Eleonora Ambrad

Researcher Florian Wollweber standing next to a cryo-focused ion beam microscope in a laboratory, with technical infrastructure visible in the background.

The origin of eukaryotic cells continues to be one of the greatest mysteries in biology.

EMBL Grenoble is excited to welcome Florian Wollweber, who will use cutting-edge imaging techniques to study Asgard archaea — microbes closely related to our earliest ancestors. 🦠🔬

www.embl.org/news/people-...

Our new paper (with @biotay.bsky.social) is out and on the cover story of @currentbiology.bsky.social !!!! Veronika, a Carinthian mountain cow flexibly uses a “multi-purpose tool” to scratch herself. A video and more information will follow in the comments.
www.cell.com/current-biol...

'Across randomized trials, she preferred the bristled end but switched to the stick end when targeting softer lower-body areas....Our findings broaden the taxonomic scope of flexible tool use and invite a reassessment of livestock cognition.'

Elon Musk is worse at hiding it but this is the problem with all billionaires: they are a threat to democratic governance. They have an insatiable need to own and control everything. If you want to be free you have to curb their power, and demand political leaders who understand that

Fully funded PhD position between our lab in Göttingen and @tobiasackels.bsky.social in Bonn! Dual-color imaging 🔬🐁 in freely moving mice, behavioral analysis, olfactory 👃 and spatial coding in #hippocampus... It's a cool project in two fantastic labs. Reach out if interested! 🤙 #neuroskyence

We used rabies virus 👾 to map how #psilocybin modifies long-range circuits 🧠, revealing network-specific reorganization that we didn’t expect.

The full study is now online at Cell. @cp-cell.bsky.social

Paper 👉 www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

Thread for a synopsis 👉
bsky.app/profile/alex...

**When are brain waves causal???**
#neuroskyence
arxiv.org/html/2511.06...

How experience shapes extraordinary beliefs The ubiquity of extraordinary beliefs across human societies, such as conspiracy theories, pseudoscience, and supernatural beliefs, is a long-standing puzzle in cognitive science. Prevailing accounts emphasize cognitive biases and social dynamics but often neglect a key factor: experience. We synthesize recent evidence and identify three pathways by which experience can shape these convictions: by filtering which beliefs feel perceptually plausible, by sparking new beliefs through anomalous and emotionally charged events, and by being engineered through immersive cultural technologies that simulate sensory evidence. These pathways function alongside cognitive biases and social processes, helping explain why certain extraordinary beliefs recur, why they often accompany vivid rituals, and why they can feel convincing despite evidence that challenges their veracity.

Online Now: How experience shapes extraordinary beliefs

my little take on whole-brain neurophysiology and what it tells us about global coordination of neural activity on behavioural timescales

(I steered clear of tasteless analogies for this one...)

authors.elsevier.com/a/1m7H5_LsQS...

Are you interested in visuo-motor mismatch and serotonin? Come see @norambr.bsky.social featuring mice spinning in VR at R16!

#SfN2025 #vestibulo-VR #serotonin #predictive_processing

Our lab digs into how serotonin tunes prediction errors and eye movements — with custom tools and curious mice.We got 2 posters at #SfN2025, Tue AM (C5) and Wed PM (R16).
Recruiting PhD students & postdocs in sunny Marseille.
Come chat about neuromodulators, tinkering, or free will and intuition.

Psychedelic 5-HT2A receptor agonism alters neurovascular coupling and differentially affects neuronal and hemodynamic measures of brain function - Nature Neuroscience Padawer-Curry et al. show that the hallucinogenic 5-HT2A receptor agonist DOI alters neurovascular coupling in mice, with implications for the interpretation of human fMRI studies of psychedelics.

Psychedelics alter neurovascular coupling, which means we need to critically re-evaluate fMRI findings of acute psychedelic effects
#neuroskyence
#PsychSciSky
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Oxytocin modulates respiratory heart rate variability through a hypothalamus–brainstem–heart neuronal pathway - Nature Neuroscience Buron et al. show that oxytocin enhances heart rate variability linked to breathing during recovery from stress. This calming and cardio-protective effect is produced through a hypothalamus–brainstem ...

Oxytocin modulates respiratory heart rate variability through a hypothalamus–brainstem–heart neuronal pathway

@julie.buron.bsky.social @inmed.bsky.social @insermpacacorse.bsky.social D54@incia-neurocampus.bsky.social

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Really interesting work by Bakhurin and colleagues challenging the reward prediction error hypothesis of dopamine:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
I love this figure which both echoes and undermines the famous figure from Schultz et al. (1997).

Xaq Pitkow shares his principles for studying cognition in our imperfect brains and bodies Pitkow discusses how evolution's messy constraints shape optimal brain algorithms, from Bayesian inference to ecological affordances.

