Ximena Garcia Arceo
@quexarce.bsky.social
Current postdoc in Wallace Marshall Lab at UCSF🦠 🌁 | PhD at UCSD Chemistry 🧪⛱️ | BS at UCSB Physics🔬 🌊
Hoping to stay in academia if science and education survive🤞🏻so I can think and talk about stochasticity, entropy and geometry in cells
Hoping to stay in academia if science and education survive🤞🏻so I can think and talk about stochasticity, entropy and geometry in cells
Shout out chlamy
Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel – awarded the 2026 medicine prize – discovered a remarkable protein, channelrhodopsin, in a single-celled alga.
Hegemann wondered how Chlamydomonas, a single-celled alga, is able to swim towards a light source.
Hegemann wondered how Chlamydomonas, a single-celled alga, is able to swim towards a light source.
October 5, 2026 at 4:22 PM
Shout out chlamy
Reposted by Ximena Garcia Arceo
🧬 New preprint from our lab! After years of work, we're excited to share our story: the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDHc) — best known for feeding the TCA cycle — has a second, non-catalytic role supporting mitochondrial DNA gene expression in yeast.
August 29, 2026 at 7:42 PM
🧬 New preprint from our lab! After years of work, we're excited to share our story: the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDHc) — best known for feeding the TCA cycle — has a second, non-catalytic role supporting mitochondrial DNA gene expression in yeast.
Reposted by Ximena Garcia Arceo
Congratulations to Wallace Marshall of UCSF, recipient of the 2026 Keith R. Porter Lecture, honoring innovative leaders advancing our understanding of cell biology.
https://www.ascb.org/society-news/ascb-announces-2026-honorific-award-winners/
https://www.ascb.org/society-news/ascb-announces-2026-honorific-award-winners/
September 1, 2026 at 11:20 AM
Congratulations to Wallace Marshall of UCSF, recipient of the 2026 Keith R. Porter Lecture, honoring innovative leaders advancing our understanding of cell biology.
https://www.ascb.org/society-news/ascb-announces-2026-honorific-award-winners/
https://www.ascb.org/society-news/ascb-announces-2026-honorific-award-winners/
I now have TWO apps that are necessary for doing basic tasks on Microsoft Outlook, e.g. logging in and opening a PDF. This is beyond Kafkaesque. Demonic forces are at play here.
August 13, 2026 at 6:42 PM
I now have TWO apps that are necessary for doing basic tasks on Microsoft Outlook, e.g. logging in and opening a PDF. This is beyond Kafkaesque. Demonic forces are at play here.
Reposted by Ximena Garcia Arceo
"Don't stay on twitter so long you stop believing in sunscreen" sounds like an idiom people 200 years in the future will be using but won't remember what it means
August 10, 2026 at 7:35 PM
"Don't stay on twitter so long you stop believing in sunscreen" sounds like an idiom people 200 years in the future will be using but won't remember what it means
As if we need more dogs from breeders in this world. This is an abominable use of gene-editing technology. Meanwhile there is great research into causes and treatments of allergies.
Gene-edited beagles may offer a future option for people with dog allergies - ABC News share.google/Aac7bdAp3dyp...
Gene-edited beagles may offer a future option for people with dog allergies - ABC News share.google/Aac7bdAp3dyp...
Gene-edited beagles may offer a future option for people with dog allergies
Scientists at a biotech company have used gene editing to create two hypoallergenic beagles that don't trigger allergies
share.google
August 10, 2026 at 5:02 PM
As if we need more dogs from breeders in this world. This is an abominable use of gene-editing technology. Meanwhile there is great research into causes and treatments of allergies.
Gene-edited beagles may offer a future option for people with dog allergies - ABC News share.google/Aac7bdAp3dyp...
Gene-edited beagles may offer a future option for people with dog allergies - ABC News share.google/Aac7bdAp3dyp...
Reposted by Ximena Garcia Arceo
Congratulations everyone!
Congratulations to the 2026 ASCB Honorific Award Winners!
ASCB is proud to recognize scientists whose research, mentorship, education & leadership are helping shape the future of cell biology.
See all the awardees:
https://www.ascb.org/society-news/ascb-announces-2026-honorific-award-winners/
ASCB is proud to recognize scientists whose research, mentorship, education & leadership are helping shape the future of cell biology.
