Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Gavan McNally

The Shovel @theshovel.bsky.social · Sep 1

Migrants to Australia have displayed an inability to assimilate with local values and refuse to speak anything but their native tongue, a study covering the last 237 years has found.

Migrants Failing to Assimilate, 200-Year Study Finds — The Shovel

"They refuse to fit in or speak anything but their native tongue"

theshovel.com.au

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Gavan McNally @gavanm.bsky.social · Aug 15

Like a *great* postdoc project

Gavan McNally @gavanm.bsky.social · Aug 15

This looks like a postdoc project, definitely an excellent team

Gonzalo Urcelay @gurcelay.bsky.social · Aug 13

Job Alert!!! We are looking for a motivated postdoc to join a 3-year BBSRC funded project led by my colleague Carl Stevenson (I’m coPI). This multi-disciplinary project will combine in vivo heart rate monitoring and optogenetics with behavioural testing (fear and active avoidance) in rats.

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Reposted by Gavan McNally

Phil Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel @philjrdb.bsky.social · Aug 15

Symposia / Satellite Proposals open for IBNS 2026 in Cape Town, South Africa! ibns.memberclicks.net/meetings

Annual Meeting

ibns.memberclicks.net

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Gavan McNally @gavanm.bsky.social · Jul 21

Very nice! The care taken in both design and analysis provide a compelling case. An important brick in the awareness wall.

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Reposted by Gavan McNally

BWJones @bwjones.bsky.social · Jun 1

Put it this way:

The universe does not care if we live or die. It is a dangerous and hostile place and the best tools we have to prevent suffering, death, and misery is science.

And it’s an “arms race” in some aspects.

Science has saved more humans than any other investment throughout history.

Infectious Diseases @infectiousdz.bsky.social · Apr 6

Measles likely came from cows (via rinderpest) around the 6th century BCE.

For 2,500 years, we didn’t evolve superhuman resistance—children just died. Real protection only came in the 1960s, with vaccines.

Our superpower isn’t evolving into superhumans. It’s outthinking pathogens.

Measles virus and rinderpest virus divergence dated to the sixth century BCE

Measles virus diverged from rinderpest virus in the sixth century BCE, indicating an early origin for human measles.

www.science.org

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Gavan McNally @gavanm.bsky.social · Jul 10

Our latest on how and why people differ in good decision-making and why some people persistently make poor decisions.

Phil Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel @philjrdb.bsky.social · Jul 9

Stoked to share our new paper examining why people differ so much in avoiding harm www.nature.com/articles/s44...

Causal inference and cognitive-behavioral integration deficits drive stable variation in human punishment sensitivity - Communications Psychology

Using a gamified punishment task, this study identifies specific learning and decision-making deficits that drive robust, consequential differences in choice within an international, general populatio...

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Gavan McNally

ebbsociety.bsky.social @ebbsociety.bsky.social · Jul 7

Days have passed since the conference ended, but we want to take a moment to congratulate once again the winners of the Young Investigators Award! Your research is inspiring 🌟

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Alex Fornito @alexfornito.bsky.social · May 27

Have recent changes led to uncertainty in your future scientific career?

Wonder it's like in Australia?

Good news!

Monash's is seeking to hire talented EMCRs from other countries.

Come join a wonderful community of brain mappers & modellers!

www.monash.edu/research/eme...

EMERGE

www.monash.edu

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Gavan McNally @gavanm.bsky.social · May 27

Pleased to see this published. We show an FGF21 analogue selectively reduces alcohol motivation and consumption in mice, potentiates efficacy of low dose GLP1, and reorganises drinking related activity in the accumbens.

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

FGF21 analogue PF-05231023 on alcohol consumption and neuronal activity in the nucleus accumbens - Neuropsychopharmacology

Neuropsychopharmacology - FGF21 analogue PF-05231023 on alcohol consumption and neuronal activity in the nucleus accumbens

www.nature.com

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Gavan McNally @gavanm.bsky.social · May 10

Catching the tram up the mountain is always a highlight for me.

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Gavan McNally @gavanm.bsky.social · Mar 17

Then combine this environment with the incredibly low levels of retention of ECRs in the NHMRC Investigator scheme….🤯. The not so clever country.

Gavan McNally @gavanm.bsky.social · Mar 17

I see too many DECRA and L1 FT without underlying positions. To make it worse, Embedded Fellowships, as described, are not restricted to ECRs. Universities will need to step up for ECR salaries, and if they wont now why would they at scale needed (200 DECRA p/a) in the future?

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Gavan McNally @gavanm.bsky.social · Mar 14

And what problem is it solving if they say yes?

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Gavan McNally @gavanm.bsky.social · Mar 14

Reviewed for plenty, never been paid or offered. May be a discipline thing. But, any evidence paying increases review acceptances or review quality?

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Gavan McNally @gavanm.bsky.social · Feb 25

And only for “a small number of outstanding individuals”

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Gavan McNally @gavanm.bsky.social · Feb 25

“Embedded fellowships for up to 2 years will reward excellence by financially
supporting a small number of outstanding individuals while distributing NCGP funding to more
people and projects”

Very much opposite to NHMRC(+). But, someone has to pay salary (eg, 200 DECRA, 100 FT p/a).

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Gavan McNally @gavanm.bsky.social · Feb 25

Looks like institutions on the hook for a significant salary bill. What could possibly go wrong?

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Gavan McNally @gavanm.bsky.social · Feb 24

In addition to being ill conceived, the scheme is tremendously wasteful. Very poor retention of 2019 and 2020 cohorts, across all levels, suggests these million dollar investments are ‘once and done’ for most recipients. Like pouring the hard won MREA down the sink.

Gavan McNally @gavanm.bsky.social · Feb 24

Comparisons with award data from 2019 and 2020 rounds are telling. Turnover appears substantial.

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Senator David Shoebridge @davidshoebridge.bsky.social · Feb 16

If the US is willing to ignore Europe in its dealings with Russia and Ukraine, who seriously thinks they will care what Australia says about China, Taiwan or anything to do with our region?

The US doesn’t want allies or partners, it wants servants. www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02...

Zelenskyy calls for 'armed forces of Europe' as US pulls back support

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Europe can no longer count on the US for support and should create an "armed forces of Europe" to defend itself.

www.abc.net.au

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Gavan McNally @gavanm.bsky.social · Feb 12

And had ranking systems been around, it is doubtful whether a non-German university would have been in the Top 10.

This is an excellent, if sobering, book that documents the rise (and fall) of universities (and their national economies) - in three countries.

www.hup.harvard.edu/books/978067...

Empires of Ideas — Harvard University Press

The modern university was born in Germany. In the twentieth century, the United States leapfrogged Germany to become the global leader in higher education. Will China challenge its position in the twe...

www.hup.harvard.edu

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Gavan McNally @gavanm.bsky.social · Feb 7

And up next, the remarkable Yulong Li, his first but we hope not last, visit to Australia.

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Gavan McNally @gavanm.bsky.social · Feb 7

Keynote by the excellent Dr Lizzie Manning at Optogenetics Australia (@drlizziemanning.bsky.social)

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