Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Dan Starr @danstarrucdavis.bsky.social · 2d

Submitting an R01 to NIH today. We're super proud of the work, and feel its important, but where is it going now?

a blurry picture of a person wearing red sunglasses and a colorful shirt

ALT: a blurry picture of a person wearing red sunglasses and a colorful shirt

media.tenor.com

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Josh Currie @joshcurrie.bsky.social · 9d

Just a reminder if you're getting a manuscript together (like we are) to thank your core facilities!

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Xiangyi Ding @xiangyiding.bsky.social · 15d

🎉Check out our new preprint!! 🧬We found that lamin mutations in muscular dystrophy don’t just affect the nucleus — they disrupt a nucleolar–ribosomal axis that reorganizes the entire cytoplasm.
Very grateful to @danstarrucdavis.bsky.social, @gwgl.bsky.social and our lab for collaboration & support!

GW Gant Luxton @gwgl.bsky.social · 15d

🧬 NEW Starr-Luxton Lab PREPRINT: Our 🌠grad student
@XiangyiDing
figured out why muscular dystrophy mutations cause such widespread cellular chaos. The answer wasn't what we expected - and it changes how we think about the disease. Thread🧵 (1/6). www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

www.biorxiv.org

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Reposted by Dan Starr

GW Gant Luxton @gwgl.bsky.social · 15d

🧬 NEW Starr-Luxton Lab PREPRINT: Our 🌠grad student
@XiangyiDing
figured out why muscular dystrophy mutations cause such widespread cellular chaos. The answer wasn't what we expected - and it changes how we think about the disease. Thread🧵 (1/6). www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

www.biorxiv.org

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Reposted by Dan Starr

GW Gant Luxton @gwgl.bsky.social · 28d

biology.ucdavis.edu/news/worms-r...

Worms Reveal Just How Cramped Cells Really Are

In a new study published in Science Advances on September 10, a team of UC Davis researchers tracked the movement of fluorescent particles inside the cells of microscopic worms, providing unprecedente...

biology.ucdavis.edu

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GW Gant Luxton @gwgl.bsky.social · 28d

🧬Want the full story of our paper without the science jargon? Our @ucdavis.bsky.social department broke down our "cells are crowded AND constrained" findings in plain English! Perfect explanation of why worm cells are nothing like cultured cells 🪱🌠

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GW Gant Luxton @gwgl.bsky.social · 28d

🧬BREAKING!🪱Plot twist: Cells aren't meditation pools, they're overcrowded concerts with VIP ropes everywhere! Our
study reveals worm cells are insanely crowded AND compartmentalized. Ribosomes = packing peanuts, ANC-1 = the bouncer!
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Giant KASH proteins and ribosomes establish distinct cytoplasmic biophysical properties in vivo

Living tissues maintain unique intracellular biophysical properties under the control of cytoplasmic constraints and crowding.

www.science.org

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Reposted by Dan Starr

Xiangyi Ding @xiangyiding.bsky.social · 28d

Thrilled to share that a big piece of my thesis here in the Starr–Luxton is now out in Science Advances! We discovered that the cytoplasm of living animal tissues is extremely crowded and constrained, maintained by ribosomes and the giant KASH protein ANC-1.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Giant KASH proteins and ribosomes establish distinct cytoplasmic biophysical properties in vivo

Living tissues maintain unique intracellular biophysical properties under the control of cytoplasmic constraints and crowding.

www.science.org

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Reposted by Dan Starr

GW Gant Luxton @gwgl.bsky.social · 29d

🚨Our fabulous graduate student Selin's paper on how the KASH protein UNC-83 regulates the activity of kinesin-1 to control developmental stage-specific nuclear migration is out! Another great collaboration between the Starr-Luxton and MOM labs.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

The KASH protein UNC-83 differentially regulates kinesin-1 activity to control developmental stage-specific nuclear migration

Nuclear migration plays a fundamental role in development, requiring precise spatiotemporal control of bidirectional movement through dynein and kines…

www.sciencedirect.com

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Ardem Patapoutian @ardemp.bskyverified.social · Sep 5

One of the best arguments I have read about DEI:

Gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/05/o...

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Dan Starr @danstarrucdavis.bsky.social · Aug 25

What does one do if there is an owl on our bathroom?

