Barbara Jennings
@baj2024.bsky.social
Internationalist, socialist, wife, mum, sister, friend, genetics, medical education, teacher, gardener. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3792-9182, https://mededpublish.org/about/team/
Pinned
Barbara Jennings
@baj2024.bsky.social
· Sep 26
Julia Lucey,
Squirrel on the red day, 2020,
US artist & #printmaker who combines aquatint, etching collage and acrylic
#WomensArt #Autumn
Squirrel on the red day, 2020,
US artist & #printmaker who combines aquatint, etching collage and acrylic
#WomensArt #Autumn
Perfect for autumn 🍂 beautiful art from Julia Lucey
Reposted by Barbara Jennings
"With a growing number of UK universities entering or considering online education as part of their diversification strategy, now is a timely moment to reflect on the current state of the OPM market and the key players operating in UK higher education."
UK Higher Education OPM Market: A review of trends, developments, and key players — Neil Mosley Consulting
Reviews trends, developments, and key players in the UK OPM market, examining competition, capability gaps, and universities’ strategies in online programmes.
www.neilmosley.com
November 11, 2025 at 8:01 AM
"With a growing number of UK universities entering or considering online education as part of their diversification strategy, now is a timely moment to reflect on the current state of the OPM market and the key players operating in UK higher education."
Reposted by Barbara Jennings
'Wheelbarrow Washing" by Pamela Grace, contemporary artist and printmaker living and working in Galloway, Scotland #WomensArt
November 9, 2025 at 6:58 AM
'Wheelbarrow Washing" by Pamela Grace, contemporary artist and printmaker living and working in Galloway, Scotland #WomensArt
Reposted by Barbara Jennings
How do GWAS and rare variant burden tests rank gene signals?
In new work @nature.com with @hakha.bsky.social, @jkpritch.bsky.social, and our wonderful coauthors we find that the key factors are what we call Specificity, Length, and Luck!
🧬🧪🧵
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
In new work @nature.com with @hakha.bsky.social, @jkpritch.bsky.social, and our wonderful coauthors we find that the key factors are what we call Specificity, Length, and Luck!
🧬🧪🧵
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Specificity, length and luck drive gene rankings in association studies - Nature
Genetic association tests prioritize candidate genes based on different criteria.
www.nature.com
November 7, 2025 at 12:05 AM
How do GWAS and rare variant burden tests rank gene signals?
In new work @nature.com with @hakha.bsky.social, @jkpritch.bsky.social, and our wonderful coauthors we find that the key factors are what we call Specificity, Length, and Luck!
🧬🧪🧵
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
In new work @nature.com with @hakha.bsky.social, @jkpritch.bsky.social, and our wonderful coauthors we find that the key factors are what we call Specificity, Length, and Luck!
🧬🧪🧵
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Barbara Jennings
I'm really interested in preprint review, especially how we can orchestrate collective feedback on preprints. I know this is just one option of many, but a commercial AI tool for feedback feels to me like the wrong direction when what's needed is better ways of gathering human readers.
Enabling options for review: from training and transparency to author-centered AI tools - openRxiv
Peer review is widely viewed as a critical aspect of biomedical communication. Ideally, it provides authors with feedback so they can improve manuscripts and gives readers, particularly nonspecialists...
openrxiv.org
November 6, 2025 at 7:02 PM
I'm really interested in preprint review, especially how we can orchestrate collective feedback on preprints. I know this is just one option of many, but a commercial AI tool for feedback feels to me like the wrong direction when what's needed is better ways of gathering human readers.
Reposted by Barbara Jennings
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 Barbara Jennings
New study of 800K+ genomes from gnomAD reveals most “pathogenic” variants in healthy people aren’t truly disease-tolerant. They are explained by annotation errors, mosaicism, or compensatory variants. 🧬
A big step for precision medicine!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A big step for precision medicine!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Exploring penetrance of clinically relevant variants in over 800,000 humans from the Genome Aggregation Database - Nature Communications
Here the authors provide an explanation for 95% of examined predicted loss of function variants found in disease-associated haploinsufficient genes in the Genome Aggregation Database (gnomAD),…
www.nature.com
November 4, 2025 at 3:06 PM
New study of 800K+ genomes from gnomAD reveals most “pathogenic” variants in healthy people aren’t truly disease-tolerant. They are explained by annotation errors, mosaicism, or compensatory variants. 🧬
A big step for precision medicine!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A big step for precision medicine!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Barbara Jennings
Newnham has always led the way.
