Excited to share a new chapter of my scientific journey in Chris Russo's group — developing a way to freeze proteins faster than they diffuse, paving the way for cryo-EM without air–water interface damage.

Today in @nature.com , we highlight how a cousin of CRISPR-Cas10, mCpol, establishes an evolutionary trap in anti-phage immune systems. Check out @erinedoherty.bsky.social and my work from @doudna-lab.bsky.social lab here: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Excited to share our latest work with @simonbullock11.bsky.social! We looked at how diverse mRNAs get selected for subcellular localization and it turns out that a single protein can recognize different RNA elements using shared features that weren’t apparent before. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Finally out! I’m thrilled to share our new paper (Wolin et al., Cell 2025). This paper describes SPIDR, a high-throughput method for mapping RBP binding sites. By combining #SPIDR with #cryoEM, we identified the exact binding site of LARP1 within the #mRNA channel of the 40S ribosomal subunit.

New preprint alert! 🚨👇 I'm delighted to share the latest research from @jemmabetts.bsky.social in our group: ‘A new protein-dependent riboswitch activates ribosomal frameshifting’. Huge congratulations to Jemma for the first manuscript of her PhD! ✨ www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

ACA 2025 Starter Pack for attendees of the 75th Annual Meeting. Tried to include everyone, feel free to tag yourself or others missed. Connecting the community at #ACA2025! @acastructuralsci.bsky.social @rcsbpdb.bsky.social 🔗 go.bsky.app/JAmraSp

New paper out in Mol Cell, where we show how N-myristolytransferases lipidate proteins on the translating ribosome! Continuing our successful collaboration with DeuerlingLab @uni-konstanz.de & Shu-ou Chan @caltech.edu @snsf.ch @ethz.ch www.cell.com/molecular-ce...

Proud to share our work where we resolved a longstanding question regarding the existence of a human telomerase dimer and provided insights into its function. Led by 3 amazing lab members in collaboration with @yiliangding.bsky.social and @rdaslab.bsky.social. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

@science.org Mechanism of release factor–mediated peptidyl-tRNA hydrolysis on the ribosome | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... #ribosome #RNA #hydrolysis

I’m excited to share the first publication from my lab on the unexpected strategy that MCPyV, a cancer-causing virus, uses to enter cells. This was truly a team effort and I am so grateful for each of the brilliant women who contributed to this research project. journals.plos.org/plospathogen...

Thank you to all the presenters and scientists from around the country who attended the LSI's 2025 #CryoEM Workshop and made the event such a successful hands-on learning experience! Thanks also to our event sponsors, SubAngstrom, @globusorg.bsky.social, @mitegen.com and @structurabio.bsky.social

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/...

I’m thrilled to share my very first first-author preprint and our lab’s latest work💫 We discovered a novel role for eIF2A in ribosome-associated quality control (RQC), challenging decades-old assumptions about its enigmatic function in translation initiation. Check it out to learn more! ⭐️ #RNA

Identified in the 1970s, the precise molecular function of the alternative initiation factor eIF2A has remained unclear. Here, we map its interactome and uncover a surprising role in ribosome-associated quality control (RQC) upon ribosome stalling. 1/x www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

We are happy to share that our snR30 story is finally out in @natureportfolio.nature.com 🥳 We report the first structure of a H/ACA snoRNP acting in ribosome synthesis thereby providing a detailed structural and biochemical view of the snR30 snoRNP guiding local 18S rRNA subdomain folding. 👇👇👇

Excited to share our new @science.org paper! Led by postdocs Ruchao Peng and Xin Xu, we used cryo-EM/ET to reveal the influenza ribonucleoprotein complex structure and its strand-sliding mechanism for RNA synthesis, paving the way for new antivirals. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

1/10 Today in @science.org in collaboration with the Liu group we report the development of a laboratory-evolved CRISPR-associated transposase (evoCAST) that supports therapeutically relevant levels of RNA-programmable gene insertion in human cells. drive.google.com/file/d/1I-Ub...

Hello Bluesky! 🌤️ We're on the Molecular Cell cover! How are ribosome levels adjusted? Stm1 not only protects ribosomes from degradation, it also promotes their biogenesis in nutrient-rich conditions. Two roles, one protein - tuned by nutrient availability. 🔗 www.cell.com/molecular-ce...

You want to start tomography? Solve structures inside cells? Reach Nyquist 😳 ? @phaips.vd.st and I have a website for you! tomoguide.github.io You'll find a tutorial on how to reconstruct tomograms, pick particles and do subtomogram averaging, using different software! Hope it will be useful !

In our newly published study we show that the proline-rich antimicrobial peptide (PrAMP) Bac5 has a distinct mode of interaction with the ribosome compared to other PrAMPs…https://academic.oup.com/nar/article/53/8/gkaf324/8126264

RIOK3 mediates the degradation of 40S ribosomes: Molecular Cell www.cell.com/molecular-ce...

Watching Sven elucidate this mechanism from an unbiased screen onwards has been one of my favorite experiences as a PI. In these challenging times for science at Harvard, it reminds me of the sheer joy of doing science and making discoveries.

🧬🦠🧫 @science.org RNA-mediated CRISPR-Cas13 inhibition through crRNA structural mimicry | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... meeskelab.org bit.ly/sustecheducnJiaLab #CRISPR #RNA

Congratulations to LSI Associate Director and Professor Janet Smith, Ph.D., who has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in recognition of her outstanding achievements in science: record.umich.edu/articles/fiv...

