Bob Pellegrino
@kingfunk.bsky.social
Assistant Professor at Texas A&M University
Human psychophysicist interested in all things smell and texture.
📸: @smellboi24_7
Human psychophysicist interested in all things smell and texture.
📸: @smellboi24_7
Pinned
Bob Pellegrino
@kingfunk.bsky.social
· May 21
Rediscovering Flavor: A Practical Guide for Smell Loss
Rediscovering Flavor: A Practical Guide for Smell Loss: 9783032080554: Medicine & Health Science Books @ Amazon.com
www.amazon.com
20% of people have impaired smell. Almost no cookbooks account for that. #LongCOVID #anosmia
Rediscovering Flavor, a new type of cookbook, changes that — science, practical guidance, and recipes co-created with smell loss patients.
Preorder open now. 🧪 📖 🍽️
Rediscovering Flavor, a new type of cookbook, changes that — science, practical guidance, and recipes co-created with smell loss patients.
Preorder open now. 🧪 📖 🍽️
Reposted by Bob Pellegrino
Guy Who Sucks At Being A Person Sees Huge Potential In AI https://theonion.com/guy-who-sucks-at-being-a-person-sees-huge-potential-in-1850488022/
August 24, 2026 at 6:00 PM
Guy Who Sucks At Being A Person Sees Huge Potential In AI https://theonion.com/guy-who-sucks-at-being-a-person-sees-huge-potential-in-1850488022/
One of the better discussions on how LLMs work and can be used to understand cognition.
Mindscape 363 | Chandra Sripada on How LLMs and Humans are Cognitive Cousins. Food for thought here, whether you are biological or silicon! #MindscapePodcast
preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2026...
preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2026...
August 25, 2026 at 2:10 AM
One of the better discussions on how LLMs work and can be used to understand cognition.
Reposted by Bob Pellegrino
August 24, 2026 at 4:39 PM
Reposted by Bob Pellegrino
I have been meaning to write a post about a preprint that I'm pretty excited about:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
In neuroscience we often assume that we can learn something general about “the brain” using different species. But is this true?
Do monkeys even see the world the way we do?
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
In neuroscience we often assume that we can learn something general about “the brain” using different species. But is this true?
Do monkeys even see the world the way we do?
August 24, 2026 at 3:12 PM
I have been meaning to write a post about a preprint that I'm pretty excited about:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
In neuroscience we often assume that we can learn something general about “the brain” using different species. But is this true?
Do monkeys even see the world the way we do?
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
In neuroscience we often assume that we can learn something general about “the brain” using different species. But is this true?
Do monkeys even see the world the way we do?
Yeah I still keep up with the philly news
From the cheesesteak community on Reddit: I Ate A Cheesesteak Everyday For A Week Because We Got LeBron
Explore this post and more from the cheesesteak community
www.reddit.com
August 4, 2026 at 2:10 AM
Yeah I still keep up with the philly news
Reposted by Bob Pellegrino
Reposted by Bob Pellegrino
I wrote a new post on what we need to keep human and what to hand over to AI, with forays into experiments in education, consulting, and the the latest controversy over literary prizes. www.oneusefulthing.org/p/choosing-t...
Choosing to Stay Human
If you go to your favorite social media site, you will find it full of posts that start to look suspiciously similar to each other:
www.oneusefulthing.org
May 26, 2026 at 7:59 PM
I wrote a new post on what we need to keep human and what to hand over to AI, with forays into experiments in education, consulting, and the the latest controversy over literary prizes. www.oneusefulthing.org/p/choosing-t...
20% of people have impaired smell. Almost no cookbooks account for that. #LongCOVID #anosmia
Rediscovering Flavor, a new type of cookbook, changes that — science, practical guidance, and recipes co-created with smell loss patients.
Preorder open now. 🧪 📖 🍽️
Rediscovering Flavor, a new type of cookbook, changes that — science, practical guidance, and recipes co-created with smell loss patients.
Preorder open now. 🧪 📖 🍽️
Rediscovering Flavor: A Practical Guide for Smell Loss
Rediscovering Flavor: A Practical Guide for Smell Loss: 9783032080554: Medicine & Health Science Books @ Amazon.com
www.amazon.com
May 21, 2026 at 4:35 AM
20% of people have impaired smell. Almost no cookbooks account for that. #LongCOVID #anosmia
Rediscovering Flavor, a new type of cookbook, changes that — science, practical guidance, and recipes co-created with smell loss patients.
Preorder open now. 🧪 📖 🍽️
Rediscovering Flavor, a new type of cookbook, changes that — science, practical guidance, and recipes co-created with smell loss patients.
