Max Fürst
@maxfus.bsky.social
Asst. Prof. Uni Groningen 🇳🇱
Comp & Exp Biochemist, Protein Engineer, 'Would-be designer' (F. Arnold) | SynBio | HT Screens & Selections | Nucleic Acid Enzymes | Biocatalysis | Rstats & Datavis
https://www.fuerstlab.com
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7720-9
Comp & Exp Biochemist, Protein Engineer, 'Would-be designer' (F. Arnold) | SynBio | HT Screens & Selections | Nucleic Acid Enzymes | Biocatalysis | Rstats & Datavis
https://www.fuerstlab.com
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7720-9
Pinned
Max Fürst
@maxfus.bsky.social
· Dec 16
New preprint🚨
Imagine (re)designing a protein via inverse folding. AF2 predicts the designed sequence to a structure with pLDDT 94 & you get 1.8 Å RMSD to the input. Perfect design?
What if I told u that the structure has 4 solvent-exposed Trp and 3 Pro where a Gly should be?
Why to be wary🧵👇
Imagine (re)designing a protein via inverse folding. AF2 predicts the designed sequence to a structure with pLDDT 94 & you get 1.8 Å RMSD to the input. Perfect design?
What if I told u that the structure has 4 solvent-exposed Trp and 3 Pro where a Gly should be?
Why to be wary🧵👇
Reposted by Max Fürst
I made a map of 3.4 million Bluesky users - see if you can find yourself!
bluesky-map.theo.io
I've seen some similar projects, but IMO this seems to better capture some of the fine-grained detail
bluesky-map.theo.io
I've seen some similar projects, but IMO this seems to better capture some of the fine-grained detail
Bluesky Map
Interactive map of 3.4 million Bluesky users, visualised by their follower pattern.
bluesky-map.theo.io
February 8, 2026 at 10:59 PM
I made a map of 3.4 million Bluesky users - see if you can find yourself!
bluesky-map.theo.io
I've seen some similar projects, but IMO this seems to better capture some of the fine-grained detail
bluesky-map.theo.io
I've seen some similar projects, but IMO this seems to better capture some of the fine-grained detail
I wish base line integrity were a factor we could factor in as a given, but fear that's not the world we live in. And it's not even bad faith actors alone, opportunity makes the thief and besides, if everyone else is using AI except you, what do you do
February 10, 2026 at 11:58 AM
I wish base line integrity were a factor we could factor in as a given, but fear that's not the world we live in. And it's not even bad faith actors alone, opportunity makes the thief and besides, if everyone else is using AI except you, what do you do
I really think we're at a tipping point. AI is radically entering all of society & certain systems cannot cope, including a lot of the scientific process. I predict current grant & paper writing & review systems are going to break this year, but as adaptation will take longer, we'll see a lot of 😡
February 10, 2026 at 11:45 AM
I really think we're at a tipping point. AI is radically entering all of society & certain systems cannot cope, including a lot of the scientific process. I predict current grant & paper writing & review systems are going to break this year, but as adaptation will take longer, we'll see a lot of 😡
They had 3x as many applications as last year. Trump meets the LLM effect, will be the same for ERCs
February 10, 2026 at 5:58 AM
They had 3x as many applications as last year. Trump meets the LLM effect, will be the same for ERCs
Reposted by Max Fürst
This year's MSCA call was brutal. My stellar postdoc got 96.4 and was below cutoff. For chemistry it seems cutoff was 97.6, with 96.6 for the reserve list. This was their 3rd time applying, year 1 87, Year 2 93, this year 96.4. Each year the bar moved. At those cutoffs, peer review is meaningless.
February 10, 2026 at 12:46 AM
This year's MSCA call was brutal. My stellar postdoc got 96.4 and was below cutoff. For chemistry it seems cutoff was 97.6, with 96.6 for the reserve list. This was their 3rd time applying, year 1 87, Year 2 93, this year 96.4. Each year the bar moved. At those cutoffs, peer review is meaningless.