A colder frontier in cryo-EM 🧪🔬 Chris Russo’s group, inc. Joshua Dickerson, adapted #cryoEM to work at liquid helium temperatures (13 kelvins), where every frame captured contains more information than the equivalent using liquid nitrogen (81 kelvins). Read more: tinyurl.com/mwwcunkc #LMBResearch

Why can a human tolerate a drug that globally inhibits transcription? Why do transcription inhibitors not cure cancer? Our first paper of 2025 may help explain (some) of this! So incredibly proud of @tobiaswilliams.bsky.social & Ewa Michalak who led the work! www.cell.com/molecular-ce...

I am happy to share the latest paper from the lab. We detail a tripartite cell-free translation system based on the separation of mRNAs, ribosomes and ribosome-depleted cytoplasmic lysate from human cells, allowing for flexible reconstitution of translation reaction. #RNA #Ribosome

Excited to share our preprint on the molecular architecture of heterochromatin in human cells 🧬🔬w/ @jpkreysing.bsky.social, @johannesbetz.bsky.social, @marinalusic.bsky.social, Turoňová lab, @hummerlab.bsky.social @becklab.bsky.social @mpibp.bsky.social 🔗 Preprint here tinyurl.com/3a74uanv

Fresh off the press…our latest study on the Structure of a Gcn2 dimer in complex with the large 60S ribosomal subunit | great collaboration with inada and Zaher labs. Data collected by Bertrand Beckert at the DCI EPFL www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Congratulations to PhD student Brenna Saladin from my lab on receiving the NSF GRFP! And kudos to PhD students Suada Leskaj and Rodolfo Murguia for being recognized with Honorable Mentions! #RNA #CryoEM #Science

AlphaFold’s highly accurate structural models transformed protein biology. Nature reports on the efforts to create a similar system for RNA and why it’s a tougher nut to crack. #RNAsky 🧪

New preprint drop! Check out work from @jimmy-ly.bsky.social et al for how protein isoforms generated by alternate translation initiation create dual localization, contribute to mitochondrial function, and are mutated in disease. "Blue-tutorial" thread below. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Excited to share our new preprint on co-transcriptional splicing! U1 snRNP is recruited to RNA polymerase II through multiple interaction sites, with elongation factor SPT6 binding directly to the U1 snRNP protein. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... #cryoEM #transcription #splicing

*Deadline extended* Applications for this year's #CryoEM Data Processing Workshop are due March 27! Don't miss this chance to learn about various approaches to deal with conformational/compositional heterogeneity. myumi.ch/lsi-cryo-2025 @jbquerido.bsky.social @shyamalm.bsky.social

New cryo-EM/ET story - a brilliant collaboration with Sergey Melnikov's lab in Newcastle @sergeymelnikov.bsky.social and Stefan Pfeffer's lab in Heidelberg @pfeffercryolab.bsky.social. Great work in particular by Karla Helena-Bueno and @sophiekopetschke.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...

We're on the cover of @science.org this week. Awesome work by @florentwaltz.bsky.social. #CryoET is reaching crazy resolutions inside cells, and this is just the beginning. Fantastic interpretation of the proton motive force by @verenaresch.bsky.social. Always a pleasure making #SciArt with you!🧪🧶🧬🌾

The insides of microtubules of motile cilia and flagella are coated in proteins - but are they all important for motility? Our latest collaborative study addresses this question using trypanosomatids as model organisms. Matt explains more below:

The RNA helicase HrpA rescues collided ribosomes in E. coli

Exciting new work from Barna Lab @stanfordmedicine.bsky.social www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Excited to share our latest work, led by the incredible @automnenine.bsky.social (now an Ass. Prof. at Princeton)! We uncover key insights into the retrotransposition mechanisms of LINE-1 ORF2p, the enzyme responsible for writing a significant portion of our genome. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Join us this summer for U-M's 2025 #CryoEM Data Processing Workshop! In this hands-on workshop, participants will gain experience in various approaches to deal with conformational/ compositional heterogeneity. Apply by Mar 21: myumi.ch/lsi-cryo-2025 @jbquerido.bsky.social @shyamalm.bsky.social

After RAPPL (www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...) we found another way to get ribosomes and other macromolecular complexes easier to the cryoEM grids. This time besides ribosomes p97 complexes were purified (back to the PhD times). Stayed tuned...

www.nature.com/articles/s41... Glad to share our paper on small circRNA vaccines for cancer immunotherapy

What do Europeans think of science and technology? - 83% believe science and tech have a positive impact, - 67% say science makes life easier, healthier and more comfortable, - 58% want to learn more about scientific advances. Find out more in the new Eurobarometer. ec.europa.eu/commission/p...

Generation of C9orf72h370 mice, an intron 1 humanised C9orf72 repeat-expansion knock-in model https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.02.06.636691v1

Ever wondered how Pol II speed is controlled during productive elongation? Our study reveals that the helicase RECQL5 triggers transcription braking, while the transcription-coupled DNA repair complex restores the elongation rate. #cryoEM #transcription www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Our paper on Stopless-ORF Circular RNAs (socRNAs) is now out in Cell. By high-res tracking and comparing translation by either single or multiple ribosomes, we find that ribosomes cooperate to overcome pausing to ensure fast and efficient translation www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

Looking to see how #RiboSeq can improve your cancer research? Check out how we've been developing new methods to study #medulloblastoma and other forms of #childhoodcancer. Out in @naturecomms.bsky.social now. Thanks to Jim Clauwaert and Gerben Menschaert as well! www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Review @naturerevgenet.bsky.social Cytoplasmic mRNA decay and quality control machineries in eukaryotes www.nature.com/articles/s41...