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Benjamin Werner

@benjaminwerner.bsky.social
794 followers 410 following 336 posts

Es irrt der Mensch, solang er strebt. Group Leader at Barts Cancer Institute in London. Working on somatic evolution, ecDNA, clonal haematopoiesis… www.bartscancer.london/staff/dr-ben… Contact: b.werner@qmul.ac.uk

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Reposted by Benjamin Werner
Terence Tao @teorth.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
A group of 25 Fields Medalists, including myself, have made a joint declaration on Math and AI: mathandai.org . We welcome additional signatories. See also this article in the Economist announcing the declaration: www.economist.com/science-and-...
mathandai.org
Declaration — Math and AI
Read the declaration and add your name.
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Benjamin Werner @benjaminwerner.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Very happy that @nvmp.bsky.social and @francescoterenzi.bsky.social work on the Evolution of Polyclonal Competition in Aging Hematopoiesis is published in the September issue of Cancer Discovery @aacrjournals.bsky.social aacrjournals.org/cancerdiscov...
aacrjournals.org
The Evolution of Polyclonal Competition in Aging Hematopoiesis
An evolutionary model of clonal hematopoiesis (CH) describes the genetic changes of HSCs through life, predicts the ubiquity of polyclonal competition, and identifies multistage CH progression with va...
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Reposted by Benjamin Werner
Inigo Martincorena @imartincorena.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Big paper alert! This project has been years in the making. A comprehensive description of somatic mutation rates and signatures across 53 tissues or cell types using NanoSeq. A large collective effort led by Mimy Pham, Mike Stratton and @r-rahbari.bsky.social. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
biorxiv.org
A comprehensive atlas of somatic mutation rates and mutational signatures in normal human cells
Over the course of a lifetime, somatic mutations accrue in normal human cells, causing variation in cell phenotype and engendering somatic evolution with outcomes ranging from the adaptive immune syst...
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Benjamin Werner @benjaminwerner.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
I make fun of British to mispronounce words. Southwalk -> Suthlk Greenwich -> Graenich
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Reposted by Benjamin Werner
Kamila Naxerova @naxerova.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Finishing your PhD or looking for a post-bac research position? We’re recruiting postdocs and research technicians to study somatic evolution! Come do interdisciplinary science in a friendly, collaborative environment at @harvardmed.bsky.social Genetics www.naxerova.hms.harvard.edu/contact
naxerova.hms.harvard.edu
Join Us — Naxerova Lab
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Benjamin Werner @benjaminwerner.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Minor difference though, Erling Haaland would never run 5k ever 😂
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Benjamin Werner @benjaminwerner.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
The brevity to draw these linear correlations is impressive.
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Benjamin Werner @benjaminwerner.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
Looking very much forward how they defend this in the federal courts.
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Reposted by Benjamin Werner
Maria Secrier @mariasecrier.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Interested in using AI, computational genomics and single-cell/spatial omics to tackle breast cancer dormancy and late recurrence? Join our team and work in collaboration with @magnanilab.bsky.social at ICR on an exciting interdisciplinary postdoc project: www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...
ucl.ac.uk
UCL – University College London
UCL is consistently ranked as one of the top ten universities in the world (QS World University Rankings 2010-2022) and is No.2 in the UK for research power (Research Excellence Framework 2021).
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Benjamin Werner @benjaminwerner.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Are you allowed to boil the kettle in the kitchen?
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Reposted by Benjamin Werner
theobioarne.bsky.social @theobioarne.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
What can we learn from disruptions of seasonal patterns of disease during the pandemic? A new paper by @michaelsieber.bsky.social in PLOS Global Public Health, journals.plos.org/globalpublic..., was featured in the German news such as @zeit.de or @spiegel.de - and may be of interest also here. 1/3
journals.plos.org
Shifts in seasonal timing of respiratory diseases and causes of death following a natural pandemic event
Seasonal respiratory infections typically surge within a limited time window, but what determines the exact timing within a given year is not well understood. Major causes of death show a similar seas...
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Benjamin Werner @benjaminwerner.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
Nigel Farage went to a school that charges £60.000 per year. Let them eat cake. www.theguardian.com/politics/vid...
theguardian.com
Nigel Farage resigns to stand in ‘people v establishment’ byelection – The Latest
Nigel Farage has announced his resignation as the MP for Clacton, triggering a byelection in which he intends to stand as a candidate. The Reform UK leader is under scrutiny over his finances, with tw...
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Benjamin Werner @benjaminwerner.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
I would think that psychologically the whole situation put the us team at a huge disadvantage. In that spirit, as always, anything Trump touches dies.
