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Brett Collins

@brettcollins.bsky.social
2.4K followers 3K following 248 posts

Structural biologist studying proteins that move things from A to B. University of Queensland, Institute for Molecular Bioscience. Centre for Cell Biology of Chronic Disease. He/Him. imb.uq.edu.au/research-groups/colli…

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Reposted by Brett Collins
Ben Schulz @benschulz.bsky.social · 1h
Bizarre. Apparently it's "not about job cuts" but will somehow "create a fundamentally stronger institution", while the committee is led by ex Fortescue chair and seems to have no one from the three universities themselves.
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Hourly Garth Marenghi's Darkplace @hourlydarkplace.bagpuss.org · 19h
Believe me, Liz, I know. I've met a lot of Scotch people.
07:28
S01E05 Scotch Mist 26 February 2004
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Luis E. Valentin-Alvarado @luisvalentin.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Massive thanks to P. Yoon and, S. Lopez, @kshulgina.bsky.social, @clangeberg.bsky.social, @knottrna.bsky.social , @doudna-lab.bsky.social and to all our collaborators. Now on @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... 11/11
biorxiv.org
tRNA-derived second messengers confer bacterial immunity
Bacterial small-molecule messengers that function in diverse immune signaling pathways have been thought to derive strictly from biosynthesis using nucleotide and cofactor substrates. Here we report a...
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Melanie D. White @melaniedwhite.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
It took longer than I’d hoped, but I’m glad to see Nikon Small World listen to concerns, investigate and take action. An encouraging step towards greater transparency and trust in scientific imaging as AI evolves. www.nikonsmallworld.com/news/nikon-s...
nikonsmallworld.com
Nikon Small World in Motion Video Statement | News | Nikon Small World
An update from Nikon Small World regarding the 2026 Small World in Motion first-place winning video: After thoroughly re-evaluating the video and supporting materials and consulting with members of…
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Hourly Garth Marenghi's Darkplace @hourlydarkplace.bagpuss.org · 09/10/2026
And if you block up everything you're going to sweat inside and get cancer.
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S01E04 The Apes of Wrath 19 February 2004
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Debnath Ghosal @debnathghosal.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
When imaging at high mag using cryo-ET, field of view reduces. How to overcome this limit? How do we get a "bird’s-eye view" without compromising resolution? Our very own @HamishBrown has a solution to this: “montage tomography with a rectangular beam!” www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
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Hourly Garth Marenghi's Darkplace @hourlydarkplace.bagpuss.org · 08/10/2026
Plus, I think I've got a thing for green women.
11:44
S01E06 The Creeping Moss from the Shores of Shuggoth 4 March 2004
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Journal of Cell Science @jcellsci.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Issue 18 is complete Explore our Toc: journals.biologists.com/jcs/issue/13... Our cover image is an osteosarcoma cell visualised by structured illumination microscopy showing actin (magenta), paxillin (green) & myosin-X (cyan). See research by Popović et al. journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/...
JCS cover: An osteosarcoma cell visualised by structured illumination microscopy. The actin cytoskeleton is shown in magenta, paxillin in green and myosin-X in cyan. See article by A. Popović et al. (jcs265278).
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SlenderSherbet @slendersherbet.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
"Excuse me, I'll let you know when you've finished"
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Cees Dekker @ceesdekker.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Nobel Prize for optogenetics
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Prof Gavin Yamey MD MPH @gavinyamey.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
I really wish the world’s most dangerous, extreme anti-vaccine activist & conspiracy theorist, RFK Jr, who is a eugenicist & a MAHA dude who repeatedly peddles vile lies, had not been put in charge of the US health system Here he is telling truly horrific, dangerous lies about HPV & COVID vaccines
RFK Jr saying that the HPV vaccine increases the risk of cervical cancer & the Covid vaccine increases the risk of Covid—these are 2 dangerous lies
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Hourly Garth Marenghi's Darkplace @hourlydarkplace.bagpuss.org · 04/10/2026
It's balls to the wall, flat out horror.
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S01E04 The Apes of Wrath 19 February 2004
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Hourly Garth Marenghi's Darkplace @hourlydarkplace.bagpuss.org · 01/10/2026
This is a place of science after all.
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S01E01 Once Upon a Beginning 29 January 2004
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Hourly Garth Marenghi's Darkplace @hourlydarkplace.bagpuss.org · 23/09/2026
I have never exploded
15:30
S01E01 Once Upon a Beginning 29 January 2004
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Dr. Princess Vimentin PhD | Cancer Biologist @princess-vimentin.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
October is #breastcancerawareness month. Did you know: Mary Claire King discovered the BRCA1 gene. In the 70s, she told people that one gene might be responsible for inherited breast cancer. No one believed her. In 1990, she found proof. It created a paradigm shift. It saved millions of lives.🧪
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ARC Tracker @arc-tracker.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
ARC has given some details of how new Explore scheme will run ▶️ www.arc.gov.au/news-and-pub... ❗️There's a lottery❗️ Peer review yields 3 categories: highly competitive, competitive, uncompetitive. After funding highly competitive apps, competitive ones enter a lottery for remaining $.
