Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Helena Kilpinen

Science Magazine @science.org · Aug 8

Larry Richardson appeared to be an early-career mathematician with potential, racking up more than 130 citations in 4 years.

It would all be rather remarkable—if the studies weren’t complete gibberish. And if Larry wasn’t a cat. #InternationalCatDay scim.ag/4lg3wTp

How easy is it to fudge your scientific rank? Meet Larry, the world’s most cited cat

“Exercise in absurdity” reveals flaws in Google Scholar’s productivity metrics

scim.ag

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Helena Kilpinen @hkilpinen.bsky.social · Jul 31

Still time to apply for this, closes Aug 15th. Come work with us!

Helena Kilpinen @hkilpinen.bsky.social · Jun 25

Job alert ‼️ @thomasdwkim.bsky.social and I are recruiting a postdoc in single-cell genomics via the NORPOD program of the @nordicembl.bsky.social. Collaboration between @fimm-uh.bsky.social and @dandrite.bsky.social on multimodal data integration in neurodevelopment.
jobs.helsinki.fi/job/Helsinki...

Postdoctoral Researcher in Single-Cell Genomics through the NORPOD program

jobs.helsinki.fi

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Reposted by Helena Kilpinen

Merriam-Webster @merriam-webster.com · Jul 7

'Vacations.'

The word is 'vacations.'

FAST COMPANY Article:

While retirement typically occurs, after
completing a career and saving and investing for it, a new trend is emerging among Gen Z career professionals
called "micro-retirement." Micro-
retirements involve taking a one to two- week break from work every 12 to 18 months.
Gen Z is using micro-retirement to avoid burnout, find greater fulfillment in their work, and enhance their overall well-being. However, it's not just Gen-Z:

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Reposted by Helena Kilpinen

Vincent Pasque @pasquelab.bsky.social · Jul 7

Exciting Research Professorship Position in Stem Cell and Developmental Biology at the University of Leuven. Amazing research ecosystem, great colleagues, high quality of life, tenure track. For those interested in joining us, please see below:
www.kuleuven.be/personeel/jo...

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Itai Yanai @itaiyanai.bsky.social · Jun 30

If you don’t have time to take a walk, then you don’t have time to do science. Charles Darwin would take two walks every day on his "thinking path", not as a break from science, but as a crucial part of it.

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Reposted by Helena Kilpinen

Peter Tennant @pwgtennant.bsky.social · Jun 29

"The goal of academic training is not to solve problems as efficiently and quickly as possible, but to develop skills for identifying and dealing with novel problems, which have never been solved before"

<- this open letter should be read by everyone in #HigherEd

openletter.earth/open-letter-...

Open Letter: Stop the Uncritical Adoption of AI Technologies in Academia

openletter.earth

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Reposted by Helena Kilpinen

Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo @kbibbinsdomingo.bsky.social · Jun 25

Wonderful tribute to a dear colleague- well worth the read www.ucsf.edu/news/2025/06...

UCSF Bioinformatics Pioneer Atul Butte Dies at 55

Atul Butte, who championed the use of big data in science and health care and inspired a generation of trainees at UC San Francisco and beyond to pursue the fields he pioneered — translational and cli...

www.ucsf.edu

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Helena Kilpinen @hkilpinen.bsky.social · Jun 25

Job alert ‼️ @thomasdwkim.bsky.social and I are recruiting a postdoc in single-cell genomics via the NORPOD program of the @nordicembl.bsky.social. Collaboration between @fimm-uh.bsky.social and @dandrite.bsky.social on multimodal data integration in neurodevelopment.
jobs.helsinki.fi/job/Helsinki...

Postdoctoral Researcher in Single-Cell Genomics through the NORPOD program

jobs.helsinki.fi

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Reposted by Helena Kilpinen

Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM) @fimm-uh.bsky.social · Jun 18

📣 We are recruiting 2-3 early-stage group leaders. 📣

Join an institute where cross-disciplinary teamwork and national health-data resources let you ask the questions no one else can!

🚀 Apply here by 10 Aug to start your own research group:
jobs.helsinki.fi/job/Helsinki...

#ScienceJobs

Portrait of Simone Rubinacci, PhD, smiling and seated, wearing a black top. Blue background. To the right is a quote:
"What makes FIMM special is how seamlessly everything is integrated. Biologists, clinicians, and data scientists work closely together, not just in theory but in practice. On top of that, access to large-scale national data enables us to ask questions that simply couldn’t be explored elsewhere."
Below the quote:
Simone Rubinacci, PhD
FIMM-EMBL Group Leader since 2024
Logos of the University of Helsinki and FIMM are at the top right.

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Helena Kilpinen @hkilpinen.bsky.social · May 24

Back at #ESHG25 after (way too) many years! Talking tomorrow on Sun at 9:30 about some of our cell painting work in neurons - come say hi. See also these presentations from my team: #eshg25

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Reposted by Helena Kilpinen

Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM) @fimm-uh.bsky.social · May 20

FIMM, the Faculty of Medicine, and the Faculty of Science @helsinki.fi invite applications for
POSITIONS OF RESEARCH FELLOW (UNIVERSITY RESEARCHER) AND/OR POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER
at the intersection of AI, molecular medicine and health data science.
Apply by 5 June: jobs.helsinki.fi/job/Helsinki...

