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bjesseshapiro.bsky.social
Jesse Shapiro
@bjesseshapiro.bsky.social
1.7K followers 750 following 440 posts

Macrobe qui aime les microbes

http://www.shapirolab.ca/

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Jesse M. Shapiro is an American economist who has served as the George Gund Professor of Economics and Business Administration at Harvard University since 2022. He was previously the George S. and Nancy B. Parker Professor of Economics at Brown University from 2015 to 2019, and the Eastman Professor of Political Economy at Brown from 2019 to 2021. He received a MacArthur Fellowship in 2021. .. more

Economics 40%
Political science 16%
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bjesseshapiro.bsky.social
Jesse Shapiro @bjesseshapiro.bsky.social · Jul 1
One of my favourite serendipitous results from the lab came about because we were long-read sequencing bacterial:

Vibrio cholerae, which is "supposed to" have TWO circular chromosomes (3 + 1 million base pairs) often has just ONE fused chromosome (4 Mbp).

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

(1/n)
Prevalent chromosome fusion in Vibrio cholerae O1 - Nature Communications
The pathogenic bacterium Vibrio cholerae typically has two circular chromosomes. Here, Cuénod et al. analyse 467 clinical isolates and identify several independent chromosome fusion events that are li...
www.nature.com

Reposted by Jesse M. Shapiro

nathangrubaugh.bsky.social
Nathan Grubaugh @nathangrubaugh.bsky.social · 4d
Variations in annual dengue intensities are explained by temperature anomalies

Our new work led by Abbey Porzucek, @rafalpx.bsky.social, @colincarlson.bsky.social, Dan Weinberger to develop a method to compare relative dengue intensity between years and countries.

www.medrxiv.org/content/10.6...

Reposted by Jesse M. Shapiro, Smith

zaminiqbal.bsky.social
Zamin Iqbal @zaminiqbal.bsky.social · 4d
Hey folks, am looking for examples of circularised/full plasmid sequences from "unusual " bacterial species, sequenced since 2020 (as independent validation for a plasmid identification tool that was trained on refseq2020+plsdb). Any tips? #microsky

bjesseshapiro.bsky.social
Jesse Shapiro @bjesseshapiro.bsky.social · 6d
All is forgiven

bjesseshapiro.bsky.social
Jesse Shapiro @bjesseshapiro.bsky.social · 6d
Sounds like someone is volunteering to review papers over the holidays - editors take note!

;)
campy-bara.bsky.social Sarah Svensson @campy-bara.bsky.social · 6d
maybe take advantage of those outside of the Americas/Europe that are still working ;)

Reposted by Jesse M. Shapiro

campy-bara.bsky.social
Sarah Svensson @campy-bara.bsky.social · 6d
maybe take advantage of those outside of the Americas/Europe that are still working ;)

Reposted by Jesse M. Shapiro

helenbranswell.bsky.social
Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 @helenbranswell.bsky.social · 6d
Should the US adopt Denmark's vaccine schedule for children? @jakescottmd.bsky.social argues no in a piece that points out the risks such a move would pose for American kids. www.statnews.com/2025/12/19/d...
Why Denmark's vaccine schedule works for Denmark — but not for the United States
With its vaccine schedule, “Denmark has made a values choice to accept preventable hospitalizations and illnesses that other countries have chosen to prevent.”
www.statnews.com

bjesseshapiro.bsky.social
Jesse Shapiro @bjesseshapiro.bsky.social · 7d
Oh damn… fair point! (Clearly there is no satisfactory solution to this conundrum and we as a scientific community must keep debating into the new year… it’s the only way!!)

Reposted by Jesse M. Shapiro

mtlgazette.bsky.social
Montreal Gazette @mtlgazette.bsky.social · 7d
'Go Habs Go' sneaks back into STM system via sly Hellmann's ad campaign montrealgazette.com/sports/hocke...

bjesseshapiro.bsky.social
Jesse Shapiro @bjesseshapiro.bsky.social · 7d
Is this a work app?! (I think so)

bjesseshapiro.bsky.social
Jesse Shapiro @bjesseshapiro.bsky.social · 7d
Preprint now, submit to journal in January
currentbiology.bsky.social Current Biology @currentbiology.bsky.social · 7d
HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL OF YOU!🎄✨

bjesseshapiro.bsky.social
Jesse Shapiro @bjesseshapiro.bsky.social · 7d
Ok now everybody’s getting on board
currentbiology.bsky.social Current Biology @currentbiology.bsky.social · 7d
HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL OF YOU!🎄✨

bjesseshapiro.bsky.social
Jesse Shapiro @bjesseshapiro.bsky.social · 7d
PSA:
vscooper.micropopbio.org Vaughn Cooper @vscooper.micropopbio.org · 7d
For the life of me, why do people submit manuscripts now? My EIC inbox has rarely been fuller, and there's no way I'm sending these to Associate Editors until 2026.

