Marija Backovic

5 raisons de suivre la formation « HIV Sciences » Quelle est l’origine du virus du VIH ? Quelles sont les perspectives actuelles pour l’éradication du VIH ? Quelles sont les dernières avancées en matière de traitement et de prévention ?

5 raisons de suivre la formation « HIV Sciences »
www.fun-mooc.fr/fr/actualite...
@pasteuredu.bsky.social

Our preprint, in collaboration with Rino Rappuoli & Emanuele Andreano, is out! Co-led by colleagues at TLS, my grad student Ling Zhou @lingzhou.bsky.social, and postdoc Emily Rundlet @cryoemily.bsky.social, we identified OPG153 as a poxvirus bnAb target via B cell isolation & AlphaFold3 prediction.

about PAE #alphafold

PAE viewer pae-viewer.uni-goettingen.de

PAE Figure editor thecodingbiologist.com/tools/pae.html

I love AlphaFold—but please include PAE (Predicted Aligned Error) plots for every “interaction.” Pretty PDBs ≠ proof. If the PAE doesn’t show an interface, it ain’t one. Show the plots. Structural biology's reputation is on the line.

Visualizing influenza A virus assembly by in situ cryo-electron tomography - Nature Communications Influenza A virus must package eight separate genomic segments, called viral ribonucleoproteins (vRNPs). Using in situ cryo-electron tomography, the authors visualize how vRNPs are clustered on cell m...

Visualizing influenza A virus assembly by in situ cryo-electron tomography

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

Design of a potent interleukin-21 mimic for cancer immunotherapy A de novo IL-21 mimic, 21h10, exhibits improved stability and potent antitumor activity in vivo compared with native IL-21.

Scientists have designed an interleukin-21 mimic with increased stability and capacity to induce more potent antitumor activity than the native protein, which could inform improved #immunotherapies.

Learn more in #ScienceImmunology: https://scim.ag/47jQLSW

Current mood

Computationally designed mRNA-launched protein nanoparticle immunogens elicit protective antibody and T cell responses in mice Genetic delivery of designed protein nanoparticles displaying the SARS-CoV-2 RBD elicits potent neutralizing antibody and CD8 T cell responses.

🚨 new paper alert 🚨

Here, we describe and evaluate a "best-of-both-worlds" vaccine technology platform that combines the benefits of mRNA vaccines and computationally designed protein nanoparticle immunogens: bit.ly/47s7btG.

Wow! we didn’t expect this kind of response! 🚀
Huge amount of papers were uploaded in the past two hours, and our servers are feeling it, so we’ve temporarily reinstated a waitlist. We’ll gradually let everyone in, don’t worry. Thank you for the incredible enthusiasm and support!

Finally, someone has solved a real problem with AI! No more having to take a paper in the format for a journal that rejected you, and reformat it for a new journal. Well done!! formatmypaper.com

New findings from @salehlabparis.bsky.social

Thank you, Carl. This is badly needed.

Jason! Congratulations! This is such wonderful news, and so well deserved! This calls for a celebration (tomorrow in Freiburg) :) 🎉

AMAZING and wonderful news. I can think of few scientists more deserving of this honor. Congratulations to Jason and all the colleagues who have helped with his incredibly impactful work!

Bright green transparent metal-organic framework crystals prepared with copper and a “multipronged” carboxylic acid ligand. The crystals formed blocky roughly rectangular pieces with some very large emerald-like chunks.

Pink/red transparent metal-organic framework crystals prepared with cobalt and a “multipronged” carboxylic acid ligand. The crystals formed as a mixture of long rectangular types and aggregated chunks.

Purple transparent metal-organic framework crystals prepared with cobalt and a “multipronged” carboxylic acid ligand. The crystals formed long slightly blocky needles.

Clear transparent metal-organic framework crystals prepared with zirconium and a “multipronged” carboxylic acid ligand. The crystals formed chunky hexagons.

I don’t think I’ve ever had more fun in the lab than when I was making MOFs myself (and trying to use them for small-molecule X-ray structure determination). So let me celebrate by posting a few of the MOF crystals I prepared:

Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2025 The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2025 was awarded jointly to Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar M. Yaghi "for the development of metal–organic frameworks"

A Chemistry Nobel that many had anticipated: metal-organic frameworks! Writeup coming on the blog later this morning:

#nobelprize #womeniSTEM #womeninscience

😊

Varicella-zoster virus reactivation and the risk of dementia - Nature Medicine Large-scale longitudinal health records reveal consistent association of varicella-zoster virus reactivation with dementia.

A new Nature Medicine study analyzing health records from >100 million people in the US offers compelling evidence that reactivation of varicella-zoster virus (VZV) ,the same virus that causes chickenpox and shingles may contribute to dementia risk.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Again, this shows the importance of vaccination to protect against, in this case, an old infection that can reawaken.

bsky.app/profile/mar...
6/6

We discovered an endogenous retrovirus that's still spreading in natural D. melanogaster populations! It was horizontally transferred from D. erecta in Central Africa, so we named it "Kuruka", which means "jump" in Swahili. Read its cool story here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Elaborate machinery for inserting proteins into the outer membrane of bacteria Bacteria in the gut use an unusual molecular apparatus to insert complex proteins into their outer membrane.

Elaborate machinery for inserting proteins into the outer membrane of bacteria www.nature.com/articles/d41...

We can't wait to welcome you at the #IBSBC2026 in Brussels next year!

Make your mark now by submitting your nomination for the Bertini Award - with €15,000 prize money and presentation at the conference, recognise an outstanding achievement in structural biology - instruct-eric.org/submit-call/...

Pasteur-Paris University International Doctoral Programme, The call for enrollment of students in October 2026 will be open from September 1st to October 20th, 2025

🎓 Applications for Institut Pasteur's PhD programs open Sept 1-Oct 20, 2025 for October 2026 entry.

Apply to up to 4 projects across 6 programs: PPU, PPU-IMAGINE @institutimagine.bsky.social, PPU-@ox.ac.uk, PPU-EID @upcite.bsky.social & more 🧬

Register now ✍️ www.pasteur.fr/en/education...

Willing to join us @pasteur.fr for a PhD for a project on how interactions between mobile genetic elements shape bacterial adaptation? Subject to be tailored to candidates with keen interest in evolution, genomics, computational biology, microbiology. Check www.pasteur.fr/en/education...

Spurious Correlations Correlation is not causation: thousands of charts of real data showing actual correlations between ridiculous variables.

for more lulz www.tylervigen.com/spurious-cor...

Have to repost with an Extended materials figure, that will make all cryo-EM folks dream :)

Ben Vollmer and Kay Grunewald & team @cssbhamburg.bsky.social and the beautiful structure along important insights for herpesvirus entry and membrane fusion.

Ben Vollmer and Kay Grunewald & team @cssbhamburg.bsky.social and the beautiful structure along important insights for herpesvirus entry and membrane fusion.