Laura White
@laurakwhite.bsky.social
Colorado RNA biologist & tRNA enthusiast exploring the wild frontiers of nanopore direct RNA sequencing at the intrepid venn diagram of northern blots & machine learning.
Pinned
Laura White
@laurakwhite.bsky.social
· Aug 22
Nanopore sequencing of intact aminoacylated tRNAs - Nature Communications
Accurate protein synthesis depends on aminoacylated tRNAs, but their identities have been hard to measure. Here, authors present aa-tRNA-seq, a nanopore-based method that reveals the amino acid, seque...
doi.org
Our paper is out in its final form! Back in April 2023, my coauthor Aleks Radakovic, then a PhD student, approached me after a talk in Chicago to ask what I thought an aminoacylated tRNA would look like if we pulled it through a @nanopore.
doi.org/10.1038/s414...
doi.org/10.1038/s414...
Reposted by Laura White
I have posted about this before, but...
Researchers at Pitt School of Public Health (with NIH funding) developed Project Tycho where they digitized reportable disease data from across the country going back to ~1900.
graphics.wsj.com/infectious-d...
1/6
Researchers at Pitt School of Public Health (with NIH funding) developed Project Tycho where they digitized reportable disease data from across the country going back to ~1900.
graphics.wsj.com/infectious-d...
1/6
Battling Infectious Diseases in the 20th Century: The Impact of Vaccines
The number of infected people, measured over 70-some years and across all 50 states and the District of Columbia, generally declined after vaccines were introduced.
graphics.wsj.com
November 22, 2025 at 2:22 PM
I have posted about this before, but...
Researchers at Pitt School of Public Health (with NIH funding) developed Project Tycho where they digitized reportable disease data from across the country going back to ~1900.
graphics.wsj.com/infectious-d...
1/6
Researchers at Pitt School of Public Health (with NIH funding) developed Project Tycho where they digitized reportable disease data from across the country going back to ~1900.
graphics.wsj.com/infectious-d...
1/6
Reposted by Laura White
🚀New preprint from our lab!
I am very excited to finally share what has been the main focus of my PhD for the past almost 3 years! It is about viral dark matter and a powerful tool we built to shed light on it. 🧬💡
Continue reading (🧵)
I am very excited to finally share what has been the main focus of my PhD for the past almost 3 years! It is about viral dark matter and a powerful tool we built to shed light on it. 🧬💡
Continue reading (🧵)
November 20, 2025 at 6:52 PM
🚀New preprint from our lab!
I am very excited to finally share what has been the main focus of my PhD for the past almost 3 years! It is about viral dark matter and a powerful tool we built to shed light on it. 🧬💡
Continue reading (🧵)
I am very excited to finally share what has been the main focus of my PhD for the past almost 3 years! It is about viral dark matter and a powerful tool we built to shed light on it. 🧬💡
Continue reading (🧵)
Reposted by Laura White
Hello, do you have a moment to hear the good word about Huītzilōpōchtli?
Earlier today, I was notified that someone was at my door.
This is who it was:
This is who it was:
November 21, 2025 at 1:12 AM
Hello, do you have a moment to hear the good word about Huītzilōpōchtli?
Reposted by Laura White
Stop the nonsense: Prime editing generation of suppressor tRNA that overcome harmful effects of ‘nonsense’ gene variants — a possible remedy for a range of diseases @nature.com @harvard.edu @broadinstitute.org @stevenerwood.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
November 19, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Stop the nonsense: Prime editing generation of suppressor tRNA that overcome harmful effects of ‘nonsense’ gene variants — a possible remedy for a range of diseases @nature.com @harvard.edu @broadinstitute.org @stevenerwood.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Laura White
Reposted by Laura White
Latest #CDlab paper on nanopore protein sequencing on @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social: www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...
Here, Justas Ritmejeris, @xiuqichen.bsky.social, collaborator @albadalab.bsky.social and me developed a conjugation chemistry strategy for nanopore sequencing of natural peptides!
