I don't post enough here, but I need to say that seeing queer people out and about brings me so much joy. You are all wonderful and beautiful! And to any queer people who can't be visible for any reason, you are so loved and my inbox is always open to you.

Fuck it, this is the year I buy an aircon unit

After a year of living here my flat is getting there.

Parasitic beetles are the first animals known to imitate floral scents

In our latest preprint we report the unexpected discovery of Epi-STR, an R-stereoselective ortholog of the S-selective canonical Strictosidine synthases (STRs). Found in the rather obscure plant Pogonopus specious. This work was led by my stellar student Clara Morweiser! #natprod #PlantScience

Our funky R-stereoselective Epi-STR is now available online and open access at its permanent home @angewandtechemie.bsky.social. 🥳 This is Clara's first first-author paper, makes me extra happy! @mpi-ce.bsky.social #PlantScience #natprod doi.org/10.1002/anie...

Today is Transgender Day of Visibility. Solidarity today and everyday with trans and non-binary folk who claim space unapologetically. As governments turn trans visibility into a matter of “ideology,” we must refuse to see trans lives as a debate and instead nurture trans joy, safety, and belonging.

The process by which the cinchona tree produces quinine has been elucidated. In a new study published in @nature.com, researchers from the @oconnorlab.bsky.social and the @universityofga.bsky.social unveil the biosynthetic pathway behind this 400-year-old secret. www.ice.mpg.de/548102/PR_Ki...

It’s the Government’s duty to protect all communities - including trans people. They’re failing to do that. Trans people deserve safety and dignity. www.attitude.co.uk/news/zack-po...

Gabe-coded characters

Forgot to post earlier this really cool story by my colleagues here @oconnorlab.bsky.social @mpi-ce.bsky.social. Blister beetle larvae mimic flower scents to attract bees. Led by Ryan Alam and Tobias Köllner. #secmet

NYE walk time featuring dirty mirror and dubious bathroom paraphernalia.

My wonderful friend got me the Vivi magic Foil card 😍😍

Make the holidays extra gay if you can. Like make it uncomfortable.

Happy Christmas eve y'all hope it's a chill one!

Ok the dumb gay hockey show is making me emotional 🙃

Ok I am unreasonably excited about this!

A research team from the @oconnorlab.bsky.social has made a breakthrough in elucidating the biosynthesis of plant natural products by combining scRNA-seq and scMS in the same plant cell. The study was published in @pnas.org. www.ice.mpg.de/516369/PR_Ka...

Very exciting to finally see our iridoid cyclase ICYC online @natplants.nature.com! A joined effort with Robin Buell’s lab with Josh Wood generating snRNA-seq, and my student Chloée Tymen performing the initial experiment. #natprod #PlantScience @mpi-ce.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...

As a frequent user of the ponds, it disgusts me that terfs are taking a beautiful place and pouring their hate into it. Please fill in this survey if you want to protect this space for all women and make trans women feel. PS the ducks think terfs suck. And the friendly fox. And the crows.

Gotta love a wedding

Dumb-ass protein. 75% of the lysate went in the freezer as the column saturated.

Takes 2 seconds and at minimum requires the government to make an official response.

Been living here a couple of months now, and the new place is starting to be home.

Something weirdly liminal about waiting for a train in the UK countryside

When your equipment supplier gives you custom lego.

Finally online and open access! This revised version has a slightly different title and contains a number of additional supplementary figures, mainly in vitro enzyme assays. Kept me quite busy in the lab at the end of last year! #PlantScience #natprod www.nature.com/articles/s41...

I'm not crying you're crying.

yup, degree in physiology and PhD in developmental biology here - not once

It's not perfect but the new place is slowly getting there!

Vibes.

Hello Manchester, it's good to be back!

I'll always be slightly bemused by the duty free area of Berlin airport. Specifically the existence of a fish and chip shop directly above a Ralph Lauren

Ahhh DB, ever unreliable, even on my last day in Germany!

🧵5 Top Free Alternatives to BioRender for Scientific Illustrations! These five websites offer free scientific illustrations for biologists. Great for presentations, research papers and other research communication needs. Save and share the post!

Just finished up my last day at MPI. Thanks to the @oconnorlab.bsky.social for a great two and a half years of science! Next stop: Manchester

Welp this is 31 I guess.

Weird couple weeks ahead. Tomorrow I turn 31, and also start my last week working at Max Planck. The week after I make the move back to the UK and Manchester for a new chapter.

Don't make me tap the sign

We would love feedback on a new NCBI-BLAST service we are launching today: sky-blast.com Under the hood it's the same BLAST executable and databases provided by NCBI, with a replica of the NIH's interface - providing an alternative to the US gov service that's less congested, faster & more reliable

*screams in apartment hunting*

Repost with a pic you’ve saved but haven’t found a use for

I feel like I'm starting to cultivate a bit of a captain haddock vibe...

Happy Weekend y'all

Tiger the MPI work cat sends you love and hopes you are having a Thursday as relaxed as he is!

Bird! Specifically a European Green Woodpecker (I believe, please correct me if I'm wrong)! I know they are common as chips but the plumage colouring is lovely.

This is gonna take a while and I'm sure won't lead to a problematically expensive hobby....but fuck it I'm a massive nerd!

Happy Holidays to all who celebrate! And for those which this time of year is a struggle my digital door is always open. Much love.