iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Miloš Tišma @tismaa.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Indeeed! I hope we contributed to this a bit🤞🏼

Miloš Tišma @tismaa.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

I just still cannot help myself from looking that these beautiful real-time dynamics videos from @anjbadri.bsky.social lab! thanks to all the authors from @joeloparo.bsky.social / @anjbadri.bsky.social and TJ Ha labs.

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Miloš Tišma @tismaa.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Our model is that RecA explores the chromosome through filament movement and extension, while local negative supercoiling enables productive strand engagement and stabilization. Chromosome topology is therefore an active regulator of homology search - not passive DNA packaging !! 10/10

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Miloš Tišma @tismaa.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

But this faster search was completely unproductive: we observed 0/100 homology-resolution events over 2 h !!! Drug washout restored normal dynamics and resolution. Mobility can solve the encounter problem; DNA topology solves the commitment problem. 9/10

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Miloš Tišma @tismaa.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

We then tested the model in living Caulobacter cells. Removing negative supercoiling with novobiocin (blocking the gyrase) did not prevent RecA filament formation or pole-to-pole search. Instead, filaments traversed the cells ~45% faster and paused less. 8/10

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Miloš Tišma @tismaa.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

This topological preference was broadly conserved in bacteria! RecA orthologs from E. coli, Caulobacter, Bacillus, Streptomyces, and Staphylococcus all strongly favored negatively supercoiled targets, despite their evolutionary and chromosomal diversity. 7/10

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Miloš Tišma @tismaa.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Real-time imaging revealed the step controlled by topology: commitment. Transient sampling occurred on both DNA states, but we saw no transient-to-stable transitions on relaxed targets. On supercoiled DNA, stable capture also pinned a plectoneme at the homologous site. 6/10

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Miloš Tišma @tismaa.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

This was not simply an effect of DNA compaction. Binding was essentially unchanged from highly compacted targets to DNA stretched beyond 90% of its contour length. Artificially compacting relaxed DNA with PEG also failed to rescue binding. Topology-not compaction-was key. 5/10

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Miloš Tišma @tismaa.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

The effect was striking. Within 15 min, 85/85 negatively supercoiled DNA molecules were stably bound, versus 5/543 relaxed molecules. Even after 1 h, <3% of relaxed targets bound. The kinetic preference for negative supercoiling was ~100-fold. 4/10

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Miloš Tišma @tismaa.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

The central result: negative supercoiling acts as a selectivity filter. RecA filaments can sample both relaxed and supercoiled DNA, but they efficiently commit to stable homologous capture only on negatively supercoiled targets. 3/10

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Miloš Tišma @tismaa.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

We used a single-molecule assay that lets us tune the topology to precise supercoiling levels of DNA targets while watching RecA-ssDNA filaments search and bind in real time. 2/10

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Miloš Tišma @tismaa.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

I'm happy to share the first paper from my postdoc work: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... How does RecA find one homologous sequence in an entire chromosome -and what turns that encounter into a repair-competent one? We find that DNA topology is the gatekeeper !! 1/10

biorxiv.org

Chromosome topology gates productive RecA homology search

In homologous recombination, DNA repair depends on recombinase filaments finding homologous templates on chromosomes whose topology is continually remodeled by replication and transcription. How dynam...

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Miloš Tišma @tismaa.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

I’m grateful for the insightful discussions, feedback, and support from the research community. Congratulations to all the winners!

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Miloš Tišma @tismaa.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

So thankful for winning the Poster Prize at @fusionconf.bsky.social in Prokaryotic Cell Biology for my research on the effects of chromosome topology on DNA repair! Looking forward to developing the work further and sharing more soon !! 🤩🤩

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Jovana Kaljević ⬜️ @jovanakaljevic.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

Honoured to receive a talk prize at the Fusion Conference on Prokaryotic Cell Biology in Lisbon last week. Thank you to the organisers for a wonderful meeting, and to all the scientists whose ideas continually help me grow! @fusionconf.bsky.social #ProkaryoticCellBio #scienceisbeautiful

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Miloš Tišma @tismaa.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

In the last steps of the manuscript writing and I just ran the full document through the new @qedscience.bsky.social "Meet the 1%" manuscript comparison... I am beyond excited to share my postdoc work from @joeloparo.bsky.social lab in the next few weeks! 🤩🤩

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Miloš Tišma @tismaa.bsky.social · 04/12/2025

Outstanding work from @jovanakaljevic.bsky.social as together with the team they explore the depths of ParB world🤩 On my list!

