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John Ball

@john-m-ball.bsky.social

Computational vision neuroscientist and VGM enthusiast. Completely normal human person. Opinions expressed here are my own.

652 Followers  |  960 Following  |  176 Posts  |  Joined: 28.11.2024  |  1.9766

Latest posts by john-m-ball.bsky.social on Bluesky

Retinal S-cone specific anatomical and physiological data in the thirteen-lined ground squirrel Original data corresponding to the PNAS (2025) publication titled "S-cone specific circuitry in the outer plexiform layer of a cone-dominant mammal." Data is organized by type: Reconstructions, Electr...

Finally: Check out the interactive 3D PDF of the reconstructions included in our Zenodo repository! For this kind of data, if a picture is worth a thousand words, a 3D model is a novel. I tested it thoroughly, and I'm optimistic it will broadly work for others. πŸ€žπŸ˜‚

zenodo.org/records/1718...

03.12.2025 15:35 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

For me, the most surprising part of the data was the H1 horizontal cell axon collaterals. *There are so many.* And they completely avoid S-cones! I now often find myself in the unfortunate position of lying awake at night pondering their role in vision. TBD. 3/n

03.12.2025 15:35 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

I'm very proud of this work and the quality of data produced by my co-authors. Happy in particular to see Yizhen's long summer intern reconstruction project get the recognition it deserves, as well as Shan's difficult recordings of S-cone bipolars and H2 horizontal cells. 2/n

03.12.2025 15:35 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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S-cone-specific circuitry in the outer plexiform layer of a cone-dominant mammal | PNAS In the vertebrate retina, short wavelength-sensitive S-cones and their downstream interneurons play unique roles in both image forming and non-imag...

Extremely proud to share our publication on S-cone circuitry in the ground squirrel, newly available this week in PNAS. We've been staring at these reconstructions for a long time, and I'm excited for others to see the results. 1/n

www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

03.12.2025 15:35 β€” πŸ‘ 12    πŸ” 6    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 2

Over the weekend ICE abducted an NIH contractor when he showed up to a courthouse for his green card hearing. He is documented. His wife is a citizen.

He is also member of the skeleton crew of animal care staff that works through a shutdown, to ensure the health and wellbeing of research animals.

07.10.2025 16:26 β€” πŸ‘ 472    πŸ” 227    πŸ’¬ 7    πŸ“Œ 10
Captcha check from science.org. The spinning wheel of green dots indicates the check isn't finished yet.

Captcha check from science.org. The spinning wheel of green dots indicates the check isn't finished yet.

Fingers crossed...

04.09.2025 23:55 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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If you’ve wondered why it feels so hard to afford life right now, here’s your answer:

The Republican agenda is designed to protect the rich – even if it means cutting your health care, your benefits, and your children’s education.

24.07.2025 16:52 β€” πŸ‘ 141    πŸ” 41    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 1

Just once I want one of those ads to roll that start with "This advice shouldn't be legal to know" and I come away with my heart racing and a fear that I've acquired knowledge that I don't dare share with others

21.07.2025 12:50 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Why 22 million people may see 'sharp' increase in health insurance premiums in 2026 The GOP's so-called "big beautiful bill" cut taxes in many ways, but didn't extend a tax break that lowered health insurance premiums for millions of people.

Thanks to Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill":

Why 22 million people may see 'sharp' increase in health premiums in 2026

www.cnbc.com/2025/07/11/a...

11.07.2025 12:09 β€” πŸ‘ 6    πŸ” 7    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Also, they discover when a 10 year-old PC isn't running microscopy software due to a dead CMOS battery. (It's me, I did this today)

08.07.2025 23:22 β€” πŸ‘ 7    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Increased funding and support for early childhood care, across the board. Too many long-term consequences of early neglect and parental stress to ignore.

02.07.2025 13:56 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Laughing in front of cages designed to hold migrants and refugees, many of whom came to this country fleeing extreme violence and poverty, and hoping to raise their children in a more compassionate country. And many of whom followed all the legal procedures to enter the country.

02.07.2025 01:44 β€” πŸ‘ 12517    πŸ” 4062    πŸ’¬ 919    πŸ“Œ 649

Writing this and sharing it publicly is a huge act of courage. We're living through a time where every system critical for those who fall on hard times is under attack. We need these stories, and we desperately need people to listen.

02.07.2025 11:36 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

And then there's this nonsense. WE CANNOT SUBSTITUTE ANIMAL TRIALS WITH AI. We don't even know some of the basics of the immune system bc it's so fricking complicated. AI is based on what we know. Man, I was happier on the plane without wifi. Utter nonsense.

01.07.2025 21:02 β€” πŸ‘ 998    πŸ” 320    πŸ’¬ 44    πŸ“Œ 16

My statement on Donald Trump's threat to deport me and his praise for Eric Adams, who the President "helped out" of legal accountability.

01.07.2025 21:01 β€” πŸ‘ 31831    πŸ” 9328    πŸ’¬ 834    πŸ“Œ 487
Another black and white Muscovy duck by a pond. It has red markings on its face and is walking towards the camera with a look on its face that may or may not be intended to challenge the photographer to a duel.

