Reposted by Edoardo GianniSimon Hammann @simonhammann.bsky.social · 20/04/2026Don't be shy to take on a little two-week side project. These five months will be the most precious three years of your academic journey. 191957537
Reposted by Edoardo GianniKelly Nguyen @kellythd-nguyen.bsky.social · 26/03/2026Proud to share the yeast telomerase structure, led by the talented @hongmiaohu.bsky.social in collaboration with the Wellinger and Chartrand labs. Discovered 37 years ago and took us nearly 7 years but totally worth the wait 😍. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFE4...youtube.comCryo-EM structure of yeast telomeraseYouTube video by MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology 920675
Reposted by Edoardo GianniEnrico Sandro Colizzi @escolizzi.bsky.social · 10/03/2026Curious about the origin of development during the transition to multicellularity? A very belated preprint alert: bit.ly/4rr2mHU Reproduction emerges from ecological interactions at the onset of multicellularity. A short 🧵 with lots of videos... 310235
Reposted by Edoardo GianniMart Krupovic @mkrupovic.bsky.social · 03/03/2026With Eugene Koonin, we propose a concept of “the selfish ribosome”, under which evolution of life is viewed as a ribosomal takeover, where the ribosome evolved to consume most of the cell’s resources, while other cellular componentry ensures the propagation of the ribosome. arxiv.org/abs/2602.23268 5250106
Reposted by Edoardo GiannibioRxiv Synthetic Biology @biorxiv-synthbio.bsky.social · 24/02/2026A portable orthogonal replication system enables continuous gene evolution near the biological speed limit www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/20… 053
Reposted by Edoardo GianniPhil Holliger @philholliger.bsky.social · 13/02/2026Great summaries of our paper www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... in Science: www.science.org/doi/epdf/10.... and New Scientist: www.newscientist.com/article/2515... and in the Science museum blog: blog.sciencemuseum.org.uk/in-the-begin...science.orgA small polymerase ribozyme that can synthesize itself and its complementary strandThe emergence of a chemical system capable of self-replication and evolution is a critical event in the origin of life. RNA polymerase ribozymes can replicate RNA, but their large size and structural ... 093
Reposted by Edoardo GianniPhil Holliger @philholliger.bsky.social · 13/02/2026Have a look at the Insight on Research story on our Science paper www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... on the @mrclmb.bsky.social website: mrclmb.ac.uk/news-events/... including a great little animation from LMB VisLab.mrclmb.ac.ukBridging the gap from chemistry to life: discovery of a tiny RNA that can copy itself | MRC Laboratory of Molecular BiologyLed by Edoardo Gianni, Philipp Holliger’s group in the LMB’s PNAC Division have identified a small self-replicating catalytic RNA (ribozyme), providing new ... 0156
Edoardo Gianni @edogia.bsky.social · 13/02/2026Thank you for the lovely & clear explanation of the work by @rogerhighfield.bsky.social @sciencemuseum.org.uk. Gives a bit of the behind-the-scenes of the research that led to this work! 080
Reposted by Edoardo GianniRoger Highfield @rogerhighfield.bsky.social · 13/02/2026Scientists have found a little RNA molecule – small enough to potentially form spontaneously, yet sophisticated enough to copy itself – that cd explain how life on Earth arose. Thanks @edogia.bsky.social of the @philholliger.bsky.social lab! blog.sciencemuseum.org.uk/in-the-begin...blog.sciencemuseum.org.ukIn the beginning - Science Museum BlogA tiny self-copying molecule offers the clearest answer yet to the mystery of the origins of biology, reports Science Director Roger Highfield. 0123
Reposted by Edoardo GianniMRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology @mrclmb.ac.uk · 13/02/2026How did life arise from simple chemical building blocks? New #LMBResearch led by @edogia.bsky.social in @philholliger.bsky.social group has identified a small self-replicating ribozyme that could be the answer. Read more: mrclmb.ac.uk/news-events/... 05331
Reposted by Edoardo GianniPhil Holliger @philholliger.bsky.social · 13/02/2026New paper from my group in @science.org : "A small polymerase ribozyme that can synthesise itself and its complementary strand" www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... Outstanding work by @edogia.bsky.social 115339
Edoardo Gianni @edogia.bsky.social · 13/02/2026How could a simple self-replicating system emerge at the origins of life? RNA polymerase ribozymes can replicate RNA, but existing ones are so large that their self-replication seems impossible. Could they be smaller? Excited to share our latest work in @science.org on a new small polymerase. 1/nscience.orgA small polymerase ribozyme that can synthesize itself and its complementary strandThe emergence of a chemical system capable of self-replication and evolution is a critical event in the origin of life. RNA polymerase ribozymes can replicate RNA, but their large size and structural ... 10509215
Reposted by Edoardo GianniChaitanya K. Joshi @chaitjo.bsky.social · 15/08/2025RosettaFold 3 is here! 🧬🚀 AtomWorks (the foundational data pipeline powering it) is perhaps the really most exciting part of this release! Congratulations @simonmathis.bsky.social and team!!! ❤️ bioRxiv preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... 05418
Reposted by Edoardo GianniPhil Holliger @philholliger.bsky.social · 29/05/2025New paper from my group rdcu.be/eoaRr "Trinucleotide substrates under pH–freeze–thaw cycles enable open-ended exponential RNA replication by a polymerase ribozyme" in Nature Chemistry — great collaboration with attwaterlab.uk.rdcu.beTrinucleotide substrates under pH–freeze–thaw cycles enable open-ended exponential RNA replication by a polymerase ribozymeNature Chemistry - Models of abiotic RNA replication suffer from inherent product inhibition arising from the high stability of RNA duplexes. Now, it has been shown that RNA trinucleotide... 03013
Reposted by Edoardo GianniMax Wilkinson @maxewilkinson.bsky.social · 01/03/2025we recently found some really neat RNA-guided DNA-cutting systems in phages. Despite remarkable similarities to CRISPR systems, including encoding guide RNAs in arrays, they appear entirely evolutionarily distinct (but definitely related to snoRNAs 🤓) We decided to call them TIGR-Tas systems 🐯 220978