This composition had eluded me for nearly a decade, but yesterday I was finally able to capture it. A train rolled through just as the Duquesne Incline was crossing over the tracks in #Pittsburgh, creating a picture perfect winter scene. It was worth the hours and hours I've waited over the years.

Emergence of hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae ST111 with a novel virulence plasmid causing pyogenic liver abscess https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.25.690365v1

Every biologist knows the story of Fleming's chance discovery of penicillin. But is it true? Here, with @asimovpress.bsky.social, I write about inconsistencies in the canonical story, and explore a few alternative theories about what really happened in that St. Mary's lab in the summer of 1928.

Phenotypic Heterogeneity Shapes Phage Resistance and Cocktail Efficacy in Klebsiella pneumoniae https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.11.687788v1

Watson’s death is a fantastic reminder that you can be intelligent without being a good person.

🦠 Small changes, big defense! Jordan Vacheron & coll. show specific SNPs in #Pseudomonas protegens CHA0 (algC & ykcC) remodel LPS to block #phage ΦGP100—while growth, competitiveness & root colonization stay intact, in lab conditions. 🧬 @unil.bsky.social 👉 buff.ly/MFOH2er

Sugar Import Suppresses Klebsiella pneumoniae Mucoidy in cAMP-CRP-dependent Manner https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.04.686645v1

Volunteers who swallowed disease-causing bacteria were less likely to get sick after an oral vaccine. https://scim.ag/4qBtYe2

The shrinking future of Ph.D.s in America Attacks on science and universities Anti-immigration wave Visa challenges It all adds up www.axios.com/2025/10/26/p...

Mark your calendars! #mmpc2026 The 2026 Midwest Microbial Pathogenesis Conference will be take place September 25-27, 2026 at the University of Minnesota! We are excited to welcome keynote speaker Dr. Andy Camilli. Give us a follow and watch for important information here ➡️ mmpc2026.umn.edu

A novel post-translational modification of fimbriae drives pathogenicity in Klebsiella pneumoniae https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.03.680091v1

UChicago Microbiology is searching for tenured or tenure-track faculty working in host-pathogens interactions, viral and bacterial pathogenesis, and emerging infectious diseases. Come join our vibrant Department! microbiology.uchicago.edu Apply here apply.interfolio.com/174404

#Perspective Estrela and Huang discuss nutrient starvation in the context of the gut microbiome, outlining what is known and highlighting key questions for future research to address knowledge gaps. #MicroSky #MicrobiomeSky 🦠 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Our story on within-host #evolution of #Klebsiella is now out in @natcomms.nature.com 🌟 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

🚨 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...

How complex functions, with important physiological and evolutionary impacts get repeatedly and efficiently transferred across genomes? That’s what we explored using one of the fastest-evolving loci in Bacteria: the capsule locus. The paper: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... Thread👇

We're far beyond the point of waiting for change. Every major party has failed to deliver the future they promised, incl. the basic necessities for the vulnerable in our society. Corruption, injustice & lack of accountability have reached intolerable levels.

C. albicans colonization is a susceptibility factor for disseminated Salmonella infection and arginine as a central metabolite in the cross-kingdom interaction between fungi, bacteria and host @nature.com www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Zinc is a critical nutrient for many bacterial pathogens. New research in #JBacteriology expands our understanding of a novel zinc transport system & provides evidence for an alternative mechanism of cell wall protein localization in C. diphtheriae. asm.social/2zf

Gut mucin fucosylation dictates the entry of botulinum toxin complexes https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.08.30.672933v1

"Focused efforts and sustained investment in novel antibacterials are needed to address #AMR priority pathogens, which include #high-burden antibiotic-resistant bacteria such as Salmonella and #Shigella spp..." @shigellameeting.bsky.social‬ #MicroSky #IDSky 🦠🧫🔬 www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

We are hiring! The Dept of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics is looking for faculty at the Assistant or Associate professor level (tenure track). Please consider joining our vibrant microbiology and immunology community at the University of Pittsburgh School of medicine

Did you miss the opportunity to submit an abstract to MMPC? We have extended the deadline to August 25! Please consider sharing your latest and greatest research! www.mmpconference2025.com/submit-an-ab...

The return of the Swiss cheese model, now for anti microbial resistance! www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

LPS O-antigen polysaccharide length impacts outer membrane permeability of enteric gram-negative bacteria https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.08.14.670410v1

First real-time human embryo implantation recorded (in 2D and 3D). Time lapse video of 2 embryos (200 μm apart) implanting in the 3D platform science.org/doi/10.1126/...

