Are you an experienced RNA biologist or expert in molecular biology approaches to study gene expression? We are looking for a Research Fellow to join us at the University of Leeds, working with @rna-julie.bsky.social and the RiboCode team. Deadline: 12th September. ➡️ Apply here: bit.ly/4zyKbWf

We have just found out that @rna-julie.bsky.social, our Principal Investigator, has been made a Professor! Well done PROFESSOR ASPDEN, you really deserve it 💫

Translation UK is drawing to a close for 2026. There have been some brilliant talks from RiboCode members: 🌿Nan Zhao: ‘A conserved specialised ribosome mechanism for uORFdependent translational control’ (1/4)

Today is the first day of Translation UK, hosted at the University of Leeds by the Biochemical Society, with @rna-julie.bsky.social and Adrian Whitehouse on the organising team. (1/2)

We hope you enjoy the latest paper from Dr Alan Beavan and the @ribocode.bsky.social team, with many thanks to the @ukri.org for BBSRC sLoLa funding: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Constructive neutral evolution explains the emergence of specialised ribosomes in diverse eukaryotes.

Throughout eukaryotic evolution, the structure of the ribosome has been highly conserved, featuring 80 common protein gene families. However, in many eukaryotes, paralogs of these proteins are present...

biorxiv.org

We had a whole team meeting a few weeks ago to give us a chance to hear exciting new updates from within the grant and catch up with each other in person! Plus, we were lucky enough to have two external speakers on the day:

Be Curious 2026 was so fun! Thank you to everyone who came to our stall: 'How are proteins made?'. We had 152 visitors and took each of them through the process of making a protein, from DNA to RNA to the final protein, and they each came away with their own protein keyring!

Can ribosomal variation influence human traits such as height and weight? Read this article from Science, with perspectives given by our very own Julie Aspden (@rna-julie.bsky.social), to find out more: bit.ly/4sLfOHi

Julie (@rna-julie.bsky.social) will be talking at this FREE online seminar exploring ribosome heterogeneity, supported by Science, AAAS and Westlake University. This Wednesday 12-2pm (GMT), so tune in whilst you have your lunch! Register for free here: bit.ly/4dKoA4u

Thank you to everyone who downloaded the 'How proteins are made?' resource! Please get in touch and let us know how you got on with it, we would love to hear your stories and feedback.🌟 You can reach us here on BlueSky, or via our website: ribocode.org/contact/

RiboCode@ribocode.bsky.social · 6mo ago

🪰 NEW PAPER: Congratulations to RiboCoders - Karl Norris, Tayah Hopes and Julie Aspden (@rna-julie.bsky.social) - on their recent publication on the role of the RNA binding protein 'Held out wings' in Drosophila post-transcriptional gene regulation. 🪰 Read more at: ribocode.org/blog/

Professor Mary J O'Connell@evol-molly.bsky.social · 6mo ago

If you are looking for activities to do for the #BritishScienceWeek, take a look at our “How are proteins made?” from RiboCode sLoLa project. Designed for schools in the UK and Ireland, ages 7-11 (~KS2/Second to Fifth Class/P4-7). Download the free resources and enjoy:) ribocode.org/resources/

Do you want to help facilitate cutting-edge, interdisciplinary research? Are you passionate about project management, research culture, science communication and EDI? Come and join the RiboCode team at the @universityofleeds.bsky.social tinyurl.com/2vd5ba5u ribocode.org Deadline 31st October

Job Opportunity at University of Leeds: Project Officer for Ribo-Code BBSRC sLoLa

Project Officer for Ribo-Code BBSRC sLoLa, Faculty of Biological SciencesGrade 6 (£33,951 - £39,906 pro rata)This role will be based on the university campus with scope for it to be undertaken in a hy...

jobs.leeds.ac.uk

Another fabulous day of talks at @embo.org Ribosome Synthesis meeting. Very exciting to see technology developments impacting ribosome and translation fields. As well as lots of awesome talks on ribosome specialisation! @ribocode.bsky.social

Delighted to be at @embo.org Ribosome Synthesis meeting at beautiful Churchill College, Cambridge. Delighted to see @royalsociety.org specialised ribosome special issue on registration desk and Bulat Fatkhullin’s fabulous cover image @ribocode.bsky.social

🤹‍♀️ 👥 Team building day🙌 🎲 We are committed to building a positive research culture across our multi-institutional, collaborative team. Read all about our recent team building day, supported by @researcherdevleeds.bsky.social and Research England here👇 ribocode.org/blog/

Several of our RiboCode ECRs recently presented at Translation UK 2025 🧬🤝💬 This was a fantastic opportunity for them to share their research and discuss all things #translation Read more here 👉 ribocode.org/blog/ Thanks to @biochemsoc.bsky.social for organising such a stimulating meeting.

