Cahir O'Kane
@cahirokane.bsky.social
Genetics professor: axon ER & degeneration in Drosophila, spastic paraplegia. Rejoin EU. Not the GAA commentator. Speak only for myself. Gaeilge, Deutsch. Maghera (Co Derry), Cambridge (UK).
https://www.gen.cam.ac.uk/research-groups/research-groups/okane
https://www.gen.cam.ac.uk/research-groups/research-groups/okane
Reposted by Cahir O'Kane
Our latest preprint: Together with the team of Jan Löwe, @danieltamarit.bsky.social and many others we discovered and characterized several Asgard tubulin genes and propose that microtubule architecture and dynamics evolved in Asgard archaea prior to eukaryogenesis
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
February 16, 2026 at 4:43 PM
Our latest preprint: Together with the team of Jan Löwe, @danieltamarit.bsky.social and many others we discovered and characterized several Asgard tubulin genes and propose that microtubule architecture and dynamics evolved in Asgard archaea prior to eukaryogenesis
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Cahir O'Kane
listen to the Trumpian way that Farage tries to silence my tenacious colleague @annasophiegross.bsky.social
(who was politely asking a reasonable question)
(who was politely asking a reasonable question)
Nigel Farage lashes out at a FT journalist and refuses to answer the question.
Is this how Reform UK would ignore media questions if they got into government?
Is this how Reform UK would ignore media questions if they got into government?
February 17, 2026 at 7:08 PM
listen to the Trumpian way that Farage tries to silence my tenacious colleague @annasophiegross.bsky.social
(who was politely asking a reasonable question)
(who was politely asking a reasonable question)
Reposted by Cahir O'Kane
"the camp was raided to confiscate letters from the children"
“I don’t want to be in this place I want to go to my school.”
- 7 year old imprisoned by ICE for 70 days in a concentration camp in Texas.
Today, after @propublica.org published this story, the camp was raided to confiscate letters from the children.
www.propublica.org/article/ice-...
- 7 year old imprisoned by ICE for 70 days in a concentration camp in Texas.
Today, after @propublica.org published this story, the camp was raided to confiscate letters from the children.
www.propublica.org/article/ice-...
February 17, 2026 at 8:09 PM
"the camp was raided to confiscate letters from the children"
Reposted by Cahir O'Kane
With one in four university Physics departments facing the risk of closure, and with unprecedented research cuts on the horizon, @royalastrosoc.bsky.social have created an open letter for Physics teachers to lend their support to the university Astronomy community
ras.ac.uk/news-and-pre...
🎢🧪⚛️🔭
ras.ac.uk/news-and-pre...
🎢🧪⚛️🔭
Open letter on astronomy cuts from UK physics teachers
drupal-media[data-view-mode=half_page_width] { display: inline-block; width: 50%; } The Royal Astronomical Society is encouraging physics teachers in the UK
to sign ...
ras.ac.uk
February 16, 2026 at 12:18 PM
With one in four university Physics departments facing the risk of closure, and with unprecedented research cuts on the horizon, @royalastrosoc.bsky.social have created an open letter for Physics teachers to lend their support to the university Astronomy community
ras.ac.uk/news-and-pre...
🎢🧪⚛️🔭
ras.ac.uk/news-and-pre...
🎢🧪⚛️🔭
Reposted by Cahir O'Kane
Despite decades of intensive research, current approaches to treating #NeurodegenerativeDiseases only slow down the seemingly inevitable. Could recent data associating #vaccines with reduced risk of #dementia offer an unexpected beacon of hope?🧪 @sparrerlab.bsky.social
Could targeting viruses be a new hope against neurodegenerative diseases?
Current therapies for neurodegenerative diseases largely manage symptoms and only modestly slow progression. This Perspective highlights emerging evidence that vaccines and antivirals may lower…
plos.io
February 16, 2026 at 5:35 PM
Despite decades of intensive research, current approaches to treating #NeurodegenerativeDiseases only slow down the seemingly inevitable. Could recent data associating #vaccines with reduced risk of #dementia offer an unexpected beacon of hope?🧪 @sparrerlab.bsky.social
Reposted by Cahir O'Kane
Remember: Viktor Orban has built a corrupt, stagnant Hungary that is much poorer than it should be
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...
