ChemKritzer
@chemkritzer.bsky.social
dad, professor, chemistry, biology
Chemical biologist at Tufts University working on small molecules, peptides, and biotechnology.
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2878-6781
https://chem.tufts.edu/kritzer-lab
Chemical biologist at Tufts University working on small molecules, peptides, and biotechnology.
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2878-6781
https://chem.tufts.edu/kritzer-lab
Reposted by ChemKritzer
“There were some cells in there that were very messed up”
In a technological tour-de-force, researchers have sequenced the whole genomes of more than 100 individual cells from one 74-year-old man
go.nature.com/44yj4MN
In a technological tour-de-force, researchers have sequenced the whole genomes of more than 100 individual cells from one 74-year-old man
go.nature.com/44yj4MN
We are all mosaics: vast genetic diversity found between cells in a single person
Technical advances allow researchers to trace the genetic changes that occur over time.
go.nature.com
November 26, 2025 at 9:28 AM
“There were some cells in there that were very messed up”
In a technological tour-de-force, researchers have sequenced the whole genomes of more than 100 individual cells from one 74-year-old man
go.nature.com/44yj4MN
In a technological tour-de-force, researchers have sequenced the whole genomes of more than 100 individual cells from one 74-year-old man
go.nature.com/44yj4MN
Reposted by ChemKritzer
food takes are what got jean valjean into trouble
November 25, 2025 at 10:20 PM
food takes are what got jean valjean into trouble
Reposted by ChemKritzer
A third Kentucky infant has died from whooping cough (also known as pertussis) this year as the state faces its largest spike in cases since 2012. Cases are only expected to continue to rise, highlighting the importance of widespread immunization. Learn more: publications.aap.org/aapnews/news...
November 25, 2025 at 9:13 PM
A third Kentucky infant has died from whooping cough (also known as pertussis) this year as the state faces its largest spike in cases since 2012. Cases are only expected to continue to rise, highlighting the importance of widespread immunization. Learn more: publications.aap.org/aapnews/news...
YESSS this is perfect!
3-sentence Project Narrative for NIH:
1. Completely lay sentence with no jargon describing what the research is about.
2. A sentence that begins, "This is relevant to public health because..."
3. A sentence that begins, "This work supports the [NIH or your IC] priority: [quote priority].
1. Completely lay sentence with no jargon describing what the research is about.
2. A sentence that begins, "This is relevant to public health because..."
3. A sentence that begins, "This work supports the [NIH or your IC] priority: [quote priority].
November 25, 2025 at 8:19 PM
YESSS this is perfect!
Reposted by ChemKritzer
1/ ⚠️ Breaking: At CDC, we've been told the US Government will not officially commemorate World AIDS Day this year. No explanation given.
November 25, 2025 at 4:16 PM
1/ ⚠️ Breaking: At CDC, we've been told the US Government will not officially commemorate World AIDS Day this year. No explanation given.
Reposted by ChemKritzer
Such a cool paper!
Participants synchronised blinks with music, with pure rhythmic tones, & this synchronisation was functional - greater blink synching improved detection of subtle differences in pitch - all associated with ↗️ superior longitudinal fasciculus 🤩
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
Participants synchronised blinks with music, with pure rhythmic tones, & this synchronisation was functional - greater blink synching improved detection of subtle differences in pitch - all associated with ↗️ superior longitudinal fasciculus 🤩
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
Eye blinks synchronize with musical beats during music listening
Human movements are known to synchronize with rhythmic patterns in music. This study expands our understanding of embodied music perception, by revealing that spontaneous eye blinks also align with mu...
journals.plos.org
November 25, 2025 at 1:20 AM
Such a cool paper!
