Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Geraldine Zimmer-Bensch @zimmer-bensch.bsky.social · 1d

Today: Seminar on: Addressing Neurodegenerative Diseases in Support of SDG 3: Good Health and Wellbeing: Recent Advances in Alzheimer’s and Other Neurodegeneration Research cassyni.com/events/QuBDF...

Cassyni | Science starts with a seminar

Seamlessly organise, run and publish academic research seminars. Get started in minutes.

cassyni.com

Reposted by Geraldine Zimmer-Bensch

Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 2d

I have been trying to get this published as an op-ed, but I am going to post it here since I think it is timely in light of the "consent" extortion events.

Deafening Quiet from the Scientific Establishment

jeremymberg.github.io/jeremyberg.g...

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jeremymberg.github.io

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Geraldine Zimmer-Bensch @zimmer-bensch.bsky.social · 9d

🚨 NRW Return Programme 2026: Up to €1.25M over 5 years to establish your own independent research group in the Life Sciences (e.g. neurobiology).
👉 More details: www.mkw.nrw/themen/wisse...

A great opportunity – also here in Aachen! 🌍🧬

Rückkehrprogramm

Mit dem Rückkehrprogramm will das Ministerium für Kultur und Wissenschaft junge Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler zur Rückkehr nach Nordrhein-Westfalen bewegen.

www.mkw.nrw

Reposted by Geraldine Zimmer-Bensch

Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · 9d

Several scientists have received letters from the NIH director disinviting them from their positions on advisory councils that make final decisions on grant funding, I'm told.

In July, I reported that NIH staff were told to select members aligned with Trump administration priorities.

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Reposted by Geraldine Zimmer-Bensch

Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (DKFZ) @dkfz.bsky.social · 15d

Since their discovery in 2004, the grid cells in the brain have been regarded as a kind of "GPS in the head." However, scientists at DKFZ and Heidelberg University Hospital have now shown that grid cells work much more flexibly than previously assumed. @nature.com Neuroscience
t1p.de/hpj1m

No GPS in the head: How the brain flexibly switches between internal maps

Since their discovery in 2004, the grid cells in the brain, which are important for our orientation, have been regarded as a kind of “GPS in the head.” However, scientists at the German Cancer Researc...

t1p.de

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Reposted by Geraldine Zimmer-Bensch

Nature Portfolio @natureportfolio.nature.com · 17d

“Many scholars from historically overexploited countries (often referred to as the global south) expected that exposing the problem would trigger change. Four years on, I see it clearly: the scientific system was never designed for equity,” writes Dolors Armenteras in Nature. #Academicsky 🧪

Equity in science is a beautiful lie — and I’m done pretending

Science isn’t really moving towards equity; institutions are just perfecting the appearance of equity. We need to build an alternative system.

go.nature.com

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Geraldine Zimmer-Bensch @zimmer-bensch.bsky.social · 21d

The deadline is approaching! Check out that great opportunity!

Geraldine Zimmer-Bensch @zimmer-bensch.bsky.social · Aug 18

🌍 Open Call! RWTH Aachen University invites postdocs from outside the EU to apply for the “Port to Europe” Fellowship (24 months funding, all disciplines). Start your research journey at one of Europe’s top universities! 🚀 Deadline: Oct 5, 2025. 👉https://rwth-aachen.de/go/id/botjje/lidx/1

Geraldine Zimmer-Bensch @zimmer-bensch.bsky.social · Aug 25

Open Call
@embl

📍 Heidelberg
🧬 Postdoc position (3 yrs) – Computational Biology

Join a world-leading research environment & drive cutting-edge data-driven biology!

🔗 Apply here: embl.wd103.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/EMBL/d...

#ComputationalBiology #EMBL

Postdoctoral Fellow in Computational biology

Your group The Zimmermann-Kogadeeva lab at EMBL Heidelberg is looking for a postdoctoral fellow to conduct research within the NEURON ERA-NET consortium. NEURON ERA-NET is an Network of European Fundi...

embl.wd103.myworkdayjobs.com

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Reposted by Geraldine Zimmer-Bensch

Bence Ölveczky @olveczky.bsky.social · Aug 21

And now for an update on my office window. www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...

Harvard To Remove Black Lives Matter Message From Biology Professors’ Office Windows | News | The Harvard Crimson

A Harvard administrator told two professors on Tuesday that a Black Lives Matter sign displayed in their office windows would be taken down by this Saturday, describing it as a violation of the Univer...

www.thecrimson.com

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Geraldine Zimmer-Bensch @zimmer-bensch.bsky.social · Aug 18

🌍 Open Call! RWTH Aachen University invites postdocs from outside the EU to apply for the “Port to Europe” Fellowship (24 months funding, all disciplines). Start your research journey at one of Europe’s top universities! 🚀 Deadline: Oct 5, 2025. 👉https://rwth-aachen.de/go/id/botjje/lidx/1

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Reposted by Geraldine Zimmer-Bensch

Debby Silver @debbysilver.bsky.social · Aug 10

Sharing our newest study led by the incredibly talented @federicamosti.bsky.social investigating new molecular mechanisms of human brain development. We discover a human-specific enhancer HAR1984 that influences chromatin looping to promote cortical size and folding! www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...

