Thoughts, visions & revisions from John Lighton PhD, president & CIO of Sable Systems International (=the world's most advanced metabolic measurement systems)

Joined June 2009
1,782 Photos and videos
My comment on the USA Office of Management & Budget's proposal that unqualified political appointees be given life & death powers over scientific research grants that they do not & cannot understand: "It is not appropriate for political appointees to have final judgment power over scientific grant applications. Historically such veto power over scientific research has resulted in the stultification of science and national prosperity. For example, in Stalin's Soviet Union and Hitler's Germany. The United States will do well to learn from history and not repeat it. Political appointees will generally have little or no scientific background and may hold views that are diametrically opposed to the body of well-proven evidence in science. They may sincerely believe that the world is flat, that Earth was created 5000 years ago, or that viruses and bacteria do not cause disease. They will not hesitate to use their erroneous beliefs to reject scientific research that could be of immeasurable benefit both to humanity and to the United States. Of course scientists are not infallible. But the judgment of scientific peers is a potent corrective mechanism. It should be left in place and not interfered with."
1
74
Sable Systems International ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿ€๐Ÿง๐Ÿผโ€โ™€๏ธ retweeted
"Feelings are more dangerous than ideas because they aren't susceptible to rational evaluation." - Brian Eno #quote
1
13
45
3,667
Sable Systems International ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿ€๐Ÿง๐Ÿผโ€โ™€๏ธ retweeted
Do you sometimes find #metabolic & behavioral research terminology confusing? ๐Ÿ˜• We're proud to announce our new Glossary of Terms โ€” offering accessible, intuitive, and actionable explanations of the key concepts. buff.ly/NOobupN #Metabolism #Metabolic #Physiology #STEM
1
2
84
Sable Systems International ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿ€๐Ÿง๐Ÿผโ€โ™€๏ธ retweeted
Immigrants have helped build nearly every part of modern America. From lifesaving medicines to groundbreaking companies to scientific discoveries, the story of American success is inseparable from the story of immigration. forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2โ€ฆ
2
5
18
910
Sable Systems International ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿ€๐Ÿง๐Ÿผโ€โ™€๏ธ retweeted
Between September 2024 and February 2026, the federal government lost approximately 118,000 employees working in scientific fields. The concern is not just the loss of jobs - the United States may be losing an entire generation of scientific capacity that took decades to build.
24
135
232
6,345
Sable Systems International ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿ€๐Ÿง๐Ÿผโ€โ™€๏ธ retweeted
And a huge thank you to our 2026 exhibitors who showed up for the geroscience community in Provo. ๐Ÿ™Œ @AFARorg @theA4LI @UTHealthBarshop @CedarsSinai @FASEBorg @NIH #PanomeBio @SableSys @USCLeonardDavis You make AGE 2026 more than a conference.
1
3
9
692
Sable Systems International ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿ€๐Ÿง๐Ÿผโ€โ™€๏ธ retweeted
We're looking forward to #ADSA2026 โ€” the American #DairyScience Association #conference in less than 2 weeks (June 21โ€“24, Milwaukee, WI)! Are you going? We'd love to chat with you about your research at Booth #200. buff.ly/LjWRxWi #Metabolism #Metabolic #Physiology

1
3
69
Sable Systems International ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿ€๐Ÿง๐Ÿผโ€โ™€๏ธ retweeted
New lab paper @NeuroCellPress! @_Aaron_McKnight asked a simple question: Do calories look the same to hunger neurons in the brain? The answer is no. Fructose and glucose contain the same calories, but they engage fundamentally different gut-brain pathways. doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.202โ€ฆ

