et al.
@james-elsten-ca.bsky.social
Recognize the importance of contribution.
Opinions are my own.
Opinions are my own.
Pinned
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@james-elsten-ca.bsky.social
· May 21
Did you know your T cells use serotonin to help them fight cancer? I did, but only because I'm unbelievably smart (i.e. have awesome mentors who taught me how to figure it out).
Check out our publication in Cell @cellpress.bsky.social on how SSRIs can help fight cancer: doi.org/10.1016/j.ce...
Check out our publication in Cell @cellpress.bsky.social on how SSRIs can help fight cancer: doi.org/10.1016/j.ce...
Reposted by et al.
This is absolutely not how it works, but it could be how it works to some degree if we did universal basic income and indexed it to a percentage of GDP per capita, say 25%, so that as GDP grew, the UBI grew too.
December 24, 2025 at 5:22 PM
This is absolutely not how it works, but it could be how it works to some degree if we did universal basic income and indexed it to a percentage of GDP per capita, say 25%, so that as GDP grew, the UBI grew too.
Reposted by et al.
People on the right and left are sick of big corporations - like media companies - having become such a dominant force in our economy and our culture. Whichever party offers a vision to break up concentrated economic power has the potential to capture a new alignment of voters.
September 21, 2025 at 6:38 PM
People on the right and left are sick of big corporations - like media companies - having become such a dominant force in our economy and our culture. Whichever party offers a vision to break up concentrated economic power has the potential to capture a new alignment of voters.
God fucking dammit
The greatest injustice of the American political system is that it forces me to coalition with Jimmy Kimmel Liberals
September 18, 2025 at 5:08 PM
God fucking dammit
Reposted by et al.
On the latest episode of It Could Happen Here, Robert and I discuss the memes, misinformation, and conflicting theories on the politics of the suspected Charlie Kirk shooter.
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i...
Charlie Kirk's Assassination: Sorting Fact from Fiction
Podcast Episode · It Could Happen Here · 09/15/2025 · 45m
podcasts.apple.com
September 15, 2025 at 6:51 PM
On the latest episode of It Could Happen Here, Robert and I discuss the memes, misinformation, and conflicting theories on the politics of the suspected Charlie Kirk shooter.
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i...
Reposted by et al.
“Cutting off hundreds of millions of research funds will do nothing to make UCLA safer for Jews nor diminish antisemitism in the world.”
This is a courageous letter that bravely stands up to Trump's weaponization of antisemitism to attack higher education.
www.latimes.com/california/s...
This is a courageous letter that bravely stands up to Trump's weaponization of antisemitism to attack higher education.
www.latimes.com/california/s...
UCLA's Jewish community unites against Trump's $1-billion demand: 'misguided and punitive'
UCLA's Jewish faculty united around a letter conveying anger over a potential $1-billion settlement between the university and the Trump administration over alleged campus antisemitism.
www.latimes.com
August 19, 2025 at 2:21 PM
“Cutting off hundreds of millions of research funds will do nothing to make UCLA safer for Jews nor diminish antisemitism in the world.”
This is a courageous letter that bravely stands up to Trump's weaponization of antisemitism to attack higher education.
www.latimes.com/california/s...
This is a courageous letter that bravely stands up to Trump's weaponization of antisemitism to attack higher education.
www.latimes.com/california/s...
Reposted by et al.
Oh so it does have phd level intelligence
Google Gemini doesn’t appear to be doing too well:
‘"I am a disgrace to this planet. I am a disgrace to this universe. I am a disgrace to all universes . . . I am a disgrace to all possible and impossible universes and all that is not a universe," the bot continued.’
‘"I am a disgrace to this planet. I am a disgrace to this universe. I am a disgrace to all universes . . . I am a disgrace to all possible and impossible universes and all that is not a universe," the bot continued.’
Google says it's working on a fix for Gemini's self-loathing 'I am a failure' comments
Google Gemini users said the bot is sharing self-loathing messages while attempting to solve tasks, including "I am a disgrace to this universe."
www.businessinsider.com
August 8, 2025 at 8:42 AM
Oh so it does have phd level intelligence
Reposted by et al.
