James Catterson
@scotsfriction.bsky.social
Researching neurodegeneration using flies. Based at Edinburgh University. UKDRI.
Also Music. Politics. Ceramics. Leith4Life
Also Music. Politics. Ceramics. Leith4Life
Pinned
I also had a chance to speak with HRH The Duchess of Edinburgh about our work using flies in dementia research. Everybody loves the flies. 😇😅🥰
Reposted by James Catterson
How does neurodegeneration spread across the brain? 🧠
@sjorsscheres.bsky.social, Michel Goedert & Masata Hasegawa’s groups have demonstrated that human misfolded tau filaments act as a molecular template for prion-like propagation in the mouse brain.
mrclmb.ac.uk/news-events/...
#LMBResearch 🧪
@sjorsscheres.bsky.social, Michel Goedert & Masata Hasegawa’s groups have demonstrated that human misfolded tau filaments act as a molecular template for prion-like propagation in the mouse brain.
mrclmb.ac.uk/news-events/...
#LMBResearch 🧪
September 30, 2026 at 3:25 PM
How does neurodegeneration spread across the brain? 🧠
@sjorsscheres.bsky.social, Michel Goedert & Masata Hasegawa’s groups have demonstrated that human misfolded tau filaments act as a molecular template for prion-like propagation in the mouse brain.
mrclmb.ac.uk/news-events/...
#LMBResearch 🧪
@sjorsscheres.bsky.social, Michel Goedert & Masata Hasegawa’s groups have demonstrated that human misfolded tau filaments act as a molecular template for prion-like propagation in the mouse brain.
mrclmb.ac.uk/news-events/...
#LMBResearch 🧪
Reposted by James Catterson
Sharing Matthew Broadhead's recent preprint outlining the discovery & characterisation of the novel Honeycomb Synapse - formed by postsynaptic scaffold proteins that form nanoclusters arranged into perfect rings of ~6, creating the eponymous hexagonal perforations.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
September 30, 2026 at 11:41 AM
Sharing Matthew Broadhead's recent preprint outlining the discovery & characterisation of the novel Honeycomb Synapse - formed by postsynaptic scaffold proteins that form nanoclusters arranged into perfect rings of ~6, creating the eponymous hexagonal perforations.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by James Catterson
Single-neuron computations depend on the subcellular distribution and voltage sensitivity of ion channels. | @pnas.org #HorizonEU @erc.europa.eu (1/5) www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Distribution and voltage dependence of ion channels shape single-neuron computations | PNAS
Voltage-gated ion channels do not distribute evenly in the plasma membrane of a neuron;
they localize to distinct domains where they govern the exc...
www.pnas.org
September 29, 2026 at 5:49 PM
Single-neuron computations depend on the subcellular distribution and voltage sensitivity of ion channels. | @pnas.org #HorizonEU @erc.europa.eu (1/5) www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Reposted by James Catterson
Just seen it's Wikipedia's 25th birthday. The greatest website online, and possibly the internet's greatest fruit
September 27, 2026 at 4:43 PM
Just seen it's Wikipedia's 25th birthday. The greatest website online, and possibly the internet's greatest fruit
Reposted by James Catterson
Super excited to share my postdoctoral work at @imbavienna.bsky.social @viennabiocenter.bsky.social -
We discovered that some retrotransposons, or "jumping genes" 🧬, are able to spread from cell to cell via a new viral infectivity route.
A short thread: 🧵👇 (1/7)
We discovered that some retrotransposons, or "jumping genes" 🧬, are able to spread from cell to cell via a new viral infectivity route.
A short thread: 🧵👇 (1/7)
September 24, 2026 at 7:50 AM
Super excited to share my postdoctoral work at @imbavienna.bsky.social @viennabiocenter.bsky.social -
We discovered that some retrotransposons, or "jumping genes" 🧬, are able to spread from cell to cell via a new viral infectivity route.
A short thread: 🧵👇 (1/7)
We discovered that some retrotransposons, or "jumping genes" 🧬, are able to spread from cell to cell via a new viral infectivity route.
A short thread: 🧵👇 (1/7)
Reposted by James Catterson
A few years ago we were actively working to dismantle systemic racism which is discreet, complicated and takes a lot to understand and legislate against. We had taken the conversation to a very sophisticated place. Now we're back asking the state to enforce the fucking law, which is easy!!
