Special issue call for papers: Fazly Ataullakhanov: In Memoriam.

Does chromatin density heterogeneity within the cell nucleus affect nucleosome stability? If so, what are the potential molecular mechanisms underlying this phenomenon? Answers to these questions can be found in the preprint of our recent study: www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...

Effect of nuclear electrostatic potential on the nucleoplasmic distribution of histones and nucleosome stability

Differences in the density of heterochromatic and euchromatic regions are often assumed to play an important role in determining the transcriptional state of chromatin by influencing its accessibility to transcription factors. Yet, experiments show that even the most densely packed chromatin domains are readily accessible to transcription factors. Thus, the molecular mechanisms underlying differences in the transcriptional states of hetero- and euchromatin remain poorly understood. In this study, using electrically charged mEGFP probes, we demonstrated that heterochromatin and euchromatin differ not only in density but also in the magnitude of the local electrostatic potential. Furthermore, the nucleoplasmic distribution of electrically charged proteins, such as histone-chaperone complexes, was found to correlate with the local electrostatic potential. Estimates based on experimental data have also shown that the difference in electrostatic potentials between heterochromatic and euchromatic regions could lead to unequal nucleosome stability in them, which was successfully confirmed experimentally. Subsequent theoretical calculations showed that this could shift the balance in the DNA-binding competition between transcription factors and nucleosomes, thereby explaining experimental observations that heterochromatin is less transcriptionally active than euchromatin. Overall, our study suggests the existence of a nuclear electrostatic potential-mediated pathway that may be involved in the regulation of gene transcription. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.

biorxiv.org

Getting nuclear size just right – emerging mechanisms regulating nuclear scaling and morphology @jcellsci.bsky.social journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/...

In memoriam Fazly Ataullakhanov was a biophysicist with a rich heritage, and a strong scientific legacy. An ethnic Tadjik, born in Samarkand (Soviet Uzbekistan), educated in Moscow, made his best scientific contributions in English, collaborating with international researchers in the USA. /1

Want to image cells protecting the embryo during early development? We're hiring! 1 Postdoc, 1 PhD student, and 1 Research Technician. Come to Barcelona! www.embryobioimaging.com

Our joint experimental research with Gary Ying Wai Chan's group from HKU, dedicated to the first of its kind mechanosensitive endonuclease activated by DNA mechanical stress, was published in Nature Communications! Congratulations to Fei He and Long Jie from our lab! 🎉 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

ANKLE1 processes chromatin bridges by cleaving mechanically stressed DNA - Nature Communications

ANKLE1 senses DNA tension and negative supercoiling, enhancing cleavage of stretched, supercoiled DNA to resolve chromatin bridges, highlighting its unique mechanosensitive role in maintaining genome ...

nature.com

Met Yan Jie at Changi Airport while waiting for my connecting flight to Shenzhen. Life is full of surprises.

Having a good time at the ASB 2025 conference.

Hearty congratulations to Assoc. Prof. Matthew Baker @phatmattbaker.bsky.social who was awarded the MacAulay-Hope Prize for originality and innovation in #biophysics at the @aus-soc-biophys.bsky.social meeting #ASB2025 at Griffith University Gold Coast campus.

🧠 Fully funded 4-year PhD studentship 🧠 Please repost BBSRC NWD project with @parikki.bsky.social and @iamabyron.bsky.social Come join us to look at how mechanical and oxidative stress signalling pathways converge on the synaptic scaffold protein talin. www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

(BBSRC NWD) A novel redox mechanosignalling nexus in the synapse that is misregulated in neurodegeneration at University of Liverpool on FindAPhD.com

PhD Project - (BBSRC NWD) A novel redox mechanosignalling nexus in the synapse that is misregulated in neurodegeneration at University of Liverpool, listed on FindAPhD.com

findaphd.com

Please repost - Multiple PhDs available www.findaphd.com/phds/project... www.findaphd.com/phds/project... www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

*Fully funded 4-year PhD studentship available* This MRC DiMeN DTP funded project will look at the direct interactions between talin and the hypoxic response machinery to define the protective mechanisms at play in cells that protect against oxygen depletion www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

MRC DiMeN Doctoral Training Partnership: The intersection of mechanical signalling and the hypoxic response as a targetable signalling nexus in pancreatic cancer at University of Liverpool on FindAPhD...

PhD Project - MRC DiMeN Doctoral Training Partnership: The intersection of mechanical signalling and the hypoxic response as a targetable signalling nexus in pancreatic cancer at University of Liverpo...

findaphd.com

Want to make focal adhesions with light? Wonder what role phase separation plays in focal adhesions and what is required to create one? Check out our preprint! Thanks to @artemefremov.bsky.social and everyone involved. Stay tuned for more on this topic in the not so distant future!

We’re organizing a conference at @ijmonod.bsky.social in Paris, January 2026, in memory of M.P. Sheetz — pioneer in cell mechanics and mechanobiology, co-discoverer of kinesin, and founder of @mbisg.bsky.social. Join us to explore his legacy. mikeinmemoriam.sciencesconf.org

These were amazing several days at the conference organized by MBI and Max Planck Society. One of the best mechanobiology conferences I have ever seen, with three hundred researchers from all over the world, including some of the most famous ones.

Mechanobiology Institute@mbisg.bsky.social · last yr.

@artemefremov.bsky.social tested a semi-analytical model that integrates experimental data and theory, revealing the importance of adaptor protein elasticity and local molecular clutch-ECM interactions in cell mechanosensing and force transduction during adhesion. #MBIMPG2025

It is nice to see people you know all over the world. Go MBI team!

Our study on the mechanosensitive behavior of cell adhesion, showing the existence of a force-transmission mechanism that behaves very differently from the well-known 'load-and-fail' mechanism, was published in Nature Physics: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Experimental measurements show that the size of the cell nucleus has highly nonlinear dependence on the cell volume: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Confinement-sensitive volume regulation dynamics via high-speed nuclear morphological measurements | PNAS

Diverse tissues in vivo present varying degrees of confinement, constriction, and compression to migrating cells in both homeostasis and disease. T...

pnas.org