Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Eugene Valkov @eugenevalkov.bsky.social · 7h

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Nick Brown @steamtraen.eu · 1d

Next time an institution tells you how seriously it takes research misconduct, ask them if it's *this* seriously. www.bmj.com/content/297/...

In 1916 the BMJ published an article about the work done by James Shearer, an American physician working in the British Army as a sergeant (because he had no British qualification). He had described a
"delineator" which was better than x rays for portraying gunshot wounds. This caused a sensation and a lot of interest — but on investigation the work was found to have been invented. The BMJ published a retraction, but Shearer was tried by court martial and sentenced to death by firing squad.

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Eugene Valkov @eugenevalkov.bsky.social · 1d

#RNAsky #RNAbiology check out the latest story from the Bartel lab!

David Bartel's Lab @bartellab.bsky.social · 1d

Check out the latest work from our lab, led by Arash Latifkar @ara-latifkar.bsky.social , www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

mRNA poly(A)-tail length is a battleground for coronavirus–host competition

Most eukaryotic mRNAs contain a poly(A) tail, which in post-embryonic cells enhances their stability. Many cytoplasmic RNA viruses also harbor poly(A) tails on their genomic RNA and mRNAs. Here, we re...

www.biorxiv.org

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Reposted by Eugene Valkov

Karousis Lab @karousislab.bsky.social · 1d

🚀 New preprint!
We used a human cell-free translation screen (~28 000 compounds) to discover NT-2, a #Fusarium -derived #mycotoxin that blocks human ribosomes.
#Cryo-EM at 1.72 Å reveals a link between chemical inhibition and ribosome dormancy.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

A human cell-free translation screen identifies the NT-2 mycotoxin as a ribosomal peptidyl transferase inhibitor

Translation inhibitors are invaluable for probing ribosome function and therapeutic applications, but systematic discovery in human systems is limited by the lack of scalable, screening-compatible cel...

www.biorxiv.org

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Reposted by Eugene Valkov

Ulrich Hohmann @hohmannulrich.bsky.social · 2d

Thrilled to share that I’ll be joining @imbmainz.bsky.social in February 2026 to start my own group!
We will explore new mechanisms in eukaryotic gene expression, leveraging ‘evolutionary play’ to uncover how regulation, repurposing, and hijacking shape RNA biology.
PhD positions available!

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Reposted by Eugene Valkov

Ana Fiszbein @anafiszbein.bsky.social · 4d

Thrilled to share our work on transcription initiation and termination being spatially coordinated out today in Science! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

mRNA initiation and termination are spatially coordinated

Transcriptional initiation and termination decisions drive messenger RNA (mRNA) isoform diversity but the relationship between them remains poorly understood. By systematically profiling joint usage o...

www.science.org

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Reposted by Eugene Valkov

Mark Peifer (He, him) @peiferlabunc.bsky.social · 2d

I'm very excited to announce that UNC Biology has 6 faculty positions open this year! The first is for an Asst Professor who studies organismal resilience using an integrative approach 1/n
unc.peopleadmin.com/postings/307...

Poster with QR code linking to the position

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Reposted by Eugene Valkov

TJ McCorvie @allostericstate.bsky.social · 2d

Yikes! In this paper the AlphaFold model of human plasminogen (PDB-8uq6) has been refined into noise (EMD-42462) using Phenix & ISOLDE. For some reason the authors even interpret side-chain interactions:
#cryoEM

Image from the EMD entry EMD-42462 for human plasminogen bound to streptococcal surface enolase. Projections of the map are shown demonstrating no protein features and radial streaks due to overfitting.

EMD-424262 and PDB-8UQ6 opened in ChimeraX. Though the map is stated to be of Human Plasminogen bound to streptococcal surface enolase the authors have modelled only plasminogen in their PDB. The map shows radial streak at the surface indicative of overfitting and no clear density in the centre of the map corresponds to the model.

Figure 5 from the paper describing side chain interactions of human plasminogen from the PDB 8uq6.

