Simon Bayly
@simonbayly.bsky.social
Reformed chemist 👨🔬 IP licensing and spinouts at the Francis Crick Institute. Also post about cycling 🚲 Opinion my own etc.
Pinned
Simon Bayly
@simonbayly.bsky.social
· Oct 17
Welcome new Bluesky users! If you are into biotech, please use the feed I created: bsky.app/profile/did:...
Reposted by Simon Bayly
Join us at the @crick.ac.uk for the 2026 meeting of the UK proteostasis community!
We especially encourage students and postdocs to attend and share their work. All talks (except the keynotes) will be selected from abstracts.
We especially encourage students and postdocs to attend and share their work. All talks (except the keynotes) will be selected from abstracts.
📣 UK Proteostasis Meeting 2026 – Registration Now Open!
I’m delighted to share that registration is now open for the UK Proteostasis Meeting 2026, hosted by The Francis Crick Institute on 20–21 July 2026 .
Please register here(lnkd.in/ervXMzWN) and through Eventbrite for payment (lnkd.in/eTxqjnQy)
I’m delighted to share that registration is now open for the UK Proteostasis Meeting 2026, hosted by The Francis Crick Institute on 20–21 July 2026 .
Please register here(lnkd.in/ervXMzWN) and through Eventbrite for payment (lnkd.in/eTxqjnQy)
February 13, 2026 at 1:55 PM
Join us at the @crick.ac.uk for the 2026 meeting of the UK proteostasis community!
We especially encourage students and postdocs to attend and share their work. All talks (except the keynotes) will be selected from abstracts.
We especially encourage students and postdocs to attend and share their work. All talks (except the keynotes) will be selected from abstracts.
Reposted by Simon Bayly
The replicase???
Ooooh. Cool new paper on origins of life. A simple 45-nucleotide RNA molecule that can perfectly copy itself.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
A small polymerase ribozyme that can synthesize itself and its complementary strand
The emergence of a chemical system capable of self-replication and evolution is a critical event in the origin of life. RNA polymerase ribozymes can replicate RNA, but their large size and structural ...
www.science.org
February 13, 2026 at 6:44 AM
The replicase???
🫡 selfless dedication
“I’ve reviewed over 50 sticky toffee puddings” is an incredibly powerful way to begin a video
February 12, 2026 at 8:49 PM
🫡 selfless dedication
Post a banger that isn’t English
February 10, 2026 at 8:54 AM
Post a banger that isn’t English
Reposted by Simon Bayly
Oh look, we made a new spinout company! Repeat academic founder Simon Boulton is planning to exploit the weird trick that cancer cells use to keep replicating indefinitely www.crick.ac.uk/news/2026-02...
From science to spinout – cutting cancer’s borrowed time
With the launch of ALTx, a new company focussed on exploiting this ability, scientists hope to turn cancer’s borrowed time into a vulnerability.
www.crick.ac.uk
February 5, 2026 at 1:59 PM
Oh look, we made a new spinout company! Repeat academic founder Simon Boulton is planning to exploit the weird trick that cancer cells use to keep replicating indefinitely www.crick.ac.uk/news/2026-02...
Extraordinary level of cognitive dissonance
Update: I have received a repsonse from Sir Paul reiterating the Society's statement to the media:
"“The Royal Society does not tolerate any form of discrimination, harassment or bullying. That is, and will continue to be, enshrined in our code of conduct.”
See www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
"“The Royal Society does not tolerate any form of discrimination, harassment or bullying. That is, and will continue to be, enshrined in our code of conduct.”
