Using X-ray Crystallography and 1,n-ADEQUATE NMR to Revise the Structures of Highly Substituted Aromatic Natural Products: The Absolute Configuration of Formicamycin Congeners Formicamycins and their biosynthetic precursors, the fasamycins, form part of the phenylnaphthacenoid family of polyketide natural products. A recent atroposelective total synthesis of formicamycin H brought into question our original stereochemical assignment of the axially chiral linkage between C-6 and C-7. To address this, we obtained an X-ray crystal structure for formicamycin H that unambiguously confirmed our original assignment as the Sa atropisomer. X-ray structures for multiple additional fasamycins and formicamycins confirmed that this is common to all congeners. However, these studies identified a compounded error made by us whereby several structures previously reported as para-methoxy were found to have ortho-methoxy groups on the hanging E-ring. To address this for congeners that did not crystallize or gave nondiffracting crystals, we turned to the surprisingly underutilized 1,n-ADEQUATE NMR experiment. In total, we generated X-ray structures for 15 phenylnaphthacenoid metabolites and by combining these results report the corrected structures for three formicamycins, six fasamycins, and three biosynthetic lactone intermediates, noting that several revised fasamycin structures now match previously reported naphthacemycins. Our results highlight the utility of 1,n-ADEQUATE experiments for regiochemical determination in polysubstituted aromatic molecules. Moreover, our investigations uncovered a potential deracemization step during biosynthesis of the formicamycin framework.

New paper with @barriewilks.bsky.social. There are many reports on fasamycins and formicamycins (aka accramycins, naphthacemycins, streptovertimycins). Here, we unambiguously solve their structures and stereochemistry. A great effort, led by Dr Edward Hems

pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

✨Tickets for #pint26 are now on sale!✨
🎟Book here 👉 pintofscience.co.uk 👈

🗓18-20 May 2026
📍45+ locations across the UK
🗣Nearly 450 events

Glycans play key roles in health & disease. Join GlycoNet Investigator Dr. David Vocadlo as he shares how chemical biology tools are used to study carbohydrate-processing enzymes, with applications in cancer, Alzheimer’s, & Parkinson’s research
https://canadianglycomics.ca/training/webinar-series/

How to get into – and ace – a summer undergraduate research programme Five tips to help you make the most of these opportunities

‘There were so many moments that were transformative for me, specifically as a first-generation Latino student,’ says undergraduate student Steve Salinas.

Read on 👇
www.chemistryworld.com/careers/how-...

Principle of fluorescent protein-based biosensors.

How can we see metabolism in living systems? This article in The Biochemist explores how biosensors, from enzyme electrodes to fluorescent proteins, illuminate metabolic dynamics in vivo. 🧪 https://doi.org/10.1042/bio_2026_109

‘Opposing the inevitability of AI at universities is possible and necessary’ | Radboud University Since the widespread release of ChatGPT in December of 2022, AI has taken over much of the world by storm – including academia. Most of this happened with very little pushback, despite a myriad of iss...

"The uncritical adoption of AI can lead to students not developing essential academic skills such as critical thinking and writing."

www.ru.nl/en/research/...

Register now! 5 days to go. Transferable skills online training:

A Step-by-Step Guide to Writing a Scientific Paper

docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Wikipedia now has higher standards than all universities

How to build an AI scientist: first peer-reviewed paper spills the secrets AI Scientist, an autonomous research tool, first released in 2024, has now undergone peer review, highlighting its strengths and limitations.

"For evaluating 🤖-generated science, one of the hardest things will be how to measure novelty, says (Jevin) West; so far. “The authors know - they even said there was nothing super novel"

Discussing 'mediocre' results of LLMs in Nature is what it boils down to

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Why do intrinsically disordered proteins appear larger than they are in SDS-PAGE? We investigate how sequence properties affect SDS-PAGE mobility using synthetic IDRs.

Conclusion: We need to consider both SDS binding and the compaction of protein-SDS complexes.

