Behind the Paper
The real stories behind the latest research papers, from conception to publication, the highs and the lows
Filtered by: Protocols & Methods
How an ancient autophagy pathway shaped glycogen-based energy strategies in animals
By integrating molecular evolution with autophagy function, our Communications Biology study reveals how protein structural evolution shapes clade-specific diversification in glycogen utilization, offering new mechanistic insight into the evolutionary dynamics of energy metabolism.
Making cells bigger to see what was previously invisible
How signals move inside living cells has been hard to see because cells are small and signals propagate fast. We enlarged Dictyostelium cells by blocking division without harming function, enabling direct visualization of front–rear cAMP and calcium signal flow in single living cells.
Single cell proteomics of human neutrophils in glioblastoma
Neutrophils infiltrate glioblastomas with the capacity to engage pro/anti tumoural responses. Here we developed single cell proteomic workflows to stratify neutrophil heterogeneity by function. This work provides a platform to study neutrophil proteomes with single cell resolution in glioblastoma.
Sex and Gender Shape Health—Time for Science to Establish Clarity
Our biological sex - physical and physiological traits - and our gender - the roles and identities we take on throughout life - both influence our health. Yet research measuring sex and gender effects remains fragmented, constraining evidence-informed decision-making.
Single cell histone modifications can be readily quantified in single cell proteomic datasets
Single cell proteomics (SCP) can provide almost complete coverage of proteins with high intracellular abundance. Histones exist at millions of copies per cell, and two newly published studies demonstrated quantitative analysis of histone post-translational modifications in single human cells.
Reprogramming the morphology of colorectal cancer cells in 3D cultures to enhance therapeutic response
By pairing 3D culture with high-throughput screening, our Communications Biology study reveals how architecture shapes signaling and drug sensitivity – offering insights that could transform treatment strategies for colorectal cancer.
Planar Lightsheet Optical Tweezer (pLOT) - A new tool for scientific discovery
The planar lightsheet optical tweezer (pLOT) holds the key to new kinds of experiments that are constrained to two dimensions (2D). This paves the way for optical trapping, manipulation, and imaging of live objects, and may helps unlock quantum interactions between two bodies (atomic physics).
The forensics of mobile mRNA data in plants
This is an account of my personal journey through a project that involved many collaborators, and ended up challenging a whole research field.
