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Arata Wakimoto @arataw.bsky.social · 1d

Beautiful full moon last night

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Arata Wakimoto @arataw.bsky.social · 2d

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!!🥮🎑🌕
I love mooncakes so much

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Reposted by Arata Wakimoto

Simon Fisher @profsimonfisher.bsky.social · 4d

Twenty-four years ago today, our paper “A forkhead-domain gene is mutated in a severe speech and language disorder” was published: www.nature.com/articles/350....
A personal thread about the ups & downs of the journey we took to get to that point....1/n
🗣️🧬🧪

Image shows the first two printed pages of the paper “A forkhead-domain gene is mutated in a severe speech and language disorder” by Cecilia Lai and colleagues, published in Nature in 2001 (volume 413, pages 519-523). The abstract reads as follows:
Individuals affected with developmental disorders of speech and language have substantial difficulty acquiring expressive and/or receptive language in the absence of any profound sensory or neurological impairment and despite adequate intelligence and opportunity. Although studies of twins consistently indicate that a significant genetic component is involved, most families segregating speech and language deficits show complex patterns of inheritance, and a gene that predisposes individuals to such disorders has not been identified. We have studied a unique three-generation pedigree, KE, in which a severe speech and language disorder is transmitted as an autosomal-dominant monogenic trait. Our previous work mapped the locus responsible, SPCH1, to a 5.6-cM interval of region 7q31 on chromosome 7. We also identified an unrelated individual, CS, in whom speech and language impairment is associated with a chromosomal translocation involving the SPCH1 interval. Here we show that the gene FOXP2, which encodes a putative transcription factor containing a polyglutamine tract and a forkhead DNA-binding domain, is directly disrupted by the translocation breakpoint in CS. In addition, we identify a point mutation in affected members of the KE family that alters an invariant amino-acid residue in the forkhead domain. Our findings suggest that FOXP2 is involved in the developmental process that culminates in speech and language.

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Reposted by Arata Wakimoto

Raquel Fueyo @fueyoraquel.bsky.social · 7d

Today in @nature.com, we present our work leveraging functional genomics and human blastoids to uncover a human-specific mechanism in preimplantation development driven by the endogenous retrovirus HERVK.
Special thanks to the reviewers whose comments improved our manuscript a lot! rdcu.be/eI3tD

A human-specific regulatory mechanism revealed in a pre-implantation model

Nature - Genetic manipulation of blastoids reveals the role of recently emerged transposable elements and genes in human development.

rdcu.be

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Arata Wakimoto @arataw.bsky.social · 6d

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Cool paper! Very happy to see my friend's name on it

A human-specific regulatory mechanism revealed in a pre-implantation model - Nature

Genetic manipulation of blastoids reveals the role of recently emerged transposable elements and genes in human development.

www.nature.com

Arata Wakimoto @arataw.bsky.social · 11d

📢📢An amazing work from my lab mates!🙌

Nobu Hamazaki @nobuhamazaki.bsky.social · 12d

New paper from my lab and @jshendure.bsky.social lab! Led by the brilliant @zukailiu.bsky.social and @cxqiu.bsky.social. We tackled how anterior and posterior progenitor cells cooperate to self-organize into an embryonic structure (termed AP-gastruloid). (1/n) www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

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Reposted by Arata Wakimoto

Nobu Hamazaki @nobuhamazaki.bsky.social · 12d

New paper from my lab and @jshendure.bsky.social lab! Led by the brilliant @zukailiu.bsky.social and @cxqiu.bsky.social. We tackled how anterior and posterior progenitor cells cooperate to self-organize into an embryonic structure (termed AP-gastruloid). (1/n) www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

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Arata Wakimoto @arataw.bsky.social · Sep 8

Thinking about interspecies differences is always fun. Glad to see this story from my previous lab is out!

Arata Wakimoto @arataw.bsky.social · Sep 8

Sadaki, S., Tsuji, R., Hayashi, T. et al. Large MAF transcription factors reawaken evolutionarily dormant fast-glycolytic type IIb myofibers in human skeletal muscle. Skeletal Muscle 15, 19 (2025). doi.org/10.1186/s133...

Large MAF transcription factors reawaken evolutionarily dormant fast-glycolytic type IIb myofibers in human skeletal muscle - Skeletal Muscle

Background Small mammals such as mice rely on type IIb myofibers, which express the fast-contracting myosin heavy chain isoform Myh4, to achieve rapid movements. In contrast, larger mammals, including...

doi.org

Arata Wakimoto @arataw.bsky.social · Sep 8

Sadaki, S., Tsuji, R., Hayashi, T. et al. Large MAF transcription factors reawaken evolutionarily dormant fast-glycolytic type IIb myofibers in human skeletal muscle. Skeletal Muscle 15, 19 (2025). doi.org/10.1186/s133...

