Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Nivedita Sarveswaran @neuroniv.bsky.social · 13h

Well, they missed out on how morale-boosting Fire Elmo has become 🔥🔥

Reposted by Nivedita Sarveswaran

MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology @mrclmb.bsky.social · 21h

John Gurdon, former Group Leader and Head of @cellbiol-mrclmb.bsky.social has died.
Despite calling himself a "total non-intellectual” his work to reprogramme somatic cells to pluripotent stem cells transformed the field of developmental biology.
More: www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/john-gurdon-...
#LMBNews

Black and white portrait of John Gurdon, 1971

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Nivedita Sarveswaran @neuroniv.bsky.social · 18h

More memes in lab meetings!

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Reposted by Nivedita Sarveswaran

Rita Strack @ritastrack.bsky.social · 1d

I hope this Nobel Prize gets people talking meaningfully about our amazing immune systems and the importance of basic research to human health (and funding basic research).

I am also glad young women get to see that women can not only work at this level, but that those who do can get recognized.

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Kirsty Wan @micromotility.bsky.social · 1d

Very sad to hear that Sir John Gurdon, former Master of Magdalene College, has passed away at the age of 92. www.cam.ac.uk/research/new...

Here is a powerful reminder that you should never give up on your dreams.

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Reposted by Nivedita Sarveswaran

James Briscoe @jamesbriscoe.bsky.social · 1d

Very sad news, John Gurdon has died.

A developmental biologist's developmental biologist, Nobel prize winner

His work is the foundation of much of today's dev & stem cell bio.

An inspiration to many, including me. Always asking questions & wanting the answers

www.magd.cam.ac.uk/news/profess...

Professor Sir John Gurdon FRS (1933-2025) | Magdalene College

Magdalene College is deeply saddened to announce the death of Professor Sir John Gurdon FRS, who served as Master of the College from 1995 to 2002.

www.magd.cam.ac.uk

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Reposted by Nivedita Sarveswaran

Nature Reviews Drug Discovery @natrevdrugdiscov.nature.com · 1d

Our latest research highlight covers a paper in Cell on the computational de novo design of a peptide modulator that addresses voltage-gated sodium channel dysfunction linked to epilepsy and cardiac arrhythmias nature.com/articles/d41...

Designer peptide retunes channel function

Discover the world’s best science and medicine | Nature.com

nature.com

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Reposted by Nivedita Sarveswaran

Cambridge Institute for Medical Research @thecimr.bsky.social · 1d

Great to welcome our second cohort of students to our Masters in Molecular Mechanism of Human Disease today. Have a good year everyone!

Group of university students gathered on a staircase and landing

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Reposted by Nivedita Sarveswaran

George Goodwin @gg9761.bsky.social · 2d

Stuart Bevan and I are offering an exciting MRC DTP-funded PhD project exploring the mechanisms of pain in Long COVID.

Find out more about the project here:
🔗 tinyurl.com/3caseacv

Application deadline: 28th October

@wolfsonsparc.bsky.social y.social
@kingsioppn.bsky.social sioppn.bsky.social

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Nivedita Sarveswaran @neuroniv.bsky.social · 2d

That is an excellent account handle 🔍

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Reposted by Nivedita Sarveswaran

David @dav1dcg.bsky.social · 3d

Higher-order interactions in neuronal function: From genes to ionic currents in biophysical models

Models in this study show that "a small subset of ion channel genes captures essential variability across neuronal subtypes".

www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Higher-order interactions in neuronal function: From genes to ionic currents in biophysical models | PNAS

Neuronal firing patterns are the consequence of precise variations in neuronal membrane potential, which are themselves shaped by multiple ionic cu...

www.pnas.org

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Reposted by Nivedita Sarveswaran

Ted Price @tedpricethepainguy.bsky.social · 3d

Very convincing findings from the Gamper lab: www.jneurosci.org/content/45/3... somebody needs to figure out the source of this GABAergic tone within the DRG! As far as I can tell the origin of this remains speculative and needs molecular identification.

Peripheral Gating of Nociception Investigated with a Decerebrate, Arterially Perfused Preparation of the Rat

There is growing evidence that sensory neurons within the dorsal root ganglia (DRGs) are equipped with mechanisms for “gating” nociceptive information before it enters the central nervous system. Howe...

www.jneurosci.org

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Reposted by Nivedita Sarveswaran

Andy Bell @belllab.bsky.social · 4d

New preprint from the spinal cord group at Glasgow. Anatomical and functional characterisation of spinal circuits for cold, from sensory neurons to the brain…..https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.03.680240v1

Labelled axons of calb1+ spinal projection neurons innervate multiple brain targets associated with cold sensation and thermoregulation. Darkfield images of different brain areas including the postal parabrachial and periaqueductal grey are shown with axons of ascending cells in yellow.

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Reposted by Nivedita Sarveswaran

Michael Hendricks 🇨🇦 @michaelhendricks.bsky.social · 5d

"The connectome is like a road map."

ATV catching big air, labelled "neuropeptides."

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Nivedita Sarveswaran @neuroniv.bsky.social · 5d

🔜The 1st Congenital Insensitivity to Pain conference is now 1 week away! Please join us (in-person/online) if you're interested in how painlessness is inherited, different phenotypic presentations and molecular mechanisms - the developmental PRDM12-TrkA-NGF axis and Nav channels among them.

Nivedita Sarveswaran @neuroniv.bsky.social · Aug 15

📣The 1st International Conference on Congenital Insensitivity to Pain is on Friday 10th October in Cambridge, UK. A great line-up of clinicians & researchers, so if you're interested in understanding pain and nociception from this unique perspective, signup here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/first-inte...