We’re just in a position where the far right are trying to murder people on the streets or at sea and the government have had almost nothing to say about it. It’s all on fucking video you can watch them do it!
September 23, 2026 at 8:26 AM
A few years ago we were actively working to dismantle systemic racism which is discreet, complicated and takes a lot to understand and legislate against. We had taken the conversation to a very sophisticated place. Now we're back asking the state to enforce the fucking law, which is easy!!
Reposted by James Catterson
A landlord making £100,000 a month says young people have “no excuse to be poor”.
Excellent. I love financial advice.
Gather round, children, let's examine how he himself stopped being poor.
metro.co.uk/2026/09/20/i...
Excellent. I love financial advice.
Gather round, children, let's examine how he himself stopped being poor.
metro.co.uk/2026/09/20/i...
I’m a landlord making £100,000 a month — young people have no excuse to be poor
Samuel bought his first home aged 17 with a 100% mortgage.
metro.co.uk
September 22, 2026 at 10:25 AM
A landlord making £100,000 a month says young people have “no excuse to be poor”.
Excellent. I love financial advice.
Gather round, children, let's examine how he himself stopped being poor.
metro.co.uk/2026/09/20/i...
Excellent. I love financial advice.
Gather round, children, let's examine how he himself stopped being poor.
metro.co.uk/2026/09/20/i...
Reposted by James Catterson
ʙɪɴᴅᴄʀᴀꜰᴛ2 is out, and we're not waiting for the paper. The full code drops today, free for academic and industry use.
We're releasing it early so you can start designing right now, and bring its full power to the current Adaptyv competition.
github.com/PacesaLab/Bi...
We're releasing it early so you can start designing right now, and bring its full power to the current Adaptyv competition.
github.com/PacesaLab/Bi...
September 21, 2026 at 9:55 AM
ʙɪɴᴅᴄʀᴀꜰᴛ2 is out, and we're not waiting for the paper. The full code drops today, free for academic and industry use.
We're releasing it early so you can start designing right now, and bring its full power to the current Adaptyv competition.
github.com/PacesaLab/Bi...
We're releasing it early so you can start designing right now, and bring its full power to the current Adaptyv competition.
github.com/PacesaLab/Bi...
Reposted by James Catterson
We are incredibly proud to have two books on the 2026 McIlvanney Prize shortlist 🎉
Both #TheHollowBoys by @tariqashkanani.bsky.social and #TheVanishingPlace by Zoë Rankin are up for Bloody Scotland's prestigious prize! A huge congratulations to our fantastic authors 📚🩸
Both #TheHollowBoys by @tariqashkanani.bsky.social and #TheVanishingPlace by Zoë Rankin are up for Bloody Scotland's prestigious prize! A huge congratulations to our fantastic authors 📚🩸
September 8, 2026 at 2:46 PM
We are incredibly proud to have two books on the 2026 McIlvanney Prize shortlist 🎉
Both #TheHollowBoys by @tariqashkanani.bsky.social and #TheVanishingPlace by Zoë Rankin are up for Bloody Scotland's prestigious prize! A huge congratulations to our fantastic authors 📚🩸
Both #TheHollowBoys by @tariqashkanani.bsky.social and #TheVanishingPlace by Zoë Rankin are up for Bloody Scotland's prestigious prize! A huge congratulations to our fantastic authors 📚🩸
Reposted by James Catterson
It was exactly ten years ago today, on my 33rd birthday, that I posted this comic online.
September 13, 2026 at 11:54 PM
It was exactly ten years ago today, on my 33rd birthday, that I posted this comic online.