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Geraldine Zimmer-Bensch @zimmer-bensch.bsky.social · Aug 4

Excited to share the story behind our recent Nature Communications paper:
👉 “Epigenetics in motion: How DNMT1 steers interneuron migration and identity”, communities.springernature.com/posts/epigen...; #NatureCommunications

Epigenetics in Motion: How DNMT1 Steers Interneuron Migration and Identity

This study reveals how DNMT1 shapes cortical development by guiding interneuron migration and fate specification beyond mitosis, uncovering novel postmitotic functions in neurons and highlighting epig...

communities.springernature.com

Geraldine Zimmer-Bensch @zimmer-bensch.bsky.social · Jul 31

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

How allergens make us cough and weeze — by poking holes in airway cells

The immune system senses damage to cell membranes caused by pore-forming proteins and mounts a response.

www.nature.com

Reposted by Geraldine Zimmer-Bensch

Jeroen Pasterkamp @jeroenpasterkamp.bsky.social · Jul 30

Check out this paper by Werner Dykstra in which we study the effects of GFAP mutations on brain organoid development. doi.org/10.1002/glia...

Mutations in GFAP Alter Early Lineage Commitment of Organoids

Mutations in GFAP alter lineage commitment of organoids. The severity of this commitment defect is dependent on the method of embryoid body formation. GFAP is expressed in iPSCs and during early st...

doi.org

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Reposted by Geraldine Zimmer-Bensch

Typas Lab @typaslab.bsky.social · Jul 30

Ready to lead pioneering research that bridges systems-level investigations of biological systems to molecular mechanism? The EMBL Molecular Systems Biology Unit in Heidelberg is hiring a Group Leader!

Group Leader – Molecular Systems Biology Unit

Are you ready to lead groundbreaking research in Molecular Systems Biology? Join us at EMBL! We are seeking a motivated scientist to lead an independent research group, addressing original biological ...

embl.wd103.myworkdayjobs.com

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Geraldine Zimmer-Bensch @zimmer-bensch.bsky.social · Jul 30

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

‘Sleeping’ cancer cells in the lungs can be roused by COVID and flu

Inflammation from the respiratory infections seems to be the culprit, study in mice finds.

www.nature.com

Geraldine Zimmer-Bensch @zimmer-bensch.bsky.social · Jul 30

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

The brain fires up immune cells when sick people are nearby

When people viewed virtual avatars with coughs or rashes, their brains triggered an immune response.

www.nature.com

Geraldine Zimmer-Bensch @zimmer-bensch.bsky.social · Jul 24

🧠 Our new study is out in Nature Communications!
We show that DNMT1 regulates the migration of postmitotic cortical interneurons, with implications for cortical layering and function, and potentially disease conditions.
🔗 doi.org/10.1038/s414...
Huge thanks to the amazing team/collaborators!

DNMT1-mediated regulation of somatostatin-positive interneuron migration impacts cortical architecture and function - Nature Communications

The function of DNMT1 (DNA methyltransferase 1) in these subsets of immature, migrating cortical inhibitory interneurons is not fully understood. This study shows that DNMT1 regulates cortical de...

doi.org

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Reposted by Geraldine Zimmer-Bensch

Igor Ulitsky @igorulitsky.bsky.social · May 29

Stop the doom scrolling! A new 🗞️ from my lab, describing one of our flagship projects of many years we are super excited to share:
"Inducible formation of fusion transcripts upregulates haploinsufficient CHD2 gene expression".
A 🧵
biorxiv.org/content/earl...

Inducible formation of fusion transcripts upregulates haploinsufficient CHD2 gene expression

Modes of action of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are poorly understood. CHASERR is a broadly expressed lncRNA located immediately upstream of the promoter of the CHD2 gene. We show that antisense olig...

biorxiv.org

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Reposted by Geraldine Zimmer-Bensch

Nature Portfolio @natureportfolio.nature.com · May 23

The authors of a Comment article in Nature “urge STEMM scientists in the United States to avoid the mistakes of the past and instead stand together and fight for both personal and academic freedom.” #Academicsky 🧪

US researchers must stand up to protect freedoms, not just funding

Curtailment of freedoms and disregard for the rule of law in the United States is destroying the ability of science to serve the nation’s, and the world’s, interests. Researchers can take action.

go.nature.com

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Reposted by Geraldine Zimmer-Bensch

Gord Fishell @gordfishell.bsky.social · May 21

Here is the collective effort of 12 labs, lead by my own at the Broad to target the range of cortical interneuron subtypes! These tools should be a game changer for all of you using NHP and other less genetically amenable species! Have at it!
urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=htt...

urldefense.proofpoint.com

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Geraldine Zimmer-Bensch @zimmer-bensch.bsky.social · Mar 31

Cherry blossoms in full bloom—nature’s quiet reminder that beauty persists, even when the world feels heavy. A moment to pause, breathe, and take in the light…

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Reposted by Geraldine Zimmer-Bensch

mareikealbert.bsky.social @mareikealbert.bsky.social · Mar 13

💫 New preprint from the lab: Comparing great ape cerebral organoids, we found that human-specific morphoregulatory signatures in basal radial glia characterise neocortex evolution. Fantastic work from super-talented PhD student Theresa Schütze!

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

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Reposted by Geraldine Zimmer-Bensch

Franck Polleux @franckp.bsky.social · Mar 10

if any of you want to understand the depth of the attacks against american universities by the current administration and their ultimate goal, you have to watch this 👇
In my opinion, necessary to grasp the magnitude of the disaster we are facing: youtu.be/0FR65Cifnhw?...

J.D. Vance | The Universities are the Enemy | National Conservatism Conference II

YouTube video by National Conservatism

youtu.be

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Reposted by Geraldine Zimmer-Bensch

Itai Yanai @itaiyanai.bsky.social · Mar 7

Science is an investment that pays enormous dividends. So if you’re business-minded, it’s an offer you can’t refuse!
Here's my full speech from the Stand Up For Science rally in DC today: www.youtube.com/watch?v=eemj...

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