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Igor Ulitsky

@igorulitsky.bsky.social
2.7K followers 855 following 259 posts

Associate Professor, Weizmann Institute of Science. RNA biologist, interested in what (long) RNA molecules do and how. Father of 4.

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Reposted by Igor Ulitsky
Peter Andersen @germline.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Finally - the 🧵! So, the piRNA pathway defends the animal germline from transposons. But most of what we know comes from narrow developmental windows like late oogenesis, where it's easiest to study. We asked if the pathway is the same across development. It is not! /+
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Igor Ulitsky @igorulitsky.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
A pervasive RT–qPCR artifact inflates RNA knockdown by RNA-targeting CRISPR - Yikey Yikes! BTW, similar concerns apply to siRNAs/ASOs that are sometimes suspected to affect RT and/or PCR . So nice somebody looked into this! rdcu.be/RUYFaGa649va
rdcu.be
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Weizmann Institute of Science @weizmann.ac.il · 31/08/2026
We, the Weizmann Institute of Science community, deeply mourn the passing of Prof. Ada Yonath - Nobel Laureate and a Model of Scientific Perseverance. May her memory be a blessing. bit.ly/ada-yonath-eng
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Job Dekker @jobdekker.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
How do nuclear compartments form inside cell nuclei? We show RNA glues certain loci together to form a nuclear compartment. This involves special GC-rich regions of highly expressed genes that also associate with nuclear speckles, but interactions between these loci are independent of speckles!
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Igor Ulitsky @igorulitsky.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Unfortunately, as the exactly (!!) two years it took (Received 21/8/24 -> published 21/8/26, and would be longer if Matt&Andy weren't persistent) suggest, the process is ~broken right now. Some more inputs on what not to do when working on lncRNAs here: academic.oup.com/eurheartj/ar...
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Igor Ulitsky @igorulitsky.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
All the described measurements/perturbations of this lncRNA in the original papers are most likely just readouts of DACH1, which is a regular protein-coding gene. Such cases are too common, and I wish others like Matt would do the proper work to clean the field up!
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Igor Ulitsky @igorulitsky.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
In a "matters arising" in Nature Comms, Matt et al. (w/ minor advice from me) show that this locus, which spawned several papers, including in Nature Comms, is part of DACH1 intron www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
In search of LncDACH1 – a perceived intronic long non-coding RNA lacking fundamental genomic annotation evidence - Nature Communications
Nature Communications - In search of LncDACH1 – a perceived intronic long non-coding RNA lacking fundamental genomic annotation evidence
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Igor Ulitsky @igorulitsky.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
One of the (well, >1) problems in the lncRNA field is that some of the lncRNAs are not real genes, i.e., do not represent a standalone locus that produces independent transcripts. Some cases are more 🤔 than others, e.g. lncDACH that Matt Bennet from Andy Baker's lab took a deep dive into. 🧵
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Al Jord Lab @aljordlab.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Transcription stops. RNA splicing takes over 🧬 ✨ Our new preprint uncovers the post-transcriptional RNA splicing landscape powering mammalian oocyte development. Read it here 👇 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
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Matthew Taliaferro @jmtali.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Excited to share our newest work! We asked whether RNA molecules need to be in a specific place in the cell to do their job. We found that a single RNA must reach the midbody, the structure that pinches two dividing cells apart, for cell division to finish efficiently. 🧵⬇️
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Igor Ulitsky @igorulitsky.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Academic tweeps! How do your institutes implement support for scientists in the rapidly changing AI-era - i.e, who is training the students to use Claude Code, and making sure they don't wreckt the cluster? Does it work well? Tell here/DM + pls RT (heading a sub-committee...)
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bioRxivpreprint @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Transcription-dependent heterochromatin at the Xist promoter shapes the random choice of the inactive X chromosome www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/20…
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Teif lab @teiflab.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
Woolfe et al, 2026. Decoding the mystery of ultra-conservation in developmental enhancers: a role for nucleosome positioning, DNA structure and transcription factor binding www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... ▶️conserved non-coding elements ... favor nucleosome occupancy at their borders
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Sorek Lab @soreklab.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Our paper out in Science today: The Metis defense system senses molecular byproducts released when a phage degrades the bacterial genome, and then prevents replication of the phage in the infected cell Congratulations @ostermanilya.bsky.social and co-authors!
science.org
Bacteria sense virus-induced genome degradation via methylated mononucleotides
Phages often degrade the genome of their bacterial host to individual nucleotides. Here we describe Metis, a bacterial defense system that directly senses phage-mediated host genome degradation. Metis...