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Jovana Kaljević ⬜️ @jovanakaljevic.bsky.social · 04/12/2025

Our preprint is now published in PNAS! This came together thanks to a great collaboration with Antoine Hocher and a strong team effort from the Le Lab. Thank you to the reviewers and to everyone who helped improve it. I hope ParB aficionados will enjoy it. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

pnas.org

Versatile NTP recognition and domain fusions expand the functional repertoire of the ParB-CTPase fold beyond chromosome segregation | PNAS

Nucleotide triphosphate (NTP)-dependent molecular switches regulate essential cellular processes by cycling between active and inactive states thro...

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Cees Dekker @ceesdekker.bsky.social · 23/09/2025

Wow, what an honor! The @biophysicalsoc.bsky.social awards me the esteemed '2026 Kazuhiko Kinosita Award in Single-Molecule Biophysics' 'for groundbreaking contributions to the field of nanobiology and single-molecule biophysics, from nanopores to SMC molecular motors'. Feel honored, very thankful!

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Miloš Tišma @tismaa.bsky.social · 08/08/2025

Absolutely preposterous size of a Giant Sequoia…

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Cees Dekker @ceesdekker.bsky.social · 25/06/2025

Here's a new very exciting paper from our #CDlab: www.cell.com/cell-reports... In an exemplary in vitro/in vivo study, 1st authors ‪@btanalikwu.bsky.social‬ & Alice Deshayes showed that dense linear protein arrays (e.g. telomeres) do stop loop-extruding SMCs! Great collaboration with Marcand lab.

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Miloš Tišma @tismaa.bsky.social · 09/06/2025

Wrapped up a GRC on Bacterial Cell Biology and Development last week in SNHU, New Hampshire. A full week of talks on novel bacterial systems and new mechanistic details on eastablished systems. Great chance to learn, connect with peers and enjoy science!

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@physicsoflifeuk @physicsoflifeuk.bsky.social · 10/04/2025

We're excited to host two fantastic speakers at our next online @physicsoflifeuk.bsky.social ECR Seminar on Tuesday 15 April, 2–3 PM BST: Tisma Milos and Thomas McLean chaired by @veronicabiga.bsky.social Please register below for the Zoom link: lnkd.in/dSynrAe8

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Miloš Tišma @tismaa.bsky.social · 04/03/2025

I must say while he mentions ethics and transparency of his results he did have strange requests on X/Twitter: - requested upfront to have his 2018 results published in Science or Nature - continuously has strange financial request to give a talk at a major US university

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Miloš Tišma @tismaa.bsky.social · 04/03/2025

Just watched a podcast with Jiankui He, the first person to go. through with CRISPR editing in human babies in 2018. He started a complex debate (both in productive and destructive ways) on ethics in science, future of gene editing and safety of current methods.   www.youtube.com/watch?v=ch03...

youtube.com

The Man Who Used Gene Editing On Babies - Jiankui He

YouTube video by BioAcc Podcast

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Miloš Tišma @tismaa.bsky.social · 02/03/2025

I remember your birthday email along the lines of: “65 looked really old when I was a student, but I am bursting with enegy, gratitude and health so I’m ready for new adventures!”

