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2013  -  2014  -  2015  -  2016  -  2017  -  2018  -  2019  -  2020  -  2021 - 2022 - 2023

An interview in Pour La Science

[Aug. 17, 2025] Earlier this year, Knipscheer et al. published an interesting paper in Science in which they described how cells could use G-loops to resolve G4s and alleviate G4-mediated genetic instability. I was invited to discuss these findings in the 'generalist' science magazine Pour La Science. You can read the article here (sorry, it's only available in French).

A novel article in Analytical Chemistry

[July 24, 2025] In this work, we establish a novel label-free, DNA-based system used for the specific and sensitive detection of colistin, an antibiotic that is widely used nowadays notably in animal husbandry, which is found as health-threatening pollutant in groundwater. Using a G4-based system we developed a device able to detect colistin with a limit as low as 0.4 ng/mL through a color change (luminol oxidation) and assessed this easy-to-implement method under real conditions (milk samples). Now published in Anal. Chem. Thank you Jun and co-workers!

A novel article in BMC Biology

[July 04, 2025] In this study, now published in BMC Biol., we investigated the G4-forming sequences found in three long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) known to be dysregulated in colorectal cancer (CRC), i.e., LINC01589, MELTF-AS1 and UXT-AS1. We applied a pure chemical biology approach in which we positively and negatively modulate these G4s using ad hoc molecular tools, i.e., the G4 stabilizer BRACO-19 and the G4 destabilizer PhpC, and assessed the cellular outcomes of this modulation. This led us to describe a fully innovative anticancer strategy, disturbing the homeostasis and inner functioning of CRC lncRNAs. Now published in BMC Biol. as a part of the “Regulation of gene expression through RNA” Collection, Guest Edited by Marco Mangone and Gian Gaetano Tartaglia. Thanks to Shubham and Bhaskar (IIT Gandhinagar, India) for this collaborative work, and EMBO for funding the Shubham's internship in Dijon.

A novel article in Int. J. Biol. Macromol.

[June 18, 2025] For several years now, we aim at demonstrating that PhpC can be used as a molecular helicase prone to unfold both DNA and RNA G4s in cells. Thanks to a collaboration with Carla Cruz, we now provide another demonstration of this activity, showing that PhpC does indeed unfold RNA G4s belonging to pre-miRNA in cells quite efficiently. To this end, a series of biophysical techniques was implemented (notably an NMR titration that was attempted for the very first time with this molecule) along with a series of cell-based assays, which shows both the decrease in G4 abundance and the modification of that of the corresponding miRNA (miR-3196) upon PhpC incubation. These results thus provide another demonstration of the promising helicase-mimicking properties of PhpC ; they are now accepted for publication in Int. J. Biol. Macromol. Many thanks to Carla and her collaborators for this beautiful work.

IMAJ#1: what a beautiful meeting!

[May 15, 2025] It was an absolute pleasure to organize the 1st International Meeting on Nucleic Acid Junctions (IMAJ#1) in Paris from May 12 to 14, 2025. This meeting was supported by the CNRS as part of the creation of an International Research Network (IRN), bringing together EU researchers from the UK, Spain, Ireland, and France. I had the opportunity to meet friends and colleagues, and colleagues who quickly became friends. The event featured three days of excellent talks, lively discussions, and enriching exchanges. Many thanks to all and stayed tuned, we will start again next year!

ScholarGPS's list of top scholars (for 2024)

[May 01, 2025] I am quite happy to appear on the ScholarGPS list of top scholars worldwide (here). Admittedly, this does not mean much in terms of science per se, but I am thrilled to be included, especially as the list is compiled in a way that excludes self-citations and combines quantity and quality, thus removing some biases... :-) 

A novel article in Nature Communications

[Mar. 13, 2025] The aim of this study is to better understand how mitochondrial metabolism can affect cancer development. The synthesis of mitochondrial proteins occurs in the cytoplasm, and more precisely at the outer mitochondrial membrane, where the hnRNP U binds to RNA, and particularly G4-containing RNA, and cooperates with the helicase DDX3X to unwind G4s that may fold within mitochondrial RNA and hamper proper translation. If these G4-forming sequences are stabilized by ligands (eg, PhenDC3), then their translation is downregulated, which eventually inhibits mitochondrial respiration and functions, thereby jeopardizing the fate of cancer cells. This strategy, which is currently actively studied to fight against cancers, is fully validated herein. This manuscript is now accepted for publication in Nat. Commun.: many thanks to Stefania and her team for their pugnacity and dedication!

