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Janet Iwasa

@jiwasa.bsky.social
2.5K followers 195 following 32 posts

Molecular animator, cell biologist, biochemist, science communicator. Head of the Animation Lab, and writer of the RCSB PDB Molecule of the Month

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Janet Iwasa @jiwasa.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Interested in molecular animation? Give ProteinBlender a try! It's free and open source. animation-lab.github.io/ProteinBlend... The latest tools include a DNA builder (shown in the tutorial video below). We'd love to hear what you think! We have short tutorials that cover all the features!
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Veesler lab @veeslerlab.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
We summarize our findings in an animation made in partnership with @jiwasa.bsky.social detailing the process of coronavirus entry into cells 14/19
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RCSB Protein Data Bank @rcsbpdb.bsky.social · 08/03/2026
Researchers found that treatment of intact HIV capsids with lenacapavir causes capsids to rupture, with ruptures occurring first in areas of the capsid with the highest level of curvature. #ASBMB2026 #ASBMB26 Watch in 3D at PDB-101: pdb101.rcsb.org/motm...
Structural studies have provided new insights into lenacapavir's unique mechanism of action. Using electron cryotomography, researchers found that treatment of intact HIV capsids with lenacapavir causes capsids to rupture, with ruptures occurring first in areas of the capsid with the highest level of curvature. The walls of lenacapavir-treated capsids were observed to flatten during early time points and fragment over the course of the experiment. This process is shown in the animation, created by Rachel Torrez in collaboration with Owen Pornillos (University of Utah). The animation was created using pdb_00009pry and pdb_00009y7j and their corresponding models in the EM Data Bank, EMD-71816 and EMD-72657.
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Prof. Hao Wu @wulabharvard.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
I am excited to share with you an amazing video on the NLRP3 inflammasome pathway generated by talented Ann Liu from the Janet Iwasa lab @jiwasa.bsky.social @ann-hl.bsky.social. It shows the real structures of the pathway from #NLRP3, #ASC, #caspase-1, #GSDMD, #IL-1b, to #NINJ1. Enjoy!
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Janet Iwasa @jiwasa.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
Interested in molecular animation and in SF for #BPS2026? Stick around for the evening Structural Biology workshop (Rm 204/205/206) and my talk at 8:45pm (New Tools for Visualizing Dynamic Molecular Models) to learn about ProteinBlender! animation-lab.github.io/ProteinBlend...
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Janet Iwasa @jiwasa.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
This was a really fun and interesting Molecule of the Month to do! Check out the article to see even more elaborate RNA-only structures.
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David Drubin @drubin.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
Today, our animation synthesizing decades of research on actin-mediated endocytosis in budding yeast was published: journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/... The result of a fantastic Iwasa-Drubin lab collaboration. @margotriggi.bsky.social @jiwasa.bsky.social movie.biologists.com/video/10.124...
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Beata Science Art @beatascienceart.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
All #CellBio2025 attendees! Here’s our phenomenal lineup for our session on #SciArt & #SciComm: @ahnaskop.bsky.social, @jiwasa.bsky.social, @mag2art.bsky.social, @nat-prunet.bsky.social, and Julia Licholai. Please come by and spread the word! Huge thanks to @ascbiology.bsky.social and co-organizers!
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SSLC Learn.Genetics @learngenetics.bsky.social · 07/11/2025
Thanks, @kutv2news and @utahdhhs for the shout-out in your online story about learning your family's health history! kutv.com/features/hea... Check it out - our activities are FREE, easy and printable: learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/basi...
kutv.com
Check Your Health- Fun & Easy Ways to Talk to Your Family About Health History
Did you know that talking about your family health history could be one of the most important traditions you make with your family? Health problems that tend to
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WALIIAnhydro @waliianhydro.bsky.social · 24/09/2025
Meet the speakers of the very first inaugural WALII Symposium: Exploring Life Without Water, happening Tuesday, Nov 18! 💧 To Learn More about the symposium: walii.science/virtual-symp... To Learn More about Dr. Amy Gladfelter: www.cellbio.duke.edu/amy-gladfelter @gladfelterlab.bsky.social
Promotional infographic for the speakers of the first WALII symposium. This promo highlights Dr. Amy Gladfelter of the Duke University, and includes her bio, headshot, and link to her website.
