Nathaniel Scott
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Nathaniel Scott
@diderm.com
130 followers 360 following 56 posts
M.S. Student in Microbiology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst studying thermophile metabolism in the Holden lab. Aspiring microbiologist, microbial madman.
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It's too cloudy out in Amherst to see the aurora, but I got this nice picture of an old train station
An old small New England town train station, built in 1853 and no longer in use.
November 12, 2025 at 2:29 AM
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After seeing all the cool data vis people do in R at a few conferences this summer, I made it a background goal of mine to learn enough R to plot things for myself. Today, I made my first ggplot of some growth curve data - exponential regression and all! It ain't much, but it's honest work :)
October 28, 2025 at 11:55 PM
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Happy international microorganism day! Here's the only electron micrographs taken of the thermophilic sulfur reducer I study (images from L'Haridon et al. 1998). Desulfurobacterium thermolithotrophum is found in deep-sea hydrothermal systems and has some interesting microbial physiology!
A figure showing phase-contrast and electron micrographs of Desulfurobacterium thermolithotrophum. The bacterium is a bacillus found commonly in pairs with a singular tuft of flagella. More images (freeze-etched and metal shadowed as well as ultrathin section) show the different components of the cell envelope. Image is Fig 1. from L'Haridon et al. 1998 and can be found at https://doi.org/10.1099/00207713-48-3-701
September 17, 2025 at 7:46 PM
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These cuts are devastating and heartbreaking to see. The impacts will be felt for a long, long time.
Fiscal year 2026 budget request-- funding for the NSF directorate of biological sciences. Compared to FY 2024 budget, BIO research is -72.7%, BIO education is -93%, and BIO Infrastructure is -61% Estimated number of people involved in NSF activities. Overall trend from FY 2024 to FY 2026 is downward in every category: senior researchers (60,400 to 16,900), other professionals (14,400 to 4,100), postdocs (5,500 to 1,000), Grad students (41,500 to 12,400), Undergrads (37,300 to 8,000), PreK-12 teachers (42,900 to 8,200), and PreK-12 students (128,100 to 39,400).
May 31, 2025 at 4:20 AM
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A place of honor on the bedside table has been given to your wonderful glowing tardigrade! I'm glad you enjoyed the gift :)
May 30, 2025 at 5:08 AM
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I'm happy to share that I've completed my Bachelor of Science in Microbiology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst!
A young man with curly hair sits beside the UMass campus pond on a stone bench. He is wearing a white dress shirt and black striped dress pants, as well as his undergraduate graduation regalia (robe, two cords). The graduation cap in his hand is decorated with Giant Microbes, namely Geobacter, a tardigrade, a nerve cell, a red blood cell, DNA, and an antibody. The same young man has now donned his cap and faces away from the camera, gazing over the UMass campus. The W. E. B. Dubois library, old chapel, and Thompson hall are visible against a cloudy sky. The aforementioned young man stands away from and above the camera. He is backed by the looming WEB Dubois library. He has tossed his cap into the air, visible in the center of the picture.
May 27, 2025 at 11:06 PM
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In the midst of a very chaotic finals season, it was nice to get together with friends and craft. Here's some of the felt microbes made at the UMass Microbiology Club's craft night! I'm sure @markowenmartin.bsky.social will appreciate the Bdellovibrio 🧫
A pile of handmade plush microbes sits atop a wooden table. Among them are a T4 bacteriophage, diplococcus, Bdellovibrio, Paramecium, an Amoeba sister, and many other creative shapes. A motley crew!
May 6, 2025 at 2:27 AM
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Got my swag from @contamclub.bsky.social! Totally worth it; their stuff is high quality and spot-on
March 23, 2025 at 9:03 PM
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Glad to see so many of my peers at the UMass Amherst Stand up for Science rally!
Scientists standing outside the Student Union on the UMass amherst campus at the Stand up for Science rally in Amherst MA. I am standing second from left in the brown jacket
March 9, 2025 at 4:28 AM
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I saw a colony growing in this discarded liquid culture! All the organisms we work with are thermophiles, so it couldn't possibly be them... under 420 nm light, the thermophilic methanogens we work with fluoresced, but there seems to be a lot of morphological diversity here... any thoughts?
A wet-mounted microscope slide showing aggregates of microbial cells, single rods and cocci, as well as a variety of other shapes. All of the identities are unknown. The same location on the slide as the first, but under 420 nm light. The aggregated cells autofluoresce in light green, but not all of the surrounding cells autofluoresce. A container with a small amount of liquid, and what remains of a disturbed biofilm
February 6, 2025 at 2:55 AM
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The undergraduate peer advisors put together a Petri dish craft and I made this cool spread plate keychain!
November 8, 2024 at 6:44 PM