November 3, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Newnham has always led the way.
Reposted by Barbara Jennings
In Great Britain, there are about 1.7 billion passenger rail journeys each year without serious incident (about 150 million a month). It's worth keeping perspective as news media discuss banning knives on trains or installing scanners at stations.
dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/u...
dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/u...
November 3, 2025 at 7:29 AM
In Great Britain, there are about 1.7 billion passenger rail journeys each year without serious incident (about 150 million a month). It's worth keeping perspective as news media discuss banning knives on trains or installing scanners at stations.
dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/u...
dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/u...
Reposted by Barbara Jennings
What a gem from @dudinlab.bsky.social @gautamdey.bsky.social @centriolelab.bsky.social in Cell! Expansion microscopy atlas of >200 eukaryotes comparing cytoskeletal architectures revealing structures not seen before. Stunning visualisation! Exactly the kind of transformative cell biology we need.
October 31, 2025 at 5:45 PM
What a gem from @dudinlab.bsky.social @gautamdey.bsky.social @centriolelab.bsky.social in Cell! Expansion microscopy atlas of >200 eukaryotes comparing cytoskeletal architectures revealing structures not seen before. Stunning visualisation! Exactly the kind of transformative cell biology we need.
Reposted by Barbara Jennings
Remember guys, @pcsunion.bsky.social staff at the BL are on strike for the next two weeks. Please don't cross the picket line to go to reading rooms, attend exhibitions or anything else. They've endured so much on low pay since the cyberattack in 2023 and the least we can do is have their backs now.
Secret Maps opens today! 🤫 🗺️
From medieval manuscripts to Cold War espionage, our new exhibition explores how maps have hidden as much as they revealed for over 600 years.
Book now: bit.ly/BLSecretMaps
From medieval manuscripts to Cold War espionage, our new exhibition explores how maps have hidden as much as they revealed for over 600 years.
Book now: bit.ly/BLSecretMaps
October 26, 2025 at 9:49 AM
Remember guys, @pcsunion.bsky.social staff at the BL are on strike for the next two weeks. Please don't cross the picket line to go to reading rooms, attend exhibitions or anything else. They've endured so much on low pay since the cyberattack in 2023 and the least we can do is have their backs now.
Reposted by Barbara Jennings
Käthe Kollwitz (1867–1945), German artist who worked with painting, printmaking and sculpture, known for her self portraits and depictions of the effects of poverty, hunger and war on the working classes #WomensArt
November 2, 2025 at 5:57 AM
Käthe Kollwitz (1867–1945), German artist who worked with painting, printmaking and sculpture, known for her self portraits and depictions of the effects of poverty, hunger and war on the working classes #WomensArt
Reposted by Barbara Jennings
[2] Samhain was seen as the time when the concrete & the spirit worlds interacted & was a portal to the Otherworld. All sorts of spirits, particularly malevolent ones, walked amongst the living! Pic: NMI
October 31, 2025 at 8:05 PM
[2] Samhain was seen as the time when the concrete & the spirit worlds interacted & was a portal to the Otherworld. All sorts of spirits, particularly malevolent ones, walked amongst the living! Pic: NMI
Reposted by Barbara Jennings
If you're interested in how advances in human genomics are transforming our understanding of the biology of spoken & written language abilities, please do check out my new peer-reviewed "tutorial" article, just published.
🗣️🧬🧪
[Will also make a Bsky explainer 🧵 on it next week when I get some time🙂.]
🗣️🧬🧪
[Will also make a Bsky explainer 🧵 on it next week when I get some time🙂.]
Genomic Investigations of Spoken and Written Language Abilities: A Guide to Advances in Approaches, Technologies, and Discovery
Purpose: The aim of this tutorial is to show how the rise of molecular technologies
and analytical methods in human genetics yields exciting new ...
pubs.asha.org
October 30, 2025 at 3:49 PM
If you're interested in how advances in human genomics are transforming our understanding of the biology of spoken & written language abilities, please do check out my new peer-reviewed "tutorial" article, just published.
🗣️🧬🧪
[Will also make a Bsky explainer 🧵 on it next week when I get some time🙂.]
🗣️🧬🧪
[Will also make a Bsky explainer 🧵 on it next week when I get some time🙂.]
