Adria LeBoeuf
@adriatica.bsky.social
I study #socialfluids. Ponderer of the #behavior of myself & other organisms. #SocialInsects / #DistributedMetabolism / #CollectiveBehavior / #CompBio Assoc. Prof @ University of Cambridge; previously Fribourg, Weizmann, Lausanne, Rockefeller, UCSB.
Pinned
Adria LeBoeuf
@adriatica.bsky.social
· Feb 16
How do complex social behaviors evolve and shape species' success? Here doi.org/10.1038/s420... we reveal how a key social behavior in ants - mouth-to-mouth food sharing #trophallaxis - emerged as ants opportunistically exploited new ecological niches as terrestrial environments changed.
As a Californian abroad I still have strong feels about the state of the US. So glad that there was a massive left leaning sweep across CA, NYC, NJ, VA. Maybe my CA vote will finally have a little more power.
November 5, 2025 at 9:03 AM
As a Californian abroad I still have strong feels about the state of the US. So glad that there was a massive left leaning sweep across CA, NYC, NJ, VA. Maybe my CA vote will finally have a little more power.
I went as an AI hallucination this year. I actually felt very dated because I was trying to get the LLMs to build the messed up text characteristic of a year or so ago and they won’t do it anymore!
November 1, 2025 at 9:26 PM
I went as an AI hallucination this year. I actually felt very dated because I was trying to get the LLMs to build the messed up text characteristic of a year or so ago and they won’t do it anymore!
Reposted by Adria LeBoeuf
so…bot farms.
Just thinking back to the last 9 years and all the hearings and investigations into the ways platforms like FB could be manipulated, and into how these platforms were manipulating their own algos: in the absence of good regulation/enforcement, that turned out to be just R&D
Just thinking back to the last 9 years and all the hearings and investigations into the ways platforms like FB could be manipulated, and into how these platforms were manipulating their own algos: in the absence of good regulation/enforcement, that turned out to be just R&D
A new startup backed by one of the biggest venture capital firms in Silicon Valley, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), is building a service that allows clients to “orchestrate actions on thousands of social accounts through both bulk content creation and deployment.”
a16z-Backed Startup Sells Thousands of ‘Synthetic Influencers’ to Manipulate Social Media as a Service
Andreessen Horowitz is funding a company that clearly violates the inauthentic behavior policies of every major social media platform.
www.404media.co
October 25, 2025 at 11:51 AM
so…bot farms.
Just thinking back to the last 9 years and all the hearings and investigations into the ways platforms like FB could be manipulated, and into how these platforms were manipulating their own algos: in the absence of good regulation/enforcement, that turned out to be just R&D
Just thinking back to the last 9 years and all the hearings and investigations into the ways platforms like FB could be manipulated, and into how these platforms were manipulating their own algos: in the absence of good regulation/enforcement, that turned out to be just R&D
Reposted by Adria LeBoeuf
Gorillas likely experience menopause, according to an analysis of over 30 years of data from wild mountain gorillas in Uganda, which shows that females can live for a decade or more after their last baby. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/kxyz50Xf1ER
October 20, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Gorillas likely experience menopause, according to an analysis of over 30 years of data from wild mountain gorillas in Uganda, which shows that females can live for a decade or more after their last baby. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/kxyz50Xf1ER
Reposted by Adria LeBoeuf
“Ultimately, the collective strategy of AI companies threatens to deskill precisely those people who are essential for society to function(…) automation of knowledge and culture by private companies is a worrying prospect – conjuring dystopian and outright fascistic scenarios.” — @olivia.science
AI Is Hollowing Out Higher Education
Olivia Guest & Iris van Rooij urge teachers and scholars to reject tools that commodify learning, deskill students, and promote illiteracy.
www.project-syndicate.org
October 17, 2025 at 10:51 PM
“Ultimately, the collective strategy of AI companies threatens to deskill precisely those people who are essential for society to function(…) automation of knowledge and culture by private companies is a worrying prospect – conjuring dystopian and outright fascistic scenarios.” — @olivia.science
Reposted by Adria LeBoeuf
This video shows mouse sperm entering a zebrafish egg.
