John Burns
@burnsajohn.bsky.social
I like to think about how cells work, especially among #protists. Driven by curiosity and a love to share detailed research and odd observations. Senior Research Scientist, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences. He/him. https://www.protistsystems.org/
Reposted by John Burns
Reposted by John Burns
Come and Join Us.
Not only will it be fun, but you will be learning a lot of methods & travel some more ;)!
Not only will it be fun, but you will be learning a lot of methods & travel some more ;)!
It is a collaboration between my lab (Uppsala U) and the labs of @dudinlab.bsky.social (Geneva U) and @filiphusnik.bsky.social (OIST). More info and how to apply here:
uu.varbi.com/en/what:job/.... (The use of AI for writing the motivation letter is discouraged and will be regarded unfavourably) 2/2
uu.varbi.com/en/what:job/.... (The use of AI for writing the motivation letter is discouraged and will be regarded unfavourably) 2/2
PhD student in systematic biology
The Department of Organismal Biology teaches and explores the evolution, development and function on the organismal level. For more information see Department of Organismal Biology - Uppsala Universit
uu.varbi.com
November 12, 2025 at 9:51 AM
Come and Join Us.
Not only will it be fun, but you will be learning a lot of methods & travel some more ;)!
Not only will it be fun, but you will be learning a lot of methods & travel some more ;)!
Reposted by John Burns
We are looking for a PhD student to work on an exciting plastid endosymbiosis in microbial eukaryotes. This position involves sampling, exciting microscopy such as CARDFISH, ExM and FIBSEM, single-cell transcriptomics and more. #protistsonsky 1/2
November 12, 2025 at 9:50 AM
We are looking for a PhD student to work on an exciting plastid endosymbiosis in microbial eukaryotes. This position involves sampling, exciting microscopy such as CARDFISH, ExM and FIBSEM, single-cell transcriptomics and more. #protistsonsky 1/2
This is a beautiful thread on mechanisms of a property of [some? only giant?] unicellular #protistsonsky that I wouldn't even believe is possible if it wasn't demonstrated so clearly: the ability of a single cell to heal cuts! 🤯🤯🤯
Wound healing is a hallmark feature of all life, including single cells. In a new preprint, Ambika Nadkarni @biochembika.bsky.social investigates a new dimension in cellular wound healing: how cells recover AFTER the wound has been closed
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
November 11, 2025 at 9:25 AM
This is a beautiful thread on mechanisms of a property of [some? only giant?] unicellular #protistsonsky that I wouldn't even believe is possible if it wasn't demonstrated so clearly: the ability of a single cell to heal cuts! 🤯🤯🤯
Reposted by John Burns
An Asgard archaeon with internal membrane compartments
Brilliant study led by @fmacleod.bsky.social and Andriko von Kügelgen. Tight collaboration with @buzzbaum.bsky.social and lab. Congrats to all authors!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Brilliant study led by @fmacleod.bsky.social and Andriko von Kügelgen. Tight collaboration with @buzzbaum.bsky.social and lab. Congrats to all authors!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
November 7, 2025 at 10:44 AM
An Asgard archaeon with internal membrane compartments
Brilliant study led by @fmacleod.bsky.social and Andriko von Kügelgen. Tight collaboration with @buzzbaum.bsky.social and lab. Congrats to all authors!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Brilliant study led by @fmacleod.bsky.social and Andriko von Kügelgen. Tight collaboration with @buzzbaum.bsky.social and lab. Congrats to all authors!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Excited to share our new preprint on BioRxiv!