Another black and white Muscovy duck by a pond. It has red markings on its face and is walking towards the camera with a look on its face that may or may not be intended to challenge the photographer to a duel.

I see your Muscovy duck photo taken in Costa Rica with my Muscovy duck photo taken in Costa Rica. Your move (or still my move? I don't understand poker)

29.06.2025 18:16 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Woof, I didn't realize how much I needed to listen to hear someone smart demonstrate critical thinking on this issue today.

28.06.2025 12:03 β€” πŸ‘ 20    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
My king mug of latte, a slightly oversized light gray speckled mug with a gently cartoonish carving of a koala parent and cub. It's like a big cozy hot tub of coffee. The top of the drink is criss-crossed with the mixing shades of light brown coffee and milk froth. The whole thing is sitting on my red-orange wooden outdoor table. I recently refinished this table, and there remains a hint of the water beading on the table from the still powerful waterproofing. It's very lightly sprinkling, a welcome respite from the recent oppressive heat.

My king mug of latte, a slightly oversized light gray speckled mug with a gently cartoonish carving of a koala parent and cub. It's like a big cozy hot tub of coffee. The top of the drink is criss-crossed with the mixing shades of light brown coffee and milk froth. The whole thing is sitting on my red-orange wooden outdoor table. I recently refinished this table, and there remains a hint of the water beading on the table from the still powerful waterproofing. It's very lightly sprinkling, a welcome respite from the recent oppressive heat.

I *adore* this mug. Gorgeous and holds a triple espresso latte. Yum. And such welcome cool weather this morning.

28.06.2025 10:49 β€” πŸ‘ 7    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Andy Ogles: Zohran "little muhammad" Mamdani is an antisemitic, socialist, communist who will destroy the great City of New York. He needs to be DEPORTED. Which is why I am calling for him to be subject to denaturalization proceedings.
Attached is my letter to @AGPamBondi.

Andy Ogles: Zohran "little muhammad" Mamdani is an antisemitic, socialist, communist who will destroy the great City of New York. He needs to be DEPORTED. Which is why I am calling for him to be subject to denaturalization proceedings. Attached is my letter to @AGPamBondi.

Rep. Andy Ogles, a Republican from Tennessee, has sent a letter to Pam Bondi calling for Zohran Mamdani to be stripped of his citizenship and deported.

26.06.2025 19:11 β€” πŸ‘ 3078    πŸ” 945    πŸ’¬ 656    πŸ“Œ 1161

In the end, my savior was a post buried in a subreddit discussing an adjacent issue, which I could only find by searching the reddit app and digging deep. I sincerely fear for the internet if reddit goes away.

26.06.2025 11:20 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

One of the top results was an AI-generated forum discussion populated entirely by bots talking to one another about the issue (and of course, advertising things to me). But because the topic is so poorly documented online, the solutions these bots mentioned were complete gibberish.

26.06.2025 11:20 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Yesterday I was trying to connect my new-to-me gently used Rock Band 4 guitar to my PS5 (trying to relive my old glory days as a rock star), and the pairing process is NOT intuitive. Taking to the internet search, I was dumbfounded:

26.06.2025 11:20 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Former DOGE engineer says federal waste and fraud were 'relatively nonexistent' NPR's Juana Summers talks with Sahil Lavingia, who worked for the Department of Government Efficiency as a software engineer assigned to the Department of Veterans Affairs, about his experience.

β€œI personally was pretty surprised, actually, at how efficient the government was,” Sahil Lavingia told NPR's Juana Summers.

25.06.2025 22:22 β€” πŸ‘ 7386    πŸ” 2861    πŸ’¬ 229    πŸ“Œ 350

Update: Take 2 is perfect 😁 (basically looks the same though...)

24.06.2025 16:32 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
An off-white custom 3D printed adapter holding a 6 well plate on a black inverted microscope stage. It's ALMOST exactly right.

An off-white custom 3D printed adapter holding a 6 well plate on a black inverted microscope stage. It's ALMOST exactly right.

I don't have a beautiful photo today, but let me share this perfectly* fit microscope stage adapter I designed and had printed at the NIH Library. It's recessed a little so the objective can reach these odd 6 well plates.

*OK fine, not perfect, I lowered them too much, take 2 is printing now...

20.06.2025 22:43 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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AOC during Zohran for Mayor rally: "There are people out there who say, 'If you go out and make this endorsement, your political career will be over.' And to that I say: I don't care. We will never get to a better place if everyone is just worried about themselves. If it's over, so be it."

15.06.2025 04:05 β€” πŸ‘ 14912    πŸ” 2944    πŸ’¬ 280    πŸ“Œ 280

I assume I'm not that far into Sea of Stars, but I just defeated the Dweller of Torment using the Vespertine skill, and holy moly my inner 12 year old is losing his mind that was so cool

15.06.2025 01:03 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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@standupforscience.bsky.social represented in #Oakland,CA. incredible turnout including @danfeldman.bsky.social

14.06.2025 22:41 β€” πŸ‘ 461    πŸ” 41    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 2

Yeah hey now stick to the satire

14.06.2025 23:34 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

@john-m-ball is following 15 prominent accounts