Jen Herman 🌪️
@jukebarosh.bsky.social
Mostly Bacillus | unpublished data | hypotheses | wild ideas | sand-outta-box | who wants 2 bet? | 🧠🔥🐳 | Zinc ♡ | No one important | pls pass the puns | www.hermanlab.com |
Pinned
Jen Herman 🌪️
@jukebarosh.bsky.social
· Nov 13
Acct for sharing Bacillus-related stuff, but guaranteed to go off topic, b/c that's just what I do
Hypotheses made to be broken
#uncharacterizedgenes
#metabolism
#bacillussubtilis
#phage
#mitochondria
Hypotheses made to be broken
#uncharacterizedgenes
#metabolism
#bacillussubtilis
#phage
#mitochondria
Reposted by Jen Herman 🌪️
New in JB: Weiss, Tamayo et al. describe a very cool microbial interaction wherein Enterococcus faecalis, an opportunist found in the inflamed gut, impacts phase-variation noted by chaining & rough colony morphology of C. diff.
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
@asm.org #JBacteriology
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
@asm.org #JBacteriology
February 13, 2026 at 4:00 PM
New in JB: Weiss, Tamayo et al. describe a very cool microbial interaction wherein Enterococcus faecalis, an opportunist found in the inflamed gut, impacts phase-variation noted by chaining & rough colony morphology of C. diff.
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
@asm.org #JBacteriology
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
@asm.org #JBacteriology
Realized today - beyond conference interaction network (which I can only go to 1 or 2 (max!)/yr - there is a whole other online interaction ntwk that I did not know about for almost 15 yrs! Not know what to feel; like slow kid when everyone's picking teams at recess, I guess.Dodgeball champion btw
February 13, 2026 at 2:57 AM
Realized today - beyond conference interaction network (which I can only go to 1 or 2 (max!)/yr - there is a whole other online interaction ntwk that I did not know about for almost 15 yrs! Not know what to feel; like slow kid when everyone's picking teams at recess, I guess.Dodgeball champion btw
Reposted by Jen Herman 🌪️
Happy birthday to one of my favourite haters, Charles Darwin
February 12, 2026 at 4:31 PM
Happy birthday to one of my favourite haters, Charles Darwin
Reposted by Jen Herman 🌪️
Big news from our lab: we can now stably edit the genome of a parasitic plant! Transgene-free, genome-edited P. japonicum in one generation! This will transform how we study #parasiticplants and other hard-to-transform plants.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
February 12, 2026 at 9:24 AM
Big news from our lab: we can now stably edit the genome of a parasitic plant! Transgene-free, genome-edited P. japonicum in one generation! This will transform how we study #parasiticplants and other hard-to-transform plants.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Jen Herman 🌪️
Buff-tip moths look like twigs!
The buff-tip moth (Phalera bucephala) has mastered a very particular kind of camouflage.
When they close their wings up, they resemble a broken twig.
Native to large parts of Europe, there's regional pattern variation that reflects the local tree species. This one best resembles birch twigs?
When they close their wings up, they resemble a broken twig.
Native to large parts of Europe, there's regional pattern variation that reflects the local tree species. This one best resembles birch twigs?
February 12, 2026 at 1:13 PM
Buff-tip moths look like twigs!
Reposted by Jen Herman 🌪️
Our new paper is out on the cell wall UDP-sugar nucleotide pathways in Candida & their potential as antifungal drug targets. doi.org/10.1016/j.tc...
@mrccmm.bsky.social @youngecmm.bsky.social @ecmmcandidaiv.bsky.social @ishamycology.bsky.social @youngisham.bsky.social @bsmm-meeting.bsky.social
@mrccmm.bsky.social @youngecmm.bsky.social @ecmmcandidaiv.bsky.social @ishamycology.bsky.social @youngisham.bsky.social @bsmm-meeting.bsky.social
February 12, 2026 at 8:36 AM
Our new paper is out on the cell wall UDP-sugar nucleotide pathways in Candida & their potential as antifungal drug targets. doi.org/10.1016/j.tc...
