Author | Lightnews

Reposted by Raphaella So, PhD

Diana Fulmer @dianafulmer.bsky.social · Oct 2

Coolest thing I’ve read this week! 😎🧪

Check this 🧵 for some amazing implantation #science.

Kate Cavanaugh @katecavanaugh.bsky.social · Oct 1

See this? This = implanting mouse embryo. Usually this happens inside its mother and is invisible to us, but we can actually watch implantation ex vivo with the hope of understanding why implantation goes awry in embryos of older women. A 🧵...

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Reposted by Raphaella So, PhD

Jonathan A. Michaels @jonathanamichaels.bsky.social · Oct 1

The neural control & computation lab is recruiting!

If you're interested in using large-scale neural population recordings to study how the brain learns to produce complex and flexible behaviours, please get in touch.

www.ncclab.ca

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Raphaella So, PhD @raphaellaso.bsky.social · Aug 2

Peanuts the hammy decided to grace us with his presence at lunch

Hamster with an expressionless face munching on dried sweet potatoes

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Raphaella So, PhD @raphaellaso.bsky.social · Jun 10

With this, I would like to thank the CIHR, Croucher Foundation, Parkinson Canada @parkinsoncanada.bsky.social , Peterborough KM Hunter Charitable Foundation, and Ontario Graduate Scholarship for funding our research.
If you've read this far, thank you for reading and I'm happy to take any questions!

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Raphaella So, PhD @raphaellaso.bsky.social · Jun 10

Our findings also imply that even when experimental conditions are all controlled for, strain variability inherently exists in de novo α-syn aggregates generated in vitro or derived from the M83 mouse model. This needs to be taken into account when we design/interpret α-syn studies in the future.

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Raphaella So, PhD @raphaellaso.bsky.social · Jun 10

Our observations that distinct strains come from the same experimental setup (for recombinant α-syn) and from the same genotype of mice (for naturally occurring aggregates) suggest that random protein misfolding is a major driver of α-syn strains and disease heterogeneity in the synucleinopathies.

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Raphaella So, PhD @raphaellaso.bsky.social · Jun 10

As homozygous M83 mice spontaneously develop synucleinopathies, we also examined the naturally occurring strain diversity of their α-syn aggregates, and found that they could form 1 of 3 types of aggregates, which propagated as 3 different strains.

i.e. Multiple strains arise naturally, randomly.

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Raphaella So, PhD @raphaellaso.bsky.social · Jun 10

Using biochemical assays and cryo-EM, we found that in the same condition, wild-type and A53T-mutant α-syn can form multiple α-syn structures. These structures propagated as distinct strains in our mouse model (M83 mice, which overexpresses the A53T-mutant human α-syn and develops a fatal disease)

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Raphaella So, PhD @raphaellaso.bsky.social · Jun 10

With the link between different strains and different diseases established, we then wondered why different strains form. Specifically, we asked whether different strains can form when aggregates are made in identical conditions -- because if so, the reason may be random misfolding.

Spoiler: yes.

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Raphaella So, PhD @raphaellaso.bsky.social · Jun 10

That shape/structure is what we call a "conformational strain." Previously, we published that making α-syn aggregates in the test tube in the presence vs. absence of salt creates two different strains that cause drastically different neurological diseases in mice www.nature.com/articles/s41...

α-Synuclein strains target distinct brain regions and cell types - Nature Neuroscience

Lau et al. find that α-synuclein strains initiate distinct diseases when injected into mice, which provides a potential molecular explanation for the clinical and pathological differences between Park...

www.nature.com

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Raphaella So, PhD @raphaellaso.bsky.social · Jun 10

Weirdly enough, a vast majority of Parkinson's and DLB patients, and all MSA patients, express the same wild-type version of α-syn. So why do different patients get different diseases? The secret may lie in the shape in which multiple α-syn proteins are attached www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

α-Synuclein Conformational Strains as Drivers of Phenotypic Heterogeneity in Neurodegenerative Diseases

The synucleinopathies, which include Parkinson’s disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, and multiple system atrophy, are a class of human neurodegenerati…

www.sciencedirect.com

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Raphaella So, PhD @raphaellaso.bsky.social · Jun 10

Alpha-synuclein protein aggregates are a common pathological hallmark of multiple neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson's, Multiple System Atrophy, and Dementia with Lewy Bodies. α-Syn gene duplications, triplications, and mutations are known causes for familial Parkinson's and DLB.

