A lone astronaut in a race to save the Sun from a mysterious microorganism. ☀️ The premise of Project Hail Mary is gripping, but the science is just as fascinating. We looked at what’s fact, what’s fiction, and what’s still unknown. 🧪

I went to see Project Hail Mary yesterday and it was fantastic!! Highly highly recommend - and if you were interested in the science behind the story, check out my article below

Project Hail Mary is released in the UK next week - I recently read the book it's based on and was fascinated by the world of microbiology Andy Weir built in the book, so I wrote about it! medium.com/@jcihorton/6...

Great to be at the CMI Annual Conference and presenting a poster about my PhD project! If you're here, be sure to come find me at poster 33 #CMINorwich26 @norwichmicro.bsky.social

Last Saturday, I was invited to do a talk at Norwich Science Festival's #OutThinkers: an event all about LGBTQ+ people in STEM. Thanks to @samfrowe.bsky.social for the invite and @prideinstem.bsky.social for sponsoring! (and sorry @drcarpineti.bsky.social for saying I didn't like physics 🤣)

@jcihorton.bsky.social one of our students based at @quadraminstitute.bsky.social completed his mandatory PIPS with @rigb.org, gaining valuable experience in science communication. Read about his engaging experience ⬇️ biodtp.norwichresearchpark.ac.uk/student-stor...

"My internship with the @rigb.org digital team was an eye-opening experience that has reinforced my love for science communication and has given me many valuable skills for the digital world." 💬 PhD student @jcihorton.bsky.social

It was great to be invited back to a local primary school recently to deliver science outreach sessions to Y2 students! We introduced them to the wonderful world of microbiology through an interactive games and hands-on experiments Many thanks to all who volunteered 🧪🦠 #scicomms #outreach

Last week, the QSF organised the annual Student Science Showcase! This was a great opportunity for students at @quadraminstitute.bsky.social to present their work We were glad to welcome back Dr. Bushra Schuitemaker to QIB as Keynote Speaker: talking about her PhD, research, and life in industry

🆕 Blog! PhD student Joshua Horton reflects on his internship at science communication charity @rigb.org and exploring different career options outside of academic research ⤵️ buff.ly/38lDgRH

Did microbiology choose Norwich, or did Norwich choose microbiology? 🧫 We talked to PhD students who share 4 reasons to study microbiology in Norwich, including: 🦠 A large microbiology hub 👣 Follow the footsteps of famous microbiologists @norwichmicro.bsky.social

I'm doing a talk for the Norwich Science Festival in an event called OutThinkers! Sat 21st Feb 7pm-9:30 It's about LGBTQ+ people in STEM, talking about their science and being LGBTQ+. Tickets are completely free - see you there! norwichsciencefestival.co.uk/whats-on/out...

Aliens, autopsies and a whole lot of hot air 🎈 We visited our friends at the National Space Centre to learn how this fake alien tells a very real story about secrecy, science and sensational headlines. Alien head on loan from the Charles Fort Institute

Since October, I've been busy at work creating digital content as part of my Digital Media internship with @rigb.org. I've written a few blogs, created reel videos from start to finish, and even made my own podcast episode! All whilst promoting the Christmas Lectures. Examples in this thread

Students from the Norwich Bioscience Institutes met last Friday for a Student Formal organised by the student committees - it was a great night celebrating our achievements over the past academic year (and an opportunity to get glammed up!)

Really great to work with @emmarholden.bsky.social and @webberma.bsky.social on this paper - out now! We looked into how Salmonella Typhimurium responds to food preservative stresses, using TraDIS-Xpress of course! (Also, first ever authorship ✅) www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/jour...

Last week, we went pottery painting (in what has become an annual event!) Mugs, plates, bowls, and a motorcycle(?) were decorated with a whole host of different designs - and it was a great opportunity to unwind!! 🖌️🎨

Was great to join with other scientists at the Norwich Research Park in our tie-dye lab coats at this year's #NorwichPride. Such an important event that I was glad to be a part of

I’m petrified about today’s science news. Genetically modifying crabs to have cheetah genes? This could go sideways fast.

Excited to be attending the ECR Symposium on Microbial Genomics organised by @microbesng.bsky.social @norwichmicro.bsky.social #MNGPopUp

On the 13-15th June, we hosted our annual student retreat in Southwold! We all had a great time relaxing and enjoying a break from PhD work - swimming, having a BBQ, a murder mystery night, and a beach trip 🏖️

Last week I had a great time at Pint of Science talking about all things biofilm! I spoke about why biofilm research is important and how it affects your every day life. Thanks to all the organisers for this fab experience!! #pint25 @pintofscience.uk @quadraminstitute.bsky.social

🆕 Blog! We hear from some of our researchers about their experience of attending the #Biofilms11 conference which brought together experts in biofilms 🦠 ➡️ buff.ly/rgQkywB @dr-bilal-djeghout.bsky.social @jcihorton.bsky.social ‬ @hoyuliu.bsky.sociall