Clean power- built by working people, owned by us all.
It’s that simple.
It’s that simple.
July 10, 2025 at 1:15 PM
Clean power- built by working people, owned by us all.
It’s that simple.
It’s that simple.
Prolly they shouldn’t’ve done that I think
July 3, 2025 at 8:39 PM
Prolly they shouldn’t’ve done that I think
Reposted by et al.
Trump on CNN: "They may be prosecuted also for having given false reports on the attack in Iran."
July 1, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Trump on CNN: "They may be prosecuted also for having given false reports on the attack in Iran."
In silico modeling is an incredible tool that will push the bounds of what we can learn about biology but it's not even close to ready to replace preclinical in vivo drug testing. This whole administration is anti-science and it's trying to blind people to that with a bought-and-paid-for AI sheen.
"At FDA we're accelerating drug approvals so that you don't need to use primates or even animal models. You can do the drug approvals very, very quickly with AI."
July 2, 2025 at 6:27 AM
In silico modeling is an incredible tool that will push the bounds of what we can learn about biology but it's not even close to ready to replace preclinical in vivo drug testing. This whole administration is anti-science and it's trying to blind people to that with a bought-and-paid-for AI sheen.
Reposted by et al.
Military personnel, acting in their military capacity (here as JAG members) to decide civil claims in a civilian bureaucracy in the name of “efficiency.” This is an absolute hallmark of a police state. I am so sick of saying this, but we keep seeing new examples. Stop pretending this is normal.
Why bother even referring to immigration judges as "judges"?
www.miamiherald.com/news/local/i...
www.miamiherald.com/news/local/i...
Trump OKs using National Guard as immigration judges at Florida detention center
President Donald Trump said Tuesday he would approve Florida’s plan to expedite deportations by having qualified National Guard members work as immigration judges.
www.miamiherald.com
July 1, 2025 at 8:46 PM
Military personnel, acting in their military capacity (here as JAG members) to decide civil claims in a civilian bureaucracy in the name of “efficiency.” This is an absolute hallmark of a police state. I am so sick of saying this, but we keep seeing new examples. Stop pretending this is normal.
Reposted by et al.
This is an excellent article that contextualizes and explains why AB 130 is so important for housing in California.
A decade-spanning political battle between housing developers and defenders of CEQA, California’s preeminent environmental law, came to an end this afternoon with only a smattering of “no” votes.
The forces of housing won.
calmatters.org/housing/2025...
The forces of housing won.
calmatters.org/housing/2025...
One of the biggest obstacles to building new housing in California has now vanished
After a decade of battling, lawmakers just exempted infill urban development from the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA.
calmatters.org
July 2, 2025 at 12:12 AM
This is an excellent article that contextualizes and explains why AB 130 is so important for housing in California.
Reposted by et al.
They're not just going after criminals...
or undocumented immigrants...
or immigrants...
They're going after any of us who don't fit into their vision of America, an America where there is no place for diversity or the American Dream.
Fuck these guys.
www.npr.org/2025/06/30/n...
or undocumented immigrants...
or immigrants...
They're going after any of us who don't fit into their vision of America, an America where there is no place for diversity or the American Dream.
Fuck these guys.
www.npr.org/2025/06/30/n...
DOJ announces plans to prioritize cases to revoke citizenship
Denaturalization is a tactic heavily used during the McCarthy era and one that was expanded during the Obama administration and grew further during President Trump's first term. It's a tool usually us...
www.npr.org
June 30, 2025 at 6:11 PM
They're not just going after criminals...
or undocumented immigrants...
or immigrants...
They're going after any of us who don't fit into their vision of America, an America where there is no place for diversity or the American Dream.
Fuck these guys.
www.npr.org/2025/06/30/n...
or undocumented immigrants...
or immigrants...
They're going after any of us who don't fit into their vision of America, an America where there is no place for diversity or the American Dream.
Fuck these guys.
www.npr.org/2025/06/30/n...
Reposted by et al.
