Now online at Cell Reports www.cell.com/cell-reports...

Functional and structural basis of Omicron BA.3.2.1 spike

Wang et al. show that SARS-CoV-2 BA.3.2.1 escapes KP.2/KP.3 infection sera but replicates less efficiently than JN.1-lineage variants. Structural and functional analyses indicate that altered glycosyl...

cell.com

@ywangapril.bsky.social · 8mo ago

BA.3.2 is a highly divergent Omicron descendant that has circulated globally at low level. Here we combine live virus infection in primary human airway epithelium with cryo-EM to directly compare BA.3.2 with JN.1 descendants and uncover the structural basis of its immune-evasion–fitness trade-off.

So…How much is the LPP?🧐

Andrew Plested@andrewplested.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Striking improvement with the laser phase plate to boost contrast, and in exactly the range that's needed for modelling the details of protein structures. Still lots of headroom in Cryo-EM. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... #biophysics

“HHS is punishing a world-class scientist who was working to protect people against pandemics, and if he had been listened to more thoroughly, we might have been better prepared for SARS-CoV-2” This might be the most insane thing yet. www.science.org/content/arti...

Virologist accused of starting COVID-19 will fight U.S. ban on funding

HHS memo says Ralph Baric had a “pattern of deception” in describing virus studies long before pandemic

science.org

Since last year, I've been making a RELION GUI that supports viewing, navigating and running jobs in a way completely compatible with the original RELION pipeline. Now it's working nicely for both SPA and tomography! Please try it out - github.com/hanjinliu/hi...

I've written a review on what I think is an extremely exciting direction in cryo-EM: Cryo-EM of endogenous membrane proteins in their native lipid bilayer Open access in Quarterly Reviews of Biophysics: doi.org/10.1017/S003...

Join Prof Gong Cheng (Tsinghua University) for our International Arbovirus Biology Seminar, exploring the molecular basis of flavivirus infection in mosquitoes and determinants of vector competence. All welcome! Please help with a repost. #Arbovirus #Flavivirus #VectorBiology

Here are the slides I am presenting at this morning's @ceirrnetwork.bsky.social seminar related to characterizing the human neutralizing antibody landscape to human seasonal influenza for purposes such as vaccine strain selection: slides.com/jbloom/flu-s...

flu-seqneut-2025to2026

Near real-time data on the human neutralizing antibody landscape to influenza virus to inform vaccine-strain selection in September 2025

slides.com

BA.3.2 is a highly divergent Omicron descendant that has circulated globally at low level. Here we combine live virus infection in primary human airway epithelium with cryo-EM to directly compare BA.3.2 with JN.1 descendants and uncover the structural basis of its immune-evasion–fitness trade-off.

bioRxiv Microbiology@biorxiv-microbiol.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Functional and Structural Basis of Omicron BA.3.2.1 Spike https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.02.02.702852v1

Psyched to say that Mike Diamond is talking at our next seminar. THURSDAY 20th Nov. All welcome! World leading #virology not to be missed - just email us for a Zoom link. Please help us with a re-post to get the word out 👍

The revolution in resolution Titan Krios—"It routinely lets us see life's tiniest machines—proteins, viruses and the atoms they combine—with breakthrough clarity." www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2025/04/27/a...

A 10-foot microscope reveals big lessons about the tiniest threats to the human body

A technological revolution is helping Scripps Research scientists see the molecules that undermine human health, from COVID-19 to cancer — and hopefully fight them.

sandiegouniontribune.com

Happy to share our recent study on the mechanism of a clinical #DENV inhibitor, NITD-688. For someone with a background in biophysics, it's also a learning journey into #virology, #antiviral, and academia/industry collaboration. Thanks Xuping, Pei-Yong and all the collaborators at UTMB/Novartis!

Mechanistic insights into dengue virus inhibition by a clinical trial compound NITD-688 | PNAS

Dengue, caused by the dengue virus (DENV), presents a significant public health challenge with limited effective treatments. NITD-688 is a potent p...

pnas.org