The village model isn't really in place in much of the western world anymore, whether that prevents successes is open for debate
On topic, at least anthropic has someone (who seems actually nice) dedicated to ethics, guess how many Grok has
On topic, at least anthropic has someone (who seems actually nice) dedicated to ethics, guess how many Grok has
February 10, 2026 at 5:50 AM
The village model isn't really in place in much of the western world anymore, whether that prevents successes is open for debate
On topic, at least anthropic has someone (who seems actually nice) dedicated to ethics, guess how many Grok has
On topic, at least anthropic has someone (who seems actually nice) dedicated to ethics, guess how many Grok has
Reposted by Max Fürst
First-time posters need to be endorsed by an established arXiv author in their own field.
The new rule is mostly to try and discourage people from trying to get something started by sending some rubbish to arXiv.
🦠🧪
www.science.org/content/arti...
The new rule is mostly to try and discourage people from trying to get something started by sending some rubbish to arXiv.
🦠🧪
www.science.org/content/arti...
ArXiv preprint server clamps down on AI slop
First-time posters to venerable platform now need an endorsement from an established author
www.science.org
January 24, 2026 at 8:26 AM
First-time posters need to be endorsed by an established arXiv author in their own field.
The new rule is mostly to try and discourage people from trying to get something started by sending some rubbish to arXiv.
🦠🧪
www.science.org/content/arti...
The new rule is mostly to try and discourage people from trying to get something started by sending some rubbish to arXiv.
🦠🧪
www.science.org/content/arti...
seeing that even claude code consistently doesn't get git commands right the first time round makes me feel much less stupid
January 23, 2026 at 2:32 PM
seeing that even claude code consistently doesn't get git commands right the first time round makes me feel much less stupid
Reposted by Max Fürst
My time in @martinsteinegger.bsky.social's group is ending, but I’m staying in Korea to build a lab at Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine. If you or someone you know is interested in molecular machine learning and open-source bioinformatics, please reach out. I am hiring!
mirdita.org
mirdita.org
Mirdita Lab - Laboratory for Computational Biology & Molecular Machine Learning
Mirdita Lab builds scalable bioinformatics methods.
mirdita.org
January 20, 2026 at 11:07 AM
My time in @martinsteinegger.bsky.social's group is ending, but I’m staying in Korea to build a lab at Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine. If you or someone you know is interested in molecular machine learning and open-source bioinformatics, please reach out. I am hiring!
mirdita.org
mirdita.org
Reposted by Max Fürst
The barrel-shaped structures found by the thousands in most animal cells are one of biology’s biggest mysteries. But although researchers haven’t figured out the function of these “vaults,” they now report a new use for the puzzling particles.
Learn more: https://scim.ag/49pv8mB
Learn more: https://scim.ag/49pv8mB
January 19, 2026 at 10:54 PM
The barrel-shaped structures found by the thousands in most animal cells are one of biology’s biggest mysteries. But although researchers haven’t figured out the function of these “vaults,” they now report a new use for the puzzling particles.
Learn more: https://scim.ag/49pv8mB
Learn more: https://scim.ag/49pv8mB
Reposted by Max Fürst
New preprint!
Led by @sarahgersing.bsky.social we map how 7,500+ variants in glucokinase (GCK) affect binding to GKRP and disentangle this from stability.
We now have activity, abundance, and interaction scores for 7,128 GCK variants - a resource for understanding phenotypes and glucose homeostasis.
Led by @sarahgersing.bsky.social we map how 7,500+ variants in glucokinase (GCK) affect binding to GKRP and disentangle this from stability.
We now have activity, abundance, and interaction scores for 7,128 GCK variants - a resource for understanding phenotypes and glucose homeostasis.
Mapping the GCK-GKRP interaction landscape using deep mutational scanning by reverse two-hybrid screening https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.15.699699v1
January 16, 2026 at 7:57 AM
New preprint!
Led by @sarahgersing.bsky.social we map how 7,500+ variants in glucokinase (GCK) affect binding to GKRP and disentangle this from stability.
