@alanhschulman.bsky.social
Happy to have been a part of the worldwide effort to assemble a pan-genome and pan-transcriptome for oat! A great cereal crop with lots of health benefits. We hope this resource will advance oat quality improvement, resilience, and sustainability as well as provide a foundation for basic research.
A pangenome and pantranscriptome of hexaploid oat - Nature
A pangenome of oat, assembled from 33 wild and domesticated oat lines, sheds light on the evolution and genetic diversity of this cereal crop and will aid genomics-assisted breeding to improve product...
www.nature.com
November 10, 2025 at 2:23 PM
Happy to have been a part of the worldwide effort to assemble a pan-genome and pan-transcriptome for oat! A great cereal crop with lots of health benefits. We hope this resource will advance oat quality improvement, resilience, and sustainability as well as provide a foundation for basic research.
Watson's troubling B-side
A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death.
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers
James Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA who died Thursday at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers.
www.statnews.com
November 9, 2025 at 10:50 AM
Watson's troubling B-side
Their longevity I've wondered about for a long time. Harder to decipher the lifespan of the Greenland Shark, maybe 500 yr.
Four subtle tweaks to an enzyme could help explain why naked mole rats’ can live for nearly 30 years, an unusually long lifespan for a creature its size.
The enzyme, cGAS, enhances the animal’s ability to repair genetic damage that leads to ageing.
🧪
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
The enzyme, cGAS, enhances the animal’s ability to repair genetic damage that leads to ageing.
🧪
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Naked mole rats live for decades — genetic tweaks reveal insights into ageing
Four subtle changes to an enzyme might explain the hairless rodents’ longevity.
www.nature.com
October 11, 2025 at 9:40 AM
Their longevity I've wondered about for a long time. Harder to decipher the lifespan of the Greenland Shark, maybe 500 yr.
A mechanism that I and certainly many others have wondered about has now been revealed.
🌿 The Venus flytrap’s secret touch sensor
A new study reveals that the protein MSL10 acts as a highly sensitive mechanosensor in the Venus flytrap. It enables the plant to detect touch, fire electrical signals, and snap shut on its prey.
🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#SciComm #Plants 🧪
A new study reveals that the protein MSL10 acts as a highly sensitive mechanosensor in the Venus flytrap. It enables the plant to detect touch, fire electrical signals, and snap shut on its prey.
🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#SciComm #Plants 🧪
MSL10 is a high-sensitivity mechanosensor in the tactile sense of the Venus flytrap - Nature Communications
The Venus flytrap, a carnivorous plant, catches prey by sensing touch. Here, the authors show that DmMSL10 functions as a high-sensitivity mechanosensor in sensory hairs, initiating long-range calcium and electrical signals required for trap closure.
www.nature.com
October 1, 2025 at 11:07 AM
A mechanism that I and certainly many others have wondered about has now been revealed.
Happy International Coffee Day. Here is a new EFSA study, but don't lose sleep over it.
☕ Happy #InternationalCoffeeDay
Coffee is loved worldwide — and caffeine, its key ingredient, boosts alertness in moderate amounts. But how much is safe? What are the risks?
Find out in our risk assessment: link.europa.eu/HMCRtV
#Caffeine #RiskAssessment #EFSA
Coffee is loved worldwide — and caffeine, its key ingredient, boosts alertness in moderate amounts. But how much is safe? What are the risks?
Find out in our risk assessment: link.europa.eu/HMCRtV
#Caffeine #RiskAssessment #EFSA
October 1, 2025 at 10:44 AM
Happy International Coffee Day. Here is a new EFSA study, but don't lose sleep over it.
Who would have guessed? Why it's worth exploring the various branches of the tree of life.
Here's 123 new bryophyte genomes for you!
