Got this one right in my bracket…

Please, listen till the end to this glorious statement: “There were no books”.

Darwin’s feelings seem more relatable with each passing day. 😑

Thank you to all the wonderful folks at Johns Hopkins Environmental Health & Engineering and my host @shilvashrestha.bsky.social for a great visit! What a terrific group working to advance environmental health science. Onwards and upwards!

New paper out! We sat down and compiled all viral work in marine sediments. The water column has been getting a second look for viral interactions, its time for sediment to have the same! journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

‼️The February issue of ASM Journals #AppEnvMicro #AEM is out and, with it, the articles I picked for the Spotlight. A 🧵 in the comments 👇 doi.org/10.1128/aem....

New preprint from my lab‼️ We describe how cations in the media remodel the Geobacter envelope for reciprocal control of cytochrome-loaded vesicles and conductive pili. Important phenomenon to understand discrepancies in the literature about the true nature of nanowires. doi.org/10.21203/rs....

The “boys’ club’ is alive and well. Just ask any woman in academia.

Interesting reflections on academia, its deficit in psychological safety, unrealistic performance expectations, and the need for transformational leadership to protect focus, interpret external chaos, and foster that missing psychological safety. www-oms--lab-org.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.oms-...

🧵 After years out of the field, I and my lab are again working on bacterial type IV pili. We have just posted our first preprints, and I'm excited to share what we have discovered. This shows Neisseria gonorrheae bacteria infecting a human epithelical cell. Here, you can see the pili in red. 1/

Happy Valentine’s Day to all scientists and, most especially, those that share my love for applied and environmental microbiology and our beloved @asm.org journal #AEM ❤️ 🌹 Roses are red 🦠 Science is rad 📓 Submit to #AEM 💡 For environmental and applied

On this International Day of Women and Girls in Science, I want to take a moment to celebrate the wonderful women in the editorial board of Applied and Environmental Microbiology at @asm.org Journals. It is an honor to work with them. Onward and upward! #WomenInScience #AEM #ApplEnvironMicrobiol

I have entered the phase of Michigan winter when I ask the same question that Bad Bunny asked in ‘Nueva Yol’: “Y este frío, ¿cuándo se acaba?”

We have come such a long way since the early pandemic days…

#Microgem quote #19 “Peace is not just the absence of conflict; peace is the creation of an environment where all can flourish regardless of race, color, creed, religion, gender, class, caste or any other social markers of difference.” —Nelson Mandela

New #ApplEnvMicrobiol #AEM issue alert‼️ Wonderful science to end the month of January, starting with the Spotlights 👇 @asm.org Journals, Applied and Environmental Microbiology, #AppEnvMicro doi.org/10.1128/aem....

Why, oh, why? 🥶 (-13F, -25C)

#Microgem quote #18 “To those who can hear me, I say – do not despair. The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed – the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress.” — Charlie Chaplin

💔

· #AcademicSky · #EduSky · #AI · “When people rely on large language models to summarize information on a topic for them, they tend to develop shallower knowledge about it compared to learning through a standard Google search.”

Those of us in higher education have witnessed the alarming increase in food insecurity among students. Campus food pantries are a temporary fix but more is needed from universities to ensure that our students do not have to choose between food and education.

"They found the coats on Thursday morning. Fifteen winter coats. Good ones, not garbage. Hanging on the chain-link fence outside Lincoln Elementary.No note. No explanation. Just coats zipped up like ghosts waiting for bodies. Principal Morris freaked out. Called the police. "Could be stolen"

On behalf of the dedicated team of editors and staff at #AppliedandEnvironmentalMicrobiology (#AEM), thank you for a wonderful year of science and scholarship. See you all on when our offices open back on Jan 5. Until then, happy holidays!

‼️And to wrap up 2025 at ASM Journals, here is the December issue of #AppliedandEnvironmentalMicrobiology (#AppEnvMicro #AEM). An outstanding slate of articles to end the year on a high note, starting with our featured articles. 🧵 Thread in the comments ⬇️ doi.org/10.1128/aem....

