Jeffrey Perkel (he/him)

Peak application of dendrochronology. 10/10, no notes.

Figures should inform, not persuade. But can they be engaging? We argue that yes @natureportfolio.nature.com and explain 7 ways to for engage visually and reach audiences effectively and efficiently. www.nature.com/articles/s41... #DataVisualization 🧪📊 PS October = Breast Cancer Awareness 🎀

This artwork is, in part, what elevated Voet & Voet's Biochemistry textbook back when I was a grad student! (eg: www.wiley.com/en-us/shop/g...)

This sounds like a good book countering simplistic & naive notions. “So long as we insist that cells are computers and genes are their code,” writes Ball, life might as well be “sprinkled with invisible magic”. But, reality “is far more interesting and wonderful” 1/3

Yay, I'm so glad you're enjoying it! :) For anyone who wants to snag a copy: www.drcathicks.com#book

Who's coming to #sfn? You don't want to miss this 🐡🧪🧠

How much do PhD students earn? The first comprehensive overview of PhD income shows vast imbalances across much of Europe Read the full story: go.nature.com/4dJZJgt go.nature.com/4dJgCYC

And they say theater kids are dramatic 🎭

Thank you so much @interspecies.agency for these incredibly kind words! It is a labour of love, and I think about to get even better thanks to our new reporter James Dinneen. (Here's the sign-up page should anyone wish to take Matthew's excellent advice 😉 www.nature.com/briefing/ant...)

Thanks to @wudan.bsky.social for such a great conversation: niemanstoryboard.org/2026/10/16/j... #longreads #journalism #podcasts

Great job everyone. Great. www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2026/...

As a PhD student designing my first survey, I added what I thought was a throwaway question at the end. To my surprise, thousands of academics answered it! The paper is out today: doi.org/10.1093/pnas...

For the science feed! 🧪

“I do not want Claude to start telling people my research results.” New @nature.com, how researchers are using offline #LLM to analyze their data and literature libraries -- and keep them private. By David Brzostowicki. 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/d41...

A scientist's LLM 'went rogue' and emailed potential collaborators on his behalf. The action advanced his project, but the ends don't justify the means. Here, the researcher explains how to apply guardrails to your #AI. New @nature.com 🧪https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-02714-y

I'm stunned by the news of Helen Branswell's passing. She was a force in science journalism. Gone too soon. 💔https://www.statnews.com/2026/10/13/helen-branswell-stat-reporter-obituary/

We are going to miss you very much, Helen. https://www.statnews.com/2026/10/13/helen-branswell-stat-reporter-obituary/

Columbus never set foot in what is now the United States of America.

A scientist's LLM 'went rogue' and emailed potential collaborators on his behalf. The action advanced his project, but the ends don't justify the means. Here, the researcher explains how to apply guardrails to your #AI. New @nature.com 🧪https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-02714-y

“I do not want Claude to start telling people my research results.” New @nature.com, how researchers are using offline #LLM to analyze their data and literature libraries -- and keep them private. By David Brzostowicki. 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/d41...

From @propublica.org: Experts have long warned that immigration dragnets and the erosion of civil rights for immigrants will inevitably result in the erosion of rights for citizens. The Trump administration has detained 506 US citizens against their will. projects.propublica.org/american-cit...

Very cool!

My latest, on OpenAI's dump www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Margaret Hamilton, the first female programmer hired to work on the Apollo project who ultimately led the 100-person team that guided Armstrong and Aldrin to a safe landing on the moon, dies at 90. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/07/o...

Another year, another all-male slate of winners. :sigh:

another year where all the science nobels went to men, as was the case in 2024 much of this piece, about the structural barriers women face in doing innovative research and receiving credit for it, holds up (I think) www.statnews.com/2024/10/11/n...

“Rather than fight this tug of war that exists between what cells want to do and what we as engineers want to do, we kind of just cut the rope.” New @nature.com, how researchers are refining cell-free protein expression systems to advance synthetic bio & other apps. 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/d41...

🏁 That's a wrap! The @biohub.org Cell Tracking machine learning challenge on @kaggle.com is over: 4,478 participants, 3,947 teams, 120 countries, 95,438 submissions, tracking every cell of zebrafish embryos. 🧪🔬🧵 kaggle.com/competition... #microscopy

Gotta name them all! 👩‍🔬🧪 by @richvn.bsky.social @nature.com

For the science feed. 🧪 By @heidiledford.bsky.social @nature.com

Department of Chemistry at Oregon State University is hiring a tenure-track physical chemist at the assistant or associate professor level @chemjobber.bsky.social oregonstate.wd501.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/OSU_Ca...

"Co-Scientist combed thru 700+ papers and generated 108 possible strategies. It rejected all but one as unworkable. The last strategy turned the lab’s thinking on its head." New @nature.com, how #AI co-scientists are upending the way research is done. By Elie Dolgin 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/d41...

You'll never forget your first views of the Tetons. #Photography

The irony of it all Yesterday, @NEJM posted a new essay suggesting that the US government attacks on biomedical science will subside. www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.... On the same day, it was announced the President wants control of NIH funding

Due to funding concerns, @cos.io's Open Science Framework will no longer allow researchers to post their code and data on the platform from 16 November onwards. My latest for @nature.com: www.nature.com/articles/d41... @briannosek.bsky.social, @katiecorker.bsky.social

What if Emily Dickinson came back like Fruma Sarah to attack ChatGPT for appropriating the em-dash

Shanah Tovah, New York! Wishing all Jewish New Yorkers celebrating a sweet, joyful and meaningful Rosh Hashanah. Here’s to a new year filled with health, happiness and blessings (and yes, even another Knicks championship).

The policy change was “necessitated because of financial realities”, says @briannosek.bsky.social: it costs US$4-5 million annually to manage the OSF. New @nature.com, @cos.io to stop hosting data & code, plus private data, from 16 Nov. By @dalmeet.bsky.social 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/d41...

The policy change was “necessitated because of financial realities”, says @briannosek.bsky.social: it costs US$4-5 million annually to manage the OSF. New @nature.com, @cos.io to stop hosting data & code, plus private data, from 16 Nov. By @dalmeet.bsky.social 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Protein biologists once dismissed #single-cell #proteomics as sci-fi. But now the tech is not only possible but practical — and scientifically informative. By @eisensteinium.bsky.social, feat. @slavov-n.bsky.social @mannlab.bsky.social & more @nature.com 🧪🦠 www.nature.com/articles/d41...