andrewwood.bsky.social
Andrew Wood
@andrewwood.bsky.social
110 followers 150 following 13 posts
Research Group Leader at the University of Edinburgh. Using genome editing and targeted protein degradation to study mechanisms underlying human disease and therapy.
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andrewwood.bsky.social
Andrew Wood @andrewwood.bsky.social · 5d
With storm Amy approaching, it’s an ideal time to get your SLiPERs on!
cellysally.bsky.social
Sally Lowell @cellysally.bsky.social · 8d
Hot off the press!

Cell-type-specific functionality encoded within the intrinsically disordered regions of OCT4

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Cell-type-specific functionality encoded within the intrinsically disordered regions of OCT4 - Nature Communications
Here they perform a systematic dissection of OCT4 and reveal how intrinsically disordered regions can be used to serve specific functions during reprogramming and embryonic development. This can be exploited to engineer more efficient and specific reprogramming factors.
www.nature.com
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Reposted by Andrew Wood
mrcmousenetwork.bsky.social
MRC National Mouse Genetics Network @mrcmousenetwork.bsky.social · 22d
On 14th November, we are once again holding our Network Science Day in York, which is an exciting opportunity for Network members and non-members to engage and develop new collaborations!

The meeting is free to attend. Find out more and register by emailing us at [email protected].
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Reposted by Andrew Wood
triggerloop.bsky.social
Craig Kaplan @triggerloop.bsky.social · Sep 3
Look at this crazy thing!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
One mother for two species via obligate cross-species cloning in ants - Nature
In a case of obligate cross-species cloning, female ants of Messor ibericus need to clone males of Messor structor to obtain sperm for producing the worker caste, resulting in males from the same moth...
www.nature.com
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andrewwood.bsky.social
Andrew Wood @andrewwood.bsky.social · Aug 26
Nice write up on the @mrcmousenetwork.bsky.social
website, highlighting the awesome work of first author Gillian Taylor, is available here: nmgn.mrc.ukri.org/news/underst...
Understanding the Protein Tagging Problem: A New Study from the NMGN Degron Tagging Cluster | National Mouse Genetics Network
Celebrating Research Specialists: Driving Innovation in Mouse Genetics Research specialists are often the unsung heroes in biomedical research groups, providing continuity in long-term research progra...
nmgn.mrc.ukri.org
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andrewwood.bsky.social
Andrew Wood @andrewwood.bsky.social · Aug 26
Our manuscript characterising tissue-specific consequences of tagged protein fusions in CRISPR-engineered mice is now online @PLOSGenetics. journals.plos.org/plosgenetics.... Thanks again to all coauthors, reviewers and editors for a smooth publication process. Brief summary below.
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andrewwood.bsky.social
Andrew Wood @andrewwood.bsky.social · Jul 21
Has anyone else observed significant leaky (i.e. Tir1-dependent) degradation using the AID2 system? Genuinely curious to hear whether the hive mind views this as a problem.
andrewwood.bsky.social
Andrew Wood @andrewwood.bsky.social · Jul 21
Disclosure: I didn’t review the paper and don’t know who did, but we covered the preprint in a lab journal club last year and flagged several of the same points.
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andrewwood.bsky.social
Andrew Wood @andrewwood.bsky.social · Jul 21
New manuscript describing a modified auxin-inducible degron system ‘AID2.1’ just out in @NatComms. www.nature.com/articles/s41.... It's worth checking out the comments of Reviewer 1 in the peer review file for this one before jumping aboard...
Systematic comparison and base-editing-mediated directed protein evolution and functional screening yield superior auxin-inducible degron technology - Nature Communications
Traditional genetic perturbation tools such as siRNA and CRISPR knockout operate on timescales that render them unsuitable for exploring dynamic processes or studying essential genes, where chronic de...
www.nature.com
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Reposted by Andrew Wood
borglandlab.bsky.social
Stephanie Borgland @borglandlab.bsky.social · Jul 15
www.genengnews.com/topics/trans...
Why We Still Need Animal Research in a World of AI and Organoids
The portrayal of uncaring scientists without any thought for the animals being used in their research is far from the truth.
www.genengnews.com
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andrewwood.bsky.social
Andrew Wood @andrewwood.bsky.social · Jul 10
We really appreciated your contribution to this work, and for developing DEGRONOPEDIA which we use often 🙏
Reposted by Andrew Wood
bahome.bsky.social
Bruce Hamilton @bahome.bsky.social · Jun 23
Oliver Smithies was born 100 years ago today. Best known for gene targeting in mice, for which he shared the 2007 Nobel, he also developed starch gel electrophoresis in the 1950s. I met him once and remember him being very gracious and thoughtful.
#genetics #OTD

