Dr. Adriana Torres-Ballesteros
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drimaria.bsky.social
Dr. Adriana Torres-Ballesteros
@drimaria.bsky.social
🔬 Microbial Ecologist | Data Scientist @rothamsted | @IPCC scholar | Scientific Director at Mind The Microbes @mindthemicro 🇬🇧🇨🇴🇧🇷

📍London - Bogotá - São Paulo
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Had a fantastic time speaking at @cafesci-harpenden.bsky.social Grateful for the chance to turn my talk into a conversation—I learned so much about what captures interest in climate change and microbial ecology research #climatechange @rothamsted.bsky.social @ipcc.bsky.social
Great to hear the talk from a visiting professor from South Africa with the MMEG team. Inspiring exchange on how plant microbiomes are studied across continents. 🌍🧬 #MicrobiomeResearch #GlobalCollaboration
June 10, 2025 at 9:57 AM
Busy times in the lab with the MMEG team, processing ~1000 rhizosphere samples from the Watkins collection. Exciting collaborative effort uncovering plant-microbe interactions at scale! @rothamsted.bsky.social
June 10, 2025 at 9:50 AM
Reposted by Dr. Adriana Torres-Ballesteros
📢New paper! One fifth of global farmland contaminated by toxic metals @science.org
Data from 800,000 soil samples identified a high-risk zone stretching across southern Europe, the Middle East, and South Asia.
Read the full story 👇
www.rothamsted.ac.uk/news/fifth-g...
April 17, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Reposted by Dr. Adriana Torres-Ballesteros
Carbon #sequestration in #agroforestry 🌳 🌽 🥑 🐄 is a hot topic.
Here we provide #openaccess guidelines to improve the quantification & reporting of carbon stocks in #soils & #biomass & additional #carbon storage in agroforestry systems, and to maximize manuscript acceptance.
doi.org/10.1007/s104...
Guidelines for improved quantification and reporting of carbon stocks and additional carbon storage in agroforestry systems - Agroforestry Systems
The number of scientific publications related to biomass carbon or soil organic carbon under various land management practices has globally and dramatically increased during the last two decades, the ...
doi.org
April 7, 2025 at 7:31 AM
A successful event organised by @rothamsted.bsky.social and the @uhertfordshireucu.bsky.social offered valuable insights into emerging bioscience technologies and industry trends. Highlights included an exceptional panel of women sharing diverse career paths in science
April 4, 2025 at 12:40 PM
Turns out, you can hear the soil! Incredible day at the crop transition experiment in Rothamsted—learning from colleagues about sampling techniques and key scientific questions to enhance soil health. #SoilScience #RegenerativeAgriculture @rothamsted.bsky.social
March 25, 2025 at 9:45 PM
Celebrating #InternationalWomensDay at @rothamsted.bsky.social with amazing speakers, inspiring action for gender equality in science and farming. Grateful for the work of @SpeakOutRev driving change for inclusive workplaces! #IWD2025 #WomenInSTEM #WomenInAg
March 12, 2025 at 12:25 PM
Reposted by Dr. Adriana Torres-Ballesteros
Cool paper.

"We developed a general genome-to-ecosystem (G2E) framework for integrating genome-inferred microbial kinetic traits into mechanistic models of terrestrial ecosystems .. benchmarking predictions against observed greenhouse gas emissions"

