We are on the move and this year will be held in beautiful Southbridge, Massachusetts at the height of leaf changing season. Conference is organized by toxin biologists for the toxin biology community. Come join us!
Conference banner showing trees with leafs changing colors.
Announcing the 4th Lakeside Conference on Protein Toxins and Effectors 2026 Registration/Abstract Submission is OPEN (#lakesidePTE)! Come join this premier event on the structure, biochemistry, and cell biology of Microbial Protein Toxins Oct 12-15, 2026. event.fourwaves.com/lakesidepte2...
I thought that was Nature group journals. Don’t you already work for that publication? Academics pay thousands and 10,000+ to publish in Nature publications. Can’t you just ask the editor one desk over?
Quote from Paper “This trend raises questions about whether research papers can remain a reliable method for sharing scientific progress.”
Finally, I want to inform readers that my lab has been at the forefront for >15 years on understanding how these bacteria cause disease. However, we are struggling because, as a Northwestern Faculty member, my grants to study these infections have been frozen since March. Please Support Science!
Studies from my group have shown that Vibrio vulnficus bacteria from around the phylogenetic tree can cause infections in humans. So there are not good Vv and bad Vv...they are all bad. Just some may be much worse.
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
Vibrio vulnificus is also the leading cause of seafood-borne death. I love oysters...I recommend po' boys with fried oysters, grilled, and stews. But always cooked, especially in the warm months of the year. Shrimp and other seafood also can be sources of infection. journals.lww.com/ajg/fulltext...
Caution should be taken when walking in brackish waters and swimming. Common clinical cases include cuts while fishing, walking in shallow waters with small cuts on feet, and this one of infection while swimming with a new tattoo. casereports.bmj.com/content/2017...
The annual news blitz about danger this time year of Vibrio vulnificus is upon us. If you live in the Gulf or Atlantic areas, and particularly if you have liver disease, cancer, or immunosuppression, Vv is a danger. The disease is rare but death rates high, survivors have long hospitalizations 🧵
Great time with my awesome Northwestern colleagues at #GRCMAST
A happy scientist holding a poster prize certificate
Congratulations to Mason Clark who won the @fems MicroLife poster prize at the Microbial Adhesion and Signal Transduction GRC!
Northwestern Micro representing at the 2025GRC MAST conference in beautiful Newport. Great science, collegial people but there’s a cloud hanging over us all. ☁️
“NIH will introduce a cap on allowable publication costs starting in Fiscal Year (FY) 2026, ensuring that publication fees remain reasonable across the research ecosystem. The policy aims to curb excessive APCs & ensure the broad dissemination of research findings w/o unnecessary financial barriers”
This is an event on Tuesday in the House of Representatives hosted by the minority Science committee, led by @lofgren.house.gov.
Real question: why isn’t this being held in the evening and produced for TV and social media?
There are production and storytelling resources in Congress.
"A document [DHHS] sent to lawmakers to support Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s decision to change U.S. policy on covid vaccines cites scientific studies that are unpublished or under dispute and mischaracterizes others."
kffhealthnews.org/news/article... via @kffhealthnews.org
RFK Jr's "MAHA" report is filled with references to studies that literally do not exist, or that completely misinterpret the studies' findings.
“We did not publish a paper.. on this topic with that co-author group, or with that title,” says one cited researcher.
www.notus.org/health-scien...
Thanks to Northwestern Feinberg communications for writing this nice article on our recent work for the newsletter. @vibrio-vulnificus.bsky.social
Great new study by my excellent colleague @jutraslab.bsky.social on treatments for Luke’s disease
To say it once more today: I think you'll be moved if you take 2 minutes to look through 269 institutions signed on here.
Yes, still a few notable absences. (Where is Stanford?) But such an array of *presence.* Big and small. Public and private. World famous and barely known. Check them out.
Graduate student Jiexi Chen presented today in the emerging scientist session #ASBMB25 on her new paper on toxin binding N-glycans. She did a great job!!
Taking a break from the news in Bsky. Happy to share amazing study by student Jiexi Chen on Vibrio vulnificus MARTX toxin engagement of N-glycans and receptor L1CAM. First study on this toxin binding to cell surfaces. #vibrio #microsky #toxins www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Was great to participate in this project designed to test robustness of AI ligand prediction but had a side benefit of crowd-sourced discovery of a SARS-CoV-2 helicase inhibitor
Hi @schakowsky.house.gov The weather is supposed to be nice for @standupforscience.bsky.social Rally for Science on the National mall. I am coming from Evanston, hope to see my rep there too!!
Slashing IRS staff will end up costing the U.S. government.
Multiple studies have shown that for every dollar spent by the IRS, the agency returns between $5 and $12.
New @propublica.org by @andykroll.bsky.social
They can use AI bots on their side to save time/cost to replace editors, and now trying to normalize this behavior to get reviewers to volunteer more often so they can grow revenue.
Nature is responding to a critical flaw in their business model, they need to grow revenue to keep billionaire investors on board, but depend on volunteer peer reviewers.
1/n
Wonderful recognition! Hank gave great speech at ceremony on how service and faculty joining together is most important in challenging times
🗽🔬 STAND UP FOR SCIENCE. Chicago joins the nationwide movement to demand that our government fully support scientific research, which employs people, benefits our economy, and SAVES LIVES
Join Indivisible Chicago & @standupforscience.bsky.social on Fri, March 7th, 12pm, Federal Plaza. Info/Sign-up:
