New preprint from the lab! Led by graduate student @lainahall.bsky.social we show a new method to thin cells for cryo-EM imaging with minimal damage. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Optimized cryo-FIB milling strategy to generate thin, minimally damaged biological lamellae

Focused ion beam (FIB)-milling has been adapted to thin frozen cells for visualization of macromolecular structures in situ with cryogenic electron microscopy. However, only a few large and abundant c...

biorxiv.org

How does an embryo generate the right cells in the right place? Delighted to share our latest findings on how neural crest cells acquire vagal or trunk identities Spoiler alert: The timing & combination of CDXs preconfigures cell identity & distinct HOX states www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Temporally distinct CDX programmes preconfigure vagal and trunk neural crest

Neural crest cells (NCCs) are progenitor cells vital in establishing the head, heart, gut and peripheral nervous system of vertebrate embryos. Disruptions to NCC development underlie neurocristopathie...

biorxiv.org

Our latest paper is out! 🎉 We show that the HSV-1 origin binding protein UL9 tethers dsDNA thereby forming intramolecular DNA loops and intermolecular DNA tethers. 🤝 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Sigh…

Mel Andrews@bayesianboy.bsky.social · 2mo ago

When utilized in literature review, LLMs consistently 1. fail to mention female authors in female-led literatures, 2. insist that men are more influential or more heavily cited when this is contradicted by objective citation counts, and 3. attribute women’s work to hallucinated male scholars.

🌏 #IRBBarcelona coordinates 𝗠𝗗𝟰𝗦𝗕 (#𝗠𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝘆𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲-𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗕𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆), a new €10 million @horizoneu.bsky.social project bringing together 25 partners across 8 countries to unlock the full potential of molecular dynamics simulations.  ➡️ https://shorturl.at/HkN1Y #AI #StructuralBiology

Really fun multidisciplinary project with Enrique (Fadri) Martinez-Perez’s lab. Simulations by Punam Rattu, who did her PhD with me at @unisouthampton.bsky.social and is now in @philbiggin.bsky.social’s group here at @oxfordbiochemistry.bsky.social. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

m.youtube.com/watch?v=TzN1...

SARGASSO // EELS (Sabrina Carpenter Parody) | A Capella Science

YouTube video by acapellascience

m.youtube.com

bioRxiv Molecular Biology@biorxiv-molbio.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Evaluating non-lethal tissue suitability for telomere length measurement in the Japanese eel https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.05.09.723945v1

May the odds be ever in your favour

a woman wearing a red hat is holding a microphone and says " and may the odds be ever in your favor "

ALT: a woman wearing a red hat is holding a microphone and says " and may the odds be ever in your favor "

media.tenor.com

Research Professional News@resprofnews.bsky.social · 3mo ago

UKRI urged to be ‘transparent’ after adopting grant lotteries. Funder’s quiet introduction of randomisation option across opportunities prompts questions, plus support for “innovative” action. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

🚨 1 WEEK remaining until the Abstract Deadline on 22nd March 2026! 🔬 We’re calling all early career researchers to apply as soon as possible to be considered for an oral presentation! 🔗 www.grc.org/single-molec... #biology #biophysics #single-molecule #microscopy #ECR

Quentin Smith@qmsmith.bsky.social · 7mo ago

🔬 Calling all early-career researchers (ECRs) for the GRS Single Molecule Approaches to Biology! 🌎 Location: Les Diablerets, Switzerland 📆 Save the date: June 27-28, 2026 🔗 More information: www.grc.org/single-molec... #biology #biophysics #single-molecule #microscopy #ECR

Super Early Bird deadline Sunday 8 Mar! Save €100 Register for Machines on Genes 2026 ⚙️🧬 Biochemical Society Harden Conference 📍 Heraklion, Crete | 8–11 June 2026 🌊☀️ www.eventsforce.net/biochemsoc/f... Scientific organisers: Lori Passmore, Dana Branzei & Alessandro Costa

🧪🧬New preprint We present cryo-EM structures of reconstituted CTCF–nucleosome complexes, showing CTCF dimerization drives nucleosome oligomerization into defined higher-order assemblies. Disrupting CTCF–CTCF interfaces in mESCs reduces looping and impairs differentiation. tinyurl.com/CTCF-nucleos...

Structural basis for CTCF-mediated chromatin organization https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.02.06.704447v1

How is Condensin II activated during mitosis? 🧬 @damlatetiker.bsky.social Samejima et al. uncover how Condensin II autoinhibition is relieved by the mitotic activator M18BP1, and reveal that M18BP1 also forms a composite DNA anchor with the NCAPG2–NCAPH2 subcomplex to stabilize DNA loops in vitro.

I’m very pleased to share our work looking at what controls condensin II cell-cycle dependant activity; a great collaboration with @eugenekimlab.bsky.social, @damlatetiker.bsky.social, Kyle Muir and Kumiko Samejima www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

🔬 Calling all early-career researchers (ECRs) for the GRS Single Molecule Approaches to Biology! 🌎 Location: Les Diablerets, Switzerland 📆 Save the date: June 27-28, 2026 🔗 More information: www.grc.org/single-molec... #biology #biophysics #single-molecule #microscopy #ECR

Do you have an interest in quantitative microbiology and interdisciplinary research? I'm recruiting a UK PhD student to develop high-throughput ecological screens to help us understand how chemical inputs impact microbial ecosystems: www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

Identifying how chemicals shape microbial diversity through high-throughput ecological screens at University of Sheffield on FindAPhD.com

