Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Joe Grove

Microbiology Society @microbiologysociety.org · 5d

Huge congratulations to Emma Davis, the winner of 2025's Early Career Microbiologist of the Year prize! We agree with Emma that all of the finalists' talks were brilliant and a massive well done to everyone involved!

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Joe Grove @grovearmada.bsky.social · 8d

I only just managed it 6 months ago...

Reposted by Joe Grove

Roni Odai @rodai.bsky.social · 10d

Viral AlphaFold Database (VAD) is live in Science Advances

~27,000 predicted viral protein monomers & homodimers

Conserved folds across bacteria, archaea & eukaryotic viruses

New toxin–antitoxin system KreTA uncovered

Vast “functional darkness” remains uncharted

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

The Viral AlphaFold Database of monomers and homodimers reveals conserved protein folds in viruses of bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotes

VAD is a Viral AlphaFold Database of protein monomers and homodimers from viruses infecting hosts across the tree of life.

www.science.org

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Reposted by Joe Grove

Erin Doherty @erinedoherty.bsky.social · 11d

Now online at @nature.com we show how the Panoptes defense system protects against viruses that attempt immune evasion - and expands our understanding of the role of oligonucleotides in immunity.

Check out this work co-led with @benadler.bsky.social here:

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

A miniature CRISPR–Cas10 enzyme confers immunity by inhibitory signalling - Nature

Panoptes, an anti-phage defence system against virus-mediated immune suppression, is revealed.

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Joe Grove

Towers Lab @towerslab.bsky.social · 13d

New preprint from our lab, led by our postdocs Dara Annett and Kate Morling in collaboration with Selwood Lab!

We developed a modified cyclosporine, BG147, which enhances lentivector gene therapy transduction, ex vivo in HSPC and in vivo in mouse photoreceptors, by degrading IFITM3. Check it out!

A modified cyclosporine enhances lentivector transduction ex vivo and in vivo by degrading IFITM3

Intrinsic innate immune barriers have evolved to suppress viral infection and can reduce effective gene delivery in gene therapy. We have developed BG147, a novel cyclosporine A analogue, optimised vi...

www.biorxiv.org

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Reposted by Joe Grove

Joseph Luna @virologistjoe.bsky.social · 12d

I made a sign for the lab with our informal lab motto, inspired by this convo between @itaiyanai.bsky.social and Martin Lercher: nightscience.buzzsprout.com/1744020/epis.... A good reminder that talking is among the best forms of thinking!

A plastic sign with a logogram of two people in conversation alongisde text that reads "There are no lone geniuses"

Our new "There are no lone geniuses" sign mounted on the door to the lab.

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Reposted by Joe Grove

Nature Portfolio @natureportfolio.nature.com · 14d

Over the last year, Nature’s Careers team has been tapping into its global community of readers, writers, friends and colleagues to compile a list of laboratory hacks to help make scientists’ working lives easier. Here’s a list of 99 of those hacks. #Academicsky 🧪

These 99 'lab hacks' will make your scientific work easier

Nature asked contributors, editors and working researchers to share their best advice for scientists.

go.nature.com

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Reposted by Joe Grove

Spyros Lytras @spyroslytras.bsky.social · 15d

New exciting resource published!! The Viro3D paper is out, describing our comprehensive database of predicted virus protein structures! 💻🧬

Work with @ulad-litvin.bsky.social , @grovearmada.bsky.social , Alex Jack, @bljog.bsky.social , @davidlrobertson.bsky.social

www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....

Viro3D: a comprehensive database of virus protein structure predictions | Molecular Systems Biology

imageimageViro3D provides proteome-level, high confidence AI-protein structure predictions for >4,400 viruses, allowing mapping of form and function across the human and animal virosphere. Viro3D i...

www.embopress.org

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Reposted by Joe Grove

Adrian Woolfson @adrianwoolfson.bsky.social · 15d

www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....

Viro3D: a comprehensive database of virus protein structure predictions | Molecular Systems Biology

imageimageViro3D provides proteome-level, high confidence AI-protein structure predictions for >4,400 viruses, allowing mapping of form and function across the human and animal virosphere. Viro3D i...

www.embopress.org

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Reposted by Joe Grove

Beate Sodeik @beatesodeiklab.bsky.social · 15d

PhD position in my team!

Join me in the new Graduate School ACME (www.mhh.de/en/institute...). 65% TVL 13 for 4 years integrated into the Hannover Medical School; the ACME program starts in April 2026, but joining us earlier is possible.
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@gesvirologie.bsky.social
@infect-net.bsky.social

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Reposted by Joe Grove

Rhys Parry @rhyshparry.bsky.social · 16d

Congrats to @summabibby.bsky.social @naphakm.bsky.social Daniel Watterson et al. here at SCMB on the first high-res cryo-EM structures of yellow fever virus! Striking vaccine vs virulent particle differences and a single R380 residue shaping antigenicity & neutralisation. doi.org/10.1038/s414...

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Reposted by Joe Grove

Emma Harding @emma-harding.bsky.social · 15d

Do you research endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) or want to learn more about them? 🧬🤔

Consider presenting at or attending AuusiERV - an inaugural online symposium for ERV research in Australia 🇦🇺 (and abroad) 🗺️

Abstracts due 1st October!

events.humanitix.com/aussierv-2025

#ERV #retrovirus

AussiERV 2025

AussiERV: Australia’s first symposium dedicated to endogenous retroviruses. Join us for this one-day virtual event on November 7th!

events.humanitix.com

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Joe Grove @grovearmada.bsky.social · 16d

Congratulations to @ulad-litvin.bsky.social for this! He performed the vast majority of data curation and analysis, made the majority of figures for the manuscript AND drafted the text. An AMAZING effort!

