Abbas

Postdoc Fellow at iSynBio, SIAT, CAS. Cancer. Glutathione. Redox biology. Metabolism. ROS. Biosensors. Mitochondria. Alumnus @ #UCAS #IBP, CAS

[Abbas @abbas1017]

RIP

[nature @Nature]

Geneticist J. Craig Venter, best known for his role in sequencing the human genome, has died aged 79.

He spoke to Nature in 2023 about AI, sequencing the ocean – and why he had no plans to stop working.

https://t.co/FYq5jbMpxa

[Dylan Burnette @MAG2ART]

A cancer cell videoed through a microscope. It has 3 nuclei (magenta). The powerhouse/overlords of the cell, mitochondria, are also shown (green). #CellBiology

[Abbas @abbas1017]

@echouchani Congrats Ed and team

[Abbas @abbas1017]

@RyanLab_MBU @tcdTBSI @tcddublin Congratulations Dylan

[Abbas @abbas1017]

@Moon_Synth_Bio @marcguellc @JCVenterInst https://t.co/XLGHdqzbCP you may consider

[William A. Wallace, Ph.D. @WilliamWallace]

Master metabolism with 9 steps/arrows

Here’s my shortcut to remembering it in just 9️⃣ arrows:

1️⃣ Glu → Fru → Pyr
(Glucose → Fructose → Pyruvate)
This is glycolysis — the breakdown of glucose into pyruvate for quick energy.
💡 Example: Eat bread, glucose enters your cells, and is converted to pyruvate to start producing ATP.

2️⃣ Pyr → ACoA → TCA
(Pyruvate → Acetyl-CoA → TCA Cycle)
When oxygen’s available, pyruvate becomes Acetyl-CoA and runs through the TCA (Krebs) cycle for sustained energy.
💡 Example: A post-lunch walk taps into this aerobic pathway.

3️⃣ TCA → NADH → ETC → ATP
(TCA products → NADH → Electron Transport Chain → ATP)
The TCA cycle generates NADH, which powers the electron transport chain to make ATP — your cellular energy currency.
💡 Example: Your brain uses that ATP to keep you sharp while studying.

4️⃣ G6P ↔ PPP → NADPH + Ribose
(Glucose-6-Phosphate → Pentose Phosphate Pathway → NADPH + Ribose)
This detour from glucose creates NADPH (for antioxidant defense) and ribose (for DNA/RNA synthesis).
💡 Example: Immune cells use NADPH to neutralize pathogens.

5️⃣ Pyr → Lac
(Pyruvate → Lactate)
In low-oxygen conditions, pyruvate shifts to lactate.

6️⃣ Pyr → OAA → Gluconeogenesis
(Pyruvate → Oxaloacetate → Glucose)
During fasting, pyruvate is turned into oxaloacetate, then glucose, to maintain blood sugar.
💡 Example: After 10+ hours without food, your liver makes glucose for your brain.

7️⃣ ACoA → FAs → TAGs
(Acetyl-CoA → Fatty Acids → Triglycerides)
Excess energy is stored as fat.
💡 Example: Too many sweets? Your body parks the surplus as belly fat.

8️⃣ FAs → β-ox → ACoA → TCA
(Fatty Acids → Beta-Oxidation → Acetyl-CoA → TCA)
When carbs run low, fat becomes your fuel.
💡 Example: After 14 hours of intermittent fasting, fat breakdown kicks in.

9️⃣ AAs → Pyr / ACoA / TCA
(Amino Acids → Pyruvate or Acetyl-CoA or TCA)
Amino acids can feed into different energy pathways, depending on type.
💡 Example: In prolonged starvation, muscle protein is converted into energy intermediates.

[Martin Picard @MitoPsychoBio]

Some mitochondria end up fusing onto themselves, forming "doughnut mitochondria"

[Martin Picard @MitoPsychoBio]

Type 2 Diabetes is in most cases not an irreversible disorder, but a reversible metabolic, energetic state.

Below is a solid review evaluating the effectiveness of different nutrition therapies to manage T2D symptoms. The bottomline: by changing diet, lowering carbohydrate/sugar intake, or by harnessing the pro-healing effects of fasting (not eating and letting the body dig into its reserves), T2D is in many cases *fully reversible*.

For many trained in medicine and endocrinology this is remarkable, clashing with accepted medical wisdom. For many who have cured their "life-long" disorder with dietary changes this is a no brainer.

