ROTO Research Group

If you missed that great Cognizing life conference in Tubingen organized by Christoph Hueck two weeks ago, here are the videos of the presentations. Talks by Denis Walsh, Joan Steigerwald, Dan Nicholson and many others.
 www.clc2025.de/videos

The next Society for Philosophy of Science in Practice (SPSP) conference will be held at the University of Cambridge, U.K, on 15-18 July 2026.
#philsci
philosophy-science-practice.org

South African botanist Louisa Bolus was born 148 years ago today. In her time she authored numerous texts on South American plants, named some 1,494 species, and served for half a century as curator of the Bolus Herbarium.

#WomenInSTEM #Botany #HistSci 🌱

REPORT FROM THE INTERNATIONAL ANDREA CESALPINO SYSTEMATICS SYMPOSIUM – IACS500, PISA, ITALY, 5–6 JUNE 2025 Click on the article title to read more.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

a nice and attentive report of the symposium organized in Pisa for the 500th anniversary of #AndreaCesalpino #ortobotanico #Pisa by Lorenzo Peruzzi and his team
#histbotany #histsci #philsci #botany #renaissancestudies

The risk of biological race - History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences Biological race realism (hereafter BRR) is the view that humans form biologically distinct groups. In recent years, Quayshawn Spencer has offered one of the most elaborate versions of that view, but h...

The Risk of Biological Race by @celsoneto.bsky.social

#philsky #philosophy #philscience

Congratz!!! Great paper!

(PDF) The Problem of Organization in Biology and Its Reception in Mainstream Philosophy of Science in the Mid-20th Century PDF | In the early to mid-20th century, English-speaking organicist biologists strongly advocated the idea of organization in biological phenomena as a... | Find, read and cite all the research you ne...

My paper on the history of biological organization was accepted at HOPOS! The paper looks at organicist efforts in the first half of the 20th century to elevate organization in biology as a central practical and theoretical notion. #hpbio #philbio #histbio www.researchgate.net/publication/...

Me standing in front of the title slide of my talk, entitled "The Historical Roots of Plant Agency: Lessons from Early 20th-Century Biology".

Group picture of people from the organized session "Pluralism, Epistemic Injustice, and Transdisciplinarity in the Life Sciences" plus guests.

Sunset over Porto

A picture made of tiles showing Jesus with a glass of wine in his hand and the words "Jesus bless portwine".

Back in the office after returning from Porto yesterday. I had a blast at #ISHPSSB2025! Thanks for all the great talks, the amazing community and a special thanks to everyone who came to my talk on the morning after the conference dinner to listen to me talking about the history of plant agency! 🥰🌳

We got great news! @ishpssb2025.bsky.social gave us funding to support early career travel to our event in October! Deadline for abstract submission is extended until Aug 18. Don't miss this chance! #phibio #hps #microbiome #philsci 🦠

yesterday at #ishpssb2025‬ I presented my work on JM Rendel's attempts to reunite genetics and developmental biology!
You can read the paper here:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Such a fun an intense time @ishpssb2025.bsky.social with @nmorar.bsky.social @utrechthps.bsky.social Thanks for the amazing discussion!

Shoutout to the students supporting the #ISHPSSB2025 conference!
#hpbio #philsci #histstm #histsci #philbio #hbio #sts

Ann-Christin Fischer during her talk about epistemic injustice in medical research and the case of endometriosis.

Abigail Nieves Delgado during her talk on the meaning of the prefix “ethno” in ethnobiology.

Jan Baedke during his talk about the legacies of local plant collectors in the history of botany.

Great double session this morning at #ISHPSSB2025 on pluralism, epistemic injustice, and transdisciplinarity in the life sciences with talks by ROTO members Jan Baedke and @acfischer.bsky.social as well as @abigailnd.bsky.social‬, @tbuklijas.bsky.social‬, Kevin Elliott and Esther Milberg Muñiz 🤩

ROTO members Jan, Ann-Christin and Vera together with ROTO fellow Abigail on the bridge with the roofs of Porto in the background.

