Laura Lorenzo Orts
@lorenzoorts.bsky.social
Postdoc in the Pauli Group @IMP in Vienna. Interested in gene expression regulation during early embryonic development in 🐟
Pinned
Laura Lorenzo Orts
IMB Mainz
www.imb.de
I am excited to announce that I will be moving to IMB Mainz next year! The Winter call for the IPP PhD program is now open; if you are interested in maternal #mRNA regulation and #translation in early vertebrate development, please apply! Deadline: 16 October.
More info: www.imb.de/students-pos...
More info: www.imb.de/students-pos...
Reposted by Laura Lorenzo Orts
When people celebrate the individual genius of folks in science, they should also
mourn the collective loss of genius of folks who were actively discouraged or disadvantaged from a career in science because of the same person(s)
mourn the collective loss of genius of folks who were actively discouraged or disadvantaged from a career in science because of the same person(s)
November 7, 2025 at 11:43 PM
When people celebrate the individual genius of folks in science, they should also
mourn the collective loss of genius of folks who were actively discouraged or disadvantaged from a career in science because of the same person(s)
mourn the collective loss of genius of folks who were actively discouraged or disadvantaged from a career in science because of the same person(s)
Reposted by Laura Lorenzo Orts
just in time for the opening of the @hohmannulrich.bsky.social group at @imbmainz.bsky.social
what started as a project on how cells export piRNA precursors, ended up as a tour de force in mRNA export. truly wonderful collaboration with @plaschkalab.bsky.social at the @viennabiocenter.bsky.social
what started as a project on how cells export piRNA precursors, ended up as a tour de force in mRNA export. truly wonderful collaboration with @plaschkalab.bsky.social at the @viennabiocenter.bsky.social
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
@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 7, 2025 at 6:03 PM
just in time for the opening of the @hohmannulrich.bsky.social group at @imbmainz.bsky.social
what started as a project on how cells export piRNA precursors, ended up as a tour de force in mRNA export. truly wonderful collaboration with @plaschkalab.bsky.social at the @viennabiocenter.bsky.social
what started as a project on how cells export piRNA precursors, ended up as a tour de force in mRNA export. truly wonderful collaboration with @plaschkalab.bsky.social at the @viennabiocenter.bsky.social
👇 Very sad. Science moves forward through questioning and uncertainty. Claims later proven wrong can only increase society’s distrust in science. We, scientists, should be able to acknowledge gaps without fearing a loss of funding or the impact on our publications...
Researchers use less and less hedges (may, might, perhaps, probably ...) in their papers. Or in other words papers are becoming more like biblical texts.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Promoting research by reducing uncertainty in academic writing: a large-scale diachronic case study on hedging in Science research articles across 25 years - Scientometrics
Hedges are important in academic writing since they indicate uncertainty and tentativeness about academic knowledge. However, few studies explore how hedges have changed in academic writing overtime. ...
link.springer.com
November 6, 2025 at 6:20 PM
👇 Very sad. Science moves forward through questioning and uncertainty. Claims later proven wrong can only increase society’s distrust in science. We, scientists, should be able to acknowledge gaps without fearing a loss of funding or the impact on our publications...
Reposted by Laura Lorenzo Orts
New paper alert! Scientists in Julius Brennecke’s lab at IMBA and Clemens Plaschka’s lab at @impvienna.bsky.social solved a decade-old puzzle, uncovering how the information molecule mRNA travels from the cell’s nucleus to its periphery. More: https://imba.science/3Xl2hJ3
November 6, 2025 at 4:00 PM
New paper alert! Scientists in Julius Brennecke’s lab at IMBA and Clemens Plaschka’s lab at @impvienna.bsky.social solved a decade-old puzzle, uncovering how the information molecule mRNA travels from the cell’s nucleus to its periphery. More: https://imba.science/3Xl2hJ3
Reposted by Laura Lorenzo Orts
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
@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
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
@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
Reposted by Laura Lorenzo Orts
🤯This is wow! Molecular mechanism of mRNA export. by @juliusbrennecke.bsky.social @plaschkalab.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
November 6, 2025 at 5:20 PM
🤯This is wow! Molecular mechanism of mRNA export. by @juliusbrennecke.bsky.social @plaschkalab.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Laura Lorenzo Orts
Super cool! Again, how p-bodies control gene expression in cell fate transitions
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 7:45 PM
Super cool! Again, how p-bodies control gene expression in cell fate transitions
Reposted by Laura Lorenzo Orts
We have a new preprint for you. Naked mole rats are very long-lived rodents and have increased translational fidelity.
