tessamontague.bsky.social
Tessa Montague
@tessamontague.bsky.social
400 followers 250 following 17 posts
HHMI Hanna Gray Fellow in the Axel Lab @Columbia studying the neural basis of cuttlefish camouflage. She/her 🇬🇧 tessamontague.com
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
Pinned
tessamontague.bsky.social
Tessa Montague @tessamontague.bsky.social · Mar 18
Shai Berman and I wrote about our time teaching neuroscience in prison - one of the best experiences of my career.

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Writing this was prompted by one of our students, Chris, bringing a copy of Nature to class, and asking for more journal recommendations... [1/4]
Our experience of teaching neuroscience in a maximum-security prison
Making our way through security each week is a slog, but teaching incarcerated people has been an incredible career experience.
www.nature.com
3 8 26
tessamontague.bsky.social
Tessa Montague @tessamontague.bsky.social · Sep 8
Excited to share our new paper!

✨Natural habitat and wild behaviors of the dwarf cuttlefish, Ascarosepion bandense✨

tinyurl.com/bdew5x3s

Our first cuttlefish expedition - diving in the dark to observe our cuttlefish in the wild...

Check out the paper & new expedition tool on Cuttlebase.org 🧠
10 55
Reposted by Tessa Montague
danielkronauer.bsky.social
Daniel Kronauer @danielkronauer.bsky.social · Aug 21
If you’re interested in ants, olfaction, gene regulation, or all of the above, here’s a new preprint from the lab for you. It describes an unorthodox mechanism of transcriptional interference by which ant olfactory sensory neurons produce a single functional receptor.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Transcriptional Interference Gates Monogenic Odorant Receptor Expression in Ants
Communication is crucial to social life, and in ants, it is mediated primarily through olfaction. Ants have more odorant receptor (OR) genes than any other group of insects, generated through tandem d...
www.biorxiv.org
1 23 59
tessamontague.bsky.social
Tessa Montague @tessamontague.bsky.social · Aug 21
Oo my advice made the list! 🧠✨
sainsburywellcome.bsky.social
Sainsbury Wellcome Centre @sainsburywellcome.bsky.social · Aug 20
Leading neuroscientists share their top tips to optimise learning: teach, sleep, repeat!

www.sainsburywellcome.org/web/blog/neu...
Illustration showing multiple sets of steps leading up to a brain representing learning
3
Reposted by Tessa Montague
pbrand.bsky.social
Philipp Brand @pbrand.bsky.social · Aug 21
Exciting new Ruta lab preprint by @annaryba.bsky.social et al. on the neural underpinnings of intraspecific behavioral variation: Strain variation identifies a neural substrate for behavioral evolution Drosophila

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Strain variation identifies a neural substrate for behavioral evolution in Drosophila
Sexual selection acts on heritable differences within species, driving the parallel diversification of signal production in one sex and behavioral responses in the other. This coevolution implies that...
www.biorxiv.org
1 17 27
Reposted by Tessa Montague
schmidtocean.bsky.social
Schmidt Ocean Institute @schmidtocean.bsky.social · Aug 19
Clearly amazing appearance around 888m in #MarDelPlataCanyon: Amphitretus sp. This telescope octopus has adapted to live in a place where there is nowhere to hide but in plain sight. Deep gratitude to @autsquidsquad.bsky.social for species ID. Description on Insta: www.instagram.com/reel/DNittGh...
6 42 160
Reposted by Tessa Montague
coralcitycamera.bsky.social
Coral City Camera @coralcitycamera.bsky.social · Jul 4
Check out an interview on the CCC with @popsci.com
Real Coral Reefs of Miami: A Q&A with the marine biologist behind a popular livestream
Colin Foord discusses the Coral City Camera.
www.popsci.com
1 26 220
tessamontague.bsky.social
Tessa Montague @tessamontague.bsky.social · Jul 4
I had a lot of fun talking about cuttlefish camouflage and my path to science on Mark Mattson's podcast, Brain Ponderings! 🧠✨🐙

open.spotify.com/show/39HsoeK...

www.youtube.com/@brainponder...