#AMR infections are surging in Gaza as health care collapses. 60% of lower-limb wounds come from explosive weapons, driving infections amid medicine shortages and destroyed labs. MSF & WHO warn: zero fully functional hospitals. #Gaza #infectiousdisease www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

This op-ed from NIH director Jay Bhattacharya is *infuriating*. He says we have to stop funding mRNA vaccine research because it hasn't "earned public trust." Motherfucker, WHO DID THAT.

Sequestration of the phagocyte metabolite itaconate by P. aeruginosa RpoN promotes successful pulmonary infection https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.08.07.669126v1

currentprotocols.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... Our new article in Current Protocols is out: Microbiologists, immunologists, host-pathogen folks: this one’s for you 🧬🦠 #Klebsiella #HostPathogen #Microbiology Huge thanks to my mentor @azmicro.bsky.social for the guidance and support!

Overexpression of Agr quorum sensing system in uropathogenic Staphylococcus aureus in response to simulated urinary metabolic conditions enhancing growth and virulence

Super excited to share our paper online 🚨today🚨 in Cell Host & Microbe‬! Xiaomei Ren @xiaomeiren.bsky.social and Mason Clark @rmasonclark.bsky.social‬ co-led discovery of ecological factors for Acinetobacter baumannii carriage in the gut, a reservoir for pathogen spread. 🎉 tinyurl.com/443kfefk

I am seeking a postdoc for my group at UCLA. We work at the intersection of population genetics x microbiome (garud.eeb.ucla.edu). If interested, please message me!

Infection and Immunity is now welcoming nominations for highly promising scientists at the assistant professor level (or equivalent) to submit research to the next New Voices in Microbiology Collection! Please nominate by the August 18 deadline using the below link: app.asm.org/account/logi...

We are on the lookout for postdocs for two different projects at the intersection of ecology, evolution, and the human microbiome. See thread for more information and reach out!

BIGSdb v1.51.4 has been released. This adds a new #Kaptive plugin for surface polysaccharide typing of Acinetobacter baumannii and Klebsiella. github.com/kjolley/BIGS... for details. Kaptive is developed by @tomstantonmicro.bsky.social, @kelwyres.bsky.social , @katholt.bsky.social and colleagues.

As Requested - A Starter Pack of PIs in Biology (or adjacent) fields who are recruiting POSTDOCS! Please don't hesitate to reach out if you wish to be added! go.bsky.app/4gbXXR3

🚨🚨NIH will only accept six new, renewal, resubmission, or revision applications from an individual Principal Investigator/Program Director or Multiple Principal Investigator for all council rounds in a calendar year grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...

According to Pitt colleague and mensch @jeremymberg.bsky.social, NIH funding remains horrifically behind. New NOA's are at 54% of FY24 Non-competitive renewals are at 66% of FY24. (My lab is in the bad fraction of both) Tell your rep to reclaim the purse! jeremymberg.github.io/jeremyberg.g...

Just published in @femsjournals.bsky.social🦠: Akkermansia muciniphila, Ruminococcus torques and Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron differ in their preferences for degradation of porcine gastric mucin O- and N-glycans. #microsky #microbiomesky #glycotime @mib-wur.bsky.social doi.org/10.1093/fems...

The United Nations warns that the fuel shortage in Gaza has reached critical levels. Fuel is the backbone of survival in #Gaza. It powers hospitals, water systems, sanitation networks, ambulances, and every aspect of humanitarian operations. 🧵

Acinetobacter phages use distinct strategies to breach the capsule barrier https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.07.10.664161v1

Staphylococcus aureus exhibits spatiotemporal heterogeneity in Sae activity during kidney abscess development https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.07.08.663646v1

This is the best explanation I've seen yet for _why_ language models prefer em-dashes (—). In brief: The tokenization scheme mean em-dashes result in a smaller loss than other, equivalent punctuation options. msukhareva.substack.com/p/the-myster...

Here's how you can help those impacted by the catastrophic flooding in Texas Hill Country, along with safety tips for dealing with flood warnings and what to do when you encounter flood waters.

It's seem like arginine is emerging as a major host cue. So we wrote an IAI minireview on how arginine levels vary between host tissues and affect microbial behavior. The review is online today! journals.asm.org/doi/epdf/10.... @brookeeryan3.bsky.social #microsky

#ResearchBriefing 🚨Out now! Cell wall stress in bacteria increases a nucleotide second messenger to reduce turgor. #MicroSky 🦠 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Our comprehensive review on bacterial transmission is out today in MMBR @asm.org, which took us ~2 years to put together. Thanks to Kim Walker @drwalkermsbanta.bsky.social and my graduate student, Giovanna Hernandez, for all the hard work they put into this review! journals.asm.org/eprint/JIVRR...

Our paper reporting a highly conserved mechanism by which arginine positively regulates hypervirulent K. pneumoniae mucoid phenotype is now fully online. rdcu.be/euiWG Summary picture is below, but details in the 🧵

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