America’s Future Is Hungary
MAGA conservatives love Viktor Orbán. But he’s left his country corrupt, stagnant, and impoverished.
www.theatlantic.com
February 16, 2026 at 6:54 PM
Remember: Viktor Orban has built a corrupt, stagnant Hungary that is much poorer than it should be
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...
Reposted by Cahir O'Kane
People who voted LEAVE in the 2016 referendum on Brexit have the right to say:
“this is not what I was told, it’s not what we were promised, and it’s damn well not what I voted for”
Brexit was sold on lies
A democracy that cannot change its mind is no longer a democracy
🇬🇧🇪🇺
“this is not what I was told, it’s not what we were promised, and it’s damn well not what I voted for”
Brexit was sold on lies
A democracy that cannot change its mind is no longer a democracy
🇬🇧🇪🇺
February 16, 2026 at 10:52 AM
People who voted LEAVE in the 2016 referendum on Brexit have the right to say:
“this is not what I was told, it’s not what we were promised, and it’s damn well not what I voted for”
Brexit was sold on lies
A democracy that cannot change its mind is no longer a democracy
🇬🇧🇪🇺
“this is not what I was told, it’s not what we were promised, and it’s damn well not what I voted for”
Brexit was sold on lies
A democracy that cannot change its mind is no longer a democracy
🇬🇧🇪🇺
Reposted by Cahir O'Kane
Great article from @jdportes.bsky.social. Immigration policy being asked to do to much. Time to recognise:
- migration is a structural feature of a modern, open economy
- costs/benefits of migration depend on other policy choices: housing, public services, regulation, integration ...
- migration is a structural feature of a modern, open economy
- costs/benefits of migration depend on other policy choices: housing, public services, regulation, integration ...
February 16, 2026 at 10:40 AM
Great article from @jdportes.bsky.social. Immigration policy being asked to do to much. Time to recognise:
- migration is a structural feature of a modern, open economy
- costs/benefits of migration depend on other policy choices: housing, public services, regulation, integration ...
- migration is a structural feature of a modern, open economy
- costs/benefits of migration depend on other policy choices: housing, public services, regulation, integration ...
Aspergillus fumigatus - 29.9 crossovers per homologous chromosome pair! That makes about 1500 recombination map units per chromosome....
February 16, 2026 at 7:38 PM
Aspergillus fumigatus - 29.9 crossovers per homologous chromosome pair! That makes about 1500 recombination map units per chromosome....
Reposted by Cahir O'Kane
My department @bsse.ethz.ch is inviting applications for a new assistant professor (tenure-track) in computational immunology, interested candidates please see advert and apply! Deadline 15 April 2026 ethz.ch/en/the-eth-z...
Assistant Professor (Tenure Track) of Computational Immunology
ethz.ch
February 16, 2026 at 8:35 AM
My department @bsse.ethz.ch is inviting applications for a new assistant professor (tenure-track) in computational immunology, interested candidates please see advert and apply! Deadline 15 April 2026 ethz.ch/en/the-eth-z...
You can tell a man who boozes
By the company that he chooses
(from a wise Irish poem of unknown origin)
By the company that he chooses
(from a wise Irish poem of unknown origin)
Marco Rubio has arrived in Hungary for talks with Viktor Orban ahead of elections where the nationalist leader faces a significant challenge from the opposition.
Trump has made no secret of his high regard for Orban, saying that Orban had produced "phenomenal" results in Hungary.
jrnl.ie/6958301
Trump has made no secret of his high regard for Orban, saying that Orban had produced "phenomenal" results in Hungary.
jrnl.ie/6958301
Marco Rubio visits Viktor Orban as Hungarian leader trails in polls ahead of election
Orban has a fight on his hands for the 12 April elections in Hungary, as polls suggest his party is trailing the opposition.
jrnl.ie
February 16, 2026 at 9:02 AM
You can tell a man who boozes
By the company that he chooses
(from a wise Irish poem of unknown origin)
By the company that he chooses
(from a wise Irish poem of unknown origin)
Reposted by Cahir O'Kane
Won't be a revelation to anyone but the reason all the worst people on the right are pivoting to talking about race and culture rather than immigration is so they can keep banging the drum even as net migration figures fall (UK) and even reverse (US).
This is the next step and it always was.
This is the next step and it always was.
February 16, 2026 at 8:47 AM
Won't be a revelation to anyone but the reason all the worst people on the right are pivoting to talking about race and culture rather than immigration is so they can keep banging the drum even as net migration figures fall (UK) and even reverse (US).
