Erin E. Cutts

🧪🧬New preprint We present cryo-EM structures of reconstituted CTCF–nucleosome complexes, showing CTCF dimerization drives nucleosome oligomerization into defined higher-order assemblies. Disrupting CTCF–CTCF interfaces in mESCs reduces looping and impairs differentiation. tinyurl.com/CTCF-nucleos...

Structural basis for CTCF-mediated chromatin organization https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.02.06.704447v1

How is Condensin II activated during mitosis? 🧬

@damlatetiker.bsky.social Samejima et al. uncover how Condensin II autoinhibition is relieved by the mitotic activator M18BP1, and reveal that M18BP1 also forms a composite DNA anchor with the NCAPG2–NCAPH2 subcomplex to stabilize DNA loops in vitro.

Thanks to all involved in the super exciting work! Happy reading! And happy to answer any questions!

Furthermore, we show a new role for M18BP1 as a condensin II loop stabiliser! Condensin II alone has a short loop lifetime, but when bound by M18BP1, loops are super stable. This is due to a basic region of M18BP1 contributing to DNA binding and loop anchoring!

And it is phosphorylated M18BP1 that competes with the NCAPD3 tail for NCAPG2 binding which enables complex activity. If you mutate the competing region of M18BP1, it no longer activates condensin II looping!

A combination of AlphaFold and brilliant cryo-EM demonstrated that the NCAPD3 C-terminal tail contacts both NCAPG2 and H2 subunits, and loss of these interactions enhances condensin II activity in vitro and in vivo.

And second, a role for the NCAPD3 disordered C-terminal tail in auto-inhibition. But how do these fit together?
doi.org/10.7554/eLif...

A quick summary: Condensin II is always localised to the nucleus, so what ensures it’s only active in mitosis? There have been two clues to understanding this. First, the discovery of M18bp1 as a key determinant of activity:
doi.org/10.1016/j.mo...

Our work was co-submitted with a complementary story from @alessandrovannini.bsky.social and @aleborsellini.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

I’m very pleased to share our work looking at what controls condensin II cell-cycle dependant activity; a great collaboration with @eugenekimlab.bsky.social, @damlatetiker.bsky.social, Kyle Muir and Kumiko Samejima
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Visual advertisement providing details for the 2026 Single Molecule Approaches to Biology GRS in Les Diablerets, Switzerland in June 27-28, 2026. Two-day event for early-career single-molecule biophysicists, with a keynote session, 12 selected talks, 2 poster sessions, and mentorship component. For more information contact Alba or Quentin or see the official GRS website.

🔬 Calling all early-career researchers (ECRs) for the GRS Single Molecule Approaches to Biology!

🌎 Location: Les Diablerets, Switzerland

📆 Save the date: June 27-28, 2026

🔗 More information: www.grc.org/single-molec...

#biology #biophysics #single-molecule #microscopy #ECR

Identifying how chemicals shape microbial diversity through high-throughput ecological screens at University of Sheffield on FindAPhD.com PhD Project - Identifying how chemicals shape microbial diversity through high-throughput ecological screens at University of Sheffield, listed on FindAPhD.com

Do you have an interest in quantitative microbiology and interdisciplinary research? I'm recruiting a UK PhD student to develop high-throughput ecological screens to help us understand how chemical inputs impact microbial ecosystems: www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

Organization of replicated chromosomes by DNA loops and sister chromatid cohesion Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology, Published online: 02 January 2026; doi:10.1038/s41580-025-00933-1Cohesin complexes regulate genome architecture through DNA loop extrusion and sister chromatid cohesion. The Review discusses how these two cohesin activities mediate the organization of replicated chromosomes and their segregation in mitosis and meiosis, DNA break repair, and age-related aneuploidy in oocytes.

New Online! Organization of replicated chromosomes by DNA loops and sister chromatid cohesion

Postdocs at Center for Gene Expression in Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine - Copenhagen, Hovedstaden (DK) job with University of Copenhagen | 12849488 We are looking for 2 or more highly motivated postdocs interested in ribosome biology, 3D chromatin organisation, or regulation of protein turnove...

We are looking for a Postdoc at the Center for Gene Expression in Copenhagen. Deadline for applications is the 11th of January. If you are interested in 3D chromatin, SMC complexes, and super-resolution microscopy, join us. www.nature.com/naturecareer...

How DNA secondary structures drive replication fork instability DNA secondary structures, such as hairpins, cruciforms, triplexes, G-quadruplexes and iMotifs, are common, dynamic features that replication forks rou…

Read our latest work - a comprehensive review on how DNA secondary structures affect replication.

