Xander Balwit @AlexandraBalwit Twitter profile

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Xander Balwit

5 days

Update: I have moved to San Francisco, and I am still ridiculous. Boston can breathe easy again. See ya’ll at and Manifest. Come talk writing!

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

7 months

I am thrilled to announce that I will be working with @NikoMcCarty to build out Asimov Press, a digital magazine exploring what it means to live in the era of biotechnology.

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

29 days

Guys, she is a beauty. Her mind (content) and her cougar white vellum paper, Smyth-sewn binding, and foil-stamped cover. We are so grateful to our wonderful authors, advisors, and our readers for helping us make this happen.

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

8 months

AI ethics for girls 💕

davidad 🎇

@davidad

9 months

There are at least 10 different kinds of potential conflict for which a kind of AI ethics is needed to prescribe good resolutions. I hope this taxonomy will help people whose primary concerns differ to better understand each other.

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

8 months

What’s in your gratitude journal?

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

4 months

Since reading @Tom_J_Ireland 's book earlier this year, I've been captivated by the potential of phages both in and as therapeutics. But where are they? For @AsimovPress , we asked Tom to tell us what it would take to scale phage therapy. Read it here:

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

6 months

We are thrilled to have the inimitable @salonium as an advisor for @AsimovPress . The clarity and depth of her writing have been inspiring us for years.

Saloni 🏳️‍🌈

@salonium

6 months

There's a new biology publishing outlet in town! And the website is beautiful 😍 Awesome work @NikoMcCarty @AlexandraBalwit . Can't wait to read more amazing biotech writing 🦠🧬

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

1 year

I am thrilled to be helping with publicity for Richard Fisher’s forthcoming book, The Long View. If you are curious about the pressures that force us into presentist thinking and want to learn how it's possible to widen our temporal views, I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Richard Fisher

@rifish

2 years

Hurray! I can finally share the cover of my upcoming book - The Long View: Why We Need To Transform How The World Sees Time

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

1 year

@buxwal I can help! Look at these cygnets I spotted at EAG.

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

2 months

Enormously excited to see @AsimovPress in print! Inspired by classic books, our inaugural issue is something of a timeless beauty; an Audrey Hepburn of engineered biology. This couldn't have been possible without our outstanding authors. Thank you.

Niko McCarty 🧫

@NikoMcCarty

2 months

The first @AsimovPress book is officially at the printers. We plan to have copies available for sale at the @SynBioBeta conference in San Jose from May 6-9. Printing is a complex endeavor that I didn't fully appreciate until now. @AlexandraBalwit made it possible. A preview.👇

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

3 months

Thrilled to share my contribution to @AsimovPress today! Our first piece of fiction, The Vector Zoo, asks you to contend with the challenges of disease eradication and human-animal entanglement. Read it here:

Asimov Press

@AsimovPress

3 months

Our first piece of fiction is now live! THE VECTOR ZOO explores a future wherein a portion of humanity has given up on controlling vector-borne diseases, instead sheltering within sealed suits and sterile cities. Is there a better way forward?

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

4 months

Moving to Boston next week. Please hit me up if you want to meet up to talk about writing/biotech, or if you have recommendations for museums, choice dog parks, vegan restaurants, or boxing gyms.

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

1 year

I am thrilled to have a short piece of fiction published by the @longnow ! It was a treat to imagine what kind of cultural events and attitudes a tradition like the Pantone Color of the Year might be connecting with 100 years hence. Concern for invertebrate suffering perhaps…

Long Now Foundation

@longnow

1 year

We finished the year with poems from @elliebotoman and James Steck and short stories from @AndrewDHudson and @AlexandraBalwit , each taking an artistic lens to long-term thinking.

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

2 months

Me staring down Paul Graham tbh

Stefan Schubert

@StefanFSchubert

2 months

tfw you look up a word you're about to use and it says "archaic"

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

2 years

She will do great things. Managing Ruby's campaign has been one of the largest achievements of my life. Although, it helps that women this smart, data-driven, and hardworking basically manage themselves.

Colorado WINS

@COWINS_union

2 years

Congrats to @RubyForColorado on your victory in HD 37! Can't wait to work with you going forward.

