James Boocock
@theboocock.bsky.social
Postdoctoral scholar at UCLA working on yeast genetics and genomics research.
Reposted by James Boocock
Zara Weinberg passed away earlier this week. She joined my lab earlier this year when her postdoc lab formally closed.
She was a brilliant scientist, supportive mentor, dear friend, avid music fan, rabid believer in public transit, open science champion, and above all just an amazing human.
She was a brilliant scientist, supportive mentor, dear friend, avid music fan, rabid believer in public transit, open science champion, and above all just an amazing human.
October 31, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Zara Weinberg passed away earlier this week. She joined my lab earlier this year when her postdoc lab formally closed.
She was a brilliant scientist, supportive mentor, dear friend, avid music fan, rabid believer in public transit, open science champion, and above all just an amazing human.
She was a brilliant scientist, supportive mentor, dear friend, avid music fan, rabid believer in public transit, open science champion, and above all just an amazing human.
Reposted by James Boocock
Incredible. We should be investing MORE in science, not less.
July 28, 2025 at 2:12 AM
Incredible. We should be investing MORE in science, not less.
Reposted by James Boocock
#TheLastOfUs: A fungus that actually infects the human brain 🧠
A recent #G3journal paper from @hitenmadhani.bsky.social and team presents a valuable auxin-inducible genetic toolkit for conditional mutation in the fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans, which can cause meningitis: buff.ly/rIkC09R
A recent #G3journal paper from @hitenmadhani.bsky.social and team presents a valuable auxin-inducible genetic toolkit for conditional mutation in the fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans, which can cause meningitis: buff.ly/rIkC09R
June 5, 2025 at 6:03 PM
#TheLastOfUs: A fungus that actually infects the human brain 🧠
A recent #G3journal paper from @hitenmadhani.bsky.social and team presents a valuable auxin-inducible genetic toolkit for conditional mutation in the fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans, which can cause meningitis: buff.ly/rIkC09R
A recent #G3journal paper from @hitenmadhani.bsky.social and team presents a valuable auxin-inducible genetic toolkit for conditional mutation in the fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans, which can cause meningitis: buff.ly/rIkC09R
Reposted by James Boocock
When should adaptation arise from a polygenic response versus few large effect changes? https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.05.15.654234v1
May 17, 2025 at 8:32 PM
When should adaptation arise from a polygenic response versus few large effect changes? https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.05.15.654234v1
Reposted by James Boocock
Our authors can freely speculate the meaning and implications of their data in our new section:
💡 Ideas and Speculation 💡
buff.ly/0I8lpwz
💡 Ideas and Speculation 💡
buff.ly/0I8lpwz
May 11, 2025 at 10:01 AM
Our authors can freely speculate the meaning and implications of their data in our new section:
💡 Ideas and Speculation 💡
buff.ly/0I8lpwz
💡 Ideas and Speculation 💡
buff.ly/0I8lpwz
Reposted by James Boocock
Reposted by James Boocock
Psychedelics reduce fear by targeting immune cells that modulate brain cells
This Nature paper uses a combination of genomic & behavioural screens to show that astrocytes in the amygdala limit stress-induced fear behaviour through epidermal growth factor receptor
🧪
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
This Nature paper uses a combination of genomic & behavioural screens to show that astrocytes in the amygdala limit stress-induced fear behaviour through epidermal growth factor receptor
🧪
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Psychedelic control of neuroimmune interactions governing fear - Nature
Inflammatory monocytes in the brain meninges promote stress-induced fear behaviour, and the pathways involved can be modulated using psychedelic compounds.
www.nature.com
April 27, 2025 at 5:45 AM
Psychedelics reduce fear by targeting immune cells that modulate brain cells
This Nature paper uses a combination of genomic & behavioural screens to show that astrocytes in the amygdala limit stress-induced fear behaviour through epidermal growth factor receptor
🧪
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
This Nature paper uses a combination of genomic & behavioural screens to show that astrocytes in the amygdala limit stress-induced fear behaviour through epidermal growth factor receptor
🧪
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by James Boocock
Happy to join a few thousand friends in midtown today.
Free Mahmoud
Free Rumeysa
Free Kilmar and everyone at Cecot
Due process
No kings
Free Mahmoud
Free Rumeysa
Free Kilmar and everyone at Cecot
Due process
No kings
April 19, 2025 at 5:56 PM
Happy to join a few thousand friends in midtown today.
