This week we discuss heart dedifferentiation and regeneration with Avraham Shakked @abingtonSA a final year PhD student, at the Weizmann Institute of Science, @WeizmannScience. We speak about their ingenious mouse model which uses transient and temporarily controlled ERBB2 expression which allows dedifferentiation and redifferentiation of cardiomyocytes. Using this model they examined the difference in RNA, protein and heart function in the redifferentiated the cells with and without heart...

This week we discuss placental inflammation and heart development with postdoc Eleanor Jayne Ward and PI Suchita Nadkarni (@SciSuchita) from Queen Mary, University of London. In this preprint, the authors show that during embryonic heart development, neutrophils (innate immune cells) can sometimes cause placental inflammation. This inflammation leads to a loss of barrier function. In turn, this allows maternal monocytes (innate immune cells that develop into macrophages) to migrate into the...

This week we discuss a population of stem cells called tanycytes which line hypothalamus in the brain with Alex Moore (@alexthemessiah) an Operational Research Analyst in the Civil Service & Kavitha Chinnaiya a Post Doc from the University of Sheffield (@sheffielduni).  Tanycytes are population of cells which line the 3rd ventricle in the hypothalamus, self renew and give rise to neurons and glia within the brain. We speak to them about the key findings of their paper which includes...

CW:// This week's episode touches on some themes revolving around caloric restriction which some listeners may find difficult. This week we speak to Ben Thomas @BenThomasSci, a final year PhD student at the University of Edinburgh @EdinburghUni about the benefits of caloric restriction, the impact in male and female mice as well as the effect of age. We highlight the ingrained sexisim within the biological sciences: often only male mice are used and we discuss how this can impact the results...

This week we discuss how journalists approach using preprints with Alice Fleerackers (@FleerackersA), a PhD student at the Simon Fraser University (@SFU). She tells us how she went behind the scenes and to examine the decision making process of journalists on whether to use preprints or not, how they contextualized the science, and what practices they use to evaluate preprints. We discuss the benefits of preprints and highlight the importance of science communication and our role as...

This week we discuss organoids and assembloids as models of neurodegenerative diseases with Sònia Sabaté Soler (@scisonias), a PhD student from the University of Luxembourg (@uni_lu). Find out about how 2D stem cells cultures are differentiated into complex 3D midbrain organoids which contain multiple cell types. We also discuss how microglia can be incorporated into the organoids to generate assembloids, mimicking the human brain more robustly. As always we speak about pre-printing and...

A really exciting special episode this week, as we talk to co-founders of BioRxiv (@biorxivpreprint) and MedRxiv (@medrxivpreprint) Richard Sever (@cshperspectives) & John Inglis (@JohnRInglis). We discuss how they met and started with BioRxiv along with the challenges they faced. We then chat about the considerations when accepting or rejecting preprints, or why certain papers are rejected from BioRxiv (they don’t just accept everything).  We also touch on the impact COVID 19 and the...

This week we discuss DNA recorders with Theresa Loveless (@TheresaLovele12), a Post Doc, at UC Irvine. DNA recorders can turn transient events into stable genomic ones and have been used to investigate cell fates and lineages. Join us as we find out more about how this is achieved and the incredible technology behind it!! We also chat about Theresa’s experience of preprinting and academia, and how it can be improved!! Read the full...

This week we discuss an amazing new technique developed by Dr Jakub Gemperle (@GemperleJakub), a Marie Curie Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Manchester (@OfficialUoM). This technique uses 3 different inducible systems to allow on-demand control of endogenous genes, including being able to remove genes and then re-express them. A nice all in one package of techniques, great for rescue experiments!! We then also talk about Magnetogenetics where cells (and vesicles) can be...

This week is our Christmas Episode! In this episode the Preprints in Motion team get together and discuss exciting, new preprints with a festive theme. We talk about smart soil, mitochondria DNA in relation to COVID 19, shock absorber stress granules as well as a discussion on nepotistic journals and much more including festive cheer and merriment.   Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from us at Preprints in Motion. Read the full...

This week we discuss the exocyst with Dr Hannes Maib @hannes_maib a Post-Doctoral Researcher at the University of Dundee @dundeeuni!! He explains the complexities of the exocyst as well as the exciting biochemistry and binding assays used to understand its formation. In addition Hannes speaks candidly about starting working in a new lab as a Post-Doc, his views of hierarchical journal systems and how preprinting can help ECR take back ownership of their work in a great discussion with our...

This week we discuss prefigurative politics in academia with Stefano Davide Vianello, a PhD student at @EPFL_en in Switzerland. This is the idea that in order to change how a system works we should act in a way that reflects the change we want to see. In Stefano’s case: preprinting to be the end goal and he has therefore submitted a preprint without any intention of submitting it to a journal. We speak to him about his reasons for this, why he is against academics paying for open access as...

This week we discuss mice in space and the impact of prolonged space flight and how this can relate to austraunoughts with Jessica L Braun @jess_l_braun a PhD Student at the Brock University @BrockUniversity. Jessica speaks about her work looking at soleus and tibialis anterior muscles of mice which have spent 35-37 days on the international space station comparing Ca2+ uptake and SERCA function. We discuss everything from a mice mission control to cardigan rhythms and the different effects...

