Rupinder Kaur, PhD's Avatar

Rupinder Kaur, PhD

@kaurr.bsky.social

#NewPI @UIC Studying Host-Symbiont-Virus Interactions in πŸͺ° and 🦟 #Wolbachia #Spermatogenesis #Embryogenesis #ChromatinBiology #Epigenetics #Microscopy She/her

580 Followers  |  566 Following  |  215 Posts  |  Joined: 10.11.2024  |  2.188

Latest posts by kaurr.bsky.social on Bluesky

Preview
Revolutionary therapy treats β€˜untreatable’ blood cancer Gene therapy which turns white blood cells into a disease-busting β€œliving drug” has reversed previously untreatable blood cancers

"A world-first gene therapy which turns white blood cells into a disease-busting β€œliving drug” has reversed previously untreatable blood cancers." www.positive.news/society/revo...

31.01.2026 12:05 β€” πŸ‘ 7323    πŸ” 2035    πŸ’¬ 13    πŸ“Œ 158
Post image

What do you wish someone had told you before you went on the job market? What actually counts and what doesn’t?

Looking forward to our panel discussion on navigating today’s job search landscape. Come with questions and hear the unfiltered version of our experiences.

#SciCareers #Academia #ECRs

23.01.2026 00:50 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

Epigenome Technologies offers an end-to-end single-cell Paired-Tag service, the first multiomic assay that simultaneously captures RNA expression and epigenetic marks from preparation to data analysis

#Epigenetics #SingleCell #PairedTag #Multiomics

bit.ly/3HWFoaw

19.01.2026 16:30 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Beating back the Aedes aegypti mosquito Scientists are taking a multipronged approach to tackle this dangerous carrier of dengue, yellow fever and other noxious viruses

Great read! Congratulations @katarinazimmer.bsky.social on your insightful @knowablemag.bsky.social piece exploring the remarkable biology of the Aedes aegypti #mosquito knowablemagazine.org/content/arti...

19.01.2026 16:47 β€” πŸ‘ 24    πŸ” 14    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 1

Now that I’m in chilly and windy Chicago, I’d never say no to such a warm offer ☺️. Size 7 US

02.01.2026 03:12 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

They’re beautiful!

01.01.2026 00:40 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Goodbyes are never easy when you’ve built a strong community and lifelong friendships. But as they say β€œWe don’t leave foundations behind, we build upon them.” Onward to the next chapter of my career at UIC, with immense gratitude to @symbionticism.bsky.social for extraordinary mentorship & support!

31.12.2025 21:33 β€” πŸ‘ 7    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
AI learns from chromatin data to uncover gene interactions Machine-learning tool for predicting gene expression.

AI learns from chromatin data to uncover gene interactions www.nature.com/articles/d41...

30.12.2025 18:12 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Somatic sex maintenance in the Drosophila testis. Left: in XY adults, chinmo prevents Zld protein expression, keeping traF off and allowing dsxM to maintain the male fate (blue) while the female pathway is switched off (gray). Right: loss of chinmo leads to the ectopic expression of zld, inducing traF and activating the female developmental program (red) in chromosomally male cells.

Somatic sex maintenance in the Drosophila testis. Left: in XY adults, chinmo prevents Zld protein expression, keeping traF off and allowing dsxM to maintain the male fate (blue) while the female pathway is switched off (gray). Right: loss of chinmo leads to the ectopic expression of zld, inducing traF and activating the female developmental program (red) in chromosomally male cells.

In the #gonad, #sex is not an irrevocable commitment, and requires active maintenance. Artyom Kopp explores a new @plosbiology.org study elucidating the molecular mechanisms that preserve sexual identity in the adult #Drosophila #testis πŸ§ͺ Paper: plos.io/4pMT6hq Primer: plos.io/3MRBBxG

22.12.2025 13:50 β€” πŸ‘ 8    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

πŸ‘€ Save the date!

09.12.2025 15:01 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Such an impactful work showing that the "chromatin fatigue" is real to pose consistent stress for the survival of the cell! Kudos to the team! πŸ‘πŸ‘

07.11.2025 15:34 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Beyond Wolbachiaβ€”Can a small molecule control insect reproduction? Kaur et al. demonstrate reduced histone acetylation as a key mechanism underpinning Wolbachia’s paternal-effect embryonic lethality trait in Drosophila melanogaster. Recapitulation of this trait by inhibiting host histone acetyltransferase activity exposes opportunities for symbiont-independent applied research.

Beyond Wolbachiaβ€”Can a small molecule control insect reproduction?

10.10.2025 19:50 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Photo of book β€œThriving as an International Scientist” written by Sonali Majumdar

Photo of book β€œThriving as an International Scientist” written by Sonali Majumdar

This book has never been more timely. Thanks to @sonali-m-19.bsky.social for writing it and for sending me a copy.

10.10.2025 20:16 β€” πŸ‘ 26    πŸ” 6    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 1

Thank you Gopal!

10.10.2025 14:59 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

🚨 New pub alert! Check out our latest one that showcases how chemical and genetic innovations can recreate complex host–symbiotic interactions in the absence of the symbiont.

www.cell.com/cell-reports...

10.10.2025 12:32 β€” πŸ‘ 9    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Direct single-molecule detection and super-resolution imaging with a low-cost portable smartphone-based microscope - Nature Communications Loretan and colleagues present a low-cost smartphone-based microscope capable of detecting single-molecule fluorescence. This approach opens doors to personalised and widely distributed applications in diagnostics, biosensing, and science education.

