In #cryoET, separating closely apposed membrane segmentations into distinct labels can be difficult. Small artefacts may connect otherwise separate membranes, requiring tedious slice-by-slice correction. To address this, @jasmred.bsky.social and I developed MemSplit, a napari based workflow.

Surface Morphometrics makes it to ChimeraX! 🤩 nice work @baradlab.com!!

Ben Barad@baradlab.com · 4w ago

My personal summer of code continues with another ChimeraX plugin - this time, MorphometricsX! Load quantified meshes from morphometrics (or pycurv) in ChimeraX with color-by-quantification and display alongside tomos and particles. Coming to the toolshed soon! #teamtomo github.com/baradlab/mor...

New preprint from our lab! We uncover how a subset of mitophagy proteins BNIP3 and NIX are repressed and protected from turnover, we think so that they can perform a surveillance role to detect mitochondrial dysfunction under basal conditions. t.co/4XKkd4LsFi

New Grotjahn lab preprint from superstar postdoc @nitishdua.bsky.social! Check out all the deets in the 🧵 below. IMO, it’s a great example of how studying the local microenvironment with #teamtomo can reveal biology that would otherwise remain hidden. #mitochondria #morphometrics

Nitish Dua@nitishdua.bsky.social · last mo.

Really hyped to share our pre-print on mtDNA replication-fission ! @nanigrotjahn.bsky.social (doi: doi.org/10.64898/202...) 🧵with details below ⤵️

1/ Mitochondrial Na⁺ links metabolism, Ca2+ signaling and disease. We know how it gets in, how it gets out, and proteins that use it. But: we've never actually seen Na⁺ in single mitochondria in live cells. We started with an unusual observation, went down a rabbit hole & found some cool biology .

Bacteriophage tails co-enrich with ex vivo amyloids from amyloidosis patients. Cryo-EM reveals Siphoviridae tail tube protein in ALys and AL amyloid extract. Do phages interact with human amyloids? @landerlab.bsky.social @nanigrotjahn.bsky.social & Kelly Lab #cryoEM #b3d doi.org/10.64898/202...

Cryo-ET is often framed as a tool for in situ protein structure. But what if the real revolution is contextualization? I explore how #teamtomo is redefining what "local" means in organelle biology, revealing membrane states rather than just protein structures. tinyurl.com/localmembrane

Think globally, act locally: Redefining organellar membrane environments through cryo-electron tomography

Early enthusiasm for the “cellular revolution” in cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) was largely driven by the promise of resolving protein structures…

sciencedirect.com

Mitochondrial-derived compartments buffer outer membrane protein load during acute mitochondrial adaptation https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.06.09.731211v1

Structural Mechanism and Cellular Restriction of Tau Seeding from Endolysosomes https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.06.08.731026v1

Sub-cellular chemical mapping using correlated cryogenic electron and mass spectrometry imaging online @natmethods.nature.com, led by Hannah Ochner, collaboration with @catfranco.bsky.social and @kiranrpatil.bsky.social labs doi.org/10.1038/s415...

The 11th International #teamtomo Congress is coming to Madison, Wisconsin! As a proud Madison native, I can confirm: August 9–12 is peak Wisco weather ☀️ stoked for exciting science, friendly people, and warm nights @ the Union Terrace Abstract deadline: May 14 cryoem.wisc.edu/11th-interna...

“pineapples 🍍 for everyone!” — @dtegunov.bsky.social

Dimitry Tegunov@dtegunov.bsky.social · 3mo ago

We're super excited to share MissAlignment: a new ML-based approach to reference-free tilt series alignment, spearheaded by @martenchaillet.bsky.social. We think it's going to make your cryo-ET life a lot better. Preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... Code: github.com/warpem/miss-... 🧶 Thread:

We're super excited to share MissAlignment: a new ML-based approach to reference-free tilt series alignment, spearheaded by @martenchaillet.bsky.social. We think it's going to make your cryo-ET life a lot better. Preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... Code: github.com/warpem/miss-... 🧶 Thread:

We identified the maltoside detergent DM as an effective and easy solution to address preferred orientation in cryo-EM. Helped me switch from graphene grids. Special congrats to Maria Rafiq! @landerlab.bsky.social @nanigrotjahn.bsky.social @wisemanlab.bsky.social #cryoEM doi.org/10.64898/202...

Fun collaboration with the Herzik lab! Very cool to see #TeamTomo + STA directly capture the effects of the AWI at the single-particle level. we know it’s happening, but it’s striking to see it so clearly!

Brian Cook@bcryo.bsky.social · 4mo ago

7) Using cryoET and STA we find that aldolase particles stuck at the AWI not only adopt a single orientation, but these particles are also partially denatured at the AWI! Only when aldolase particles were pushed into bulk ice with SurfACT did they remain intact.

1) The Herzik lab is excited to announce our newest preprint in collaboration with the Grotjahn lab! We have developed a surfactant cocktail that seeks to overcome one of the more nefarious problems in #cryoEM, Air-water interface (AWI)-induced damage and preferred orientation (PO).

🔬🔦In their FocalPlane post, @mmedina300kv.bsky.social, @attychang.bsky.social, @baradlab.com, @nanigrotjahn.bsky.social and team describe how they have extended Surface Morphometrics to measure membrane thickness in cells. focalplane.biologists.com/2026/03/18/b...

