Nanoscience News (<front>)

There is little argument that many of the grand achievements of biotechnology, biochemistry, and chemical biology stem from advances in synthetic organic chemistry embodied in the development of solid-phase synthetic approaches for proteins and nucleic acids. Of equal importance to the synthesis of the biopolymers, however, are methods for their sequencing.  Revolutions in nucleic acid sequencing have led to single molecule and Next-Gen parallel methods.  Similar advances in protein sequencing have lagged behind. In collaboration with the Marcotte group at UT Austin, we have created a single-molecule peptide sequencing routine referred to as fluorosequencing. Therein, peptides are N-terminal captured, the amino acids selectively labelled with fluorophores, C-terminal differentiated, and then placed on TIRF microscope for rounds of Edman degradation. The development and implementation of the organic chemistry necessary in the method will be discussed. On a related topic, the sequencing of sequence-defined polymers, other than nucleic acids and proteins, shows promise as a new paradigm for data storage.  We have devised the first use of oligourethanes for storing and reading encoded information.  As a proof of principle, an approach will be described using a text passage from Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park. It was encoded in oligourethanes and reconstructed via chain-end degradation sequencing. We developed Mol.E-coder, a software tool that utilizes a Huffman encoding scheme to convert the character table to hexadecimal. The passage was capable of being reproduced wholly intact by a third-party, without any purifications or the use of MS/MS, despite multiple rounds of compression, encoding, and synthesis. Further, we have used mass-tags on the oligourethanes to sort mixtures and keep track of simultaneous sequencing, and we have recently generated electrochemical methods for sequencing. Overall, this presentation will highlight the interplay between synthesis and sequencing of sequence-defined polymers.

• Speaker: Professor Eric Anslyn, The University of Texas at Austin
• Thursday 23 October 2025, 14:00-15:00
• Venue: Dept of Chemistry, Wolfson Lecture Theatre .
• Series: Materials Chemistry Research Interest Group; organiser: Sharon Connor.

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Join us for the final Milner seminar of the year. Presentations and Q&A will be followed by refreshments and networking.

Speakers: Adam Wilkinson, Cambridge Stem Cell Institute, University of Cambridge “Blood stem cell expansion: technology to biology”

Cédric Ghevaert, Cambridge Stem Cell Institute, University of Cambridge “In vitro production of blood cells: therapeutic opportunities and challenges”

If you’d like to attend, please register at: https://milner.glueup.com/event/milner-seminars-focus-on-haematopoiesis-158139/

• Speaker: Adam Wilkinson, Cambridge Stem Cell Institute and Cédric Ghevaert, Cambridge Stem Cell Institute
• Wednesday 19 November 2025, 16:00-17:00
• Venue: Lecture Theatre, Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre.
• Series: Milner Seminar Series; organiser: Mary-Jane Roebuck.

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The stability of tree-level relations among the parameters of a quantum field theory with respect to renormalization group (RG) running is typically explained by the existence of a symmetry. A simple model of two real scalar fields is presented in which a tree-level relation among the squared-mass parameters of the scalar potential is RG-stable without the presence of a conventional underlying symmetry. Some authors have attempted to explain this result by introducing a so-called GOO Fy symmetry. In this talk, the stability of this parameter relation with respect to RG running is explained by complexifying the original scalar field theory. It is then possible to exhibit a conventional symmetry that guarantees the relations of relevant beta functions of squared-mass parameters of the complexified theory. We can then show that the RG-stability of the parameter relations of the original real scalar field theory is inherited from the conventional symmetry of the corresponding complexified theory.

• Speaker: Howie Haber, University of California Santa Cruz
• Tuesday 11 November 2025, 16:00-17:00
• Venue: MR19 (Potter Room, Pavilion B), CMS.
• Series: HEP phenomenology joint Cavendish-DAMTP seminar; organiser: Benjamin Christopher Allanach.

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Abstract

Stay Tuned.

Bio

Stay Tuned.

• Speaker: Jakob Poffley, University of Cambridge
• Friday 28 November 2025, 13:00-14:00
• Venue: Room FW11 at the William Gates Building and on Zoom: https://cl-cam-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/4361570789?pwd=Nkl2T3ZLaTZwRm05bzRTOUUxY3Q4QT09&from=addon .
• Series: Energy and Environment Group, Department of CST; organiser: lyr24.

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Abstract not available

• Speaker: George Poole
• Friday 28 November 2025, 16:00-17:00
• Venue: Tea Room, Old House.
• Series: Bullard Laboratories Tea Time Talks; organiser: David Al-Attar.

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Abstract not available

• Speaker: Zachary Sudholz
• Friday 05 December 2025, 16:00-17:00
• Venue: Tea Room, Old House.
• Series: Bullard Laboratories Tea Time Talks; organiser: David Al-Attar.

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Abstract not available

• Speaker: Nicky White ( Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge)
• Friday 17 October 2025, 16:00-17:00
• Venue: Tea Room, Old House.
• Series: Bullard Laboratories Tea Time Talks; organiser: David Al-Attar.

