My Granddad, William Robert Fleming Stevenson, received these medals (and shrapnel in his knee) for 4 years in the European trenches, fighting The War to End All Wars. #VeteransDay #RemembranceDay

Overly honest methods #MicroSky

Congratulations to Tim Saylor for successfully defending his MS thesis! After my trainees complete their defense, I give them a custom-engraved julep cup, then we share a drink together 🥃

On interactions between Midichloria and Borrelia in Ixodes ricinus ticks: a multifaceted phenomenon likely driven by molecular mechanisms that regulate tick feeding, modulate host immunity, and provide nutritional support. www.clinicalkey.com#!/content/pl... #MicroSky #TickSky

🎃🕷️Tick or treat? Just in time for spooky season... I found a tick on an electric eel in the MCZ collections. Not even the fish are safe! Check it out here: doi.org/10.1093/jme/...

“No -canonical” cell division machinery #MicroSky

Beautiful painting of a Dermacentor variabilis @petrathepostdoc.bsky.social

Nice insights on a function of EbfC in Bacillus. EbfC is a nucleoid-associated protein/"histone-like" protein that is produced by almost all species of Eubacteria. Functions vary between species, probably correlating with presence of other NAPs. It is an essential protein in Lyme Borrelia. #MicroSky

Louse-borne Relapsing Fever contributed to the demise of Napoleon's army during the retreat from Russia in 1812. Borrelia recurrentis Relapsing Fever has been an important problem in many situations of crowding and poor hygiene, including the trenches of WW1 www.cell.com/current-biol... #MicroSky

Beautiful imaging of Lyme Borrelia spirochetes disseminating in skin. #MicroSky 🔬🦠

For those who are wondering about grant proposal reviews in the USA

We’re hiring! KUMC's Dept. of Microbiol., Mol. Genet. & Immunol. seeks a new Asst. Professor in Immunology. Be part of a vibrant department and benefit from association with the NCI-designated KU Cancer Center. Come join us in Kansas City! Apply here: kumc.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/kumc-j...

Petra Levin with Mark Martin on "Matters Microbial" ! #MicroSky

We were visited a couple of weeks ago by Dr. Tomasz Bykowski and his family, on vacation around the US from their home in Warsaw, Poland. Tomek was a postdoc in our lab from 2004-2007, and is currently Director of Strategy and Development of Horus and Member of the Supervisory Board of Genomed SA

Lab alumna Dr. Jen Miller, presenting today at ILADS conference. Jen is currently Vice President of Clinical and Scientific Operations at Galaxy Diagnostics. She was my second PhD student.

On the way to Midwest Microbial Pathogenesis Conference 2025, in St Charles, Illinois! Hosted by Loyola University Chicago #MMPC2025 #MicroSky www.mmpconference2025.com

Freakin’ cool anti-anti-phage mechanism! #MicroSky

Antigenic variation is caused by long plasmid segment conversion in a hard tick-borne relapsing fever Borrelia miyamotoi important new paper by Takeuchi, Gotoh, Hayashi, Kawabata, and Takano journals.plos.org/plospathogen... #MicroSky

Restoration of the genus name "Borrelia" to Lyme spirochetes, while creating subgenera Borreliella subgen. nov. and Borrelia subgen. nov. #MicroSky www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... (open access)

Sept. 29, 2010 Gala Dinner of the International Conference on Lyme Borreliosis and other Tick-Borne Diseases, Ljubljana, Slovenia with collaborators Peter Kraiczy & Claudia Hammerschmidt, and lab members Amy Bowman, Brandon Jutras & Cat Brissette @brissettelab.bsky.social @jutraslab.bsky.social

Submitted yet another grant proposal today, for a foundation, to be reviewed next month. That’s 5 grant proposals in play for review before year’s end.

Cutter's 1878 patented "Box for Vaccine Matter". For carrying and protecting smallpox scabs, which were to be used for vaccinations. #MicroSky images from my collection

A reminder that levels of intracellular signals are controlled by both synthesis and degradation #MicroSky

A break from my usual science posts. Brilliant rugby today, England dominated Canada 33-13.

Exciting and inspiring work on regulating changes in bacterial chromosome structure. Suspect that this underlies a phenomenon we see upon CRISPRi knockdown of an NAP. Would love to discuss collaboration with someone experienced in Hi-C #MicroSky

"Thrill" The best-ever description of spirochete movement, likening the bacteria's flexing to a shiver down the spine when feeling thrilled. R.C. Rosenberger, 1908, "The spirochaete found in syphilis", Am J Med Sci #MicroSky 🦠🧫🔬

Bacterial two-hybrid systems evolved: innovations for protein-protein interaction research #MicroSky 🦠

Supporting CDC scientists, who were blocked by the government from attending and presenting at the International Conference on Lyme Borreliosis and Other Tick-Borne Diseases.

Hello Chicago! news.mayocliniclabs.com/2025-interna... #MicroSky

Microphotograph slide of two men and a Ross-type microscope. By the early 1850s, photography had developed to the point that fine-grain emulsions could be applied to glass slides, then photographs taken through a microscope. These novelties were the forerunners of microfilm

Acquired tick resistance in Peromyscus leucopus alters Ixodes scapularis infection #MicroSky

Saw this photo of Adah Elizabeth Verder (1900-1997) in another post, accompanied by comments on mouth pipeting. When I took intro microbiology in 1979, one of the first lessons in lab was mouth pipeting technique. Pay attention, and it was the most accurate, fastest method available. #MicroSky

Improved serodiagnostic test for human Lyme disease #MicroSky

Midwest Microbial Pathogenesis Conference, October 3-5, St Charles, Illinois (near Chicago) A premier pathogenic microbiology meeting - be there! #MicroSky

Beautiful mural honoring Henrietta Lacks painted by Baltimore community members popped up near Hopkins med campus recently.

“Daddy & Daughter Bacteria” Dry erase marker artwork by my then-nine year-old daughter, on my office white board. Still there, and always will be. #MicroSky

Interesting report on Yersinia pestis evolution #MicroSky

For patients who have/had a tick-borne disease

TardiDoc on a Hollyhock Prince Edward Island #TardiDocTravels @markowenmartin.bsky.social

Telomere-to-telomere assembly detects genomic diversity in Canadian strains of Borrelia burgdorferi diversity & conservation among Lyme spirochetes, including the curious DNA chunk that is sometimes on the chromosome, other times a separate linear plasmid #MicroSky www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

It has taken medical science 200 years to advance humans to the point where people are so healthy and living so long that they can deny that science and medicine is what got us here.

TardiDoc of Green Gables Cavendish (“Avonlea”), Prince Edward Island #TardiDocTravels @markowenmartin.bsky.social

TardiDoc is swimming, boating, and fishing in the Maine woods @markowenmartin.bsky.social

R21 was reviewed June 9. Scored 30. Received pink sheets last Friday. Revised proposal submitted this morning. Really appreciate those extra 2 weeks for serving on a study section!