Sternberg Lab
@sternberglab.bsky.social
News from the Sternberg lab at Columbia University, Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
Posts are from lab members and not Samuel Sternberg unless signed SHS. Posts represent personal views only.
Visit us at www.sternberglab.org
Posts are from lab members and not Samuel Sternberg unless signed SHS. Posts represent personal views only.
Visit us at www.sternberglab.org
1/9 Metagenomics lets us read microbiomes in nature without cultivation, but writing (editing) them in their native context is still a major challenge.
Meet MetaEdit: a platform for pathway-scale metagenomic editing inside the gut microbiome. science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Meet MetaEdit: a platform for pathway-scale metagenomic editing inside the gut microbiome. science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Metagenomic editing of commensal bacteria in vivo using CRISPR-associated transposases
Although metagenomic sequencing has revealed a rich microbial biodiversity in the mammalian gut, methods to genetically alter specific species in the microbiome are highly limited. Here, we introduce ...
science.org
November 14, 2025 at 2:25 PM
1/9 Metagenomics lets us read microbiomes in nature without cultivation, but writing (editing) them in their native context is still a major challenge.
Meet MetaEdit: a platform for pathway-scale metagenomic editing inside the gut microbiome. science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Meet MetaEdit: a platform for pathway-scale metagenomic editing inside the gut microbiome. science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Sternberg Lab
Please RT. Post-doc opportunity alert! 💥 closing 10th December.. Come join our team (www.thelowlab.org) at Imperial, London, working on the structure and mechanism of bacterial secretion systems.
For more details and to apply please see
www.imperial.ac.uk/jobs/search-...
For more details and to apply please see
www.imperial.ac.uk/jobs/search-...
November 4, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Please RT. Post-doc opportunity alert! 💥 closing 10th December.. Come join our team (www.thelowlab.org) at Imperial, London, working on the structure and mechanism of bacterial secretion systems.
For more details and to apply please see
www.imperial.ac.uk/jobs/search-...
For more details and to apply please see
www.imperial.ac.uk/jobs/search-...
1/10 Genome maintenance by telomerase is a fundamental process in nearly all eukaryotes. But where does it come from?
Today, we report the discovery of telomerase homologs in a family of antiviral RTs, revealing an unexpected evolutionary origin in bacteria.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Today, we report the discovery of telomerase homologs in a family of antiviral RTs, revealing an unexpected evolutionary origin in bacteria.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Antiviral reverse transcriptases reveal the evolutionary origin of telomerase
Defense-associated reverse transcriptases (DRTs) employ diverse and distinctive mechanisms of cDNA synthesis to protect bacteria against viral infection. However, much of DRT family diversity remains ...
www.biorxiv.org
October 17, 2025 at 5:22 PM
1/10 Genome maintenance by telomerase is a fundamental process in nearly all eukaryotes. But where does it come from?
Today, we report the discovery of telomerase homologs in a family of antiviral RTs, revealing an unexpected evolutionary origin in bacteria.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Today, we report the discovery of telomerase homologs in a family of antiviral RTs, revealing an unexpected evolutionary origin in bacteria.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
1/16 New pre-print from the Sternberg Lab!
We uncover how temperate phages can use RNA-guided transcription factors to remodel the flagellar composition of their bacterial host and enhance their fitness.
Find the preprint and full story here: tinyurl.com/mshwjd77
We uncover how temperate phages can use RNA-guided transcription factors to remodel the flagellar composition of their bacterial host and enhance their fitness.
Find the preprint and full story here: tinyurl.com/mshwjd77
July 24, 2025 at 7:58 PM
1/16 New pre-print from the Sternberg Lab!
We uncover how temperate phages can use RNA-guided transcription factors to remodel the flagellar composition of their bacterial host and enhance their fitness.
Find the preprint and full story here: tinyurl.com/mshwjd77
We uncover how temperate phages can use RNA-guided transcription factors to remodel the flagellar composition of their bacterial host and enhance their fitness.
