Feels like this paper on protein-templated DNA synthesis by a natural enzyme warrants some comment.
So here's a 🧵. /1
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

What happens when Purdue U. has its own airport? The Biological Sciences faculty share a quick 6am pow-wow and hugs as they jet off to their individual seminar and conference destinations across the country! DC, LA, Charlotte… here we come!
#PurdueScience

Excited to share our work w/ colleagues at @univofmaryland.bsky.social this week. Thanks to Vincent Lee for the invitation. Looking forward to connecting with UMD, NIH & other colleagues in the area; hope you can attend the seminar!

Postdoctoral Position (Please re-post)
A funded postdoctoral position for a recent graduate to study aspects of Neisseria gonorrhoeae pathogenesis, antigenic variation, genetics, or physiology.
Please contact Hank Seifert h-seifert@northwestern.edu
#Microsky, #Microbiology, #MicrobialEvolution

A busy, exciting few days at Purdue w/ GREAT seminar visits from Hank Seifert @medillschool.bsky.social & @copperbae.bsky.social @uarizona.bsky.social! Thanks, Hank & Michael, for excellent scientific discussions. Big thx admin & IT staff for help w/ visits, & to all who participated.

How important do you feel discovery research and ‘basic’ science is for understanding disease? Well, I have a little bit of a biased view on the topic, since I'm a basic scientist myself. The lab has made more and more discoveries with very strong therapeutic implications, and often people ask me why we are not pursuing these further ourselves. Part of it is that I think about this very much as an ecosystem. People have different skills – I have colleagues who are very good at the application side of things and I have other colleagues, including people in my lab, who are very good at the basic science. There are a lot of very smart people at every stage in the ecosystem and, sometimes, we have to acknowledge that we can't all be experts in every step. A lot of basic science discoveries will end up having profound implications in the clinic – if you don't have the full imagination about how to get it there, that's okay, because you're still a very important piece of the jigsaw puzzle and other people can help. If the basic science discoveries didn't exist, then it's quite possible that the well would run dry. We cannot simply rely on the idea that the therapies currently in clinical trials are going to be enough because we already know that – for diseases, such as cancer, and with rapidly evolving viruses – there needs to be a constant influx of new ideas to stay ahead of the arms race. I'd also make a plug for the fact that, ultimately, we are all interested in human disease, but disease research in humans is not ethical or possible. This is why creating and studying model organisms in a high-throughput, low-investment context is incredibly important. We cannot just say ‘okay, we're going to stop work on anything that is not related to human research’, because – actually – it's all relevant to humans.

Do you think basic science is particularly threatened by cuts to funding? Science itself is quite uncertain. We do experiments wondering if they will even work. It's discovery, and you don't know where it's going to lead. It could lead to a billion-dollar company, something like mRNA vaccines or CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing, or it could simply be something that interests you. Sometimes it might appear esoteric from the outside, but there are very smart people dedicated to this work. We shouldn't lose sight of the fact that most of this work is paid for by taxpayers, but funding uncertainty creates a very unstable foundation. If the foundations are weak, people are going to get much more conservative about the science that they're doing and worry that ‘blue-skies research’ is not worth pursuing because it won't get funded. And that would be a mistake because all innovation in science really originates from blue-skies, basic research. The second thing that uncertainty does is send a message to our young trainees – who are our future – that this is not a career option that will provide professional and personal stability. I worry that this kind of uncertainty will mean we lose an entire generation of people, and that would be a loss we might not be able to overcome.

I was interviewed by @katiepickup.bsky.social recently for @dmmjournal.bsky.social. This has a little bit of my background, a little bit on science and mentoring, and a little bit (ok, more than a little bit) on funding in science.

Check it out at: journals.biologists.com/dmm/article/...

We #Boilermakers are thrilled to have @drannecarpenter.bsky.social & @runxishen.bsky.social join us as Purdue Biology colleagues! Welcome, Anne & Runxi!

Congratulations, @mblokesch.bsky.social, what a great story! Your thread was excellent too.

Nooo! Ha ha, happy Valentine’s, @bstevensonlab.bsky.social!

With Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood theme; nostalgia! I enjoyed the Claude therapist ad 😀

Seema Mattoo explains Bordetella pertussis, the cause of whooping cough, and talks with Mark Martin about how vaccine hesitancy is driving the return of childhood diseases.

@markowenmartin.bsky.social

Such an honor to share our work on @microbetv.bsky.social! And fun too! Thank you, @markowenmartin.bsky.social, for the invitation and for being such an enthusiastic host!
@asm.org

I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, Mark. Thank you for the invitation!

Thanks for the repost, Brian!!

On the balance of knowledge - Nature Reviews Immunology Ruslan Medzhitov shares his thoughts on the balance between generating data and developing theories in immunology, with a focus on exploring the rules that govern complex systems.

Too much data, too little thinking.
A important essay from Ruslan Medzhitov on the importance of understanding data, not just generating it. A must read.
@Yale
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Hear, hear!

NSF seeks public input on its Fiscal Year (FY) 2026–2030 NSF Strategic Plan

NSF needs to hear from you. Among other points, I suggested: keep politics out of science; stop using the threat of cancelling scientific grants to try to control universities; increase NSF funding for fundamental research. Pls send around. Deadline is January 27. Thanks
www.nsf.gov/od/updates/n...

Notice of Request for Information; Accelerating the American Scientific Enterprise The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) requests input from all interested parties on Federal policy updates that aim to accelerate the American scientific enterprise, enable groundbreaking...

OSTP has issued a request for information, please share with them your ideas for how to improve government functions related to science funding and policy

www.federalregister.gov/documents/20...

Why #ASMMicrobe matters…
@asm.org

Terrible loss 💔

Submit your abstracts for ASM Microbe 2026!
As a member of the Scientific Program Committee, I can vouch for great science with something for everyone!
@asm.org

asm.org/events/asm-m...

Honored to be included in Clarivate's Highly Cited Researcher list for 2025. Working with the best people in the business makes the discoveries easier, and more fun. Cheers to my lab (present and former).
@clarivatelsh.bsky.social @bostonchildrens.bsky.social @harvardmed.bsky.social

Dr. Rita Colwell. Truly inspiring in every way. And a #Boilermaker to boot! Happy birthday, Rita!

Sharing this important article... for no reason whatsoever.

"We must also continue to deepen and refine our understanding of fundamental biological processes because these details frequently hold the keys to major advances in applied research."

elifesciences.org/articles/102...

Want to help us as an abstract reviewer for the @asm.org #ASMMicrobe2026? Abstract Review Period: January 29 - February 5, 2026. Please fill out the Abstract Reviewer Interest Form: asm.org/Microbe2026-... Thanks for your help!

James Watson, Co-Discoverer of the Structure of DNA, Is Dead at 97

NYT obituary of Jim Watson.

A long and fairly balanced view of a complicated man who participated in one of the greatest discoveries in biology.

[Gift Link]

www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/s...

Mark your calendars! #mmpc2026 The 2026 Midwest Microbial Pathogenesis Conference will be take place September 25-27, 2026 at the University of Minnesota! We are excited to welcome keynote speaker Dr. Andy Camilli. Give us a follow and watch for important information here ➡️ mmpc2026.umn.edu

Introducing ASM Mechanism Discovery Director Glen McGugan, Ph.D.

We're excited to welcome Glen McGugan, Ph.D., as ASM’s Scientific Director of the Mechanism Discovery unit! He’ll lead efforts advancing discovery-driven microbial sciences in physiology, genetics, genomics & more.

➡️ Learn more about the unit: asm.social/2Dy

Congrats, Jason, great news!