Rita Strack
@ritastrack.bsky.social
Chief Editor of Nature Biomedical Engineering. Ph.D. Previously at Nature Methods. @rita_strack on the place formerly known as twitter.
Pinned
Rita Strack
@ritastrack.bsky.social
· Aug 1
a bunch of balloons are flying in the sky .
ALT: a bunch of balloons are flying in the sky .
media.tenor.com
I have some BIG NEWS to share today!
Today I begin my next adventure as
Chief Editor of Nature Biomedical Engineering!!
(a thread) @natmethods.nature.com @natbiomedeng.nature.com @natureportfolio.nature.com
Today I begin my next adventure as
Chief Editor of Nature Biomedical Engineering!!
(a thread) @natmethods.nature.com @natbiomedeng.nature.com @natureportfolio.nature.com
I had an amazing time @jacksonlab.bsky.social at Jackson labs today! I am so impressed with the hIPSC projects, emphasis on women's health, investment in rare diseases, and commitment to in vitro models of human physiology. Thanks so much to Sasan Jalili my host!!
February 5, 2026 at 11:47 PM
I had an amazing time @jacksonlab.bsky.social at Jackson labs today! I am so impressed with the hIPSC projects, emphasis on women's health, investment in rare diseases, and commitment to in vitro models of human physiology. Thanks so much to Sasan Jalili my host!!
Reposted by Rita Strack
News from central Jersey: I'm running to represent New Jersey's 12th Congressional District.
By entering the fray, I hope to bring ideas of repairing our frayed republic. Not only to defend it in 2026, but to build something stronger, for generations to come!
samwang.substack.com/p/entering-t...
By entering the fray, I hope to bring ideas of repairing our frayed republic. Not only to defend it in 2026, but to build something stronger, for generations to come!
samwang.substack.com/p/entering-t...
February 4, 2026 at 3:00 AM
News from central Jersey: I'm running to represent New Jersey's 12th Congressional District.
By entering the fray, I hope to bring ideas of repairing our frayed republic. Not only to defend it in 2026, but to build something stronger, for generations to come!
samwang.substack.com/p/entering-t...
By entering the fray, I hope to bring ideas of repairing our frayed republic. Not only to defend it in 2026, but to build something stronger, for generations to come!
samwang.substack.com/p/entering-t...
Sorry to piggyback off this post Richard, but we recently published an editorial on what scientific papers might look like in the future: "In this view, it is easy to imagine that the future of the scientific article will be for papers to be written by machines to be read by machines." rdcu.be/e2buu
February 3, 2026 at 9:51 PM
Sorry to piggyback off this post Richard, but we recently published an editorial on what scientific papers might look like in the future: "In this view, it is easy to imagine that the future of the scientific article will be for papers to be written by machines to be read by machines." rdcu.be/e2buu
Reposted by Rita Strack
ICYMI: New online! Oral–gut bacterial transport drives chronic liver disease
Oral–gut bacterial transport drives chronic liver disease
Nature Reviews Microbiology, Published online: 27 January 2026; doi:10.1038/s41579-026-01283-1A study by Jin et al. shows that oral–gut translocation of prtC+ bacteria is implicated in the well-known link between gut microbiome dysbiosis and advanced liver disease in humans.
dlvr.it
February 3, 2026 at 9:47 PM
ICYMI: New online! Oral–gut bacterial transport drives chronic liver disease
to peruse
Continuous mass photometry by single molecule trapping https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.02.02.703204v1
February 3, 2026 at 9:48 PM
to peruse
Reposted by Rita Strack
It's always frustrating to me how the term AI has evolved. AI was an umbrella term from 1950s. Then Machine Learning (a subset of AI), Deep Learning (a subset of ML), and modern generative AI (a subset DL). Now LLMs are used synonymously with "AI". So I made these graphics of the "AIroboros"
February 3, 2026 at 9:42 PM
It's always frustrating to me how the term AI has evolved. AI was an umbrella term from 1950s. Then Machine Learning (a subset of AI), Deep Learning (a subset of ML), and modern generative AI (a subset DL). Now LLMs are used synonymously with "AI". So I made these graphics of the "AIroboros"
Yep.
Some worry we don't have enough land to accommodate more plant-based diets.
Actually, if the entire world went vegan, we'd need *less* cropland.
