Anke Sparmann
@ankesparmann.bsky.social
Scientific writer @helmholtz-hiri.bsky.social and editor at Life Science Editors (https://www.lifescienceeditors.com/)
Reposted by Anke Sparmann
piRNA-directed DNA methylation may not be a mammalian invention, but can already be found in the germline of axolotl salamanders
Donal O’Carroll and coworkers
www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....
Donal O’Carroll and coworkers
www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....
November 13, 2025 at 11:54 AM
piRNA-directed DNA methylation may not be a mammalian invention, but can already be found in the germline of axolotl salamanders
Donal O’Carroll and coworkers
www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....
Donal O’Carroll and coworkers
www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Anke Sparmann
We’re excited to announce the first dedicated Workshop for scientists interested in becoming journal editors.👇
This workshop will teach you transferable skills to support a career as a journal editor or whatever career path you pursue.
Secure Your Spot: www.lifescienceeditors.com/workshop3-si...
This workshop will teach you transferable skills to support a career as a journal editor or whatever career path you pursue.
Secure Your Spot: www.lifescienceeditors.com/workshop3-si...
November 4, 2025 at 12:43 PM
We’re excited to announce the first dedicated Workshop for scientists interested in becoming journal editors.👇
This workshop will teach you transferable skills to support a career as a journal editor or whatever career path you pursue.
Secure Your Spot: www.lifescienceeditors.com/workshop3-si...
This workshop will teach you transferable skills to support a career as a journal editor or whatever career path you pursue.
Secure Your Spot: www.lifescienceeditors.com/workshop3-si...
Reposted by Anke Sparmann
Looking to start your own lab? 🧬🧪 The Helmholtz Institute Würzburg (HIRI) is offering group leader positions in RNA biology, RNA medicine & RNA technology. Apply by October 31 at www.helmholtz-hiri.de/en/jobs-tale...
E15 Groups
The Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Researchopens a call for
www.helmholtz-hiri.de
October 13, 2025 at 1:30 PM
Looking to start your own lab? 🧬🧪 The Helmholtz Institute Würzburg (HIRI) is offering group leader positions in RNA biology, RNA medicine & RNA technology. Apply by October 31 at www.helmholtz-hiri.de/en/jobs-tale...
Reposted by Anke Sparmann
⚠️ Paper alert: Using a novel CRISPR screening approach, we mapped the entire regulatory network controlling Xist—key for X-chromosome inactivation.
👉 We discover how sex and development signals are decoded at a single gene locus.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
👇 Bluetorial
👉 We discover how sex and development signals are decoded at a single gene locus.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
👇 Bluetorial
Reporter CRISPR screens decipher cis-regulatory and trans-regulatory principles at the Xist locus - Nature Structural & Molecular Biology
Here Schwämmle et al. develop CRISPR reporter screens to map transcription-factor-regulatory element interactions at the Xist locus, revealing a two-step mechanism integrating developmental and X-dosage signals to initiate X-chromosome inactivation.
www.nature.com
October 6, 2025 at 1:02 PM
⚠️ Paper alert: Using a novel CRISPR screening approach, we mapped the entire regulatory network controlling Xist—key for X-chromosome inactivation.
👉 We discover how sex and development signals are decoded at a single gene locus.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
👇 Bluetorial
👉 We discover how sex and development signals are decoded at a single gene locus.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
👇 Bluetorial
Reposted by Anke Sparmann
Meet the 2025 cohort of @dev-journal.bsky.social Pathway to Independence fellows
Read about the scientific visions of eight dev bio post-docs entering the academic job market
journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...
Read about the scientific visions of eight dev bio post-docs entering the academic job market
journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...
Pathway to Independence: a forecast for the future of developmental biology
ABSTRACT. In 2022, Development launched its Pathway to Independence (PI) programme, aimed at supporting postdocs as they transition to their first independent position. In 2025, we welcome our third c...
journals.biologists.com
October 1, 2025 at 6:15 AM
Meet the 2025 cohort of @dev-journal.bsky.social Pathway to Independence fellows
Read about the scientific visions of eight dev bio post-docs entering the academic job market
journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...
Read about the scientific visions of eight dev bio post-docs entering the academic job market
journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...
Reposted by Anke Sparmann
Inspired by bacteria’s defense strategies, scientists pioneer a novel method for genome editing #NBTintheNews via @helmholtzhzi.bsky.social www.helmholtz-hzi.de/en/media-cen...
September 22, 2025 at 6:44 PM
Inspired by bacteria’s defense strategies, scientists pioneer a novel method for genome editing #NBTintheNews via @helmholtzhzi.bsky.social www.helmholtz-hzi.de/en/media-cen...
