Tim
@timisstuck.bsky.social
Executive Editor at Life Science Alliance. I help decide how biology thinks 🤔
Views are my own and do not reflect editorial policy.
www.timfessenden.com
Views are my own and do not reflect editorial policy.
www.timfessenden.com
Pinned
Tim
@timisstuck.bsky.social
· Dec 23
The value of publishing negative data - News
Scientific journals love news-worthy results. Editors want to publish studies with novel data that scientists will eagerly read and cite in their own work. Because of this desire for novelty, studies ...
www.rockefeller.edu
Giving the gift of negative data 🥰
Since I joined @lsajournal.org I have handled several stellar manuscripts that report null results. These papers do very well and reviewers almost always appreciate them!
Thanks @rockefeller.edu news team for the article!
www.rockefeller.edu/news/38829-t...
Since I joined @lsajournal.org I have handled several stellar manuscripts that report null results. These papers do very well and reviewers almost always appreciate them!
Thanks @rockefeller.edu news team for the article!
www.rockefeller.edu/news/38829-t...
Minor point:
Not defending the publisher and certainly not the authors here, but it is common for the journal to convey the authors’ assertions about the paper, if any.
Not defending the publisher and certainly not the authors here, but it is common for the journal to convey the authors’ assertions about the paper, if any.
So we stole someone's identity to be Corresponding Author, and plagiarised the figures and images, but "the conclusions of the article are otherwise unaffected."
doi.org/10.1002/prp2...
Publisher: We see you're reading this Retraction Note. Allow us to recommend the paper that it retracted.
doi.org/10.1002/prp2...
Publisher: We see you're reading this Retraction Note. Allow us to recommend the paper that it retracted.
February 15, 2026 at 9:53 PM
Minor point:
Not defending the publisher and certainly not the authors here, but it is common for the journal to convey the authors’ assertions about the paper, if any.
Not defending the publisher and certainly not the authors here, but it is common for the journal to convey the authors’ assertions about the paper, if any.
Thanks Prof Baumelle for the summary of this really exhaustive look at a new post-translational modification of Syk and how it affects phagocytosis!
Upon FcgammaR-phagocytosis Syk is palmitoylated by DHHC5 and desulfenylated on nearby Cys residues, and both modifications are important for Syk phosphorylation and phagocytosis.
@irim-life.bsky.social
www.life-science-alliance.org/content/9/4/...
@irim-life.bsky.social
www.life-science-alliance.org/content/9/4/...
February 12, 2026 at 5:08 PM
Thanks Prof Baumelle for the summary of this really exhaustive look at a new post-translational modification of Syk and how it affects phagocytosis!
Super nice work covering stops, starts, and reversals in axonal traffic. Congrats!
Recently published work lead by the very talented @dvillarroelc.bsky.social. Lots of work has gone in to this and I have enjoyed seeing this story develop over the years. Congrats to all! @jamessleigh.bsky.social @joburrito.bsky.social @frattalab.bsky.social @uclqsion.bsky.social #axonaltransport
Neurotrophin-containing signalling endosomes travel from the distal axon to the soma. ALS-linked kinase TBK1 governs the directionality of their transport in motor neurons by phosphorylating Rab7.
www.life-science-alliance.org/content/9/4/...
www.life-science-alliance.org/content/9/4/...
February 12, 2026 at 5:07 PM
Super nice work covering stops, starts, and reversals in axonal traffic. Congrats!
Reposted by Tim
🔬Join our #ReproductionMS seminar with Dr.
@maikbischoff.bsky.social on "Coiling a Duct: How Mesenchymal Cells Sculpt Male Reproductive Organ Architecture" this Wednesday, 11 February 12pm CET. DM for Zoom details.
@maikbischoff.bsky.social on "Coiling a Duct: How Mesenchymal Cells Sculpt Male Reproductive Organ Architecture" this Wednesday, 11 February 12pm CET. DM for Zoom details.
February 9, 2026 at 10:22 AM
🔬Join our #ReproductionMS seminar with Dr.
@maikbischoff.bsky.social on "Coiling a Duct: How Mesenchymal Cells Sculpt Male Reproductive Organ Architecture" this Wednesday, 11 February 12pm CET. DM for Zoom details.