First International Conference on Congenital Insensitivity to Pain

The First International Conference on Congenital Insensitivity to Pain. Learn about this rare condition and connect with others.

www.eventbrite.co.uk

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Reposted by Nivedita Sarveswaran

Patrick Goymer @patrickgoymer.bsky.social · 6d

As we mourn Jane Goodall, this @nature.com article explores three ways in which she changed science:

1. Altering the way we view both other primates and ourselves
2. Inspiring generations of women scientists
3. Communicating science in a way that engaged the public

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Jane Goodall’s legacy: three ways she changed science

The primatologist challenged what it meant to be a scientist.

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Nivedita Sarveswaran

Jamie Heather @jamieheather.bsky.social · 6d

Top tier lab trickery here, delightfully clever approach

Victor Tatarskiy @greenrat.bsky.social · 6d

Neat trick if you polycolonal ab's suck. Incubate them with fixed cells with a KO of your protein of interest, then spin. Protocol here: www.med.upenn.edu/markslab/ass...
I was amazed how well it worked on first try (I'm sure that I can completely eliminate unspecific bands)
#WesternBlot #cellsky

On the left - western blot of B16F10 cells wt and KO for CDK8. Our in house produced antibodies give a lot of unspecific bands. On the right same probes with antibodies preincubated with fixed CDK8 KO cells - there is a specific band and faint unspecific bands, which can be probably eliminated with increase of amount of KO cells.

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Reposted by Nivedita Sarveswaran

UCL News @uclnews.bsky.social · 6d

From finding a "universal language" in science, to comedy, conferences and following her passion, Prof Dame Ijeoma Uchegbu @ucllifesciences.bsky.social tells BBC World Service about her fascinating path to becoming a pioneer of pharmaceutical nanoscience and champion for race equality

Outlook - One suitcase, three kids: a broke scientist pursues a dream - BBC Sounds

Once a homeless single mum, Dame Ijeoma Uchegbu is now a nanomedicine pioneer

www.bbc.co.uk

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Reposted by Nivedita Sarveswaran

Keith Frankish @keithfrankish.com · 6d

We need heroes. People to respect and emulate. People who inspire us to do our best and be our best. Jane Goodall was a hero, and she will remain one.

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Reposted by Nivedita Sarveswaran

Cell Biology J-Club @cellclub.bsky.social · 6d

Uncovering cargo clients and accessory factors of AP-1 and AP-4 through vesicle proteomics | PNAS www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Uncovering cargo clients and accessory factors of AP-1 and AP-4 through vesicle proteomics | PNAS

The trans-Golgi network (TGN) is a crucial sorting station in the secretory pathway, where adaptor protein (AP) complexes ensure selective cargo pa...

www.pnas.org

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Reposted by Nivedita Sarveswaran

Science Magazine @science.org · 7d

Jane Goodall has died at the age of 91.

In 2020, Goodall spoke with Science Editor-in-Chief H. Holden Thorp for a #ScienceEditorial reflecting on the 60th anniversary of her arrival in Gombe to study wild chimpanzees. Read more: https://scim.ag/472Chb8

"… Goodall’s … is a story of genuine scientific curiosity, determination, and respect for
nature and humanity …" H. Holden Thorp, Editor-in-chief, Science journals

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Reposted by Nivedita Sarveswaran

Mike Feigin 🥯 @mikefeigin.bsky.social · 7d

If you have to show a disclosure slide, and you have no disclosures to report, but say that you’d be happy if someone gave you money, the crowd will go WILD with laughter. (n=2)

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Reposted by Nivedita Sarveswaran

Matthijs Dorst @mattneuro.bsky.social · 7d

Whelp, I did not make the cut. Luckily, I have been given an amazing opportunity elsewhere; and who knows, maybe in a few years things there will be a similar position.

But maybe this is a good opportunity to talk about what it's like to apply for academic positions as a postdoc:

Matthijs Dorst @mattneuro.bsky.social · Aug 16

Whelp, fingers crossed: application submitted for my dream job!

A total of 42 pages for the application, an additional 106 pages for my most relevant papers; it's a doozy!

a cartoon character holding a stack of papers with the word intuitive in blue

Alt: a cartoon character holding a stack of papers, and dropping them on someone else's desk

media.tenor.com

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Reposted by Nivedita Sarveswaran

Dr. Rajesh Khanna of the KhannaLabUF @khannalabuf.bsky.social · 7d

Is Nav1.8-specific inhibition the only path? Preferential Nav blockers offer a compelling alternative | PNAS www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

"Preferential Nav channel inhibitors targeting multiple pain-related Navs (Nav1.7, Nav1.8, Nav1.9) may offer a more effective analgesic approach" -- AGREED!

Is Nav1.8-specific inhibition the only path? Preferential Nav blockers offer a compelling alternative | PNAS

Is Nav1.8-specific inhibition the only path? Preferential Nav blockers offer a compelling alternative

www.pnas.org

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Reposted by Nivedita Sarveswaran

Cahir O'Kane @cahirokane.bsky.social · 7d

When BCE (before the confocal era) turned into CE (confocal era) - 1987

Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology @natrevmcb.nature.com · 7d

New Online! The advent of confocal laser scanning microscopy in biological research

The advent of confocal laser scanning microscopy in biological research

Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology, Published online: 01 October 2025; doi:10.1038/s41580-025-00905-5The advent of laser-scanning confocal microscopy revolutionized cell biology, offering unprecedented resolution and depth and enabling scientists to visualize cellular structures in 3D.

bit.ly

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