Linguistic bias is complex and plural: it may manifest alone or in combination with other biases, such as those associated with economic, geographical and [checks notes] racial perceptions.

Of course. Visibility is key. Also, when comparable papers exist in such different journals, people cite the one from the top journal, to give off the idea that their own work is more impactful ("look, the work I do is related to that done in glam journals!")

Prestige by association is less beneficial than looking at the impact of individual papers "Most researchers would receive more recognition if assessed by article-level metrics than by journal-level metrics" @plosbiology.org Why are we still stuck on #journal impact factors? #JIF #ALMs 🧪

My editorial on linguistic bias and its hidden toll on global science is out‼️ This editorial expands on a web article I wrote for the American Society for Microbiology and extends content on the benefits and limitations of generative AI tools used in academic publishing. doi.org/10.1128/aem....

Big thanks to @rocknmicrobe.bsky.social for hosting me at the 2025 Microbiology Research Symposium at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Fantastic program supporting the next generation of microbiologists. Onward and upward! 🙌

English edition of the @elpais.com article that recounts the fall from Clarivate’s grace of the Elsevier mega-journal Science of the Total Environment. english.elpais.com/science-tech...

Two days of cooking, two oven burns in my hands, and a successful Thanksgiving Day with family and friends. Next!

We celebrate Thanksgiving with a new issue of #AppEnvMicro in ASM Journals‼️ And, as appetizers, these fantastic articles I selected for the Spotlight section (see 🧵 in the comments below). doi.org/10.1128/aem....

How does linguistic bias reinforce privilege in science? #AppEnvMicro Editor in Chief @microgem.bsky.social offers insights and discusses how reviewers can identify it to support a more equitable review process. Read the article: asm.social/2Hp #COPE #PublicationIntegrity

My latest on linguistic bias‼️ When non-native English speakers face rejection not for their science, but for their perceived proficiency in the language, we slow scientific progress. The hidden cost? Delayed discoveries, narrowed perspectives, and loss of global talent. asm.org/articles/202...

A Special Collection on Agricultural Biotechnology at #AppEnvMicro (#AEM) in ASM Journals‼️ This was one of my strategic goals for AEM this year. Why? See 🧵 in the comments. journals.asm.org/journal/aem/...

❗️ The October issue of ASM Journals Applied and Environmental Microbiology (#AEM) is out. Another record of published output and 6 fantastic editorial picks to get a taste of what the issue brings. A 🧵 about each spotlight in the comments. doi.org/10.1128/aem....

It’s boiling in October because you’re using ChatGPT to write your emails, Janice.

PI, senior graduate student, new graduate student

Lost in the many news of last week was this press release about the dissolution of the DOE Office of Science advisory committees and replacement with a new, integrated, single Office of Science Advisory Committee (SCAC): www.energy.gov/science/arti...

#Microgem #17 “You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” —Jane Goodall

‼️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/...

BEAUTIFUL

Many women increasingly experience upward bullying as they move through the ranks. Important read 👇 “Upward bullies are not interested in solving issues; they love creating conflict and thrive on being the architect of disharmony in the workplace.“ theupwardbully.com

Aw, the mouth pipette technique that some of us were taught early on in our careers. As a postdoc, my PhD advisor got gingivitis after using that technique to transfer spirochete cultures. That was all I needed to hear to never try it again. #LabSafety #PhDLife

The August issue of Applied and Environmental Microbiology #AEM is out! Another wonderful cover (a squid hatchling!) and fantastic articles. 🧵 Here are the spotlights… journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

Community journals support our community. Welcome to my #AEM talk! 😁

The Berniebéu 😂

Really proud tthat my group's recent #AppEnvMicro paper is a Spotlight article. Great recognition of work by two group members with outstanding support from @udelaware.bsky.social core facilities. 🦠🔬🧪 @asm.org @microgem.bsky.social @stephdagostino.bsky.social journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...