PhD Project - Identifying how chemicals shape microbial diversity through high-throughput ecological screens at University of Sheffield, listed on FindAPhD.com

findaphd.com

New Online! Organization of replicated chromosomes by DNA loops and sister chromatid cohesion

Organization of replicated chromosomes by DNA loops and sister chromatid cohesion

Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology, Published online: 02 January 2026; doi:10.1038/s41580-025-00933-1Cohesin complexes regulate genome architecture through DNA loop extrusion and sister chromatid cohesion. The Review discusses how these two cohesin activities mediate the organization of replicated chromosomes and their segregation in mitosis and meiosis, DNA break repair, and age-related aneuploidy in oocytes.

bit.ly

We are looking for a Postdoc at the Center for Gene Expression in Copenhagen. Deadline for applications is the 11th of January. If you are interested in 3D chromatin, SMC complexes, and super-resolution microscopy, join us. www.nature.com/naturecareer...

Postdocs at Center for Gene Expression in Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine - Copenhagen, Hovedstaden (DK) job with University of Copenhagen | 12849488

We are looking for 2 or more highly motivated postdocs interested in ribosome biology, 3D chromatin organisation, or regulation of protein turnove...

nature.com

Read our latest work - a comprehensive review on how DNA secondary structures affect replication. Very proud of Adi, Maria and Billie for their monumental effort. They've covered a large body of literature while proposing updated models. Open Access in DNA Repair: doi.org/10.1016/j.dn...

How DNA secondary structures drive replication fork instability

DNA secondary structures, such as hairpins, cruciforms, triplexes, G-quadruplexes and iMotifs, are common, dynamic features that replication forks rou…

sciencedirect.com

Only a few days left to apply for this PhD opportunity in my lab! More details and how to apply at: www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

This alternative view of “condensate” biogenesis is compatible with everything that LLPS claims for itself, including the apparent liquid-like behavior that people a bit ignorant of dynamics find so exciting. I explained this here www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....

On the role of phase separation in the biogenesis of membraneless compartments | The EMBO Journal

EMBO Press is an editorially independent publishing platform for the development of EMBO scientific publications.

embopress.org

We are recruiting a postdoctoral fellow to study mechanisms of DNA replication stress using single-molecule imaging tools. If you are excited about microscopy, replisome dynamics, and genome stability, we’d love to hear from you. Application deadline: 24 December www.crick.ac.uk/careers-stud...

70 teaspoons placed in tearooms around the institute & observed weekly over 5 months. 80% of spoons disappeared; spoon halflife~81 days. Communal room halflife lower than in specific labs. 250 spoons annually required to maintain 70 spoon population. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...

The case of the disappearing teaspoons: longitudinal cohort study of the displacement of teaspoons in an Australian research institute

Objectives To determine the overall rate of loss of workplace teaspoons and whether attrition and displacement are correlated with the relative value of the teaspoons or type of tearoom. Design Longitudinal cohort study. Setting Research institute ...

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

The review by Banani, Lee, Hyman & Rosen (NRMCB 2017) www.nature.com/articles/nrm... on biomolecular condensates has >6000 citations. It… 1. Introduced a broad definition of “biomolecular condensates,” promoting acceptance that a unifying mechanism may underlie all membrane-less compartments.

Biomolecular condensates: organizers of cellular biochemistry - Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology

In addition to membrane-bound organelles, eukaryotic cells feature various membraneless compartments, including the centrosome, the nucleolus and various granules. Many of these compartments form thro...

nature.com

I’ve been offline for a while for the reason below. But I’m back in the lab, with more motivation and joy than ever before! The last year has been a wild ride, but everything has worked out brilliantly!

Nominations for the June Almeida award for Mid/Senior-Career Women in Cryo-EM are now open! Submit your nomination via this link www.biophysics.org/awards-fundi... by November 14th to recognize an exceptional woman in our community.

I just made an account and voted for this biology laboratory made of LEGO to "promote biological research and inspire more people into the world of biology". They need 10K votes. Reposting and/or voting below would be helpful. 🤗 beta.ideas.lego.com/product-idea...

Biological Laboratory | LEGO® Ideas

This is a two-floor realistic Biological Laboratory building. In this design, I try to tell stories about biologists, introduce biology concepts to general publ…

beta.ideas.lego.com

We are looking for a senior technician (can undertake PhD) at Uni of Birmingham (UK) to study chromatin replication and ubiquitylation using Xenopus egg extract. Deadline 28/10/25. Get in touch with me or @m-saponaro.bsky.social for informal inquiries. Please share. www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOW912/s...

Senior Research Technician at University of Birmingham

Explore an exciting academic career as a Senior Research Technician. Don't miss out on other academic jobs. Click to apply and explore more opportunities.

jobs.ac.uk

New preprint with @gfudenberg.bsky.social We find the rate of cohesin loop extrusion in cells is set by NIPBL dosage and tunes many aspects of chromosome folding. This provides a molecular basis for NIPBL haploinsufficiency in humans. 🧵👇 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

NIPBL dosage shapes genome folding by tuning the rate of cohesin loop extrusion

Cohesin loop extrusion is a major driver of chromosome folding, but how its dynamics are controlled to shape the genome remains elusive. Here we disentangle the contributions of the cohesin cofactors ...

biorxiv.org

My PhD student @leonielorenz.bsky.social (with Eva Geissen) has made this nice (free) online course to introduce mathematical modelling for biology: www.ebi.ac.uk/training/onl... Including both molecular and epidemiological examples

Mathematical modelling for biologists - Modelling concepts in biological research

Mathematical modelling for biologists - Modelling concepts in biological research

ebi.ac.uk