This week we discuss Parkinson’s Disease and single molecule spectroscopy with Dr Derrick Lau, a PostDoc at the University of New South Wales (@UNSW). Single molecular spectroscopy can be used to track the formation and purification of α-synuclein aggregates, a hallmark of PD, and potentially lead to a tool for early diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease. We discuss how single molecular spectroscopy is transferable to medium throughput and use bio fluids for early diagnosis of Parkinson Disease...

This week we discussed the transfer of mitochondria from macrophages to cancer cells with Dr Chelsea Kidwill & Joseph Casalin, a Post-Doctoral Research Associate and PhD student at University of Utah (@UUtah) in the school of medicine. We delve into why this transfer occurs, the mechanism of transfer and how this impacts the recipient cells. We also speak to Joseph about his alternative schooling, in addition to our usual chat about the importance of preprints and our ideas for how to...

This week we discuss The Paywall Movie with Professor Jason Schmitt, chair of communication and Media at Clarkson University. We talk about academic publishing, the problems of the current system and more.  Watch The Paywall Movie for free -> https://paywallthemovie.com/  Learn more about Plan S - https://www.coalition-s.org/  This episode was produced by Emma Wilson & Jonny Coates and edited by John D Howard. If you enjoyed this show then hit that subscribe button and leave a...

This week we discuss how published nucleotide sequences are not always correct or to be trusted with Yasunori Park and Professor Jennifer A Byrne (@JAByrneSci), a research Assistant and PI at the University of Sydney (@Sydney_uni). We delve into the details of their nifty new text mining tool (Blast and Seek) which highlights papers with incorrect nucleotide sequences. We also discuss the most common mistakes found, the impact of these mistakes, and what we can do as researchers to prevent...

This week we discuss high throughput CRISPR/Cas9 screening and how these have been adapted to investigate novel treatments for COVID-19 with Emily Sherman a former Post Doc and Brian Emmer (@brianemmer), a new PI at University of Michigan (@UMIntMed) In this episode we cover details on how to conduct a high throughput CRISPR/Cas9 screen, the exciting advances in NextGen sequencing as well as what it's like to set up your own lab while working as a clinician during a pandemic. We also speak...

This week we discuss BET inhibitors and fibroblast activation with Michael Alexanian @m_alexanian a Postdoctoral researcher at Gladstone Institutes @Gladstoneinst. Michael explains how BET inhibitors have emerged as a potent tool to reversibly interfere with enhancers to promoter signalling. This has been shown to ameliorate heart failure in mouse models and is a highly translatable method of preventing heart failure in humans. We discuss two powerful tools, scRNASeq and scATAC-seq, and how...

This week we discuss how to non-destructively extract and sequence DNA from historical mosquito and tsetse fly samples from the Natural History Museum’s collection. We discover a new method for doing just that with Dr Petra Korlevic (@petrathepostdoc), a Post-doctoral researcher at the EMBL-EBI (@emblebi)/Sanger Institute (@sangerinstitute), and Dr Erica McAlister (@flygirlNHM), Senior Curator of Diptera at the Natural History Museum (@NHM_London). Erica and Petra explain how this method can...

It's all-change at Preprints in Motion this week! Host Jonny Coates takes on the role of guest, while Producer Emma Wilson and Editor John D Howard step in front of the mic for a change and co-host, to bring you a background discussion on the history, and pros and cons of Preprints. Analysis of changes between preprints and their published versions - https://bit.ly/2ZEY5X3 Role of preprints in the COVID-19 pandemic - https://bit.ly/3duUdyc Previous podcast episode on Research Square -...

This week we focus on limb regeneration in amphibians and ask how far away are we from mammalian regeneration? Maybe not as far as we think. We join Dr Can Aztekin @CanAztekin, a recent PhD graduate from Gurdon Institute @GurdonInstitute and current PI in EPFL, Switzerland @EPFL_en. We discuss regeneration in general and a novel tool to investigate different factors involved with regeneration. We also ask him the important questions such as how is it to work with a Nobel laureate? How was it...

This week it’s something a little different! We chat with Dr Michele Avissar-Whiting (@maw_tweets) Editor in Chief of Research Square. Research Square is a Preprint platform which aims to make research communication publishing quicker, easier and fairer. We speak about their editing and reviewing process, open access journals as well as general Preprint chat! Other links Michele’s scholarly kitchen article -...

Join us as we learn why referencing Wikipedia might not be such a bad idea. We speak to Omer Benjakob @omerbenj, Jonathan Sobel @JonathanSobel1 & Rona Aviram @rona_av who have been investigating the scientific backbone of Wikipedia pages and how referencing on Wikipedia has changed over the COVID-19 pandemic. We discuss how Wikipedia manages to reliably keep up to date with a constantly evolving topic, could this be applied to a social media format to prevent disinformation and could...

This week join our host Jonny coates as he speaks with Dr Bart Vos, a research associate at the Munster University, as he reveals just how much he likes microscopes. Together they discuss how to build a high resolution LEGO microscope and how these can be used as useful teaching tools for kids and adults alike. They then delve in the world of academic science, the pros, the cons and why we should preprint! Read the full preprint:...