Arjun Bhatta
@bhattaarjun2p.bsky.social
Structural biologist and biochemist at Hillen lab. Interested in all things mitochondrial and some things not.
Opinions, em dashes, and Oxford commas are my own.
He/him
🇳🇵🇩🇪🧬🔬
Opinions, em dashes, and Oxford commas are my own.
He/him
🇳🇵🇩🇪🧬🔬
Pinned
Arjun Bhatta
@bhattaarjun2p.bsky.social
· Jan 15
Molecular basis of human nuclear and mitochondrial tRNA 3′ processing - Nature Structural & Molecular Biology
Bhatta et al. use biochemistry and cryogenic electron microscopy to elucidate the mechanism of human tRNA 3′ processing. Their results show how mitochondria-specific subunits of RNase Z compensate for...
www.nature.com
Our story on the mechanism of mitochondrial and nuclear tRNA 3' processing is finally out in NSMB. 😇
We discover how a unique problem caused by high mutation rates in mitochondria of bilaterian animals is solved by a compensatory evolutionary innovation.
doi.org/10.1038/s41594-024-01445-w
We discover how a unique problem caused by high mutation rates in mitochondria of bilaterian animals is solved by a compensatory evolutionary innovation.
doi.org/10.1038/s41594-024-01445-w
Reposted by Arjun Bhatta
Despair seems like a reasonable course of action
'Some estimates are that up to 20% of the entire proteome can bind RNA and moreover that about 20% of all known protein complexes have an RNA component in them and you really have to think about how to deal with such large figures.'
'Some estimates are that up to 20% of the entire proteome can bind RNA and moreover that about 20% of all known protein complexes have an RNA component in them and you really have to think about how to deal with such large figures.'
RNA and Proteins: Who Bosses Whom?
www.science.org
September 29, 2025 at 9:37 AM
Despair seems like a reasonable course of action
'Some estimates are that up to 20% of the entire proteome can bind RNA and moreover that about 20% of all known protein complexes have an RNA component in them and you really have to think about how to deal with such large figures.'
'Some estimates are that up to 20% of the entire proteome can bind RNA and moreover that about 20% of all known protein complexes have an RNA component in them and you really have to think about how to deal with such large figures.'
Reposted by Arjun Bhatta
How's your juggling act? Mitochondria also have one, and the MITOtalk this week will be all about it.
See you there?
See you there?
November 4, 2025 at 2:11 PM
How's your juggling act? Mitochondria also have one, and the MITOtalk this week will be all about it.
See you there?
See you there?
Reposted by Arjun Bhatta
We are looking for a computational postdoc to work with us on new optimisation algorithms to make #RELION even better. Join our bubbly team at the @mrclmb.bsky.social in Cambridge, UK. 🤗 RTs appreciated.
mrc.tal.net/vx/appcentre...
mrc.tal.net/vx/appcentre...
Quick Check Needed
mrc.tal.net
October 29, 2025 at 9:17 AM
We are looking for a computational postdoc to work with us on new optimisation algorithms to make #RELION even better. Join our bubbly team at the @mrclmb.bsky.social in Cambridge, UK. 🤗 RTs appreciated.
mrc.tal.net/vx/appcentre...
mrc.tal.net/vx/appcentre...
Reposted by Arjun Bhatta
don’t have an answer for you but if you’re looking at cell tomograms often I can’t recommend Don Fawcett’s big red book The Cell highly enough - it’s a *beautiful* atlas of classic EM images
October 11, 2025 at 3:25 PM
don’t have an answer for you but if you’re looking at cell tomograms often I can’t recommend Don Fawcett’s big red book The Cell highly enough - it’s a *beautiful* atlas of classic EM images
Reposted by Arjun Bhatta
Initial attempt at replicating in relion (parameters in next post). This is for Aca2-RNA, using a 100k subset of the 2D-classified particles (no prior 3D cleanup).
A 1-class ab initio in relion, then local refinement in relion (1.8deg searches+blush) gives a nominally 3.3Å map; 3.5 Å w/out blush.
A 1-class ab initio in relion, then local refinement in relion (1.8deg searches+blush) gives a nominally 3.3Å map; 3.5 Å w/out blush.
September 26, 2025 at 2:28 AM
Initial attempt at replicating in relion (parameters in next post). This is for Aca2-RNA, using a 100k subset of the 2D-classified particles (no prior 3D cleanup).
A 1-class ab initio in relion, then local refinement in relion (1.8deg searches+blush) gives a nominally 3.3Å map; 3.5 Å w/out blush.
A 1-class ab initio in relion, then local refinement in relion (1.8deg searches+blush) gives a nominally 3.3Å map; 3.5 Å w/out blush.
