Morwan Osman
@morwan.me
Mycobacteriologist and Postdoctoral Fellow in the York Bioenergetics Lab, University Of York (@jnb-lab.bsky.social).
Formerly: @pembroke1347.bsky.social & @mrclmb.bsky.social. @mcbseattle.bsky.social PhD.
Formerly: @pembroke1347.bsky.social & @mrclmb.bsky.social. @mcbseattle.bsky.social PhD.
Pinned
Morwan Osman
@morwan.me
· Dec 6
Finally we are able to share our story on the molecular mechanism of the transformative anti-tuberculosis drug bedaquiline within living cells
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
A (hopefully) broadly-accessible tutorial below ⬇️ (it ended up being really long!)
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
A (hopefully) broadly-accessible tutorial below ⬇️ (it ended up being really long!)
bioRxiv Manuscript Processing System
Manuscript Processing System for bioRxiv.
submit.biorxiv.org
Our first TB preprint with @jnb-lab.bsky.social is out! Using spectroscopic techniques from our lab, we resolve the exact mode of action of everyone's favourite TB drug, bedaquiline. I'd like to add a few comments about the microbiology part of the picture! #TBsky #MicroSky (1/7)
Reposted by Morwan Osman
Now properly published at @natcomms.nature.com with few additional experiments incl. demonstration of Daptomycin's ability to depolarise non-growing cells.
See the original preprint-thread for a summary of our findings.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#microsky
See the original preprint-thread for a summary of our findings.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#microsky
November 24, 2025 at 8:20 PM
Now properly published at @natcomms.nature.com with few additional experiments incl. demonstration of Daptomycin's ability to depolarise non-growing cells.
See the original preprint-thread for a summary of our findings.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#microsky
See the original preprint-thread for a summary of our findings.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#microsky
Reposted by Morwan Osman
Are you looking for female speakers in CryoEM for seminars and conferences? Are you a woman in CryoEM and not yet on the ‚woman in CryoEM‘ list? Find your speakers and add/update name and affiliation! docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
November 18, 2025 at 10:18 AM
Are you looking for female speakers in CryoEM for seminars and conferences? Are you a woman in CryoEM and not yet on the ‚woman in CryoEM‘ list? Find your speakers and add/update name and affiliation! docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
Reposted by Morwan Osman
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 Morwan Osman
The diderm cell envelope is not a stack of layers but a unified scaffold of Inner Membrane–Peptidoglycan–Outer Membrane.
We discuss how tethering the OM to the PG in E. coli preserves integrity — and extend the concept across diderm bacteria.
Curr Opin Microbiol: doi.org/10.1016/j.mi...
#microsky 🔬
We discuss how tethering the OM to the PG in E. coli preserves integrity — and extend the concept across diderm bacteria.
Curr Opin Microbiol: doi.org/10.1016/j.mi...
#microsky 🔬
Redirecting
doi.org
November 13, 2025 at 12:17 PM
The diderm cell envelope is not a stack of layers but a unified scaffold of Inner Membrane–Peptidoglycan–Outer Membrane.
We discuss how tethering the OM to the PG in E. coli preserves integrity — and extend the concept across diderm bacteria.
Curr Opin Microbiol: doi.org/10.1016/j.mi...
#microsky 🔬
We discuss how tethering the OM to the PG in E. coli preserves integrity — and extend the concept across diderm bacteria.
Curr Opin Microbiol: doi.org/10.1016/j.mi...
#microsky 🔬
Reposted by Morwan Osman
Assembly, architecture and functional roles of microbial surface layers www.nature.com/articles/s41... #jcampubs
Assembly, architecture and functional roles of microbial surface layers - Nature Reviews Microbiology
Surface layers (S-layers) are ubiquitous protein assemblies that coat prokaryotic cells, with their functional roles increasingly coming into focus. In this Review, Isbilir and colleagues discuss rece...
www.nature.com
November 13, 2025 at 7:44 PM
Assembly, architecture and functional roles of microbial surface layers www.nature.com/articles/s41... #jcampubs
Reposted by Morwan Osman
The panic that kicks in at 2pm every day when I realize it gets dark in two hours
November 12, 2025 at 10:07 PM
The panic that kicks in at 2pm every day when I realize it gets dark in two hours
Reposted by Morwan Osman
I presented our preclinical work on the BNT164 #Tuberculosis candidates. This work is now also available as a preprint!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
mRNA-based tuberculosis vaccines BNT164a1 and BNT164b1 are immunogenic, well-tolerated and efficacious in rodent models
We designed and preclinically tested two mRNA-LNP-based vaccine candidates to protect against tuberculosis (TB). BNT164a1 and BNT164b1 encode the same eight Mycobacterium tuberculosis ( Mtb ) antigens...