doi.org/10.1038/s414...
A framework for integrating genomics, microbial traits, and ecosystem biogeochemistry - Nature Communications
Microbes drive the Earth’s biogeochemical cycles. Here, Li et al. present a framework for integrating genome-inferred microbial kinetic traits into ecosystem mechanistic models, and use it to benchmar...
doi.org
March 6, 2025 at 10:22 AM
Exciting day at the animation training with Will at @rothamsted.bsky.social! Learning how to bring science to life through #Animation, #ScienceCommunication, and #Storytelling
February 26, 2025 at 11:17 AM
Reposted by Dr. Adriana Torres-Ballesteros
It’s hard to carry on with daily life when all hell breaks loose in the world. So small joys are so important now - look at this cutie that my student Lauri Laaspere put together! Can you guess what is going on? #soil
February 21, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Had a fantastic time speaking at @cafesci-harpenden.bsky.social Grateful for the chance to turn my talk into a conversation—I learned so much about what captures interest in climate change and microbial ecology research #climatechange @rothamsted.bsky.social @ipcc.bsky.social
February 18, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Reposted by Dr. Adriana Torres-Ballesteros
📢New paper: novel seed germination model will give breeders more predictive accuracy for seed development and growth 🌱
Full story 👇
www.rothamsted.ac.uk/news/new-see...
February 13, 2025 at 9:30 AM
“Busy start to 2025! Freeze-drying soil samples from Wakelyns for PLFA analysis & DNA extraction, tackling plenty of admin, and squeezing in some fun at #FOG2025 Festival of Genomics in London. #SoilScience #Microbiology #Genomics #PLFA #DNAExtraction #Agroecology
February 13, 2025 at 9:29 AM
Reposted by Dr. Adriana Torres-Ballesteros
Uma pesquisa na região do Xingu (PA) aponta os impactos da hidrelétrica de Belo Monte e da estiagem extrema. A redução da vazão da Volta Grande compromete a biodiversidade e afeta indígenas e ribeirinhos
Conflito hídrico ameaça vida de povos originários na Volta Grande do Xingu
Funcionamento da usina de Belo Monte tem prejudicado atividades cotidianas das populações e a reprodução de espécies nativas
jornal.usp.br
February 4, 2025 at 3:07 PM
Reposted by Dr. Adriana Torres-Ballesteros
For #TidyTuesday this week, we're looking at posit::conf() talks data! 🧇 I made a simple waffle chart using {ggimage} to show how many speakers listed an affiliation with Posit in 2023 📊

Code: github.com/nrennie/tidy...

#RStats #ggplot2 #DataViz
January 14, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Reposted by Dr. Adriana Torres-Ballesteros
📢 New paper in Ecology Letters on assigning Y-yield and A-acquisition strategies of our YAS framework using genomics data; genome size came out as a significant factor.

Led by Xingjie Wu, Jingjing Peng and Shuo Jiao.

doi.org/10.1111/ele....
A Global Relationship Between Genome Size and Encoded Carbon Metabolic Strategies of Soil Bacteria
We combined a global-scale meta-analysis of 2650 genomes, information on whole-genome sequencing, and a continental-scale metagenomic field study. We found that genome size was tightly associated wit...
doi.org
January 22, 2025 at 10:09 AM
Last December, we wrapped up the year with more training on the X-ray CT scanner, attended the MMEG meeting in Southampton, and organised social activities for Early Career Researchers, including making Christmas decorations. #ECRSupport #SoilScience #XRayCT #ScienceCommunity #STEMEvents
January 21, 2025 at 10:36 AM
In November, we held grant-writing training for Early Career Researchers at Rothamsted. Sampled at Wakelyns to explore agroforestry benefits and welcomed UKRI visitors to showcase how our X-ray CT scanner is unlocking soil’s secrets. #Agroforestry #SoilScience #ECRSupport @rothamsted.bsky.social
January 21, 2025 at 10:28 AM
In October, I visited the Allerton Project to explore farmer engagement strategies. Used VGStudio to track roots in sand, processed soil samples with MMEG, and presented our X-ray CT scanner with Dr. Kamrun Suravi to visitors & Rothamsted teams. #SoilHealth #AgTech #XRayCT #ScienceInAction
January 21, 2025 at 10:14 AM
Reposted by Dr. Adriana Torres-Ballesteros
There are three main verbs in #tidyplots

- add 👉 to add elements to the plots
- adjust 👉 to modify elements in the plot
- remove 👉 to remove elements from the plot

#rstats #dataviz #phd
January 19, 2025 at 7:57 PM
Reposted by Dr. Adriana Torres-Ballesteros
Our next talk on Café Scientifique - Harpenden would be effects of micro-organisms on climate change. Please see the attached flyer for details, and hope that you can join us.
January 18, 2025 at 6:46 PM
In September, back in England, we joined Lates Night at the #ScienceMuseum, playing the BLAST game. Back in the lab, we continued our carbon sequestration experiments in collaboration with a visiting professor from Malaysia and the #biophysics team at @rothamsted.bsky.social #SMLates
January 16, 2025 at 1:12 PM
Last August, I presented at #ISME, the top conference for microbial ecologists, and a dream come true! It was my first ISME oral presentation. ISME’s first time in Africa made it extra special, as I spoke in the Microbial Ecology & #ClimateChange session. Grateful for the kind compliments on my talk
January 16, 2025 at 12:56 PM
In July, we had the pleasure of hosting Dr. Natalia Sierra from the University of Aveiro.We’re exploring the potential of synthetic microbial communities to boost crop yields. Check out these impressive bean #nodules from our #crop transition experiment, collected the same month after harvest!
December 28, 2024 at 11:57 AM