Direct single-molecule detection and super-resolution imaging with a low-cost portable smartphone-based microscope www.nature.com/articles/s41... #jcampubs

08.10.2025 14:46 β€” πŸ‘ 38    πŸ” 18    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 4

#mustread

03.10.2025 15:34 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Fathers shape embryonic development through molecular β€˜signatures’. Credits: Daniela Velasco/EMBL

Fathers shape embryonic development through molecular β€˜signatures’. Credits: Daniela Velasco/EMBL

New research from EMBL Rome shows how paternal environment prior to conception can shape early embryo development.

These findings are a step toward understanding the mechanism of epigenetic inheritance, opening up new possibilities for disease prevention.
www.embl.org/news/science...

30.09.2025 06:55 β€” πŸ‘ 39    πŸ” 10    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0

absolutely wild, from the Small Molecules Considered (SMC) branch:
"...this work provides another piece in a complex biological puzzle aiming to understand the persistent and pervasive nature of 𝘞𝘰𝘭𝘣𝘒𝘀𝘩π˜ͺ𝘒 endosymbionts." (doi.org/10.1016/j.ce...)
#MicroSky #SymbioSky

03.10.2025 16:40 β€” πŸ‘ 18    πŸ” 5    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

This project would not have been possible without @symbionticism.bsky.social and his unwavering support, my undergrad student Mahip Kalra for his relentless troubleshooting efforts that brought the chemical experiments to life, and the incredible Lab team for their timely help every step of the way!

03.10.2025 12:57 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Why does it matter to mimic symbiotic traits?
πŸ‘‰ It develops symbiont-independent tool kit for insect population control
πŸ‘‰ It expands symbiont-based biocontrol approaches to species that cannot be stably infected with the bacterium
πŸ‘‰ Inspires ways to study how epigenetics shape host–symbiont biology

03.10.2025 12:57 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0

Stay tuned for the full banger! Meanwhile, enjoy the commentary on our upcoming pub, where we show that #Wolbachia modify host reproduction via reduced histone acetylationβ€”a fundamental epigenetic process that can be synthetically mimicked by a tiny molecule, even in the absence of Wolbachia!

03.10.2025 12:57 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Beyond Wolbachiaβ€”Can a small molecule control insect reproduction? Kaur et al. demonstrate reduced histone acetylation as a key mechanism underpinning Wolbachia’s paternal-effect embryonic lethality trait in Drosophila melanogaster. Recapitulation of this trait by in...

#Wolbachia has puzzled scientists with its power to rewire insect reproduction. What if I tell you that we found one of the keys Wolbachia use to rewire its host AND a small molecule inhibitor uses this key to mimic what this microbe has mastered for millions of years.

www.cell.com/cell-reports...

03.10.2025 12:57 β€” πŸ‘ 63    πŸ” 26    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 3

Jaw dropping!! Beautiful work. Is it live testes culture?

03.10.2025 11:55 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

"What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make"

01.10.2025 19:43 β€” πŸ‘ 361    πŸ” 101    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 4
Figure 1: Fluorophore intensity in the Drosophila blastoderm (n.c. 14). Comparison of (A) green and (B) red fluorescence intensity using the same intensity scaling in n.c. 14. The fluorescence signal did
not saturate. Shown are single imaging planes. Normalised histograms of fluorescence intensity for green (C) and red (D) fluorophores averaged across at least n=3 embryos per line. Scale bars = 20 ΞΌm

Figure 1: Fluorophore intensity in the Drosophila blastoderm (n.c. 14). Comparison of (A) green and (B) red fluorescence intensity using the same intensity scaling in n.c. 14. The fluorescence signal did not saturate. Shown are single imaging planes. Normalised histograms of fluorescence intensity for green (C) and red (D) fluorophores averaged across at least n=3 embryos per line. Scale bars = 20 ΞΌm

Identification of optimal fluorophores for use in the Drosophila embryo by Timothy E Saunders and team: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

30.09.2025 14:43 β€” πŸ‘ 54    πŸ” 26    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Extraordinary pictures show what a common antibiotic does to E. coli A commonly used class of antibiotics seems to kill bacteria like E. coli by breaking down their tough armour

These awesome microscopy images show what actually happens when E. coli is exposed to an antibiotic.

A bacterium starts to look bumpy as it tries to put more β€œbricks” in its defensive wall. But as it builds, it leaves gaps that let the antibiotic to kill it. πŸ§ͺ

www.newscientist.com/article/2498...

29.09.2025 10:48 β€” πŸ‘ 27    πŸ” 6    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 2
Preview
Transposable elements are vectors of recurrent transgenerational epigenetic inheritance DNA methylation loss at transposable elements (TEs) can affect neighboring genes and be epigenetically inherited in plants, yet the determinants and significance of this additional system of inheritan...

Out First Release in @science.org this week:

A large scale analysis of the epigenetics of transposable elements in Arabidopsis shows transgenerational stability

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

#PlantScience

22.09.2025 16:09 β€” πŸ‘ 50    πŸ” 18    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 2
Preview
Homepage - 67th Annual Drosophila Research Conference Visit our website to learn more.

T-minus 14 days for registration opening for the Annual #Drosophila Research Conference in Chicago next March.

Looking forward to seeing all our meeting support staff from @genetics-gsa.bsky.social . Ditto for our valued curators @flybase.bsky.social .

#genetics

genetics-gsa.org/drosophila-2...

18.09.2025 12:43 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 4    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Addgene: Jason Rasgon Lab Materials

ReMOT Control reagents are now available on @addgene.bsky.social! Go git 'em!

www.addgene.org/Jason_Rasgon

15.09.2025 20:41 β€” πŸ‘ 12    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

@kaurr is following 20 prominent accounts