Katja Lilja

Philosopher, health scientist, Iyengar Yoga teacher, Pilates teacher, coach, personal trainer, public speaker, editor, writer.

[Science News @SciencNews]

The importance of stupidity in scientific research

[Brian Greene @bgreene]

The conundrum of consciousness is the topic of today's freewheeling conversation, with the insightful pair David Chalmers and Anil Seth. Check it out. https://t.co/A0QIAfhQJn

[Katja Lilja @katjalilja]

https://t.co/LmE45gspRd

[Vittorio Gallese @GalleseVittorio]

A thourough criticism of Predictive Processing, the new 'theory of everything'.

https://t.co/do9ZwOqZdk

[Katja Lilja @katjalilja]

https://t.co/aLCtatMTjW

[Katri Saarikivi @katrisaarikivi]

Hyvää maanantaita! Miksi poliittisten aiheiden parissa voi tuntua siltä, että "ne toiset" ovat usein paitsi moraalittomia, myös täysin järjenköyhiä? Tässä kolumni, jossa tiivistän melko törkyturpaisten tutkijoiden löydöksiä siitä, miten politiikan piirissä moraali löystyy ja päättelykyky katoaa. Kyynisimmät väittävät jopa, että "politiikka tekee meistä kaikista paskiaisia". Kiperä kysymyshän tässä on se, päteekö löydös itseeni, vain vain niihin toisiin? :D

https://t.co/ni70iN68bi

[Katja Lilja @katjalilja]

@matyi7m @GalleseVittorio @AnnaCiaunica I would be interested too😊

[Anna Ciaunica PhD @annaciaunica.bsky.social @AnnaCiaunica]

Cool new paper on the role of subcortical regions for the sense of body ownership 👇🏼

With imp implications for the origins of self consciousness in early life
Something that @lauracrucianel1 and myself we adressed here in 2019:

https://t.co/5hQxiKjEzM
Well done Laura 😎!

[Anita Leirfall @anitaleirfall]

Neuroscience vs Philosophy: Explaining the secrets of the mind

Join @smithbarryc, Roger Bolton, Steven Rose & Margaret Boden as they go head-to-head and ask: is it possible we’ve discovered a science to replace philosophy & can finally make real progress? https://t.co/JgJI6ycz2D

[Katja Lilja @katjalilja]

Even Worms Feel Pain - Nautilus https://t.co/6RRGLroaxA

[Katja Lilja @katjalilja]

What are 'the laws of biology'? https://t.co/JzaPfk7wcB

[Katja Lilja @katjalilja]

[2310.04168] Hanging in there: Prenatal origins of antigravity homeostasis in humans https://t.co/WpMBVjghE6

[Katja Lilja @katjalilja]

Self-administered stretching exercises are as effective as motor control exercises for people with chronic non-specific low back pain: a randomised trial - ScienceDirect https://t.co/p1p5aJqQlc

[Katja Lilja @katjalilja]

From Fear to Safety: A Roadmap to Recovery From Musculoskeletal Pain - PubMed https://t.co/CpHzpvC50Q

[Katja Lilja @katjalilja]

Beliefs about the body and pain: the critical role in musculoskeletal pain management - PMC https://t.co/wC4Vmzamlo

[Veera Rajagopal  @doctorveera]

Don't miss the first 10 mins of the Nature podcast where the senior author J. T. Lennon beautifully explains the backstory of the paper.
https://t.co/a7qWjVYGJJ

[Veera Rajagopal  @doctorveera]

A mind-blowing paper has come out today in @Nature

In 2016, JC Venter Institute scientists trimmed a bacterial genome to its barest minimum required for life to synthesize what they called a "minimal genome" (https://t.co/Rk8oZJ0bUj).

Today, a group of scientists from Indiana University reports how that minimal genome evolved over 2000 generations in comparison to the non-minimal genome.

The authors found that even when you reduce a bacterial genome to its absolute minimum where every nucleotide matters, the genome undergoes mutational events generation after generation as much as the non-minimal genome. One simply cannot stop the evolution.

Just over 300 days of evolution (equivalent to 40,000 years in humans) the minimal cell has gained everything it lacked in fitness on day one in comparison to the non-minimal cell.

When comparing the evolved traits between the minimal and non-minimal cells, the scientists found something striking. The evolutionary process increased the cell size of non-minimal cells but not that of the minimal cell. But that is not the striking part.

The scientists were able to identify the key mutation that resulted in cell size evolution. And it turned out that the mutation that helped the non-minimal cells to grow bigger is the same that helped the minimal cells to stay smaller. Growing bigger had a survival advantage for non-minimal cells and not growing bigger had a survival advantage for minimal cells. So, the mutation had a context-dependent effect. This just demonstrates that the evolutionary effects on traits have no absolute direction. All that matter is what is beneficial for the organism's survival.

The conclusion of the paper is metaphorically a quote from the Jurassic Park movie:

“Listen, if there’s one thing the history of evolution has taught us is that life will not be contained. Life breaks free. It expands to new territories, and it crashes through barriers painfully, maybe even dangerously, but . . . life finds a way". (https://t.co/UlxRlb86CT)

https://t.co/zA9OAqSoAu

[Katja Lilja @katjalilja]

https://t.co/RRJPdhJ9by

[Katja Lilja @katjalilja]

Olipa innostava keskustelu. Kiitos filosofi Sara Heinämaa, teologi Heikki Nenonen ja toimittaja Sari Valto. Otahan kuunteluun! https://t.co/kHeSeaoZ2c
#yleareena

[Katja Lilja @katjalilja]

@SarasvuoJari Lähentelee neroutta✌️