He is neither an aide nor a diplomat, yet Giuliano da Empoli's books have in recent years become some of the most fashionable reading for those in Europe’s halls of power. 🔗 politi.co/4pREopi (This story was first published in September.)

The discovery of the first kinetochore proteins (CENP-A, CENP-B, CENP-C) was reported by Bill Earnshaw and Naomi Rothfield in 1985 in Chromosoma. Forty years later, Chromosoma/Chromosome Research has published a special issue (most articles are open access) link.springer.com/collections/...

Self-citations are not elegant, yet I feel that much of what we need to know about the robustness of "LLPS scaffolds" is summarized in this figure doi.org/10.1016/j.mo...

Give the laurels to the one who earned them. A thread that aims to attribute credits to the originators of important ‘firsts’ This is on the making. Please contribute to accurate historical records with comments and reading recommendations 🧵👇

If interactions were “fuzzy”, AlphaFold would not be here

Hi everybody, I quickly rebuilt the site (yeah!), and I have also added a few new posts. This thread contains pointers 🧵👇

Is the LLPS paradigm incompatible with how molecular biologists view compartment assembly? 🧵👇 A thread

My public critiques of LLPS models have not been addressed At his plenary at FEBS2025, @hymanlab.bsky.social showed a slide with a page of my EMBO Commentary. I don't remember the exact phrasing, but he accompanied it with an assurance that even stringent critiques of LLPS had been addressed.

ChatGTP on the Scaffold-Client dichotomy If you test this on other language models or other instantiations of the initial question, what answer do you get?

- Workforce cuts reported at Dewpoint Therapeutics, a company with Hyman, Young, and Sharp as scientific co-founders (dewpointx.com/about-us/), with reported overall financing of ~290 M US$. european-biotechnology.com/latest-news/... www.statnews.com/2025/08/07/d...

Several people, close and distant, have reached out to me to express their concern that my critique of the LLPS field and more specifically of the role of @hymanlab.bsky.social is personally motivated. I thank them for expressing their concerns.

Dont think liquidity is anything that can be inferred. I used to FRAP clathrin coated pits a lot during my PhD. They are very ordered lattices and recover in seconds. Wonderful dynamic structures but very much not liquid

Nothing! I note that in Table 1 of doi.org/10.1101/gad.... LLPS papers (collectively) conclude that a blob is a condensate whether or not it recovers, fast or slow. To be fair, FRAP data is very difficult to interpret. But it cannot be a diagnostic test if any outcome is taken to mean the same.

Little test: This is a FRAP experiment on a protein localized to a condensate (an object that concentrates biological macromolecules). Fluorescence in one of the brightest dots is bleached. Recovery half time is a few seconds. What does this say about the internal liquidity of the object?

Any protein crystallographer will tell you that almost any concentrated pure protein in isolation in a simple buffer can be made to phase separate in vitro. It’s an artefact.

How does messenger RNA (mRNA) get out of the nucleus to become a protein? Eukaryotic mRNA is packaged, exported, and then translated in the cytoplasm. But how do these steps work? And what are open questions? Check out our new review for our take: www.annualreviews.org/content/jour... (1/3)

Join us in Lunteren, the Netherlands on March 5 & 6, 2026 for the 32nd Dutch Cancer Biology meeting. We have two fantastic keynote speakers: @andrea-musacchio.bsky.social and @colindascheele.bsky.social and the rest of the program will be by early-career scientists. Info: www.dutchcancerbiology.nl

Cliff’s eloquent counter arguments…

Why IDPs Are Poor Candidates for Homotypic LLPS 🧵👇A thread

Why LLPS Scaffolds Cannot Exist – A Thermodynamic Thread If you consider arguments logical, please share. Else please expose logical faults 🧵👇

The review by Banani, Lee, Hyman & Rosen (NRMCB 2017) www.nature.com/articles/nrm... on biomolecular condensates has >6000 citations. It… 1. Introduced a broad definition of “biomolecular condensates,” promoting acceptance that a unifying mechanism may underlie all membrane-less compartments.

Sono spesso critico con quanto leggo sul Corriere, ma qui la direzione ha fatto la scelta secondo me giusta -- esponendo inoltre quell'insulso propagandista per il ridicolo pagliaccio che è, ovvero un censore che si lagna per la censura 🤡

Our latest research in collaboration with @nilssonlab.bsky.social, @andrea-musacchio.bsky.social and Mathieu Bollen reveals a new regulatory strategy employed by cells to control PP1 in mitosis. Check it out in @currentbiology.bsky.social www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Il Quirinale non ha niente da ridire su una presidente del Consiglio che definisce le opposizioni peggiori di un gruppo terroristico responsabile di violenze su civili inermi? Nessuno ha da ridire, tra i tanti che la definiscono una moderata statista?

