iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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joe dobbs @joedobbs.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Our work investigating the cooperation between gene expression machines is now online @cellpress.bsky.social. Check it out if you're interested in high-throughput #cryoET, transcription and translation, or using structural biology to quantify gene expression in cells! 🔬 www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

cell.com

Single-cell visual proteomics of a minimal bacterium reveals structural coordination of gene expression machineries

Cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) resolves and quantifies an almost complete view of bacterial translation, revealing how gene expression machineries coordinate across the processes of transcription,...

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Beckmann Lab @beckmannlab.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Frank Nijpels from VitriMatics paid us a visit today. Not only did he repair our broken VitroBot Mark IV and returned it in person, he also brought some extremely cool tools ❄️ for reliable cryo-EM grid freezing 🔬. Check out the VitriClip and the SupraBlot at vitrimatics.com. #cryoEM #cryoET

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Sonja Welsch @sonjawelsch.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Oh my. If there were a contest for “world’s worst cryo-ET FIB-SEM lamella” I could contribute a first place contender 🥺. Might need a hug.

a map of a FIBSEM lamella that looks like the sad “before” image in a how-to-master-FIBmilling” comparison.

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Sonja Welsch @sonjawelsch.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Wondering how these city tours work in practise: headsets on or off while walking? Didn’t dare to stop and stare.

A group of tourists on a street corner, all
wearing VR Headsets.

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simon-alkema.bsky.social @simon-alkema.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Releasing TOMATO, the TOMogram Annotation TOol! A lightweight Python GUI for going through hundreds of cryo-ET tomograms. Flag what's in each one, grade its quality, and end up with a table you can filter and act on. github.com/alkemasimon/...

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Rachel Mellwig @rachelmellwig.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Come learn about in-situ CLEM in beautiful Heidelberg! Registration closes October 25th, don’t miss out! @events.embl.org

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Florian Wollweber @florianwollweber.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Exciting news! Our @erc.europa.eu StG project ARCHAEAOLOGY got funded 🎉 We’ll combine cryoET/EM, ExM & spatial omics to explore the subcellular organization of Asgard archaea. Job ads coming soon! 🦠 ❄️ 🔬 #TeamTomo #ArchaeaSky #MicroSky

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Murphy Lab @bjmurphylab.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Check out our newest preprint! tinyurl.com/mttvaed3 Max was able to resolve cryo-EM structures of the DsrMKJOP complex, which catalyzes a critical step in sulfur metabolism and sulfide production is sulfate-reducing microbes. The main findings are summarized in the video below 📽️

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Sonja Welsch @sonjawelsch.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

🤷🏻‍♀️ Idk why I have two Autoloader parts left over from this cryoEM build. Should keep them as spare parts I guess.

A completed plastic brick model of an electron microscope, but two extra bricks are left over.

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Sonja Welsch @sonjawelsch.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

🤩 figure 1 of this preprint on Asgard archaea-associated viruses should win a poster prize.

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Bui Lab @McGill @builab.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

Interested in 3D-printed models of cryo-EM grids, autogrid and cryo-FIB for visual teaching/decoration. Download our model and print: makerworld.com/en/models/30... Designed in Blender by Khan Bao, an undergrad in the lab.

makerworld.com

Cryo-EM Grids for Teaching - Free 3D Print Model - MakerWorld

Download this free 3D print file designed by CiliaBuilder. EM Grid Scaled ModelScaled up and simplified 3D model of EM grids and autogrids for demonstration of preparation process and milling. Content...

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cryoEM papers @cryoempapers.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Automated LN₂ refill device for uninterrupted cryoFIB-SEM operations pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42476429/ #cryoEM

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Sonja Welsch @sonjawelsch.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Wonder what Angus MacGyver would think of our #cryoEM Dewar drying cycle setup @mpibp.bsky.social 🤔(lowest heat gun setting a little hotter than desired).

