Jennifer Tsang
@jtsangwrites.bsky.social
Freelance science writer, microbiologist.
Blogging at The Microbial Menagerie microbialmenagerie.com
Content marketing for life science companies
https://linktr.ee/jennifertsangwrites
Blogging at The Microbial Menagerie microbialmenagerie.com
Content marketing for life science companies
https://linktr.ee/jennifertsangwrites
Sometimes it freaks me out that using the washing machine is like using a giant centrifuge in my house. Is it just me?
November 11, 2025 at 1:56 AM
Sometimes it freaks me out that using the washing machine is like using a giant centrifuge in my house. Is it just me?
November. The time of year where...
1) Writing happens at 5AM b/c you can't sleep
2) You work in the dark b/c sunset is at 4PM
3) You don't know whether to listen to Halloween or Xmas music
4) Everyone comes to you w projects to finish by EOY
5) No one has projects for you b/c they're at conferences
1) Writing happens at 5AM b/c you can't sleep
2) You work in the dark b/c sunset is at 4PM
3) You don't know whether to listen to Halloween or Xmas music
4) Everyone comes to you w projects to finish by EOY
5) No one has projects for you b/c they're at conferences
November 7, 2025 at 5:39 PM
November. The time of year where...
1) Writing happens at 5AM b/c you can't sleep
2) You work in the dark b/c sunset is at 4PM
3) You don't know whether to listen to Halloween or Xmas music
4) Everyone comes to you w projects to finish by EOY
5) No one has projects for you b/c they're at conferences
1) Writing happens at 5AM b/c you can't sleep
2) You work in the dark b/c sunset is at 4PM
3) You don't know whether to listen to Halloween or Xmas music
4) Everyone comes to you w projects to finish by EOY
5) No one has projects for you b/c they're at conferences
Reposted by Jennifer Tsang
So happy to share this! Bacteriocins were first discovered over 100 years ago, but what do they actually do? We look at >1000 bacteriocin plasmids and find links to virulence and antimicrobial resistance, and frequent bacteriocin sharing in Enterobacteriaceae.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Bacterial warfare is associated with virulence and antimicrobial resistance - Nature Communications
Bacteria employ a range of competition systems that deliver toxins to inhibit competing strains. This study shows that these systems are particularly important for the ecology of virulent and antibiot...
www.nature.com
November 5, 2025 at 7:32 AM
So happy to share this! Bacteriocins were first discovered over 100 years ago, but what do they actually do? We look at >1000 bacteriocin plasmids and find links to virulence and antimicrobial resistance, and frequent bacteriocin sharing in Enterobacteriaceae.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Jennifer Tsang
M. smegmatis uses new types of biofilm to enclose a liquid core and expand outwards in a weird new way.
October 30, 2025 at 8:30 PM
M. smegmatis uses new types of biofilm to enclose a liquid core and expand outwards in a weird new way.
Reposted by Jennifer Tsang
Swashing: a propulsion-independent form of bacterial surface migration journals.asm.org/doi/full/10.... #jcampubs
November 4, 2025 at 2:14 PM
Reposted by Jennifer Tsang
Early Microbial Evolution
"The origin of life on Earth remains one of the greatest and most pervasive mysteries in science. We know the story in broad strokes: Around 4 billion years ago, simple chemical compounds gave rise to living cells, which later formed..."
🦠
asm.org/articles/202...
"The origin of life on Earth remains one of the greatest and most pervasive mysteries in science. We know the story in broad strokes: Around 4 billion years ago, simple chemical compounds gave rise to living cells, which later formed..."
🦠
asm.org/articles/202...
Early Microbial Evolution | ASM.org
How did life begin, and why does it matter? Scientists are tracing early microbial life—from LUCA to multicellularity—to unlock insights for biotech, climate science and even space exploration.
asm.org
November 3, 2025 at 12:48 PM
Early Microbial Evolution
"The origin of life on Earth remains one of the greatest and most pervasive mysteries in science. We know the story in broad strokes: Around 4 billion years ago, simple chemical compounds gave rise to living cells, which later formed..."
