Only two days to go until the “Mitotic Spindle: From Living and Synthetic Systems to Theory” meeting in Dubrovnik! This is the 4th time Nenad Pavin and I are organizing it, and it keeps growing with each edition. Can’t wait to see everyone in Dubrovnik!
shorturl.at/35Vff

Excited to share our structural insights into how microtubules differentially guide phosphorylation of kinetochore-microtubule regulators, Ndc80 and MCAK, for chromosome segregation. Heroic efforts by Yiming Niu with a fun collaboration with Jennifer DeLuca lab!
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Chromosomes stuck behind the spindle are ticking time bombs for aneuploidy. We uncovered a mechanical rescue mechanism where microtubule pivoting repositions these high-risk chromosomes! Out last week in @natcomms.nature.com, here's a thread 🧵
shorturl.at/OD89x

Cryo-electron microscopy scientist Join our team to contribute to the operation and innovation of state-of-the-art cryo-electron microscopes and empower groundbreaking research.

The newly established NeCEN Utrecht is looking for a #cryoEM scientist!

www.uu.nl/en/organisat...

Work with a new Krios 5 + pFIB and support cutting-edge life science research.

📍 Utrecht | 🗓 Apply by 30 April

Please share with your network!

Join us at the @themaximacenter.bsky.social!

werkenbijprinsesmaximacentrum.nl/en/vacancy/j...

Mitosis lovers, get ready for Dubrovnik! 🔬🎉
I’m super excited to be organizing the 4th Mitotic Spindle Conference with Nenad Pavin, and we can’t wait to see you there!
Want your abstract to be selected for a talk? Submit by Feb 8!
www.phy.pmf.unizg.hr/~mitosis/
#SpindleCroatia2026

Mitosis has a timing system. If chromosomes attach properly, cells divide on schedule and keep proliferating. If attachment is slow or incomplete, the delay is recorded — and daughter cells stop dividing.
We explore this link in our new preprint.

🔗 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Molecular requirements for PLK1 activation by T-loop phosphorylation - The EMBO Journal Activation of PLK1, a master mitotic kinase, requires phosphorylation of its activation segment on Thr210, within a basic consensus sequence for Aurora kinases. Aurora B-dependent phosphorylation of T...

Arianna Esposito Verza, @andrea-musacchio.bsky.social et al describe the long-sought-after mechanism of Bora dependency of PLK1 activation by Aurora A kinase during mitotic entry
Another #RefereedPreprint ℅ @reviewcommons.org
link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Registration is still open for this great meeting! Sign up for the 32nd ‘Dutch Cancer Biology Meeting’, focussed on the biology of cancer, which will be organized on March 5-6, 2026 in Lunteren, NL

Registration: lnkd.in/ehKXDtpP

More info: www.dutchcancerbiology.nl

@marcelvanvugt.bsky.social

SOS: RNA-processing mechanism rescues genes from invasive DNA Transposable elements can insert into genes, disrupting protein-coding potential. Researchers discover a mode of RNA processing, ‘SOS splicing’, that provides a quick fix.

All living organisms face the problem of parasites - but what happens when DNA has invaded the genome?

go.nature.com/3MDiJCq

The mitotic stopwatch limits the proliferation of whole genome doubled cells Whole genome doubling (WGD) is a frequent event in tumourigenesis that promotes chromosomal instability and tumour evolution. WGD is sensed indirectly due to the presence of extra centrosomes, which a...

2 recent preprints show the mitotic stopwatch monitors more than just mitotic delays - it protects against WGD, cell enlargement and other stresses that mildly activate p53. It may act to amplify p53 signals to suppress tumourigenesis

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

So proud to watch Jana turn a side quest into an entire research programme. Couldn’t imagine a more well-deserved outcome. 😍

The mighty yeast reveals what we believe are general principles of centromere evolution!

Behind the curtain: communities.springernature.com/posts/counti...

#MEvoSky 🧪🌎

Why IDPs Are Poor Candidates for Homotypic LLPS

🧵👇A thread

Registration is open!🧬

Join us at Egmond aan Zee (April 19–24, 2026) for the next DNA Repair Meeting. We have an amazing line-up of speakers.

📅 Deadline for early registration: Jan 10, 2026
🔗 dnarepairmeeting-egmond2026.com

They did a great job of validating endogenous repair was not affected. The FRAP data indicates a high on/off rate at damage sites, which is what you probably need to prevent blocking other chromatin readers and repair proteins from accessing the damaged DNA.

Engineered chromatin readers track damaged chromatin dynamics in live cells and animals - Nature Communications DNA damage threatens genome stability, but its dynamics in living systems remain difficult to track. Here, the authors engineer MCPH1-based protein probes that specifically recognize γH2AX, enabling r...