Don’t worry, scientists aren’t out making mousefish. This fertility research actually demonstrates that mechanisms guiding sperm toward eggs may be shared across distant species.
buff.ly/MJ1ILD1
Don’t worry, scientists aren’t out making mousefish. This fertility research actually demonstrates that mechanisms guiding sperm toward eggs may be shared across distant species.
buff.ly/MJ1ILD1
October 17, 2025 at 8:02 PM
This video shows mouse sperm entering a zebrafish egg.
Don’t worry, scientists aren’t out making mousefish. This fertility research actually demonstrates that mechanisms guiding sperm toward eggs may be shared across distant species.
buff.ly/MJ1ILD1
Don’t worry, scientists aren’t out making mousefish. This fertility research actually demonstrates that mechanisms guiding sperm toward eggs may be shared across distant species.
buff.ly/MJ1ILD1
Gary Larson is making new cartoons ! www.thefarside.com/new-stuff/
New Work by Gary Larson | TheFarSide.com
Get an exclusive look at brand new cartoons and artwork from cartoonist Gary Larson, creator of the iconic comic strip The Far Side®.
www.thefarside.com
October 18, 2025 at 9:02 AM
Gary Larson is making new cartoons ! www.thefarside.com/new-stuff/
Reposted by Adria LeBoeuf
Interesting paper quantifying behavioural interactions across 5 naked mole-rat colonies over time: learn more about the strong social bonds of breeders & more here www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Quantitative and systematic behavioral profiling reveals social complexity in eusocial naked mole-rats
Automated tracking in naked mole-rats reveals behavioral specificity of breeders and diversity of nonbreeders in a colony.
www.science.org
October 12, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Interesting paper quantifying behavioural interactions across 5 naked mole-rat colonies over time: learn more about the strong social bonds of breeders & more here www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Adria LeBoeuf
I’m thrilled to share my postdoc work and the first paper from the McKinley Lab! 🎉
@karalmckinley.bsky.social
We built the first transgenic model of menstruation in mice.
We used it to uncover how the endometrium organizes and sheds during menstruation. 🧪
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
🧵
@karalmckinley.bsky.social
We built the first transgenic model of menstruation in mice.
We used it to uncover how the endometrium organizes and sheds during menstruation. 🧪
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
🧵
Induction of menstruation in mice reveals the regulation of menstrual shedding
During menstruation, an inner layer of the endometrium is selectively shed, while an outer, progenitor-containing layer is preserved to support repeated regeneration. Progress in understanding this co...
www.biorxiv.org
October 10, 2025 at 12:50 PM
I’m thrilled to share my postdoc work and the first paper from the McKinley Lab! 🎉
@karalmckinley.bsky.social
We built the first transgenic model of menstruation in mice.
We used it to uncover how the endometrium organizes and sheds during menstruation. 🧪
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
🧵
@karalmckinley.bsky.social
We built the first transgenic model of menstruation in mice.
We used it to uncover how the endometrium organizes and sheds during menstruation. 🧪
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
🧵
These are hilarious.
Here are your 10 -essential- AI prompts for academics ... make your life easy with help from @profserious.bsky.social profserious.substack.com/p/10-ai-prom...
10 AI Prompts for Academics
making those hard jobs a little easier ...
profserious.substack.com
October 5, 2025 at 8:51 AM
These are hilarious.
“The path to a better Amazon doesn’t lie through consumer activism, or appeals to the its conscience. Corporations, being artificial, immortal colony-organisms that use humans as their inconvenient gut flora, do not have consciences to appeal to.”
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Way past its prime: how did Amazon get so rubbish?
Sick of scrolling through junk results, AI-generated ads and links to lookalike products? The author and activist behind the term ‘enshittification’ explains what’s gone wrong with the internet – and ...
www.theguardian.com
October 5, 2025 at 7:01 AM
“The path to a better Amazon doesn’t lie through consumer activism, or appeals to the its conscience. Corporations, being artificial, immortal colony-organisms that use humans as their inconvenient gut flora, do not have consciences to appeal to.”
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Reposted by Adria LeBoeuf
Start independent research at the JIC with us 👇.
Really interested in finding those with an interest in structural biology and biochemistry of plants and microbes.
Please do get in touch by email if you'd like to know more 👍
Really interested in finding those with an interest in structural biology and biochemistry of plants and microbes.
Please do get in touch by email if you'd like to know more 👍
VACANCY - Independent research fellowships leading to tenured positions
We’re inviting applications from outstanding researchers who either hold, or wish to apply for, Independent Research Fellowships.
