Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

David Drubin @drubin.bsky.social · Jul 9

youtu.be/7-tnuAqEp9g?...

The Most Beautiful Experiment: Meselson and Stahl

YouTube video by Science Communication Lab

youtu.be

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David Drubin @drubin.bsky.social · Jul 2

I enthusiastically recommend 'The Last Class,' which pays tribute to @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social Professor Robert Reich and highlights our duty to educate future generations. It is showing in various cities. www.thelastclassfilm.com/where-to-watch
Directed by ‪@elliotkirschner.bsky.social‬

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David Drubin @drubin.bsky.social · May 30

www.travelandleisure.com/berkeley-cal...

This City Was Just Named the Healthiest Place to Live in the U.S. for 2025

Berkeley, California, was named the healthiest city in the U.S. by Niche.com.

www.travelandleisure.com

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Reposted by David Drubin

berkeleyMCB @berkeleymcb.bsky.social · May 23

Congrats to Thomas D. Pollard (Drubin Lab) who received the 2025 Connecticut Medal of Science! 👏🧪 @drubin.bsky.social
ctcase.org/thomas-d-pol...

Thomas D. Pollard to Receive 2025 Connecticut Medal of Science - Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering

Thomas D. Pollard to Receive 2025 Connecticut Medal of Science

ctcase.org

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Reposted by David Drubin

Journal of Cell Science @jcellsci.bsky.social · May 19

After the success of our 2023 Imaging Cell Dynamics conference, we’ll be hosting a second #JCSImaging meeting in 2026, organised by @franbottanelli.bsky.social, @guijacquemet.bsky.social‬, @drmichaelway.bsky.social‬ & Giulia Zanetti.
To register your interest: www.biologists.com/meetings/jcs...

Journal of Cell Science Meeting 2026
Imaging Cell Dynamics
Date: 11 – 14 May 2026
Venue: Montanyà Hotel, Catalonia, Spain
Register your interest

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Reposted by David Drubin

Kat Toropova @kattoropova.bsky.social · Apr 30

Postdoc position in my lab: investigating how the microtubule motor protein dynein-2 works in cilia.

Here's dynein-2 at work translocating microtubules - how is this activity regulated? How does dynein-2 malfunction in disease?

Find out more and apply:
my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru...

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Reposted by David Drubin

Sam Lewis, Ph.D. @samlewis.bsky.social · Apr 18

I'm thrilled to share that our story is now out in Science Advances! 🎉 We use quantitative imaging to map the mito central dogma, define translation hubs in the mitochondrial matrix, and show that they're replaced by Mitochondrial Stress Bodies (MSB) when mtRNA processing is perturbed 1/4

Sam Lewis, Ph.D. @samlewis.bsky.social · Apr 18

Spatial analysis of mitochondrial gene expression reveals dynamic translation hubs and remodeling in stress | Science Advances www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Spatial analysis of mitochondrial gene expression reveals dynamic translation hubs and remodeling in stress

Quantitative imaging of the mitochondrial central dogma identifies translation hubs that are suppressed during stress.

www.science.org

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Reposted by David Drubin

Eoin Brodie @elbrodie.bsky.social · Apr 11

US students. Looking to apply to graduate school? Had an offer rescinded recently? The University of British Columbia in Canada will re-open the application portal in some departments for US students from April 14-18.
Details: www.grad.ubc.ca/us-applicant...
#ubc #AcademicSky #PhDSky #ScienceSky

US Applicant Week

www.grad.ubc.ca

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Reposted by David Drubin

FASEB @faseborg.bsky.social · Apr 10

Cell biologists, join FASEB for a new level of collaboration on dynamic cytoskeletal systems research! Noted researchers @drubin.bsky.social and @ivatolic.bsky.social are the keynote speakers at this inaugural conference. Will you be there? View the full agenda and save your space: buff.ly/Bz0Dyxh

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David Drubin @drubin.bsky.social · Apr 9

Congrats to my fantastic coauthors on this work with a surprising conclusion. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Force-insensitive myosin-I enhances endocytosis robustness through actin network-scale collective ratcheting

Force production by Type-I myosins influences endocytic progression in many cell types. Since different myosin-I isoforms exhibit distinct force-dependent kinetic properties, it is important to invest...

www.biorxiv.org

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David Drubin @drubin.bsky.social · Apr 8

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

While the U.S. lays off health researchers, this Toronto hospital network plans to ramp up recruitment | CBC News

Toronto's University Health Network says it has a new plan to recruit the best and brightest medical scientists from around the world, including the United States, where the government is laying off t...

www.cbc.ca

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Reposted by David Drubin

Arghavan Salles, MD, PhD @arghavansallesmd.medsky.social · Apr 6

Barack Obama on what universities should do: “We'll stand up for what we believe in and we'll pay our researchers for a while out of that endowment, and we'll give up the extra wing or the fancy gymnasium...because academic freedom might be a little more important." +

www.tiktok.com/t/ZT2Ew6cot/

"If you are a university, you may have to say, figure out, are we in fact doing things right?
Have we in fact violated our own values, our own code, violated the law in some fashion?
If not, and you're just being intimidated, well, you should be able to say, 'That's why we got this big endowment. We'll stand up for what we believe in and we'll pay our researchers for a while out of that endowment, and we'll give up the extra wing or the fancy gymnasium'...because academic freedom might be a little more important."

