What a fantastic & inspiring visit! Thanks for taking a break from your sabbatical to drop by Madrid and letting us pick your brain. Your talk at @cnb-csic.bsky.social on pushing the limits of standard biochemistry for the sake of containment was spectacular, so many new avenues 👏

Glad to welcome @kunjapur.bsky.social to the @cnb-csic.bsky.social to enjoy his seminar on his latest research in Synthetic Biology!

Es algo trágico que las historias de éxito de la Biología Sintética más publicitadas no sean la solución de grandes problemas como la energía, la agricultura o el medio ambiente como prometía en su día, sino las petunias luminiscentes y la desextinción de especies perdidas elpais.com/ciencia/2025...

Our Framing Talks from the Biotech Beyond Conventional Containment workshop, part of the #CaltechBioPolicyInitiative, held at @caltech.edu earlier this month are all posted here (in addition to the @caltechlcssp.bsky.social 's YouTube channel: www.biotech-beyond-containment-caltech2025.org/videos

At our #BioPolicyInitiative's "Biotech Beyond Conventional Containment: A Workshop on Policy & Governance," @vdlorenzo.bsky.social, @cnb-csic.bsky.social in Madrid intro'ed environmental galenics—adapting principles of pharma delivery to ensure precise & purposeful deployment of engineered microbes

One added value of a quick sortie to Valencia to discuss science with my colleagues of the @i2sysbio.es 👇

The scientific & ethical legacy of the late Ioannis Economidis—a champion of Env Biotech & SynBio at the @ec.europa.eu —is captured in this article, based on his last lecture. A testament to an exceptional mind & a remarkable human being enviromicro-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Pls share: A postdoctoral research position is available in the group of Prof. Dr. Kirsten Jung at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Germany focusing on SRBs (www.bio.lmu.de/en/research/...)

IMILI regional Center in Latin America is led by Max Chavarria. (www.chavarrialab.com/imilicac). Visit the website to discover the microbial world in Spanish.

Víctor de Lorenzo inaugura el Ciclo Iberoamericano de Conferencias FlavoGreen–Talks 🌱  Un espacio que reúne a referentes iberoamericanos para promover el intercambio y la colaboración en torno a la biología sintética y la biotecnología aplicada a la sostenibilidad. Más info ⬇️⬇️

Customs & Homeland Protection officers have become v picky lately with shipments of @sevaplasmids.bsky.social to US labs, demanding lots of documents for materials we provide free of charge. This takes working time than we cannot afford. If this persists, we may have to suspend shipments to US ☹️

Here some ideas on releasing Lab-trained microorganisms to the environment as bioremediation agents—my talk at the recent Workshop in Caltech on *Biotech beyond containment* @caltechlcssp.bsky.social youtu.be/PXIv0GIM2zE?... More videos in www.biotech-beyond-containment-caltech2025.org/videos

1/2 POV re GMO debate & risks of their release. What truly separates natural from non-natural engineered constructs is not genetics per se (i.e., whether DNA is recombinant or not), but biochemistry — the use of alternative amino acids, xeno-DNA, NTN reactions, mirror metabolisms and the like.

If you are curious about how to go from a School student's project to creating a spinoff company for bioremediation and valorization of plastic waste, don't miss today's the impromptu seminar with Samuel Baker and Gabriel DeGaglia at 12 h in room B6 of the CNB.

The recently published report on Biosecurity by Drew Endy et al in the context of contemporary & future Biotech & SynBio is worth every word. Check it out 👉🏻 www.hoover.org/research/bio...