See www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
February 6, 2026 at 10:06 AM
Extraordinary level of cognitive dissonance
Reposted by Simon Bayly
Postdoc job alert in the Crick Institute in London. Are you interested in the actin cytoskeleton? I am looking for a postdoc to examine the cellular, developmental or physiological role of Arp2/3 iso-complex driven actin polymerisation. Multiple aspects available.
crick.ac.uk/WayPostdoc2026
crick.ac.uk/WayPostdoc2026
Postdoctoral Fellow - Cellular signalling and cytoskeletal function lab
crick.ac.uk
February 6, 2026 at 8:22 AM
Postdoc job alert in the Crick Institute in London. Are you interested in the actin cytoskeleton? I am looking for a postdoc to examine the cellular, developmental or physiological role of Arp2/3 iso-complex driven actin polymerisation. Multiple aspects available.
crick.ac.uk/WayPostdoc2026
crick.ac.uk/WayPostdoc2026
Reposted by Simon Bayly
2nd postdoc job alert in the Crick Institute in London. Project will examine the role of motors & the cytoskeleton (actin, septins and microtubules) during vaccinia virus egress using biochemical, structural & cellular approaches + live cell imaging. spread the word.
crick.ac.uk/WayPostdoc20...
crick.ac.uk/WayPostdoc20...
Postdoctoral Fellow - Cellular signalling and cytoskeletal function lab
crick.ac.uk
February 6, 2026 at 8:29 AM
2nd postdoc job alert in the Crick Institute in London. Project will examine the role of motors & the cytoskeleton (actin, septins and microtubules) during vaccinia virus egress using biochemical, structural & cellular approaches + live cell imaging. spread the word.
crick.ac.uk/WayPostdoc20...
crick.ac.uk/WayPostdoc20...
Oh look, we made a new spinout company! Repeat academic founder Simon Boulton is planning to exploit the weird trick that cancer cells use to keep replicating indefinitely www.crick.ac.uk/news/2026-02...
From science to spinout – cutting cancer’s borrowed time
With the launch of ALTx, a new company focussed on exploiting this ability, scientists hope to turn cancer’s borrowed time into a vulnerability.
www.crick.ac.uk
February 5, 2026 at 1:59 PM
Oh look, we made a new spinout company! Repeat academic founder Simon Boulton is planning to exploit the weird trick that cancer cells use to keep replicating indefinitely www.crick.ac.uk/news/2026-02...
Helpful rundown on Bindcraft’s paper
I analyzed BindCraft paper over the weekend:
- 65 binders across 12 targets.
- Crystal/Cryo-EM structures and functional data look good.
- In the supplementary CSV: only 20 have KD measurements.
- Most targets got 1 affinity value or none.
medium.com/@enginyapici...
---
What should I analyze next?
- 65 binders across 12 targets.
- Crystal/Cryo-EM structures and functional data look good.
- In the supplementary CSV: only 20 have KD measurements.
- Most targets got 1 affinity value or none.
medium.com/@enginyapici...
---
What should I analyze next?
I Went Through BindCraft’s Affinity Data. Here Are the Gaps I Found.
65 binders from 212 designs. Only 20 have KD measurements.
medium.com
February 3, 2026 at 7:54 AM
Helpful rundown on Bindcraft’s paper
Reposted by Simon Bayly
Cancer might protect against Alzheimer’s: this protein helps explain why 🧪 Interesting article even for a non-biologist like me! Hopefully a start to being some way closer to improved treatments for Alzheimer's disease www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Cancer might protect against Alzheimer’s — this protein helps explain why
A molecule produced by cancer cells can shield the brain from Alzheimer’s disease in mice.
www.nature.com
February 2, 2026 at 8:55 AM
Cancer might protect against Alzheimer’s: this protein helps explain why 🧪 Interesting article even for a non-biologist like me! Hopefully a start to being some way closer to improved treatments for Alzheimer's disease www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Very cool finding. Saturation mutagenesis is a very powerful tool
Does the noncoding genome actually carry more genetic information than coding seqs? Motivated by this question we mutated every bp in the 10kb MYC locus. Results are even more exciting: Decoding the MYC locus reveals a druggable ultraconserved RNA element www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org
January 31, 2026 at 9:09 AM
Very cool finding. Saturation mutagenesis is a very powerful tool
Reposted by Simon Bayly
me: How should I invest my savings to avoid the AI bubble?
tech friends: What bubble?
non-tech friends: What savings?
tech friends: What bubble?
non-tech friends: What savings?