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David Drubin @drubin.bsky.social · Apr 5

www.nytimes.com/2025/04/03/o...

Opinion | The Uncertain Fate of the Young American Scientist

Young researchers are choosing between staying in science and staying in the United States.

www.nytimes.com

Reposted by David Drubin

jeeyon shim 심지연 @jeeyon.bsky.social · Mar 28

The funding for these long COVID research grants was given back bc disability activists urged us to contact our reps persistently, in high volume, and we did. Remember that these tactics work the next time someone tries to get you to passively react instead of taking an active part in organizing!

This returned funding is a rare win for Long COVID advocates and researchers amid a climate of fear and uncertainty. Earlier in the week, the Trump administration ordered the closure of the federal government's Office of Long COVID Research and Practice as part of a wider restructuring of health agencies, and last month, it terminated a federal advisory_committee on Long_COVID.

Long COVID advocates stepped up to contact their representatives and advocate for RECOVER funding and other federal Long COVID initiatives to remain in place. While the research program's broader future remains uncertain, these restored grants are a significant milestone, said RECOVER patient representative Megan Fitzgerald.

"This is so significant because it allows critical studies to better understand how Long COVID affects the body, identify treatment targets, and develop new therapies," she wrote in an email to The Sick Times.
"I'm especially relieved as a parent that this reinstates really important funding for studies in kids. And I think we can all breathe a little easier knowing that all the hard work of patients and researchers over the last few years won't go to waste."

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David Drubin @drubin.bsky.social · Mar 28

apnews.com/article/stan...

Stanford, Cal and UCLA investigated in Trump's anti-DEI campaign

The Trump administration says it has opened investigations into the admissions policies at Stanford University and three campuses within the University of California system, including UC Berkeley, UCL...

apnews.com

David Drubin @drubin.bsky.social · Mar 27

www.politico.com/news/2025/03...

Fearing Trump cuts, California Democrat proposes creating state’s own NIH

The ambitious state lawmaker argues moves by Elon Musk and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. show the Golden State must “step up” as a global leader.

www.politico.com

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Reposted by David Drubin

Craig Nicholson @clanicholson.bsky.social · Mar 25

ERC doubling funding to lure researchers to the EU

www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-euro...

ERC doubling funding to lure researchers to the EU - Research Professional News

Commission also planning a dedicated meeting to coordinate similar efforts among member states

www.researchprofessionalnews.com

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Reposted by David Drubin

Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · Mar 26

New info on NIGMS training page

Trans-Departmental Basic Biomedical Sciences:
The goal of this program area is to broaden the scope, institutional and geographic distribution of NIGMS basic biomedical research training programs.

Info at the bottom of this...

www.nigms.nih.gov/training/ins...

NIGMS Predoctoral Training Grant Program Areas and Contacts | National Institute of General Medical Sciences

www.nigms.nih.gov

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David Drubin @drubin.bsky.social · Mar 26

www.kqed.org/news/1203279...

UCSF Loses Top Heart Surgeon Over Trump’s Hostility Toward Canada | KQED

A leading heart surgeon from Canada who was set to start at UCSF this month changed his mind, citing “the evolving political climate” in the U.S.

www.kqed.org

Reposted by David Drubin

Tim Stearns @stearnslab.bsky.social · Mar 25

Very useful information from UC about your rights re: search and seizure of your electronic devices at the US border. TL;DR: the “border search exception” to the 4th Amendment gives the CBP broad discretion, but there are some limits. security.ucop.edu/resources/tr...

Returning to the U.S.

security.ucop.edu

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David Drubin @drubin.bsky.social · Mar 24

www.pbs.org/newshour/sho...

Using funding to 'force concessions' threatens institutions, Princeton president says

Columbia University agreed to comply with a series of demands from the Trump administration about how it will handle protests, antisemitism and academic departments. The university faced a deadline to...

www.pbs.org

Reposted by David Drubin

Constant Scream @ajaxsinger.bsky.social · Mar 18

We are very close to a near cure for two of the highest-mortality cancers we know: glioblastoma and pancreatic cancer. These are both mRNA based treatments which are losing their funding during stage I and II trials. Thousands will die needlessly because of this motherfucker and his lies.