Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍
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biochirrup.bsky.social
Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍
@biochirrup.bsky.social
Env. Microbiology PhD | Sustainability Researcher | Tweets about science, the environment, and plants. Sometimes has opinions. | Nature nerd 🌳
Reposted by Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍
⚠️ When “technology will save us” becomes a climate risk!

A new paper from great colleagues takes a careful look at techno-optimism — the belief that technology will largely solve climate change — and what it means for real-world climate action.
(1/4)👇
osf.io/preprints/ps...
November 19, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Hope this brightens someone else's morning as much as it did mine:
Here is a photo of the bumblebee I just found sleeping in one of my Hollyhock flowers 🥹
July 2, 2025 at 7:51 AM
Reposted by Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍
Who knew that “Do your own research” meant “Have ChatGPT hallucinate references”
May 30, 2025 at 11:52 AM
I just read this line in a book:
"The brain didn't evolve to keep us happy, it evolved to keep us alive."

...and like, damn, if that isn't the answer to probably 90% of modern-day problems, I don't know what is???
May 7, 2025 at 8:45 PM
Reposted by Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍
Which flow rate is most suitable for MS-based #proteomics and #chemoproteomics?

We have been thinking about this for a long time (nanoLC, capLC, µLC). According to a new @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social by the @kusterlab.bsky.social, it seems like all options work very well. www.biorxiv.org/cont...
High-performance proteomics at any chromatographic flow rate
Current applications of mass spectrometry-based proteomics range from single cell to body fluid analysis that come with very different demands regarding sensitivity or sample throughput. Additionally, the vast molecular complexity of proteomes and the massive dynamic range of protein concentrations in these biological systems require very high-performance chromatographic separations in tandem with the high speed and sensitivity afforded by mass spectrometer. In this study, we focussed on the chromatographic angle and, more specifically, systematically evaluated proteome analysis performance across a wide range of chromatographic flow rates (0.3 – 50 μL/min) and associated column diameters using a Vanquish Neo UHPLC coupled online to a Q Exactive HF-X mass spectrometer. Serial dilutions of HeLa cell line digests were used for benchmarking and total analysis time from injection-to-injection was intentionally fixed at 60 minutes (24 samples per day). The three key messages of the study are that i) all chromatographic flow rates are suitable for high-quality proteome analysis, ii) capLC (1.5 μL/min) is a very robust, sensitive and quantitative alternative to nanoLC for many applications and iii) showcased proteome, phosphoproteome and drug proteome data provide sound empirical guidance for laboratories in selecting appropriate chromatographic flow rates and column diameters for their specific application. ### Competing Interest Statement R.Z. and C.P. are employees of Thermo Fisher Scientific. BK is a non-operational co-founder and shareholder of MSAID. The other authors declare no competing interests. * ABBREVIATIONS : ACN : Acetonitrile CAA : Chloroacetamide capLC : Capillary Liquid Chromatography CSF : Cerebrospinal Fluid CV : Coefficient of Variation DDA : Data-dependent Acquisition DIA : Data-Independent Acquisition DMSO : Dimethyl Sulfoxide DTT : Dithiothreitol EC50 : Effective Concentration to Reduce 50% of Protein Binding to Kinobeads FBS : Fetal Bovine Serum fmol : Femtomole FDR : False Discovery Rate FWHM : Full Width at Half Maximum HeLa : Human Cervical Carcinoma Cell Line HLB : Hydrophilic-Lipophilic Balance HPLC : High-Performance Liquid Chromatography i.d. : Internal Diameter Kdapp : Apparent Dissociation Constant LC : Liquid Chromatography LC-MS/MS : Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry µg : Microgram min : Minute µL : Microliter µLC : Microflow Liquid Chromatography mm : Milimeter mM : Milimolar MS : Mass Spectrometry ng : Nanogram nL : Nanoliter nLC : Nanoflow Liquid Chromatography nM : Nanomolar PSM : Peptide-spectrum Match RT : Retention Time SPD : Samples per Day SWATH-MS : Sequential Window Acquisition of All Theoretical Mass Spectra TFA : Trifluoroacetic Acid Å : Angstrom
www.biorxiv.org
April 22, 2025 at 6:00 AM
Reposted by Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍
This is a new image from #JWST.

The bright points with spikes are stars in the Milky Way.

Everything else is a galaxy.

Everything. Else. Is. A. Galaxy.
April 29, 2025 at 6:47 PM
Sending solidarity across the pond to everyone who's marching for #StandUpForScience in the US today! 🔬🧪❤️
March 7, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Reposted by Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍
Evergreen cartoon
February 14, 2025 at 6:55 AM
Here's some positive environmental news for your Friday!

