Very happy to see this story finally out (link in comments)! We used low-input Capture Hi-C to profile promoter-anchored chromosomal interactions in Type 3 innate lymphoid cells (ILC3s) - rare tissue-resident lymphocytes that lack antigen receptors and regulate barrier immunity.

MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences@mrc-lms.bsky.social · yesterday

New research published today in Nature Genetics uses a technique called mini-Capture Hi-C to map 3D DNA folding in rare ILC3 immune cells, linking 100+ genes to immune disease risk in this cell type 🧬

A new study tracks how cells prepare gene regulatory decisions that will define their fate during the earliest stages of human development and highlights how the genome’s 3D structure helps shape cell identity and could offer clues to how developmental disorders arise 🧬

3D genome architecture pre-wires early developmental decisions

New research tracks how cells prepare gene regulatory decisions that will define their fate during the earliest stages of human development. The study reconstructs a timeline of chromosome folding tha...

lms.mrc.ac.uk

Our story about the poising and connectivity of human developmental enhancers is out! www.cell.com/cell-reports...

A very important editorial: Don’t deprioritize curiosity-driven research www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Don’t deprioritize curiosity-driven research

Around the world, governments are demanding that research funding follow broader political priorities. They should be careful what they wish for.

nature.com

Have just seen a social media post from a Nobel Prize winner about how they are actually not afraid of their core grant renewal interview. I don't even know from what side to start unpacking this as an insight into the sociology of science...

Happy to have contributed to this exciting study!

MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences@mrc-lms.bsky.social · 6mo ago

New LMS research shows for the first time that, before they can start developing into egg and sperm cells, the embryonic precursors of these cells uniquely reshape the 3D organisation of their genetic material.

I'm guest-editing a collection on "Enhancer-promoter interactions" at Genome Biology. Please send us your exciting stories! link.springer.com/collections/...

Thank you, my local Labour MP @stellacreasy.bsky.social for a bit of common sense. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

ICE-style raids on Britain's streets: that's all Labour's brutal asylum reforms will achieve | Stella Creasy

If we want to ‘stop the boats’, we need to stop the BS when it comes to what creates refugees, and how to respond to them, says Labour MP Stella Creasy

theguardian.com

I elaborated on my proposal for a "grants commons" in an opinion piece for Times Higher Education. www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/comm...

A common grant application database would cut the waste of resubmission

Financial restrictions oblige funders to reject vast numbers of sound proposals. Why not retain them for other funders to consider, asks Mikhail Spivakov

timeshighereducation.com

Totally agree and had been proposing this for a while. Time to join forces and make this happen?

Oded Rechavi@odedrechavi.bsky.social · 9mo ago

The idea is to decouple the journals from the review step. They’ll still exist, but they’ll need to add other value. They’ll highlight, curate, add new perspectives. If they do a good job they can still be prestigious (like Scientific American or Wired) (1.2) 👇

The costs of the UK’s Global Talent Visa looks a trifle high in comparison to competitor countries - largely through the Immigration Health Surcharge (which critics say is a form of double taxation as they contribute to the NHS through normal tax on their earnings)

From a sample of over 10 papers (on most of which I'm either not an author or not a senior author), over a year-long revisions in our field are becoming common. Before we accept this as the norm, I suggest we consider the consequences & inequalities this creates, even in the era of preprints.

The PhD opportunities in our group and in many others at @mrc-lms.bsky.social are now open! lms.mrc.ac.uk/work-and-stu...

Studentships and PhD training

We have two core PhD programmes - traditional and transdisciplinary. Our PhD students are registered with Imperial and are embedded in our dedicated research facility.

lms.mrc.ac.uk

Mikhail Spivakov@mspivakov.bsky.social · 10mo ago

If you are interested in studying enhancers, enhancer-promoter communication and/or enhancer-based gene regulatory networks using multidisciplinary approaches, feel free to send an informal inquiry or watch the space on findAphd.com and lms.mrc.ac.uk, where the ads will go live soon!

A quick heads-up that we will have two PhD positions available to start in October 2026. One as part of MRC LMS PhD programme, and one as a transdisciplinary studentship with @srinjan.bsky.social and Thomas Ouldridge at Imperial.

