iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Masa Kuwajima | 桒島正明 @masak.bsky.social · 3h

In any case, I do enjoy a dose of John Candy now and then.

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Masa Kuwajima | 桒島正明 @masak.bsky.social · 3h

I’m also feeling a bit out of it today after getting both flu and Covid shots yesterday.

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Masa Kuwajima | 桒島正明 @masak.bsky.social · 4h

Family movie night. Watching “Uncle Buck” with our 14yo son made me feel old.

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Masa Kuwajima | 桒島正明 @masak.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

This publication also features works done by our former undergraduate student volunteers, some of whom are also co-authors. Funding support came from NIH (NIMH and NINDS) and NSF. (11/11)

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Masa Kuwajima | 桒島正明 @masak.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

A big thanks to co-authors, Olga Ostrovskaya, Lyndsey Kirk, Ashley Alario, Weiling Yin, Sonia Singh, Anna Xaymongkhol, Adrienne Li, and Ella Prasad, and Kristen Harris, as well as others who helped get this paper published. (10/11)

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Masa Kuwajima | 桒島正明 @masak.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

The Synpo knockout rats were generated in collaboration with the Mouse Genetic Engineering Facility at UT-Austin. They have been deposited at the Rat Resource and Research Center (www.rrrc.us; RRID:RRRC_00964 and RRID:RRRC_01025), if you are interested in working with this model. (9/11)

rrrc.us

Rat Resource & Research Center - Rat Models

Rat Resource & Research Center. Providing top quality animals to the research community. Rat Models

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Masa Kuwajima | 桒島正明 @masak.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

In any case, Synpo is expressed widely in the body incl. muscles, so it may have a yet-to-be-discovered direct role in musculoskeletal development. This phenotype would have an impact on behavioral tests to probe the role of Synpo, a reminder to pick the right model system for your study. (8/11)

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Masa Kuwajima | 桒島正明 @masak.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

This effect was not reported previously (actually, no one, to my knowledge, has measured body stature) in mice, and we don't know if the mouse models have the same phenotype but their body size is just too small to detect subtle differences. (7/11)

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Masa Kuwajima | 桒島正明 @masak.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

- Normal basal kidney excretory function (but may be more prone to kidney stress) There was also an unexpected phenotype! The adult knockout rats are smaller and have shorter limbs compared to their wildtype littermates. (6/11)

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Masa Kuwajima | 桒島正明 @masak.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

...and show these phenotypes similar to the knockout mouse: - Total loss of the spine apparatus in dendritic spines and cisternal organelle in axon initial segments (They are a complex form of endoplasmic reticulum in neurons.) - Reduced LTP (involved in learning and memory), and... (5/11)

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Masa Kuwajima | 桒島正明 @masak.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

But this is harder to study using mice (yes, there is a Synpo knockout mouse) because their LTP onset is highly variable over a 3-week period. So we used CRISPR/Cas to delete the Synpo gene in rats. The knockout rats are viable, ... (4/11)

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Masa Kuwajima | 桒島正明 @masak.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

For our lab studying learning and memory mechanism, Synpo is interesting because its expression reaches adult levels around the time of onset for long-term potentiation (LTP) during early development in rats (around postnatal day 12). (3/11)

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Masa Kuwajima | 桒島正明 @masak.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Synpo is clinically relevant as a proposed biomarker for conditions like kidney glomerular diseases and cognitive impairment/dementia. (2/11)

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Reposted by Masa Kuwajima | 桒島正明

Nature Portfolio @natureportfolio.nature.com · 19/08/2026

A study in Nature finds that COVID-19 can reactivate dormant viruses already present in the body. These viral flare-ups can persist after infection and may be linked to long COVID. go.nature.com/45GKJLM #medsky 🧪

This is figure 6, which shows associations between chronic viral reactivation and long COVID.

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Masa Kuwajima | 桒島正明 @masak.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

This somehow reminded me of the British Navy some years ago (ca. 2000?) when the gunners had to shout “bang” instead of firing live ammo during their training as part of a cost cutting measure.

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Masa Kuwajima | 桒島正明 @masak.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Our A/C got fixed. Hoping for a better sleep tonight.

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Masa Kuwajima | 桒島正明 @masak.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Our A/C is out. It’s 95 degrees F (feels like 104) outside here in Austin, TX. Sigh.😔

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Masa Kuwajima | 桒島正明 @masak.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Finally got to meet @robertmarc.bsky.social at his cidery in Torrey, Utah. Thank you for giving me and my son a private tour of the shop. @bwjones.bsky.social I hope your ears weren’t burning too much.😛

A group photo with a gray haired Caucasian man in a black T-shirt, an Asian teen boy, and a middle aged Asian man in front of a refrigerated drink case.