Reposted by Barbara Jennings
🧵 John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) was one of the greatest American painters. He was a dashing portraitist, as well as one of the first major artists to explore his sexuality in his art. His technical genius, response to beauty & revolutionary approach are now recognised. Take a look! [1]
October 29, 2025 at 8:27 PM
🧵 John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) was one of the greatest American painters. He was a dashing portraitist, as well as one of the first major artists to explore his sexuality in his art. His technical genius, response to beauty & revolutionary approach are now recognised. Take a look! [1]
Reposted by Barbara Jennings
The poem 'Dangerous Coats' by contemporary Irish writer Sharon Owens #womensart
Home Office surveillance photograph of suffragette Olive Beamish, 1914
#WomensArt
Home Office surveillance photograph of suffragette Olive Beamish, 1914
#WomensArt
October 24, 2025 at 4:25 AM
The poem 'Dangerous Coats' by contemporary Irish writer Sharon Owens #womensart
Home Office surveillance photograph of suffragette Olive Beamish, 1914
#WomensArt
Home Office surveillance photograph of suffragette Olive Beamish, 1914
#WomensArt
Reposted by Barbara Jennings
Carbon offsetting does not work. Not because of implementation details but because there are fundamental issues with the very idea of 'offsetting'. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Carbon credits are failing to help with climate change — here’s why | Nature
The idea that emissions can be offset through projects that claim to avoid releases or to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is fatally flawed. The idea that emissions can be offset through projects that claim to avoid releases or to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is fatally flawed.
www.nature.com
October 27, 2025 at 8:20 AM
Carbon offsetting does not work. Not because of implementation details but because there are fundamental issues with the very idea of 'offsetting'. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Barbara Jennings
🎯 Our mission is to serve society, not power, and to critically evaluate claims, not parrot them. And I can say with some expertise that AI claims related to medicine and health remain exaggerated.
bsky.app/profile/oliv...
bsky.app/profile/oliv...
> “Universities are not tech companies,” Olivia Guest and Iris van Rooij, two computational cognitive scientists at Radboud University in the Netherlands[.] “Our role is to foster critical thinking,” the researchers said, “not to follow industry trends uncritically.”
I was pleased to see @olivia.science and @irisvanrooij.bsky.social mentioned in this NYT article (gift link below). But I wish there was more analysis. Boasts and critiques re: #GenAI were strewn throughout, requiring readers to sort the concerns from the hyperbole. For example… (1/2)
October 26, 2025 at 12:43 PM
🎯 Our mission is to serve society, not power, and to critically evaluate claims, not parrot them. And I can say with some expertise that AI claims related to medicine and health remain exaggerated.
bsky.app/profile/oliv...
bsky.app/profile/oliv...
Excellent news today about #CatherineConnolly & podcast by @blindboyboatclub.bsky.social always a great listen
Listen back to this weeks podcast where I chat to Catherine Connolly about all the damage neoliberalism has done to Ireland
open.spotify.com/episode/1GVC...
open.spotify.com/episode/1GVC...
Catherine Connoly
open.spotify.com
October 25, 2025 at 6:34 PM
Excellent news today about #CatherineConnolly & podcast by @blindboyboatclub.bsky.social always a great listen
Reposted by Barbara Jennings
It doesn't matter how many grant writing workshops you put on, or how much pressure you put on academics to apply - if the money isn't there, the money simply isn't there.
After submitting a FOIA request UKRI, I obtained success rates by three grant call scheme and I can only say that I am disheartened by the results:
- AHRC Responsive Mode 2025: 2%
- ESRC New Investigator Grant 2025: 1%
- ESRC Research Grant Round 2025: 1%
- AHRC Responsive Mode 2025: 2%
- ESRC New Investigator Grant 2025: 1%
- ESRC Research Grant Round 2025: 1%
October 23, 2025 at 12:20 PM
It doesn't matter how many grant writing workshops you put on, or how much pressure you put on academics to apply - if the money isn't there, the money simply isn't there.
Reposted by Barbara Jennings
💻🧬 Keen to learn about eukaryotic genome annotation?
Registration is now open for our 2026 online #genomeannotation course, led by our core #bioinformatics team.
➡️ buff.ly/sonWCgT
Registration is now open for our 2026 online #genomeannotation course, led by our core #bioinformatics team.
➡️ buff.ly/sonWCgT
Genome Annotation Workshop 2026
Providing scientists with a comprehensive overview of eukaryotic genome annotation approaches.
buff.ly
October 22, 2025 at 10:01 AM
💻🧬 Keen to learn about eukaryotic genome annotation?