1/2 Bacteriophages are among Earth’s most diverse biological entities, but many resist genetic manipulation. This leaves much of their diversity unexplored and constrains efforts to discover new proteins and exploit their potential for biotechnology and therapeutic applications.
September 12, 2025 at 12:56 PM
1/2 Bacteriophages are among Earth’s most diverse biological entities, but many resist genetic manipulation. This leaves much of their diversity unexplored and constrains efforts to discover new proteins and exploit their potential for biotechnology and therapeutic applications.
Reposted by Anke Sparmann
A systemic screen using programmable antisense oligomers to silence genes of DNA and RNA phages identifies proteins essential for phage propagation. This tool offers potential for optimizing phage therapy. #NBThighlight www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Programmable antisense oligomers for phage functional genomics - Nature
Establishing antisense oligomers as versatile, non-genetic tools to silence phage mRNAs opens applications in basic research and biotechnology, as shown by identifying essential factors for propagatio...
www.nature.com
September 12, 2025 at 9:40 AM
A systemic screen using programmable antisense oligomers to silence genes of DNA and RNA phages identifies proteins essential for phage propagation. This tool offers potential for optimizing phage therapy. #NBThighlight www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Anke Sparmann
Reposted by Anke Sparmann
if i were a better person i would do a tweetorial on our recent paper - but, hey, read the paper. its right there, waiting for you. #Giantvirus #histones are cool! their #nucleosomes are cool. check it out.! thats the tweetorial.
rdcu.be/exXBX
rdcu.be/exXBX
July 26, 2025 at 7:09 PM
if i were a better person i would do a tweetorial on our recent paper - but, hey, read the paper. its right there, waiting for you. #Giantvirus #histones are cool! their #nucleosomes are cool. check it out.! thats the tweetorial.
rdcu.be/exXBX
rdcu.be/exXBX
Reposted by Anke Sparmann
I am so incredibly excited to share our latest work, on the exploration of #RNA secondary structure ensembles and discovery of RNA regulatory structural switches in bacteria and human cells, just out in
@natbiotech.nature.com: nature.com/articles/s41.... A short tread! (1/n)
@natbiotech.nature.com: nature.com/articles/s41.... A short tread! (1/n)
Identification of conserved RNA regulatory switches in living cells using RNA secondary structure ensemble mapping and covariation analysis - Nature Biotechnology
Transcriptome-scale maps of RNA secondary structure ensembles in living cells detect candidate RNA structural switches.
nature.com
July 27, 2025 at 5:03 PM
I am so incredibly excited to share our latest work, on the exploration of #RNA secondary structure ensembles and discovery of RNA regulatory structural switches in bacteria and human cells, just out in
@natbiotech.nature.com: nature.com/articles/s41.... A short tread! (1/n)
@natbiotech.nature.com: nature.com/articles/s41.... A short tread! (1/n)
Reposted by Anke Sparmann
Many proteins bind RNA, yet we still don’t know what RNAs most bind because methods map one RBP at a time. In @cp-cell.bsky.social, with the Jovanovic lab, we describe SPIDR – a method for mapping the RNA binding sites of dozens of RBPs in a single experiment. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
July 26, 2025 at 7:15 PM
Many proteins bind RNA, yet we still don’t know what RNAs most bind because methods map one RBP at a time. In @cp-cell.bsky.social, with the Jovanovic lab, we describe SPIDR – a method for mapping the RNA binding sites of dozens of RBPs in a single experiment. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Anke Sparmann
Could lab-grown mini-organs help scientists research a range of infections? A new study published in Nature Genetics shows how researchers have mapped how the Shigella bacterium infects the human gut.
Read our interview with study co-author — and UTM Biology prof — Lars Barquist at uoft.me/bI7.
Read our interview with study co-author — and UTM Biology prof — Lars Barquist at uoft.me/bI7.
July 15, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Could lab-grown mini-organs help scientists research a range of infections? A new study published in Nature Genetics shows how researchers have mapped how the Shigella bacterium infects the human gut.
Read our interview with study co-author — and UTM Biology prof — Lars Barquist at uoft.me/bI7.
Read our interview with study co-author — and UTM Biology prof — Lars Barquist at uoft.me/bI7.
Reposted by Anke Sparmann
Big thanks to scientific writer Libera Lo Presti for this great little piece on our recent work exploring how proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and pH affect human gut microbes.