@maikbischoff.bsky.social on "Coiling a Duct: How Mesenchymal Cells Sculpt Male Reproductive Organ Architecture" this Wednesday, 11 February 12pm CET. DM for Zoom details.
Reposted by Tim
Hello epithelial mechanics fans!! I’m Juanma @juanmagararc.bsky.social 👋 I work on cell mechanics (see celldynamicslab.com) and use Flipper-TR FLIM to probe membrane biophysics in cells.
Join me on this tour about Flipper: what it measures, strengths, advice, cool case studies, and cute drawings!
Join me on this tour about Flipper: what it measures, strengths, advice, cool case studies, and cute drawings!
February 8, 2026 at 7:59 AM
Hello epithelial mechanics fans!! I’m Juanma @juanmagararc.bsky.social 👋 I work on cell mechanics (see celldynamicslab.com) and use Flipper-TR FLIM to probe membrane biophysics in cells.
Join me on this tour about Flipper: what it measures, strengths, advice, cool case studies, and cute drawings!
Join me on this tour about Flipper: what it measures, strengths, advice, cool case studies, and cute drawings!
One of the spammy things you see repeatedly as a journal editor are invitations to publish conference proceedings. They get to have a paper and the targeted journal collects an APC.
Like this one. Is this real? Who knows
Like this one. Is this real? Who knows
February 6, 2026 at 2:52 PM
One of the spammy things you see repeatedly as a journal editor are invitations to publish conference proceedings. They get to have a paper and the targeted journal collects an APC.
Like this one. Is this real? Who knows
Like this one. Is this real? Who knows
👀
Is notion of a reproducibility crisis in science "exaggerated"?
After ERC's Maria Leptin suggests just that, @fionamcintyre.bsky.social talks to those studying the issue.
To judge whether there's a crisis, we would need to know "normal" level of reproducibility, says @martmichaelis.bsky.social
After ERC's Maria Leptin suggests just that, @fionamcintyre.bsky.social talks to those studying the issue.
To judge whether there's a crisis, we would need to know "normal" level of reproducibility, says @martmichaelis.bsky.social
February 6, 2026 at 2:48 PM
👀
Sir Francis Bacon griping about publication bias in 1605 😍
From Steven Jay Gould’s collection of essays Dinosaur in a Haystack
From Steven Jay Gould’s collection of essays Dinosaur in a Haystack
February 4, 2026 at 6:42 PM
Sir Francis Bacon griping about publication bias in 1605 😍
From Steven Jay Gould’s collection of essays Dinosaur in a Haystack
From Steven Jay Gould’s collection of essays Dinosaur in a Haystack
Reposted by Tim
Wiley: "We’re supporting responsible research assessment practices" onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/1520...
Also Wiley: "Prove that your article is a good fit for this journal 😉😉😉😉😉 by citing at least two of our articles in your manuscript before we will even consider reviewing it" 🤡
Also Wiley: "Prove that your article is a good fit for this journal 😉😉😉😉😉 by citing at least two of our articles in your manuscript before we will even consider reviewing it" 🤡
January 30, 2026 at 11:29 AM
Wiley: "We’re supporting responsible research assessment practices" onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/1520...
Also Wiley: "Prove that your article is a good fit for this journal 😉😉😉😉😉 by citing at least two of our articles in your manuscript before we will even consider reviewing it" 🤡
Also Wiley: "Prove that your article is a good fit for this journal 😉😉😉😉😉 by citing at least two of our articles in your manuscript before we will even consider reviewing it" 🤡
You can submit proposals for scientific sessions at CellBio aka ASCB until Feb 22nd. This includes minisymposa, special interest sessions workshops.
If you thought CellBio should improve, now is your chance to make that happen 👇
www.ascb.org/cellbio2026-...
If you thought CellBio should improve, now is your chance to make that happen 👇
www.ascb.org/cellbio2026-...
Cell Bio 2023-An ASCB|EMBO Meeting
Network, learn, and collaborate with top cell biologists from around the globe.
www.ascb.org
January 30, 2026 at 6:04 PM
You can submit proposals for scientific sessions at CellBio aka ASCB until Feb 22nd. This includes minisymposa, special interest sessions workshops.
If you thought CellBio should improve, now is your chance to make that happen 👇
www.ascb.org/cellbio2026-...
