CRISPR-mediated editing of the white locus and resulting adult phenotypes. (A) Alignment of 135 the engineered sgRNA to the white reference sequence (GeneID: 101458180); the grey bar indicates the 136 sgRNA target region. Values denote the percentage of sequencing reads assigned to each sequence 137 variant for 7SK-driven and U6-driven sgRNA constructs, respectively. The upper rows show confirmed 138 wildtype and white mutant allele sequences; the lower rows show indel sequences identified by 139 CRISPResso2 analysis. Source data are deposited under ENA project PRJEB111759. (B) Representative 140 images of post-microinjection adult flies: wildtype (left) and mosaic mutant (right).

Exciting work from our lab!
@amberhall.bsky.social and Matthew Shackleton-Chavez validated the first 7SK Pol III promoter in a Tephritid fly, Ceratitis capitata.
A new tool for gRNA expression in #CRISPR editing of this major agricultural pest.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
#SynBio #Entomology

So why did it leave such a lasting impression? 🤔

Can you guess what happened next?

2/8 groups produced their own pictographs that produced the same distorted impression.

Neither group could explain why, and remembered clearly the bad example.

Pictograph of female height. Non 0 y axis and female symbols to represent bars makes for distorted impressions of height differences by country

Remember this?
Today in class something fascinating happened...

We discussed this as an example of bad visual design because it distorts the impression of the height difference between countries.

Then I set the task of making their own public engagement visuals on fresh data...

Image of a Claude skill from https://github.com/K-Dense-AI/claude-scientific-skills/blob/main/scientific-skills/citation-management/SKILL.md

Further text from https://github.com/K-Dense-AI/claude-scientific-skills/blob/main/scientific-skills/citation-management/SKILL.md

The problem with offloading finding paper to ai is you will get biased results. 🧪🤖

I don't want to call out k-dense in particular but it's the clearest example of how using tools without reading their prompts Is a bad idea.

github.com/K-Dense-AI/c...

📢CALL FOR COLLABORATION📢

My PhD student Warre is looking for flies infected with #Laboulbeniales fungi. Especially Musca domestica!

If you have any, store in 96% ethanol or in the freezer, record on @inaturalist.bsky.social, and/or contact Warre.

#TeamLaboul #LFEE #LuminaQuaeruntur

🫡safe travels!

Definitely

But at the same time, if changing environmental conditions affect mating systems, then they have the capacity to also impact the efficacy of these different release strategies. Some more than others depending on whether they are high/low threshold and self-sustaining etc.

Another one - and this is somewhat more tangential. I work around insect pest control, most of which involve the release of modified insects for population suppression. Changing environmental conditions are only making this more relevant.

Very cool - have you seen the work on temperature effects on fertility tolerances?
doi-org.uea.idm.oclc.org/10.1038/s443...
Would fertility issues affect the impacts of differing mating systems?

Here's what the Reform UK housing spokesman had to say about the Grenfell Tower disaster. These people are a joke, and a nasty one at that. (1/2)

🧵 New paper!

How does the immune system shape the gut microbiome in wild animals?

We studied the Seychelles warbler using shotgun metagenomics to test how variation in MHC genes (key immune genes) influences both the taxonomy and function of gut microbes.

rdcu.be/e7Wxv

Here’s what we found 👇

Do u think they did an equalities audit before deciding on a two-tier workforce because I have some wild guesses about who is most impacted here.

Reporter - Times Higher Education We're looking for an experienced reporter to cover key issues in UK and global higher education!

We’re hiring! THE is seeking an experienced reporter to lead our coverage of key issues within UK and global HE. Applications close on Tuesday 17 March.
careers.timeshighereducation.com/jobs/7312441-reporter

SORTEE Webinar: On what makes good sharable and reproducible R code, how to do it, and why it’s good for science For this month's SORTEE webinar, Dr. Dax Kellie from the Atlas of Living Australia will present on good, sharable, and reproducible R code in science

In one week I'll be talking about tips for reproducible R code and why science would love you to try these tips on your own code too 🧪😍🌏

It's an online talk, so feel free to watch comfortably from your couch. Hope to see you there!
@sortee.bsky.social #rstats

events.humanitix.com/sortee-webin...

Like dude, just trust me I got this.

I don't think this is impossible but it requires deconstruction and rebuilding from the ground up.

Broadly no, because buy-in to the process, critical understanding, and evaluation haven't been fully developed yet

Monday morning Bluesky people, any more thoughts on AI for arts and humanities in HE?

On the other hand I've had to become more adaptable - last week we got pen and paper out and drew out our understanding of an experiment. Driven by a desire to get the students away from a computer terminal, but probably something I should have been doing years ago.

2) How to read, evaluate and critique the literature. Where does information or evidence come from.

In teaching my concerns are 1) loss of the struggle - I teach coding - but one of the key learnings from this was actually the development of ordered thinking - without the struggle of learning this doesn't stick now.

You asked for Arts & Humanities, but I think these concerns broadly resonate across to the sciences as well e.g. atrophy of critical thinking.

I would watch the hell out of a phyllis and millicent detective agency spinoff!
#callthemidwife

Thank you all for the kind interest in my aching middle aged body. 👌

The human body is so adaptable.
For example because I didn't manage to go the gym for 2 weeks - my body smartly adapted to the idea that I would never go back and appears to have atrophied all of my muscles 😓

This is the first formal analysis of the field. So please share it widely - hope this is a tool of wide use to the #genedrive community.

Four-week timeframe for £40m AI research lab divides opinion - Research Professional News Tech advocates celebrate prospect of new UK lab, but “extremely tight” application window sparks concern

This is ridiculous but not surprising! Obviously, EPSRC must have people/organisations in mind and I wouldn’t be surprised if they have been in contact with some groups in advance. Some hard questions about why £40m is spent as such www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...