Richard Wheeler
@zephyris-science.bsky.social
Parasite cell biology, science and microscopes (with a garnish of computers, graphics and graphic design). Runs a research lab in the University of Edinburgh.
Hot take. Stop AI-generated peer reviews by encouraging journals run the paper through a few LLMs to check for basic factual and statistical errors.
December 19, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Hot take. Stop AI-generated peer reviews by encouraging journals run the paper through a few LLMs to check for basic factual and statistical errors.
Check out this thread for a nice breakdown (with videos!) of some of our questions about how dyneins generate a beat, all from our new preprint:
Using Leishmania as a model, we determined the cryo-EM structure of the doublet microtubule to pinpoint the position of each dynein. This gave us a detailed map of where every “rower” sits on the ciliary “boat.”
November 10, 2025 at 10:29 PM
Check out this thread for a nice breakdown (with videos!) of some of our questions about how dyneins generate a beat, all from our new preprint:
Very excited to share this one! Our comprehensive structure, genetics and biophysics dissection of which flagellar dyneins and other proteins are needed for flagella to beat and drive cells swimming behaviours: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
November 8, 2025 at 8:42 AM
Very excited to share this one! Our comprehensive structure, genetics and biophysics dissection of which flagellar dyneins and other proteins are needed for flagella to beat and drive cells swimming behaviours: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
tryptag.org update now done... Now with gene annotations from the latest genome, better links to source data (on BioImage Archive www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/B...), fixed missing images, and better cell cycle stage examples (selected using github.com/zephyris/try...). Any problems, let me know.
TrypTag is a genome-wide database of the subcellular protein localisation in the unicellular parasite Trypanosoma brucei. The main paper describing this resource is Billington et al., 2023.
tryptag.org
October 8, 2025 at 2:52 PM
tryptag.org update now done... Now with gene annotations from the latest genome, better links to source data (on BioImage Archive www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/B...), fixed missing images, and better cell cycle stage examples (selected using github.com/zephyris/try...). Any problems, let me know.
I'm working on some server changes for tryptag.org, you might see missing data (particularly missing images)... But don't worry, it will all be up again soon!
tryptag.org
September 26, 2025 at 11:14 AM
I'm working on some server changes for tryptag.org, you might see missing data (particularly missing images)... But don't worry, it will all be up again soon!
After a hiatus, the discoba lineage-optimised Alphafold2 structure predictions are back up! Get your improved Trypanosoma and Leishmania structure predictions here. Try out the Google Colab iPython notebook (and let me know if you have any problems) colab.research.google.com/github/zephy...
Google Colab
colab.research.google.com
August 20, 2025 at 3:00 PM
After a hiatus, the discoba lineage-optimised Alphafold2 structure predictions are back up! Get your improved Trypanosoma and Leishmania structure predictions here. Try out the Google Colab iPython notebook (and let me know if you have any problems) colab.research.google.com/github/zephy...
Reposted by Richard Wheeler
Watch the related Science Sketch video: youtu.be/uBpPMyVTj5c?..., created by @marionamec.bsky.social
Molecule Disarms Cellular Stress Granules Linked to ALS
YouTube video by MPI-CBG
youtu.be
May 27, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Watch the related Science Sketch video: youtu.be/uBpPMyVTj5c?..., created by @marionamec.bsky.social
Reposted by Richard Wheeler
A team @mpi-cbg.de from @hymanlab.bsky.social & the @edinburghup.bsky.social (Richard Wheeler group) has identified the molecule lipoamide that can prevent the formation of pathological stress granules - protein-rich condensates associated with cellular stress and ALS. www.mpi-cbg.de/news-outreac...
Molecule Disarms Cellular Stress Granules Linked to ALS
Discovery by researchers in Dresden and Edinburgh points to new understanding of the onset of ALS.
www.mpi-cbg.de
May 27, 2025 at 2:14 PM
A team @mpi-cbg.de from @hymanlab.bsky.social & the @edinburghup.bsky.social (Richard Wheeler group) has identified the molecule lipoamide that can prevent the formation of pathological stress granules - protein-rich condensates associated with cellular stress and ALS. www.mpi-cbg.de/news-outreac...
Very cool new study about how multiple cilia self-coordinate for swimming by @micromotility.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Dynamics and emergence of metachronal waves in the ciliary band of a metazoan larva
Both natural and synthetic ciliary arrays exhibit diverse coordination patterns. Proper coordination of cilia is essential for the normal physiology of many organisms, from single cells to humans. Yet...
www.biorxiv.org
May 27, 2025 at 9:18 AM
Very cool new study about how multiple cilia self-coordinate for swimming by @micromotility.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Thank you @dereklowe.bsky.social for featuring our work in In the Pipeline (www.science.org/content/blog...). It's been 6 year journey, but we finally have a target, a mechanism and a paper! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A Condensate-Modifying Compound, Put to the Test
www.science.org
May 16, 2025 at 6:52 AM
Thank you @dereklowe.bsky.social for featuring our work in In the Pipeline (www.science.org/content/blog...). It's been 6 year journey, but we finally have a target, a mechanism and a paper! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Having spent an afternoon developing some models with Google AI Studio, Ted Chiang seems more prescient than ever. It's only about a page, worth reading right now! www.nature.com/articles/350...
Catching crumbs from the table - Nature
In the face of metahuman science, humans have become metascientists.
www.nature.com
May 15, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Having spent an afternoon developing some models with Google AI Studio, Ted Chiang seems more prescient than ever. It's only about a page, worth reading right now! www.nature.com/articles/350...
Reposted by Richard Wheeler
Hiro's paper is out! @hiro-cg5445.bsky.social
Collaboration and Tour de Force with Richard Wheeler @zephyris-science.bsky.social and many other coauthors.
Big congratulations and thank you to anyone involved!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Collaboration and Tour de Force with Richard Wheeler @zephyris-science.bsky.social and many other coauthors.
Big congratulations and thank you to anyone involved!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Small-molecule dissolution of stress granules by redox modulation benefits ALS models - Nature Chemical Biology
Uechi et al. found that a small-molecule lipoamide dissolves stress granules (SGs) by targeting SFPQ, a redox-sensitive disordered SG protein, alleviating pathological phenotypes caused by amyotrophic...
www.nature.com
May 14, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Hiro's paper is out! @hiro-cg5445.bsky.social
Collaboration and Tour de Force with Richard Wheeler @zephyris-science.bsky.social and many other coauthors.
Big congratulations and thank you to anyone involved!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Collaboration and Tour de Force with Richard Wheeler @zephyris-science.bsky.social and many other coauthors.
Big congratulations and thank you to anyone involved!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Small molecule targeting intrinsically disordered protein domains to help neurodegeneration, really great to finally have this collab with @hymanlab.bsky.social out! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Small-molecule dissolution of stress granules by redox modulation benefits ALS models - Nature Chemical Biology
Uechi et al. found that a small-molecule lipoamide dissolves stress granules (SGs) by targeting SFPQ, a redox-sensitive disordered SG protein, alleviating pathological phenotypes caused by amyotrophic...
www.nature.com
May 14, 2025 at 1:24 PM
Small molecule targeting intrinsically disordered protein domains to help neurodegeneration, really great to finally have this collab with @hymanlab.bsky.social out! www.nature.com/articles/s41...