If you thought CellBio should improve, now is your chance to make that happen 👇
www.ascb.org/cellbio2026-...
keeping up (barely 🥴) with my fave immunologists!!
First: Sometimes macrophages nibble (trogocytosis) and sometimes they chomp (phagocytosis).
@fletcherlabucb.bsky.social nicely show how target cell mechanical properties bias macrophage behavior. Beautiful work!
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
First: Sometimes macrophages nibble (trogocytosis) and sometimes they chomp (phagocytosis).
@fletcherlabucb.bsky.social nicely show how target cell mechanical properties bias macrophage behavior. Beautiful work!
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
Target cell cortical tension regulates macrophage trogocytosis - Nature Cell Biology
Cornell et al. show that target cells with low cortical tension induce macrophages to preferentially trogocytose, or engulf in small fragments, whereas target cells with high cortical tension tend tow...
doi.org
January 29, 2026 at 6:02 PM
keeping up (barely 🥴) with my fave immunologists!!
First: Sometimes macrophages nibble (trogocytosis) and sometimes they chomp (phagocytosis).
@fletcherlabucb.bsky.social nicely show how target cell mechanical properties bias macrophage behavior. Beautiful work!
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
First: Sometimes macrophages nibble (trogocytosis) and sometimes they chomp (phagocytosis).
@fletcherlabucb.bsky.social nicely show how target cell mechanical properties bias macrophage behavior. Beautiful work!
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
Updating a 56 year-old JCB paper with digitized videos from 16 mm film 😍. Well done first author Tom Pollard!!
#Addendum to 1970 paper, “CYTOPLASMIC FILAMENTS OF AMOEBA PROTEUS: I. The Role of Filaments in Consistency Changes and Movement,” includes eight video sequences originally recorded on 16-mm films. No technology was available at the time to include this data. 🎞️ rupress.org/jcb/article/...
#Actin
#Actin
January 29, 2026 at 4:53 PM
Updating a 56 year-old JCB paper with digitized videos from 16 mm film 😍. Well done first author Tom Pollard!!
A pleasure to work with these authors on this study! Check out very nice imaging showing ER-microtubule interactions in regenerating axons.
Because CNS axons regenerate poorly, new mechanisms are urgently needed. This study provides evidence that axonal Reticulon-1 synthesis holds back Spastin-mediated microtubule severing with relevant implications for cortical axon outgrowth after injury. www.life-science-alliance.org/content/9/4/...
January 22, 2026 at 10:30 PM
A pleasure to work with these authors on this study! Check out very nice imaging showing ER-microtubule interactions in regenerating axons.
Reposted by Tim
Two new 🔥pre-prints 🔥 TODAY by us & @pwoakes.bsky.social @myosincity.bsky.social
change the way we think about the septin cytoskeleton
Septins buffer mechanical stress on actin and membranes!
Septins are like intermediate filaments
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
change the way we think about the septin cytoskeleton
Septins buffer mechanical stress on actin and membranes!
Septins are like intermediate filaments
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
a woman in a suit and tie has the words wait what written on her face
ALT: a woman in a suit and tie has the words wait what written on her face
media.tenor.com
January 21, 2026 at 9:18 PM
Two new 🔥pre-prints 🔥 TODAY by us & @pwoakes.bsky.social @myosincity.bsky.social
change the way we think about the septin cytoskeleton
Septins buffer mechanical stress on actin and membranes!
Septins are like intermediate filaments
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
change the way we think about the septin cytoskeleton
Septins buffer mechanical stress on actin and membranes!
Septins are like intermediate filaments
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Tim
🚨 We are hiring TWO postdocs to join the Cell Migration Lab (cellmig.org) 🇫🇮 as part of the new Centre of Excellence in Immune–Endothelial Interfaces (IMMENs).
Join us to decode immune regulation & develop next-gen imaging tools! 🧪🔬
Details in thread 🧵👇
#ScienceSky #Postdoc #AcademicJobs Please RT🫶
Join us to decode immune regulation & develop next-gen imaging tools! 🧪🔬
Details in thread 🧵👇
#ScienceSky #Postdoc #AcademicJobs Please RT🫶
CELL MIGRATION LAB
We study cell migration in health and disease
cellmig.org
January 21, 2026 at 7:57 AM
🚨 We are hiring TWO postdocs to join the Cell Migration Lab (cellmig.org) 🇫🇮 as part of the new Centre of Excellence in Immune–Endothelial Interfaces (IMMENs).