Large MAF transcription factors reawaken evolutionarily dormant fast-glycolytic type IIb myofibers in human skeletal muscle - Skeletal Muscle

Background Small mammals such as mice rely on type IIb myofibers, which express the fast-contracting myosin heavy chain isoform Myh4, to achieve rapid movements. In contrast, larger mammals, including...

doi.org

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Arata Wakimoto @arataw.bsky.social · Aug 29

Are there any reagents/technique available to quench fluorescent proteins (like mCitrin)?

My cell line has a few fluorescent reporters so that they use up channels and I cant stain multiple targets.
Appearently they are still very bright after 4% PFA fixation.

Arata Wakimoto @arataw.bsky.social · Aug 20

This is cool. BCL2+MYCL overexpression seemed to support human cells' survival during E9.5-E12.5 and enhanced human-mouse chimerism. Still low chimerism, but I believe its an important milestone.

Also these human cells showed interesting tropism towards heart and vein?

Arata Wakimoto @arataw.bsky.social · Aug 20

The generation of viable, structurally integrated human-mouse chimaeras through enhanced hPSCs proliferation

bioRxiv 2025.06.24.661270; doi: doi.org/10.1101/2025...

The generation of viable, structurally integrated human-mouse chimaeras through enhanced hPSCs proliferation

The generation of human organs in animals through blastocyst complementation offers a promising solution to the shortage of transplantable organs. While human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) can contri...

doi.org

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Reposted by Arata Wakimoto

Society for Developmental Biology @socdevbio.bsky.social · Aug 18

🐟 Zebrafish (Danio rerio): Clear as glass, zebrafish embryos let you watch organs form in real time. A powerhouse for studying organogenesis and regeneration, they’re also champions of transgenic expression of fluorescent proteins 🌈 image from Gopi Shah 🧪 #ModelMonday #DevBio

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Arata Wakimoto @arataw.bsky.social · Aug 1

Gemini's Gcal integration is not reliable at all... It cant hook up schedules from multiple calendars

Arata Wakimoto @arataw.bsky.social · Jul 19

First time to see empty I-5

Arata Wakimoto @arataw.bsky.social · Jul 17

Comparative single-cell analyses reveal evolutionary repurposing of a conserved gene programme in bat wing development
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
"Bats are the only mammals capable of self-powered flight"
so cool

Comparative single-cell analyses reveal evolutionary repurposing of a conserved gene programme in bat wing development - Nature Ecology & Evolution

Single-cell comparison of developing bat and mouse limbs reveals conservation of cell populations and gene expression patterns, and suggests repurposing of genes involved in proximal limb development ...

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Arata Wakimoto

Axel Visel @axelvisel.bsky.social · Jul 16

No new genes needed to fly - just rewire what you have! 🦇🧬

Great new paper from the labs of @fany-real.bsky.social @stemundi.bsky.social @dariloops.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1038/s415...

#EvoDevo #SingleCell #BatWings

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Arata Wakimoto @arataw.bsky.social · Jul 7

Apparently if you write down 300 random numbers, researchers can identify you with 96.5% accuracy. Cool.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

A cognitive fingerprint in human random number generation - Scientific Reports

Scientific Reports - A cognitive fingerprint in human random number generation

www.nature.com

Arata Wakimoto @arataw.bsky.social · Jul 7

Most AI tools for research help me find more papers to read but... what I recently need is AI that helps me read fewer papers.

Drowning in literature, I need it to suggest to me which 8 of my current 50 papers I can safely skip.

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Arata Wakimoto @arataw.bsky.social · Jul 2

Grateful for Seattle's scientific community and my family for their incredible support👏

Arata Wakimoto @arataw.bsky.social · Jul 2

This week marks a year since I moved to Seattle! 🏔️ 🌊🏙️
Pivoting from mouse embryo work to a human embryo model, while moving to a new country, has been a real challenge. But I feel more equipped now - looking forward to what year two brings!

A pebble beach on Vashon Island with calm sea

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Arata Wakimoto @arataw.bsky.social · Jun 28

I've seen them working hard in labs while juggling part-time jobs just to survive.
I believe this restriction will hurt Japan's scientific future (even further).
Again, please don't let nationalism divide science.

Arata Wakimoto @arataw.bsky.social · Jun 28

I was in the very first cohort supported by SPRING. Growing up alongside international students made me someone who can work anywhere in the world.

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Arata Wakimoto @arataw.bsky.social · Jun 28

Japan's SPRING fellowship shouldn't exclude international PhD students. Diverse research teams create better learning opportunities. Please don't let nationalism divide science.

www.change.org/p/%E5%8D%9A%...

あなたの声がチカラになります

博士課程の学生を国籍で差別しないでください！ ― SPRING制度「日本人限定」見直し方針に反対します ―

www.change.org

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Arata Wakimoto @arataw.bsky.social · Jun 4

I know! but now it doesn't seem the case anymore😲

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