www.biorxiv.org
November 12, 2025 at 12:54 PM
I presented our preclinical work on the BNT164 #Tuberculosis candidates. This work is now also available as a preprint!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Morwan Osman
It’s 12 November, so it’s time to mark the 55th anniversary of the exploding whale of Oregon, an attempt to clear a cetacean carcass from a beach which prompted one reporter to say “The blast blasted blubber beyond all believable bounds”
November 12, 2025 at 9:58 AM
It’s 12 November, so it’s time to mark the 55th anniversary of the exploding whale of Oregon, an attempt to clear a cetacean carcass from a beach which prompted one reporter to say “The blast blasted blubber beyond all believable bounds”
Reposted by Morwan Osman
Exciting news! I have two positions open in my lab at the UoManchester: one PDRA and one Research Tech.
Join our team to study evolutionary mycology and help us understand antifungal resistance in fungal pathogens. A fantastic opportunity to join the brilliant Manchester Fungal Infection Group!
Join our team to study evolutionary mycology and help us understand antifungal resistance in fungal pathogens. A fantastic opportunity to join the brilliant Manchester Fungal Infection Group!
November 5, 2025 at 3:35 PM
Exciting news! I have two positions open in my lab at the UoManchester: one PDRA and one Research Tech.
Join our team to study evolutionary mycology and help us understand antifungal resistance in fungal pathogens. A fantastic opportunity to join the brilliant Manchester Fungal Infection Group!
Join our team to study evolutionary mycology and help us understand antifungal resistance in fungal pathogens. A fantastic opportunity to join the brilliant Manchester Fungal Infection Group!
Reposted by Morwan Osman
Considering the LMB for your PhD?
We’ve got over 25 projects available, covering a wide array of topics. Check them out here: www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/students/int...
Apply by 2nd DEC for Autumn 2026 admission.
We’ve got over 25 projects available, covering a wide array of topics. Check them out here: www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/students/int...
Apply by 2nd DEC for Autumn 2026 admission.
November 10, 2025 at 2:03 PM
Considering the LMB for your PhD?
We’ve got over 25 projects available, covering a wide array of topics. Check them out here: www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/students/int...
Apply by 2nd DEC for Autumn 2026 admission.
We’ve got over 25 projects available, covering a wide array of topics. Check them out here: www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/students/int...
Apply by 2nd DEC for Autumn 2026 admission.
Reposted by Morwan Osman
📢 Interested in #chromosomes 🧬 & #archaea thriving at the edge of life? PhD project in York,UK on how archaea pass on their genome to daughter cells.Friendly supervisors: me, @steve-quinn-lab.bsky.social & @georgerheath.bsky.social
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
📅 January 7, 2026
Please RP🙏thx!
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
📅 January 7, 2026
Please RP🙏thx!
November 9, 2025 at 5:20 PM
📢 Interested in #chromosomes 🧬 & #archaea thriving at the edge of life? PhD project in York,UK on how archaea pass on their genome to daughter cells.Friendly supervisors: me, @steve-quinn-lab.bsky.social & @georgerheath.bsky.social
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
📅 January 7, 2026
Please RP🙏thx!
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
📅 January 7, 2026
Please RP🙏thx!
Reposted by Morwan Osman
A great collaboration with Jukka Corander and colleagues, to define the population structure of this important global pathogen
A first step towards identifying candidate antigens for new improved vaccines...
@tropicalmedicine.ox.ac.uk @wellcometrust.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A first step towards identifying candidate antigens for new improved vaccines...
@tropicalmedicine.ox.ac.uk @wellcometrust.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Genetic population structure of Haemophilus influenzae at local and global scales - Nature Microbiology
Large-scale sequencing and population genomic analyses reveal frequent transmission, a highly admixed global population structure and evidence of pervasive negative selection in Haemophilus influenzae...
www.nature.com
November 1, 2025 at 10:16 AM
A great collaboration with Jukka Corander and colleagues, to define the population structure of this important global pathogen
A first step towards identifying candidate antigens for new improved vaccines...
@tropicalmedicine.ox.ac.uk @wellcometrust.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A first step towards identifying candidate antigens for new improved vaccines...
@tropicalmedicine.ox.ac.uk @wellcometrust.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Morwan Osman
Reposted by Morwan Osman
Looking for an AMR-themed PhD project? Join us to investigate antibiotic tolerance in Staphylococcus aureus through a fully funded MRC DTP PhD studentship starting in September 2026.
This project is close collaboration with @kateduncan.bsky.social and @mycobacterium-ncl.bsky.social.
This project is close collaboration with @kateduncan.bsky.social and @mycobacterium-ncl.bsky.social.
MRC DiMeN Doctoral Training Partnership: Resensitisation of antibiotic-tolerant Staphylococcus aureus small colony variants at Newcastle University on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - MRC DiMeN Doctoral Training Partnership: Resensitisation of antibiotic-tolerant Staphylococcus aureus small colony variants at Newcastle University, listed on FindAPhD.com
www.findaphd.com
November 1, 2025 at 11:11 AM
Looking for an AMR-themed PhD project? Join us to investigate antibiotic tolerance in Staphylococcus aureus through a fully funded MRC DTP PhD studentship starting in September 2026.
This project is close collaboration with @kateduncan.bsky.social and @mycobacterium-ncl.bsky.social.
This project is close collaboration with @kateduncan.bsky.social and @mycobacterium-ncl.bsky.social.
Reposted by Morwan Osman
🔬Want to develop a blood test for dementia? A fully funded PhD position is available in our lab to probe and detect single molecules! Join our team @york.ac.uk
! Find out more & apply by 4th Dec:
tinyurl.com/yt36p9tx
@ybri-uoy.bsky.social @ei-science.bsky.social @timcraggs.bsky.social
! Find out more & apply by 4th Dec:
tinyurl.com/yt36p9tx
@ybri-uoy.bsky.social @ei-science.bsky.social @timcraggs.bsky.social
October 31, 2025 at 4:14 PM
🔬Want to develop a blood test for dementia? A fully funded PhD position is available in our lab to probe and detect single molecules! Join our team @york.ac.uk
! Find out more & apply by 4th Dec:
tinyurl.com/yt36p9tx
@ybri-uoy.bsky.social @ei-science.bsky.social @timcraggs.bsky.social
! Find out more & apply by 4th Dec:
tinyurl.com/yt36p9tx
@ybri-uoy.bsky.social @ei-science.bsky.social @timcraggs.bsky.social
Reposted by Morwan Osman
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Read it if you dare. Happy Halloween
Read it if you dare. Happy Halloween
VadK, a Non-Canonical Kinase that Regulates the Methylcitrate Cycle and is Essential for Mycobacterium tuberculosis Virulence
The evolution of new enzymatic functions is constrained and guided by the architecture of an organisms metabolic and regulatory networks as well as by environmental constraints. Here, we identify a pr...
www.biorxiv.org
October 31, 2025 at 5:05 PM
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Read it if you dare. Happy Halloween
Read it if you dare. Happy Halloween
Reposted by Morwan Osman
🔊 Applications for the tenure-track illuminate global challenge fellowships at Queen’s are now open!
Comes with 5 years protected research time, a PhD studentship, & 60k start-up. I had one of these before getting my FLF, happy to chat to anyone interested!
www.qub.ac.uk/Research/fel...
Comes with 5 years protected research time, a PhD studentship, & 60k start-up. I had one of these before getting my FLF, happy to chat to anyone interested!
www.qub.ac.uk/Research/fel...
Our Illuminate Global Challenges Fellowships | Research | Queen's University Belfast
www.qub.ac.uk
October 30, 2025 at 12:19 PM
🔊 Applications for the tenure-track illuminate global challenge fellowships at Queen’s are now open!
Comes with 5 years protected research time, a PhD studentship, & 60k start-up. I had one of these before getting my FLF, happy to chat to anyone interested!
www.qub.ac.uk/Research/fel...
Comes with 5 years protected research time, a PhD studentship, & 60k start-up. I had one of these before getting my FLF, happy to chat to anyone interested!
www.qub.ac.uk/Research/fel...
Reposted by Morwan Osman
October 30, 2025 at 2:46 AM
Reposted by Morwan Osman
In which we all learn the phrase “ballistic microscopy”:
Blasting Through Cells
www.science.org
October 29, 2025 at 4:48 PM
In which we all learn the phrase “ballistic microscopy”:
Reposted by Morwan Osman
🎥🎞️🇿🇦(2023) The short documentary explores stories of individuals & families affected by #Tuberculosis spotlighting battles not just against the physical difficulties of diseases but also the societal judgment that accompanies it. Stigma, born of misinformation and fear, hinders early Dx & Rx.
I Survived - A Film About Stigma and TB
YouTube video by Eh!woza
www.youtube.com
October 17, 2025 at 5:08 PM
🎥🎞️🇿🇦(2023) The short documentary explores stories of individuals & families affected by #Tuberculosis spotlighting battles not just against the physical difficulties of diseases but also the societal judgment that accompanies it. Stigma, born of misinformation and fear, hinders early Dx & Rx.