Join us to decode immune regulation & develop next-gen imaging tools! 🧪🔬
Details in thread 🧵👇
#ScienceSky #Postdoc #AcademicJobs Please RT🫶
Join us to decode immune regulation & develop next-gen imaging tools! 🧪🔬
Details in thread 🧵👇
#ScienceSky #Postdoc #AcademicJobs Please RT🫶
Reposted by Tim
📰 #PressRelease: Researchers in Japan have discovered that amyloid-β deposits disrupt the formation of the placenta & may therefore contribute to the development of #preeclampsia during #pregnancy. www.eurekalert.org/news-release...
In @lsajournal.org: www.life-science-alliance.org/content/9/4/...
In @lsajournal.org: www.life-science-alliance.org/content/9/4/...
January 20, 2026 at 9:00 PM
📰 #PressRelease: Researchers in Japan have discovered that amyloid-β deposits disrupt the formation of the placenta & may therefore contribute to the development of #preeclampsia during #pregnancy. www.eurekalert.org/news-release...
In @lsajournal.org: www.life-science-alliance.org/content/9/4/...
In @lsajournal.org: www.life-science-alliance.org/content/9/4/...
Still no idea wtf the Vault evolved to do, but it can be made useful!! Glad to see this out finally!
“A genetically encoded device for transcriptome storage in mammalian cells”
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
“A genetically encoded device for transcriptome storage in mammalian cells”
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
A genetically encoded device for transcriptome storage in mammalian cells
Understanding how cells make decisions over time requires the ability to link past molecular states to future phenotypic outcomes. We present TimeVault, a genetically encoded system that records and s...
www.science.org
January 19, 2026 at 3:11 PM
Still no idea wtf the Vault evolved to do, but it can be made useful!! Glad to see this out finally!
“A genetically encoded device for transcriptome storage in mammalian cells”
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
“A genetically encoded device for transcriptome storage in mammalian cells”
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Tim
I need to admit that @epimechfc.bsky.social is one of best #SCiComm in this era!👍
How can structures at the vertex of 3 cells have effects at the tissue level?
Join me, @laura-rustarazo.bsky.social, to explore how tricellular junctions (TCJs) act as local tension sensors and regulators of global tissue organization. 🧵⤵️ doi.org/10.1126/scie...
Join me, @laura-rustarazo.bsky.social, to explore how tricellular junctions (TCJs) act as local tension sensors and regulators of global tissue organization. 🧵⤵️ doi.org/10.1126/scie...
January 18, 2026 at 3:34 PM
I need to admit that @epimechfc.bsky.social is one of best #SCiComm in this era!👍
Poll of two postdocs I happened to sit with for lunch yesterday (at Rockefeller U):
-Editor at @science.org offered guidance to authors on how to respond to reviewer comments.
-Editors at @nature.com did NOT. Just sent a form email inviting revisions.
-Editor at @science.org offered guidance to authors on how to respond to reviewer comments.
-Editors at @nature.com did NOT. Just sent a form email inviting revisions.
January 17, 2026 at 3:49 PM
Poll of two postdocs I happened to sit with for lunch yesterday (at Rockefeller U):
-Editor at @science.org offered guidance to authors on how to respond to reviewer comments.
-Editors at @nature.com did NOT. Just sent a form email inviting revisions.
-Editor at @science.org offered guidance to authors on how to respond to reviewer comments.
-Editors at @nature.com did NOT. Just sent a form email inviting revisions.
Fantastic work on autophagy in flies from Juhasz and Szabo labs!! Super happy see this work out from world experts in this area.
This study shows that glial Stat92E transcription factor activity is derepressed by selective autophagic elimination of the Stat92E repressor Su(var)2-10/PIAS in Drosophila glia after neural injury.
@BRCGenetics.bsky.social
www.life-science-alliance.org/content/9/3/...
@BRCGenetics.bsky.social
www.life-science-alliance.org/content/9/3/...
January 15, 2026 at 2:49 PM
Fantastic work on autophagy in flies from Juhasz and Szabo labs!! Super happy see this work out from world experts in this area.