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Masa Kuwajima | 桒島正明 @masak.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

Connect with people who will really listen to you -- you may or may not have that in your family, but they are the ones who can help when you feel overwhelmed and struggling. I hope your story gets sprinkled with lots of joy. (8/8)

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Masa Kuwajima | 桒島正明 @masak.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

I don't know what kind of parenting journey you are going through. I hope you are writing your own story and not just repeating what previous generations did. Your birth and background don't need to be your future, or your kid's future. (7/8)

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Masa Kuwajima | 桒島正明 @masak.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

Yes, I still do have fears about the future. The difference is that those feelings don't take over my driver's seat all that often anymore. I'm just ok with not having all the answers. I don't have to do things just because that's how I grew up. Parenting doesn't have to be a problem to solve. (6/8)

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Masa Kuwajima | 桒島正明 @masak.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

learning to listen to understand (not to rebut), setting aside time for self-care and doing things I used to enjoy, etc., etc. Somehow, I emerged from all this realizing that my family wanted me to be present, not to be perfect. Yes, I still experience all those negative emotions. (5/8)

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Masa Kuwajima | 桒島正明 @masak.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

identifying what kind of person I wanted to become, learning how to practice emotional self-awareness, recognizing triggers and understanding where they came from, recognizing and reframing my cognitive distortions, learning to be flexible and creative, (4/8)

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Masa Kuwajima | 桒島正明 @masak.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

But I was not sure what I could do, or I was afraid of what the change would bring me. Then I was given a chance to work on myself and skill up as a person by going to therapy sessions. It's been a lengthy process of unlearning old habits and learning new skills: (3/8)

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Masa Kuwajima | 桒島正明 @masak.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

(Sorry I broke this thread as I needed to edit something. I'm reposting the rest of it below.)

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Masa Kuwajima | 桒島正明 @masak.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

And that collided with my neurodivergent son. I used to get overwhelmed and spiral into negative self-talk and shaming often. Eventually, things got to a point where something had to change. (2/8)

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Masa Kuwajima | 桒島正明 @masak.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

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Masa Kuwajima | 桒島正明 @masak.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

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Masa Kuwajima | 桒島正明 @masak.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

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Masa Kuwajima | 桒島正明 @masak.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

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Masa Kuwajima | 桒島正明 @masak.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

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Masa Kuwajima | 桒島正明 @masak.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

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Masa Kuwajima | 桒島正明 @masak.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

It's Father's Day today, and I want to share how parenting changed me. Becoming a parent broke me. Because I was operating under a rigid mindset with unreasonable expectations about myself and what parenting should look like. My plan was always "just optimize X and work harder". (1/8)

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Masa Kuwajima | 桒島正明 @masak.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

A view of double rainbow against the pink-purple sky on Thursday. Austin, Texas.

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Masa Kuwajima | 桒島正明 @masak.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

My tired and sleepy son: Cookies are baked goods, right? So, if they got burned, are they baked bads?

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Masa Kuwajima | 桒島正明 @masak.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

I started my morning commute today in this light.

A photo of the early morning sky where mostly cloudy Eastern sky is lit up into an orange to purple gradient by the rising sun.

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Reposted by Masa Kuwajima | 桒島正明

Gary Hershorn @garyhershorn.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

One hour after the Artemis rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral on a mission to the moon, the full Pink Moon rises behind the Empire State Building in New York City, Wednesday evening.

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Masa Kuwajima | 桒島正明 @masak.bsky.social · 09/03/2026

Good morning from foggy Austin, Texas.

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Masa Kuwajima | 桒島正明 @masak.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

鏡開きが近いので、お汁粉を作りました。今年のあんこはまあまあの出来です。

Shiruko (しるこ), a Japanese dish made with mochi in sweet red bean soup, in a red and black bowl.

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Masa Kuwajima | 桒島正明 @masak.bsky.social · 22/12/2025

But honestly, it feels so weird to be in Salt Lake City and not see any snow on the ground.

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Masa Kuwajima | 桒島正明 @masak.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

Or, a photographer could make a creative choice in lighting, editing, etc., to accentuate facial features like skin texture and bone structure. It all comes down to the intent and what story you are trying to tell with a portrait.

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Masa Kuwajima | 桒島正明 @masak.bsky.social · 24/11/2025

My recent encounter with a Barred Owl (Strix varia). On my way to work last week, I noticed it sunbathing on a tree branch and being harassed by a Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata). Must have gotten too close to the nest or something. #photography #birds 📸🪶

Barred Owl (Strix varia), perched on a tree branch, looks straight towards the camera.

Barred Owl (Strix varia), perched on a tree branch, closes its eyelids as it is attacked from behind by a blue jay (Cyanocitta cristata). There is another blue jay on a branch higher than the owl's.

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Masa Kuwajima | 桒島正明 @masak.bsky.social · 12/11/2025

I used a mouse anti-GFP from NauroMab about 10 years ago. I believe it is still available from DSHB (dshb.biology.uiowa.edu/N86-8), tho they appear to carry supernatant only. I used it for pre-embedding labeling in rat hippocampal tissue fixed with 6% glut. Let me know if you want more details.

dshb.biology.uiowa.edu

N86/8

Catalog FieldsClone ID/Product Name: N86/8Available to For-Profits: YesAlternate Antibody Name: Gene Symbol: GFPAb Isotype: MIgG2aGene Name: Antibody Registry ID: AB_2313651 Uniprot ID: P42212 RRID: E...

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