Ben Hartl

Neural cellular automata: applications to biology and beyond classical AI Neural Cellular Automata (NCA) represent a powerful framework for modeling biological self-organization, extending classical rule-based systems with trainable, differentiable (or evolvable) update rul...

New #preprint - @bhartl.bsky.social , Léo Pio-Lopez

arxiv.org/abs/2509.11131

"Neural cellular automata: applications to biology and beyond classical AI"

I'm not sure about "fast=night science". To me, the fast part describes fitting/learning by heart of things that need to go quickly from the hand. Deep, intuitive insights which you can't put your finger on just yet (creative night science) is more subtle: it's models forming via distributed insight

Everything reminds me of #TCTeAC

When are we doing this again?

From Posters to Parades: Inside Woodstock.Bio² & Night Science Conference - the Node A fever dream of science and spirit wrapped in the forests of Bohemia. Here’s an escalating list — starting with the standard (though nothing was standard

Read this piece. It gives a great impression of #TCTeAC WoodstockBio2 & Night Science from one of the #Instigators. This is the next best thing to being there... I like the expression #BohemianFixers. Many thanks to them! Děkujeme.

thenode.biologists.com/from-posters...

What does evolution make? Learning in living lineages and machines How does genomic information unfold, to give rise to self-constructing living organisms with problem-solving capacities at all levels of organization? We review recent progress that unifies work in de...

New paper with @bhartl.bsky.social : "What does evolution make? Learning in living lineages and machines"
cell.com/trends/genet...

Genes code for proteins, but what is the relationship between the genome and the large-scale form and function of organisms? What is a good formalism for thinking

Indeed Oded. Some Will think of #TCTeAC as escapism, but I think it was showing us how beautiful we can make this world if the guiding values are respect & trust, and if world leaders would adopt a vision that is based on hope instead of hatred. On collaboration instead of competition. 💚

You might also be interested in our complimentary insights to Mitchell and Cheney's great work:

Evolution doesn't simply adapt, it makes adaptive, problem solving agents.

bsky.app/profile/cp-t...

A very short summary of "Data Visualization against fascism":

Fascism conceals truths, disregards evidence-based decision-making, and jeopardizes the education of the next generation. Standing up against means: MONITOR, EXPOSE, and EDUCATE. As scientists we are ready for this!

#TCTeAC

Let's not be #TCTeAC "The Conference To END All Conferences", but a new format of many more such events. Depating science outside of our typical nutshell (scientifically and mentally) has great potential - we could have come up with 50+ project proposals together. Let's bring fun back to science :)

#TCTeAC - the Woodstock of Biology2 & #nightscience - was such an amazing event!! We met great scientists who creatively presented their high quality work. We dreamt and discussed in a very broad, open-minded setting. Talking science outside of our nutshell can be soo valuable - let's do this again!

Everybody is just talking about the fun #TCTeAC but the high quality of science, across a diverse range of fields, was equally impressive. Thanks to the organizers, such a unique event.

The slide you submitted | The slide you’re presenting
#tcteac #PragueSights

science is magic #TCTeAC

#fightforsciemce at #TCTeAC with #nightscience :) cell & gene people gather together.

(no scientist got hurt)

#nightscience at #TCTeAC, hence the umbrella

over time at #TCTeAC

they evolved, but backwards?! #dino

biology vs theology at #TCTeAC

Over the last century, biologists developed a strong model of morphogenesis: the genome defines the microscopic hardware that sets the rules of how cells interact wich leads to the emergence of an organism.

We invite you to see this through the lens of collective and generative intelligence.

@woodstocknightsci.bsky.social we get to hear what we can learn from mantis shrimps :)

@woodstocknightsci.bsky.social the conference to end all conferences

New #preprint with @drmichaellevin.bsky.social:

osf.io/r8z7c/

"What does evolution make? Learning in living lineages and machines."

Some thoughts about recent developments in collective AI and evolutionary developmental biology.

New preprint with Nic Rouleau (allencenter.tufts.edu/nicolas-roul...) : what do the major theories of #consciousness say as to why it's specifically associated with brains?
osf.io/preprints/ps...
"Brains and Where Else? Mapping Theories of Consciousness to Unconventional Embodiments"
🧪

Posts below are imported from Twitter/X

#Bananenrepublik 🍌, oder so.

#Wien ist Wien

What an interesting combination of books on my desk #Sapiens #Dummheit

Habe bei Peter Klimek's emotionaler Ansprache heute in der ZiB2 (sprichwörtlich) mitgefiebert. Danke für die offenen Worte! Österreich ist kein (einfaches) Land für Wissenschaftler ...

x.com/MartinThuer/st…

I'm happy to announce that our work on
'Microswimmers learning chemotaxis with genetic algorithms' has just been published in PNAS

pnas.org/content/118/19…