Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

STEM Tea | Disrupting racism and cisheteropatriarchy through research, pedagogy and mentorship in STEM education

3 5

BioTechniques @biotechniques.bsky.social · 6d

Being authentic and committed to equity in your professional life can be a form of powerful resistance >>> www.biotechniques.com/podcasts/ste... 🧪

🔊 Check out the latest STEM Tea podcast episode with @phdgprotein86.bsky.social and @luisleyvaedu.bsky.social

Luis A. Leyva discusses how his professional background and lived experience play a role in disrupting racism and cisheteropatriarchy in STEM.

Technique Tales | A nontraditional use of RRHO: finding what doesn’t overlap in omics comparisons

4 8

BioTechniques @biotechniques.bsky.social · 6d

Bioinformatics and omics researcher @melyssaminto.bsky.social discusses an alternative use of Rank-Rank Hypergeometric Overlap (RRHO) testing: how it can reveal what sets two conditions apart >>> www.biotechniques.com/computationa... 🧪

In this article, Melyssa Minto walks us through an alternative use of RRHO testing, which is typically used to identify shared features.

When it comes to cooperation, biology and AI share similarities

BioTechniques @biotechniques.bsky.social · 7d

Research identifies shared neural mechanisms behind cooperation in both biological brains and artificial intelligence systems >>> www.biotechniques.com/neuroscience... 🧪

Research identifies shared neural mechanisms behind cooperation in both biological brains and artificial intelligence systems.

STEM Tea | Strengthening HBCUs

2

BioTechniques @biotechniques.bsky.social · 8d

What role do HBCUs play in student success?

In the latest STEM Tea podcast episode, @phdgprotein86.bsky.social is joined by Haysetta Shuler, an I-O psychology consultant and HBCU supporter.

Learn more about creating effective mentorships >>> www.biotechniques.com/podcasts/ste... 🧪

In this episode, Haysetta Shuler shares strategies for mentoring, maximizing opportunities, and the vital role of HBCUs in student success.

Taming cancer drugs with a molecular switch

BioTechniques @biotechniques.bsky.social · 9d

Researchers have introduced a new way to potentially control when drugs are active or inactive in the body >>> www.biotechniques.com/drug-discove... 🧪

Researchers have introduced a molecular switch that could control when drugs are active or inactive in the body.

The 2025 Ig Nobel Prizes: under the microscope

4 5

BioTechniques @biotechniques.bsky.social · 9d

Nobel Prizes, wait your turn! This is our roundup of the 2025 Ig Nobel Prizes 🏆 www.biotechniques.com/lab-design-m... 🧪

We review the winners of the 2025 Ig Nobel Prizes, from Zebra striped cows to pumping up narcissists, we've got it all!

New antibiotic boosts our fight against multidrug-resistant bacteria

BioTechniques @biotechniques.bsky.social · 9d

Learn how synthetically redesigning a molecule produced by soil bacteria could combat AMR >>> www.biotechniques.com/drug-discove... 🧪

A new class of antibiotics has demonstrated ‘fast-acting’ activity against two of the WHO’s priority pathogens, MRSA and E. faecium.

The transplantation method cultivating healthy seagrass meadows

1 5

BioTechniques @biotechniques.bsky.social · 13d

The transplantation method used to restore seagrass meadows has a direct influence on plant survival >>> www.biotechniques.com/plant-climat... 🧪

Researchers investigate how different transplantation methods affect the healthy cultivation of seagrass meadows.

To move or to stabilize? The neural circuitry underlying proprioception

BioTechniques @biotechniques.bsky.social · 14d

Researchers have identified a nervous system circuit in fruit flies that toggles between supporting stabilizing body posture reflexes and dynamic voluntary action like walking >>> www.biotechniques.com/neuroscience... 🧪

Researchers have illuminated the neural circuitry underlying fly proprioception, indicating the toggle between stabilization and voluntary movement.

STEM Tea | Working together for better science and better opportunities

2 6

BioTechniques @biotechniques.bsky.social · 14d

In this STEM Tea episode with @phdgprotein86.bsky.social and Corey Reynolds, learn about the crucial need for more Black scientists in every stage of the scientific process, from student labs to clinical trials >>> www.biotechniques.com/podcasts/ste... 🧪

In this episode of STEM Tea, Corey Reynolds discusses his journey from academia to industry and how he'd like to see Black science grow.

The evolutionary patterns of a major malaria-transmitting mosquito species

BioTechniques @biotechniques.bsky.social · 14d

An international collaboration led by researchers at the Wellcome Sanger Institute has conducted a genomic investigation into a major malaria vector, Anopheles funestus, to inform further work towards malaria elimination in sub-Saharan Africa >>> www.biotechniques.com/microbiology... 🧪

Researchers have conducted a genomic investigation into a major malaria vector, Anopheles funestus, to inform further work towards malaria elimination in sub-Saharan Africa.

Traveling at the speed of protons

1 6

BioTechniques @biotechniques.bsky.social · 17d

For the first time, scientists have measured the speed of a proton ‘hopping’ through charged water molecules. This benchmark study could improve chemical simulations in fields from energy storage to rocket science >>> www.biotechniques.com/molecular-bi... 🧪

Researchers have for the first time measured the speed of proton transfer through charged water, a fundamental chemical process.