Check it out here: go.nature.com/4lf6jNk
Check it out here: go.nature.com/4lf6jNk
The pill that might be relieving your heartburn but killing your gut microbes
Why drugs commonly used against heartburn harm your gut microbiome
go.nature.com
June 19, 2025 at 9:10 PM
Big thanks to scientific writer Libera Lo Presti for this great little piece on our recent work exploring how proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and pH affect human gut microbes.
Check it out here: go.nature.com/4lf6jNk
Check it out here: go.nature.com/4lf6jNk
Reposted by Anke Sparmann
![3-panel comic. (1) PERSON WITH SHORT HAIR to Person 2: Shining laser pointers at planes is a federal crime. It’s incredibly dangerous. PERSON 2: Oh, because it can blind the pilot? SHORT HAIR: That’s one reason… (2) [Laser pointed at flying airplane] (3) [Cat close to the size of the plane pouncing on airplane and taking it down]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cz73r7iyiqn26upot4jtjdhk/bafkreicdr4m3a7s2i232wlvcu7dkwytnrh3tlqfbojtmyg3pzr7a6ibxra@jpeg)
July 1, 2025 at 2:48 AM
Reposted by Anke Sparmann
A study in Nature Genetics establishes the comprehensive genome-wide map of Shigella genes required to infect human intestinal epithelium. go.nature.com/4e7fdKp 🧬 🧪
June 17, 2025 at 7:24 PM
A study in Nature Genetics establishes the comprehensive genome-wide map of Shigella genes required to infect human intestinal epithelium. go.nature.com/4e7fdKp 🧬 🧪
Reposted by Anke Sparmann
Our latest: www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247(25)00615-1. Links Bacteroides cell size w/ gene expression. Protocol works even for single cells. 🦠
Shoutout to @elisebor.bsky.social, @emmanuel-saliba.bsky.social, @lbarquist.bsky.social, @jorg-vogel-lab.bsky.social, Till Strowig & KC Huang.
Shoutout to @elisebor.bsky.social, @emmanuel-saliba.bsky.social, @lbarquist.bsky.social, @jorg-vogel-lab.bsky.social, Till Strowig & KC Huang.
Low-input RNA-seq suggests metabolic specialization underlying morphological heterogeneity in a gut commensal bacterium
Bornet et al. investigate the morphological heterogeneity of Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron
cells observed both in laboratory culture and inside the mammalian GI tract. The authors
show that cell size i...
www.cell.com
June 17, 2025 at 7:11 PM
Our latest: www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247(25)00615-1. Links Bacteroides cell size w/ gene expression. Protocol works even for single cells. 🦠
Shoutout to @elisebor.bsky.social, @emmanuel-saliba.bsky.social, @lbarquist.bsky.social, @jorg-vogel-lab.bsky.social, Till Strowig & KC Huang.
Shoutout to @elisebor.bsky.social, @emmanuel-saliba.bsky.social, @lbarquist.bsky.social, @jorg-vogel-lab.bsky.social, Till Strowig & KC Huang.
Reposted by Anke Sparmann
Big shoutout to this amazing work from our colleagues in the Knipscheer lab. Congratulations on discovering and dissecting yet another new molecular mechanism that keeps our genome safe! 👏🍾
Excited our paper is out! G-quadruplex (G4) unwinding via an intricate G-loop assembly and disassembly mechanism maintains genome integrity. Pioneered by Koichi Sato with great collaborators Jing Lyu and @simonelsasser.bsky.social Check it out: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adr0493 🧵(1/4)
RNA transcripts regulate G-quadruplex landscapes through G-loop formation
G-quadruplexes (G4s) are prevalent DNA structures that regulate transcription but also threaten genome stability. How G4 dynamics are controlled remains poorly understood. Here, we report that RNA tra...
www.science.org
June 13, 2025 at 9:42 AM
Big shoutout to this amazing work from our colleagues in the Knipscheer lab. Congratulations on discovering and dissecting yet another new molecular mechanism that keeps our genome safe! 👏🍾
Reposted by Anke Sparmann
Excited to share my first-author publication from my #PhD work at @helmholtz-hiri.bsky.social 🎉
We established mudRapp-seq, a spatial transcriptomic technique that combines direct RNA padlock probing and in-situ sequencing.
academic.oup.com/nar/article/...
We established mudRapp-seq, a spatial transcriptomic technique that combines direct RNA padlock probing and in-situ sequencing.
academic.oup.com/nar/article/...
