🧪 This will blow your mind

Breaking... Very good news. A first step towards...? www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...

But as you'll find out in this story, my links to the Company go way back - I published my first ever paper in @dev-journal.bsky.social soon after my then boss @mjafreeman.bsky.social joined the Board of Directors, and my joining the Company is all thanks to @the-node.bsky.social.

According to the ever-excellent @oxfordclarion.bsky.social, Oxfordshire County Council is reviewing its use of twitter/X and experimenting with Bluesky as an alternative. Locals, maybe give them a follow... @oxfordshirecc.bsky.social

Learn more about @dev-journal.bsky.social Pathway to Independence Programme - supporting the transition of postdocs to group leaders Catch up on where the 2022 PI fellows are now Apply to become a 2026 PI fellow journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...

🧵How much should the NHS worry about this winter's flu wave? You may have seen this alarming headline on the BBC website today... I think it's too early to make this claim and the data does not support it. I think it will be a bad flu season but no evidence to think worse than previous yrs 1/8

Sometimes, even when you're used to it, Oxford takes your breath away

Christmas has arrived at the Dunn School! Season greetings to you all🎄

Belated but massive congratulations to my colleague Teresa Thurston @thurstonlab.bsky.social for this well deserved award!

Call me biased, but this is very cool It's also the first of many things you will want to read from @adamgrieve.bsky.social and his group

A great read! Fleming's discovery of the antibacterial properties of Penicillium mould cannot have happened as he described. @kevinsblake.bsky.social rounds up the evidence. Spoiler: no sign of foul play, but certainly the canonical story is almost certainly distorted.

Ten days left to apply to be a @crick.ac.uk Early Career Group Leader Closing date 27th November www.crick.ac.uk/careers-stud...

Quietly, a remarkable piece of public art is being created, which seeks to both explain the delays of the Botley Road, and share the highlights of West Oxford. We caught up with local artist Chris Shipton to hear more before its unveiling next week. oxfordclarion.uk/botley-and-t...

Please RT. Post-doc opportunity alert! 💥 closing 10th December.. Come join our team (www.thelowlab.org) at Imperial, London, working on the structure and mechanism of bacterial secretion systems. For more details and to apply please see www.imperial.ac.uk/jobs/search-...

Great profile of @dunnschool.bsky.social group leader, Girish Mali...definitely a 'scientist to watch'!

Yet another outstanding recruit to @dunnschool.bsky.social! Really looking forward to having Alex Borodavka as a new colleague

Congratulations to the Dunn School postdocs starting their independent research groups across the UK, Germany and China 🥳 - Iqbal Dulloo (@iqbaldulloo.bsky.social) - Marion Schuller (@schullerm.bsky.social) - Yongxu Lu - João Monteiro www.path.ox.ac.uk/news-article...

Wonderful thinker and communicator. I remember a seminar at Gurdon where (in my memory at least!) he gave the entire thing with only a handful of simple slides, and his narrative of what the elegant experiments showed was so lucid and compelling. Amazing career and such a warm generous person.

Oh how sad Really a towering figure, whose work laid the ground for stem cells, regenerative biology etc I go to know him well over many years and he was definitely one-of a-kind...

And an antidote to pretty much everything else currently…

It must be said though, that that story is so *North* Oxford as to look like a spoof. A part of the Oxford fabric, but still.

Ah thank you so much! It is an endless source of fascination to us what people latch on to, and what they don't. This it the original post box post (as it were). We think perhaps people just love community? Or possibly knitting.... bsky.app/profile/oxfo...

If there's anyone in Oxford who doesn't see this weekly newsletter, you are missing out on lots of local news that you won't see elsewhere Some so dull, it's cool - 30 people gather to celebrate a postbox - but genuinely always worth a look! Highly recommended

A new view of @dunnschool.bsky.social The Life and Mind Building of @ox.ac.uk has just opened and I got to see this lovely (albeit rather damp) new perspective on our original @dunnschool.bsky.social building

If there was a futures market in early career developmental biologists, I'd be buying this gang...

Congratulations Emma! @mucosalimmunology.bsky.social joint appointment with the Botnar Institute of Immune Engineering (BIIE) in Basel will link the Dunn School with a new team of world-leading bioengineers working towards novel therapies, vaccines and diagnostics. www.path.ox.ac.uk/news-article...