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

Vertical Farms Tried to Compete With Open Field Farming. It Isn’t Going Well.

Good article (gift link).
www.nytimes.com/2026/03/21/b...

👀The webinar recording is now available for viewing. Enjoy!🌱

👉plantae.org/plantaepresents-alternat...

#plantscience

Alt metric score of 1300

I guess our paper hit a bit of a nerve 👀

@olivia.science, @marentierra.bsky.social et al. (2025). Against the Uncritical Adoption of 'AI' Technologies in Academia. Zenodo. doi.org/10.5281/zeno...

A photo of someone pipetting and the text "Invest in ME Research Summer Student Bursaries, gain practical experience of working in a research laboratory. 8 week long placement, £175 per week, Apply by 7 April 2026 "

A limited number of @investinmeresearch.bsky.social eight-week bursaries are available for undergraduate students wishing to gain practical experience in a biomedical research laboratory 🧪

🗓️ Apply by 7 April 2026
➡️ buff.ly/skjj1M9

Towards a comprehensive chemical and genetic tool library for rhamnogalacturonan-II oligosaccharides and exploitation Rhamnogalacturonan-II (RG-II) is considered the most complex glycan in nature. It forms part of an intricate network of complex glycans in the plant cell wall where it plays a critical role in plant growth, development and defence. It has been identified as an important nutrient source for the human gut microbiota (HGM), a key modulator of human health and disease status. Increasing evidence also suggests that RG-II can modulate plant-microbe interactions. Given its importance and potential, detailed studies of RG-IIs structure-function relationships and metabolism are required to underpin future crop-improvement strategies and to harness its benefits for plant and human health. Progress in this field is however hampered by RG-IIs structural complexity and limited access to enabling tools, in particular chemically defined RG-II-derived oligosaccharide (CDRO) substructures. Achieving targeted, efficient, and scalable production of CDROs remains a significant challenge and is indeed one of the major reasons why RG-II and glycomic research in general, significantly lag behind genomic and proteomic research. Here, we have genetically engineered as well as screened a diverse set of genetic strains, including transposon (Tn) mutants of the prominent model human gut microbe Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron (B. theta) and its gut and plant-associated relatives for new CDRO-generating and/or RG-II-utilising strains. Several CDROs, some of which had never been produced before by any other means (including chemical synthesis), where generated and characterised by a combination of high-resolution mass spectrometry (MS), enzymatic profiling and 2D-NMR. In addition to expanding the CDRO toolbox, we identified key genetic strains that will serve as a base or platform for the production of an unprecedented amount of CDROs covering the complexity and diversity of chemical modifications in RG-II. CDROs were later exploited to gain new insights into the microbial metabolism of RG-II in the human gut, revealing key aspects of its chemical structure that drive or limit its metabolism in B. theta. Notably, we generated new evidence in support of an alternative operational paradigm for polysaccharide utilisation systems that are widespread in the Bacteroidota phylum. We confirmed the presence of pathways for the metabolism of RG-II and/or RG-II core sugars D-apiose (D-Apif), and 3-deoxy-D-manno-2-octulosonic acid (D-Kdo) in aerobic plant-associated microbes including fungi and Flavobacterium spp., highlighting their potential to be exploited as cost-effective alternatives to B. theta for the generation of CDROs.

(BioRxiv All) Towards a comprehensive chemical and genetic tool library for rhamnogalacturonan-II oligosaccharides and exploitation: Rhamnogalacturonan-II (RG-II) is considered the most complex glycan in nature. It forms part of an intricate network of complex glycans in the… #BioRxiv #MassSpecRSS

Happy π day. Here's a pie chart

<sigh>

One reviewer used AI to review our manuscript.

How do we know?

Suggested papers to cite that do not exist. Some titles correct, but everything else is wrong or just fabricated out of whole cloth.

Requested citations for things I’ve said in review papers that were citing other papers.