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Reposted by Sonja Welsch

Max Planck Institute of Biophysics @mpibp.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

How do 2 meters of DNA fit inside a nucleus you can barely see? 🧬 Our new study mapped individual nucleosomes inside human cells.

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Katharina Geißler @kgeissler.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

What is the best way to distribute the electron dose across your tilt series in cryo ET? Thanks to Maarten Tuijtel, we finally know --> head over to eLife for the publication! doi.org/10.7554/eLif...

doi.org

Optimising the tilt-increment for in situ cryo-electron tomography

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Max Planck Institute of Biophysics @mpibp.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

3/3: Across reconstruction, template matching, and subtomogram averaging, datasets acquired with 1°, 2°, and 3° all performed robustly—with 3° tilt steps showing the best performance in final refinement. @elife.bsky.social 📄 Read the full study: 👉 elifesciences.org/reviewed-pre...

elifesciences.org

Optimising the tilt-increment for in situ cryo-electron tomography

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Max Planck Institute of Biophysics @mpibp.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

1/3: We are excited to share a new study by Maarten Tuijtel from @becklab.bsky.social, published in eLife. 🔬 🎉 The work addresses a key question in cryo-electron tomography: how to best distribute the limited electron dose across a tilt series while balancing angular sampling and image quality. 💥

Cryo-EM images showing sample structures at tilt increments from 1 to 10 degrees, with resolution patterns and measured values in nanometers.

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Brady Johnston @bradyajohnston.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

The paper is out which means the MD trajectories are finally available! #MolecularNodes #b3d #GeometryNodes

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Sonja Welsch @sonjawelsch.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

Thought I had discovered a new #cryoEM “hole size gradient” feature. Turns out E.coli in ice creates optical illusions ☹️. Or it’s just me hallucinating.

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Sonja Welsch @sonjawelsch.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Wouldn’t be surprised if this is what we’ll find at a German-run train station on planet Mars one day 🚀🚇

A wooden gate with a sign that reads “for earth only!”

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Tsai-Hsuan Weng @thweng.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

It's finally out now in @natcomms.nature.com! We used cryo-EM + simulations to watch the Na⁺/H⁺ antiporter NhaA in action across a wide range of pH—and uncover how pH, Na⁺ binding, and structural changes are coupled. Read here 🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

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Utz Ermel @uermel.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

Excited to see POPSICLE out! 🍦 A combined benchmark for cryoET and evaluations with common segmentation models. Find the full dataset here: huggingface.co/datasets/bio...

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Biohub @biohub.org · 04/06/2026

Better vitrification = better cryo-ET. We've opened an RFA for two-year grants to advance vitrification techniques for biological samples—welcoming applications from researchers in heat transfer, cryogenics, and materials science. Apply here: bit.ly/4uip6eJ

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Alister Burt @alisterburt.bsky.social · 31/05/2026

@mgflast.bsky.social showing us how to do cellular structural biology on easymode thanks to his collection of pretrained nets 😎 Particularly cool: he demonstrates custom tomo picking workflows e.g. yTuRC at the minus end of MTs, restricting picks to specific cellular compartments Check it out!

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Jan Philipp Kreysing @jpkreysing.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

PhD: defended ✅🎉 My work used in situ cryo-ET #teamtomo to investigate cellular machines from ribosome translation and HIV capsid at the nuclear pore to membrane association of vault, and the molecular architecture of heterochromatin. Huge thanks to @becklab.bsky.social. What a wonderful ride!

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Sonja Welsch @sonjawelsch.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

If it fits, it sits, #cryoEM version. Rear door of Krios at @mpibp.bsky.social has a cat flap now🚪

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Max Planck Institute of Biophysics @mpibp.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

Komm’ am 12. Juni auf die Night of Science✨! Erlebe, wie aus Stickstoff leckeres Eis🍦wird und welche Aufgaben verschiedene Proteine in unserem Körper übernehmen! Erfahre in Vorträgen und bei einer Elektronenmikroskopie-Tour 🔬 mehr über unsere Forschung! Infos: 👉 www.biophys.mpg.de/de/night-of-...