Why? Because a lot of it goes toward making feed for livestock, and animals are inefficient convertors of plant energy to meat energy: 🐓 13%, 🐖 9%, 🐄 3%.
Actually, if the entire world went vegan, we'd need *less* cropland.
Why? Because a lot of it goes toward making feed for livestock, and animals are inefficient convertors of plant energy to meat energy: 🐓 13%, 🐖 9%, 🐄 3%.
February 2, 2026 at 1:43 PM
Yep.
Very excited to be doing back-to-back visits at Jackson labs and UConn BME later this week! www.bme.uconn.edu/event/rita-s...
Biomedical Engineering Rita Strack, Ph.D. — BME Spring 2026 Seminar SeriesRita Strack, Ph.D. — BME Spring 2026 Seminar Series – Biomedical Engineering Department
www.bme.uconn.edu
February 2, 2026 at 11:04 AM
Very excited to be doing back-to-back visits at Jackson labs and UConn BME later this week! www.bme.uconn.edu/event/rita-s...
I had a really nice ride on my horse today, and it was absolutely restorative to something deep within me that was feeling bruised. I hope everyone who reads this has something similarly nice happen for them this weekend.
January 30, 2026 at 10:17 PM
I had a really nice ride on my horse today, and it was absolutely restorative to something deep within me that was feeling bruised. I hope everyone who reads this has something similarly nice happen for them this weekend.
I hear about neoantigens a lot these days in immunotherapy, but are they doing what we think they are? Interesting study jitc.bmj.com/content/14/1...
Systematic evaluation of neoepitope predictions challenges clinically observed T-cell responses and their impact on immune evasion
Abstract Peptide presentation on human leukocyte antigens (HLAs) is essential for initiating T-cell responses and all consequences of this presentation including anticancer immunity or immune escape. ...
jitc.bmj.com
January 30, 2026 at 9:36 PM
I hear about neoantigens a lot these days in immunotherapy, but are they doing what we think they are? Interesting study jitc.bmj.com/content/14/1...
She stole every scene she was ever in. Sad day.
January 30, 2026 at 8:36 PM
She stole every scene she was ever in. Sad day.
TIL I was not following my own journal on bsky 😂😅
January 30, 2026 at 12:49 AM
TIL I was not following my own journal on bsky 😂😅
I could not be happier to welcome Xinyu to the team!! She is smart, kind, experienced, and ready to help us make the journal even better!
We are thrilled to announce our newest team member who joined the journal earlier this month! Please help us in welcoming Dr. Xinyu Zhou, whose main areas will be cellular immunotherapies and cancer therapeutics. www.nature.com/natbiomedeng...
About the Editors | Nature Biomedical Engineering
About the Editors
www.nature.com
January 30, 2026 at 12:48 AM
I could not be happier to welcome Xinyu to the team!! She is smart, kind, experienced, and ready to help us make the journal even better!
Reposted by Rita Strack
Make your gene knockouts more efficient with multiplexed Cas12a sgRNAs. Our new paper is out now, with tools available from @addgene.bsky.social , www.plasmids.eu and @vdrc-flies.bsky.social.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#CRISPR #geneediting #Drosophila 🧪🧬✂️🔬🪰
Summary 🧵 below.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#CRISPR #geneediting #Drosophila 🧪🧬✂️🔬🪰
Summary 🧵 below.
January 29, 2026 at 9:26 AM
Make your gene knockouts more efficient with multiplexed Cas12a sgRNAs. Our new paper is out now, with tools available from @addgene.bsky.social , www.plasmids.eu and @vdrc-flies.bsky.social.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#CRISPR #geneediting #Drosophila 🧪🧬✂️🔬🪰
Summary 🧵 below.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#CRISPR #geneediting #Drosophila 🧪🧬✂️🔬🪰
Summary 🧵 below.
I'll be part of a very illustrious seminar series at Duke BME later this year! bme.duke.edu/news/disting... Thanks to Junjie Yao and my other hosts!
Distinguished Seminar Series | Duke Biomedical Engineering
Engage with cutting-edge bioengineering research through this series of invited talks by renowned academics and industry leaders at Duke.
bme.duke.edu
January 29, 2026 at 12:56 AM
I'll be part of a very illustrious seminar series at Duke BME later this year! bme.duke.edu/news/disting... Thanks to Junjie Yao and my other hosts!
Reposted by Rita Strack
QI Class of 2025! Centroid = @sciencedoodles.bsky.social & @florianjug.bsky.social / first minima = @talley.codes & me.
