Jamie Blaza

A small polymerase ribozyme that can synthesize itself and its complementary strand The emergence of a chemical system capable of self-replication and evolution is a critical event in the origin of life. RNA polymerase ribozymes can replicate RNA, but their large size and structural ...

How could a simple self-replicating system emerge at the origins of life? RNA polymerase ribozymes can replicate RNA, but existing ones are so large that their self-replication seems impossible. Could they be smaller?

Excited to share our latest work in @science.org on a new small polymerase.
1/n

Work by spearheaded by Mattia Bertinelli, @rupeshjayachandran.bsky.social, @jackwh18.bsky.social

I had exactly the same thought before seeing your comment! It reads as if straight out of LinkedIn

[PERF] Replace np.column_stack with np.vstack().T by crabby-rathbun · Pull Request #31132 · matplotlib/matplotlib This PR addresses issue #31130 by replacing specific safe occurrences of np.column_stack with np.vstack().T for better performance. IMPORTANT: This is a more targeted fix than originally proposed. ...

holy shit

PR from an ‘agent’ gets closed so it writes a blog post with a personal takedown

Some interesting comments from the maintainers too

Slop machine go brr, dead internet theory x1000

github.com/matplotlib/m...

How do diatom cells maintain a constant supply of carbon for photosynthesis? Our microelectrode measurements of the phycosphere around individual diatom cells show that diatoms can rapidly switch between distinct carbon acquisition pathways. @thembauk.bsky.social www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Long in the making, but happy to present the Chlamydomonas chlororibosome!
Cryo-ET🔬reveals a large new domain on the small subunit, built from multiple extensions in conserved ribosomal proteins.
bioRxiv 📖: shorturl.at/q44tG
This suggests greater chlororibosome diversity than expected!
1/n 🧵

Very happy to say that our work on how axonemes are generated is now available on bioRxiv: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... - if you’ve ever wondered how the incredibly beautiful, complex structures within motile #cilia are constructed then this is for you!

Cartoon representing the mycobacterial oxidative phosphorylation system, including cytochromes, NDH-2, and ATP synthase. Taken from Figure 1 of the article.

#Microbiology

The anti-tuberculosis drug bedaquiline targets the mycobacterial ATP synthase, but how that leads to bacterial death is unclear

Here the authors clarify how bedaquiline works

@jnblab.bsky.social @morwan.me
#TBSky #antibiotics #AMR

http://dlvr.it/TQjZ0W

The bureaucracy of science has grown so much, the system is collapsing upon itself:

Scientists have become administrators of grants rather than spending time on science.

Paid administrators are demanding even more administrative work from scientists.

Administrators are eating the science budget.

Exciting #postdoc opportunity in #biocatalysis and #oligonucleotide synthesis in my group at the University of York. Check out the details at jobs.york.ac.uk/vacancy/post...

Last date to apply is 8th March. Reach out to me if interested.

Bacteriocin biophysics: From protein-protein interaction models to navigators of the bacterial cell envelope Bacteriocins are toxins deployed by bacteria to kill their competitors. Here, I reflect on my laboratory’s work on protein bacteriocins and their immunity proteins from Gram-negative bacteria. We unco...

A gift of an article from the inimitable Colin Kleanthous as he says a moving farewell to his laboratory. A brave, unrepentant and scientifically brilliant journey is described - please have a read, friends.

www.jbc.org/article/S002...

Exactly this

How does molecular valency shape condensate assembly and function? We used the CO2-fixing organelle in algae—the pyrenoid—to find out… 🧵

Preprint here!:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

@cellarchlab.com @phaips.vd.st @biologyatyork.bsky.social
#Rubisco #PhaseSeparation #Condensates #Pyrenoid

Quick science policy thread 1

Changes in the governance of UK science since the mid 1980s make it extremely hard to be strategic (that was the point), in terms of both process (dropped) and capability (hollowed out).

Leaks everywhere and finally we get an official statement, one that somehow manages to say a lot while; No timelines. No clarity. No acknowledgement of impact on ECRs whose careers depend UKRI funding.

“Later this year” isn’t a plan. And the sector deserves better than reassurance without detail.

Some initial reactions to the 'published on a Sunday afternoon' letter from the CEO of UKRI. 🧵

www.ukri.org/news/open-le...