@mrccmm.bsky.social @youngecmm.bsky.social @ecmmcandidaiv.bsky.social @ishamycology.bsky.social @youngisham.bsky.social @bsmm-meeting.bsky.social
@mrccmm.bsky.social @youngecmm.bsky.social @ecmmcandidaiv.bsky.social @ishamycology.bsky.social @youngisham.bsky.social @bsmm-meeting.bsky.social
Reposted by Jen Herman 🌪️
A ligand-binding sensor domain got a tiny insertion from cytochrome c, which contained a heme-binding motif, and now it is a nitric oxide sensor. As simple as that: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org
February 12, 2026 at 3:11 AM
A ligand-binding sensor domain got a tiny insertion from cytochrome c, which contained a heme-binding motif, and now it is a nitric oxide sensor. As simple as that: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Jen Herman 🌪️
#DeepMutationalScanning (DMS) experiments are limited by gene size due to library complexity & costs. @christianlandry.bsky.social &co develop an efficient & cost-effective barcoded cloning strategy for plasmid-based DMS libraries that enables study of large genes @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4abhyUf
February 11, 2026 at 7:19 PM
#DeepMutationalScanning (DMS) experiments are limited by gene size due to library complexity & costs. @christianlandry.bsky.social &co develop an efficient & cost-effective barcoded cloning strategy for plasmid-based DMS libraries that enables study of large genes @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4abhyUf
Reposted by Jen Herman 🌪️
It is absolutely outrageous that Moderna’s flu vaccine was met with a “refusal-to-file” even after their approved their protocol with FDA and carried out the trial as agreed. This vaccine works better in older adults than the current flu vaccines.
apnews.com/article/mode...
apnews.com/article/mode...
Moderna says FDA refuses its application for new mRNA flu vaccine
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is refusing to consider Moderna’s application for a new flu vaccine made with mRNA technology.
apnews.com
February 11, 2026 at 12:13 AM
It is absolutely outrageous that Moderna’s flu vaccine was met with a “refusal-to-file” even after their approved their protocol with FDA and carried out the trial as agreed. This vaccine works better in older adults than the current flu vaccines.
apnews.com/article/mode...
apnews.com/article/mode...
Sometimes you meet someone & they seem abrasive but end up being great friends
And sometimes the abrasive ones are just rotty
Is there a way to tell the difference?
And sometimes the abrasive ones are just rotty
Is there a way to tell the difference?
February 11, 2026 at 2:57 AM
Sometimes you meet someone & they seem abrasive but end up being great friends
And sometimes the abrasive ones are just rotty
Is there a way to tell the difference?
And sometimes the abrasive ones are just rotty
Is there a way to tell the difference?
One criterion I judge people by (fair or not) is how they treat people they have nothing to gain from. If you can't acknowledge the person that removes the trash from your office, I figure you have drank so much self-importance kool-aid there's no hope. RIP
February 7, 2026 at 4:38 AM
One criterion I judge people by (fair or not) is how they treat people they have nothing to gain from. If you can't acknowledge the person that removes the trash from your office, I figure you have drank so much self-importance kool-aid there's no hope. RIP
Reposted by Jen Herman 🌪️
Please share: we're hiring a new tenure-track faculty member to our Department of Genetics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
faculty-einstein.icims.com/jobs/17847/a...
faculty-einstein.icims.com/jobs/17847/a...
Albert Einstein College of Medicine | Medical Education | Biomedical Research
faculty-einstein.icims.com
February 5, 2026 at 10:14 PM
Please share: we're hiring a new tenure-track faculty member to our Department of Genetics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
faculty-einstein.icims.com/jobs/17847/a...
faculty-einstein.icims.com/jobs/17847/a...
Reposted by Jen Herman 🌪️
I used to love computer it was my friend. Now I have hate in my heart
February 5, 2026 at 9:17 PM
I used to love computer it was my friend. Now I have hate in my heart
Reposted by Jen Herman 🌪️
Hey all, excited to share this collab w/
@shaunmckinnie.bsky.social
TL;DR we combined our expertise to develop and validate a MALDI-tims platform for screening the production of isomeric small molecules (~212 Da) directly from E coli colonies in high throughput
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
@shaunmckinnie.bsky.social
TL;DR we combined our expertise to develop and validate a MALDI-tims platform for screening the production of isomeric small molecules (~212 Da) directly from E coli colonies in high throughput
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
A high-throughput biocatalytic platform for screening isomeric kainoid natural products
Shepherd and Ramachandra et al. present a fast, chromatography-free method for resolving
isomeric products from engineered enzymes. This platform enables large-scale screening
and identifies improved ...
