Plant virology lab at Clemson! We experimented with some starch staining of virus+ leaves vs virus- leaves using iodine, and students are working in groups to figure out how viruses are disrupting plant metabolism 🤩

This Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program is funded by the National Science Foundation to create "points of entry" for students interested in research. Students apply from across the country to spend 10 weeks in Bozeman, Montana this summer (May 26, 2026 - August 1, 2026). Admitted students are paired with a faculty mentor, who serves as an advisor for a student's summer project. Each student receives a stipend ($7000 for 10 wks). Travel compensation, room, and board are also provided. Our program leverages MSU’s unique microbiology expertise, focusing specifically on microbes living with little or no oxygen (like those in the hot springs of nearby Yellowstone). Low oxygen microbes are essential to human and ecosystem health. They influence (or control) such processes as the breakdown of food in the GI tract, removal of toxins from our bodies and the environment, and production of greenhouse gases. They are also models for understanding the origins of life on this planet, and the potential for life on other planets. A key goal of our program is to recruit students from schools with limited research infrastructure. Being in Montana, a state with a vibrant Native American community, we are particularly interested in applications from students at tribal colleges. However, ANYONE with an interest in microbiology - or biology/science in general - can and should apply. If willing and able, please share/tweet/spread the word far and wide. Applications are due February 14, 2026. Full details can be found through our website http://www.montana.edu/mbi/reu/

Friends, please help spread the word about our microbiology REU program at Montana State University.
www.montana.edu/mbi/reu/

Each student receives a stipend ($7000 for 10 wks). Travel compensation, room, and board are also provided.

Details in the attached pic--Feb 14 deadline
🧫🧪🦠#microsky

AFRI Education and Workforce Development The AFRI Education and Workforce Development Program focuses on developing the next generation of research, education, and extension professionals.

USDA postdoctoral fellowships are open. If you’re interested in writing a postdoc fellowship with me in plant immunity, spatial defense, or vector-borne disease, please reach out.
(US citizens, nationals, permanent residents only; PhD awarded Jan 2023–Jan 2027.) www.nifa.usda.gov/grants/progr...

Universities weakened their PhD screening process.

Then added mandatory publication to compensate.

But the fix created a worse problem: legitimizing predatory journals and teaching students that speed matters more than rigour.

ToBRFV-induced symptoms and virus accumulation in infected tomato and tobacco plants at 22 °C, Trial 1. (a) ToBRFV-induced HR (hypersensitive response) local lesions appeared on all 11 inoculated tomatoNN leaves at 4 days post-inoculation (4 dpi), whereas no lesions appeared on inoculated leaves of 11 VF36, Tomato::Tm-22, or Moneymaker plants at 4 dpi. (b) Systemic leaves of 11 ToBRFV-infected tomatoNN were asymptomatic at 14 dpi, whereas leaves of VF36 and Moneymaker displayed mosaic and rugose patterns, and tomato::Tm22 leaves displayed rugose and shoestring growth. (c) ToBRFV-induced HR lesions on 11 inoculated Samsun NN plants at 4 dpi but not on inoculated Samsun nn plants. Systemic leaves of ToBRFV-infected Samsun NN plants remained asymptomatic at 14 dpi, whereas leaves of Samsun nn exhibited mosaic disease.

🌱 From Plant Biotechnology Journal: The N gene from Nicotiana glutinosa confers ToBRFV resistance in #tomato at 22°C but loses efficacy at 30°C. (Savithramma P. Dinesh-Kumar)
▶️ onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
#PlantImmunity #Virology

Everyone Is Cheating Their Way Through College ChatGPT has unraveled the entire academic project.

This is among the most depressing things I have ever read, and makes me very nervous about the ability for any of these daily ChatGPT users to independently problem-solve or think creatively: nymag.com/intelligence...

For the foreseeable future I think our lab meetings will include a discussion of what is going on science policy-wise in the US. I don’t have many answers, but will share what I know and my plans. Being honest and transparent in difficult situations can be empowering.

I’m so very proud of my student Mandeep! It’s a lot of fun to be on this side of a doctoral hooding ceremony 🥲