Anthony Berndt
@anthonyberndt.bsky.social
Canadian doing Synthetic Biology South of the 49th. Recovering academic. Pushing genes and inadvertently Solarpunk.
Reposted by Anthony Berndt
Reposted by Anthony Berndt
Last year it was discovered that a single bacterial NLR-like protein can recognize multiple, structurally unrelated phage proteins (Béchon et al, Kibby et al)
Now, a new study shows the same for a plant NLR. Another example how principles of immunity remain conserved from bacteria to eukaryotes
Now, a new study shows the same for a plant NLR. Another example how principles of immunity remain conserved from bacteria to eukaryotes
A wheat NLR conferring broad-spectrum resistance against powdery mildew by recognizing two structurally diverse AVR effectors. Interested? Check out our newest preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Dual recognition of structurally unrelated mildew effectors underlies the broad-spectrum resistance of Pm3e in wheat
Broad-spectrum resistance genes are highly valuable for sustainable crop protection, yet the molecular basis of their activity is often unknown. The Pm3 allelic series in wheat encodes NLR receptors t...
www.biorxiv.org
November 2, 2025 at 6:34 PM
Last year it was discovered that a single bacterial NLR-like protein can recognize multiple, structurally unrelated phage proteins (Béchon et al, Kibby et al)
Now, a new study shows the same for a plant NLR. Another example how principles of immunity remain conserved from bacteria to eukaryotes
Now, a new study shows the same for a plant NLR. Another example how principles of immunity remain conserved from bacteria to eukaryotes
Reposted by Anthony Berndt
The UCP government has invoked time allocation and on a bill removing Albertans' Charter rights.
And they're using the notwithstanding clause to do it.
Here's why that is a dangerous precedent. And why real conservatives need to stand up against it.
open.substack.com/pub/drjaredw...
And they're using the notwithstanding clause to do it.
Here's why that is a dangerous precedent. And why real conservatives need to stand up against it.
open.substack.com/pub/drjaredw...
Alberta Strong and Free, Notwithstanding
The UCP's Bill 2 skirts the legislature and the courts, leaving it up to the public to push back swiftly
open.substack.com
October 27, 2025 at 11:47 PM
The UCP government has invoked time allocation and on a bill removing Albertans' Charter rights.
And they're using the notwithstanding clause to do it.
Here's why that is a dangerous precedent. And why real conservatives need to stand up against it.
open.substack.com/pub/drjaredw...
And they're using the notwithstanding clause to do it.
Here's why that is a dangerous precedent. And why real conservatives need to stand up against it.
open.substack.com/pub/drjaredw...
Reposted by Anthony Berndt
Today in accidental data art: selecting the wrong chart type.
October 27, 2025 at 8:15 PM
Today in accidental data art: selecting the wrong chart type.
Reposted by Anthony Berndt
If someone wants to write a new article on this, and highlight how current genetics tools have opened the door for many more, I'd be happy to consider it for CSH Protocols.
An article on Model Organisms, published in Science in 2005, lists the Models that together represent "the diversity of life".
Guess which model is missing from the list?
This view is one major reason why it's so difficult to obtain funding for basic plant research.
#PlantBlindness #PlantScience
Guess which model is missing from the list?
This view is one major reason why it's so difficult to obtain funding for basic plant research.
#PlantBlindness #PlantScience
October 24, 2025 at 3:39 PM
If someone wants to write a new article on this, and highlight how current genetics tools have opened the door for many more, I'd be happy to consider it for CSH Protocols.
Reposted by Anthony Berndt
does anybody know a good history of medicine that covers the era when laboratory tests became more common? specifically i’m looking for something that would cover/go into detail about how reference ranges for “normal” lab results were determined.
October 16, 2025 at 1:01 AM
does anybody know a good history of medicine that covers the era when laboratory tests became more common? specifically i’m looking for something that would cover/go into detail about how reference ranges for “normal” lab results were determined.
Reposted by Anthony Berndt
🗣Stand with Canada🇨🇦!
🟢Sign📝 the #ForeverCanadian petition to keep Alberta strong✊️, united🫂, and free🕊 from foreign influence. 👍
✅️Together, we protect🛡 our democracy🕊, our #CharterOfRights📜 & our freedoms.❤️✊
#cdnpoli #cndpoli #CanadaStrong #abpoli #Alberta
www.forever-canadian.ca/sign-the-pet...
🟢Sign📝 the #ForeverCanadian petition to keep Alberta strong✊️, united🫂, and free🕊 from foreign influence. 👍
✅️Together, we protect🛡 our democracy🕊, our #CharterOfRights📜 & our freedoms.❤️✊
#cdnpoli #cndpoli #CanadaStrong #abpoli #Alberta
www.forever-canadian.ca/sign-the-pet...
