Andrew Porter

@retropz

Research Integrity and Training Adviser at the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute Interested in improving #ResearchIntegrity & #ResearchCulture with training, #TeamScience & promoting #OpenResearch

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Ist das dein Profil?Übernimm es — dann gehört dir retropz.dirty.social.Profil übernehmen

Andrew Porter@retropz· Jun 3

A quick Google Scholar search for "wire house" throws up quite a few papers with the term, the first few I looked at being agriculture related, with sentences like: "The study was conducted in rain-protected wire-house at..." and "planned wire house and field experiment were arranged..."

screenshot from a paper with the text saying "Pot trials under wire house conditions"

Andrew Porter@retropz· Jun 3

Was intrigued by this term. The OED only lists one use - which is for a financial firm with branches connected by (telegraph) wires, and now any large national or international brokerage company

Screenshot from the Oxford English Dictionary result for "wire house"

Finance (originally and chiefly U.S.).
1900–
(Originally) a brokerage firm having several branch offices connected to its main office by private telephone or telegraph wires; (now) any large national or international brokerage company.

Andrew Porter@retropz· May 4

I came here to drink tea and talk about Electronic Research Notebooks & #ResearchIntegrity - and I'm all out of tea Looking forward to Oral session 1G at #WCRI this morning, with thanks to @cruk-mi.bsky.social for the opportunity to come & share our #ELN story @wcrifoundation.bsky.social #WCRI2026

Me standing in front of my opening slide at the World Conference on Research Integrity

Andrew Porter@retropz· Apr 9

Know I'm late to this but couldn't resist giving it a go - and I think I barely scratched the surface!

An annotated image of the original IF panels - labelled to show duplications

Andrew Porter@retropz· Mar 23

Not sure what you mean, @trickygoose.bsky.social - I always use the "Deetice control nnwies ready to zon" opening, and it has served me well in many (albeit short) games

Magnified screenshot from the original post image, shown nonsensical phrases like
"Deetice control nnwies ready to zon"

Andrew Porter@retropz· Jan 22

Nice explainer video from #BBCVerify on watermarks in #AI generated videos: www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cw... I didn't know that creators were cropping out, covering up or blurring out these pop-up watermarks from tools like #SORA - helpful to know and look out for H/T @richib.bsky.social l

A still from an AI-generated video appearing to show a reporter in a press flack jacket reporting from a disaster zone

Andrew Porter@retropz· Jan 21

Tempting advert on LinkedIn...😂 What "passionate skill" would you like to apply for an Honorary Doctorate in? (P.S. - I'm pretty sure that's not how it works...)

Screenshot from LinkedIn with a picture of an older man in a University gown holding a scroll - text says 𝐍𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐇𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐃𝐨𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞!!
𝐍𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐇𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐃𝐨𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲. 𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐧𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠.

𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧 𝐇𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐃𝐨𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐰
𝐋𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐬 𝐀𝐯𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞, 𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐋𝐘 𝐍𝐎𝐖!

Andrew Porter@retropz· Jan 15

From dial-up days to now, travel through Wikipedia's history as this amazing site celebrates its 25th Birthday: wikipedia25.org/en/which-wik... Which #Wikipedia future are you? I got "Consensus Driven Collaborator" - which I'll definitely take! #Wikipedia25

A cartoon of happy people (mainly blue in shade) using digital devices to put together some kind of jigsaw puzzle

Andrew Porter@retropz· Jan 15

Stop scrolling & post two characters who bring you happiness. reddit.com/r/Contagious... (some degree of explanation here: www.bigissue.com/culture/tv/n...)

A woman on the left is looking at a puppet of a toy dog on the right - and is about to start laughing uncontrollably

Andrew Porter@retropz· Jan 7

Wow, that's very cool. This is my home button now:

A green circle around the "new tab" button

Andrew Porter@retropz· Nov 11

Just seen that LinkedIn have added a #GenerativeAI collection and processing element to their settings - this is an automatic opt-in for users, requiring you to actively opt-out in the Settings if you don't want to have your data used this way More details here: www.techradar.com/pro/linkedin...

Screenshot from LinkedIn settings page on Data Privacy, showing the "Data for Generative AI Improvement" tab option

Andrew Porter@retropz· Nov 3

Question for people who write and edit papers, create scientific figures and posters, and who advise ECRs on scientific design: Is the new Affinity - which is free, and handles both vector graphics and bitmap images all in one - pretty much ideal for scientific figures? www.affinity.studio

Screenshot from the Affinity home page:
An app that adapts to you, not the other way around
Affinity comes with built-in Vector, Pixel, and Layout studios, but you’re not locked in. Rearrange panels and mix and match your favorite tools to build custom studios. You can save multiple setups, switch between them in a click, and even share with others or download theirs. It’s customization that flexes to your workflow.

Andrew Porter@retropz· Sep 7

Read this verse this morning; always love and am challenged by it, but feels particularly relevant atm: Micah 6:8 NIVUK [8] He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. bible.com/bible/113/mi...

