Me, being led away by the secret service after releasing thousands of gophers at the Capitol: "You don't understand! It's a scientifically proven way to revive a desolate place! I'm a patriot!" www.popularmechanics.com/science/envi...

And if you have not been accepted, understand that this is a VERY weird time for grad admissions. Lack of acceptance may not be due to YOU, but due to uncontrollable factors at the university. Keep trying in the future.

When Salmonella typhimurium invades cells that line the intestine, it uses a syringe-like type III secretion system to inject dozens of proteins (effectors) into the host cell cytoplasm. This beautiful descriptive study provides the first chronology of the order in which the effectors are injected.

Bacteria in our BRAINS??! We observed translocation of bacteria from the gut to the brain via the vagus nerve. This occurred after high fat diet, or without dietary changes in mouse models of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and autism. journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...

I just made an account and voted for this biology laboratory made of LEGO to "promote biological research and inspire more people into the world of biology". They need 10K votes. Reposting and/or voting below would be helpful. 🤗 beta.ideas.lego.com/product-idea...

Motion to stop referring to it as Next Generation Sequencing. That's like saying The Matrix is a recent movie

Showing this to my students when they ask why we only have computer-free, in-person assignments.

This is so cool and SO exciting!!

Scientists have seen Asgard archaea crawling for the first time. When it comes to the origin of eukaryotes, this is like seeing a feathered dinosaur in the wild. (Video courtesy of Philipp Ralder)

Faculty should not get drunk with graduate students. Drinking in general around graduate students is a bad idea. Grad students already have issues with stress, anxiety, and mental health. They see faculty drinking as an example.

My first time doing an independent tissue culture experiment in Worcester since 2016. Godspeed, little ones.

V useful piece dispelling myths about NIH policy on open access upstream.force11.org/cost-of-conf...

A super handy database to help support academic society journals and other ethical publishing. academic.oup.com/jeb/article/...

Not exactly advice I give, but I believe this period is shaping the next gen of scientific leaders with unique skillsets. I wrote a bit about it here: uncultured.carinilab.com/p/an-open-le...

New publication from Pete Gwynne from @TuftsLyme in PlosPathogens doing a deep dive into lipid scavenging by B. burgdorferi. Once again and example of Bb being lazy and depending on its environment 😀 journals.plos.org/plospathogen...

My process for writing emails

🚨My department is hiring a full-time Assistant Teaching Professor to teach undergrad Genetics & Genomics, upper-level Genomics, and an inquiry-based Computational Genomics course where students can do authentic research. 🧬💻 I’m on the search committee. DM me if you’re interested. Please share! 🙏

Press release was delayed because of the change in institution and the shutdown, but we’re officially doing stuff! www.wpi.edu/news/wpi-res...

The most consistent experimental work I do in my lab these days is sneak into all the molecular biology kits and throw out the elution buffers and write “elute with water” on all of the printed protocols… all while my lab laughs at me. PI life is weird.

"Nice" NIH study sections screw their applicants because of the way NIH calculates percentile. drugmonkey.wordpress.com/2025/11/20/n...

“Overly honest methods”

Breaking News: The Supreme Court denied a request to consider overturning its landmark decision to legalize same-sex marriage a decade ago. nyti.ms/3Ju2Ayd

Yes, some people's legacies are complicated. For example, Watson. After all, though he was racist, don't forget his other traits. For example, he was also sexist. And also anti-semitic. And a data / idea thief. So let's not forget all the different facets.

As a PI I am like a dilettante hobbyist of cell culture Once in a while I like to glance at some cells I use the hemocytometer to manually count cells just to show my lab members it’s possible I walk through and give the incubators a nice pat daily

Excited to share my latest postdoctoral work in the Shen Lab at Tufts! In this study, we follow up on an exciting finding by former grad student @shailab.bsky.social that C diff uses its Class A PBP (PBP1) to drive cell division (unlike previously studied bacteria)! journals.plos.org/plosgenetics...

