Sandhya Koushika
@wormlockholmes.bsky.social
Cellular neurobiologist TIFR India who loves genetics, live imaging and worms. Science is fun, let's go exploring.
Sci comm, write bad poetry, 2 girl mom
lab: https://tinyurl.com/5n7s6ens
https://scholar.google.co.in/citations?user=c4zDSQ8AA
Sci comm, write bad poetry, 2 girl mom
lab: https://tinyurl.com/5n7s6ens
https://scholar.google.co.in/citations?user=c4zDSQ8AA
Cool study & thread from @krishnanyamuna.bsky.social .
pH maps inside organelles- take home its NOT uniform
pH maps inside organelles- take home its NOT uniform
Organelles do NOT have a single uniform pH.
And if you think they must, because “protons diffuse fast,” this paper is for you.
A thread on why that assumption is wrong; and what we found instead. 🧵 1/n
And if you think they must, because “protons diffuse fast,” this paper is for you.
A thread on why that assumption is wrong; and what we found instead. 🧵 1/n
Organelles harbour pH gradients https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.12.694065v1
December 17, 2025 at 10:43 AM
Cool study & thread from @krishnanyamuna.bsky.social .
pH maps inside organelles- take home its NOT uniform
pH maps inside organelles- take home its NOT uniform
Reposted by Sandhya Koushika
Applications open for the mid-term PhD program in Biology at TIFR, Mumbai!
𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀: Cell Biology, Developmental Neuroscience & Neurogenetics
𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲: Department of Biological Sciences (tifr.res.in/dbs/)
𝗘𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: JRF or GATE
𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆: tinyurl.com/5xtm27f9
𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲: Jan 22, 2026
#PhDinIndia
𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀: Cell Biology, Developmental Neuroscience & Neurogenetics
𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲: Department of Biological Sciences (tifr.res.in/dbs/)
𝗘𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: JRF or GATE
𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆: tinyurl.com/5xtm27f9
𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲: Jan 22, 2026
#PhDinIndia
December 9, 2025 at 6:22 AM
Applications open for the mid-term PhD program in Biology at TIFR, Mumbai!
𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀: Cell Biology, Developmental Neuroscience & Neurogenetics
𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲: Department of Biological Sciences (tifr.res.in/dbs/)
𝗘𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: JRF or GATE
𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆: tinyurl.com/5xtm27f9
𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲: Jan 22, 2026
#PhDinIndia
𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀: Cell Biology, Developmental Neuroscience & Neurogenetics
𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲: Department of Biological Sciences (tifr.res.in/dbs/)
𝗘𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: JRF or GATE
𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆: tinyurl.com/5xtm27f9
𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲: Jan 22, 2026
#PhDinIndia
Fun hear.
Imagine you lived in the 18th century.
Smallpox kills 1 in 3 cases. Yet you can’t culture pathogens, don’t know germ theory, and have no idea what a virus is. How would you invent a vaccine?
In a new episode of HARD DRUGS, we trace the history of vaccines!
Smallpox kills 1 in 3 cases. Yet you can’t culture pathogens, don’t know germ theory, and have no idea what a virus is. How would you invent a vaccine?
In a new episode of HARD DRUGS, we trace the history of vaccines!
The history of vaccines
open.spotify.com
November 28, 2025 at 6:28 AM
Fun hear.
Important consideration when doing imaging
Diving into the literature… I think it's the first time I see correlative live-cell/EM data after photobleaching - it shows how intense light can actually destroy microtubules rather than just bleach fluorescent tubulin along a neurite (from onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...)
November 10, 2025 at 10:41 AM
Important consideration when doing imaging
Wonderful initiative linking @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social to @qedscience.bsky.social. 👍🏽👏🏽 @odedrechavi.bsky.social & @richardsever.bsky.social
Many scientists (including me) have viewed AI review warily. But responses to trials of qed have been very positive. I was impressed with its output, which was developed by iteration with a large number of human reviewers. 3/n
November 7, 2025 at 10:44 AM
Wonderful initiative linking @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social to @qedscience.bsky.social. 👍🏽👏🏽 @odedrechavi.bsky.social & @richardsever.bsky.social
Cool study
An Asgard archaeon with internal membrane compartments https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.06.686947v1
November 7, 2025 at 10:37 AM
Cool study
Reposted by Sandhya Koushika
The FPbase spectra viewer just had it's biggest software refactor in 6 years. It *should* be largely invisible to the end user (hopefully just faster and less buggy). Please let me know if you find any issues as you use it!
