About halfway through this podcast from GPB about 2024 BioLab fire. It’s a careful, multi-layered investigation of how local community was and still is impacted by release of a plume of toxic vapors from pool chemical plant off I-20 near Atlanta. Grateful for GPB and glad to be a supporter!

Microbiologist Siouxsie Wiles @siouxsiew.bsky.social has launched a fundraising campaign to cover some of the legal fees accrued in taking a case against her employer, the University of Auckland. She explains why. thespinoff.co.nz/society/01-1...

Reading conference stories reminded me of one of my first symposium experiences. Two rival groups presenting in the same session. One group’s presenter finishes a talk. A rival stands and delivers a long questment (question+comment). At the end, the presenter says, “I don’t care about that. Next!”

Georgia has a $14.6 billion reserve fund, but our governor refuses to use this money to step in during the federal shutdown and finance vitally important food aid to 1.3 million Georgians. It’s a sorry situation that so many folks need food assistance in our state. It’s even sorrier to abandon them.

Got my flu vaccine today! Didn’t get COVID vaccine yet bc I tested positive on rapid test in late September. That was interesting - I was testing because of close contact exposure. Like clockwork, I got a positive result on Day 5. But never developed symptoms.

What a fun day for Tulane University communications folks.

TLDR; The PSF has made the decision to put our community and our shared diversity, equity, and inclusion values ahead of seeking $1.5M in new revenue. Please read and share. pyfound.blogspot.com/2025/10/NSF-... 🧵

“Keyboard. How quaint.”

DeKalb County police officer killed in CDC shooting awarded Purple Heart, Medal of Honor

When I taught Micro, we talked a lot about how drug-resistant infections are a serious challenge for 21st century medicine. Standard healthcare (for example, surgical procedures) relies heavily on effective antimicrobials.

New from @agreenberg.bsky.social and me: For three years, security researchers pointed a satellite at the sky and found highly sensitive data being sent unencrypted They found: calls and texts on T-Mobile’s network; military info from the US and Mexico; in-flight Wi-Fi browsing, and a lot more

“CDC has confirmed 44 measles outbreaks in 41 states this year…The vast majority of cases were in people who were unvaccinated; 27% percent have been in children under the age of 5. About 1 in 8 measles cases have resulted in hospitalization.” Vaccination is so important to protect our communities.

Forgot to start culture

Threw away the pellet

Good grief. The first seven paragraphs of this. I’m heartbroken for the dedicated public servants at CDC. I’m heartbroken for U.S. public health. Just awful. Thinking of fed workers at other agencies, too.

I'm the incoming SSE president and am behind this idea -- if you're interested in putting together an app and have questions, pls reach out!

#BlackInMicro Week is more than just an event; it's a hub for connection. The need for strong communities like ours has never been more urgent. Donate today to show your support: tinyurl.com/GiveBiM#BlackInMicro(all links in bio) #BIMWeek2025 #HARMONY

The government shutdown interrupted CDC's disease updates, so Team Force of Infection spent our Saturday going to the websites of all 50 health departments to check on Covid-19, flu and RSV. caitlinrivers.substack.com/p/cdc-data-i...

4 October (today) is International Observe the Moon night! It's super easy to do - just head out and look up at our celestial companion who has been with us for nearly all of our time. Without it, our world would be very different. *There's a whole other world that just hangs in our sky for us*

A terrible, avoidable tragedy. Per the article, the infant was too young to get the vaccine, therefore dependent on protection from a vaccinated community. State Health Officer: “We do believe that declining vaccination rates are impacting this.”

Posted by NSF on LinkedIn: “Due to a lapse in government funding, NSF will not post content or respond to any comments/replies until the government reopens.” Confirmation of expected: non-essential functions must cease during a shutdown. NSF personnel cannot perform any official work.

DEAL ALERT: Take advantage of early bird rates for #SciWri25! For writers, editors, authors, journalists, institutional writers, communications managers, students, and anyone working to translate science for the non-scientist. Join us. Early bird rates end tomorrow, Oct. 1 sciencewriters2025.o...#SciWri25!

Published this month: Antibacterial activity of Bdellovibrio isolated from urban watersheds against Salmonella serovars responsible for outbreaks of foodborne illness. First author Yewande Ajao led this work while an ORISE postdoc fellow at USDA. journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

The new #NSF #GRFP application now excludes 1000’s of students, including those who were told they could apply this year, or who planned to apply next year. We have a new specific petition urging #NSFGRFP undo this harmful action. If you are impacted sign here: laurenkuehne.github.io/grfpChanges/

Oooh and this olivia.science/ai from bsky.app/profile/oliv...

Some recent papers/articles: 1. zenodo.org/records/1706... 2. www.chronicle.com/article/some... 3. www.wsj.com/tech/ai/ai-b... 4. www.theguardian.com/technology/2... 5. www.theverge.com/report/78717... 6. www.civicsoftechnology.org/blog/no-ai-g...

Re-upping this short thread because I am confident people have recommendations for my reading list on AI technologies and their impact on society. What should I read to be better informed?

