PhD students’ taste for risk mirrors their supervisors’ www.nature.com/articles/d41...

📢 JOB OPPORTUNITY We are hiring a Research Technologist (Advanced Professional) to design, implement, support, analyze, and report on rigorous research in genetics, entomology, and host-microbe interactions. Please consider and share with others in need. psu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/PSU_Staff/jo...

Tracking the details of an experiment in successively cited Methods sections

In this week’s @science.org cover article, we discover tree bark is a hidden habitat for abundant, diverse, and specialized microbial life that actively regulate our climate 🦠. Bark isn't just an inert armor of tree but an active interface for climate and biodiversity www.science.org/eprint/7H9PX...

Good summary of lack of evidence and potential for harm of components of the recommended diet www.technologyreview.com/2026/01/08/1... by @jesshamzelou.bsky.social

Apparently you can use your morning coffee as a substitute for uranyl acetate in EM prep! ☕️ www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Population bottlenecks shape the evolution of #cooperative traits in #Myxococcus via #LifeCycle trade-offs. @iamsamayp.bsky.social &co show that stringent bottlenecks favor growth & sporulation, while relaxed bottlenecks favor predation & germination @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/3N1nia7

If you work on Dark Oxygen --> come to #AbSciCon2026 this year. 17-22 May, Madison Join our session on ""Dark Oxygen" Production: where does it happen, how does it work, and what does it mean for astrobiology?" Submit your abstract until January 14 More info here: agu.confex.com/agu/abscicon...

Of course, why wouldn't agar also impact AMR genes too. Everything's a variable, lol. Good preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Happy New Year from the Rubin Lab! 🎇  We're excited to start 2026 off with a fresh publication at @science.org Advances. Here, we identified a cast (😉) of host factors affecting VchCAST using genome-wide screens and validated their improvement or inhibition of CAST activity. (1/2)

I have a postdoc position in metagenomic exploration available in my group. Candidates with documented experience in phylo & metagenomics and preferably with petabase-scale data mining and GLM workflows are encouraged to apply. Come join us! 🧬🦠💻 Please repost Apply here: www.wur.nl/en/vacancy/p...

A very interesting and thorough review of how nature became the journal it is today

How did @Nature become "prestigious" to scientists? In our opening article of Issue 09, writer Robert Reason traces the journal's history. By understanding how Nature’s prestige was constructed, we can also clarify which elements are deserved and which are entrenched.

I am an American, and I am ashamed today. This aggression beyond our borders is unacceptable, and I am so so sorry.

Nature research paper: Programmable 200 GOPS Hopfield-inspired photonic Ising machine go.nature.com/44uHebk

In the second edition of our New Microbes Discovered in 2025 series, Sarah Wettstadt explores newly discovered viruses from this year and how they're expand our understanding of viral evolution and potential applications. #NewMicrobes Read the full blog: buff.ly/Wex6G6p

Available Postdoc position in my lab to advance ASO technology for biotechnology, food production, infectious diseases, environmental microbiology & more. Looking for specialists in these areas with an interest in RNA applications. Involves numerous national & international collaborations.

Microbiome fans: let's start a campaign to get @symbionticism.bsky.social on the #HotOnes show to discuss the gut microbiome w/ Sean Evans. Maybe comparing their respective gut microbiome results on video! A before and after analysis? @firstwefeast.bsky.social #SpiceLordsMicrobiomeEdition @asm.org

I send each guest on my #MattersMicrobial podcast a little package of #MicrobialCentrism mementos. Today I received a care package of mementos from the Center for Biofilm Engineering in Bozeman via recent guest Dr Matthew Fields. Very grateful!!! @ASMicrobiology @univpugetsound @microbe.tv

DAY 82 SPECIES 82 - Candidatus Electrothrix gigas STAGE: Bacteria MEDIUM: Chromatek watercolor and paper, QoR watercolor, Writech pen NOTES: Very interesting subject today! So much can be written about this fascinating little guy! 😀

STAGE COMPLETE, NEW ERA! 🦠✔️ I'd like to shine a light on others doing good work with bacteria. If you are a scientist, science communicator or an artist working with bacteria, introduce yourself and what you're working on below! 🙂 #SciArt #Microbiology #Bacteriology #SciComm #ScienceSky

DAY 195 SPECIES 195 - Haloquadratum walsbyi STAGE: Archaea MEDIUM: Arches Paper. Chromatek, HWC Watercolor. Sakura pen Haloquadratum walsbyi translates to Salt Square #sciart #watercolor #archaea #painting #art #paint

I am very excited to announce that a fully funded PhD position is available in my group. Topic: Synergistic coevolution in mono-specific and multi-species microbial consortia Please RT or forward this information to interested candidates. Deadline: 11.01.26 More info: shorturl.at/f1TuF

Late job posting: My department is hiring a tenure-track faculty member in microbiology! Please share with anyone interested in working at a PUI. We have a preference for someone who can teach Medical Microbiology, but other than that the focus is open-ended. Happy to answer qs.

Are you a long-time fan of Archaea, an extremophile-phile, or are you simply curious? Either way, we have good news. We’re delighted to announce the 2026 EMBO Workshop on Archaea, 6–10 July. Sign up: meetings.embo.org/event/26-arc... We look forward to seeing you in Cambridge, UK. Please repost!