Image showing the model to map FSC curve from Phenix which is the software used by the authors to real space refine their PDB into their cryo-EM map. The model to map FSC curve is a flat line showing no correlation exists between the cryo-EM map EMD-42462 and the PDB 8uq6.

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Reposted by Eugene Valkov

Debby Silver @debbysilver.bsky.social · 3d

I am thrilled to share our latest story led by the incredibly talented Brooke D’Arcy and Camila Musso. We discover a rich world of local gene expression in radial glia, essential neural and glial precursors, and develop a new method for sub-cellular mRNA manipulation. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

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Eugene Valkov @eugenevalkov.bsky.social · 4d

Halloween cryoSparc!💀

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Reposted by Eugene Valkov

Genes & Development @genesdev.bsky.social · 4d

RESEARCH PAPER: A noncanonical Pol III-dependent, Microprocessor-independent biogenesis pathway generates a germline-enriched miRNA family
By Sakhawala et al. and Katherine McJunkin

Learn more here:
➡️ https://genesdev.cshlp.org/content/39/19-20/1198.abstract

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Reposted by Eugene Valkov

Derek Lowe @dereklowe.bsky.social · 6d

I don’t think I’ve ever had more fun in the lab than when I was making MOFs myself (and trying to use them for small-molecule X-ray structure determination). So let me celebrate by posting a few of the MOF crystals I prepared:

Bright green transparent metal-organic framework crystals prepared with copper and a “multipronged” carboxylic acid ligand. The crystals formed blocky roughly rectangular pieces with some very large emerald-like chunks.

Pink/red transparent metal-organic framework crystals prepared with cobalt and a “multipronged” carboxylic acid ligand. The crystals formed as a mixture of long rectangular types and aggregated chunks.

Purple transparent metal-organic framework crystals prepared with cobalt and a “multipronged” carboxylic acid ligand. The crystals formed long slightly blocky needles.

Clear transparent metal-organic framework crystals prepared with zirconium and a “multipronged” carboxylic acid ligand. The crystals formed chunky hexagons.

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Reposted by Eugene Valkov

The New York Times @nytimes.com · 7d

Fred Ramsdell was parked at a campground in Montana on Monday when his wife suddenly started shouting. He first thought that maybe she had seen a grizzly bear. Instead, she had regained cell service and had seen a flood of text messages with the same news. “You just won the Nobel Prize!” she yelled.

Winning a Nobel Prize Interrupted His Off-the-Grid Vacation

Fred Ramsdell found out about his Nobel Prize nearly 12 hours after it was announced because he was on vacation in the Rockies.

nyti.ms

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Eugene Valkov @eugenevalkov.bsky.social · 7d

MS Copilot / Llama 3 / ChatGPT

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Reposted by Eugene Valkov

eLife @elife.bsky.social · 7d

High-resolution #CryoET provides ‘compelling’ evidence for the true 3D architecture of glutamatergic synapses: a complex ‘synaptoplasm’ rather than the textbook postsynaptic density.
buff.ly/hOYKjHH

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Reposted by Eugene Valkov

Briggs Group @briggsgroup.bsky.social · 8d

The mechanistic basis of cargo selection during Golgi maturation. From Rebecca Taylor, @katciazynska.bsky.social, @jggkaufman.bsky.social & @grigorytagiltsev.bsky.social at @mpibiochem.bsky.social with David Owen and Sean Munro's group @cellbiol-mrclmb.bsky.social | www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

The mechanistic basis of cargo selection during Golgi maturation

Resident proteins of the Golgi recycle in vesicles and the protein GOLPH3 enables the COPI vesicle coat to accomplish this.

www.science.org

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Reposted by Eugene Valkov

Ryan Flynn @raflynn5.bsky.social · 8d

Lead by postdoc in the lab Ruiqi Ge and in collaboration with Bob Coffey’s lab, we are happy to share rPAL-seq for rapid and sensitive sequencing based profiling of glycoRNAs @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

