Gunnar De Winter
@gunnardewinter.bsky.social
Biologist and semi-philosopher | science (and fiction) writer | plays with words and ideas
🌍 Belgium (for now)
🙋♂️ gunnardewinter.com
🌍 Belgium (for now)
🙋♂️ gunnardewinter.com
Footnote lovers, unite!
Footnotes from the Margins
I love footnotes, so I’ve decided to share the small detours and the bits that didn’t fit — from my writing and others’.
This one is about the great town of Stockton, which I hypothetically destroyed in a hurricane...
psychiatricmultiverse.substack.com/p/psyverse-0...
I love footnotes, so I’ve decided to share the small detours and the bits that didn’t fit — from my writing and others’.
This one is about the great town of Stockton, which I hypothetically destroyed in a hurricane...
psychiatricmultiverse.substack.com/p/psyverse-0...
February 11, 2026 at 3:49 PM
Footnote lovers, unite!
About neurobollocks.
I had a fun conversation with Joseph Folley over on youtube, covering misuse of neuroscience by wellness gurus and how neuroscience can inform philosophy
The Rise of Bulls**t Neuroscience | Tommy Blanchard
YouTube video by Unsolicited advice
www.youtube.com
February 10, 2026 at 6:57 PM
About neurobollocks.
This is excellent science communication and a great example of making research tangible and available.
"A platform that brings together the best available research on how different treatments proposed for ADHD work and how safe they are."
#science #scicomm #writing #ADHD #health
"A platform that brings together the best available research on how different treatments proposed for ADHD work and how safe they are."
#science #scicomm #writing #ADHD #health
EBI-ADHD: Interventions for ADHD | Evidence Matrix
A comprehensive scientific platform synthesizing evidence from clinical trials for ADHD interventions.
ebiadhd-database.org
February 10, 2026 at 10:23 AM
"Aran entered a cave chamber at “Within: The Ultimate Darkness Retreat” in Poland. For the next five days, she stayed isolated in a pitch-dark environment devoid of external sounds."
Where do I sign up?
#science #psychology #overstimulated
Where do I sign up?
#science #psychology #overstimulated
Researcher Kiana Aran Spent Five Days in a Dark Cave to Study the Science of “Sensory Deprivation”
As darkness retreats and flotation tanks gain popularity, a UCSD professor examines how “sensory deprivation” experiments affect the body and the brain.
www.the-scientist.com
February 10, 2026 at 10:21 AM
"Aran entered a cave chamber at “Within: The Ultimate Darkness Retreat” in Poland. For the next five days, she stayed isolated in a pitch-dark environment devoid of external sounds."
Where do I sign up?
#science #psychology #overstimulated
Where do I sign up?
#science #psychology #overstimulated
Reposted by Gunnar De Winter
Why did consciousness evolve at all? A superb special issue of @royalsocietypublishing.org brings together experts across disciplines to explore the functions of consciousness and why it emerged in some species but not others. @tecumsehfitch.bsky.social royalsocietypublishing.org/rstb/issue/3...
February 8, 2026 at 12:47 PM
Why did consciousness evolve at all? A superb special issue of @royalsocietypublishing.org brings together experts across disciplines to explore the functions of consciousness and why it emerged in some species but not others. @tecumsehfitch.bsky.social royalsocietypublishing.org/rstb/issue/3...
Reposted by Gunnar De Winter
Amazing opportunity!
My Centre is a unique place to do a PhD in Philosophy, because you can be in constant contact with experts in veterinary medicine, psychology, zoology and policy and be part of a team united by a shared interest in animal minds. We now have our 1st ever PhD scholarship: www.lse.ac.uk/sentience/phd
PhD Scholarship
www.lse.ac.uk
January 30, 2026 at 7:55 AM
Amazing opportunity!
Double alliteration title!
That should be enough to convince you to read it, honestly.
#science #biology #evolution #history
That should be enough to convince you to read it, honestly.
