Rick Livesey

Conceptual and methodological flaws undermine claims of a link between the gut microbiome and autism Claims that the gut microbiome causally contributes to autism regularly appear in the scientific literature and popular press. Mitchell et al. critically examine influential studies underpinning these...

New paper with @statsepi.bsky.social and @deevybee.bsky.social in which we show there's really no evidence for a link between the gut microbiome and autism www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...

Image of Toronto

JOB ALERT 🚨 We are hiring TWO principal investigators in cell, molecular, systems, or chemical biology in Toronto, Canada at @sinaihealth.bsky.social. We provide a generous startup, fully funded salary and academic appointment at U of Toronto.

www.nature.com/naturecareer...

Please repost!

Tau uptake by human neurons depends on receptor LRP1 and kinase LRRK2 | The EMBO Journal imageimageNeuronal uptake of extracellular tau protein is thought to propagate intracellular protein aggregation between neurons, contributing to the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s and other neurodegener...

*new publication announcement* our first CRISPR screen paper is now out as Open Access in EMBO Journal. We find an unexpected role for LRRK2, an important gene/protein in Parkinson's disease, in controlling the uptake of both tau and synuclein by human neurons
www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....

Unfortunately this has all the hallmarks of the tired old trope that there's no such thing as bad publicity (for a VC-backed company looking to raise on the best valuation possible). If nothing else, looks like Colossal have a v active PR/comms dept.

Ptbp1 is not required for retinal neurogenesis and cell fate specification. The RNA-binding protein Ptbp1 has been proposed as a master regulator of neuronal fate, repressing neurogenesis through its effects on alternative splicing and miRNA maturation. While prior studies us...

Now up, positively our lab's last word on Ptbp1. Developmental loss of function Ptbp1 turns out not to regulate neurogenesis or cell fate specification at all, but does alter splicing patterns and slightly accelerates expression of photoreceptor-specific genes./1
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Synaptotoxic effects of extracellular tau are mediated by its microtubule-binding region - Acta Neuropathologica Immunotherapies targeting extracellular tau share the premise that interrupting cell-to-cell spread of tau pathology in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) will slow dementia pathogenesis. Whether these interven...

*New paper alert* - extracellular tau blocks synaptic plasticity in vivo via its microtubule-binding domain, which can be rescued by our Gen2 tau antibodies - all the product of a great collaboration with Michael Rowan and colleagues at @tcddublin.bsky.social link.springer.com/article/10.1...

https://www.culturematters.org.uk/island-of-strangers/

Thank you @michaelrosenyes.bsky.social - full text here www.culturematters.org.uk/island-of-st...

This is quite the cover from the Economist

Mine in today’s @newyorker.com

Nice summary of the study here on the Alzforum www.alzforum.org/news/researc...

Synaptotoxic effects of extracellular tau are mediated by its microtubule-binding region Immunotherapies targeting extracellular tau share the premise that interrupting cell-to-cell spread of tau pathology in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) will slow dementia pathogenesis. How these intervention...

Latest paper from the team @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... great collab w/ Michael Rowan and Igor Klyubin @tcddublin.bsky.social and Dominic Walsh on how synaptotoxic effects of extracellular tau are mediated by its microtubule-binding region (MTBR)

Today I have resigned from my position as a Data Editor at Proceedings B. I believe the journal does great work, but it feels wrong to voluntarily spend my time holding authors to account on behalf of the Royal Society, while the Society refuses to hold its own Fellows to account.

Important initiative from @scurry.bsky.social - please read and consider supporting by signing

An open letter to the President of the @royalsociety.org – time to stand up for your values. occamstypewriter.org/scurry/2025/...

The rainbow flag flying on a sunny morning over the old Dunn School building. Whatever is happening elsewhere, we remain proud of our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.

Proudly supporting LGBT+ History Month @dunnschool.bsky.social

A cartoon drawing of a moray eel, depicted here as whie with black spots on it against a red background. The eel has a speech bubble saying 'Death is Inevitable'. Below a caption reads 'Memento Moray'. Artist: Gemma Correll, '15.

Another filthy morning here, so it's certainly a day for The Best Cartoon:

Very nicely put. Truly bizarre thing for FT to publish.

Typical development of synaptic and neuronal properties can proceed without microglia in the cortex and thalamus - Nature Neuroscience Microglia are proposed to have a role in brain development through synaptic engulfment and paracrine signaling. O’Keeffe et al. show that certain neurodevelopmental processes attributed to microglia c...

We just published a thing!
In this study, we provide compelling evidence that a lack of microglia during early brain development does not lead to wholesale alterations of synaptic and cellular function.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Still no formal response from the Royal Society, or the wider fellowship? If so, reflects badly on UK science establishment. Disappointing lack of leadership.

Best thing I've read in a while - yes it's funny and v well written, but raises some serious points.

Great respect for @deevybee.bsky.social for speaking out and taking action. I haven't seen any statements from @royalsociety.bsky.social so far - continued silence is not a good look, hopefully there is an active discussion within the wider fellowship. Anything less starts looking like complicity.

So nothing definitive about AD, but consistent with role for LRRK2 in regulating tau uptake/clearance/spreading in tauopathies

Genetic determinants of survival in progressive supranuclear palsy: a genome-wide association study - PubMed PSP Association, CBD Solutions, Medical Research Council (UK).

Ed Jabbari and Huw Morris at UCL carried a GWAS for rate of progression of progressive nuclear palsy (tauopathy): the primary variant identified that increases rate of progression increases LRRK2 expression pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33341150/

Alzheimer’s disease tau is a prominent pathology in LRRK2 Parkinson’s disease - Acta Neuropathologica Communications Mutations in leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) are the most common cause of familial Parkinson’s disease (PD). While the clinical presentation of LRRK2 mutation carriers is similar to that of idiop...

Some interesting clinical data related to this: AD-type tau pathology is present in LRRK2-PD cases (actaneurocomms.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....).

Punchline: might LRRK2 therapeutics in development for PD be useful in Alzheimer's and other tauopathies?

Surprising result: LRRK2, an important gene for Parkinson's disease, is required for neuronal uptake of both tau and synuclein, and LRRK2 mutations that increase risk of Parkinson's increase neuronal uptake of both proteins.

Using whole genome CRISPR screens in human neurons, we identified genes required for uptake of tau by neurons, including the known tau receptor, LRP1.

*Preprint news* We've posted a substantial update to our study of an important aspect of Alzheimer's disease biology thought to contribute to disease spreading through the brain: how neurons take up extracellular tau. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Today is International Trans Day of Remembrance. This is the toughest time in history to be trans and visible in the world, thanks to certain politicians, billionaires, trash media and Evangelicals. And it’s particularly tough for children and teens. Now, more than ever, we need our allies. Ty ❤️🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈

November 18 is the International Day of LGBQTIA+ People in STEM! Today more than ever we want to stress the importance of communities, building connections, and raising each other up. Let's keep leaving our mark for the betterment of us all! 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈 #QueerinSTEM

prideinstem.org/lgbtstemday/