#neuroskyence #neuroscience #cephalopod #cuttlefish
Brain Ponderings podcast with Mark Mattson
Podcast · Mark Mattson · Neuroscientist Mark Mattson hosts conversations intended for folks interested in what is known about the brain and what remains to be discovered. Here are a few of the major ...
urldefense.proofpoint.com
11
Reposted by Tessa Montague
royentsoc.bsky.social
Royal Entomological Society @royentsoc.bsky.social · Jun 24
Do you know a young person with an interest in insects? 🦋

The Douglas Boyes Fund aims to provide people aged 14-18 with access to entomology equipment, fostering their passion for insects and inspiring them to engage and share their interest with other young individuals 🔽
Douglas Boyes Fund - Royal Entomological Society
The Douglas Boyes Fund has been established in honour of Douglas Boyes (1996-2021), an esteemed entomologist specialising in Lepidoptera. The Fund aims to provide young people aged 14-18 with access…
buff.ly
2 110 130
Reposted by Tessa Montague
whysharksmatter.bsky.social
David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · Jun 19
Silly-sounding science is what happens when researchers do exactly what they are supposed to do, which is thinking freely and exploring new ideas with wide-open curiosity. 🧪

www.americanscientist.org/article/%E2%...
“Why Are We Funding This?”
Long-standing myths about “silly science” have contributed to the reckless slashing of government-supported research.
www.americanscientist.org
3 31 88
Reposted by Tessa Montague
floravincent.bsky.social
Flora Vincent @floravincent.bsky.social · Jun 17
Excited to share the lab's 1rst preprint! Rapid high-res immunofluorescence is now possible in cultured & environmental diatoms thanks to 4-fold expansion microscopy. A step-change for comparative cell biology in one of the most important phytoplankton groups on the planet 🥳
tinyurl.com/m9s5su7s 1/2
8 89 320
Reposted by Tessa Montague
mollygale.bsky.social
Molly Gale (Gale-Hammell Lab) @mollygale.bsky.social · Jun 16
🧬🌽 Happy Transposon Day! 🌽🧬

Today we celebrate the birthday of Barbara McClintock - scientist extraordinaire and discoverer of jumping genes. Still the only woman to have an unshared Nobel Prize in the biomedical sciences #TransposonDay2025
Barbara McClintock portrait
5 190 480
Reposted by Tessa Montague
johnmoralestv.bsky.social
John Morales @johnmoralestv.bsky.social · Jun 3
Cuts have consequences, illustrated. As seen on TV 📺
840 9.5K 24K
Reposted by Tessa Montague
scott-delaney.bsky.social
Scott Delaney @scott-delaney.bsky.social · May 14
My ongoing request:

If your NSF or NIH grant was terminated--whether at Harvard or elsewhere--please report it here.

NSF: grant-watch.us/submit-nsf.h...

NIH: grant-watch.us/submit-nih.h...

Our trackers are actively used in lawsuits and are often the only record that terminations ever occurred.
dangaristo.bsky.social
Dan Garisto @dangaristo.bsky.social · May 14
NSF appears to be terminating hundreds of its grants to Harvard, per internal sources at NSF and at Harvard. At least one division has had all its grants cut.
15 400 440
Reposted by Tessa Montague
castelvecchi.bsky.social
Davide Castelvecchi @castelvecchi.bsky.social · May 8
It's often said that we have mapped Mars better than the bottom of our oceans. A new study by @oceandiscleague.bsky.social has now quantified this: we have visually explored less than 0.001% of the deep seafloor, 1/10th the size of Belgium. My latest for @nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Guess how much of the ocean floor humans have explored
Hint: it’s less than 1% — a lot less.
www.nature.com
6 40 140
Reposted by Tessa Montague
manymindspod.bsky.social
Many Minds podcast @manymindspod.bsky.social · May 7
Cuttlefish are known for dynamic, kaleidoscopic displays—and yet they seem to be colorblind. How does an animal that can't see color project color out onto its skin?

Just one of the enigmas discussed in our latest episode, w/ @tessamontague.bsky.social!

Listen: disi.org/the-cuttlefi...
10 34
Reposted by Tessa Montague
manymindspod.bsky.social
Many Minds podcast @manymindspod.bsky.social · May 2
New episode!! 🎙️📣

A conversation w/ @tessamontague.bsky.social about cephalopod camouflage.

Cuttlefish and other cephalopods can change their appearance—color, pattern, texture—with lightning speed. What's going on in their skin and brains that makes this possible?

