Alister Burt
@alisterburt.bsky.social
Computational Cryo-EM/ET at Genentech
Love people, the outdoors and building stuff
Complexity is the enemy
All opinions my own
Love people, the outdoors and building stuff
Complexity is the enemy
All opinions my own
Reposted by Alister Burt
Finally, the first public release of #BigVolumeBrowser, so after teasers, you can try it yourself. For details, please check the announcement post (1/2)
forum.image.sc/t/bigvolumeb...
forum.image.sc/t/bigvolumeb...
BigVolumeBrowser: a new 3D multi volume/mesh/point clould (SMLM) data viewer
Hello everyone, I’d like to share with you another 3D viewer for FIJI, BigVolumeBrowser (full documentation link). It‘s a first initial public release, so there is still space for improvements. Le...
forum.image.sc
November 21, 2025 at 9:29 AM
Finally, the first public release of #BigVolumeBrowser, so after teasers, you can try it yourself. For details, please check the announcement post (1/2)
forum.image.sc/t/bigvolumeb...
forum.image.sc/t/bigvolumeb...
Still excited about the huge potential for unsupervised methods in cryo-ET - really impressed by this solid and understated work from Frosina Stojanovska and co
CryoSiam: self-supervised representation learning for automated analysis of cryo-electron tomograms www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.11.687379v1 #cryoem
November 20, 2025 at 1:56 AM
Still excited about the huge potential for unsupervised methods in cryo-ET - really impressed by this solid and understated work from Frosina Stojanovska and co
Had a wonderful time visiting Alberto Bartesaghi’s lab at Duke this week!
For anyone who doesn’t know Alberto, he’s a real pioneer in image processing methods for cryo-EM/ET - first person to implement reference based motion correction, refinement of tilt series alignments and more…
For anyone who doesn’t know Alberto, he’s a real pioneer in image processing methods for cryo-EM/ET - first person to implement reference based motion correction, refinement of tilt series alignments and more…
November 20, 2025 at 1:53 AM
Had a wonderful time visiting Alberto Bartesaghi’s lab at Duke this week!
For anyone who doesn’t know Alberto, he’s a real pioneer in image processing methods for cryo-EM/ET - first person to implement reference based motion correction, refinement of tilt series alignments and more…
For anyone who doesn’t know Alberto, he’s a real pioneer in image processing methods for cryo-EM/ET - first person to implement reference based motion correction, refinement of tilt series alignments and more…
So cool!
Prohibitins aren’t hanging out just anywhere in the membrane — they prefer the 💁♀️💎✨VIP section💅🪩🥂
Lab all-star @mmedina300kv.bsky.social maps these microdomains using cryo-ET + surface morphometrics.
s/o to #teamtomo #cryoET co-authors
@hamid13r.bsky.social
@attychang.bsky.social
@baradlab.com
Lab all-star @mmedina300kv.bsky.social maps these microdomains using cryo-ET + surface morphometrics.
s/o to #teamtomo #cryoET co-authors
@hamid13r.bsky.social
@attychang.bsky.social
@baradlab.com
Prohibitin complexes associate with unique membrane microdomains in cells https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.14.688579v1
November 17, 2025 at 12:41 AM
So cool!
the fact that we don’t actually know how certain commonly used drugs work is kinda wild, metformin was a prototypical example of this and… now we know! Beautiful work
How does the well tolerated anti-hyperglycemic drug #metformin inhibit mitochondrial complex I?
In our new paper, we use structures, MD and kinetics to show that metformin inhibits by a distinct mechanism that more hydrophobic, less well tolerated, biguanides.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
In our new paper, we use structures, MD and kinetics to show that metformin inhibits by a distinct mechanism that more hydrophobic, less well tolerated, biguanides.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Hydrophilic metformin and hydrophobic biguanides inhibit mitochondrial complex I by distinct mechanisms - Nature Structural & Molecular Biology
He, Teng and Yang et al. report how metformin, the widely used antidiabetic drug, inhibit its target, the respiratory complex I, through a distinct state-dependent, inhibitor trapping mechanism, thus ...
www.nature.com
November 15, 2025 at 10:48 PM
the fact that we don’t actually know how certain commonly used drugs work is kinda wild, metformin was a prototypical example of this and… now we know! Beautiful work
Reposted by Alister Burt
How does the well tolerated anti-hyperglycemic drug #metformin inhibit mitochondrial complex I?