Find the preprint and full story here: tinyurl.com/mshwjd77
Reposted by Sternberg Lab
Gene editing pioneer David Liu discusses baby K.J. Muldoon, the first person treated with a customized gene editing therapy, what made K.J.'s treatment possible, and how on-demand treatments for rare genetic diseases could one day become routine. #GeneEditing #Science
Q&A: One scientist’s bold vision to make on-demand treatments routine for life-threatening rare genetic diseases
Broad core member and gene editing pioneer David Liu describes a framework that could enable the treatment of 1,000 patients with personalized gene editing therapies by 2030.
www.broadinstitute.org
June 24, 2025 at 6:25 PM
Gene editing pioneer David Liu discusses baby K.J. Muldoon, the first person treated with a customized gene editing therapy, what made K.J.'s treatment possible, and how on-demand treatments for rare genetic diseases could one day become routine. #GeneEditing #Science
Reposted by Sternberg Lab
🧬🌽 Happy Transposon Day! 🌽🧬
Today we celebrate the birthday of Barbara McClintock - scientist extraordinaire and discoverer of jumping genes. Still the only woman to have an unshared Nobel Prize in the biomedical sciences #TransposonDay2025
Today we celebrate the birthday of Barbara McClintock - scientist extraordinaire and discoverer of jumping genes. Still the only woman to have an unshared Nobel Prize in the biomedical sciences #TransposonDay2025
June 16, 2025 at 3:14 PM
🧬🌽 Happy Transposon Day! 🌽🧬
Today we celebrate the birthday of Barbara McClintock - scientist extraordinaire and discoverer of jumping genes. Still the only woman to have an unshared Nobel Prize in the biomedical sciences #TransposonDay2025
Today we celebrate the birthday of Barbara McClintock - scientist extraordinaire and discoverer of jumping genes. Still the only woman to have an unshared Nobel Prize in the biomedical sciences #TransposonDay2025
Reposted by Sternberg Lab
Nature invented CRISPRa way before scientists did 🤩
Awesome work by the @sternberglab.bsky.social
Looking forward to seeing cool applications coming out of this !
Awesome work by the @sternberglab.bsky.social
Looking forward to seeing cool applications coming out of this !
1/10 New pre-print(s) from the Sternberg Lab in collaboration with Leifu Chang's Lab! We uncover the unprecedented molecular mechanism of CRISPR-Cas12f-like proteins, which drive RNA-guided transcription independently of canonical promoter motifs.
Full story here:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Full story here:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
June 12, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Nature invented CRISPRa way before scientists did 🤩
Awesome work by the @sternberglab.bsky.social
Looking forward to seeing cool applications coming out of this !
Awesome work by the @sternberglab.bsky.social
Looking forward to seeing cool applications coming out of this !
Reposted by Sternberg Lab
Did you think you needed a promoter for CRISPRa? Think again!
6/10 dCas12f-Sigma factors are able to recruit their native RNA polymerase (RNAP) to drive RNA-guided transcription at programmable sites. Remarkably, we were able to generate RNA (see RNA-seq) without relying on promoters in intergenic sequences, even within genes, and on either DNA strand.
June 12, 2025 at 6:07 AM
Did you think you needed a promoter for CRISPRa? Think again!
1/10 New pre-print(s) from the Sternberg Lab in collaboration with Leifu Chang's Lab! We uncover the unprecedented molecular mechanism of CRISPR-Cas12f-like proteins, which drive RNA-guided transcription independently of canonical promoter motifs.
Full story here:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Full story here:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
June 11, 2025 at 4:03 PM
1/10 New pre-print(s) from the Sternberg Lab in collaboration with Leifu Chang's Lab! We uncover the unprecedented molecular mechanism of CRISPR-Cas12f-like proteins, which drive RNA-guided transcription independently of canonical promoter motifs.
Full story here:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Full story here:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Sternberg Lab
Did you see the recent buzz about evoCAST, a new CRISPR-transposon tool that can insert entire genes into human cells? We've got a quick explainer on how CASTs work and how evoCAST improves on them! @isaacwitte.bsky.social @sternberglab.bsky.social
blog.addgene.org/cas...
blog.addgene.org/cas...
CASTing Off for New Shores in Human Genome Editing
This post describes evoCAST, a new CRISPR-associated transposase tools optimized for genetic editing in human cells.
blog.addgene.org
June 10, 2025 at 1:30 PM
Did you see the recent buzz about evoCAST, a new CRISPR-transposon tool that can insert entire genes into human cells? We've got a quick explainer on how CASTs work and how evoCAST improves on them! @isaacwitte.bsky.social @sternberglab.bsky.social
blog.addgene.org/cas...
blog.addgene.org/cas...
