iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by James Barrett

Ben Engel @cellarchlab.com · 08/09/2026

MemBrain v2 is on @natmethods.nature.com now? I never had a @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social with 164 citations before😅 ...Which is also to say: Thank you to the amazing #TeamTomo community, many of whom not only beta tested, but also contributed diverse training data. This one belongs to all of us! 🤗🔬🧪

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Reposted by James Barrett

Ben Engel @cellarchlab.com · 07/08/2026

One month left to apply!! 🧪 @biozentrum.unibas.ch seeks a group👩‍🔬 exploring molecular questions relevant to climate 🌍, including biogeochemical cycles (e.g., carbon, nitrogen) ♻️, bioenergetic energy conversion (e.g., photosynthesis, chemosynthesis) ☀️⚗️, and the adaptation to environmental change 🌊🌡️🦠🌾

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James Barrett @james-r-barrett.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Check it out! Deeper insights into the pyrenoid of Chlorella. More evidence Rubisco has convergently evolved as an organising hub, cool membrane architectures and evidence that most of the rest of the CCM is conserved with other green pyrenoids! 💚 Preprint here 🔗: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... 🔗

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Reposted by James Barrett

Ben Engel @cellarchlab.com · 17/07/2026

Fantastic new study charting the molecular atlas of #CO2 fixing compartments in seaweed! Yet another convergently evolved pyrenoid, with its own distinct Rubisco linker and binding site. There really is a "molecular kaleidoscope of pyrenoid diversity (™️Oliver M-C)" 🙌 @james-r-barrett.bsky.social 🌊🌾🧪

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James Barrett @james-r-barrett.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

This was a super fun Ghent-York collaboration with the amazing @jonasblomme.bsky.social, who has tagged an insane amount of genes in Ulva! Together we found another new linker protein (SUPA1!), and a bunch of interesting similarities and differences with other pyrenoid ccms. Come and check it out!

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Reposted by James Barrett

Martin Jonikas @mjonikas.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

The algal pyrenoid turbocharges global CO2 fixation. Central to its function are specialized membranes that deliver CO2. We discovered that the protein RBMP2 makes these membranes—and found that the mysterious minitubules appear to enhance CO₂ delivery! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

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Reposted by James Barrett

Fay-Wei Li @fernway.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

Our work on #hornwort #pyrenoids is finally out in @science.org! 🎉 We uncovered how hornworts pack their Rubisco into pyrenoids and successfully recreated them in Arabidopsis. A key step toward engineering more efficient photosynthesis in crops @btiscience.bsky.social www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

science.org

An unconventional Rubisco small subunit underpins the CO2-concentrating organelle in land plants

In many algae, photosynthesis is boosted by biophysical CO2-concentrating mechanisms, which pack the CO2-fixing enzyme Rubisco into liquid-like organelles called pyrenoids. Engineering C3 crops with a...

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Reposted by James Barrett

Tanner Robison @tarobison.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

Do you like it when weird organisms do silly things?? Then you're going to love this!

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Reposted by James Barrett

Manon Demulder @manondemulder.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

Excited to announce I’m starting a new lab at @gmivienna.bsky.social (Vienna BioCentre) in Sept 2026 We study how carbon fixation is inherited and maintained in algae using cryo-ET, imaging, environmental sampling&more Looking for people who want to build the lab together, get in touch! #teamtomo

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Reposted by James Barrett

Martin Jonikas @mjonikas.bsky.social · 01/02/2026

We genetically disconnected starch from the matrix in the algal pyrenoid! A saga1;saga2 double mutant lacks a starch sheath! Our model: SAGA1 & SAGA2 locally initiate starch on the pyrenoid surface by enriching starch precursors. 🌞🦠🔬🔌👀 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

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James Barrett @james-r-barrett.bsky.social · 30/01/2026

How does molecular valency shape condensate assembly and function? We used the CO2-fixing organelle in algae—the pyrenoid—to find out… 🧵 Preprint here!: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... @cellarchlab.com @phaips.vd.st @biologyatyork.bsky.social #Rubisco #PhaseSeparation #Condensates #Pyrenoid

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