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Alexey Amunts @amunts.bsky.social · 8h

Very sad. He was always so lively and encouraging when we met at college dinners. A great teacher for science and life. Deepest condolences.

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Alexey Amunts @amunts.bsky.social · 1d

"You must take your opponent into a deep dark forest where 2+2 is not 4, and the path out is only wide enough for one.”
- Mikhail Tal

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Alexey Amunts @amunts.bsky.social · 7d

The original publication describing the metrics: ‘Q-score as a reliability measure for protein, nucleic acid and small-molecule atomic coordinate models derived from 3DEM maps’ (2025) G. Pintilie, C. Shao, Z. Wang, B. Hudson, J. Flatt, M. Schmid, K. Morris, S. Burley, W. Chiu. Acta Cryst_D81:410-422

Q-score as a reliability measure for protein, nucleic acid and small-molecule atomic coordinate models derived from 3DEM maps

Q-scores are calculated for atomic models derived from 3D electron microscopy maps, measure how well the model fits the map and reflect the quality of the map itself. Here, we develop a statistical mo...

journals.iucr.org

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Alexey Amunts @amunts.bsky.social · 7d

Today, @rcsbpdb.bsky.social introduces Q-score in EM validation reports. Q-score assesses model-map fit. A new percentile slider will compare an entry’s average Q-score to the full archive and a resolution-matched subset. This would help judge whether the fit is typical for the reported resolution.

Introducing the first 3DEM Model-Map percentile slider to the wwPDB validation report

Introducing the latest wwPDB Percentile slider based on the Q-score model-map validation metric

www.rcsb.org

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Alexey Amunts @amunts.bsky.social · 15d

In Cambridge celebrating 25 years of ribosome structure studies. Wonderful to reconnect with friends, pioneers of the field, and engage with brilliant young scientists. Proud to be part of this community. Thank you @mrclmb.bsky.social for the amazing event! Great photos by Song, Nenad and Shaoxia

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Alexey Amunts @amunts.bsky.social · 28d

You’re the expert

Alexey Amunts @amunts.bsky.social · 28d

1973: Max Perutz explains the solution of hemoglobin. 53 years later, we’re still waiting for someone to solve the missing pointer

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Alexey Amunts @amunts.bsky.social · Sep 7

He is calling it his ‘last’ ribosome talk… but who believes that

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Alexey Amunts @amunts.bsky.social · Sep 7

A dramatic blood moon is lighting up the sky above Churchill College as Venki @mrclmb.bsky.social delivers the plenary on ribosome synthesis, a memorable alignment of breakthrough in structural biology and the cosmos tonight.

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Alexey Amunts @amunts.bsky.social · Sep 5

Speak up before more is lost. UCLA lost $600M in federal research grants, freezing work on cancer, neurodegeneration, pediatrics & more. Entire labs, careers, and patients remain in limbo. A devastating blow to US science. Trainees are hardest hit, the community must speak up before more is lost.

Frozen Grants, Canceled Futures: The Human Toll of UCLA’s Research Suspension

A frozen grant is more than halted experiments and lost data; it is a career derailed for many of the trainees dependent on this research support.

www.the-scientist.com

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Alexey Amunts @amunts.bsky.social · Sep 3

Sweet!

Alexey Amunts @amunts.bsky.social · Sep 3

The paper is a masterpiece of modern evolutionary genomics with a potential for synthetic biology. Imagine designing new genes from scratch to improve plant traits.
Beautiful work from colleagues at Huazhong Agricultural University in Wuhan.
Link to the paper in Cell: www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

A de novo-originated gene drives rose scent diversification

Genomic analysis of more than 100 Rosa species uncovers a multi-step process for the de novo origination of SCREP, a taxon-restricted gene specific to the Rosa genus, highlighting its function in modu...

www.cell.com

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Alexey Amunts @amunts.bsky.social · Sep 3

Its evolution involved acquiring exons, an intron, and a critical boost: a MITE transposon that jumped into its promoter turning up its expression.
Ironically, it became a repressor that shuts down the production of eugenol. Roses with working SCREP are silent, those where it's broken are fragrant.

