Höfer Lab

Applications are now open! We are recruiting 20 Assistant Professors in a wide range of subject areas. We're looking for early-career researchers with strong scientific merits and future potential.
🔗 All positions: ki.se/en/about-ki/...

Excited about #ubiquitin and #TPD ?
Then join us tomorrow for the latest instalment of the @danafarber.bsky.social ‬ Targeted Protein Degradation Webinar where Kimberly Stegmaier and I will present our latest work.
dfci.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Happy to announce the first paper from my PhD at Korbel group at @embl.org has finally been published:
embopress.org/doi/full/10.1038…
Collaborating with @typaslab.bsky.social, @hennig-lab.bsky.social and the EMBL PEPCF, we designed de novo inhibitors to a bacterial phage defense system 1/🧵

Presenting RISoTTo, a molecular context-aware model for RNA sequence design, building on our work with PeSTo (for protein binding interface prediction) and CARBonAra (for protein design).

📄 Preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
💻 Code & more coming soon!

#RNAdesign #RNAbiology #AI4Science

#phage #phagesky

🔛LOEWE-RobuCop ist online, auch bei proloewe.de !🎯 Ziel von RobuCop @unimarburg.bsky.social ist es, die natürlich Mecha­nis­men d. CO2-Fixierung, Stressantwort-+Resilienz-Mechanismen im Chloro­plasten grundleg. zu🔬untersuchen, um robuste Photo­synthese zu ermöglichen.
➡️ proloewe.de/de/loewe-vor...

Picture of a lot of us nucleic acid chemists in cesky krumlov

What do you call a group of nucleic acid chemists?

Suggestions welcome 🧬❤️

#SCNAC2025
@cjserpell.bsky.social @hoeferlab.bsky.social @boekhovenlab.bsky.social @rentmeisterlab.bsky.social @kgoepfrich.bsky.social @chlab.bsky.social

Michal Hocek telling us a (very big) sword will be used if we go over time on our talks...

The #SCNAC2025 nucleic acid chemistry conference starting off in Czech-style by @hoceklab.bsky.social 🧬🗡

RNA Canada ARN 2025: Design Contest! - RNA Canada ARN Attention RNA Artists! We have exciting news for the RNA Canada! The Outreach Committee is hosting a design contest for RNA-themed merchandise, which will be showcased at future RNA Canada ARN meeting...

Attention RNA Artists! That includes *you*!
The RNA Canada ARN Outreach Committee is hosting a design contest for RNA-themed merchandise, which will be showcased at future RNA Canada ARN meetings and sold in the RNA Canada ARN online store. Deadline June 30th
www.rnacanada.ca/rna-canada-a...

Cancer-fighting immune cells could soon be engineered inside our bodies Nature - Manufacturing CAR T cells in the laboratory is expensive and time-consuming. An in vivo approach could get the powerful therapy to more people.

Manufacturing CAR T cells in the laboratory is expensive and time-consuming.

An in vivo approach could get this powerful therapy to more people
https://go.nature.com/45w5A5w

YES!!!Excellent initiative #Microbes-for-Climate #M4C🦠FUNDED💲💰☺️🤩
The best?🤔The people❤️
Endless gratitude to Tobi & Anke - amazing role models❤️ Love the "thanks BBQ no matter what" spirit from the "Präsidium"! @unimarburg.bsky.social - sure it tasted better as we got it😉😂 #ProfLife #LovelyMarburg🏰❤️

Gruppenbild aus der Exzellenzkommission: GWK-Vorsitzender Falko Mohrs, Bundesforschungsministerin Dorothee Bär, DFG-Präsidentin Katja Becker, Wissenschaftsratsvorsitzender Wolfgang Wick.

Blick in die Exzellenzkommission.

Wir starten in den Auswahltag der #Exzellenzcluster. Heute kommt das Expertengremium u. die für Wissenschaft und Forschung zuständigen Minister*innen von Bund und Ländern zusammen. Ab ca. 17 Uhr geben GWK-Vorsitzender Falko Mohrs u. Forschungsministerin Dorothee Bär die Ergebnisse bekannt.

What a lovely time at @synmikro.bsky.social!

PIs, PhD students, PostDocs and associated members of RobuCop met at the kick off meeting to share ideas, discuss projects and connect with each other🌱🫰
Can't wait for our next meeting!

Thank you @ramona-zuelch.bsky.social for the picture.

A new preprint from the lab in collaboration with Feng Jiang.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
This is a thread for you if you're interested in secretion systems, phages, and evolution.

The extracellular contractile injection system (eCIS) is a mysterious microbial toxin delivery system.