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

6 months

Biology is complicated. The cell is a roiling mass of frenetic activity: a “living laboratory.” We need more people flinging the doors to this laboratory open. That is why I am honored and excited to join these @IdeasFellows in producing exceptional biology writing.

Ideas Matter

@IdeasFellows

6 months

Announcing the inaugural Ideas Matter cohort! Our 14 fellows represent 6 different countries and will spend 8 weeks writing about big ideas in biology. Their work spans everything from animal welfare to synthetic biology and biodefense. Learn more:

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

2 years

Incredibly excited to have some of my short stories selected by @effective_ideas for June! These pieces highlight my optimism about reaching a better future while navigating humanity’s fallibility along the way. I cannot wait to read the others. Please enjoy!

The Blog Prize 👀

@effective_ideas

2 years

We liked how Xander’s stories were neither utopian nor dystopian, but conveyed the nuance of a world in which emancipatory technology has arrived and our culture is still adjusting around it.

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

1 month

Back-to-work-on-Monday Xander just dropped. Kool & The Gang was hitting too hard to get off at the right T stop, but all is in order now and you’ll find me well in my emails.

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

2 years

@ben_a_goldfarb @brdemuth @DavidQuammen @nelangst @danpatrickegan I would add @nytegan 's "The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the fire that saved America" on the birth of the forest service and the legacy of fire suppression in America. Egan's "The Worst Hard Time" on the Dust Bowl is also unparalleled when it comes to environmental history.

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

2 years

Fascinating article by @AdamJShriver . Turns out that the three strongest arguments in favor of using neuron counts as a proxy all fail. TL;DR: Brains are complicated.

Peter Wildeford in DC until May 30 🏛️

@peterwildeford

2 years

The hottest moral weight post of 2022 is out... "Using Neuron Counts As a Proxy for Moral Weight" (aka don't do it)

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

8 months

From “fever therapy” (intentionally using Malarial fever to fight other pathogens) to why it’s surprisingly hard to make vaccines for parasites, Saloni delivers the goods. And if you think 3 hrs is long, imagine waiting 141 years for a malaria vaccine.

Saloni 🏳️‍🌈

@salonium

8 months

I had a great fun, 3 hour long conversation with @finmoorhouse & @lucafrighetti on their podcast “Hear This Idea” We talked about the history of malaria, the incredibly long (& frustrating) journey to a malaria vaccine, missing data & more! Listen here:

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

8 months

Fantastic essay exploring some of the contortionism within Singer's hedonic utilitarianism and Nussbaum's capabilities approach with regard to the ethical treatment of animals. Incisive, shrewd, and fair it's worth a read. Let them eat oysters

Lorna Finlayson · Let them eat oysters: Animal Ethics

It hardly needs to be said that all is not well with our world. We are disempowered, isolated and (quite rationally)...

www.lrb.co.uk

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

1 year

So you folks care about welfare huh? Even his?

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

6 months

@AsimovPress has officially launched––and with it, so has our mission: to spread ideas that elucidate the promise of biology, take its concomitant risks seriously, and direct talent toward solving pressing problems. Learn more & subscribe:

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

7 months

Blown away by the preponderance and power of phages. These infinitesimal bacteria-killing viruses make up the greatest source of genetic diversity on the planet, yet 99% of them are unknown. @Tom_J_Ireland exposes their secrets and shows us how they might transform medicine.

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

11 months

After enjoying his essays, I'm thrilled to finally have my paws on a copy of @wrwveit book! I'll report back once I have read the whole thing, but even from an initial look, I can say that his treatment of this incredible subject will be a thorough and beautifully written one.

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

6 months

I asked a group of kids on a Scottish bus to stop stomping their feet and vaping into the back of my dad’s head. They all called me a knob. Did not feel like a win.

Rachel 🌷

@underthenettle

6 months

Asked a man to stop playing tiktoks out loud on the train – I thought he was by himself but turns out he was with the four men sat opposite us. They all looked at me like I was being weird, but he DID put his phone down and start talking to his friends. Counting that as a win.

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

6 months

The astounding history behind blood typing and conversion is made even more fascinating when viewed as an “interspecies history.” A thread...