6
18
70
15,362
Sable Systems International ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿ€๐Ÿง๐Ÿผโ€โ™€๏ธ retweeted
Last week, we announced the Promethion Core XT Behavioral Monitoring System, the latest addition to the Promethion Core Line. We are at booth 1432 at #ADA2026 so stop by or visit the link to learn more: sablesys.com/products/prometโ€ฆ #BehavioralPhenotyping #BiomedicalResearch
2
1
254
Sable Systems International ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿ€๐Ÿง๐Ÿผโ€โ™€๏ธ retweeted
Take it from the movies: when scientists start organizing, testifying, protesting, and speaking out as one, we have definitively crossed the threat threshold. Iโ€™ve never seen anything quite like whatโ€™s happening now and Iโ€™m so incredibly proud of the scientific community.
29
450
902
9,719
Sable Systems International ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿ€๐Ÿง๐Ÿผโ€โ™€๏ธ retweeted
Beyond excited to have been awarded a K99 from NIGMS to examine the prolonged hypermetabolic-catabolic response to burn sepsis. Couldnโ€™t have done it without my amazing mentoring team, past mentors, and everyone who sent docs to guide my app! @archildrens @UAMS @TRI_UAMS
4
2
12
677
Sable Systems International ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿ€๐Ÿง๐Ÿผโ€โ™€๏ธ retweeted
I stand with diabetes researchers expressing their concern over government policies that are limiting research funding and scientific independence. It was not appropriate they were escorted from the national meeting.
If the goal was to stir controversy, leadership executed yesterday's opening of #ADASciSessions brilliantly. But we rather doubt this is what ADA had in mind. Sending police after distinguished scientists is not good. HT: @medpagetoday @KristinaMFiore conscienhealth.org/2026/06/0โ€ฆ
1
4
8
499
Sable Systems International ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿ€๐Ÿง๐Ÿผโ€โ™€๏ธ retweeted
The Soviet Union once decided politics should be able to override science. The concept of genetics and natural selection was labeled bourgeois. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysenkโ€ฆ Similarly, the Nazi's weren't happy with 'Jewish science' en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutscโ€ฆ Heck there are people who argue against relativity today because they think it contradicts the bible.
The White Houseโ€™s Office of Management and Budget just proposed new rules that would let political appointees, not scientists, decide which research gets funded in the United States. Under these rules, a senior political official would have to personally approve every single federal grant before it goes out. Peer review, which has been the gold standard for evaluating science on merit, would be reduced to just a suggestion. And if your research falls out of political favor? Any active grant can be revoked at any time, with no explanation required. We're talking about NASA grants, NSF grants, the funding that powers discoveries about our Universe and our planet. This rule was not written by NASA's leadership, and it works against the agency's own exploration goals for the Moon, Mars, and beyond. The rules would also ban entire categories of research outright, and cut off collaboration with scientists from other countries, even if those researchers live in the U.S. Researchers wouldn't even be able to use grant money to publish their findings or attend scientific conferences without getting special permission first. This affects everyone from PhD students to career scientists to all of us whose lives improve because of federally funded research. The public comment period is open right now, but this time, we're not asking you to sign a form letter. We need your actual words, your story, to make a difference. Identical submissions get counted as a single comment, so the more you write, the less OMB can ignore us. We cannot stress how dangerous this rule would be if enacted. But we can stop this if enough people submit their personal story of why peer-reviewed science is important. The deadline to submit comments is July 13th. planetary.org/advocacy-actioโ€ฆ
35
60
435
30,660
For longitudinal studies, may we suggest one of our Promethion 16-, 32-, 48-, 64-, or 96-cage ultra-high resolution metabolic & behavioral phenotyping systems ๐Ÿ˜Ž
We are excited to be here in Provo, Utah at #AGE2026! Stop by our booth and chat with Jessie to discuss your research topics and thoughts on the great work being presented! ย  #Metabolism #IndirectCalorimetry #Respirometry #AgingResearch #Geroscience
80
Sable Systems International ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿ€๐Ÿง๐Ÿผโ€โ™€๏ธ retweeted
We are excited to be here in Provo, Utah at #AGE2026! Stop by our booth and chat with Jessie to discuss your research topics and thoughts on the great work being presented! ย  #Metabolism #IndirectCalorimetry #Respirometry #AgingResearch #Geroscience
2
3
172
Sable Systems International ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿ€๐Ÿง๐Ÿผโ€โ™€๏ธ retweeted
Sable is excited to announce our new Promethion Coreยฎ XT Behavioral Measurement System, expanding the world-leading accuracy & flexibility of the Promethion Coreยฎ from 24 up to 96 rodent cages! buff.ly/E2pTxda #Metabolism #Physiology #Respirometry #IndirectCalorimetry
1
4
4
192
Sable Systems International ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿ€๐Ÿง๐Ÿผโ€โ™€๏ธ retweeted
Are you going to #ADA2026 โ€” the American #Diabetes Association Scientific Sessions (June 5โ€“8, 2026)? We are debuting a new system at ADA! Come visit us at booth #1432! buff.ly/lbDsgEr #Metabolism #Respirometry #IndirectCalorimetry #Obesity #Physiology #Conference

1
2
228
Sable Systems International ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿ€๐Ÿง๐Ÿผโ€โ™€๏ธ retweeted
We're approaching 100 registrants for the @AdiposeBiology Conference! Due to popular demand, the early-bird deadline has been extended to July 1, 2026. Join us in Montreal ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ | Oct 7โ€“9, 2026 ๐Ÿ”—Register before the early bird deadline at: adiposebiology.com #ABC2026 @SableSys
8
17
1,386
Sable Systems International ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿ€๐Ÿง๐Ÿผโ€โ™€๏ธ retweeted
Turns out we may already have an anti-aging vaccine. Created originally to prevent shingles, it appears to influence aging and cognitive decline - far beyond anything it was designed to do. The beauty of science. realclearscience.com/blog/20โ€ฆ
92
643
2,617
130,769
Sable Systems International ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿ€๐Ÿง๐Ÿผโ€โ™€๏ธ retweeted
Only one week left to register for the #SEBconference Florence 2026 ๐ŸŠ๐Ÿงฌ๐ŸŒฑ ๐Ÿ’ป Virtual attendance is available. Registration here: sebiology.org/resource/only-โ€ฆ Please share widely! Read the thread โฌ‡๏ธ
1
4
4
575