Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Claire McCarthy @clairem402.bsky.social · 13h

Choose 20 paintings that have stayed with you or influenced you — one painting per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just paintings.

3/20, Frank Duveneck, The Whistling Boy, 1872
www.cincinnatiartmuseum.org/art/explore-...

#blueskyartchallenge #art #painting

Painting of a boy with shirt black hair who is whistling

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Reposted by Claire McCarthy

PLOS Biology @plosbiology.org · 14h

#Tumor-associated #astrocytes (TAAs) have unclear functions in supporting the progression of #glioblastoma. This study identifies and characterizes distinct TAA subtypes with specific adaptive responses to #TumorMicroenvironment modifications @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/3WHTnFb

Distinct morphology of astrocytes in various tumor areas. Left panel: A “glial scar’” composed of reactive astrocytes surrounding the tumor core visualized by immunofluorescence (IF) staining of mouse brain sections (td tomato labelled tumor cells in red, Gfap+ astrocytes in green and DAPI stained cell nuclei in blue). Gfap+ astrocytes are barely present in the tumor core (TC) (in the magnified inset), show elongated shapes at the tumor border (BO) and star-like morphology in the surrounding brain parenchyma (BR).
Right panel: S100B+ astrocytes (in green) show different patterns, with a uniform, widespread distribution in the brain and the presence of S100B+ astrocytes in the TC and at the BO. S100B+ astrocytes in the BO are elongated, while S100B+ astrocytes farther from the TC display star-like morphology.

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Reposted by Claire McCarthy

C&EN (Chemical & Engineering News) @cenmag.bsky.social · 14h

Artificial intelligence and machine learning are being embedded in every aspect of the drug discovery and development process. Despite AI’s use at each step, the billion-dollar question is whether it can bring a larger number of novel drugs to market. cen.acs.org/physical-che... #chemsky 🧪

How AI is taking over every step of drug discovery

Academic scientists and pharmaceutical companies alike are embracing artificial intelligence, even as questions linger about its value

cen.acs.org

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Reposted by Claire McCarthy

Journal of Experimental Medicine @jem.org · 13h

Tumors with microsatellite instability upregulate TREX1 to escape antitumor immunity, say Xu et al. rupress.org/jem/article/...

#TumorImmunology

Tumors with microsatellite instability upregulate TREX1 to escape antitumor immunity

This study demonstrates that the cGAS-TREX1 axis forms a critical negative feedback loop, enabling immune evasion in MSI-H/dMMR tumors. They revealed that

rupress.org

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Reposted by Claire McCarthy

Prof Sam Illingworth @samillingworth.com · 19h

🧬 Blocking cancer growth safely

New drugs that stop a key protein link in cancer cells slowed tumour growth in mice with RAS or HER2 mutations, without harming blood sugar control.

🔗 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

#Cancer #SciComm 🧪

Covalent inhibitors of the PI3Kα RAS binding domain impair tumor growth driven by RAS and HER2

Genetic disruption of the RAS binding domain (RBD) of Phosphoinositide 3-kinase alpha(PI3Kα) impairs the growth of tumors driven by the small guanosine triphosphatase RAS in mice and does not impact P...

www.science.org

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Claire McCarthy @clairem402.bsky.social · 1d

Listening to Eyes Closed by Jisoo and Zayn: youtu.be/EN1tMeXQii0 #MusicMonday #Musicsky

JISOO X ZAYN - EYES CLOSED (OFFICIAL MV)

YouTube video by JISOO

youtu.be

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Claire McCarthy @clairem402.bsky.social · 1d

Choose 20 paintings that have stayed with you or influenced you — one painting per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just paintings.

2/20, Kadir Nelson, Henrietta Lacks (HeLa): The Mother of Modern Medicine, 2017

#blueskyartchallenge #art #painting

Painting of Henrietta Lacks, a black woman wearing a straw hat, a pearl necklace, and a red flower-print dress.

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Claire McCarthy @clairem402.bsky.social · 1d

I’m reading Regretting You by Colleen Hoover and started rereading The Covenant of Water by @abrahamverghese.bsky.social for a family book club.

Regretting You book cover with ripped up pieces of paper forming the title

The Covenant of Water book cover with an illustration of a river and a woman kneeling on the bank.

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Reposted by Claire McCarthy

Nature Portfolio @natureportfolio.nature.com · 1d

Nature’s 2025 PhD survey asked doctoral candidates worldwide what advice they would give to someone considering a similar degree. Respondents gave advice on choosing supervisors, managing mental health, and surviving academic culture. #Academicsky 🧪

27 things we wish we’d known when we started our PhDs

Nature’s survey of PhD candidates reveals hard-won wisdom on choosing supervisors, managing mental health and surviving academic culture.

go.nature.com

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Claire McCarthy @clairem402.bsky.social · 1d

Drop something CREEPY 😬 🖤 😱

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Reposted by Claire McCarthy

C&EN (Chemical & Engineering News) @cenmag.bsky.social · 1d

Carlos A. Martinez used nature’s catalysts to make Paxlovid a reality

This process chemist helped scale up production of a key component of the COVID-19 antiviral.

#HispanicHeritageMonth cen.acs.org/pharmaceutic...

Carlos A. Martinez used nature’s catalysts to make Paxlovid a reality

This process chemist helped scale up production of a key component of the COVID-19 antiviral

cen.acs.org

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Reposted by Claire McCarthy

Eric Topol @erictopol.bsky.social · 1d

What does the naked mole rat’s extreme healthspan have to do with ongoing clinical trials?

open.substack.com/pub/erictopo...

