Timothy Hla

Opinion | What Happened in Chicago When Science Became the Enemy

What Happened in Chicago When Science Became the Enemy www.nytimes.com/2026/02/23/o...

Upcoming Gordon Research Conference on ENDOTHELIAL CELLS Spain (July 5-10, 2026).The latest breaking topics in vascular biology focused on endothelial cells will be featured. Open slots reserved for oral presentations. Register early to reserve your spot. www.grc.org/endothelial-...

Scientists discover why high altitude protects against diabetes Living at high altitude appears to protect against diabetes, and scientists have finally discovered the reason. When oxygen levels drop, red blood cells switch into a new metabolic mode and absorb lar...

Scientists discover why high altitude protects against diabetes | ScienceDaily - goo.gl/alerts/bjpE31 #GoogleAlerts

Boston built a global biotech empire. Now the talent is quietly drifting away. - The Boston Globe In a first-of-its-kind survey, the Globe asked hundreds of scientists about the impact of federal funding cuts.

www.bostonglobe.com/2026/02/09/m...

Another NIH institute loses its director Health department declines to renew Lindsey Criswell, head of arthritis institute, to another 5-year term

www.science.org/content/arti...

‘I was nearly arrested’: escaping Myanmar’s military leadership for a PhD abroad In the shadow of ongoing conflict, physician May T. N. Noe forged a path to achieve her academic goals.

In the shadow of ongoing conflict in Myanmar, physician May T. N. Noe forged a path to achieve her academic goals

go.nature.com/4tBFSWO

Epstein files reveal deeper ties to scientists than previously known Nature - Latest batch of documents show researchers consulting the financier and sex offender on publications, visas and more.

Newly released files from the investigation of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein reveal that his ties to the scientific community were deeper than previously known

go.nature.com/46zpg8k

Latest preprint from the lab - what does S1P do to neutrophils ? Click the link to find out… www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

@raflynn5.bsky.social it’s a pleasure to work with your lab in this exciting discovery- congrats all around!

The U.S. Is Funding Fewer Grants in Every Area of Science and Medicine

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

This line graph illustrates the percentage change in agency staff levels from the previous year for nine major U.S. federal scientific and health organizations between the fiscal years 2016 and 2025. The agencies tracked include the CDC, Department of Energy, EPA, FDA, NASA, NIH, NIST, NOAA, and NSF. For the majority of the timeline between 2016 and 2023, the agencies show relatively stable fluctuations, generally staying within a range of +5% to -5% change per year. However, there is a dramatic and uniform plummet starting in the 2024–25 period. Every agency depicted shows a sharp downward trajectory, with staffing losses ranging from approximately -15% to over -25%. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shows the most significant decline, dropping to roughly -26%, while the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) shows the least severe but still substantial drop at approximately -15%.

This is the most astonishing graph of what the Trump regime has done to US science. They have destroyed the federal science workforce across the board. The negative impacts on Americans will be felt for generations, and the US might never be the same again.

www.nature.com/immersive/d4...

Dr E Camerer and colleagues @PARCC uncover an essential role for circulating S1P in maintaining blood pressure and left ventricular systolic function. They also highlight distinct functions for the pools of S1P bound to HDL or to albumin.
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Blood-borne sphingosine 1-phosphate maintains vascular resistance, blood pressure, and cardiac function in mice - PubMed Sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) is a bioactive lipid that circulates in plasma bound to high-density lipoproteins (HDL) and albumin. Circulating S1P levels correlate positively with systolic blood pressure (BP) in hypertension and negatively with severity in septic shock and with left ventricular func …

Latest collaborative paper with Eric Camerer’s lab out now in @pnas.org - comprehensive analysis of S1PRs and chaperones in the cardiovascular system - www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/41512...

How to build a normal multilayered arterial wall?😎

Activated Sphingosine kinase 1 mediates elastin deficiency-induced arterial hypermuscularization🐭

Both Smooth muscle cell & Endothelial cell contribute

@junichisaito.bsky.social @greiflab.bsky.social #NatCVR 2026
www.nature.com/articles/s44...

$1.7 billion to attract international researchers to Canada Details of the major federal initiative to draw new talent to the country's universities were announced today at UdeM.