Friends don't let friends submit in late December.
barack obama is sitting in a chair making a funny face and asking why tho ?
ALT: barack obama is sitting in a chair making a funny face and asking why tho ?
media.tenor.com

Reposted by Jesse M. Shapiro

vscooper.micropopbio.org
Vaughn Cooper @vscooper.micropopbio.org · 7d
For the life of me, why do people submit manuscripts now? My EIC inbox has rarely been fuller, and there's no way I'm sending these to Associate Editors until 2026.

Friends don't let friends submit in late December.
barack obama is sitting in a chair making a funny face and asking why tho ?
ALT: barack obama is sitting in a chair making a funny face and asking why tho ?
media.tenor.com

Reposted by Brian J. Enquist, Jesse M. Shapiro, Ondřej Mottl

currentbiology.bsky.social
Current Biology @currentbiology.bsky.social · 7d
HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL OF YOU!🎄✨

bjesseshapiro.bsky.social
Jesse Shapiro @bjesseshapiro.bsky.social · 8d
Skiing with me is mostly selfies then beer.

Reposted by Alan McNally

bjesseshapiro.bsky.social
Jesse Shapiro @bjesseshapiro.bsky.social · 8d
Anyone interested in discussing this opportunity to eat, drink, be merry and ski with me, my DMs are open!

(Oh yeah, and do some science to the tune of $1M/year x 8 years + $500k x 4 years)
Selfie of a bearded man in sunglasses and tuque grinning. He is in skis (not shown) with a snow-covered park in the background.

bjesseshapiro.bsky.social
Jesse Shapiro @bjesseshapiro.bsky.social · 8d
Allow me to introduce Dr. Sana Naderi !

Her thesis brilliantly followed SARS-CoV-2 evolution (1) within hosts, (2) across animal species, and (3) into wastewater (not necessarily in that order...)

1) doi.org/10.1093/ve/v...
2) elifesciences.org/articles/83685
3) doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Two people smiling and holding up golden goblets A newly minted PhD smiling and opening a bottle of sparkling wine.

Reposted by Jesse M. Shapiro

laasya2.bsky.social
Laasya Samhita @laasya2.bsky.social · 8d
So happy that this work simultaneously measuring the costs of antibiotic exposure and mistranslation is finally out in MBE! Work from @deepaagashe.bsky.social (who was ultra patient!) and my labs. Do see the research highlight here, with Nishant's lovely graphic. academic.oup.com/mbe/article/...
How Life's “Mistakes” Impact Adaptation
Even in a colony of genetically identical bacteria, no two individuals are exactly alike. This phenomenon, known as phenotypic “noise,” is a long-standing
academic.oup.com

Reposted by Jesse M. Shapiro, Simon Roux

microbiologysociety.org
Microbiology Society @microbiologysociety.org · 8d
Born #OnThisDay in 1922, Esther Lederberg was the first to isolate the lambda phage in 1951. She characterised the lysogenic phase, whereby the phage are able to integrate into the bacterial genome, staying dormant. This discovery made them a model tool of study, leading to many more breakthroughs.
Esther Lederberg in the laboratory in the 1950's. Credit: Estherlederberg.com

Reposted by Jesse M. Shapiro

iamshef.bsky.social
Shefali @iamshef.bsky.social · 9d
Getting rejected from a seminar where I was really hoping to present. In the later stages of grad school it's such a strange feeling, making you doubt everything you have done. Its almost making feel like I am not good enough and am not ready for the next career stages 🤷🏽‍♀️☹️

#gradlife #rejection

bjesseshapiro.bsky.social
Jesse Shapiro @bjesseshapiro.bsky.social · 9d
Word!
a man singing and playing a guitar with the words have a happy happy happy happy hanukkah
ALT: a man singing and playing a guitar with the words have a happy happy happy happy hanukkah
media.tenor.com

Reposted by Jesse M. Shapiro, Jason Stajich

guyleonard.bsky.social
Guy Leonard @guyleonard.bsky.social · 9d
De novo genome sequence assembly of the model algal endosymbiont Micractinium conductrix derived from its host Paramecium bursaria 186b.

