Decoding the molecular logic of rapidly evolving ZAD zinc finger proteins in Drosophila
Identification of ZAD-ZnF genes as key regulators of genome organization during Drosophila embryogenesis.
Diving into evolutionary biology! What is the origin of the most abundant class of insect transcription factors, ZAD-ZnFs? We suggest that they evolved from ancestral insulator-binding proteins that control 3D genome topology.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
27.02.2026 19:51
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Redirecting
Our most recent work on the “function and evolution” of #nuclear-speckles is now online at Cell @cp-cell.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1016/j.ce...
Read the thread👇 for the highlights of our findings.
25.02.2026 16:01
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We are hiring! Join the Jachowicz lab as a postdoctoral researcher. The project focuses on understanding the dynamics of ncRNAs using high-resolution and single-molecule microscopy approaches. Link below 👇
25.02.2026 08:35
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Fellowship application dealdine for students from low income countries 🌐will be in 1️⃣ week.
Dont miss out on this opportunity ! Hands on Summer School.
Cut&Run, Cut@Tag, ChIP, ATACseq and analyse your own data ! ➡️Unique opportunity ! 15 exiting days ➕ Daily high profile lectures.
👉 bit.ly/4oGDR8f
20.02.2026 10:34
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The giant viruses surprised us at almost every turn of this project, but ultimately led us down a very rewarding path. Happy to share this work is now available online 🧪
17.02.2026 17:07
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How does the piRNA pathway solve the self vs. non-self problem? 🧬
Since piRNAs come from single-stranded RNA, how does the cell choose the right ones? For years, "piRNA clusters" were seen as THE privileged source. But are they really special and earmarked for biogenesis? (1/19)
13.02.2026 15:11
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A small polymerase ribozyme that can synthesize itself and its complementary strand
The emergence of a chemical system capable of self-replication and evolution is a critical event in the origin of life. RNA polymerase ribozymes can replicate RNA, but their large size and structural ...
How could a simple self-replicating system emerge at the origins of life? RNA polymerase ribozymes can replicate RNA, but existing ones are so large that their self-replication seems impossible. Could they be smaller?
Excited to share our latest work in @science.org on a new small polymerase.
1/n
13.02.2026 11:42
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Does the noncoding genome actually carry more genetic information than coding seqs? Motivated by this question we mutated every bp in the 10kb MYC locus. Results are even more exciting: Decoding the MYC locus reveals a druggable ultraconserved RNA element www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
31.01.2026 01:13
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Pre-assembly of biomolecular condensate seeds drives RSV replication
Nature - Viral ribonucleoprotein–viral protein networks form pre-replication centres that nucleate viral factories and drive respiratory syncytial virus replication.
Now out in Nature! We visualize infection of the RNA virus RSV in real-time with single-vRNP resolution to understand how RSV establishes viral factories, biomolecular condensates that act as sites of viral replication. A huge collaborative effort led by Dhanushika Ratnayake!
rdcu.be/e1bBW
28.01.2026 20:38
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We’re excited to share our latest preprint on the mechanism of excised linear intron stabilization in yeast! This work was led by PhD student @glennli.bsky.social and was a wonderful collaboration with @maxewilkinson.bsky.social. Link: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... (1/4)
23.01.2026 16:14
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Check out our preprint where we describe, characterize and trace the origin of a novel human-specific isoform of TAF8, a scaffold subunit in TFIID. We were surprised to discover that TAF8 recently underwent genetic changes generating a truncated isoform with altered properties in humans!
20.01.2026 11:59
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TF-MINDI is out! A new method to learn cis-regulatory codes through rich embeddings of TF binding sites. TF-MINDI decomposes motif neighbourhoods, and works downstream of any sequence-to-function deep learning model. We deeply study the enhancer code in human neural development, check out the thread
15.01.2026 12:32
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The (Yoav) Voichek lab has opened its gates at the Weizmann Institute, and is actively recruiting students and researchers at all levels - come explore gene regulation and computational genomics in a fun, friendly sprouting lab 🤗🥼⚗️🧪
www.weizmann.ac.il/plants/voichek
11.01.2026 20:41
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Our work on TFIID is finally out as preprint!
09.01.2026 23:52
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Congratulations to Dr Feng! Songjie is the genome whisperer who is simply amazing when it comes to editing the genome! And one of the nicest person to have around!
09.01.2026 12:47
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Read in Nature: nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09899-8
Stress controls epigenetic inheritance!
A histone ubiquitylation-based regulatory hub links stress/environmental signaling to heterochromatin self-propagation and epigenetic inheritance-reshaping how we think about development, drug resistance, and cancer
👉 nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09899-8
07.01.2026 16:46
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When RNA Degradation 🤝 meets 🤝 Protein Degradation! tinyurl.com/E3TDMD In a collaboration of @bartellab.bsky.social and Schulman lab, we show that, in target-directed microRNA degradation (TDMD), 2-RNA-factors recruit an E3 ligase and induce the degradation of not only a protein but also RNA (1/5).
06.01.2026 08:04
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Happy to share two BioRxiv manuscripts from our lab. One on genetic Argonaute interaction and unexpected non-correlation between small RNAs and their targets:
doi.org/10.64898/202...
The second on IDR processing and IDR-mediated Argonaute loading control:
doi.org/10.64898/202...
Merry Xmas😊
22.12.2025 14:06
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