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Janet Iwasa @jiwasa.bsky.social · 05/08/2025
I'm so honored to receive the 2025 Bruce Alberts Award for Excellence in Science Education. Thank you @ascbiology.bsky.social and I look forward to this year's annual ASCB meeting in Philly!
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Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory @cshlnews.bsky.social · 29/07/2025
“In bone marrow alone ~500 million cells are born every min” says Bruce Stillman. Each must duplicate 2+ meters of DNA to avoid errors that can cause cancer & autism. See more from Stillman, @crick.ac.uk’s John Diffley & @uuhsresearch.bsky.social's @jiwasa.bsky.social www.cshl.edu/licensed-to-...
cshl.edu
Licensed to live | Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
The DNA packed inside every human cell contains instructions for life, written in billions of letters of genetic code. Every time a cell divides, the complete code, divided among 46 chromosomes, must ...
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Janet Iwasa @jiwasa.bsky.social · 11/07/2025
The Animation Lab will be giving an animation workshop and table demos, and the GSLC will have a table all day with demos! Come join us!
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SSLC Learn.Genetics @learngenetics.bsky.social · 09/07/2025
Almost fifty U of U researchers are giving over 80 demos, lab tours, workshops and talks for the public this Saturday, July 12th! Science-curious? We have something for everyone! 10am-4pm @utah.edu. Schedule and directions here: gslc.utah.edu/summer-scien...
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SSLC Learn.Genetics @learngenetics.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
Zoom In. Geek Out. Take a Backstage Pass to the Secret Life of Cells! Take a tour of the HSC Cell Imaging Core at 12, 1 or 2pm during Summer Science Day this Sat July 12th! Find the full Summer Science Day schedule here: gslc.utah.edu/summer-scien...
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Janet Iwasa @jiwasa.bsky.social · 05/07/2025
So grateful to be posting happy work-related news. First- I'm now tenured! Thank you @uofubiochem.bsky.social, @utah.edu, and Animation Lab collaborators! Also, 2 of GSLC's (@learngenetics.bsky.social) terminated science education grants were reinstated! AND Summer Science Day is next week!
media.tenor.com
a dog is dancing in a room with the words happy dance written on the bottom .
ALT: a dog is dancing in a room with the words happy dance written on the bottom .
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SSLC Learn.Genetics @learngenetics.bsky.social · 05/07/2025
One week until Summer Science Day! Everyone is welcome to visit @UofUHealth for lab tours, public-friendly talks, demos, and workshops! Saturday July 12th from 10am-4pm. Check out our action-packed schedule here: gslc.utah.edu/summer-scien...
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SSLC Learn.Genetics @learngenetics.bsky.social · 02/07/2025
Artists belong in science! Come to Summer Science Day & learn about: + How to draw dinosaurs! + Animating science w stop-motion animation! + Making a science comic! + Using 3D animation to bring science to life! Sat 7/12, 10am-4pm. Free all-ages open house at the U. gslc.utah.edu/summer-scien...
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Janet Iwasa @jiwasa.bsky.social · 02/07/2025
Check out this new review (with animations, natch) of mechanisms of licensing origins of DNA replication - a wonderful (and continuing!) collaboration with Bruce Stillman @cshlnews.bsky.social and John Diffley @crick.ac.uk! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory @cshlnews.bsky.social · 01/07/2025
Working with collaborators at the Crick Institute and the University of Utah, CSHL's President and CEO Bruce Stillman explores how pre-replicative complexes (pre-RCs)—even earlier than ORCs—assemble to initiate DNA replication in all plants, animals, and fungi.
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SSLC Learn.Genetics @learngenetics.bsky.social · 01/07/2025
You're trying to fill the summer days. What do we have that might be interesting for you and your kids? How about electron microscopes? Glowing fish?! Pig lungs??!! Come to Summer Science Day at the U on Saturday, July 12. Free and open to the public! gslc.utah.edu/summer-scien...
