This week's Work in Progress seminars were given by MGI graduate students Kathleen Sotelo of the Barrick Lab and Jessica Hodgkins of the Milbrath Lab.

MGI Prof. Ned Walker visited Rwanda to launch a new Gates Foundation–supported project using drones, AI, & community partners to fight malaria linked to agricultural expansion. The work focuses on smarter land and water management to reduce mosquito breeding in farming areas.

This week's MGI Research Seminar was presented by Asst. Prof. Meghan Milbrath of MSU's dept. of entomology. She spoke about bacterial brood diseases in honey bees. Thank you, Dr. Milbrath!

MGI Professor Christoph Adami (@chrisadami.bsky.social) has a new article out in npj Complexity which addresses the question of whether we can use AI to promote a more cooperative society. Read more here: tinyurl.com/3cjxujmm

Ira Zibbu (@coolscootre.bsky.social) and Tyler de Jong are MGI graduate students working in the Barrick Lab. Both of them do research related to the Long-Term Evolution Experiment - and they both presented Work in Progress seminars this week.

Happy Birthday, Long-Term Evolution Experiment!!!

Happy 38th birthday to the #LTEE! #BOTD in 1988. Keep on evolving! #science #evolution #microbiology

This week's MGI seminar was a promotion seminar given by Dr. Kaz Kashefi. His talk was entitled, "Life at the Limits: Extremophiles as a Gateway to Student-Drive Scientific Discovery." Thank you for a great talk, Dr. Kashefi!

Sydney Chen, an MGI graduate student in the Lebeis Lab, gave the second Work in Progress seminar this week. Her research explores how a plant’s immune system shapes the tiny microbial communities that live inside its roots.

Han Wen is an MGI doctoral candidate in Dr. Zhiyong Xi's lab who gave one of this week's Work in Progress seminars. Wen discussed his work establishing a line of Wolbachia-infected Anopheles stephensi, a type of mosquito.

This week's MGI Research Seminar was given - virtually, no less - by Dr. Jannell Bazurto of the Univ. of Minnesota. She spoke about "Formaldehyde Homeostasis: Do or Die." Thank you for a fantastic talk!

MGI Asst Prof Zachary Blount @zdblount.bsky.social is giving a talk in celebration of Darwin Day TONIGHT at 7 pm called "Today’s Junk, Tomorrow’s Triumph: Lessons on Evolutionary Contingency, Inertia, and Innovation from the Long-Term Evolution Experiment with E. coli."

Kasumi Nakagawa is a visiting researcher in the Rowe Lab @electromicrowe.bsky.social who gave a Work in Progress seminar this week. Nakagawa studies electricity-producing bacteria derived from traditional Japanese indigo (Aizome) vats.

Pranesh Rao, an MGI doctoral student in the Barrick Lab, presented a Work in Progress seminar today. Rao's project aims to study the long-term E. coli evolution experiment to link specific DNA changes to how well bacteria grow.

BPS is a winter wonderland today!

Abdul-Halim Osman of the Giri Lab at Henry Ford Health is studying how phenylalanine and gut microbes shape immune responses that ultimately affect the brain in diseases like multiple sclerosis. He presented his work at this week's Work in Progress Seminar.

MGI grad student Chris Chavtur (@crchavtur97.bsky.social) of the Rowe Lab (@electromicrowe.bsky.social) gave one of this week's Work in Progress seminars.

MGI graduate student Ira Zibbu of the Barrick Lab will be speaking tonight at Biology on Tap. The talk is open to the public - see details below!

MGI PhD students Camille Boucaud & Briana Tell of the Heath-Heckman lab (@drheathheckman.bsky.social) recently presented research posters at the SICB conference in Portland, OR. Boucaud's attendance was made possible in part by the SICB Charlotte Magnum Travel Award she received. Great work!

Congratulations to Josh Lensmire, this year's recipient of the MGI Early Career Award! Yesterday, he delivered a wonderful research seminar, and today he is giving a seminar entitled "Beyond the PhD" about careers in industry.

Today's Work in Progress seminars were given by Maria Guzman of the Reguera Lab (@microgem.bsky.social) and Sarah Gonzalez Henao of the Schrenk Lab. Join us each Monday at noon in 1425 BPS to hear our grad students talk about their research!

Next up in our Micro Biography series is Bobby Zuniga, MGI's first graduate student working in a lab at @henryfordhealth.bsky.social! Read about Bobby and his research here: mgi.natsci.msu.edu/people/micro...

New pre-print from the lab! Lead by Mariia Mikhova and in collaboration with Kefei Yu’s lab @msumgi.bsky.social we dug into the molecular mechanism of class switch recombination in B cells using simultaneous RNA and protein single-molecule imaging. 1/n www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Join us for our latest "Moment of Science" with MGI undergrad Drew Johnson of the Waters Lab. Here he shows us how to culture cholera in a low-tech lab environment.

Vaughn Cooper’s new Scientific American article offers a clear look at the potential threats posed by mirror‑life. He trained with MGI's Rich Lenski @relenski.bsky.social, whose contributions to the field are referenced in the piece. Important context for a complex topic.

