What Physical ‘Life Force’ Turns Biology’s Wheels? | Quanta Magazine The bacterial flagellar motor is finally understood after 50 years. In its workings, columnist Natalie Wolchover finds the essence of life.

A powerful electrical motor propels bacteria in virtually every gut and puddle on Earth. After 50 years, it has finally been understood. @nattyover.bsky.social reports: www.quantamagazine.org/what-physica...

Register to vote Register to vote to take part in elections in the UK. Includes how to get on the electoral register and how to update your address on the register.

Last day to register to vote in the upcoming elections! www.gov.uk/register-to-...

Palantir
@rthonwesstreeting.bsky.social

Google Starts Scanning All Your Photos As New Update Goes Live Google wants its AI to see all the photos of "you and your loved ones." Billions of users must now decide.

“Take a moment to think before you dive in. That’s the best advice for Google Photos users, as the company confirms its latest update can scan all your photos to “use actual images of you and your loved ones” in AI image generation.”

www.forbes.com/sites/zakdof...

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/...

WAT
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Now out in its final form! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Clostridia from preterm infants metabolize human milk oligosaccharides to suppress pathobionts and modulate intestinal function in organoids - Nature Microbiology Clostridium perfringens lacking perfringolysin O toxin isolated from preterm infants metabolizes human milk oligosaccharide disialyllacto-N-tetraose to produce metabolites that promote the growth of c...

Clostridia (especially non-toxigenic perfringens) from preterm infants metabolize human milk oligosaccharides to suppress pathobionts and modulate intestinal function in organoids
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Yeah fair enough!

Which strictly means pre-1953 surely? I mean the USSR wasn't "Stalinist" after he died? I think the term is maybe overused?

Even in prison, Belarusian dissident women haven’t given up.

The future of the country may still be in their hands

BISMiS Live #53 @ 0700 GMT (😭) on 18th April 2026. Dr Teo Wee Fei Aaron presents "Notes on the description of novel prokaryotic taxa".
www.bismis.net/bismislive.php

My main postdoc paper is now out in @natureportfolio.nature.com npj Antimicrobials and Resistance! www.nature.com/articles/s44.... Using flow cytometry, we show that the nucleoside analogues azidothymidine, didanosine, stavudine, and trifluridine reduced transfer of AMR plasmids pCT and pKpQIL (1/3)

Actually maybe this is the more relevant poll.

I thought the exact opposite was true?

Google Has a Secret Reference Desk. Here's How to Use It. 40 Google features to find exactly what you need, the alternative search engines that do things Google won't, and the reference desk framework underneath all of it.

This is incredible: Google Has a Secret Reference Desk. Here’s How to Use It. I knew some of these but not all, e.g. verbatim mode “returns results for exactly what you typed, stripped of personalization and synonym-swapping.” [cardcatalogforlife.substack.com]

RFK Jr. Lied His Way Into Office and American Health Is the Victim He is pushing quackery as science as health secretary

Kennedy canceled $500 million in mRNA research and announced no new mRNA projects will ever be initiated—killing the technology that produced the fastest vaccine rollout in human history.

The lady doth protest too much, methinks.

Or indeed be a "fat girl".

The real headline: crypto crook (who pleaded guilty to breaking US money laundering rules) plans to try and buy UK politics www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/202...

You know I do think it's important to note that — if it is indeed over — this meaningless war killed:

-Iranians: ~3,500
-Lebanese: ~1,500
-Iraqis: ~100
-Israelis: 39
-GCC residents: 31
-Americans: 15
-Palestinians: 14
-Syrians: 1
-French: 1

Earth and Moon from DSCOVR NASA's Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) aboard the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite captured this unique view of the Moon as it moved in front of the sunlit side of Earth last month. This view shows the fully illuminated “dark side” of the moon that is never visible from Earth. Ian Regan processed this version of the image to account for the Moon's motion. NASA / NOAA / Ian Regan

I hadn't seen this before. This is pretty remarkable.

Earth and Moon in one NASA photo.

ht @astrokatie.com

Afternoon in Watergate Forest Park, which was very peaceful & unexpectedly lovely. Followed by some amazing Georgian food in Byker.

The price of lithium-ion batteries has fallen by 99% since 1991 Representative estimate of the price of battery cells for lithium-ion batteries, across all major cell chemistries. Prices are in US dollars per kilowatt-hour, adjusted for inflation.

At a time when everything seems bad, here’s a bit of good news. In 1991, lithium-ion batteries cost around $9,200 per kilowatt-hour — 33 years later, they cost just $78. This helps us move towards electrification of transport and energy storage in homes
ourworldindata.org/battery-pric...

Awesome view from Artemis II this morning.

Are you excited by virology? Would you like to do a PhD? Three fantastic opportunities are available to do joint PhDs between @cvrinfo.bsky.social and @pirbrightinst.bsky.social
Details in the thread below - please share!
Deadline 8th May 2026, fully funded for UK Home students
(1/4)

And the preprint is out! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

We compared plasmid conjugation in liquid and on solid across 13 AMR plasmids with different types of conjugative pili.

How many people die in house fires? Figure halves from around 800 pa in 1981 to 400 in 2017

Decades of fire regulations have made British homes safer. Health and Safety works and this is the very stuff Reform in their many iterations have sought to roll back.

Thanks!

Unstable-looking stack at Ryhope Beach (spectacular views & usually not a soul about).