MaRtiNA Hallegger
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martinahallegger.bsky.social
MaRtiNA Hallegger
@martinahallegger.bsky.social
RNA biochemist, RNA-network enthusiast and IMCM fellow @NDMOxford at the @UniofOxford, former @UKDRI at King’s and @TheCrick. Condenses RNA to study ALS and Dementia. High 5 4 RNA
Reposted by MaRtiNA Hallegger
This work is now officially published
@natsmb.nature.com
with some fun new analyses included in the revised version. Congratulations to all the authors! @connyyu.bsky.social @rappsilber.bsky.social @lrsinn.bsky.social @fjoreilly.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...
November 15, 2025 at 9:51 AM
Reposted by MaRtiNA Hallegger
Developing new treatments is essential for MND, but the process is lengthy and people with MND don’t have time to wait.

Repurposing means we can quickly see if any already available treatments could be effective in MND and get them into clinical trials as soon as possible.

Read more👇
Drug development is a complex and costly process.

By using medicines approved for other conditions, we can overcome barriers in drug development.

Read our blog explaining why we believe repurposed drugs could help us find new treatments for #MND/#ALS.

ukmndri.org/2025/11/13/r...
Repurposed Drugs: Accelerating MND Treatment Discovery
Discover how repurposed drugs are helping accelerate the search for effective treatments for MND through innovative UK research.
ukmndri.org
November 14, 2025 at 12:28 PM
Reposted by MaRtiNA Hallegger
Our story on GroEL/ES action during cotranslational folding is now published @natcomms.nature.com. Led by former-student Alzbeta Roeselova, and in collaboration with Rado Enchev's lab @crick.ac.uk.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
GroEL/ES chaperonin unfolds then encapsulates a nascent protein on the ribosome - Nature Communications
The GroEL/ES chaperonin can act during protein synthesis to promote folding. Here, Roeselová et al. show how GroEL captures, remodels and sequesters nascent proteins in its central chamber, while they...
www.nature.com
November 14, 2025 at 1:49 PM
Reposted by MaRtiNA Hallegger
It's coming again!! Can't wait...
How to tackle emerging questions in cellular organisation, adaptation, and robustness? Join #EESPhaseSeparation! 🧬🦠

Bringing together scientists from diverse fields to foster new discoveries in condensate biology.

Submit your abstract by 10 Feb: s.embl.org/ees26-08-bl

📅 19 – 22 May 2026
November 13, 2025 at 6:58 PM
Reposted by MaRtiNA Hallegger
Latest #CDlab paper on nanopore protein sequencing on @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social: www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...

Here, Justas Ritmejeris, @xiuqichen.bsky.social, collaborator @albadalab.bsky.social and me developed a conjugation chemistry strategy for nanopore sequencing of natural peptides!
November 13, 2025 at 7:16 PM
Reposted by MaRtiNA Hallegger
Check out our work on RNA structure in introns! Testing >100k base pairing patterns, we found that RNA structure can predictably tune gene expression. Just by changing intron sequence, we see a dynamic range of regulation comparable to messing e.g. with promoters. @karlaneugebauer.bsky.social
November 10, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Reposted by MaRtiNA Hallegger
💫NEW: @sarawickstrom.bsky.social @katemiro.bsky.social & co show that mechano-osmotic changes in the #nucleus induce general #transcriptional repression and prime #chromatin for cell fate transitions by relieving repression of specific differentiation genes. #pluripotency
bit.ly/3VMcyNZ
Mechano-osmotic signals control chromatin state and fate transitions in pluripotent stem cells - Nature Cell Biology
McCreery, Stubb et al. show that mechano-osmotic changes in the nucleus induce general transcriptional repression and prime chromatin for cell fate transitions by relieving repression of specific differentiation genes.
bit.ly
October 4, 2025 at 2:40 PM
Reposted by MaRtiNA Hallegger
If you believe either that Franklin discovered the double helix, and / or Watson and Crick stole her data, ask yourself how you know this. Then take a read of this article.
November 8, 2025 at 7:32 AM
Reposted by MaRtiNA Hallegger
From an accidental discovery of hidden biology to a new framework to understanding and diagnosing rare disease. Thrilled to share the most recent work from our lab and the amazing Jimmy Ly.

wi.mit.edu/news/alterna...
Alternate proteins from the same gene contribute differently to health and rare disease | Whitehead Institute
Iain Cheeseman and colleagues reveal the underappreciated role of single genes producing multiple proteins in atypical presentations of rare disease, and present case studies of affected patients thro...
wi.mit.edu
November 7, 2025 at 4:14 PM
Reposted by MaRtiNA Hallegger
As Scottish Rugby celebrates 100 years of Murrayfield, they’re asking fans to choose the defining moment in the stadium’s history!

For us, there’s only one 💙💛 Doddie’s unforgettable match ball delivery in 2017 - a moment that inspired the nation.

Vote here 👉 scottishrugby.org/murrayfieldm...
November 6, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Reposted by MaRtiNA Hallegger
New paper alert! Scientists in Clemens Plaschka’s lab at the IMP and @juliusbrennecke.bsky.social's lab at
@imbavienna.bsky.social solved a decade-old puzzle, uncovering how the information molecule mRNA travels from the cell’s nucleus to its periphery. More: bit.ly/4nHcvys
November 6, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Reposted by MaRtiNA Hallegger
Our latest paper has just been published in Cell!

doi.org/10.1016/j.ce...