Open letter from Ian Chapman to research and innovation community UKRI Chief Executive outlines changes to UKRI investment approach, addressing concerns about research funding and the financial position of STFC.

Hot off the press - a letter from the Exec Chair of @ukri.org explaining his plans and in particular the financial position of STFC. It notes curiosity driven research is protected and will make up around half of UKRI spend over the coming period
www.ukri.org/news/open-le...

Ligand occupancy in crystal structure of β1-adrenergic G protein–coupled receptor - Nature Structural & Molecular Biology Nature Structural & Molecular Biology - Ligand occupancy in crystal structure of β1-adrenergic G protein–coupled receptor

It's those (supposed to be)'s that worry me! This is my favorite example in MX of where things can go wrong

www.nature.com/articles/nsm...

If you've worked hard to get a great map then show it!

Interestingly when I reviewed a crystallographic paper I said exactly this and was told it was not the 'norm' but they did do it and the electron density was good. Maybe with historically higher resolution it was needed less in MX but it can't hurt

No comment on what I would do if I left the UK

I mean surely aren't you free of this now????

Cryo-electron tomography reveals coupled flavivirus replication, budding and maturation - Nature Communications In this study, Dahmane et al use a method called cryo-electron tomography to uncover new details of how tick-borne flaviviruses transform cells into virus factories.

I am super happy to share this paper in its final form. We used FIB milling to "dig in to" cell lines and mouse brains infected with tick-borne flaviviruses, followed by cryo-ET to study the virus replication. It's open access, so have a look!
#virology #teamtomo
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Characterising antibacterial toxins in the food-borne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes at Newcastle University on FindAPhD.com PhD Project - Characterising antibacterial toxins in the food-borne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes at Newcastle University, listed on FindAPhD.com

www.findaphd.com/phds/project... interested in bacterial antagonism? PhD opportunity in our team, see below. Please repost!

Lonsdale's notebooks, showing incredibly neat and consistent handwriting

Lonsdale's notebooks, showing incredibly neat and consistent handwriting

We couldn't let World Handwriting Day go by without sharing Kathleen Lonsdale's penmanship ✍️

Lonsdale conducted pioneering research in X-ray crystallography and worked at the Ri. In 1929, she proved that the structure of benzene was flat—the chemical was also discovered here, by Michael Faraday.

THE NEXT INSTALLMENT OF BIOLOGY OF MYOCBACTERIA GRC WILL BE IN 2028, NOT 2027. Exact date and location TBD. Sorry about the long wait, but we think it is better long term. PLEASE repost/tell your friends!

The impact of phenotypic heterogeneity on fungal pathogenicity and drug resistance This review discusses the contribution of phenotypic heterogeneity in fungi to pathogenesis and antifungal drug resistance.

🦠

The impact of phenotypic heterogeneity on fungal pathogenicity and drug resistance

#fungi #mycology #DrugResistance #pathogens

academic.oup.com/femsre/artic...

Photograph from 1911 taken by Herbert Ponting whilst with Scott's Antarctic Expedition The monochrome photo is taken from within a cave. The walls of the cave are made of ice. The cave entrance is in the mid distance with two figures standing looking out towards a distant ship. Between them and the ship there is first a 'beach' of ice before the sea itself. The ship could be up to 800 metres away What makes the photo so special is that where the figures are at the cave entrance there is a band of very white snow and ice (contrasting with the comparatively dark inside of the cave) that creates a stark framework in which the men and the ship are captured. It is made even more dramatic by the fact that the cave entrance is at least 30 metres high and is in the shape of a distorted elipse with the tail sloping off to the right at the top of the elipse The photo being in monochrome in a largely white environment makes the photographers skill all the more laudable

This photo was taken in 1911 using glass plate technology by Herbert Ponting who was part of Scott's Antarctic expedition,

The composition and detail are exquisite with the band of white snow/ice creating a perfect frame around the two people and the ship in the distance

Iconic imo

Every time people focus on resolution as a competitive number rather than what biochemical detailed is revealed at that resolution is being sent this little guy

Our work on the mechanism of bedaquiline is now published. Nat Comms has open peer review so anyone can see the critical but constructive and supportive peer review we received. Thanks again to @morwan.me on BlueSky, and Suzy, Rowan, Greg, Chen-Li, and Roger who aren't. Original thread below