Apparently, bryophytes time and again include microbial genes in their genomic repertoire, and occupy a langer gene space than vascular plants.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Apparently, bryophytes time and again include microbial genes in their genomic repertoire, and occupy a langer gene space than vascular plants.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Bryophytes hold a larger gene family space than vascular plants - Nature Genetics
A super-pangenome analysis incorporating 123 newly sequenced bryophyte genomes reveals that bryophytes exhibit a larger number of unique and lineage-specific gene families than vascular plants.
www.nature.com
September 26, 2025 at 11:39 AM
Who would have guessed? Why it's worth exploring the various branches of the tree of life.
Reposted
How about we call genome edited crops "barely mutant"?
Seems to be a nice workshop below btw!
Seems to be a nice workshop below btw!
Registration to the 4th International Barley Mutant 🧬Workshop #IBMW26 has opened. More info ibmw26.wordpress.com
iBMW2026
iBMW2026
ibmw26.wordpress.com
September 26, 2025 at 11:11 AM
How about we call genome edited crops "barely mutant"?
Seems to be a nice workshop below btw!
Seems to be a nice workshop below btw!
The perfect cacio e pepe, how to stop shoe odor, and zebra-stiped cows! arstechnica.com/science/2025...
Meet the 2025 Ig Nobel Prize winners
The annual award ceremony features miniature operas, scientific demos, and the 24/7 lectures.
arstechnica.com
September 20, 2025 at 10:21 AM
The perfect cacio e pepe, how to stop shoe odor, and zebra-stiped cows! arstechnica.com/science/2025...
Reposted
🫛 SPECIAL ISSUE REVIEW 🫛
Johansson et al. ✍️
Redox-active molecules such as ROS, RNS, and RSS orchestrate legume responses to diverse (a)biotic stresses and symbioses, offering novel strategies to enhance crop resilience in changing environments.
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...
#PlantScience 🧪
Johansson et al. ✍️
Redox-active molecules such as ROS, RNS, and RSS orchestrate legume responses to diverse (a)biotic stresses and symbioses, offering novel strategies to enhance crop resilience in changing environments.
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...
#PlantScience 🧪
September 17, 2025 at 9:31 AM
🫛 SPECIAL ISSUE REVIEW 🫛
Johansson et al. ✍️
Redox-active molecules such as ROS, RNS, and RSS orchestrate legume responses to diverse (a)biotic stresses and symbioses, offering novel strategies to enhance crop resilience in changing environments.
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...
#PlantScience 🧪
Johansson et al. ✍️
Redox-active molecules such as ROS, RNS, and RSS orchestrate legume responses to diverse (a)biotic stresses and symbioses, offering novel strategies to enhance crop resilience in changing environments.
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...
#PlantScience 🧪
Heads up on this one.
Giraffes, long considered a single species, are in fact four. https://scim.ag/4n2po6f
Giraffes are four distinct species, major report confirms
The revised classification will help ensure different giraffe populations are adequately protected, conservationists say
scim.ag
September 1, 2025 at 11:08 AM
Heads up on this one.
Nice to see a genome assembly emerge for this barley wild relative. Hopefully, we'll learn how to improve barley's drought tolerance while maintaining yield.
A chromosome-scale genome assembly of Hordeum erectifolium: genomic, transcriptomic and anatomical adaptations to drought in a wild barley relative
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
A chromosome-scale genome assembly of Hordeum
erectifolium: genomic, transcriptomic and anatomical
adaptations to drought in a wild barley relative
Wild crop relatives are valuable genetic resources for improving stress adaptation in cultivated species, but their effective use depends on high-quality reference genomes integrated with phenotypic a...
doi.org
September 1, 2025 at 10:59 AM
Nice to see a genome assembly emerge for this barley wild relative. Hopefully, we'll learn how to improve barley's drought tolerance while maintaining yield.
Reposted
"I’ve never heard as many colleagues saying things like 'CDC is dead’ as I have today," an agency employee told STAT.
www.statnews.com/2025/08/28/c...
www.statnews.com/2025/08/28/c...