Includes wins such as the UK scrapping coal power completely, and rainforest being protected in South East Asia 😊

A reminder that not everything is doom and gloom! 🌍

youtu.be/Cw3N97EXc8c?...
The 10 Biggest Environmental Wins of 2024
YouTube video by Good News
youtu.be
January 17, 2025 at 1:53 PM
Had my day slightly downtrodden upon realising I'd confused US customary units with Imperial units in some data work I'm doing... but then my partner reminded me a similar thing happened to NASA, except they crashed a rocket.

Everyone should just use SI units. 🙃
January 15, 2025 at 6:22 PM
I spotted Red Kites in Leamington for the first time last year... and now on my lunchtime walk I was thrilled to see a pair enjoying some thermals just above my neighbourhood! 🦅

From the brink of extinction in the UK a few decades ago, it just shows how much difference targeted action can make 😃
January 15, 2025 at 1:06 PM
Just got sent this obvious scam message that seems like it's targeting pensioners who want Winter Fuel Allowance.
It still boggles my mind that there are scumbags out there that deliberately target vulnerable older people who just want a warm house 😤😤😤
January 7, 2025 at 9:47 AM
Reposted by Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍
I don't want my fridge to have a camera or Wi-Fi. I don't want my dishwasher to be smart. I don't want my washing machine to text me.

In fact, I kinda miss knobs and dials and knowing big appliances would last 20 years and could still be repaired.
January 5, 2025 at 10:07 AM
Flew from Paris to Rome yesterday and went over the alps around sunset. There was a bank of cloud that made the tops of mountains look like icebergs on the sea!
This planet is so cool. 🏔
December 11, 2024 at 9:14 AM
Reposted by Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍
Has anyone else watched this magnificent documentary about mosses? If not, I cannot recommend it highly enough... I guarantee it will blow you away! 💚

#moss #plants #bryophytes

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...
The Magical World of Moss
Documentary that explores the vital role that mosses played in the earth's evolution and how science is only beginning to unlock the secrets and potential of these amazing plants.
www.bbc.co.uk
December 8, 2024 at 9:40 AM
Reposted by Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍
From pond scum to premium skincare? Deep Blue Biotech is all in on blue-green algae to make better chemicals
From pond scum to premium skincare? Deep Blue Biotech is all in on blue-green algae to make better chemicals
Decarbonizing our economies in the race to fight climate change demands a wholesale overhauling of all sorts of production processes to make them as sustainable as possible. Greening chemicals, which are used as ingredients in all sorts of products, is…
tcrn.ch
November 28, 2024 at 11:40 AM
Currently on Day 5 of wisdom tooth-related woe. Tooth pain really is the absolute worst, I'm sick of eating ibuprofen 😣

The Americans do it right when they just take the buggers out early and have done with it!
December 1, 2024 at 10:20 PM
Was in London Paddington overnight for work and found myself with some free time today, so I just had to visit the Alexander Fleming Museum! 🧵 1/

It's tucked down a side road at St Mary's Hospital and is easy to miss...
November 27, 2024 at 4:57 PM
Probably not the warmest weekend to have booked to go camping! 😅☃️
November 23, 2024 at 9:28 AM
Reposted by Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍
On Friday, we’re broadcasting a #FEMSMicrobiolEcol webinar on Microbial Impacts of #ClimateChange! #MicroSky #Microbiology #Microbes #science

Join us if you can: fems-microbiology.org/fems-microbi...
November 20, 2024 at 3:32 PM
Reposted by Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍
A Comment article published across several Nature Portfolio journals calls for immediate, tangible steps that harness the power of microbiology and the expertise of researchers and policymakers to safeguard the planet for future generations. 🧪
Microbial solutions must be deployed against climate catastrophe
Nature Microbiology - This paper is a call to action. By publishing concurrently across journals like an emergency bulletin, we are not merely making a plea for awareness about climate change....
go.nature.com
November 15, 2024 at 4:01 PM
Reposted by Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍
Unravelling the mechanisms of antibiotic and heavy metal resistance co-selection in environmental bacteria

#FEMS Microbiol Rev

academic.oup.com/femsre/advan...
Unravelling the mechanisms of antibiotic and heavy metal resistance co-selection in environmental bacteria
Abstract. The co-selective pressure of heavy metals is a contributor to the dissemination and persistence of antibiotic resistance genes in environmental r
academic.oup.com
June 24, 2024 at 12:19 PM
It must be such a hard life being a cat...
November 20, 2024 at 9:43 PM
Well, Warwickshire actually delivered some real snow!! Managed to get out for a walk before work, and this Teasel was looking lovely with its little snow hats!
November 19, 2024 at 4:19 PM
Weather app reckons there'll be "significant" snowfall in my area tomorrow morning, but this being Warwickshire, probably means there will just be some slightly colder rain... 😩
November 18, 2024 at 10:03 PM