Are you a rising start—or know one? Check the *Rising Stars Symposium* organized by the IBFG (Salamanca) to identify & attract young researchers—mainly postdocs—who could join the institute in the future or establish their own research groups here. Check readymag.website/u1842310954/... for info 👇

1/3 To those interested in microbial iron & metal transport: In 1992, the late JB Neilands (UCB), the pioneer in the study of Fe transport entrusted me with his collection of purified siderophores from a wide range of microbes—many of them unique chemical species that can no longer be reproduced

Crazy World! In the same week I was in Los Angeles (California) and in Los Angeles (San Rafael, Segovia). The landscape looks a bit different, however—although not altogether alien 🤩

Predatory practices plague modern science, but the origins & reasons of their success can be identified—and solutions exist. Instead of blacklists, funding agencies should foster accreditation systems. See analyses & proposals of the EAM Task Force of @femsmicro.org on the matter shorturl.at/gVXJR

This is veering into the surreal, if not the downright dystopian. It is as if a handful of alien concepts were fused into a single sentence and uttered without hesitation … ☹️

Université Grenoble Alpes opens a full professorship in microbiology in 2026. The selected candidate will develop their research program on quantitative approaches in microbiology in the Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire de Physique. More info: liphy.univ-grenoble-alpes.fr/en/join-us/r...

Our paper, describing how the T6SSs of P. putida shape the tomato rhizosphere, is now in its final format in @isme-microbes.bsky.social ISME Communications. If you'd like to learn more, here is a thread (1/11) or read the Article doi.org/10.1093/isme....

Off to @caltechlcssp.bsky.social to follow up the conversation started past Feb in Asilomar on *Biotech Beyond Conventional Containment*. Time to rethink the (now banned) release of Lab-trained microorganisms for extensive environmental remediation in view of new genet technols & urgent global needs

Pleased to announce that our book on the evolution of biological agency is now available, thanks to @templetonfdn.bsky.social It condenses +2 years of discussions between a philosopher and a biochemist, including our conversations in the Jardí Botànic @uv.es @ehu.eus @i2sysbio.es @dicv.csic.es

#MISB (@csic.es-UIMP ) Design meets evolution: Theory and practice Víctor de Lorenzo (@vdlorenzo.bsky.social), @cnb-csic.bsky.social  📅Oct 3 ⏰11am The seminar will take place at CIB and additionally streamed online 🔗https://rediris.zoom.us/meeting/register/ZmrXKHmFSHqyxE65O3wvRQ#/registration

It is a scandal that many groundbreaking ideas capable of transforming medicine, agriculture & environment are stifled—not by a lack of ingenuity but by the rampant greed of IP holders that strangles sci & and tech progress. This stranglehold must be broken to allow knowledge serving the public good

Los jabalíes vuelven a hacer de las suyas en el campus de la @uam.es

Relentless childhood curiosity—sometimes annoying to those around—often heralds a future in research. For me, a turning point was watching as a kid the classic 1940 film about young Edison, which sparked my fascination with science and inventiveness 😱

Nuevos Cursos SEM on line: 1. Biodeterioro y biodegradación: shorturl.at/jTsvp 2. Bioseguridad en los laboratorios de microbiología: shorturl.at/tkz6s 3. Control de virus emergentes: shorturl.at/WWZZM 4. Técnicas independientes de cultivo en microbiología de los alimentos: shorturl.at/AcvOj

Microbial communities can harbor many species that do not coexist in pairs, yet can coexist in the full community. Here we provide the mathematical foundations of emergent coexistence, and explain why it can't be predicted from pairwise tests www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

The very 1st #Course on #SynBio & #Metabolic #Engineering of #Pseudomonas at Cold Spring Harbor Asia successfully completed in Suzhou, #China! Excellent group of students & lecturers, w/time for culture, food & stand-up paddling alongside the science—thanks to all who participated & stay tuned 4+!

Welcome to the social media account of the International Microbiology Literacy Initiative (IMiLI). Nearly 1,000 researchers freely contribute to the IMiLI project integrating microbiology into education providing downloadable resources for all. Explore at imili.org

Can synthetic biology help save endangered ecosystems? Our new paper with @vmaull.bsky.social explores how engineered genes can spread through soil microbes. We model how synthetic gene transfer can support biodiversity. @vdlorenzo.bsky.social @guimaguade.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

A ghost in the machine? It appears when parts merge, a new logic takes hold, and a higher-level individual emerges. Life showed it in eukaryogenesis. Humans and AI could unwittingly stumble into something similar.