Background image shows a countryside scene

Text is in white lettering, centered, serif font

Micah 6:8 NIVUK
[8] He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Andrew Porter@retropz· Sep 1

I'm looking forward to speaking at the @jisc.bsky.social community event next week (10th September, 11am, online) about implementing Electronic Lab Notebooks @cruk-mi.bsky.social 📱In-lab hardware 💻Data management 🥼User feedback 🧪#ResearchIntegrity Booking👇 research.jiscinvolve.org/wp/events/ #ELN

A page from an Electronic Laboratory Notebook - eLabFTW - including details of the JISC community event and talk about ELNs on the 10th September 2025

Andrew Porter@retropz· Aug 27

Update: Not sure it's working correctly, as it didn't capture my message above I made it using @skyfeed.app and this is my first go, so if anyone can help please let me know! (I'm sure there are more elegant ways of creating the RegEx!)

Screenshot of the feed builder, including the RegEx:

#PRC10|#prc10|Peer Review Congress|peer review congress|10th Peer Review Congress|10th peer review congress|@peerreviewcongress.bsky.social

Andrew Porter@retropz· Aug 19

Also tried to interpret the printed text on the original postcard, some of which is obscured Interestingly, the AI tool output has linked the text to a real 1902 change in format for postcards - www.sussexpostcards.info/index.php?pa... - which I'm sure you're aware of but was interesting to me

Screenshot of AI generated content that says:

a) & c) Visible Letters and Estimated Gaps
This first table identifies the visible printed letters and estimates the number of obscured characters in each gap, represented by underscores (_). The vertical text is read from the bottom to the top, as it was printed along the center dividing line.

Location Visible Text & Estimated Gaps
Vertical (Top) ___ THE ____ UNIO_
Vertical (Middle) (____ POST ___ Reg__tions)
Vertical (Middle) THIS SPACE M__W BE USE_ FOR ____________
Vertical (Bottom) ARTISTIC S____
Horizontal (Bottom) SCENERY, SERIES No 129 DESIGNED IN ENGLAND PRINTED IN BAVARIA

Screenshot from AI tool aimed at deciphering text:

d) Plausible Reconstructed Text
This second table fills in the gaps with the most probable words, based on the visible letters and common phrases used on postcards from the early 20th century. The text indicates the postcard was printed after a 1902 British postal rule change that first allowed messages to be written on the address side.

Location Reconstructed Text
Vertical (Top) UNIVERSAL POSTAL UNION
Vertical (Middle) (By POST Office Regulations)
Vertical (Middle) THIS SPACE MAY NOW BE USED FOR COMMUNICATIONS
Vertical (Bottom) ARTISTIC SERIES
Horizontal (Bottom) SCENERY, SERIES No 129 DESIGNED IN ENGLAND PRINTED IN BAVARIA

Andrew Porter@retropz· Aug 19

Nice write-up of the #OpenResearch Conference held @manchester.ac.uk in June - plus links to the materials in a @figshare.com collection: www.staffnet.manchester.ac.uk/news/display... It was a pleasure to support the #ResearchCulture labs & explore issues of precarity, teamwork, and recognition

Attendees at the Alliance Manchester Business School listening to the opening talk from Stephen Curry - shot taken from the back of the lecture theatre which is illuminated in pale purple lighting

Andrew Porter@retropz· Aug 7

Interesting follow-up to the PNAS paper from @reeserichardson.bsky.social & co-authors on #PaperMills in @nature.com news: Exclusive: retraction-prone editors identified at megajournal PLoS ONE www.nature.org/articles/d41... Fascinating interviews with some of these journal editors

A photograph of a pile of shredded paper
Image taken from the Nature news article website

Andrew Porter@retropz· Jul 1

Wishing everyone attending the International C. elegans meeting a fantastic conference - and I hope everyone enjoys the 20th Anniversary Worm Comedy Show and Art Show Awards tonight! (PS - I'm still laughing at the iPod Nano, Pico & Femto joke from 2009) submissions.mirasmart.com/WORM2025/Iti...

Header from the International Worm Meeting Website showing glowing C. elegans

Andrew Porter@retropz· Jun 16

I get that people want to experiment with new technologies & have no issues with running tests to see if those work But we know enough about the current state of this tech to know that turning a paper into a podcast for patients is not the same as medical communications experts creating podcasts

Screenshot from paper abstract, highlighting the statement that "some podcasts contained inaccuracies, incorrect use of medical terms and mispronunciations" and also highlighting the statement that "podcasts were found to be most appropriate for patients and the public"

Andrew Porter@retropz· Jun 3

Exciting to see the full programme released for the @officialuom.bsky.social #OpenResearch conference next week - www.openresearch.manchester.ac.uk/conference/ I'm looking forward to great talks - including from Stephen Curry & Giovanna Lima, great posters & facilitating the #ResearchCulture labs!

Header for the Open Research Conference 2025 at the University of Manchester webpage, background shows glass buildings rising into the sky

Andrew Porter@retropz· May 16

One last image, and one my personal favourites as it captures the really great time we had as the STAy committee: here we are as of March 2017 posing for a newsletter photograph!

