Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Bess Frost @bessfrost.bsky.social · 3h

Interested in transcriptome complexity, RNA mods, polyA tail length, or retrotransposons? Are you a data junky who likes to mine new resources? Our Nanopore-based direct RNA sequencing study in Drosophila (in the context of health and #tau pathogenicity) is for you.
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Bess Frost @bessfrost.bsky.social · 3h

De novo transcriptome assembly reveals previously missed complexity, including abundant transcripts with retained introns. Transcripts with long polyA tails are enriched for signal transduction and MAPK signaling, while those with short polyA tails are enriched for translation/ATP metabolism.
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Bess Frost @bessfrost.bsky.social · 3h

We find that m6A modification is highly variable across transcripts, with enrichment at the 5'UTR and transcription start sites. Highly m6A-modified transcripts are associated with immune system processes, while those with lower m6A are associated with homeostatic translation.
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Bess Frost @bessfrost.bsky.social · 3h

We leverage long reads to map source loci for active retrotransposons, with copia elements showing particularly high m6A, then compare all these findings (m6A, polyA, retrotransposons, etc.) to a fly model of tauopathy. Check out the paper to see what intrigues you.
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Bess Frost @bessfrost.bsky.social · 3h

New Frost Lab Paper/Dataset Alert! bmcgenomics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....

Congrats to co-first authors @PaulRamirez42 and Dr. Gabbe Zuniga.

@carneyinstitute.bsky.social

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Long-read sequencing-based analyses of the adult Drosophila brain transcriptome in physiological and pathological settings - BMC Genomics

Optimal brain function requires that neurons carry out extensive post-transcriptional RNA processing to produce a vast diversity of transcripts. Accurate reconstruction and quantification of highly pr...

bmcgenomics.biomedcentral.com

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Bess Frost @bessfrost.bsky.social · 5d

While we are particularly interested in candidates who focus on cellular and molecular mechanisms driving neurodegeneration and/or specialize in human brain analyses, we encourage applicants from any research area that aligns with the mission of the center.

Bess Frost @bessfrost.bsky.social · 5d

We promote discovery and innovation in neurodegenerative disorders by supporting a diverse community of experimentalists, theorists, engineers, and clinicians.

Bess Frost @bessfrost.bsky.social · 5d

Our focus is to bridge the gap between scientific discovery and clinical application by uniting pioneering researchers with dedicated clinicians to accelerate the translation of discoveries into new diagnostic approaches and therapies.

Bess Frost @bessfrost.bsky.social · 5d

We are excited to announce a new open search for a tenure track Assistant Professor position within the Brown University Center for Alzheimer's Disease Research!

Apply here: apply.interfolio.com/175427

Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio

apply.interfolio.com

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Reposted by Bess Frost

Nature Cell Biology @natcellbio.nature.com · 11d

💫NEW: Sun et al. identify a subset of transposable elements that serve as mechano-response enhancer elements that control #GeneExpression and human #StemCell fate.
👉https://rdcu.be/eJqGP
bit.ly/4gYgJjm

A subset of transposable elements as mechano-response enhancer elements in controlling human embryonic stem cell fate - Nature Cell Biology

Sun et al. identify a subset of transposable elements that serve as mechano-response enhancer elements that control gene expression and human stem cell fate.

bit.ly

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Reposted by Bess Frost

Sara Wickstrom @sarawickstrom.bsky.social · 16d

How do #stemcells integrate information to coordinate fate decisions? Delighted to finally see our work showing how growth factors regulate the mechano-osmotic state of the #nucleus and #chromatin to control #pluripotency exit out! www.nature.com/articles/s41... see 🧵 👇

Mechano-osmotic signals control chromatin state and fate transitions in pluripotent stem cells - Nature Cell Biology

McCreery, Stubb et al. show that mechano-osmotic changes in the nucleus induce general transcriptional repression and prime chromatin for cell fate transitions by relieving repression of specific differentiation genes.

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Bess Frost

Selina Wray @selinawray.bsky.social · 21d

Incredible!!!

UCL Faculty of Brain Sciences @uclbrainscience.bsky.social · 21d

🧵 BREAKING: Gene therapy shows promise in slowing Huntington’s disease progression. A major milestone in neurodegenerative disease research. @uclqsion.bsky.social @ucl-hd.bsky.social
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Huntington's disease successfully treated for first time

One of the most devastating diseases finally has a treatment that can slow its progression and transform lives, tearful doctors tell BBC.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Reposted by Bess Frost

Nature Reviews Neuroscience @natrevneuro.nature.com · Aug 21

Brain on standby — how torpor made ‘tauopathy’ reversible — a Journal Club article by Nina M. Rzechorzek

@dynamicbrain.bsky.social

#neuroscience #neuroskyence

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Brain on standby — how torpor made ‘tauopathy’ reversible - Nature Reviews Neuroscience

In this Journal Club, Nina Rzechorzek explores a 2003 article showing that, during hibernation, ground squirrels reversibly accumulate highly phosphorylated tau in the brain (a hallmark of Alzheimer’s...