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Reposted by Helena Kilpinen

The New York Times @nytimes.com · May 15

Breaking News: A baby with a rare disorder made medical history by receiving the first custom gene-editing treatment. The technique used has the potential to help people with thousands of other uncommon genetic diseases. nyti.ms/4j49xBy

A baby surrounded by medical devices is being held up by someone with gloved hands. A headline reads: "Baby Is Healed With World's First Personalized Gene-Editing Treatment." Photo courtesy of Children's Hospital of Pennsylvania.

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Peri Kurshan @pkurshan.bsky.social · Mar 26

FACULTY JOB ALERT! The Albert Einstein Dept of Neuroscience is hiring a new assistant professor in any area of neuroscience! We have funds specifically earmarked for this search. #Neuroscience #AcademicJobs #NeuroSky Job just posted: faculty-einstein.icims.com/jobs/17175/f... Please share widely!!

Albert Einstein College of Medicine | Medical Education | Biomedical Research

faculty-einstein.icims.com

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Reposted by Helena Kilpinen

Kevin Collins @kwcollins.bsky.social · Mar 17

Scientists have just cured pancreatic cancer in some patients with personalized mRNA vaccines. Pancreatic cancer. And this Trump administration wants to throw it all away.

They’re throwing away a cure for cancer.

Alex Wayne @aawayne.bsky.social · Mar 16

Exclusive: NIH officials have advised scientists to remove reference to mRNA vaccines from their grant applications, in expectation the Trump administration intends to abandon most research in the field.

By @arthurallen202.bsky.social

kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

Scientists Say NIH Officials Told Them To Scrub mRNA References on Grants - KFF Health News

Two senior scientists say National Institutes of Health officials advised them to remove references to mRNA vaccines in grant applications, and they fear the Trump administration will abandon a promis...

kffhealthnews.org

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Reposted by Helena Kilpinen

Anna Vähärautio @anna-vaharautio.bsky.social · Mar 14

Yesterday, excellent science in the fully booked 2025 edition of Single Cell Omics symposium @helsinki.fi, with 300 participants! With Judith Zaugg & @mkuijjer.bsky.social,@haikalab.bsky.social, Minna Kaikkonen-Määttä, Maria Kasper, @e-manieri.bsky.social, Giole La Manno & @hagentilgner.bsky.social.

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Helena Kilpinen @hkilpinen.bsky.social · Mar 12

This piece is spot on. While the situation in Finnish universities is perhaps not as bad yet, we are definitely on the slippery slope already.
academic.oup.com/brain/articl...

On the responsibilities of intellectuals and the rise of bullshit jobs in universities

You may never have considered yourself to be one. Why would you? But if you’re reading this, there is more than a likelihood that you are one. If you’re a

academic.oup.com

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Reposted by Helena Kilpinen

Michael Baym @baym.lol · Jan 28

If you’re at a European institution and are looking to poach American scientists, this would be a very good week to do it

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Reposted by Helena Kilpinen

Wolfgang Huber @wkhuber.bsky.social · Jan 3

How to do differential expression with scRNAseq data? State of the art is "pseudo-bulk" analysis with RNA-seq methods like edgeR or DESeq2, where "cell type" is encoded as discrete categories. Biologically, discrete categories are not always the most appropriate concept.(1/3)
doi.org/10.1038/s415...

Analysis of multi-condition single-cell data with latent embedding multivariate regression - Nature Genetics

Latent embedding multivariate regression models multi-condition single-cell RNA-seq using a continuous latent space, enabling data integration, per-cell gene expression prediction and clustering-free ...

doi.org

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Reposted by Helena Kilpinen

Dorothy Bishop @deevybee.bsky.social · Dec 23

deevybee.blogspot.com/2024/12/finl...
re @zbmed.bsky.social new contract

Finland vs. Germany: the case of MDPI

It's been an odd week for the academic publisher MDPI. On 16th December, Finland's Publication Forum (known as JUFO) announced that from J...

deevybee.blogspot.com

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Helena Kilpinen @hkilpinen.bsky.social · Nov 22

A fun day in the lab today with some very special guests, colors, and slime-making. Downside: they now think that this is what I do every day.. #nextgeneration #bringyourkidstoworkday

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Helena Kilpinen @hkilpinen.bsky.social · Nov 4

I read your tweet and now cannot stop thinking about it. Everything would be better IMO if we all read emails only once a week and used other means of communication for the day-to-day stuff (eg with team). I might trial this in the new year!

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Reposted by Helena Kilpinen

Nick Stroustrup @nstroustrup.bsky.social · Oct 30

There's a new open call for a junior faculty position at the Centre for Genomic Regulation.

The CRG is an excellent place to start your own lab!

recruitment.crg.eu/content/jobs...

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Reposted by Helena Kilpinen

Anna Vlasits @annaintegrated.bsky.social · Sep 14

Many people take "non-traditional" career paths in academia.
My Leading Edge colleagues and I did! We wrote for
PLOS Biology about how non-linear careers are increasingly common, but funding agencies and search committees penalize these paths. journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...

Supporting nonlinear careers to diversify science

Those who follow non-linear career trajectories often face disadvantages in academia. This Perspective looks at why individuals might choose non-linear careers and how these benefit diversity in scien...

journals.plos.org

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