Structures of ALG3/9/12 reveal the assembly logic of the N-glycan oligomannose core - Nature Chemical Biology Three endoplasmic reticulum luminal mannosyltransferases ALG3, ALG9 and ALG12 catalyze the synthesis of the branched mannose core in N-glycans in four distinct steps. Now, cryo-electron microscopy str...

The three enzymes ALG3, ALG9, and ALG12 catalyze the synthesis of the branched mannose core in N-glycans in four distinct steps. Now, their structures reveal the molecular logic of oligomannose core assembly #glycotime

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Original (left) and corrected (right) Fig. 4a in the paper https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10305-0 showing the chemical structures of amino acids (only the right one) the left figure is just an embarrassment

I wonder... 🤔🤔🧪 #chemsky

a) what program did the authors use to make the original (left) figure in the paper? Wild guess, ChatGPT

b) how such high school science level of disgrace pass peer review in @nature.com?

Note this was Fig.4.a NOT in SI

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Join @berasymbionts.bsky.social , @tatsuyanobori.bsky.social and us for a postdoc on the remarkable developmental biology of symbiosis!

Applications are due March 25th 🪲🦠

@johninnescentre.bsky.social @thesainsburylab.bsky.social

Identifying direct TARGETs of transcription factors in wheat Transcription factors (TFs) are key regulators of expression of numerous genes. In wheat, many gene networks remain unresolved with the identification of TF target genes being p...

Sharing new methodologies and knowledge with the community is what this meeting is all about! You can read about Emilie’s method here: dx.doi.org/10.17504/pro...

I'll just leave this hear for your enjoyment...

Wheat mutants lacking Starch Synthase 1 have altered starch composition and cell wall content www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.02...

The Microbial Genomics ECR Symposium will return again this summer!

Co-organised by @norwichmicro.bsky.social and @getgenome.bsky.social the symposium will take place on 15th July 2026 at the John Innes Conference Centre.

Please register here: web.novogene.com/2026TheMicro...

Infographic titled “How do antiviral nasal sprays work?” shows a nasal spray bottle centered between panels explaining mechanisms, effectiveness, and side effects. Left panel describes polymer gel barriers like HPMC and carrageenan that trap viruses, block spike proteins, and acidic pH buffers that suppress viruses. Middle notes saline sprays may form hypochlorous acid. Right panel cites a 2024 trial showing sprays reduced average sick days versus usual care, with mild side effects such as headache, sinus pain, and sneezing.

Can antiviral sprays spare you from the flu? And how do they claim to work? In the latest edition of #PeriodicGraphics in @cenmag.bsky.social, we examine the evidence: cen.acs.org/pharmaceutic...

#ChemSky 🧪

Scientists in lab coats using a microscope, highlighting the Eric Reid Fund for Methodology. Financial support towards method development projects with a cellular or bioanalytical focus.

Are you looking for modest financial support for benchwork? Our Eric Reid Fund for Methodology is now open for 202 applications! With funding for consumables and a summer student available, don’t miss out on the opportunity to submit an application by 23 March: https://ow.ly/iofK50YhrX6

Sharing the link for those interested. www.uea.ac.uk/about/news/a...

#chembio and #bioorganic crowd: Registration to ESBOC is open. Join us on 27th-29th May for the oldest meeting in chemical biology in Europe, at the awesome Schlosshotel Pillnitz in Dresden!

Check out www.esboc.org.uk or register directly at eveeno.com/esboc2026!

Here’s a sneak preview of the Microbe Zoo coming to Norwich Science Festival soon 👀

📅14 - 21 February 2026
📍The Gallery, the Forum Norwich

➡️ buff.ly/gtZX6Us

@norwichmicro.bsky.social @johninnescentre.bsky.social @thesainsburylab.bsky.social @earlhaminst.bsky.social @uniofeastanglia.bsky.social

Isolation of durum wheat mutants defective in SS3a or SS3b.

SS3 in wheat starch granule initiation

📖 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
by Ding et al.

@WileyPlantSci #PlantScience @johninnescentre.bsky.social