Should have added that, as Leeds celebrates 400th anniversary this year since being granted its first royal charter, the warm glow of provincial pride that this 1952 Yorkshire Post headline always brings just got a little warmer...#WhatsYour400

Alan Bennett, Kaiser Chiefs, a legendary 1981 Ashes - just a few landmarks for Leeds as the city celebrates #WhatsYour400 & tomorrow eve (20th) I'll be explaining @pintofscience festival #pint26 why an overcoat made from monkeynuts can now be added to this list… pintofscience.co.uk/event/unmask...

@astburycentre.bsky.social Will be giving #AstburyCentre a plug this Wed eve (20th) when I'm giving a talk @pintofscience The Attic, Leeds about how fictional scientist Sidney Stratton may have had real life counterpart in Astbury & his monkeynut coat! pintofscience.co.uk/event/unmask...

...then, bike ride home took me past this lesser known landmark of #theOtleyRun' pub crawl- a blue plaque unveiled by Leeds Phil and Lit Society in 2019 to commemorate the very achievement celebrated in that 1952 Yorkshire Post headline!

Spent much of this morning battling with an obstinate digital microfilm reader in the bowels of Brotherton Library, University of Leeds, but well worth the effort to obtain this gem of a headline from 5th Nov 1952 edition of Yorkshire Post and Mercury which brings a warm glow of provincial pride…

Big thanks to organisers @pintofscience #pint26 for invitation to talk about whether, thanks to a monkeynut coat, 1951 Ealing classic ‘Man in the White Suit’ may have had real life counterpart - as well as how Yorkshire wool research helped unravel DNA structure! pintofscience.co.uk/event/unmask...

Tomorrow (25th April) is #DNADay - but should it really be celebrated on 26th Feb - date of Swiss scientist F Miescher's excited 1869 letter to his uncle about novel cellular substance he had found in nucleus which he called 'nuclein' but today known as DNA? theconversation.com/our-unsung-h...

@thednageek.bsky.social Wonder whether DNA Day should really be celebrated on 26 Feb - date of Swiss scientist F Miescher's excited 1869 letter to his uncle about novel cellular substance he had found in nucleus which he called 'nuclein' but today known as DNA? theconversation.com/our-unsung-h... 🙂

Great to be able to display at #AstburyConv2026 X-ray camera used for early work on DNA structure. A fascinating two days - having not used a Gilson pipette since 2005, was gripped by talks on programmable cells, self-organising structures & synthetic protocells. @astburycentre.bsky.social

A big thanks to organisers of #AstburyConv2026 for invitation to talk about William Astbury & why molecular origami used to weave his overcoat from peanut proteins may well have been one of the first examples of the conference’s theme - ‘Designing Biology’. Congratulations on a great two days!

Delighted to have had opportunity recently to give a talk to 6th form at my son’s school not, for a change, about forgotten scientists but instead about a forgotten corner of modern Europe & why its stories may still matter to us. Even more delighted that they kindly gave me impromptu promotion!

Spotted this while waiting to change trains at Peterborough station recently & was prompted to post it after finishing series 2 of ‘Shrinking’ on AppleTV over Easter weekend. If you’ve seen the show, you’ll know what I mean - & well done to Steve, whoever you may be, for reminding us of this.

@girtoncollege.bsky.social 'The Eagle' in Cambridge has Watson & Crick, but delighted 'The Golden Beam' Headingley, Leeds now has Girton alumnus & physicist Florence Bell on their wall who, whilst working in Dept. of Textiles here in 1938, first showed X-rays could be used to reveal DNA structure!

@astburycentre.bsky.social If delegates to #AstburyConvo26 feel they need a break to take in some liquid refreshment & the historical roots of structural biology, then why not stroll up to ‘Golden Beam’ where Astbury’s fellow pioneer of X-ray methods in biology, Florence Bell now hangs on wall!!!

And resulted this week in me making what must surely be the first ever #DNA themed pub crawl - visiting both 'The Eagle' in Cambridge where Watson & Crick used to meet...and now Golden Beam in Headingley, Leeds - city where in 1938 Bell 1st showed that X-rays could be used to reveal DNA structure.

The print was based on a photo kindly provided by Mr Chris Sawyer, & made as a mosaic of tiny images from scientific papers by artist & staff member Kristina Keller & kindly sent to me by Sarah Moorehead @hhmijanelia.bsky.social. R Franklin may have a Mars Rover, but great to see Bell at the Beam!

