Martin Humphries
@martinhumphries.bsky.social
Professor of Biochemistry, University of Manchester. Career interest in mechanisms of cell-matrix adhesion. Current interest in mechanosensing in pancreatic cancer and vascular dementia.
Reposted by Martin Humphries
Tim Davie was one of the best D-Gs the BBC has had, and Deborah Turness was a brilliant head of news. Only the BBC’s enemies could possibly be glad they’ve resigned. We’ve now got a real fight on our hands to defend public service broadcasting, because that’s under threat too.
November 9, 2025 at 8:38 PM
Tim Davie was one of the best D-Gs the BBC has had, and Deborah Turness was a brilliant head of news. Only the BBC’s enemies could possibly be glad they’ve resigned. We’ve now got a real fight on our hands to defend public service broadcasting, because that’s under threat too.
Reposted by Martin Humphries
#Tubulin regulates stability and localization of STMN2 by binding preferentially to its soluble form, say Xiang Deng, Timothy Mitchison and colleagues @harvardmed.bsky.social: rupress.org/jcb/article/...
#ProteinHomeostasis #Neuroscience #Biochemistry #Cytoskeleton #Neurodegeneration #ALS
#ProteinHomeostasis #Neuroscience #Biochemistry #Cytoskeleton #Neurodegeneration #ALS
November 7, 2025 at 7:30 PM
#Tubulin regulates stability and localization of STMN2 by binding preferentially to its soluble form, say Xiang Deng, Timothy Mitchison and colleagues @harvardmed.bsky.social: rupress.org/jcb/article/...
#ProteinHomeostasis #Neuroscience #Biochemistry #Cytoskeleton #Neurodegeneration #ALS
#ProteinHomeostasis #Neuroscience #Biochemistry #Cytoskeleton #Neurodegeneration #ALS
Reposted by Martin Humphries
Eight child abusers were jailed today.
8 child sexual predators who had been operating in areas such as Gravesend, Gillingham, Swanley, & Margate jailed for a combined 100 years.
This managed not to be the top story on repeat for BBC, itv or sky News.
I wonder why.
#bbcbias #itvbias #skybias
8 child sexual predators who had been operating in areas such as Gravesend, Gillingham, Swanley, & Margate jailed for a combined 100 years.
This managed not to be the top story on repeat for BBC, itv or sky News.
I wonder why.
#bbcbias #itvbias #skybias
November 8, 2025 at 10:07 AM
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November 9, 2025 at 12:52 PM
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Reposted by Martin Humphries
A critical role of FAK signaling in Rac1-driven melanoma cell resistance to MAPK pathway inhibition
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A critical role of FAK signaling in Rac1-driven melanoma cell resistance to MAPK pathway inhibition - Oncogene
Oncogene - A critical role of FAK signaling in Rac1-driven melanoma cell resistance to MAPK pathway inhibition
www.nature.com
November 9, 2025 at 12:27 PM
A critical role of FAK signaling in Rac1-driven melanoma cell resistance to MAPK pathway inhibition
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Martin Humphries
Bi-functional integrin degraders cause stronger anti-proliferative effects than a blocking antibody by modulating distinct downstream signaling
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Bi-functional integrin degraders cause stronger anti-proliferative effects than a blocking antibody by modulating distinct downstream signaling
Integrins play a critical role in signaling events that regulate cell adhesion, migration, and proliferation, processes that, when dysregulated, contribute to cancer progression. Recently, innovati...
www.tandfonline.com
November 9, 2025 at 12:36 PM
Bi-functional integrin degraders cause stronger anti-proliferative effects than a blocking antibody by modulating distinct downstream signaling
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Martin Humphries
Spatial-proteomics reveals recombinant human laminin-111 restores adhesion-signaling to laminin-α2 deficient muscle
insight.jci.org/articles/vie...
insight.jci.org/articles/vie...
JCI Insight -
Spatial-proteomics reveals recombinant human laminin-111 restores adhesion-signaling to laminin-α2 deficient muscle
insight.jci.org
November 9, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Spatial-proteomics reveals recombinant human laminin-111 restores adhesion-signaling to laminin-α2 deficient muscle
insight.jci.org/articles/vie...
insight.jci.org/articles/vie...
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#China is forecasted to install 66% of the world’s solar capacity and 69% of wind capacity in 2025.
