Reposted by Paul ThomasbioRxiv Microbiology @biorxiv-microbiol.bsky.social · 08/09/2026Cryo-EM mapping of circumsporozoite protein epitope accessibility and visualization of antibody-induced shedding on Plasmodium falciparum sporozoites www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/20… 011
Reposted by Paul ThomasBatResearch - A.Prof. Aaron Irving @batresearch.bsky.social · 04/09/2026www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....nejm.orgA Zoonotic Orthonairovirus from Febrile Patients in China | NEJMA new pathogenic orthonairovirus was identified in patients with a febrile illness in China. This virus was found in Haemaphysalis longicornis ticks in the same region. 011
Reposted by Paul ThomasRCSB Protein Data Bank @rcsbpdb.bsky.social · 29/08/2026Preclinical findings mark progress toward a long-sought vaccine capable of broad protection against HIV. www.scripps.edu/news... 021
Reposted by Paul ThomasAbraham lab at Harvard Medical School @abrahamlabhms.bsky.social · 25/08/2026We are excited to share our new @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social examining the structural basis for receptor binding by two flaviviruses 🤩: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... @harvardmicro.bsky.social @harvardvirology.bsky.social @hhmi-science.bsky.social 14021
Reposted by Paul ThomasNature @nature.com · 12/08/2026Three studies represent an important advance towards a vaccine that protects against HIV go.nature.com/4fUczdzgo.nature.comHIV vaccines guide rare immune cells to make broadly neutralizing antibodiesThree studies in non-human primates show that strategically designed vaccines could prime a population of B cells to produce effective antibodies against HIV. 04111
Reposted by Paul ThomasAbraham lab at Harvard Medical School @abrahamlabhms.bsky.social · 30/07/2026We are excited to share two preprints reporting a mosquito-specific receptor for chikungunya virus and other alphaviruses! 🤩 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... @harvardmicro.bsky.social @harvardvirology.bsky.social @hhmi-science.bsky.social 14827
Reposted by Paul ThomasChimeraX @chimerax.ucsf.edu · 14/07/2026A new ChimeraX tool Geopickr from Ben Barad's lab oversamples dense protein arrays on spheres, tubes, filaments, and arbitrary surfaces for geometry-assisted subtomogram averaging. Available from ChimeraX menu Tools / More Tools.... 0133
Reposted by Paul ThomasDaniel Hurdiss @danielhurdiss.bsky.social · 08/07/2026Structural characterization of human neutralizing antibodies against JC and BK polyomaviruses www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...pnas.orgPNASProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans... 041
Reposted by Paul ThomasBen Barad @baradlab.com · 13/06/2026I had such a fun time teaching at the U Michigan Cryo-ET Course this week! I taught quantitative ultrastructure analysis and we made cool figures like these! My course materials are at baradlab.com/michigan_tutorial for anyone to try. Workflow include mesh refinement and thickness measurement! 2418
Reposted by Paul ThomasProf. Shane Crotty @profshanecrotty.bsky.social · 30/06/2026Excited to share our new Nature paper published today: Vaccination elicits HIV broadly neutralizing antibodies in primates www.nature.com/articles/s41... A project 14 years in the making with an outstanding team at @lji.bsky.social, @scrippsresearch.bsky.social and many collaborating institutionsnature.comVaccination elicits HIV broadly neutralizing antibodies in primates - NatureNature - Vaccination elicits HIV broadly neutralizing antibodies in primates 22716
Reposted by Paul ThomasChi-Min Ho @cmholab.bsky.social · 30/06/2026Incredibly proud of Messi Haile @mehsehret.bsky.social, a founding member of the Ho Lab, for her beautiful work uncovering the inner workings of a central piece of the malaria parasite invasion machinery: the malarial moving junction, out today in @cellpress.bsky.social! tinyurl.com/4p3md2eb 🦠❄️🔬 410935
Reposted by Paul ThomasBiohub @biohub.org · 11/06/2026In a series of 3 papers and preprints, we’re thrilled to share with you the working laser phase plate. In collaboration with research led by Holger Müller at UC Berkeley, this is a huge innovation in imaging to make small and faint objects inside cells visible. bit.ly/4vK9LVn 15336
Reposted by Paul ThomasStructura Biotechnology @structurabio.bsky.social · 02/06/2026For years, the #cryoEM community viewed ~50 kDa as the practical lower size limit for SPA. This was challenged by Kim et al., who introduced the HR-HAIR method and demonstrated structure determination of proteins below 30 kDa using #CryoSPARC. Read more 👉 bit.ly/3RHMxAtbit.lyCryoSPARC | The Resolution Revolution Is Still OngoingHigh-Resolution Ab-Initio Reconstruction: Extending Cryo-EM to Smaller Particles with CryoSPARC™ 14521