Photograph of the STAy committee of 2017, with Amy, Denis, Sam, Sara, me, Marina, Emma, John and Lizzy

Andrew Porter@retropz· May 16

The move back to the new Paterson Building went very smoothly but the input required from STAy members reducing time for activities & after a while the group went dormant So it's great to see it revitalised by the new committee who are continuing the good work of #STAy - I wish them all the best!🤩

Photograph from a STAy social shortly after the relocation back to the Paterson Building, with a walk around Withington enjoying the street art produced by the Withington Walls team - and we even saw artwork (in the background of the photo) being created!

Andrew Porter@retropz· May 16

As with so many things, the activities of the STAy committee were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, with our extensive plans for 2020 being put on hold A rapid shift to online-spaces & ingenuity of committee members led to regular online coffee mornings, socials and quizzes to help connect people

Advert for the online "ColloQuizium" event at the lockdown Colloquium

Andrew Porter@retropz· May 16

Acting as a network for #ECRs at all stages of their careers, the STAy committee supported other activities across the Institute - #PostdocAppreciationWeek events, a survey that helped feed into the design of the new Paterson Building, and running social activities at the Colloquium and Christmas

Poster advertising a Christmas quiz in the (pre-fire) Holt Lecture theatre (featuring an image from Home Alone, and offering a "Stochastic Secret Santa" - which sadly this writer cannot recall the details of)

Andrew Porter@retropz· May 16

When the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute relocated to Alderley Park after the Paterson Building Fire in 2017, STAy ran a treasure hunt (including Jurassic Park-themed elements) to help encourage people to explore their new surroundings, and visit all the different labs and facilities

Image on the left shows a toy dinosaur in the grass going through a cardboard "Jurassic Park"-style gate with the words "Alderley Park" above it, and the picture on the right shows some students on the shuttle bus completing the quiz and treasure hunt

Treasure hunt flag from the STAy event that used What3Words to get people moving around the lovely surroundings of Alderley Park

Andrew Porter@retropz· May 16

We also helped organise regular "Science Showdown" events with people presenting their research in a fun and engaging way We always coupled our events with food - living up to the "takeaway" part of our "Science TakeAway" name (the little handle in the logo designed to look like a sandwich bag!)

The Science Showdown poster from 2018, inviting people to take part in the Science Showdown event to present their science in a fun and engaging way

Images of people enjoying snacks before a STAy event

Andrew Porter@retropz· May 16

On #WorldCancerDay 2019 we ran one of my favourite events - "Behind the Labels" which brought together clinicians, patients & scientists to share their stories We had great support from patient advocate Jo Taylor, whose insights continue to inform my role today: www.abcdiagnosis.co.uk

Advert from the Behind the Labels event - heading says "from stereotypes to real people living with and working against cancer"

Image shows bottles of tablets with pills spilling out labelled with questions and comments like "what does a scientist do all day" and "how does it feel to get a cancer diagnosis?"

Andrew Porter@retropz· May 16

We ran all kinds of events - training, networking, socials - and invited speakers locally & internationally to cover a range of topics like career development, publishing and research integrity The committee grew over the years & was always a fun place; I made many good friends during those times

The STAy committee have had a busy first half of 2019. The centrepiece was our well-attended “Behind the Labels” event on World Cancer Day, 4 February. This brought together researchers, clinicians and patients with the aim of going from those broad labels to finding out about the real people living with and working against cancer. The evening included public tours of the Oglesby Cancer Research Building and interactive exhibits illustrating aspects of cancer research. From our speakers we heard about cutting-edge developments in research, the value of international partnerships, the work of the Biobank, and how childhood inspiration led to a career as a research nurse. The evening ended with moving descriptions from two women living with breast cancer, who gave us an insight into their day-to-day experiences. As a team we benefited from input from Clare Dickinson, CRUK Senior Nurse Manchester, and Jo Taylor, who acted as our patient advocate for planning as well as speaking at the event. We look forward to putting into practice what we learned from running this evening in our next public-facing event. we hosted a science media workshop at the Institute, run by two members of the CRUK Science Media team.

June saw the STAy team organise and run a seminar on grant writing, where we drew on the combined experiences across the Institute, hearing from Gill Campbell as Grants Advisor, and Iain Hagan and Caroline Dive on the perspective of grant reviewers. Kiran Batta told us about his transition to independence as Principle Investigator, and Stuart Williamson took us through the process by which he was awarded a Fulbright scholarship. With strong attendance and good feedback, we look forward to coordinating similar events to gain from the insight of other institute members, as well as further training on grant writing. As well as running several socials and another speed networking evening, we also hosted our first two external seminar speakers

the hosts and winner of the first "Science showdown event" photographed in 2017

Advert for a 'Next Generation Sequencing" event for researchers to learn about the then-newly arrived sequencing platforms at the Institute

A STAy event with people in a room doing a Kahoot Quiz - STAy was always looking for ways to make events fun and interactive

Andrew Porter@retropz· May 16

This image of a poster from the 2016 @cruk-mi.bsky.social Colloquium shows some of the key features of the committee: part of the poster was left empty so that people could write Post-It notes with ideas and feedback to stick on the poster - as the committee wanted to be open, accessible & inviting