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bioRxiv Molecular Biology @biorxiv-molbio.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Insulin synthesis is sustained by Tent5 poly(A) polymerases www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/20…
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Osterman Ilya @ostermanilya.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Excited to share that our Metis story is now published in Science! 🎉 Bacteria can sense phage-induced degradation of their genome and activate immunity. Many thanks to everyone who contributed to this work. 📄 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... More details in my earlier thread 🧵⬇️
science.org
Bacteria sense virus-induced genome degradation via methylated mononucleotides
Phages often degrade the genome of their bacterial host to individual nucleotides. Here we describe Metis, a bacterial defense system that directly senses phage-mediated host genome degradation. Metis...
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Job Dekker @jobdekker.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Frank Grosveld has been a giant in the field of long-range gene regulation. Inspirational to me and I am sure for many others. Rest in peace.
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Julius Brennecke @juliusbrennecke.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
a small attempt to capture this enormous loss and what Greg meant and means to so many. www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
cell.com
Gregory J. Hannon (1964–2026)
Gregory J. Hannon passed away in April 2026 at the age of 61. A towering figure in modern molecular biology, Greg influenced remarkably diverse areas of science. His work reshaped our understanding of...
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Igor Ulitsky @igorulitsky.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
Indeed, RAP looks much better on Xist data, and we couldn't really check the kmer analysis because the probes basically cover most of the kmer space... Too bad RAP wasn't adopted , likely because the long probes. But now IDT sells small pools that should make it much more affordable/accessible?
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Igor Ulitsky @igorulitsky.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
Kudos to the reviewers and the journal that were super supportive of this manuscript (the best publishing experience in my career so far...). Great collaboration of Micah Goldrich from my lab (on the postdoc job market!) Pieter Mestdah and Louis Delhaye (now postdoc w/ Denes Hnisz +me)
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Igor Ulitsky @igorulitsky.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
Now out @natbiotech.nature.com ! Do lncRNAs commonly bind 1000s of genomic sites? Maybe they do, but the dozens of studies that report genomic binding maps of lncRNAs are deeply flawed, with probes binding suprious DNA sites rather than RNA-bound ones.
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Igor Ulitsky @igorulitsky.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
Sounds super interesting - hope we'll see more of these (lncRNAs linked by human genetics + mouse KOs to key phenotypes)! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
An X-linked long non-coding RNA, PTCHD1-AS, and the core features of autism - Nature
PTCHD1-AS, which encodes a long non-coding RNA, is associated with the aetiology of autism spectrum disorder in humans through striatal molecular and circuit-level dysregulation.
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Aaron and the Hoskins Lab at UW Madison @uwmadisonrna.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
Amazing insight from David Brow @bmolchem.bsky.social on potential mechanisms of U6 snRNA dysfunction in retinitis pigmentosa! Plus a potential therapeutic strategy based on some classic nucleic acid biochemistry experiments and competing RNA structures. rnajournal.cshlp.org/content/earl...
rnajournal.cshlp.org
Past studies suggest potential therapies for newly discovered retinitis pigmentosa mutations in U6 and U4 snRNAs
A monthly journal publishing high-quality, peer-reviewed research on all topics related to RNA and its metabolism in all organisms
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Ollie Rando @epididymosome.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
Hey, wouldja look at that! An incredible one man show from Pablo Bora, an amazing postdoc...we used Steven Floor's beautiful REMORA approach (fusing RNA base editors to RBPs, allowing RBP cargo to be identified by edits) to explore RBP-RNA binding in mouse embryos doi: doi.org/10.64898/202...
