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! ⬇️

Y’all, this is a game changer. Using Natural Readers to listen to science papers now while working, walking the dog, and riding my bike.

Super excited for this project and grateful to the John Templeton Foundation for support!

This is why I love environmental microbiology. Two friends I have met in two separate labs (Sylvia in @environmicrobio.bsky.social lab and Jeemin in the Santoro lab at UCSB) sent me a photo of them working together on a research vessel in the Atlantic. Fun times!

A helpful study for those establishing or troubleshooting FISH on Archaea!

On behalf of the Department of Oceanography at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, we are excited to invite applications for a full-time, tenure-track faculty position in Ocean Biogeochemical Modeling at the rank of assistant professor. www.schooljobs.com/careers/hawa... position number 0082726

An amazing opportunity to join a phenomenal department!

BREAKING: In AAUP et al v. Trump (wall-to-wall union lawsuit challenging the administration’s unlawful use of TItle VI to reshape the University of California system), the faculty and staff of the UC system WON!!! We were granted our preliminary injunction! @aaup.org

It’s Friday: a new episode of #MattersMicrobial! This week, Dr. Julie Maresca joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss microbes and concrete and road salt! Please spread the #GoodMicrobialWord? @ASMicrobiology @univpugetsound @microbe.tv youtu.be/3JpbySeOO20?...

RamanSPy: An Open-Source Python Package for Integrative Raman Spectroscopy Data Analysis. Anal. Chem. 2024, 96, 21, 8492–8500 doi.org/10.1021/acs.... ramanspy.readthedocs.io #ramaneffect #openaccess

“The prohibited activities would include joint research, co-authorship on papers, and advising a foreign graduate student or postdoctoral fellow. The language is retroactive, meaning any interactions during the previous 5 years could make a scientist ineligible for future federal funding.”

What is the most profitable industry in the world, this side of the law? Not oil, not IT, not pharma. It's *scientific publishing*. We call this the Drain of Scientific Publishing. Paper: arxiv.org/abs/2511.04820 Background: doi.org/10.1162/qss_... Thread @markhanson.fediscience.org.ap.brid.gy 👇