Reposted by Tim
To decide whether to select a 3D cell migration assay for your application and how to analyze the resulting data, read:
... about the 3D cell-migration assay and other migration assays here: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
For data analysis, read this review paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
... about the 3D cell-migration assay and other migration assays here: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
For data analysis, read this review paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
January 13, 2026 at 6:58 PM
To decide whether to select a 3D cell migration assay for your application and how to analyze the resulting data, read:
... about the 3D cell-migration assay and other migration assays here: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
For data analysis, read this review paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
... about the 3D cell-migration assay and other migration assays here: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
For data analysis, read this review paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
We at @lsajournal.org have discussed doing calls for papers/special issues. Some great journals like @jcellsci.bsky.social have them.
But our leadership was VERY clear: MDPI, Frontiers, and their ilk have so sullied this publication mechanism that no one wanted to go there. The concept is tainted.
But our leadership was VERY clear: MDPI, Frontiers, and their ilk have so sullied this publication mechanism that no one wanted to go there. The concept is tainted.
🧪 Thousands of special issues are stained with PISS (>33% of articles authored by the guest editor). See @hansonmark.bsky.social's thread below for a brief summary, read our preprint (arxiv.org/abs/2601.07563), explore our ShinyApp to see where it occurs (paolocrosetto.shinyapps.io/Editors_as_a...).
January 13, 2026 at 2:47 PM
We at @lsajournal.org have discussed doing calls for papers/special issues. Some great journals like @jcellsci.bsky.social have them.
But our leadership was VERY clear: MDPI, Frontiers, and their ilk have so sullied this publication mechanism that no one wanted to go there. The concept is tainted.
But our leadership was VERY clear: MDPI, Frontiers, and their ilk have so sullied this publication mechanism that no one wanted to go there. The concept is tainted.
interesting
Predicting cell state in previously unseen conditions has typically required retraining for each new biological context. Today, Arc is releasing Stack, a foundation model that learns to simulate cell state under novel conditions directly at inference time, no fine-tuning required.
January 9, 2026 at 7:38 PM
interesting
Reposted by Tim
🚨Introducing DevBioConnect ‼️
Developmental Biology launches a new author webinar series showcasing recently published research, presented by the authors themselves
🗓️ Jan 13 • Feb 10 • Mar 10, 2026 ⏰ 11am–12pm CST 📄 See flyer for details #DevBio #DevelopmentalBiology
🗓️ Jan 13 • Feb 10 • Mar 10, 2026 ⏰ 11am–12pm CST 📄 See flyer for details #DevBio #DevelopmentalBiology
January 7, 2026 at 3:50 PM
🚨Introducing DevBioConnect ‼️
Developmental Biology launches a new author webinar series showcasing recently published research, presented by the authors themselves
🗓️ Jan 13 • Feb 10 • Mar 10, 2026 ⏰ 11am–12pm CST 📄 See flyer for details #DevBio #DevelopmentalBiology
🗓️ Jan 13 • Feb 10 • Mar 10, 2026 ⏰ 11am–12pm CST 📄 See flyer for details #DevBio #DevelopmentalBiology
Too many fabulous seminars here at @rockefeller.edu
On Tuesday @deepakkrish.bsky.social (formerly @prakashlab.bsky.social, now @fletcherlabucb.bsky.social) showed gorgeous loricate choanoflagellates!! Difficult but rewarding to study how these critters deftly manipulate materials at the mesoscale.
On Tuesday @deepakkrish.bsky.social (formerly @prakashlab.bsky.social, now @fletcherlabucb.bsky.social) showed gorgeous loricate choanoflagellates!! Difficult but rewarding to study how these critters deftly manipulate materials at the mesoscale.
January 8, 2026 at 4:08 PM
Too many fabulous seminars here at @rockefeller.edu
On Tuesday @deepakkrish.bsky.social (formerly @prakashlab.bsky.social, now @fletcherlabucb.bsky.social) showed gorgeous loricate choanoflagellates!! Difficult but rewarding to study how these critters deftly manipulate materials at the mesoscale.
On Tuesday @deepakkrish.bsky.social (formerly @prakashlab.bsky.social, now @fletcherlabucb.bsky.social) showed gorgeous loricate choanoflagellates!! Difficult but rewarding to study how these critters deftly manipulate materials at the mesoscale.