www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medic...
Oliver Smithies – Facts - NobelPrize.orgOpen the search menuClose the search menuOpen the search menuClose the search menuSubmit a search termBack To Top
www.nobelprize.org
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andrewwood.bsky.social
Andrew Wood @andrewwood.bsky.social · Jun 20
Banger! Thanks @cellysally.bsky.social
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andrewwood.bsky.social
Andrew Wood @andrewwood.bsky.social · Jun 19
@cilialab.bsky.social @wpokrzywa.bsky.social @lumirare.com @cribdealmeida.bsky.social
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andrewwood.bsky.social
Andrew Wood @andrewwood.bsky.social · Jun 19
We characterise two underlying mechanisms with opposing effects on protein stability and explain their tissue-specificity, providing a rational basis for improved experimental design. Congrats to 1st author Gillian Taylor and all who contributed. Feedback welcome!
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andrewwood.bsky.social
Andrew Wood @andrewwood.bsky.social · Jun 19
By surveying a series of CRISPR-engineered mice, we found that tags often change protein expression in some tissues but have little effect, or even opposite effects, in others. Why?
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andrewwood.bsky.social
Andrew Wood @andrewwood.bsky.social · Jun 19
Genetic tagging is a cornerstone of modern molecular biology, but it’s no secret that tag fusion often causes unwanted changes in protein expression and function. Understanding how this happens could help us to design more refined and effective models for preclinical research.
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andrewwood.bsky.social
Andrew Wood @andrewwood.bsky.social · Jun 19
Pleased to share our latest work and the first manuscript from the Degron Tagging Cluster in the MRC National Mouse Genetics Network. If you work with protein tags, particularly in tissue biology models, this should be of interest:

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org
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Reposted by Andrew Wood
jmarshlab.bsky.social
Joe Marsh @jmarshlab.bsky.social · Apr 15
New paper out in Genome Biology! 🎉
We lay out best-practice guidelines for releasing variant effect predictors, developed through the Atlas of Variant Effects Alliance @varianteffect.bsky.social

Open, interpretable, and clinically useful VEPs are the goal.

📄 doi.org/10.1186/s130...
Guidelines for releasing a variant effect predictor - Genome Biology
Computational methods for assessing the likely impacts of mutations, known as variant effect predictors (VEPs), are widely used in the assessment and interpretation of human genetic variation, as well...
doi.org
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Reposted by Andrew Wood
dereklowe.bsky.social
Derek Lowe @dereklowe.bsky.social · Mar 12
The first bifunctional protein degrader to deliver Phase III data! It seems to work, but people were definitely expecting more:
A Bifunctional Degrader Reads Out in Phase 3
www.science.org
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Reposted by Andrew Wood
craigmcrews.bsky.social
Craig M. Crews @craigmcrews.bsky.social · Feb 28
www.nature.com/articles/d41... #RIPTACs
Induced proximity pushes beyond protein degraders, as first RIPTAC moves into the clinic
Halda Therapeutics has started a clinical trial of its first-in-modality RIPTAC drug HLD-0915 in prostate cancer, to see if bifunctional drugs can provide tissue-specific activity.
www.nature.com
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Reposted by Andrew Wood
jamesbriscoe.bsky.social
James Briscoe @jamesbriscoe.bsky.social · Feb 5
ICYMI: Commentary on "mechanism" in dev bio

Ozpolat et al argue for diverse approaches to mechanism - from molecular to systems level

journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...
A case for broadening our view of mechanism in developmental biology
ABSTRACT. Developmental biologists can perform studies that describe a phenomenon (descriptive work) and/or explain how the phenomenon works (mechanistic work). There is a prevalent perception that mo...
journals.biologists.com
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Reposted by Andrew Wood
ritastrack.bsky.social
Rita Strack @ritastrack.bsky.social · Jan 23
Every once in a while we publish a paper that moves a whole field forward. I think that's the case for this one from the Bugaj lab, where they describe proteins for THERMOGENETIC control of cellular behavior. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A temperature-inducible protein module for control of mammalian cell fate - Nature Methods
The Melt (Membrane localization using temperature) protein translocates to the plasma membrane upon temperature shift. Melt variants with a range of switching temperatures enable straightforward therm...
www.nature.com
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Reposted by Andrew Wood
behnamnabet.bsky.social
Behnam Nabet @behnamnabet.bsky.social · Dec 27
🧪 Ready, set, degrade!

So proud to share our work in the @jclinical-invest.bsky.social, establishing a versatile approach for creating transgenic dTAG mice to degrade oncoproteins. We showcase that KRAS G12V degradation triggers antitumor immunity in lung cancer.

Link: www.jci.org/articles/vie...
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Reposted by Andrew Wood
andreaventura.bsky.social
AndreaVenturaLab @andreaventura.bsky.social · Dec 18
🧪1/ 🚨New paper on ecDNAs from our lab!
We reveal a strategy to engineer extrachromosomal DNA (ecDNA) amplifications in cells & mice. Let's dive in! Let’s dive in! 🧵👇
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Engineered extrachromosomal oncogene amplifications promote tumorigenesis - Nature
Large extrachromosomal DNAs are engineered using a CRISPR- and Cre–loxP-based approach and shown to drive cancer in mouse models, with potential applications in determining the role of oncogene a...
www.nature.com
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Reposted by Andrew Wood
scientificdiscovery.dev
Saloni @scientificdiscovery.dev · Dec 9
Americans are now one-third less likely to die from cancer at the same ages as Americans in 1990
How has the risk of dying from cancer changed in the United States? To understand this, we can look at national cancer death rates in the United States. The gray line shows the crude rate, which is the rate of deaths from cancer per 100,000 people. It has risen between 1950 and 1990 and has fallen slightly since then. However, cancer death rates rise sharply with age, and the age of the US population has increased since 1950, so we would expect cancer death rates to rise for that reason alone. What if we adjust for the increased age of the US population? The red line, the age-standardized rate, shows this. It shows the cancer death rate if the age structure of the US population was held constant throughout. This shows a slight rise until 1990 and then a significant decline; rates have fallen by one-third. This means Americans are now one-third less likely to die from cancer at the same ages as Americans in 1990. This comes from several factors: better screening and earlier diagnosis, medical advances in cancer treatments, and public health efforts to reduce risk factors like smoking and exposure to carcinogens.
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