A big thanks to manager Chris of The Golden Beam @wetherspoonspub.bsky.social in Headingley, Leeds for taking up my suggestion to hang portrait of DNA scientist Florence Bell alongside other distinguished former residents such as #JRRTolkien, #AlanBennett, as well as fair few cricketing legends...

What happens when, thanks to AI & synthetic biology, life becomes programmable? Speaking at 6pm GMT this eve to the Royal Society of Arts, Prof. @adrianwoolfson.bsky.social , author of 'On the Future of Species' offers an answer...v much looking forward to this - www.thersa.org/events/2026/...

Big thanks to @adrianwoolfson.bsky.social for invitation to attend great launch event this week at Daunt’s bookshop, London for his new book ‘On the Future of Species’. Held on 11th Feb for Darwin’s birthday event was also mini Leeds HPS outing thanks to my colleagues Lizzie Schulz & Greg Radick!

With new book 'The Dawn Fisherman' out soon, delighted to have explained with co-author Ralf Dahm to @meganwollerton.bsky.social at National Geographic how pus, old bandages (& later, salmon gonads!) led to discovery of DNA in freezing cold castle kitchen! www.nationalgeographic.com/history/arti...

Staying on theme of #DesigningBiology have just enjoyed listening to @adrianwoolfson.bsky.social discuss his new book ‘The Future of Species’ on Radio 4 Start the Week - very much looking forward to going along to London launch event for this in a couple of weeks’ time! www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Perfect timing! With #DesigningBiology as theme of #AstburyConvo26 @astburycentre.bsky.social have just written piece for @sciencehistory.org about molecular origami behind Astbury’s monkeynut coat as v early (albeit crude) example of redesigning biomolecules. www.sciencehistory.org/education/sc...

A hearty round of applause to Canadian PM #MarkCarney for this speech. Reassuring to know that there is at least still one grown-up in the room. www.facebook.com/maninthemonk...

Christmas may be behind us but am very much enjoying one gift in particular that I received this year - new biog of Francis Crick by @matthewcobb.bsky.social Heard there may be new film adaptation of hit stage play 'Photo 51’ on the way - if so, scriptwriters would do well to read this book…

Just received promotional flyer from publishers #springernature for new book’ The Dawn Fisherman’ - a labour of love for the past few years by myself & #RalfDahm & quite possibly the only book about DNA to also feature a double-helical cake. Due out in Feb & feels very good to have got here at last!

Congratulations to my old friend & former university housemate #[email protected] Professor of Political Science, #[email protected] - on his new book ‘Billionaire Backlash’ making it into last weekend’s edition of FT! Looking forward to reading it! www.bloomsbury.com/uk/billionai...

Writer CP Snow once warned that arts & sciences had become ‘two cultures’. Thankfully for us all, however there are exceptions - such as my co-author, Dr. Ralf Dahm, who will bridge Snow's chasm on 12/1/26 7.30pm GMT in online talk to Leeds Phil & Lit www.leedsphilandlit.org.uk/shop/seeing-...

Went to local carol service other night where ‘While Shepherds Watched’ was sung not to regular tune that everyone knows but its original traditional arrangement which turns out to be…none other than Yorkshire’s very own national anthem, ‘On Ilkley Moor’!!! Give it a try if you're not convinced!

Lake District connection to #DNA story? Yes(sort of) - Dec 1942, scientist #FlorenceBell was married in St Mary's church, #Ambleside (shown here) before emigrating with new husband to USA…alas never to resume groundbreaking work she had begun on DNA structure whilst working in Leeds 5 years earlier…

Delighted with my co-author Ralf Dahm to have given what may well be only talk on DNA to also include #GreatBritishBakeOff as we explored life of F Miescher, tragic subject of our new book ‘The Dawn Fisherman’ Thanks to #RoyalSocietyChemistry Hist Group for video! www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiYS...

My own seasonal celebration of link between @universityofleeds.bsky.social textiles & #DNA story - origami double helices hung from strands of wool for community Christmas tree festival this weekend in St. Michael’s church, #Headingley. A childhood watching Blue Peter has left a lasting influence…

@universityofleeds.bsky.social wins Queen Elizabeth Prize for Higher Education thanks to 150 years of textiles research! Delighted that my years digging around in archives to explore how this led to 1st attempts at DNA structure played small part in this honour spotlight.leeds.ac.uk/queen-elizab...