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prathima14.bsky.social @prathima14.bsky.social · Aug 21

Would recommend constitutional law professor Steve Vladeck’s take which is more optimistic! www.tiktok.com/@steve_vlade...

A quick video on Thursday’s #SCOTUS ruling re: NIH funding—a short-term win for Trump, but one that signals a big long-term loss. #supremecourt

TikTok video by Steve Vladeck

www.tiktok.com

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Dan Starr @danstarrucdavis.bsky.social · Aug 4

They look confused.

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Senator Scott Wiener @scottwiener.bsky.social · Aug 2

Trump is withholding $300M in science funding from UCLA based on antisemitism & inviting UCLA to “resolve this matter,” presumably by giving Trump control of the university.

Having worked hard to stop antisemitism at UCLA & other UCs, I’ll say the following about this pretextual, fascist move:🧵

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Vanni Lab at UNIFR, Switzerland @labvanni.bsky.social · Jul 23

Happy to share the latest work from the lab, led by @mudgal17.bsky.social‬, in collaboration with the Weis lab @ethzurich.bsky.social.
How do nuclear membranes fuse during NPC assembly? We answer this question in our latest work, where we identify a new mechanism for membrane fusion… (1/13)

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Wyoming Wormboy @wyomingwormboy.bsky.social · Jul 19

Thanks to @isakoditomassi.bsky.social and the McClintock Letters Initiative who motivated me to submit this.

Fay: Cuts to research funding risk the collapse of U.S. science and technology

I started as an assistant professor of molecular biology at the University of Wyoming in 2001.

www.wyomingnews.com

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Dan Starr @danstarrucdavis.bsky.social · Jul 11

I stick to Capital Public Radio for this very reason. Also, traffic isn’t as bad here!

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Wyoming Wormboy @wyomingwormboy.bsky.social · Jul 7

While our whole field has been experiencing undeserved turmoil, a few of us have been fortunate enough to receive positive news on funding. This link describes positions that are now open in the Fay Lab. Perhaps some who’ve been displaced can find a home with us. 1/2
drive.google.com/file/d/1XuDO...

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Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · Jul 7

Fascinating piece from Paul Krugman with Jonathan Gruber with a powerful argument for public funding of science.

paulkrugman.substack.com/p/health-car...

1/n

Health Care: Jonathan Gruber

A key founding father of Obamacare on what comes next

paulkrugman.substack.com

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Charlotte Clymer @charlotteclymer.bsky.social · Jul 4

I’m thinking about him today. I hope he’d be proud of me. I hope my sense of citizenship has lived up to his.

Happy Fourth.

/thread

Full essay here for easier sharing: charlotteclymer.substack.com/p/what-mr-ra...

What Mr. Ramirez Taught Me

July Fourth means community.

charlotteclymer.substack.com

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GW Gant Luxton @gwgl.bsky.social · Jun 30

Incredible plenary presentation by Starr-Luxton Lab student @xiangyiding.bsky.social at the International Worm Meeting! Who knew C. elegans cytoplasm has the viscosity of strawberry jam? 🍓 So proud! #Worm2025 #frontierscience @danstarrucdavis.bsky.social

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Genetics Society of America @genetics-gsa.bsky.social · Jun 25

Ellen Gregory, @gwgl.bsky.social‬, & @danstarrucdavis.bsky.social‬ show how heterochromatin helps cell nuclei migrate through tight spaces in #Celegans! Learn more in #GENETICS about the process of heterochromatin anchoring to the nuclear periphery that supports nuclei squeezing: buff.ly/kZttVdX

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GW Gant Luxton @gwgl.bsky.social · Jun 28

Thank you so much! It was such a joy to see Xiangyi's transformation through the MBL program. Looking forward to the blog post - and thanks for highlighting how these summer courses shape the next generation of scientists!

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Dan Starr @danstarrucdavis.bsky.social · Jun 14

It was awesome! 3700. In Woodland!

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Theanne Griffith, PhD 🇧🇧👩🏽‍🔬🇭🇷 @doctheagrif.bsky.social · Jun 14

Today I had the honor of speaking in front of nearly 3000 people today at the Woodland #NoKings rally. WE FEAR NO KING BECAUSE WE DONT HAVE ONE ✊🏾✊🏾✊🏾✊🏾 let’s gooooooo

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