J. A. Walker

Identifying novel links between cardiovascular disease and insomnia by Drosophila modeling of genes from a pleiotropic GWAS locus

This study uses Drosophila models to investigate the role of genes from a GWAS locus in linking cardiovascular disease and insomnia, finding tissue-specific and cross-tissue effects on sleep and cardiac function.

Genome-wide coancestry reveals details of ancient and recent male-driven reticulation in baboons

Genomic data from 225 baboons reveal novel inter-species gene flow sites and local admixture effects across different lineages.

Aminobenzoic acid derivatives obstruct induced fit in the catalytic center of the ribosome

This study reports cryo-EM structures of E. coli ribosomes with aminobenzoic acid derivatives, revealing how steric blocking and proton wire disruption affect amide bond formation efficiency.

Rapid generation of precision preclinical cancer models using regulatable in vivo base editing

This study develops a murine system for temporal and regulatable in vivo cytosine base editing to rapidly generate preclinical cancer models with specific SNVs.

KRAS is vulnerable to reversible switch-II pocket engagement in cells

The paper investigates the accessibility of the switch-II pocket in various KRAS mutants using NMR and a cellular engagement assay, showing it is accessible with non-covalent ligands regardless of GDP state.

Redirecting RiPP biosynthetic enzymes to proteins and backbone-modified substrates

This paper demonstrates that RiPP enzymes can incorporate backbone-modified monomers into proteins, creating sequence-defined chemical polymers with diverse non-alpha-amino acid subunits.

Inhibition of autophagy as a novel therapy for the treatment of neurofibromatosis type 1 tumors

This study identifies autophagy inhibitors as potential therapies for NF1 tumors by showing their effectiveness in Drosophila and human models.

Drag-and-drop genome insertion without DNA cleavage with CRISPR-directed integrases

PASTE enables efficient, programmable gene integration without DNA breaks, applicable for research, cell engineering, and gene therapy.

Rora regulates activated T helper cells during inflammation

This study investigates Rora's role in CD4+ T cells during inflammation, finding it regulates lung inflammation and is controlled by IL-33 and CCL7.

Model-averaged regression coefficients have a straightforward interpretation using causal conditioning

The paper argues that model-averaged regression coefficients can be interpreted as causal effects when they are based on causal conditioning rather than probabilistic conditioning.

Birds invest wingbeats to keep a steady head and reap the ultimate benefits of flocking

This study quantifies the biomechanical and energetic costs of flocking in homing pigeons, finding that paired flight increases route accuracy but raises aerodynamic costs by ~14%.

Show the model - A Harrell plot combines a forest plot of effects and uncertainty with a dot plot of the data

The paper introduces a Harrell plot that combines forest plots, dot plots, and box plots to better communicate modeled effects, uncertainty, and data distribution.