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Alexey Amunts @amunts.bsky.social · Sep 3

The scent of silence! Cool research in Cell @cellpress.bsky.social to brighten up your day🌹. The mystery of why some roses are fragrant and others aren't has an answer. It's called SCREP: a rose-specific gene that evolved from non-coding DNA 16.8 million years ago 👇

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Alexey Amunts @amunts.bsky.social · Aug 29

The methodological difference is that this is reconstituted system enabling capturing an order of magnitude more events than previously. This allows mechanistic analysis and quantification. Shows that entry is selective for narrower cores and NPC is consistently dilates by ~5nm to facilitate passage

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Alexey Amunts @amunts.bsky.social · Aug 29

Direct visualization of HIV-1 core nuclear import and its interplay with the nuclear pore | EMBO reports www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....

Direct visualization of HIV-1 core nuclear import and its interplay with the nuclear pore | EMBO reports

imageimageAn in situ system that recapitulates HIV-1 nuclear import using isolated HIV-1 cores and permeabilized CD4 + T cells is combined with cryo-electron tomography, enabling high-throughput ultra...

www.embopress.org

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Alexey Amunts @amunts.bsky.social · Aug 29

Stunning cryo-ET from Peijun Zhang lab: Direct visualization of HIV-1 nuclear import!
Hundreds of viral cores captured entering the nucleus. The NPC dilates to let the capsid through. A masterclass in correlative microscopy that makes it quantitative. A leap for structural virology! @emboreports.org

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Alexey Amunts @amunts.bsky.social · Aug 29

@natmetabolism.nature.com

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Alexey Amunts @amunts.bsky.social · Aug 29

Link to the Viewpoint in Nature Metabolism @naturemetabolism.bsky.social: www.nature.com/articles/s42...
that brings together experts including @analechugavieco.bsky.social, @rubenqc-lab.bsky.social, @yasesancak.bsky.social

Mitochondrial transfer - Nature Metabolism

Intercellular mitochondrial transfer has recently attracted substantial attention, both from a fundamental and therapeutic point of view. At the same time, the topic continues to be met with scepticis...

www.nature.com

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Alexey Amunts @amunts.bsky.social · Aug 29

Mitochondrial transfer is a fascinating phenomenon where cells shuttle mitos. The therapeutic potential is compelling and observational science is solid but the mechanism is a black box.
Excellent Viewpoint in @naturemetabolism.bsky.social breaks down one of cell biology’s biggest emerging mysteries

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Alexey Amunts @amunts.bsky.social · Aug 29

Was great to see you in Münster! Keep moving the field forward!!

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Alexey Amunts @amunts.bsky.social · Aug 29

Well done with everything! Keep going up!!

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Alexey Amunts @amunts.bsky.social · Aug 28

Fantastic studies presented by young scientists today: @noodlyscientist.bsky.social, @aliciakmichael.bsky.social, @sramundo.bsky.social, @florentwaltz.bsky.social.
Beautifully orchestrated by @cellarchlab.com
What a treat here in Münster @uni-muenster.de!

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Alexey Amunts @amunts.bsky.social · Aug 22

Emmanuel Levy @elevylab.bsky.social has joined BlueSky 🌟 with a fantastic Cell paper with Shu-ou Shan, showing the interactome of the TOM complex and how cotranslational mito import prioritizes large globular domains. Beautiful science!
Give him a warm welcome 🎉
link: www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

Principles of cotranslational mitochondrial protein import

Selective ribosome profiling reveals that nearly 20% of mitochondrial proteins in human cells are imported during translation on cytosolic ribosomes. Cotranslational import requires an N-terminal pres...

www.cell.com

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Alexey Amunts @amunts.bsky.social · Aug 20

Delighted to be appointed Honorary Visiting Chair Professor at Wuhan Agricultural University. This recognises our work in bioenergetics and opens exciting opportunities for international cryo-EM collaboration and joint supervision of PhD students.

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