Eine Waffel mit Wolke vor blauem Hintergrund, Night of Science, 12. Juni, 2026.

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Reposted by Sonja Welsch

Tanmay Bharat @tbharat-lab.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

Sub-cellular chemical mapping using correlated cryogenic electron and mass spectrometry imaging online @natmethods.nature.com, led by Hannah Ochner, collaboration with @catfranco.bsky.social and @kiranrpatil.bsky.social labs doi.org/10.1038/s415...

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The Gold Lab @the-gold-lab.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

If you love phages and CryoEM, the deadline to apply for a PhD studentship in my lab is 8th June!

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GBM (Gesellschaft für Biochemie und Molekularbiologie) @gbmev.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

GBM Lunch on May 20, 2026 (12.30 pm) Speaker: @dodonova-sveta.bsky.social (EMBL Heidelberg) Title: "Insights into nsights into Chromatin Architecture in Archaea by Cryo-EM and Cryo-ET" Chair: Janosch Hennig (University of Bayreuth) Organizer: GBM Study Group "Structural Biology" #GBMLunch

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Sonja Welsch @sonjawelsch.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

Banksy's rat with suitcase resurfaced after 16 years at a research center near Tokyo? 🙃

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Lars-Anders Carlson @lacarlson.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

Join a rising star and very friendly colleague! #PhDposition

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Cell Biology J-Club @cellclub.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... In situ cryo-ET defines the ultrastructure of ER exit sites in human cells

biorxiv.org

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Sonja Welsch @sonjawelsch.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

If you’re looking for a dream combo postdoc position that includes #cryoET plus #virology plus a scientifically and geographically very appealing lab: please consider applying 👇🏻🤩

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IMPRS on Cellular Biophysics @imprs-cbp.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

That’s a wrap on the @embo.org Practical Course on “In-situ structural biology by #cryoFIB and #cryoET” @mpibp.bsky.social! Our students tutored 18 participants for an intensive, hands-on course covering the full workflow! It was an incredible week of learning, collaboration, and shared expertise! 🤩

A large diverse group of people waving and smiling at the camera in front of scientific posters displayed on a wall.

Three young researchers in a lab setting, one working with equipment on the bench, the other gesturing and and talking to the third person.

The office setting features two male researchers seated at desks with computers, discussing and smiling, while a female researcher stands in the background, engaged in her teaching.

Two women at an scientific event are standing in front of a blackboard, holding drinks and chatting, whilst other people stand in the backgrou

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Helena Watson @helenawatson.bsky.social · 25/04/2026

Preprint 🧵! I’m really excited to introduce BIGSMALL, an interleaved multi-magnification cryo-ET scheme bridging molecular and cellular scales in a single acquisition! BIGSMALL = 𝐁road 𝐈nformation 𝐆athering 𝐒trategy by 𝐌ultiscale 𝐀cquisition of lame𝐋𝐋a www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... (1/6)

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Gregor Weiss @weiss-lab.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

New preprint 🚀 ❄️ We developed Autogrid-compatible HPF planchettes that enable direct freezing of clipped EM grids and streamline integration with cryo-FIB workflows ✔️ improved grid stability ✔️ reduced handling ✔️ robust vitrification (🦠 🧫 🧠) A step toward routine HPF for complex samples #teamtomo

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Max Planck Institute of Biophysics @mpibp.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

That’s a wrap on our @embo.org #cryoFIB & #cryoET course! It was an incredible week of hands-on learning, collaboration, and shared expertise, made possible by dedicated organizers, incredible trainers, and an engaged group of participants.

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Max Planck Institute of Biophysics @mpibp.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

We are having a very hands-on week at the @embo.org #cryoFIB & #cryoET course 🔬 Our participants are learning about sample vitrification, lamella milling, FLM, lift-out, data acquisition and more! We are learning by doing, troubleshooting, and sharing expertise across labs. 🧪

Three female researchers discuss data displayed on dual monitors in a microscopy workspace with keyboards, mouse, and electronic equipment on the desk.