See all the awardees:
https://www.ascb.org/society-news/ascb-announces-2026-honorific-award-winners/
August 5, 2026 at 3:21 AM
Congratulations everyone!
Reposted by Ximena Garcia Arceo
If this is what happens to a scientific field as a whole when LLMs dominate the workflows of researchers, I can only imagine that the outlook is even worse for any individual researcher who is soldiering on without using them. 😞
13. Hence our dismal conclusion: rather than finding that LLMs free us to do a better job of what we were doing before they came along, they shift scientific incentives (and the playing field of academic competition) in ways that compel us to do more and more, faster and faster, less and less well.
July 31, 2026 at 8:59 PM
If this is what happens to a scientific field as a whole when LLMs dominate the workflows of researchers, I can only imagine that the outlook is even worse for any individual researcher who is soldiering on without using them. 😞
Reposted by Ximena Garcia Arceo
You're probably already doing science advocacy — you just might not call it that. Our new commentary (www.nature.com/articles/s41...) makes the case that every scientist has a role, and that advocacy takes many forms. Find and embrace yours! @natcellbio.nature.com @vfarm15.bsky.social
Every scientist has a role in advocacy - Nature Cell Biology
In this Comment, we call on scientists to share their stories. Through casual conversation or prepared presentations, with images or essays, scientists can advocate for their research and reach taxpay...
www.nature.com
July 26, 2026 at 3:52 PM
You're probably already doing science advocacy — you just might not call it that. Our new commentary (www.nature.com/articles/s41...) makes the case that every scientist has a role, and that advocacy takes many forms. Find and embrace yours! @natcellbio.nature.com @vfarm15.bsky.social
Reposted by Ximena Garcia Arceo
AI is to a scientist what a calculator is to a mathematician.
Basing the future of science on AI is as deep as basing the future of mathematics on calculators
Basing the future of science on AI is as deep as basing the future of mathematics on calculators
July 22, 2026 at 12:47 PM
AI is to a scientist what a calculator is to a mathematician.
Basing the future of science on AI is as deep as basing the future of mathematics on calculators
Basing the future of science on AI is as deep as basing the future of mathematics on calculators
Reposted by Ximena Garcia Arceo
The report “calls for the government to invest in young researchers, without noting that the administration fired scores of young scientists and terminated hundreds of grants to early career researchers.”
Once you understand that this is a model of science written by non-scientists who hate universities but love venture capital and redirecting money to political allies, everything makes a lot more sense.
www.nytimes.com/2026/07/22/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/07/22/u...
Trump’s Plan for Science: More Money for A.I., Less for Universities
Michael Kratsios, President Trump’s science adviser, proposed overhauling how the government funds research. Democrats said Mr. Trump’s actions had weakened science.
www.nytimes.com
July 23, 2026 at 12:49 AM
The report “calls for the government to invest in young researchers, without noting that the administration fired scores of young scientists and terminated hundreds of grants to early career researchers.”
Reposted by Ximena Garcia Arceo
Calling the RFK Jr diarrhea strain “MAHA Blast” since it has now evidently infiltrated Taco Bell
July 14, 2026 at 5:34 PM
Calling the RFK Jr diarrhea strain “MAHA Blast” since it has now evidently infiltrated Taco Bell
Reposted by Ximena Garcia Arceo
I remember when non-binding language suggestions from university HR departments were national news, subject to repeated outraged columns in multiple media outlets.
Do you see any of that national outrage about this real, bona fide, state-enforced intimidation & censorship?
Do you see any of that national outrage about this real, bona fide, state-enforced intimidation & censorship?
Two ICE agents tracked down a woman *inside a polling place* yesterday. Why?
They demanded that she take down an Instagram post in which she named Jonathan Ross as the man who shot & killed Renee Good (after the Star Tribune identified Ross). www.syracuse.com/news/2026/06...
They demanded that she take down an Instagram post in which she named Jonathan Ross as the man who shot & killed Renee Good (after the Star Tribune identified Ross). www.syracuse.com/news/2026/06...
