Spencer LaVere Smith

Come on Konrad, why do you cave so easily? Here, let me try it for you:
1. Spikes are (to good approximation) the only events that matter.
2. Extracellular fields are one way by which spikes interact with each other.
1/2

Hongkui's TIGRE mice with GCaMP6 in 2014 helped the field leap forward, and we haven't seen a leap of that magnitude since. Along with various thy1 lines, @crisniell.bsky.social 's mice etc. They helped unlock large field-of-view 2p imaging. 2/2

Nice! Thanks @lintianphd.bsky.social @loogerl.bsky.social @michaelzlin.bsky.social @rhodamine110.bsky.social Eric Schreiter + many other engineers for in vivo neuro.

Also: Thanks to the virus and transgenic engineers, like @hongkuizeng.bsky.social Viviana Gradinaru, Josh Huang, etc. 1/2

SBIR/STTR Update

The best hope is that the SBIR/STTR reauthorization is attached to the NDAA, due to be voted on in a few weeks. The clean 1-year extension would hopefully be the most "agreeable" mechanism. Stay tuned.

Imagine if an AI company CEO thinks their current situation is precarious and they want to unwind it, even if only a tiny bit. Is there a safe way they can dial back gracefully without panicking their investors?

Really? That’s a big drop in SfN attendance from last year, continuing its decline in numbers. @cianodonnell.bsky.social

Due to covid, 2020 was cancelled and 2021 was small. Other than that, it sounds like this year was the smallest attendance since at least 1999. I don’t have earlier numbers.

Thank you for the additional details.

SBIR Reauthorization Status as of November The SBIR program expired on Sept. 30, 2025. This article explains the lapse, its impact, and how reauthorization is expected through the FY2026 NDAA.

That’s as I understand it too. Ernst (IA) wants a lifetime cap on how much $ a company can get from the program.

It looks like no one wants to simply kill the program. So we wait. sbir.org/news/sbir-pr...

I agree. And there are examples like Carl Sagan, Brian Cox, David Attenborough, Neil deGrasse Tyson, … there are tons on youtube even, proving that rigor and engagement can coexist: Veritasium (Dr. Derek Muller), SmarterEveryDay, 3blue1brown… I’d throw MythBusters and WildBoyz in the mix too.

@kordinglab.bsky.social

A washing machine that sends 3.7 GB of data a day back to HQ. Giving the lab a run for their money for data generation rate.

I wish my major appliances cared that much about me. www.tomshardware.com/networking/y...

“Conceptual resolution” could be a useful term in this context. From David Poeppel. join.substack.com/p/will-we-un...

I agree with Grace that data can help, esp. from different kinds of experiments. Doing more than scaling things up.

on the topic, SfN has a new executive director coming in January: www.eurekalert.org/news-release... I wonder if there will be a significant change in the way the meeting is run.

Me too. I agree with you-- lower enthusiasm for a big conference.

Maybe stronger smaller conferences chip away at it too (e.g., cosyne, GRCs, great meetings in EU).

I'm not a huge fan of the way the non-scientific SfN leadership runs the meetings. projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/o...

What do you think are some factors in the long term decline?

I didn't say that to contrast what you posted. I agree with what you said.

source for the earlier plot: www.sfn.org/sfn/amstats/...

If anything, it's going down.

Attendance has been largely flat for 20 years.

Looks excellent! I like the design. Happy Birthday, INSS, and have a great meeting!

Calibrating scientific skepticism – a wider look at the field of transgenerational epigenetics I recently wrote a blogpost examining the supposed evidence for transgenerational epigenetic inheritance (TGEI) in hu...

Calibrating scientific skepticism www.wiringthebrain.com/2018/07/cali... - I wrote this a few years ago in relation to claims of transgenerational epigenetic inheritance in humans, but the issues relate equally to the kind of microbiome studies we assess in the paper linked below...

Same. The letters are the last thing I look at. A lot of candidates are excluded on the basis of CV, coursework, and/or statement.

For me, there's no way an awesome letter is going to make up for someone whose CV and statement indicate that they're not a good match.

I've reviewed for MS and summer schools. My answer is: no way. Here are the materials I like to use:

- CV
- transcript (at least coursework, grades can be omitted)
- short statement (purpose/interest)
- one GOOD letter (some personal experience working with the student, 1 page is enough)

I agree. And that's how job searches go.

Asking for four letters for grad school applications is a bit much. One good one can be enough information.

I tell the students if I can't write much. It's up to them to find good letters. If they just need another letter, okay.

I've been on the other side. For grad school applications, one or two short letters is no big deal. At least on the panels I've served on. One long letter can be enough.

If I can't, then I usually decline. I have said "yes" before, and then all I can really write is something brief. I don't try to pad it.

The vast majority of my letters are for when I can add information and context that isn't in the CV.

NIH personnel are headed to San Diego for SfN, study section emails are flowing again, JIT materials are being processed, etc.

There's a lot we need to keep fighting for, but it's good to have some wheels turning again. Enjoy some scientific conversations and support each other!

I read it. (pdf: amendments-rules.house.gov/amendments/M...)

Part of it is redundant to protections that already exist.

It includes a mechanism so that Assistant Secretaries (political appointees) can pick people to still get $.

I’m happy to report that I received an email from the SRO.