Here, Justas Ritmejeris, @xiuqichen.bsky.social, collaborator @albadalab.bsky.social and me developed a conjugation chemistry strategy for nanopore sequencing of natural peptides!
November 13, 2025 at 7:16 PM
Latest #CDlab paper on nanopore protein sequencing on @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social: www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...
Here, Justas Ritmejeris, @xiuqichen.bsky.social, collaborator @albadalab.bsky.social and me developed a conjugation chemistry strategy for nanopore sequencing of natural peptides!
Here, Justas Ritmejeris, @xiuqichen.bsky.social, collaborator @albadalab.bsky.social and me developed a conjugation chemistry strategy for nanopore sequencing of natural peptides!
Reposted by Laura White
To be effective, data science agents need to be able to read plots reliably. @sara-altman.bsky.social and I wrote about some concerning findings on LLMs' ability to interpret plots when the content contradicts their expectations on the @posit.co blog.
posit.co/blog/introdu...
posit.co/blog/introdu...
When plotting, LLMs see what they expect to see - Posit
Data science agents need to accurately read plots even when the content contradicts their expectations. Our testing shows today's LLMs still struggle here.
posit.co
November 13, 2025 at 3:07 PM
To be effective, data science agents need to be able to read plots reliably. @sara-altman.bsky.social and I wrote about some concerning findings on LLMs' ability to interpret plots when the content contradicts their expectations on the @posit.co blog.
posit.co/blog/introdu...
posit.co/blog/introdu...
Aurora from Rocky Mountain Arsenal tonight.
November 12, 2025 at 3:37 AM
Aurora from Rocky Mountain Arsenal tonight.
Reposted by Laura White
We have wondered what a complex archaeal cell might look like ever since 2014. It’s been a long road (and the journey is far from over), but it’s a good time to pause for breath and look. These Asgard archaeal cells are a surprise! And that is the joy of being a cell biologist.
November 7, 2025 at 11:02 AM
We have wondered what a complex archaeal cell might look like ever since 2014. It’s been a long road (and the journey is far from over), but it’s a good time to pause for breath and look. These Asgard archaeal cells are a surprise! And that is the joy of being a cell biologist.
Reposted by Laura White
Rare Earth will be back on air soon & in preparation for a programme on Darwin, Wallace & evolution, I found this ace example of evolutionary adaptation. The plant C. argenteum makes seeds that look & smell like dung, so dung beetles roll them away, bury them, then lose interest. Free seed planting!
November 5, 2025 at 8:45 PM
Rare Earth will be back on air soon & in preparation for a programme on Darwin, Wallace & evolution, I found this ace example of evolutionary adaptation. The plant C. argenteum makes seeds that look & smell like dung, so dung beetles roll them away, bury them, then lose interest. Free seed planting!
Reposted by Laura White
We live in a tumultuous world. But I take solace in the fact that the 2010 University of Alaska Fairbanks hockey intro video remains the most unhinged thing I’ve ever seen.
November 1, 2025 at 3:45 PM
We live in a tumultuous world. But I take solace in the fact that the 2010 University of Alaska Fairbanks hockey intro video remains the most unhinged thing I’ve ever seen.
Reposted by Laura White
Scott Campbell (character designer for Psychonauts) does this ongoing series called Great Showdowns and puts 'em up for sale. He posted this Happy Death Day one today.
I have a ton waiting for frames.
I have a ton waiting for frames.
October 29, 2025 at 12:39 AM
Scott Campbell (character designer for Psychonauts) does this ongoing series called Great Showdowns and puts 'em up for sale. He posted this Happy Death Day one today.
I have a ton waiting for frames.
I have a ton waiting for frames.