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Benjamin Werner @benjaminwerner.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
I mean they jog faster than most people sprint but still
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Benjamin Werner @benjaminwerner.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
France is jogging over the pitch and is still 3-1 up …
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Benjamin Werner @benjaminwerner.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
True. But not an argument against sensible policing and careful endorsements.
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Benjamin Werner @benjaminwerner.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
Assume you compare scientifically correct papers. What is the meaning of the 1%? Importance, novelty, excitement, surprise, cost, topic, name dropping, jargon? Writing a science paper is not like playing in the World Cup. It is meaningless to rank correct papers across disciplines.
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Benjamin Werner @benjaminwerner.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
Hockney did not know any scientists to speak to maybe?
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Benjamin Werner @benjaminwerner.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
It’s a failure of the system ( not accidental of course) to allow for anyone to accumulate that much wealth.
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Benjamin Werner @benjaminwerner.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
I am sure someone in California is trying this right now
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Reposted by Benjamin Werner
Roel Verhaak @roelverhaak.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
In our new collaborative paper on IDHmutant glioma with the Tirosh, Suva, Iavarone and Lasorella labs, we show how acquired genetic alterations converge with cell state changes and poor treatment responses. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Acquired genetic and cell-state changes in IDH-mutant glioma progression - Nature
Longitudinal transcriptomic, chromatin and genomic analyses of the two types of IDH-mutant glioma reveal in detail how disease progression is influenced by interdependent genetic, epigenetic and micro...
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Reposted by Benjamin Werner
Thorsten Reusch @thorstenreusch.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
Fantastic work, congrats to the Baums team and in particular Trinity. Our past HFSP grant Adaptasex continues to yield spectacular results
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Reposted by Benjamin Werner
Iliana Baums @ibaums.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
🧬 New preprint on coral somatic evolution! We compare the robust coral Orbicella faveolata with the complex coral Acropora palmata. 80x whole genome sequencing shows that O. faveolata has high fixation of somatic variants in older interior polyps consistent with a segregated germline.
doi.org
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Benjamin Werner @benjaminwerner.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
That was my poor attempt of sarcasm. In my defence, german jokes are an acquired taste.
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Benjamin Werner @benjaminwerner.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Surely, scientific progress that saves the lives of millions of children is liked by everyone, no?
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Reposted by Benjamin Werner
David Posada @davidposada.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
🧬 Join the Posada Lab! TALENTGAL offers 40 postdoc fellowships (30 months) in Spain. - Molecular & Immune Mechanisms in Precision Oncology - AI-driven Biomedical Data Analysis - Multiomic Approaches for Next-Gen Therapeutics Deadline: July 23, 2026. Check requirements at talentgal.cigus.gal
talentgal.cigus.gal
Talentgal | Your postdoctoral programme
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Benjamin Werner @benjaminwerner.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
It’s an art to learn what regulations to follow, ignore or oppose.
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Reposted by Benjamin Werner
Barts Cancer Institute (Queen Mary University of London) @qmbci.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
Most of us develop gene mutations linked to blood cancer as we age, but only a small proportion go on to develop the disease. New research from @benjaminwerner.bsky.social and team at BCI explores why, showing how mutated cells compete and evolve over time. 🧪 #medsky #oncosky @qmul.bsky.social
bci.qmul.ac.uk
Study offers clues to blood cancer risk, revealing how gene mutations compete over time
Researchers have developed a new way to understand how genetic changes linked to blood cancer evolve in our cells, offering new insight into predicting blood cancer risk.
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Benjamin Werner @benjaminwerner.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
A more detailed summary of some of our observations will follow.
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Benjamin Werner @benjaminwerner.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
I am very excited that our work on the evolution of clonal hematopoiesis throughout human life is now available (unedited version) online in Cancer Discovery @aacrjournals.bsky.social. Huge congratulations to @nvmp.bsky.social and @francescoterenzi.bsky.social! aacrjournals.org/cancerdiscov...
aacrjournals.org
The evolution of polyclonal competition in aging hematopoiesis
Abstract. Clonal hematopoiesis (CH) — the expansion of genetic variants in blood — is a prime example of somatic evolution. Although it often precedes malignant transformation, many aspects of this pr...
