Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Merlin Crossley @merlincrossley.bsky.social · 8d

Our latest paper, my 9th in one of my favourite journals
@narjournal.bsky.social
- transcriptional cofactors don’t just help in gene activation, they also help guide their partner transcription factors to target genes academic.oup.com/nar/article/... ##zincfingers #chromatin #epigenetics #KLF

Nucleic Acids Research (@narjournal.bsky.social)

Nucleic Acids Research (NAR), from Oxford University Press, publishes the results of leading-edge research into physical, chemical, biochemical and biological aspects of nucleic acids and proteins inv...

narjournal.bsky.social

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Merlin Crossley @merlincrossley.bsky.social · 25d

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Our latest paper in collaboration with Mitch Weiss’s lab. We showed DNA methylation turns off fetal globin expression. I’m still not sure how important methylation is in regulating individual human genes but it represses this one.#sicklecelldisease #crispr #epigenetics

Removal of promoter CpG methylation by epigenome editing reverses HBG silencing - Nature Communications

DNA methylation is a critical component for repression of fetal haemoglobin in adult blood cells. Removing DNA methylation from the fetal haemoglobin promoter effectively upregulates the gene, opening...

www.nature.com

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Merlin Crossley @merlincrossley.bsky.social · 25d

Came across a plant with many 4 and 5 leaf clovers. Is this common? #4leafclovers #fourleafclovers #5leafclovers

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Merlin Crossley @merlincrossley.bsky.social · Apr 27

Several friends urged me to write about the non-Dire Wolves, so I have. But my piece is really about the fact that you can trust the process of science but not individuals or teams. Loyalty to teams is a major factor that causes misinformation to persist: crossleylab.wordpress.com/2025/04/28/2...

Non-Dire Wolves and the Process of Science

Science works but it requires unwavering adherence to a system. The pollution that is misinformation is science’s enemy. As G.K. Chesterton said “If you leave a white post alone it will soon …

crossleylab.wordpress.com

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Merlin Crossley @merlincrossley.bsky.social · Apr 25

Like the leaves that fall from the trees, such are the generations of men

Merlin Crossley @merlincrossley.bsky.social · Apr 20

The UNSW Bilby has dressed up for Easter

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Merlin Crossley @merlincrossley.bsky.social · Apr 19

I’ve never noticed this before but it looks like I’ve been living near the house of the dragon

Merlin Crossley @merlincrossley.bsky.social · Apr 14

“[If] it looks like a dire wolf and acts like a dire wolf, I'm going to call it a dire wolf,” Beth Shapiro, Colossal's chief science officer, told Wired. Oh no - I think my dog might be a Dire Wolf!

Merlin Crossley @merlincrossley.bsky.social · Mar 23

Across Australia the amount of black on the back of Magpies varies dramatically. In Sydney their backs are almost completely black.

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Merlin Crossley @merlincrossley.bsky.social · Mar 21

Friday is blog day at #UNSW Today the Woolly Mouse but this is more a comment on the different pressures in public and private research and different leadership styles - big visions versus realistic plans #woollymammoth #leadership #universities #biotech

crossleylab.wordpress.com/2025/03/22/t...

To deal in hope – the Woolly Mouse

Having big goals can be inspiring. Napoleon famously quipped “A leader is a dealer in hope.” He urged his people to aim for the impossible to achieve the maximum. Apparently, this is effectiv…

crossleylab.wordpress.com

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Merlin Crossley @merlincrossley.bsky.social · Mar 1

Good to know that Tawny Frogmouths are still in the neighbourhood

Merlin Crossley @merlincrossley.bsky.social · Feb 28

Urban fossils: elm and beech, Canberra

Merlin Crossley @merlincrossley.bsky.social · Feb 25

Possums are great. Australia has such wonderful urban wildlife. You just have to be a little nocturnal to really appreciate it though!

Merlin Crossley @merlincrossley.bsky.social · Feb 8

Birds are very comfortable on the UNSW campus. The ibis looks like it’s about to deliver a lecture!

Merlin Crossley @merlincrossley.bsky.social · Jan 12

Some people think that in the modern age art is dead. But behold, it’s thriving on the street of Inner West neighbourhoods in Sydney

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Merlin Crossley @merlincrossley.bsky.social · Jan 12

We found these eggs 6 weeks ago - and now all 14 have hatched into cute little stink bugs. #insects in Australia

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Merlin Crossley @merlincrossley.bsky.social · Jan 11

It’s amazing how much variation there is in frangipani flowers - in our neighbourhood in Sydney it’s considered the pinker the better

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Merlin Crossley @merlincrossley.bsky.social · Jan 4

The authorities have stepped in to support and prop up this tree - the only problem is I think it’s one of those weeping varieties so all efforts may be in vain