Helena Pérez Valle
@helenapvalle.bsky.social
Biosomething in the making. Developmental biologist at heart, molbio/genetics editor at work. Española viviendo en UK. I talk about books, science and TV the most (LIES: normal TS programming is interrupted, this has become a Crick(et)-only zone)
Also, people are sleeping on Honey. Honey is the Delicate of this album. (No, I’m not saying it’s as good as Delicate but it is the most intimate love song in this album. Even if I don’t necessarily like the whole “bitched called me honey/sweetheart just to put me down” motif).
October 10, 2025 at 8:45 AM
Also, people are sleeping on Honey. Honey is the Delicate of this album. (No, I’m not saying it’s as good as Delicate but it is the most intimate love song in this album. Even if I don’t necessarily like the whole “bitched called me honey/sweetheart just to put me down” motif).
I’ve been listening to LOAS for almost a week now (yay!), and I think I can now give my thoughts on the album. My first impression was not good. I don’t like the lead single and I also do not like Opalite. I think the writing there doesn’t work. I think TS is especially strong when she conjures ->
October 9, 2025 at 11:18 AM
I’ve been listening to LOAS for almost a week now (yay!), and I think I can now give my thoughts on the album. My first impression was not good. I don’t like the lead single and I also do not like Opalite. I think the writing there doesn’t work. I think TS is especially strong when she conjures ->
Well… fuck me.
October 4, 2025 at 12:15 AM
Well… fuck me.
Jane Goodall’s died. Her books were part of what got me into biology. Sad to lose such a powerful voice especially considering the rate of destruction of ecosystems she fought to protect.
October 1, 2025 at 6:56 PM
Jane Goodall’s died. Her books were part of what got me into biology. Sad to lose such a powerful voice especially considering the rate of destruction of ecosystems she fought to protect.
I first learned about Huntington’s in the earlyish 2000s. My dad was reading Genome and told me about it. It’s one of the reasons I became interested in genetics. In my lifetime, we’ve gone from discovering its genetic basis to treating it with gene therapy.
It’s magical. Science opens doors.
It’s magical. Science opens doors.
September 24, 2025 at 12:47 PM
I first learned about Huntington’s in the earlyish 2000s. My dad was reading Genome and told me about it. It’s one of the reasons I became interested in genetics. In my lifetime, we’ve gone from discovering its genetic basis to treating it with gene therapy.
It’s magical. Science opens doors.
It’s magical. Science opens doors.
Reposted by Helena Pérez Valle
🚨 Exciting new crab preprint! A Japanese team found that sideways walking only evolved once! Maybe carcinization itself is necessary but not sufficient to go sideways?
When it's lost, the species that go forward have alternate anti predation behaviors. 🧪🦑🦀
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
When it's lost, the species that go forward have alternate anti predation behaviors. 🧪🦑🦀
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Evolution of sideways locomotion in crabs
The evolutionary change in the mode of locomotion is often a major evolutionary event, triggering diversification. Sideways locomotion is a defining feature of true crabs (Brachyura) and may have cont...
www.biorxiv.org
September 22, 2025 at 8:31 PM
🚨 Exciting new crab preprint! A Japanese team found that sideways walking only evolved once! Maybe carcinization itself is necessary but not sufficient to go sideways?
When it's lost, the species that go forward have alternate anti predation behaviors. 🧪🦑🦀
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
When it's lost, the species that go forward have alternate anti predation behaviors. 🧪🦑🦀
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
This is a really cool thread of cool pictures and cool scientists!
If you’re a climate/energy person, I will take your portrait pro bono.
After far too many years, I've got myself a new Guardian byline pic, very kindly taken pro bono by Nick Bowring. It was getting like The Picture of Dorian Gray in reverse.
Embrace the ravages of time!
Embrace the ravages of time!
September 22, 2025 at 8:27 PM
This is a really cool thread of cool pictures and cool scientists!
Reposted by Helena Pérez Valle
It's 2025, and there are still people that haven't accepted the fact that there is no path out of this mess that doesn't involve:
1) People that aren't Black...
2) Advocating for, and fighting for...
3) People that are Black.
None.
1) People that aren't Black...
2) Advocating for, and fighting for...
3) People that are Black.
None.
September 8, 2025 at 10:38 AM
It's 2025, and there are still people that haven't accepted the fact that there is no path out of this mess that doesn't involve:
1) People that aren't Black...
2) Advocating for, and fighting for...
3) People that are Black.
None.
1) People that aren't Black...
2) Advocating for, and fighting for...
3) People that are Black.
None.
Reposted by Helena Pérez Valle
Yes, I've praised some of Einstein's views, and been critical of some of his views. That's not contradictory at all. That's how it's supposed to work.
I'm not saying Einstein never had a bad take.
I'm saying that Einstein recognized that "Science is neutral! It doesn't have politics!"🤡 is silly.
I'm not saying Einstein never had a bad take.
I'm saying that Einstein recognized that "Science is neutral! It doesn't have politics!"🤡 is silly.
September 8, 2025 at 10:33 AM
Yes, I've praised some of Einstein's views, and been critical of some of his views. That's not contradictory at all. That's how it's supposed to work.
I'm not saying Einstein never had a bad take.
I'm saying that Einstein recognized that "Science is neutral! It doesn't have politics!"🤡 is silly.
