Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

alanhschulman.bsky.social @alanhschulman.bsky.social · 8d

Happy International Coffee Day. Here is a new EFSA study, but don't lose sleep over it.

European Food Safety Authority @efsa.europa.eu · 8d

☕ Happy #InternationalCoffeeDay

Coffee is loved worldwide — and caffeine, its key ingredient, boosts alertness in moderate amounts. But how much is safe? What are the risks?

Find out in our risk assessment: link.europa.eu/HMCRtV

#Caffeine #RiskAssessment #EFSA

A cup of coffee on a saucer with coffee beans scattered around it. The text “International Coffee Day” appears below the cup.

Bryophytes hold a larger gene family space than vascular plants - Nature Genetics

alanhschulman.bsky.social @alanhschulman.bsky.social · 13d

Who would have guessed? Why it's worth exploring the various branches of the tree of life.

Stefan A. Rensing @rensingstefan.bsky.social · 14d

Here's 123 new bryophyte genomes for you!
Apparently, bryophytes time and again include microbial genes in their genomic repertoire, and occupy a langer gene space than vascular plants.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

A super-pangenome analysis incorporating 123 newly sequenced bryophyte genomes reveals that bryophytes exhibit a larger number of unique and lineage-specific gene families than vascular plants.

Meet the 2025 Ig Nobel Prize winners

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Etienne Bucher 🌾🧬🇪🇺 @plantepigenetics.ch · 13d

How about we call genome edited crops "barely mutant"?

Seems to be a nice workshop below btw!

International Barley Hub @intbarleyhub.bsky.social · 13d

Registration to the 4th International Barley Mutant 🧬Workshop #IBMW26 has opened. More info ibmw26.wordpress.com

iBMW2026

ibmw26.wordpress.com

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alanhschulman.bsky.social @alanhschulman.bsky.social · 19d

The perfect cacio e pepe, how to stop shoe odor, and zebra-stiped cows! arstechnica.com/science/2025...

The annual award ceremony features miniature operas, scientific demos, and the 24/7 lectures.

arstechnica.com

Giraffes are four distinct species, major report confirms

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Journal of Experimental Botany @jxbotany.bsky.social · 22d

🫛 SPECIAL ISSUE REVIEW 🫛

Johansson et al. ✍️

Redox-active molecules such as ROS, RNS, and RSS orchestrate legume responses to diverse (a)biotic stresses and symbioses, offering novel strategies to enhance crop resilience in changing environments.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...

#PlantScience 🧪

Fig. 1 (shortened, full legend in paper): Integration of environmental changes through dynamic RONSS interactions and redox state in legumes. Abiotic (e.g. heat, salinity, metal toxicity, and nutrient deficiency) and biotic (e.g. pathogens and symbionts) cues induce diverse reactive oxygen (superoxide anion, O2·−); hydrogen peroxide, H2O2) nitrogen (nitric oxide, NO), and sulfur (hydrogen sulfide, H2S) species (RONSS) which combine with those produced during cell function (respiration and photosynthesis). In response to these multiple stimuli, the level of RONSS signalling is strictly controlled by numerous enzymatic and non-enzymatic systems affecting synthesis (such as RBOH/SOD, NRs, and DES) and scavenging (APX, GPX, PhytoGb, and SQR).

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alanhschulman.bsky.social @alanhschulman.bsky.social · Sep 1

Heads up on this one.

Science Magazine @science.org · Aug 31

Giraffes, long considered a single species, are in fact four. https://scim.ag/4n2po6f

The revised classification will help ensure different giraffe populations are adequately protected, conservationists say

scim.ag

alanhschulman.bsky.social @alanhschulman.bsky.social · Sep 1

Nice to see a genome assembly emerge for this barley wild relative. Hopefully, we'll learn how to improve barley's drought tolerance while maintaining yield.

plantgenomics.bsky.social @plantgenomics.bsky.social · Sep 1

A chromosome-scale genome assembly of Hordeum erectifolium: genomic, transcriptomic and anatomical adaptations to drought in a wild barley relative
doi.org/10.1101/2025...

A chromosome-scale genome assembly of Hordeum erectifolium: genomic, transcriptomic and anatomical adaptations to drought in a wild barley relative

Wild crop relatives are valuable genetic resources for improving stress adaptation in cultivated species, but their effective use depends on high-quality reference genomes integrated with phenotypic a...

Crisis within CDC is spilling into real world, experts say

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STAT @statnews.com · Aug 29

"I’ve never heard as many colleagues saying things like 'CDC is dead’ as I have today," an agency employee told STAT.
www.statnews.com/2025/08/28/c...

"I’ve never heard as many colleagues saying things like 'CDC is dead’ as I have today," an agency employee told STAT.

www.statnews.com

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Dennis Goris @dennisgoris.bsky.social · Aug 28

I miss the old brand #CDC

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Theoretical and Applied Genetics @theorapplgenet.bsky.social · Aug 26

Pangenome reveals structural variant-driven variation in expression of in winter oilseed rape. Framework enables population-scale SV-eQTL discovery beyond traditional SNP-based approaches - major advance for functional genomics.

Read more here:

Graphical pangenomics-enabled characterization of structural variant impact on gene expression in Brassica napus

rdcu.be

Are NZ shoppers hungry for genetically-modified foods?

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Marc Somssich @somssich.bsky.social · Aug 26

New Zealand had some of the most restrictive laws when it came to genetically engineered food crops. This move once again demonstrates how the NZ Government makes Science-based decisions.

Take note, European Union!