Come join us in Oxford! Two positions open right now in @oxfordbiochemistry.bsky.social It’s a great place to work. Really supportive colleagues, great students, colleges provide a unique social environment - in summary, it’s a lot of fun.

Did you know that the cytoplasmic domain of the pseudoprotease iRhom2 mediates distinct signaling mechanisms to control activation of the cell surface protease ADAM17? You do now Brought to you mainly by the outstanding Dr Fangfang Lu Open access, of course www.jbc.org/article/S002...

Let’s ride!

I was Chair of @biologists.bsky.social when we started this initiative, the brainwave of the @stevenkelly.bsky.social It was an imaginative idea and I am thrilled to see this landmark Remember: @biologists.bsky.social are the goodies in scientific publishing!

Fab thread about one of the (many) things one walks past in Oxford without much thought...

And then there is this... As reported, hard to imagine a worse idea for UK science, growth, innovation... www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Fingers crossed: this could make a big change in the perception and real substance of UK science and innovation (and all other talent...)

about the $100K H1B fee, here's some interesting details: "If an employee is in the U.S., he or she will not be subject if (i) applying to extend or amend H-1B status, or (ii) applying to change from another visa category into H-1B status from within the U.S."

The Company of Biologists and the British Society for Developmental Biology: a model partnership As part of the #biologists100 anniversary, Saanjbati Adhikari and Raman Das review the relationship between @biologists.bsky.social and @bsdb.bsky.social doi.org/10.1242/dev....

In honour of Postdoc Appreciation Week, here are three ways we support postdocs: 1. Since 2023, we’ve supported 24 postdocs as they transition to becoming a group leader through our Pathway to Independence programme. Meet our latest fellows: journals.biologists.com/dev/pages/pi... #NPAW2025

Three Associate Professor (or Professor) positions available at Oxford Biology. Come be my colleague! www.biology.ox.ac.uk/article/we-a...

If you are UK-based and working on any aspect of microbiomes (human, plant, insect, soil, animal, ...), please do sign up to Microbiome-Net for details of networking, funding and training opportunities. forms.office.com/pages/respon...

Another exciting opportunity @dunnschool.bsky.social ! Come and be a colleague to a great group of scientists working on the fundamental mechanisms underlying disease, and how to transform health Please help us find great applicants

Our PhD studentship programme is officially open; pass it on If you are looking for a fully-funded PhD in the mechanisms underlying human disease, here are the details... Great science and a great environment! www.path.ox.ac.uk/news-article...

Want to help inspire future generations of scientists? Are you passionate about #SciComm? We have a Public Engagement and Communications Officer (Maternity Cover) position in the LMB engagement & comms team: www.reed.co.uk/jobs/public-... Closes 21 SEP #SciCommJobs

We are excited to welcome Ingrid to the Development team. Please say hello if you spot her at a conference in the future.

Recalls a story my husband told me of when someone was presented with a self completion EDI form which just asked "Sex" wrote in "not anymore thanks, I'm 71"

Having spent significant time here, the environment and support are truly amazing, and in my opinion, the best you can have in Oxford.

Are you a postdoc interested in the mechanisms of disease? Do you have a great record and an exciting vision? Come and start your own lab @dunnschool.bsky.social by applying for sponsorship for early career fellowships. Deadline 30th September...pass it on! www.path.ox.ac.uk/work-with-us...

Carol Robinson on Desert Island Discs - have a listen friends: www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/... An inspirational scientist & friend. An example of combining scientific excellence, courage, hard work and really importantly; kindness. (Yes I’m biased, but it’s true nevertheless) @kavlioxford.bsky.social

This anon piece is as good as people are saying, but I'll summarise here for those of you interested in Higher Education but with no time: *Universities are not in the public sector *Govts are a minority funder, and matter less and less. (1/4) profserious.substack.com/p/understand...

Out stody Is now on National Geographic!!! www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/arti...

Thoughtful about challenges of postdoc-PI transition Agree with most but also to think that there IS a switch: from day 1 your team (however small) see you as different, even when you still feel the same as you did the day before But agree it strengthens over time

Interested in gene expression? How about membrane proteins? Both, you say? Then here's a job you might be interested in with Warwick's newest group leader, @iqbaldulloo.bsky.social Pass it on