Sofi Origanti

Giant DNA viruses encode a hallmark translation initiation complex of eukaryotic life Giant DNA viruses encode a cap-binding complex homologous to eIF4F, the defining translation-initiation complex of eukaryotes. The viral cap-binding complex is required for viral protein synthesis and...

"Here, we discover that giant DNA viruses encode a distinct and functional IF4F translation-initiation complex to drive protein synthesis, thereby blurring the line between cellular and acellular biology"

www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

new data from NIH about funding trends through FY2025

also a flyby analysis from Claude lol

grants.nih.gov/news-events/...

Ribosomal RNA expansion segments mediate the oligomerization of inactive animal ribosomes Cells down-regulate protein synthesis when stressed to conserve energy and shift resources toward repair. We found that in some mammalian cells, including neurons, stress also resulted in the formatio...

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

a man jumping over a fence with the words we 're going on an adventure written below him ALT: a man jumping over a fence with the words we 're going on an adventure written below him

That thrill and excitement when a new idea formulates and can’t wait to test it out without knowing what really lies ahead (spoiler- it’s a dragon - it’s always a dragon!)

Molecular basis for the activation of Aurora A and Plk1 kinases during mitotic entry - The EMBO Journal The evolutionarily conserved, intrinsically disordered protein Bora is critical for initiating the activation of mitotic kinases. Once phosphorylated at Ser112 by Cyclin A-Cdk1 kinase, phospho-Bora ac...

AlphaFold modeling & new assays for mitotic kinase activation in E. coli (#MITOKINAC) reveal molecular basis of specific Aurora A & PLK1 activation through Bora during mitotic entry
Lionel Pintard @ccdlab.bsky.social et al
#RefereedPreprint ℅ @reviewcommons.org
link.springer.com/article/10.1...

ADAM-tRNA-seq: an optimized approach for demultiplexing and enhanced hierarchal mapping in direct tRNA sequencing Abstract. Transfer RNAs (tRNAs) play an essential role in protein synthesis and cellular homeostasis, and their dysregulation is associated with various hu

Interested in direct tRNA-seq by Nanopore? We developed a new RNA-based barcoding aproach for seq parallelization; it is also cost-saving. Scripts available on github. #tRNA #Nanopore

track.smtpsendmail.com/9032119/c?p=...

I think some folks might be happy to see this. NIGMS MIRA R35 for EI/NI has been published. PAR-26-121 files.simpler.grants.gov/opportunitie...

Hi Sara- yes- that’s a good point- we mention in discussion that we currently do not have a clear understanding of how that ties into phosphocode- and needs more work.

Thank you Petr!

We also uncovered that RPA engages in a distinct reciprocal regulation of kinases that phosphorylate RPA such as Cdk1/Wee1 activity and Aurora kinase (and ATR-shown before). There are still many questions and we hope to parse the mechanism further in future studies.

The synergistic phosphocode driven by the cell cycle-specific phoshphosites structurally reconfigure the domains to enhance accessibility of the N-terminus of RPA32 to DDR kinases.

With the discovery of a novel phosphosite on RPA70, we show that the canonical roles of RPA extend beyond S phase and regulate the G2 to M phase transitions of cell cycle along with mitosis (shown in our previous study).

This was another fun collaboration with @professorantony.bsky.social and big thanks to lead authors (Poonam Roshan, Ayush Mistry and Vikas Kaushi) and to all the co-authors.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Good news- they are continuing to do administrative supplements but the specific dates for NIGMS are unclear!

Updated guidance on NIH grant application due dates (10/1/2025-12/5/2025), along with some other Info. grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...

ANTONY LAB SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE Edwin Antony Lab Website

POSTDOCTORAL POSITION IN STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY
We need a structural biologist to work on several CryoEM datasets. For more information, please visit: www.antonylab.org

Expertise in structure refinement and model-building are required.

Please share.

Resumption of Operations at NSF Information for NSF staff and the research community regarding the agency's resumption of operations after a lapse in appropriations.

Science People: We at NSF are still recovering/catching up/getting our lives together. But the agency posted these FAQs about post-shutdown resumption of operations which might answer a lot of Qs for you: www.nsf.gov/resumption-o...

We have written two reviews providing a practical guide and fundamentals of cell migration:

(1) How to select an optimal cell migration assay,
(2) How to analyze cell migration data.

We also added a perspective on AI methods of analysis.

Coming out soon in Nature Methods.

Lovely study- Congratulations!

Lovely study- Congratulations!

FIGNL1 inhibits homologous recombination in BRCA2 deficient cells by dissociating RAD51 filaments Homologous recombination (HR) deficiency upon Breast Cancer Gene 2 (BRCA2) loss arises from defects in the formation of RAD51 nucleoprotein filaments. We demonstrate that loss of the anti-recombinase ...

Want to know how homologous recombination defects are caused upon loss of BRCA2? Check out our recent efforts in uncovering this phenomenon just out in Science!
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Among the anti-recombinases, FIGNL1 rules them all. So much that inactivating it brings BRCA2-deficient cells to life. Who is responsible for RAD51 loading without BRCA2/FIGNL1, check out the paper to find out! Great collaboration with @raychaudhurilab.bsky.social

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

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.

See our paper “Mechanism of trinucleotide repeat expansion by MutSβ-MutLγ and contraction by FAN1”. Using biochemistry, we show how DNA incisions by the MutLγ nuclease can lead to expansions, and how expansion is prevented by FAN1. Well done Issam and Valentina!

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

GCN1 couples GCN2 to ribosomal state to initiate amino acid response pathway signaling During nutrient deprivation, activation of the protein kinase GCN2 regulates cell survival and metabolic homeostasis. In addition to amino acid stress, GCN2 is activated by a variety of cellular stres...

Beautiful reconstitution of amino acid stress-dependent ISR activation by my @harvardcellbio.bsky.social colleagues presenting a unifying mechanism for GCN2 activation, which requires ribosome collisions and is enhanced by cognate uncharged tRNA in the A site! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Principles of cotranslational mitochondrial protein import Selective ribosome profiling reveals that nearly 20% of mitochondrial proteins in human cells are imported during translation on cytosolic ribosomes. Cotranslational import requires an N-terminal pres...

Emmanuel Levy @elevylab.bsky.social has joined BlueSky 🌟 with a fantastic Cell paper with Shu-ou Shan, showing the interactome of the TOM complex and how cotranslational mito import prioritizes large globular domains. Beautiful science!
Give him a warm welcome 🎉
link: www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

ACS announces millions in funding for students affected by terminated grants The grants will help students within 1 year of completion of their degree

The American Chemical Society announced that the ACS Board of Directors has approved $2.5 million to be granted to graduate students who have been impacted by the termination or cancellation of their adviser’s research grant(s) cen.acs.org/acs-news/acs... #chemsky

🧪BREAKING: NIH has laid out 5 options for funding publications costs on grants (yes, FIVE!). This is hugely impactful.

Make your opinions known by September 15, fellow scientists.
🧪
grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...

Please register early and upload your abstracts. Looking forward to seeing many of you in Milwaukee in September!

So good that NIGMS is planning to renew call for EI (and ESI) MIRA.
But really bad if this is just one deadline a year instead of the usual two (Jan and May)
Anyone know anything else? Maybe time to panic....
simpler.grants.gov/opportunity/...