Awesomics

Celebrating the awesome power of post-genomic science, and the fruits of the Human Genome Project. Tweets by @TeamHuman_org

[Awesomics @Awesomics]

Celebrating 10 years tweeting about the awesome power of post-genomic science and the medically useful insights gleaned from whole-{genome, exome, transcriptome, proteome, metabolome, microbiome, etc-ome} analysis🧬

Looking forward to what the next 10 yrs of #omics will bring...

[Awesomics @Awesomics]

“…set out to alter two genes:
🧬 PCSK9 👉 blood LDL levels
🧬 HBG 👉 hemoglobin in fetuses

@EgliDieter delivered base editors into fertilized eggs & 2-cell embryos donated by parents.. [Found no] damage associated w CRISPR”

https://t.co/OgXKsRpHxq 🎁

#BassEditing #GeneEditing

[Dieter Egli @EgliDieter]

New preprint: Base editing allows for efficient and highly specific editing and development of early human embryos. It avoids the genotoxic consequences of a DSB seen with Cas9. Some embryos are uniformly edited, yielding stem cells. This will change the discussion on heritable editing. Even so, there are previously unknown risks that we have also identified. It is not ready for application. Pls find here: https://t.co/JGmJ7hTQ8q

[Nature Biotechnology @NatureBiotech]

The ancestral protein of the CRISPR–Cas9 system — less than half the size of its famous descendant — is engineered into an effective DNA-targeting tool that can be delivered by AAV as an epigenome editor for in vivo gene silencing #NBTNV https://t.co/ePc0GbALmn
https://t.co/ao1MHQTW4h

[Fyodor Urnov @UrnovFyodor]

Stellar data from first-ever epigenome editing clinical trial by @tunetx_news [$COI: I own equity as a co-founder]. Invented at Sangamo by yours truly and colleagues in 2001, reduced to clinical practice 2026.
"It's been a long time coming | but now it's here" (Springsteen).

[New Scientist @newscientist]

Embryo organoids made from stem cells are enabling scientists to recreate early pregnancy in the lab, unlocking treatments for infertility, miscarriage and pre-eclampsia https://t.co/9g0MgDGser

[Science Magazine @ScienceMagazine]

A vaccine that could provide protection against multiple pathogens would be invaluable, particularly during pandemics in which knowledge of the causative pathogen is limited.

In a new Science study, researchers found that a nasal vaccine designed to stimulate innate immune cells and T cells provided protection against both viral and bacterial lung infections in mice. https://t.co/SErpKv9RrB

[Bo Wang @BoWang87]

This is really cool (and wild):

Scientists simulated a complete living cell for the first time. Every molecule, every reaction, from DNA replication to cell division.

The paper (Luthey-Schulten et al., Cell 2026, https://t.co/PXxXWKC8yp), just out today, used JCVI-Syn3A — a synthetic minimal bacterium with fewer than 500 genes. A 3D+time simulation of the full 105-minute cell cycle: DNA replication, protein translation, metabolism, division. Every gene, protein, RNA, and chemical reaction tracked through physical space.

It took years to build. Multiple GPUs. Six days of compute time per run.

And this is the simplest possible cell.

A human cell has ~20,000 genes. It lives in tissue. It interacts with neighbors. It differentiates. It responds to drugs in ways that depend on context we haven't fully measured.

Mechanistic simulation of the minimal cell costs 6 GPU-days for 105 minutes of biology. You cannot scale that to human cells. The complexity isn't 40x harder. It's exponentially harder.

This is why the field pivoted to data-driven models. You can't hand-encode the regulatory wiring of a human hepatocyte. But you can learn it — if you have the right perturbation data collected across enough diverse biological contexts.

The two approaches aren't competing. Papers like this generate the ground truth that future ML models need for validation. But the path to a clinically useful virtual cell runs through foundation models, not through scaling up mechanistic simulation.

Amazing work!

[ASCO @ASCO]

Don’t forget to follow our #ASCO26 Featured Voices for expert insights into the science & ed sessions, their views on what is practice-changing data & the ways they’ll bring what they’ve learned into the clinic. Follow and be a part of the conversation using the meeting hashtag.

