chasingmicrobes
@chasingmicrobes.bsky.social
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Personal Account
All posting done on personal time, using personal device, and only reflect my personal opinions.
Personal Account
All posting done on personal time, using personal device, and only reflect my personal opinions.
Reposted by chasingmicrobes
Merry X-SMASH!
My first first author paper is out on bioRxiv! 🖥
We present epsSMASH, a comprehensive and high-throughput tool for predicting exopolysaccharide (exoPS) biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) in bacterial genomes 🦠🧬🧫
1/8
My first first author paper is out on bioRxiv! 🖥
We present epsSMASH, a comprehensive and high-throughput tool for predicting exopolysaccharide (exoPS) biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) in bacterial genomes 🦠🧬🧫
1/8
December 24, 2025 at 12:48 PM
Merry X-SMASH!
My first first author paper is out on bioRxiv! 🖥
We present epsSMASH, a comprehensive and high-throughput tool for predicting exopolysaccharide (exoPS) biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) in bacterial genomes 🦠🧬🧫
1/8
My first first author paper is out on bioRxiv! 🖥
We present epsSMASH, a comprehensive and high-throughput tool for predicting exopolysaccharide (exoPS) biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) in bacterial genomes 🦠🧬🧫
1/8
Reposted by chasingmicrobes
Repeat after me: GENE 👏 EXPRESSION 👏 PROFILING 👏 DOES 👏 NOT 👏 A 👏 VIRTUAL 👏 CELL 👏 MAKE 👏
December 26, 2025 at 12:11 PM
Repeat after me: GENE 👏 EXPRESSION 👏 PROFILING 👏 DOES 👏 NOT 👏 A 👏 VIRTUAL 👏 CELL 👏 MAKE 👏
I'd like to order one beaker please.
Science supplier: Great! I see you want to buy a beaker. Please choose between our selection– a case of 600 or 100,000 beakers.
Science supplier: Great! I see you want to buy a beaker. Please choose between our selection– a case of 600 or 100,000 beakers.
a man in a suit is talking to another man in a blue shirt while standing in front of a door .
ALT: a man in a suit is talking to another man in a blue shirt while standing in front of a door .
media.tenor.com
December 25, 2025 at 1:14 PM
I'd like to order one beaker please.
Science supplier: Great! I see you want to buy a beaker. Please choose between our selection– a case of 600 or 100,000 beakers.
Science supplier: Great! I see you want to buy a beaker. Please choose between our selection– a case of 600 or 100,000 beakers.
Reposted by chasingmicrobes
I’ve been saying for a long time that we need to follow the money and property that goes missing when migrants get locked up
Six UK immigration officers charged with money laundering offences
Six UK immigration officers charged with money laundering offences
Five of the officers also facing charges of conspiracy to steal and misconduct in public office
Six immigration officers have been charged with offences after an investigation into alleged thefts from migrants and money laundering.
Five of the officers are facing charges including conspiracy to steal and misconduct in public office, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said on Tuesday. All six have been charged with money laundering offences. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
December 24, 2025 at 10:19 AM
I’ve been saying for a long time that we need to follow the money and property that goes missing when migrants get locked up
Reposted by chasingmicrobes
“We can’t tell people about the torture until the torturers tell us it’s fine” is a hell of an argument
December 23, 2025 at 3:28 AM
“We can’t tell people about the torture until the torturers tell us it’s fine” is a hell of an argument
"At least 32 people have died in ICE custody since Mr. Trump took office, more than the number in Mr. Biden’s entire four years in office."
The Complex Deportation Network Behind Trump’s Immigration Crackdown (Gift Article)
An analysis of data on every ICE arrest, detention stay and deportation reveals the complexity and reach of President Trump’s immigration crackdown.
www.nytimes.com
December 23, 2025 at 1:18 PM
"At least 32 people have died in ICE custody since Mr. Trump took office, more than the number in Mr. Biden’s entire four years in office."
Reposted by chasingmicrobes
But it is also frequently over-estiamted. Thus I would suggest people look at this new paper (not by me) on this topic:
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
"Reassessing Interkingdom Horizontal Gene Transfer Suggests Limited Influence on Plant Genomes"
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
"Reassessing Interkingdom Horizontal Gene Transfer Suggests Limited Influence on Plant Genomes"
Reassessing Interkingdom Horizontal Gene Transfer Suggests Limited Influence on Plant Genomes
Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) has been proposed as an important contributor to plant genome evolution, with hundreds of candidate genes reported across kingdoms. By reanalyzing published cases with ...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
December 22, 2025 at 12:39 AM
But it is also frequently over-estiamted. Thus I would suggest people look at this new paper (not by me) on this topic:
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
"Reassessing Interkingdom Horizontal Gene Transfer Suggests Limited Influence on Plant Genomes"
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
"Reassessing Interkingdom Horizontal Gene Transfer Suggests Limited Influence on Plant Genomes"
Reposted by chasingmicrobes
Back in the day, I spent a lot of effort pointing out that many claims of lateral gene transfer between taxa were better explained by other phenomena, like gene loss, duplicaiton and deletion, convergence, bad informatics, etc 1/n
December 22, 2025 at 12:39 AM
Back in the day, I spent a lot of effort pointing out that many claims of lateral gene transfer between taxa were better explained by other phenomena, like gene loss, duplicaiton and deletion, convergence, bad informatics, etc 1/n
Trump Takes America’s ‘Imperial Presidency’ to a New Level
www.nytimes.com
December 21, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Reposted by chasingmicrobes
Microbes weaponizing secondary metabolites to make rivals vulnerable to phage attack 🧪🦠
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Streptomyces secretes a siderophore that sensitizes competitor bacteria to phage infection - Nature Microbiology
A secondary metabolite sensitizes competitor Bacillus subtilis to a wide panel of lytic phages by sequestering iron and preventing the activation of Spo0A.
