Our new study shows a CHD-family remodeler can nucleate and spread H3K9 methylation de novo, inverting the canonical hierarchy between writers and remodelers. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Nucleosome remodeling by a CHD enzyme promotes H3K9 methylation establishment and spreading via remodeler-writer feedback

In Schizosaccharomyces pombe , the conserved CHD remodeler Mit1 function within the SHREC remodeler-deacetylase complex (a homolog of the metazoan Mi-2/NuRD complex), which is essential for H3K9 methy...

biorxiv.org

Work from Tao Fu in @harperlabhms.bsky.social reports DNAJC13 structure, revealing both a dimeric architecture & binding of InsP6 to dual PH domains. Both features promote recycling endosome functions such as melanin production @asapresearch.parkinsonsroadmap.org www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Structural Mechanisms of DNAJC13 Dimeric Assembly and InsP6 binding in Recycling Endosome Regulation

The balance of plasma membrane protein degradation and recycling during endocytosis is regulated, in part, by the large J-domain-containing protein DNAJC13/RME-8 and WASH complexes, which function tog...

biorxiv.org

Your cryo-EM work deserves to be seen 🔬 Submit your poster or talk abstract for the annual New England cryo-EM symposium by July 15th. The meeting will be held September 8th at MIT. This is the place to be if you are doing structural biology in the Northeast! Register: cryoem.mit.edu/2026-ne-cryo...

How has #evolution shaped Transcription Elongation Factors, important for #GeneExpression? This study by Alex Francette, Karen Arndt &co traces ten core factors to the last eukaryotic common ancestor, and shows they display both conserved and lineage-specific domains. 🧪#AcademicSky plos.io/4eaCUTJ

(1/n) Very excited to share tri-lab collab (Mirny & Zechner) led by Harvey, Henrik & Jack: Q: How do enhancers & promoters interact in space (contact vs. action-at-a-distance) and time (stable vs. transient)? A: Transient E-P contact (~25-42 nm lasting ~10-20 sec): www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Very important paper from @andersshansen.bsky.social lab!

Kaushik Ragunathan@kaushikr.bsky.social · last mo.

“…….integrating imaging, 3D genomics, and gene expression data across cell lines, we estimate that transcriptional activation is mediated by approximately 25-42 nanometer contacts on the seconds timescale. Our results support a transient contact mechanism for E-P-mediated gene activation.”

“…….integrating imaging, 3D genomics, and gene expression data across cell lines, we estimate that transcriptional activation is mediated by approximately 25-42 nanometer contacts on the seconds timescale. Our results support a transient contact mechanism for E-P-mediated gene activation.”

bioRxiv Biophysics@biorxiv-biophys.bsky.social · last mo.

Live-cell imaging of enhancer-promoter dynamics reveals transient contact-driven gene activation https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.06.21.733446v1

Herzliche Grüße aus Houston! #GERCUW

🚨 New preprint: GATO-seq did it again! ELOF1 is the missing promoter-proximal factor that confers RNA Pol II resistance to TFIIF. Including ELOF1, DSIF, and NELF in GATO-seq reactions recapitulates promoter-proximal pausing in vitro at physiological conditions for the 1st time. tinyurl.com/ELOF1

⚡New preprint from the lab⚡: A key early checkpoint in gene expression is promoter proximal pausing of RNA polymerase II. For over 20 years, we as field have not been able to recreate pausing under realistic cellular conditions. @robertovn.bsky.social shows that ELOF1 is the missing piece.

Roberto Vázquez Núñez@robertovn.bsky.social · 2mo ago

🚨 New preprint: GATO-seq did it again! ELOF1 is the missing promoter-proximal factor that confers RNA Pol II resistance to TFIIF. Including ELOF1, DSIF, and NELF in GATO-seq reactions recapitulates promoter-proximal pausing in vitro at physiological conditions for the 1st time. tinyurl.com/ELOF1

📣 Preprint alert! We developed a method to analyze concurrent interactions between multiple chromatin regions at single alleles at sub-nucleosome resolution (multi-way Micro-Capture-C, mwMCC) & used this to study structural synergy within super-enhancers. 1/14 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

One, perhaps two, of our postdocs are moving on to faculty positions this year (more news soon!). While they're truly irreplaceable, it does mean that we have openings for new members to join our team studying #cilia. If interested, please apply: academicpositions.harvard.edu/postings/15526

Out today - structure of the human HIRA histone chaperone complex bound to nucleosomes. Ever wondered how nucleosomes are assembled in the wake of transcription? It takes a 'hulk of a protein complex'. Work by the amazing Wei Tian weetian558.bsky.social. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... 🧵

Congratulations to Della Syau and the Farnung Lab @lucas.farnunglab.com on this outstanding work!

