To not die of history

This essay explores the legacy of the Irish Famine and the research and writing process behind Cherry Smyth's poetry collection Famished (2019). It examines particularly the legacy of trauma and shame from the dehumanising aspects of famine and British colonialism. It also details Smyth's collaboration with a musician and vocalist to present Famished as a live performance

In conversation: Emer Lyons and Cherry Smyth

Two Irish poets, Cherry Smyth and Emer Lyons, talk about Smyth's publication and performance Famished (2019), through the lens of shame, British colonialism and queer sexuality

'Lost Bees'

'Lost Bees' is the title of a new album by Roamer, which is based on nine poems by Cherry Smyth, including the eponymous poem, 'Lost Bees'. The band features the vocalist Lauren Kinsella. The album is accompanied by a small booklet of Smyth's poems

If the river is hidden

'If the River is Hidden' a performance of poetry in collaboration with writer Dr Craig Jordan-Baker and flautist Eimear McGeown. 'If the River is Hidden' is a 90 minute performance based on a pilgrimage of the River Bann, Northern Ireland's longest river. The flute by McGeown, shapes a river that is reflected in the long, sinewy poems by Smyth and bridged by Jordan-Baker's lyric essay. Doesn't belonging start with how we use the words we inherit and the first map we fall in love with? But the Bann is not all it seems and more than it seems. Smyth, Jordan-Baker and McGeown, who all share Northern Irish heritage and live in England, ask how to belong in the North. The Bann becomes a metaphor for longing, belonging and letting go of grief as well as the continuity of family and its legends. The road north stands not only for the frequent inaccessibility of the river, but for the path of writing and friendship, which creates a flow that does not depend on water or a specific landscape

'Evensong' poem by Cherry Smyth, set to music by composer Laura Snowden and broadcast on BBC Radio 3

Cherry Smyth's poem 'Evensong' was chosen for the New Composer's Scheme, 2020, where composer Laura Snowden teamed up with the Chandos Chamber Choir. The poem was performed live at a concert in London in July, 2019 and broadcast in January, 2020 on BBC Radio 3

If the river is hidden

If the River is Hidden reflects the shape of Northern Ireland’s River Bann in a hybrid, prose and poetry form: long, sinewy poems are bridged by a lyric essay. This hybridity speaks to the third space emerging in the North, as well as how belonging starts with the words we inherit. What is hidden? The pagan past and its associations with An Bhanna, the Goddess; the Mesolithic treasures offered to the river; histories of sectarianism and division in towns on the river’s course; the pollutants destroying the ecology of the Bann; and how blood belonging streams through us, even if we no longer live in the North of Ireland, or never did. ‘If the river is hidden So it what enters it.

A rodent model of HIV protease inhibitor indinavir induced peripheral neuropathy

The research leading to these results is part of the EUROPAIN Collaboration, which has received support from the Innovative Medicines Initiative Joint Undertaking, under grant agreement no 115007, resources of which are composed of financial contribution from the European Union's Seventh Framework Program (FP7/2007‐2013) and EFPIA companies’ in kind contribution. We thank Pfizer for providing indinavir and gabapentin. MC received Conicyt grant (Folio 82130016),to complete this work.Peer reviewedPostprin

Hsp12p and PAU genes are involved in ecological interactions between natural yeast strains.

The co-existence of different yeasts in a single vineyard raises the question on how they communicate and why slow growers are not competed out. Genetically modified laboratory strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae are extensively used to investigate ecological interactions, but little is known about the genes regulating cooperation and competition in ecologically relevant settings. To understand the genetics of ecological interactions, we isolated eight yeast strains from a single vineyard and examined the fitness in single-clone strain cultures of these natural isolates in synthetic wine must simulating their natural environment. We found great differences in the fitness of the eight strains, thus we performed genome-wide analyses in order to identify the genes involved in the establishment of their co-existence in the vineyard. The results highlight the existence of an unexpected altruistic behavior, which mainly depends on a released heat-shock protein, Hsp12p. The altruistic strain also punishes close relatives non-producers by contact dependent transmission of a killer toxin, while a membrane protein (Pau5p) can provide resistance against this toxin. The reward-punishment loop created by the combined action of Hsp12p, Pau5p and killer toxin is sufficient to steer a yeast community and ensure the survival of a cooperating strain

Acid ceramidase is upregulated in AML and represents a novel therapeutic target

There is an urgent unmet need for new therapeutics in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) as standard therapy has not changed in the past three decades and outcome remains poor for most patients. Sphingolipid dysregulation through decreased ceramide levels and elevated sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) promotes cancer cell growth and survival. Acid ceramidase (AC) catalyzes ceramide breakdown to sphingosine, the precursor for S1P. We report for the first time that AC is required for AML blast survival. Transcriptome analysis and enzymatic assay show that primary AML cells have high levels of AC expression and activity. Treatment of patient samples and cell lines with AC inhibitor LCL204 reduced viability and induced apoptosis. AC overexpression increased the expression of anti-apoptotic Mcl-1, significantly increased S1P and decreased ceramide. Conversely, LCL204 induced ceramide accumulation and decreased Mcl-1 through post-translational mechanisms. LCL204 treatment significantly increased overall survival of C57BL/6 mice engrafted with leukemic C1498 cells and significantly decreased leukemic burden in NSG mice engrafted with primary human AML cells. Collectively, these studies demonstrate that AC plays a critical role in AML survival through regulation of both sphingolipid levels and Mcl-1. We propose that AC warrants further exploration as a novel therapeutic target in AML