Now we are on Bluesky, over the next couple of days we would like to introduce some of the MHD groups on Bluesky who you can follow for more research updates. Or check out our handy MHD starter pack 😀 go.bsky.app/SoVnvW3

The outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria blocks many antibiotics. Our latest work reveals that L-type pyocins bypass this barrier by inactivating the BAM complex, killing Pseudomonas aeruginosa without entering the cell, providing a new blueprint for beating antibiotic resistance.

Exclusion systems, far from slowing down plasmid spread, are in fact essential to preserve host cell viability and thereby ensure the successful dissemination of conjugative plasmids and antibiotic resistance genes. @nfrk92.bsky.social @narjournal.bsky.social academic.oup.com/nar/article/...

Really excited to share my first paper from the Whitney lab, alongside an amazing grad student, Polina. Here we identify a chaperone family required for the folding of a central domain of T7SS toxins, and solve the structure of the chaperone-toxin complex. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

nusbf.ncl.ac.uk/blog/2025/08... If you want to see the progress of the installation of the Tundra TEM at @nusbf.bsky.social @newcastleuni.bsky.social Johan has been kindly updating the website with pictures as it is being assembled.

🦠 A fan of bacteria? We're hiring a Research Technician to join our team at the @warwicklifesci.bsky.social @uni-of-warwick.bsky.social Positive, organised, skills in molecular biology and protein purification? Apply here 👉 warwick-careers.tal.net/vx/appcentre... Please share! 🔬

Absolutely delighted to share the labs latest work. We identify and characterise two pathways for D-ribulose utilisation in pathogenic EHEC and Citrobacter.

#microsky We challenge the long-standing view that peptidoglycan alone protects cells from bursting. Our study shows that the periplasm — enclosed by OM–PG connections — acts as a pressure buffer essential for osmoprotection in Gram-negative bacteria. 📄 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

*JOB AD*: interested in doing a postdoc in microbial metabolomics? Passionate about natural products mass spec? Come join the group! Informal enquires welcome! Closing Date: 19 August 2025 jobs.ncl.ac.uk/job/Newcastl...

My wonderful colleage Colin Kleanthous is raising money for the MND association. Please support Colin in this worthy endeavor! www.justgiving.com/page/colin-k... (Please repost!)

You thought all OMPs were trimeric? 🧐 Not in our predator B. bacteriovorus! 🦠 Excited to have contributed to this great collab with the Lovering lab on this intriguing protein. @lalouxlab.bsky.social 👉 Paper here! www.nature.com/articles/s41... #BacterialPredation #Bdellovibrio #StructuralBiology

After an unexpectedly long editorial process, our paper describing the structures of the E coli TolAQR and TonB-ExbBD complexes is finally out. The coordinates are to be released on July 9th on the PDB. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Excited to share some key details on our latest research in @natmicrobiol.nature.com reporting intra-cellular accumulation of #PFAS (aka forever chemicals) by certain human gut bacteria. #microsky #mevosky #microbiomesky www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Happy about our new paper in Nature rdcu.be/eukUB The GluA3 structure provides a framework for understanding this disease-prone glutamate receptor - novel interfaces will provide targets for modulator development

After 5 amazing years @pilhoferlab.bsky.social I'm starting my lab @embl.org Grenoble this November embl.org/wollweber We'll image Asgard archaea and many other strange microbes ( #archaeasky, #protistsonsky..) to understand eukaryogenesis First job ad: #teamtomo scientist!🔬❄️ tinyurl.com/2rdu2ze6

1/x New story - the structure of the Vault cap, at 2.3Å! Matching a beautiful preprint from @sjorsscheres.bsky.social, we show that the cap of the vault particle has C13 symmetry, in contrast to the 39-fold symmetry of the body. Study lead by talented postdoc @huanli00.bsky.social from my group! ⬇️

Check out our latest preprint! We show that the same antibacterial toxin requires different immunity proteins depending whether it’s intra or extracellular

Pleased to share a new preprint - a great collaboration with @jessicaandreani.bsky.social and the Guerois lab at I2BC, and the Radicella lab at the CEA. Using stuctural modelling, we reveal & validate a 3 protein complex involved in DNA import during transformation. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

New from David Bolam’s lab at Newcastle University; www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Really excited to share this story from Jake in the lab! We have found bacterial protein toxins that can enter Gram positive bacterial cells without the need for a receptor resulting in broad spectrum antibacterial activity.

Here our new preprint on the LPS holo-translocon doi.org/10.1101/2025... , collaboration with Yves Quentin @JulieMarcoux @fronzeslab.bsky.social @pstansfeld.bsky.social - @cbitoulouse.bsky.social

And here jobs.ncl.ac.uk/job/Newcastl...