Check out this beautiful paper by @richardcsilva.bsky.social et al., out now in @natcomms.nature.com. Great new DSB sensors to track DNA break formation and repair in real-time
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Join us in Lunteren, the Netherlands on March 5 & 6, 2026 for the 32nd Dutch Cancer Biology meeting. We have two fantastic keynote speakers: @andrea-musacchio.bsky.social and @colindascheele.bsky.social and the rest of the program will be by early-career scientists. Info: www.dutchcancerbiology.nl

Organizational principles governing assembly and activation of the meiosis-specific Red1-Hop1-Mek1 complex In mitosis, sister chromatids are preferred repair templates for homologous recombination, whereas in meiosis interhomolog-based repair is promoted. How this switch, which is a defining event in sexua...

Revised version of our original Red1-Hop1-Mek1 story, together with @jweir.bsky.social lab now online @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social

Check it out: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

The hunt for common tumor antigens Pancreatic cancer cells express cryptic peptides shared across patients that may be therapeutic targets

Pancreatic cancer cells express cryptic peptides shared across patients that may be therapeutic targets, according to new research in Science.

Single kinetochores execute an ordered series of molecular events as the Spindle Assembly Checkpoint is silenced www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.05....

A Conserved Disruption of the Nuclear Permeability Barrier in Meiosis is Controlled by a Kinase-Phosphatase Pair in Saccharomyces cerevisiae www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.05....

astounding yet also a reminder of how diverse life is -- often there are many different solutions to the same problem, but we're only aware of the ones on-hand (usually our own)

Excited to share our latest from my postdoc at @mskcancercenter.bsky.social in the Sfeir Lab, in collaboration with the Simon Powell Lab! We uncovered a novel genome repair mechanism in human cells: RNA-templated DNA double-strand break repair (RT-DSBR). (1/5)

Multitasking Proteins: Exploring Noncanonical Functions of Proteins during Mitosis This review provides a comprehensive overview of how mitotic cells drive the repurposing of proteins to fulfill mitosis-specific functions. To ensure the successful completion of cell division, the cell strategically reallocates its “workforce” by assigning additional functions to available proteins. Protein repurposing occurs at multiple levels of cellular organization and involves diverse mechanisms. At the protein level, proteins may gain mitosis-specific functions through post-translational modifications. At the structural level, proteins that typically maintain cellular architecture in interphase are co-opted to participate in mitotic spindle formation, chromosome condensation, and kinetochore assembly. Furthermore, the dynamic reorganization of the nuclear envelope and other organelles relies on the temporary reassignment of enzymes, structural proteins, and motor proteins to facilitate these changes. These adaptive mechanisms underscore the remarkable versatility of the cellular proteome in responding to the stringent requirements of mitosis. By leveraging the existing proteome for dual or multiple specialized roles, cells optimize resource usage while maintaining the precision needed to preserve genomic integrity and ensure the survival of the next generation of cells.

Super excited to share my latest review!
In this piece, I dive into how cells cleverly reuse proteins for mitosis-specific tasks — a fascinating and still underexplored area.
There’s so much more to uncover, and I hope this review sparks new ideas and discussions!
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

Ancient co-option of LTR retrotransposons as yeast centromeres The evolutionary origins of the genetic point centromere in the brewer's yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a member of the order Saccharomycetales, are still unknown. Competing hypotheses suggest that t...

It’s out! The evolutionary origins of yeast point centromeres uncovered!

“Ancient co-option of LTR retrotransposons as yeast centromeres”

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Looking for a student or postdoc!

Want to combine evolutionary analysis + structural modeling with in vitro biochemistry & fluorescence microscopy?
Help us uncover new protein-protein interactions — from in silico to in vitro.

Join us at @istaresearch.bsky.social 👉 looselab.org
🧬💡🔬🎡

A must for all DNA repair aficionados!

Egmond DNA Repair Meeting → April 19–24, 2026 🇳🇱
✔️ Confirmed top speakers
✔️ Ample opportunities for talks & posters

Don’t miss it: dnarepairmeeting-egmond2026.com

In vitro reconstitution by Peter Bieling, William Bement and collaborators reveals mechanistic principles of Rho GTPase activity patterning at cellular membranes, and stage-specific roles of regulators
www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....

New preprint drop! Check out work from @jimmy-ly.bsky.social et al for how protein isoforms generated by alternate translation initiation create dual localization, contribute to mitochondrial function, and are mutated in disease. "Blue-tutorial" thread below.

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Cohesin as an essential disruptor of chromosome organization Cohesin is a multi-subunit molecular machine that is able to create lateral chromatin loops within a linear chromosome fiber. Despite intense study, a…

Wonderful, thought-provoking review by Sir Adrian Bird on cohesin loop extrusion as disrupter of chromatin organisation rather than generator. Great read!

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...