Interestingly, 28S ribosomal RNA is split. Here we investigated the structure of the ribosome by single particle cryo-EM. Take a look.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Interestingly, 28S ribosomal RNA is split. Here we investigated the structure of the ribosome by single particle cryo-EM. Take a look.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Cryo-EM structure of the naked mole-rat ribosome reveals a stabilized split 28S rRNA
The naked mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber) is a long-lived mammal with remarkable resistance to cancer and hypoxia, suggesting the evolution of robust proteostasis networks. The ribosome, the central ...
www.biorxiv.org
October 28, 2025 at 3:24 PM
We have a new preprint for you. Naked mole rats are very long-lived rodents and have increased translational fidelity.
Interestingly, 28S ribosomal RNA is split. Here we investigated the structure of the ribosome by single particle cryo-EM. Take a look.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Interestingly, 28S ribosomal RNA is split. Here we investigated the structure of the ribosome by single particle cryo-EM. Take a look.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Laura Lorenzo Orts
Reposted by Laura Lorenzo Orts
A lot of pressure on the different grant schemes, and pretty much independent of career stage.
October 17, 2025 at 10:20 AM
A lot of pressure on the different grant schemes, and pretty much independent of career stage.
Reposted by Laura Lorenzo Orts
And it's out!
Our paper on the optimization of smFISH to quantify cytokine mRNAs in T cells is published in EMBO Journal.
Using this protocol, we gathered interesting insights on cytokine mRNAs co-expression and localization in these teeny tiny human cells.
www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....
Our paper on the optimization of smFISH to quantify cytokine mRNAs in T cells is published in EMBO Journal.
Using this protocol, we gathered interesting insights on cytokine mRNAs co-expression and localization in these teeny tiny human cells.
www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....
October 15, 2025 at 9:31 PM
And it's out!
Our paper on the optimization of smFISH to quantify cytokine mRNAs in T cells is published in EMBO Journal.
Using this protocol, we gathered interesting insights on cytokine mRNAs co-expression and localization in these teeny tiny human cells.
www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....
Our paper on the optimization of smFISH to quantify cytokine mRNAs in T cells is published in EMBO Journal.
Using this protocol, we gathered interesting insights on cytokine mRNAs co-expression and localization in these teeny tiny human cells.
www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Laura Lorenzo Orts
📈 Record interest in ERC Starting Grants 2026!
4,807 proposals - a 22% increase compared to last year’s call.
👩🔬 Women submitted nearly 43% of proposals - the highest share ever recorded in an ERC call.
More stats 👉 bit.ly/4hcYJln
#ChooseEurope
4,807 proposals - a 22% increase compared to last year’s call.
👩🔬 Women submitted nearly 43% of proposals - the highest share ever recorded in an ERC call.
More stats 👉 bit.ly/4hcYJln
#ChooseEurope
Starting Grants 2026 applications: Facts and figures
The ERC Starting Grants 2026 call closed for applications on 14 October 2025. These are the preliminary data on submitted proposals:
bit.ly
October 16, 2025 at 12:40 PM
📈 Record interest in ERC Starting Grants 2026!
4,807 proposals - a 22% increase compared to last year’s call.
👩🔬 Women submitted nearly 43% of proposals - the highest share ever recorded in an ERC call.
More stats 👉 bit.ly/4hcYJln
#ChooseEurope
4,807 proposals - a 22% increase compared to last year’s call.
