iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Marco Hein @marco.heinlab.org · 01/10/2026

Looking boldly into the future while keeping the lessons of history in mind. Celebrating the opening of @meduniwien.ac.at‘s two new institutes: the Center for Translational Medicine and the Eric Kandel Institute - Center for Precision Medicine, together with my @maxperutzlabs.ac.at colleagues.

Perutz labs investigators Tom Leonard, Marco Hein, Danny Nedialkova, Egon Ogris, and Elif Karagöz, sitting beside the bronze statue of Eric Kandel, namesake of the new MedUni Vienna institute.

090

Reposted by Marco Hein

Maya Voichek @mayavoichek.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Super excited to share my postdoctoral work at @imbavienna.bsky.social @viennabiocenter.bsky.social - We discovered that some retrotransposons, or "jumping genes" 🧬, are able to spread from cell to cell via a new viral infectivity route. A short thread: 🧵👇 (1/7)

AI-generated illustration of the soma-to-germline transmission of retrotransposons described in our work

20257148

Marco Hein @marco.heinlab.org · 23/09/2026

Very proud of Leon for his DOC fellowship!

050

Reposted by Marco Hein

Max Perutz Labs Vienna @maxperutzlabs.ac.at · 15/09/2026

One frame. Many voices. 🔬 Kavya Shetty, PhD student in the Hein lab, brings an important message to our #WomenInScience series: diverse role models matter, especially for the scientists who come next 🤝

1154

Marco Hein @marco.heinlab.org · 04/09/2026

Very happy to be named “researcher of the month” at @meduniwien.ac.at

0171

Reposted by Marco Hein

Anton Goloborodko @golobor.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

1/ out in @science.org! We found a new asymmetry in large-scale chromosome structure: sister chromatids are shifted by hundreds of kb in the 5′→3′ direction of their inherited strands! A close collaboration w/ @gerlichlab.bsky.social , led by @flaviacorsi.bsky.social www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

215265

Reposted by Marco Hein

Daniel Swain @weatherwest.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Given rising interest in the rapidly strengthening El Niño event in the tropical Pacific Ocean, I've created a one-page fact sheet succinctly describing what El Niño is, this year's (remarkable) forecast, and potential impacts from California to global scales. [Thread]

JPEG version of a 1-page Factsheet: El Niño 2026-2027: A Potentially Historic Global Climate Event
By Daniel Swain, PhD | August 2026

There is a banner image depicting projected warming of the Pacific Ocean by early winter.

The content begins:
"What is El Niño?
El Niño is the warm phase of a natural cycle, known as El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO), that occurs roughly every 2-7 years in the tropical Pacific Ocean. During El Niño events, the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean warms to well above typical levels. El Niño directly affects local climate in the countries closest to the unusually warm ocean waters, but can also indirectly influence the climate of distant regions thousands of miles away. During the strongest events, El Niño can profoundly affect climate even on global scales, causing temporary planetary warming and disrupting large-scale precipitation patterns..."

12547274

Reposted by Marco Hein

Jason Nomburg @jnoms.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

I am hiring a computational postdoctoral fellow or bioinformatics scientist! Please apply here if interested, or share with anyone who may be. This position will be following up on our work studying the virus-host conflict. Reposts appreciated! aithyra.onlyfy.jobs/en/job/v2gwu...

aithyra.onlyfy.jobs

Postdoctoral Fellow or Bioinformatics Scientist, Nomburg Lab (all genders)

About AITHYRAAITHYRA is a pioneering biomedical research institute in Vienna, Austria, where artificial intelligence meets life sciences to drive the next biological revolution. AITHYRA is an institut

044

Reposted by Marco Hein

Jason Nomburg @jnoms.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Happy to share the first preprint out of the Nomburg lab! Many aspects of cellular immunity are shared across the tree of life. Here, we show that some of these conserved aspects of cellular immunity are mirrored by conserved effectors of immune antagonism. Thread below! 1/15

38249

Marco Hein @marco.heinlab.org · 29/06/2026

How do you indicate in a slide deck that an image is AI-generated (and not real data or human-made artwork) in a clear yet unobtrusive way? Today I saw a great solution: a small astroid (the geometric shape, not an asteroid), similar to the Gemini logo. Simple, subtle, and easily recognizable.

An astroid: a pinched, concave diamond-shaped geometric object.