A novel article in the J. Am. Chem. Soc. (JACS #10!)

[Feb. 19, 2025] Gaining insights into the existence, prevalence and functional relevance of RNA G4s relies on efficient but technically challenging methods such as rG4-seq (in vitro) or G4RP-seq (in vivo). The latter technique involved a G4-RNA-specific precipitation (or G4RP) using biomimetic ligands (TASQs) as molecular baits, before affinity-based separation (biotin/streptavidin) and identification (sequencing) steps. Quite efficient (see our Nat. Protoc. and STAR Protoc.) but how to simplify this? By merging precipitation and separation steps. How? By exploiting the quite unique G4-interacting properties of colistin (COL), which interacts with and precipitates RNA G4 only. The resulting technique, named CoRP-seq, allows for identifying RNA G4s at a transcriptome-wide scale in a faster, simpler manner. Thrilling! Now published in the J. Am. Chem. Soc.: Thank you Jun and his team for this huge work!

A new protocol for in situ click G4 imaging now in bio-protocol

[Jan. 22, 2025] Angie has invested massive efforts to be as specific as possible in describing how to detect G4s in human cells using our clickable TASQs (notably the commercially available MultiTASQ). The protocol, which is now freely available here, provides you with all necessary details and wet lab tips and tricks to successfully, reliably and reproducibly track DNA and RNA G4s, in live or fixed cells. Thanks Angie for this huge work! 

ChemMedChem - Special Collection "Drug Discovery in France" 

[Dec. 20, 2024] Happy to end this year with an invited article now published in ChemMedChem, which supports the Société de Chimie Thérapeutique (SCT) through the Special Collection "Drug Discovery in France" edited by Rebecca Deprez-Poulain (University of Lille), Maria Duca (University of Côte d'Azur) and Gilles Guichard (University of Bordeaux). We thus took this opportunity to describe a series of investigations carried out in collaboration with Petra Menova (University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague, CZ), Gabor Paragi (Institute of Physics, University of Pécs, HU; Department of Theoretical Physics, University of Szeged, HU) and Nicolas Chéron (PASTEUR, Département de chimie, ENS Paris, FR). We aimed at uncovering the mechanism behind the exquisite photophysical properties of N-TASQ, a twice-as-smart G4 probe that allows for tracking RNA G4s in live cells. We reported on the synthesis and in vitro studies of AlkN-TASQ and TzN-TASQ, which provides very interesting insights into the way through which N-TASQ derivatives label G4s. Thrilling!

The new version of the G4RP (G4-RNA-specific precipitation) protocol now in STAR Protocols

[Dec. 11, 2024] Jérémie spent the last months (to say the least :-)) to make the G4RP protocol fully reliable and reproducible. To this end, each step of the 1st version (published in Nat. Commun. in 2018, and in Nat. Protoc. in 2022) developped with Judy and Sunny was optimized, and he added a series of control and go/no-go steps. This new version, G4RP.v2 is now published in STAR Protocols:  more than 40 steps, over more than 40 pages, impossible not to be succesful now! Congrats Jérem!

A new article in J. Biol. Chem.

[Nov. 29, 2024] Certainly one of the ones I am most proud of. In this J. Biol. Chem. article, we carried out a real chemical biology investigation in which we positively and negatively modulate the G4 landscape in patient-derived human astrocytes, using the G4 ligand PDS and the molecular helicase PhpC, respectively. This allowed us for assessing the cellular consequences at both transcription and translation levels by RNA-seq and proteomics, respectively, and drawing a series of conclusions concerning 1/ the actual regulatory roles of G4s, and 2/ the actual influence of both molecular tools in human cells. A long-term and absolutely thrilling scientific adventure.. congrats to all co-authors!

An interview by the CNRS (podcast)

[Oct. 24, 2024] Extremely honored to have been interviewed by the CNRS to freely speak about G4s, my feelings and thoughts about the G4-focused research, the achievements and futur challenges, notably in the field of age-related diseases. Part of the interview (text) here: https://www.centre-est.cnrs.fr/fr/lumiere-sur-les-quadruplexes-dadn; the complete interview (audio, 25 min) here: https://youtu.be/NbVgqAKaRsg?list=PLWbM_xdKU4muTdpg5JA5OSemiL72XXI-Q (sorry, only in French)

Our Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. article highlighted by the CNRS

[Oct. 15, 2024] Quite happy that the CNRS decided to highlight the results we recently published in Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. in which we showed that three-way DNA junctions (TWJs) are promising targets for anticancer therapeutic intervention and that azacryptands are specific TWJ ligands, meaning promising anticancer agents. The highlight can be found here (sorry, only in French)

A novel article in Nucleic Acids Res.