👩🔬 Women submitted nearly 43% of proposals - the highest share ever recorded in an ERC call.
More stats 👉 bit.ly/4hcYJln
#ChooseEurope
Reposted by Laura Lorenzo Orts
The 'Handler genome' of OSCs, a rare and stably growing cell line that runs a piRNA pathway to silence transposons.
Dominik (@86dominik.bsky.social) assembled the genome of this Drosophila cell line.
Besides making some cool findings, the goal was to turn this into useful resource for the field.
Dominik (@86dominik.bsky.social) assembled the genome of this Drosophila cell line.
Besides making some cool findings, the goal was to turn this into useful resource for the field.
When transposons jump, genomes diverge - even in cultured cells.
I am happy to share our new preprint: a chromosome-scale genome assembly for Drosophila OSC cells, one of the key model systems in the piRNA field, especially for nuclear piRNA biology. 🧬🧵 (1/12)
I am happy to share our new preprint: a chromosome-scale genome assembly for Drosophila OSC cells, one of the key model systems in the piRNA field, especially for nuclear piRNA biology. 🧬🧵 (1/12)
October 15, 2025 at 12:18 PM
The 'Handler genome' of OSCs, a rare and stably growing cell line that runs a piRNA pathway to silence transposons.
Dominik (@86dominik.bsky.social) assembled the genome of this Drosophila cell line.
Besides making some cool findings, the goal was to turn this into useful resource for the field.
Dominik (@86dominik.bsky.social) assembled the genome of this Drosophila cell line.
Besides making some cool findings, the goal was to turn this into useful resource for the field.
Reposted by Laura Lorenzo Orts
Check out the latest work from our lab, led by Arash Latifkar @ara-latifkar.bsky.social , www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
mRNA poly(A)-tail length is a battleground for coronavirus–host competition
Most eukaryotic mRNAs contain a poly(A) tail, which in post-embryonic cells enhances their stability. Many cytoplasmic RNA viruses also harbor poly(A) tails on their genomic RNA and mRNAs. Here, we re...
www.biorxiv.org
October 13, 2025 at 7:44 PM
Check out the latest work from our lab, led by Arash Latifkar @ara-latifkar.bsky.social , www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Laura Lorenzo Orts
Off he is ...
Ulrich is one of the most remarkable scientists I had the pleasure to work with. I learned so much from him about biochemistry, proteins, structural biology, and so much more.
Great people make great things happen.
The really great people are rare.
Ulrich is one of them ...
Ulrich is one of the most remarkable scientists I had the pleasure to work with. I learned so much from him about biochemistry, proteins, structural biology, and so much more.
Great people make great things happen.
The really great people are rare.
Ulrich is one of them ...
Thrilled to share that I’ll be joining @imbmainz.bsky.social in February 2026 to start my own group!
We will explore new mechanisms in eukaryotic gene expression, leveraging ‘evolutionary play’ to uncover how regulation, repurposing, and hijacking shape RNA biology.
PhD positions available!
We will explore new mechanisms in eukaryotic gene expression, leveraging ‘evolutionary play’ to uncover how regulation, repurposing, and hijacking shape RNA biology.
PhD positions available!
October 12, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Off he is ...
Ulrich is one of the most remarkable scientists I had the pleasure to work with. I learned so much from him about biochemistry, proteins, structural biology, and so much more.
Great people make great things happen.
The really great people are rare.
Ulrich is one of them ...
Ulrich is one of the most remarkable scientists I had the pleasure to work with. I learned so much from him about biochemistry, proteins, structural biology, and so much more.
Great people make great things happen.
The really great people are rare.
Ulrich is one of them ...
Reposted by Laura Lorenzo Orts
Thrilled to share that I’ll be joining @imbmainz.bsky.social in February 2026 to start my own group!
We will explore new mechanisms in eukaryotic gene expression, leveraging ‘evolutionary play’ to uncover how regulation, repurposing, and hijacking shape RNA biology.
PhD positions available!