www.nature.com
December 19, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Microbes weaponizing secondary metabolites to make rivals vulnerable to phage attack 🧪🦠
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by chasingmicrobes
🚨 "The Justice Department redacted the names and identifiers of victims. Fox News Digital has learned that the same redaction standards were applied to politically exposed individuals and government officials. "
h/t @kleinmatic.bsky.social
h/t @kleinmatic.bsky.social
Epstein files explode open as DOJ details discovery of powerful figures and more than 1,200 victims
EXCLUSIVE: More than a dozen people and government officials' names appear in the hundreds of thousands of pages of Jeffrey Epstein files made public Friday, sources said.
www.foxnews.com
December 19, 2025 at 9:51 PM
🚨 "The Justice Department redacted the names and identifiers of victims. Fox News Digital has learned that the same redaction standards were applied to politically exposed individuals and government officials. "
h/t @kleinmatic.bsky.social
h/t @kleinmatic.bsky.social
🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔
December 19, 2025 at 4:36 PM
🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔
In January I built a computer for @evoquant.bsky.social and put $260 of DDR5 RAM in it.
That same RAM is currently $1080
Maybe the business should have been to buy a bunch of RAM sticks and hold onto them for a year.
That same RAM is currently $1080
Maybe the business should have been to buy a bunch of RAM sticks and hold onto them for a year.
December 19, 2025 at 3:23 PM
In January I built a computer for @evoquant.bsky.social and put $260 of DDR5 RAM in it.
That same RAM is currently $1080
Maybe the business should have been to buy a bunch of RAM sticks and hold onto them for a year.
That same RAM is currently $1080
Maybe the business should have been to buy a bunch of RAM sticks and hold onto them for a year.
Reposted by chasingmicrobes
As Trump tries to use the tragic story of the Brown shooter and his victims to further vilify immigrants, remember that MIT professor and innovator Nuno Loureiro followed the same path here
December 19, 2025 at 12:27 PM
As Trump tries to use the tragic story of the Brown shooter and his victims to further vilify immigrants, remember that MIT professor and innovator Nuno Loureiro followed the same path here
Reposted by chasingmicrobes
FOUR new deaths in ICE detention. That puts the total this year at 30 people dead; the highest in ICE's history and worse than even during the COVID years.
It's clear that the system is breaking down. Many of these are preventable deaths.
It's clear that the system is breaking down. Many of these are preventable deaths.
In the 90 minutes since I posted this, I've gotten two more death notifications.
ICE has a responsibility to take care of these people, something they are clearly disregarding. This is beyond horrifying. We must ensure dignity and humanity for detained people in this country.
ICE has a responsibility to take care of these people, something they are clearly disregarding. This is beyond horrifying. We must ensure dignity and humanity for detained people in this country.
Within 15 minutes today, I got two back-to-back notifications of deaths at ICE facilities.
28 people have died in ICE custody since Trump took office. These facilities are overcrowded & are putting their own profits over health and safety. We need oversight & accountability NOW.
28 people have died in ICE custody since Trump took office. These facilities are overcrowded & are putting their own profits over health and safety. We need oversight & accountability NOW.
December 18, 2025 at 7:53 PM
FOUR new deaths in ICE detention. That puts the total this year at 30 people dead; the highest in ICE's history and worse than even during the COVID years.
It's clear that the system is breaking down. Many of these are preventable deaths.
It's clear that the system is breaking down. Many of these are preventable deaths.
Reposted by chasingmicrobes
For postdoc candidates, please email me a CV and a cover letter.
For graduate students, y'all know the processes for your appropriate departments and if you're not a graduate student yet, start getting your applications ready for next year's cycle!
For graduate students, y'all know the processes for your appropriate departments and if you're not a graduate student yet, start getting your applications ready for next year's cycle!
December 18, 2025 at 6:29 PM
For postdoc candidates, please email me a CV and a cover letter.
For graduate students, y'all know the processes for your appropriate departments and if you're not a graduate student yet, start getting your applications ready for next year's cycle!