⭐ #NARBreakthrough! ⭐ New #cryo-EM study reveals how #transcription factor IWS1 promotes #RNApolII #elongation. Its C-terminus contains #modularmotifs that bind elongation components, stabilizing the complex. IWS1 also competes with #RECQL5 for Pol II binding. 📖 Read here: doi.org/10.1093/nar/...

Open q to the #cryoem crowd - what’s your fav NN/ML picker for hard SPA targets? We use topaz with good results, but there have been a bazillion new pickers over the last years… It is often hard to tell from the paper on each picker, as the training data matters a lot for topaz at least..

Excited that Della Syau's PhD work is now available as a NAR Breakthrough article: academic.oup.com/nar/article/.... Della's work clarifies how IWS1 engages the transcription elongation complex, stimulates transcription, and controls association of other factors such as RECQL5.

Structure and function of IWS1 in transcription elongation

Abstract. Transcription elongation by RNA polymerase II is a tightly regulated process that requires coordinated interactions between transcription elongat

academic.oup.com

The Farnung Lab is looking for postdoctoral researchers interested in understanding mechanisms at the intersection of chromatin, transcription, and replication. Find out more here: www.farnunglab.com

BenchOS.ai just received an update. Check out the feature section to see what you ca do with BenchOS.

#RIP Pierre Chambon (1931-2026) via @alainberetz.bsky.social one of the last giants in biology: PARP, nuclear receptors, RNA Pol II, nucleosome, promoters, split genes

🚀 Soft-launching BenchOS today. An agentic OS for molecular & structural biology labs, combining ELN, biologics databases, equipment booking, cryo-EM tracking, cloning tools, and more. Powered by state-of-the-art LLMs to help you plan and run experiments faster. Learn more: BenchOS.ai

(1/n) Super excited to share that our preprint is out today in @natsmb.nature.com with a new name "Integrated MINFLUX tracking reveals two distinct chromatin dynamics classes across cell types" and more than 2x more data: www.nature.com/articles/s41... See also MIT News news.mit.edu/2026/how-chr...

Anders Sejr Hansen@andersshansen.bsky.social · last yr.

(1/n) Thread @matteomazzocca.bsky.social @domenicnarducci.bsky.social Simon Grosse-Holz @jessematthias.bsky.social preprint Q: how does chromatin move? Using MINFLUX, SPT & SRLCI, we track chromatin dynamics across 7 orders of magnitude in time to provide answers www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

CONGRATULATIONS!! to our own Steve Liberles for his election to the National Academy of Sciences for his work on vagus nerve sensory perception and gut-brain communication. @hhmi-science.bsky.social www.nasonline.org/news/2026-na...

National Academy of Sciences Elects Members and International Members - NAS

WASHINGTON — The National Academy of Sciences announced today the election of 120 members and 25 international members in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original res...

nasonline.org

www.nasonline.org/news/2026-na...

National Academy of Sciences Elects Members and International Members - NAS

WASHINGTON — The National Academy of Sciences announced today the election of 120 members and 25 international members in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original res...

nasonline.org

Hibernation is a biological superpower that can extend lifespan. What if we could harness its benefits? #FreemanHrabowski Scholar Siniša Hrvatin has ID'd the neural trigger that induces key features of the state, which could transform how we treat disease, injury, & aging: bit.ly/41Uzw8F.

@hhmi-science.bsky.social's #FreemanHrabowski Scholars Program offers early career faculty up to $10M over 10 yrs, plus salary & benefits Stable, sustained support can transform your career: Senior Postdoc? This year's competition has a program for you too. Applications open 11/3! bit.ly/4vhC0LA

Early Career Faculty Program | Freeman Hrabowski Scholars | HHMI

The Freeman Hrabowski Scholars Program offers comprehensive support to outstanding early career faculty committed to scientific excellence in their own research, and to fostering labs that expand the ...

bit.ly

Finally published at long last (at least in the pre-view version). Explore the wild and woolly world of archaeal histones! Interactive archaeal histone graph incluced rdcu.be/fdFjv. Congratulations to first author Shawn Laursen

Next BenchOS update: BenchOS contains an equipment booking system. E Ink displays automatically update and show the current equipment booking status of our instruments. Check out how this looks like for our AKTA Atlanta.

Abstract deadline extended to April 20 for the FASEB #UbiqSRC, colocated with the #ProtFoldSRC, June 1-4 in Louisville! Register for one of the ~20 talk slots throughout the main meeting and pre-meeting career forum! events.faseb.org/event/Ubiqui...

FASEB@faseborg.bsky.social · 5mo ago

The longest-running UB/UBL conference, join @labjoazeiro.bsky.social and @sshaolab.bsky.social, for #UbiqSRC. Featuring keynotes by @idikic.bsky.social of @goetheuni.bsky.social with Jeff Kelly from @scripps.edu.bsky.social. Submit your abstract and register to join us in Louisville: buff.ly/uAY0w0M