X post
A beautiful animal (opens in a new tab)
X @drmichaellevin
Updated weekly · last update Nov 12, 2026
What's new from Michael Levin's lab, every week.
New talks, papers, preprints and posts from the Tufts biologist who studies bioelectricity, regeneration, xenobots and minds in unexpected places. Each one is dated and linked to the source.
23 videos19 papers19 X posts6 blog posts
Latest from Levin
Newest first, from YouTube, X, his blog and Crossref.
Video
"Evidence for intracellular memory storage and its implications for AI" by David L. Glanzman (opens in a new tab)
YouTube @drmichaellevin
Duration 1:21:02
Read our summary →Video
"Super Turing Computing" by Hava T. Siegelmann (opens in a new tab)
YouTube @drmichaellevin
Duration 50:54
Read our summary →Video
"Is consciousness popularity?" by Narcis Marincat (opens in a new tab)
YouTube @drmichaellevin
Duration 1:13:29
Read our summary →Paper
A topoietic model of collective morphogenesis and compartmentalization (opens in a new tab)
bioRxiv Preprint
Paper
Neural Activation of Human Primary Intestinal Enteroendocrine L-cells (opens in a new tab)
bioRxiv Preprint
Blog
Interactive MindMap is online (opens in a new tab)
thoughtforms.life
X post
New #preprint with @SantoshManicka, "A topoietic model of collective morphogenesis and compartmentalization", quoting its abstract: "diffusion and geometry alone may suffice to make a collective both spatially organized and controllable through macroscale intervention rather than microscale engineering of its members." (opens in a new tab)
X @drmichaellevin
X post
"Interactive mind-map of my current work" ("work in progress.") (opens in a new tab)
X @drmichaellevin
X post
"Claude made some visuals for my process of paper-writing, useful for students. In case anyone else wants to use them" (opens in a new tab)
X @drmichaellevin
Video
Thoughts as Thinkers: biology & computer science of inspiration within & without us by Michael Levin (opens in a new tab)
YouTube @drmichaellevin
Duration 35:08
Read our summary →Video
Conversation #1 with Martin Šolc: the law and diverse intelligence (opens in a new tab)
YouTube @drmichaellevin
Duration 1:02:47
Read our summary →Video
"Biomedical Synthetic Biology" by Lior Nissim (opens in a new tab)
YouTube @drmichaellevin
Duration 1:09:44
Read our summary →Video
"Physical Intelligence: thermodynamic roots of agency" by Benjamin DeBari-Cheung (opens in a new tab)
YouTube @drmichaellevin
Duration 1:04:58
Read our summary →Video
"Perturbing Complex Networks" by Debanik Bhattacharjee (opens in a new tab)
YouTube @drmichaellevin
Duration 38:16
Read our summary →X post
Poll: "A: I believe our limited lifespan is good because finitude gives our life beauty and meaning" vs "B: I would be sad if the modern human embodiment went extinct and was replaced by something else" (opens in a new tab)
X @drmichaellevin
X post
On AI-generated emails: "I'm not a bio-chauvinist; I just want, whoever, to be informed and interesting before I engage" and "I write for future you's." (opens in a new tab)
X @drmichaellevin
Video
"From Top-Down Physics to Diverse Intelligence" by Chris Fields (opens in a new tab)
YouTube @drmichaellevin
Duration 51:14
Read our summary →X post
New preprint with @niroshajmurugan on whether the brain knows what is going on in a limb amputation wound: "yes, it knows. Also, lots of interesting transcriptional responses both in the limb and in the brain." (opens in a new tab)
X @drmichaellevin
X post
"Final version is out" for the peer-reviewed paper "Reservoir Computing for Pattern Recognition and Time-Series Prediction Based on Nanofluidic Negative Differential Resistance" (opens in a new tab)
X @drmichaellevin
Paper
Limb-localized induction of regeneration reshapes brain and amputation-site transcriptional states in adult Xenopus laevis (opens in a new tab)