If you are interesting in developing new algorithms for #cryoEM as a #PhD student or as a #postdoc, then do email or DM me. We have exciting opportunities coming up.

Below (by @landerlab.bsky.social) is the 2nd #cryosparc recipe on @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social in a month. I remain worried about closed-source software affecting progress in #cryoEM. We should develop new algorithms instead! #OpenSoftwareAcceleratesScience www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Integrated MSc/PhD Graduate Program applications are now open! mattertolife.maxplanckschools.org/application Get an impression about our program and science: www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ni1.... Apply now and become part of our vibrant student body. Spread the word!

The BUB1 and BUBR1 paralogs scaffold the kinetochore fibrous corona | Science Advances www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... Congratulations @vcmentowski.bsky.social for solving a remarkably challenging molecular puzzle

Are you eager to join an international community of scientists to tackle novel and exciting research projects in the areas of #biochemistry, #structuralbiology, #biophysics, #cellbiology, #chemicalbiology and #syntheticbiology? Apply NOW for a #fullyfunded #PhDpositions @IMPRS-LM.

ASM, ASBMB, ASCB & FASEB are deeply disappointed in the Supreme Court ruling allowing cancellation of $800M in NIH grants, threatening labs, jobs, and early-career scientists. Stable funding is vital for U.S. science. Read more: www.ascb.org/society-news...

The Playbook Used to ‘Prove’ Vaccines Cause Autism www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Are you curious about what PLK1 kinase is up to these days? Have a look at our latest review on @cp-trendscellbio.bsky.social. Arianna Esposito Verza, @andrea-musacchio.bsky.social and I discuss the latest findings on a very important enzyme that is still full of surprises, 35+ years from discovery!

Fascisti che diffondono balle su un social di fascisti, per aizzare odio e violenza contro migranti Il manuale è sempre lo stesso, ed è così pieno di esseri umani miserabili che funziona sempre comunque www.dw.com/en/fact-chec...

Very happy to see our contribution to a better understanding of Hsp70/90 #chaperones online! Congrats and a big thank you to all co-authors, collaborators and reviewers! #proteostasis @poepsel-lab.bsky.social @crc1430.bsky.social @unidue-zmb.bsky.social

Is the nomination of uncle Donald for the Nobel in Economics ready, folks?

Also check out the associated News & Views by Masayasu Taki and Masayoshi Nakamura highlighting the work from @kjohnsson.bsky.social lab on SNAP-tag2 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Condensin II activation by M18BP1 - published by @andrea-musacchio.bsky.social Lab & @alessandrovannini.bsky.social @humantechnopole.bsky.social & Rowland Lab @nkinl.bsky.social in molecular @cellpress.bsky.social congrats to @duccioconti.bsky.social et al. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Absolutely incredible turnout for Budapest Pride! So proud of all the organizers, including some old friends, who estimate hundreds of thousands— major embarrassment to Orban

With a great line up of speakers: @renemedema.bsky.social Anna Akhmanova Christopher Campbell @marstonlab.bsky.social @mcclellandlab.bsky.social @andrea-musacchio.bsky.social @annestraube.bsky.social Taking place at the beautiful CRG: @crg.eu @biologists.bsky.social @imprs-lm.bsky.social

The findings at the recent trial and today's Columbia chaos is pushing me to the edge. I just sent the following email...

🚀 Fully-funded #PhD opportunity in Computational Biology with our @florianjug.bsky.social Group through Politecnico of Milan DADS programme! Co-supervision by Francesca Ieva. 🧬 Use #AI to decode complex biological data across scales. Apply by 9 July 👉 humantechnopole.it/en/news/1-fu...

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... @vcmentowski.bsky.social reports a direct interaction of BUB1 with the RZZ that is necessary for RZZ recruitment when CENP-E is depleted. This may complete the identification of the receptors of the RZZ required for fibrous corona assembly

I hope US folks on the No Kings rallies know how much people outside the US are heartened to see them. We always knew the US is full of very fine people who totally reject and revile what's happening, but my god it's good to see it.

So Musk knew his buddy’s name was in the Epstein files but still supported him through the campaign and after his election? Ok…what’s next?

The 3rd Berlin Single Molecule Biophysics Course will run from 8th to 12th September at the HU-Berlin, Institute of Biology. Learn about single channels, single molecule TIRF, theory and analysis. Apply by 7th July at [email protected]. Fee waivers and bursaries available. ! Please share widely !

“A White House official said on Wednesday that Mr. Trump was likely to raise freedom of speech issues with Mr. Merz and suggest that Germany’s commitment to it had deteriorated.” (From the NYT today) What should Merz answer in your opinion?

I have had the privilege to train many chinese students over many years. They enriched our lives and did great science. Many are still here and contribute to the US scientific enterprise. The push to revoke student visas is cruel and unnecessary. We must push back. www.npr.org/2025/05/28/g...