Niko McCarty 🧫

@NikoMcCarty

6 months

A brief history of converting blood types. 🩸 Blood types were first discovered more than a century ago by this guy, Karl Landsteiner. More recently, biologists have uncovered enzymes that can convert A, B, or AB types to O. But where did the enzymes come from? Why haven't

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

7 months

Excited that I got to visit Dolly the sheep before leaving Edinburgh. Equally giddy that they embrace her ovine trappings—replete with fake excrement!

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

1 year

One of my favorite episodes so far. Luisa absolutely smashes it and Rob is a wonderfully engaging speaker––erudite, but clear. He does a great job of engaging with Luisa's questions about what AI sentience or digital minds "look like."

Robert Long

@rgblong

1 year

I really enjoyed talking about artificial sentience with my friend Luisa Rodriguez for the 80,000 Hours podcast. Some highlights if you're interested 🧵

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

1 month

I am bullish on technology and animal welfare. When they come together, some pretty astounding things are possible. It was a joy working with @robert_yaman to publish this piece on a trio of technologies that can make poultry supply chains more humane. In-ovo sexing, on-farm

Asimov Press

@AsimovPress

1 month

7 billion male chicks are killed each year in the egg industry, simply because they can't lay eggs. New technologies can prevent this. In today's essay, @robert_yaman explores "pre-hatch" technologies that improve animal welfare. Read & subscribe:

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

1 year

I’m thrilled to support my friend Jay Shooster in his bid for office. He is driven, singularly devoted to helping others, and will be an incredible representative.

Jay Shooster

@JayShooster

1 year

Today I officially announced my campaign to flip Florida HD-91. We're already feeling the momentum. Watch the clip and join us 👇

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

10 months

I'm thrilled to have been a part of this project. @patrickbutlin , @rgblong , and their co-authors did a masterful job tackling the enormously thorny question of consciousness in AI systems. Rigorous and urgent, I hope to see this report initiate further research and conversation

Robert Long

@rgblong

10 months

1/ Could AI systems be conscious any time soon? @patrickbutlin and I worked with leading voices in neuroscience, AI, and philosophy to bring scientific rigor to this topic. Our new report aims to provide a comprehensive resource and program for future research 🧵

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

2 months

I enjoyed working on this piece immensely. While it doesn’t surprise me that some of the most fascinating discoveries emerge from synergisms, it does surprise me that something as important as artemisinin could be discovered in a period not known for its scientific progress.

Asimov Press

@AsimovPress

2 months

Today's essay tells the story of how artemisinin, a drug that has saved millions of lives, was found by Chinese scientists as part of a secret military project in 1971. @WendiYan5 went deep into the archives, drawing upon newly published Chinese texts.

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

2 years

I cannot wait for artificial wombs. I saw #GATTACA in 9th grade and imagined we would be further along by the time I was 25. Read my short-fiction here: @effective_ideas

The Anatomy Of Choice

The Anatomy of Choice The week before Margot had her daughter, she ran a marathon. She had always wanted to complete one and figured she should do so while her time was still largely her own. When...

docs.google.com

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

1 year

I absolutely love seeing people ideating in public like this. Fin lists some brilliant and worthwhile projects here. I would be a voracious reader of The Humanity Times. Give this a read if you have a moment.

Fin Moorhouse

@finmoorhouse

1 year

Some project ideas which I think could be impactful

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

8 months

I am no museum conservator, but this is no way to treat a bat. Found at the Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum.

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

9 months

I highly encourage anyone interested in discussions surrounding AI consciousness to attend this virtual event tomorrow. Facilitated by the incredible NYU Mind, Ethics, and Policy Program, you'll have an opportunity to speak with some of the leading voices on this topic.

Jeff Sebo

@jeffrsebo

9 months

The NYU Mind, Ethics, and Policy Program is thrilled to be hosting a panel on the recently released AI consciousness report! Join us on Sep 5 at 4pm ET on Zoom for discussion with report authors @patrickbutlin , @rgblong , @neurograce , and Yoshua Bengio.

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

6 months

Wild Animal Initiative does amazing work. This is an excellent opportunity for someone who wants to support a highly neglected and wildly impactful field of research.