Accidental ROTO team meeting on the Ponte Dom Luís I. in Porto 😊
We're ready for #ISHPSSB2025!

If you're at #ISHPSSB2025 come on Tue morning to our double session "Pluralism, Epistemic Injustice, and Transdisciplinarity in the Life Sciences" with Kevin Elliott @localmicrobes.bsky.social, @acfischer.bsky.social, @jgutierrez.bsky.social,Esther M. Muñiz & @tbuklijas.bsky.social!
#philsci #HPbio

Screenshot of a journal article titled "Two ontogenetic challenges to trait individuation" by Alejandro Fábregas-Tejeda, published in Synthese (2025) 205:219. The abstract reads: "Trait individuation is an epistemically indispensable and heuristically fruitful practice in biological science. However, important ontological issues transcend an epistemology-only reading of what trait individuation entails (e.g., adaptation and homology), prompting scholars to advance models and frameworks to grapple with this problem. Here, I articulate two challenges that arise when advancing theories and frameworks to tackle trait individuation: the synchronicity and the diachronicity challenges. The synchronicity challenge involves specifying the traits an organism has at a given moment in ontogeny, whereas the diachronicity challenge involves understanding the causal processes that drive trait individuation in development and tracing these units across time. To delve deeper, I introduce extant functionalist and structuralist perspectives on trait individuation and evaluate how they address both challenges. Overcoming these challenges is necessary for such accounts to fulfill their theoretical promise of individuating the traits that organisms have in an ontologically sound way."

“Traits” are central units of biological analysis—but how should they be individuated, and relative to which ontogenetic frame of reference? In my new paper, I argue that answering this isn’t easy—and matters more than it seems. 📃👇 link.springer.com/article/10.1... #philsci #HPBio #evosky #evodevo

Will anyone review this paper? Screening, sorting, and the feedback cycles that imperil peer review Scholarly publishing relies on peer review to identify the best science. Yet finding willing and qualified reviewers to evaluate manuscripts has become an increasingly challenging task, possibly even ...

1. Kevin Gross and I just posted a new science-of-science preprint.

This one explores the looming peer review crisis. As many of you know, it's becoming significantly more difficult for journal editors to find scholars willing to serve as peer reviewers for submitted manuscripts.

What can slime mould teach us about biological memory? | Aeon Essays Certain slime moulds can make decisions, solve mazes and remember things. What can we learn from the blob?

What can slime moulds teach us about biological memory? Quite a bit, it turns out. Matthew Sims (@philosobio.bsky.social) dives into this question in a wonderfully engaging piece for @aeon.co. Give it a read—before it slips your mind! 👇 aeon.co/essays/what-... #HPS #philsky #HPbio #evobio #neurosky

Screenshot of the website for the Cognizing Life Conference 2025.

Looking forward to the "Cognizing Life Conference 2025", 16.-19. July! With talks by @djnicholson.bsky.social, @dalianassar.bsky.social, @gregoryrupik.bsky.social, @philippehune.bsky.social and many more! You can participate online, all info here: www.clc2025.de
#HPBio #PhilSci #HistSci

Job Opening at the Chair of Philosophy and History of Science and Technology at TUM! Research Fellow for 3 years (renewable). Preferably philosopher w interest in plant, crop & agricultural research (& their history and social studies)
All details: www.sts.sot.tum.de/en/sts/arbei... #philsci #sts

Soon you will all be here! #ISHPSSB2025
#philsci #hpbio #histSTM #histsci #philbio #hbio #sts

Prachtvolle Dahlien in verschiedenen Farben blühen im Botanischen Garten. Auf schmalen Pfaden wandeln Besucherinnen dazwischen umher.