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Benjamin Werner @benjaminwerner.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
Calling it an idea gives too much credit honestly
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Reposted by Benjamin Werner
Lovorka Stojić @loverna.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Let the countdown begin. Please join us on 18th June in London for our second annual centre to epigenetics conference
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Reposted by Benjamin Werner
Jamal-Hanjani Lab @jamal-hanjani-lab.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
Excited to share our ‘Evolutionary characterization of lung cancer metastasis’ in #TRACERx & #PEACE, published today in @nature.com in collaboration with @charlesswanton.bsky.social @nickymcgranahan.bsky.social @zaccasimo.bsky.social at @ucl.ac.uk & @crick.ac.uk. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Evolutionary characterization of lung cancer metastasis - Nature
DNA-sequencing data from primary tumours and paired metastases from participants in the TRACERx lung study and PEACE autopsy programme are used to analyse the metastatic diversity of advanced non-smal...
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Benjamin Werner @benjaminwerner.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
Oh no more online training courses
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Benjamin Werner @benjaminwerner.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
What is an acceptable amount of soap liquid in liters/minute to keep a toddler entertained?
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Reposted by Benjamin Werner
Randall Munroe @xkcd.com · 28/04/2026
Soniferous Aether xkcd.com/3238/
Comic. [Person and second person with ponytail on stage. Person 1 gestures behind at a display of different wavelengths while Person 2 addresses people off-panel.] PERSON 2: We all know the speed of light is constant for all observers. But our experiments show that the speed of sound *changes* based on the observer's motion. Thus, we posit the existence of the *soniferous aether*, a medium that fills the space between us and carries sound waves. [caption] Sometimes physicists forget that air exists and rediscover it from first principles.
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Benjamin Werner @benjaminwerner.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
The list of discoveries that Einstein did not get a Nobel price include but are not limited to: special relativity, general relativity, brownian motion, entanglement, the laser,…. Damn impressive
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Benjamin Werner @benjaminwerner.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
Toddler politics www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Could Trump withdraw US support for UK sovereignty of Falklands?
Proposal said to be contained in internal Pentagon email is thought to be bid to punish European countries for failing to assist in war in Iran
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Benjamin Werner @benjaminwerner.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
Trump is using a different kind of math 😂. Wonder what his axioms are… On a serious note, I truly wonder if some of these guys are genuinely stupid or are all just amoral liars.
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Reposted by Benjamin Werner
MPI for Evolutionary Biology @mpi-evolbio.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
Can multicellularity evolve without direct benefits? A new theoretical study suggests it can — through ecology. www.evolbio.mpg.de/3874781/news... #Evolution #Ecology
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Reposted by Benjamin Werner
Cancer Grand Challenges @cancergrand.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
Our first-of-its-kind Special Session at #AACR26 brought together Cancer Grand Challenges teams shaping the future of cancer research. @theaacr.bsky.social Learn more about our teams’ latest advances and the upcoming Cancer Grand Challenges Conference: Cancer and the host 🔗 bit.ly/m/Cancer-Gra...
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Benjamin Werner @benjaminwerner.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
“Wer die Wahrheit nicht weiß, der ist bloß ein Dummkopf. Aber wer sie weiß und sie eine Lüge nennt, der ist ein Verbrecher.” ― Bertolt Brecht, Galileo
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Benjamin Werner @benjaminwerner.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
“A” mistake?
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Benjamin Werner @benjaminwerner.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
Advantages and disadvantages to have an office in central London. Disadvantage: The office is too small to fit a couch. Advantage: The office is too small to fit a couch.
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Benjamin Werner @benjaminwerner.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
Personalised adverts online increasingly include yachts and New York penthouses. I neither know, what could have triggered this, nor am I sure what they think an academics income is.
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Ivy Tsz-Lo Wong, PhD @ivywtl.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
Published today in the Special Issue of Cell to mark this 25th anniversary, it is my honor to contribute in a review article to discuss how ecDNA could contribute to the established Cancer Hallmarks, especially its role in genome instability and mutation: www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
cell.com
A recipe for chaos: Extrachromosomal DNA and the hallmarks of cancer
When oncogenic genetic elements untether from chromosomes and no longer follow Mendelian inheritance, genomic chaos and accelerated evolution ensues. In this review, Wong et al. discuss the mechanisti...
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Benjamin Werner @benjaminwerner.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
He has tenure
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Benjamin Werner @benjaminwerner.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
Very similar results had been obtained by Cernan, Harrison and Schmitt in 1972. The advances here seem minimal and the novelty of the work remains unclear. The study would be more appropriate for a more specialised journal.
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Benjamin Werner @benjaminwerner.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
Haha good point!
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Benjamin Werner @benjaminwerner.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
Game theory tends to assume rational actors. Is there work on optimal strategies among idiots?
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