This would be the third consecutive year that 🇨🇳 added more solar and wind than the rest of the world.
ember-energy.org/lat...
This would be the third consecutive year that 🇨🇳 added more solar and wind than the rest of the world.
ember-energy.org/lat...
November 9, 2025 at 9:28 AM
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Reposted by Martin Humphries
Now that the dust is settling, read this excellent thread - the opposite of a hot take - by Watson’s biographer (out in a year or so!) You’ll see how complicated a 97 year life can be.
Okay, here are some first reflections on Watson.
Watson's life is a tragedy, really of Shakespearean proportions. He did not, as most bios will tell you, do one great thing when he was young and then collect laurels for it for the next 60 years. His career arc was unlike any in science.
Watson's life is a tragedy, really of Shakespearean proportions. He did not, as most bios will tell you, do one great thing when he was young and then collect laurels for it for the next 60 years. His career arc was unlike any in science.
November 9, 2025 at 7:42 AM
Now that the dust is settling, read this excellent thread - the opposite of a hot take - by Watson’s biographer (out in a year or so!) You’ll see how complicated a 97 year life can be.
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Very sad to hear about Jim Watson’s death. If you think he was always a racist you are wrong. He refused to support genes/IQ research in the 70s. He boycotted Greece because of the military coup in 1967 and he called for a boycott of meetings in Chicago after the police riot of 1968. 1/2
November 8, 2025 at 4:31 AM
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Reposted by Martin Humphries
#Voters #MadeTheirPoint Love this cartoon 🌊🌊💙
November 6, 2025 at 8:39 PM
#Voters #MadeTheirPoint Love this cartoon 🌊🌊💙
Reposted by Martin Humphries
So proud of my colleague Sacha Howell on this latest @nature.com publication reporting on the Breast Cancer-Anti-Progestin Prevention Study 1 (BC-APPS1) - many years in the making: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Press release from The University of Manchester:
www.manchester.ac.uk/about/news/n...
Press release from The University of Manchester:
www.manchester.ac.uk/about/news/n...
New study uncovers potential way to prevent breast cancer in pre-menopausal women
A University of Manchester study funded by Breast Cancer Now and supported by Prevent Breast Cancer, reveals a drug approved for use in other conditions could be repurposed to prevent breast cancer in...
www.manchester.ac.uk
November 6, 2025 at 10:04 AM
So proud of my colleague Sacha Howell on this latest @nature.com publication reporting on the Breast Cancer-Anti-Progestin Prevention Study 1 (BC-APPS1) - many years in the making: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Press release from The University of Manchester:
www.manchester.ac.uk/about/news/n...
Press release from The University of Manchester:
www.manchester.ac.uk/about/news/n...
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Excited to embark on this scientific journey with Ewa Paluch and Daniel StJohnston to understand fundamentals of epithelial tissue and cell shapes! Thank you to @erc.europa.eu for the support!
🚀 Exciting news! ERC Synergy Grant of €8.5 million to Sara Wickström @sarawickstrom.bsky.social, Daniel St Jonston @gurdoninstitute.bsky.social and Ewa Paluch @universitypress.cambridge.org! This highly interdisciplinary project will boost our understanding of tissue biology. #ERCSyG @erc.europa.eu
November 6, 2025 at 12:56 PM
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Reposted by Martin Humphries
This is so lovely, I had no idea Oldham created IVF - it's great to see towns celebrate their history and achievements
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Oldham Athletic stadium artwork marks town's key IVF role
The design is a prototype for a much larger installation, Latics owner Frank Rothwell says.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 3, 2025 at 5:11 PM
This is so lovely, I had no idea Oldham created IVF - it's great to see towns celebrate their history and achievements
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Martin Humphries
GLP-1 drugs have intrinsic potent anti-inflammatory action beyond their metabolic beneficial impact on glucose regulation and weight loss
www.jci.org/articles/vie...
www.jci.org/articles/vie...
November 3, 2025 at 5:20 PM
GLP-1 drugs have intrinsic potent anti-inflammatory action beyond their metabolic beneficial impact on glucose regulation and weight loss
www.jci.org/articles/vie...
www.jci.org/articles/vie...
Congratulations Matthew. What a fantastic review of your book!