[Sep. 17, 2024] Thank you so much Sara (Sara Richter, University of Padua, IT) for associating me to a beautiful study aiming at understanding the molecular basis of X-linked dystonia Parkinsonism (XDP). This study, now published in Nucleic Acids Res. aims at understaning the role that G4s play in the regulation of the expression of TAF1 gene (dysregulated in XDP), and how it is possible to modulate its expression using our G4 unfolder PhpC. A small contribution to a brilliant and thrilling study! 

Stanford's list of top-cited scientists (for 2023)

[Sep. 16, 2024] Quite honored to appear in this prestigious list for the fourth year in a row (https://dx.doi.org/10.17632/btchxktzyw.7). It does not mean much in terms of science per se but I am just thrilled to be there, which is some sort of peer recognition of the determination and tireless work done by my team and colleagues in a not-often-easy national and international context. Thanks to all of them!

A tribute to the contribution of Stephen Neidle to the field of G4 ligands

[Sep. 7, 2024] It was an honor for me to be invited to contribute to a special issue of Med. Chem. Res. honoring Prof. Stephen Neidle: I took this opportunity to retrace his carreer and highlights his most significant contributions to the field, from the publication of the very first G4 ligand in 1997 to the recent clinical investigations of his latest ligand QN302.  This contribution is a personnal view on this fascinating scientific story (might be biased, admittedly) but I really enjoyed writing it!

A novel article in Analytical Chemistry

[Aug. 21, 2024] In the framework of our ongoing (and long-lasting) collaboration with Jun Zhou (Nanjing U., PRC), we keep on investigating the power of G4-based catalysis. In this novel Anal. Chem. article, we chemically modified the cofactor hemin to recreate (somehow) its binding site within its natural proteinic partner HRP to increase the catalytic efficiency of the G4/hemin complex. The validity of this apporach was confirmed through the development of a colorimetric assay for the detection of FEN1 enzyme.  

Thanks to the ANR for supporting our Top2G4 project

[July 04, 2024] We are quite happy that our Top2G4 project ("understanding and tuning the cellular properties of G4 ligands") has been funded by the ANR. This project is steered by Sébastion Britton (IPBS Toulouse, FR), in collaboration with Valerie lamour (IGBMC Strasbourg, FR). We will investigate the mechanism(s) behind the cellular properties of G4 ligands in the aim of rationalizing the differences between standards in the filed (PDS, PhenDC3, CX5461, etc.). Thanks Sébastien for your efforts in gathering this wonderful consortium and desiging this beautiful project!

A novel article in Angew. Chem. Int. Ed.

[June 25, 2024] In this Angew. Chem. article, we not only describe an array of highly promising ligands for three-way DNA junctions (TWJs) from the azacryptand series but also a panel of techniques to investigate their TWJ-interacting properties in vitro but also their ability to stall DNA transactions, therefore moving closed to predictive models for cellular investigations. Another great collaboration with my 'TWJ dream team'': Anton Granzhan (Curie Orsay, FR), Sébastien Britton (IPBS Toulouse, FR), Nicolas Chéron (Pasteur Paris, FR) and Lukas Trantirek (CEITEC, CZ).

An article in Advanced Science

[June 25, 2024] In this article now published in Adv. Sci., we report on a supramolecular nanomaterial (referred to as AA-heminzyme) which is prepared in a straightforward manner (a kind of mix-and-measure approach) and is used for performing catalytic oxidation reactions. Its practical use was demonstrated by the smartphone-based detection of a circulating cancer biomarker.. thrilling! Another great collaboration with Dr. Jun Zhou (Nanjing U. PRC).

Thanks to CNRS Chimie for supporting the creation of an International Research Network (IRN)

[June 21, 2024] The time is ripe to gather the community of researchers working on DNA junctions under a single banner... and CNRS Chimie gives us this possibility! Thanks to quite interesting discussions with Mike Hannon and Mark Searcey (Birmingham and Norwich UK) on one side, and Miguel Vazquez Lopez and Eugenio Vazquez  (Santiago di Compostela, ES), we are poised to create an IRN on DNA and RNA junctions in order to 1/ optimize the connection between the different European partners on the basis of the complementarity of their expertise, 2/ secure an optimized scientific workflow between them from chemistry to biology, through in silico and structural studies, and 3/ coordinate this research effort thanks to a dedicated budget used for organizing workshops, student exchange and visiting professorship programs.   