[Fernando Martin-Belmonte @Fernand49142950]

Excited to share our new study in @NatureComms!
We uncover a key role for noncanonical autophagy (CASM) in neural tube formation through mb remodeling and endocytic recycling.
Using human neural tube organoids, we reveal mechanisms that may be relevant to neural defects. 🧠🧬

[Sainsbury Laboratory Cambridge University (SLCU) @slcuplants]

Mechanical forces & cell shape guide how plant stomata form🥬👄
@RobinsonSci's team including @LeoSerra13 & Euan Smithers uncover how the interplay between cell shape & mechanical stress influences the orientation of stomata

https://t.co/erpdwyXW9J

https://t.co/h4yfo3Yl1Y

[Science Friday @scifri]

Geneticist Mary-Claire King changed the way we think about hereditary cancer. We spoke with her about her career, research, and how she approaches science.

https://t.co/o0eAroptIA

[Awesomics @Awesomics]

“Exercise hormone irisin mediates neuroprotective effects of exercise in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) mouse model of MS… reduces clinical symptoms & neuronal loss

abrogated in mice lacking #Fndc5/irisin”

#NeuroDegeneration #MS
#AerobicExercise #inflammation

[Eric Topol @EricTopol]

An exercise hormone derived from muscle—irisin— is neuroprotective, preventing brain cell loss, as seen in the experimental model of multiple sclerosis
@NatMetabolism
https://t.co/CC4KDOJTn1
https://t.co/9bbcLpW4g6

[Awesomics @Awesomics]

"So far @NIH awarded <50% of new grants it had handed out compared to prev 5yrs. NIMH issued ~33% of new grants.

The agency may struggle to spend all its funds by 30 Sep (fiscal year). Any unspent $$ has to be returned to @USTreasury"

https://t.co/EO9D5N4lkg
#researchFunding

[Anshul Kundaje @anshulkundaje]

Absolutely insane what is happening @NIH . All completely unnecessary. And people are wondering why the US is rapidly losing it's lead in biotech.

[Huiluo Cao 曹慧荦 @hlcao]

A foundation model of transcription across human cell types | Nature https://t.co/AaBG0eyQNK

[Awesomics @Awesomics]

@DattaScientist @scifri @NDTIMELab A new take on the term “spatial biology“: biomedical research taking place in outer space 🪐

#spatialOncology #spatialBiology #spatialOmics

[Meenal Datta @DattaScientist]

🎙️🚀Check out my interview on the latest episode of @scifri, "The new frontier of cancer research is in space." So thrilled to talk about @NDTIMELab's work with host Ira Flatow and alongside field pioneer Catriona Jamieson. Listen to our conversation here: https://t.co/jnegAwo7Gr

[Ali Max Erturk @erturklab]

Does brain aging always mean vessel loss?
🧠We found a surprising hypervascularization, driving cognitive decline & blood-brain barrier damage in aging. 👇🧵https://t.co/i3pWeowcLQ Led by @MihailMuc

[Steve Chervitz Trutane ☮️ @trutane]

@Move_n_Groove_ Study: Enhanced Protein Translation Underlies Improved Metabolic & Physical Adaptations to Different Exercise Training Modes in Young & Old Humans (Robinson, 2017, OA)
https://t.co/JtoW8HR5P6

"HIIT reversed many age-related diffs in the proteome"
#mitochondria #aging #ageing

[U.S. National Science Foundation @NSF]

NSF announces $1.5B NSF X-Labs initiative to pursue generational breakthrough science efforts. NSF X-Labs will scale a new generation of transformative independent research organizations to advance breakthrough science outside of traditional institutions. https://t.co/LljEcBoBFa

[David R. Liu @davidrliu]

Today in @ScienceTM, we report the use of in vivo adenine base editing to correct a variant causing Dravet syndrome, a severe childhood epilepsy and neurodevelopmental disorder, substantially ameliorating disease symptoms and extending lifespan in an animal model.
1/13
https://t.co/uQEwWvj94y