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Ben Schulz @benschulz.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Solving grant review lottery by adding an actual lottery! 🤦
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Biochemical Society @biochemsoc.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Membrane Contact Sites in Cellular Homeostasis 2026 has officially wrapped. Thank you to our programme coordinators and delegates for the insightful discussions, new connections and outstanding science throughout the meeting.
Group photo at event
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Sjors Scheres @sjorsscheres.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Our adventures into #proteinfolding: GuideFlip designs flexible molecular interactions by discrete flow matching to design sequence & structure together! Grateful for funding by Love Tito's (@titosvodka.bsky.social) and the @ukri.org. 🥳
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Melanie D. White @melaniedwhite.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
I spoke with @nature.com about the Nikon Small World controversy. As AI becomes part of scientific imaging, we need greater transparency about what was measured, inferred or generated. It's not about excluding AI. It’s about preserving trust in scientific evidence. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
This award-winning microscopy image used AI — igniting controversy in a prestigious competition
Researchers say that using artificial-intelligence tools to visualize scientific images can become problematic when models misrepresent the underlying data.
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LadyBusiness @ladybusiness.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
On my way to a job interview, smartly leaving the iced coffee at home
Tom Ford spring 2027 runway look
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Mark Histed @markhisted.org · 29/09/2026
Well-deserved. The guy is a hero and an inspiration
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Melanie D. White @melaniedwhite.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
The Nikon Small World AI controversy has me worried. AI is transforming science, but what happens once it can generate “raw data” indistinguishable from real data? How do we embrace AI without losing confidence in the data underpinning scientific discovery? www.the-scientist.com/allegations-...
the-scientist.com
Allegations of AI Use in Nikon Competition Spark Controversy | The Scientist
Microscopists raise concerns about inappropriate AI usage in Nikon's microscopy contest-winning video. Nikon stands their ground, citing no policy breach.
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In Otter News @in-otter-news.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
After a long day at the aquarium, the otters help tidy their toys away. Payment is made promptly and entirely in ice cubes.
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A/Prof Sam Stehbens PhD (She/Her) @samstehbens.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
#Nikon will address our concerns by next week. Hopefully the pre-processed movie & raw data will be part of that. #NikonSmallWorld
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Rasmus Jensen @rasmusjensen.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
🎉 Out today in Cell: the paper I've been looking forward to sharing for a long time 🎉 We used cryo-ET to find a molecular machine nobody knew existed on the surface of a minimal bacterium, and worked out what it does. 🧵(1/7) #TeamTomo #cryoET
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Anh Hoang Le, PhD 🏳️‍🌈🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇻🇳 @anhhle2702.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Happy #FluorescenceFriday. The first time I imaged a 🐸 embryo, I didn't realise they had these ciliated cells on the outer surface. So you can imagine how surprised and curious I was! These cilia are similar to those found in the human airway. And yes, this is just a good old confocal + 🔥LUT!
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SlenderSherbet @slendersherbet.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
"I don't fucking think so"
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Scott Barolo @sbarolo.bsky.social · 19/10/2023
MR DARCY: Please disregard my last email. At the time I believed myself perfectly calm and cool, but I am since convinced that it was written in a dreadful bitterness of spirit, during faculty meeting
Mr Darcy (Colin Firth) from Pride and Prejudice 1995 BBC, writing a letter
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ARC Tracker @arc-tracker.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
ARC has provided key dates for the next (supposedly final) Discovery Projects round (DP28) ▶️ www.arc.gov.au/funding-rese... Opens 1 Feb, closes 10 May 27. Outcomes not until Apr–May 28😔 (this is embarrassing) Look out for Guidelines in “late Oct” – remember, no rejoinder! So it’ll be…interesting 🧐
arc.gov.au
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Vasilii Mikirtumov @vasiliimikirtumov.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
thrilled to share that my main phd project is finally out in @natcomms.nature.com we present high-resolution structures of RyR1 in native membranes across multiple functional states by both cryo-ET/StA #TeamTomo and SPA! paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41... and a thread below⬇️⬇️⬇️
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Maksim Kalutskii @maksimkalutskii.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Excited to share our new preprint! 📜 Here, we used CALVADOS and ultra-CG models to show how the kinetochore establishes a robust attachment to the dynamic microtubule end. Spoiler: IDRs 🧵 1/n www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
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What a week, huh? all Wednesdays @whataweekhuh.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Captain Haddock looking very frazzled, saying, “What a week, huh?”