Forever Canadian Official Campaign Website
Forever Canadian campaign is a grassroots coalition of Canadians aimed at reinforcing Canadian unity. It is a proactive vehicle to secure Alberta's continued place in Canada.
www.forever-canadian.ca
October 13, 2025 at 10:02 PM
🗣Stand with Canada🇨🇦!
🟢Sign📝 the #ForeverCanadian petition to keep Alberta strong✊️, united🫂, and free🕊 from foreign influence. 👍
✅️Together, we protect🛡 our democracy🕊, our #CharterOfRights📜 & our freedoms.❤️✊
#cdnpoli #cndpoli #CanadaStrong #abpoli #Alberta
www.forever-canadian.ca/sign-the-pet...
🟢Sign📝 the #ForeverCanadian petition to keep Alberta strong✊️, united🫂, and free🕊 from foreign influence. 👍
✅️Together, we protect🛡 our democracy🕊, our #CharterOfRights📜 & our freedoms.❤️✊
#cdnpoli #cndpoli #CanadaStrong #abpoli #Alberta
www.forever-canadian.ca/sign-the-pet...
Reposted by Anthony Berndt
October 13, 2025 at 9:10 PM
Reposted by Anthony Berndt
Thanksgiving in Canada has nothing to do with Columbus!
We are a colonial country with a million things to atone for but Thanksgiving is not one of them.
Our Thanksgiving is timed with the harvest and it's literally just "Be grateful for harvest"
US Imperialism has brain rotted too many of you.
We are a colonial country with a million things to atone for but Thanksgiving is not one of them.
Our Thanksgiving is timed with the harvest and it's literally just "Be grateful for harvest"
US Imperialism has brain rotted too many of you.
October 12, 2025 at 4:39 PM
Thanksgiving in Canada has nothing to do with Columbus!
We are a colonial country with a million things to atone for but Thanksgiving is not one of them.
Our Thanksgiving is timed with the harvest and it's literally just "Be grateful for harvest"
US Imperialism has brain rotted too many of you.
We are a colonial country with a million things to atone for but Thanksgiving is not one of them.
Our Thanksgiving is timed with the harvest and it's literally just "Be grateful for harvest"
US Imperialism has brain rotted too many of you.
Reposted by Anthony Berndt
A student on TikTok has been documenting her journey with a professor who “wrote” the anatomy textbook and it’s all a bunch of AI hallucinations.
She’s saying that, understandably, the students are doing super poorly!
Behold what we’re teaching the healthcare professionals of tomorrow:
She’s saying that, understandably, the students are doing super poorly!
Behold what we’re teaching the healthcare professionals of tomorrow:
October 11, 2025 at 5:03 PM
A student on TikTok has been documenting her journey with a professor who “wrote” the anatomy textbook and it’s all a bunch of AI hallucinations.
She’s saying that, understandably, the students are doing super poorly!
Behold what we’re teaching the healthcare professionals of tomorrow:
She’s saying that, understandably, the students are doing super poorly!
Behold what we’re teaching the healthcare professionals of tomorrow:
Reposted by Anthony Berndt
Disease prevalence in US states before & after vaccine introduction 🧪
From Edward Tufte & graphics.wsj.com/infectious-d...
From Edward Tufte & graphics.wsj.com/infectious-d...
September 4, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Disease prevalence in US states before & after vaccine introduction 🧪
From Edward Tufte & graphics.wsj.com/infectious-d...
From Edward Tufte & graphics.wsj.com/infectious-d...
Reposted by Anthony Berndt
In all seriousness, the "LLMs are people and you're racist if you don't like them" shit is the natural endpoint of a consumerist society in which consuming and fandom are the only modes of identity-building many people understand. Finally, a product no one can tell you not to love.
October 5, 2025 at 3:31 AM
In all seriousness, the "LLMs are people and you're racist if you don't like them" shit is the natural endpoint of a consumerist society in which consuming and fandom are the only modes of identity-building many people understand. Finally, a product no one can tell you not to love.
Reposted by Anthony Berndt
This is why we fund scientists to study things like oyster slobber even if you don’t think it sounds important
⚠️ Chinese researchers have invented bone glue that mimics how oysters stick to surfaces underwater.
The adhesive can reportedly repair orthopedic fractures in 2-3 minutes, even in blood-rich environments, and is bioabsorbable.
interestingengineering.com/science/chin...
The adhesive can reportedly repair orthopedic fractures in 2-3 minutes, even in blood-rich environments, and is bioabsorbable.
interestingengineering.com/science/chin...
