John Ball

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. 🤞😂

zenodo.org/records/1718...

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

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

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/...

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.

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

Fingers crossed...

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.

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

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...

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)

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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)

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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:

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.

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

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

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...

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."

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

@standupforscience.bsky.social represented in #Oakland,CA. incredible turnout including @danfeldman.bsky.social

Yeah hey now stick to the satire