January 30, 2026 at 6:21 AM
me: How should I invest my savings to avoid the AI bubble?
tech friends: What bubble?
non-tech friends: What savings?
tech friends: What bubble?
non-tech friends: What savings?
The “next battle” for UK biotechs is securing significant late-stage capital
www.ft.com/content/0fbb...
www.ft.com/content/0fbb...
UK biotech keeps selling itself to America
A shortage of late-stage capital pushes the biggest prizes into US hands
www.ft.com
January 29, 2026 at 8:56 AM
The “next battle” for UK biotechs is securing significant late-stage capital
www.ft.com/content/0fbb...
www.ft.com/content/0fbb...
I always enjoy reading about my namesake bacterium!
Elucidation of odd-chain dicarboxylate metabolism in Acinetobacter baylyi and application to polyethylene upcycling
@cp-trendsbiotech.bsky.social research article from @taeseokmoon.bsky.social at @ncstate.bsky.social / @jcvi.org
www.cell.com/trends/biote...
@cp-trendsbiotech.bsky.social research article from @taeseokmoon.bsky.social at @ncstate.bsky.social / @jcvi.org
www.cell.com/trends/biote...
Elucidation of odd-chain dicarboxylate metabolism in Acinetobacter baylyi and application to polyethylene upcycling
An integrated approach combines chemical degradation and biological conversion of
postconsumer polyethylene waste into a value-added bioproduct in the nonmodel bacterium
Acinetobacter baylyi ADP1. Thi...
www.cell.com
January 29, 2026 at 8:43 AM
I always enjoy reading about my namesake bacterium!
Reposted by Simon Bayly
Antimicrobial resistance contributes to an estimated 4.71m deaths per year.
This week, Crick group leader Ester Morreale hosted researchers from across Europe as part of a new initiative, END2AMR, which aims to tackle difficult-to-treat bacterial infections.
www.crick.ac.uk/news/2026-01...
This week, Crick group leader Ester Morreale hosted researchers from across Europe as part of a new initiative, END2AMR, which aims to tackle difficult-to-treat bacterial infections.
www.crick.ac.uk/news/2026-01...
Fighting antimicrobial resistance: a global effort for a global challenge
Potentially one of the most alarming health challenges in the 21st century, bacteria and viruses are evolving faster than the drugs designed to kill them. A new EU-led research effort is bringing scie...
www.crick.ac.uk
January 28, 2026 at 10:36 AM
Antimicrobial resistance contributes to an estimated 4.71m deaths per year.
This week, Crick group leader Ester Morreale hosted researchers from across Europe as part of a new initiative, END2AMR, which aims to tackle difficult-to-treat bacterial infections.
www.crick.ac.uk/news/2026-01...
This week, Crick group leader Ester Morreale hosted researchers from across Europe as part of a new initiative, END2AMR, which aims to tackle difficult-to-treat bacterial infections.
www.crick.ac.uk/news/2026-01...
Reposted by Simon Bayly
Simplifying binder design?
blog.escalante.bio/180-lines-of...
blog.escalante.bio/180-lines-of...
~180 lines of code to win the in silico portion of the Adaptyv Nipah binding competition
Here's the script we used to get 1st place in the in silico portion of the Adaptyv Nipah competition:
import modal
def download_boltz2():
from mosaic.models.boltz2 import Boltz2
Boltz2()
...
blog.escalante.bio
January 27, 2026 at 1:17 PM
Simplifying binder design?
blog.escalante.bio/180-lines-of...
blog.escalante.bio/180-lines-of...
Reposted by Simon Bayly
Calling spinout founders. Your experience can help shape future policy, investment decisions and founder support across the UK.