Wild Animal Initiative

@forwildanimals

6 months

Exciting news! 🚀 Wild Animal Initiative is on the lookout for a Science Writer & Editor to join our team. If you’re a skilled writer/editor ready to transform complex science into impactful content, let’s connect! 📚✨ #ScienceCommunication #Job #AnimalWelfare

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

10 months

I am also ecstatic that the recommendation I put forward for an animal to represent non-human intelligence, the Caracara, was accepted. The case that @JonathanMeiburg puts forth about their intelligence in The Most Remarkable Creature cannot be missed.

Robert Long

@rgblong

10 months

12/ By “consciousness” we do *not* mean rationality, understanding, self-awareness, or intelligence—much less “general” or “human-level” intelligence. As with animals, it’s an open possibility that AI systems could be conscious while lacking human-level cognitive capabilities

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

3 months

Want to write for @AsimovPress , but need help deciding what to write about? Today we are sharing some ideas for stories we would love to publish at Asimov Press. Please reach out if you are inspired to explore one of these or know someone who would be a perfect fit.

Asimov Press

@AsimovPress

3 months

We're excited about this one: We're openly sharing biology-focused story ideas that we’d like to publish. Check out the list and let us know if you’d like to write on any of these subjects! We’ll help you at every step along the way, and then pay you :)

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

2 years

It is such an honor to have my work published in the inaugural issue of @asteriskmgzn alongside such brilliant thinkers and writers.

Asterisk

@asteriskmgzn

2 years

"These chickens resembled something between an animal and a fruit, an observation that is encapsulated by the product’s official slogan: They may as well grow on trees." Read @AlexandraBalwit 's short story in Asterisk's inaugural issue - out now.

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

5 months

Excited to share this fascinating and wide-ranging conversation on the progress and pitfalls of human challenge trials with @jeeeberts 🦟 2nd piece from @AsimovPress is out now! Read it here:

Deliberate Dysentery

Progress and pitfalls in human challenge trials.

www.asimov.press

Asimov Press

@AsimovPress

5 months

Researchers have been intentionally infecting people with pathogens for centuries. But the number of "challenge trials" almost doubled from the 2000s to the 2010s. What accounts for their newfound popularity? And how do we measure their value? 🧵 Read:

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

2 years

Called out by the Rep. herself. It was truly an honor!

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

1 year

There is no humane way to slaughter octopuses that are destined for human consumption. "Bycatch" is a misleading and obfuscating term. Tinned fish is not a "hot girl" food. It's an overhyped and overpriced glamorization of cruelty.

Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

1 year

What's Working: Tinned Fish Frenzy

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

1 year

It’s 19th century German romanticism for me—and the gun fight at the O.K corral. I have a degree to show for the former and, with respect to the latter, I have been to re-enactments and purchased prop guns.

Joyce Carol Oates

@JoyceCarolOates

1 year

are there instances of women becoming obsessed with historic events? definitely a male preoccupation with certain phases of history (Civil War, Nazis, Hitler) & reenactments of battles. women may obsess over reading, music & dance, kitties, doggies, clothes, gardening, men.

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

5 months

Speaking with @jeeeberts about human challenge trials for @AsimovPress was a joy, filled with surprises and intriguing details My favorite part? He not only intentionally got Zika, but took part in a “fun bonus” which amounted to being repeatedly bitten by mosquitos...

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

2 months

Our second piece of sci-fi is live on @AsimovPress today! @RichardMCNgo considers what happens when chip manufacturing is no longer constrained by the complexity of photolithography. "A new era of computing is about to begin..." Read here:

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

1 year

Oxford friends—I fear the worst has happened to your precious library. It’s been turned into an even-toed ungulate.

Bodleian Libraries

@bodleianlibs

1 year

@natashakbailey

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

6 months

@AsimovPress has officially launched 🚀 Subscribe and follow for lucid, probabilistic, and beautiful writing about biology!

Niko McCarty 🧫

@NikoMcCarty

6 months

Asimov Press, a new publishing venture that features writing about biology, launched today. Our magazine and books will cover everything from biosecurity to vaccine development & the long arc of progress in genetic engineering. Learn more & subscribe:

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

10 months

Devoured @CogsAndy book on the predictive processing theory of consciousness this weekend. It even provoked an artwork (which arose as an action because I already imagined the effect of having done that action).

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

10 months

@ReflectiveAlt @Kat__Woods See I thought the yellow people were joking. And you say you aren’t?