The making of a memory T cell

2 6

BioTechniques @biotechniques.bsky.social · 20d

Researchers have discovered the pre-wired ability in ‘resting’ T cells to remember past viral foes, which is a promising breakthrough for targeted cancer therapies >>> www.biotechniques.com/immunology/t... 🧪

Researchers have determined that some T cells are pre-wired to become memory T cells.

STEM Tea | Impact and sustainability in mentorship

2 2

BioTechniques @biotechniques.bsky.social · 20d

What does it mean to ‘lift while you climb’? 🧗🏾‍♀️

In the latest STEM Tea podcast with @phdgprotein86.bsky.social, Clintoria Williams, co-founder of Black in Physiology, shares her insights on impactful mentorship and leading with your 'why'.

Listen here >>> www.biotechniques.com/podcasts/ste... 🧪

In this episode, Clintoria Williams shares her journey in mentorship, discusses balancing life and work, and highlights the mission of Black in Physiology.

The neuroscience behind perceiving illusions

1 1

BioTechniques @biotechniques.bsky.social · 21d

Registration for @elrig.org’s Drug Discovery 2025 conference will close on 30 September; don’t miss out on the chance to attend this brilliant event!

Secure your place today (it’s free!) >>> elrig.org/portfolio/dr... 🧪

1 1

BioTechniques @biotechniques.bsky.social · 21d

Researchers investigate how mice process illusions, highlighting the neural circuitry involved in seeing and perception >>> www.biotechniques.com/neuroscience... 🧪

Researchers investigate how mice process illusions, highlighting the neural circuitry involved in seeing and perception.

The bonds that grow stronger the more they’re pulled apart

2 6

BioTechniques @biotechniques.bsky.social · 21d

AI analysis uncovers why certain protein interactions behave like a finger trap, gripping tighter the harder they’re pulled >>> www.biotechniques.com/bioengineeri... 🧪

Researchers have used AI to learn more about the mechanisms underlying catch-bonds between proteins.

The biotech bi-weekly: an innovative hydrogel for neuronal cell culture, an assay producing greater proteomic insights and an AI platform providing drug discovery models

BioTechniques @biotechniques.bsky.social · 22d

Check out the latest biotech industry updates, from advancing automation in MR spectroscopy to driving greater proteomic insights for improved drug discovery and development >>> www.biotechniques.com/computationa... 🧪

Check out the latest biotech industry updates, from advancing automation in MR spectroscopy to driving strategic pipeline advancement of tRNA medicines.

BioTechniques @biotechniques.bsky.social · 22d

How do we build a more equitable STEM community? 💡

In the latest STEM Tea podcast episode, @phdgprotein86.bsky.social is joined by Alberto "Beto" Vasquez from @ucsandiego.bsky.social to discuss mentoring students from underserved communities >>> www.biotechniques.com/podcasts/ste... 🧪

Easy as ABC: polymer increases chemotherapeutic payload

1 2

BioTechniques @biotechniques.bsky.social · 24d

Researchers have developed antibody–bottlebrush prodrug conjugates (ABCs). Unlike traditional ADCs that can carry only a handful of drug molecules, ABCs can deliver hundreds of prodrug molecules directly to tumors >>> www.biotechniques.com/cancer-resea... 🧪

A team has created a polymer that increases chemotherapy payload, enabling hundreds of prodrug molecules to be delivered to tumors.

Where AFM meets AI: profiling macrophage mechanophenotypes

BioTechniques @biotechniques.bsky.social · 28d

Researchers have developed and validated a label-free, non-invasive method combining AFM with deep learning for accurate profiling of human macrophage mechanophenotypes and rapid identification of their polarization states >>> www.biotechniques.com/cell-and-tis... 🧪

Researchers have developed a method that combines AFM and AI to accurately profile macrophage mechanophenotypes.

Method uncovers new antibiotic resistance mechanisms

BioTechniques @biotechniques.bsky.social · 28d

Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have identified antibiotic resistance genes in tiny samples from the environment, revealing more about underlying resistance mechanisms >>> www.biotechniques.com/microbiology... 🧪

Researchers used a method that can identify antibiotic resistance genes from tiny environmental samples to prepare metagenomic libraries.

Go with the flow: fluid dynamics predict glioblastoma progression

1 3

BioTechniques @biotechniques.bsky.social · 28d

Researchers combine fluid dynamics and MRI to map hidden glioblastoma cells >>> www.biotechniques.com/cancer-resea... 🧪

Researchers are able to predict glioblastoma invasion and progression using fluid dynamics.

5 in 2025: our top methods papers of the year

BioTechniques @biotechniques.bsky.social · 29d

As summer draws to a close and the academic year picks up again, we wanted to take this opportunity to highlight five exciting lab methods published in 2025, covering cell culture, AI, spectroscopy, microscopy and CRISPR >>> www.biotechniques.com/lab-design-m... 🧪

Here, we highlight five techniques updates that have taken 2025 by storm, covering microscopy, cell culture, AI, spectroscopy and CRISPR.