Excited to announce the Molecular Biology of Archaea (MBoA) 2026!

Join us in Cambridge, UK, from 6–10 July 2026 for the only international meeting dedicated to Archaea.

Registration is open, look forward to seeing you!
microbialrnameeting.com

What does it mean to be a woman in science 👩‍🔬?
It’s up to you: Join the 9th Women’s Careers and Networks symposium on June 4 and 5 on our Fassberg Campus to explore career opportunities and engage with experts and peers.

Learn more about #WoCaNet2025 here 👉 uni-goettingen.de/de/203891.html

A mathematical model of phage infection allows the extraction of key phage amplification parameters (PHORCE). Top and middle: E. coli growth curves measured by bioluminescence in the presence of the phage Bas04 at all combinations of eight different initial bacterial concentrations (1.1 × 104–1.4 × 106 mL−1, orange to blue) and 10 different initial phage concentrations (2.5 × 103–1.3 × 106 mL−1, light to dark). Bottom left: Schematic of minimal model of phage amplification. Bottom right: Comparison of observed collapse times and collapse times from the model.

PHORCE allows measurement of lytic #phage amplification rates in bacterial populations. @yuvalmulla.bsky.social & co use PHORCE to reveal phenotypic diversity among #Ecoli & #Paeruginosa phages; phage- #antibiotic interactions are mainly determined by the drug @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/3G2myhf

Transcriptomic profiling of individual bacteria by MATQ-seq - Nature Protocols Bacterial single-cell sequencing via MATQ-seq combines index sorting, random priming and rRNA depletion, and offers high cell retention and transcript capture rates, making it ideal for experiments wi...

If you want to do single-cell RNA-seq on your favourite bacterium, here‘s our detailed Nature Protocol for microbial MATQ-seq. It profiles up to 600 genes in a single bacterial cell!

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

And here it is, the completed BASEL collection finally published as early access in @plosbiology.org - see the thread for more details. 🤗🧬🎣

Unser #GirlsDay am MPI-TM war ein unvergesslicher Tag! Wir haben tolle Mädchen kennengelernt, die sich für #Mikrobenforschung begeistern. Vielen Dank an unsere Gäste: Wir freuen uns auf Euch als zukünftige Forscherinnen! #GirlsDay #GirlsInScience #GirlsRockScience

A broad-spectrum lasso peptide antibiotic targeting the bacterial ribosome - Nature A new lasso peptide antibiotic exhibits broad-spectrum activity against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria by interfering with bacterial protein synthesis, is unaffected by common resistanc...

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

Excited to host 900 microbiologists in Bochum

Preview of ‪@jasonzxzhang.bsky.social‬ and David Baker et al: Targeting biomolecular condensates: The rise of engineered chaperones by @ybushman.bsky.social, Duhita A. Mirikar, and Andrew Truman at UNC Charlotte http://dlvr.it/TJfH2h

At LOEWE-Tree-M,👩🏽‍🔬👨🏻‍🔬scientists are studying the relationship between the #environment + #bacterial leaf #microbiome of #oaks.🌳The aim is to🔬analyze composition + activities to understand the influence on the leaf as habitat + food source. The knowledge gained will be used to strengthen the #forests.

Genetic encoding and expression of RNA origami cytoskeletons in synthetic cells - Nature Nanotechnology This study introduces RNA origami nanotubes as self-assembling cytoskeleton mimics for synthetic cells. Expressed in vesicles from DNA templates, these RNA structures reach micrometre lengths, deform ...

In the latest from @kgoepfrich.bsky.social’s group, led by the relentless @tranmai.bsky.social, we expressed RNA origami “cytoskeletons” in vesicles! We were fascinated that small changes in design led to divergent results. Future potential for directed evolution?! 🧬🧪
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

@science.org Cryo-EM reveals mechanisms of natural RNA multivalency | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
#RNAsky #RNAbiology #Cryo-EM

Huge congratulations to our #Phagebuster Nadiia for winning this year's #MarBinaMarburg Prize for Biotechnology and Nanotechnology! We are so entirely proud! Her work was also part of the @dfg.de funded SPP 2330 programm @spp2330.bsky.social @pozhydaieva.bsky.social #proudPI

Unexpected Richness of the Bacterial Small RNA World I stumbled onto a small RNA (sRNA) induced by oxidative stress when I did the “wrong” northern blot experiment as a second-year graduate student. I wa…

Susan Gottesman and Gisela Storz, pioneers in regulatory RNA research, reflect on their personal scientific journeys and the evolution of their groundbreaking group research in two compelling articles.

Gigi:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Susan:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

#RNA