www.cell.com
February 5, 2026 at 6:36 PM
Hey all, excited to share this collab w/
@shaunmckinnie.bsky.social
TL;DR we combined our expertise to develop and validate a MALDI-tims platform for screening the production of isomeric small molecules (~212 Da) directly from E coli colonies in high throughput
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
@shaunmckinnie.bsky.social
TL;DR we combined our expertise to develop and validate a MALDI-tims platform for screening the production of isomeric small molecules (~212 Da) directly from E coli colonies in high throughput
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
Reposted by Jen Herman 🌪️
Today in #BlackHistoryMonth, 2/4/1913 #Rosa Parks was born. 1955 refused to move to the back of the bus in a planned #directaction against #JimCrow, sparking Montgomery Bus #Boycott. Later in her life, she became a supporter of the Black Power Movement and an anti-Apartheid activist.
February 4, 2026 at 3:13 PM
Today in #BlackHistoryMonth, 2/4/1913 #Rosa Parks was born. 1955 refused to move to the back of the bus in a planned #directaction against #JimCrow, sparking Montgomery Bus #Boycott. Later in her life, she became a supporter of the Black Power Movement and an anti-Apartheid activist.
Reposted by Jen Herman 🌪️
New in JB: Jorgenson reviews recent advances in cell envelope assembly via the lens of the essential lipid carrier undecaprenyl phosphate and with an eye on targets of novel Abx development.
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
@asm.org #JBacteriology
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
@asm.org #JBacteriology
February 5, 2026 at 2:27 PM
New in JB: Jorgenson reviews recent advances in cell envelope assembly via the lens of the essential lipid carrier undecaprenyl phosphate and with an eye on targets of novel Abx development.
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
@asm.org #JBacteriology
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
@asm.org #JBacteriology
Reposted by Jen Herman 🌪️
@poojag96.bsky.social work on the bioenergetics of spore germination is now published- Pooja had a really nice summary that I've put below but essentially we think the role of bioenergetics in spore germination has been completely overlooked!
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
www.pnas.org
January 13, 2026 at 2:43 PM
@poojag96.bsky.social work on the bioenergetics of spore germination is now published- Pooja had a really nice summary that I've put below but essentially we think the role of bioenergetics in spore germination has been completely overlooked!
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Reposted by Jen Herman 🌪️
Here is ANOTHER one- this one uses its ring to form a pore after interacting with phage ring proteins. Whereas system above activates an RNA-degrading nuclease. From Norris and Maxwell labs www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A pore-forming antiphage defence is activated by oligomeric phage proteins - Nature
Bacteria use diverse defence systems against phages, including a 164-residue prophage-encoded protein, Rip1, which senses conserved phage assembly rings to form membrane pores that block virion matura...
www.nature.com
February 5, 2026 at 2:13 AM
Here is ANOTHER one- this one uses its ring to form a pore after interacting with phage ring proteins. Whereas system above activates an RNA-degrading nuclease. From Norris and Maxwell labs www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Jen Herman 🌪️
rince & JB Editor's Choice: Lin, Prince & Feaga identified sporulation genes via analyzing almost 1500 genomes. They show that that an unusual membrane-localized variant of Spo0B is found throughout Paenibacillaceae.
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
@asm.org #JBacteriology
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
@asm.org #JBacteriology
February 4, 2026 at 6:00 PM
rince & JB Editor's Choice: Lin, Prince & Feaga identified sporulation genes via analyzing almost 1500 genomes. They show that that an unusual membrane-localized variant of Spo0B is found throughout Paenibacillaceae.
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
@asm.org #JBacteriology
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
@asm.org #JBacteriology
Reposted by Jen Herman 🌪️
STEM Black History Fact 3/28
Dr. Marie Maynard Daly helped establish the biochemical link between cholesterol and heart disease and became the first Black woman to earn a PhD in chemistry.
science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/s...
Dr. Marie Maynard Daly helped establish the biochemical link between cholesterol and heart disease and became the first Black woman to earn a PhD in chemistry.
science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/s...
10 Black Scientists You Should Know
You might have heard of George Washington Carver and Neil deGrasse Tyson. But what about Patricia Bath? Or Percy Julian? Meet 10 African American scientists who have made the world a better place for ...
science.howstuffworks.com
February 3, 2026 at 5:22 AM
STEM Black History Fact 3/28
Dr. Marie Maynard Daly helped establish the biochemical link between cholesterol and heart disease and became the first Black woman to earn a PhD in chemistry.
science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/s...
