James Gurney
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jamesgurney.bsky.social
James Gurney
@jamesgurney.bsky.social
1.5K followers 520 following 180 posts
Assistant professor working on phage. Occasional writer/fact checker for kurzgesagt. I didn’t write dinotopia.
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Reposted by James Gurney
sazimi.bsky.social
Such a Friday, double win at Biology Department with Bio for Breakfast and Research day @jamesgurney.bsky.social @persisterbritt.bsky.social @kswetzel1.bsky.social
November 7, 2025 at 11:54 PM
jamesgurney.bsky.social
My lab is gonna make the switch to from dplyr to genzplyr right away.

hadley.github.io/genzplyr/
dplyr but make it bussin fr fr no cap
`genzplyr` is an alternative syntax for `dplyr` that replaces boring old function names with GenZ slang. Your data wrangling is about to hit different.
hadley.github.io
November 7, 2025 at 11:55 AM
Reposted by James Gurney
nicrodemo.bsky.social
Do you want to do a Masters in Evolutionary Biology? The call for applying to the MEME program is now open! MEME is a fantastic 2-year MSc between four European Universities on all areas of Evolutionary Biology. Apply and study in Sweden/France/the Netherlands/Germany/USA/Switzerland! www.evobio.eu
Picture of MEME students on the beach
October 24, 2025 at 9:04 AM
jamesgurney.bsky.social
A few months ago, myself @sallylepage.bsky.social and @dhewlett.bsky.social sat down and recorded a pilot podcast for Kurzgesagt interviewing Cancer expert @kimberly-luddy.bsky.social about all things Cancer. While the project is no more, I thought I'd share it! youtu.be/ZXo6uTf3Im8
Trust Us, we're Liars -Pilot Podcast
YouTube video by The League of Nerds
youtu.be
October 21, 2025 at 2:44 AM
jamesgurney.bsky.social
Household energy after submitting grant this week.
October 5, 2025 at 12:36 AM
Reposted by James Gurney
paulhoskisson.bsky.social
Come and work with me and @ariannebabina.bsky.social on #Streptomyces evolution and antibiotic production

Origins of a tangled bank: Adaptation and evolution in antibiotic-producing Streptomyces

www.gla.ac.uk/postgraduate...

please repost
University of Glasgow - Postgraduate study - Centres for Doctoral Training - NorthWest Biosciences - Our Projects - Underpinning Bioscience - Paul A Hoskisson
www.gla.ac.uk
September 30, 2025 at 11:02 AM
Reposted by James Gurney
evolvedbiofilm.bsky.social
PhD fellowship in biofilm-phage interactions - with Mette Burmølle at University of Copenhagen 🇩🇰
deadline 1 October 2025

employment.ku.dk/faculty?show...

#phagesky #microsky
PhD fellowship in biofilm-phage interactions
employment.ku.dk
September 28, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Reposted by James Gurney
cbibberson.bsky.social
Come join us in Knoxville! 🧫🧪🦠
utkmicrobiology.bsky.social utkmicrobiology.bsky.social @utkmicrobiology.bsky.social · Sep 16
We’re hiring a tenure-track Assistant Professor in Microbial Drivers of Chronic Disease, starting Fall 2026!
September 17, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Reposted by James Gurney
brockhurstlab.bsky.social
Recent paper from the lab studying predictors of phage cocktail efficacy against complex clinical Pseudomonas populations

royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/epdf/10....

Led by Rosanna Wright with extraordinary MSc (PhD) student Maisie Czernuska
Bacteria–phage infection network structure and genomic defence system content predict efficacy of a phage therapy cocktail against Pseudomonas aeruginosa from chronic lung infections
royalsocietypublishing.org
September 25, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Reposted by James Gurney
ajaidandekar.bsky.social
Andrew Frando, @jrchandler.bsky.social, and I wrote a primer about excellent work done in Sam Brown's group @brownlab.bsky.social

journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
Better together: Reciprocal activation of quorum sensing circuits enhances bacterial communication
Many bacteria use quorum sensing to control gene transcription based on population density. This primer explores a recent study in PLOS Biology which found that in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, two quorum-s...
journals.plos.org
September 6, 2025 at 9:08 PM
Reposted by James Gurney
plosbiology.org
Bacterial #QuorumSensing is often assumed to follow a strict hierarchy. @brownlab.bsky.social &co find that #Pseudomonas aeruginosa instead uses a reciprocal, cooperative system that enhances responsiveness to population density & environmental changes @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/3I7DhRG
The las and rhl QS systems have a reciprocal, synergistic, and unequal relationship. Top: Single-signal models demonstrate that the summed effects of single signals (3 oxo C12 HSL alone, red; C4 HSL alone, orange) cannot account for the maximal expression of lasI or rhlI. The upper green, flat surfaces in the plots indicate the maximum mean expression level measured across all combinations of signal concentrations while the lower semi-transparent surfaces mark the sum of single signal effects. The plotted points represent observed expression levels when C4 HSL is withheld (red) and when 3 oxo C12 HSL is withheld (yellow). Lines indicate the model predictions. Bottom: Multi-signal non-linear models capture the synergistic effects of both signals and match observed expression levels. Model estimates are shown as grid lines. Horizontal bars show the mean value of expression observed at each combination of signal concentrations. Lines extend from these mean values to the relevant grid point for clarity. Right: Data show that relationship of the las and rhl systems is reciprocal, and the multi-signal model quantifies the strength of those interactions. In particular, it reveals the contribution of both signals to the maximum fold-change in expression of both synthases. The charts in this panel summarize the contribution of 3 oxo C12 HSL (red), C4 HSL (yellow), and the synergistic combination of both (orange).
September 5, 2025 at 1:36 PM
jamesgurney.bsky.social
Standing room only for Eli Mehlferber from @brownbio.bsky.social for breakfast talk this morning. Giving a great talk.
September 5, 2025 at 12:41 PM
jamesgurney.bsky.social
WHAT?!? one way to cut off my last connection to the UK. Since when has the BBC News become subscription based?
BBC News has become subscription based
September 3, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Reposted by James Gurney
viromegirl.bsky.social
Do you love phage? I have an opening for a postdoc in my lab at the University of South Florida College of Marine Science (@cmarinescience.bsky.social) looking at interactions between marine phage and iron, which is an important limiting trace metal in the oceans (1/5) 🧵#phagesky 🦠🌊
Electron micrograph of two phage infecting a host cell side-by-side, with hearts between them
August 1, 2025 at 1:45 PM
jamesgurney.bsky.social
~3 inch Joro Spider. Invasive species in Georgia now.
August 17, 2025 at 11:18 PM
jamesgurney.bsky.social
New foster in the house. “Lovely” she fits her name to a tee. If you know anyone looking for a dog in the Atlanta area hit me up!
August 16, 2025 at 10:04 PM
jamesgurney.bsky.social
This is what the look of betrayal from a cat looks like.
August 16, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Reposted by James Gurney
ellinoralseth.bsky.social
Feels surreal to say but: I'm hiring! If you are or know anyone interested in looking at the evolution of phage resistance using A. baumannii and natural transformation, then this might be for you
www.jobbnorge.no/en/available...
Research position in Microbial Pharmacology and Population Biology (282139) | UiT The Arctic University of Norway
Job title: Research position in Microbial Pharmacology and Population Biology (282139), Employer: UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Deadline: Wednesday, August 27, 2025
www.jobbnorge.no
August 8, 2025 at 7:52 AM
jamesgurney.bsky.social
Very proud of my three wonderful Summer undergrad research fellows, all supported by the Molecular Basis for Disease program at State. All three have done great work and have been a pleasure to have in the lab.
August 7, 2025 at 8:24 PM
jamesgurney.bsky.social
Finally got my iPod touch to turn back on. I bought this with my first PhD pay check. Time to listen to some classic pre 2010 tunes.
July 28, 2025 at 3:15 PM
jamesgurney.bsky.social
Used AI to recreate the strangest bathroom I viewed when I was trying to find an apartment in France. This is a fairly close rendering. Including the off angle steps and it being in the center of the room. It was a bizarre death trap. Just the right height if you fell you’d break your neck.
July 18, 2025 at 12:00 AM
jamesgurney.bsky.social
New lab logo
July 12, 2025 at 7:36 PM
Reposted by James Gurney
ginalewin.bsky.social
Lovely time with new and old friends at microbiology population biology camp. Leaving with lots of new ideas (and lots of new bug bites)

@cbibberson.bsky.social @peachypotato.bsky.social @jamesgurney.bsky.social
College of New Hampshire views and people eating lobster
July 11, 2025 at 3:44 PM
Reposted by James Gurney
cbibberson.bsky.social
Feeling tired but inspired after a great week at the #MicrobialPopBioGRC. Great to see old friends and make some new ones! 🦞🗻🧫

@ginalewin.bsky.social @peachypotato.bsky.social @jamesgurney.bsky.social @stephenkdolan.bsky.social
July 11, 2025 at 4:52 PM
jamesgurney.bsky.social
My first GRC and I get why this is so many folks favorite meeting. Great presentations and interaction with some many people.

Only gripe is my room was hot. But it also does this! Warning flashing lights!
July 10, 2025 at 1:56 PM