Federal agents track down Syracuse woman, demand she remove Instagram post about ICE
She believes the warning was related to a post about the ICE agent who shot Renee Good in Minneapolis.
www.syracuse.com
June 25, 2026 at 5:34 AM
I remember when non-binding language suggestions from university HR departments were national news, subject to repeated outraged columns in multiple media outlets.
Do you see any of that national outrage about this real, bona fide, state-enforced intimidation & censorship?
Do you see any of that national outrage about this real, bona fide, state-enforced intimidation & censorship?
Reposted by Ximena Garcia Arceo
Check out this amazing video by @julius-w.bsky.social (lead author) summarising our paper out this week!
doi.org/10.1083/jcb....
doi.org/10.1083/jcb....
June 8, 2026 at 2:13 PM
Check out this amazing video by @julius-w.bsky.social (lead author) summarising our paper out this week!
doi.org/10.1083/jcb....
doi.org/10.1083/jcb....
Reposted by Ximena Garcia Arceo
Si conocen a mexicano/as 🇲🇽 en @jhu.edu (o afiliada/os) y/o profesionistas en Baltimore, avísenme.
Organizo un grupo de WA de mexas en Balto que estoy buscando revivir. Voy a aprovechar que estoy organizando una fiesta con mariachis 🎺 🎤 y así intentar fomentar nuestra pequeña comunidad.
¡Gracias!
Organizo un grupo de WA de mexas en Balto que estoy buscando revivir. Voy a aprovechar que estoy organizando una fiesta con mariachis 🎺 🎤 y así intentar fomentar nuestra pequeña comunidad.
¡Gracias!
May 26, 2026 at 3:14 AM
Si conocen a mexicano/as 🇲🇽 en @jhu.edu (o afiliada/os) y/o profesionistas en Baltimore, avísenme.
Organizo un grupo de WA de mexas en Balto que estoy buscando revivir. Voy a aprovechar que estoy organizando una fiesta con mariachis 🎺 🎤 y así intentar fomentar nuestra pequeña comunidad.
¡Gracias!
Organizo un grupo de WA de mexas en Balto que estoy buscando revivir. Voy a aprovechar que estoy organizando una fiesta con mariachis 🎺 🎤 y así intentar fomentar nuestra pequeña comunidad.
¡Gracias!
Reposted by Ximena Garcia Arceo
And now it's out! Happy that PNAS selected for the cover this SEM image snapped by @samjlord.bsky.social, one of the most evocative visualizations of Euplotes that I have ever encountered.
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Stay tuned for what is shaping up to be some fascinating follow-up in the lab...
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Stay tuned for what is shaping up to be some fascinating follow-up in the lab...
May 19, 2026 at 4:09 PM
And now it's out! Happy that PNAS selected for the cover this SEM image snapped by @samjlord.bsky.social, one of the most evocative visualizations of Euplotes that I have ever encountered.
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Stay tuned for what is shaping up to be some fascinating follow-up in the lab...
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Stay tuned for what is shaping up to be some fascinating follow-up in the lab...
Reposted by Ximena Garcia Arceo
you've heard alot about how cells are or are not crowded at the molecular scale, but what about at the organelle scale? in her new preprint, @marymirvis.bsky.social develops a quantitative way to ask this question in budding yeast - see her thread below
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
May 14, 2026 at 3:25 PM
you've heard alot about how cells are or are not crowded at the molecular scale, but what about at the organelle scale? in her new preprint, @marymirvis.bsky.social develops a quantitative way to ask this question in budding yeast - see her thread below
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Ximena Garcia Arceo
2/13 A nice model system for this geometric question is budding yeast - simple rigid shape, easy to synchronize, and amenable to whole-cell imaging and reconstruction with high throughput.
May 13, 2026 at 7:15 PM
2/13 A nice model system for this geometric question is budding yeast - simple rigid shape, easy to synchronize, and amenable to whole-cell imaging and reconstruction with high throughput.
Reposted by Ximena Garcia Arceo
Link in the main post was cut off! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org
May 13, 2026 at 7:54 PM
Link in the main post was cut off! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Ximena Garcia Arceo
1/13 So excited to share our new preprint!! How do organelles pack together in a crowded cytoplasm? we know organelles interact via contact sites, but how does competition for space contribute to organelle morphology and interactions?