Reposted by James Catterson
It is so mentally corrosive to try to ascertain, every day, whether the images I am seeing or the texts I am getting or the phone calls I am receiving are real - produced by a human who is trying to communicate something with me, even indirectly. It makes me feel insane and paranoid all the time
September 14, 2026 at 2:16 AM
It is so mentally corrosive to try to ascertain, every day, whether the images I am seeing or the texts I am getting or the phone calls I am receiving are real - produced by a human who is trying to communicate something with me, even indirectly. It makes me feel insane and paranoid all the time
Reposted by James Catterson
Very happy to share my postdoc paper is out now in @natcellbio.nature.com titled "Tissue flow acts as a guidance cue for immune cell polarization and directional migration". If you love imaging and immune cells, this is for you! #microscopymonday
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A 🧵: 1/n
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A 🧵: 1/n
September 7, 2026 at 4:03 PM
Very happy to share my postdoc paper is out now in @natcellbio.nature.com titled "Tissue flow acts as a guidance cue for immune cell polarization and directional migration". If you love imaging and immune cells, this is for you! #microscopymonday
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A 🧵: 1/n
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A 🧵: 1/n
Reposted by James Catterson
It's finally happened: the improved quality of machine transcription and the greater ability to extract value from unlabelled data means "your tech is eavesdropping on you for marketing purposes" has crossed from "false conspiracy theory" to "true and concerning" www.theverge.com/tech/991190/...
LG TVs caught spying even when offline or on standby
Gamers Nexus comes for LG again.
www.theverge.com
September 8, 2026 at 11:52 AM
It's finally happened: the improved quality of machine transcription and the greater ability to extract value from unlabelled data means "your tech is eavesdropping on you for marketing purposes" has crossed from "false conspiracy theory" to "true and concerning" www.theverge.com/tech/991190/...
Reposted by James Catterson
I want the Prime Minister to look into a TV camera and say the RNLI are heroes, that we do not change policy by street violence in this country, and that he expects any criminal action to face the full force of the law. That's it. That's all he has to do.
September 7, 2026 at 12:15 PM
I want the Prime Minister to look into a TV camera and say the RNLI are heroes, that we do not change policy by street violence in this country, and that he expects any criminal action to face the full force of the law. That's it. That's all he has to do.
This is like that scene in Inception where they go down another level! 🤯
*THIRD*-order neuron tracing. Incredible!
Another beaut from the Barnea lab. 👏
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
*THIRD*-order neuron tracing. Incredible!
Another beaut from the Barnea lab. 👏
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
September 7, 2026 at 12:40 PM
This is like that scene in Inception where they go down another level! 🤯
*THIRD*-order neuron tracing. Incredible!
Another beaut from the Barnea lab. 👏
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
*THIRD*-order neuron tracing. Incredible!
Another beaut from the Barnea lab. 👏
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by James Catterson
Having now dealt with the deaths of two parents within two months, let me just say that the kindest thing you can do for your loved ones, at every stage of life, is assume that some of them will outlive you, and make that as easy as possible for them, logistically. it sucks and it's morbid, but.
I accept that I am incredibly morbid, but this also goes within marriages, you really are better off using the process of doing your lasting power of attorney to try and have a frank conversation about end of life issues.
September 7, 2026 at 11:45 AM
Having now dealt with the deaths of two parents within two months, let me just say that the kindest thing you can do for your loved ones, at every stage of life, is assume that some of them will outlive you, and make that as easy as possible for them, logistically. it sucks and it's morbid, but.
Reposted by James Catterson
I hereby declare the "learn to code" era officially dead:
Big declines in the number of people studying computer science in the last year or two 📉
Chart from this week’s edition of our newsletter on AI and the labour market www.ft.com/content/9183...
Big declines in the number of people studying computer science in the last year or two 📉
Chart from this week’s edition of our newsletter on AI and the labour market www.ft.com/content/9183...
September 3, 2026 at 12:12 PM
I hereby declare the "learn to code" era officially dead:
Big declines in the number of people studying computer science in the last year or two 📉
Chart from this week’s edition of our newsletter on AI and the labour market www.ft.com/content/9183...
Big declines in the number of people studying computer science in the last year or two 📉
Chart from this week’s edition of our newsletter on AI and the labour market www.ft.com/content/9183...
Reposted by James Catterson
Here it is: a report from Daisy Chain Fields from the one and only Jenn Pelly, most qualified to rock this assignment: www.npr.org/2026/09/02/n...
September 2, 2026 at 9:19 PM
Here it is: a report from Daisy Chain Fields from the one and only Jenn Pelly, most qualified to rock this assignment: www.npr.org/2026/09/02/n...