China's oyster-inspired 'bone glue' bonds fractures in minutes
A new oyster-inspired Bone-02 adhesive can revolutionize bone repair without metal fasteners.
interestingengineering.com
September 30, 2025 at 10:35 PM
This is why we fund scientists to study things like oyster slobber even if you don’t think it sounds important
Reposted by Anthony Berndt
Of course, of COURSE, Danielle Smith blamed Ottawa for Imperial Oil's plan to lay off 20 per cent of its employees by 2027.
October 1, 2025 at 2:20 AM
Of course, of COURSE, Danielle Smith blamed Ottawa for Imperial Oil's plan to lay off 20 per cent of its employees by 2027.
Reposted by Anthony Berndt
Reposted by Anthony Berndt
It's just I've seen ppl bemoan "the state state of science" here and there, and what they actually mean is "I only read the 'science' headlines on CNN."
Like, no. Amazing things are happening. And I mean straight sci-fi shit. "We could conclusively prove extraterrestrial life exists in 2040" shit.
Like, no. Amazing things are happening. And I mean straight sci-fi shit. "We could conclusively prove extraterrestrial life exists in 2040" shit.
September 29, 2025 at 8:26 PM
It's just I've seen ppl bemoan "the state state of science" here and there, and what they actually mean is "I only read the 'science' headlines on CNN."
Like, no. Amazing things are happening. And I mean straight sci-fi shit. "We could conclusively prove extraterrestrial life exists in 2040" shit.
Like, no. Amazing things are happening. And I mean straight sci-fi shit. "We could conclusively prove extraterrestrial life exists in 2040" shit.
Reposted by Anthony Berndt
After 10 years of work, a complete telomere-to-telomere gap-free genome for C. elegans finally exists: it has 106 Mb rather than the textbook 100.3 Mb, and up to 366 additional genes.
genome.cshlp.org/content/35/8...
genome.cshlp.org/content/35/8...
August 1, 2025 at 9:55 PM
After 10 years of work, a complete telomere-to-telomere gap-free genome for C. elegans finally exists: it has 106 Mb rather than the textbook 100.3 Mb, and up to 366 additional genes.
genome.cshlp.org/content/35/8...
genome.cshlp.org/content/35/8...
Reposted by Anthony Berndt
Super excited that this story by @borissieber.bsky.social is now on BioRxiv!
For decades, we thought there was no MAPK scaffold for the ERK-like cascade that promotes sexual reproduction in fission yeast ... until Boris found it !
See the thread 👇 and enjoy the paper!
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
For decades, we thought there was no MAPK scaffold for the ERK-like cascade that promotes sexual reproduction in fission yeast ... until Boris found it !
See the thread 👇 and enjoy the paper!
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Mammalian cells have KSR, budding yeast has Ste5… and fission yeast has Sms1 as the MAPK scaffold for sexual reproduction!
Very excited to share my postdoc work where we discover that the hemi-arrestin Sms1 binds all components of the MAPK cascade, including ERK-like Spk1
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Very excited to share my postdoc work where we discover that the hemi-arrestin Sms1 binds all components of the MAPK cascade, including ERK-like Spk1
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
September 25, 2025 at 7:48 PM
Super excited that this story by @borissieber.bsky.social is now on BioRxiv!
For decades, we thought there was no MAPK scaffold for the ERK-like cascade that promotes sexual reproduction in fission yeast ... until Boris found it !
See the thread 👇 and enjoy the paper!
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
For decades, we thought there was no MAPK scaffold for the ERK-like cascade that promotes sexual reproduction in fission yeast ... until Boris found it !
See the thread 👇 and enjoy the paper!
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Reposted by Anthony Berndt
Every year my mom gets us each a bird ornament, she texted us all today asking which we each want
My siblings never indulge in text conversations, but we’ve been chatting in that text chain for over an hour now.
Thoughts and prayers for my mother, who’ll wake up to 105 increasingly unhinged texts
My siblings never indulge in text conversations, but we’ve been chatting in that text chain for over an hour now.
Thoughts and prayers for my mother, who’ll wake up to 105 increasingly unhinged texts
My favorite local wooden bird artist started making Canada Warblers, my favorite one (which is saying something given how much I love all warblers)
September 25, 2025 at 3:50 AM
Every year my mom gets us each a bird ornament, she texted us all today asking which we each want
My siblings never indulge in text conversations, but we’ve been chatting in that text chain for over an hour now.
Thoughts and prayers for my mother, who’ll wake up to 105 increasingly unhinged texts
My siblings never indulge in text conversations, but we’ve been chatting in that text chain for over an hour now.