bioRxiv Preprint
Paper
Reservoir Computing for Pattern Recognition and Time‐Series Prediction Based on Nanofluidic Negative Differential Resistance (opens in a new tab)
International Journal of Intelligent Systems Peer-reviewed
X post
New preprint with @WesleyPClawson: "Ever wonder if eventually cells could be trained out of disease states? We're on the path; first steps" ("Goal directed closed-loop training of network bursts in cortical cultures produces improved performance and error correction over days") (opens in a new tab)
X @drmichaellevin
X post
Informal poll: "use the little browser app at the link below to say how you think the sets of physical systems, living beings, and minds fit together in a Venn diagram" (opens in a new tab)
X @drmichaellevin
X post
"The details for our (@DrPatrickE) cell trainer platform are up!" (links to drmichaellevin.org/resources/celltrainer) (opens in a new tab)
X @drmichaellevin
Paper
Targeting Ion Channel Dysregulation in Colorectal Cancer: Identification of Clofilium as a Potent Inhibitor of Tumor Growth and Metastatic Potential (opens in a new tab)
Preprint server Preprint
Video
"Decoding and Translating the Languages of Biology: towards de novo cell design" by Jian Shu (opens in a new tab)
YouTube @drmichaellevin
Read our summary →Video
"New Bodies, Unconventional Minds: a continuum of cognition (& consciousness) by Michael Levin (opens in a new tab)
YouTube @drmichaellevin
Read our summary →Video
"Thoughts as Thinkers: the biology & computer science of inspiration" by Michael Levin (opens in a new tab)
YouTube @drmichaellevin
Duration 35:40
Read our summary →Paper
Goal directed closed-loop training of network bursts in cortical cultures produces improved performance and error correction over days (opens in a new tab)
bioRxiv Preprint
Video
Deep Learning in Biology by Dr. Edo Dotan (opens in a new tab)
YouTube @drmichaellevin
Read our summary →Video
"Mind-Body Interface: an experimental and Clinical Perspective" by Michael Levin and Karina Kofman (opens in a new tab)
YouTube @drmichaellevin
Read our summary →Video
"Thermodynamics, Control, & Fundamental Niche" by M Kearney, I Shames, R Schouten, P Egré, R Evans (opens in a new tab)
YouTube @drmichaellevin
Read our summary →Video
"Neuroscience Beyond Neurons: communicating with unconventional minds" by Michael Levin (opens in a new tab)
YouTube @drmichaellevin
Read our summary →X post
New preprint with Hananel Hazan: "Computational Framework for Identifying Ion Channel Mutation-Compensating Interventions." "How to fix hardware problems (an ion channel mutation), in software (without fixing the mutation)?" (opens in a new tab)
X @drmichaellevin
Paper
Computational Framework for Identifying Ion Channel Mutation-Compensating Interventions (opens in a new tab)
bioRxiv Preprint
Video
Discussion with Marsha Hewitt (Platonic Space and related ideas) (opens in a new tab)
YouTube @drmichaellevin
Read our summary →Video
"Life, Machines, and a Foundation for Synthbiosis" by Michael Levin (opens in a new tab)
YouTube @drmichaellevin
Read our summary →Paper
Theories of Aging: From Damage and Programmed Theories to Goal-Directedness (v2) (opens in a new tab)
Preprints.org Preprint
Paper
Scale-free Niche Construction: expanding agent-microenvironment co-development to unconventional substrates (v3) (opens in a new tab)
OSF Preprints Preprint
Video
Biology, AI, and Diverse Intelligence by Michael Levin (opens in a new tab)
YouTube @drmichaellevin
Read our summary →Video
"Measuring Machine Consciousness" by Cameron Berg (opens in a new tab)
YouTube @drmichaellevin
Read our summary →X post
Quotes Anil Seth's announcement of the "Conscious AI and Biological Naturalism" collection in Behavioral and Brain Sciences: "Lots of interesting stuff here!" (opens in a new tab)