Visualizing the transcription and replication of influenza A viral RNAs in cells by multiple direct RNA padlock probing and in situ sequencing (mudRapp-seq)
Abstract. Influenza A viruses (IAVs) contain eight negative-sense single-stranded viral RNA (vRNA) molecules, which are transcribed into messenger RNA (mRN
academic.oup.com
June 11, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Excited to share my first-author publication from my #PhD work at @helmholtz-hiri.bsky.social 🎉
We established mudRapp-seq, a spatial transcriptomic technique that combines direct RNA padlock probing and in-situ sequencing.
academic.oup.com/nar/article/...
We established mudRapp-seq, a spatial transcriptomic technique that combines direct RNA padlock probing and in-situ sequencing.
academic.oup.com/nar/article/...
Reposted by Anke Sparmann
Thanks to lab-grown miniature intestines, researchers at #HIRI & Uppsala University have mapped how Shigella bacteria infect the human gut. This @natgenet.nature.com study opens the door to using cultured mini-organs to investigate a wide range of infections. 📍🦠
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A scalable gut epithelial organoid model reveals the genome-wide colonization landscape of a human-adapted pathogen - Nature Genetics
A genome-wide screen using human gut epithelial organoids combined with transposon-directed insertion sequencing identifies over 100 Shigella flexneri genes required for epithelial colonization.
www.nature.com
June 12, 2025 at 11:29 AM
Thanks to lab-grown miniature intestines, researchers at #HIRI & Uppsala University have mapped how Shigella bacteria infect the human gut. This @natgenet.nature.com study opens the door to using cultured mini-organs to investigate a wide range of infections. 📍🦠
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Anke Sparmann
#Fusobakterien gehören zur normalen Mundflora, stehen aber auch im Verdacht, das Wachstum von Krebs zu fördern. Forscher:innen @helmholtz-hiri.bsky.social zeigen nun, dass eine Peptidnukleinsäure-Verbindung das Wachstum versch. Fusobakterien-Stämme stoppen kann.
www.helmholtz-hzi.de/media-center...
www.helmholtz-hzi.de/media-center...
Unerwarteter Bakterienstopper
HIRI-Forschende entdecken Peptidnukleinsäure-Verbindung, die das Wachstum von fünf Arten der Tumor-assoziierten Fusobakterien stoppt.
www.helmholtz-hzi.de
April 29, 2025 at 1:25 PM
#Fusobakterien gehören zur normalen Mundflora, stehen aber auch im Verdacht, das Wachstum von Krebs zu fördern. Forscher:innen @helmholtz-hiri.bsky.social zeigen nun, dass eine Peptidnukleinsäure-Verbindung das Wachstum versch. Fusobakterien-Stämme stoppen kann.
www.helmholtz-hzi.de/media-center...
www.helmholtz-hzi.de/media-center...
Reposted by Anke Sparmann
Join us this Wednesday at 4 pm! Cheers!
April 29, 2025 at 11:05 AM
Join us this Wednesday at 4 pm! Cheers!
Reposted by Anke Sparmann
Wow. They really ARE trying to destroy science.
Whyyyyyyyyyyyy did NIH study sections switch to Teams????
April 15, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Wow. They really ARE trying to destroy science.
Reposted by Anke Sparmann
New preprint from @westermannlab.bsky.social about a pair of antagonistic #Salmonella sRNAs. Check it out 👇🏻
Intramacrophage RIL-seq uncovers an RNA antagonist of the Salmonella virulence-associated small RNA PinT https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.04.07.647523v1
April 8, 2025 at 5:04 AM
New preprint from @westermannlab.bsky.social about a pair of antagonistic #Salmonella sRNAs. Check it out 👇🏻
Microbial single-cell MATQ-seq developed by @emmanuel-saliba.bsky.social & @jorg-vogel-lab.bsky.social allows detection of a large number of genes per single bacterium & stands out for its high rate of cell retention.
For a detailed protocol, see rdcu.be/eg0Xc, now available @natprot.bsky.social.
For a detailed protocol, see rdcu.be/eg0Xc, now available @natprot.bsky.social.
Transcriptomic profiling of individual bacteria by MATQ-seq
Nature Protocols - Bacterial single-cell sequencing via MATQ-seq combines index sorting, random priming and rRNA depletion, and offers high cell retention and transcript capture rates, making it...
rdcu.be
April 9, 2025 at 10:56 AM
Microbial single-cell MATQ-seq developed by @emmanuel-saliba.bsky.social & @jorg-vogel-lab.bsky.social allows detection of a large number of genes per single bacterium & stands out for its high rate of cell retention.
For a detailed protocol, see rdcu.be/eg0Xc, now available @natprot.bsky.social.
For a detailed protocol, see rdcu.be/eg0Xc, now available @natprot.bsky.social.