eric lai
banner
lucksmith.bsky.social
eric lai
@lucksmith.bsky.social
study small RNAs/APA/splicing/m6A/Notch. neural development+behavior; genomic conflict+evolution.

http://www.mskcc.org/lai

also, indie rock and glassblowing.
unexpected collision of my two worlds this week: (1) thrilled to be enveloped by the mesmerizing vibes of the American Analog Set, 1st show in 20 years! (2) learned that Andrew Kenny, gtr/vox of AmAnSet and Wooden Birds, studied biochemistry and worked for years in fly RNA regulation! what?! 🎸+🪰+🧬=❤️
November 23, 2025 at 4:25 PM
AmAnSet gear. yours truly directly in front!
November 20, 2025 at 1:05 AM
eagerly waiting the american analog set at pioneer works!!
November 20, 2025 at 12:51 AM
you only feel alive when you're living on the edge!

ps, opportunity to share my PSA that the triangle on the pump icon tells you which side of the car your tank opens to. this way, you can easily know which way to pull up to the station, eg in an unfamiliar rental car.
November 19, 2025 at 2:47 PM
items for the top shelf of your bar: vintage can of pickup stix, little microscope with a creepy doll head on top of the eyepiece, big music box roll (?), fallout shelter sign. (ps this place was cozy and great for a date night!)
November 19, 2025 at 2:59 AM
thanks @davidlabmsk.bsky.social and Iestyn Whitehouse for organizing the Center of Epigenetics Research Symposium @mskcancercenter.bsky.social. packed a lot into one day, learned so much my head hurts. also, is it true that we just witnessed the last academic talk of Sir Tony Kouzarides?? wow.
November 18, 2025 at 12:13 AM
closing night of the blaze! 🎃
November 17, 2025 at 1:10 PM
i occasionally see the consolidated boiler service truck in the bronx. i always thought the thing on top was supposed to be a boiler. however, finally did some internet sleuthing this morning, and turns out it used to be A ROCKET!!! any new yorkers seen it back in the day? 🚀

consolidatedboiler.com
November 15, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Dicer cancer hotspots impair RNaseIIIb, but not RNaseIIIa activity, and was known to prevent miRNA-5p biogenesis. surprisingly, we find a selective defect in miRNA-3p levels: they directionally go UP, but only if they are normally passenger strands. we show these are functional for silencing! 2/4
November 10, 2025 at 4:43 PM
ask for janice
November 9, 2025 at 8:27 PM
finally made it to sunshine laundromat. in the back beyond this door is a pinball bar!! (inc special edition addams family, which i've never seen/played).
November 9, 2025 at 7:34 PM
ladies and gentlemen there will be a delay
November 9, 2025 at 4:49 PM
startled to see this in the closet at the gym
November 9, 2025 at 2:02 PM
as my friend points out, the blizzard logo on the upside-down blizzard pic is actually upside-down.
November 8, 2025 at 9:36 PM
hello 🪰 folks! i'm excited to host tim mosca @drosophilosophy.bsky.social for today's DB Program seminar. if you're on the upper east side of NYC at 2 pm, you don't want to miss his talk!
November 6, 2025 at 12:27 PM
went to premiere of "dimension zero" by the Boxcutter Collective. zany musical/puppet sci-fi theater about strong women taking down space monsters and evil capitalist overlords. i went to college with people who wrote and performed stuff like this, so happy that weird art is still being made!!
November 3, 2025 at 3:17 PM
our daughter won the Boooouldering comp this weekend. for extra difficulty, she competed in her mother's prom dress and helena bonham carter-style crazed makeup!!
November 3, 2025 at 12:37 AM
KEXP!
November 2, 2025 at 10:23 PM
personal anecdote. first day of my first rotation, went to a lab that did pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. when i introduced myself, the pd looked at me, pulled out the book, silently raised his eyebrow, and pointed at me, and then the book. @peiferlabunc.bsky.social did you overlap him?
November 2, 2025 at 1:39 PM
my old college roommate is a parks ranger, was on furlough for few weeks, but was surprised to be called back. in his time out, he went on a kayaking trip in utah and saw these petroglyphs.
November 2, 2025 at 1:26 AM
hey everyone! i found a lobby with a big doughnut on the wall!!!
November 1, 2025 at 3:01 AM
have a spooky blue halloween! 🎃
October 31, 2025 at 1:08 PM
thanks to @mskcancercenter.bsky.social for sponsoring the SKI Basic Science Retreat, highlighting fundamental discoveries and forging new interactions amongst colleagues. our lab presented the next three papers we are writing up, ranging from miRNA biology, neural RBPs, to Hox TF grammar! 🔬🪰🧬
October 30, 2025 at 9:22 PM
lotta lotta rain this afternoon 🌧️
October 30, 2025 at 8:23 PM
gimme my pangram!! 🐝
October 29, 2025 at 11:31 AM