🦠
asm.org/articles/202...
"The origin of life on Earth remains one of the greatest and most pervasive mysteries in science. We know the story in broad strokes: Around 4 billion years ago, simple chemical compounds gave rise to living cells, which later formed..."
🦠
asm.org/articles/202...
Just read about a flu test using taste as a 24/7 infection detector. This test could enable rapid, low-cost detection even before symptoms appear. Read more on #TheMicrobialMenagerie: microbialmenagerie.com/taste-based-flu-detection
#FluSeason #Influenza #MicrkSky #IDSky #MedSky #Microbiology
#FluSeason #Influenza #MicrkSky #IDSky #MedSky #Microbiology
Imagine tasting your flu infection before the symptoms hit
Influenza causes an estimated 500,000 deaths each year and tests that detect the virus are key to treating, and preventing the spread of, influenza. Towards this end, scientists from University of …
microbialmenagerie.com
November 3, 2025 at 2:43 PM
Just read about a flu test using taste as a 24/7 infection detector. This test could enable rapid, low-cost detection even before symptoms appear. Read more on #TheMicrobialMenagerie: microbialmenagerie.com/taste-based-flu-detection
#FluSeason #Influenza #MicrkSky #IDSky #MedSky #Microbiology
#FluSeason #Influenza #MicrkSky #IDSky #MedSky #Microbiology
Too much cooking today. Couldn't sleep bc of the time change so I made spinach oat pancakes. Big batch of pumpkin bolognese for dinner. Then made yogurt pouches for the preschooler and now working on a new batch of yogurt.
November 3, 2025 at 1:32 AM
Too much cooking today. Couldn't sleep bc of the time change so I made spinach oat pancakes. Big batch of pumpkin bolognese for dinner. Then made yogurt pouches for the preschooler and now working on a new batch of yogurt.
Say hello to zombie ants, slime molds, and vampire bacteria.
A few years ago, I was really into adding some fall vibes into my #microbiology blog. So here's a throwback to this round up of seven spooky microbiology stories for #Halloween.
#microsky
microbialmenagerie.com/seven-spooky...
A few years ago, I was really into adding some fall vibes into my #microbiology blog. So here's a throwback to this round up of seven spooky microbiology stories for #Halloween.
#microsky
microbialmenagerie.com/seven-spooky...
Seven Spooky Microbiology Stories for Halloween
Spooky season is here! While we associate Halloween with ghost stories, haunted houses, zombies, and trick-or-treating, the microbial world contains many eerie, microscopic (and macroscopic) tales.…
microbialmenagerie.com
October 31, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Say hello to zombie ants, slime molds, and vampire bacteria.
A few years ago, I was really into adding some fall vibes into my #microbiology blog. So here's a throwback to this round up of seven spooky microbiology stories for #Halloween.
#microsky
microbialmenagerie.com/seven-spooky...
A few years ago, I was really into adding some fall vibes into my #microbiology blog. So here's a throwback to this round up of seven spooky microbiology stories for #Halloween.
#microsky
microbialmenagerie.com/seven-spooky...
Reposted by Jennifer Tsang
Cool 🦠
William Schmidt
Gerard Wong Lab @UCLA
Nature Microbiology
Pseudomonas aeruginosa lays down Psl exopolysaccharide as it crawls
Other cells detect and follow these trails using type IV pili pulling against adhesins like CdrA triggering c-di-GMP & cAMP surges to shift into early biofilm mode
William Schmidt
Gerard Wong Lab @UCLA
Nature Microbiology
Pseudomonas aeruginosa lays down Psl exopolysaccharide as it crawls
Other cells detect and follow these trails using type IV pili pulling against adhesins like CdrA triggering c-di-GMP & cAMP surges to shift into early biofilm mode
Pseudomonas aeruginosa senses exopolysaccharide trails using type IV pili and adhesins during biofilm formation - Nature Microbiology
Opposing forces generated by exopolysaccharide trail binding versus type IV pilus retraction generate a high cyclic diGMP–high cyclic AMP state in Pseudomonas aeruginosa that promotes social motility.
