Valentin L'Hôte

Pokémon turns 30 — how the fictional pocket monsters shaped science The Japanese media sensation has inspired generations of researchers in fields as diverse as evolution, biodiversity and research integrity.

Happy 30th birthday, Pokémon! Since 1996, the Japanese media sensation has inspired generations of researchers in fields as diverse as evolution, biodiversity and research integrity. go.nature.com/4bcjZ9w

AI is not a peer, so it can’t do peer review If we still believe that science is a vocation grounded in argument, curiosity and care, we can’t delegate judgement to machines, says Akhil Bhardwaj

'to treat peer review as a throughput problem is to misunderstand what is at stake. Review is not simply a production stage in the research pipeline; it is one of the few remaining spaces where the scientific community talks to itself.' 1/3

The MITOscience of tomorrow is back.
Three short mitochats presented by
Débora Santos Rocha @deborasrocha.bsky.social ,
Valentin L’Hôte @valentinlhote.bsky.social and
Marijana Croon @marijanacroon.bsky.social
Visit mitotalks.org for zoom link details.
Will you time travel with us?

We’re live!
The Department of Medical Biochemistry & Biophysics at @umeauniversitet.bsky.social explores life at the molecular level: infection and structural biology, gene expression, mitochondria, neurodegeneration & biophysics for climate change.
Follow for updates & collaboration!
#Biochemistry

The EU’s Horizon research fund needs to stay a defence-free zone It is time to sound the alarm as the EU’s research priorities face an unprecedented degree of political interference.

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

A friend was offered a fantastic, five-year postdoc position at a Germany university. When the university's HR found out she is undergoing cancer treatment (with very good chances of complete recovery), they forced the PI to withdraw the offer. These stories are not uncommon from Germany. Why?

Highlights from yICSA at #ICSA2025Rome 🌍✨
✔️Networking Social Event 🤝
✔️Special Session with career insights from @dimiccolab.bsky.social & @narita-lab.bsky.social 🙌
Thank you to everyone who joined us!
#yICSA #Senescence #ECR

I had a great time presenting my work on mtDNA replication and senescence from the @wanrooij20.bsky.social lab @umeauniversitet.bsky.social today at the #ICSA2025Rome conference, with super exciting discussions. Thanks a lot @icsasenescence.bsky.social and @yicsac.bsky.social !

Beautiful moonophagy! 😁

“Why Are We Funding This?” Long-standing myths about “silly science” have contributed to the reckless slashing of government-supported research.

www.americanscientist.org/article/%E2%...

in my view the problem started when we forced basic science to be translational. this distorted it's nature and created false expectations, which in turn eroded the trust on basic science.

The low endoribonuclease activity and lack of rNMP preference of human mitochondrial topoisomerase 1 protect against ribonucleotide-dependent deletions Abstract. The incorporation of ribonucleotides (rNMPs) into the nuclear genome leads to severe genomic instability, including strand breaks and short 2–5 b

Our newest paper on mitochondrial Topoisomerase 1 shows that Top1mt has only weak endoribonuclease activity and it therefore does not often generate deletions at incorporated ribonucleotides. This helps explain why ribonucleotides are tolerated in mtDNA. Read more:
academic.oup.com/nar/article-...

On a road trip from Umeå (SE) to Rokua (FI) to attend the #Mitochondria Summer School this week!

Amazing to be back at @univ-larochelle.fr today to talk about #mtDNA, #senescence and #cancer at @umrlienss.bsky.social and have exciting discussions! Going back to Sweden tomorrow, but I hope to return to La Rochelle soon.

Two mtDNA papers of ours in one PNAS issue:
#1 on the Y951N patient mutation of PolG, heroically spear-headed by Josefin Forslund
#2 revealing surprising dNTP imbalance & subsequent mtDNA depletion in RRM2B-deficient mice, a great collaboration with the Chabes lab
www.pnas.org/toc/pnas/122...

Good science from Josefin Forslund and our team:
The POLγ Y951N patient mutation disrupts the switch between DNA synthesis and proofreading, triggering mitochondrial DNA instability | PNAS www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Postdoctoral fellowship (2 years) to study mitochondrial DNA stability

Hello fellow mitochondriacs! Are you passionate about mtDNA? We now offer a 2-year postdoc opportunity for studies of mtDNA instability and its signaling. Apply by May 18th to join our international team in exotic Umeå. Please share!
www.umu.se/en/work-with...

#StarterPack for the #Mitochondria research community! Very much a work in progress, comment below/reach out to be added!

#Mito #Mitochondriac

go.bsky.app/J6Bu5fL

Pentagon guts national security program that harnessed social science Dozens of U.S. academics lose grants from Minerva program for studies related to terrorism, drug trafficking, and other threats

Exclusive: The U.S. Department of Defense is gutting a landmark project designed to fund social science research with important implications for national security. scim.ag/41qhiuO