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It reminded us of volvox…

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Yes, but for me it’s mind blowing and requires - membrane duplication!

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And thank you Dina and all at the U. of Regensberg. Thank you Anja for having the vision and bringing together the Moore-Simon’s team! And, finally, thank you Gordon&Betty Moore foundation and the Simon’s foundation for supporting research exploring life on Earth

And a wonderful collaboration!!

The brilliant Kris Kuo, with help from Fabian and the Werner lab, has identified a key driver of cyclic gene expression in Sulfolobus, which has a cell cycle but no CDK/cyclins. Amazingly, TFB2 has a cyclin box that regulates its degradation as cells exit division. Another reason to love archaea!

A TFIIB paralog drives cyclic transcription to orchestrate the archaeal cell cycle

Cyclic transcription is a hallmark of the cell cycle. While transcriptional waves in eukaryotes are driven by oscillations in cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) activity, many archaea have an ordered cell ...

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Buzz Baum @buzzbaum.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

If you thought you understood how one cell becomes two (and imagined studying the problem using an organism that lives in deep sea volcanic vents was impossible), read Florian’s paper and think again!

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It’s a beautiful summer morning in Cambridge, but it’s quiet. The birds are silent. Last night we found a bedraggled wren in our garden desperate, I think, for water. Nature seems to be on the brink. This morning I made a bird bath. I hope it’s not too late for the wren.

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Peer review is also the best system we have!

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This seems more like a hard sell than a soft cell.

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In making its case, the text www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... plays loose with usual notions of: I) A paper (intro (summary of field), results, figures, methods, discussion) II) A cell III) Semipermeable membrane (has holes), growth (via fusion), division (via external force), cell cycle, heredity…

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What is 'SpudCell'? Arguably the greatest bioengineering feat yet

Dear fellow researchers. I think we need to discuss this: www.newscientist.com/article/2532... While peer review is flawed, and while preprints are a great way to share data before publication, as a community we mustn’t trade rigour for hype. This paper was peer reviewed and rejected.

newscientist.com

A prototype cell partly capable of replicating itself has been created using 36 existing bacterial genes, but it's not really a living organism – yet

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P.s. it was peer reviewed and rejected!

p.it

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A Chemically Defined Synthetic Cell Capable Of Growth And Replication

Cells are the fundamental unit of life. Yet there is no natural cell for which all its life-essential functions are understood. Here we demonstrate a complete cell cycle for a synthetic cell undergoin...

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Reposted by Buzz Baum

Ben Engel @cellarchlab.com · 03/07/2026

Super excited to launch this search for a new endowed professor at the @biozentrum.unibas.ch! Join us to build a research cluster in Climate Biophysics! 🌍🌊🌾🔬🧪 This is a unique opportunity to create a community in Basel🇨🇭working together on this timely topic! ⏳🌡️ Questions? Please reach out! 👩‍🔬👨‍🔬

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Buzz Baum @buzzbaum.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

Note the artists hands! Magda Lechowska

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Buzz Baum @buzzbaum.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

The MBoA2026 merch has arrived! Every delegate will get one - no paper/plastic cups at this EMBO conference!

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Buzz Baum @buzzbaum.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

Sorry not to have you there in person! But we are looking forward to seeing you online!

Buzz Baum @buzzbaum.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

Archaeaophiles! Last chance to sign up as a virtual attendee for MBoA2026. It’s cheap and you will have access to all the talks include our archaea@50 celebration with a special guest: meetings.embo.org/event/26-arc...

meetings.embo.org

Molecular Biology of Archaea: Life Through the Prism of Archaea

In 1977, Woese and colleagues revealed Archaea as a distinct domain of life. Building on this insight, the discovery of Asgard archaea has strengthened the view that many hallmarks of eukaryotic cell…

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Buzz Baum @buzzbaum.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

It’s about being a scientist and a person and an animal and an archaeon, and just a small part of something larger.

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Reposted by Buzz Baum

EMBO @embo.org · 18/05/2026

Register now for the EMBO Workshop "The cell cycle: Exploring conservation and divergence in life's engine" in #Lisbon, Portugal, 5–7 October 2026. Registration by 31 May Abstract submission by 15 June meetings.embo.org/event/26-cell-cyc… #EMBOCellCycleEvolution #meeting #EMBOevents 🧪

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Reposted by Buzz Baum

Berta Verd @bertaverd.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

New Pre-Print Alert! Evolving initial conditions: an alternative developmental route to morphological diversity with Shannon Taylor and @jamesehammond.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

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Generously funded by: EMBO and our sponsors: Frontiers - Microbiology, The Genetics Society, Nikon, ogibiotec, Microbiology Society, Mlife (Wiley) and New England Biolabs

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This link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn

📍 Cambridge, UK 📅 Don’t miss the deadline, submit your abstract and register now! Ps: if you cannot travel, there is an option to join online! More info here: lnkd.in/erx7jAGv

lnkd.in

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🎉 This is also a symbolic moment for the field: around 50 years since Carl Woese and colleagues first recognised Archaea as a distinct domain of life, fundamentally changing our understanding of evolution.

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🏛️ A truly iconic setting: Participants will stay in the beautiful Fitwilliam College and meet at the world-renowned MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB), home to groundbreaking discoveries that shaped modern molecular biology.

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✨ Why you shouldn’t miss it: • A fantastic line-up of speakers. • An interdisciplinary programme, from fundamental biology to emerging applications • A chance to connect with a vibrant and collaborative international community • A tailored pre-event session dedicated to Early Career Researcher

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The event brings together an exceptional variety of Archaea-related topics, spanning molecular biology, evolution, biochemistry, structural biology, biophysics, and ecology, reflecting the incredible breadth of archaeal research today.

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Buzz Baum @buzzbaum.bsky.social · 15/03/2026

🧬 Last call to join us in Cambridge for #EMBOMBoA26 (July 6th-10th)! We are just one week away from the registration and abstract submission deadline for the EMBO Workshop on the Molecular Biology of Archaea!

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It’s on again tonight! You can listen live! 11pm uk time.

Buzz Baum @buzzbaum.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

The leafless flower in my office shot up, looked out of the window for signs of spring, then bloomed!

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Have you tried the bbc website?

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I think it’s goes worldwide soon!

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And thanks to the amazing team at the BBC, Misha, Simon, Martha, Victoria, Eliane, and all those working behind the scenes for putting their spotlight on archaea, and for the tea.

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Buzz Baum @buzzbaum.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

Thanks Christa and Thorsten

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www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... Amazing work by Kris and gang! For the first time we have been able to image division ring components live in Sulfolobus. And guess what - CdvA is asymmetrically inherited.