HOW THIS WORKS:
From an energetic/mitochondrial perspective, insulin resistance is a protection mechanism. Too much glucose entering a cell that isn't burning much energy is liability-it causes excess electron pressure and energy resistance (éR). Excess energy resistance drives oxidative stress and reductive stress, damaging cellular components. To protect themselves and the energetic circuitry of their mitochondria, cells naturally become resistant to the effects of insulin, which normally opens the floodgates for blood glucose entry into cells.

By fasting or decreasing blood glucose, you relieve your cells of the energy resistance (éR) from excess glucose. Cells don't need to protect themselves anymore. Relieved, your cells can then stop "fearing" physiological influx of glucose, and eventually restore their normal receptivity to insulin. They recover their "insulin sensitivity". And so Type 2 diabetes reverses.

People with Type 2 diabetes (and with mental illnesses for the same reasons) are not broken, they have been energetically dysregulated for so long that the body has deployed maladaptive defense mechanisms.

Key points from the article in the image below:
https://t.co/7Po85FmfQq

More on energy resistance (éR) with Nirosha J. Murugan: https://t.co/ipvIRJRomi (paper to come soon)

[Martin Picard @MitoPsychoBio]

Some unhealthy mitochondria develop onion-like morphology with concentric cristae

[HHMI | Janelia @HHMIJanelia]

❄️Time-deterministic cryo-optical microscopy, developed by researchers at @UOsaka_en, Janelia & collaborating institutions, rapidly freezes live cells under an optical microscope, capturing a snapshot of cellular activity in high resolution.

[Eric Betzig @Eric_Betzig]

3D cross-sectional views of the dynamics of chromosomes (H2B, blue) and the endoplasmic reticulum (orange) in interphase and mitotic LLC-PK1 cells over a 50 x 180 um field at 6 sec intervals, as seen in the lattice light sheet structured illumination mode of MOSAIC.

[Jen Heemstra @jenheemstra]

We all need mentors, and the further we go in our careers, the more mentors we need.

Whether it’s dealing with increasingly complex career situations, considering a career transition, or coping with a career ending, mentors can be an essential source of wisdom and support.

[Eric Betzig @Eric_Betzig]

MOSAIC lattice light sheet xy projection over 2+ hrs in human retinal pigment epithelial cells of endoplasmic reticulum remodeling (cyan) and transport of vesicles (yellow) containing β4-galactosyltransferase....

[Abbas @abbas1017]

@claudiaevickers That's a really interesting project! Our group have a strong background in mammalian cell culture and fluorescence microscopy, and I'd be excited to help you test your in vivo FPP biosensor.

[Kivanc Birsoy @KivancBirsoy]

Mitochondrial GSH is essential for metastasis due to it function in signaling and iron homeostasis. We are grateful for the support of @TheMarkFdn and @theNCI for this project. Also thanks to many collaborators @RichPossemato @Aslan_Tasdogan

[Abbas @abbas1017]

@JaviGBermudez Congratulations

[Eric Betzig @Eric_Betzig]

MOSAIC large field of view 3D single molecule localization microscopy of mitochondrial outer membranes and nuclear membranes in fixed U2OS cells.

[Martin Picard @MitoPsychoBio]

Human mitochondria connect with each other at a distance through thin membrane protrusions called "nanotunnels"

As if they are "reaching out for help". Mitochondria in people with mitochondrial diseases show more nanotunnels in healthy mitochondria do.

Below is one of the most beautiful image of nanotunnels we ever captured. Depending on your preference, this is either a single mitochondrion with four nodes, or four mitochondria interconnected network through three nanotunnels.

More on mitochondrial nanotunnels here: https://t.co/uwaQnwI6DL

[Julius Chapiro @JuliusChapiro]

As a member of numerous editorial boards and a reviewer for 10+ journals, I have come to appreciate grammatical errors and spelling errors. At least I know it was written by a human.

[HHMI @hhmi_science]

David Stern and Igor Siwanowicz @HHMIJanelia created this image which shows a female aphid nymph that just started inducing the formation of a gall in the tissues of a budding witch hazel leaf.

These images highlight the difference between normal, healthy leaf tissue and the tissue of a gall. Notice the difference in the structure and density of the cells around the gall, indicating their more rapid division compared to those in the rest of the leaf.

Download this image and discover more: https://t.co/EI1nqhNc2w

Credit: David Stern and Igor Siwanowicz, HHMI's Janelia Research Campus