X @drmichaellevin
Paper
Diverse intelligence: An essential field for questions of AI and consciousness (opens in a new tab)
Behavioral and Brain Sciences Peer-reviewed
Video
A conversation with Andrey Vyshedskiy about the evolution of language and brain development (opens in a new tab)
YouTube @drmichaellevin
Read our summary →X post
Points readers to his official lab website "with all the preprints, papers, software, resources, talks, interviews, etc." (opens in a new tab)
X @drmichaellevin
Paper
Ingressing Minds: Causal, Non-Physical Patterns In-Form Natural, Synthetic, and Hybrid Embodiments (opens in a new tab)
Philosophies Peer-reviewed
X post
"Here it is - the official, revised, peer-reviewed version of my Platonic Space paper." His most-viewed recent post (about 1.5M views). (opens in a new tab)
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X post
New preprint in computational modeling of bioelectricity: "Membrane voltage and connexin expression work together to enhance tumor growth and metastasis in cancer." (opens in a new tab)
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X post
New preprint led by Elena Sergeeva, "part of our efforts to develop tools to communicate with various unconventional agents." (opens in a new tab)
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Video
Conversation #1 with Diego Bohórquez and Mijail D. Serruya: how information moves levels in bodies (opens in a new tab)
YouTube @drmichaellevin
Read our summary →Paper
Membrane voltage and connexin expression work together to enhance tumor growth and metastasis in cancer (opens in a new tab)
bioRxiv Preprint
Paper
Living multicellular systems induce decodable spatial patterns in bacterial collectives (opens in a new tab)
bioRxiv Preprint
Video
"Deciphering Visceral Instincts" by Diego Bohórquez (opens in a new tab)
YouTube @drmichaellevin
Duration 52:51
Read our summary →X post
Final version out: "Open questions about time and self-reference in living systems." (opens in a new tab)
X @drmichaellevin
Blog
Q&A from the internet and recent presentations 5 (opens in a new tab)
thoughtforms.life
X post
New preprint mapping the major theories of aging: "Theories of Aging: From Damage and Programmed Theories to Goal-Directedness." (opens in a new tab)
X @drmichaellevin
Blog
Quotes to think about #8 (opens in a new tab)
thoughtforms.life
Paper
A platform for automated training of mammalian cell physiology (opens in a new tab)
bioRxiv Preprint
Paper
Trained Planaria Retain Memories Through Head Regeneration: A Model System for Insights into Non-Neural Memory and Neurodegenerative Diseases (opens in a new tab)
bioRxiv Preprint
Paper
Lifetime imaging reveals long-distance non-neural bioelectric patterns on timescales from seconds to hours (opens in a new tab)
Developmental Biology Peer-reviewed · issue Nov 2026
Paper
Bioelectrical regionalization of multicellular aggregates by microRNAs (opens in a new tab)
The Journal of Chemical Physics Peer-reviewed
Paper
Manipulation of biological systems by self-defecting and foreign agents (opens in a new tab)
Seminars in Cell & Developmental Biology Peer-reviewed · issue Sep 2026
Blog
Books in progress – update #3 (opens in a new tab)
thoughtforms.life
Paper
Remapping and navigation of an embedding space via error minimization: A fundamental organizational principle of cognition in natural and artificial systems (opens in a new tab)
Physics of Life Reviews Peer-reviewed · issue Sep 2026
Blog
A talk for mental health professionals (opens in a new tab)
thoughtforms.life
Blog
Biophysical Intelligence Between Genotype and Phenotype (opens in a new tab)
thoughtforms.life
The big ideas
Eight threads that run through his work. Each one links the videos that cover it.
