eric lai
@lucksmith.bsky.social
study small RNAs/APA/splicing/m6A/Notch. neural development+behavior; genomic conflict+evolution.
http://www.mskcc.org/lai
also, indie rock and glassblowing.
http://www.mskcc.org/lai
also, indie rock and glassblowing.
Reposted by eric lai
“The prohibited activities would include joint research, co-authorship on papers, and advising a foreign graduate student or postdoctoral fellow. The language is retroactive, meaning any interactions during the previous 5 years could make a scientist ineligible for future federal funding.”
U.S. Congress considers sweeping ban on Chinese collaborations
Researchers speak out against proposal that would bar funding for U.S. scientists working with Chinese partners or training Chinese students
www.science.org
November 14, 2025 at 1:03 AM
“The prohibited activities would include joint research, co-authorship on papers, and advising a foreign graduate student or postdoctoral fellow. The language is retroactive, meaning any interactions during the previous 5 years could make a scientist ineligible for future federal funding.”
v sad to hear Antonio García-Bellido's passing. his work on mitotic clones led to fundamental insights such as compartment boundaries, enabled post-embryonic analysis of lethals, and revealed autonomous vs non-autonomous effects of mutants. and founding father of Spanish DB and Drosophila schools.🪰
The European Drosophila Society #flyEDS extends the condolences on the passing of Antonio García-Bellido, considered the founder of the Spanish school of #Drosophila genetics and an influential figure in developmental biology research worldwide. May he rest in peace.
November 12, 2025 at 5:08 PM
v sad to hear Antonio García-Bellido's passing. his work on mitotic clones led to fundamental insights such as compartment boundaries, enabled post-embryonic analysis of lethals, and revealed autonomous vs non-autonomous effects of mutants. and founding father of Spanish DB and Drosophila schools.🪰
i love it when the morning emails include one that says "MANUSCRIPT ACCEPTED"!! (it wasn't actually in caps, that's just me shouting into the bluesky). let's gooooooo!!
November 12, 2025 at 2:57 PM
i love it when the morning emails include one that says "MANUSCRIPT ACCEPTED"!! (it wasn't actually in caps, that's just me shouting into the bluesky). let's gooooooo!!
Reposted by eric lai
Breaking News: The Supreme Court denied a request to consider overturning its landmark decision to legalize same-sex marriage a decade ago. nyti.ms/3Ju2Ayd
November 10, 2025 at 2:51 PM
Breaking News: The Supreme Court denied a request to consider overturning its landmark decision to legalize same-sex marriage a decade ago. nyti.ms/3Ju2Ayd
new Lai lab paper @natsmb.nature.com! Dicer is specifically mutated in cancer, but we don't fully understand its molecular/reg impacts. with @danweihuangfu.bsky.social, we characterized the first knockin Dicer hotspot in hESCs, and found unexpected defects in miRNA biogenesis! 🧬 1/4
rdcu.be/eOc0q
rdcu.be/eOc0q
Human DICER1 hotspot mutation induces both loss and gain of miRNA function
Nature Structural & Molecular Biology - Jee et al. study a cancer hotspot allele of DICER1 that disrupts RNaseIIIb activity. Beyond ablating 5p hairpin cleavage, 3p passenger strands are...
rdcu.be
November 10, 2025 at 4:43 PM
new Lai lab paper @natsmb.nature.com! Dicer is specifically mutated in cancer, but we don't fully understand its molecular/reg impacts. with @danweihuangfu.bsky.social, we characterized the first knockin Dicer hotspot in hESCs, and found unexpected defects in miRNA biogenesis! 🧬 1/4
rdcu.be/eOc0q
rdcu.be/eOc0q
finally made it to sunshine laundromat. in the back beyond this door is a pinball bar!! (inc special edition addams family, which i've never seen/played).
November 9, 2025 at 7:34 PM
finally made it to sunshine laundromat. in the back beyond this door is a pinball bar!! (inc special edition addams family, which i've never seen/played).
ladies and gentlemen there will be a delay
November 9, 2025 at 4:49 PM
ladies and gentlemen there will be a delay
startled to see this in the closet at the gym
November 9, 2025 at 2:02 PM
startled to see this in the closet at the gym
as my friend points out, the blizzard logo on the upside-down blizzard pic is actually upside-down.