A collaborative effort spanning many years and several labs to uncover what the germline chromosomes of Paramecium really look like. 🔗 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
1/5
A collaborative effort spanning many years and several labs to uncover what the germline chromosomes of Paramecium really look like. 🔗 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
1/5
The tiny germline chromosomes of Paramecium aurelia have an exceptionally high recombination rate and are capped by a new class of Helitrons
Background. Paramecia belong to the ciliate phylum of unicellular eukaryotes characterized by nuclear dimorphism. A diploid germline micronucleus (MIC) transmits genetic information across sexual gene...
www.biorxiv.org
November 10, 2025 at 9:28 AM
Reposted by John Burns
The lost art of scientific illustration: The copepods of Wilhelm Giesbrecht (1854-1913)
November 9, 2025 at 1:11 PM
The lost art of scientific illustration: The copepods of Wilhelm Giesbrecht (1854-1913)
Reposted by John Burns
A Novel Protistan Trait Database Reveals Functional Redundancy and Complementarity in Terrestrial Protists(Amoebozoa and Rhizaria)
#protists #eukaryotes #amoeba
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
#protists #eukaryotes #amoeba
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
November 9, 2025 at 9:57 AM
A Novel Protistan Trait Database Reveals Functional Redundancy and Complementarity in Terrestrial Protists(Amoebozoa and Rhizaria)
#protists #eukaryotes #amoeba
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
#protists #eukaryotes #amoeba
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Reposted by John Burns
Half of microbial eukaryote literature focuses on only twelve human parasites
#microbiology #protists #eukaryotes
@isme-microbes.bsky.social
academic.oup.com/ismej/articl...
#microbiology #protists #eukaryotes
@isme-microbes.bsky.social
academic.oup.com/ismej/articl...
Half of microbial eukaryote literature focuses on only 12 human parasites
Abstract. Although microbial eukaryotes comprise the majority of eukaryotic phylogenetic diversity and inhabit nearly all ecosystems globally, most researc
academic.oup.com
November 9, 2025 at 10:10 AM
Half of microbial eukaryote literature focuses on only twelve human parasites
#microbiology #protists #eukaryotes
@isme-microbes.bsky.social
academic.oup.com/ismej/articl...
#microbiology #protists #eukaryotes
@isme-microbes.bsky.social
academic.oup.com/ismej/articl...
Reposted by John Burns
What an amazing essay from the former chair of Africana Studies at Bowdoin. I'll share a few sections in the reply but seriously, read the whole thing. It's all insightful and beautifully written.
lithub.com/maybe-dont-t...
lithub.com/maybe-dont-t...
Maybe Don’t Talk to the New York Times About Zohran Mamdani
It’s remarkable, the people you’ll hear from. Teach for even a little while at an expensive institution—the term they tend to prefer is “elite”—and odds are that eventually someone who was a studen…
lithub.com
November 8, 2025 at 7:11 PM
What an amazing essay from the former chair of Africana Studies at Bowdoin. I'll share a few sections in the reply but seriously, read the whole thing. It's all insightful and beautifully written.
lithub.com/maybe-dont-t...
lithub.com/maybe-dont-t...
Reposted by John Burns
The eye of the teeny tiny ciliate storm. A rare look down the opening of a tintinnina lorica.
#marineplankton 🦑
#marineplankton 🦑
November 8, 2025 at 7:18 PM
The eye of the teeny tiny ciliate storm. A rare look down the opening of a tintinnina lorica.
#marineplankton 🦑
#marineplankton 🦑
Reposted by John Burns
The amoeba Difflugia bacillifera builds its shell from things that contain silica, and it is not particular about the source. These ones have incorporated whole shells from another testate amoeba (Euglypha), along with diatoms, algal cysts and chunks of rock. #Amoebae #ProtistsOnSky #peatlands
November 6, 2025 at 4:16 PM
The amoeba Difflugia bacillifera builds its shell from things that contain silica, and it is not particular about the source. These ones have incorporated whole shells from another testate amoeba (Euglypha), along with diatoms, algal cysts and chunks of rock. #Amoebae #ProtistsOnSky #peatlands
I was trying to culture a local alga, but instead I created this tiny "amoebopolis". I think they ate the algae. Better luck next time, me!
November 7, 2025 at 3:54 PM
I was trying to culture a local alga, but instead I created this tiny "amoebopolis". I think they ate the algae. Better luck next time, me!
TIL about brackish water jellyfish like this Bay Nettle in the Chesapeake Bay. Cute little things.
www.vims.edu/bayinfo/jell...
www.vims.edu/bayinfo/jell...