APPLICATION DEADLINE: 10 November 2025
Click here to apply: jic.link/Fellows
We’re inviting applications from outstanding researchers who either hold, or wish to apply for, Independent Research Fellowships.
APPLICATION DEADLINE: 10 November 2025
Click here to apply: jic.link/Fellows
October 3, 2025 at 6:36 PM
Start independent research at the JIC with us 👇.
Really interested in finding those with an interest in structural biology and biochemistry of plants and microbes.
Please do get in touch by email if you'd like to know more 👍
Really interested in finding those with an interest in structural biology and biochemistry of plants and microbes.
Please do get in touch by email if you'd like to know more 👍
Reposted by Adria LeBoeuf
Although highly topical, kleptoparasitism does not get nearly the attention it deserves!
Here, a plant exploits the kleptoparasitic behavior of a fly that likes to snatch ants killed by spiders.
🕷️🐜🪰🌿
So the thief itself gets taken advantage of. Nice going, plants!
www.cell.com/current-biol...
Here, a plant exploits the kleptoparasitic behavior of a fly that likes to snatch ants killed by spiders.
🕷️🐜🪰🌿
So the thief itself gets taken advantage of. Nice going, plants!
www.cell.com/current-biol...
Olfactory floral mimicry of injured ants mediates the attraction of kleptoparasitic fly pollinators
Mochizuki reports a plant that lures pollinating flies by imitating the scent of ants
injured by predators. This study reveals the first known case of ant mimicry in flowers
and uncovers previously un...
www.cell.com
September 26, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Although highly topical, kleptoparasitism does not get nearly the attention it deserves!
Here, a plant exploits the kleptoparasitic behavior of a fly that likes to snatch ants killed by spiders.
🕷️🐜🪰🌿
So the thief itself gets taken advantage of. Nice going, plants!
www.cell.com/current-biol...
Here, a plant exploits the kleptoparasitic behavior of a fly that likes to snatch ants killed by spiders.
🕷️🐜🪰🌿
So the thief itself gets taken advantage of. Nice going, plants!
www.cell.com/current-biol...
Reposted by Adria LeBoeuf
When harmful fungi invade their carefully cultivated crops, fungus-farming termites fight back with the precision of skilled gardeners, a new Science study reveals, smothering them in soil clumps enriched with microbial allies that inhibit fungal growth. https://scim.ag/4nsAqCu
Fungus-farming termites can protect their crop by confining weeds with fungistatic soil boluses
The symbiotic agriculture of fungus-farming termites can collapse if they fail to prevent invading weeds. Previous studies suggest a role for symbiotic fungistatic microbes in bringing about weed cont...
www.science.org
September 25, 2025 at 7:54 PM
When harmful fungi invade their carefully cultivated crops, fungus-farming termites fight back with the precision of skilled gardeners, a new Science study reveals, smothering them in soil clumps enriched with microbial allies that inhibit fungal growth. https://scim.ag/4nsAqCu
Reposted by Adria LeBoeuf
Google Docs trying to "correct" the use of data as a plural noun. Suggestions for grammatical correction are "If some data has..." and "If data is..."
No wonder I can't get students to do this correctly in a world of Grammarly and AI and whatnot. 🫠
No wonder I can't get students to do this correctly in a world of Grammarly and AI and whatnot. 🫠
September 25, 2025 at 6:53 PM
Google Docs trying to "correct" the use of data as a plural noun. Suggestions for grammatical correction are "If some data has..." and "If data is..."
No wonder I can't get students to do this correctly in a world of Grammarly and AI and whatnot. 🫠
No wonder I can't get students to do this correctly in a world of Grammarly and AI and whatnot. 🫠
If you are from the US and interested in applying for a PhD with me (or anyone else @camzoology.bsky.social @cambridgebiosci.bsky.social), your deadline for the gates scholarship is October 15!
(You’ll need to write a research proposal, so contact PIs now) www.gatescambridge.org/programme/th...
(You’ll need to write a research proposal, so contact PIs now) www.gatescambridge.org/programme/th...