Participants synchronised blinks with music, with pure rhythmic tones, & this synchronisation was functional - greater blink synching improved detection of subtle differences in pitch - all associated with ↗️ superior longitudinal fasciculus 🤩
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
Participants synchronised blinks with music, with pure rhythmic tones, & this synchronisation was functional - greater blink synching improved detection of subtle differences in pitch - all associated with ↗️ superior longitudinal fasciculus 🤩
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
Reposted by ChemKritzer
So pleased to share the final version of this work published in @plosbiology.org ! journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
November 20, 2025 at 9:10 PM
So pleased to share the final version of this work published in @plosbiology.org ! journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
Reposted by ChemKritzer
🎓 Grad School Interviews: DOs & DON’Ts
Getting ready for your graduate school interviews? Join us for a session where we break down what to say, how to prepare, and how to show up as your most authentic self.
🗓 When: December 2nd at 10am ET
🔗 Register here: www.eventbrite.com/e/grad-schoo...
Getting ready for your graduate school interviews? Join us for a session where we break down what to say, how to prepare, and how to show up as your most authentic self.
🗓 When: December 2nd at 10am ET
🔗 Register here: www.eventbrite.com/e/grad-schoo...
November 24, 2025 at 8:14 PM
🎓 Grad School Interviews: DOs & DON’Ts
Getting ready for your graduate school interviews? Join us for a session where we break down what to say, how to prepare, and how to show up as your most authentic self.
🗓 When: December 2nd at 10am ET
🔗 Register here: www.eventbrite.com/e/grad-schoo...
Getting ready for your graduate school interviews? Join us for a session where we break down what to say, how to prepare, and how to show up as your most authentic self.
🗓 When: December 2nd at 10am ET
🔗 Register here: www.eventbrite.com/e/grad-schoo...
Reposted by ChemKritzer
We’re going to need a bigger boat, Charlie Brown
November 24, 2025 at 1:33 AM
We’re going to need a bigger boat, Charlie Brown
Today NIH abruptly cancelled calls for Alzheimer's projects (R01 mechanism grants.nih.gov/grants/guide... and its companion R21) which were part of a long-term plan to advance new ideas to understand and treat AD and related dementias.
They were supposed to run until 2027.
No reason was provided.
They were supposed to run until 2027.
No reason was provided.
Expired PAR-25-331: Research on Current Topics in Alzheimer's Disease and Its Related Dementias (R21 Clinical Trial Optional)
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts: Research on Current Topics in Alzheimer's Disease and Its Related Dementias (R21 Clinical Trial Optional) PAR-25-331. N...
grants.nih.gov
November 21, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Today NIH abruptly cancelled calls for Alzheimer's projects (R01 mechanism grants.nih.gov/grants/guide... and its companion R21) which were part of a long-term plan to advance new ideas to understand and treat AD and related dementias.
They were supposed to run until 2027.
No reason was provided.
They were supposed to run until 2027.
No reason was provided.
Reposted by ChemKritzer
Today, I'm grateful that Alanna Schepartz is visiting Tufts. Alanna's leadership of @cgemcci.bsky.social has led to impressive advances in genetic code expansion, including recently published work pushing encoding beyond alpha-amino acids.
#ChemSky #ChemChat
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#ChemSky #ChemChat
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Site-selective protein editing by backbone extension acyl rearrangements - Nature Chemical Biology
A post-translational backbone extension acyl rearrangement (BEAR) reaction has now been developed that converts a ribosomal protein product into a new product containing a β-peptide, γ-peptide or δ-pe...
www.nature.com
November 20, 2025 at 1:17 PM
Today, I'm grateful that Alanna Schepartz is visiting Tufts. Alanna's leadership of @cgemcci.bsky.social has led to impressive advances in genetic code expansion, including recently published work pushing encoding beyond alpha-amino acids.
#ChemSky #ChemChat
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#ChemSky #ChemChat
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by ChemKritzer
The CDC just rewrote its vaccines & autism webpage, suggesting we can't definitively state vaccines don't cause autism. This exploits a philosophical trick about proving negatives while ignoring studies of millions of children with consistent findings.
jakescottmd.substack.com/p/the-cdc-re...
jakescottmd.substack.com/p/the-cdc-re...