I want to be more informed about AI, so I started a reading list. So far, I’ve read: Co-intelligence: Living and Working with AI by Ethan Mollick (2024) AI Snake Oil: What Artificial Intelligence Can Do, What It Can’t, and How to Tell the Difference by Arvind Narayanan and Sayash Kapoor (2024)

This only happens to you once

It wouldn’t bother me to focus NSF GRFP on undergrad and first-year grad students IF IF IF there was also a separate funding mechanism for “middle stage” grad students. (And this mechanism distributed funding broadly rather than concentrating it at a handful of institutions.)

NSF GRFP solicitation out. App deadlines now in November. As others noted, eligibility rules for current graduate students now exclude 2nd year grad students. See the solicitation - they’ve emphasized “first year” and “less than one academic year” in grad program. www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...

New eligibility requirements? "First-year graduate student in their first graduate degree program with less than one academic year completed in the degree program (according to institution’s academic calendar)"

So many cool posts about plasmids on my feed recently. Plasmids! My first scientific love - I did my PhD on them. I might reunite with plasmids over coffee this weekend. Read some of these new papers, catch up on what plasmids are doing these days.

I asked my SRO. He didn't know, other than it's not happening at the level of the panel. Instead, some NIH staff make that determination. They probably run all applications through an AI detector, and if it flags an application as AI developed, too bad, the application is out.

New NIH policy on AI: “Applications that are either substantially developed by AI or containing sections substantially developed by AI…will not be considered by NIH.” No explanation of how NIH will identify AI-generated proposal text.

Delighted to see our paper studying the evolution of plasmids over the last 100 years, now out! Years of work by Adrian Cazares, also Nick Thomson @sangerinstitute.bsky.social - this version much improved over the preprint. Final version should be open access, apols. Thread 1/n

The uniquely piercing agony of fighting Outlook autocorrect on spelling of people’s names. It’s Aarya, not Area! I typed it right and moved on, and you changed it while I wasn’t looking! Aarya! Aarya! NAMES WILL BE SPELLED CORRECTLY if I have to fight you like Gandalf vs the Balrog! BALROG, DAMMIT!

🚨 Microbiologists! We are recruiting Assistant / Associate Professors in 3 collaborative areas of our U. Pittsburgh School of Medicine. 1) MMG (my dept): fundamental research in med micro 2) Peds ID / I4Kids institute 3) Center for Vaccine Research 🔗 to all 3 w/info: www.linkedin.com/posts/vaughn...

ACOG reaffirms that acetaminophen is safe for managing pain and fever during pregnancy. No reputable studies support suggestions like those in HHS’s recent announcement linking acetaminophen use in pregnancy to autism; in fact, high-quality studies show no such risk. https://bit.ly/47Wxc59

This is a good read on strengths and weaknesses of generative AI for healthcare practitioners, patients, and caregivers. It’s not all or nothing. This quote stuck out: “Dhaliwal’s vision for medical A.I. recognizes the difference between diagnosing people and competently caring for them.”

Thread: Introducing GCUA v2.0 (General Codon Usage Analysis) - a Python tool for analysing codon usage patterns in DNA sequences! Originally developed in 1998, now completely rewritten with modern features. Let me walk you through what I like about this version (PLS RT) github.com/mol-evol/gcu...

‼️Don’t miss the September issue of @asm.org Journals #ApplEnvMicrobiol (#AEM), with a record number of articles. A 🧵 about my Spotlight picks journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

National assoc. for health insurance industry (AHIP) statement on vaccination coverage: Health plans will cover all immunizations recommended as of Sep 1 2025 inc. updated formulations of COVID-19 & flu vaccines with no cost-sharing for patients through 2026 Smart move for public health and $

While new ACIP is set to make its recommendations later this week, AHIP says “Health plans will continue to cover all ACIP-recommended immunizations that were recommended as of September 1, 2025, including updated formulations of the COVID-19... with no cost-sharing... through the end of 2026."

US data highlight severity of 2024-25 flu season The 2024-25 season was the highest severity flu season in more than a decade, according to a new analysis of US hospital surveillance data. www.cidrap.umn.edu/i...

Proposals are due Monday at 5pm Eastern for the Rosemary Grant Advanced Awards! These grants provide up to $3500 US in funding for PhD students. www.evolutionsociety.org/content/soci...

I really admire the author’s courage to join a neighborhood bar conversation about COVID and vaccines and share her expertise. And this is a great synopsis of common misconceptions around these topics. www.statnews.com/2025/09/06/c...

Applying to the NSF-GRFP (or another fellowship) on a tight deadline? We built a 7-week guide + timeline to get you from draft to submission. It’s not too late — you’ve got this! ✨ 🔗 cientificolatino.com/apply-in-7-weeks #NSFGRFP #GradSchool #Fellowship

The LSRF post-doc fellowship is open (due Oct 31)! The LSRF is a supportive and kind community. We *always* celebrate each other. On a personal level, they've always greeted me with open arms and an abundance of kindness. If you are thinking of applying and have questions, feel free to reach out!