1/🧵 Can transcription factor condensate formation be explained without phase separation? Our new preprint introduces SPARK, a simulation tool that reproduces condensate behavior (clustering, fusion, FRAP) from diffusion & binding kinetics alone. Movie: 60 sec FRAP sim www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Excited that our work on RNAPII clusters during development is finally in print today! Thanks to everyone who worked incredibly hard on this project and the community for their engaging (and fun!) discussion during each iteration. Please see the post below for details!

Mir Lab@mirlab.bsky.social · 5mo ago

@mukherja.bsky.social work on RNAPII clusters is in print today: www.nature.com/articles/s41... Congrats! TLDR: RNAPII clusters represent transcriptonally engaged molecules at single genes, not super-stochiometric assemblies. Please check it out and see the the thread below for a summary.

Super cool!

Lori O'Brien@llobrienlab.bsky.social · 6mo ago

An old favorite for this #FluorescenceFriday. This "rose" is actually a kidney glomerulus (red, podocytes) and an axon reaching towards it (green).

Come on join us! We are searching for the next technical associate to join our lab ~Summer 2026. This could be a great position for someone who is graduating this spring and is looking for 2 more years of research experience before starting their PhD: careers.peopleclick.com/careerscp/cl...

Delighted to have a contribution in this issue together with @eliasfriman.bsky.social

Alexis Verger 🧬🧫🧪@alexis-verger.cpesr.fr · 7mo ago

There is a special Current Opinion in Genetics & Development issue about genome architecture and expression and it looks great including reviews by @lennarthilbert.bsky.social @yghavi.bsky.social and @wbickmor.bsky.social www.sciencedirect.com/special-issu...

(1/3) Excited to post our updated pre-print! We show RNAPII clusters are simply collections of polymerase molecules stably engaged at single genes & cluster intensity is strongly correlated with txn output during Drosophila embryogenesis. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

A single cluster of RNA Polymerase II molecules is stably associated with active genes

In eukaryotic nuclei, transcription is associated with the clustering of RNA Polymerase II (RNAPII) molecules. The mechanisms underlying cluster formation, their interactions with genes, and their imp...

biorxiv.org

Mir Lab@mirlab.bsky.social · last yr.

1/n Excited to share our new preprint! Using live imaging in Drosophila embryos, we show that RNA Pol II clusters switch from sites of initiation to elongation during zygotic genome activation and that they are stably associated with an active gene: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

1/n: Excited to share our new preprint. We find that Dorsal transcription factor hubs exhibit gene-specific biophysical properties that tune transcriptional output. Read here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1.... Project was led by amazing graduate student Samantha Fallacaro (not on bsky)

Transcription factor hubs exhibit gene-specific properties that tune expression

The spatial and temporal control of gene expression relies on transcription factors binding to and occupying their target sites. Transcription factor hubs - localized, high-concentration microenvironm...

biorxiv.org

1/n Excited to share our new preprint! Using live imaging in Drosophila embryos, we show that RNA Pol II clusters switch from sites of initiation to elongation during zygotic genome activation and that they are stably associated with an active gene: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...