Reposted by Laura White
How to become a "hot RNA" 🌡️? The answers were kindly provided by hyperthermophilic archaea: rRNA modifications are key! Check out this new publication presenting pan-modification profiling of the epitranscriptome. www.cell.com/cell/fulltex.... (1/3)
Pan-modification profiling facilitates a cross-evolutionary dissection of the thermoregulated ribosomal epitranscriptome
Pan-Mod-seq enables systematic, multi-modification mapping of rRNA across life. Applying
it to diverse organisms reveals that hyperthermophiles dynamically install stabilizing
modifications to support...
www.cell.com
October 27, 2025 at 1:19 PM
How to become a "hot RNA" 🌡️? The answers were kindly provided by hyperthermophilic archaea: rRNA modifications are key! Check out this new publication presenting pan-modification profiling of the epitranscriptome. www.cell.com/cell/fulltex.... (1/3)
Just sent @foodbankrockies.bsky.social the same amount we’d spend on a really nice dinner out to help with the coming SNAP cliff.
October 27, 2025 at 3:01 AM
Just sent @foodbankrockies.bsky.social the same amount we’d spend on a really nice dinner out to help with the coming SNAP cliff.
Reposted by Laura White
If you've been wondering how to tell ring-tailed lemurs apart, Duke Lemur Center has a very wonderful graph mapping individual variations based on ear angle and pointiness
Pointiness range is Round to Elf
Angle range is Cat (straight up) to Airplane (side-to-side)
lemur.duke.edu/catta-ears/ 🧪
Pointiness range is Round to Elf
Angle range is Cat (straight up) to Airplane (side-to-side)
lemur.duke.edu/catta-ears/ 🧪
October 26, 2025 at 7:21 PM
If you've been wondering how to tell ring-tailed lemurs apart, Duke Lemur Center has a very wonderful graph mapping individual variations based on ear angle and pointiness
Pointiness range is Round to Elf
Angle range is Cat (straight up) to Airplane (side-to-side)
lemur.duke.edu/catta-ears/ 🧪
Pointiness range is Round to Elf
Angle range is Cat (straight up) to Airplane (side-to-side)
lemur.duke.edu/catta-ears/ 🧪
Reposted by Laura White
A university that signs the “compact” is one that acknowledges its own inability to compete and succeed based talent and merit. It would signal insecurity and mediocrity to current and future students and faculty. Say no. Recruit the best people, protect their freedom and support their hard work.
October 18, 2025 at 12:05 AM
A university that signs the “compact” is one that acknowledges its own inability to compete and succeed based talent and merit. It would signal insecurity and mediocrity to current and future students and faculty. Say no. Recruit the best people, protect their freedom and support their hard work.
Reposted by Laura White
We have a bunch of new job ads out @arcadiascience.com. If you haven’t checked them out, take a look!
www.arcadiascience.com/careers
www.arcadiascience.com/careers
Careers | Arcadia Science
Evolve with Arcadia.
www.arcadiascience.com
October 16, 2025 at 2:45 AM
We have a bunch of new job ads out @arcadiascience.com. If you haven’t checked them out, take a look!
www.arcadiascience.com/careers
www.arcadiascience.com/careers
this is both clever and I object
Kicking us off is @maccoss.bsky.social , melting my mind at 8am with this observation that LC-MS is really a lossless single molecule compression method at its core.
October 16, 2025 at 3:42 PM
this is both clever and I object
Reposted by Laura White
tRNA-modification mutants in mycobacteria boost antibiotic recalcitrance by activating WhiB7 & coupling alanine metabolism to ribosome rescue and survival, new study reveals.
✍️ @jvaubourgeix.bsky.social & coll.
📖 shorturl.at/86JTs
#MicroSky #AMR #RNAsky
@imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social @inserm.fr
✍️ @jvaubourgeix.bsky.social & coll.
📖 shorturl.at/86JTs
#MicroSky #AMR #RNAsky
@imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social @inserm.fr
October 13, 2025 at 3:29 AM
tRNA-modification mutants in mycobacteria boost antibiotic recalcitrance by activating WhiB7 & coupling alanine metabolism to ribosome rescue and survival, new study reveals.
✍️ @jvaubourgeix.bsky.social & coll.
📖 shorturl.at/86JTs
#MicroSky #AMR #RNAsky
@imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social @inserm.fr
✍️ @jvaubourgeix.bsky.social & coll.