@pintofscience.uk @jcihorton.bsky.social underway

✨️ #pint25 is starting today!✨ 3 nights of fun science talks for everyone in pubs, come meet & chat with scientists! 👀🎟 Discover the programme and grab your tickets here pintofscience.co.uk 🗓️ 19-21 May 2025 📍45 locations across the UK 👓 400 events

It's TODAY!! Still some tickets available :)

Happy to be in Cardiff for #Biofilms11 !! Come find me at poster 9 to chat about Salmonella biofilm formation 🦠🧫

No-context sneak previews of my Pint of Science talk about all things biofilm - happening ✨THIS MONTH✨ 🕐When: Mon 19th May, doors open 7pm 📍Where: The Whalebone, Norwich, NR3 4BA 🎫Grab your tickets here: pintofscience.co.uk/event/sticki...

Biofilms: From Helpful Habitats to Healthcare Headaches🦠 🗣️ Join @jcihorton.bsky.social & other researchers across the Norwich Research Park for an exciting evening uncovering the world of biofilms as part of @pintofscience.uk🍺 🗓️ Monday 19 May 📍 Whalebone pub, Norwich Book now➡️ buff.ly/PUOWxxz

🆕 @pintofscience.uk tickets are now sale! 🎫 Join our researchers across pubs and venues across #Norwich to discover more about our latest food, health and gut microbiome research ⤵️

"Recently, I had the privilege of organising and leading outreach activities for Year 1 and Year 2 children at West Earlham Infant and Nursery School, introducing them to the fascinating world of #microbiology." 💬 @jcihorton.bsky.social

Excited to announce that I will be speaking at this year's Pint of Science about all things biofilm! If you're Norwich-based, feel free to come along (with your non-sciency friends and family!!) pintofscience.co.uk/event/sticki... #pint25

🆕 PhD student @jcihorton.bsky.social reflects on his recent experiences planning and delivering science outreach sessions at a local primary school in Norwich ⤵️

This was a fab opportunity to speak with so many great people working on improving research culture and EDI. I'm really proud to be part of an institute that really values the importance of such initiatives

Had a great time yesterday and some brilliant discussions with students/staff at other BBSRC institutes! If you didn't catch me yesterday, I'm around at lunch again :)

Excited to be invited to the #BBSRC Connecting Research Culture conference at @earlhaminst.bsky.social today as part of my role in @quadramsf.bsky.social The committee have a poster about our work establishing a student community @quadraminstitute.bsky.social - come find us at lunch time! ☺️

The Showcase was the final project I led as Chair of @quadramsf.bsky.social - it was a great success and really showed off the brilliant research being produced by students at the institute!! 😊 Now Heloise takes over as Chair of QSF - best of luck to her 💕

The showcase really highlighted the contribution of student science at @quadraminstitute.bsky.social . Here's a little blog summarising the day :)

Really excited for the first annual CMI conference - some great talks lined up over the next 2 days #CMINorwich25 @norwichmicro.bsky.social

I recently organised and delivered outreach sessions at a local primary school, teaching Year 1 and 2 children about microbes, antibiotics, and handwashing (using agar plates!) I really enjoyed it and hopefully it inspired the next generation of scientists 🤔

All the hard work paid off yesterday - Student Science Showcase showed off the great research going on at @quadraminstitute.bsky.social . Thanks to all those involved! I also had the opportunity to present my first poster of my PhD

This couldn't have happened without the QSF committee! Thank you to them for all their help -Josh

We also were happy to welcome our keynote speaker @stewartlab.bsky.social from @newcastleuni.bsky.social to speak about his work on diet-microbe-host interactions in early life as well as his career progression and advice for our student collective

Yesterday we held the Student Science Showcase, with some great talks and posters from the student community at @quadraminstitute.bsky.social

The committee and I have been working hard on this for a while - super excited to see all the talks on Monday! 😄And if that wasn't enough, just to add to all the stress, I'll be presenting my first poster from my PhD! 🙃

It was great to have so many students at our annual Christmas meal yesterday! We hope everybody has a lovely festive period and a well deserved break 😊🎄

It was an honour to meet Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal during her visit to @quadraminstitute.bsky.social today. I really enjoyed talking to her about my work as both a PhD student and Chair of the @quadramsf.bsky.social

Does anybody have cool photos/videos of bacteria that you'd be willing to share? (be it microscopes, agar plates, anything really!) I'm doing an outreach session with an infant school, talking to them about good and bad bacteria and I need more cool visuals to show them 😊 DMs are open #scisky

Some great talks so far at the @quadraminstitute.bsky.social Annual Science Meeting! Brilliant to see the range of research going on at the institute

As Chair of QSF, I'm really proud of what we do! We've organised a few events for the rest of the year, and planning for our student showcase is underway 😄 Find out more about what we do in the thread and blog post below 💕