November 7, 2025 at 4:22 AM
TIL about brackish water jellyfish like this Bay Nettle in the Chesapeake Bay. Cute little things.
www.vims.edu/bayinfo/jell...
www.vims.edu/bayinfo/jell...
Reposted by John Burns
Only the second radiolarian I’ve seen in my life, and this one is a chonks!
#marineplankton #protistsonsky 🦑
#marineplankton #protistsonsky 🦑
November 6, 2025 at 8:26 PM
Only the second radiolarian I’ve seen in my life, and this one is a chonks!
#marineplankton #protistsonsky 🦑
#marineplankton #protistsonsky 🦑
Reposted by John Burns
🚀 New in @natmicrobiol.nature.com
EMCG — droplet-based single-particle genomics method 🧬⚠️Sequencing marine microbes one by one — in nL of seawater!
Ultra-high resolution — no culture, no bulk averaging. A new way to see the invisible 🫥 🌊 rdcu.be/eOsUF #protistsonsky @bigelowlab.bsky.social
EMCG — droplet-based single-particle genomics method 🧬⚠️Sequencing marine microbes one by one — in nL of seawater!
Ultra-high resolution — no culture, no bulk averaging. A new way to see the invisible 🫥 🌊 rdcu.be/eOsUF #protistsonsky @bigelowlab.bsky.social
Single-particle genomics uncovers abundant non-canonical marine viruses from nanolitre volumes
Nature Microbiology - Environmental micro-compartment genomics provides efficient and high-throughput single-particle DNA sequencing that captures overlooked members of microbial communities.
rdcu.be
November 5, 2025 at 8:34 PM
🚀 New in @natmicrobiol.nature.com
EMCG — droplet-based single-particle genomics method 🧬⚠️Sequencing marine microbes one by one — in nL of seawater!
Ultra-high resolution — no culture, no bulk averaging. A new way to see the invisible 🫥 🌊 rdcu.be/eOsUF #protistsonsky @bigelowlab.bsky.social
EMCG — droplet-based single-particle genomics method 🧬⚠️Sequencing marine microbes one by one — in nL of seawater!
Ultra-high resolution — no culture, no bulk averaging. A new way to see the invisible 🫥 🌊 rdcu.be/eOsUF #protistsonsky @bigelowlab.bsky.social
Reposted by John Burns
NEW Publication🥳
Rapid #evolution is thought to be disadvantageous due to the accumulation of deleterious #mutations. We identify multiple lineages of rapidly evolving and stable #yeast that are many millions of years old
🔗: academic.oup.com/mbe/advance-...
Rapid #evolution is thought to be disadvantageous due to the accumulation of deleterious #mutations. We identify multiple lineages of rapidly evolving and stable #yeast that are many millions of years old
🔗: academic.oup.com/mbe/advance-...
November 3, 2025 at 6:29 PM
NEW Publication🥳
Rapid #evolution is thought to be disadvantageous due to the accumulation of deleterious #mutations. We identify multiple lineages of rapidly evolving and stable #yeast that are many millions of years old
🔗: academic.oup.com/mbe/advance-...
Rapid #evolution is thought to be disadvantageous due to the accumulation of deleterious #mutations. We identify multiple lineages of rapidly evolving and stable #yeast that are many millions of years old
🔗: academic.oup.com/mbe/advance-...
Reposted by John Burns
Scaling back DEI isn’t just a moral setback—it’s a loss of innovation.
Bhalla, Trejo & @marymunson4.bsky.social in Nature Cell Biology: limiting who can participate in science “weakens research capacity and stifles discovery.”
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
Bhalla, Trejo & @marymunson4.bsky.social in Nature Cell Biology: limiting who can participate in science “weakens research capacity and stifles discovery.”
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
November 3, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Scaling back DEI isn’t just a moral setback—it’s a loss of innovation.
Bhalla, Trejo & @marymunson4.bsky.social in Nature Cell Biology: limiting who can participate in science “weakens research capacity and stifles discovery.”