142

Reposted by Marco Hein

Vladimir Neskovic Kesma @kesma.wtf · 24/06/2026

This is so cool live.infrared.city

041

Reposted by Marco Hein

Jörg Spengler 🇪🇺 @joergspengler.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

Liebe Autofahrer:innen, in Straßen wie diesen könnt und dürft ihr nicht überholen, weil der Mindestabstand (1,5 Meter) nicht eingehalten werden kann. Also entspannt euch, nehmt den Fuß vom Gas und fahrt brav hinterher. Und zwar nicht nur am #Weltfahrradtag. #WorldBicycleDay

Straße in München. An den Fahrbahnrändern parken Autos. Einen Meter neben dem Auto steht ein Fahrrad. Rechnet man den Sicherheitsabstand von 1,5 Meter noch dazu, dann bleibt kein Platz mehr für ein fahrendes Auto, um zu überholen.

15444100

Reposted by Marco Hein

Reese Richardson @reeserichardson.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

The Thermo Fisher situation keeps getting worse. We've now collected 450+ problematic images presented as verification data in TF's antibody catalog. This includes: 🖌️ Dozens more images with duplications or painting 🖨️ Hundreds of blots that all share the same background (behold slideshow below)

18590367

Reposted by Marco Hein

European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control @ecdc.europa.eu · 02/06/2026

The 2026 West Nile virus season is underway. Our first weekly seasonal surveillance report is now available. As of 27 May 2026, one human case of West Nile virus infection has been reported in Europe, from North Macedonia. wnv-weekly.ecdc.europa.eu #IDsky #EpiSky #PublicHealth #WestNileVirus

2157

Marco Hein @marco.heinlab.org · 27/05/2026

Around 21,000 demonstrators gathered in Vienna today to protest the budget cuts for public universities #UnisRetten

Large crowd outside Uni Vienna headquarters

Dramatic clouds above protesters in Schottengasse, Vienna

0183

Marco Hein @marco.heinlab.org · 26/05/2026

Big demonstration planned for tomorrow to protest the Austrian government’s proposed budget cuts for public universities #UnisRetten

030

Reposted by Marco Hein

Victoria Deneke @vdeneke.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

How do sperm and egg fuse? Surprisingly, we still don’t fully know… Our field has uncovered many pieces of the fertilization puzzle, but not how they fit together. We identify ✨ SPARK ✨ - a conserved sperm complex that couples sperm-egg binding to fusion. tinyurl.com/34cm4xat Read on! 🧵👇

2033891

Reposted by Marco Hein

Kenneth Loi @kenjmloi.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

Excited to share our discovery of a new programmable RNA-guided DNA-targeting system hiding inside bacteriophages that predates CRISPR. We call it VIPR (Viral Interference Programmable Repeat), and it uses an entirely new logic to find its targets. Thread + link below.

7448197

Reposted by Marco Hein

European Research Council (ERC) @erc.europa.eu · 17/04/2026

The number of grant applications is rising sharply. Our capacity for their evaluation isn’t. ERC President Maria Leptin explains why stricter resubmission limits are being introduced for 2027 calls and what they mean for applicants. 🔗 link.europa.eu/xF7kjc

link.europa.eu

ERC President explains stricter application measures amid rising demand for funding

The text of an open letter sent by ERC President Maria Leptin to ERC panel members, grantees and other stakeholders on 16 April 2026.

34649

Reposted by Marco Hein

NASA | ESA Space Updates @nasaupdates.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

#Artemis II - We have the first image from yesterdays Lunar flyby captured by the crew on Orion EARTHSET. April 6, 2026. Humanity, from the other side. First photo from the far side of the Moon. Captured from Orion as Earth dips beyond the lunar horizon. 🚀🌕🌍

142366893

Marco Hein @marco.heinlab.org · 01/04/2026

Our newest piece of lab equipment: Bio-Rad’s “Buffer C dispenser”, developed in cooperation with De’Longhi. A discreet bench-top device that won’t raise suspicions with the lab safety officers.