Back to the density: using Surface Morphometrics to measure organelle membrane thickness in cryo-electron tomography - FocalPlane

Back to the density: using Surface Morphometrics to measure organelle membrane thickness in cryo-electron tomography - Tools

focalplane.biologists.com

Registration is open for Bridging Atoms and Algorithms: A Symposium on AI and Structural Biology! 📅 March 17-18, 2026 🏫 Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN ℹ️ vanderbilt.edu/csb/caipd-ai... #CryoET #AI #protein #research #CryoEM #Biology @rommieamaro.bsky.social @drgregbowman.bsky.social

“Our goal is not simply to resolve structures, but to uncover how molecular organization shapes cellular function. Being highlighted by JCB affirms that this integrative approach is both valued and necessary”— Dr. Danielle Grotjahn (@nanigrotjahn.bsky.social) Learn more 👉 hubs.la/Q0442hKP0

New paper from the lab led by @ericmulhall.bsky.social addresses how PIEZO1 and PIEZO2 are tuned to different types mechanical forces. From nanometer-scale super-resolution microscopy to in vivo experiments, links single-molecule observations to physiological function. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

The molecular basis of force selectivity by PIEZO2

Nature - PIEZO2 is intrinsically more rigid than PIEZO1, and disparate mechanical stimuli paradoxically evoke opposite conformational and gating responses in each channel.

nature.com

“I’m grateful to be included in a journal with such a strong legacy in defining and advancing the field of cell biology.”— Dr. Danielle Grotjahn (@nanigrotjahn.bsky.social). JCB is where the world meets your research. Learn more. hubs.la/Q0442hKP0

From cartoon models to quantitative structural maps: learn how cryo-electron tomography is reshaping studies of cellular organization. Danielle Grotjahn, Ph.D., shares where cryo-ET excels, its challenges, and how it fits into today’s imaging toolbox.

Bridging Cellular and Structural Biology Through Cryo-electron Tomography - ASCB

Cellular cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) holds the grand promise of integrating cellular architecture with molecular structure. Yet, for many cell biologists, this method can seem technically…

ascb.org

Are you a cell biologist who secretly thinks cellular cryo-electron tomography is just George Palade-era EM, but fancier? Join this webinar to see how modern #teamtomo has shifted from pretty pictures to quantitative, local membrane biology, and how that changes the questions we can ask.

American Society for Cell Biology@ascbiology.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Curious about cryo-electron tomography but not sure how it fits into your research? This ASCB webinar with Danielle Grotjahn, Ph.D., breaks down what cryo-ET can do, where it shines, and how it works alongside other imaging methods.

🔬 Postdoc position – Infection Biology & Cryo-ET (Zurich) 🇨🇭 We are looking for a motivated Postdoc to join our interdisciplinary team. 📩 Interested? Check out the job advert: www.imm.uzh.ch/dam/jcr:cb17... 👉 More info on the lab: www.weiss-laboratory.com Please share with interested colleagues!

Reported in #JCellBiol, a method developed in the lab of Associate Professor Danielle Grotjahn (@nanigrotjahn.bsky.social) measures membrane thickness directly inside intact cells and identifies ATP synthase clusters in curved, unusually thick membrane regions.

Scientists measure cellular membrane thickness inside cells for the first time

ow.ly

#teamtomo gets another quantitative cell biology tool! We extend our Surface Morphometrics pipeline to measure membrane thickness. Alongside many biological findings, we show that our 3D measurements closely match in vitro vesicle measurements from 2D EM (collab w/Neal Waxham and Fred Heberle).

Journal of Cell Biology@jcb.org · 7mo ago

Medina, Chang et al. of the @nanigrotjahn.bsky.social lab introduce a new method based on the Surface Morphometrics pipeline to measure global and local thicknesses of organellar #membranes from cellular cryo-electron tomography data. rupress.org/jcb/article/... #CryoET

Thrilled to share our latest work--combining CATCH with whole-body HYBRiD imaging, leveraging click chemistry to visualize and identify drug-targeted cells across organ systems. Led by a brilliant team: former PhD student Ben Pang and former undergrad Verina Leung.

Cell - a Cell Press journal@cp-cell.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Now online! Mapping cellular targets of covalent cancer drugs in the entire mammalian body

JCB’s Cover of the Year voting is open! I’ll just say… they are all gorgeous, but April has my heart 😍❄️🔬 #teamtomo @attychang.bsky.social

Journal of Cell Biology@jcb.org · 8mo ago

Vote for JCB’s cover of the year! Explore 12 breathtaking images submitted by our talented authors and pick a favorite. Voting closes on Wednesday, December 31! 👉 www.surveymonkey.com/r/JCB2025Cov... #ScienceArt

Now out in full form. Again, a big thanks to #teamtomo and @alisterburt.bsky.social for developing the infrastructure to build this on. journals.iucr.org/d/issues/202...

Leopard-EM: an extensible 2D template-matching package to accelerate in situ structural biology

In situ cryo-EM coupled with 2D template matching (2DTM) holds the potential to visualize the cellular structureome in context, but further developments are required to make this a reality. We describ...

journals.iucr.org

We will announce a #postdoc opening in January. Cryo-ET and virus replication. If you're interested you can DM or email me already now. More info will follow!