Some people might be focusing too much on the discovery of CRISPR itself. What’s important and exciting here is that you don’t need to have skills to find something from existing data. Even more importantly, this is the autonomous science. It will be good and bad for science.
It’s academia problem, not science.
Purpose of scientific endeavors is to expand our knowledge and improve our lives. It doesn’t matter who has more papers or where ideas come from.
Use of publication number as a major indicator of productivity and trajectory is the problem.
Generative AI tools are increasingly being used in science. This raises a question: what counts as human authorship when some of a researcher’s work is mediated by AI?
go.nature.com/4gFfQMS
Too long. Make it shorter and more concise.
Your cold emails can be the golden ticket to your dream PhD lab. Here’s how:
Most applicants treat cold emails like polite introductions. That’s a mistake. A PI isn’t looking for politeness. They are scanning for signal. Can this person think, contribute, and reduce my uncertainty?
Here’s a research-oriented, high-leverage approach:
1. Start with a paper, not a profile
Don’t begin with “I’m interested in your work.” Begin with a specific claim from one of their recent papers.
Identify a gap, assumption, or unexplored extension.
2. Write a 3 to 4 sentence micro-proposal
Structure it like this:
Observation: What they did
Tension: What remains unclear or limited
Idea: Your proposed extension
Method hint: How you would approach it
This signals you are already thinking like a researcher, not an applicant.
3. Attach proof of execution, not just potential
Link 1 to 2 artifacts only:
A GitHub repo
A preprint
A tight 2-page research note
Each should directly relate to the idea you pitched.
4. Use the adjacent expertise angle
Labs do not just need clones. Position yourself as someone who brings a method or perspective they do not currently have but clearly need.
5. Ask a low-friction question
Instead of “Are you accepting students?” ask:
“Would this direction align with your current priorities, or am I missing a key constraint?”
This invites engagement, not rejection.
6. Timing is strategic, not random
Email right after:
A new paper release
A conference talk
A grant announcement
You are entering when attention is already on new ideas.
7. Subject line equals hypothesis, not a request.
Good: “Extending your X paper: idea on Y limitation”
8. Keep it under 350-400 words
Constraint forces clarity. Clarity signals intelligence.
DM me “cold-email” if you also want to create highly magnetic cold-emails that turn into interview offers.
OpenAI will probably claim authorships, patents, and “idea fees” in near future. Time to get AIs running on your computers locally.
Introducing Prism, a free workspace for scientists to write and collaborate on research, powered by GPT-5.2.
Available today to anyone with a ChatGPT personal account: prism.openai.com/
My advisor once told me to have two different types of projects; one which could be boring but gives you a paper, another gets you excited but it may not work out. It is always nice to have something to show that you accomplished something.
Problem is not the ChatGPT itself but the authors who decided to publish without any effort of editing, the editors and reviewers who didn’t even read the first sentence of introduction, and the academic nature encouraging mass production of papers. Blame the right ones.
Record what you eat and calculate calories. It’s as simple as calories in, calories out. It doesn’t matter how “busy” you are or how much you “tried” unless you understand what you are doing. Clarify a goal. Reducing weight is not losing fat. Work smarter, not harder.
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Drtats retweeted
One of my graduate students dropped by my office, exasperated, and said, "I don't know how to innovate. So, how can I do a PhD?".
I erased my whiteboard and began listing strategies for generating new research ideas. They left reassured and excited!
As #professors, we mentor and make knowledge accessible to empower our students. I hope this is helpful to others! #academicchatter #Phdlife #Highered
Can someone help? I hate to see the years of hard work wasted
📸 Look at this post on Facebook facebook.com/share/p/5Stc65s…
Obsidian is way better and free…
Why I use Notion to organize my PhD research
Maya Gosztyla describes the database tool as a ‘second brain’, helping her to coordinate her work.
go.nature.com/408Ba4A