Guy Leonard, Irma Vitonyte, Fiona R Savory, Erika M Hansson, Duncan D Cameron, Michael Brockhurst, Thomas A Richards
bioRxiv doi: doi.org/10.64898/202...
De novo genome sequence assembly of the model algal endosymbiont Micractinium conductrix derived from its host Paramecium bursaria 186b
Endosymbiosis is a major driver of evolutionary innovation and underpins the function of diverse ecosystems. The origins and evolution of endosymbiosis are challenging to study experimentally due to t...
doi.org

bjesseshapiro.bsky.social
Jesse Shapiro @bjesseshapiro.bsky.social · 9d
Gene-specific selective sweeps for the win!

(Not that anyone is keeping score. Genome-wide sweeps and soft sweeps are also great)

bjesseshapiro.bsky.social
Jesse Shapiro @bjesseshapiro.bsky.social · 9d
Having followed this work for some time as a preprint (and even before that!) I’m so thrilled to see this out! Superb work, you two!

Reposted by Jesse M. Shapiro, Alan McNally

nanditagarud.bsky.social
Nandita Garud @nanditagarud.bsky.social · 9d
Grateful to share our paper on gene-specific selective sweeps in human gut microbiomes, now out in Nature! It has been a joy to work with @rwolff.bsky.social, whose insights and hard work made this possible.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Gene-specific selective sweeps are pervasive across human gut microbiomes - Nature
Development and application of the integrated linkage disequilibrium score (iLDS) reveals both selective pressures impacting the human gut microbiome and the mechanisms by which gut bacteria adapt to ...
www.nature.com

Reposted by Jonathan A. Eisen, Jesse M. Shapiro

3rdreviewer.bsky.social
Matthew Hahn @3rdreviewer.bsky.social · 9d
Have you ever wondered: just how strong *is* the evidence for Muller's ratchet on mtDNA?

Well, wonder no more!

(Project led by Yu Mo, with @smishra677.bsky.social and @yadirapga.bsky.social)

"No molecular evidence for Muller's ratchet in mitochondrial genomes"
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
No molecular evidence for Muller's ratchet in mitochondrial genomes
Muller's ratchet predicts that non-recombining genomes can accumulate deleterious mutations, though molecular evidence for it is rare. Previous studies have tried to detect ratchet-like behavior in mi...
www.biorxiv.org

Reposted by Jesse M. Shapiro

jacktodd.bsky.social
Jack Todd @jacktodd.bsky.social · 9d
My column on the death of Michael Whalen, who set the standard for sports broadcasting in this country – a standard that has slipped drastically since he retired.

montrealgazette.com/sports/hocke...
Obituary: Montreal sports broadcaster Michael Whalen was a master storyteller
Veteran journalist, who died last week at 82, covered Montreal's sports scene with aplomb for TSN from 1986 to 2007.
montrealgazette.com

Reposted by Jesse M. Shapiro

npariente.bsky.social
Nonia Pariente @npariente.bsky.social · 9d
Yearly reminder that the world will not end if that new manuscript or revision sits on your desk for a couple more weeks, or you are realistic about decision times.

Editors & reviewers are people too, are getting swamped with work just about now, and will likely enjoy a well-deserved break soon
🧪
a cartoon drawing of minnie mouse talking on a phone
Alt: a cartoon drawing of minnie mouse working intensely
media.tenor.com

Reposted by Richard E. Lenski, Jesse M. Shapiro, Richard Shaw , and 3 more

carlbergstrom.com
Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 10d
I've spent all day struggling to write a single page of a popular science article. I bang away at a word processor; give up; start diagramming on paper. Take some notes; draft a few sentences in pen; return to the computer...and very slowly I figure out what I was trying to say in the first place.

Reposted by Andreas J. Bäumler, Jesse M. Shapiro, Philippe Huneman , and 7 more

carlbergstrom.com
Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 10d
Just decline the peer review invitation.

What are you people even doing?
More than half of researchers now use AI for peer review — often against guidance
A survey of 1,600 academics found that more than 50% have used artificial-intelligence tools while peer reviewing manuscripts.
www.nature.com