Free Mahmoud
Free Rumeysa
Free Kilmar and everyone at Cecot
Due process
No kings
Free Mahmoud
Free Rumeysa
Free Kilmar and everyone at Cecot
Due process
No kings
Reposted by James Boocock
A comprehensive Schizosaccharomyces pombe atlas of physical transcription factor interactions with proteins and chromatin
A comprehensive Schizosaccharomyces pombe atlas of physical transcription factor interactions with proteins and chromatin
Skribbe et al. comprehensively mapped transcription factor interaction networks in S. pombe through proteomics and chromatin profiling. Their study offers invaluable resources, including an endogenously tagged transcription factor strain library and the TFexplorer web tool, which enables user-friendly exploration of the interactions revealed.
dlvr.it
April 4, 2025 at 11:33 AM
A comprehensive Schizosaccharomyces pombe atlas of physical transcription factor interactions with proteins and chromatin
Reposted by James Boocock
Antifungal drug discovery gets an interesting and unexpected shot of good news:
A New Type of Antifungal
www.science.org
March 20, 2025 at 9:19 PM
Antifungal drug discovery gets an interesting and unexpected shot of good news:
Reposted by James Boocock
A slight modification to the standard yeast lithium acetate transformation protocol increases transformation efficiency substantially.
Basically, 2 fold increase if you resuspend in 2M sorbitol after heat shock, and an additive increase with some sorbitol during heat shock.
Basically, 2 fold increase if you resuspend in 2M sorbitol after heat shock, and an additive increase with some sorbitol during heat shock.
Enhancing Yeast Transformation: Achieving up to a Tenfold Increase Through a Single Adjustment in the Lithium Acetate–Polyethylene Glycol Method
In red are the proposed improvements to the classical yeast transformation protocol.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
March 16, 2025 at 1:46 PM
A slight modification to the standard yeast lithium acetate transformation protocol increases transformation efficiency substantially.
Basically, 2 fold increase if you resuspend in 2M sorbitol after heat shock, and an additive increase with some sorbitol during heat shock.
Basically, 2 fold increase if you resuspend in 2M sorbitol after heat shock, and an additive increase with some sorbitol during heat shock.
Reposted by James Boocock
I believe we have breaking news in Inside Medicine.
I spoke to a member of the FDA vaccine committee who confirmed that the meeting to decide the 2025-2026 flu shot composition was abruptly canceled today.
My on-the-record Q&A with the FDA advisor:
insidemedicine.substack.com/p/scoop-fda-...
I spoke to a member of the FDA vaccine committee who confirmed that the meeting to decide the 2025-2026 flu shot composition was abruptly canceled today.
My on-the-record Q&A with the FDA advisor:
insidemedicine.substack.com/p/scoop-fda-...
Scoop: FDA vaccine meeting abruptly canceled. Meeting was to determine 2025-2026 influenza vaccine composition.
Hi everyone,
open.substack.com
February 26, 2025 at 11:15 PM
I believe we have breaking news in Inside Medicine.
I spoke to a member of the FDA vaccine committee who confirmed that the meeting to decide the 2025-2026 flu shot composition was abruptly canceled today.
My on-the-record Q&A with the FDA advisor:
insidemedicine.substack.com/p/scoop-fda-...
I spoke to a member of the FDA vaccine committee who confirmed that the meeting to decide the 2025-2026 flu shot composition was abruptly canceled today.
My on-the-record Q&A with the FDA advisor:
insidemedicine.substack.com/p/scoop-fda-...
Reposted by James Boocock
Despite court order, NIH grants remain frozen. Newly awarded grants, grants with fundable scores, & funds for a new budget cycle of a current project are all *FROZEN*🥶 and not being released. US research is being choked to death & is on life support right now www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
NIH is again throttling research funding in defiance of a federal court order
A freeze on "new and continuation awards" will "remain in place" pending DEI review, states a new internal memo.
www.motherjones.com
February 26, 2025 at 12:04 PM
Despite court order, NIH grants remain frozen. Newly awarded grants, grants with fundable scores, & funds for a new budget cycle of a current project are all *FROZEN*🥶 and not being released. US research is being choked to death & is on life support right now www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Reposted by James Boocock
Roche's SBX sequencing by expansion - preprint out!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
February 24, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Roche's SBX sequencing by expansion - preprint out!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by James Boocock
Good lord
The University of Pittsburgh confirmed Friday that there would be no new Ph.D. offers of admission while Pitt works to understand how reduced federal aid could impact the institution.
The University of Pittsburgh pauses its Ph.D. admissions process amid research funding uncertainty
A spokesperson for the University told WESA Friday that the school has "temporarily paused additional Ph.D. offers of admission," while Pitt works to understand how proposed federal funding cuts could...
www.wesa.fm
February 21, 2025 at 10:58 PM
Good lord
Reposted by James Boocock
Almost all grant-review meetings still suspended at the NIH -- the Trump administration is exploiting a loophole to keep a funding freeze in place, leaving researchers in limbo.
@maxkozlov.bsky.social reports for @nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
@maxkozlov.bsky.social reports for @nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Revealed: NIH research grants still frozen despite lawsuits challenging Trump order
The Trump administration is exploiting a loophole to keep a funding freeze in place, leaving researchers in limbo.
www.nature.com
February 20, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Almost all grant-review meetings still suspended at the NIH -- the Trump administration is exploiting a loophole to keep a funding freeze in place, leaving researchers in limbo.
@maxkozlov.bsky.social reports for @nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
@maxkozlov.bsky.social reports for @nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by James Boocock
Biomedical graduate admissions paused or cut back as some universities respond to Trump orders on research - STAT
apple.news/APlQhGHRrSfy...
apple.news/APlQhGHRrSfy...