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Miloš Tišma @tismaa.bsky.social · 01/03/2025

A lovely visit to Yale School of Medicine to see @leoschaerfen.bsky.social graduate with a spectacular PhD work. 🤩

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Miloš Tišma @tismaa.bsky.social · 25/02/2025

Biologist-"Let me order some Biotin-11-dUTP" Chemist-"Let me order some ((2R,3S,5R)-5-(2,4-dioxo-5-(3-(6-(5-((3aS,4S,6aR)-2-oxohexahydro-1H-thieno[3,4-d]imidazol-4-yl)pentanamido)hexanamido)prop-1-yn-1-yl)-3,4-dihydropyrimidin-1(2H)-yl)-3-hydroxytetrahydrofuran-2-yl)methyl hydrogen triphosphate" 😅

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Michael Baym @baym.lol · 21/02/2025

Legitmately thrilled to share our latest work, in which @fernpizza.bsky.social solved an experimental challenge in plasmid biology as old as the field: measuring how plasmids compete and evolve within individual cells!

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Miloš Tišma @tismaa.bsky.social · 13/02/2025

These protests are unique in their nature as they are: - entirely apolitical - peaceful - lead by students, and no single party or individual leading them - they have reignited hope, kindness and huge support in a country of wilted spirit due to corrupt government in the past couple of years

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Miloš Tišma @tismaa.bsky.social · 13/02/2025

Nice to see that Science(.org) supports and spreads awareness of the massive protests currently ongoing in Serbia! Peaceful protests lead by Serbian University students (later joined by many others), have gathered more than 200 000 people on occasions! www.science.org/content/arti...

science.org

Scientists rally in support of Serbia’s anticorruption protests

But some criticize “weak and formal” support for protests from scientific institutions

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Miloš Tišma @tismaa.bsky.social · 30/01/2025

This is so real 🤣🤣 I do not know the explanation of this but definitely resonates very well…

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Rosana Collepardo @rcollepardo.bsky.social · 23/01/2025

What is the multiscale structure of chromatin condensates? How does it shape thermodynamic and material properties? We address this at near-atomistic resolution🔥🔥🔥 using cryoET (Rosen & Villa labs, led by H Zhou), a new multiscale model (K Russell) and cryoET-guided sims (J Huertas & J Maristany)

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Cees Dekker @ceesdekker.bsky.social · 23/01/2025

Congrats to #CDlab graduate ‪Miloš Tišma for winning a Rubicon grant to pursue postdoc research on antibiotic resistance at Harvard Medical School!

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Miloš Tišma @tismaa.bsky.social · 23/01/2025

Thanks Cees! Obviously a huge part of this is the work and freedom I had in CD lab! 🙏🏼 And to quote the committee “recommendation letters that are somewhat hyperbolic in tone” 🙊

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Miloš Tišma @tismaa.bsky.social · 15/01/2025

Thanks to all that helped me with the ideation, application, and editing!

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Miloš Tišma @tismaa.bsky.social · 15/01/2025

Glad to receive the trust and recognition in being awarded a Dutch NWO Rubicon Fellowship for important work on antibiotic resistance. I will be tackling this problem using a combination of biophysics, biochemistry and microbiology in Joe Loparo lab at Harvard Medical School (Dept. of BCMP).

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Joost Snijder @joostsnijder.bsky.social · 19/12/2024

About the price of a hefty GPU workstation, close to a student’s annual consumables cost in the lab, attendence to 5 conferences, full week of Krios data collection, cost of ~100 samples for proteomics data collection… so many things to better spend the money than these outrageous publishing fees.

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Michael Eisen @mbeisen.bsky.social · 15/12/2024

The truth is nobody should care how many protein coding genes there are. The gene is a useful abstraction that loses its utility when defined precisely enough to count.

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Miloš Tišma @tismaa.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

Thank youu! It’s been an important part of our journeys☺️

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Miloš Tišma @tismaa.bsky.social · 03/12/2024

Congratulations on this! 🤩

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Miloš Tišma @tismaa.bsky.social · 30/11/2024

I’ll move directly to giving unsolicited advice as postdocs often do🙈

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Miloš Tišma @tismaa.bsky.social · 30/11/2024

This will be me in a few months when i come back @btanalikwu.bsky.social and Jaco 🤣🙈

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Miloš Tišma @tismaa.bsky.social · 28/11/2024

I like the term “sciencing through the world” 🤩

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