In our new paper, we use structures, MD and kinetics to show that metformin inhibits by a distinct mechanism that more hydrophobic, less well tolerated, biguanides.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
In our new paper, we use structures, MD and kinetics to show that metformin inhibits by a distinct mechanism that more hydrophobic, less well tolerated, biguanides.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Hydrophilic metformin and hydrophobic biguanides inhibit mitochondrial complex I by distinct mechanisms - Nature Structural & Molecular Biology
He, Teng and Yang et al. report how metformin, the widely used antidiabetic drug, inhibit its target, the respiratory complex I, through a distinct state-dependent, inhibitor trapping mechanism, thus ...
www.nature.com
November 10, 2025 at 6:35 PM
How does the well tolerated anti-hyperglycemic drug #metformin inhibit mitochondrial complex I?
In our new paper, we use structures, MD and kinetics to show that metformin inhibits by a distinct mechanism that more hydrophobic, less well tolerated, biguanides.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
In our new paper, we use structures, MD and kinetics to show that metformin inhibits by a distinct mechanism that more hydrophobic, less well tolerated, biguanides.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Alister Burt
I'd only dabbled with napari, but needed to use it for a paper we're writing. This is a quick post about getting started: from installation to a folder full of thousands of processed images, with gotchas along the way.
quantixed.org/2025/11/04/a...
quantixed.org/2025/11/04/a...
Adventures in Code VII: getting started with napari – quantixed
quantixed.org
November 4, 2025 at 10:00 AM
I'd only dabbled with napari, but needed to use it for a paper we're writing. This is a quick post about getting started: from installation to a folder full of thousands of processed images, with gotchas along the way.
quantixed.org/2025/11/04/a...
quantixed.org/2025/11/04/a...
Had a great time at the Bay Area Cryo-EM meeting yesterday, thank you to the organizers and speakers for a really fantastic day! Warm fuzzies and fun scientific discussions all around
One of many personal highlights was chatting Alex Long, a man who clearly has impeccable taste in sweaters
One of many personal highlights was chatting Alex Long, a man who clearly has impeccable taste in sweaters
November 15, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Had a great time at the Bay Area Cryo-EM meeting yesterday, thank you to the organizers and speakers for a really fantastic day! Warm fuzzies and fun scientific discussions all around
One of many personal highlights was chatting Alex Long, a man who clearly has impeccable taste in sweaters
One of many personal highlights was chatting Alex Long, a man who clearly has impeccable taste in sweaters
LLM spam is getting too sophisticated 🫠
November 8, 2025 at 4:37 PM
LLM spam is getting too sophisticated 🫠
and we wonder how he can be so productive...
November 4, 2025 at 7:05 PM
and we wonder how he can be so productive...
Reposted by Alister Burt
Thrilled, and admittedly relieved, to see this major investment in Dutch #cryoEM become reality! 🇳🇱🔬
Honoured to be a co-applicant on this national initiative and very excited for the opportunity to advance our work in cellular structural virology! 🦠
www.uu.nl/en/news/33-m...
Honoured to be a co-applicant on this national initiative and very excited for the opportunity to advance our work in cellular structural virology! 🦠
www.uu.nl/en/news/33-m...
33 million euro investment for national electron microscope facility EMPower
A major new national facility for electron microscopy, called EMPower, has been awarded to a consortium of Dutch universities and medical centers. EMPower aims to pave the way for major discoveries im...
www.uu.nl
November 3, 2025 at 4:47 PM
Thrilled, and admittedly relieved, to see this major investment in Dutch #cryoEM become reality! 🇳🇱🔬
Honoured to be a co-applicant on this national initiative and very excited for the opportunity to advance our work in cellular structural virology! 🦠
www.uu.nl/en/news/33-m...
Honoured to be a co-applicant on this national initiative and very excited for the opportunity to advance our work in cellular structural virology! 🦠
www.uu.nl/en/news/33-m...
