Alyson Smith

Scientist and scientific writer @ValaSci. PhD in #CellBiology. Tweeting about science, #scicomm, #MentalHealth, books, baking, and cool animals.

[Alyson Smith @cellbionerd]

The legacy of Geraldine P. Woods https://t.co/5XFpcBcma0

[Alyson Smith @cellbionerd]

This intellectual work can take even longer than the time AI is saving, and it remains just as important as ever.

[Alyson Smith @cellbionerd]

Interesting take on the role of AI in science.

It’s good to be cautious about over-interpreting AI-generated results, to confirm them with alternative methods and do what we can to learn how the models work or don’t work.

https://t.co/9yDxSwbkCd

[Alyson Smith @cellbionerd]

When we hear that AI models can do years of work in minutes, a lot of the work saved is slow, painstaking lab work. But what AI seems less capable of replacing is the intellectual work of understanding the results of that work and how to apply them.

[Alyson Smith @cellbionerd]

The culture of imperfection on social media makes us miss out on connecting with and learning from people who have a different story. I’m glad @ng_rosenzweig found a platform to share his.

[Alyson Smith @cellbionerd]

“There are no second chances. I couldn’t find more than one other person who had a scar revision, though the Facebook group I belong to has over 15,000 members. So many of us believe that it is, essentially, one and done. And then you live with it…”

https://t.co/7yhgdHYiTB

[Alyson Smith @cellbionerd]

“…of the overwhelming desire to go on a run and feel the smooth, flat expanse of my chest moving along with me. I would make perfection out of all the imperfect cards I had been given, and in that, I would find the kind of happiness that brings us to tears.”

[Alyson Smith @cellbionerd]

In the end, I think consistency in word choice is more important than choosing the "correct" word. I like to think that most readers won't get hung up on each vs every as long as they see the same words in the same contexts.

#WritingLife #Grammar #Words #ScienceWriting

[Alyson Smith @cellbionerd]

Like most people who write in English, I often struggle with which of two or more similar words to use.

My recent struggle was 'each' vs 'every'. There are dozens of graphics like this floating around online, trying to bring some clarity.

https://t.co/ElNQaoYZaa

[Alyson Smith @cellbionerd]

If I stare at the tables long enough, I think I understand the differences. But once I try to use the words in another context, I get confused again.

Part of my frustration comes from knowing that my meaning is clear from context, regardless of which word I'm "supposed to" use.

[The Nobel Prize @NobelPrize]

BREAKING NEWS
The 2023 #NobelPrize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman for their discoveries concerning nucleoside base modifications that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19.

[Alyson Smith @cellbionerd]

“My head is then free to do other things. Like, you know, the stuff on the list. There are no branded tools you have to buy, and no subscriptions. It cannot be monetized. Write on the back of your water bill, for all I care. Just remember to pay your water bill.”

[Alyson Smith @cellbionerd]

https://t.co/tL3Li0vco7

By @amandamull

“Writing down a list forces me to recall all of the things that are swimming around in my head and occasionally breaking through to steal my attention, and then it moves the tasks from my head onto the paper…”

[Alyson Smith @cellbionerd]

But putting new language to experiences that feel tangled up in these institutions, parsing them out, exploring them in community, there is a lot of power and potential for all of us to write a new story there.” (5/5)

[Alyson Smith @cellbionerd]

https://t.co/YyirYC3GrR

“Having the space to think and write and talk with others about the connections between these parts of ourselves, the shame and guilt we carry for who we become, the way we often find ourselves isolated in caregiving, in our sexual lives, (1/5)

[Alyson Smith @cellbionerd]

I write in the book how one woman– i.e. me– finding her way back to writing or her body or herself is not enough to meet this current political and social moment. (4/5)