Preorder open now. 🧪 📖 🍽️
Reposted by Bob Pellegrino
Hiring a postdoc to do something nobody has done: record oscillatory signals from the human olfactory epithelium in awake humans. PhD in neuroscience, biomedical engineering, or adjacent. Real electrophysiology experience: single-unit, intracranial, or peripheral. Olfactory background optional.
May 16, 2026 at 9:09 PM
Hiring a postdoc to do something nobody has done: record oscillatory signals from the human olfactory epithelium in awake humans. PhD in neuroscience, biomedical engineering, or adjacent. Real electrophysiology experience: single-unit, intracranial, or peripheral. Olfactory background optional.
Reposted by Bob Pellegrino
Can we predict what a molecule smells like from its structure? A new exchange in @ChemSenses debates this question. 🧪 @kingfunk.bsky.social
April 17, 2026 at 8:20 PM
Can we predict what a molecule smells like from its structure? A new exchange in @ChemSenses debates this question. 🧪 @kingfunk.bsky.social
Howdy Y'all,
I'm running a sensory lab now 👀 The lab focuses on smells (duh), textures (🤔), and their interactions using big data approaches to relate the physical to the perceptual.
Lab manager posting linked here. Interested in a PhD? Just message me!
I'm running a sensory lab now 👀 The lab focuses on smells (duh), textures (🤔), and their interactions using big data approaches to relate the physical to the perceptual.
Lab manager posting linked here. Interested in a PhD? Just message me!
Lab Manager
Job TitleLab Manager Agency Texas A&M Agrilife Research Department Animal Science Proposed Minimum SalaryCommensurate Job LocationCollege Station, Texas Job TypeStaff Job Description About Texas A...
tamus.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com
April 15, 2026 at 10:54 PM
Howdy Y'all,
I'm running a sensory lab now 👀 The lab focuses on smells (duh), textures (🤔), and their interactions using big data approaches to relate the physical to the perceptual.
Lab manager posting linked here. Interested in a PhD? Just message me!
I'm running a sensory lab now 👀 The lab focuses on smells (duh), textures (🤔), and their interactions using big data approaches to relate the physical to the perceptual.
Lab manager posting linked here. Interested in a PhD? Just message me!
Reposted by Bob Pellegrino
Call for chapter proposals - The OUP Handbook of Smell edited by Jessica Freiherr, Andreas Keller, Kathrin Ohla, Laiquan Zou, & Benjamin Young and published by Oxford University Press (under contract).
Full details here: philevents.org/event/show/1...
Please share widely.
Full details here: philevents.org/event/show/1...
Please share widely.
The OUP Handbook of Smell - Call for chapter proposals
Call for chapter proposals - The OUP Handbook of Smell
We are seeking chapter proposals of The OUP Handbook of Smell. The handbook will be edited by Jessica Freiherr, Andreas Keller, Kathrin...
philevents.org
March 9, 2026 at 6:11 PM
Call for chapter proposals - The OUP Handbook of Smell edited by Jessica Freiherr, Andreas Keller, Kathrin Ohla, Laiquan Zou, & Benjamin Young and published by Oxford University Press (under contract).
Full details here: philevents.org/event/show/1...
Please share widely.
Full details here: philevents.org/event/show/1...
Please share widely.
Reposted by Bob Pellegrino
Reposted by Bob Pellegrino
Postdoc position in systems neuroscience!
Excited to recruit a postdoc for my lab at the University of Bonn.
🔬 In vivo physiology (Neuropixels, 2P/miniscope)
🐭 Head-fixed & freely moving behaviour
💡 Optogenetics/chemogenetics
⏳ Start: ASAP | Application deadline: 28.02.2026
More info below ⬇️
Excited to recruit a postdoc for my lab at the University of Bonn.
🔬 In vivo physiology (Neuropixels, 2P/miniscope)
🐭 Head-fixed & freely moving behaviour
💡 Optogenetics/chemogenetics
⏳ Start: ASAP | Application deadline: 28.02.2026
More info below ⬇️
February 1, 2026 at 8:46 PM
Postdoc position in systems neuroscience!
Excited to recruit a postdoc for my lab at the University of Bonn.
🔬 In vivo physiology (Neuropixels, 2P/miniscope)
🐭 Head-fixed & freely moving behaviour
💡 Optogenetics/chemogenetics
⏳ Start: ASAP | Application deadline: 28.02.2026
More info below ⬇️
Excited to recruit a postdoc for my lab at the University of Bonn.