🇨🇦🇨🇦 Just announced: a massive new program from the Canadian govt, separate from the well-known CRCs and CERCs, to recruit foreign scientific talent

Canada was already a destination for scientists but whoa. Real impressive for a new govt to back political talking points with serious investment

Young adults who took just a one-week break from social media showed improvement in depression, anxiety and insomnia symptoms, a new study says. Plus, tips for how to take a break from your feed. n.pr/4oN4dWp

The U.S. Is Funding Fewer Grants in Every Area of Science and Medicine A quiet policy change means the government is making fewer bets on long-term science.

The U.S. Is Funding Fewer Grants in Every Area of Science and Medicine www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

New Pill From Merck Could Slash Cholesterol Levels, Trials Show

A non biologic PCSK9 inhibitor could be a game changer! www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/h...

Membrane integrity changes upon viral infection activate sphingomyelinase SMPDL3B to restrict cGAS-STING signaling via cGAMP degradation Wang et al. find that cell membrane stress upon viral infection induces expression and stabilization of host sphingomyelin phosphodiesterase acid-like 3B (SMPDL3B), which, in turn, degrades cGAMP to s...

Sphingolipid sensor degrades cGAMP to suppress antiviral host defense- #virus #lipids #hostdefense #innateImmunity
www.cell.com/immunity/ful...

New England #foliage #sunsets #TalcottNotch #CT

A Long-Awaited Longevity Mystery Solved Spotlighting an essential human biologic pathway targeted by drugs in clinical trials

What does the naked mole rat’s extreme healthspan have to do with ongoing clinical trials?

open.substack.com/pub/erictopo...

Well-exercised male mice appear to pass fitness to their male offspring Surprising epigenetic effect relies on snippets of RNA packaged within sperm

Male mice that exercise can pass their newly gained fitness on to male offspring.

If the same holds true in humans, researchers say, fathers could help improve the health of any future children by staying in shape themselves. https://scim.ag/47igpZm

Endothelial gateways for brain lipid uptake and metabolism: www.jci.org/articles/vie...

A. Dushani Ranasinghe & Timothy Hla  Comment on Wenxin Song et al: www.jci.org/articles/vie...

Cells are swapping their mitochondria. What does this mean for our health? Researchers are studying why the energy factories are moving between cells and whether the process can be harnessed to treat cancer and other diseases.

Researchers are studying why mitochondria are moving between cells and whether the process can be harnessed to treat cancer and other diseases

go.nature.com/4fYoEwG

Duh!!

RNA N-glycosylation enables immune evasion and homeostatic efferocytosis - Nature N-glycans on glycoRNAs prevent innate immune sensing of endogenous small RNAs, and the natural mechanism they use demonstrates how glycoRNAs exist on the cell surface and in the endosomal network with...

Another piece of the #glycoRNA puzzle revealed by @raflynn5.bsky.social and @vijayrathinam.bsky.social!! RNAs with modified base acp3U activate TLR3/7, but not when acp3U is N-glycosylated. This is how cell surface/secreted glycoRNAs avoid stimulating autoimmunity.

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

Very good news and we should all continue to ask our colleagues to come here to Bluesky.

Opinion | China’s Biotech Is Cheaper and Faster

China’s Biotech Is Cheaper and Faster www.nytimes.com/2025/08/17/o...

Lipid and Lipoprotein Metabolism in Microglia: Alzheimer’s Disease Mechanisms and Interventions Alzheimer’s disease (AD) presents a significant challenge owing to its widespread prevalence and complex neuropathogenesis, affecting millions worldwide. Current therapeutic strategies that predominan...

Excellent review on lipids and CNS neurodegenerative diseases. A neglected area...Lipid and Lipoprotein Metabolism in Microglia: Alzheimer’s Disease Mechanisms and Interventions - Journal of Lipid Research www.jlr.org/article/S002...

RNA N-glycosylation enables immune evasion and homeostatic efferocytosis - Nature N-glycans on glycoRNAs prevent innate immune sensing of endogenous small RNAs, and the natural mechanism they use demonstrates how glycoRNAs exist on the cell surface and in the endosomal network with...

#GlycoPower! @vijayrathinam.bsky.social
@raflynn5.bsky.social @vinnieviruses.bsky.social &co show @nature.com that N-glycosylation of host small-RNAs present at cell surface prevents immune recognition by TLR3 and TLR7 upon apoptotic cells uptake avoiding autoinflammation!