In the latest episode of @braininspired.bsky.social, Xaq Pitkow discusses how evolution's messy constraints shape optimal brain algorithms, from Bayesian inference to ecological affordances.

#neuroskyence

www.thetransmitter.org/brain-inspir...

Greater impact than expected: Premenstrual disorders linked to reduced quality of life A new study from the Institute of Environmental Medicine (IMM) at Karolinska Institutet shows that women with premenstrual disorders have a significantly lower quality of life compared to women without such conditions.

Premenstrual disorders, including PMS and PMDD, are associated with significantly reduced quality of life, particularly affecting anxiety, mood, and daily functioning in women of reproductive age. doi.org/g95bzk

Does predictive coding work in SPACE or in TIME? Most neuroscientists assume TIME, i.e. neurons predict their future sensory inputs. We show that in visual cortex predictive coding actually works across SPACE, just like the original Rao+Ballard theory #neuroscience
www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...

Aeon enables:

– Continuous Neuropixels recordings
– Behavioural tracking
– Modular, scalable design
– Multi-modal data pipelines
– Open-source hardware/software

A new tool for neuroscience → aeon.swc.ucl.ac.uk

The Transmitter’s reading list: Six upcoming neuroscience books, plus notable titles in 2025 Dig into an exploration of the fundamental aspects of intelligence, a new textbook about theoretical neuroscience and a memoir about memory research, among other new releases.

Fantastic to see Elusive Cures by @nicolecrust.bsky.social & How to Change a Memory by @okaysteve.bsky.social (on-sale: November 4) on @thetransmitter.bsky.social reading list:

Why menstrual cycle irregularities belong in brain research - Nature Medicine The menstrual cycle requires tight orchestration between the brain and body, and irregularities can be both the cause and the consequence of wide-ranging health issues. Embracing this complexity, inst...

We wrote a piece for @naturemedicine.bsky.social 🧠

Menstrual cycle irregularities can be both cause and consequence of wide-ranging health issues.
Embracing this complexity could reveal novel brain–body interactions and advance neuroscience.

Check out our commentary www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Reddit post on r/technology about young people and AI: "I recently heard about a teacher who instead of trying to circumvent students using AI, which is impossible, she made assignments by going "ask ChatGPT to write a report on this subject, and then research how and why it's wrong". Not only did the students discover that ChatGPT is extremely wrong a lot of the time, it also lead them to realise that they should not use it as a primary source".

This is one of the best ideas I've heard in ages.

Better version of the meme.

Artificial Intelligence Ethicology (WILL A.I. CRASH OUT?) with Abeba Birhane Ologies with Alie Ward · Episode

Super interview on the @ologies.bsky.social podcast with my fab colleague @abeba.bsky.social on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence 👏
open.spotify.com/episode/5w6D... - how often is it just a bunch of poorly paid humans in a trenchcoat?

After 5 amazing years @pilhoferlab.bsky.social I'm starting my lab @embl.org Grenoble this November embl.org/wollweber
We'll image Asgard archaea and many other strange microbes ( #archaeasky, #protistsonsky..) to understand eukaryogenesis
First job ad: #teamtomo scientist!🔬❄️ tinyurl.com/2rdu2ze6

De-westernizing the history of science - with Gianamar Giovannetti-Singh Ri Science Podcast · Episode

Curious about the global history of science?

I talked to the @ri-science.bsky.social podcast about globalising our stories of the sciences.

Listen here: open.spotify.com/episode/1vRS...

What do neuroscientists mean by the term representation? A group of neuroscientists and philosophers discuss the use and misuse of the term “representation” across the cognitive sciences.

Terrific podcast relevant to our debates here about “What is an emotion?” But in the case of emotion, it’s turned up to 11 b/c (unlike “representation”), everyone alive has intuition and interest about the answers (including the public).

www.thetransmitter.org/brain-inspir...

🗓️ Join us on June 9th to learn about Dr. Crystal Schiller’s research in the Impact of Ovarian Steroids on Brain Function and Mood in Women Across the Reproductive Lifespan. Register today: cornell.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Curious about past lectures? Visit us at: wbhi.ucsb.edu/events

Accepting “bitter lesson” and embracing brain’s complexity To gain insight into complex neural data, we must move toward a data-driven regime, employing large models trained on vast amounts of data. Experts weigh in.

What could large-scale AI do for neuroscience? What barriers prevent us from pursuing an AlphaFold for the brain? What are the limits of scale, and where will we need more tailored solutions? Eva ​​Dyer and @tyrellturing.bsky.social ask nine neuroscientists to weigh in.

bit.ly/4iXjK3q

Multiplexing of cognitive encoding by oculomotor networks leads to incidental gaze shifts
doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
#neuroscience