www.nature.com
October 29, 2025 at 3:41 AM
Cool 🦠
William Schmidt
Gerard Wong Lab @UCLA
Nature Microbiology
Pseudomonas aeruginosa lays down Psl exopolysaccharide as it crawls
Other cells detect and follow these trails using type IV pili pulling against adhesins like CdrA triggering c-di-GMP & cAMP surges to shift into early biofilm mode
William Schmidt
Gerard Wong Lab @UCLA
Nature Microbiology
Pseudomonas aeruginosa lays down Psl exopolysaccharide as it crawls
Other cells detect and follow these trails using type IV pili pulling against adhesins like CdrA triggering c-di-GMP & cAMP surges to shift into early biofilm mode
Reposted by Jennifer Tsang
We selected the laziest mouse at each round to inoculate the next batch of germfree mice: over rounds of selection and passaging, behavior shifted without changes to the mouse genome: rdcu.be/eM3rO
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Selection and transmission of the gut microbiome alone can shift mammalian behavior
Nature Communications - Here, the authors present evidence that the gut microbiome alone, without changes in the host genome, can shape how animals respond to selection, identifying a bacterium and...
rdcu.be
October 28, 2025 at 7:51 AM
We selected the laziest mouse at each round to inoculate the next batch of germfree mice: over rounds of selection and passaging, behavior shifted without changes to the mouse genome: rdcu.be/eM3rO
🦠🧫
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⬇️ One of my favorite conferences when I was a grad student
Pls ahre: Registration for the January 2026 Gordon Research Conference on Sensory Transduction In Microorganisms is now open:
www.grc.org/sensory-tran...
The meeting will be led by Ariane Briegel (member, BLAST Board of Directors) and Victor Sourjik.
www.grc.org/sensory-tran...
The meeting will be led by Ariane Briegel (member, BLAST Board of Directors) and Victor Sourjik.
2026 Sensory Transduction in Microorganisms Conference GRC
The 2026 Gordon Research Conference on Sensory Transduction in Microorganisms will be held in Ventura, California. Apply today to reserve your spot.
www.grc.org
October 28, 2025 at 3:44 PM
⬇️ One of my favorite conferences when I was a grad student
I'm late to the game, but what are everyone's thoughts on emoji reactions to work emails? I only started using them sparingly a few weeks ago when I saw someone emoji-ed an email thread I was in... and then more followed with emojis in the same thread.
October 27, 2025 at 7:17 PM
I'm late to the game, but what are everyone's thoughts on emoji reactions to work emails? I only started using them sparingly a few weeks ago when I saw someone emoji-ed an email thread I was in... and then more followed with emojis in the same thread.
Cool paper! Makes me think of my flagella research days...
JB Editor's Choice: Waller, Ribardo & Hendrixson show that flagellar length impacts function, with short flagella slowing swimming and reducing host colonization, indicating the important of regulating the lenght of the filament.
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
@asm.org #JBacteriology
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
@asm.org #JBacteriology
October 22, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Cool paper! Makes me think of my flagella research days...
I'm a bit slow on sharing this one, but a few weeks ago my story about non-invasive colon cancer screening went live on The Scientist. The options are improving but colonoscopies remain the gold standard for now.
www.the-scientist.com/could-non-in...
www.the-scientist.com/could-non-in...
Could Non-Invasive Colon Cancer Screening Replace Colonoscopies?
The accuracy of non-invasive blood and stool-based tests for colorectal cancer is improving, but experts say it’s too soon to drop colonoscopies altogether.
www.the-scientist.com
October 21, 2025 at 4:22 PM
I'm a bit slow on sharing this one, but a few weeks ago my story about non-invasive colon cancer screening went live on The Scientist. The options are improving but colonoscopies remain the gold standard for now.
www.the-scientist.com/could-non-in...
www.the-scientist.com/could-non-in...
I can't believe I didn't think of this until now. I used to struggle getting social media posts to fit the character limit.