The story is based on data presented at the NHLBI Advisory Council meeting. The data show that the Early Stage Investigator funding rate declined from 29.8% in FY2023 to 26.1% in FY2024 to a stunning 18.5% in FY2025. 2/4

Great time to be a new PI 🤦🏾‍♀️ www.statnews.com/2025/12/18/n...

Who wants to spend $1,000 for something you can build for $50? Arduino to the rescue #sciencehack #diyscience #arduino #EnvironmentalMicrobiology

This is a great one to watch and learn about biofilms!

💾 Prokka 1.15.6 is released! This is the last major release of Prokka. But don't be sad, because @oschwengers.bsky.social already has an excellent replacement called Bakta you can migrate to. #bioinformatics #microbiology #genomics github.com/tseemann/pro...

Part 2 of our #SeqCode video series is here! This time, we dive into #Latin and #name formation, presented by Dr. Dominik Berrens from Johannes Gutenberg-Universität in Mainz. 🍿 Enjoy share, and don't be shy - ask questions in the comments! #Nomenclature #Taxonomy www.youtube.com/watch?v=eldx...

“Cultivation of Methanonezhaarchaeia, the third class of methanogens within the phylum Thermoproteota” by @kohtzarchaeota.bsky.social, Sylvia Nupp, and myself is out in Science Advances. 90% enriched culture of a methyl-dismutating thermoproteotal methanogen. #Microsky 🧪 tinyurl.com/bdcc3uzs

So happy this is finally out! We reconstructed the 1st large-scale spatiotemporal dataset of 600+ MAGs from San Francisco Bay and show they have functional redundancy in key N and S pathways. These functions may better recover from disturbance in this highly urban estuary 💧

1/28 New preprint up, which I think is the best theoretical idea I've ever had. We asked a simple question: what are the costs of investment into non-reproductive somatic cells? Turns out these costs decrease with the *logarithm* of organism size! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

KJ Muldoon, at less than a year old, was the first known person to receive a personalised CRISPR-based genome-editing therapy He is part of Nature’s 10, a list of people who shaped science in 2025 go.nature.com/48GqTl3

An Asgard Archaeon (Lokiarchaeum ossiferum) growing and retracting its arms

#Archaea #ArchaeaSky #MicroSky exceptional work, hiro & team 👏👏👏 it's wonderful to see 𝘓. 𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘶𝘮 dancing. live videos reveal so much more than stills! ALT source: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Freaking wild videos - go watch all of them! I cannot decide which one I love more! Radler et al. "Dynamic protrusions mediate unique crawling motility in Asgard Archaea (Promethearchaeota)" Very creative live-microscopy work #testthymetagenomichypotheses www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

New preprint! Do you like ocean waves? We found similar waves on bacterial colonies! We found that this collective behavior, known as rippling, is nothing but surface waves on an active nematic. @princeton.edu @mpipks.bsky.social @ub.edu @icreacommunity.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

wow... crawling motility in Asgard #archaea!! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... look at these crazy moves!! Let's face it, what these cells want for Christmas is #cilia... the best type of motility appendage...

I am recruiting graduate students for Fall 2026! The Microbial Ecosystems Lab @hot-mes-asu.bsky.social at ASU studies microbial interactions, spatial ecology, and imaging-driven microbiome science. If you love microbes, microfluidics, or single-cell analysis, let’s talk! www.microbialeco.systems

Not really a "figure" but many of you have heard me talk about this gender bias calculator and, since we're in rec letter writing season, I thought I'd share it. slowe.github.io/genderbias/ #figaday 4.164/n #year4

Very happy to share our Perspective in #Astrobiology. Being part of the STROMATOLITE Syndicate has been a real pleasure. An international network of early career researchers that builds bridges between disciplines to try and understand #EarlyLife. Please read and share widely!

The newly discovered archaean 𝘚𝘶𝘬𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘦𝘶𝘮 𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘦 has a genome with 238,000 base pairs, far fewer than humans (billions) or 𝘌. 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘪 (millions). The species was named after Sukuna-biko-na, a Shinto deity known for being tiny.

Biosignatures aren’t always simply life or not life. I am excited to share our recent paper where we discuss a process-driven approach to interpreting ancient rocks, focusing on how multiple signals interact over time rather than binary biotic vs. abiotic outcomes. www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1177/...

So happy to announce our new preprint, “A geothermal amoeba sets a new upper temperature limit for eukaryotes.” We cultured a novel amoeba from Lassen Volcanic NP (CA, USA) that divides at 63°C (145°F) 🔥 - a new record for euk growth! #protistsonsky 🧵

Due to the shutdown, NIH cancelled >370 study sections, impacting >24,000 applications Rescheduled meetings will only discuss 30-35% of applications, have simplified summary statements (no narrative paragraph), and a new category - "competitive but not discussed" grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...

📣 Open position: We are looking for a new #ScientificLead for the #SILVA database 🧬🖥️ You will be responsible for guiding the development of this important resource and for curating the SILVA taxonomy🌳and more! 👉 www.dsmz.de/dsmz/career/... Read and share ‼️ #sciencejobs 🦠🧪 #career #taxonomy

PhD students and Postdocs: The Night Science Podcast (@nightsciencepod.bsky.social) is producing an episode highlighting young scientists talking about their creative process. DM me if you'd like us to consider you for this, & read below what PhD student Davis Garner will contribute! ⬇️