An review in Trends in Genetics on i-motifs

[June 19, 2024] An i-motif (iM) is a four-stranded (quadruplex) DNA/RNA structure that folds from cytosine (C)-rich sequences. These peculiar structures are thought to play key roles in various DNA transactions but which ones?? In this review now published in Trends Genet., we sum up the techniques applied to assess the folding of iMs in vitro and the factors that affect their formation and stability in vivo in a comprehensive manner. A great collaboration with Dr. Wenli Zhang (Nanjing U. PRC).

Thanks to CNRS Innovation for funding the MoBiDiC project

[June 06, 2024] We would like to sincerely thank CNRS innovation for funding the MoBiDic project (for Molecular, Biomimetic probes for the Diagnosis of Cancers) which will also us to keep on developing new TASQs for whole-body applications (small animals). These new investigations will thus provide us with the opportunity to expand our TASQ portfolio for new applications in oncology (nuclear imaging).

Congrats to Garance for securing her PhD in the lab!

[May 27, 2024] We are really happy to announce that Garance Psalmon, currently in M2 internship in the lab, has successfully passed a quite challenging examination to obtain a PhD grant (funded by the Conseil Regional de Bourgogne, CRB) for the next 3 years in the GATTACA Lab. She will work on the biology of DNA and RNA G4s, modulating their formation in cells using both stabilizers and destabilizers. Very happy to have her in the lab for 3 more years!   

Promoted

[March 12, 2024] It is a huge honour to have been promoted to the rank of CNRS Research Director 1st class (I am therefore a quite old researcher by now, and officially :-)). Of course, without would have been possible without talented students and wonderful collaborators. Many thanks to all of them!

Two new bioRxiv preprints now available 

[Feb. 21, 2024] Quite happy to be associated to a beautiful study steered by Stefania Millevoi (CRCT Toulouse, FR) that shows how RNA G-quadruplexes (G4s) regulate mitochondrial mRNA translation and how G4 ligands modulate mitochondrial functions in cancer cells, thus providing a functional link between G4s and energy metabolism. Now available here: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.01.29.577192v1. And quite happy too to collaborate once more with Andrey S. Tsvetkov (UTHealth, Houston, TX USA) to perform a study in the best traditions of chemical biology in which we either positively (or stabilize) or negatively regulate (or destabilize) G4s in human astrocytes in order to gain insights into the prevalence of G4-mediated cellular circuitries in brain cells. Now available here: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.02.16.580621v1. 

Our ChemComm article highlighted by the CNRS 

[Jan. 23, 2024] Quite honored and proud to have been interviewed by the CNRS about the results we recently reported in ChemComm. The question was about the potential application of these discoveries, which are quite huge for both fundamental and applied research. We discussed about G-quadruplex-DNA (quite unsurprisingly) but also cancers, aging and to potential use of our prototype of G4 destabilizer PhpC (see the original article here). The article can be found here, the interview here (sorry, only in French)

How to unfold G4s in human cells? The answer is in Chemical Communications 

[Dec. 05, 2023] Just a few days before the PhD defense of Jeremie, his article on the cellular properties of the G4-destabilizer PhpC has now been published in ChemComm! We provide here two demonstrations that PhpC, the prototype of G4 unfolder we discovered a couple of years ago, does indeed unwind G4s in cells, through both optical imaging (using N-TASQ) and G4RP method (using BioCyTASQ and derivatives). Super happy for Jérémie and congrats to all the team!

A novel article in Nature Communications

[Oct. 26, 2023] The question of the day is: what is going in our cells on upon UV-irradiation (e.g., sun exposure)? Or, better put, what are the systems developed by our cells to insure genome stability? In this noveal article published in Nat. Commun., Katrin Paeschke and her team show that upon UV irradiation, DNA G-quadruplexes (or G4s) rapidly accumulate in cells, which leads to the recruitment of ZRF1, a protein involved in gene activation, senescence and cancer progression. ZRF1 binds genome-wide to G4 sites where it prevents genome instability and orchestrate DNA repair. ZRF1 is thus the first protein that positively influences a repair process by binding to G4s. These amazing, compelling study was steered by the Paeschke lab (at the University of Bonn, DE), and I am proud to be (modestly) part of it. Congrats to all co-authors and thanks to Katrin for assciotaing me to this wonderful study.  