Reposted by Arjun Bhatta
This one is a bit of a departure from the usual and definitely a work in progress!
We found that by using ab initio reconstruction at very high res, in very small steps, we could crack some small structures that had eluded us - e.g. 39kDa iPKAc (EMPIAR-10252), below.
Read on for details... 1/x
We found that by using ab initio reconstruction at very high res, in very small steps, we could crack some small structures that had eluded us - e.g. 39kDa iPKAc (EMPIAR-10252), below.
Read on for details... 1/x
September 13, 2025 at 12:05 AM
This one is a bit of a departure from the usual and definitely a work in progress!
We found that by using ab initio reconstruction at very high res, in very small steps, we could crack some small structures that had eluded us - e.g. 39kDa iPKAc (EMPIAR-10252), below.
Read on for details... 1/x
We found that by using ab initio reconstruction at very high res, in very small steps, we could crack some small structures that had eluded us - e.g. 39kDa iPKAc (EMPIAR-10252), below.
Read on for details... 1/x
Reposted by Arjun Bhatta
Congratulations to Dirk Görlich and Steven L. McKnight, 2025 #LaskerAward winners! - “for discoveries that exposed the structures and functions of low-complexity domains within protein sequences” 🧪
@mpi-nat.bsky.social
#Lasker2025 #LaskerLaureate #structuralbiology #phaseseparation
@mpi-nat.bsky.social
#Lasker2025 #LaskerLaureate #structuralbiology #phaseseparation
September 11, 2025 at 1:07 PM
Congratulations to Dirk Görlich and Steven L. McKnight, 2025 #LaskerAward winners! - “for discoveries that exposed the structures and functions of low-complexity domains within protein sequences” 🧪
@mpi-nat.bsky.social
#Lasker2025 #LaskerLaureate #structuralbiology #phaseseparation
@mpi-nat.bsky.social
#Lasker2025 #LaskerLaureate #structuralbiology #phaseseparation
Reposted by Arjun Bhatta
bioRxiv bat signal. We had a huge influx of submissions around Labor Day and now have a backlog. If any affiliates are available to screen, we'd be eternally grateful!
September 4, 2025 at 5:44 PM
bioRxiv bat signal. We had a huge influx of submissions around Labor Day and now have a backlog. If any affiliates are available to screen, we'd be eternally grateful!
"...if few within science are trained to communicate about their work and those who do are not only not rewarded but disparaged, then it is not as hard to see why the war on science has been prosecuted with little resistance."
www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....
www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....
How stupid has science been? | EMBO reports
EMBO Press is an editorially independent publishing platform for the development of EMBO scientific publications.
www.embopress.org
August 31, 2025 at 10:47 AM
"...if few within science are trained to communicate about their work and those who do are not only not rewarded but disparaged, then it is not as hard to see why the war on science has been prosecuted with little resistance."
www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....
www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Arjun Bhatta
We're hiring a postdoc!
Join our ActinID project to explore an uncharacterized actin-binding protein.
- Background in cell and/or structural biology?
- Eager to bridge both fields?
Get in touch if you're curious or have questions!
#cellbiology #cryoEM #cryoET #actin
ista.ac.at/en/job/postd...
Join our ActinID project to explore an uncharacterized actin-binding protein.
- Background in cell and/or structural biology?
- Eager to bridge both fields?
Get in touch if you're curious or have questions!
#cellbiology #cryoEM #cryoET #actin
ista.ac.at/en/job/postd...
Postdoc Research Group Schur
The Schur lab at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) has an open postdoc position for a highly motivated candidate to be part of our ERC-funded project ActinID.
Our Group
...
ista.ac.at
July 7, 2025 at 9:21 AM
We're hiring a postdoc!
Join our ActinID project to explore an uncharacterized actin-binding protein.
- Background in cell and/or structural biology?
- Eager to bridge both fields?
Get in touch if you're curious or have questions!
#cellbiology #cryoEM #cryoET #actin
ista.ac.at/en/job/postd...
Join our ActinID project to explore an uncharacterized actin-binding protein.
- Background in cell and/or structural biology?
- Eager to bridge both fields?
Get in touch if you're curious or have questions!
#cellbiology #cryoEM #cryoET #actin
ista.ac.at/en/job/postd...
Reposted by Arjun Bhatta
So cool, a novel archaeon with a super small genome and no metabolic genes!
"An unprecedented level of metabolic dependence on a host, a condition that challenges the functional distinctions between minimal cellular life and viruses."
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
"An unprecedented level of metabolic dependence on a host, a condition that challenges the functional distinctions between minimal cellular life and viruses."