We developed a new method called MCC ultra, which allows 3D chromatin structure to be visualised with a 1 base pair pixel size.
November 5, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Reposted by MaRtiNA Hallegger
@andreaserio.bsky.social and I are recruiting a postdoc to lead an exciting MNDA-funded project using multi-omics to study long axons in motor neurons and how they shape susceptibility to #ALS.

Get in touch for any questions and apply by 2 December:
my.corehr.com/pls/kclrecru...
November 4, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Reposted by MaRtiNA Hallegger
🦖 Something HUGE just hatched.

Plasmidsaurus now offers RNA sequencing for gene expression analysis:
• As fast as 3 day turnaround
• $50/sample for academia, $80 for industry
• Up to ~10M unique transcript 3’ end reads per sample
• Interactive results

Explore Plasmidsaurus RNA-Seq today.
October 15, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Reposted by MaRtiNA Hallegger
Hot off the press from the RTI: TDP-43-dependent mis-splicing of KCNQ2 triggers intrinsic neuronal hyperexcitability in ALS/FTD
buff.ly/X23QYQI #RNA #RNATherapeutics
TDP-43-dependent mis-splicing of KCNQ2 triggers intrinsic neuronal hyperexcitability in ALS/FTD - PubMed
Motor neuron hyperexcitability is a broadly observed yet poorly understood feature of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Nuclear depletion and cytoplasmic aggregation...
buff.ly
November 2, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Reposted by MaRtiNA Hallegger
New preprint from Tongyin Zheng in the lab about how FUS condensates can unfold RNA G-quadruplex structure www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Visualizing TERRA RNA G-quadruplex unfolding in FUS biomolecular condensates
RNA G-quadruplexes (rG4s) are remarkably stable secondary structures with critical regulatory roles in gene expression, RNA metabolism, and telomere maintenance. However, their behavior within cells r...
www.biorxiv.org
October 30, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Reposted by MaRtiNA Hallegger
Come join us for the next monthly on-line seminar (7th November, 1 pm GMT) aimed to connect the UK Biomolecular Condensate community (All are welcome to come and listen) @g-heller.bsky.social @dimitrislagos.bsky.social @physicsoflifeuk.bsky.social
October 29, 2025 at 10:44 AM
Reposted by MaRtiNA Hallegger
Thrilled that our PAR-labeling tech supported new Nature findings from the Gorbunova–Seluanov team! Characterizing CIRBP in bowhead whales reveals how PARP regulation may shape longevity. Kudos to Hongrui Liu & Raymond Cai!
🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Evidence for improved DNA repair in long-lived bowhead whale - Nature
Analysis of the longest-lived mammal, the bowhead whale, reveals an improved ability to repair DNA breaks, mediated by high levels of cold-inducible RNA-binding protein.  &nbs...
www.nature.com
October 29, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Reposted by MaRtiNA Hallegger
1/ Excited to share our new study with @brumbaugh-lab.bsky.social, out in @natbiotech.nature.com! P-bodies selectively sequester RNAs encoding cell fate regulators, often from the preceding developmental stage. Releasing these RNAs can drive changes in cell identity. 🧵 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Selective RNA sequestration in biomolecular condensates directs cell fate transitions - Nature Biotechnology
Stem cell differentiation is controlled by manipulating RNA condensates.
www.nature.com
October 28, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Reposted by MaRtiNA Hallegger
How Maga is interfering in the UK and why Britain is much less well equipped to deal with this kind of ‘foreign interference’ than other countries in Europe.
My latest analysis for
@blaetter

(#German, but there always is Deepl)
Regimechange leicht gemacht
Zur Zeit des „Empire“ veranstaltete die britische Kolonialregierung in Indien regelmäßig prachtvolle Zeremonien, bei denen die Thronbesteigung eines britischen Monarchen mit großem Prunk und aufwändig...
www.blaetter.de
October 23, 2025 at 11:41 AM
Reposted by MaRtiNA Hallegger
Reporting this story, the same details kept appearing in police investigations around Europe: the perpetrators turned out to have been recruited and offered cash over Telegram.
European authorities are increasingly open in saying who is responsible: Russia.
www.irishtimes.com/world/europe...
From pigs’ heads to arson plots: how Russia’s hybrid war is sowing chaos across Europe
The trail from a Normandy pig farm has helped expose Russia’s campaign of sabotage across Europe aimed at inflaming division, spreading fear and weakeing support for Ukraine
www.irishtimes.com
October 24, 2025 at 12:23 PM
Reposted by MaRtiNA Hallegger
Two Postdoctoral Researcher Positions at University of Oxford to study Alzheimer’s disease using AI and iPSC models in the Translational Neuroscience Group. Closing date: 6th November

www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk/job/postdoc-...
Postdoc Researcher: Modelling Alzheimer’s’ with iPSCs & AI Phenotyping
Two Postdoctoral Researchers at University of Oxford to study Alzheimer’s disease using AI and iPSC models in the Translational Neuroscience Group.
www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk
October 18, 2025 at 8:34 PM
Reposted by MaRtiNA Hallegger
End-to-end protein design in the browser through evedesign. Generate and interactively explore designs in 2D/3D and export them as codon-optimized DNA. The underlying open source framework (released soon) is build to easily add new methods, more on that soon.
🌐 evedesign.bio
October 22, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Reposted by MaRtiNA Hallegger
Varicella-zoster virus reactivation and the risk of dementia

Vaccination is more that protection against the pathogen-caused disease.

www.nature.com/artic...
1/6
Varicella-zoster virus reactivation and the risk of dementia
Nature Medicine - Large-scale longitudinal health records reveal consistent association of varicella-zoster virus reactivation with dementia.
www.nature.com
October 6, 2025 at 10:44 PM