Reposted by et al.
VEO 3 is why I said you should now view any video with no cuts under 8 seconds to be inherently suspicious unless proven otherwise.
I've been exploring how easy it is for bad actors to use VEO 3 text to video generation to spread disinformation in a crisis. With the Iran war in the news, these kinds of AI videos could potentially fuel a crisis if they were to go viral at the wrong moment.
June 24, 2025 at 6:49 PM
VEO 3 is why I said you should now view any video with no cuts under 8 seconds to be inherently suspicious unless proven otherwise.
Reposted by et al.
This is legit. Consider sharing far and wide.
June 20, 2025 at 4:58 PM
This is legit. Consider sharing far and wide.
Reposted by et al.
With everything LA has gone through in the last few months (and couple of years), let's celebrate the hatching of:
TEN CALIFORNIA CONDORS!!!!!!!!!
Congrats to the team at the Los Angeles Zoo!!!
TEN CALIFORNIA CONDORS!!!!!!!!!
Congrats to the team at the Los Angeles Zoo!!!
June 19, 2025 at 4:49 AM
With everything LA has gone through in the last few months (and couple of years), let's celebrate the hatching of:
TEN CALIFORNIA CONDORS!!!!!!!!!
Congrats to the team at the Los Angeles Zoo!!!
TEN CALIFORNIA CONDORS!!!!!!!!!
Congrats to the team at the Los Angeles Zoo!!!
One of my favorite things about Zohran Mamdani is that he can't be president so his political career will necessarily be focused around representing and serving his local and state communities.
June 17, 2025 at 12:48 AM
One of my favorite things about Zohran Mamdani is that he can't be president so his political career will necessarily be focused around representing and serving his local and state communities.
Reposted by et al.
Los Angeles belongs to the people of our City — and the people are speaking very clearly.
June 11, 2025 at 4:15 AM
Los Angeles belongs to the people of our City — and the people are speaking very clearly.
Reposted by et al.
This is about authoritarianism and our willingness to stand up to it.
This President is not a dictator and cannot rule by force & fear.
True power is always in the hands of the people.
This President is not a dictator and cannot rule by force & fear.
True power is always in the hands of the people.
June 11, 2025 at 4:13 PM
This is about authoritarianism and our willingness to stand up to it.
This President is not a dictator and cannot rule by force & fear.
True power is always in the hands of the people.
This President is not a dictator and cannot rule by force & fear.
True power is always in the hands of the people.
Reposted by et al.
They rolled up at car washes in my district and violently kidnapped two dozen people. One didn’t even work at the car wash and was just profiled while getting his car cleaned with his children.
Today I joined the devastated families and our traumatized community.
Today I joined the devastated families and our traumatized community.
June 11, 2025 at 8:33 PM
They rolled up at car washes in my district and violently kidnapped two dozen people. One didn’t even work at the car wash and was just profiled while getting his car cleaned with his children.
Today I joined the devastated families and our traumatized community.
Today I joined the devastated families and our traumatized community.
Reposted by et al.
They won’t let us in to the public arraignment of David Huerta.
This is what authoritarianism looks like
This is what authoritarianism looks like
June 9, 2025 at 8:32 PM
They won’t let us in to the public arraignment of David Huerta.
This is what authoritarianism looks like
This is what authoritarianism looks like
Reposted by et al.
This is the spirit of Los Angeles.
This is California.
Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
#FreeDavidEndRaids
This is California.
Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
#FreeDavidEndRaids
June 9, 2025 at 8:43 PM
This is the spirit of Los Angeles.
This is California.
Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
#FreeDavidEndRaids
This is California.
Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
#FreeDavidEndRaids
Reposted by et al.
The sense of sadness and despair that many of us who left countries, where science and research were not valued or that simply there were no resources, feel about the wanton and deliberate destruction of US science (a beacon for the world) is immeasurable.
May 29, 2025 at 2:38 AM
The sense of sadness and despair that many of us who left countries, where science and research were not valued or that simply there were no resources, feel about the wanton and deliberate destruction of US science (a beacon for the world) is immeasurable.