Skip to content

SCIENCE APPS / THE INSTRUMENT SHELF

Less setup.
More discovery.

Useful tools for curious people. Open a notebook, inspect a model, or give your own tool a home.

NATIVE MINIAPP / SYNTHETIC DATA

Between the samples.

When does a measurement stop telling the truth?

RUNS IN YOUR BROWSER
NO DATA LEAVES THIS PAGE

Try this: make a fast wave look slow. Then raise the sampling rate and see what returns.

0 seconds1 secondAMPLITUDE (ARBITRARY UNITS)
THE NYQUIST IDEA

Sampling faster than twice the highest signal frequency avoids aliasing for an ideal band-limited signal. Noise and real instruments add other limits.

The noiseless component folds to 5 Hz at this sampling rate. The samples alone do not reveal which frequency was originally present.

Gray: underlying sine wave. Blue: straight lines between samples, not a reconstruction algorithm. Noise is deterministic and synthetic.

Keep the configuration and samples, not just a screenshot. This is synthetic data—not a neuroscience finding. A useful next contribution compares two sampling rates and names what changed.

THE EDITORIAL SHELF

Borrow a better instrument.

Editorial starter collection — featured projects have not joined Open Lab.

5 tools
01Cross-field

marimo

Reactive Python notebooks that keep code and outputs in sync. Turn an experiment into a reproducible, interactive app.

A useful next contribution

Editorial opening—not a request or endorsement from the featured project.

What exists
Reactive Python notebooks that keep code and outputs in sync. Turn an experiment into a reproducible, interactive app.
Specific opening
Turn one of your analysis notebooks into an experiment someone else can rerun.
Inspect or try
marimo
Useful contribution
A notebook that reruns from a clean environment, with public inputs, dependency versions, and one explained result.
Source availableCheck source terms
marimo · official project · Opens an external site
02Neurotech

Neuromatch computational neuroscience

Open course materials for learning the models and methods of computational neuroscience, with executable tutorials.

A useful next contribution

Editorial opening—not a request or endorsement from the featured project.

What exists
Open course materials for learning the models and methods of computational neuroscience, with executable tutorials.
Specific opening
Reproduce a tutorial result and explain which modeling assumption matters most.
Inspect or try
Neuromatch computational neuroscience
Useful contribution
A pinned tutorial and notebook, environment versions, expected versus observed output, and one modeling limitation.
Source availableCheck source terms
Neuromatch · course materials · Opens an external site
03Cross-field

JupyterLite

An actual notebook environment in your browser. Explore Python without first setting up a server.

A useful next contribution

Editorial opening—not a request or endorsement from the featured project.

What exists
An actual notebook environment in your browser. Explore Python without first setting up a server.
Specific opening
Package a small public dataset with a notebook that runs from a clean browser.
Inspect or try
JupyterLite
Useful contribution
A browser-runnable notebook, a small public dataset, and instructions that work without a local Python install.
Source availableCheck source terms
Project Jupyter · documentation · Opens an external site
04Economies & Governance

cadCAD

Model complex systems and compare the consequences of different policies before deploying them in the real world.

A useful next contribution

Editorial opening—not a request or endorsement from the featured project.

What exists
Model complex systems and compare the consequences of different policies before deploying them in the real world.
Specific opening
What behavior changes your model’s conclusion? Publish the sensitivity analysis.
Inspect or try
cadCAD
Useful contribution
A model, parameter sweep, and comparison showing which assumption changes a policy conclusion. Label simulated outcomes.
Source availableCheck source terms
cadCAD · official project · Opens an external site
05Neurotech

Allen Brain Map

An open doorway into brain cell types, connectivity datasets, visualization tools, and research protocols.

A useful next contribution

Editorial opening—not a request or endorsement from the featured project.

What exists
An open doorway into brain cell types, connectivity datasets, visualization tools, and research protocols.
Specific opening
Connect one published claim to its dataset, method, and reproducible analysis.
Inspect or try
Allen Brain Map
Useful contribution
The exact dataset and version, measurement units, source method, and an analysis someone can rerun.
Resource portalCheck source terms
Allen Institute · open resources · Opens an external site

Made something that makes science easier?