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
A cellular entity retaining only its replicative core: Hidden archaeal lineage with an ultra-reduced genome
Defining the minimal genetic requirements for cellular life remains a fundamental question in biology. Genomic exploration continually reveals novel microbial lineages, often exhibiting extreme genome...
www.biorxiv.org
June 27, 2025 at 4:29 AM
So cool, a novel archaeon with a super small genome and no metabolic genes!
"An unprecedented level of metabolic dependence on a host, a condition that challenges the functional distinctions between minimal cellular life and viruses."
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
"An unprecedented level of metabolic dependence on a host, a condition that challenges the functional distinctions between minimal cellular life and viruses."
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Arjun Bhatta
ICYMI: New online: Structure of fungal tRNA ligase Trl1 with RNA reveals conserved substrate-binding principles
Structure of fungal tRNA ligase Trl1 with RNA reveals conserved substrate-binding principles
Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, Published online: 25 June 2025; doi:10.1038/s41594-025-01589-3Köhler et al. present the crystal structure of fungal tRNA ligase Trl1-LIG bound to an activated RNA substrate, providing key insights into conserved substrate binding and activation, enzyme specificity and a tRNA substrate coordination model.
go.nature.com
June 26, 2025 at 10:15 AM
ICYMI: New online: Structure of fungal tRNA ligase Trl1 with RNA reveals conserved substrate-binding principles
Reposted by Arjun Bhatta
🧬🌽 Happy Transposon Day! 🌽🧬
Today we celebrate the birthday of Barbara McClintock - scientist extraordinaire and discoverer of jumping genes. Still the only woman to have an unshared Nobel Prize in the biomedical sciences #TransposonDay2025
Today we celebrate the birthday of Barbara McClintock - scientist extraordinaire and discoverer of jumping genes. Still the only woman to have an unshared Nobel Prize in the biomedical sciences #TransposonDay2025
June 16, 2025 at 3:14 PM
🧬🌽 Happy Transposon Day! 🌽🧬
Today we celebrate the birthday of Barbara McClintock - scientist extraordinaire and discoverer of jumping genes. Still the only woman to have an unshared Nobel Prize in the biomedical sciences #TransposonDay2025
Today we celebrate the birthday of Barbara McClintock - scientist extraordinaire and discoverer of jumping genes. Still the only woman to have an unshared Nobel Prize in the biomedical sciences #TransposonDay2025
Reposted by Arjun Bhatta
Cryogenic electron microscopy showed for the first time that large RNA complexes can assemble without the help of proteins, expanding our understanding of RNA folding and function.
www6.slac.stanford.e...
www6.slac.stanford.e...
SLAC, Stanford researchers discover large protein-free RNA structures
Cryogenic electron microscopy showed for the first time that large RNA complexes can assemble without the help of proteins.
www6.slac.stanford.edu
June 4, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Cryogenic electron microscopy showed for the first time that large RNA complexes can assemble without the help of proteins, expanding our understanding of RNA folding and function.
www6.slac.stanford.e...
www6.slac.stanford.e...
Reposted by Arjun Bhatta
spent some time this evening updating the teamtomo.org site - if you're interested in cryo-EM + Python you might want to take a look around!
May 30, 2025 at 8:29 AM
spent some time this evening updating the teamtomo.org site - if you're interested in cryo-EM + Python you might want to take a look around!
Reposted by Arjun Bhatta
A really comprehensive video about PFAS: history, chemistry, planetary contamination, effects. Worth watching. By @veritasium.bsky.social
How One Company Secretly Poisoned The Planet
YouTube video by Veritasium
www.youtube.com
May 28, 2025 at 8:49 AM
A really comprehensive video about PFAS: history, chemistry, planetary contamination, effects. Worth watching. By @veritasium.bsky.social
Reposted by Arjun Bhatta
A colder frontier in cryo-EM 🧪🔬
Chris Russo’s group, inc. Joshua Dickerson, adapted #cryoEM to work at liquid helium temperatures (13 kelvins), where every frame captured contains more information than the equivalent using liquid nitrogen (81 kelvins).
Read more: tinyurl.com/mwwcunkc
#LMBResearch
Chris Russo’s group, inc. Joshua Dickerson, adapted #cryoEM to work at liquid helium temperatures (13 kelvins), where every frame captured contains more information than the equivalent using liquid nitrogen (81 kelvins).
Read more: tinyurl.com/mwwcunkc
#LMBResearch
April 23, 2025 at 8:49 AM
A colder frontier in cryo-EM 🧪🔬
Chris Russo’s group, inc. Joshua Dickerson, adapted #cryoEM to work at liquid helium temperatures (13 kelvins), where every frame captured contains more information than the equivalent using liquid nitrogen (81 kelvins).
Read more: tinyurl.com/mwwcunkc
#LMBResearch
Chris Russo’s group, inc. Joshua Dickerson, adapted #cryoEM to work at liquid helium temperatures (13 kelvins), where every frame captured contains more information than the equivalent using liquid nitrogen (81 kelvins).
