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Mike Levin

@drmichaellevin.bsky.social

7.9K followers 1.1K following 210 posts

I'm a scientist at Tufts University; my lab studies anatomical and behavioral decision-making at multiple scales of biological, artificial, and hybrid systems. www.drmichaellevin.org

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Mike Levin @drmichaellevin.bsky.social · Nov 19

Wordpress blog thoughtforms.life. Unlike drmichaellevin.org, here I post speculative ideas, personal thoughts on what our research means, nature photography, essays, interviews, etc. Register to be notified of books' progress, events, and news, access downloadable content, etc.

Forms of life, forms of mind | Dr. Michael Levin

Thoughts on the science and philosophy of embodied minds, and the lives that can be.

thoughtforms.life

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Reposted by Mike Levin

Josh Bongard @doctorjosh.bsky.social · 9d

Thanks for hosting us Foresight Institute!

(w/ @tarinz.bsky.social and @drmichaellevin.bsky.social)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCq2...

Tarin Ziyaee, Mike Levin and Josh Bongard | Embodied Natural Intelligence VS Embodied AI

YouTube video by Foresight Institute

www.youtube.com

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Mike Levin @drmichaellevin.bsky.social · 9d

New paper: Santosh Manicka
www.cell.com/cell-reports...

"Field-mediated bioelectric basis of morphogenetic prepatterning"

#morphogenesis #bioelectricity #fields

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Field-mediated bioelectric basis of morphogenetic prepatterning

The endogenous electric field of a simplified bioelectric network model of an embryo facilitates the autonomous formation of voltage patterns. Transient exogenous electric fields can leverage this pro...

www.cell.com

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Mike Levin @drmichaellevin.bsky.social · 20d

New paper!
www.frontiersin.org/journals/psy...

"Temporal depth in a coherent self and in depersonalization: theoretical model"

@lancelotdacosta.bsky.social
@tolchinsky.bsky.social
Chris Fields
Daniel Friedman
Rachael Murphy
David Pincus

Frontiers | Temporal depth in a coherent self and in depersonalization: theoretical model

Multiple theoretical models of dissociative experiences have been formulated over the last century. These theories are clinically useful; however, it remains...

www.frontiersin.org

Mike Levin @drmichaellevin.bsky.social · 20d

Absolutely! my version:
thoughtforms.life/self-improvi...

Forms of life, forms of mind | Dr. Michael Levin | Self-improvising Memories: a few thoughts around a recent paper

Some supplemental ideas for a recent paper on memory across scales in biology.

thoughtforms.life

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Mike Levin @drmichaellevin.bsky.social · 22d

New #preprint - @bhartl.bsky.social , Léo Pio-Lopez

arxiv.org/abs/2509.11131

"Neural cellular automata: applications to biology and beyond classical AI"

Neural cellular automata: applications to biology and beyond classical AI

Neural Cellular Automata (NCA) represent a powerful framework for modeling biological self-organization, extending classical rule-based systems with trainable, differentiable (or evolvable) update rul...

arxiv.org

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Mike Levin @drmichaellevin.bsky.social · 23d

New #preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
@pigozzife.bsky.social, Tom Cirrito

- how to re-set memories in GRNs
- erasing memories doesn't reduce gains in causal emergence made while learning
- higher causal emergence is associated with more learning
-> asymmetric ratchet for intelligence
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AI-Guided Resetting of Memories in Gene Regulatory Network Models: biomedical and evolutionary implications

Molecular pathways such as gene-regulatory networks regulate numerous functions in cells and tissues that impact embryonic development, regenerative repair, aging, cancer, and many other aspects of he...

www.biorxiv.org

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Mike Levin @drmichaellevin.bsky.social · 26d

Final version:

"The Role of Bioelectrical Patterns in Regulative Morphogenesis: An Evolutionary Simulation and Validation in Planarian Regeneration"

ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/110...

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The Role of Bioelectrical Patterns in Regulative Morphogenesis: An Evolutionary Simulation and Validation in Planarian Regeneration

Endogenous bioelectrical patterns are an important regulator of anatomical pattern during embryogenesis, regeneration, and cancer. While there are three known classes of instructive bioelectric patter...

ieeexplore.ieee.org

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Mike Levin @drmichaellevin.bsky.social · 26d

good catch, thanks

Reposted by Mike Levin

Ricard Solé @ricardsole.bsky.social · 28d

Can a single cell learn? Even without a brain, some microbes show simple forms of cognition. Can this basal cognition be engineered? Check our new paper with @jordiplam.bsky.social on the minimal synthetic circuits & their cognitive limits. @drmichaellevin.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

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Mike Levin @drmichaellevin.bsky.social · Sep 9

New preprint,

osf.io/preprints/ps...

a commentary to @anilseth.bsky.social's pice at
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
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Mike Levin @drmichaellevin.bsky.social · Sep 8

yep; are there quantitative models of plausible chemistry of this type out there? thanks!

Reposted by Mike Levin

Alexey Tolchinsky @tolchinsky.bsky.social · Sep 4

Our paper is published. Co-authored with @drmichaellevin.bsky.social , Chris Fields, @lancelotdacosta.bsky.social ta.bsky.social, Daniel Friedman, Rachael Murphy, David Pincus

www.frontiersin.org/journals/psy...

this work presents a computational model of dissociations

Bluesky

ta.bsky.social

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Mike Levin @drmichaellevin.bsky.social · Sep 2

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Mike Levin @drmichaellevin.bsky.social · Sep 2

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Mike Levin @drmichaellevin.bsky.social · Sep 2

superb, thanks!

Mike Levin @drmichaellevin.bsky.social · Sep 1

Are there computational models of the chemistry thought to be relevant to the origin of life? I know there's no consensus, but does anyone have an actually runnable simulation of any plausible chemical soup or reaction dynamics of any kind that are thought to be realistic for an OoL scenario?

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Mike Levin @drmichaellevin.bsky.social · Aug 31

Final version of paper is out:
www.cell.com/iscience/ful...

"Bioelectric characterization of senescing human keratinocytes"

#bioelectricity #aging

Bioelectric characterization of senescing human keratinocytes

Biological sciences; Biotechnology; Bioengineering

www.cell.com

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Mike Levin @drmichaellevin.bsky.social · Aug 26

New paper! Remember this:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
showing massive nerve growth following zolmitriptan application in frog model?

Well, now here it is in mammals!
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
"Sustained Serotonergic Stimulation Platform for Peripheral Axonal Regeneration"

Serotonergic stimulation induces nerve growth and promotes visual learning via posterior eye grafts in a vertebrate model of induced sensory plasticity - npj Regenerative Medicine

A migraine drug that modulates neurotransmitter signaling can boost the neural connections of eyes grafted onto tadpoles to enhance vision. Michael Levin and colleagues from Tufts University in Medfor...

www.nature.com

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Mike Levin @drmichaellevin.bsky.social · Aug 24

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Mike Levin @drmichaellevin.bsky.social · Aug 19

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Mike Levin @drmichaellevin.bsky.social · Aug 18

New preprint: arxiv.org/abs/2508.11423

"Open Questions about Time and Self-reference in Living Systems"

by Samson Abramsky, Wolfgang Banzhaf, Leo S. D. Caves, Michael Levin, Penousal Machado, Charles Ofria, Susan Stepney, Roger White

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