Ted Pavlic (he/him/his)
@tedpavlic.bsky.social
2.4K followers 4.7K following 1.2K posts
ASU Assoc. Prof in SCAI and SOLS. Decision making and behavior in living and artificial autonomous systems. I ❤️ ants, bees, wasps, robots, and optimal foraging theory. mastodon: @[email protected] Twitter/X: @TedPavlic @TEDx: http://youtu.be/9GWXCRetOjk
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Reposted by Ted Pavlic (he/him/his)
uocmicrobiology.bsky.social
UChicago Microbiology is searching for tenured or tenure-track faculty working in host-pathogens interactions, viral and bacterial pathogenesis, and emerging infectious diseases. Come join our vibrant Department! microbiology.uchicago.edu
Apply here apply.interfolio.com/174404
Department of Microbiology | The University of Chicago
microbiology.uchicago.edu
Reposted by Ted Pavlic (he/him/his)
entsocamerica.bsky.social
Weevils aren't known for being noisy, but some do indeed chirp like some of their insect cousins. A new study examines the acoustic signals of soybean weevils to shed light on how they signal each other for mating or emitting distress calls.
Eavesdropping on Soybean Weevils: Scientists Detect Subtle Acoustic Signals
A new study examines the acoustic signals of soybean weevils to shed light on how they signal each other for mating or emitting distress calls.
entomologytoday.org
Reposted by Ted Pavlic (he/him/his)
minyaaa.bsky.social
And look at this graphic abstract….. 😱🤯
tedpavlic.bsky.social
After that speech, I just feel so bad for the winner of #FatBearWeek...
Reposted by Ted Pavlic (he/him/his)
morganpiczak.bsky.social
Rob Lennox and I are hiring a PhD student based out of Dalhousie to study the movement ecology of imperilled Atlantic mackerel starting in January 2026! In collaboration with DFO and @oceantracking.bsky.social Please share widely!!!
tedpavlic.bsky.social
Flu and COVID -- no issues getting them at Arozona Walgreens without a doctor's Rx. Both covered by major insurance.
tedpavlic.bsky.social
For those very disappointed in the news about the #NSFGRFP yesterday (2nd year PhD students excluded), don't forget to look into #NDSEG, which is actually a little better fellowship but just requires connecting to a DOD theme. 🧪
ndseg.sysplus.com/NDSEG/about/...
ndseg.sysplus.com
tedpavlic.bsky.social
We're not raising prices on everyone else! No, actually we're saving YOU more through your legacy bundle arrangement! MORE SAVINGS! Lucky you!
And because you have Disney+, Hulu, ESPN Select Bundle Legacy through Verizon, after October 21, 2025, you will be saving even more: $24.99 per month.
tedpavlic.bsky.social
New from Jenner et al. in TREE -- Rethinking venom as an allomone, with potential "for unifying the field of venomics with the fields that study invertebrate–plant interactions and sexual conflict." 🧪

"What is animal venom? Rethinking a manipulative weapon"
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
What is animal venom? Rethinking a manipulative weapon
The scientific study of animal venoms covers a broad phylogenetic domain. We argue that the true extent of this domain has been obscured by researcher…
www.sciencedirect.com
tedpavlic.bsky.social
Could make it difficult for H-1B holders to get back to the USA to avoid possible penalties from the Friday proclamation.

Al Jazeera: Delays continue to affect thousands as cyberattack hits Europe's airports
www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/9/...
Delays continue to affect thousands as cyberattack hits Europe’s airports
London’s Heathrow and Brussel airports tell passengers to expect more delays on Sunday as interruption persists.
www.aljazeera.com
Reposted by Ted Pavlic (he/him/his)
gbbranstetter.bsky.social
Transgender people are owed a retraction and apology from @wsj.com. The lie has already become canon to millions and it seems the least they could do.
phillewis.bsky.social
From the Charlie Kirk press conference:
From the Charlie Kirk press conference
- "Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. We got him," Utah Gov. Spencer Cox says 22-year-old Tyler Robinson was arrested.
- The family of Tyler Robinson said he had become "more political" in recent years. 
- A family member and a roommate reported Robinson.
- Robinson had mentioned that Charlie Kirk was coming to UVU. 
- On the bullet casings, Robinson wrote, "Hey Fascist! Catch!," "Bella Ciao," and "If you read this, you are gay lmao"
tedpavlic.bsky.social
It's like a Lenz's Law but for transcription factors.