Read more: tinyurl.com/mwwcunkc
#LMBResearch
Reposted by Arjun Bhatta
A colleague at Stanford’s business school used The Stanford Daily to argue—poorly—against DEI. The piece was riddled with historical errors and left one searching for fact, so I broke my public writing hiatus to respond.
I hope you’ll read and share the piece.
stanforddaily.com/2025/04/22/w...
I hope you’ll read and share the piece.
stanforddaily.com/2025/04/22/w...
What DEI threatens isn’t merit. It’s monopoly.
Political science professor Hakeem Jefferson argues for DEI's importance to de-monopolizing universities.
stanforddaily.com
April 23, 2025 at 12:23 AM
A colleague at Stanford’s business school used The Stanford Daily to argue—poorly—against DEI. The piece was riddled with historical errors and left one searching for fact, so I broke my public writing hiatus to respond.
I hope you’ll read and share the piece.
stanforddaily.com/2025/04/22/w...
I hope you’ll read and share the piece.
stanforddaily.com/2025/04/22/w...
Reposted by Arjun Bhatta
If your perception is that all interactions are transactional and that there is no such thing as sincerity of curiosity, or a desire to discover, then you will never value science.
No matter how many economic arguments there are for funding it.
Because you don’t understand the fundamental premise.
No matter how many economic arguments there are for funding it.
Because you don’t understand the fundamental premise.
April 23, 2025 at 1:15 AM
If your perception is that all interactions are transactional and that there is no such thing as sincerity of curiosity, or a desire to discover, then you will never value science.
No matter how many economic arguments there are for funding it.
Because you don’t understand the fundamental premise.
No matter how many economic arguments there are for funding it.
Because you don’t understand the fundamental premise.
This is exciting! A platform to share small and unpublishable results will be immensely helpful to the scientific community to minimize research waste and address the reproducability crisis. #ResearchAgora #OpenScience
Let’s make peer review work for research!
Traditional peer review is:
🔸 Opaque
🔸 Uncredited
🔸 Unrewarded
🔸 Slow
✨ Peer review at Research Agora:
✅ Transparent yet anonymous
✅ Recognized
✅ Earn tokens for free submissions
✅ Fast
💬 How would you like peer review to be?
buff.ly/uyy43M6
Traditional peer review is:
🔸 Opaque
🔸 Uncredited
🔸 Unrewarded
🔸 Slow
✨ Peer review at Research Agora:
✅ Transparent yet anonymous
✅ Recognized
✅ Earn tokens for free submissions
✅ Fast
💬 How would you like peer review to be?
buff.ly/uyy43M6
Become a Reviewer
Become a reviewer in Research Agora, and participate in an open, recognized and rewarded peer review process. Strengthen your academic profile by reviewing other researcher's Marbles, and show your…
researchagora.com
April 7, 2025 at 3:08 PM
This is exciting! A platform to share small and unpublishable results will be immensely helpful to the scientific community to minimize research waste and address the reproducability crisis. #ResearchAgora #OpenScience
Reposted by Arjun Bhatta
The peer-revied version of our paper on the structure of the Nipah virus RNA polymerase in complex with RNA is out in @naturecomms.bsky.social. Congratulations to first-author @salafernanda.bsky.social and many thanks to the reviewers for their constructive comments!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Structural basis of Nipah virus RNA synthesis - Nature Communications
Sala et al. report the first structural snapshot of the Nipah virus RNA-dependent RNA polymerase in the actively elongating state, uncovering key mechanisms of RNA synthesis by non-segmented negative ...
www.nature.com
March 10, 2025 at 11:06 AM
The peer-revied version of our paper on the structure of the Nipah virus RNA polymerase in complex with RNA is out in @naturecomms.bsky.social. Congratulations to first-author @salafernanda.bsky.social and many thanks to the reviewers for their constructive comments!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Arjun Bhatta
The boring truth about the Library of Alexandria
YouTube video by Premodernist
youtu.be
March 8, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Reposted by Arjun Bhatta
Reposted by Arjun Bhatta
Structural basis of Nipah virus RNA synthesis pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40050611/ #cryoem
March 7, 2025 at 8:10 AM
Structural basis of Nipah virus RNA synthesis pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40050611/ #cryoem
Reposted by Arjun Bhatta
🇩🇪🇺🇸 The interference in the German elections by Elon Musk and Washington was "no less radical and outrageous than that of Moscow," — Merz.
February 23, 2025 at 8:58 PM
🇩🇪🇺🇸 The interference in the German elections by Elon Musk and Washington was "no less radical and outrageous than that of Moscow," — Merz.