www.fpbase.org/spectra/
www.fpbase.org/spectra/
FPbase Fluorescence Spectra Viewer
An interactive fluorescence spectra viewer to evaluate the spectral properties of fluorescent proteins, organic dyes, filters, and detectors.
www.fpbase.org
November 4, 2025 at 3:03 PM
The FPbase spectra viewer just had it's biggest software refactor in 6 years. It *should* be largely invisible to the end user (hopefully just faster and less buggy). Please let me know if you find any issues as you use it!
www.fpbase.org/spectra/
www.fpbase.org/spectra/
super interesting-dig in
🧵 I've been meaning to write a #Skytorial on our recently posted prepring in which we show evidence that the Golgi 🥞 is a mechanoresponsive organelle. Extracellular mechanical forces also tune Golgi export capacity! 👉 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Mechanical forces stimulate Golgi export
Human cells face a wide range of external mechanical stimuli that vary with cell type, state, and pathological conditions. The rapidly growing field of mechanobiology investigates how cells sense and ...
www.biorxiv.org
November 3, 2025 at 4:34 PM
super interesting-dig in
Reposted by Sandhya Koushika
Field notes from a weekend PI at the #microscope: vesicle cargo lanes lighting up in real time like @FedEx. This is the ML1N PX domain in a fibroblast. Hot damn, there’s mind-blowing action under the surface of cells: this video shows 2 min of time 🤯 #Cellbio #MicroscopyMonday #SciArt #SciComm
September 22, 2025 at 3:42 PM
Field notes from a weekend PI at the #microscope: vesicle cargo lanes lighting up in real time like @FedEx. This is the ML1N PX domain in a fibroblast. Hot damn, there’s mind-blowing action under the surface of cells: this video shows 2 min of time 🤯 #Cellbio #MicroscopyMonday #SciArt #SciComm
Spatial memory & motion are expressed simultaneously during behaviours. Synchronization of hippocampal dynamics (HD) occurs during movement. Disrupting HD during locomotion impairs memory. ⭐ work @rhythmicspikes.bsky.social @ncbsbangalore.bsky.social in #IAN25
Read more: tinyurl.com/4dah3xw6
Read more: tinyurl.com/4dah3xw6
Disruption of theta-timescale spiking impairs learning but spares hippocampal replay
The ability to rapidly learn and retrieve salient information about new environments is critical for survival. In mammals, the hippocampus plays a crucial role in that learning. Specialized features o...
tinyurl.com
October 30, 2025 at 1:06 PM
Spatial memory & motion are expressed simultaneously during behaviours. Synchronization of hippocampal dynamics (HD) occurs during movement. Disrupting HD during locomotion impairs memory. ⭐ work @rhythmicspikes.bsky.social @ncbsbangalore.bsky.social in #IAN25
Read more: tinyurl.com/4dah3xw6
Read more: tinyurl.com/4dah3xw6
Reposted by Sandhya Koushika
🚀 #ALBADiversityWeek 2025 starts today! We celebrate diversity & intersectionality by highlighting key activities and sharing valuable resources.
👀 Stay tuned all week as we revisit achievements and launch new initiatives. Share our posts to join the #GlobalDiversityAwarenessMonth celebration. 🧵
👀 Stay tuned all week as we revisit achievements and launch new initiatives. Share our posts to join the #GlobalDiversityAwarenessMonth celebration. 🧵
October 27, 2025 at 11:33 AM
🚀 #ALBADiversityWeek 2025 starts today! We celebrate diversity & intersectionality by highlighting key activities and sharing valuable resources.
👀 Stay tuned all week as we revisit achievements and launch new initiatives. Share our posts to join the #GlobalDiversityAwarenessMonth celebration. 🧵
👀 Stay tuned all week as we revisit achievements and launch new initiatives. Share our posts to join the #GlobalDiversityAwarenessMonth celebration. 🧵
Reposted by Sandhya Koushika
When its meal turns toxic, the tiny worm #CElegans shuts down digestion thanks to a single protein that links its “taste” neurons to the gut.
Gut feeling
C. elegans uses a protein located in specific neurons to detect toxic food and shut down the digestive system.
buff.ly
October 11, 2025 at 10:02 AM
When its meal turns toxic, the tiny worm #CElegans shuts down digestion thanks to a single protein that links its “taste” neurons to the gut.