Excited to announce that The Bourgeois Lab and our WPI collaborators are officially funded by @bayarealyme.bsky.social to investigate treatments for Lyme disease. We are immensely grateful and humbled to be funded through donations made by the Lyme disease community for the Lyme disease community.

The O'Neal Lab in @johnshopkinssph.bsky.social is hiring a Lab Manager to work on ticks and tick-borne diseases! You can apply here: jobs.jhu.edu/job-invite/1...

I hate that the em dash has become a sign of using generative AI. I've known how to use them since forever! It's stolen valour!

UMass Amherst Microbiology is hiring a tenure-track virologist. Come work with me! 🦠🧪 careers.umass.edu/amherst/en-u...

Watching this unfold in real time across our department has been incredibly sad to watch. Encouraging any second year students who had been working on their GRFP to focus on self-care this weekend…

First undergrad experiment in the lab worked, meaning our graduate students, undergrads, and technicians are all producing data three months in! So proud of them 🤩

🎉ASM is pleased to launch ASM Animal Microbiology🎉 Submit your original research & reviews now! The journal's EiC is José Vázquez-Boland, DVM, Ph.D., Chair of Infectious Diseases at the University of Edinburgh! @edinuni-irr.bsky.social ➡️ Read PR: brnw.ch/21wVUHf ➡️ Submit Now! brnw.ch/21wVUHe

Happy to share the latest pub from our lab! journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/... We found that reservoir host species, Peromyscus leucopus, develop acquired tick resistance against larval Ixodes scapularis, which reduces tick feeding success and affects pathogen ingestion by larvae.

Update: The inverted microscope is dead.

Happy last new piece of equipment day to those who celebrate!!

I'll admit, I was skeptical when they said Gemini was just like a bunch of PhDs. But I gotta admit they nailed it.

Bourgeois Lab v001

Those of us in STEM must vocally affirm that the humanities are our allies, and no department is expendable. Arguing we can survive by cutting whole disciplines isn’t just inhumane, it’s nonsensical. The humanities tell us why we’re here in the first place, and what to do about it! This isn’t hard!

Me two months ago: Buying used equipment is great! I have a fancier lab than Linden and have barely touched my startup package! Me now: Okay so none of my incubators hold temperature and two of them think atmospheric air is 5% CO2. Also why is the water bath smoking?

OpenAI: we’re giving you PhD-level expertise in your pocket! Everyone with PhDs: I know exactly who you’re automating and I hate him

Please don’t use any tool that claims it can accurately predict the IQ of your kid… Trying to do eugenics is a beautiful example of being both morally atrocious and really, really dumb.

NIH wants to hear from you. No really. Request for Information on Maximizing Research Funds by Limiting Allowable Publishing Costs grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...

Hygromycin A treatment of Borrelia burgdorferi-infected Peromyscus leucopus suggests potential as a reservoir-targeted antibiotic ✅ Just Accepted #IDSky

Happy First Deliveries to the Lab Day to those who celebrate!

As of today the Bourgeois Lab has been award a DoD CDMRP TBDRP Idea award to identify a genetic basis for severe acute Lyme disease and PTLDS using the novel “msHOST” platform. This award has an emphasis on “career development” and will help the Bourgeois Lab find its footing in the field.

I finally decided to be more active here after missing the science side of twitter. Please check out my paper, "IRE1α promotes phagosomal calcium flux to enhance macrophage fungicidal activity" with @drbadbug.bsky.social and @teresaomeara.bsky.social! www.cell.com/cell-reports...

I'm also excited to share some recent observations with @teresaomeara.bsky.social about how the growth phase of the emerging fungal pathogen Candida auris influences its pathogenesis: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

I didn’t know how I’d feel today, but it’s over and I’m sad. There were good days and bad days, and I’m thankful to @tuftslyme.bsky.social for all of them. I hope I can be half the advisor you are. So long and thanks for all the fish.

Differentiating Peromyscus leucopus bone marrow-derived macrophages for characterization of responses to Borrelia burgdorferi and lipopolysaccharide Nifty new paper from Jeff Bourgeois @bourgeoisjs.bsky.social and colleagues journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/... #MicroSky 🦠🧫🧪🔬