Registration is now open for our 2026 online #genomeannotation course, led by our core #bioinformatics team.
➡️ buff.ly/sonWCgT
Registration is now open for our 2026 online #genomeannotation course, led by our core #bioinformatics team.
➡️ buff.ly/sonWCgT
Reposted by Barbara Jennings
Great to see AstraZeneca raising awareness and sharing their experience of integrating sustainability into their research:
www.nature.com/articles/d42...
Wonderful to see the Green Algorithms tools (www.green-algorithms.org) enabling this and creating opportunities for innovation!
www.nature.com/articles/d42...
Wonderful to see the Green Algorithms tools (www.green-algorithms.org) enabling this and creating opportunities for innovation!
Big data, smaller footprint: sustainability in genomics research
Smart algorithms help researchers unlock more from genomic data, with less environmental cost.
www.nature.com
October 22, 2025 at 8:47 AM
Great to see AstraZeneca raising awareness and sharing their experience of integrating sustainability into their research:
www.nature.com/articles/d42...
Wonderful to see the Green Algorithms tools (www.green-algorithms.org) enabling this and creating opportunities for innovation!
www.nature.com/articles/d42...
Wonderful to see the Green Algorithms tools (www.green-algorithms.org) enabling this and creating opportunities for innovation!
Reposted by Barbara Jennings
Nice little article on Irish poet Seamus Heaney. It’s because a new complete book of his poetry has come out. I really recommend it - it includes previously unseen works: ereader.irishnews.com/2025/10/21/t...
October 21, 2025 at 5:52 PM
Nice little article on Irish poet Seamus Heaney. It’s because a new complete book of his poetry has come out. I really recommend it - it includes previously unseen works: ereader.irishnews.com/2025/10/21/t...
Reposted by Barbara Jennings
I’m hiring! I'm looking for a Parliamentary Researcher to join my team in London.
If you’re passionate about politics, policy and helping make a difference, apply today. Details below! 👇
www.peterprinsley.org/news/latest-...
If you’re passionate about politics, policy and helping make a difference, apply today. Details below! 👇
www.peterprinsley.org/news/latest-...
Job Vacancy - Parliamentary Researcher — Dr Peter Prinsley MP
I am looking for a new parliamentary researcher to join my team in London..
www.peterprinsley.org
October 16, 2025 at 10:12 AM
I’m hiring! I'm looking for a Parliamentary Researcher to join my team in London.
If you’re passionate about politics, policy and helping make a difference, apply today. Details below! 👇
www.peterprinsley.org/news/latest-...
If you’re passionate about politics, policy and helping make a difference, apply today. Details below! 👇
www.peterprinsley.org/news/latest-...
Reposted by Barbara Jennings
Join us Wednesday 22nd otber at 8pm BST for #LTHE Chat 340: Embedding Academic Skills in UK Higher Education: Why It Matters with guest @drchrism.bsky.social
lthechat.com/2025/10/20/l...
lthechat.com/2025/10/20/l...
LTHE Chat 340: Embedding Academic Skills in UK Higher Education: Why It Matters
Join us on Bluesky with guest Dr Chris Martin @drchrism.bsky.social on Wednesday 22nd October 2025 at 20:00 BST When engaging in conversations with academic colleagues, the…
lthechat.com
October 20, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Join us Wednesday 22nd otber at 8pm BST for #LTHE Chat 340: Embedding Academic Skills in UK Higher Education: Why It Matters with guest @drchrism.bsky.social
lthechat.com/2025/10/20/l...
lthechat.com/2025/10/20/l...
Reposted by Barbara Jennings
I remember once at an office job I had, I was really struggling with a big awkward box of files and paper up some stairs, and my boss came past me and said "oh let me help you" and took ONE SHEET OF A4 PAPER off the top.
Anyway, in completely unrelated news.....
Anyway, in completely unrelated news.....
University tuition fees in England to rise with inflation every year from 2026
Bridget Phillipson confirmed the plans for the next two years, with fees to increase automatically after that.
www.bbc.co.uk
October 20, 2025 at 6:45 PM
I remember once at an office job I had, I was really struggling with a big awkward box of files and paper up some stairs, and my boss came past me and said "oh let me help you" and took ONE SHEET OF A4 PAPER off the top.
Anyway, in completely unrelated news.....
Anyway, in completely unrelated news.....