doi.org
Probing RNA-protein interactions in the early mouse embryo
The union of two germ cells to form a zygote, and subsequent early embryo development, are marked by radical remodeling of virtually every major class of biomolecules as the specialized germline states give way to the rapid and active growth that marks early development. In recent years, advances in ultra-low input genome-wide methods have enabled systematic analyses of mRNA abundance, and of chromatin organization, throughout early development in a variety of model systems. Here, we extend these efforts to the study of RNA binding protein (RBP) function in early mouse embryos, adapting REMORA 1 -- based on fusing an RNA-editing enzyme to an RBP of interest -- for use in early embryos. We benchmark our approach for several well-studied RBPs, successfully recovering expected features of their RNA cargos, and assayed the RNA cargos for 17 RBPs of interest for early gene regulation. Analysis of changes in mRNA metabolism following knockdowns of the RBPs surveyed here allowed us to identify direct regulatory functions for a subset of RBPs in the early mammalian embryo, including an unanticipated role for the RNA export adaptor Alyref in control of 3 prime polyadenylation sites. Together, our data provide a proof of concept resource for systematically exploring RBP functions in mammalian embryogenesis. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, https://ror.org/04byxyr05, NIHR01HD099816
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Igor Ulitsky @igorulitsky.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
🆕 review with @jpunfried.bsky.social out in Nature SMB. Direct roles of lncRNAs in transcriptional activation. What do we understand about how lncRNAs lure Pol2 and set the stage for RNA production, and what do we still miss? www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Direct roles of long non-coding RNAs in transcription activation - Nature Structural & Molecular Biology
This Review discusses how long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) control transcription activation by RNA polymerase II, including how they are produced at active enhancers or chromatin-domain boundaries and ac...
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Dor Salomon @drdorsalomon.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
If you accept an invitation to review a manuscript and then decide not to do it, please be a decent person and notify the editor. Otherwise, you're part of the problem.
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Igor Ulitsky @igorulitsky.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
Can anyone recommend a tool for calling "transcribed regions" from chromatin/nascent RNA-seq data? (ideally, using annotated genes as a starting point)
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Igor Ulitsky @igorulitsky.bsky.social · 26/04/2026
Link for free registration: erez.weizmann.ac.il/apx/r/ws1/10...
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Igor Ulitsky @igorulitsky.bsky.social · 26/04/2026
Despite EVERYTHING, we're still on for our annual Nucleic Acids Therapeutics next week at the Weizmann! There are still places to register (for free!), link in the first comment. Looking forward to meeting friends, great science, deep discussions, and great food, as always :-)
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Oded Rechavi @odedrechavi.bsky.social · 25/04/2026
I was in a coffee place and I don’t know who this person is who left their laptop to charge on a water fountain for over an hour unattended, but this person is the chillest person alive. I am sweating every time someone places something with liquid two meters away from my computer
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Michael Baym @baym.lol · 17/04/2026
I’m looking for an automated way to read others’s scientific data without giving credit or acknowledgement, and also claim full credit for insights from it. And I want it to have a fitting name OAI: say no more
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Igor Ulitsky @igorulitsky.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
Also, it's retroactively hurting people who applied before knowing these rule changes, or were already contemplating their future submissions. There must be a better way (and I think letting AI review/triage grants is horrible). E.g., increase the number of panels, or make virtual triage sub-panels
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Igor Ulitsky @igorulitsky.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
I can certainly sympathize with the plight of the panelists, but this is a wrong decision. The idea of ERC is encouraging high-risk proposals. Saying "if a couple of panelists think its too crazy", you are banned for 2-3 years is the opposite message of discouraging bold ideas
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Nicky Whiffin @nickywhiffin.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
Super excited that our two companion papers on saturation genome editing (SGE) of RNU4-2 and discovery of a novel recessive neurodevelopmental disorder (NDD) were published yesterday 🥳 SGE experiment: www.nature.com/articles/s41... Recessive NDD characterisation: www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🧵
nature.com
Saturation editing of RNU4-2 reveals distinct dominant and recessive disorders - Nature
Saturation genome editing of RNU4-2 identifies the functional and clinical impact of variants across the entire gene and delineates variants that cause a new recessive neurodevelopmental disorder distinct from ReNU syndrome.
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Stern-Ginossar Lab @sginossarlab.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
We are excited to share our new paper in Molecular Cell uncovering how the viral lncRNA RNA2.7 reshapes host cell biology! sciencedirect.com/science/authShare/S1097276526001565/20260324T143400Z/1?md5=16c84051c2f253c4665427f837a529d3&dgcid=author A thread 🧵
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Michael Baym @baym.lol · 20/03/2026
As a kid, watching Walker, Texas Ranger taught me that many problems in life can be solved by a well-timed roundhouse kick, a lesson that has served me well in academia
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Igor Ulitsky @igorulitsky.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
Timely reminder that a few years ago we named the Norris1 lncRNA, which remains quite enigmatic, but, fittingly for Chuck, is expressed primarily in the testis pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Regulation of neuroregeneration by long noncoding RNAs
In mammals, neurons in the peripheral nervous system (PNS) have regenerative capacity following injury, but it is generally absent in the central nervous system (CNS). This difference is attributed, at least in part, to the intrinsic ability of PNS ...