We're thrilled to share the published version of our DRT9 story, online today @nature.com! Congratulations to all authors!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Hello BlueSky! Inaugural post here from the Sternberg Lab. We're excited to share our latest work, in which we teamed up with the @WiedenheftLab to study how DRT9 reverse transcriptases provide antiviral immunity. Here’s what we found: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Protein-primed DNA homopolymer synthesis by an antiviral reverse transcriptase
Bacteria defend themselves from viral predation using diverse immune systems, many of which sense and target foreign DNA for degradation. Defense-associated reverse transcriptase (DRT) systems provide...
www.biorxiv.org
May 28, 2025 at 9:06 PM
We're thrilled to share the published version of our DRT9 story, online today @nature.com! Congratulations to all authors!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Sternberg Lab
Always grateful to investigators like @sternberglab.bsky.social and David Liu who share their plasmids through @addgene.bsky.social.
www.addgene.org/browse/artic...
www.addgene.org/browse/artic...
May 20, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Always grateful to investigators like @sternberglab.bsky.social and David Liu who share their plasmids through @addgene.bsky.social.
www.addgene.org/browse/artic...
www.addgene.org/browse/artic...
"..one of the biggest challenges right now for evoCAST, and other large DNA editing tools under development, is delivery.
'How do we actually get these tools and their payloads into the cells or tissues of interest?'”
www.cuimc.columbia.edu/news/sternbe...
'How do we actually get these tools and their payloads into the cells or tissues of interest?'”
www.cuimc.columbia.edu/news/sternbe...
May 19, 2025 at 1:57 PM
"..one of the biggest challenges right now for evoCAST, and other large DNA editing tools under development, is delivery.
'How do we actually get these tools and their payloads into the cells or tissues of interest?'”
www.cuimc.columbia.edu/news/sternbe...
'How do we actually get these tools and their payloads into the cells or tissues of interest?'”
www.cuimc.columbia.edu/news/sternbe...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Coverage of our collaboration with the Liu group..
' “This is crazy directed evolution!” - Makoto Saito'
Coverage of our collaboration with the Liu group..
' “This is crazy directed evolution!” - Makoto Saito'
Powerful CRISPR system inserts whole gene into human DNA
‘Directed’ evolution in the laboratory creates an editing tool that outperforms classic CRISPR systems.
www.nature.com
May 16, 2025 at 5:54 PM
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Coverage of our collaboration with the Liu group..
' “This is crazy directed evolution!” - Makoto Saito'
Coverage of our collaboration with the Liu group..
' “This is crazy directed evolution!” - Makoto Saito'
Reposted by Sternberg Lab
Excited to introduce evoCAST: a platform for efficient, programmable gene integration in human cells. This work, a close collab between my PhD lab (Liu group) and @sternberglab.bsky.social, has been such a fun journey to help lead. Huge thanks to all contributors!
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Programmable gene insertion in human cells with a laboratory-evolved CRISPR-associated transposase
Programmable gene integration in human cells has the potential to enable mutation-agnostic treatments for loss-of-function genetic diseases and facilitate many applications in the life sciences. CRISP...
www.science.org
May 15, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Excited to introduce evoCAST: a platform for efficient, programmable gene integration in human cells. This work, a close collab between my PhD lab (Liu group) and @sternberglab.bsky.social, has been such a fun journey to help lead. Huge thanks to all contributors!
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
1/10 Today in @science.org in collaboration with
the Liu group we report the development of a laboratory-evolved CRISPR-associated transposase (evoCAST) that supports therapeutically relevant levels of RNA-programmable gene insertion in human cells. drive.google.com/file/d/1I-Ub...
the Liu group we report the development of a laboratory-evolved CRISPR-associated transposase (evoCAST) that supports therapeutically relevant levels of RNA-programmable gene insertion in human cells. drive.google.com/file/d/1I-Ub...
May 15, 2025 at 10:49 PM
1/10 Today in @science.org in collaboration with
the Liu group we report the development of a laboratory-evolved CRISPR-associated transposase (evoCAST) that supports therapeutically relevant levels of RNA-programmable gene insertion in human cells. drive.google.com/file/d/1I-Ub...
the Liu group we report the development of a laboratory-evolved CRISPR-associated transposase (evoCAST) that supports therapeutically relevant levels of RNA-programmable gene insertion in human cells. drive.google.com/file/d/1I-Ub...
Reposted by Sternberg Lab
💥🥳 At long last, our latest paper is out!