Very proud of Adi, Maria and Billie for their monumental effort. They've covered a large body of literature while proposing updated models.

Open Access in DNA Repair:
doi.org/10.1016/j.dn...

Only a few days left to apply for this PhD opportunity in my lab! More details and how to apply at: www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

Stocked up on water proof on the weekend in preparation for ours

On the role of phase separation in the biogenesis of membraneless compartments | The EMBO Journal EMBO Press is an editorially independent publishing platform for the development of EMBO scientific publications.

This alternative view of “condensate” biogenesis is compatible with everything that LLPS claims for itself, including the apparent liquid-like behavior that people a bit ignorant of dynamics find so exciting. I explained this here

www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....

We are recruiting a postdoctoral fellow to study mechanisms of DNA replication stress using single-molecule imaging tools. If you are excited about microscopy, replisome dynamics, and genome stability, we’d love to hear from you.

Application deadline: 24 December

www.crick.ac.uk/careers-stud...

The case of the disappearing teaspoons: longitudinal cohort study of the displacement of teaspoons in an Australian research institute Objectives To determine the overall rate of loss of workplace teaspoons and whether attrition and displacement are correlated with the relative value of the teaspoons or type of tearoom. Design Longitudinal cohort study. Setting Research institute ...

70 teaspoons placed in tearooms around the institute & observed weekly over 5 months. 80% of spoons disappeared; spoon halflife~81 days. Communal room halflife lower than in specific labs. 250 spoons annually required to maintain 70 spoon population.

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...

Biomolecular condensates: organizers of cellular biochemistry - Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology In addition to membrane-bound organelles, eukaryotic cells feature various membraneless compartments, including the centrosome, the nucleolus and various granules. Many of these compartments form thro...

The review by Banani, Lee, Hyman & Rosen (NRMCB 2017) www.nature.com/articles/nrm... on biomolecular condensates has >6000 citations. It…

1. Introduced a broad definition of “biomolecular condensates,” promoting acceptance that a unifying mechanism may underlie all membrane-less compartments.

Baby

I’ve been offline for a while for the reason below. But I’m back in the lab, with more motivation and joy than ever before! The last year has been a wild ride, but everything has worked out brilliantly!

Nominations for the June Almeida award for Mid/Senior-Career Women in Cryo-EM are now open! Submit your nomination via this link www.biophysics.org/awards-fundi... by November 14th to recognize an exceptional woman in our community.

Biological Laboratory | LEGO® Ideas This is a two-floor realistic Biological Laboratory building. In this design, I try to tell stories about biologists, introduce biology concepts to general publ…

I just made an account and voted for this biology laboratory made of LEGO to "promote biological research and inspire more people into the world of biology". They need 10K votes. Reposting and/or voting below would be helpful. 🤗
beta.ideas.lego.com/product-idea...

Senior Research Technician at University of Birmingham Explore an exciting academic career as a Senior Research Technician. Don't miss out on other academic jobs. Click to apply and explore more opportunities.

We are looking for a senior technician (can undertake PhD) at Uni of Birmingham (UK) to study chromatin replication and ubiquitylation using Xenopus egg extract. Deadline 28/10/25. Get in touch with me or @m-saponaro.bsky.social for informal inquiries. Please share.
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOW912/s...

But how muddy did puppy get this time?

NIPBL dosage shapes genome folding by tuning the rate of cohesin loop extrusion Cohesin loop extrusion is a major driver of chromosome folding, but how its dynamics are controlled to shape the genome remains elusive. Here we disentangle the contributions of the cohesin cofactors ...

New preprint with @gfudenberg.bsky.social

We find the rate of cohesin loop extrusion in cells is set by NIPBL dosage and tunes many aspects of chromosome folding.

This provides a molecular basis for NIPBL haploinsufficiency in humans. 🧵👇

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Mathematical modelling for biologists - Modelling concepts in biological research Mathematical modelling for biologists - Modelling concepts in biological research

My PhD student @leonielorenz.bsky.social (with Eva Geissen) has made this nice (free) online course to introduce mathematical modelling for biology:
www.ebi.ac.uk/training/onl...

Including both molecular and epidemiological examples

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It's more important than ever for students and educators to stay informed and proactive. That's why you're invited to our upcoming webinar “The Future of Graduate Education in Biophysics"

September 4, 3:30-5:00PM USA Eastern
my.biophysics.org/events/calen...