We will explore new mechanisms in eukaryotic gene expression, leveraging ‘evolutionary play’ to uncover how regulation, repurposing, and hijacking shape RNA biology.
PhD positions available!
October 12, 2025 at 8:19 PM
Thrilled to share that I’ll be joining @imbmainz.bsky.social in February 2026 to start my own group!
We will explore new mechanisms in eukaryotic gene expression, leveraging ‘evolutionary play’ to uncover how regulation, repurposing, and hijacking shape RNA biology.
PhD positions available!
We will explore new mechanisms in eukaryotic gene expression, leveraging ‘evolutionary play’ to uncover how regulation, repurposing, and hijacking shape RNA biology.
PhD positions available!
Reposted by Laura Lorenzo Orts
October 9, 2025 at 8:26 AM
Reposted by Laura Lorenzo Orts
We are very pleased to announce our joint meeting with the German @gfeev.bsky.social and the Dutch Developmental Biology Societies, which will take place in Potsdam from the 10-13th of March 2026. Registration is now open! www.uni-potsdam.de/en/gfe-meeti...
October 6, 2025 at 4:21 PM
We are very pleased to announce our joint meeting with the German @gfeev.bsky.social and the Dutch Developmental Biology Societies, which will take place in Potsdam from the 10-13th of March 2026. Registration is now open! www.uni-potsdam.de/en/gfe-meeti...
Reposted by Laura Lorenzo Orts
Congratulations to @vdeneke.bsky.social & Andreas Blaha @impvienna.bsky.social for their research on vertebrate fertilization, which was awarded this year's ÖGMBT Life Science Research Award in Austria for basic research!
🎉Congrats to our @vdeneke.bsky.social, postdoc in the @pauligroup.bsky.social, who has received the 2025 Life Sciences Research Award Austria from the ÖGMBT!
She's recognised for her groundbreaking work on the molecular mechanisms of fertilisation: www.imp.ac.at/news/article...
She's recognised for her groundbreaking work on the molecular mechanisms of fertilisation: www.imp.ac.at/news/article...
October 5, 2025 at 8:46 PM
Congratulations to @vdeneke.bsky.social & Andreas Blaha @impvienna.bsky.social for their research on vertebrate fertilization, which was awarded this year's ÖGMBT Life Science Research Award in Austria for basic research!
Reposted by Laura Lorenzo Orts
Historically, viruses were thought to primarily use host cell's translational machinery. New work from @harvardcellbio.bsky.social faculty Amy Lee reveals that a giant DNA virus encodes its own IF4F initiation complex, suggesting an unexpected evolutionary innovation. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Giant DNA viruses encode a hallmark translation initiation complex of eukaryotic life
In contrast to living organisms, viruses were long thought to lack protein synthesis machinery and instead depend on host factors to translate viral transcripts. Here, we discover that giant DNA virus...
www.biorxiv.org
October 2, 2025 at 6:10 PM
Historically, viruses were thought to primarily use host cell's translational machinery. New work from @harvardcellbio.bsky.social faculty Amy Lee reveals that a giant DNA virus encodes its own IF4F initiation complex, suggesting an unexpected evolutionary innovation. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Laura Lorenzo Orts
Amazing work by the Santiago lab @unil.bsky.social. The malectin-LRR receptor kinase IGP1 senses cello-oligomers to alert the plant immune system & enhance disease resistance. Very nice discovery & mechanism.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
September 30, 2025 at 2:18 PM
Amazing work by the Santiago lab @unil.bsky.social. The malectin-LRR receptor kinase IGP1 senses cello-oligomers to alert the plant immune system & enhance disease resistance. Very nice discovery & mechanism.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Laura Lorenzo Orts
We've updated our first #preprint from the lab! A collaboration with @jamesbriscoe.bsky.social
🔥 now including in vivo 🐭&👤 embryo data
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
🔥 now including in vivo 🐭&👤 embryo data
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
September 28, 2025 at 10:05 AM
We've updated our first #preprint from the lab! A collaboration with @jamesbriscoe.bsky.social
🔥 now including in vivo 🐭&👤 embryo data
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
🔥 now including in vivo 🐭&👤 embryo data
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Laura Lorenzo Orts
The specific motif built up by these two RBPs cannot be identified by studying each of them in isolation, so one important question we would like to raise is: How many RBPs form heteromultimeric complexes with specificity other than the sum of the individual RBPs?