Postgraduate Cambridge University Scholarship | Gates Cambridge
A fully funded graduate education for future leaders committed to improving the lives of others.
www.gatescambridge.org
September 20, 2025 at 3:35 PM
If you are from the US and interested in applying for a PhD with me (or anyone else @camzoology.bsky.social @cambridgebiosci.bsky.social), your deadline for the gates scholarship is October 15!
(You’ll need to write a research proposal, so contact PIs now) www.gatescambridge.org/programme/th...
(You’ll need to write a research proposal, so contact PIs now) www.gatescambridge.org/programme/th...
Individual variation in #sociability is a central feature of every society, including #HoneyBees. This study shows that specific genetic variants & #brain gene expression patterns are linked to variation in the social act of sharing liquids (trophallaxis) in bees @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/3VjjXnJ
September 19, 2025 at 8:16 AM
Reposted by Adria LeBoeuf
BREAKING: Royal Society to reconsider expelling Elon Musk
Violent rhetoric in address to anti-immigration rally pushes science academy to reassess billionaire’s fellowship
(Free to read)
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-c...
Violent rhetoric in address to anti-immigration rally pushes science academy to reassess billionaire’s fellowship
(Free to read)
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-c...
Royal Society to reconsider expelling Elon Musk - Research Professional News
Violent rhetoric in address to anti-immigration rally pushes science academy to reassess billionaire’s fellowship
www.researchprofessionalnews.com
September 17, 2025 at 5:47 PM
BREAKING: Royal Society to reconsider expelling Elon Musk
Violent rhetoric in address to anti-immigration rally pushes science academy to reassess billionaire’s fellowship
(Free to read)
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-c...
Violent rhetoric in address to anti-immigration rally pushes science academy to reassess billionaire’s fellowship
(Free to read)
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-c...
Reposted by Adria LeBoeuf
Very proud of this extremely collaborative piece: academic.oup.com/mbe/article/...
Here, we show that divergence in visual systems - in response to differences in the light environment - leads to rapid divergence in sexually selected colour traits. Work brilliantly led by Madeleine Carruthers. 🐟👀🎨
Here, we show that divergence in visual systems - in response to differences in the light environment - leads to rapid divergence in sexually selected colour traits. Work brilliantly led by Madeleine Carruthers. 🐟👀🎨
Rapid Divergence of Visual Systems and Signaling Traits to Contrasting Light Regimes During Early Speciation of African Crater Lake Cichlid Fish
Abstract. Sensory adaptation is widely hypothesized to drive ecological speciation, yet empirical evidence from natural populations undergoing early stage
academic.oup.com
September 16, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Very proud of this extremely collaborative piece: academic.oup.com/mbe/article/...
Here, we show that divergence in visual systems - in response to differences in the light environment - leads to rapid divergence in sexually selected colour traits. Work brilliantly led by Madeleine Carruthers. 🐟👀🎨
Here, we show that divergence in visual systems - in response to differences in the light environment - leads to rapid divergence in sexually selected colour traits. Work brilliantly led by Madeleine Carruthers. 🐟👀🎨
Reposted by Adria LeBoeuf
We are delighted that our Winter Meeting 2025 in Leuven 🇧🇪 is approaching!
Abstract submissions now open: www.iussi-nweurope.org/meetings
Date: December 18-19
Abstract deadline: October 15
Host: Laboratory of Socioecology and Social Evolution at KU Leuven
Plenary: Ido Pen & @rmash.bsky.social
Abstract submissions now open: www.iussi-nweurope.org/meetings
Date: December 18-19
Abstract deadline: October 15
Host: Laboratory of Socioecology and Social Evolution at KU Leuven
Plenary: Ido Pen & @rmash.bsky.social
September 13, 2025 at 7:22 AM
We are delighted that our Winter Meeting 2025 in Leuven 🇧🇪 is approaching!