The CDC Rewrites Its Guidance on Vaccines and Autism
On November 19, 2025, the agency altered decades of clear messaging, but the evidence hasn't changed.
jakescottmd.substack.com
November 20, 2025 at 10:19 AM
The CDC just rewrote its vaccines & autism webpage, suggesting we can't definitively state vaccines don't cause autism. This exploits a philosophical trick about proving negatives while ignoring studies of millions of children with consistent findings.
jakescottmd.substack.com/p/the-cdc-re...
jakescottmd.substack.com/p/the-cdc-re...
Great preprint and Bluetorial
(I mean, it rhymes with “tutorial” so that is objectively the better term, right?)
(I mean, it rhymes with “tutorial” so that is objectively the better term, right?)
Check out our newest work! This is a story on how to get selectivity in binders - both isoform and site selectivity. Read the paper or enjoy this brief Skytorial of what we did!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
1/n
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
1/n
PANCS-spec-Binders: A system for rapidly discovering isoform- or epitope-specific binders
Proteins that bind to a target protein of interest, termed "binders," are essential components of biological research reagents and therapeutics. Target proteins present multiple binding surfaces with ...
www.biorxiv.org
November 20, 2025 at 10:38 AM
Great preprint and Bluetorial
(I mean, it rhymes with “tutorial” so that is objectively the better term, right?)
(I mean, it rhymes with “tutorial” so that is objectively the better term, right?)
Great preprint and thread!
New preprint! We measured temperature- and pH-induced aggregation for over 18,000 natural and de novo designed protein domains!
November 20, 2025 at 10:35 AM
Great preprint and thread!
Reposted by ChemKritzer
Lovely summary of our 🎯 DarT-labelling technology! We are hoping to see this applied to a more basic cell biology and biochem applicationsn
link to the original @natureportfolio.nature.com @natchem.nature.com article: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
link to the original @natureportfolio.nature.com @natchem.nature.com article: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
November 14, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Lovely summary of our 🎯 DarT-labelling technology! We are hoping to see this applied to a more basic cell biology and biochem applicationsn
link to the original @natureportfolio.nature.com @natchem.nature.com article: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
link to the original @natureportfolio.nature.com @natchem.nature.com article: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by ChemKritzer
JAMA study: NIH grant terminations disrupted 3.5% of active clinical trials, affecting over 74,000 patients and resulting in a $1.81 billion funding loss. More than 115 active cancer trials were disrupted. www.ajmc.com/view/nih-gra...
NIH Grant Terminations Disrupt 1 in 30 Clinical Trials, Impacting Over 74,000 Participants | AJMC
Infectious disease was hit hardest by funding cuts to NIH grant for clinical trials that did not align with the Trump administration's priorities.
www.ajmc.com
November 19, 2025 at 8:31 PM
JAMA study: NIH grant terminations disrupted 3.5% of active clinical trials, affecting over 74,000 patients and resulting in a $1.81 billion funding loss. More than 115 active cancer trials were disrupted. www.ajmc.com/view/nih-gra...
Reposted by ChemKritzer
How do cells adapt morphology to function? In a 🔥 preprint by @zjmaggiexu.bsky.social , with @dudinlab.bsky.social and @amyweeks.bsky.social , we identify a self-organizing single-cell morphology circuit that optimizes the feeding trap structure of the suctorian P. collini. 🧵 tinyurl.com/4k8nv926
November 18, 2025 at 4:15 PM
How do cells adapt morphology to function? In a 🔥 preprint by @zjmaggiexu.bsky.social , with @dudinlab.bsky.social and @amyweeks.bsky.social , we identify a self-organizing single-cell morphology circuit that optimizes the feeding trap structure of the suctorian P. collini. 🧵 tinyurl.com/4k8nv926
💯
If the primary function of grades is to rank students, A = “better” than others in the class
If grades are for demonstrating learning, A = gained mastery of specific knowledge & skills
For the latter, more A’s means the instructor succeeded
For the former, too many A’s is an existential crisis
If the primary function of grades is to rank students, A = “better” than others in the class
If grades are for demonstrating learning, A = gained mastery of specific knowledge & skills
For the latter, more A’s means the instructor succeeded
For the former, too many A’s is an existential crisis
Okay, a little more serious of a thought on this...