🔬 In vivo physiology (Neuropixels, 2P/miniscope)
🐭 Head-fixed & freely moving behaviour
💡 Optogenetics/chemogenetics
⏳ Start: ASAP | Application deadline: 28.02.2026
More info below ⬇️
Reposted by Bob Pellegrino
🚨Scientists 🚨: Tired of come-ons from journals & conferences that may or may not be predatory? A new tool called Aletheia-Probe could help. 🧪 By @silverjacket.bsky.social @nature.com www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Is this journal legitimate? This tool can help you decide
Aletheia-Probe provides a one-stop shop to help you assess whether journals and conferences are trustworthy or predatory.
www.nature.com
February 2, 2026 at 9:15 PM
🚨Scientists 🚨: Tired of come-ons from journals & conferences that may or may not be predatory? A new tool called Aletheia-Probe could help. 🧪 By @silverjacket.bsky.social @nature.com www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Bob Pellegrino
A long, absolutely must-read article from Cory Doctorow: www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
AI companies will fail. We can salvage something from the wreckage | Cory Doctorow
AI is asbestos in the walls of our tech society, stuffed there by monopolists run amok. A serious fight against it must strike at its roots
www.theguardian.com
January 18, 2026 at 9:01 PM
A long, absolutely must-read article from Cory Doctorow: www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
Reposted by Bob Pellegrino
High-Fidelity Tuning of Olfactory Mixture Distances in the Perceptual Space of Smell Through a Community Effort https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.13.694160v1
December 17, 2025 at 3:15 AM
High-Fidelity Tuning of Olfactory Mixture Distances in the Perceptual Space of Smell Through a Community Effort https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.13.694160v1
Reposted by Bob Pellegrino
And the latest from @dreamchallenges.bsky.social
High-Fidelity Tuning of Olfactory Mixture Distances in the Perceptual Space of Smell Through a Community Effort https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.13.694160v1
December 19, 2025 at 1:20 PM
And the latest from @dreamchallenges.bsky.social
1/3 The humble glass jar is a workhorse in olfactory research, but comes w/ hidden problems:
- Unknown headspace concentration
- Concentration dilution by ambient air
These add noise to odor measurements.
Our preprint introduces something new, something bag.🧪 @jmainland.bsky.social & Matt Andres
- Unknown headspace concentration
- Concentration dilution by ambient air
These add noise to odor measurements.
Our preprint introduces something new, something bag.🧪 @jmainland.bsky.social & Matt Andres
Odor Sampling Bags Enable Reliable Delivery of Controlled Odor Concentrations
Precise control of odorant concentration is essential for reliable olfactory research, yet existing odorant delivery methods often suffer from solvent interactions and dilution from ambient air, limiting stimulus consistency in olfactory research. We developed an odor sampling bag system using Nalophan plastic to create a closed headspace with air as the carrier medium, eliminating solvent-related variability and ambient air dilution. In two independent experiments, 15 trained panelists each rated the perceived intensity of seven concentrations of benzaldehyde and 2-heptanone using both gas-sampling bags and glass jars. Bags produced higher maximum perceptual intensities (p < 0.001) and greater test-retest reliability than jars (Experiment 1: r = 0.89 vs. 0.81, p < 0.001; Experiment 2: r = 0.86 vs. 0.72, p < 0.001). Notably, the two tested odorants showed different maximum intensities in bags (p < 0.001) but not jars (p = 0.85), suggesting bags better preserve odorant-specific concentration differences. Photoionization detector measurements confirmed stable headspace concentrations over time, comparable to industry-standard Tedlar bags. This cost-effective approach offers improved stimulus control for olfactory psychophysics research. ### Competing Interest Statement Joel D. Mainland serves on the scientific advisory board of Osmo Labs, PBC and receives compensation for these activities. National Institutes of Health, https://ror.org/01cwqze88, F32 DC020380, T32 DC000014, U19 NS112953, R01 DC017757, R01 DC021663
www.biorxiv.org
January 16, 2026 at 8:29 PM
1/3 The humble glass jar is a workhorse in olfactory research, but comes w/ hidden problems:
- Unknown headspace concentration
- Concentration dilution by ambient air
These add noise to odor measurements.
Our preprint introduces something new, something bag.🧪 @jmainland.bsky.social & Matt Andres
- Unknown headspace concentration
- Concentration dilution by ambient air
These add noise to odor measurements.
Our preprint introduces something new, something bag.🧪 @jmainland.bsky.social & Matt Andres
Reposted by Bob Pellegrino
Superior cf what? Full of ultraprocessed constituents.
The relentless and inappropriate marketing of David protein bars
Here's a roundup of facts about protein intake and unnecessary preoccupation erictopol.substack.com/p/our-preocc...
The relentless and inappropriate marketing of David protein bars
Here's a roundup of facts about protein intake and unnecessary preoccupation erictopol.substack.com/p/our-preocc...
January 14, 2026 at 1:01 AM
Superior cf what? Full of ultraprocessed constituents.
