Our paper with @sokrypton.org using AlphaFold2 to predict small-molecule binding sites in proteins is now out in Nature Methods! π§΅
rdcu.be/e7SnX
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Excellent work
New paper showing that much of the apparent success of protein language models in predicting mutational effects is a mirage: These models mostly memorize sites. 1/
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
We built DNA scaffold crystals that can be reprogrammed to host different guest proteins for X-ray structure determination β no new crystallization screen required. This animation shows a guest protein (glowing) seeking its designed binding site inside the crystal lattice. shorturl.at/DANdc
Happy to share our new preprint on the mechanism of human tRNA 3' CCA maturation! This project was spearheaded by Bernhard Kuhle in my group, with contributions from many others and a great collaboration with the group of Peter Rehling (UMG). See highlights below!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
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
We have started a project trying to predic the interactions/structures of all yeast protein pairs using an AlphaFold pooling approach. We are making the current dataset open and we welcome collaborations.
www.evocellnet.com/2026/03/mapp...
Almost forgot to brag about the absolutely amazing office the UZH Insitute of Pharmacology has provided for me β₯οΈ Protein structural art by Francisco Enguita (www.behance.net/fenguita)
Thank you TJ!
2026 has been a remarkable year for me so far (despite the current world events): opening my lab at the University of Zurich, assembling an amazing group of people in the group, and celebrating it with a fantastic lab warming party. Figured it's also time for a small profile refresh.
With Eugene Koonin, we propose a concept of βthe selfish ribosomeβ, under which evolution of life is viewed as a ribosomal takeover, where the ribosome evolved to consume most of the cellβs resources, while other cellular componentry ensures the propagation of the ribosome. arxiv.org/abs/2602.23268
Such a good read πππ
The most important #RNA conference of the year with lots of amazing science and a really friendly atmosphere. This year in beautiful Montreal π¨π¦ !
www2.rnasociety.org
Please spread the word: the Structural Studies Division @mrclmb.bsky.social is looking for a new tenure-track, independent group leader with an exciting plan in any area of Structural (Molecular & Cell) biology, in discovery biology and/or methods development. π₯³
mrc.tal.net/vx/mobile-0/...
New paper from my group in @science.org : "A small polymerase ribozyme that can synthesise itself and its complementary strand" www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Outstanding work by @edogia.bsky.social
The image illustrates a principle by which homomers can be polymerized by mutations or by multivalent small molecules.
In 2017 we showed that homomers evolve on the edge of supramolecular self-assembly. Here we show how to exploit this vulnerability so that ALL homomers can become bona fide drug-π―. Delighted that Aim 3 of our @erc.europa.eu finally polymerized! Manuscript: π rdcu.be/e27bT
Introducing The Structural History of Eukarya (SHE): The first proteome-scale phylogeny constructed entirely from 3D structure.
We computed 300 trillion alignments across 1,542 species to map the tree of life. π§΅π (1/5)
Great analysis of our paper, thank you Engin!
On the lack of more biohysics: at that point it was pretty well established that these mini binders are super thermostable and highly expressed, so we chose not to include it.
Really nice, I always hated the recursive argument in transformer papers that just because you now have lower perplexity that your model is better.
Bluesky doesnβt really shine yet as a place to discover papers, especially at the intersection of biology and ML. To help a little, Iβm going to start sharing papers I find interesting. To kick things off, hereβs one from @petar-v.bsky.social and colleagues at DeepMind
arxiv.org/abs/2601.22950
Even project grants, which were the lifeline of many labs, are now limitedβ¦does not bode well.
ποΈ Save the Date!
The 5th European RosettaCon β Crossing Boundaries with Protein Design will take place in Lisbon, Portugal π΅πΉ
ποΈ October 28β30, 2026
Join the protein design community for an inspiring scientific meeting at the intersection of innovation and design.
Here are the success rates of de novo pipelines based on which designs I could actually identify the methods for.
Huge congratulations @nboyd.bsky.social with Mosaic that absolutely killed in the competition! π©πππ
πͺππππ2 did also pretty well with the second highest hit rate in the competition!
proteinbase.com/collections/...
My time in @martinsteinegger.bsky.social's group is ending, but Iβm staying in Korea to build a lab at Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine. If you or someone you know is interested in molecular machine learning and open-source bioinformatics, please reach out. I am hiring!
mirdita.org
π«¨
π¬ Postdoc position β Infection Biology & Cryo-ET (Zurich) π¨π
We are looking for a motivated Postdoc to join our interdisciplinary team.
π© Interested? Check out the job advert:
www.imm.uzh.ch/dam/jcr:cb17...
π More info on the lab: www.weiss-laboratory.com
Please share with interested colleagues!
Shin-chaaan
Perfect birthday gift π happy this one is out!
