Opinion | The Playbook Used to ‘Prove’ Vaccines Cause Autism (Gift Article) Data can easily be manipulated to show a causation that doesn’t exist.

A must-read, must-share piece - clearly deconstructing the shoddy science of the Geiers (who are inexplicably in charge of studies at HHS).

Consider this an early warning for what lies ahead. 🛟🩺🧪

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Plasmid prevalence is independent of antibiotic resistance in environmental Enterobacteriaceae The rapid rise of antibiotic-resistant pathogens poses a critical threat to the treatment of infectious diseases. While the spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) via plasmid conjugation has bee...

If you ever find yourself needing evidence for ‘Plasmids are just as common in microbes without resistance genes,’ we’ve got you covered! Check our new paper, out today:

www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/jour...

Plasmids promote antimicrobial resistance through Insertion Sequence-mediated gene inactivation Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is a major threat to public health. Plasmids are mobile genetic elements that can rapidly spread across bacterial populations, promoting the dissemination of AMR genes i...

New paper out! 🔈🔈📣📣

Plasmids promote antimicrobial resistance through Insertion Sequence-mediated gene inactivation.

Combining experimental and computational approaches, we unveil how two of the most prevalent bacterial MGE accelerate the evolution of AMR. 🧵👇🏻

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Not sure how many scientists here have tried Claude Code or similar command line coding assistants. I had a complicated family property tax problem that was best solved by a brute force Monte Carlo simulation approach, so I spent a few days coding up and analyzing a model with Claude Code.

The hospital sink drain microbiome as a melting pot for AMR transmission to nosocomial pathogens - npj Antimicrobials and Resistance npj Antimicrobials and Resistance - The hospital sink drain microbiome as a melting pot for AMR transmission to nosocomial pathogens

Delighted to have this review out with @jpjhall.bsky.social!

We discuss the risk of transmission of antimicrobial resistance in the hospital sink drain microbiome, highlight studies providing evidence of transfer, and consider strategies to mitigate these risks 🪠🦠

doi.org/10.1038/s442...

The Scientist Turned Spy <b>The incredible story of an explorer caught up in international intrigue at the dawn of US history</b><br/><br/> André Michaux was the most accompli

For anyone interested in early US history and its intersection with science and discovery, I highly recommend the book "The Scientist Turned Spy: Andre Michaux, Thomas Jefferson, and the Conspiracy of 1793" by Patrick Spero.

www.upress.virginia.edu/title/10032/

#history #science #botany

Universal rules govern plasmid copy number - Nature Communications Plasmids exhibit a broad range of sizes and copies per cell, and these two parameters appear to be negatively correlated. Here, Ramiro-Martínez et al. analyse the copy number of thousands of diverse b...

Curious about plasmid biology? Our latest paper is out now in Nature Communications! 🚨

doi.org/10.1038/s414...

We analyzed thousands of diverse bacterial plasmids to shed light for the first time on a key aspect of plasmid biology: plasmid copy number. 1/7 👇

What determines who a phage can infect?

We tackled this question for temperate phages of Klebsiella — a bacterial pathogen — using a genome-wide association study (GWAS) and a massive protein testing effort.

👇 A thread!

🚨 Very excited to finally say… 🚨

The story of Noodlococcus - the contaminant that started ContamClub - is available to read 📖🍜🦠

Check it out ➡️ doi.org/10.1101/2025...

1/15 🧵

EMPSEB30 has come to an end, but we’re thrilled by the many enthusiastic volunteers eager to organize EMPSEB31. Next stop could be France 🇫🇷, Germany 🇩🇪, or Denmark 🇩🇰… we’ll see! Wishing all future organizers the best of luck!💫

Had a great time at @pintofscience.uk in Ship & Mitre, Liverpool last night 🦠 🍺 🧫 some really great talks! A particular well done to @prajwalvb.bsky.social, we’re all waiting patiently for you to release “Keeping up with the Chemotrophs” 😉

Prajwal Vishwanath Bharadwaj @prajwalvb.bsky.social started Session 1B off with a great talk on the host ranges of different plasmids in closely related Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

#EMPSEB30 #conference #phdstudent #evolution #plasmids

A chromosomal mutation is superior to a plasmid-encoded mutation for plasmid fitness cost compensation Plasmids spread important traits in microbiomes but impose fitness costs on their hosts. This study of the ecological consequences of plasmid-bacterial compensatory evolution reveals benefits to bacte...

🆕New in @plosbiology.bsky.social: we show compensatory mutations make plasmids play Rock-Paper-Scissors and turn conjugation into a weapon🛡️💫✂️🦠

w/Rosanna Wright, Jamie Wood, @mbottery.bsky.social, @kmudz.bsky.social, @scottishwormboy.bsky.social, Ellie Harrison & @brockhurstlab.bsky.social #MicroSky

I just made a first release of TNA - new tool to compare 2 bacterial genomes. Is shamelessly inspired by ACT, but should be simpler to use. Drag-n-drop two genomes: it runs BLAST for you and then you can visualize. For Mac, Windows 11, Linux tna.readthedocs.io

Biotic brushwork
@contamclub.bsky.social

Going to be spending winter in the lab with a cosy pair of ContamSocks; and the first in-person sale from
@contamclub.bsky.social !

Thrilled to have attended #MicroBio24. It was wonderful meeting everyone at the talks and poster. Getting the Poster Prize was the icing on the cake. Back to reality now after a fantastic conference!

Many Congratulations to @prajwalvb.bsky.social for winning the Microbial Genomics Poster Prize at #Microbio24!!!

Ecological dependencies and the illusion of cooperation in microbial communities Ecological dependencies – where organisms rely on other organisms for survival – are a ubiquitous feature of life on earth. Multicellular hosts rely on symbionts to provide essential vitamins and amin...

This paper was really fun to write! Unpicking the subtle differences between dependencies, facilitation and cooperation in microbial communities, and why it matters.
With Elze Hesse (not here yet!)

First paper from the MultiDefence consortium reviewing what we know about multi-layered genome defences in bacteria. Supported by BBSRC sLoLa led by Edze Westra. Aleksei Agapov did a great job pulling it all together! www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

“P. aeruginosa cells can directly sense differences in concentration across the lengths of their bodies, even in the presence of strong temporal fluctuations” 👇🏼😳