For graduate students, y'all know the processes for your appropriate departments and if you're not a graduate student yet, start getting your applications ready for next year's cycle!
Reposted by chasingmicrobes
Two pieces of fun news:
1. We've launched a new website for our lab: www.brysonlab.org
2. With some new funding, we are recruiting for new postdocs and graduate students. The projects build upon our previous studies of antigen presentation and phagosome biology and go into new exciting dimensions!
1. We've launched a new website for our lab: www.brysonlab.org
2. With some new funding, we are recruiting for new postdocs and graduate students. The projects build upon our previous studies of antigen presentation and phagosome biology and go into new exciting dimensions!
The Bryson Lab | Vaccine Development & Research at MIT
Developing effective accessible vaccines to end tuberculosis worldwide. Combining immunoengineering, molecular microbiology & systems biology at MIT.
www.brysonlab.org
December 18, 2025 at 6:29 PM
Two pieces of fun news:
1. We've launched a new website for our lab: www.brysonlab.org
2. With some new funding, we are recruiting for new postdocs and graduate students. The projects build upon our previous studies of antigen presentation and phagosome biology and go into new exciting dimensions!
1. We've launched a new website for our lab: www.brysonlab.org
2. With some new funding, we are recruiting for new postdocs and graduate students. The projects build upon our previous studies of antigen presentation and phagosome biology and go into new exciting dimensions!
Reposted by chasingmicrobes
I'm missing Twitter so much rn. Like Twitter. Not the thing it is now. But when it was a real functioning site with an owner I knew fuck all about. It was so great at keeping me up with the current events in a way no other site has been able to give.
December 17, 2025 at 4:05 PM
I'm missing Twitter so much rn. Like Twitter. Not the thing it is now. But when it was a real functioning site with an owner I knew fuck all about. It was so great at keeping me up with the current events in a way no other site has been able to give.
Reposted by chasingmicrobes
Trump just announced he will be giving members of the military a $1776 bonus. So re-upping this shutdown piece about the dangers of a the leader of a personalist regime presenting himself as the paymaster of the armed forces.
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/the-risks-...
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/the-risks-...
The risks of letting Trump become the military paymaster
Trump will demand their loyalty in return
donmoynihan.substack.com
December 18, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Trump just announced he will be giving members of the military a $1776 bonus. So re-upping this shutdown piece about the dangers of a the leader of a personalist regime presenting himself as the paymaster of the armed forces.
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/the-risks-...
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/the-risks-...
Reposted by chasingmicrobes
"All NIH SBIR and STTR Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFOs) listed below are expired, effective immediately."
Many of you are likely unaware but small business grants are currently not a thing because Congress is a mess.
"Active NIH SBIR and STTR awards can continue, however NIH will not issue noncompeting continuation awards for existing projects until the SBIR/STTR program is reauthorized."
"Active NIH SBIR and STTR awards can continue, however NIH will not issue noncompeting continuation awards for existing projects until the SBIR/STTR program is reauthorized."
NOT-OD-26-006: Notice of Early Expiration of NIH Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Notices of Funding Opportunity and Guidance for Existing Recipi...
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts: Notice of Early Expiration of NIH Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STT...
grants.nih.gov
December 11, 2025 at 12:15 PM
"All NIH SBIR and STTR Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFOs) listed below are expired, effective immediately."
Reposted by chasingmicrobes
“The agency, which contains 27 institutes and centers, posted job advertisements for 11 of 13 vacant directorships on November 7, initially giving candidates two weeks to apply but later extending the deadline until December 12. The other two jobs were posted in September.”
December 17, 2025 at 5:26 PM
“The agency, which contains 27 institutes and centers, posted job advertisements for 11 of 13 vacant directorships on November 7, initially giving candidates two weeks to apply but later extending the deadline until December 12. The other two jobs were posted in September.”
Reposted by chasingmicrobes
“The wide recruitment and short application window are described by former and current NIH officials as unprecedented, both in the number of simultaneous searches and the targeted speed, raising concerns over the integrity and effectiveness of the process.” www.reuters.com/business/hea...
US NIH races to fill nearly half its top roles after wave of departures
The U.S. National Institutes of Health is seeking to fill nearly half of its top roles at breakneck speed following a wave of departures since President Donald Trump's return to office in January, acc...
www.reuters.com
December 17, 2025 at 5:24 PM
“The wide recruitment and short application window are described by former and current NIH officials as unprecedented, both in the number of simultaneous searches and the targeted speed, raising concerns over the integrity and effectiveness of the process.” www.reuters.com/business/hea...
How to fix this?
More real data. Lab data. Open data.
More real data. Lab data. Open data.
#MachineLearning methods are used to predict #AntimicrobialResistance #AMR from genomic data. @lbarquist.bsky.social &co show that sampling biases driven by population structure severely undermine the accuracy of AMR prediction models even with large datasets @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4iZ0zXQ
December 18, 2025 at 2:09 PM
How to fix this?
More real data. Lab data. Open data.
More real data. Lab data. Open data.