Michael Guertin

when my university communications office wants to highlight/detract from the data, they selectively include zero on the y-axis or not. They also seem to really like default excel graphics

❤️

it really is never the student's fault either. 100% one of the other professors just doesn't respond to the poll.

If I fill out a scheduling poll, it is not safe to assume that I will still be free at those same times over 2 weeks later.

I also rant

Molecular Mechanisms of Transcription Factors with Dual Activator and Repressor Functions Transcription factors (TFs) are traditionally classified as activators or repressors, yet some can perform both roles. We highlight well-supported examples of dual activator/repressor functions and...

this mini-review was fueled by frustration with others who use "context-specific" to describe transcription factors that supposedly can function as repressors or activators: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

you paper was in review for 4 months, then one month of editorial who knows what. YOU HAVE 24 MINUTES TO GET THESE PROOFS BACK TO US!!!!

Is it ok to use "you nerds" as a gender neutral term to refer to the students in class? I cannot get myself to use "y'all" and "you guys" is not neutral.

submitting to a journal who accepts LaTeX submission, but the .bst file is not correct and they cannot send me a correct one. Why bother having editors, copy editors, and production staff?

my 13 year old is learning to code and I told him he should not use chatGPT. I know he listened because the code is crap (but it works!) and all his comments are just commented out print() statements.

hs1

this does not address the core of my question: genetics is great for finding the causal gene. Once known, why is it important to find more causal variants that likely regulate the gene or determine the mechanism by which the variant regulates, as opposed to figuring out how the protein contributes

Chromatin, Epigenetics & Gene Expression Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Meetings & Courses -- a private, non-profit institution with research programs in cancer, neuroscience, plant biology, genomics, bioinformatics.

GeneX class at CSHL: meetings.cshl.edu/courses.aspx...

as an outsider to the human genetics field, why does it matter to know the causal variant that affects gene expression modestly for a lifetime to confer a modest contribution to a phenotype? isn't it 100x more important to understand how the protein encoded by the target regulated gene contributes?

As usual this time of year, started drafting the list of gene regulation conferences for 2026, enjoy! generegulation.org/conferences-...
Know of a relevant event that’s missing? Please reply below

-40 Celsius or Fahrenheit? ;-)

the solution for a leaky roof at UVA and UConn Health seems to be a bucket under the leak. This should be embarrassing and they should use indirects to fix the problem.

Join @stirlingchurchman.bsky.social,
@moffittlab.bsky.social, @saramostafavi.bsky.social, me and all speakers for the 2026 CSHL meeting Systems Biology: Global Regulation of Gene Expression, March 11-14. Abstract deadline January 9! More infos and registration at meetings.cshl.edu/meetings.asp...

I usually see "peaked" as opposed to "piqued" __my interest__ in graduate school applications, but I got "peeked" for the first time this cycle!

Does anyone have a -80 that they like?

Ideally one that doesn't require a thaw every year and constant software updates. I really want one from 1990.

we should force politicians to take 9th grade math tests or critical reasoning tests live during a debate. speaking words confidently is not a great measure of competency.

my favorite graduate school applications to read are narratives about undergraduate projects that clearly show that the student is fully invested in some niche obscure model organism project that only 7 other people in the world periperially care about. way better than "translational" science BS

anyone applying for jobs, PhD slots, or really anything: it is easy to tell if chatGPT spouted out some vague and general essay that recycles language from the advertisement, compared to a sincere narrative informed by personal experiences.

your -80 stopped working because you did not update the software is so stupid. I don't know if it is true, but this should not be possible. I want a -80 from 1986

is everyone else having issues logging into the NIH eRA commons?

I don't know how people respond to questions without directly answering. I am physiologically incapable of this, although I do say that I don't know. I see this in science, but moreso in politics. I just don't know how the questioner doesn't just keep asking until they answer or say they don't know

[heart emoticon: <3]
is your question answered in the response?

we are recruiting a postdoc with interest in using genomics and molecular biology to study transcription factors. We have an R35 to fund the project/salary.

I don't understand why a wheel speed sensor is $20 online and $200 at any auto parts store. I don't find this to be the case for most parts

are double em dashes common with chatGPT write ups? I don't recall seeing them often until recently.