Terrific review of CRICK by Georgina Ferry in this week's @nature.com (the print title of the review is less clickbaity):
Sex, drugs and the conscious brain: Francis Crick beyond the double helix
A thoroughly researched account of the history and relationships that shaped the scientist who co-discovered the structure of DNA.
www.nature.com
November 3, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Congratulations Matthew. What a fantastic review of your book!
Reposted by Martin Humphries
A single-chain derivative of an integrin-activating antibody potentiates organoid growth in Matrigel and collagen hydrogels
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A single-chain derivative of an integrin-activating antibody potentiates organoid growth in Matrigel and collagen hydrogels - Nature Biotechnology
Epithelial organoids are grown without Matrigel using a single-chain antibody.
www.nature.com
November 3, 2025 at 11:15 AM
A single-chain derivative of an integrin-activating antibody potentiates organoid growth in Matrigel and collagen hydrogels
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Martin Humphries
Piezo1 regulates the mechanotransduction of soft matrix viscoelasticity
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Piezo1 regulates the mechanotransduction of soft matrix viscoelasticity - Nature Communications
Matrix viscoelasticity regulates cell behavior in a stiffness-dependent manner. Here, the authors reveal that the mechanosensitive channel Piezo1 transduces soft matrix viscoelastic cues, through a co...
www.nature.com
November 3, 2025 at 11:55 AM
Piezo1 regulates the mechanotransduction of soft matrix viscoelasticity
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Martin Humphries
Mechanochemical waves in focal adhesions during cell migration
www.science.org/doi/full/10....
www.science.org/doi/full/10....
Mechanochemical waves in focal adhesions during cell migration
Traction force and FAK signaling exhibit oscillatory temporal coupling in adhesive structures.
www.science.org
November 3, 2025 at 11:56 AM
Mechanochemical waves in focal adhesions during cell migration
www.science.org/doi/full/10....
www.science.org/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Martin Humphries
Via Gary Marcus.
Wow.
Wow.
November 3, 2025 at 9:37 AM
Via Gary Marcus.
Wow.
Wow.
Reposted by Martin Humphries
Dominic Grieve’s response to Nigel Farage’s ‘let’s leave the ECHR’ stunt in parliament is spot on.
November 1, 2025 at 9:44 PM
Dominic Grieve’s response to Nigel Farage’s ‘let’s leave the ECHR’ stunt in parliament is spot on.
Hu Z, et al. Extracellular matrix rigidity controls breast cancer metastasis via TYK2-mediated mechanotransduction. bioRxiv posted 31 October 2025 doi:10.1101/2025.10.30.681251 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
November 1, 2025 at 7:10 AM
Hu Z, et al. Extracellular matrix rigidity controls breast cancer metastasis via TYK2-mediated mechanotransduction. bioRxiv posted 31 October 2025 doi:10.1101/2025.10.30.681251 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Martin Humphries
UKRI allocated £39bn budget over next four years.
Updates, with comment from @universities-uk.bsky.social / @viviennestern.bsky.social.
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...
Updates, with comment from @universities-uk.bsky.social / @viviennestern.bsky.social.
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...
UKRI allocated £39bn budget over next four years - Research Professional News
Agency will receive around £9.2 billion next year, as Dsit plans “more agile” R&D funding
www.researchprofessionalnews.com
October 30, 2025 at 2:16 PM
UKRI allocated £39bn budget over next four years.
Updates, with comment from @universities-uk.bsky.social / @viviennestern.bsky.social.
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...
Updates, with comment from @universities-uk.bsky.social / @viviennestern.bsky.social.
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...
Reposted by Martin Humphries
This is indeed good to hear. Principles matter. This is an important one. Would be good now for media to ask other leading Tories whether they support such principles, and also whether Badenoch feels those who question such principles can remain Conservative frontbenchers.
Further updates on the ignominious end to Lam's ignominious policy. Good to hear Badenoch say "But we have a principle. We don’t believe in making things retrospective." Let's hope all Britain's parties follow that principle. And for a less punitive & vindictive approach to immigration more broadly
Tories will not deport legally settled people, Badenoch clarifies
Katie Lam spoke ‘imprecisely’ in stating large number of people would ‘need to go home’, says Conservative leader
www.theguardian.com
October 30, 2025 at 3:20 PM
This is indeed good to hear. Principles matter. This is an important one. Would be good now for media to ask other leading Tories whether they support such principles, and also whether Badenoch feels those who question such principles can remain Conservative frontbenchers.