We now have activity, abundance, and interaction scores for 7,128 GCK variants - a resource for understanding phenotypes and glucose homeostasis.
Led by @sarahgersing.bsky.social we map how 7,500+ variants in glucokinase (GCK) affect binding to GKRP and disentangle this from stability.
We now have activity, abundance, and interaction scores for 7,128 GCK variants - a resource for understanding phenotypes and glucose homeostasis.
Sadly, here in Europe, one advise to ECRs is to, whatever action you decide to take, think very hard before posting about it on social media, because, you know, you may want to go to a GRC at some point. Is this hypocritical or just survival mode?
January 18, 2026 at 3:21 PM
Sadly, here in Europe, one advise to ECRs is to, whatever action you decide to take, think very hard before posting about it on social media, because, you know, you may want to go to a GRC at some point. Is this hypocritical or just survival mode?
Reposted by Max Fürst
Want to get the data out of a PDF figure? As in, the actual data – not a rough trace-along-the-lines version?
I made an app you might like: adamkucharski.github.io/pdf2plot/
It all started a few years ago... 🧵
I made an app you might like: adamkucharski.github.io/pdf2plot/
It all started a few years ago... 🧵
January 13, 2026 at 9:12 PM
Want to get the data out of a PDF figure? As in, the actual data – not a rough trace-along-the-lines version?
I made an app you might like: adamkucharski.github.io/pdf2plot/
It all started a few years ago... 🧵
I made an app you might like: adamkucharski.github.io/pdf2plot/
It all started a few years ago... 🧵
with MD, with AI MDemulators, with AF hacks, ...
January 13, 2026 at 6:23 AM
with MD, with AI MDemulators, with AF hacks, ...
Thanks for sharing. Not surprised but good to see data also for antibodies that squares really well with our analysis on protein design more generally
bsky.app/profile/maxf...
bsky.app/profile/maxf...
New preprint🚨
Imagine (re)designing a protein via inverse folding. AF2 predicts the designed sequence to a structure with pLDDT 94 & you get 1.8 Å RMSD to the input. Perfect design?
What if I told u that the structure has 4 solvent-exposed Trp and 3 Pro where a Gly should be?
Why to be wary🧵👇
Imagine (re)designing a protein via inverse folding. AF2 predicts the designed sequence to a structure with pLDDT 94 & you get 1.8 Å RMSD to the input. Perfect design?
What if I told u that the structure has 4 solvent-exposed Trp and 3 Pro where a Gly should be?
Why to be wary🧵👇
January 10, 2026 at 7:34 PM
Thanks for sharing. Not surprised but good to see data also for antibodies that squares really well with our analysis on protein design more generally
bsky.app/profile/maxf...
bsky.app/profile/maxf...
The only format worse than pdb is cif
My hot take is that CIF and PDB formats are totally ill-equipped for adequately storing metadata describing how structures get generated and processed, and this problem will get worse as AI agents imbued with structural bioinformatics skills pass these files back and forth
January 9, 2026 at 6:33 PM
The only format worse than pdb is cif
Industrial computational protein engineering position in the south of the Netherlands
synsilico.com/storage/app/...
synsilico.com/storage/app/...
synsilico.com
January 9, 2026 at 7:19 AM
Industrial computational protein engineering position in the south of the Netherlands
synsilico.com/storage/app/...
synsilico.com/storage/app/...
Yea this is not the same of course, but it just popped up in my feed and was close enough in topic ;)
Still, there might be something there. Sample unbiased random flex and score with IF?
Still, there might be something there. Sample unbiased random flex and score with IF?
January 8, 2026 at 7:59 PM
Yea this is not the same of course, but it just popped up in my feed and was close enough in topic ;)
Still, there might be something there. Sample unbiased random flex and score with IF?
Still, there might be something there. Sample unbiased random flex and score with IF?
Reposted by Max Fürst
Can we design mutations that bias proteins towards desired conformational states?
