For today's #MicroscopyMonday, we are highlighting Scott Chimileski's (@socialmicrobes.bsky.social‬) series featuring natural chalk formations from the White Cliffs of Dover. The first image is the electron micrograph, the second is a close-up of the chalk, and the third is the cliffs.

When a biofilm grows, it must balance between the horizontal and the vertical. It’s not unlike urban sprawl. Just like many major cities, biofilms weigh the trade-offs of vertical versus horizontal growth. www.quantamagazine.org/how-a-biofil...

Micro decisions can have macro consequences. A soft matter physicist reveals how interactions within simple cellular collectives can lead to emergent physical traits. Carrie Arnold reports: www.quantamagazine.org/how-a-biofil...

New paper: our latest findings on diversity-generating retroelements (DGRs), led by Partho Ghosh's group. It's been wonderful learning about these systems over the years with Partho and all our collaborators! And still so much left to explore 🧬🧪 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

I nominate Corynebacterium matruchotii! Organizer of dental plaque, holder of the speed record for elongation, capable of shattering into a dozen daughter cells simultaneously. @socialmicrobes.bsky.social @adaforsyth.bsky.social doi.org/10.1073/pnas... doi.org/10.1073/pnas...

The Art of Biofilm Photography: From Petri Dish to Portrait #Science 🧪

We're at #CellBio2024! Come visit us in the exhibit hall to learn more about Beautiful Biology, AI@HHMI, our joint graduate programs with Johns Hopkins, our Theory Fellow program, a fun CellMap challenge, and many open positions across all of @hhmi.bsky.social.

schaechter.asmblog.org/schaechter/2... #MicroSky

If love the smell of autoclaved LB in the morning, this is your starter pack! Reply here for an add. go.bsky.app/Mz7MTFE

Hello Blueskis. Here is a starter pack of General Microbiology. It's a small list currently. Please feel free to self-nominate and I will add you. go.bsky.app/QgSQHJ9

How does your favorite species elongate? 🧵 "Phenotypic plasticity in bacterial elongation among closely related species" by @mariedelaby.bsky.social, Liu Yang et al https://buff.ly/48Kw96x. How do cells elongate, all over, poles, middle? Close species do it the same way right? Not quite! #Microsky

Pictures Considered #64: Emergent Properties by Roberto — Some years ago, when Scott Chimileski wrote 'Life at the Edge of Sight', we wanted to present two images that displayed emergent properties of organisms expressing collective behavior. We came... Read more > tinyurl.com/bde3sar2 #MicroSky

New 🧪 research in PNAS: One of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet is closer than you think: inside your mouth! New research from the MBL uncovered an extraordinary mechanism of cell division in Corynebacterium matruchotii—multiple fission (splitting into multiple cells at once!)

New MBL research 🧪 indicates how “pink berries” and other communal bacterial structures may protect against rampant spread of disease. The study also has implications for understanding the evolution of multicellularity! www.mbl.edu/news/without...

Here's the full list of 2024 course dates and deadlines! Schedule Updates: - No 2024 Biology of Aging course - Symbiosis course dates finalized to July 19 - Aug. 21, 2024. Deadline: Feb. 1, 2024 - Molecular Mycology (MOMY) course dates CHANGED to July 17 - Aug. 12, 2024. Deadline: March 6, 2024

Origins of Multicellularity Revisited by Roberto – In the early years of STC, Elio wrote two posts on multicellularity. Why? Because "we lovers of microbes delight in the complexity of multicellular bacteria such as the actinomycetes, the myxobacteria, ... Read more > tinyurl.com/5n8s75ak #MicroSky

Surrounded by Antibiotic Resistance by Mechas   Most of us have at some point used antibiotics. These "miracle drugs" stop infectious bacteria from growing out of control, essentially curing us from what could be fatal infections. But antibiotics are... Read more → tinyurl.com/mr3p9r83 #MicroSky 🦠🧫

Spatiotemporal development of growth and death zones in expanding bacterial colonies driven by emergent nutrient dynamics https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.08.27.554977v1