Share your insights on how equity is structured within founding teams, and the impact this has on roles, risk and contribution.
forms.cloud.microsoft/pages/respon...
Share your insights on how equity is structured within founding teams, and the impact this has on roles, risk and contribution.
forms.cloud.microsoft/pages/respon...
January 26, 2026 at 1:01 PM
Calling spinout founders. Your experience can help shape future policy, investment decisions and founder support across the UK.
Share your insights on how equity is structured within founding teams, and the impact this has on roles, risk and contribution.
forms.cloud.microsoft/pages/respon...
Share your insights on how equity is structured within founding teams, and the impact this has on roles, risk and contribution.
forms.cloud.microsoft/pages/respon...
Neurotech jamoboree in March
Book your free tickets now for our next #MedicineAtTheCrick event on Thursday 12 March, hosted by @andreas-t-schaefer.bsky.social, where researchers and clinicians will explore ‘neurotechnologies’ that help us better understand and decode the brain.
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/medicine-a...
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/medicine-a...
Medicine at the Crick| Interfacing the human brain: neurons to networks
Hybrid event taking place virtually and in person, organised by The Francis Crick Institute, London
www.eventbrite.co.uk
January 26, 2026 at 11:51 AM
Neurotech jamoboree in March
Reposted by Simon Bayly
Anyone know anything about Jennifer Harvey, who first isolated the virus containing HRAS (Harvey-Ras) at Mill Hill in 1967?
Prepping a lecture including the discovery of Ras oncogenes and wanted to add pics of the scientists involved.
The Internet has NOTHING
#sciencehistory #forgottenwomen
Prepping a lecture including the discovery of Ras oncogenes and wanted to add pics of the scientists involved.
The Internet has NOTHING
#sciencehistory #forgottenwomen
January 23, 2026 at 10:17 AM
Anyone know anything about Jennifer Harvey, who first isolated the virus containing HRAS (Harvey-Ras) at Mill Hill in 1967?
Prepping a lecture including the discovery of Ras oncogenes and wanted to add pics of the scientists involved.
The Internet has NOTHING
#sciencehistory #forgottenwomen
Prepping a lecture including the discovery of Ras oncogenes and wanted to add pics of the scientists involved.
The Internet has NOTHING
#sciencehistory #forgottenwomen
We have a national visitors' book? I need to know more about this!
Sky News: Danish PM Mette Freideriksen’s note in the visitors book when she visited UK today
January 23, 2026 at 9:49 AM
We have a national visitors' book? I need to know more about this!
Event next week at the Crick: Turning great science into real products
luma.com/49uq4htk
luma.com/49uq4htk
SPARK: An evening with Plasmidsaurus · Luma
Join the Crick Science Entrepreneur Network (CSEN) and Plasmidsaurus for an energising early-evening session on turning great science into real products.…
luma.com
January 22, 2026 at 11:54 AM
Event next week at the Crick: Turning great science into real products
luma.com/49uq4htk
luma.com/49uq4htk
The BII startup accelerator program for academic esearchers and innovators - Venture Lab is open for applications (call closes January 28th). Link in thread.
Novo Nordisk Foundation pours $850m into European life sciences economy
https://www.europesays.com/2706271/
The Novo Nordisk Foundation has donated $850m to the BioInnovation Institute to enhance the competitiveness of the European…
https://www.europesays.com/2706271/
The Novo Nordisk Foundation has donated $850m to the BioInnovation Institute to enhance the competitiveness of the European…
Novo Nordisk Foundation pours $850m into European life sciences economy - EUROPE SAYS
The Novo Nordisk Foundation has donated $850m to the BioInnovation Institute to enhance the competitiveness of the European life sciences market. Image
www.europesays.com
January 21, 2026 at 10:07 AM
The BII startup accelerator program for academic esearchers and innovators - Venture Lab is open for applications (call closes January 28th). Link in thread.