📖 shorturl.at/86JTs
#MicroSky #AMR #RNAsky
@imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social @inserm.fr
Reposted by Laura White
Reposted by Laura White
Cute little ET discovered 10,000 feet down off the coast of California.
(Remember “terrestrial” has two opposites, one of which is “marine”.)
Meet the bumpy snailfish!
🧪
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/08/s...
(Remember “terrestrial” has two opposites, one of which is “marine”.)
Meet the bumpy snailfish!
🧪
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/08/s...
September 13, 2025 at 5:46 PM
Cute little ET discovered 10,000 feet down off the coast of California.
(Remember “terrestrial” has two opposites, one of which is “marine”.)
Meet the bumpy snailfish!
🧪
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/08/s...
(Remember “terrestrial” has two opposites, one of which is “marine”.)
Meet the bumpy snailfish!
🧪
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/08/s...
Reposted by Laura White
Over the weekend ICE abducted an NIH contractor when he showed up to a courthouse for his green card hearing. He is documented. His wife is a citizen.
He is also member of the skeleton crew of animal care staff that works through a shutdown, to ensure the health and wellbeing of research animals.
He is also member of the skeleton crew of animal care staff that works through a shutdown, to ensure the health and wellbeing of research animals.
October 7, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Over the weekend ICE abducted an NIH contractor when he showed up to a courthouse for his green card hearing. He is documented. His wife is a citizen.
He is also member of the skeleton crew of animal care staff that works through a shutdown, to ensure the health and wellbeing of research animals.
He is also member of the skeleton crew of animal care staff that works through a shutdown, to ensure the health and wellbeing of research animals.
Quoncierge updates: v0.2 adds an alternative, even more opinionated setup with organization and auto-routing of notebook outputs, intended for users who do lots of interactive exploratory data analysis. Sometimes the notebooks ARE the work, so let's make them reproducible. github.com/lkwhite/Quon...
GitHub - lkwhite/Quoncierge: Automate initializing reproducible Quarto + Jupyter + GitHub projects
Automate initializing reproducible Quarto + Jupyter + GitHub projects - lkwhite/Quoncierge
github.com
October 7, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Quoncierge updates: v0.2 adds an alternative, even more opinionated setup with organization and auto-routing of notebook outputs, intended for users who do lots of interactive exploratory data analysis. Sometimes the notebooks ARE the work, so let's make them reproducible. github.com/lkwhite/Quon...
Reposted by Laura White
And look at this graphic abstract….. 😱🤯
October 5, 2025 at 2:00 AM
And look at this graphic abstract….. 😱🤯
Reposted by Laura White
☕Pan, David, Chevrier & co show that the microbial #metabolites queuine and preQ1 modify the same host tRNA. PreQ1-tRNA reduces cell proliferation, slows #tumor growth, decreases the translation of ribosomal proteins and is cleaved by IRE1 on the ER #ribosome.
👉https://rdcu.be/eJqFc
bit.ly/46BPXtJ
👉https://rdcu.be/eJqFc
bit.ly/46BPXtJ
Two microbiome metabolites compete for tRNA modification to impact mammalian cell proliferation and translation quality control - Nature Cell Biology
Zhang, Lahry, Cipurko et al. show that the microbial metabolites queuine and preQ1 modify the same host tRNA. PreQ1-tRNA reduces cell proliferation, slows tumour growth, decreases the translation of ribosomal proteins and is cleaved by IRE1 on the ER ribosome.
bit.ly
October 4, 2025 at 2:21 PM
☕Pan, David, Chevrier & co show that the microbial #metabolites queuine and preQ1 modify the same host tRNA. PreQ1-tRNA reduces cell proliferation, slows #tumor growth, decreases the translation of ribosomal proteins and is cleaved by IRE1 on the ER #ribosome.
👉https://rdcu.be/eJqFc
bit.ly/46BPXtJ
👉https://rdcu.be/eJqFc
bit.ly/46BPXtJ