An article in J. Biol Chem. 

[Aug. 8, 2023] A couple of years ago, we showed in eLife, in collaboration with Andrey S. Tsvetkov (McGovern Medical School, The university of Texas, USA) that caution must be exercised when using the G4 ligand pyridostatin (PDS) as an anticancer agent as it damages central nervous system (CNS) cells, primarily neurons. This has thus to be considered as a serious negative consequence of a G4-targeting antitumoral strategy. We now report on the mechanism behind the neuron damaging properties of PDS: thanks to a transcriptome-wide analysis, we show in J. Biol. Chem. that PDS heavily modulates the transcriptional activity of neurons (the expression of ca. 900 genes being affected), notably upregulating the Pirh2 gene, which triggers double-strand breaks (DSBs). The multi-step mechanism of DNA damage we highlight here underlines the complexity of DNA maintenance in neurons. Congrats to all co-authors! 

The Handbook of Chemical Biology of Nucleic Acids 

[Aug. 3, 2023] This handbook is a gigantic book fully devoted to the field of nucleic acids, with 90 chapters distributed in 10 categories (Physical chemistry, Structural chemistry, Organic chemistry & Ligand chemistry in Volume I; Gene expression, Analytical methods and applications & Nanotechnology in Volume II; Therapeutics, Biotechnology and synthetic biology & Functional nucleic acids in Volume III) for a total of >2800 pages! Many thanks to the Editor, Naoki Sugimoto, and the Associate Editors (C. Burrows, K. Fox, P. Herdewijn, J. Plavec, E. Rozners, K. Seley-Radtke, M-P. Teulade-Fichou, R. Winter and Z. Xi) for gathering such a knowledge! The book can be found here: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-9776-1; our contribution here: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-9776-1_37

The first Youtube video of GATTACA! 

[July 26, 2023] Many thanks to the STS Department at Bordeaux University for sharing the lecture I gave last May on-line, this is my very first Youtube video ;-)  

An article in Biochimie (special issue "Last Year at Marienbad" edited by J.-L. Mergny)

[July 20, 2023] Last year at Marienbad was organized the 8th international meeting on quadruplex nucleic acids. Jean-Louis Mergny thus decided to set up a special issue in Biochimie, gathering some of the results presented there. We are particularly happy to publish in this SI a study steered by Jean-Pierre Perreault (Sherbrooke, CA) in which our G4RP-seq technique was combined with their G4RNA Screener pipeline in order to identify RNA G4-forming sequences in glioblastoma cells. This approach, based on seq-based techniques, bioinformatic tools and biophysical assays provided a rigorous way to identify RNA G4s with a high reliability and accuracy. These results are now published in Biochimie. 

A novel article in ACS Catal.

[July 11, 2023] When dealing with G4-based biocatalysts, or G4-DNAzyme, it is well-known in the field that controlling the G4 topology means controlling its biocatalytic properties. In this new study, now published in ACS Catalysis, we combined experimental and theoretical investigations to control the overall topology of a G4 embedding it in a Holliday junction (HJ)-based suprastructure. By doing so, the nature and length of the HJ allow for defining the orientation of the G4 strands, which then impacts its biocatalytic properties. A compelling study steered by Jun Zhou (Nanjing Univ., PRC).

An article in Nucleic Acids Res.

[July 6, 2023] The helicase BLM is known for quite a long time to bind to and unfold DNA G4s. In this new study, now published in Nucleic Acids Res., performed in collaboration with Eran Hornstein's lab, at the Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot (Israel), we not only show that BLM binds to and unfold RNA G4s, but also that it is involved in the regulation of stress granule (SG) formation. Congrats to Yehuda Danino, a PhD student of Eran, who brilliantly conducted this project from A to Z!