Applications for 2026 due on Friday!
meetings.cshl.edu/courses.aspx...
Applications for 2026 due on Friday!
meetings.cshl.edu/courses.aspx...
January 28, 2026 at 7:43 PM
QI Class of 2025! Centroid = @sciencedoodles.bsky.social & @florianjug.bsky.social / first minima = @talley.codes & me.
Applications for 2026 due on Friday!
meetings.cshl.edu/courses.aspx...
Applications for 2026 due on Friday!
meetings.cshl.edu/courses.aspx...
Reposted by Rita Strack
@taskforce.bsky.social mourns the loss of our friend, colleague, mentor and vaccine visionary, Dr. Alan Hinman, who passed away at the age of 88 on January 26. He spent more than 50 years working in public health, devoting his career to a vision of a world without vaccine-preventable diseases.
January 28, 2026 at 5:00 PM
@taskforce.bsky.social mourns the loss of our friend, colleague, mentor and vaccine visionary, Dr. Alan Hinman, who passed away at the age of 88 on January 26. He spent more than 50 years working in public health, devoting his career to a vision of a world without vaccine-preventable diseases.
Reposted by Rita Strack
Join us at the Evolutionary Biology Centre at Uppsala University. We’re searching for an Assistant Professor in Biology. www.uu.se/en/about-uu/...
January 28, 2026 at 8:28 PM
Join us at the Evolutionary Biology Centre at Uppsala University. We’re searching for an Assistant Professor in Biology. www.uu.se/en/about-uu/...
Reposted by Rita Strack
Reposted by Rita Strack
So initial experiments with Open AI's vibe-coding science tool Prism are going about as well as expected.
January 27, 2026 at 10:42 PM
So initial experiments with Open AI's vibe-coding science tool Prism are going about as well as expected.
Reposted by Rita Strack
⚡️Fully funded #PhD position in my lab at Stockholm University / SciLifeLab! If you’re interested in #lichens, #symbiosis, fungal biology, or meta-omics, please apply. Deadline Feb 1. Read more here: su.varbi.com/en/what:job/...
January 12, 2026 at 2:15 PM
⚡️Fully funded #PhD position in my lab at Stockholm University / SciLifeLab! If you’re interested in #lichens, #symbiosis, fungal biology, or meta-omics, please apply. Deadline Feb 1. Read more here: su.varbi.com/en/what:job/...
What a bad time to try to call it quits on vaccines and vaccine development.
An outbreak of Nipah virus has been confirmed in West Bengal, India. Nipah has a fatality rate of 40 to 70 percent, according to the CDC, and no cure or vaccine.
Here's what to know about the virus:
Here's what to know about the virus:
What to know about the deadly Nipah virus, amid outbreak in India
Some airports in Asia are on alert after confirmed cases in West Bengal of the Nipah virus, which has no cure. South Asia sees outbreaks nearly every year.
www.washingtonpost.com
January 28, 2026 at 3:47 PM
What a bad time to try to call it quits on vaccines and vaccine development.
What a great opportunity!!!
We have two funded postdoctoral positions available. Topics encompass:
-Next gen light-sheet fluorescence microscopy instrumentation
-Structured illumination microscopy and other approaches to extend the resolution limit.
-Nonlinear microscopy combined with adaptive optics / phase conjugation
-Next gen light-sheet fluorescence microscopy instrumentation
-Structured illumination microscopy and other approaches to extend the resolution limit.
-Nonlinear microscopy combined with adaptive optics / phase conjugation
January 27, 2026 at 11:12 PM
What a great opportunity!!!
🤩
New on the CryoET Data Portal: ~27,000 tomograms of affinity-captured lysosomes from HEK293T cells across 4 physiological states. Includes raw data, AreTomo3 reconstructions & Membrain-Seg annotations. Openly available for reuse!
cryoetdataportal.czscience.com/depositions/...
cryoetdataportal.czscience.com/depositions/...
January 27, 2026 at 10:24 PM
🤩
Reposted by Rita Strack
Please forward this REU opportunity (paid summer internship) to undergraduates interested in plant biology and related fields etap.nsf.gov/award/7573/o...
January 27, 2026 at 4:37 PM
Please forward this REU opportunity (paid summer internship) to undergraduates interested in plant biology and related fields etap.nsf.gov/award/7573/o...