This week's MGI Research Seminar by given by our very own Aretha Fiebig. Her talk, entitled "Microbial Physiology in an Ecosystem Context," was delivered to a standing-room-only crowd.

Thank you to Dr. Kevin Theis of Wayne State University for delivering today's MGI Research Seminar. His talk was entitled "The hologenomics of reproduction."

Today we kicked off our Work in Progress Seminars for the spring semester with an excellent talk by Dr. Zack D. Blount (@zdblount.bsky.social). He led a terrific discussion about the morality of science and knowing when you should do something vs. knowing that you can.

Welcome back, students, and happy spring semester! We missed you!

MGI Prof. Chris Contag is a significant contributor to this work: MSU researchers have created the first human heart-like “organoids” that enable the study of atrial fibrillation. The models also enable new ways of evaluating heart development, diseases & drug responses.

New in @mbio.bsky.social : MGI PhD student Heather Murdoch of the @abramovitch.bsky.social Lab explores how TB bacteria adapt their metabolism in acidic conditions and what the changes might mean for treatment. Read it here: tinyurl.com/ybsy6hxm

Next up in our Micro Biography series is Adam Kibiloski, an MGI doctoral candidate in the Abramovitch lab (@abramovitch.bsky.social). Read more here: tinyurl.com/24cp4pzy

Congratulations to our graduates! We are so proud of you and can't wait to see the great things you will accomplish!

For more than 5 decades, MSU faculty have shared microbiology expertise with Can Tho University in Vietnam. In this new article, MGI Assoc. Prof. Emeritus & former Assoc. dept. chair Scott Mulrooney reflects on the impact of this enduring collaboration. 🔗https://tinyurl.com/36eczjwa

As part of his class, MGI 991 - Intro to Science, Asst. Prof. Zachary Blount (@zdblount.bsky.social) gives out homemade gifts to his students: Anti-critic shields and hypothesis-killing swords (foam, of course). They are a rite of passage for their experiences in the Practice of Science module.

Why are coral reefs bleaching, and what can we do to stop it? Sarah VanDiepenbos ( @sarahscientist.bsky.social ) is an MGI doctoral student working in Rob Quinn's lab, and she's trying to answer that question.

Thank you to Pei-Chung Lee of Wayne State University for delivering a fantastic MGI research seminar - the last one of the semester. Dr. Lee was hosted by @shames-lab.bsky.social.

How do HPV+ head and neck cancers spread? MGI doctoral student John Garber of the Pyeon lab (@dpyeon.bsky.social) is looking into that question, and he told us about his research at this week's Work in Progress Seminar.

Some bacteria can't be grown in a lab. So how do we study it? MGI Asst Prof Nina Wale @ninawale.bsky.social and her team have found a way using a new flow cytometry technique involving light signatures instead of labels. This could change how we understand microbial life. Published in @mSphereJ.

Congratulations to MGI Professors Sean Crosson and Rich Lenski @relenski.bsky.social for winning awards from the College of Natural Science! Read more here: tinyurl.com/mpf2hzfv

Congratulations to MGI's newest Ph.D. graduate, Dr. Alex Wessel!

🔬MGI doctoral student Julia Kelliher served as lead author on a global effort involving 248 experts from 28 countries to write guidelines standardizing environmental microbiome research. Published today in Nature Microbiology. @natmicrobiol.nature.com 🔗https://tinyurl.com/yh3dzc72

Today's Work in Progress Seminars were given by doctoral students Camille Boucaud of the Heath-Heckman Lab (@drheathheckman.bsky.social) and Rosemary Northcote of the Crosson Lab. Join us next Monday at noon in 1425 BPS to hear from our graduate students!

🌱🔬 Exciting news from the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center! MGI assoc prof Sarah Lebeis has been appointed science director, leading groundbreaking research into the plant microbiome. 🔗https://tinyurl.com/48eynzvr

Sophia Liberto, an MGI PhD student in the Hulin lab, gave a WiPS seminar about her work studying the genetic makeup of a bacteria that causes a canker disease in trees in the Prunus species. She hand-draws her research illustrations, combining her loves of art & science.

Thank you to MSU Integrative Biology Assoc Professor Ingo Braasch (@fishevodevogeno.bsky.social) for giving today's MGI research seminar!

This week's Work in Progress seminars were presented by Joel Marty of the Kaminski Lab and Le Zhan of the Wang Lab. Thank you! Join us each Monday at noon in 1425 BPS to hear our graduate students present their current research.

The Long-Term Evolution Experiment has returned home. Led by Professors Richard Lenski (@relenski.bsky.social) and Jeffrey Barrick, this groundbreaking work continues to reveal how bacteria evolve in real time. 12 flasks. 1 legacy. 🔗https://tinyurl.com/f6vjyjvr

Next up in our Micro Biography series is Abdul Osman, an MGI graduate student working in the Giri Lab at Henry Ford Health. Read more about his research and goals here: tinyurl.com/26r28dkn

Congratulations to MGI's newest Ph.D. graduate, Dr. Beth Ottosen!