This is the next step and it always was.
This is the next step and it always was.
Reposted by Cahir O'Kane
American culture of the 1840’s would have been *very fucking surprised* to see the Irish considered as co-founders.
Elon’s an ahistorical dipshit, but its always worth saying some stuff out loud: if you‘re a fellow Irish-American and you aren’t 100% pro-immigrant, you’re a fucking embarassment.
Elon’s an ahistorical dipshit, but its always worth saying some stuff out loud: if you‘re a fellow Irish-American and you aren’t 100% pro-immigrant, you’re a fucking embarassment.
1/3 What Musk is really referring to here is, of course “race” - that construct that served to define the hierarchies of wealth & power structured by modern colonialism. Like other far right racists though, he uses the word “culture” as a seemingly less pernicious synonym.
February 15, 2026 at 5:44 PM
American culture of the 1840’s would have been *very fucking surprised* to see the Irish considered as co-founders.
Elon’s an ahistorical dipshit, but its always worth saying some stuff out loud: if you‘re a fellow Irish-American and you aren’t 100% pro-immigrant, you’re a fucking embarassment.
Elon’s an ahistorical dipshit, but its always worth saying some stuff out loud: if you‘re a fellow Irish-American and you aren’t 100% pro-immigrant, you’re a fucking embarassment.
Barron is, at a minimum, blind in the right eye, if not positively malicious
assignment for this semester: compare this statement with the appeal about Europe signed by four presidents of bishops' conferences in Europe (Italy, France, Germany, Poland).
February 15, 2026 at 5:07 PM
Barron is, at a minimum, blind in the right eye, if not positively malicious
Gulag Archipelago
US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) expects to spend an estimated $38.3bn on turning warehouses into immigration detention centres according to documents sent to the governor of New Hampshire.
TAT: [Nationalism]
TAT: [Nationalism]
ICE to spend $38bn turning warehouses into detention centers, documents show
US homeland security eyeing 24 buildings, some as ‘primary locations’ for deportations, in escalation of Trump agenda
www.theguardian.com
February 15, 2026 at 5:06 PM
Gulag Archipelago
No-one's forcing you to stay in Brussels, Viktor. Just close the door after you on your way out.
🇭🇺❗️🇪🇺 Orban: We must get used to the idea that those who love freedom should not fear the East, but Brussels, and should turn their concerned eyes toward Brussels.
Putin-bashing is primitive and unserious. Brussels, however, is a tangible reality and a direct source of danger.
Putin-bashing is primitive and unserious. Brussels, however, is a tangible reality and a direct source of danger.
February 15, 2026 at 12:01 PM
No-one's forcing you to stay in Brussels, Viktor. Just close the door after you on your way out.
Agree. The main barrier against shelling of cities, massacres of civilians and Putin's expansionism in the rest of Europe, is the high price paid by the people and Armed Forces of Ukraine.
PM Tusk:
Some say that Ukraine should be grateful for everything.
The truth is exactly the opposite. The rest of us should be grateful to Ukraine.
Some say that Ukraine should be grateful for everything.
The truth is exactly the opposite. The rest of us should be grateful to Ukraine.
February 15, 2026 at 11:57 AM
Agree. The main barrier against shelling of cities, massacres of civilians and Putin's expansionism in the rest of Europe, is the high price paid by the people and Armed Forces of Ukraine.
"[Diganosis] took something I had carried—quietly, for decades—and set it down. The guilt. The endless “what ifs.” The feeling, at times, of having failed my son because I couldn’t fix him, or even explain him.
That burden is gone. What remains is gratitude—and.. a new tenderness around time"
That burden is gone. What remains is gratitude—and.. a new tenderness around time"
This is a really impactful blog from Gregory Moore on his adult son with a very rare genetic condition, the impact of the diagnostic odyssey and the diagnosis itself, and the power of #genomics and Dr Seuss.
www.linkedin.com/pulse/we-hav...
www.linkedin.com/pulse/we-hav...
WE HAVE A DIAGNOSIS FOR PETER
Many year-end reflections from executives include metrics, milestones, lessons learned, and gratitude for teams. This one is different.
www.linkedin.com
February 15, 2026 at 11:52 AM
"[Diganosis] took something I had carried—quietly, for decades—and set it down. The guilt. The endless “what ifs.” The feeling, at times, of having failed my son because I couldn’t fix him, or even explain him.