#PlantGMOs #PlantNGTs #PlantScience #Agroculture #Sustainability #PlantBreeding

KWS Group @kwsgroup.bsky.social · Aug 26

NZ joins other Third Countries in updating GM labeling rules: foods made with #GenomeEditing but without new DNA will no longer require a GM label. Only products with added DNA/proteins will.
▶️ A shift toward science-based, risk-proportionate regulation!

www.nzherald.co.nz/the-country/...

Gene-edited food won’t need a GM label if no new DNA was introduced during its production.

www.nzherald.co.nz

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alanhschulman.bsky.social @alanhschulman.bsky.social · Aug 18

Really interesting to see this systematic and broad study on an important leaf trait.

ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success @coeplantsuccess.bsky.social · Aug 17

📢 New publication 'A thinner jacket for frosty and windy climates? Global patterns in #leaf #cuticle thickness and its environmental associations' by Xin'e Liet al. in @newphyt.bsky.social 🍃🧪

doi.org/10.1111/nph....

A thinner jacket for frosty and windy climates? Global patterns in leaf cuticle thickness and its environmental associations

Plant cuticles protect the interior tissues from ambient hazards, including desiccation, UV light, physical wear, herbivores and pathogens. Consequently, cuticle properties are shaped by evolutionar...

alanhschulman.bsky.social @alanhschulman.bsky.social · Aug 14

The campaign against science by the Trump administration through grant slashing has reached FlyBase. There is an effort to crowd-fund this vital database:

Mark A. Hanson @hansonmark.bsky.social · Aug 14

A reminder you/your lab can support FlyBase at Cambridge through the following link. Every bit helps. Please share if you yourself can't donate.

www.philanthropy.cam.ac.uk/give-to-camb...

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alanhschulman.bsky.social @alanhschulman.bsky.social · Aug 4

It will depend on whether declarations are handled at the national level, what the thresholds are for EU-wide review, what the requirements are for sustainability evidence, and what the labeling and traceability rules are. There is still a lot of negotiation going on.

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alanhschulman.bsky.social @alanhschulman.bsky.social · Aug 4

Happy to announce our current scan of the risk environment for NGT (gene editing) in animals, just published today.
doi.org/10.2903/j.ef...

alanhschulman.bsky.social @alanhschulman.bsky.social · Jul 8

Interesting aspect to ABA: the role of poly-ubiquitination and mono-ubiquitination to post-transcriptionally regulate ABA receptors

Journal of Experimental Botany @jxbotany.bsky.social · Jul 8

🔍 VIEWPOINT 🔍

🌱 Precision tuning of ABA signaling by ubiquitination of ABA receptors: modulating protein activity and localization - Du & Zhang

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...

#PlantScience 🧪

Fig. 1.Distinct ubiquitination patterns determine the protein fates of ABA receptors ER, endoplasmic reticulum; RSL1, Ring Finger of Seed Longevity 1; CUL4, CULLIN4; CDDD, COP10-DDB1-DET1-DDA1; FREE1, Fyve Domain Protein Required For Endosomal Sorting1;VPS23, Vacuolar Protein Sorting23A; ALIX, ALG-2 INTERACTING PROTEIN-X; MVB, multivesicular bodies.

DNA virus infections shape transposable elements activity in vitro and in vivo

alanhschulman.bsky.social @alanhschulman.bsky.social · Jul 6

NJ is famous for tomatoes

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Eric Topol @erictopol.bsky.social · Jul 6

Summary Table of the massive defunding of biomedical research in the United States
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

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plantgenomics.bsky.social @plantgenomics.bsky.social · Jul 1

DNA virus infections shape transposable elements activity in vitro and in vivo
doi.org/10.1101/2024...

Transposable elements (TEs) are implicated in a variety of processes including placental and preimplantation development and a variety of human diseases. TEs are known to be activated in the context o...

Proposed EU NGT legislation in light of plant genetic variation

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alanhschulman.bsky.social @alanhschulman.bsky.social · Jun 30

Hot off the press: our analysis of the proposed EU limits to NGT1 category of genome editing in light of recent data on genomic diversity.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

The European Commission (EC) proposal for New Genomic Techniques (NGTs) of July 2023 specifies that Category 1 NGT (NGT1) plants, which are considered equivalent to conventional plants, that is those...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

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Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · May 3

This bizarre rejection of health science is not incidental: MAGA represents a raging revolt against the very foundations of modern society which are roundly rejected as illegitimate impositions and a personal affront to the prerogative of the MAGA patriarch to decide what is true and what is real.

Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · May 3

Cabinet officials in charge of two of America's biggest departments - including one dealing with health - don't believe germs are real.

Fox News host Pete Hegseth has said on air that he has not washed his hands for 10 years because "germs are not a real thing".

Speaking on Fox and Friends, Hegseth said the infectious micro-organisms did not exist because they could not be seen with the naked eye.

"I inoculate myself," added the Harvard and Princeton graduate.

RFK Jr. rejects cornerstone of health science: Germ theory
In his 2021 book vilifying Anthony Fauci, RFK Jr. lays out support for an alternate theory.

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alanhschulman.bsky.social @alanhschulman.bsky.social · Apr 8

Even given possible response bias, this is pretty shockingly high.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

75% of US scientists who answered Nature poll consider leaving

More than 1,600 readers answered our poll; many said they were looking for jobs in Europe and Canada.

How Trump 2.0 is reshaping science

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Alexandra Witze @alexwitze.bsky.social · Apr 7

Nature reporters' ongoing coverage of Trump 2.0 impacts on science and scientists is collected here: www.nature.com/collections/...

Reach me at alexwitze.01 on Signal, or witzescience[at]gmail.com, with tips, feedback, follow-ups, anything we should be covering, etc.

Since US President Donald Trump took office in January 2025, his team has made major changes to the federal government that have disrupted research and ...