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Bess Frost

Dr Sian Gramates @drglam.bsky.social · Aug 11

I just got the notice that all the FlyBase people at Harvard, including me, will be laid off on October 12. I'm devastated.

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Bess Frost @bessfrost.bsky.social · Jul 29

If you are at #AAIC25 and want to see new, unpublished data on #tau, #retrotransposons and circular DNA, check out poster #847 by Morgan Lambert @BrownUniversity from 3:30-4:15 today!

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Bess Frost @bessfrost.bsky.social · Jul 27

If science in the US ends due to continuous funding cuts, I think I’ll try to join a scientific conference dance troupe. #AAIC2025

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Reposted by Bess Frost

Josh Dubnau @joshdubnau.bsky.social · Jun 18

1/2 Great article by Amber Dance in @knowablemag.bsky.social, a lay explanation of the @annualreviews.bsky.social that @bessfrost.bsky.social and I wrote about the “retrotransposon storm” hypothesis of Neurodegeneration.

knowablemagazine.org/content/arti...

How rogue jumping genes can spur Alzheimer’s, ALS

Our genomes are peppered with DNA segments called retrotransposons that can move from place to place. When unleashed, some can kill nerves and promote inflammation — a discovery that may inspire treat...

knowablemagazine.org

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Reposted by Bess Frost

Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · Jun 8

More complete analysis of NIH outlays (or lack thereof) from grant-watch.us

grant-watch.us/posts/trends...

Trends in NIH outlays: Brown, Columbia, Cornell, and Northwestern funding drops to $0 – Grant Watch

grant-watch.us

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Reposted by Bess Frost

Alt NIH Bluesky 🧪 @altnih4science.bsky.social · Jun 7

The Trump HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon is a flat liar. Peer review selects the best grants and awards them for several years and that’s it.

The Trump admin has politicized American science in an unprecedented way and now lies about it. Journalists: ask scientists about what’s happened for the truth.

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Reposted by Bess Frost

Carolyn Johnson @carolynyjohnson.bsky.social · Jun 3

In case you needed a smile this Tuesday: 10-month-old baby KJ, who received a bespoke gene-editing therapy after a six month scientific sprint - "graduated" from the hospital @childrensphila.bsky.social today and went HOME!

YAY SCIENCE!

Here's his story: wapo.st/451ZQjT

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Reposted by Bess Frost

Mark A. Hanson @hansonmark.bsky.social · Jun 3

URGENT: FlyBase has lost practically all its funding overnight; even user fees are tied up in denied grant funding. 🤬🤯

Any lab using @flybase.bsky.social please donate using the link in post below.

This incredible community, on whose backs our #Drosophila labs depend, can't be left out to dry.

Marc Dionne @marcsdionne.bsky.social · Jun 3

My lab studies bacterial infections. We spend a lot of time looking at (or for) species-specific genetic and genomic databases for hosts and microbes. FlyBase is the best of all—there is literally no comparison. Its existence is under threat. Please donate.
www.philanthropy.cam.ac.uk/give-to-camb...

Drosophila Genetic Database

The Drosophila Genetic Database, FlyBase, is on the brink of collapse due to the sudden termination of the FlyBase NIH grant, which includes salaries for 5 literature curators based at the University ...

www.philanthropy.cam.ac.uk

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Bess Frost @bessfrost.bsky.social · Jun 1

alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Insights into pathophysiology, biomarkers, and therapeutics in tauopathies: Proceedings of the Tau2024 Global Conference

Recent years have seen major advances in tau-associated brain disorders through interdisciplinary research spanning molecular biology, neuroimaging, clinical trials, and therapeutic development. The...

alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

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Bess Frost @bessfrost.bsky.social · May 30

An amazing PhD student in my lab just received notice that her individual F31 fellowship focused on Alzheimer’s disease/Tauopathy was terminated.

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Reposted by Bess Frost

Frank Shewmaker @frank-shewmaker.bsky.social · May 19

Progress with rapid & accessible biomarkers of neurodegeneration! Fujirebio received FDA clearance for a blood assay that predicts amyloid plaque pathology associated with Alzheimer's disease. The assay measures the plasma ratio of pTau217:β-Amyloid1-42.
www.fujirebio.com/en-us/news-e...
🧪

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Bess Frost @bessfrost.bsky.social · May 19

This is also the case at Brown since early April

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