Super interesting-dig in
Pre- and postantibiotic epoch: The historical spread of antimicrobial resistance | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Pre- and postantibiotic epoch: The historical spread of antimicrobial resistance | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Pre- and postantibiotic epoch: The historical spread of antimicrobial resistance
Plasmids are now the primary vectors of antimicrobial resistance, but our understanding of how human industrialisation of antibiotics influenced their evolution is limited by a paucity of data predati...
www.science.org
September 27, 2025 at 1:36 AM
Super interesting-dig in
Pre- and postantibiotic epoch: The historical spread of antimicrobial resistance | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Pre- and postantibiotic epoch: The historical spread of antimicrobial resistance | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
A 19-page article in the National Geographic that covers the work of @uramakri.bsky.social @ncbsbangalore.bsky.social @tifr.res.in on black tigers, mutation load and corridors for tiger migration.
Important story and impactful work.
👏🏾
www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/arti...
Important story and impactful work.
👏🏾
www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/arti...
The curious case of the tigers who changed their stripes
A century ago, India’s tigers were on the brink of extinction. Slowly, their numbers have rebounded. But that ecological success has prompted a dire problem—and a race to save many of them from geneti...
www.nationalgeographic.com
September 16, 2025 at 3:23 AM
A 19-page article in the National Geographic that covers the work of @uramakri.bsky.social @ncbsbangalore.bsky.social @tifr.res.in on black tigers, mutation load and corridors for tiger migration.
Important story and impactful work.
👏🏾
www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/arti...
Important story and impactful work.
👏🏾
www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/arti...
This award aims to highlight outstanding research by active neuroscientists working in countries underrepresented in neuroscience publications and conferences. @network-alba.bsky.social @sfn.org @ibroorg.bsky.social @fens.org
August 21, 2025 at 4:01 PM
This award aims to highlight outstanding research by active neuroscientists working in countries underrepresented in neuroscience publications and conferences. @network-alba.bsky.social @sfn.org @ibroorg.bsky.social @fens.org
Our worm lab is recovering from a mite attack. Trainees devoted hours to cleanup
A mite or two or an army
They are hateful and smarmy
Our helpless little ones
Crushed by their whirling carny
Hello give up not
Gather all the stock
Pick, bleach, clean
Burn to death a game well fought
A mite or two or an army
They are hateful and smarmy
Our helpless little ones
Crushed by their whirling carny
Hello give up not
Gather all the stock
Pick, bleach, clean
Burn to death a game well fought
August 21, 2025 at 9:03 AM
Our worm lab is recovering from a mite attack. Trainees devoted hours to cleanup
A mite or two or an army
They are hateful and smarmy
Our helpless little ones
Crushed by their whirling carny
Hello give up not
Gather all the stock
Pick, bleach, clean
Burn to death a game well fought
A mite or two or an army
They are hateful and smarmy
Our helpless little ones
Crushed by their whirling carny
Hello give up not
Gather all the stock
Pick, bleach, clean
Burn to death a game well fought
Reposted by Sandhya Koushika
🚨Only 4 days to apply!!!🚨Join the SDB SciComm Internship! Gain hands-on experience writing stories on the latest developmental biology discoveries🔬Connect with top mentors & earn $500 to attend the SDB Annual Meeting 🎉! 👉 www.sdbonline.org/science_comm... #SciComm #DevBio
August 12, 2025 at 1:29 PM
🚨Only 4 days to apply!!!🚨Join the SDB SciComm Internship! Gain hands-on experience writing stories on the latest developmental biology discoveries🔬Connect with top mentors & earn $500 to attend the SDB Annual Meeting 🎉! 👉 www.sdbonline.org/science_comm... #SciComm #DevBio
😮 Just WOW!!
Spray GFP mRNAs on plant leaves and the leaves translate this and you get glowing leaves.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Spray GFP mRNAs on plant leaves and the leaves translate this and you get glowing leaves.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Foliar mRNA spray induces protein synthesis in monocot crop and dicot model plant species
In planta gene expression via exogenous mRNAs has a wide range of potential biotechnological applications from genome editing to plant protection and to circumventing tissue culture. Yet, regarding mR...
www.biorxiv.org
August 12, 2025 at 6:22 AM
😮 Just WOW!!
Spray GFP mRNAs on plant leaves and the leaves translate this and you get glowing leaves.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Spray GFP mRNAs on plant leaves and the leaves translate this and you get glowing leaves.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Really interesting preprint on how the nervous-system modulates heat-dependent fertility. Work from @ethanewe.bsky.social from @odedrechavi.bsky.social lab. May well be relevant in a planet that is heating up.
