@allostericstate
Revealing the hidden world of shape shifting enzymes using Cryo-EM. Senior research associate at Newcastle University, UK. Currently working as part of Recon4IMD https://www.recon4imd.org Views are my own.
Let's get ready for a full month of training in image analysis in @pasteur.fr , this summer!
Are you interested in learning how to do bioimage analysis? For light microscopy? for cryo-EM? And for cellular cryo-EM?
Stay tuned, Pasteur offers access to THREE courses, this June.
👇🎓
Anne Bertolotti
We’re looking for a creative & enthusiastic postdoc with expertise in cryo-EM or protein biochemistry to join @annebertolotti.bsky.social (LMB Neurobiology Division) and help solve structures of key stress signalling enzymes and develop new inhibitors.
www.nature.com/naturecareer...
Apply by 22 MAR
What a thread.
Stolen from a post by kellbell500 on LabRats reddit: A giant towel is being displayed, on which someone has printed in blue the Parafilm "M" Laboratory Film (Made in USA) logo that is probably trademarked, but everybody be cool about it because I want one now.
The best part about a giant Parafilm towel is that you can just stretch it to be as big as you need it to be.
The worst part is when someone tears it off unevenly from the box (...also it's useless for drying off).
#StolenFromTheInternet
Somebody, please ask all these Trump-fluffing British politicians exactly what their policy will be regarding the Iranian refugee crisis they are so desperate to create.
The only person who is ruining the special relationship between the UK and the US is the felonious Trump.
Well, this takes the biscuit.
I know of cases where people were named as authors without their permission, and where it's difficult to get anyone to do anything about it. But here we have a particularly brazen publisher who says they'll remove it if you pay $500!
retractionwatch.com/2026/03/05/p...
Q-score as a reliability measure for atomic coordinate models
Q-scores are calculated for atomic models derived from 3D electron microscopy maps, measure how well the model fits the map and reflect the quality of the map itself.
🔗 Find out more:
https://ow.ly/4Vkx50Ynrxi
@ucsandiego @ActaCrystD @IUCr #CryoEM #QScores #Validation
FT comments section this morning - saying what everyone else is thinking, right?
Low resolution cryo-EM map that looks like Cuban's skull
When you still haven't solved the orientation bias of your protein sample #CryoEM
Made a short video as a response. 3 questions remain for me.
1) What is the definition of a "DEl activity," and how is it being communicated to NIH staff so they can determine whether a grant qualifies?
(Continued below)
Does he have to return the FIFA Peace Prize now?
Success in this business brings a certain freedom that comes with responsibility to support each other, to lift others up when we can, to keep the door open for the next kid, the next lost boy who's looking for a place to belong. I'm indeed a lucky guy. Lucky to have found my people, lucky to have work that challenges me, lucky to still be doing it. And I don't take that for granted.
My quote of the day
Harrison Ford
SAG-AFTRA awards, March 1, 2026
One of the core messages of the work at Stand Up for Science is we are fighting against science being used as a weapon against civilians.
The US bombed a school that was IN SESSION. What makes you think they won’t turn that tech on us, too.
Accurate Macromolecular Complex Modeling for Cryo-EM with CryoZeta pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41756897/ #cryoEM
Excited to share our new paper uncovering how FANCD2 recognises various DNA repair proteins www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... @hw1o9.bsky.social
It's great work Martin. Congrats to you and the rest of the authors!
🔬 From Samples to Structures: Cryo-EM at #ASBMB26 2026, 7-10 March, nr Washington DC
Stop by the Thermo Fisher Scientific Booth (#412) to see how #CryoEM helps researchers reveal biological structures at unprecedented resolution.
Cryo-EM Tech Talk | Mar 8 | 4.25 PM
Cryo-EM starts here: ter.li/e5tr05
New preprint by @alok-bharadwaj.bsky.social explaining the workings of SURFER, a simple tool to segment membrane, micelle or nanodisc densities in cryoEM maps.
Try it via the @chimerax.ucsf.edu ToolShed:
cxtoolshed.rbvi.ucsf.edu/apps/chimera...
Despite LocScale in the name, it works on any map.
🚨 We’re hiring – MRC-funded Postdoc (3 yrs)
Research Fellow to investigate how mobile genetic elements interact in Staphylococcus aureus and shape gene transfer and pathogenicity.
University of St Andrews
Closes 31 March 2026
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DQR250/r...
Enquiries: afh22@st-andrews.ac.uk
We posted a biorxiv preprint on structural bioinformatics, AlphaFold modeling & machine learning on predicting specificity of E3 ligase ring domains for different E2 enzymes. 1/4
Preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Models/data (UbiqCore website): dunbrack.fccc.edu/ubiqcore
Identification of a FANCD2-interacting protein motif (DIP-box) linking DNA Damage Response processes www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.02.24.707417v1 #cryoEM
I'm late to share this - deadline is February 27 - nominations are now open for the Instruct-ERIC Early Career Researcher Award 2026, recognizing outstanding independent early career researchers across integrated structural biology. #cryoEM #TeamTomo
✔️ Self-nominations are welcome
👉 ter.li/q0rxge
Our department at Genentech is hiring. We're looking for a freshly-minted PhD (0-3 years) protein biochemist / structural biologist to join as a Sr Scientist. A rare opportunity to join our group leader job family at a more junior level than we usually hire.
Job opening for Research Group Leader in Structural Studies at MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, focusing on macromolecular structures.
Are you a structural biologist pushing the boundaries of molecular science with an ambitious research programme?
Join our Structural Studies Division as a tenure-track Group Leader, with core funding, world-leading facilities & enthusiastic colleagues.
Apply by 16 MAR
www.nature.com/naturecareer...
This is a fantastic example of how to begin as a newcomer to #cryoEM. Being proactive in getting advice from experienced scientists and going to any of the great workshops would likely lower the incidences of erroneous structures in the EMDB and PDB (There’s not a lot but there are a few).
Register today for the @astburycentre.bsky.social Cryo-EM in Structural Biology March 2026 course!
Find out more and apply here - astbury.leeds.ac.uk/facilities/w...
Find out more about the Astbury Centre at @universityofleeds.bsky.social and access tech here - instruct-eric.org/centre/astbu...
I LOVE when science is applied to "toddler questions" like "Why is the sky blue?" or "Why is ice slippery?"
Because the answers can be so SUPRISING.
Let's dig into recent revelations about how ice skates work & why tires skid across black ice.
First, we'll dismiss 3 VERY GOOD hypotheses as wrong.
Guest blogpost by @deadneanderthals.bsky.social and colleagues on the persistence of stealth corrections in the scientific literature: deevybee.blogspot.com/2026/02/gues...
#publishing #integrity
The vault particle is enclosed by a C13-symmetric cap with a positively charged exterior pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41706843/ #cryoEM