#science #biology #evolution #history
Ant Altruism and Paleolithic Psychopaths
A story of altruism, status games, and Leviathan's different guises
subtlesparks.substack.com
January 23, 2026 at 4:10 PM
Double alliteration title!
That should be enough to convince you to read it, honestly.
#science #biology #evolution #history
That should be enough to convince you to read it, honestly.
#science #biology #evolution #history
Okay, just getting started today and already too much cool science dropped (1/?):
Baseodiscus the Eldest absolutely smashes the longevity record for ribbon worms at 26 years old
#science #biology
Baseodiscus the Eldest absolutely smashes the longevity record for ribbon worms at 26 years old
#science #biology
Baseodiscus the Eldest: First Report of a Decades‐Long Lifespan in a Nemertean Species
Nemertea is a speciose phylum of marine invertebrate predators ubiquitous in the world's oceans, which includes Lineus longissimus (Gunnerus, 1770)—the world's longest documented extant animal, yet m...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
January 20, 2026 at 8:34 AM
Smart cow!
Our new paper (with @biotay.bsky.social) is out and on the cover story of @currentbiology.bsky.social !!!! Veronika, a Carinthian mountain cow flexibly uses a “multi-purpose tool” to scratch herself. A video and more information will follow in the comments.
www.cell.com/current-biol...
www.cell.com/current-biol...
January 19, 2026 at 7:56 PM
Smart cow!
Reposted by Gunnar De Winter
New article out about the benefits of living a varied life. Plus it has a picture of me in spandex! open.substack.com/pub/cognitiv...
The Case for a Varied Life
Don’t put all your eggs-periences in one identity basket
open.substack.com
January 15, 2026 at 11:48 AM
New article out about the benefits of living a varied life. Plus it has a picture of me in spandex! open.substack.com/pub/cognitiv...
Simple tips to add several healthy years to your life:
- Sleep eight hours
- Move for an hour
- Add an extra half serving of vegetables
Shocker, I know.
#science #health #lifetips
- Sleep eight hours
- Move for an hour
- Add an extra half serving of vegetables
Shocker, I know.
#science #health #lifetips
Minimum combined sleep, physical activity, and nutrition variations associated with lifeSPAN and healthSPAN improvements: a population cohort study
Modest concurrent improvements in sleep, physical activity, and diet were associated
with meaningful gains in lifespan and healthspan.
www.thelancet.com
January 14, 2026 at 3:16 PM
Well, that's a coincidence. I 'found' the meteorite in my 'Desert Beetle Song' story...
www.tractorbeam.earth/story/desert...
www.tractorbeam.earth/story/desert...
A soldier returned from the Sahara desert in 1916 with a wild story about a meteorite that dwarfed all others. Over 100 years of hunting yielded nothing – but now twin brothers think they have solved the puzzle
The century-long hunt for the gigantic meteorite that vanished
A soldier returned from the Sahara desert in 1916 with a wild story about a meteorite that dwarfed all others. Over 100 years of hunting yielded nothing – but now twin brothers think they have solved the puzzle
www.newscientist.com
January 9, 2026 at 6:01 PM
Well, that's a coincidence. I 'found' the meteorite in my 'Desert Beetle Song' story...
www.tractorbeam.earth/story/desert...
www.tractorbeam.earth/story/desert...
Don't sleep on Tractor Beam. They're doing great things with short fiction and really cool artwork.
#writing #writingcommunity
#writing #writingcommunity
Happy Winter Solstice soilpunks! 🌗❄️🕯️
Issue 4: THAW is here. You can read @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social's guest editor letter at tractorbeam.earth. And subscribe to our Substack (link in bio) to get the first look at all the stories as they drop over the next few weeks!
#scifi #thaw #tractorbeam
Issue 4: THAW is here. You can read @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social's guest editor letter at tractorbeam.earth. And subscribe to our Substack (link in bio) to get the first look at all the stories as they drop over the next few weeks!
