Dr Katy K @DrK@qoto.org

I thought I would share this image, which I took a while ago, but that I really like! This is a #pituitary gland where cells expressing a protein called proopiomelanocortin (POMC for short) have been coloured in green. You can see two groups of cells; a very packed band in the middle and some sparse cells on the sides. The first are called melanotrophs, and they are important in determining skin and fur colour. The sparse cells on the sides are called corticotrophs (and that's what I am studying at the moment!) and they are important for the response to #stress . They secrete an #hormone called ACTH which stimulates the production of the stress hormone cortisol from the adrenal gland. At the moment we are trying to understand what happens to this cells after the body is exposed to stress for a prolonged amount of time. #scicomm #biology #science #physiology #microscopy

@kevindc - Exactly that.

Mastodon is like a new party, with confusing house layout, but lots of familiar faces.

#Job post for #Bioinformatician #HPC #CompBio enthusiasts!

Queen Mary University of London is looking for a Bioinformatics Technical Specialist to work with School of Biological and Behavioral Sciences because all these biologist cannot do this all by themselves LOL

Come work with us in East London! QMUL offer lots of benefits in this increasingly crazy London life. Check out more here:

https://www.qmul.ac.uk/jobs/vacancies/items/7753.html

Security and privacy checklist for Mastodon via @gcluley:
✅ Set up a strong password
✅ Set up 2-factor-authentication (I use Authy for this, but there are other apps)
✅ Direct Messages: Can be read by your admin. Don't use Mastodon for private conversations. Use Signal for that.
✅ People you mention in DMs can read a copy of the messages
✅ You can verify yourself using the options at Edit Profile > Appearance on Mastodon

Mastodon: an introduction for beginners and for scientists

Via ⁦@giorgiogilestro⁩ https://giorgio.gilest.ro/2022/11/05/mastodon-an-introduction-for-beginners-and-for-scientists/

Hey everyone. Just making sure everyone knows that direct messages on here are not end-to-end encrypted. They work more like a post, with visibility set to the person/people you tag.

This means an admin (like me), can read these by looking at the database/in backups.

I promise never to do this.

If that's not good enough (which is fine, obviously), please use something like signal for DMs

p.s. Twitter DMs are also not encrypted and anyone there can read them too.