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

11 months

I finally wrote about my experience at the @HunterianLondon What an incredible place––ghastly and completely gripping. "It is not a menagerie of gore, but a fête of progress."

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

9 months

Finally got around to listening to this conversation with @ohlennart . Another absolute banger from @80000Hours --dense and hopeful. The compute governance material was engrossing...but the plan zed that involves assembling a team of sled dogs...possibly even more amazing.

Robert Wiblin

@robertwiblin

1 year

I speak with @ohlennart : "If compute governance is only a temporary phase between the era of difficult-to-train superhuman AI models and the time when such models are widely accessible — what can we do to prevent misuse of AI systems after that point?"

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

1 year

@mealreplacer That’s the spirit. If your moral circle doesn’t include leviathans, demons, and chimera is it really big enough?

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

7 months

Time to get reading!

Works in Progress

@WorksInProgMag

7 months

🚨 There is a new issue of Works In Progress out today! 🚨 It could be our best yet, and features articles from @manosijm_ , @HannesMalmberg1 , @bomalmb , @davidfromterra , @petersuderman , @_westerlywinds , @markothoughts , and @ulkar_aghayeva

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

2 months

I am going to start sharing some Friday flash fiction. Please feel free to write along. 🧠

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

1 year

@jeffrsebo death and taxa

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

2 years

It was a sheer joy to cross paths with Senator @MichaelBennet at the women's march in Denver! He is a paragon of exemplary leadership and kindness. #VoteBlue2022

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

6 months

Thankful for Theo and ⁦ @avitalbalwit ⁩. Feeling grateful to have clever siblings that constantly teach me new things about the world and myself in it.

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

1 year

About once a month I can count on losing a day of work because I succumb to a surge of emotion brought on by some combination and of listening to Elvis and seeing a particularly dutiful guide dog.

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

2 years

I want to thank @jacobceaton for the thoughtful edits, @ilex_ulmus for deepening my understanding of animal physiology and pain, and @AdamJShriver for the incredible discussion about the ethical implications of using bioengineering to enhance animal welfare.

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

7 months

My piece explores how humanity might value future nature, asking: How will we relate to the biosphere as we radically transform our dependence upon it?

How Much is Nature Worth? | The Latecomer

“We should save the old-growth forests as a matter of national defense,” asserts the eccentric mycologist Paul Stamets. Delivered in a documentary about the medicinal properties of mushrooms, the...

latecomermag.com

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

1 year

Fish Are Not Insentient Dullards One of my favorite article titles in recent memory and well worth the read.

Fish Are Not Insentient Dullards

More stimulating environments for captive fish could improve scientific research.

nautil.us

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

28 days

Working with @MWCvitkovic would be a privilege. I’ve never met someone more passionate and knowledgeable about transformative neurotech. Check out open roles at Integral👇

Milan Cvitkovic

@MWCvitkovic

28 days

If you: 1. are an engineer or startup operator 2. want to build the next generation of transformative neurotech 3. want to do outstanding work with an outstanding team come be one of our first team members at Integral! (details in thread ↓)

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

1 year

@frances__lorenz Superb. It’s not even 11 yet and I’ve already handled multiple snails.

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

1 year

I am thrilled for @rifish for launching his first book! It’s an incredible achievement and a phenomenal work of non-fiction. I am grateful to be helping with some external publicity for The Long View, although, I believe the book’s excellence will speak for itself!

Richard Fisher

@rifish

1 year

🎉 A big day for me today: The Long View is published! 🎉 We wanted to mark the launch with something special - and so here is the cover... in wood! The story behind it speaks to the kindness & creativity I often encounter in long-minded communities. Here's how it was made...

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

7 months

I am extremely excited to be part of the inaugural issue of @latecomermag , a new publication that resolutely devotes itself to posterity while challenging our intuitions about the future.

The Latecomer

@latecomermag

7 months

For the latecomers, bones. The Latecomer is now live. Articles by @AlexandraBalwit @hsu_steve @CJHandmer @allisondman and others.

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

11 months

It couldn’t have arrived at a better time. Post beach visit, I am always left pondering the quality and content of various organisms’ consciousness—and I need a better tool kit for doing so.