Reposted by Paul ThomasFriedrich Förster @fridof.bsky.social · 25/05/2026The first cut is the deepest: Cleavable signal peptides direct thousands of different nascent proteins to the endoplasmic reticulum. Oddly, SPs are all different and nevertheless cleaved with exquisite specificity. Our new cryo-EM structures + MD solve this paradox: www.nature.com/articles/s41...nature.comStructural basis of signal peptide recognition by the signal peptidase complex - Nature CommunicationsSignal peptides are highly variable, yet the signal peptidase complex processes them with remarkable specificity. Here, authors combine cryo-EM, molecular dynamics simulations and modeling to reveal a... 03813
Reposted by Paul ThomasDirect Electron @directelectron.bsky.social · 18/05/2026Now on YouTube: “New Camera, Old Microscope.” Learn how upgrading to a modern direct detector can improve TEM performance, extend instrument capability, and maximize ROI on existing systems. Featuring Dr. Carter Francis & Dr. Paul Voyles. WATCH NOW: youtu.be/SDC6lnCdeHE 011
Reposted by Paul ThomasHanjin Liu @liu-hanjin.bsky.social · 09/05/2026Job navigation in table view, searchable tags, 3D mesh optimized for masks, and many more features! 👉👉👉 github.com/hanjinliu/hi... Let's make our RELION directory a better place. 03815
Reposted by Paul ThomasScripps Research @scripps.edu · 30/04/2026The NIH is expected to award @scripps.edu nearly $4.2 million over 5 years to advance tools for studying viral proteins and antibody responses, supporting vaccine design. The project builds on recent work by senior scientist Kimmo Rantalainen, along with professors William Schief and Andrew Ward.ow.lyNIH expected to award Scripps Research nearly $4.2 million over 5 years to advance tools for vaccine design 011
Reposted by Paul ThomasMounica Kondepudi @mounicakondepudi.bsky.social · 30/04/2026The nucleus, seen through TEM.Was looking for something else under the microscope and ended up here. Nothing fancy...yet it's funny how something so “routine” in textbooks suddenly feels like a tiny, perfectly organised universe when you actually see it...🙃 0132
Reposted by Paul ThomascryoEM papers @cryoempapers.bsky.social · 01/05/2026Vaccination generates broadly cross-neutralizing antibodies to the HIV Env apex pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42056526/ #cryoEM 023
Reposted by Paul ThomasWyoming Wormboy @wyomingwormboy.bsky.social · 25/04/2026Please repost! This comes from the good people at ChimeraX, who produce powerful up-to-date software to study protein (etc) structures, which are FREE to the community. 🙏 To stay viable and serve us, they need an experienced structural biologist to assume the leadership role on a funded project.aprecruit.ucsf.eduFaculty Position – In-ResidenceUniversity of California, San Francisco is hiring. Apply now! 13952
Reposted by Paul ThomasHan Kim @trancekr.bsky.social · 15/04/2026The small protein cryo-EM paper I helped start has been accepted in Nature Communications - what a relief. Thanks to @landerlab.bsky.social and @olibclarke.bsky.social for their constructive review. Congratulations to all co-authors, and wishing everyone good luck. www.nature.com/articles/s41...nature.comHigh-resolution cryo-EM structures of small protein–ligand complexes near the theoretical size limit - Nature CommunicationsThe estimated minimum particle size for cryo-EM structural analysis is 38 kDa. Here, authors show that high-resolution structures of protein-ligand complexes as small as 32- 41 kDa can be determined u... 3306
Reposted by Paul ThomascryoEM papers @cryoempapers.bsky.social · 04/04/2026Prefusion-specific glycoprotein B human antibodies protect against neonatal HSV-2 infection pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41929215/ #cryoEM 021
Reposted by Paul ThomasNature @nature.com · 17/03/2026Nature research paper: Structures of Marburgvirus glycoprotein and its complex with NPC1 receptor go.nature.com/4urU3ybgo.nature.comStructures of Marburgvirus glycoprotein and its complex with NPC1 receptor - NatureMarburgvirus glycoprotein binds to the endosomal receptor NPC1 in a distinct orientation with higher affinity compared with Ebola virus glycoprotein, accompanied by fusion-relevant rearrangements, enabling more efficient viral entry. 0193
Reposted by Paul ThomasBeyondDC @beyonddc.bsky.social · 13/03/2026Incredible cc @capitalweather.bsky.social 1334
Reposted by Paul ThomasGoalieLax @goalielax.bsky.social · 13/03/2026Ok got to a better spot We have both sundogs, a full halo, and an inverted halo! Incredibly rare - don't think I've ever seen the inverted before @capitalweather.bsky.social 27211
Reposted by Paul ThomasJ. Andrew N. Alexander @j-a-n-alexander.bsky.social · 10/03/2026I’m very excited to share some newly published work that uncovers the molecular basis for oligomannose synthesis! www.nature.com/articles/s41... 42511