Link: disi.org/the-cuttlefi...
3 15 51
Reposted by Tessa Montague
stirlingchurchman.bsky.social
Stirling Churchman @stirlingchurchman.bsky.social · Apr 21
My father-in-law, Jack Strominger, and I wrote a letter to the @wsj.com editor about the current threats to science due to Trump's funding freeze. Please repost! www.wsj.com/opinion/scie...
Opinion | Science Suffers With Trump’s Funding Freeze
America’s scientific enterprise demands reliable stewardship, not destabilizing political intervention.
www.wsj.com
2 140 180
Reposted by Tessa Montague
alecluhn.bsky.social
Alec Luhn @alecluhn.bsky.social · Apr 16
Replacing the battery & using an iPhone 13 for 5 years rather than 2.5 could cut emissions 49%, "which could prevent 15.6 million tons of CO2 emissions per year." That's as much as a small country. www.wired.com/story/back-m...
Most People Buy a New Phone Every 2.5 Years. There’s a Better Way
Back Market and iFixit are partnering to encourage consumers to keep their phones in service for at least five years—and to pressure manufacturers to extend smartphone support to 10 years.
www.wired.com
9 59 200
Reposted by Tessa Montague
malindalo.bsky.social
Malinda Lo @malindalo.bsky.social · Apr 14
Harvard redid its whole homepage to push back against the administration’s demands. I mean, this is just a website but I think it’s kind of a great PR move: www.harvard.edu
Harvard University
Harvard University is devoted to excellence in teaching, learning, and research, and to developing leaders who make a difference globally.
www.harvard.edu
110 1.5K 7K
Reposted by Tessa Montague
dulaclab.bsky.social
Catherine Dulac @dulaclab.bsky.social · Apr 15
I highly recommend this inspiring new book by Nahum Ulanovsky! A plea for neuroscientists to embrace “Natural Neuroscience”: use emerging technologies to uncover meaningful behavior and neural representations in free-roaming animals exposed to real-world stimuli.
mitpress.mit.edu/978026204499...
Natural Neuroscience
Natural neuroscience departs from the classical reductionist approach, which emphasizes control at the expense of natural behaviors, by proposing a shift tow...
mitpress.mit.edu
3 24 80
Reposted by Tessa Montague
maxvcg.bsky.social
Maxim Greenberg @maxvcg.bsky.social · Apr 11
The Americans are doing to Kseniia what the Russians did to Brittney Griner for having 0.7 grams of cannabis oil. Except no one is coming to negotiate her freedom and Harvard is sitting on their hands. I am so ashamed. Please share this story.
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/11/s...
She Worked in a Harvard Lab to Reverse Aging, Until ICE Jailed Her (Gift Article)
President Trump’s immigration crackdown ensnared Kseniia Petrova, a scientist who fled Russia after protesting its invasion of Ukraine. She fears arrest if she is deported there.
www.nytimes.com
64 77
Reposted by Tessa Montague
ardemp.bskyverified.social
Ardem Patapoutian @ardemp.bskyverified.social · Apr 9
Published an op-ed for @cnn.com: “Nobel laureate: I owe America my success. Today, its scientific future is in danger.”
A personal reflection on what’s at stake as science funding gets slashed. I’d be grateful if you could amplify both in and beyond the science world.
www.cnn.com/2025/04/09/h...
Nobel laureate: I owe America my success. Today, its scientific future is in danger | CNN
Dr. Ardem Patapoutian says he watches “with deep sadness as the United States’ remarkable scientific enterprise, which took generations of hard work and national investment to build, faces a concerted...
www.cnn.com
15 490 900
Reposted by Tessa Montague
strictlychristo.bsky.social
StrictlyChristo 🦋🇺🇦🌻❌👑 @strictlychristo.bsky.social · Apr 6
The current figure I'm seeing is that as many as 3.3 million Americans protested today. #HandsOff #Resist
150 1.1K 4.1K
Reposted by Tessa Montague
science.org
Science Magazine @science.org · Apr 4
With its UFO-like display, the cuttlefish may look like it’s trying to get attention—but its intent is anything but.

The undulating black stripes confuse prey, making the creatures all but invisible to crabs and other victims: scim.ag/3FVL43z
40 180 880
Reposted by Tessa Montague
nhannahjones.bsky.social
Ida Bae Wells @nhannahjones.bsky.social · Apr 2
What happened in Wisconsin is an example of what is most feared: That in a true democracy regular people have more power than a billionaire, that all the money in the world doesn’t change one person one vote.
45 680 3K