Abstract submissions now open: www.iussi-nweurope.org/meetings
Date: December 18-19
Abstract deadline: October 15
Host: Laboratory of Socioecology and Social Evolution at KU Leuven
Plenary: Ido Pen & @rmash.bsky.social
Abstract submissions now open: www.iussi-nweurope.org/meetings
Date: December 18-19
Abstract deadline: October 15
Host: Laboratory of Socioecology and Social Evolution at KU Leuven
Plenary: Ido Pen & @rmash.bsky.social
Reposted by Adria LeBoeuf
don't underestimate how daunting this task will be, two centuries from now after the internet is gone, when all the data we unquestionably put in the cloud evaporated, the silicon-based electronic storage devices degraded or lost, Windows, Linux and Python languages dead and forgotten
in the 23rd century historians are going to need have their Routledge Handbook of 21st-Century Internet Memes, their Cambridge Companion to 4Chan, and their Oxford Guidebook to Computer Gaming Culture handy to make sense of the rise of American fascism and the fall of the United States
September 12, 2025 at 4:38 PM
don't underestimate how daunting this task will be, two centuries from now after the internet is gone, when all the data we unquestionably put in the cloud evaporated, the silicon-based electronic storage devices degraded or lost, Windows, Linux and Python languages dead and forgotten
Nature research paper: Functional synapses between neurons and small cell lung cancer
go.nature.com/3VwSy1L
go.nature.com/3VwSy1L
Functional synapses between neurons and small cell lung cancer - Nature
Small cell lung cancer cells form functional synapses with glutamatergic neurons, receiving synaptic transmissions and deriving a proliferative advantage from these interactions.
go.nature.com
September 11, 2025 at 4:18 PM
I love chameleons.
Here, the 'ballistic tongues' paper by Yu Zeng and team
www.cell.com/current-biol...
plus dispatch by Sam Van Wassenbergh
www.cell.com/current-biol...
www.cell.com/current-biol...
plus dispatch by Sam Van Wassenbergh
www.cell.com/current-biol...
Biomechanics: Squeezing power drives ballistic tongues
Chameleons and lungless salamanders independently evolved very fast projectile tongues.
In both cases, ballistic performance involves a long, blunt-ended skeletal rod that
slides freely within a power...
www.cell.com
September 8, 2025 at 9:47 PM
I love chameleons.
Reposted by Adria LeBoeuf
“””
While on the journey making my vision a reality, I was told by many to pick a lane.
To those I say: Dreams don’t have lanes.
Sincerely,
Burley
Proprietor, Burley’s Berkeley Bait and Tackle and Art Gallery and General Multi-Ethnic Cuisine
“””
While on the journey making my vision a reality, I was told by many to pick a lane.
To those I say: Dreams don’t have lanes.
Sincerely,
Burley
Proprietor, Burley’s Berkeley Bait and Tackle and Art Gallery and General Multi-Ethnic Cuisine
“””
September 8, 2025 at 9:15 PM
“””
While on the journey making my vision a reality, I was told by many to pick a lane.
To those I say: Dreams don’t have lanes.
Sincerely,
Burley
Proprietor, Burley’s Berkeley Bait and Tackle and Art Gallery and General Multi-Ethnic Cuisine
“””
While on the journey making my vision a reality, I was told by many to pick a lane.
To those I say: Dreams don’t have lanes.
Sincerely,
Burley
Proprietor, Burley’s Berkeley Bait and Tackle and Art Gallery and General Multi-Ethnic Cuisine
“””
Reposted by Adria LeBoeuf
I gave in! After students asking for it, I now made a simple figure design checklist.
To help all scientists w/o graphic skills create clear, accessible, and truthful charts!
-> Out in @nature Cell Biology: rdcu.be/erwl4
#DataVisualization #PhD #SciComm
Thx for review @bethcimini.bsky.social + 2
To help all scientists w/o graphic skills create clear, accessible, and truthful charts!
-> Out in @nature Cell Biology: rdcu.be/erwl4
#DataVisualization #PhD #SciComm
Thx for review @bethcimini.bsky.social + 2
A checklist for designing and improving the visualization of scientific data
Nature Cell Biology - Creating clear and engaging scientific figures is crucial to communicate complex data. In this Comment, I condense principles from design, visual perception and data...
rdcu.be
June 18, 2025 at 8:33 AM
I gave in! After students asking for it, I now made a simple figure design checklist.
To help all scientists w/o graphic skills create clear, accessible, and truthful charts!
-> Out in @nature Cell Biology: rdcu.be/erwl4
#DataVisualization #PhD #SciComm
Thx for review @bethcimini.bsky.social + 2
To help all scientists w/o graphic skills create clear, accessible, and truthful charts!
-> Out in @nature Cell Biology: rdcu.be/erwl4
#DataVisualization #PhD #SciComm
Thx for review @bethcimini.bsky.social + 2