How atmospheric rivers impact wildlife habitat, aquatic ecosystems
As B.C. is hit by an atmospheric river, biologists warn there could be serious impacts on wildlife.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/atmospheric-rivers-wildlife-aquatic-habitat-9.7134321?cmp=rss
Meet the new #biologists treating #LLM like #aliens
By studying #largelanguagemodels as if they were living things instead of computer programs, scientists are discovering some of their secrets for the first time.
We now coexist with machines so vast and so complicated that nobody quite understands what they are, how they work, or what they can really do—not even the people who help build them “You can never really fully grasp it in a human brain.”
https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/01/12/1129782/ai-large-language-models-biology-alien-autopsy/
https://archive.ph/gXaHh
Meet the new biologists treating LLMs like aliens

By studying large language models as if they were living things instead of computer programs, scientists are discovering some of their secrets for the first time.

MIT Technology Review

#Creationists love the idea that the #genetic #code and #computer code are fundamentally the same thing. Since of course #programs are #designed (not always #intelligently, but that's another post) they think this is proof that life was too.

They seize on one-liners from those they regard as infidels and heretics, because then they can say, "See? Even unbelievers admit that ..." Bill Gates and Richard Dawkins, both known for going outside their lanes, are popular choices. Gates: "#DNA is like a computer program but far, far more advanced than any software ever created." Dawkins: "I'm fascinated by the idea that genetics is digital. A #gene is a long sequence of coded letters, like computer information."

I get why this is a popular analogy. Unfortunately, it's also a bad one. Those of us with one foot in each field know the differences far outweigh the similarities. Which leads me to the following epigram:

Many #programmers say genes look like code. Many #biologists say code looks like genes. No #bioinformaticist says either.

B.C. biologists identify unique sounds of 8 fish species
There are grunts and growls, knocks and croaks but the wild sounds detected by a team of British Columbia researchers don't belong to any of the province's famous forest creatures.
#research #discovery #BritishColumbia #Environment #Biologists #Fish
https://globalnews.ca/news/11605997/bc-biologists-sounds-8-fish-species/
B.C. biologists identify unique sounds of 8 fish species
There are grunts and growls, knocks and croaks but the wild sounds detected by a team of British Columbia researchers don't belong to any of the province's famous forest creatures.
#research #discovery #BritishColumbia #Environment #Biologists #Fish
https://globalnews.ca/news/11605997/bc-biologists-sounds-8-fish-species/
B.C. biologists identify unique sounds of 8 fish species
There are grunts and growls, knocks and croaks but the wild sounds detected by a team of British Columbia researchers don't belong to any of the province's famous forest creatures.
#research #discovery #BritishColumbia #Environment #Biologists #Fish
https://globalnews.ca/news/11605997/bc-biologists-sounds-8-fish-species/
B.C. biologists identify unique sounds of 8 fish species
There are grunts and growls, knocks and croaks but the wild sounds detected by a team of British Columbia researchers don't belong to any of the province's famous forest creatures.
#research #discovery #BritishColumbia #Environment #Biologists #Fish
https://globalnews.ca/news/11605997/bc-biologists-sounds-8-fish-species/
🎉 Ah, GeneGuessr: the daily web #puzzle for aspiring #biologists who have too much free time and a passion for guessing proteins 🍃. Who needs a PhD when you can just tap to reveal hints and feel like a genetic mastermind for five minutes a day? 🧬🔍
https://geneguessr.brinedew.bio/ #GeneGuessr #ProteinGuessing #DailyChallenge #GeneticMastermind #HackerNews #ngated
GeneGuessr - Daily Protein Guessing Game

Lunch break riddles for life scientists. Best enjoyed while your Western blot is running.

Brinedew.bio
A team of #biologists led by Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) has identified a specific #genetic factor that controls complex social behavior in male #honeybees (drones). The study reveals that a single transcription factor is responsible for the "begging" behavior drones use to solicit food from workers.
#Genetics #Entomology #EvolutionaryBiology #sflorg
https://www.sflorg.com/2025/12/gen12222501.html
Begging gene leads to drone food

The researchers pinpointed the "Fruitless" (Fru) protein, a transcription factor active only in males, as the regulator of this behavior.