Reposted by James Catterson
Nature research paper: Aberrant excitatory neuronal ERBB4 promotes Alzheimer’s disease pathology
go.nature.com/3S9ym84
go.nature.com/3S9ym84
Aberrant excitatory neuronal ERBB4 promotes Alzheimer’s disease pathology - Nature
Neuroinflammation alone may be dispensable for early synapse loss in Alzheimer’s disease.
go.nature.com
August 28, 2026 at 3:41 PM
Nature research paper: Aberrant excitatory neuronal ERBB4 promotes Alzheimer’s disease pathology
go.nature.com/3S9ym84
go.nature.com/3S9ym84
Reposted by James Catterson
I think my White Whale in this respect is Woolton Hall in Liverpool. It's actually Grade I listed, but it's been derelict for decades and has had several fires. No one has a clue what to do with it, so we just let it rot, apparently.
August 29, 2026 at 6:11 PM
I think my White Whale in this respect is Woolton Hall in Liverpool. It's actually Grade I listed, but it's been derelict for decades and has had several fires. No one has a clue what to do with it, so we just let it rot, apparently.
Reposted by James Catterson
Just get rid of Grade II entirely - if you want to put a heat-pump and double-glazing in a nice but otherwise entirely generic 18th Century cottage then you do that. You own it. You should basically be allowed to do what you want with it.
August 29, 2026 at 5:49 PM
Just get rid of Grade II entirely - if you want to put a heat-pump and double-glazing in a nice but otherwise entirely generic 18th Century cottage then you do that. You own it. You should basically be allowed to do what you want with it.
Reposted by James Catterson
Not for the first time I think "why the hell do we have 350,000 listed buildings in this country?" - that's nearly 2 percent of them.
There is no way that one in every fifty buildings in this country needs to be on a special little list that needs you to spend loads of money to do anything with.
There is no way that one in every fifty buildings in this country needs to be on a special little list that needs you to spend loads of money to do anything with.
Duke of Westminster wins bid to change rules on England’s 350,000 listed buildings
Duke of Westminster wins bid to change rules on England’s 350,000 listed buildings
Hugh Grosvenor owns more than 1,500 listed buildings across London and three rural estates
trib.al
August 29, 2026 at 5:47 PM
Not for the first time I think "why the hell do we have 350,000 listed buildings in this country?" - that's nearly 2 percent of them.
There is no way that one in every fifty buildings in this country needs to be on a special little list that needs you to spend loads of money to do anything with.
There is no way that one in every fifty buildings in this country needs to be on a special little list that needs you to spend loads of money to do anything with.
Reposted by James Catterson
Today, we are delighted to be hosting the Scottish Neuroscience Group Meeting 2026 (SNG). This annual gathering brings together Neuroscience researchers from across Scotland’s universities to discuss new data and to forge new collaborations and friendships.
August 28, 2026 at 11:52 AM
Today, we are delighted to be hosting the Scottish Neuroscience Group Meeting 2026 (SNG). This annual gathering brings together Neuroscience researchers from across Scotland’s universities to discuss new data and to forge new collaborations and friendships.
Reposted by James Catterson
Dangit but sciencing is fun. Discovered a >>10Mb pericentromeric inversion that looks like it adaptively introgressed and is a massive QTL for disease resistance. Preliminary and could be totally wrong, but holy bleep it's been a fun 90 minutes working this out (we had suspected much of this).
August 28, 2026 at 3:06 AM
Dangit but sciencing is fun. Discovered a >>10Mb pericentromeric inversion that looks like it adaptively introgressed and is a massive QTL for disease resistance. Preliminary and could be totally wrong, but holy bleep it's been a fun 90 minutes working this out (we had suspected much of this).
Reposted by James Catterson
Boy is he going to mad to find out that faculty ALSO need a union.
Opinion | Postdocs Aren’t Burger Flippers: Why Unionization Is a Bad Idea
Unionization disrupts the bespoke mentor-mentee relationships that are central to the advancement of science. By Evan D. Morris: https://bit.ly/3Sus7fa
#EDUSky #AcademicSky #HigherEd
Unionization disrupts the bespoke mentor-mentee relationships that are central to the advancement of science. By Evan D. Morris: https://bit.ly/3Sus7fa
#EDUSky #AcademicSky #HigherEd
August 27, 2026 at 11:25 PM
Boy is he going to mad to find out that faculty ALSO need a union.