Bio-Rad/De’Longhi hybrid lab coffee maker

0457

Reposted by Marco Hein

Vienna BioCenter Scientific Training @vbcscitraining.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

Exciting job offer: PhD Program Manager. Lead recruitment, support PhD candidates, and shape doctoral training at a top international life sciences campus. ow.ly/3YkN50YAuGM Institute of Molecular Biotechnology, Max Perutz Labs Vienna, IMP, Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology

013

Reposted by Marco Hein

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 🧵

1168

Reposted by Marco Hein

Ed Huttlin @edhuttlin.bsky.social · 23/03/2026

To better understand the ubiquitin-proteasome system, Suzanne Elsasser, Dan Finley, and the Human Proteostasis Consortium have systematically surveyed its components: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... I would encourage you to check out this valuable resource! @harvardcellbio.bsky.social

084

Reposted by Marco Hein

Elif Karagöz @gekaragoz.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

We are grateful to FWF for their support! It is a privilege to be part of this amazing team and work on this exciting truly collaborative project! Stay tuned!

151

Marco Hein @marco.heinlab.org · 11/03/2026

I’m very happy to be part of our FWF “Emerging Fields” consortium! Together with @gekaragoz.bsky.social, @sebastianfalk.bsky.social and CCRI/CeMM/VetMedUni colleagues Eleni Tomazou, @dseruggia.bsky.social and @floriangrebien.bsky.social, we will study the ribosome code in pediatric cancers.

1264

Reposted by Marco Hein

Max Perutz Labs Vienna @maxperutzlabs.ac.at · 02/03/2026

Fantastic news! 🙌 The Perutz is excited to welcome Danny Nedialkova as a new group leader starting this April! 🎉 She will strengthen the institute's research on the fundamental mechanisms that shape cellular physiology and disease ➡️ www.maxperutzlabs.ac.at/research/res...

16613

Reposted by Marco Hein

GfV - Gesellschaft für Virologie @gesvirologie.bsky.social · 23/12/2025

Die Gesellschaft für Virologie begrüßt und unterstützt die Corona-Enquetekommissionen in den verschiedenen Parlamenten. Allerdings nehmen wir mit großer Sorge zur Kenntnis, dass darin auch wissenschaftlich nicht tragbare Behauptungen aufgestellt werden, wie kürzlich in der Kommission des … (1/2)

15120

Reposted by Marco Hein

Aberle Judith @aberlejudith.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

#Grippe-Welle in Österreich Zunahme der Influenzafälle - im Sentinelsystem überwiegen Nachweise von Influenza A Subtyp H3N2 und H1N1 (3:1) Weiterhin Aktivität von #SARS-CoV2 #Parainfluenza #saisonaleCoronaviren #Rhinoviren, sporadische RSV-Infektionen #ZentrumVirologie #MedUniWien

37624

Reposted by Marco Hein

Institute of Molecular Biotechnology @imbavienna.bsky.social · 25/09/2025

🎉 Congratulations to Max Kellner, former PhD student in the Penninger Lab, who was presented with the ÖGBMT Life Sciences PhD Award Austria. The award recognizes Kellner’s PhD research on how dangerous viruses emerge from natural reservoirs like bats. More: imba.science/3KiRYSN

0164

Reposted by Marco Hein

Vienna BioCenter Scientific Training @vbcscitraining.bsky.social · 17/09/2025

Our Autumn call is now open with over 20+ fully funded positions in various disciplines in the life sciences. Interested? Check out our vacancies in computational biology, genomes & evolution and the exciting projects being offered here: ow.ly/aBgQ50WY1S2

111

Marco Hein @marco.heinlab.org · 15/07/2025

I couldn’t be prouder of my team! Kavya and Sebastian both won DOC fellowships from the Austrian Academy of Sciences! Congratulations to all awardees!

1202

Reposted by Marco Hein

Anton Goloborodko @golobor.bsky.social · 15/07/2025

We found a new asymmetry in the large-scale chromosome structure: sister chromatids are systematically shifted by hundreds of kb in the 5′→3′ direction of their inherited strands! The work was led by Flavia Corsi, in close collaboration with the Daniel Gerlich lab. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... 1/

311858

Marco Hein @marco.heinlab.org · 08/07/2025

Join us at the Perutz, part of the Vienna Biocenter! Opening for a full professorship in Molecular Mechanisms of Disease 👇🏻 @maxperutzlabs.bsky.social @viennabiocenter.bsky.social @univie.ac.at

0139

Reposted by Marco Hein

Jason Nomburg @jnoms.bsky.social · 12/06/2025

Hello everyone! I am pleased to share information on the first ever Computational Structural Virology Symposium, conducted August 4th on zoom and highlighting work in this emerging field. You can register for this event here: forms.gle/CNiqskMwQEuV.... Please re-post!