Reposted by Paul ThomasBK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 04/03/2026In 75-79 year olds in UK, the RSV Pre-F vaccine remains highly effective in the real world. 82.3% vaccine effectiveness against hospitalization due to RSV-associated acute respiratory infection and 86.7% effectiveness against severe disease requiring oxygen www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...thelancet.comVaccine effectiveness of a bivalent respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) pre-F vaccine against RSV-associated hospital admission among adults aged 75–79 years in England: a multicentre, test-negative, ca...This study provides evidence that the RSV pre-F vaccine is highly effective against RSV-associated hospital admissions, including exacerbations of chronic disease, and in adults with immunosuppression... 02510
Reposted by Paul ThomasHanjin Liu @liu-hanjin.bsky.social · 22/02/2026Since last year, I've been making a RELION GUI that supports viewing, navigating and running jobs in a way completely compatible with the original RELION pipeline. Now it's working nicely for both SPA and tomography! Please try it out - github.com/hanjinliu/hi... 410136
Reposted by Paul ThomasProtein Data Bank in Europe (PDBe) @pdbeurope.bsky.social · 20/01/2026The wwPDB just hit a major milestone: 𝟏𝟎,𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝐄𝐌𝐃𝐁 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫. To put this in context, the entire EMDB reached 10,000 entries total in 2019 — now the archive 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝟓𝟎,𝟎𝟎𝟎. Huge credit to the community driving 3DEM forward! www.wwpdb.org/news/news?ye... #3DEM #EMDBwwpdb.orgEMDB Surpasses 10,000 Entries in a YearwwPDB: Worldwide Protein Data Bank 052
Reposted by Paul ThomascryoEM papers @cryoempapers.bsky.social · 04/01/2026Structure and immunogenicity of an engineered soluble prefusion-stabilized EBV gB antigen pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41484092/ #cryoEM 095
Reposted by Paul ThomascryoEM papers @cryoempapers.bsky.social · 23/12/2025De novo design of protein nanoparticles with integrated functional motifs www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.19.695620v1 #cryoEM 011
Reposted by Paul ThomascryoEM papers @cryoempapers.bsky.social · 11/12/2025An integrated workflow for structural virology with a 100 keV electron microscope www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.08.693081v1 #cryoEM 067
Reposted by Paul ThomasDaniel Hurdiss @danielhurdiss.bsky.social · 04/12/2025How can AI and #cryoEM help save some of the biggest babies on the planet? 🐘🔬 Our new preprint identifies Elephant Herpesvirus gH/gL/gO as a receptor-binding complex and a promising vaccine candidate, now being tested in young elephants across European zoos! 💉 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... 1358
Reposted by Paul ThomasAriane Briegel @arianebriegel.bsky.social · 01/12/2025CryoET of microbes inside an animal organ? Yes it’s possible! Check out our new preprint showing how we did it! What an amazing collaboration with amazing scientists who made this possible! 212435
Reposted by Paul ThomasKristian G. Andersen @kgandersen.bsky.social · 17/11/2025This is an interesting case of a patient from Chad infected with a novel arenavirus species/variant/strain, presenting with meningoencephalitis. IMO, could be classified as a highly divergent Lassa virus strain in a new country (similar to what Togo has observed). www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/...nejm.orgA Mammarenavirus Close to Lassa Virus in a Patient with Meningoencephalitis | NEJMA 37-year-old man in Chad presented with a fever and a headache. An extensive evaluation identified a mammarenavirus, close to Lassa virus, in samples of cerebrospinal fluid. 38023
Reposted by Paul ThomasVeesler lab @veeslerlab.bsky.social · 12/11/2025Delighted to share the peer-reviewed version of our article describing a prefusion-stabilized MARV GP vaccine immunogen and a best-in-class MARV neutralizing and protective antibody! Led by @aminaddetia.bsky.social with @virbiotechnology.bsky.social @hhmi.org www.nature.com/articles/s41...nature.comPotent neutralization of Marburg virus by a vaccine-elicited antibody - NatureNature - Potent neutralization of Marburg virus by a vaccine-elicited antibody 0127
Reposted by Paul ThomasJeremy Kamil @macroliter.bsky.social · 08/11/2025🧪 🦠 Prefusion structure, evasion and neutralization of HSV-1 glycoprotein B www.nature.com/articles/s41...nature.comPrefusion structure, evasion and neutralization of HSV-1 glycoprotein B - Nature MicrobiologyCryo-EM structures of the stabilized prefusion conformation of the glycoprotein B ectodomain—the HSV-1 entry machine—identify a prefusion-specific neutralizing antibody and reveal how prefusion glycop... 01111
Reposted by Paul ThomascryoEM papers @cryoempapers.bsky.social · 04/11/2025Neutralizing antibodies against Chikungunya virus and structural elucidation of their mechanism of action pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41184282/ #cryoEM 086