Many enhancers that drive tissue-specific gene expression are already connected to gene promoters in human pluripotent cells. In a new preprint, we share some clues about when, how, and why this happens! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Poising and connectivity of emergent human developmental enhancers in the transition from naive to primed pluripotency

In primed human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) resembling post-implantation epiblast, numerous lineage-specific enhancers assume the poised chromatin state, co-marked by H3K4me1 and Polycomb-associate...

biorxiv.org

Translational research is digging for gold. Basic research is learning where and what to dig. The more funding is diverted to translation, the more we deplete the research ecosystem, driving the supplies of "gold" - immediately translatable findings and innovations - to unsustainably low levels.

My colleagues at @mrc-lms.bsky.social are hiring (five postdoc positions in total!).

Vicki Metzis@vmetzis.bsky.social · last yr.

Interested in developmental epigenetics? So are we! Apply now to join us for your postdoc! Multiple positions across multiple groups @mrc-lms.bsky.social Projects spanning germline demethylation, gene regulation, genome architecture in development & disease 👇👇 lms.mrc.ac.uk/work/vacanci...

Congratulations to Will Scott and the team from @mrc-lms.bsky.social on this exciting study!

MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences@mrc-lms.bsky.social · last yr.

A new study, published today in Nature, reveals the hidden benefits of weight loss on fat tissue. A better understanding of how weight loss leads to health improvements at a molecular level could help inform the development of therapies for diseases such as type 2 diabetes in the future.

"We’re reaping the fruits of what happened economically 50 years ago, when... decisions began to prioritize efficiency and making as much money as possible over what was ethically correct." english.elpais.com/culture/2025...

Philip Kitcher, philosopher: ‘Life is a human project, not God’s’

The British thinker is an advocate of collective progress and laments our contemporary individualism. In an interview with EL PAÍS, he says that there is value in idealism, even when it is absurd

english.elpais.com

AI models go dumb when fed their own output. But as we are increasingly reading AI-generated text and looking at AI-generated images, how about us? www.nature.com/articles/s41...

AI models collapse when trained on recursively generated data - Nature

 Analysis shows that indiscriminately training generative artificial intelligence on real and generated content, usually done by scraping data from the Internet, can lead to a collapse in th...

nature.com

My heart goes to UK migrants who feel outraged with UK govt's proposals to retroactively extend the qualifying period for permanent residence by 5(!) years. The last Labour govt did the same just by 1 year and it was still shocking and destructive. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025... 1/n

1.5m foreign workers already in UK could face longer wait for permanent settlement

People who have moved to UK since 2020 may face extra five-year wait to stay indefinitely under Labour crackdown

theguardian.com

Labour has chosen nativism over growth. inews.co.uk/opinion/star...

There is one sure way to reduce net immigration: make life in this country rubbish for everyone.

Our institute has created an exciting postdoc fellowship scheme for UK black heritage scientists. Please spread the word and apply if eligible! lms.mrc.ac.uk/work/vacanci...

MRC Postdoctoral Research Scientist (Emerging Innovators Fellowship for Black Heritage Scientists) - MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences

The MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences (LMS) is a biomedical research institute where scientists and clinicians collaborate to advance the understanding of biology and its application to medicine. Fun...

lms.mrc.ac.uk

Postdoc position #1 is live! Please apply / spread the word! lms.mrc.ac.uk/work/vacanci...

MRC Postdoctoral Research Scientist - MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences

Applications are invited for a 3-year post-doctoral research position at the MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences (LMS) at Imperial College London (http://lms.mrc.ac.uk/).

lms.mrc.ac.uk

❤️‍🔥 Passionate about gene regulation research, in the wet and/or dry lab? 🎡 Excited about London's vibrant research and social environment? 🔬 Looking for a funded postdoc position (but ideally, have the CV and drive to apply for a fellowship in your 1st year)? Please DM/email me to discuss!

Govts aren't businesses, and efficiency isn't their main virtue. They need to be resilient and fair, and efficiency often comes at the cost of that.

Our new paper is finally out, showing that the same enhancer sequences - and likely the same transcription factors recruited to them - affect the activity of distal enhancers and their looping over to target gene promoters. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Genetic coupling of enhancer activity and connectivity in gene expression control - Nature Communications

Here, the authors study the effects of expression quantitative trait loci on enhancer activity and promoter contacts in primary monocytes isolated from male individuals, suggesting an inherent genetic...

nature.com

Happy to be part of this exciting study with Oleg Glebov's lab at KCL/Quindao and our own Lumi Ruje! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Dear reviewers, when you refuse to re-review a revised version of the paper you reviewed earlier, you mess things up quite badly for the authors. Please try to avoid doing that.