In York this Saturday? Tessa Chan (@ribochique.bsky.social) will be waxing lyrical about #ribosomes - the molecular restaurant in our cells - at #SoapboxScience as part of @yorkfestofideas.bsky.social 👩‍🔬🧑‍🔬🔬🗣️💡 Hear from Tessa & other brilliant female and non-binary scientists 👉 tinyurl.com/rut4mkfh

Introducing our new senior research technician, Alex Goncalves! Alex studied at UCL before moving into technical roles at King's College London and Vivian Therapeutics. With a background in human and fly genetics, we are excited for Alex to join the team and get cracking with the RiboCode project!

🎒An inspiring day at Be Curious 2025 🧪 2,200+ people attended this year's festival and we enjoyed taking lots of them on a journey from DNA to proteins. We were amazed by the thoughtful questions posed by visitors of all ages. Let us know if you would like to try this activity at home! #outreach

🔔 NEW PAPER: Translational activity of 80S monosomes varies dramatically across different tissues 🔔 The RiboCode team has recently shed light on the translational activity of ribosomes from various Drosophila melanogaster tissues. Read more on our news page ribocode.org/blog/

Julie@rna-julie.bsky.social · last yr.

Delighted to share paper on translational activity of 80S monosomes across different tissues in 🪰 in @narjournal.bsky.social thanks to fabulous team Albert Blandy Tayah Hopes Elton Vasconcelos @amy-turner96.bsky.social Bulat Fatkhullin Michaela Agapiou Juan Fontana academic.oup.com/nar/article/...

🔔 NEW PAPER: EMG1 methyltransferase activity affects ribosome occupancy at KSHV uORFs 🔔 Members of the RiboCode team have contributed to a recent paper that advances our understanding of how viruses can manipulate host cell translational machinery. Read more on our news page ribocode.org/blog/

👋 Hello to our new followers! 👋 To learn more about the RiboCode project, check out our website ribocode.org Here you can find out who we are and what we do, as well as exploring our publications and latest activities. If you have any questions, just get in touch! #ribosomes #rna #science

To celebrate #BritishScienceWeek, we have created a free resource pack for schools! The pack contains teaching resources and instructions for a fun hands-on activity. For more information and to request a free pack, see ribocode.org/resources/ #science #scienceforkids #STEMeducation

Congratulations @ribocode.bsky.social team on our review published today @royalsociety.org Awesome team work to write this as such a large group. royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

Specialized ribosomes: integrating new insights and current challenges | Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Variation in the composition of different ribosomes, termed ribosome heterogeneity, is a now well established phenomenon. However, the functional implications of this heterogeneity on the regulation of protein synthesis are only now beginning to be ...

royalsocietypublishing.org

Our paper is part of a special issue from Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B ⬇️ royalsocietypublishing.org/toc/rstb/202... Read about different aspects of ribosome heterogeneity and specialisation across species & the latest advances and future direction of the field. (2/2)

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences: Vol 380, No 1921

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royalsocietypublishing.org

❗NEW PAPER❗ Check out our review on #ribosome heterogeneity and specialisation published today! We discuss the mechanisms of specialisation, review the latest research and explore how technological advancements will drive the next set of research questions. doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2023.0377 (1/2)

Specialized ribosomes: integrating new insights and current challenges | Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Variation in the composition of different ribosomes, termed ribosome heterogeneity, is a now well established phenomenon. However, the functional implications of this heterogeneity on the regulation of protein synthesis are only now beginning to be ...

doi.org

Tuesday was #InternationalDayOfWomenAndGirlsInScience 👩‍🔬🔬🧫🧬🕷️ Listen to RiboCode's lead PI Julie Aspden (@rna-julie.bsky.social) speaking to @amy-turner96.bsky.social on Proteintech's new pod! They cover Julie's career so far, leadership, diversity, and how she balances academia w/ family life 🤹‍♀️

Proteintech@proteintech.bsky.social · 2y ago

NEW Proteintech Podcast 🎙️ To celebrate #InternationalDayOfWomenAndGirlsInScience here's the first episode feat Dr Julie Aspden, Assoc. Prof of #RNABiology & advocate for #diversityinSTEM Listen: open.spotify.com/show/7FPhbSG... @ribocode.bsky.social @universityofleeds.bsky.social

Super exciting new paper from three of our brilliant RiboCoders and Nikki Weckman exploring the use of solid-state nanopore in monitoring enzyme digestion pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/... Congrats @nano-chalmers.bsky.social @paoloactis.bsky.social and Emma Thomson! Artwork inspired by Joy Division 👌

We cannot join #SMPS4 but hot off the press our nanopore work to monitor CAS9 reactivity and its off-target effects. pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

Solid-State Nanopore Real-Time Assay for Monitoring Cas9 Endonuclease Reactivity

The field of nanopore sensing is now moving beyond nucleic acid sequencing. An exciting avenue is the use of nanopore platforms for the monitoring of biochemical reactions. Biological nanopores have b...

pubs.acs.org