The prestigious Queen Elizabeth Prize for Higher and Further Education – part of the UK national Honours system – recognises Leeds’ outstanding, 150-years of textile research. We delve into the history and explore the innovation driving the next chapter 👇 https://www.leeds.ac.uk/qep

With only a week before grand finale of #strangerthings have just watched previous 4 seasons to jog memory & noticed much mention of black widow spiders in season 4. As veteran fan of #dungeonsanddragons am hoping this means that we might be treated to an appearance by another classic villain...

With coauthor Ralf Dahm, am looking forward to telling Royal Society of Chemistry Historical Group how, nearly 100 years before #jameswatson & #franciscrick double-helix, Friedrich Miescher discovered DNA - only to die aged 51 crushed by sense of failure…all told in our new book…#SpringerNature 2026

…and while #Photo51 (or its twin) alone not enough for #jameswatson to solve DNA structure, names of Astbury, Bell, Beighton & how first attempts to crack DNA structure grew out of Northern textiles research would all be better known today had Watson been shown Beighton’s photo #oupacademic

Who knew #Photo51 taken in 1952 by #rosalind_franklin & R Gosling has forgotten twin!!?? Identical image taken #universityofleeds in 1951 & might well have come to attention of #jameswatson had scientist #WTAstbury only been as good a comedian as he was at applying physics to biology…#oupacademic

With renewed interest in discovery of #doublehelix following death of #jameswatson, who’d have thought that first attempts to crack structure of #DNA began with research into wool fibres in North of England thanks to scientists WT Astbury & F Bell!!?? #universityofleeds #OUPAcademic

How bizarre that I should be teaching myself how to fold origami DNA helices for use as somewhat unconventional Christmas tree decorations when I heard the news this weekend about scientist James Watson

Usually if I write to newspapers, it’s to bang on about long dead scientists who no-one has heard of…but while a bit outside my home turf of history of science, review of new film Tron Ares in recent weekend Financial Times prompted me to write in response to make what (I hope!) is a serious point…

Wonderful talk by author @lamornaash.bsky.social on Sat @ilkleylitfest.bsky.social about her new book - courageous, honest & uplifting. Thanks not just for signing copy for my son but also for unpacking what ‘The Grand Inquisitor’ is all about - after reading your book I finally get it! (at last!)

And everyone legged it on arrival of a deer. Best nights TV viewing I’ve seen in years!

Mind you - fox made itself scarce when the badgers pals showed up…

Have spent the week in remote #Northumberland where #foxandbadger captured on cottage wildlife camera show that nature need not always be so brutally ‘red in tooth and claw’. Surely a pub name in there somewhere, if not an example of harmonious co-existence from which we would do well to learn...

And having written a book that contains both science - thanks to Astbury & Bell’s work on DNA - and cricket thanks to the legendary 1981 Headingley Ashes, I was delighted to have been there myself yesterday - right over the road from Astbury’s former home on Kirkstall Lane! #ENGvsIND

And a MASSIVE thanks also to Butlers & Boundary Hotel on Cardigan Road, Headingley Leeds who helped save the day (along with England’s batting!) by kindly providing secure laptop storage for those of us who'd come along hoping to sneak some work in during lunch & tea! www.boundaryhotel.co.uk

Had they still been around, am sure that, as keen cricket fans, Leeds based scientists #WilliamAstbury & #FlorenceBell would have taken a break from work on #DNA structure & wool to be at #Headingley yesterday for victory in #ENGvsIND Test Match...

Apple crumble or pie? 50 years of Jaws. Am loving Test Match Special commentary! Here’s hoping history can be made in Headingley once again! (Although thanks to cricket-loving 1930s DNA scientists William Astbury & Florence Bell commemorated right opposite Len Hutton gates…it already has…)

Enjoyed this luxury 5-star accommodation last night in order to be up in time for live stream of summer Solstice sunrise over Stonehenge. Well worth it! A big thanks to #englishheritage for this!

And finally let's not forget father & son science team, William & Lawrence Bragg who lived on Grosvenor Rd, Headingley & jointly won 1915 Nobel in Physics. So good luck England in #cricket, but even if things don’t work out - plenty still for #Headingley to be proud of! #EnglandvsIndia #testmatch