Dr. Marie Maynard Daly helped establish the biochemical link between cholesterol and heart disease and became the first Black woman to earn a PhD in chemistry.
science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/s...
Reposted by Jen Herman 🌪️
STEM Black History Fact 2/28
Dr. Patricia Bath invented laser cataract surgery, restoring sight to people who had been blind for decades.
cfmedicine.nlm.nih.gov/physicians/b...
Dr. Patricia Bath invented laser cataract surgery, restoring sight to people who had been blind for decades.
cfmedicine.nlm.nih.gov/physicians/b...
Changing the Face of Medicine | Patricia E. Bath
cfmedicine.nlm.nih.gov
February 2, 2026 at 5:29 AM
STEM Black History Fact 2/28
Dr. Patricia Bath invented laser cataract surgery, restoring sight to people who had been blind for decades.
cfmedicine.nlm.nih.gov/physicians/b...
Dr. Patricia Bath invented laser cataract surgery, restoring sight to people who had been blind for decades.
cfmedicine.nlm.nih.gov/physicians/b...
Reposted by Jen Herman 🌪️
STEM Black History Fact 1/28
Dr. Alice Ball developed the first effective treatment for leprosy in 1915, well before antibiotics were known. Her work went uncredited for years.
Dr. Ball - "I work and work and still it seems that I have done nothing."
www.womenshistory.org/education-re...
Dr. Alice Ball developed the first effective treatment for leprosy in 1915, well before antibiotics were known. Her work went uncredited for years.
Dr. Ball - "I work and work and still it seems that I have done nothing."
www.womenshistory.org/education-re...
Alice Ball
An Americ
www.womenshistory.org
February 2, 2026 at 5:26 AM
STEM Black History Fact 1/28
Dr. Alice Ball developed the first effective treatment for leprosy in 1915, well before antibiotics were known. Her work went uncredited for years.
Dr. Ball - "I work and work and still it seems that I have done nothing."
www.womenshistory.org/education-re...
Dr. Alice Ball developed the first effective treatment for leprosy in 1915, well before antibiotics were known. Her work went uncredited for years.
Dr. Ball - "I work and work and still it seems that I have done nothing."
www.womenshistory.org/education-re...
Reposted by Jen Herman 🌪️
#Microbiology
The anti-tuberculosis drug bedaquiline targets the mycobacterial ATP synthase, but how that leads to bacterial death is unclear
Here the authors clarify how bedaquiline works
@jnblab.bsky.social @morwan.me
#TBSky #antibiotics #AMR
http://dlvr.it/TQjZ0W
The anti-tuberculosis drug bedaquiline targets the mycobacterial ATP synthase, but how that leads to bacterial death is unclear
Here the authors clarify how bedaquiline works
@jnblab.bsky.social @morwan.me
#TBSky #antibiotics #AMR
http://dlvr.it/TQjZ0W
February 2, 2026 at 5:07 PM
#Microbiology
The anti-tuberculosis drug bedaquiline targets the mycobacterial ATP synthase, but how that leads to bacterial death is unclear
Here the authors clarify how bedaquiline works
@jnblab.bsky.social @morwan.me
#TBSky #antibiotics #AMR
http://dlvr.it/TQjZ0W
The anti-tuberculosis drug bedaquiline targets the mycobacterial ATP synthase, but how that leads to bacterial death is unclear
Here the authors clarify how bedaquiline works
@jnblab.bsky.social @morwan.me
#TBSky #antibiotics #AMR
http://dlvr.it/TQjZ0W
Reposted by Jen Herman 🌪️
'But on the face of it, this does look like confirmation of an effect that already seems well-documented in rodents & now appears to extend to humans. It appears that our immune systems are to some degree cross-wired with our moods & specifically our expectations of rewards & positive outcomes.'
Bearing Down on a Placebo Effect
www.science.org
February 2, 2026 at 11:30 AM
'But on the face of it, this does look like confirmation of an effect that already seems well-documented in rodents & now appears to extend to humans. It appears that our immune systems are to some degree cross-wired with our moods & specifically our expectations of rewards & positive outcomes.'
Reposted by Jen Herman 🌪️