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

2 years

I’ll miss being out in the woods this summer. Be smart with your fires out there campers and recreators, or I might have to spray you with my toy hose.

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

1 year

Always a fun surprise seeing @80000Hours ads in the wild. I think supporting science YouTubers is a superb way to reach people thinking about how to do good with their careers—and a superb move in general. Can water solve a maze? via @YouTube

Can water solve a maze?

Head to https://80000hours.org/steve to start planning a career that is meaningful, fulfilling, and helps solve one of the world’s most pressing problems.Her...

www.youtube.com

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

2 months

Come write on some sci-fi-inspired prompts with me next Tuesday 4/16 in Boston! Spots are limited, but ideas and ale will overfloweth.

Flash Sci-Fi Writing Night | Partiful

Join Asimov Press for another night of sci-fi writing. This time, we will respond to short prompts and write flash fiction. If you are already working on something, no worries! Come enjoy an ale and...

partiful.com

Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

2 months

A care package from the future contains what?

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

1 year

@ilex_ulmus It is cute! And expressive faces rule.

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

1 year

Happy Bat Appreciation Day for all who celebrate.

Adam Sharp

@AdamCSharp

1 year

Happy #BatAppreciationDay ! Here’s a list of the meanings of words for bats in various languages: 7. Half-mouse half-bird (Romansch) 6. Flutter mouse (German) 5. Leather mouse (Estonian) 4. Bald mouse (French) 3. Blind mouse (Spanish) 2. Bad mouse (Basque) 1. Not a ghoul (Polish)

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

6 months

I highly recommend this thoughtful and quietly urgent episode on xenotransplantation. Why is this innovative and potentially life-saving intervention struggling to move forward quickly? Turns out, xenotransplantation is hard. An (incomplete) 🧵.

NEJM

@NEJM

6 months

Dr. Robert Montgomery, director of the @nyulangone Transplant Institute, discusses a recent success with a two-month study of a pig-kidney xenotransplantation. 📌 Learn more in the latest episode of Intention to Treat:

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

1 month

Why should we limit vertical farming to plant matter?

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

1 year

An enduring obsession, I’ve sought out bats from the Bahamas to Austin. I’ve drawn them, dressed as them, and cogitated on what it is like to *be* them.

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

1 month

If, like me, you look out for news about progress towards inter-planetary civilization, then you'll enjoy our latest piece from @StorkDevon Just how likely is terraforming the red planet? What is "water activity" anyway? And what kind of organisms can withstand polyextreme

Asimov Press

@AsimovPress

1 month

Mars is the only serious candidate for terraforming. The moon has no atmosphere and Venus is too hot. But just how feasible is life on the Red Planet? In today's essay, @StorkDevon illuminates why nothing can grow on Mars* (*probably) Read it here:

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

5 months

We are thrilled to debut Asimov Press’ first article! We begin our journey at @AsimovPress by looking back in history at an innocuous little device for dispensing liquid that has become indispensable to science. Making the Micropipette––by @Meta_Celsus

Asimov Press

@AsimovPress

5 months

Making the Micropipette A seminal tool for every wet-lab scientist, a micropipette is used to transfer small volumes of liquid. It laid the foundation for modern biology. Our first essay uncovers the inventors and lawsuits that made it all possible.🧵

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

1 year

Here is an excerpt from a fascinating paper by Molly Gardner on whether animals can have 'meaning' in their lives. I sincerely hope their often brief and perilous lives are marked by moments of love and pleasure. I highly recommend reading the paper ⤵️

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

2 years

What is it like to (love) a bat?

Merlin Tuttle’s Bat Conservation

@MerlinsBats

2 years

Happy Halloween from all of us at MTBC, but especially this white-winged vampire bat cutie!

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

7 months

Choose your fighter— One of us produced spider silk in her milk that can be used for body armor and has a tissue culture going into space. The other is not a goat.

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

4 months

An excellent line-up of new pieces out from @WorksInProgMag today!

Nick Whitaker

@ns_whit

4 months

Nudges have failed. It’s time to find politically feasible ways to incentivize organ donation. Here are a few ideas. A very important article from two of my favorite young writers — @DuncanMcClement & @jasonhausenjoy .

