Darren Martin
@darrenmartin.bsky.social
Sort of supports David Epstein's "Range" hypothesis: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Range:_...
December 19, 2025 at 2:15 PM
Sort of supports David Epstein's "Range" hypothesis: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Range:_...
This is the most interesting thing I've seen in ages. If intra-cellular membrane-less hydrogen ion gradients are biologically meaningful/useful things then so too might be membrane-less gradients of everything else - from bigger ions with discrete point-sources through protein complexes.
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 3:36 PM
This is the most interesting thing I've seen in ages. If intra-cellular membrane-less hydrogen ion gradients are biologically meaningful/useful things then so too might be membrane-less gradients of everything else - from bigger ions with discrete point-sources through protein complexes.
Seems like the BBC is going all in on a self-abusive resolution to make 2025 their shittest year ever. WTF is going on over there? Are they alight? Its like seeing a once beloved and often hilariously witty uncle turn into a stupidly boring and hateful racist after they have a stroke.
Very sad that I felt I had no choice but to resign from The Infinite Monkey Cage - a victory for the transphobes and other bigots - I did it because so much of the media has chosen to believe the kind and empathetic people are a fiction - they are real and so often unrepresented.
December 13, 2025 at 10:02 AM
Seems like the BBC is going all in on a self-abusive resolution to make 2025 their shittest year ever. WTF is going on over there? Are they alight? Its like seeing a once beloved and often hilariously witty uncle turn into a stupidly boring and hateful racist after they have a stroke.
Are they saying that the high IQs of all the Einsteins and Newtons, the out-of-the-box-thinking "disruptor" people and all other nerds with autism spectrum diagnoses, are attributable to their moms taking Tylenol while pregnant? Should I buy shares in whatever company makes Tylenol? I'm so confused.
September 23, 2025 at 9:51 AM
Are they saying that the high IQs of all the Einsteins and Newtons, the out-of-the-box-thinking "disruptor" people and all other nerds with autism spectrum diagnoses, are attributable to their moms taking Tylenol while pregnant? Should I buy shares in whatever company makes Tylenol? I'm so confused.
I've occasionally travelled to the USA for the past ~20 years (maybe 15 times total if you include transits via US cities). On every trip, at every level of interaction with travel officials, I have felt unusually unwelcome. Is that an uncommon experience?
March 17, 2025 at 7:18 PM
I've occasionally travelled to the USA for the past ~20 years (maybe 15 times total if you include transits via US cities). On every trip, at every level of interaction with travel officials, I have felt unusually unwelcome. Is that an uncommon experience?
OK so the ASM is admitting (1) to being worried about losing money provided by the US federal gvt (their perceived overlords) if they do the right thing, and (2) that they also don't want the bother of dealing with the hypothetical legal consequences of doing the right thing? So bad.
February 3, 2025 at 11:56 PM
OK so the ASM is admitting (1) to being worried about losing money provided by the US federal gvt (their perceived overlords) if they do the right thing, and (2) that they also don't want the bother of dealing with the hypothetical legal consequences of doing the right thing? So bad.
Reposted by Darren Martin
How about no.
We ain't scrubbing nothing.
We ain't scrubbing nothing.
February 2, 2025 at 1:15 AM
How about no.
We ain't scrubbing nothing.
We ain't scrubbing nothing.
Condolences to all impacted by this. Research scientists everywhere should reflect on how fragile this funding stream has always been, adapt our future research strategies to account for that reality, and wean ourselves off of our dependency on the NIH and other similarly fickle agencies/systems...
Today the Trump admin abruptly and indefinitely terminated many of the activities of the National Institutes of Health, the $50B/year collection of agencies that power the US biotech and health ecosystems. Even if these orders were lifted tomorrow, the disruption would be enormous.
Why care? 🧵
Why care? 🧵
Why should the public care about the freeze on the NIH? Aside from the need for scientific pursuits to make our society better…
-For every dollar we invest in NIH research, there is a $2.5 return.
-Research dollars help fund universities that employ non-academics. (1/)
-For every dollar we invest in NIH research, there is a $2.5 return.
-Research dollars help fund universities that employ non-academics. (1/)
January 23, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Condolences to all impacted by this. Research scientists everywhere should reflect on how fragile this funding stream has always been, adapt our future research strategies to account for that reality, and wean ourselves off of our dependency on the NIH and other similarly fickle agencies/systems...
Fantastic thread where Ryan explores the potential selective advantages of some not-so-silent synonymous substitutions that have convergently appeared in multiple different SARS-CoV-2 lineages. Includes cool ideas on how some of these mutations might contribute to immune evasion.
In SARS-2 evolution, amino acid (AA) mutations get the lion’s share of attention—& rightfully so, as noncoding & synonymous nucleotide muts—which cause no AA change‚ are mostly inconsequential. But there are many exceptions, including a possible new one I find intriguing. 1/32
December 6, 2024 at 1:49 PM
Fantastic thread where Ryan explores the potential selective advantages of some not-so-silent synonymous substitutions that have convergently appeared in multiple different SARS-CoV-2 lineages. Includes cool ideas on how some of these mutations might contribute to immune evasion.