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Janet Iwasa @jiwasa.bsky.social · 01/07/2025
U of U Summer Science Day is less than two weeks away! Come to the U on Saturday July 12th between 10am-4pm for lab tours, science demos, talks, and fun for all ages! Free and open to the public. Schedule will be coming out in the next day or two! gslc.utah.edu/summer-scien...
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RCSB Protein Data Bank @rcsbpdb.bsky.social · 15/05/2025
Paper Published: A new chapter for Molecule of the Month Read how @jiwasa.bsky.social has taken over as the series creator of stories about critically important biological macromolecules pubs.aip.org/aca/sdy...
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Yi-Wei Chang @yiweichang.bsky.social · 15/05/2025
...and big thanks to @jiwasa.bsky.social for making this amazing video to illustrate the strand-sliding mechanism!
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SSLC Learn.Genetics @learngenetics.bsky.social · 01/05/2025
📣New FREE module drop! In Genetic Tech Investigations, students explore what technologies like sequencing, mass spec, and others reveal about the process from genes to proteins. ➡️ teach.genetics.utah.edu/content/gent... #ScienceTeachers #NGSS #Genetics #STEM
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Janet Iwasa @jiwasa.bsky.social · 28/04/2025
Meet Dr. Laura Dassama, an Assistant Professor at Stanford University. This illustration by Rachel Torrez showcases how the Dassama Group uses tools of chemistry and physics to provide molecular insights into complex biological processes.
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Janet Iwasa @jiwasa.bsky.social · 11/04/2025
Had a great time chatting with Flora Lichtman and Tim Lee @nhmu.bsky.social a couple of weekends ago here in SLC, and excited that our Science Friday @scifri.bsky.social piece will be airing today! www.sciencefriday.com/segments/sci...
sciencefriday.com
How ‘Science Interpreters’ Make Hidden Science Visible
A cell animator and a museum designer tell us how they translate scientific findings into visual experiences.
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SSLC Learn.Genetics @learngenetics.bsky.social · 08/04/2025
IT ALL STARTS NOW!!! #UGivingDay is underway! donate.utah.edu/giving-day-2... Go here tinyurl.com/482kzszf RIGHT NOW. Be among the first donors to the GSLC in our first-ever Giving Day campaign! Follow #MeettheGSLC to see to some of our most popular activities.
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Janet Iwasa @jiwasa.bsky.social · 04/04/2025
Please consider supporting the Genetic Science Learning Center (gslc.utah.edu) and Learn.Genetics (learn.genetics.utah.edu)! We're raising funds during #UGivingDay to help maintain this free (and fun!) resource that's used by science learners around the world.
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Janet Iwasa @jiwasa.bsky.social · 13/03/2025
We're excited to feature Dr. Shahzad Khan @zadkhan.bsky.social , an Assistant Professor of Neuroscience at UNC Chapel Hill, for #SeeingDiversity! This illustration (by @ann-hl.bsky.social ) highlights his studies on the molecular mechanisms of primary cilia loss in neurodegenerative diseases.
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SSLC Learn.Genetics @learngenetics.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
6th-8th grade teachers: Join our pilot study to get the first look at a new integrated science/engineering module. Try out “Bioengineering” in your classroom and let us know how we can make it better! Sign up by 2/20 here: utah.sjc1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_... #STEM #TeachersofBluesky #k12
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Janet Iwasa @jiwasa.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
For #SeeingDiversity, we are featuring Dr. Liz Ransey, an Assistant Professor at CMU Biological Sciences. Liz’s lab studies gap junctions and explores how their compositional diversity shapes cellular communication in health and disease (illustration by Tiffany Lai). tinyurl.com/eranseycmu
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Planet-Vie @planetvie.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
🏅 Après 300 numéros de la molécule du mois, David S. Goodsell passe le flambeau à @jiwasa.bsky.social, spécialiste de la création d'images et d'animations pour la biologie. Découvrez son premier article, traduit sur Planet-Vie ! planet-vie.ens.fr/thematiques/...
planet-vie.ens.fr
La molécule du mois : les polycétide synthases à chaîne d’assemblage
Les polycétide synthases sont de grands complexes formés de plusieurs enzymes qui synthétisent diverses petites molécules de manière séquentielle.