Today in @science.org, we introduce Conformational Biasing (CB), a simple and scalable computational method that uses contrastive scoring by inverse folding models to identify conformation-biasing mutations.
Today in @science.org, we introduce Conformational Biasing (CB), a simple and scalable computational method that uses contrastive scoring by inverse folding models to identify conformation-biasing mutations.
Computational design of conformation-biasing mutations to alter protein functions
Conformational biasing (CB) is a rapid and streamlined computational method that uses contrastive scoring by inverse folding models to predict protein variants biased toward desired conformational sta...
www.science.org
January 8, 2026 at 7:08 PM
Can we design mutations that bias proteins towards desired conformational states?
Today in @science.org, we introduce Conformational Biasing (CB), a simple and scalable computational method that uses contrastive scoring by inverse folding models to identify conformation-biasing mutations.
Today in @science.org, we introduce Conformational Biasing (CB), a simple and scalable computational method that uses contrastive scoring by inverse folding models to identify conformation-biasing mutations.
Inverse folding much more promising
bsky.app/profile/alic...
bsky.app/profile/alic...
Video introduction to our new “Conformational Biasing” method for computational design of mutations that bias proteins towards desired conformational states
CB part starts at 14:55
Thanks to Peter Cavanagh and Andrew Xue – amazing graduate students who co-led this work
CB part starts at 14:55
Thanks to Peter Cavanagh and Andrew Xue – amazing graduate students who co-led this work
Alice Ting Rosettacon keynote 2025
YouTube video by Alice Ting
www.youtube.com
January 8, 2026 at 7:53 PM
Inverse folding much more promising
bsky.app/profile/alic...
bsky.app/profile/alic...
Personally skeptical of a paper making broad claims about such methods capturing mutation effects when their data is a single mutation in a single enzyme where effect is extensively studied & captured in many training data structures. AI
structure/dynamics prediction tools are very poor VAEs imo
structure/dynamics prediction tools are very poor VAEs imo
January 8, 2026 at 6:34 PM
Personally skeptical of a paper making broad claims about such methods capturing mutation effects when their data is a single mutation in a single enzyme where effect is extensively studied & captured in many training data structures. AI
structure/dynamics prediction tools are very poor VAEs imo
structure/dynamics prediction tools are very poor VAEs imo
Reposted by Max Fürst
Today I made a small but momentous start to work in 2026 by changing a single number.
I renamed the file “Papers to write and submit in 2025” to “Papers to write and submit in 2026”.
Stay tuned for more file updates on 1st January 2027.
I renamed the file “Papers to write and submit in 2025” to “Papers to write and submit in 2026”.
Stay tuned for more file updates on 1st January 2027.
January 1, 2026 at 4:26 PM
Today I made a small but momentous start to work in 2026 by changing a single number.
I renamed the file “Papers to write and submit in 2025” to “Papers to write and submit in 2026”.
Stay tuned for more file updates on 1st January 2027.
I renamed the file “Papers to write and submit in 2025” to “Papers to write and submit in 2026”.
Stay tuned for more file updates on 1st January 2027.
Reposted by Max Fürst
1/ Check out our newest paper where we ask: How fast can we experimentally discover binders from scratch?
And we mean scratch: a blinded study.
TLDR: 26 days. And the binders work…and led to new cancer biology.
We’re coming for you AI….
chemrxiv.org/engage/chemr...
And we mean scratch: a blinded study.
TLDR: 26 days. And the binders work…and led to new cancer biology.
We’re coming for you AI….
chemrxiv.org/engage/chemr...
December 26, 2025 at 6:24 PM
1/ Check out our newest paper where we ask: How fast can we experimentally discover binders from scratch?
And we mean scratch: a blinded study.
TLDR: 26 days. And the binders work…and led to new cancer biology.
We’re coming for you AI….
chemrxiv.org/engage/chemr...
And we mean scratch: a blinded study.
TLDR: 26 days. And the binders work…and led to new cancer biology.
We’re coming for you AI….
chemrxiv.org/engage/chemr...