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

3 months

I was completely blown away by the “Tender Farms” exhibit at MassArt. It’s described as “a petting zoo where lab grown meat and mechanized farming have made flesh and blood animals a forgotten phenomenon”

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

7 months

Y’all can have your OpenAI imbroglio. I am kind of busy following Minnesota as they select their new state flag.

Briana Bierschbach

@bbierschbach

7 months

Here's the leader board for state flag submissions, as voted on by commission members. They are going to do another round of voting to get to five.

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

8 months

@dioscuri This is amazing—a tiny P-E-D-A-N-T.

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

1 year

From a close-up of a card I drew for a dear friend.

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

1 year

@RafaRuizdeLira @buxwal They weren’t on Swapcard unfortunately

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

9 months

You’ll never guess who wished me good morning ☺️

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

1 year

1/5 of every mammal species is a bat! Truly astonishing little buggers.

Bat Conservation International

@BatConIntl

1 year

𝟏𝟰𝟲𝟮‼️ The newest bat species count is in at 1,462 species of the order Chiroptera! Bats are incredibly diverse and make up 20% of all mammal species. Due to ever-evolving discoveries in science and the elusive nature of bats, new species are being classified every year.

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

3 months

Come write sci-fi with us on March, 7th in Boston! We will have a prompt to get you started. Then see what comes out.

Asimov Press

@AsimovPress

3 months

Come join us!

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

29 days

You can purchase a copy here: Profits will be donated to @FightingMalaria We are only shipping to the US right now, but have plans to expand that. Stay posted!

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

2 years

Mukherjee's books are extraordinary. I had my doubts that anyone steeped in technical research to this degree would write gorgeous prose, but I have been moved to tears by his writing on numerous occasions. He is probably the most vital science writer of our age.

Siddhartha Mukherjee

@DrSidMukherjee

2 years

So here it is … Blue, gold and red (via Kiki Smith) … out on Oct 25th. Pre-order if you’d like I’ll post reading events next …

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

1 year

Great article from @MaxCRoser elucidating the pervasiveness of child mortality throughout history. The good news? It is decreasing in every country around the world. The bad news? For much of human history, there was very little progress...

Our World in Data

@OurWorldInData

1 year

What was the mortality rate of children in the past? And what we can learn from it for our future? These are the two questions @MaxCRoser asks in his updated article:

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

3 months

Excited to finally share this piece from @tomough about how we can inhibit the spread of surface pathogens. Tired: Handwashing and Bleach Wired: Copper surfaces and surface coatings, far UVC, graphene, and cellulose spray. Read more about these solutions (and Tom's

Asimov Press

@AsimovPress

3 months

Fomites are inanimate objects that can spread pathogens. They were a secondary cause of a massive SARS outbreak in 2003 that infected 329 people in a Hong Kong apartment complex and killed 42. Engineered materials -- including cellulose sprays -- could help prevent a repeat. 🧵

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

1 year

Today is my birthday! If you are able, you can help me celebrate by donating to a cause that I feel strongly about––invertebrate welfare! Link on how to donate to this incredible program below⤵️

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

1 year

Did you know there are ways to counter to demon of noontime? Perseverance, tears, momento mori, and “talking back to the devil” are a few historic methods. Personally, when I feel the familiar ennui and threat of the demon, I opt for an excess of caffeine. What else is there?

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

1 year

@smartereveryday Working in and around emerging technology policy, progess studies, and science communication. I watch your channel because you are a high-quality educator and technologist, and because you celebrate the work of folks that many of us urbanites (wrongly) tend to cast as simple.

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

2 months

This week's installment of Flash Fiction Friday 👁️👁️👁️

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

4 months

We often think of biology at the scale of organisms. At this resolution, biology seems stable, discernable, and plodding. But what about when we zoom in? This beautiful piece of writing by @NikoMcCarty on biological numeracy takes you deeper inside the chaos of the cell.

Asimov Press

@AsimovPress

4 months

Fast Biology 🚀 Cells are crowded and very fast places. Sugar molecules cruise at 250 mph, and ATP-making enzymes whip around 134 times per second. But these numbers seem made up. How do we know they're real? Our first editor's column, by @NikoMcCarty .

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Xander Balwit

@AlexandraBalwit

9 months

@ben_a_goldfarb @Powells @GloriaDickie I ran.

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