Unser Botanischer Garten ist Heimat vieler außergewöhnlicher Pflanzen: von prachtvollen Dahlien (das Bild zeigt sie in den 1980ern) bis zur Leberwurstblume und dem Trompetenbaum. Ab sofort könnt ihr Patenschaften für 60 verschiedene Pflanzen übernehmen. 👉️ https://www.bogafreundeskreis.de/patenshop

Alien plants and novel ecosystems in the Greater Tropics Nature Reviews Biodiversity - The Greater Tropics are under substantial ecological pressure driven by anthropogenic change, including the introduction of alien plants. This Review explores the...

🌱Alien #plants are reshaping the #tropics -our review @ninadm.bsky.social et al explores how they interact w land-use & #climatechange driving novel ecosystems🌴We call for nuanced adaptive strategies incl nature-based solutions to navigate tropical futures
🔗Free access www.nature.com/articles/s44...

From ATP to MRI: Mildred Cohn's Pioneering Work in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance ATP is the stuff of life.  Without it, cell communication shuts down, muscles freeze, and anything requiring ready energy (which is to say, darn near everything) stops.  For biologists, it's a critica...

Mildred Cohn was born 112 years ago today. In the middle of the 20th century she pioneered the use of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance to probe the chemical processes governing the storage and release of energy in ATP. Here is her story!

tinyurl.com/3xn9hhs2

#WomenInSTEM #ChemSky #HistSci 🧪

The Great Female Scientists of the Victorian Era Women have played  various and extensive roles in the history of geology. Unfortunately, their contribution has not been widely recognised by the public and the history of geosciences has largely b…

The Great Female Scientists of the Victorian Era paleonerdish.wordpress.com/2019/08/06/t... #histsci #womeninstem 🧪⚒️

Coming *very* soon #philsci

ARTICLE: The descent of blushing: On the connection between Darwin’s anti-slavery positions and his explanation of the origin of emotional expression A new article in the Studies in History and Philosophy of Science: The descent of blushing: On the connection between Darwin’s anti-slavery positions and his explanation of the origin of emot…

ARTICLE: The descent of blushing: On the connection between Darwin’s anti-slavery positions and his explanation of the origin of emotional expression ~ bit.ly/3U5qFgg

#HPS #histsci

Poster for the Interdisciplinary Workshop “Behavior Across the Tree of Life: Theoretical and Methodological”, taking place on September 26–27, 2025 at the Institute of Philosophy, KU Leuven. The event is organized by Gianmaria Dani, Alejandro Fábregas-Tejeda, and Grant Ramsey. The poster features circular images of diverse biological organisms (lichens, bacteria, ants, carnivorous plants) surrounding a central announcement. Call for Applications: Deadline: July 14th, 2025 Notification: July 18th, 2025 Open to philosophers and scientists interested in comparative behavioral biology and its theoretical and methodological foundations. Abstracts of up to 500 words (excluding references), including affiliation and contact info, should be sent to: gianmaria.dani@kuleuven.be alejandro.fabregastejeda@kuleuven.be Invited Speakers: Kristin Aleklett (Lund University) Silvia Guerra (University of Padua) Tobias Starzak (Ruhr University Bochum) Kirsty Y. Wan (University of Exeter)

What theoretical and methodological challenges emerge when investigating #behavior across the tree of life? 📢 Final reminder: CfA for an interdisciplinary workshop (September 26-27) at KU Leuven! Come join us, and please help us share! hiw.kuleuven.be/clps/events/... #philsci #HPbio #evosky #ecology

HOPOS 2026 Paper and symposium proposals for HOPOS 2026 can now be submitted through this web site. For detailed instructions, plea

The HOPOS 2026 website is up. Detailed call for papers coming soon. Keynotes by Peter R. Anstey and Heather Douglas. hopos2026.dryfta.com #philsci

🚨Reaging Group🚨

This Wednesday, July 9, 16:00 BST, I will join the online “Reading Decoloniality” Group (Warwick, UK) to discuss how biological race continues to be a misguided idea.

To join the discussion, just register at readingdecoloniality.warwick.ac.uk/join/

#philsci
#STS
#evosky