Last ditch experiments before starting new journey!

Transformative medical discoveries from utterly basic science is not an exception. Its the rule. nature.com/articles/d41...

"True; it might be a sin and shame, in such a world as ours, to spend a lifetime in this manner; but, for a few summer-weeks, it is good to live as if the world were Heaven"

Scientists are obsessed with intelligence. But you don't need an astronomical IQ to design a simple experiment that will slash through the darkness. In fact high IQ people often lack the simple-minded clarity needed for designing good experiments.

Yup. That outta do it.

Incredible by @odedrechavi.bsky.social...an AI-thingy that reviews your manuscript with a very high bar and takes no prisoners. But you can do this in your pajamas and no one gets to see it. Takes a while but once you get the results you'll know why: www.qedscience.com

New lab pic with people who happened to be in the area...messy, so let's assume work is getting done.

"Even short, regular check-ins can make a difference. Time spent helping students to solve problems, or simply asking how a project is going, will pay dividends. It also saves time later by catching small problems before they become big ones" nature.com/articles/d41...

lol yes...i still remember most of them

4 Nobels for UC in 2025, 75 since 1934, 1/4 winning women have ties to a UC. www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/uc-wins...

Case of the missing Lab Tupperware!

It won’t take you years to publish your work in JCS: most articles go from submission to acceptance in under 4 months. We also show a strong commitment at first decision, with over 95% of revisions being accepted. Find out more: journals.biologists.com/jcs/pages/re... #forscientists #notforprofit

I'm giving a talk at this SFN sponsored symposium in Singapore, students in the area consider submitting abstract - deadline coming up Oct 14: sfn.sg/sfn-sg-annua...

I went to #Chile for a conference 25 years ago - when Internet wasn't a thing - and this is all I needed to know. It went just fine.

“She took a character on the page and gave her such truth, precision and warmth that Hyacinth became part of the national conversation; instantly recognisable, endlessly quotable, and loved around the world"

"So far, just the headline findings have been released. Scientists say the full study needs to be published and assessed by independent experts to properly assess what has been achieved" Umm...yes. www.bbc.com/news/article...

Target engagement + "increased myelination (P = 0.0137) and improved MSEL developmental outcomes (P = 0.0171). Thus, interim results suggest that gene therapy with MYR-101 is well tolerated and shows early effects in Canavan's Disease" AAVs in oligos! www.nature.com/articles/s41...

We wrote a book chapter on #CRISPR and #Alzheimers if anyone is still reading books. link.springer.com/chapter/10.1...

So what are the #1 &2 journals in biochemistry ranked by impact factor? Brace yourself...1/2 www.science.org/content/blog...

If you think the troubles at NIH does not affect you, you just need to wait. Due to multi-year funding, NINDS will be able to fund 40% fewer grants next cycle...even if budget stays same. Yes, message from one of the highest levels. Talk to Congress, that's the only way now.

Silence of the labs www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

Signs of new life amidst carnage. Postdoc Leo Parra (left, Brent on right) is heading East to U Maryland @UMmedschool as an Asst Professor with the Institute for Neuroscience Discovery (medschool.umaryland.edu/um-mind/)

"The MYF scheme only makes sense if the goal is to threaten the American research enterprise"

If you're tired of AI and stuff...we published CRISPR-based protocols that you can actually use to delete alpha-synuclein (~100% efficiency) or knock it into endogenous locus (~53% eff) in cultured neurons: star-protocols.cell.com/protocols/4339

A timely reminder...

Looking forward to speaking at Gordon Conference about gene-editing and #Alzheimers (my talk is on the last day as usual :). Taking Amtrak from San Diego to Ventura this time, lets see how that goes... www.grc.org/alzheimer-s-...

Really pleased to have Subhojit (@roylab-ucsd.bsky.social) on board as a new Editor at @jcellsci.bsky.social! Send your neuronal cell biology papers his way! 👇

We are delighted to welcome Subhojit Roy @roylab-ucsd.bsky.social as an Editor at Journal of Cell Science. Subhojit will handle manuscripts on various aspects of neuronal cell biology.

Giving a talk at the @ucirvine.bsky.social MIND seminar series next Thursday (15th). Thanks Vivek Swarup for the invitation.

Happy to report that our very own undergrad scientist Arnav Godavarthi (NOT Rachin Ravindra NZ cricketer!) won the $5K Julia Brown Research Scholarship for Health and Medical Professions @ucsdhealthsci.bsky.social

Kinesins move faster in giraffes and pythons due to point mutations! www.biorxiv.org/node/4583755...

"The once active neurons that fired electrical and chemical signals from axons to dendrites inside the crevices and folds of the left frontal lobe, home to the language center, were now quiet. The memories produced in the hippocampus were now frozen" nautil.us/my-visit-wit...

Your entire opinion of yourself is what others think. Have you ever asked yourself who you really are? - Kabir (14th century)

Kabir in the 1400's. The world has been misguided for a long time.

Lesson in life from Serbian postdoc (translation): "You need to Smash your worries against the Wall of Joy"

100,000% tariff for saying something totally obvious followed by "...that being said..." and further monologue.

A huge majority of Americans (77%) oppose the cuts to medical research that the current administration has made. (Source: Wash. Post/ABC/Ipsos poll)

Finally a role for the most common synaptic marker in the world synaptophysin - maintaining synaptic vesicle diameter: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Someone asked me what I've recently read leading to a flurry of 6 texts. 1. Yes she's crazy but a crazy good writer:

One of the most frustrating things for me is that I cannot summarize what my lab does. Huge problem when asked for elevator-pitch or speaker-summary. Super jealous of people who "build a unique xyz model system" and evaluate that system for the rest of their career.

Satellite EMBO Neurocytoskeleton #neurocyto2025 meeting at Torres del Paine? Went on an amazing hike with Karolina Kowalska and Jonas Vlasak from Daniel Rozbesky's lab. Then ran into @roylab-ucsd.bsky.social and @m1singh.bsky.social the next day. Great to see colleagues in beautiful places!

“It’s not nothing,” said Stephen Schmidt, a planetary scientist at Johns Hopkins University. I'm stealing this line. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/16/s...

"Single infusion of VERVE-102 led to dose-dependent decreases in blood PCSK9 and LDL-C, with mean reduction in LDL-C of 53% and a maximum reduction of 69% observed in the 0.6 mg/kg dose cohort" ir.vervetx.com/news-release...

“It’s going to go one way or another. I’m not taking it with me,” Gilbert said from a hospital bed as she received an infusion of a drug designed to prevent the disease from worsening. “I hope it gets used well. But, you know, you can’t guarantee anything.”

Our lab at the NIH (Bethesda, MD) is looking for postdoctoral fellows to join our team studying the molecular mechanisms of protein trafficking and their links to neurodevelopmental disorders starting on or after 10-1-2025. Send your application to [email protected]. Please share and repost!

What a great time with the one and only @christlet.bsky.social and @m1singh.bsky.social I miss him already 😢

Curdled milk in coffee today made me think of of phase separation.

I asked AI to make me a professional headshot and now I can't sleep...

So many rings....so little time. @christlet.bsky.social at #neurocyto2025