That burden is gone. What remains is gratitude—and.. a new tenderness around time"
That burden is gone. What remains is gratitude—and.. a new tenderness around time"
Glad to see this. Even after ~25 years of relative peace, most residential areas in N Ireland are seen as either Catholic or Protestant, with each group feeling vulnerable to live in areas dominated by the other. Respect to the people behind this.
Four years ago, an Irish language and cultural centre located in the former Broadway Presbyterian Church, which opened in 1896 but closed in 1982, opened its doors for a congregation to return.
Rebirth of Presbyterianism on the Falls Road
Something that was unthinkable for decades is happening on the Falls Road in nationalist West Belfast. The rebirth of Presbyterianism in a part of Northern Ireland considered a hostile environment for...
www.rte.ie
February 15, 2026 at 11:40 AM
Glad to see this. Even after ~25 years of relative peace, most residential areas in N Ireland are seen as either Catholic or Protestant, with each group feeling vulnerable to live in areas dominated by the other. Respect to the people behind this.
Reposted by Cahir O'Kane
This is really not good. Measles is so easily caught and so dangerous. If you haven't been vaccinated please ask at your GP surgery - to protect not just you but those around you.
“Seven schools and a nursery have reported more than 60 suspected cases of measles in an area of north London, and labs have confirmed 34 cases since January 12. Some children have been treated in hospital.”
archive.md/2026.02.1...
archive.md/2026.02.1...
February 15, 2026 at 8:41 AM
This is really not good. Measles is so easily caught and so dangerous. If you haven't been vaccinated please ask at your GP surgery - to protect not just you but those around you.
Respect to these folks at "Free Minneapolis" corner
February 15, 2026 at 12:15 AM
Respect to these folks at "Free Minneapolis" corner
Yes, nothing reassuring at all about wanting to turn Europe into a Trumpian dystopia.
Free piece just released. Marco Rubio called on tolerant, democratic, liberal Europe to destroy itself and embrace a Trump-like future. He received a standing ovation and we are told some people are reassured. If so, Europe will deserve everything coming its way. open.substack.com/pub/phillips...
Rubio Calls For The End Of A Tolerant, Democratic Europe And The Crowd Goes Wild
Just over an hour ago, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called for the end of a tolerant, democratic Europe and its break-up into a disparate group of smaller, Trumpist states, and the Europeans in t...
open.substack.com
February 15, 2026 at 12:11 AM
Yes, nothing reassuring at all about wanting to turn Europe into a Trumpian dystopia.
Reposted by Cahir O'Kane
My employer, Univ. Colorado will pay OpenAI $2M/year under the banner of “equity”. That’s 54 full scholarships / year. Plus, our IT will be able to read our chatGPT logs, and our chats can be requested under public records law. No thanks. Surveillance is not equity
www.axios.com/local/boulde...
www.axios.com/local/boulde...
CU signs $2M OpenAI deal for ChatGPT access
Students and faculty will gain access to ChatGPT Edu starting in March under a three-year deal.
www.axios.com
February 13, 2026 at 11:36 PM
My employer, Univ. Colorado will pay OpenAI $2M/year under the banner of “equity”. That’s 54 full scholarships / year. Plus, our IT will be able to read our chatGPT logs, and our chats can be requested under public records law. No thanks. Surveillance is not equity
www.axios.com/local/boulde...
www.axios.com/local/boulde...
Reposted by Cahir O'Kane
The government's "earned settlement" proposals will have far-reaching and negative consequences for up to 2 million people, unless there is a change of course.
@jamesbowes01.bsky.social explains.
ukandeu.ac.uk/remigration-...
@jamesbowes01.bsky.social explains.
ukandeu.ac.uk/remigration-...
February 13, 2026 at 6:35 PM
The government's "earned settlement" proposals will have far-reaching and negative consequences for up to 2 million people, unless there is a change of course.
@jamesbowes01.bsky.social explains.
ukandeu.ac.uk/remigration-...
@jamesbowes01.bsky.social explains.
ukandeu.ac.uk/remigration-...
Navalny should get moving on negotiations, Putin is ready to do a deal.
Aleksei Navalny was most likely poisoned by a toxin found in a South American frog, five European countries said Saturday, making the most concrete Western accusation yet that Russia’s leading opposition figure was murdered by his government in a prison two years ago. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/14/w...
February 15, 2026 at 12:05 AM
Navalny should get moving on negotiations, Putin is ready to do a deal.