Graduate student admissions paused and cut back as universities react to Trump orders on research — STAT
Acceptances for biomedical graduate students and postdoctoral scholars are being cut back at some universities and medical centers across the country as many grapple with the potential impact of the T...
apple.news
February 20, 2025 at 2:04 AM
Biomedical graduate admissions paused or cut back as some universities respond to Trump orders on research - STAT
apple.news/APlQhGHRrSfy...
apple.news/APlQhGHRrSfy...
Reposted by James Boocock
a grim but essential read, if you care about American science
the system was already under stress from underfunding over many years (nominal increases were sub-inflationary)
but this is a sudden and severe shock to the system
the system was already under stress from underfunding over many years (nominal increases were sub-inflationary)
but this is a sudden and severe shock to the system
NEW: Trump actions on science may affect a generation as pauses + cuts in graduate admissions begin. “We had just flown them out, we told them we love you, we want to admit you, and then everything just stopped." "It's freezing everybody into inaction."
www.statnews.com/2025/02/19/t...
www.statnews.com/2025/02/19/t...
Graduate student admissions paused and cut back as universities react to Trump orders on research
In response to Trump science policies, universities are accepting fewer graduate students than normal and freezing positions, STAT has learned.
www.statnews.com
February 19, 2025 at 8:35 PM
a grim but essential read, if you care about American science
the system was already under stress from underfunding over many years (nominal increases were sub-inflationary)
but this is a sudden and severe shock to the system
the system was already under stress from underfunding over many years (nominal increases were sub-inflationary)
but this is a sudden and severe shock to the system
Reposted by James Boocock
Distinct explanations underlie gene-environment interactions in the UK Biobank.
www.cell.com/ajhg/abstrac...
www.cell.com/ajhg/abstrac...
Distinct explanations underlie gene-environment interactions in the UK Biobank
The role of gene-environment (GxE) interaction in disease and complex trait architectures
is widely hypothesized but currently unknown. Here, we apply three statistical approaches
to quantify and dist...
www.cell.com
February 17, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Distinct explanations underlie gene-environment interactions in the UK Biobank.
www.cell.com/ajhg/abstrac...
www.cell.com/ajhg/abstrac...
Reposted by James Boocock
Insufficient evidence for a severe bottleneck in humans during the Early to Middle Pleistocene transition
academic.oup.com/mbe/advance-...
academic.oup.com/mbe/advance-...
Insufficient evidence for a severe bottleneck in humans during the Early to Middle Pleistocene transition
Abstract. A recently proposed model suggests a severe bottleneck in the panmictic ancestral population of modern humans during the Early to Middle Pleistoc
academic.oup.com
February 17, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Insufficient evidence for a severe bottleneck in humans during the Early to Middle Pleistocene transition
academic.oup.com/mbe/advance-...
academic.oup.com/mbe/advance-...
Reposted by James Boocock
A big loss and very bad sign for NIH, folks
Lawrence Tabak, longtime principal deputy director of the National Institutes of Health, has abruptly resigned—surprising even his own lab staff and the broader community. scim.ag/4hR40OE
Top NIH official suddenly steps down
Lawrence Tabak had served in various roles in director’s office for many years
scim.ag
February 12, 2025 at 4:40 PM
A big loss and very bad sign for NIH, folks
Reposted by James Boocock
I would expect to see this at every research institute until there's clarity on funding and budgets.
I was told today that we cannot proceed with two planned faculty hires bc of lack of $ (startups are funded through IDCs). We had interviewed people, etc. All for nothing.
I am told the cuts include new tenure track investigators (intramural equivalent of assistant professors at an R1 university)
people who were hired after an intensely competitive hiring process
labs were renovated, supplies equipment bought, staff hired
startups easily exceed $1M
all wasted now
people who were hired after an intensely competitive hiring process
labs were renovated, supplies equipment bought, staff hired
startups easily exceed $1M
all wasted now
February 14, 2025 at 8:40 PM
I would expect to see this at every research institute until there's clarity on funding and budgets.
Reposted by James Boocock
NEW: approximately 330 National Cancer Institute probationary employees will be fired this afternoon. That’s a bit less than 10% of its entire staff.
February 14, 2025 at 6:09 PM
NEW: approximately 330 National Cancer Institute probationary employees will be fired this afternoon. That’s a bit less than 10% of its entire staff.
Reposted by James Boocock
Scoop: The databases powering DOGE.gov are insecure, and people outside the government have already pushed their own updates to the site to prove it:
www.404media.co/anyone-can-p...
www.404media.co/anyone-can-p...
Anyone Can Push Updates to the DOGE.gov Website
"THESE 'EXPERTS' LEFT THEIR DATABASE OPEN."
www.404media.co
February 14, 2025 at 6:44 AM
Scoop: The databases powering DOGE.gov are insecure, and people outside the government have already pushed their own updates to the site to prove it:
www.404media.co/anyone-can-p...
www.404media.co/anyone-can-p...