Max Renner
banner
maxrenner.bsky.social
Max Renner
@maxrenner.bsky.social
PI at Umeå University and UCMR | Northern Sweden | Alum: @ox.ac.uk | Structural Virology | https://renner-lab.com/ | 🇸🇪 🦠🔬 🌱
Reposted by Max Renner
What do you think?

Real SDS-PAGE gel or AI-generated ?
November 26, 2025 at 7:47 AM
Reposted by Max Renner
It’s been a while since I put together the Structural Virology starter pack, and I’m sure some new folks have joined Bluesky since then. There’s still plenty of space to fill, so if you’d like to be added to the list just let me know.

#virology #cryoEM

go.bsky.app/Qxv95BL
November 25, 2025 at 9:46 AM
Reposted by Max Renner
Scientific journals: we don’t want you using generative AI because it makes shit up.

Same journal: here is an AI summary or evaluation of this paper. This might be more useful than the actual abstract or paper that the authors freaking wrote

Same journal: AI cover art which makes no sense? Oooh!
November 23, 2025 at 1:51 AM
Reposted by Max Renner
Our latest T7SS study is now out in Science Advances!
We solved the cryoEM structure of the T7SSb core unit (T7bCU) composed of YukB, YukC, and YukD from Bacillus subtilis, revealing how these components assemble within the secretion machinery.

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
A ubiquitin-like protein controls assembly of a bacterial type VIIb secretion system
Cryo-EM structure reveals how a ubiquitin-like protein orchestrates assembly of a bacterial weapon system.
www.science.org
November 21, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Reposted by Max Renner
Imagine we would have a pan-herpesvirus vaccine. How would it improve human health? Based on the last few years of data, I am thinking it would change a lot.
November 20, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Reposted by Max Renner
🧪For anyone interested in EBV in autoimmunity, I strongly urge you to read this incredible study by @shady-myounis.bsky.social, Bill Robinson, and @tobiaslanz.bsky.social. It is not only a scientific tour de force, it has a deeply provocative discussion that everyone in the field should consider 1/
November 19, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Reposted by Max Renner
Tired of knowing what you are looking for in your tomograms?
Why not try bluesky-less Frosina's new self-supervised algorithm for semantic segmentation and particle picking for #teamtomo (includes a new denoiser without the need for odd/even tomos)

Code is on GitHub if you want to try it out
November 19, 2025 at 2:04 PM
Reposted by Max Renner
This is misinformation by default, so if you're a journal and you use AI slop for your cover or your announcements, you're not scientific in any way and should be shamed mercilessly 🧪
AI slop gracing the cover of Royal Society B. Not only in AI yellow but scientifically nonsensical. Come on. I'm certain human photographs and artworks were ignored to platform ... this.
November 18, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Truer words have not been spoken
if microsoft just made outlook search not suck they'd see triple the productivity gains of any AI integration
November 14, 2025 at 7:34 AM
Reposted by Max Renner
We’re live!
The Department of Medical Biochemistry & Biophysics at @umeauniversitet.bsky.social explores life at the molecular level: infection and structural biology, gene expression, mitochondria, neurodegeneration & biophysics for climate change.
Follow for updates & collaboration!
#Biochemistry
November 13, 2025 at 9:59 AM
Reposted by Max Renner
Withdrawing life-saving aid from developing countries and then demanding economically favourable conditions for restoring it would be bad enough, but the conditions and the approach also directly undermine international co-operation against future pandemics in favour of short-term national gain
November 11, 2025 at 7:53 PM
Reposted by Max Renner
I am excited to share our new preprint on our structural and biochemical analyses of human methionine synthase (MTR). This was the hard work of Douglas Ferreira who carried out this research as a significant part of his PhD. #CryoEM www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Structural insights into cobalamin loading and reactivation of human methionine synthase
Human methionine synthase (MTR) is an essential enzyme of one carbon metabolism. Consisting of a catalytic N-half and a cobalamin binding C-half, MTR utilises this intricate organometallic cofactor in...
www.biorxiv.org
November 11, 2025 at 12:48 PM
Reposted by Max Renner
Some still praise James Watson despite his racism. Same with colleagues who won’t condemn Elon Musk’s politics, hiding behind “scientists shouldn’t mix science and politics.”
November 8, 2025 at 12:36 PM
Reposted by Max Renner
November 7th, 2000.
November 7, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Reposted by Max Renner
Very happy to share our work on the Langya henipavirus nucleoprotein with everyone! 🥳

Check out the preprint to find more about how a serendipitous finding led us to this amazing story!
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?

👇
November 3, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Reposted by Max Renner
Proud co-supervisor of Rupesh @rupeshjayachandran.bsky.social, who has done an amazing job with this story in less than two years in Max's lab!
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?

👇
November 3, 2025 at 2:42 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?

👇
November 3, 2025 at 12:26 PM
Reposted by Max Renner
Funders must recognise that great discoveries often come from studies that seeks to advance knowledge for its own sake

go.nature.com/3X5lbUg
From MRI to Ozempic: breakthroughs that show why fundamental research must be protected
Nature - In these financially straitened times, funders must recognize that great discoveries often arise from work that was looking for something completely different.
go.nature.com
November 1, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Reposted by Max Renner
This is it. Word slurry formed into answer-shaped chunks. This is what Sam Altman says is now smarter than we are.
Chatbots — LLMs — do not know facts and are not designed to be able to accurately answer factual questions. They are designed to find and mimic patterns of words, probabilistically. When they’re “right” it’s because correct things are often written down, so those patterns are frequent. That’s all.
October 27, 2025 at 7:25 PM
Reposted by Max Renner
One day, when this national nightmare is over and speaking up has no consequences, everyone will claim they were against this.
A Naperville man was hauled away by federal immigration agents Thursday morning as his two sons watched, the older boy begging them not to hurt his father and tearfully asking for a chance to speak to him before they left.
As his two sons watch and cry, ‘Pa, te amo,’ federal agents arrest man outside of Naperville apartments
A Naperville man was hauled away by federal immigration agents Thursday as his two sons cried and begged for him not to be hurt.
trib.al
October 26, 2025 at 8:34 AM
Reposted by Max Renner
warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fa...

I am advertising for a PhD position in my group. We'll be investigating how pathogenic RNA viruses replicate in the nucleus. The project will teach cryoEM/ET, virus culture, and in vitro assays.

If you're interested reach out and I'd be happy to have a chat.
Dr Jeremy Keown
Dr Jeremy Keown
warwick.ac.uk
October 24, 2025 at 7:58 AM
October 24, 2025 at 12:28 PM
Reposted by Max Renner
Thanks Petr for presenting this amazing work at cryoNET in Umeå! Congrats Moritz and all other authors!
Mysteries of trafficking of the vRNP segmented genome and assembly of influenza A virus revealed by in situ cryo-ET!
🔗 rdcu.be/eMmct
We are very excited that our paper is finally out!
🎉 Big congratulations to Moritz Wachsmuth-Melm and to everyone involved.
October 24, 2025 at 9:38 AM