Crisis within CDC is spilling into real world, experts say
"I’ve never heard as many colleagues saying things like 'CDC is dead’ as I have today," an agency employee told STAT.
www.statnews.com
August 29, 2025 at 3:32 PM
"I’ve never heard as many colleagues saying things like 'CDC is dead’ as I have today," an agency employee told STAT.
www.statnews.com/2025/08/28/c...
www.statnews.com/2025/08/28/c...
Reposted
Pangenome reveals structural variant-driven variation in expression of in winter oilseed rape. Framework enables population-scale SV-eQTL discovery beyond traditional SNP-based approaches - major advance for functional genomics.
Read more here:
Read more here:
Graphical pangenomics-enabled characterization of structural variant impact on gene expression in Brassica napus
rdcu.be
August 26, 2025 at 7:01 AM
Pangenome reveals structural variant-driven variation in expression of in winter oilseed rape. Framework enables population-scale SV-eQTL discovery beyond traditional SNP-based approaches - major advance for functional genomics.
Read more here:
Read more here:
Reposted
New Zealand had some of the most restrictive laws when it came to genetically engineered food crops. This move once again demonstrates how the NZ Government makes Science-based decisions.
Take note, European Union!
#PlantGMOs #PlantNGTs #PlantScience #Agroculture #Sustainability #PlantBreeding
Take note, European Union!
#PlantGMOs #PlantNGTs #PlantScience #Agroculture #Sustainability #PlantBreeding
NZ joins other Third Countries in updating GM labeling rules: foods made with #GenomeEditing but without new DNA will no longer require a GM label. Only products with added DNA/proteins will.
▶️ A shift toward science-based, risk-proportionate regulation!
www.nzherald.co.nz/the-country/...
▶️ A shift toward science-based, risk-proportionate regulation!
www.nzherald.co.nz/the-country/...
Are NZ shoppers hungry for genetically-modified foods?
Gene-edited food won’t need a GM label if no new DNA was introduced during its production.
www.nzherald.co.nz
August 26, 2025 at 6:58 AM
New Zealand had some of the most restrictive laws when it came to genetically engineered food crops. This move once again demonstrates how the NZ Government makes Science-based decisions.
Take note, European Union!
#PlantGMOs #PlantNGTs #PlantScience #Agroculture #Sustainability #PlantBreeding
Take note, European Union!
#PlantGMOs #PlantNGTs #PlantScience #Agroculture #Sustainability #PlantBreeding
Really interesting to see this systematic and broad study on an important leaf trait.
📢 New publication 'A thinner jacket for frosty and windy climates? Global patterns in #leaf #cuticle thickness and its environmental associations' by Xin'e Liet al. in @newphyt.bsky.social 🍃🧪
doi.org/10.1111/nph....
doi.org/10.1111/nph....
A thinner jacket for frosty and windy climates? Global patterns in leaf cuticle thickness and its environmental associations
Plant cuticles protect the interior tissues from ambient hazards, including desiccation, UV light, physical wear, herbivores and pathogens. Consequently, cuticle properties are shaped by evolutionar...
doi.org
August 18, 2025 at 10:00 AM
Really interesting to see this systematic and broad study on an important leaf trait.
The campaign against science by the Trump administration through grant slashing has reached FlyBase. There is an effort to crowd-fund this vital database:
A reminder you/your lab can support FlyBase at Cambridge through the following link. Every bit helps. Please share if you yourself can't donate.
www.philanthropy.cam.ac.uk/give-to-camb...
www.philanthropy.cam.ac.uk/give-to-camb...
August 14, 2025 at 10:16 AM
The campaign against science by the Trump administration through grant slashing has reached FlyBase. There is an effort to crowd-fund this vital database:
Happy to announce our current scan of the risk environment for NGT (gene editing) in animals, just published today.
doi.org/10.2903/j.ef...
doi.org/10.2903/j.ef...
doi.org
August 4, 2025 at 12:44 PM
Happy to announce our current scan of the risk environment for NGT (gene editing) in animals, just published today.
doi.org/10.2903/j.ef...
doi.org/10.2903/j.ef...
