albert yu

Scientist, Stealth Startup
PhD, Brandeis University, Rosbash Lab
I like molecular biology

[albert yu @albeitstru]

@FearTheBrown Bey's having a rough start. Hopefully last year wasn't a contract extension mirage. Trey is too, but still has a pleasantly positive impact. What got Trendon excluded? +11.9 passes the eye test.

[albert yu @albeitstru]

It's obvious that democratic infighting is being amplified by the algorithm, right?

[albert yu @albeitstru]

@SynBio1 @OmicsOmicsBlog It’s cool and all, but it’s an AAV encoded prodrug therapy…which means it sidesteps the challenges of small molecule development and runs straight into the wall of gene therapy development lol

[albert yu @albeitstru]

@deanwball It's scope is limited to federally funded institutions, suppliers are already screening sequences...it seems like the only change these guidelines might effect is blocking academic purchase of DNA synthesis from companies operating out of "covered nations".

[albert yu @albeitstru]

Doesn't this just say that federally-funded labs can't buy synthesized DNA from companies that route data through covered nations (China)? So it just prevents American academics from synthesizing DNA with Vectorbuilder/Genscript/etc? How is this supposed to reduce risk of misuse?

[Director Michael Kratsios @mkratsios47]

Today, we released the National Policy for Nucleic Acid Synthesis Screening to protect American biotechnology innovation while reducing the risk of misuse.

This policy establishes a new, government-wide screening requirements for synthetic DNA and the equipment used to make it. It will ensure companies selling nucleic acid sequences and synthesis equipment know their customers and prevent the malicious use of these materials and tools.

This policy strengthens our Nation’s biosecurity posture by establishing rigorous U.S. government-wide procurement screening and physical security standards for synthetic biology. It replaces outdated “self-attestation” systems with robust, independent verification. It creates a dynamic, SI-powered screening layer that assesses the biological risk from nucleic acid sequences, allowing the U.S. to anticipate and prevent malicious use and help stop dangerous gain-of-function research.

@NIST will issue rigorous new screening standards and @HHSGov and @USDA will certify synthetic biology providers. Together, these measures will strengthen American biosecurity, safeguard responsible innovation, and establish a global standard for safe and transparent synthetic biology tools and research.

[albert yu @albeitstru]

@SarazamT @navyadotbio They are missing from several organisms, including Drosophila, C. Elegans, and Yeast. They were still under selective pressure to stick around, ofc...but their convenient absence from major model organisms have made studying their organismal function just a bit more annoying.

[albert yu @albeitstru]

@jkobject ggplot2 still looks better than anything i can make with MPL/Seaborn, even with AI assistance

[albert yu @albeitstru]

@lizbwood @antonioregalado @Addgene Wrong license perhaps, but PlasmidGPT doesn't actually have any commercial application. It is very much an academic exercise.

[albert yu @albeitstru]

@josiezayner Even if your numbers are correct, “40% of papers coming out of academia are useful” is a pretty glowing endorsement of academia. Imagine of 40% of biotech startups were successful! Instead, 90% fail and their research gets thrown into the void, of use to nobody.

[albert yu @albeitstru]

@design_proteins @christianteagu3 If you expect to work with oligo pools a lot, establishing a golden gate system is a modest amount of front-loaded effort for effortless cloning in the future

[albert yu @albeitstru]

@mud_skip @NicholasLi15883 @L_MarinGual @A_RuizHerrera @AJ_Pask @DonnaBond_NZ @roneilllab @MarilynRenfree @UNSWBABS Congrats Paul!

[albert yu @albeitstru]

@unicouniuni3 happy birthdsay uni

[albert yu @albeitstru]

@P_J_Buckhaults They don't cover genomic DNA, but there are some hints in this paper that might point you in the right direction:

https://t.co/vBLz8Tspdw

[albert yu @albeitstru]

@AlbertVilella Hi there!

[albert yu @albeitstru]

Firing someone for expressing concern over Palestinian citizens is really one fuck of a move. I never thought I would see people I once considered thoughtful and compassionate scientists engage in actual McCarthyism.

[Nancy Kanwisher @[email protected] @Nancy_Kanwisher]

If you are a tenured professor in the life/neuro sciences who values open exchange of ideas in academia, please sign our new petition telling HHMI and eLife not to censure Michael Eisen for tweeting about the Middle East.
@eLife and @HHMINews
https://t.co/KJHHLQRHQa

[Michael 英泉 Eisen @mbeisen]

I have been informed that I am being replaced as the Editor in Chief of @eLife for retweeting a @TheOnion piece that calls out indifference to the lives of Palestinian civilians.

[kev joon @never_oppressed]

It’s madness that on one side you can openly promote genocide and ethnic cleansing and chalk it up to a “stoned fury” but on the other side you will lose your job and livelihood for retweeting the most innocuous, benign content. This is McCarthyism. Plain and simple.

[albert yu @albeitstru]

@AlejoFraticelli "I cannot boycott every shitty company, therefore I will boycott no shitty companies"