Reposted by Paul ThomasMax Renner @maxrenner.bsky.social · 03/11/2025Our new preprint is out 🥳🥳🥳 Henipaviruses, like Nipah and Hendra, package their genomes inside helical shells built by thousands of nucleoproteins. These nucleocapsids are essential to protect the viral RNA, but how do they ever let the polymerase in to read the sequence? 👇 311247
Reposted by Paul ThomasbioRxiv Biophysics @biorxiv-biophys.bsky.social · 02/11/2025Structural Mechanism of Prestin-Membrane Mechanotransduction www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/202… 022
Reposted by Paul ThomascryoEM papers @cryoempapers.bsky.social · 02/11/2025HKU25 clade MERS-related coronaviruses use ACE2 as a functional receptor pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41168429/ #cryoEM 074
Reposted by Paul ThomasbioRxiv Microbiology @biorxiv-microbiol.bsky.social · 27/10/2025Genetic diversity in horseshoe bat ACE2 and sarbecovirus spike proteins mutually shape one another www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/202… 056
Reposted by Paul ThomasThelonevirologist @thelonevirologist.bsky.social · 22/10/2025Development of a cross-protective common cold coronavirus vaccine journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...journals.asm.orgDevelopment of a cross-protective common cold coronavirus vaccine | Journal of VirologyHuman coronaviruses like OC43 cause disease in vulnerable populations, yet no approved vaccines exist. We developed an mRNA vaccine targeting the OC43 spike protein that protects mice not only against... 031
Reposted by Paul ThomasThelonevirologist @thelonevirologist.bsky.social · 17/10/2025Bat sarbecovirus WIV1-CoV bears an adaptive mutation that alters spike dynamics and enhances ACE2 binding journals.plos.org/plospathogen...journals.plos.orgBat sarbecovirus WIV1-CoV bears an adaptive mutation that alters spike dynamics and enhances ACE2 bindingAuthor summary Recent epidemic-causing coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2, originated in bats. Large numbers of such viruses circulate in bats and pose clear and present risks to humans. However, our... 087
Reposted by Paul ThomasScience Magazine @science.org · 16/10/2025Applying computational design, researchers in #ScienceTranslationalMedicine present an integrated vaccine platform that combines the strengths of mRNA and nanoparticle technologies, and show it elicits strong immune responses in a SARS-CoV-2 model system. scim.ag/3W9M09p scim.agComputationally designed mRNA-launched protein nanoparticle immunogens elicit protective antibody and T cell responses in miceGenetic delivery of designed protein nanoparticles displaying the SARS-CoV-2 RBD elicits potent neutralizing antibody and CD8 T cell responses. 0375
Reposted by Paul ThomasWout Oosterheert @woutoosterheert.bsky.social · 13/10/2025Very excited that my final postdoctoral work is now online in Cell @cellpress.bsky.social. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... Using 16 (!) cryo-EM structures, we uncovered how the three proteins coronin, cofilin and AIP1 work together to rapidly disassemble actin filaments. 615141
Reposted by Paul ThomasTom Peacock @peacockflu.bsky.social · 09/09/2025Really excited to have been a small part of this work investigating sarbecovirus host range, receptor usage and antigenicity! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.03.673949v1biorxiv.orgUnderstanding the future risk of bat coronavirus spillover into humans: correlating sarbecovirus receptor usage, host range, and antigenicity.Sarbecoviruses interact with their receptor, angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), via the receptor binding domain (RBD) of Spike, the immunodominant target for neutralising antibodies. Understandin... 23616
Reposted by Paul ThomasJoost Snijder @joostsnijder.bsky.social · 04/09/2025Prefusion gB of HSV bound with a neutralizing nanobody www.nature.com/articles/s41...nature.comA nanobody specific to prefusion glycoprotein B neutralizes HSV-1 and HSV-2 - NatureA neutralizing nanobody specific to the prefusion conformation of herpes simplex virus glycoprotein B has cross-species activity and offers insights into virus neutralization, possible immunogens and ... 0187
Reposted by Paul ThomasLaboratory of Functional Viromics (LETKO) @fviromics.bsky.social · 04/09/2025New preprint! If some merbecoviruses use DPP4 and others use ACE2, what do those hedgehog merbecoviruses use?! As it turns out, neither! In our latest study, we uncover the "missing" receptor for the MERS-related viruses in hedgehogs. [These findings were first shared at ASV this year] (1/6)tinyurl.comAminopeptidase N is a receptor for hedgehog merbecovirusesMerbecoviruses, closely related to the highly pathogenetic Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV), circulate in hedgehogs throughout Europe and Asia, raising concerns about zoonotic t... 13013