Reposted by Morwan Osman
Have you ever looked at the night sky and wondered if there’s a chlorophyll f in the reaction centre of Photosystem I from far-red light adapted cyanobacteria? 🦠
Well, we did (don’t judge) and the work that followed is now out as a First Release in @science.org
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Well, we did (don’t judge) and the work that followed is now out as a First Release in @science.org
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Locating the missing chlorophylls f in far-red photosystem I
The discovery of chlorophyll f-containing photosystems, with their long-wavelength photochemistry, represented a distinct, low-energy paradigm for oxygenic photosynthesis. Structural studies on chloro...
www.science.org
October 11, 2025 at 10:37 AM
Have you ever looked at the night sky and wondered if there’s a chlorophyll f in the reaction centre of Photosystem I from far-red light adapted cyanobacteria? 🦠
Well, we did (don’t judge) and the work that followed is now out as a First Release in @science.org
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Well, we did (don’t judge) and the work that followed is now out as a First Release in @science.org
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Morwan Osman
Our collaborative work with W Im lab is now published as V1 in @elife.bsky.social alongside with reviewers comments.
We will update this version to answer to reviewers comment but we believe that this version is already a good start to understand mycomembrane structure!
doi.org/10.7554/eLif...
We will update this version to answer to reviewers comment but we believe that this version is already a good start to understand mycomembrane structure!
doi.org/10.7554/eLif...
Dynamic Architecture of Mycobacterial Outer Membranes Revealed by All-Atom Simulations
doi.org
October 11, 2025 at 7:43 AM
Our collaborative work with W Im lab is now published as V1 in @elife.bsky.social alongside with reviewers comments.
We will update this version to answer to reviewers comment but we believe that this version is already a good start to understand mycomembrane structure!
doi.org/10.7554/eLif...
We will update this version to answer to reviewers comment but we believe that this version is already a good start to understand mycomembrane structure!
doi.org/10.7554/eLif...
Reposted by Morwan Osman
This is amazing. I laughed out loud www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
![As 32-year-old Rich points out, though, "it's not like using ChatGPT guarantees success".
When he met someone in a bar one Friday night and swapped social media handles, he asked AI what his next move should be.
ChatGPT discerned that sending an initial message on Monday midmorning would set the right pace. "Then it gave me some options for what the message could be," says Rich.
"Keep it light, warm, and low-stakes so it reads as genuine interest without urgency," the bot advised. "Something like: Hey Sarah, still laughing about [tiny shared moment/reference if you've got one] - good to meet you!" Rich went back and forth with ChatGPT until he felt they'd hit upon exactly the right message ("Hey Sarah, it was lovely to meet you") but sadly she never replied, he says. "It's been two weeks now."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ugcmot4f3ool6cottht63wx4/bafkreierpoqvjgg5hqx3zhtlfmvrfq3vaakb3h5wppcdzrvs5jh3zr7ce4@jpeg)
October 12, 2025 at 7:57 AM
This is amazing. I laughed out loud www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
Reposted by Morwan Osman
A cGAS-mediated mechanism in naked mole-rats potentiates DNA repair and delays aging
Naked mole rats get much older than closely related mamals of a similar size. cGAS mutations may have an important role in this.
www.science.org/doi/...
1/9
Naked mole rats get much older than closely related mamals of a similar size. cGAS mutations may have an important role in this.
www.science.org/doi/...
1/9
A cGAS-mediated mechanism in naked mole-rats potentiates DNA repair and delays aging
Efficient DNA repair might make possible the longevity of naked mole-rats. However, whether they have distinctive mechanisms to optimize functions of DNA repair suppressors is unclear. We find that naked mole-rat cyclic guanosine monophosphate–adenosine ...
www.science.org
October 9, 2025 at 9:31 PM
A cGAS-mediated mechanism in naked mole-rats potentiates DNA repair and delays aging
Naked mole rats get much older than closely related mamals of a similar size. cGAS mutations may have an important role in this.
www.science.org/doi/...
1/9
Naked mole rats get much older than closely related mamals of a similar size. cGAS mutations may have an important role in this.
www.science.org/doi/...
1/9
Reposted by Morwan Osman
A small primer on the #NobelPrize awarded to Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi today. This prize was for combining two separate fields of immunology research - genetic research on IPEX and immunology research of regulatory T cells (#Tregs), with enormous impact on biology/medicine
October 6, 2025 at 11:21 AM
A small primer on the #NobelPrize awarded to Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi today. This prize was for combining two separate fields of immunology research - genetic research on IPEX and immunology research of regulatory T cells (#Tregs), with enormous impact on biology/medicine