The relentless and inappropriate marketing of David protein bars
Here's a roundup of facts about protein intake and unnecessary preoccupation erictopol.substack.com/p/our-preocc...
The relentless and inappropriate marketing of David protein bars
Here's a roundup of facts about protein intake and unnecessary preoccupation erictopol.substack.com/p/our-preocc...
1/5
Odor intensity isn’t just about concentration! We have a new preprint to prove it: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
In cahoots with @jmainland.bsky.social, @alexkoulakov.bsky.social, Rick Gerkin, Khristina Samoilova and others not on bluesky. 🧪
Which of these molecules smells stronger?
Odor intensity isn’t just about concentration! We have a new preprint to prove it: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
In cahoots with @jmainland.bsky.social, @alexkoulakov.bsky.social, Rick Gerkin, Khristina Samoilova and others not on bluesky. 🧪
Which of these molecules smells stronger?
August 12, 2025 at 8:34 PM
1/5
Odor intensity isn’t just about concentration! We have a new preprint to prove it: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
In cahoots with @jmainland.bsky.social, @alexkoulakov.bsky.social, Rick Gerkin, Khristina Samoilova and others not on bluesky. 🧪
Which of these molecules smells stronger?
Odor intensity isn’t just about concentration! We have a new preprint to prove it: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
In cahoots with @jmainland.bsky.social, @alexkoulakov.bsky.social, Rick Gerkin, Khristina Samoilova and others not on bluesky. 🧪
Which of these molecules smells stronger?
Reposted by Bob Pellegrino
New preprint!
tl;dr — We ran around late at night to record wild rats in NYC and figured out how to quantify their behavior and environment. 🧵
w/ Dima Batenkov, @zamakany.bsky.social, Emily Mackevicius
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
tl;dr — We ran around late at night to record wild rats in NYC and figured out how to quantify their behavior and environment. 🧵
w/ Dima Batenkov, @zamakany.bsky.social, Emily Mackevicius
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Computational Urban Ecology of New York City Rats
Urban rats are highly adaptable, thriving in the dynamic and often inhospitable conditions of modern cities. Despite substantial mitigation efforts, they remain an enduring presence in urban environme...
www.biorxiv.org
July 25, 2025 at 3:57 PM
New preprint!
tl;dr — We ran around late at night to record wild rats in NYC and figured out how to quantify their behavior and environment. 🧵
w/ Dima Batenkov, @zamakany.bsky.social, Emily Mackevicius
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
tl;dr — We ran around late at night to record wild rats in NYC and figured out how to quantify their behavior and environment. 🧵
w/ Dima Batenkov, @zamakany.bsky.social, Emily Mackevicius
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Sometimes I forget that Todd Rundgren doesn't want to work but just wants to bang on the drum all day.
June 26, 2025 at 7:14 PM
Sometimes I forget that Todd Rundgren doesn't want to work but just wants to bang on the drum all day.
Reposted by Bob Pellegrino
Distinguishing performance gains from learning when using generative AI
Comment by Lixiang Yan, Samuel Greiff, Jason M. Lodge & Dragan Gašević
go.nature.com/3FJqTq3
Comment by Lixiang Yan, Samuel Greiff, Jason M. Lodge & Dragan Gašević
go.nature.com/3FJqTq3
June 18, 2025 at 12:58 PM
Distinguishing performance gains from learning when using generative AI
Comment by Lixiang Yan, Samuel Greiff, Jason M. Lodge & Dragan Gašević
go.nature.com/3FJqTq3
Comment by Lixiang Yan, Samuel Greiff, Jason M. Lodge & Dragan Gašević
go.nature.com/3FJqTq3
Large language models (LLMs) can mirror human thinking in vision and language, but can they smell and taste?
New study with @rbrainengineer.bsky.social show stochastic LLMs rate creative flavor pairings like humans, prioritizing novelty over taste. #AI #creativity #foodscience
New study with @rbrainengineer.bsky.social show stochastic LLMs rate creative flavor pairings like humans, prioritizing novelty over taste. #AI #creativity #foodscience
Automating chemosensory creativity assessment with large language models
Chemosensory creativity, the ability to innovate using taste and smell, is a crucial yet understudied aspect of human ingenuity. This study explores t…
www.sciencedirect.com
May 28, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Large language models (LLMs) can mirror human thinking in vision and language, but can they smell and taste?
New study with @rbrainengineer.bsky.social show stochastic LLMs rate creative flavor pairings like humans, prioritizing novelty over taste. #AI #creativity #foodscience
New study with @rbrainengineer.bsky.social show stochastic LLMs rate creative flavor pairings like humans, prioritizing novelty over taste. #AI #creativity #foodscience