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Di Jiang @dijiang319.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
Human DHX29 detects nonoptimal codon usage to regulate mRNA stability | @science.org www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
Human DHX29 detects nonoptimal codon usage to regulate mRNA stability
Synonymous codon usage controls global gene expression in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic species. Nonoptimal codons are known to induce mRNA decay; however, the underlying molecular mechanism remains...
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Julius Brennecke @juliusbrennecke.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
There has never been a better time to study functional and mechanistic biology at the organismal (!) level than now in the age of AlphaFold and CRISPR.
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Igor Ulitsky @igorulitsky.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
"This observation supports the error hypothesis and suggests that metazoan transcript diversity is largely deleterious." Love this since it matches my priors :-) dx.plos.org/10.1371/jour...
dx.plos.org
Transcript diversity reflects deleterious RNA processing errors shaped by population size in metazoans
Alternative transcription initiation, splicing and polyadenylation generate extensive transcript diversity in eukaryotes, but its evolutionary significance has been disputed. This study analyses 166 t...
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Igor Ulitsky @igorulitsky.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
This line of business would make tons of $$$ in Israel this week
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Sorek Lab @soreklab.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
Out today: We discovered new viral proteins that target immune signaling molecules, solely based on their AlphaFold-predicted shapes www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... Congrats Nitzan Tal and coauthors! Thank you Kranzusch lab for the fun collaboration! Linking below previous thread on our findings
science.org
Structural modeling reveals phage proteins that manipulate bacterial immune signaling
Immune systems in animals, plants, and bacteria often rely on intracellular nucleotide signaling, which viruses can block by sequestering or degrading these signals. We identified structural and bioph...
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Nicholas A. Christakis @nachristakis.bsky.social · 28/02/2026
Don’t worry. Soon, everyone here will be an expert on air wars in the Middle East.
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Igor Ulitsky @igorulitsky.bsky.social · 28/02/2026
TFW you generously accepted review invitations thinking you'd have two ~18 hr flights TLV<->Cancun this week for reviewing, then war breaks out, but you still need to review these papers/grants
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Igor Ulitsky @igorulitsky.bsky.social · 28/02/2026
... and we're back to in-shelter selfies!
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Tugce Aktas @aktast.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
Our most recent work on the “function and evolution” of #nuclear-speckles is now online at Cell @cp-cell.bsky.social doi.org/10.1016/j.ce... Read the thread👇 for the highlights of our findings.
doi.org
Redirecting
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Darío Lupiáñez @dariloops.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
🤩💪 Out now! 3D regulatory hubs in sex determination With @mamartirenom.bsky.social & Capel labs, led by @imotagom.bsky.social & @jrotwitguez.bsky.social 1️⃣ METALoci – explore #3DGenome 🧬 2️⃣ Non-coding region controlling Fgf9 🧩 3️⃣ Meis genes = new key players 🌟 👉 rdcu.be/e5sm2 1/n Bluetorial 👇
rdcu.be
Chromatin spatial analysis by METALoci unveils sex-determining 3D regulatory hubs
Nature Structural & Molecular Biology - METALoci, a new three-dimensional genome computational tool, reveals a major rewiring of regulatory interactions during sex determination. By combining...
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bioRxivpreprint @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
Integrative multiomics analysis and CRISPR screening identify functional noncanonical translation loci in the mouse immune system. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/20…
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Igor Ulitsky @igorulitsky.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
So awesome!
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Craig Kaplan @triggerloop.bsky.social · 16/02/2026
This is a fascinating paper that reveals defined and clear mechanism for a phenomenon that for some seemed unbelievable- the up regulation of genes paralogous to those with specific types of inactivating mutations. This is called transcriptional adaptation 1/ www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
Mechanisms linking cytoplasmic decay of translation-defective mRNA to transcriptional adaptation
Transcriptional adaptation (TA) is a genetic robustness mechanism through which mutant messenger RNA (mRNA) decay induces sequence-dependent up-regulation of so-called adapting genes. How cytoplasmica...
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