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
Bhalla, Trejo & @marymunson4.bsky.social in Nature Cell Biology: limiting who can participate in science “weakens research capacity and stifles discovery.”
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
Reposted by John Burns
On DHS’s unauthorized use of Norman Rockwell’s paintings across social media, an op-ed from our family today in @usatoday.com www.usatoday.com/story/opinio...
We're Norman Rockwell's family. Trump's DHS has shamefully misused his work. | Opinion
As Norman Rockwell's family, we know he'd be devastated to see the Department of Homeland Security's unauthorized misuse of his work.
www.usatoday.com
November 2, 2025 at 1:03 PM
On DHS’s unauthorized use of Norman Rockwell’s paintings across social media, an op-ed from our family today in @usatoday.com www.usatoday.com/story/opinio...
Reposted by John Burns
Funders must recognise that great discoveries often come from studies that seeks to advance knowledge for its own sake
go.nature.com/3X5lbUg
go.nature.com/3X5lbUg
From MRI to Ozempic: breakthroughs that show why fundamental research must be protected
Nature - In these financially straitened times, funders must recognize that great discoveries often arise from work that was looking for something completely different.
go.nature.com
November 1, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Funders must recognise that great discoveries often come from studies that seeks to advance knowledge for its own sake
go.nature.com/3X5lbUg
go.nature.com/3X5lbUg
Reposted by John Burns
Exciting day for the lab: our 1rst paper is officially out in @currentbiology.bsky.social 🥳 Wonderful collaboration wt @gautamdey.bsky.social showing how Cryo-ExM achieves consistent immunostaining in diverse diatoms, from the lab and the natural environment 1/n
#ProtistsOnSky
tinyurl.com/2zxaund7
#ProtistsOnSky
tinyurl.com/2zxaund7
October 31, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Exciting day for the lab: our 1rst paper is officially out in @currentbiology.bsky.social 🥳 Wonderful collaboration wt @gautamdey.bsky.social showing how Cryo-ExM achieves consistent immunostaining in diverse diatoms, from the lab and the natural environment 1/n
#ProtistsOnSky
tinyurl.com/2zxaund7
#ProtistsOnSky
tinyurl.com/2zxaund7
Reposted by John Burns
Success. Nearly 259 Foldscope deployed in hands of unsuspecting candy crazy kids. Halloween is always more colorful with the microscopes - specially in a few weeks they could look at the micro-fauna of the teeth with so much sugar consumption.
November 1, 2025 at 10:10 AM
Success. Nearly 259 Foldscope deployed in hands of unsuspecting candy crazy kids. Halloween is always more colorful with the microscopes - specially in a few weeks they could look at the micro-fauna of the teeth with so much sugar consumption.
Reposted by John Burns
🚨Our collaboration with @centriolelab.bsky.social & @gautamdey.bsky.social is out today in @cp-cell.bsky.social
We show that #Expansion #Microscopy is a broad-spectrum modality for Euks, enabling 3D phenotypic maps rooted to phylogeny.
#ProtistsOnSky #SciComm #SciSky
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
We show that #Expansion #Microscopy is a broad-spectrum modality for Euks, enabling 3D phenotypic maps rooted to phylogeny.
#ProtistsOnSky #SciComm #SciSky
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
October 31, 2025 at 2:42 PM
🚨Our collaboration with @centriolelab.bsky.social & @gautamdey.bsky.social is out today in @cp-cell.bsky.social
We show that #Expansion #Microscopy is a broad-spectrum modality for Euks, enabling 3D phenotypic maps rooted to phylogeny.
#ProtistsOnSky #SciComm #SciSky
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
We show that #Expansion #Microscopy is a broad-spectrum modality for Euks, enabling 3D phenotypic maps rooted to phylogeny.
#ProtistsOnSky #SciComm #SciSky
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Forams are super cute, but some of them are just spooky 🎃Did you know some forams make their shells gluing “skeletons” of other fossils?
November 1, 2025 at 12:35 PM