I'm not saying Einstein never had a bad take.
I'm saying that Einstein recognized that "Science is neutral! It doesn't have politics!"🤡 is silly.
@benaaronovitch.bsky.social have you always shared book covers with your word count?
September 10, 2025 at 8:53 AM
@benaaronovitch.bsky.social have you always shared book covers with your word count?
@badlawyerpod.bsky.social I only started listening recently and getting to relive the Eras with y’all is giving me life.
September 6, 2025 at 5:08 PM
@badlawyerpod.bsky.social I only started listening recently and getting to relive the Eras with y’all is giving me life.
Foliage dog, Crick(et).
September 2, 2025 at 10:38 PM
Foliage dog, Crick(et).
Crick(et) found a stick this morning. The stick was Too Big. He didn’t want help carrying it. The stick did not make it home (for once).
September 2, 2025 at 1:23 AM
Crick(et) found a stick this morning. The stick was Too Big. He didn’t want help carrying it. The stick did not make it home (for once).
There’s obviously been a lot of TS news lately: I’m a bit shocked that she’d announce an album and immediately after (or so it feels), announce an engagement! Still unsurprising that the most liked IG post by a woman ever is a post shared with a man, about her marrying a man…
August 28, 2025 at 9:14 AM
There’s obviously been a lot of TS news lately: I’m a bit shocked that she’d announce an album and immediately after (or so it feels), announce an engagement! Still unsurprising that the most liked IG post by a woman ever is a post shared with a man, about her marrying a man…
Crick(et) Our Love is God, Keeper of the Stairs, Finder of the Sticks, Lord Barker at Open Windows.
August 28, 2025 at 9:03 AM
Crick(et) Our Love is God, Keeper of the Stairs, Finder of the Sticks, Lord Barker at Open Windows.
I’ve been watching Yellowstone, and I have to say, I could just watch a show about the bunkhouse forever. The family drama? The killings? Eh, it’s fine, but I don’t care all that much. Cowboys getting drunk and doing stupid shit? Gimme more.
August 25, 2025 at 9:31 AM
I’ve been watching Yellowstone, and I have to say, I could just watch a show about the bunkhouse forever. The family drama? The killings? Eh, it’s fine, but I don’t care all that much. Cowboys getting drunk and doing stupid shit? Gimme more.
I got me a lapdog.
August 21, 2025 at 8:38 PM
I got me a lapdog.
I was lucky enough to edit this article, which I’m very happy is now published. Really cool work on post-transcriptional regulation!
Delighted to present our second paper of the year. This one explores the molecular mechanism of TTP, a key post-transcriptional regulator of AU-rich mRNAs. Work led and coordinated by @filippekovic.bsky.social, in collaboration with Perry Blackshear.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Multivalent interactions with CCR4–NOT and PABPC1 determine mRNA repression efficiency by tristetraprolin - Nature Communications
Deadenylation leads to mRNA decay, with PABPC1 protecting the poly(A) tail, while tristetraprolin and CCR4–NOT promote deadenylation. Here, the authors describe how these three proteins interact to re...
www.nature.com
August 19, 2025 at 6:49 PM
I was lucky enough to edit this article, which I’m very happy is now published. Really cool work on post-transcriptional regulation!
TS12 is coming up. Time to switch my bio again? Perhaps. But for now, Crick(et) content is still incoming. Here he is, napping all morning after waking me up at 6:50AM. An angel.
August 12, 2025 at 10:21 AM
TS12 is coming up. Time to switch my bio again? Perhaps. But for now, Crick(et) content is still incoming. Here he is, napping all morning after waking me up at 6:50AM. An angel.
At the movies. About to watch a film I know nothing about (I know the name) for the first time in a very long time. The internet and social media have ruined a lot of my random “what’s showing” and going to the cinema for the sake of going to the cinema. This should be fun.
August 10, 2025 at 6:51 PM
At the movies. About to watch a film I know nothing about (I know the name) for the first time in a very long time. The internet and social media have ruined a lot of my random “what’s showing” and going to the cinema for the sake of going to the cinema. This should be fun.
Crick(et) is pretending to be the perfect coworker, as tho he doesn’t turn into a menace that refuses more work after 3PM.
August 8, 2025 at 10:26 AM
Crick(et) is pretending to be the perfect coworker, as tho he doesn’t turn into a menace that refuses more work after 3PM.
This is such a how did we get here picture. We left a chair pulled out. That’s how.
August 5, 2025 at 7:09 AM
This is such a how did we get here picture. We left a chair pulled out. That’s how.
Of the last 5 train journeys I’ve made, all involving going into or coming out of London, all 5 have been delayed or disrupted in some way. It’s exhausting. It’s a good thing that I have a Crick(et) at home to make up for it.
August 4, 2025 at 8:12 AM
Of the last 5 train journeys I’ve made, all involving going into or coming out of London, all 5 have been delayed or disrupted in some way. It’s exhausting. It’s a good thing that I have a Crick(et) at home to make up for it.
This is so, so cool.
⚠️ I am really excited to share the work of Anastasios Balaskas, an excellent PhD candidate in the lab, with the wider world. Tasos made a significant advance: generating a stem cell-based embryo model that contains both posterior and anterior neural tissues of the late-stage gastrulating embryo.
June 23, 2025 at 5:55 PM
This is so, so cool.