Reposted by Alister Burt
Our new preprint is out 🥳🥳🥳
Henipaviruses, like Nipah and Hendra, package their genomes inside helical shells built by thousands of nucleoproteins. These nucleocapsids are essential to protect the viral RNA, but how do they ever let the polymerase in to read the sequence?
👇
Henipaviruses, like Nipah and Hendra, package their genomes inside helical shells built by thousands of nucleoproteins. These nucleocapsids are essential to protect the viral RNA, but how do they ever let the polymerase in to read the sequence?
👇
November 3, 2025 at 12:26 PM
Our new preprint is out 🥳🥳🥳
Henipaviruses, like Nipah and Hendra, package their genomes inside helical shells built by thousands of nucleoproteins. These nucleocapsids are essential to protect the viral RNA, but how do they ever let the polymerase in to read the sequence?
👇
Henipaviruses, like Nipah and Hendra, package their genomes inside helical shells built by thousands of nucleoproteins. These nucleocapsids are essential to protect the viral RNA, but how do they ever let the polymerase in to read the sequence?
👇
Reposted by Alister Burt
“Bell's research needs to be aligned with the company's needs.”
Where is Bell Labs now?
www.nature.com/articles/454...
Where is Bell Labs now?
www.nature.com/articles/454...
Bell Labs bottoms out - Nature
Institute pulls plug on basic research.
www.nature.com
November 1, 2025 at 5:13 PM
“Bell's research needs to be aligned with the company's needs.”
Where is Bell Labs now?
www.nature.com/articles/454...
Where is Bell Labs now?
www.nature.com/articles/454...
how do people see new cryo-EM papers these days?
Twitter was pretty universal back in the day and Bluesky still feels much smaller, feel like I’m missing things 🤔
Twitter was pretty universal back in the day and Bluesky still feels much smaller, feel like I’m missing things 🤔
November 1, 2025 at 4:43 PM
how do people see new cryo-EM papers these days?
Twitter was pretty universal back in the day and Bluesky still feels much smaller, feel like I’m missing things 🤔
Twitter was pretty universal back in the day and Bluesky still feels much smaller, feel like I’m missing things 🤔
Reposted by Alister Burt
Image of the Sun.
Taken at night.
Not looking up at sky but down through 8000 miles of rock to the other side of the Earth.
Not with light but neutrinos.
Taken at night.
Not looking up at sky but down through 8000 miles of rock to the other side of the Earth.
Not with light but neutrinos.
November 1, 2025 at 7:50 AM
Image of the Sun.
Taken at night.
Not looking up at sky but down through 8000 miles of rock to the other side of the Earth.
Not with light but neutrinos.
Taken at night.
Not looking up at sky but down through 8000 miles of rock to the other side of the Earth.
Not with light but neutrinos.
Reposted by Alister Burt
The Wilkinson Lab is open for science! @mskcancercenter.bsky.social
🧬We'll be finding funky new RNA biology, mainly by looking at reverse transcriptases (i.e. the Best Enzymes In The World)🧬
annnd: I'm hiring - come join! Especially postdocs and PhD students - please get in touch (NYC is great)
🧬We'll be finding funky new RNA biology, mainly by looking at reverse transcriptases (i.e. the Best Enzymes In The World)🧬
annnd: I'm hiring - come join! Especially postdocs and PhD students - please get in touch (NYC is great)
Wilkinson Lab
We discover and study reverse transcriptases
wilkinsonlab.bio
October 31, 2025 at 7:00 PM
The Wilkinson Lab is open for science! @mskcancercenter.bsky.social
🧬We'll be finding funky new RNA biology, mainly by looking at reverse transcriptases (i.e. the Best Enzymes In The World)🧬
annnd: I'm hiring - come join! Especially postdocs and PhD students - please get in touch (NYC is great)
🧬We'll be finding funky new RNA biology, mainly by looking at reverse transcriptases (i.e. the Best Enzymes In The World)🧬
annnd: I'm hiring - come join! Especially postdocs and PhD students - please get in touch (NYC is great)
Reposted by Alister Burt
My quote of the day
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
November 1, 2025 at 12:05 PM
My quote of the day
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Reposted by Alister Burt
🥳 Today marks the start of the lab of former postdoc @florianwollweber.bsky.social at @embl.org Grenoble!
www.embl.org/groups/wollw...