A Long-Awaited Longevity Mystery Solved

Spotlighting an essential human biologic pathway targeted by drugs in clinical trials

open.substack.com

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Claire McCarthy @clairem402.bsky.social · 2d

Choose 20 paintings that have stayed with you or influenced you — one painting per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just paintings.

1/20, Joseph Henry Sharp, Fountain Square Pantomime,1892

#blueskyartchallenge #art #painting

Fountain Square Pantomime painting showing a crowd enjoying a show at Cincinnati’s fountain square in 1892

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Reposted by Claire McCarthy

Nature @nature.com · 6d

Scientists have used low-error genome-sequencing methods in normal tissues from large cohorts of individuals to scan for mutations that set the stage for cancer

go.nature.com/42vakWS

Ultra-sensitive DNA sequencing maps mutations that precede cancer

Scientists have used low-error genome-sequencing methods in normal tissues from large cohorts of individuals to scan for mutations that set the stage for cancer.

go.nature.com

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Reposted by Claire McCarthy

Nature @nature.com · 5d

Analyses of RNA expression reveal molecules underpinning the cancer-associated process of skeletal-muscle wasting

go.nature.com/4gZI2Kh

Clues to why the weight-loss condition cachexia arises when cancer occurs

Analyses of RNA expression reveal molecules underpinning the cancer-associated process of skeletal-muscle wasting, a condition called cachexia.

go.nature.com

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Reposted by Claire McCarthy

Nature @nature.com · 5d

Four subtle changes to an enzyme might explain the longevity of the naked mole rat.

go.nature.com/46QLrWQ

Naked mole rats live for decades — genetic tweaks reveal insights into ageing

Four subtle changes to an enzyme might explain the hairless rodents’ longevity.

go.nature.com

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Reposted by Claire McCarthy

C&EN (Chemical & Engineering News) @cenmag.bsky.social · 2d

Monica Olvera de la Cruz brings chemical simulations into the real world

This computational chemist unites theoretical and experimental science using physics, biology, and chemistry. #HispanicHeritageMonth

cen.acs.org/materials/po...

Monica Olvera de la Cruz brings chemical simulations into the real world

This researcher unites theoretical and experimental science using physics, biology, and chemistry

cen.acs.org

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Reposted by Claire McCarthy

Karen Masters @karenlmasters.bsky.social · 2d

Jess Wade is amazing, and it's my absolute honour to be one of the more than 2000 women in STEM whose wikipedia page she started: mymodernmet.com/jessica-wade... 🧪🔭👩‍🔬

Meet the Physicist Who Wrote Over 2,000 Wikipedia Biographies for Women in STEM

After noticing a lack of entries on Wikipedia for incredible women throughout history, this incredible woman decided to take matters into her own hands.

mymodernmet.com

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Claire McCarthy @clairem402.bsky.social · 3d

#musicchallenge Albums I've had on repeat at some point in my life

Day 20 - Panic! At The Disco - A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out
m.youtube.com/playlist?lis...

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Reposted by Claire McCarthy

Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.bsky.social · 4d

Biophysicists are realizing that there is an undervalued element at play in early development: Aside from genes, mechanical forces also steer the growth of embryos. @annademming.bsky.social reports: www.quantamagazine.org/genes-have-h...

Genes Have Harnessed Physics to Help Grow Living Things | Quanta Magazine

The same pulling force that causes “tears” in a glass of wine also shapes embryos. It’s another example of how genes exploit mechanical forces for growth and development.

www.quantamagazine.org

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Reposted by Claire McCarthy

Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation @laskerfdn.bsky.social · 3d

The 2019 Clinical #LaskerAward recognized H. Michael Shepard, Dennis J. Slamon, and Axel Ullrich for their invention of Herceptin, the first monoclonal antibody that is a standard therapy for HER2+ breast cancers. laskerfoundation.org/winners/herc... @mpibiochem.bsky.social 🧪

Herceptin—a targeted antibody therapy for breast cancer - Lasker Foundation

Explore All 2019 Winners & Awards > H. Michael Shepard Genentech Dennis J. Slamon University of California, Los Angeles Axel Ullrich Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry For their invention…

laskerfoundation.org

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Reposted by Claire McCarthy

Krishna Shrinivas @shrinivaslab.bsky.social · 4d

Happy to share our latest in @natcomputsci.nature.com
led by (amazing) Ryan Krueger + colab w M. Brenner!

We introduce a framework to directly design intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) from physics-based simulations.
🧬 doi.org/10.1038/s435...
📰 www.mccormick.northwestern.edu/news/article...

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Reposted by Claire McCarthy

C&EN (Chemical & Engineering News) @cenmag.bsky.social · 3d

Regulatory T cells, or T regs, make up the basis for a slew of biotech companies working to treat immunological diseases. cen.acs.org/people/nobel... #chemsky 🧪

How Nobel-winning T regs fueled a new class of immunology companies

Nobel Prize–winning technology engineered to treat autoimmune diseases and cancer

cen.acs.org

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Claire McCarthy @clairem402.bsky.social · 3d

Drop some CANDLES 🕯️ 🖤 🎂

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Claire McCarthy @clairem402.bsky.social · 4d

#musicchallenge Albums I've had on repeat at some point in my life

Day 19 - Jack’s Mannequin - Everything in Transit
m.youtube.com/playlist?lis...

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