We just opened the Bluesky account of the International Microbiology Literacy Initiative (IMiLI) headed by Ken Timmis. Follow us to know more about the initiative or even better become one of our volunteers to bring Microbiology to kids all ages around the world 🦠 🏫

Who is afraid of HGT? True, antibiotic resistances disseminate through it. But we can also leverage the same channels for spreading good stuff at a very large scale and fortifying the env microbiome with beneficial activities www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... by Victor Maull & @ricardsole.bsky.social

Once upon a time Desk Editors quietly fixed minor issues in accepted papers to ensure format compliance. Now, even the smallest formatting slip sends a ms back to the authors for trivial corrections. Is this really about maintaining standards—or just saving salaries of those used to handle this 🤔?

Worse when the cancellation is a few days or hours before. Always count with a 10% last-minute no-show—and have backups handy 😅

You made us feel valued, supported, and confident that with the right guidance we can achieve anything. A special thank-you to my instructor, Daniel Volke, for sharing his expertise and techniques with our team and for celebrating even our smallest wins. 100% recommended! Lifetime experience

Grateful to the organizers @vdlorenzo.bsky.social @pabnik.bsky.social, instructors, and host @cshlaboratory.bsky.social of the CSH-Asia workshop. It was an incredible experience for young scientists diving into synthetic biology and the metabolic engineering of Pseudomonas. (1/n)

Andrew was more than a good researcher—he was a sage. He was able to uniquely fuse timeless wisdom with cutting-edge scientific thinking in his daily life. Even online, we shared many good vibes and great conversations. He will be deeply missed. Sit tibi terra levis.

Random thoughts after visiting the impressive facilities of Suzhou Sci Park & massive investments in SynBio. What's the ultimate bottleneck for the field to deliver its promise—individual creativity & bold ideas, or large infrastructures for high-throughput exploration of the bio-solution space 🤔?

Related: www.cam.ac.uk/research/new... Very interesting research

PFAS are often considered forever chemicals ie virtually impossible to biodegrade. Howeve bond dissociation energy of C-F is ~ 450 kJ/mol (~ 100 kcal/mol), while N≡N triple bond is way up: 941 kJ/mol (225 kcal/mol). If bacteria can break N≡N, give them time—and/or GM-them—and will break C-F also 💪🏻!

Europeans take pride in showing visitors their old but well preserved cathedrals. The Chinese love to show their historic gardens eg the ones in Suzhou we went to visit today. It is a thought-provoking contrast: the ambition of permanence vs enjoying ephemeral beauty here and now 🤔

Please repost! Postdoc in adaptive laboratory evolution and C1 synthetic metabolism! Location: DTU Biosustain 🦠🧬🔬 Starting in 01/2026! Fell free to reach out if you have questions! efzu.fa.em2.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...

Spanish schools to teach pupils how to cope with #climatecrisis disasters - Children as young as three will have lessons on wildfires and flooding www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...

Sub-cellular chemical mapping in bacteria using correlated cryogenic electron and mass spectrometry imaging Congrats Hannah Ochner and authors on this important paper! Strong collaboration with @kiranrpatil.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/... @mrclmb.bsky.social @wellcometrust.bsky.social

Will humans and AI coevolve in the future? As interdependencies grow, the two could come to function not merely as interacting agents, but as an integrated evolutionary individual. Check this paper in @pnas.org by @mkhochb.bsky.social & P Rainey @sfiscience.bsky.social www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Bio-desulfurization of fossil fuels has been a classic env biotech challenge for decades, but the field became stagnant for a while … until @pglekas.bsky.social et al leveraged SynBio tools to develop superior whole-cell catalysts enviromicro-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... 😱