Neuronal oversight of germline small RNAs prevents heat-induced sterility in lab-domesticated Caenorhabditis elegans https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.08.07.669182v1
August 12, 2025 at 6:15 AM
Really interesting preprint on how the nervous-system modulates heat-dependent fertility. Work from @ethanewe.bsky.social from @odedrechavi.bsky.social lab. May well be relevant in a planet that is heating up.
Read today
"Comparison is the thief of Joy"
True that
"Comparison is the thief of Joy"
True that
August 9, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Read today
"Comparison is the thief of Joy"
True that
"Comparison is the thief of Joy"
True that
Our dept @tifr.res.in ran an MSc by research for ~25yrs. Our last batch graduated this month. Several headed to excellent PhD programs, some to jobs.
Congratulations and good luck for many fun adventures.
👏🏾Sohan Seal from my lab headed for a PhD to @mpi-cbg.de. 2nd from L, row 2
Congratulations and good luck for many fun adventures.
👏🏾Sohan Seal from my lab headed for a PhD to @mpi-cbg.de. 2nd from L, row 2
July 30, 2025 at 10:07 AM
Our dept @tifr.res.in ran an MSc by research for ~25yrs. Our last batch graduated this month. Several headed to excellent PhD programs, some to jobs.
Congratulations and good luck for many fun adventures.
👏🏾Sohan Seal from my lab headed for a PhD to @mpi-cbg.de. 2nd from L, row 2
Congratulations and good luck for many fun adventures.
👏🏾Sohan Seal from my lab headed for a PhD to @mpi-cbg.de. 2nd from L, row 2
😔 Doing science has taken on elements of a corporation w/ writing=one "vertical". Output of research as patents and IP seems to be another. Metrics is a temple at which we worship at.
Sometimes overlooked is serendipity, small groups that meander & in this context the idea that writing is thinking.
Sometimes overlooked is serendipity, small groups that meander & in this context the idea that writing is thinking.
This is so upsetting. Outsourcing writing does not "free up time to do more science" it's just a step further toward becoming the CSO at the top of a managerial pyramid rather than being a scientist
July 10, 2025 at 7:30 AM
😔 Doing science has taken on elements of a corporation w/ writing=one "vertical". Output of research as patents and IP seems to be another. Metrics is a temple at which we worship at.
Sometimes overlooked is serendipity, small groups that meander & in this context the idea that writing is thinking.
Sometimes overlooked is serendipity, small groups that meander & in this context the idea that writing is thinking.
Important.......
"Our observations should prompt an essential re-evaluation of the literature concerning astrocyte-neuron mitochondrial transfer" www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
MitoTracker transfers from astrocytes to neurons independently of mitochondria
The neuroprotective transfer of mitochondria from astrocytes to neurons has been primarily investigated by labelling astrocytic mitochondria with the dye MitoTracker. Here we report that MitoTracker transfers to neurons from both astrocytes and astrocyte-conditioned media, independently of mitochondrial transfer. Our observations should prompt an essential re-evaluation of the literature concerning astrocyte-neuron mitochondrial transfer and in other systems in which contact-independent transfer has been observed using mitochondrial dyes. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. MSD (United Kingdom), https://ror.org/004nn4n27, PRJ_20446 DEVINE MSD MRC The Francis Crick Institute, https://ror.org/04tnbqb63, CC2206
www.biorxiv.org
July 8, 2025 at 11:30 PM
Important.......
⭐ 🌟 image
Our July issue is here! rupress.org/jcb/issue/22...
The cover shows a confocal timelapse imaging of #Celegans one-cell embryo expressing fluorescently labeled plasma membrane, microtubules, chromosomes, and ZEN-4, a plus-end directed kinesin motor protein. By Adhikary et al. doi.org/10.1083/jcb....
The cover shows a confocal timelapse imaging of #Celegans one-cell embryo expressing fluorescently labeled plasma membrane, microtubules, chromosomes, and ZEN-4, a plus-end directed kinesin motor protein. By Adhikary et al. doi.org/10.1083/jcb....
July 8, 2025 at 4:12 PM
⭐ 🌟 image
Reposted by Sandhya Koushika
New organ clock data support the anti-aging benefits of estrogen for postmenopausal women. Reviewed here in context with previous and other recent reports.
erictopol.substack.com/p/new-anti-a...
erictopol.substack.com/p/new-anti-a...
July 5, 2025 at 5:09 PM
New organ clock data support the anti-aging benefits of estrogen for postmenopausal women. Reviewed here in context with previous and other recent reports.
erictopol.substack.com/p/new-anti-a...
erictopol.substack.com/p/new-anti-a...