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Abstract not available

• Speaker: Yanheng Xie and Dr Liqiang Wang, CUED
• Friday 24 October 2025, 14:00-15:00
• Venue: Oatley 1 Meeting Room, Department of Engineering.
• Series: Engineering - Mechanics and Materials Seminar Series; organiser: div-c.

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Sung Chul Kwon

TBD

• Speaker: Sung Chul Kwon (PI, UHong Kong), TBD
• Thursday 16 July 2026, 16:30-18:30
• Venue: Online (Zoom).
• Series: Cambridge RNA Club; organiser: Bianca Pierattini.

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Nida Ali

TBD

• Speaker: Nida Ali (Postdoc, UCambridge, UK), TBD (Novogene, Sponsor)
• Thursday 25 June 2026, 16:30-18:30
• Venue: Perham Seminar Room - Department of Biochemistry, Sanger Building.
• Series: Cambridge RNA Club; organiser: Bianca Pierattini.

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Miguel Aracena Velazquez

Pedro Madrigal

• Speaker: Miguel Aracena Velazquez (PhD student, UYork), Pedro Madrigal (Project Leader, EMBL EBI)
• Thursday 28 May 2026, 16:30-18:30
• Venue: Perham Seminar Room - Department of Biochemistry, Sanger Building.
• Series: Cambridge RNA Club; organiser: Bianca Pierattini.

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Ròża Przanowska

Zhipeng Lu

• Speaker: Ròża Przanowska (Postdoc, UVirginia), Zhipeng Lu (PI, USC)
• Thursday 30 April 2026, 16:30-18:30
• Venue: Online (Zoom).
• Series: Cambridge RNA Club; organiser: Bianca Pierattini.

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Guillermo Parada Gonzalez

Eleni Liapi

• Speaker: Guillermo Parada Gonzalez (Postdoc, Crick Institute and KCL, London, UK), Eleni Liapi (Postdoc, Aarhus University, DK)
• Thursday 26 March 2026, 16:30-18:30
• Venue: Perham Seminar Room - Department of Biochemistry, Sanger Building.
• Series: Cambridge RNA Club; organiser: Bianca Pierattini.

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Martino Morici

Dmitry Kretov

• Speaker: Martino Morici (Postdoc, UHamburg), Dmitry Kretov (PI, ULaval)
• Wednesday 10 December 2025, 16:30-18:30
• Venue: Online (Zoom).
• Series: Cambridge RNA Club; organiser: Bianca Pierattini.

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Emma Mitchell

Magdalena Crossley

• Speaker: Emma Mitchell (NEB, sponsor), Magdalena Crossley (PI, CRUK, Cambridge, UK)
• Thursday 26 February 2026, 16:30-18:30
• Venue: Perham Seminar Room - Department of Biochemistry, Sanger Building.
• Series: Cambridge RNA Club; organiser: Bianca Pierattini.

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Emma Mitchell

Magdalena Crossley

• Speaker: Emma Mitchell (NEB, sponsor), Magdalena Crossley (PI, CRUK, Cambridge, UK)
• Thursday 26 February 2026, 16:30-18:30
• Venue: Perham Seminar Room - Department of Biochemistry, Sanger Building.
• Series: Cambridge RNA Club; organiser: Bianca Pierattini.

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Meenu Bhati

Roberto Campalastri

• Speaker: Meenu Bhati (Postdoc, UEdimburgh), Roberto Campalastri (PhD student, MRC Tox, Cambridge, UK)
• Thursday 29 January 2026, 16:30-18:30
• Venue: Online (Zoom).
• Series: Cambridge RNA Club; organiser: Bianca Pierattini.

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Xiaoteng Jiang

Michele Chirichella

• Speaker: Xiaoteng Jiang (Postdoc, MRC Tox, Cambridge, UK), Michele Chirichella (Senior Scientist, Astrazeneca, Cambridge, UK)
• Thursday 20 November 2025, 16:30-18:30
• Venue: Perham Seminar Room - Department of Biochemistry, Sanger Building.
• Series: Cambridge RNA Club; organiser: Bianca Pierattini.

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Honmiao Hu

Larry Melidis

• Speaker: Honmiao Hu (Postdoc, MRC LMB, Cambridge, UK), Larry Melidis (Postdoc, CRUK, Cambridge, UK)
• Thursday 23 October 2025, 16:30-18:30
• Venue: Perham Seminar Room - Department of Biochemistry, Sanger Building.
• Series: Cambridge RNA Club; organiser: Bianca Pierattini.

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Multivariate Hawkes processes form a class of point processes describing self and inter exciting/inhibiting processes. There is now a renewed interest of such processes in applied domains and in machine learning, but there exists only limited theory about inference in such models apart from parametric models. After reviewing results on convergence rates for Bayesian nonparametric approaches to such models, I will present new results on uncertainty quantification for important functionals.

The rest of the abstract can be found at https://drive.google.com/file/d/10gjAoVtcY-yyE_qdtEw8vDF4rmqb3BQO/view?usp=sharing

• Speaker: Judith Rousseau (Université Paris Dauphine)
• Friday 17 October 2025, 14:00-15:00
• Venue: MR12, Centre for Mathematical Sciences.
• Series: Statistics; organiser: Qingyuan Zhao.

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