November 8, 2025 at 9:36 PM
as my friend points out, the blizzard logo on the upside-down blizzard pic is actually upside-down.
i was reminiscing that i took my girlfriend, now spouse, to the screening of dick and carole rifkind's movie about science grad school, "Naturally Obsessed" (www.imdb.com/title/tt1470...) in part bc there would be a panel discussion with Jim Watson, moderated by Garrick Utley. Jim was horrible. 1/2
Naturally Obsessed: The Making of a Scientist (2009) ⭐ 7.6 | Documentary
1h
www.imdb.com
November 8, 2025 at 3:53 AM
i was reminiscing that i took my girlfriend, now spouse, to the screening of dick and carole rifkind's movie about science grad school, "Naturally Obsessed" (www.imdb.com/title/tt1470...) in part bc there would be a panel discussion with Jim Watson, moderated by Garrick Utley. Jim was horrible. 1/2
hello 🪰 folks! i'm excited to host tim mosca @drosophilosophy.bsky.social for today's DB Program seminar. if you're on the upper east side of NYC at 2 pm, you don't want to miss his talk!
November 6, 2025 at 12:27 PM
hello 🪰 folks! i'm excited to host tim mosca @drosophilosophy.bsky.social for today's DB Program seminar. if you're on the upper east side of NYC at 2 pm, you don't want to miss his talk!
Reposted by eric lai
[P] Found a higher-quality photo; IT *IS* TAPED UP SHEETS OF PAPER!
November 5, 2025 at 7:22 PM
[P] Found a higher-quality photo; IT *IS* TAPED UP SHEETS OF PAPER!
Reposted by eric lai
It got drowned out in all the good news from last night, but Boston Mayor Michelle Wu became the youngest person to be reelected in the city's history.
She ran unopposed because her opponent--Patriots owner Bob Kraft's son--withdrew a few months ago after realizing he had no hope of winning.
She ran unopposed because her opponent--Patriots owner Bob Kraft's son--withdrew a few months ago after realizing he had no hope of winning.
November 5, 2025 at 5:25 PM
It got drowned out in all the good news from last night, but Boston Mayor Michelle Wu became the youngest person to be reelected in the city's history.
She ran unopposed because her opponent--Patriots owner Bob Kraft's son--withdrew a few months ago after realizing he had no hope of winning.
She ran unopposed because her opponent--Patriots owner Bob Kraft's son--withdrew a few months ago after realizing he had no hope of winning.
Reposted by eric lai
Mamdani: "New York will remain a city of immigrants, a city built by immigrants, powered by immigrants, and as of tonight, led by an immigrant."
November 5, 2025 at 4:40 AM
Mamdani: "New York will remain a city of immigrants, a city built by immigrants, powered by immigrants, and as of tonight, led by an immigrant."
Reposted by eric lai
😎😎😎😎 GOOD THINGS CAN STILL HAPPEN 😎😎😎😎
November 5, 2025 at 5:22 AM
😎😎😎😎 GOOD THINGS CAN STILL HAPPEN 😎😎😎😎
feeling good this morning! lets gooooo 🌊💙
November 5, 2025 at 1:03 PM
feeling good this morning! lets gooooo 🌊💙
one of the most gratifying things is to see past lab members make new discoveries! our former star PhD @brianjjoseph.bsky.social honed his skills on neural gene regulation and splicing in our lab. check out his new paper @natneuro.nature.com on ALS/FTD mis-splicing driving neural hyperexcitability!
Sharing our latest work, an ALS-related KCNQ2 splice variant that yields a dead channel (no K+ permeability), aggregates in neurons and causes intrinsic hyperexcitability.
Thanks to co-firsts Kelly and Peter, Kiskinis, Eggan and Fratta groups and others.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Thanks to co-firsts Kelly and Peter, Kiskinis, Eggan and Fratta groups and others.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
TDP-43-dependent mis-splicing of KCNQ2 triggers intrinsic neuronal hyperexcitability in ALS/FTD - Nature Neuroscience
TDP-43 dysfunction in ALS/FTD causes faulty splicing of the KCNQ2 ion channel, leading to toxic protein buildup, neuron hyperactivity and a potential new biomarker and treatment target using RNA-based...
www.nature.com
November 4, 2025 at 6:37 PM
one of the most gratifying things is to see past lab members make new discoveries! our former star PhD @brianjjoseph.bsky.social honed his skills on neural gene regulation and splicing in our lab. check out his new paper @natneuro.nature.com on ALS/FTD mis-splicing driving neural hyperexcitability!