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Raphaella So, PhD @raphaellaso.bsky.social · Jun 10

My PhD work at the Joel Watts lab is now online! It is an ultrastructural, biochemical, and neuropathological investigation into different structures of α- #synuclein (α-syn) aggregates, done in collaboration with Gunnar Schröder's lab.
#NeuroSky #Parkinsons 🧪
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

www.biorxiv.org

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Reposted by Raphaella So, PhD

bioRxiv Neuroscience @biorxiv-neursci.bsky.social · Jun 7

Stochastic Misfolding Drives the Emergence of Distinct α-Synuclein Strains https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.06.03.657690v1

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Reposted by Raphaella So, PhD

Lydia Polgreen @polgreen.bsky.social · May 7

I am constitutionally incapable of encountering this video without watching the whole thing.

shauna @goldengateblond.bsky.social · May 7

eight years ago today we all watched the glory of zendaya falling madly in love with tom holland and the internet was never the same

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Reposted by Raphaella So, PhD

Paul Bierman @paul-bierman.bsky.social · Mar 25

With all noise out of DC, it's easy to forget that Greenland's ice sheet is fragile. It's melted away before raising sea level 6 m (20+ ft). Free read - fossil evidence from under the ice.
❄️💙📚
#scicomm
#climate
#UVMresearch
#science
🧪 🌎 ⚒️
#ClimateHealth
#ClimateAction

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

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Raphaella So, PhD @raphaellaso.bsky.social · Mar 25

My pet hamster Peanuts does derpy things when food is in sight.

Hamster’s face squished trying to get to his flax

Hamster looks derpy trying to eat his flax

Hamster bends himself to seemingly impossible lengths for flax

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Reposted by Raphaella So, PhD

Erin Gerecke, PhD, ELS @mulledscience.bsky.social · Feb 27

If they don’t reverse course, we may not have lifesaving flu shots next year. Because actual inefficiency and antivaccine people have taken over our national healthcare agencies. 🧪

www.cnbc.com/amp/2025/02/...

FDA cancels vaccine advisory meeting for choosing flu strains for next season's shots

It comes as RFK Jr., a vaccine skeptic who now leads the Department of Health and Human Services, makes moves that could affect vaccination uptake and policy.

www.cnbc.com

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Reposted by Raphaella So, PhD

Dr. Kat Napaaqtuk❄️ @napaaqtuk.bsky.social · Feb 25

Hold on while I copypasta into my CV....but also read up in thread for important tool on how to convey the importance of your work 🧪

Joachim Vandekerckhove 🏖️ @joachim.cidlab.com · Feb 24

Awesome

PROMPT: I serve my country by...

Shitposting on BlueSky

RESPONSE:

1. I engage online communities through creative content that sparks meaningful discussions

2. I build connections across networks by sharing thought-provoking perspectives

3. I contribute to digital discourse by crafting timely, relevant social commentary

4. I foster an inclusive online environment where diverse voices can be heard

5. I experiment with emerging social platforms to understand new forms of communication

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Reposted by Raphaella So, PhD

Physicians for a Healthy Democracy @physiciandemocracy.medsky.social · Jan 22

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Raphaella So, PhD @raphaellaso.bsky.social · Jan 16

New late night writing record: my upcoming paper's introduction section, 3am.
(last time was my committee meeting report, 1 sth am, >6 years ago)

I just wanted to get to the part where I yell about a-syn strains being strains because they fit the definition of strains. to spite the strain deniers.

Reposted by Raphaella So, PhD

Oregon Zoo @oregonzoo.bsky.social · Jan 14

Sir Snacks-a-lot is always working 🍎

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Reposted by Raphaella So, PhD

Elisabeth Bik - Perpetrator 5, a fraudulent microbiologist @elisabethbik.bsky.social · Dec 17

Finally! The Hydroxychloroquine study by Gautret et al. has been retracted. I wrote a critical post about it in March 2020, days after it came out.

scienceintegritydigest.com/2020/03/24/t...

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Reposted by Raphaella So, PhD

Shannon Macauley @macauleylab.bsky.social · Dec 4

Microglial APOE3 Christchurch protects neurons from Tau pathology in a human iPSC-based model of Alzheimer’s disease

www.cell.com/cell-reports...

DEFINE_ME

www.cell.com

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Reposted by Raphaella So, PhD

Julia Dunn @dunnimmunolab.bsky.social · Nov 23

I’ve got it, the next big innovation in conference technology!

…are you ready for this?

Printing the name on BOTH SIDES OF THE BADGE

🧪

a cartoon drawing of a man standing next to another man

Alt: a cartoon drawing of a man dancing and swinging a lanyard around his neck

media.tenor.com

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