Thoughts and prayers for my mother, who’ll wake up to 105 increasingly unhinged texts
Yes. But seeing how many professors were silent or neutered when it came of field-known assholes/bullies/abusers/sex-pests/rapists, I'm expecting absolutely nothing.
gonna respectfully disagree with you here. These are not normal times. If we and the us scientific enterprise are to survive we ALL NEED TO STEP UP and do our part.
I like this piece, and I like doing sci comm. But I also think it’s not fair to demand every subject matter expert also be public-facing. Some people are really good at doing and that’s enough. We need more economically viable jobs for full-time sci comm to bridge findings from experts to public.
September 21, 2025 at 2:42 AM
Yes. But seeing how many professors were silent or neutered when it came of field-known assholes/bullies/abusers/sex-pests/rapists, I'm expecting absolutely nothing.
Reposted by Anthony Berndt
Let's talk about root beer & why you've probably never tasted real sassafras OR sarsaparilla.
Root beer was originally made by adding yeast to a syrup made from the pulverized root bark of a sassafras tree.
Sassafras produces SAFROLE, a compound that deters animals from eating the bark or leaves.
Root beer was originally made by adding yeast to a syrup made from the pulverized root bark of a sassafras tree.
Sassafras produces SAFROLE, a compound that deters animals from eating the bark or leaves.
a glass mug of a & w beer with foam on top
Alt: a glass mug of a & w beer with foam on top. The foam spills over slowly.
media.tenor.com
September 19, 2025 at 12:51 PM
Let's talk about root beer & why you've probably never tasted real sassafras OR sarsaparilla.
Root beer was originally made by adding yeast to a syrup made from the pulverized root bark of a sassafras tree.
Sassafras produces SAFROLE, a compound that deters animals from eating the bark or leaves.
Root beer was originally made by adding yeast to a syrup made from the pulverized root bark of a sassafras tree.
Sassafras produces SAFROLE, a compound that deters animals from eating the bark or leaves.
Reposted by Anthony Berndt
I’m not the first person to make this observation, but this being the biggest story in the world at present really speaks to how much Twitter still serves as a universal assignments editor for English-language journalists.
September 12, 2025 at 11:47 AM
I’m not the first person to make this observation, but this being the biggest story in the world at present really speaks to how much Twitter still serves as a universal assignments editor for English-language journalists.
Reposted by Anthony Berndt
With iNaturalist, GBIF, and an increasing amount of scientific literature online, it is now possible to identify many bugs from all over the world without having to get physical specimens in front of an expert. Last 5 years especially.
Please give me an unironic list of things that have gotten better over the last ten years because I’m spiraling.
I’ll start: you can buy an enormous TV from Costco for like $100 bucks now.
I’ll start: you can buy an enormous TV from Costco for like $100 bucks now.
September 12, 2025 at 1:22 AM
With iNaturalist, GBIF, and an increasing amount of scientific literature online, it is now possible to identify many bugs from all over the world without having to get physical specimens in front of an expert. Last 5 years especially.
Reposted by Anthony Berndt
Sedation dentistry is no longer weird. Phone cameras are really good. The price of solar panels has dropped by tens of thousands. Southern white rhinos, giant pandas, Arabian oryx and Stellar sea lions are no longer endangered.
And, I can testify, modern cancer treatments are fucking amazing.
And, I can testify, modern cancer treatments are fucking amazing.
Please give me an unironic list of things that have gotten better over the last ten years because I’m spiraling.
I’ll start: you can buy an enormous TV from Costco for like $100 bucks now.
I’ll start: you can buy an enormous TV from Costco for like $100 bucks now.
September 12, 2025 at 3:37 AM
Sedation dentistry is no longer weird. Phone cameras are really good. The price of solar panels has dropped by tens of thousands. Southern white rhinos, giant pandas, Arabian oryx and Stellar sea lions are no longer endangered.
And, I can testify, modern cancer treatments are fucking amazing.
And, I can testify, modern cancer treatments are fucking amazing.
Reposted by Anthony Berndt
#Perspective
A discussion on virus-encoded auxiliary metabolic genes and a framework for the biological interpretation of these genes.
#MicroSky 🦠
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A discussion on virus-encoded auxiliary metabolic genes and a framework for the biological interpretation of these genes.
#MicroSky 🦠
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A call for caution in the biological interpretation of viral auxiliary metabolic genes - Nature Microbiology
This Perspective discusses virus-encoded auxiliary metabolic genes and provides a framework for the biological interpretation of these genes.
www.nature.com
September 8, 2025 at 6:01 AM
#Perspective
A discussion on virus-encoded auxiliary metabolic genes and a framework for the biological interpretation of these genes.
#MicroSky 🦠
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A discussion on virus-encoded auxiliary metabolic genes and a framework for the biological interpretation of these genes.
#MicroSky 🦠
www.nature.com/articles/s41...