naomi O'Leary @naomiohreally.bsky.social · Jul 23

“Six-week-old Yousef's lifeless body lay limp on a hospital table in Gaza City, his skin stretched over protruding ribs and a bandage where a drip had been inserted into his tiny arm. Doctors said the cause of death was starvation.”
Deliberate and foreseen.
www.reuters.com/world/middle...

Baby boy starves to death in Gaza as hunger spreads, medics say

Six-week-old Yousef was among 15 people to starve to death in the last 24 hours in Gaza, according to doctors.

www.reuters.com

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Aidan Horner @aidanhorner.bsky.social · Jul 21

2 Lecturer (Assistant Prof) positions available @yorkpsychology.bsky.social! Come join our department!

#neuroskyence #cognition #psychscisky #neurojobs

jobs.york.ac.uk/vacancy/lect...

Jobs - The University of York

jobs.york.ac.uk

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Le Neuro (Institut-Hôpital neurologique de Montréal) @theneuro.bsky.social · Jul 15

Happy 107th Birthday, Brenda Milner! Her contributions to neuropsychology shaped the way we understand the human brain. From surviving two world wars and two pandemics, to paving the way for future generations of researchers, Milner’s legacy continues. @mcgill.ca @cusm-muhc.bsky.social

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Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽 @needhibhalla.bsky.social · Jul 14

"Nature has learnt that, as a result, some staff members are screening candidates’ social-media presences to check whether they have expressed negative views about the Trump administration or been involved in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts...at their institutions." 🧪

Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · Jul 14

NEW: In an unprecedented move, the NIH will soon disinvite dozens of scientists about to take positions on advisory councils that make final decisions on grant funding.

NIH staff were told to select others aligned with the Trump administration and told to expect placements by political appointees.

Exclusive: NIH to dismiss dozens of grant reviewers to align with Trump priorities

The move would undo years of work, leaving advisory councils understaffed, and without the full expertise needed for reviews.

www.nature.com

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Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽 @needhibhalla.bsky.social · Jul 15

it's another purge: www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025...

Women, minorities fired in purge of NIH science review boards

Scientists, with expertise in fields that include mental health, cancer and infectious disease, typically serve five-year terms and were not given a reason for their dismissal.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Tom Gillingwater @tomgillingwater.bsky.social · Jul 14

We’re recruiting 2 senior anatomy technicians the Department of Anatomy at @edinburgh-uni.bsky.social One 12-mth maternity cover post (👇) and one permanent position (advert on its way). Please share and get in touch if you would like to know more: elxw.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...

Senior Anatomy Technician

The role requires an individual with organisational and communication skills. Experience of working with human material is essential (prior dissection experience is desirable) as well as a recognition...

elxw.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com

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Helen Czerski @helenczerski.bsky.social · May 26

Wow, look at this: the carbon intensity of UK electricity is currently only 32g/kWh and 86.5% of our electricity right now is coming from renewables.

Come on world, this IS possible!
And it will only get better (meaning: cleaner, healthier, less intrusive) 🎉

(graphic from grid.iamkate.com )

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David Clewett @davidclewett.bsky.social · May 19

New from our lab: your brain doesn’t just remember time - it bends it.

We show that the dopamine system responds to natural breakpoints in experience, and this relates to more stretched memories of time. Blinking also increases, signaling encoding of new memories.

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

Dopaminergic processes predict temporal distortions in event memory

Our memories do not simply keep time - they warp it, bending the past to fit the structure of our experiences. For example, people tend to remember items as occurring farther apart in time if they spa...

www.biorxiv.org

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Hugo Spiers @hugospiers.bsky.social · May 19

This Thursday at 5.20pm we are holding a webinar to reveal the first findings from our project studying how 100 people explore, navigate and evacuate space. Photos below show camera tracking at 2 timepoints in our experiment.

For more info and a registration link:

www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/res...

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