Grades started becoming less meaningful when more students started to be able to get good grades. (They were meaningful to more people when they reenforced the existing social hierarchies.)
Grades started becoming less meaningful when more students started to be able to get good grades. (They were meaningful to more people when they reenforced the existing social hierarchies.)
I'm being made to understand that grades don't "mean anything anymore" but I'm hoping someone can point me to the time when they were meaningful.
November 19, 2025 at 12:36 PM
💯
If the primary function of grades is to rank students, A = “better” than others in the class
If grades are for demonstrating learning, A = gained mastery of specific knowledge & skills
For the latter, more A’s means the instructor succeeded
For the former, too many A’s is an existential crisis
If the primary function of grades is to rank students, A = “better” than others in the class
If grades are for demonstrating learning, A = gained mastery of specific knowledge & skills
For the latter, more A’s means the instructor succeeded
For the former, too many A’s is an existential crisis
Reposted by ChemKritzer
November 19, 2025 at 12:05 AM
Reposted by ChemKritzer
Reposted by ChemKritzer
FlAsH-ID: A short peptide tag for live cell photoproximity labeling https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.24.684417v1
October 25, 2025 at 3:18 AM
FlAsH-ID: A short peptide tag for live cell photoproximity labeling https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.24.684417v1
Reposted by ChemKritzer
Excited to share our new preprint, which was years in the making! chemrxiv.org/engage/chemr...
New reactions are typically developed by trial and error. How can we speed up this process? Read on to learn how we used DNA scaffolding to perform >500,000 parallel reactions on attomole scale.
1/n
New reactions are typically developed by trial and error. How can we speed up this process? Read on to learn how we used DNA scaffolding to perform >500,000 parallel reactions on attomole scale.
1/n
DNA-Scaffolded Ultrahigh-Throughput Reaction Screening
Discovering and optimizing reactions is central to synthetic chemistry. However, chemical reactions are traditionally screened using relatively low-throughput methods, prohibiting exploration of diver...
chemrxiv.org
August 14, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Excited to share our new preprint, which was years in the making! chemrxiv.org/engage/chemr...
New reactions are typically developed by trial and error. How can we speed up this process? Read on to learn how we used DNA scaffolding to perform >500,000 parallel reactions on attomole scale.
1/n
New reactions are typically developed by trial and error. How can we speed up this process? Read on to learn how we used DNA scaffolding to perform >500,000 parallel reactions on attomole scale.
1/n
Reposted by ChemKritzer
Delighted that the 'Decolonising the Curriculum' Group, of which I am a part, in the Chemistry Department @york.ac.uk, has received the @rsc.org Horizon Prize for Education recognising our work to diversify the way chemistry is taught.
To find out more, follow the link: www.rsc.org/standards-an...
To find out more, follow the link: www.rsc.org/standards-an...
November 18, 2025 at 8:33 AM
Delighted that the 'Decolonising the Curriculum' Group, of which I am a part, in the Chemistry Department @york.ac.uk, has received the @rsc.org Horizon Prize for Education recognising our work to diversify the way chemistry is taught.
To find out more, follow the link: www.rsc.org/standards-an...
To find out more, follow the link: www.rsc.org/standards-an...
Reposted by ChemKritzer
Have you heard about the Night Science Podcast, where we talk about the actual creative process of doing science? We explore this with discussions with brilliant scientists & also philosophers and artists, to figure out the tricks of the creative scientific trade.
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/n...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/n...
August 24, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Have you heard about the Night Science Podcast, where we talk about the actual creative process of doing science? We explore this with discussions with brilliant scientists & also philosophers and artists, to figure out the tricks of the creative scientific trade.
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/n...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/n...