An article in Advanced Healthcare Materials

[July 5, 2023] We are really happy to be involved in a strongly multidisciplinary study aiming at exploiting the various facets of the G4 field. In this study, we conjugated a G4-containing aptamer (AS1411) to a nanoparticle (upconverted metal-organic framework, or UMOF) to exploit successively the tumor-targeting ability of AS1411 and then its catalytic properties upon interaction with hemin (G4/hemin complex, or GH). This allowed for benefitting from the high H2O2 concentration in hypoxic tumors to produce O2 in situ, which is then converted into reactive oxygen species (ROS) thanks to the UMOF in virtue of its photodynamic therapy (PDT) properties upon irradiation at 980 nm. Complicated, hein? :-) It's then better to read the manuscript now published in Adv. Healthc. Mat. :-)

A novel article in RSC Chem. Biol.

[July 4, 2023] We investigate here the scope of application of two new TASQ prototypes, the clickable TASQs referred to as MultiTASQ (for copper click chem, or CuAAC; commercially available at Sigma-Aldrich) and azidoMultiTASQ (for copper-free click chem, or SPAAC). We developed a protocol for imaging G-quadruplexes (G4s), referred to as in situ click imaging because the TASQ is fluorescently labeled once in its cellular binding site. We also report on a way to isolate G4s by affinity capture, referred to as G4-click-CP (CP for chemoprecipitation) for in vitro investigations, and the well-known G4RP-RT-qPCR for in vivo investigations (described in Nat. Commun. and Nat. Protoc.). This wealth of data is now available in RSC Chem. Biol. (gold open access) and highlighted with the cover! Congrats to the team! 

An article in Cells with our colleagues at the faculty of medicine (Dijon, FR)

[June 6, 2023] Natural polyphenols, such as resveratrol or quercetin, are known to display interesting genoprotective effects. Here, we study another polyphenol, chrysin, found in passionflower and honey, and show that it is quite active against metastatic melanoma, as a result of its ability to both damage cancer cell DNA (which activates the DNA damage response (DDR), both ATM and ATR pathways) and trigger oxidative stress (via reactive oxygen species (ROS) production). Combined, these two effects strongly limit angiogenesis, which was demonstrated here both in vitro and in vivo. Thanks to Dominique Delmas and colleagues (INSERM, Dijon, FR) for associating me in this beautiful study, now published in Cells (gold open access).

Our first iScience article

[May 8, 2023] In the framework of our long-lasting collaboration with the group of Wenli Zhang (Nanjing, PRC)  we compared the G4 capture efficiency of two TASQs, BioTASQ and BioCyTASQ, and the antibody BG4 in a model organism (rice). This unique and direct comparison of chemoprecipitation (TASQs) versus immunoprecipitation (BG4) allowed for both assessing whether these molecular tools can be used interchangeably and defining the limits of their use in sequencing-based technologies (G4DP-seq, using TASQs, BG4-DNA-IP-seq using BG4). This quite long story is now accpeted for publication in iScience (gold open access). Thanks to Wenli and his team!

A novel article in the JACS

[Feb. 17, 2023] While the current literature is replete of examples dealing with the catalytic properties of DNA G-quadruplexes (G4-DNAzyme) when they are associated with hemin, only a handful of them are devoted to the optimization of this catalytic system to reach a terrific catalytic activity. Thanks to the huge work of Jun Zhou’s team, this has been made possible by combining DNA (G4), peptides and hemin in a single, covalent assembly named CPDzyme (for Chimeric peptide-DNAzyme), which outperforms for the very first time the catalytic properties of the corresponding, natural enzyme HRP. These results are now published in the J. Am. Chem. Soc. Thanks Jun, Jean-Louis, for this amazing job! 

A spotlight in Mol. Cell

[Feb. 01, 2023] I would like to sincerely thank Molecular Cell for their invitation to highlight a study published by SG Kennedy, SE Butcher and colleagues published in Nat. Struct. Mol. Biol. regarding a very peculiar G-quadruplex (G4) structure, the pUG fold, which folds from alternating UG RNA sequences. The pUG fold thus escapes from the classical G4-forming motif and thus, keeps on expanding the number of putative genomic G4s (which is already huge!). The spotlight can be found here.

The TASQ story now told in Acc. Chem. Res.

[Jan. 20, 2023] Absolutely delighted to have been invited by Accounts of Chemical Research to tell the story behind the TASQs. Acc. Chem. Res. offers a unique possibility to provide a personalized version of a scientific story and that of the TASQs started back in 2007 in Louisville, KY (USA) during the very 1st international meeting on G-quadruplexes, by an informal discussion with JT Davis. If you are interested in learning more about this >11-year story, have a look to "TASQs: multiTASQing molecular tools for investigating DNA and RNA G-quadruplex biology"