
Feng Zhang
@zhangf
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Engineer and molecular biologist. Curious about the world and optimistic to make it better.
Cambridge, MA
Joined April 2015
RT @kreitz_joseph: Check out our new paper, out today in @NatureBiotech! We present SPEAR, a modular system for biomolecular cargo delivery….
nature.com
Nature Biotechnology - Ribonucleoproteins, nucleic acids and proteins are delivered into target cell types with nanosyringes.
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Blazing-fast image creation – using just your voice. Try Grok Imagine.
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This work was led by the phenomenal team of @GuilhemFaure, Makoto Saito, @maxewilkinson, in collaboration with Natalia Quinones-Olvera, @Peiyu_Xu_, @FlamShepherd, Stephanie Kim, @NishRReddy, Shiyou Zhu, @LiliaEvgeniou, @eugene_koonin, Rhiannon Macrae.
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What’s next?.- Understanding TIGR’s natural function—Defense system? Genome organizer? A new function yet to be discovered?.- Engineering TIGR for precision genome editing. - Exploring relationships with box C/D snoRNPs and IS110 transposases and uncovering more Nop-based
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Unlike CRISPR, TIGR is PAM-free, allowing broader targeting. We demonstrated TasR-mediated genome editing in human cells, opening the door for TIGR-based tools, including RNA-guided DNA notifications, base editing, etc.
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TIGR encodes structured RNA arrays in dual-repeat or stem-loop architectures, transcribed into small tigRNAs (~36 nt) with two interspaced guides. The TIGR-associated protein (Tas) is modular, acting as TasA (Nop domain) or fused to nucleases (TasR, TasH). Cryo-EM shows TasR
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TIGRs encode Tandem Interspaced Guide RNA (TIGR) sequences in structured arrays. It has 2 architectures—dual-repeat arrays & stem-loop arrays – that are transcribed and processed into tigRNAs, which guide TIGR associated (Tas) effectors.
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We found that a RNA binding domain of SpCas9 is structurally similar to a region of Nop domain, a known RNA-binding fold in box C/D snoRNPs and IS110 transposases. Further mining of the Nop domain revealed a previously-unknown family of RNA-guided systems in prokaryotes and
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Most RNA-guided systems are found by searching for conserved nuclease domains. We took a different approach, starting from Cas9 REC domains using structural mining, Iterative searches, and LLM-based clustering.
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We are excited to report the discovery of TIGRs, a widely-occurring RNA-guided system found in bacteria and their viruses. TIGRs consist of a peculiar repeat region which is transcribed into RNA and processed into multiple guide RNAs to direct TIGR-associated proteins to their.
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RT @zilberzwige: RNA-guided systems span kingdoms, from bacterial immunity to eukaryotic gene regulation. How did they evolve? We traced th….
cell.com
Hybrid structure-sequence mining and biochemical/structural characterization trace the evolutionary origins of CRISPR-Cas13, elucidating how their RNA-guided mechanism likely evolved from an ancient...
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RT @altaetran: #CRISPR revolutionized medicine, but where did its RNA-guided mechanisms come from?.Using #AI, we unearthed new Cas13s and f….
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Congratulations to @rumya_r @mircoscopy @DStrebinger @blake_lash @cyrusbiotech and colleagues on an exciting study combining AI and protein engineering to minimize the immunogenicity of Cas9 and Cas12a nucleases. These approaches have the potential to improve the safety and.
1/ Thrilled to share an advancement in gene therapy from my PhD in @NatureComms! We've developed a new approach to reduce immune responses while maintaining efficiency—paving the way for safer, more effective therapies. Big thanks to @zhangf & @mircoscopy!
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Happy 2025=1^3+2^3+3^3+4^3+5^3+6^3+7^3+8^3+9^3 and many new discoveries!
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RT @pdhsu: Today we report Evo, a generalist foundation model for biology, on the cover of @ScienceMagazine. Trained on billions of DNA nuc….
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Excited to see our team’s work on Fanzor now published in @CellCellPress! Amazing effort by @Peiyu_Xu_ and the entire team in uncovering the structural diversity and DNA cutting mechanisms of Fanzor. Proud of everyone involved! Onward to more discoveries. 🚀.
Excited to share that our latest work on Fanzor is now online in @CellCellPress ! By analyzing structures from different species, we’ve uncovered the structural diversity and how they cut DNA. Huge thanks to Feng @zhangf , Makoto, and all collaborators!
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Nature is amazing! Congratulations to @maxewilkinson and team on a beautiful study revealing a clever way that bacteria defend against viruses. Check out Max’s posts for more detail!.
science.org
Reverse transcription has frequently been co-opted for cellular functions and in prokaryotes is associated with protection against viral infection, but the underlying mechanisms of defense are...
My favourite discovery ever has just come online. Can I please tell you about some seriously wacky molecular biology? The story starts with a reverse transcriptase that SOMEHOW defends bacteria from viruses. (👇 I recommend sound ON for the video 🎹).1/
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Congratulations to all of the graduates during this commencement season! Wishing you all a creative and fulfilling future!. "What you follow with your heart will indeed come back to make your life much richer."
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Inspiring visit at the @arcinstitute today with @pdhsu & @SKonermann. Thoughtful vision, exciting science, and amazing potential.
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Very cool - rejuvenation of the immune system!
nature.com
Nature - Antibody-mediated depletion of myeloid-biased haematopoietic stem cells in aged mice restores characteristic features of a more youthful immune system.
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