Two female researchers working at a computer displaying a 3D scientific visualization on a large curved monitor in a modern office.

Two young researchers examining an object with tweezers in a lab setting near a sink and hygiene supplies.

Group of participants in a lab setting reviewing microscopy images on computer screens and looking at printed diagrams during a practical course.

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Max Planck Institute of Biophysics @mpibp.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

Participants shared their work and ideas in our poster session at the @embo.org Practical Course on “In-situ structural biology by Cryo-FIB and Cryo-ET” at our institute! It was a great chance to connect, discuss, and get new perspectives on #cryoFIB and #cryoET. 🌍

Three young researchers—two women and one man—stand in front of a poster at a poster session, holding drinks and smiling as they chat. Other people stand in the background.

Female researcher pointing at a scientific poster on a borad while two others observe in an indoor setting.

Two female researchers at the poster session are standing in front of a poster board, holding drinks and chatting, whilst other people stand in the background.

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Max Planck Institute of Biophysics @mpibp.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

We’ve kicked off our @embo.org Practical Course on #cryoFIB & #cryoET! Participants from around the world are joining us this week for hands-on training, from lamella milling to tomogram reconstruction 🔬

Male bald speaker in blue shirt giving a presentation on early days of tomographic imaging in the 1980s, featuring Walter Hoppe and technical diagrams.

Audience seated in a room attentively listening to a presentation, some holding notebooks or tablets.

Female researcher presenting colorful microscopic images at Max Planck Institute for Biophysics during the EMBO Practical Course on “In-situ structural biology by Cryo-FIB and Cryo-ET”.

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Bui Lab @McGill @builab.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

The cartwheel was first visualized ~70 years ago in the symbiont Trichonympha in the wood termite gut. We’ve discovered the cartwheel’s secret: a unique zigzag stacking of SAS-6 tetramers that facilitates the iconic 9-fold symmetry of cilia. #cellbiology #teamtomo #SAS6 #cartwheel

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Sonja Welsch @sonjawelsch.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

Unintentional staring contest with the FIB-SEM chamber (I won).

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Dave Barry @david-j-barry.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

Little bit surprised to see most microscopy facilities now have dedicated image analysis support, but 1.0 FTE on average is nowhere near enough. And more than half don't charge for analysis services?!? 🤨 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Image analysis. (A) Pie chart shows the % of facilities with dedicated image analysis support. Yes (blue), no (orange). (B) Violin plot shows the distribution of # FTE providing that support. Mean and standard deviation are included. (C) Pie chart shows the % of facilities providing bespoke image analysis. Yes (blue), no (orange). (D) Pie chart shows the sources of cost recovery of bespoke image analysis support. Uncharged (blue), charged by the hour (orange), project fee (green), staff salary contribution (sky blue). (E) Pie chart shows the % of facilities that support commercial image analysis software. Yes (blue), no (orange). (F) Pie chart shows the sources of funding to maintain commercial analysis software. Mix of all sources (blue), on an annual basis from user charges (orange), institutional support (green), grant funding (sky blue), on an ad hoc basis from user charges (magenta).

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jmi.70079

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Ben Long @botbml.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

Using Cryogenic Electron Tomography (cryoET) to Determine Rubisco Polymerization Constants in α-Carboxysomes www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

biorxiv.org

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SBGrid Consortium @sbgrid.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

New Title Alert: easymode- a collection of general pretrained networks for cellular cryoET. Learn more here: buff.ly/mLbcUbZ #SBGrid #SBGridSoftware

buff.ly

easymode

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Sonja Welsch @sonjawelsch.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

TIL what "unload sample from Compustage" of a cryo-EM actually looks like. Neat 🙂.

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Institute of Molecular Biotechnology @imbavienna.bsky.social · 09/03/2026

A consortium of group leaders from IMP, IMBA (Vienna BioCenter) and ISTA has been awarded an FWF Emerging Fields grant to study how germ cells safeguard and pass on genetic information across generations.

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