Now, I just ask AI to do it for me. I paste in my post and ask it to shorten it by x characters. Really saves me times and also helps me see where I can be more concise.
Now, I just ask AI to do it for me. I paste in my post and ask it to shorten it by x characters. Really saves me times and also helps me see where I can be more concise.
October 20, 2025 at 1:07 PM
I can't believe I didn't think of this until now. I used to struggle getting social media posts to fit the character limit.
Now, I just ask AI to do it for me. I paste in my post and ask it to shorten it by x characters. Really saves me times and also helps me see where I can be more concise.
Now, I just ask AI to do it for me. I paste in my post and ask it to shorten it by x characters. Really saves me times and also helps me see where I can be more concise.
Reposted by Jennifer Tsang
In 2025, we are losing our measles-free status, just 25 years after we eliminated measles from the US because of vaccines.
It’s not because our sanitation systems have been eliminated.
It’s because people aren’t getting vaccinated.
1/
It’s not because our sanitation systems have been eliminated.
It’s because people aren’t getting vaccinated.
1/
October 18, 2025 at 12:57 AM
In 2025, we are losing our measles-free status, just 25 years after we eliminated measles from the US because of vaccines.
It’s not because our sanitation systems have been eliminated.
It’s because people aren’t getting vaccinated.
1/
It’s not because our sanitation systems have been eliminated.
It’s because people aren’t getting vaccinated.
1/
Maybe I'm weird, but I try to time my flu shot so that I get it late enough so it's still effective through spring, but before cases go up. I ended up getting it yesterday. I wrote about this on #TheMicrobialMenagerie. Sharing incase it's helpful! microbialmenagerie.com/when-should-...
When should I get my flu shot? Here’s what science says.
Pharmacies and doctors start booking flu vaccine appointments in late August, long before the number of flu cases are on the rise. The CDC recommends getting vaccinated in September or October. But…
microbialmenagerie.com
October 17, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Maybe I'm weird, but I try to time my flu shot so that I get it late enough so it's still effective through spring, but before cases go up. I ended up getting it yesterday. I wrote about this on #TheMicrobialMenagerie. Sharing incase it's helpful! microbialmenagerie.com/when-should-...
Reposted by Jennifer Tsang
This particular figure was quite striking - physical microscopy of the E. coli genome. Somehow we run these tangles mess through pores (often not breaking them over significant distances) and render them into reliable representation of whole genomic compartments.
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October 15, 2025 at 2:25 PM
This particular figure was quite striking - physical microscopy of the E. coli genome. Somehow we run these tangles mess through pores (often not breaking them over significant distances) and render them into reliable representation of whole genomic compartments.
🧫🦠
🧫🦠
Reposted by Jennifer Tsang
Fred Ramsdell was parked at a campground in Montana on Monday when his wife suddenly started shouting. He first thought that maybe she had seen a grizzly bear. Instead, she had regained cell service and had seen a flood of text messages with the same news. “You just won the Nobel Prize!” she yelled.
Winning a Nobel Prize Interrupted His Off-the-Grid Vacation
Fred Ramsdell found out about his Nobel Prize nearly 12 hours after it was announced because he was on vacation in the Rockies.
nyti.ms
October 7, 2025 at 2:10 PM
Fred Ramsdell was parked at a campground in Montana on Monday when his wife suddenly started shouting. He first thought that maybe she had seen a grizzly bear. Instead, she had regained cell service and had seen a flood of text messages with the same news. “You just won the Nobel Prize!” she yelled.
Reposted by Jennifer Tsang
🔬🦠🧫🧪 #MicroSky
This is the most fantatic video I've ever seen: a Tardigrade strolling on a Volvox by Penny Fenton #NikonSmallWorld #DarkField
www.nikonsmallworld.com/galleries/20...
This is the most fantatic video I've ever seen: a Tardigrade strolling on a Volvox by Penny Fenton #NikonSmallWorld #DarkField
www.nikonsmallworld.com/galleries/20...