Gag proteins of endogenous retroviruses are required for zebrafish development
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Led heroically by Sylvia Chang & @jonowells.bsky.social
A study which has changed the way I think of #transposons! No less! 🧵 1/n
Gag proteins of endogenous retroviruses are required for zebrafish development
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Led heroically by Sylvia Chang & @jonowells.bsky.social
A study which has changed the way I think of #transposons! No less! 🧵 1/n
Gag proteins encoded by endogenous retroviruses are required for zebrafish development | PNAS
Transposable elements (TEs) make up the bulk of eukaryotic genomes and examples abound
of TE-derived sequences repurposed for organismal function. ...
www.pnas.org
April 30, 2025 at 10:45 AM
💥🥳 At long last, our latest paper is out!
Gag proteins of endogenous retroviruses are required for zebrafish development
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Led heroically by Sylvia Chang & @jonowells.bsky.social
A study which has changed the way I think of #transposons! No less! 🧵 1/n
Gag proteins of endogenous retroviruses are required for zebrafish development
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Led heroically by Sylvia Chang & @jonowells.bsky.social
A study which has changed the way I think of #transposons! No less! 🧵 1/n
Reposted by Sternberg Lab
Join GEN on June 11 for:
"The State of CRISPR & Genome Editing" virtual summit.
Guests include:
Feng Zhang, @urnov.bsky.social , @juliemakani.bsky.social
@nevillesanjana.bsky.social; Alexis Komor & Nicole Gaudelli,
and Beth Shapiro
Registration is free!
webinars.liebertpub.com/e/the-state-...
"The State of CRISPR & Genome Editing" virtual summit.
Guests include:
Feng Zhang, @urnov.bsky.social , @juliemakani.bsky.social
@nevillesanjana.bsky.social; Alexis Komor & Nicole Gaudelli,
and Beth Shapiro
Registration is free!
webinars.liebertpub.com/e/the-state-...
May 5, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Join GEN on June 11 for:
"The State of CRISPR & Genome Editing" virtual summit.
Guests include:
Feng Zhang, @urnov.bsky.social , @juliemakani.bsky.social
@nevillesanjana.bsky.social; Alexis Komor & Nicole Gaudelli,
and Beth Shapiro
Registration is free!
webinars.liebertpub.com/e/the-state-...
"The State of CRISPR & Genome Editing" virtual summit.
Guests include:
Feng Zhang, @urnov.bsky.social , @juliemakani.bsky.social
@nevillesanjana.bsky.social; Alexis Komor & Nicole Gaudelli,
and Beth Shapiro
Registration is free!
webinars.liebertpub.com/e/the-state-...
Reposted by Sternberg Lab
One of my students pointed me to this great podcast that gives an overview of phage history!
#PhageSky
open.spotify.com/episode/4XTa...
#PhageSky
open.spotify.com/episode/4XTa...
Bacteriophages
In Our Time · Episode
open.spotify.com
April 24, 2025 at 7:17 AM
One of my students pointed me to this great podcast that gives an overview of phage history!
#PhageSky
open.spotify.com/episode/4XTa...
#PhageSky
open.spotify.com/episode/4XTa...
We've been fortunate to celebrate a few wins in the lab recently. Dr. George Lampe received the Columbia Dean’s Award and Henry Le was awarded a Soros Fellowship.
Cheers and congratulations to you both!!
Cheers and congratulations to you both!!
May 2, 2025 at 4:21 PM
We've been fortunate to celebrate a few wins in the lab recently. Dr. George Lampe received the Columbia Dean’s Award and Henry Le was awarded a Soros Fellowship.
Cheers and congratulations to you both!!
Cheers and congratulations to you both!!
Hello BlueSky! Inaugural post here from the Sternberg Lab. We're excited to share our latest work, in which we teamed up with the @WiedenheftLab to study how DRT9 reverse transcriptases provide antiviral immunity. Here’s what we found: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Protein-primed DNA homopolymer synthesis by an antiviral reverse transcriptase
Bacteria defend themselves from viral predation using diverse immune systems, many of which sense and target foreign DNA for degradation. Defense-associated reverse transcriptase (DRT) systems provide...
www.biorxiv.org
March 26, 2025 at 10:13 PM
Hello BlueSky! Inaugural post here from the Sternberg Lab. We're excited to share our latest work, in which we teamed up with the @WiedenheftLab to study how DRT9 reverse transcriptases provide antiviral immunity. Here’s what we found: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...