This work was spearheaded by Masataka Suzawa in my (NIAMS) and Chen Qiu in Traci Hall’s lab (NIEHS IRP) and initiated together with Masashi Yamaji’s group at Cincinnati Children’s. Wonderful collaboration with @eugenevalkov.bsky.social and Vittorio Sartorelli.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Delighted to share the story of two germline RBPs - one with little (DND1) and one with no (NANOS3) intrinsic sequence-specificity - that together build a continuous RNA binding surface recognizing a 7-mer (AUGAAUU) in target mRNA 3’UTRs, leading to deadenylation.
Delighted to share the story of two germline RBPs - one with little (DND1) and one with no (NANOS3) intrinsic sequence-specificity - that together build a continuous RNA binding surface recognizing a 7-mer (AUGAAUU) in target mRNA 3’UTRs, leading to deadenylation.
September 27, 2025 at 3:50 PM
The specific motif built up by these two RBPs cannot be identified by studying each of them in isolation, so one important question we would like to raise is: How many RBPs form heteromultimeric complexes with specificity other than the sum of the individual RBPs?
Reposted by Laura Lorenzo Orts
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Delighted to share the story of two germline RBPs - one with little (DND1) and one with no (NANOS3) intrinsic sequence-specificity - that together build a continuous RNA binding surface recognizing a 7-mer (AUGAAUU) in target mRNA 3’UTRs, leading to deadenylation.
Delighted to share the story of two germline RBPs - one with little (DND1) and one with no (NANOS3) intrinsic sequence-specificity - that together build a continuous RNA binding surface recognizing a 7-mer (AUGAAUU) in target mRNA 3’UTRs, leading to deadenylation.
The DND1-NANOS3 complex shapes the primordial germ cell transcriptome via a heptanucleotide sequence in mRNA 3'UTRs
The RNA-binding proteins DND1 and NANOS3 are essential for primordial germ cell survival. Their co-immunoprecipitation and overlapping loss-of-function phenotypes suggest joint function, yet how they ...
www.biorxiv.org
September 27, 2025 at 3:39 PM
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Delighted to share the story of two germline RBPs - one with little (DND1) and one with no (NANOS3) intrinsic sequence-specificity - that together build a continuous RNA binding surface recognizing a 7-mer (AUGAAUU) in target mRNA 3’UTRs, leading to deadenylation.
Delighted to share the story of two germline RBPs - one with little (DND1) and one with no (NANOS3) intrinsic sequence-specificity - that together build a continuous RNA binding surface recognizing a 7-mer (AUGAAUU) in target mRNA 3’UTRs, leading to deadenylation.
Reposted by Laura Lorenzo Orts
How are RNAs sorted for export vs. degradation in the nucleus? In collaboration with @heick.bsky.social’s lab we (@clemensplaschka.bsky.social and @juliusbrennecke.bsky.social labs) discovered a direct mechanistic link between the export and decay machineries: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... (1/x)
Molecular basis of polyadenylated RNA fate determination in the nucleus
Eukaryotic genomes generate a plethora of polyadenylated (pA+) RNAs[1][1],[2][2], that are packaged into ribonucleoprotein particles (RNPs). To ensure faithful gene expression, functional pA+ RNPs, in...
www.biorxiv.org
September 22, 2025 at 11:23 PM
How are RNAs sorted for export vs. degradation in the nucleus? In collaboration with @heick.bsky.social’s lab we (@clemensplaschka.bsky.social and @juliusbrennecke.bsky.social labs) discovered a direct mechanistic link between the export and decay machineries: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... (1/x)