Tintin leans into the frame and says, “Captain, it’s Wednesday.”
Snowy aka Milou is very excited about the drink he has found.

Viñeta de Tintin
El capitán Haddock, sentado a una mesa y con aspecto de estar agotado, dice: "¡Menuda semana, ¿eh?".
Tintín, a su derecha, le dice: "Capitán, es miércoles".
A la izquierda, Milú mira muy contento la bebida que está en la mesa.
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Yuan He @yuanhejhu.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
A big week for the lab! Two new papers on how cells repair DNA double-strand breaks: one on getting NHEJ started in chromatin, one on processing the ends before ligation. Years of work by a fantastic team.
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Martin Pacesa @martinpacesa.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
ʙɪɴᴅᴄʀᴀꜰᴛ2 is out, and we're not waiting for the paper. The full code drops today, free for academic and industry use. We're releasing it early so you can start designing right now, and bring its full power to the current Adaptyv competition. github.com/PacesaLab/Bi...
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Joe Bak-Coleman @jbakcoleman.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
We can simulate fish schools or ants in ways that solve complex problems (gradient detection, bridge building, nest selection) but no one would create this weird soul/no-soul dichotomy to argue they these that multi-agent swarms of extremely simple rules are “thinking”.
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Development @dev-journal.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Pathway to Independence – an interview with Yamini Ravichandran In this interview, Yamini discusses her work focusing on understanding tissue-scale processes, regeneration and morphogenesis. doi.org/10.1242/dev....
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Stellbound: Stellraiser II @antlervel.vet · 18/09/2026
Share if you agree
Fat little chihuahua puppy (maybe?) looking extremely round and smiling lying on a tan fleece blanket
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Merja Joensuu @joensuulab.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Bringing the good energy! Thank you Garton T. Dodd and colleagues for highlighting our work and the emerging evidence on lipase DDHD2 and mechanisms enabling fatty acid mobilisation and oxidation in neurons. Read the beautifully written piece here: www.nature.com/articles/s44...
nature.com
Neurons run on fat - npj Metabolic Health and Disease
Neurons were long thought to depend primarily on glucose metabolism for ATP production. However, recent findings from three laboratories show neurons metabolise long-chain fatty acids as alternative f...
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Milot Mirdita @milot.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
ColabFold 1.6.3 is out! 2.5x faster, pip-installable, ipSAE+pDockQ2 scores. Thanks Choonghwan Lee, Marielle Russo, Gyuri Kim 🐍pip install colabfold[alphafold] CF2 Sneak Peak with AF3/Boltz/Protenix/ESMFold2… 🐍pip install "colabfold[alphafold3]@git+https://github.com/sokrypton/ColabFold@af3-preview"
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Sergey Ovchinnikov @sokrypton.org · 14/09/2026
Finally a more intuitaive way to learn pLDDT/pAE? 😎 sokrypton.github.io/protein_figh... (Character idea from @hannes-stark.bsky.social & Alex Waldherr)
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Luca @lucagalletti.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Short film about hope www.reddit.com/r/funny/s/CG...
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In Otter News @in-otter-news.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Important otter tummy content:
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World Bollard Association™️ @worldbollardassoc.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
The Marge Simpson bollard. #WorldBollardAssociation
A concrete bollard painted to look like Marge Simpson.
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Hauke Hillen @haukehillen.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Happy to share our new preprint on the structure of the human mitochondrial RNA degradosome, a central player in organellar RNA metabolism! Work led by graduate student @paulafprado.bsky.social in our group. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... 🧵 1/9
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Melanie D. White @melaniedwhite.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Happy #FluorescenceFriday! ✨ It's the glue that holds us together, but it looks like a pair of angel wings to me. 👼 This beautiful meshwork of extracellular matrix surrounds the developing tissues of a quail embryo, helping guide cells as they build the body. 📷 @wangjianxiong.bsky.social 🔬
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Kranzusch Lab @kranzuschlab.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Stunning cryo-ET analysis from the Harrison Lab capturing every stage of how non-membrane viruses infect animal cells www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
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Jason Rasgon @vectorgen.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
The text I just sent to my spouse...
Me bitching about committee work
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Guillaume Thibault @gthibault.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Singapore Bioscience Symposium 2026 reminder. Abstract submission and early bird registration both close 30 September. The lineup includes 9 keynotes, 18 invited speakers, 12 countries. Details 🧵👇
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Roland Pierik @roleo.eurosky.social · 08/09/2026
The number of cases of cervical cancer reported in Scotland among women given the HPV vaccine at 12-13 years of age is now zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. www.bbc.com/news/article...
bbc.com
No cervical cancer cases in fully HPV-vaccinated women in Scotland
A study published by Public Health Scotland finds that the HPV vaccine is "highly effective".
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