"As such, TFs are predicted to have an innate property that buffers physiological or genetic perturbations to the promoter to maintain a steady level of regulated expression. We demonstrate this buffering across all TFs studied."
Reposted by Ted Pavlic (he/him/his)
jenbiddle.bsky.social
Our campus is reviving their chapter of the Society of Women in Marine Science. I've offered to help fund raise for them.

Anyone want to contribute? Even a small amount can help at this point, they are starting from zero.

Venmo JenBiddle302 with a note "SWMS" ;) TIA!
tedpavlic.bsky.social
I thought it was weird that a Google Home in my kitchen was playing Nirvana the other day (it normally has NPR on). Then I realized that ~30 minutes earlier I accidentally activated it and told it to "Nevermind"...
Reposted by Ted Pavlic (he/him/his)
philplait.bsky.social
Cripes, the things we humans can do when we look up to the sky instead down into the depths of hatred and internalized bigotry. The whole goddamned cosmos is out there waiting for us to understand it, but we're too busy trying to make life miserable for others on this isolated speck of dust.
tedpavlic.bsky.social
Found this (new?) setting in the Course Accommodation settings in #CanvasLMS. I can understand giving students more time, but randomly dropping an incorrect answer from all multiple-choice questions?! How does someone determine that THIS is the right accommodation for anyone?
tedpavlic.bsky.social
There are neurosymbolic techniques that couple knowledgebases in to aid in computer vision tasks (e.g., Logic Tensor Networks). I wonder if these would end up having similar effects as the humans if the knowledge became particularly salient in shaping the rewards during training.
tedpavlic.bsky.social
This is a fascinating paper about how the brain uses real-world information when interpreting images that you might otherwise think are the same.

That said, I am distracted by thoughts about data augmentation techniques in AI (often rotation) and how different AI brains are from real brains...
talboger.bsky.social
On the left is a rabbit. On the right is an elephant. But guess what: They’re the *same image*, rotated 90°!

In @currentbiology.bsky.social, @chazfirestone.bsky.social & I show how these images—known as “visual anagrams”—can help solve a longstanding problem in cognitive science. bit.ly/45BVnCZ
tedpavlic.bsky.social
A bit of a cop out of a fortune...
Fortune cookie fortune that reads, "Every person is the architect of his or her fortune."
tedpavlic.bsky.social
If you watch the latest episode of Wednesday, you might get Zombie by the Cranberries stuck In Your Head, In Your Head, ...
tedpavlic.bsky.social
In short, splitting up universities (taking the "Uni" out of "university", really) just hastens the path toward intellectual stagnation, loss of dominance, and eventual societal collapse of all knowledge generation and maintenance. Integration in universities makes them (and societies) stronger.
tedpavlic.bsky.social
Holling's Adaptive Cycle -- with more competition and scarcer resources, you get less diversity, less generalization, and high specialization and INTER-institution dependencies. This might make short-term sense, but it leads to more fragile systems unable to innovate and weather situational changes.
matthewjkuiper.bsky.social
In which a Yale prof calls for jettisoning humanities to make way for science-only universities.

“scientists… are being punished for the sins of [humanities scholars] because we all live under one roof. I cannot see a compelling reason for our continued cohabitation.”
Unyoke the Sciences From the Humanities
Arts and sciences typically cohabitate. Should they?
thedispatch.com
tedpavlic.bsky.social
Honestly, I was shocked that they still were providing dial up. I would think the number of places that still need dial up would be really sparse and the infrastructure relatively costly to support it. Hopefully broadband has deep enough penetration to keep those areas connected.
tedpavlic.bsky.social
In case you might be interested in the intersection of AI, honeybees, and sleep. 🧪
tedpavlic.bsky.social
For World Honey Bee Day, #ASU put together a nice piece on some bee-inepired #AI work that a team of us from ASI SCAI, ASU SOLS, and UCSD Health are working on to improve the way machines learn over long periods of time.
#bees #ML
news.asu.edu/20250812-sci...
The buzz on smarter AI | ASU News
Each year, the third Saturday of August marks World Honey Bee Day — a moment to reflect on the vital role bees play in our ecosystem and food supply. But this year, the buzz isn’t just about pollinati...
news.asu.edu