Reposted by eric lai
1/10 Genome maintenance by telomerase is a fundamental process in nearly all eukaryotes. But where does it come from?
Today, we report the discovery of telomerase homologs in a family of antiviral RTs, revealing an unexpected evolutionary origin in bacteria.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Today, we report the discovery of telomerase homologs in a family of antiviral RTs, revealing an unexpected evolutionary origin in bacteria.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Antiviral reverse transcriptases reveal the evolutionary origin of telomerase
Defense-associated reverse transcriptases (DRTs) employ diverse and distinctive mechanisms of cDNA synthesis to protect bacteria against viral infection. However, much of DRT family diversity remains ...
www.biorxiv.org
October 17, 2025 at 5:22 PM
1/10 Genome maintenance by telomerase is a fundamental process in nearly all eukaryotes. But where does it come from?
Today, we report the discovery of telomerase homologs in a family of antiviral RTs, revealing an unexpected evolutionary origin in bacteria.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Today, we report the discovery of telomerase homologs in a family of antiviral RTs, revealing an unexpected evolutionary origin in bacteria.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by eric lai
Mariana Wolfner
Mariana Wolfner has spent her life studying a creature so small it could rest on the tip of her finger. In her hands, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster becomes something extraordinary, a key to understanding how life is shaped, sustained, and passed on. On a windy fall…
Mariana Wolfner has spent her life studying a creature so small it could rest on the tip of her finger. In her hands, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster becomes something extraordinary, a key to understanding how life is shaped, sustained, and passed on. On a windy fall…
Mariana Wolfner
Mariana Wolfner has spent her life studying a creature so small it could rest on the tip of her finger. In her hands, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster becomes something extraordinary, a key to understanding how life is shaped, sustained, and passed on. On a windy fall afternoon at Cornell, she sat surrounded by papers, notes, and journals. The light came through the window in soft bands as she lifted a golden model of a fly and smiled.
explorers.com
November 4, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Mariana Wolfner
Mariana Wolfner has spent her life studying a creature so small it could rest on the tip of her finger. In her hands, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster becomes something extraordinary, a key to understanding how life is shaped, sustained, and passed on. On a windy fall…
Mariana Wolfner has spent her life studying a creature so small it could rest on the tip of her finger. In her hands, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster becomes something extraordinary, a key to understanding how life is shaped, sustained, and passed on. On a windy fall…
find out more about the boxcutter collective's puppetry: boxcuttercollective.org
November 3, 2025 at 3:19 PM
find out more about the boxcutter collective's puppetry: boxcuttercollective.org
went to premiere of "dimension zero" by the Boxcutter Collective. zany musical/puppet sci-fi theater about strong women taking down space monsters and evil capitalist overlords. i went to college with people who wrote and performed stuff like this, so happy that weird art is still being made!!
November 3, 2025 at 3:17 PM
went to premiere of "dimension zero" by the Boxcutter Collective. zany musical/puppet sci-fi theater about strong women taking down space monsters and evil capitalist overlords. i went to college with people who wrote and performed stuff like this, so happy that weird art is still being made!!
our daughter won the Boooouldering comp this weekend. for extra difficulty, she competed in her mother's prom dress and helena bonham carter-style crazed makeup!!
November 3, 2025 at 12:37 AM
our daughter won the Boooouldering comp this weekend. for extra difficulty, she competed in her mother's prom dress and helena bonham carter-style crazed makeup!!
holy moley, what a 9th!
November 2, 2025 at 3:43 AM
holy moley, what a 9th!
having grown up on lake superior in the 70s, "the wreck of the edmund fitzgerald" was an indelible staple on the radio.
November 10th marks the 50th anniversary of the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, perhaps the most famous of all the estimated 6,500 ships that have gone down in the Great Lakes.
'The legend lives on': Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald still resonates 50 years later
November 10th marks the 50th anniversary of the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, perhaps the most famous of all the estimated 6,500 ships that have gone down in the Great Lakes.
bit.ly
November 1, 2025 at 6:01 PM
having grown up on lake superior in the 70s, "the wreck of the edmund fitzgerald" was an indelible staple on the radio.