@wallaceucsf.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
@wallaceucsf.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
May 13, 2026 at 7:13 PM
1/13 So excited to share our new preprint!! How do organelles pack together in a crowded cytoplasm? we know organelles interact via contact sites, but how does competition for space contribute to organelle morphology and interactions?
@wallaceucsf.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
@wallaceucsf.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Ximena Garcia Arceo
1/23 New preprint! Been thinking about the origin of cellular life. Specifically, how protocells (or *any* compartments) just aren't enough to support the evolution of increasingly complex cells.
You gotta de-Darwinize the parts! The ribosome/genome do this.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
You gotta de-Darwinize the parts! The ribosome/genome do this.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org
May 13, 2026 at 2:17 PM
1/23 New preprint! Been thinking about the origin of cellular life. Specifically, how protocells (or *any* compartments) just aren't enough to support the evolution of increasingly complex cells.
You gotta de-Darwinize the parts! The ribosome/genome do this.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
You gotta de-Darwinize the parts! The ribosome/genome do this.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Ximena Garcia Arceo
POSTDOC OPPORTUNITY!!! The Rutgers IRACDA program is phenomenal: 70% of postdoctoral fellows land faculty positions.
Martha Soto (LinkedIn below) is the amazing director and leader of this program.
Please apply or reach out if you have questions.
www.linkedin.com/posts/martha...
Martha Soto (LinkedIn below) is the amazing director and leader of this program.
Please apply or reach out if you have questions.
www.linkedin.com/posts/martha...
INSPIRE is recruiting! Please share broadly with senior graduate students and beginning postdocs. INSPIRE, the NIH-funded Rutgers-IRACDA, offers postdoctoral training for individuals interested in… | ...
INSPIRE is recruiting! Please share broadly with senior graduate students and beginning postdocs. INSPIRE, the NIH-funded Rutgers-IRACDA, offers postdoctoral training for individuals interested in com...
www.linkedin.com
May 12, 2026 at 4:49 PM
POSTDOC OPPORTUNITY!!! The Rutgers IRACDA program is phenomenal: 70% of postdoctoral fellows land faculty positions.
Martha Soto (LinkedIn below) is the amazing director and leader of this program.
Please apply or reach out if you have questions.
www.linkedin.com/posts/martha...
Martha Soto (LinkedIn below) is the amazing director and leader of this program.
Please apply or reach out if you have questions.
www.linkedin.com/posts/martha...
Reposted by Ximena Garcia Arceo
reminds me of a t-shirt I designed in grad school for our dev bio program retreat, which said "Death, the final stage of development"
May 8, 2026 at 11:39 PM
reminds me of a t-shirt I designed in grad school for our dev bio program retreat, which said "Death, the final stage of development"
Reposted by Ximena Garcia Arceo
It’s starting to seem like changes in cell volume are turning up in many different cases of cell state transitions. Would be nice to collect examples.
#PressRelease 📰 How #macrophages interpret and respond to immune danger signals remains a mystery. Researchers @manchester.ac.uk have found that increases in cell volume reprogram macrophage gene expression and induce #inflammation.
👉 www.eurekalert.org/news-release...
👉 www.eurekalert.org/news-release...
May 8, 2026 at 12:23 AM
It’s starting to seem like changes in cell volume are turning up in many different cases of cell state transitions. Would be nice to collect examples.
Reposted by Ximena Garcia Arceo
We're hiring! 🔬🏔️ Looking for curious, open-minded, and multidisciplinary #PhD candidates to research at the intersection of #mitochondria, #metabolism, #imaging & #physiology, with the #Alps as a backdrop. Sounds like you or someone you know? Link below!
@fbm-unil.bsky.social @unil.bsky.social
@fbm-unil.bsky.social @unil.bsky.social
April 24, 2026 at 11:15 AM
We're hiring! 🔬🏔️ Looking for curious, open-minded, and multidisciplinary #PhD candidates to research at the intersection of #mitochondria, #metabolism, #imaging & #physiology, with the #Alps as a backdrop. Sounds like you or someone you know? Link below!
@fbm-unil.bsky.social @unil.bsky.social
@fbm-unil.bsky.social @unil.bsky.social