Iso Hirst
@isobelhirst.bsky.social
320 followers 420 following 10 posts
Final year PhD student in the Muench group at Leeds, research focusing on sample preparation for cryoEM/ET 🔬
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Reposted by Iso Hirst
harrywilliams.bsky.social
❄️ NEW PRE-PRINT ❄️ Happy to see our latest work online. Here we present a super simple solution to the preferred orientation problem in single particle cryo-EM: the use of ultrasonic excitation during vitrification! Details in the 🧵 below... #cryoEM #structuralbiology
biorxiv-biophys.bsky.social
Overcoming Preferred Orientation in Cryo-EM With Ultrasonic Excitation During Vitrification https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.14.676144v1
Reposted by Iso Hirst
olibclarke.bsky.social
This one is a bit of a departure from the usual and definitely a work in progress!

We found that by using ab initio reconstruction at very high res, in very small steps, we could crack some small structures that had eluded us - e.g. 39kDa iPKAc (EMPIAR-10252), below.

Read on for details... 1/x
isobelhirst.bsky.social
I submitted my thesis today!!! 4 years of work in 1 pdf 🤯
Screenshot of thesis submission portal with celebratory emojis
isobelhirst.bsky.social
Keeping me company whilst I write 🐓 #phd #chicken
A black and white hen on a table outside
Reposted by Iso Hirst
cameratrapsue.bsky.social
Bonjour, Madame Bear.

Bears must be my spirit animal as I often think or dream about them, then I either see one in person or on camera card, usually within a few hours.
Reposted by Iso Hirst
amydevlin.bsky.social
Michelle Agyemang takes the trophy for best young player of the tournament, and well deserved!

#England would not be in this final without her magic.

#WOSO #WEURO #EURO2025 #WEURO2025 #FOOTBALL
Reposted by Iso Hirst
weuro2025bot.bsky.social
Lending Keira Walsh a helping hand to make a fan’s dream come true 🤝🥹

#WEURO2025 || #Lionesses
isobelhirst.bsky.social
Nice!!
slavov-n.bsky.social
bioRxiv has a dedicated section for negative results.

Use it.

Share negative results.
Your colleagues will appreciate it.
Reposted by Iso Hirst
womensartbluesky.bsky.social
Angélique-Marguerite du Coudray was a famous 18th century French midwife who designed various teaching aids to train midwives about anatomy and obstetrics. Her work saved many lives in the age #WomensArt
Cloth model aids for midwifery
Reposted by Iso Hirst
womensgamemib.bsky.social
The Euro semi-final stage is set. Who is winning it all? 🏆

📸: WEURO2025
Reposted by Iso Hirst
scientificdiscovery.dev
Recently I learnt that EMBL-EBI has a free online course about AlphaFold — how it works, strengths and limitations, how to use it — and it's very good!

There are also little quizzes and interactives.
www.ebi.ac.uk/training/onl...
AlphaFold - A practical guide
AlphaFold - A practical guide
www.ebi.ac.uk
Reposted by Iso Hirst
standupforscience.bsky.social
Trans youth deserve healthcare, not courtroom cruelty.

Now, the highest court has sided with bans - against research showing this care improves mental health and saves lives.

💔 We stand with them. We demand science, dignity, and compassion.

zurl.co/QejZr
What to know about the impacts of the Supreme Court's ruling on transgender care for youth
The U.S. Supreme Court said Tennessee did not violate the constitution by banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors. The case is sure to resonate nationally.
zurl.co
Reposted by Iso Hirst
robertbohan.bsky.social
🧵 Activists have broken into British Airforcs Base & carried out sabotage to try to help save Palestinian lives & prevent war crimes.

‘RAF Brize Norton military planes damaged as activists break into base ahead of flight.’ [1]
isobelhirst.bsky.social
Really enjoying this review of time-resolved cryoEM 😊 especially this lovely summary figure ✍️
www.cell.com/structure/fu...
Reposted by Iso Hirst
makespaceforgirls.bsky.social
Great to see the conversation in the US around how gender-blind design leaves girls out of parks.

Also great to see Brickfield Park in Bath mentioned – co-created with teenage girls, alongside inspiring examples from Vienna. Awareness is growing!

nextcity.org/urbanist-new...
Our Public Spaces Are Failing Teen Girls
Op-ed: Adolescent girls are missing from parks, playgrounds — and our gender-blind urban planning. So let’s ask them what they need.
nextcity.org
Reposted by Iso Hirst
danielhurdiss.bsky.social
Latest preprint from the lab, many years in the making!

By combining #cryoEM with #AlphaFold3 modelling, we propose that norovirus NS3 forms a transmembrane RNA translocase.

This could have big implications for our understanding of viral replication & assembly (🧵)

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Iso Hirst
cyrilpedia.bsky.social
"I am hesitant to comment broadly on what it’s like for scientists now in America because I have only limited information about what is going on outside of this detention center. What I do know is that my colleagues, many of whom are, like me, foreign scientists, are terrified"
cyrilpedia.bsky.social
'I did not complete a customs declaration for frog embryos (...) this would normally result in a warning or fine. Instead, my visa was revoked & I was sent to a detention center in Louisiana, where I have spent the past 3 months with roughly 100 other women. We share one room w dormitory-style beds'
Opinion | I Came to Study Aging. Now I’m Trapped in ICE Detention.
www.nytimes.com
Reposted by Iso Hirst
bradyajohnston.bsky.social
Okay hear me out, what if building your protein model was a first person horror survival experience??

#MolecularNodes #b3d #GeometryNodes 🧪
Reposted by Iso Hirst
london.gov.uk
Young Londoners deserve opportunities across the EU.

A youth mobility scheme would strengthen ties with our neighbours, boost our economy and open doors for the next generation at a time of global uncertainty.