Interesting aspect to ABA: the role of poly-ubiquitination and mono-ubiquitination to post-transcriptionally regulate ABA receptors
🔍 VIEWPOINT 🔍
🌱 Precision tuning of ABA signaling by ubiquitination of ABA receptors: modulating protein activity and localization - Du & Zhang
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...
#PlantScience 🧪
🌱 Precision tuning of ABA signaling by ubiquitination of ABA receptors: modulating protein activity and localization - Du & Zhang
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...
#PlantScience 🧪
July 8, 2025 at 1:12 PM
Interesting aspect to ABA: the role of poly-ubiquitination and mono-ubiquitination to post-transcriptionally regulate ABA receptors
Reposted
Summary Table of the massive defunding of biomedical research in the United States
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
July 6, 2025 at 3:13 PM
Summary Table of the massive defunding of biomedical research in the United States
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Reposted
DNA virus infections shape transposable elements activity in vitro and in vivo
doi.org/10.1101/2024...
doi.org/10.1101/2024...
DNA virus infections shape transposable elements activity in vitro and in vivo
Transposable elements (TEs) are implicated in a variety of processes including placental and preimplantation development and a variety of human diseases. TEs are known to be activated in the context o...
doi.org
July 1, 2025 at 4:21 AM
DNA virus infections shape transposable elements activity in vitro and in vivo
doi.org/10.1101/2024...
doi.org/10.1101/2024...
Hot off the press: our analysis of the proposed EU limits to NGT1 category of genome editing in light of recent data on genomic diversity.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Proposed EU NGT legislation in light of plant genetic variation
The European Commission (EC) proposal for New Genomic Techniques (NGTs) of July 2023 specifies that Category 1 NGT (NGT1) plants, which are considered equivalent to conventional plants, that is those...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
June 30, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Hot off the press: our analysis of the proposed EU limits to NGT1 category of genome editing in light of recent data on genomic diversity.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Reposted
This bizarre rejection of health science is not incidental: MAGA represents a raging revolt against the very foundations of modern society which are roundly rejected as illegitimate impositions and a personal affront to the prerogative of the MAGA patriarch to decide what is true and what is real.
Cabinet officials in charge of two of America's biggest departments - including one dealing with health - don't believe germs are real.
May 3, 2025 at 10:16 PM
This bizarre rejection of health science is not incidental: MAGA represents a raging revolt against the very foundations of modern society which are roundly rejected as illegitimate impositions and a personal affront to the prerogative of the MAGA patriarch to decide what is true and what is real.
Even given possible response bias, this is pretty shockingly high.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
75% of US scientists who answered Nature poll consider leaving
More than 1,600 readers answered our poll; many said they were looking for jobs in Europe and Canada.
www.nature.com
April 8, 2025 at 8:58 AM
Even given possible response bias, this is pretty shockingly high.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted
Nature reporters' ongoing coverage of Trump 2.0 impacts on science and scientists is collected here: www.nature.com/collections/...
Reach me at alexwitze.01 on Signal, or witzescience[at]gmail.com, with tips, feedback, follow-ups, anything we should be covering, etc.
Reach me at alexwitze.01 on Signal, or witzescience[at]gmail.com, with tips, feedback, follow-ups, anything we should be covering, etc.
How Trump 2.0 is reshaping science
Since US President Donald Trump took office in January 2025, his team has made major changes to the federal government that have disrupted research and ...
www.nature.com
April 7, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Nature reporters' ongoing coverage of Trump 2.0 impacts on science and scientists is collected here: www.nature.com/collections/...
Reach me at alexwitze.01 on Signal, or witzescience[at]gmail.com, with tips, feedback, follow-ups, anything we should be covering, etc.
Reach me at alexwitze.01 on Signal, or witzescience[at]gmail.com, with tips, feedback, follow-ups, anything we should be covering, etc.