Bioelectricity
Every cell has a voltage across its membrane, and cells link into electrical networks through gap junctions. Levin's lab treats these networks as the body's medium…
Regeneration and anatomical memory
Planaria, axolotls and frogs show that bodies know their target shape and work back to it. Levin's results — two-headed planaria that stay two-headed with unchanged…
Cognition in cells (basal and diverse intelligence)
Intelligence as 'reaching the same goal by different means' applies below the brain: cells, tissues and even small gene-network models show memory, learning and…
Xenobots and anthrobots
Xenobots are self-assembling living constructs from frog cells; anthrobots form from adult human airway cells with no genetic editing. They move, gather, show…
Platonic space and ingressing minds
Levin's most speculative and most discussed hypothesis: that patterns — from mathematical truths to kinds of minds — exist in a non-physical space and 'ingress'…
AI and biology
Two directions: AI as a tool for biology (protein-to-text models, Mambot, a language layer over gene networks) and biology as a lens on AI (does consciousness need…
Mind, body and brain
Clinical and developmental cases where mind and brain do not line up as expected — hydrocephalus with normal cognition, memory surviving metamorphosis, language…
Control, energy and information
Goals cost energy. Control theory and thermodynamics give the hard limits — how fast a system must respond, how far from equilibrium it runs, how much of its budget…
Papers
Preprints have not been peer-reviewed yet. Full list on the lab site.
New this season
- A topoietic model of collective morphogenesis and compartmentalizationNov 4, 2026 · bioRxiv · Preprint
- Neural Activation of Human Primary Intestinal Enteroendocrine L-cellsNov 4, 2026 · bioRxiv · Preprint
- Limb-localized induction of regeneration reshapes brain and amputation-site transcriptional states in adult Xenopus laevisOct 24, 2026 · bioRxiv · Preprint
- Reservoir Computing for Pattern Recognition and Time‐Series Prediction Based on Nanofluidic Negative Differential ResistanceOct 23, 2026 · International Journal of Intelligent Systems · Peer-reviewed
- Targeting Ion Channel Dysregulation in Colorectal Cancer: Identification of Clofilium as a Potent Inhibitor of Tumor Growth and Metastatic PotentialOct 19, 2026 · Preprint server · Preprint
- Goal directed closed-loop training of network bursts in cortical cultures produces improved performance and error correction over daysOct 16, 2026 · bioRxiv · Preprint
- Computational Framework for Identifying Ion Channel Mutation-Compensating InterventionsSep 25, 2026 · bioRxiv · Preprint
- Theories of Aging: From Damage and Programmed Theories to Goal-Directedness (v2)Sep 22, 2026 · Preprints.org · Preprint
Landmark papers
- Motile Living Biobots Self-Construct from Adult Human Somatic Progenitor Seed Cells (anthrobots)2023 · Advanced Science · Peer-reviewed
- Technological Approach to Mind Everywhere (TAME)2022 · Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience · Peer-reviewed
- Wearable bioreactor drives long-term limb regeneration in adult frogs2022 · Science Advances · Peer-reviewed
- Kinematic self-replication in reconfigurable organisms2021 · PNAS · Peer-reviewed
- Bioelectric signaling: Reprogrammable circuits underlying embryogenesis, regeneration, and cancer2021 · Cell · Peer-reviewed
- A scalable pipeline for designing reconfigurable organisms (the first xenobots)2020 · PNAS · Peer-reviewed
Companies
Companies his lab site lists among his affiliations.
Morphoceuticals
Co-founded by Levin. Bioelectric drugs for regeneration, built on the 2022 frog-limb work.
Fauna Systems
Co-founded with Josh Bongard. AI-designed living robots (“biobots”).
Unravel Biosciences
Co-founded. A Wyss Institute spinout doing drug discovery for complex diseases, starting with Rett syndrome.
Astonishing Labs
Levin is a scientific co-founder. A venture studio whose portfolio includes Anthrobots, Inc.
As of Oct 16, 2026, none of these companies is publicly traded. This is research, not investment advice.
Profile
Michael Levin
- Vannevar Bush Professor and Distinguished Professor of Biology, Tufts University
- Director, Allen Discovery Center at Tufts
- Co-editor-in-chief, Bioelectricity
Follow the source
- drmichaellevin.orgLab site: papers, preprints, software, talks
- YouTube @drmichaellevinTalks and lab discussions
- X @drmichaellevinNew preprints, announced first
- Forms of life, forms of mindHis blog