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cgemcci.bsky.social
C-GEM, the NSF Center for Genetically Encoded Materials
@cgemcci.bsky.social
520 followers 170 following 46 posts
Re-engineering the ribosome to create a fundamentally new form of chemical matter. C-GEM is an NSF Center for Chemical Innovation (CHE-2503885 and 2002182). #NSFfunded

Find us online at www.gem-net.net
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cgemcci.bsky.social
🎈 Come visit C-GEM's table to learn about polymer science at the Cambridge Science Carnival on Sunday, September 21, 2025!

Find out more about the free event here: cambridgesciencecarnival.org
cartoon confetti raining down on the Cambridge Science Carnival logo and title. Underneath is text that reads: Sunday, September 21, 12-4pm. The STEAM extravaganza returns to the Kendall/MIT Open Space with hundreds of hands-on activities for the whole family.
September 12, 2025 at 9:39 PM
cgemcci.bsky.social
🎉 To celebrate the 75th anniversary of the NSF, the Centers for Chemical Innovation collected thank-you notes from our members that highlight the positive impact of NSF support.

🎈 Read the thank-you notes here: www.nsfcci.org/nsf75

#NSFfunded
A header in gold and silver text that reads "NSF 75 years of discovery & innovation" Below that is an open envelope with a piece of paper sticking out. On the paper in a handwritten font reads, "Thank you, NSF!" and below the text are the logos of the following NSF centers: C-CAS, CSN, CSOE, MONET, CSP, CMCC, and C-GEM.
May 10, 2025 at 3:43 PM
cgemcci.bsky.social
📰 Hot off the press at @naturecomms.bsky.social:
RNA language models predict mutations that improve RNA function
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Congrats to @kshulgina.bsky.social @jhdcate.bsky.social and coauthors on a great C-GEM + @innovativegenomics.bsky.social collaboration! #NSFfunded #RNAsky
A red ribosome in front of a figure showing the phylogenetic relationships between organisms in GARNET with information on growth temperatures and ribosome sequences
December 5, 2024 at 10:58 PM
cgemcci.bsky.social
✨ New from C-GEM: Ribosomal Synthesis of Ketone-containing Peptide Backbone via O to C Acyl Shift
Congrats to Carly, Helena, former undergrads Isaac and Hana, Matt, and Alanna!

#chemsky #NSFfunded

chemrxiv.org/engage/chemr...
August 12, 2024 at 5:28 PM
cgemcci.bsky.social
DEADLINE EXTENDED! Apply for the C-GEM Summer Undergraduate Research Program by February 12th!

Spend your summer doing research in a C-GEM lab - stipend/housing/travel provided. Great for students with an interest in chemistry, biochem, chem bio, synbio, and more!

gem-net.net/join/undergrads
See threaded tweet for screen-readable PDF
January 17, 2024 at 7:15 PM
cgemcci.bsky.social
This work has now been published in Nucleic Acids Research! Congrats to Tent and all of the authors!
doi.org/10.1093/nar/...
A figure describing the workflow for this manuscript. The left side of the figure represents the design of a minimal PTC by citizen scientists and shows a ribbon diagram of the miniPTC construct in 3D. Below that, cartoon people are manipulating larger-than-life screens from the Eterna video game. One person is designing an RNA in the puzzle interface. Two people are looking at the voting interface. The right side of the slide describes analysis of the minimal PTC in three bullet points: secondary and tertiary structure, substrate binding, and fragment reaction. Below this is a cartoon person holding a giant pipette above some eppendorf tubes in a rack.
January 16, 2024 at 5:24 PM
cgemcci.bsky.social
Over the past year, we've been working with Eterna to use the game as a teaching aid to reinforce important biochemical concepts. We're excited to share the first two modules: "introduction to RNA" and "the ribosome and translation" - available now!

www.coursera.org/learn/rna-bi...
Cartoon image of the Eterna game interface showing a cursor hovering over an RNA stem loop. In the background, a more complex Eterna puzzle is blurred.
November 30, 2023 at 6:23 PM
cgemcci.bsky.social
Looking for an undergrad summer research opportunity in chemistry, biochem, or chem bio? Check out C-GEM SURP!

SURP Scholars spend 10 weeks in a C-GEM lab and participating in professional development. Stipend + housing + travel provided. Apply by Feb 1!

gem-net.net/join/undergr...
November 15, 2023 at 7:31 PM
cgemcci.bsky.social
New preprint from C-GEM! #NSFfunded

Incorporation of multiple beta 2-backbones into a protein in vivo using an orthogonal aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase

Another fantastic collab with Schrödinger - congrats to Noah, Ara, and Alanna!!

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Image shows a beta-2-hydroxy-boc-lysine highlighting the extended backbone and hydroxy moiety going into an E. coli cell, where it becomes a blue dot, charged onto a red cartoon tRNA using the red cartoon enzyme MaPylRS. Subsequently, the ribosome is able to incorporate this blue beta-2-hydroxy-boc-lysine monomer into a protein.
November 8, 2023 at 11:23 PM