#scifi #thaw #tractorbeam
Thaw | Tractor Beam
A quarterly publication of soilpunk fiction: Radical visions rooted in soil
tractorbeam.earth
January 9, 2026 at 4:33 PM
Don't sleep on Tractor Beam. They're doing great things with short fiction and really cool artwork.
#writing #writingcommunity
#writing #writingcommunity
Reposted by Gunnar De Winter
Exclusive: In a remarkable milestone in a decadelong odyssey, members of the Leonardo da Vinci DNA Project report in a new paper that they have recovered DNA from Holy Child and other objects—and some may be from Leonardo himself. https://scim.ag/4aO5Wr8
Exclusive: Have scientists found Leonardo da Vinci’s DNA?
Inside the decadeslong quest to reveal the genes of a genius—and revolutionize art authentication
scim.ag
January 6, 2026 at 7:48 PM
Exclusive: In a remarkable milestone in a decadelong odyssey, members of the Leonardo da Vinci DNA Project report in a new paper that they have recovered DNA from Holy Child and other objects—and some may be from Leonardo himself. https://scim.ag/4aO5Wr8
Reposted by Gunnar De Winter
From miso in space to infrared contact lenses, lots of #CoolScience published in Cell Press journals made the news this year.
Wrap up 2025 with us and check out some of the most talked-about Cell Press papers below!👇
Wrap up 2025 with us and check out some of the most talked-about Cell Press papers below!👇
December 29, 2025 at 9:45 PM
From miso in space to infrared contact lenses, lots of #CoolScience published in Cell Press journals made the news this year.
Wrap up 2025 with us and check out some of the most talked-about Cell Press papers below!👇
Wrap up 2025 with us and check out some of the most talked-about Cell Press papers below!👇
Small study in mice, but this is wild!
Transplanting human/primate gut microbes into mice boosted energy production and synaptic plasticity in the brain!
“In other words, we were able to make the brains of mice look like the brains of the actual primates the microbes came from.”
#science #biology
Transplanting human/primate gut microbes into mice boosted energy production and synaptic plasticity in the brain!
“In other words, we were able to make the brains of mice look like the brains of the actual primates the microbes came from.”
#science #biology
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
www.pnas.org
January 6, 2026 at 11:31 AM
Reposted by Gunnar De Winter
Before you settle down at a New Year’s Eve feast, let me hand you some soup. And bugs. And philosophers.
#science #philosophy #newyear
#science #philosophy #newyear
Pupal Soup
On the past, the future, and the power of goo. Plus recommendations.
subtlesparks.substack.com
December 31, 2025 at 1:31 PM
Before you settle down at a New Year’s Eve feast, let me hand you some soup. And bugs. And philosophers.
#science #philosophy #newyear
#science #philosophy #newyear
Before you settle down at a New Year’s Eve feast, let me hand you some soup. And bugs. And philosophers.
#science #philosophy #newyear
#science #philosophy #newyear
Pupal Soup
On the past, the future, and the power of goo. Plus recommendations.
subtlesparks.substack.com
December 31, 2025 at 1:31 PM
Before you settle down at a New Year’s Eve feast, let me hand you some soup. And bugs. And philosophers.
#science #philosophy #newyear
#science #philosophy #newyear
Yes, in mice, but still... 👀
"Restoring brain NAD+ homeostasis reverses advanced AD in mice."
#science #health #medicine
"Restoring brain NAD+ homeostasis reverses advanced AD in mice."
#science #health #medicine
Pharmacologic reversal of advanced Alzheimer’s disease in mice and identification of potential therapeutic nodes in human brain
Chaubey et al. demonstrate that restoration of brain resilience reverses advanced
disease in two different mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), challenging the
century-long dogma of AD irreversib...
www.cell.com
December 31, 2025 at 1:04 PM
New year's resolution:
Look upon my words, ye mighty,
and pay me for them
Look upon my words, ye mighty,
and pay me for them
December 28, 2025 at 3:08 PM
New year's resolution:
Look upon my words, ye mighty,
and pay me for them
Look upon my words, ye mighty,
and pay me for them
Reposted by Gunnar De Winter