Florian-- we will miss you dearly and wish you much success!
With us, Florian applied multiscale imaging 🔬to Asgard archaea ...👇
www.embl.org/groups/wollw...
Florian-- we will miss you dearly and wish you much success!
With us, Florian applied multiscale imaging 🔬to Asgard archaea ...👇
November 1, 2025 at 12:41 PM
🥳 Today marks the start of the lab of former postdoc @florianwollweber.bsky.social at @embl.org Grenoble!
www.embl.org/groups/wollw...
Florian-- we will miss you dearly and wish you much success!
With us, Florian applied multiscale imaging 🔬to Asgard archaea ...👇
www.embl.org/groups/wollw...
Florian-- we will miss you dearly and wish you much success!
With us, Florian applied multiscale imaging 🔬to Asgard archaea ...👇
Reposted by Alister Burt
Happy logical operator Halloween! 🎃
October 31, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Happy logical operator Halloween! 🎃
worth understanding
Conda ≠ PyPI
Conda isn’t just another Python package manager-it’s a multi-language, user-space distribution system.
In this 3-part series, we explore the fundamental differences between conda and PyPI.
Part 1 is live now 👇
conda.org/blog/conda-i...
#conda #packaging #python
Conda isn’t just another Python package manager-it’s a multi-language, user-space distribution system.
In this 3-part series, we explore the fundamental differences between conda and PyPI.
Part 1 is live now 👇
conda.org/blog/conda-i...
#conda #packaging #python
Conda ≠ PyPI: Why Conda Is More Than a Package Manager | conda.org
Part 1 of the 'Conda Is Not PyPI' series—why conda is a multi-language user-space distribution, not just a Python package manager.
conda.org
November 1, 2025 at 12:40 AM
worth understanding
Reposted by Alister Burt
I'll help spread the word—Stan's a gem.
October 31, 2025 at 9:10 PM
I'll help spread the word—Stan's a gem.
my friend and wonderful colleague Stan is hiring at Genentech in South San Francisco! 🧬 🌉
Biochemist/structural biologist looking for your first position in industry? I can’t recommend working with Stan enough ☺️ please repost for visibility
www.linkedin.com/posts/stanis...
Biochemist/structural biologist looking for your first position in industry? I can’t recommend working with Stan enough ☺️ please repost for visibility
www.linkedin.com/posts/stanis...
#hiring #researchassociate #structuralbiology #proteinsciences #cryoem #biochemistry #biophysics #dnarepair #drugdiscovery | Stanislau Yatskevich
We’re hiring a 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 (Contractor) to join our 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐁𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 team in 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 focused on the molecular mechanisms of DNA repair.
𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬
You’ll help purify and ...
www.linkedin.com
October 31, 2025 at 9:05 PM
my friend and wonderful colleague Stan is hiring at Genentech in South San Francisco! 🧬 🌉
Biochemist/structural biologist looking for your first position in industry? I can’t recommend working with Stan enough ☺️ please repost for visibility
www.linkedin.com/posts/stanis...
Biochemist/structural biologist looking for your first position in industry? I can’t recommend working with Stan enough ☺️ please repost for visibility
www.linkedin.com/posts/stanis...
Reposted by Alister Burt
It was a fantastic opportunity to finally meet the people behind this software that I have been using for years and is so important for my work! A big thank you to all core developers who were so welcoming, and patiently guided participants in their attempts to contribute back to napari!
Longer wrap-up to come, but in the meantime: we had a fantastic and productive time at the napari hackathon at @globias.bsky.social 2025 conference! Thanks to all the participants and to the GloBIAS team for hosting us!
October 30, 2025 at 4:14 PM
It was a fantastic opportunity to finally meet the people behind this software that I have been using for years and is so important for my work! A big thank you to all core developers who were so welcoming, and patiently guided participants in their attempts to contribute back to napari!
Reposted by Alister Burt
Happy Halloween from the napari team!
October 31, 2025 at 2:20 PM
Happy Halloween from the napari team!