A tardigrade moving around a volvox algae colony | 2025 Small World in Motion Competition
Penny Fenton - A tardigrade moving around a volvox algae colony
www.nikonsmallworld.com
October 7, 2025 at 11:02 AM
🔬🦠🧫🧪 #MicroSky
This is the most fantatic video I've ever seen: a Tardigrade strolling on a Volvox by Penny Fenton #NikonSmallWorld #DarkField
www.nikonsmallworld.com/galleries/20...
This is the most fantatic video I've ever seen: a Tardigrade strolling on a Volvox by Penny Fenton #NikonSmallWorld #DarkField
www.nikonsmallworld.com/galleries/20...
Writing in 2016 (when I started #SciComm): I have writer's block but all words and punctuation are fair game so the world's my oyster.
Writing in 2025: OMG people will think AI wrote this. Reminds self not to use em dashes and to not to use the words unlock, elevate, leverage, landscape, embark...
Writing in 2025: OMG people will think AI wrote this. Reminds self not to use em dashes and to not to use the words unlock, elevate, leverage, landscape, embark...
October 2, 2025 at 3:20 PM
Writing in 2016 (when I started #SciComm): I have writer's block but all words and punctuation are fair game so the world's my oyster.
Writing in 2025: OMG people will think AI wrote this. Reminds self not to use em dashes and to not to use the words unlock, elevate, leverage, landscape, embark...
Writing in 2025: OMG people will think AI wrote this. Reminds self not to use em dashes and to not to use the words unlock, elevate, leverage, landscape, embark...
🍎 We just finished snacking on giant bag of apples from the apple orchard and every time I eat an apple, I'm reminded of this blog post I wrote a few years ago.
microbialmenagerie.com/apple-microb...
#TheMicrobialMenagerie #Microbiome #Microbiology
microbialmenagerie.com/apple-microb...
#TheMicrobialMenagerie #Microbiome #Microbiology
100 Million Bacteria And Other Apple Microbiome Tales
The best season is upon us. The time of vibrant foliage, pumpkins, apples… and all the microbes that come with that. When it comes to the intersection of food and microbiology, we typically t…
microbialmenagerie.com
October 1, 2025 at 7:13 PM
🍎 We just finished snacking on giant bag of apples from the apple orchard and every time I eat an apple, I'm reminded of this blog post I wrote a few years ago.
microbialmenagerie.com/apple-microb...
#TheMicrobialMenagerie #Microbiome #Microbiology
microbialmenagerie.com/apple-microb...
#TheMicrobialMenagerie #Microbiome #Microbiology
Focus session powered by fall weather and google docs offline mode. Trying to switching it up instead of the usual WFH.
October 1, 2025 at 3:18 PM
Focus session powered by fall weather and google docs offline mode. Trying to switching it up instead of the usual WFH.
Happy #InternationalMicroorganismDay!
I'm also celebrating by eating lots of microbial foods - started my day off with some homemade yogurt (my yogurt protocol is here: microbialmenagerie.com/a-microbiolo... ), had chocolate in my granola bar, some cheese in my snack, and who knows what else.
I'm also celebrating by eating lots of microbial foods - started my day off with some homemade yogurt (my yogurt protocol is here: microbialmenagerie.com/a-microbiolo... ), had chocolate in my granola bar, some cheese in my snack, and who knows what else.
A Microbiologist’s Guide to Yogurt + Instant Pot Yogurt Recipe
Last year, I made 26 batches of homemade yogurt and ate probably over 350 yogurt and granola breakfasts (or some variation of that). Since I left the world of laboratory bench work, the kitchen has…
microbialmenagerie.com
September 17, 2025 at 8:20 PM
Happy #InternationalMicroorganismDay!
I'm also celebrating by eating lots of microbial foods - started my day off with some homemade yogurt (my yogurt protocol is here: microbialmenagerie.com/a-microbiolo... ), had chocolate in my granola bar, some cheese in my snack, and who knows what else.
I'm also celebrating by eating lots of microbial foods - started my day off with some homemade yogurt (my yogurt protocol is here: microbialmenagerie.com/a-microbiolo... ), had chocolate in my granola bar, some cheese in my snack, and who knows what else.