Ulad Litvin @ulad-litvin.bsky.social · 16d

Viro3D paper is out! We predicted 85,000 protein structures from human & animal viruses. 1/5 🧵

📑 Paper doi.org/10.1038/s443...
🔭 Explore virosphere viro3d.cvr.gla.ac.uk

Viro3D: a comprehensive database of virus protein structure predictions | Molecular Systems Biology

imageimageViro3D provides proteome-level, high confidence AI-protein structure predictions for >4,400 viruses, allowing mapping of form and function across the human and animal virosphere. Viro3D i...

doi.org

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Reposted by Joe Grove

Ulad Litvin @ulad-litvin.bsky.social · 16d

Viro3D paper is out! We predicted 85,000 protein structures from human & animal viruses. 1/5 🧵

📑 Paper doi.org/10.1038/s443...
🔭 Explore virosphere viro3d.cvr.gla.ac.uk

Viro3D: a comprehensive database of virus protein structure predictions | Molecular Systems Biology

imageimageViro3D provides proteome-level, high confidence AI-protein structure predictions for >4,400 viruses, allowing mapping of form and function across the human and animal virosphere. Viro3D i...

doi.org

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Reposted by Joe Grove

Medical Research Foundation @medresfdn.bsky.social · 16d

Our ELP winner @grovearmada.bsky.social and his team have launched Viro3D, an AI-powered virus protein database, which will help scientists understand and combat emerging viral threats more efficiently.

Read more here: https://bit.ly/3IIfND1

@cvrinfo.bsky.social @uofglasgow.bsky.social

Researchers launch world’s most comprehensive human virus protein database

A look at new Foundation-funded research by Dr Joe Grove and his team at the MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research.

bit.ly

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Joe Grove @grovearmada.bsky.social · 16d

Team effort from @uofgmvls.bsky.social @cvrinfo.bsky.social

Science: @ulad-litvin.bsky.social @spyroslytras.bsky.social @davidlrobertson.bsky.social and @bljog.bsky.social

Website: Alexander Jack

Funding: @medresfdn.bsky.social @ukri.org @wellcometrust.bsky.social @royalsociety.org

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Joe Grove @grovearmada.bsky.social · 16d

THIS RESOURCE WILL ACCELERATE:

🔬 Discovery in molecular virology

🧬 Studies of virus origins and evolution

💊 Structure-informed vaccine/therapy design

viro3d.cvr.gla.ac.uk - feedback welcome as we continue developing Viro3D!

Viro3D

viro3d.cvr.gla.ac.uk

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Joe Grove @grovearmada.bsky.social · 16d

KEY DISCOVERIES:

🗺️ Mapped evolutionary relationships across the virosphere

🔍 Found unexpected class-I fusion glycoproteins in herpesviruses

🧬 Revealed potential origins of coronavirus spike proteins through ancient genetic exchange

Paper: www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....

Protein structures of class-I fusion proteins, color coded by structural conservation

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Joe Grove @grovearmada.bsky.social · 16d

WHY THIS MATTERS:

🦠 Viruses are underrepresented in existing protein structure databases such as the PDB and AlphaFold Database

🤖 We combined AlphaFold2-ColabFold and ESMFold to predict proteome level structures for >4,400 human & animal viruses

💻 Searchable and browsable at: viro3d.cvr.gla.ac.uk

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Joe Grove @grovearmada.bsky.social · 16d

🚨 New Web Resource Alert! 🚨 We're delighted to share Viro3D a database of >85000 viral protein structure predictions from >4400 human & animal viruses.

🔗 viro3d.cvr.gla.ac.uk
📄 www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....

@molsystbiol.org @cvrinfo.bsky.social @uofgmvls.bsky.social #Virology #AlphaFold 🧪 🦠

Viro3D

viro3d.cvr.gla.ac.uk

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Reposted by Joe Grove

Alexis Verger 🧬🧫🧪 @alexis-verger.cpesr.fr · 18d

iFold, sorry, SimpleFold, by Apple

arxiv.org/html/2509.18...

SimpleFold: Folding Proteins is Simpler than You Think

arxiv.org

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Joe Grove @grovearmada.bsky.social · 20d

Thank you Sis ❤️. I could watch (through my fingers and without company of other humans).

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Reposted by Joe Grove

Medical Research Foundation @medresfdn.bsky.social · 20d

See our ELP winner Dr Joe Grove discussing his work with Dr Chris van Tulleken at 9pm tonight on BBC2, or right now on BBC iPlayer: bbc.in/47WjAXM

Joe and his team at @cvrinfo.bsky.social @uofglasgow.bsky.social are using #AI to better understand how viruses evolve and function.

Drs Chris van Tulleken and Joe Grove are sitting in front of a computer screen which is displaying a model of a virus protein. Joe is pointing at the model onscreen, explaining its significance to Chris.

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Reposted by Joe Grove

Aris Katzourakis @ariskatzourakis.bsky.social · 20d

Three jobs in our shiny new building:

Oxford Biology @biology.ox.ac.uk · 27d

Oxford Biology is growing 📢

We’re appointing 3 Associate Professors in:
🌱 Plant Sciences
🦉 Animal Behaviour
🔬 Molecular Cell Biology

3 fields. 3 opportunities. One new home for Oxford Biology.

Learn more 👉 bit.ly/41S2Tc7
Apply now 👉 bit.ly/488CNW3

Photo showing the inside atrium of the new Life and Mind Building

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Joe Grove @grovearmada.bsky.social · 20d

Check out this new BBC documentary on Disease X and pandemic preparedness, broadcast tonight (22/09) and on BBC iPlayer.

It features @cvrinfo.bsky.social's work using #AI to investigate #virology and much, much more. 🧪🦠🤖

It was a real pleasure working with Chris VT and the team. Thank you!

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