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Eugene Valkov @eugenevalkov.bsky.social · 9d

We need an ‘Alone’-style video clip if you want our pity

Reposted by Eugene Valkov

Jan-Hannes Schaefer @jhschaef.bsky.social · 9d

Helical Reconstruction of Amyloids in cryoSPARC?
We present guidelines, limitations & future perspectives for processing amyloids in cryoSPARC @structurabio.bsky.social.
Great collaboration of the Kelly Lab and @landerlab.bsky.social #cryoEM #amyloid www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

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Reposted by Eugene Valkov

Nigella Lawson @nigella.bsky.social · 10d

It’s Kanelbullens Dag, that’s to say, Cinnamon Bun Day in Sweden. And while I mean no disrespect to Norway and Iceland, who also mark this day, it’s Swedish Cinnamon Buns that are #RecipeOfTheDay!
www.nigella.com/recipes/swed...

Swedish Cinnamon Buns

Swedish Cinnamon Buns are not radically different from other cinnamon buns (and do see my Norwegian Cinnamon Buns), but they do diverge in one fundamental way: rather than having the fluffiness of, sa...

www.nigella.com

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Reposted by Eugene Valkov

Victor Tatarskiy @greenrat.bsky.social · 12d

Neat trick if you polycolonal ab's suck. Incubate them with fixed cells with a KO of your protein of interest, then spin. Protocol here: www.med.upenn.edu/markslab/ass...
I was amazed how well it worked on first try (I'm sure that I can completely eliminate unspecific bands)
#WesternBlot #cellsky

On the left - western blot of B16F10 cells wt and KO for CDK8. Our in house produced antibodies give a lot of unspecific bands. On the right same probes with antibodies preincubated with fixed CDK8 KO cells - there is a specific band and faint unspecific bands, which can be probably eliminated with increase of amount of KO cells.

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Eugene Valkov @eugenevalkov.bsky.social · 11d

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bioRxiv Biochemistry @biorxiv-biochem.bsky.social · 11d

De novo design of RNA and nucleoprotein complexes https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.01.679929v1

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Reposted by Eugene Valkov

Kristen DeAngelis 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🍉 @kristenobacter.bsky.social · 12d

UMass Amherst Microbiology is hiring a tenure-track virologist. Come work with me! 🦠🧪
careers.umass.edu/amherst/en-u...

Details - Assistant Professor - Virology | Human Resources | UMass Amherst

careers.umass.edu

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Reposted by Eugene Valkov

Richard Sever @richardsever.bsky.social · 13d

Another record month for bioRxiv - and further evidence the pandemic spike+dip was just that and growth continues. Thanks to all involved and that includes 🫵

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Reposted by Eugene Valkov

Samara Reck-Peterson @samreckpeterson.bsky.social · 15d

We are hiring an Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics at Weill Cornell Medicine. Come join our collaborative research environment with state-of-the-art facilities in NYC! Application review starts Oct 22.
biochem.weill.cornell.edu/join-our-fac...

Join our Faculty | Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics

Call for applications:We invite applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor position in the newly established Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics. We are conducting an open search for ou...

biochem.weill.cornell.edu

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Reposted by Eugene Valkov

Soragni:Lab @alice.soragnilab.com · 14d

What incredible news today. I feel so grateful to have worked closely with Tony over the years and to have witnessed firsthand his vision, energy, and commitment to advancing functional precision medicine. I cannot think of a steadier (and more needed) force at the NCI at this time /n

The Society for Functional Precision Medicine @thesfpm.bsky.social · 14d

We want to congratulate our President, Dr. Tony Letai, on his appointment as Director of the NCI. This announcement marks an historic moment for cancer research. Dr. Letai has been a tireless advocate and visionary leader for functional precision medicine 🧵

www.nih.gov/news-events/...

Secretary Kennedy Swears in Dr. Anthony Letai as Director of the National Cancer Institute

Dr. Letai will serve as NCI’s 18th director.

www.nih.gov

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