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Sonja Welsch

@sonjawelsch.bsky.social
2.5K followers 996 following 254 posts

Taking care of Electron Microscopy at @mpibp.bsky.social. Yay for #cryoEM and #cryoET ❄️🔬but frozen is not always better. Also, #viruses 🦠 rule.

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Sonja Welsch @sonjawelsch.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
Wow. Fantastic data and results 😮. Also fantastic: playing the Futurama intro tune with the first 10 seconds of this movie.
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Sonja Welsch @sonjawelsch.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
😕unauthorized user on a night shift in @mpibp.bsky.social’s EM facility.
LEGO lady with a weird ponytail inspects a toy electron microscope in a suspiciously dark lab.
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SBGrid Consortium @sbgrid.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
On October 13th at 12pm ET, Prof Beata Turoňová from @mpibp.bsky.social will kick off our 2026-2027 software webinar series with an introduction to cryoCAT, a library of contextual analysis tools for cryo electron tomography & subtomogram averaging. More here: buff.ly/R6ZdW1B #SBGrid #Webinars
buff.ly
Webinars
The SBGrid Consortium is an innovative global research computing group operated out of Harvard Medical School. SBGrid provides the global structural biology community with support for research…
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Sonja Welsch @sonjawelsch.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
🤔 grade it as “false/ 0 points” > wait for the student to complain > let them explain it to you?
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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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Sonja Welsch @sonjawelsch.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Yes, but POV matters: we all tend to ignore the aspects of a colleague’s job that we do not see on a regular basis/are irrelevant for us. Colleagues who appear “bad at their job” are almost always really good at something. That something might just be invisible/irrelevant for us.
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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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Sonja Welsch @sonjawelsch.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
I think I can beat that? Went to Japan recently and was way too delighted to see one gets a new pair of pyjamas every night.
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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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Sonja Welsch @sonjawelsch.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
🤯
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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
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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 · 17/07/2026
🤩👇🏻❗️
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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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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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Sonja Welsch @sonjawelsch.bsky.social · 05/07/2026
🤩 it’s clearly an … upside-down apple🍎
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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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Sonja Welsch @sonjawelsch.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
Do I read that right: last use 1982? How on earth does that thing look so immaculate?
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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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Instruct-ERIC @instruct-eric.bsky.social · 30/05/2026
First international VISION symposium on Integrated Structural Virology 📅 8 – 9 September 2026 📍 @cssbhamburg.bsky.social , Hamburg, Germany 📝 Registration Open| Deadline: 19 July 2026 🔗
instruct-eric.org
First international VISION symposium on Integrated Structural Virology
<p>The DFG Research Training Group 2887 “VISION - Visualization and Imaging in Viral Infection” is excited to invite you to the first <strong>international VISION symposium on Integrated Structural…
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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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Sonja Welsch @sonjawelsch.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
Hm. Very good point.
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Sonja Welsch @sonjawelsch.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
Agree on the irony of “hand-reading” LLM generated text for review. But writing? What if experiments are done, results are there, story is exciting - but writing it down “by hand” in a compelling way is hard?
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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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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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