26952

Marco Hein @marco.heinlab.org · 13/06/2025

Congratulations Shira & team!

110

Reposted by Marco Hein

Shira Weingarten-Gabbay @shiraweingarten.bsky.social · 12/06/2025

If you love #viruses, #ribosomes, and genomic #darkmatter, this thread is for you!! 💫 We're excited to share our new publication developing Massively Parallel Ribosome Profiling (MPRP), which uncovered ~4,000 hidden proteins in ~700 viral genomes. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

34616

Reposted by Marco Hein

Randall Munroe @xkcd.com · 29/05/2025

Mass Spec xkcd.com/3094/

[Person with ponytail wearing lab coat hands balloon to another person in front of a springboard, a magnet hanging from above, and then a target] PERSON WITH PONYTAIL to Person 2: Rub this balloon against your head, then go jump past that magnet toward the target on the wall. [caption] Before the bathroom scale was invented, the only way to weigh people was mass spectrometry.

283874466

Reposted by Marco Hein

Max J. Kellner @mjkellner.bsky.social · 21/05/2025

Hi 🦋 I’m thrilled to share that our #bat #organoid work has found a publishing home in Nature Immunology! These models provided unprecedented insight into antiviral immunity at epithelial surfaces of the Egyptian fruit bat 🦇 — a natural reservoir of Marburg virus 🦠 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

nature.com

Bat organoids reveal antiviral responses at epithelial surfaces - Nature Immunology

Kellner et al. develop respiratory and intestinal organoids from Rousettus aegyptiacus to show elevated basal expression of interferon-ε (IFNε) and IFN-stimulated genes, along with robust, self-amplifying type III IFN responses that drive antiviral defense against zoonotic RNA viruses.

14611

Reposted by Marco Hein

MedUni Wien @meduniwien.ac.at · 06/05/2025

Innovative Forschung zur Entstehung & Kontrolle von #Metastasen ⤵️ Wir gratulieren @jwinkler.bsky.social von der #MedUniWien zur Auszeichnung der @oeaw.bsky.social mit dem Johann Wilhelm Ritter von Mannagetta-Preis!

meduniwien.ac.at

Juliane Winkler mit dem Johann Wilhelm Ritter von Mannagetta-Preis ausgezeichnet

Mehr über die Studie zur Entstehung von Metastasen!

0114

Reposted by Marco Hein

Juliane Winkler @jwinkler.bsky.social · 07/04/2025

🌟 Exciting #PhD Opportunity! Join my lab in beautiful #Vienna. We are studying tumor-immune interactions in #metastasis using #singlecell and #spatial omics! ⏰ Apply by 04/25 bit.ly/3l7WMhs more infos 👉 winklerlab.org

02416

Reposted by Marco Hein

Institute of Molecular Biotechnology @imbavienna.bsky.social · 28/03/2025

IMBA is recruiting a Junior Group Leader! Are you interested in starting your own lab, pursuing curiosity-driven basic research in the life sciences? Apply now to our group leader position. The deadline is May 28. Link is below.

16775

Marco Hein @marco.heinlab.org · 01/04/2025

Dear @nature.com publishing group: We swallowed your $12k article processing charge, but the name of your new journal is too much…

Screenshot of the “aims and scope” page of the fictitious journal “Nature Cell Science” [April fools]

2290

Reposted by Marco Hein

Maya Voichek @mayavoichek.bsky.social · 17/03/2025

1/ Transposable elements are often called "jumping genes" because they mobilize within genomes. 🧬 But did you know they can also jump 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 cells? 🤯 Our new study reveals how retrotransposons invade the germline directly from somatic cells. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... A short thread 🧵👇

Drosophila follicle showing retrotransposons (pink & yellow) expressed in somatic cells infecting the oocyte

12547259

Marco Hein @marco.heinlab.org · 12/03/2025

Agarose/sepharose doesn't work as affinity resin base for large organelle cargo, only smooth magnetic particles do, limiting the selection of commercial reagents. Nanobodies would have been nice because they generate less background during on-bead digest. Ultimately we went back to square 1: HA.

020