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Janet Iwasa @jiwasa.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
I'm happy and humbled to take on a new role with @rcsbpdb.bsky.social. I'll be continuing David Goodsell's work on the Molecule of the Month, starting with my first article on Assembly Line Polyketide Synthases! Check it out (animation included!) pdb101.rcsb.org/motm/301
pdb101.rcsb.org
PDB101: Molecule of the Month: Assembly Line Polyketide Synthases
Large multienzyme complexes that synthesize diverse small molecules in a stepwise manner.
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Mark Peifer (He, him) @peiferlabunc.bsky.social · 06/01/2025
At the heart of biology is the mantra: structure dictates function.Biological structures are also beautiful in their intricacy. David Goodsell brought this into public view. As he leaves "Molecule of the Month". here's a huge thank you for helping me see more clearly🧪1/2 cdn.rcsb.org/rcsb-pdb/gen...
Pictures of a man with grey hair and a bear, a younger woman with shoulder length dark hair and a gallery of images of molecules from the link
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RCSB Protein Data Bank @rcsbpdb.bsky.social · 06/01/2025
After a remarkable 300 columns, David Goodsell has retired from the Molecule of the Month. We are very grateful for his service. @jiwasa.bsky.social will continue the series, beginning with January's article on Assembly Line Polyketide Synthases Details: cdn.rcsb.org/rcsb-pd...
cdn.rcsb.org
EDUCATION CORNER: Molecule of the Month: Celebrating  25 Years of Storytelling and Announcing New Beginnings
After a remarkable 300 columns, David Goodsell has retired from the Molecule of the Month series.  Janet Iwasa will be continuing the series for PDB-101.
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U of Utah Dept of Biochemistry @uofubiochem.bsky.social · 13/12/2024
HIV drug based on research by the Sundquist lab is @science.org's 2024 Breakthrough of the Year! healthcare.utah.edu/newsroom/new... www.science.org/content/arti...
healthcare.utah.edu
HIV Drug Based in Research by the Sundquist Lab is Science’s 2024 Breakthrough of the Year
The drug lenacapavir, developed by Gilead Sciences, provides protection for half a year instead of one day and has performed extremely well in clinical trials.
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Angela Andersen @angelaandersen.bsky.social · 28/11/2024
Please come to "Breaking Barriers and Bouncing Back: Mastering Communication and Resilience in Science". We'll talk about scientific writing, visuals, collaborations, peer review, publishing, & dealing with rejection! Fun times 😉Room 24B, Dec 14 1:45 PM, 1.5 hours plan.core-apps.com/ascbembo2024...
plan.core-apps.com
Cell Bio 2024 - An ASCB|EMBO Meeting
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SSLC Learn.Genetics @learngenetics.bsky.social · 27/11/2024
#ScienceTeachers! Have you played Mouse Party? An oldie but goodie that looks inside the brains of mice on drugs. It's part of a #SciEd #NGSS module on the Science of Addiction- check out this and other activities here: learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/addi... learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/addi...
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U of Utah Dept of Biochemistry @uofubiochem.bsky.social · 13/11/2024
The work of the Safavi lab safavi.biochem.utah.edu is featured in this weekend's @nytimes.com Magazine! Read about what we can learn from venoms: www.nytimes.com/2024/11/13/m...
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Janet Iwasa @jiwasa.bsky.social · 13/11/2024
For #SeeingDiversity, meet Onyeka Obidi, a graduate student in the Brasch Lab at the University of Utah. This illustration by Rachel Torrez showcases the protein interactions and organization within the synaptic cleft studied by the Brasch lab.
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Janet Iwasa @jiwasa.bsky.social · 29/02/2024
Check out the 2nd SnapShot of the ribosome biogenesis series featuring the 60S ribosomal subunit! This was a great collaboration w Ed Hurt & Roland Beckmann. Read the SnapShot & watch the animation w narration here: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
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Janet Iwasa @jiwasa.bsky.social · 09/01/2024
Check out the Animation Lab's latest paper by Margot Riggi and Rachel Torrez that describes how animation tools can be used to model dynamic molecular mechanisms! authors.elsevier.com/a/1iNW63SNvc...
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