Come join the Palmer lab to do great science with great colleagues in a great city!

Interested in Engineering Biology and spending a few days in the best city in the world? Designer Biology 2025 is coming to Newcastle: 29-31st July. Abstracts and registration is open: www.efbiotechnology.org/designerbiol...

One week left to apply for this BBSRC funded PhD position in the Duncan lab, cosupervised by @thecopperdoctor.bsky.social and @ruamicro.bsky.social www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... exciting new study on role of disulphide bond formation in secretion and motility in Bacteroidota

Excited to share with you the story that enabled me to start my own lab: what happens when the bacterial DNA replication machinery encounters single-strand discontinuities on template DNA? What is required for break repair and replication restart? www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Very exciting to talk at the OxBacNet meeting held at @dunnschool.bsky.social Summarising mine and @sykhalid.bsky.social collaboration with @augustsilale.bsky.social to investigate a new ExbBD motor structure using molecular dynamics (foreshadowing the manuscript in preparation)

Happy to have this deep dive into polysaccharide lyase family 33 out: www.pnas.org/doi/suppl/10... We define features driving substrate specificity, catalytic mechanism, and evolutionary links with multiple lyases and epimerises #glycotime @PNASNews

Here's the promised natural product preprint: Flavoaffinins, elusive cellulose-binding natural products from an anaerobic bacterium. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Fab new study from @ruamicro.bsky.social and team!

Starting my Bluesky adventure by highlighting a new paper from the lab!

Still a few weeks left to apply for this. 💫 If you like membrane proteins, structural biology and biochemistry this PhD position might be for you 👀 www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

New preprint 🚨: with @madejmar.bsky.social we found that the Bacteroidetes beta-barrel assembly machinery is quite different to E. coli. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... #cryo-EM

Some exciting news, folks. @timcoulson.bsky.social and I have a new science podcast launching soon. Please do follow the account for updates. More details coming very soon!

We are very pleased to share our latest preprint on the architecture of the membrane complex of the type 7 secretion system involved in bacterial competition in B. subtilis. #CryoEM #microsky

We're looking for a postdoc with a strong interest in the structure, function and cell biology of glutamate receptors and excitatory synapses. www.nature.com/naturecareer...

First post of the year to mark my return from maternity leave :) Excited to share the first open PhD position in my group. Deadline end of February. Please spread the word. www.findaphd.com/phds/projectdetails.aspx?PJID=181239

Over the moon to share some amazing news—I’ve been awarded an MRC Career Development Award to pursue my research at the University of Glasgow !! 🎉 Can’t wait to get started on this exciting new chapter. Stay tuned—I’ll soon be advertising a PDRA position!

MIBiG 4.0: advancing biosynthetic gene cluster curation through global collaboration academic.oup.com/nar/advance-...

Finally we are able to share our story on the molecular mechanism of the transformative anti-tuberculosis drug bedaquiline within living cells www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... A (hopefully) broadly-accessible tutorial below ⬇️ (it ended up being really long!)

In a multidisciplinary study led by Georgina Benn and Tom Silhavy we show the role of OmpA in controlling the organisation of the outer membrane and in sharing the mechanical load. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/....

We have a couple of fully-funded PhD opportunities available, with @hetsys.bsky.social and MIBTP Doctoral training Centres. See here for more information: stansfeldresearchgroup.wordpress.com/welcome/avai...

Is this not the finest lab crafted Christmas tree decoration you’ve ever seen? Courtesy of Amy Tooke!

Heading down to @wellcometrust.bsky.social for a meeting of PhD program directors. We have been hugely grateful for 25 years support for our Structural Biology PhD program. Only this week I caught up with one of our previous students, @augustsilale.bsky.social, still making exciting discoveries!!

Funded PhD available in my lab. Pls repost! www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

We have quite a range of PhD projects this year, covering cryo-EM methods, bacteriology/bioenergetics, and infection/antibiotics/vaccines. Would really appreciate if people can RT and share with their teams!

A post-doc position available to work in Raffaele Ieva and our group. See image attached for more details.

Fully funded PhD available on this exciting interdisciplinary project - supervisory team: Denis Patterson (Durham Maths), @blindmath.bsky.social (Durham Maths), @thecopperdoctor.bsky.social (Durham Bio), and me (Newcastle Bio)

Brilliant article by Despoina Mavridou and team in npj AMR clearly describing how MIC assays should be done so they are meaningful and reproducible. www.nature.com/articles/s44...