Applications are officially OPEN for the 2027 Gordon Research Conference on Multidrug Efflux Systems.

📅 When: March 21–26, 2027
📍 Where: Ventura, California
🔗 Apply here: www.grc.org/multi-drug-e...

#GRC #MultidrugEfflux

An enhanced domestication method for uncultured bacteria Abstract. When environmental bacteria transition to laboratory conditions, a process termed domestication, the shift from the native habitat to a culture m

Most bacteria remain uncultured with vast microbial ‘dark matter’ awaiting discovery.. to address this am excited to share EDEN - an enhanced domestication method to grow uncultured bacteria & new diversity. Using EDEN we isolate a new species active against MDR pathogens..

doi.org/10.1093/isme...

My super department @warwicklifesci.bsky.social is hiring 6 assistant profs in the wake of recent retirements. We're looking for people in microbiology/infection, cellular disease / immunity; environmental biology; and plant/crop science. #MicroSky warwick-careers.tal.net/vx/lang-en-G...

Using X-ray Crystallography and 1,n-ADEQUATE NMR to Revise the Structures of Highly Substituted Aromatic Natural Products: The Absolute Configuration of Formicamycin Congeners Formicamycins and their biosynthetic precursors, the fasamycins, form part of the phenylnaphthacenoid family of polyketide natural products. A recent atroposelective total synthesis of formicamycin H brought into question our original stereochemical assignment of the axially chiral linkage between C-6 and C-7. To address this, we obtained an X-ray crystal structure for formicamycin H that unambiguously confirmed our original assignment as the Sa atropisomer. X-ray structures for multiple additional fasamycins and formicamycins confirmed that this is common to all congeners. However, these studies identified a compounded error made by us whereby several structures previously reported as para-methoxy were found to have ortho-methoxy groups on the hanging E-ring. To address this for congeners that did not crystallize or gave nondiffracting crystals, we turned to the surprisingly underutilized 1,n-ADEQUATE NMR experiment. In total, we generated X-ray structures for 15 phenylnaphthacenoid metabolites and by combining these results report the corrected structures for three formicamycins, six fasamycins, and three biosynthetic lactone intermediates, noting that several revised fasamycin structures now match previously reported naphthacemycins. Our results highlight the utility of 1,n-ADEQUATE experiments for regiochemical determination in polysubstituted aromatic molecules. Moreover, our investigations uncovered a potential deracemization step during biosynthesis of the formicamycin framework.

New paper with @barriewilks.bsky.social. There are many reports on fasamycins and formicamycins (aka accramycins, naphthacemycins, streptovertimycins). Here, we unambiguously solve their structures and stereochemistry. A great effort, led by Dr Edward Hems

pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

The programme for this year's BSAC Antibiotic Resistance Mechanisms workshop is live! Take a look at the fantastic speaker line-up:
@gmknght.bsky.social
@bugsinblood.bsky.social
@slowgoing.bsky.social
@strain9000.bsky.social to name but a few!

bsac.org.uk/arm2026/

@bsacandjac.bsky.social

Excited to share our new paper out today in @science.org 🎉

We show that HGT via natural competence drives diversification of chromosomal integrons in V. cholerae 🤩

Below a 🧵 on key findings incl. background on natural competence in V. cholerae 1/
#microsky #phagesky
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Postdoc position available in St Andrews for a structural biologist: www.vacancies.st-andrews.ac.uk/Vacancies/W/...

Latest from the lab!
Between clinical S. aureus, most gene transfer mechanisms are blocked, yet lateral transduction remains highly efficient.
Restriction modification-defective strains act as gateways for horizontal gene transfer, enabling DNA flow across populations. rdcu.be/fbNQK

Why we won’t be funding open access publishing any more - Cancer Research UK - Cancer News The open access movement was bold and promising, but ultimately disappointing. Now is the time to stop and call for a new way to make publishing work…

CRUK goes green [OA] news.cancerresearchuk.org/2026/04/01/w...

@superstreps.bsky.social ??

2 x Assistant Professor in Chemistry University of Warwick - Department of Chemistry.

📍 Location: University of Warwick, UK
📅 Start date: AY 2026/2027
⏰ Deadline to apply: 8th April 2026

warwick-careers.tal.net/vx/appcentre...

Jesus Christ this is bad

TLR4-MyD88-NF-κB signaling in the airway epithelium promotes Acinetobacter baumannii clearance - PubMed These findings highlight the airway epithelium as a critical site of innate immune sensing and coordinating the pulmonary host defense against A. baumannii.

Latest from the lab! We show the importance of regulation within airway epithelial cells in controlling Acinetobacter baumannii infection. @jidjournal.bsky.social.
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41636230/

Research Fellow (Postdoctoral) at University of Birmingham Explore an exciting academic career as a Research Fellow (Postdoctoral). Don't miss out on other academic jobs. Click to apply and explore more opportunities.

Two post-doctoral positions open in our lab. We're looking for people with expertise in molecular microbiology and/or genome-scale tools. Initially 3 yrs, posts could be extended for upto 8 yrs. If you'd like to know more about us take a look at www.graingerlab.com

www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DQY475/r...

NIH FFS: The Freedom From Science Lab Leak Lecture Series The NIH Director invited a conspiracy theorist to present his evidence-free,views on how the pandemic started. So I brought my co-conspirators to set them straight.

"as Americans, we really need to remember that having a British accent does not give you extra credibility"
Dammit @ggronvall.bsky.social ! 🤣
ht @angierasmussen.bsky.social

open.substack.com/pub/rasmusse...

Join myself, Sara Jabbari and @jessicamablair.bsky.social to work out how we can make bacteria more tolerant of organic molecules such as biofuels and platform chemicals.

Funding is available for UK students - deadline is 1st May 2026, project starts in October 2026.

Improving the solvent tolerance of E. coli by understanding the rules of accumulation at University of Birmingham on FindAPhD.com PhD Project - Improving the solvent tolerance of E. coli by understanding the rules of accumulation at University of Birmingham, listed on FindAPhD.com

PhD available with @overtonlab.bsky.social Sara Jabbari and me associated with our BBSRC sLoLa project!
www.findaphd.com/phds/project... (UK students only)

What is a Superbug? The global threat of antibiotic resistance YouTube video by Yorkshire Philosophical Society

Check out the first of our public lectures on AMR run by the YPS - kicked off by the fantastic Prof. Jess Blair from Birmingham. What is a superbug? @jessicamablair.bsky.social @ypsyork.bsky.social @ybri-uoy.bsky.social - two more in the series coming soon!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFYs...

Open Science round-up: Making preprints count - International Science Council In this issue, we feature an editorial by the International Network for Advancing Science and Policy (INASP) on how funders and policy-makers can support a faster, more equitable publishing system by ...

"Funders serious about timely, open, and equitable access to research must explicitly recognize preprint sharing as a route to Open Access compliance"

I know I'm a broken record on this but it seems so blindingly obvious... #PlanU journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...

council.science/blog/open-sc...

Very excited to share our recently published work on NTM and their response to acid stress!

As my first paper, I’m especially grateful for the support and guidance from @luizcarvalholab.bsky.social , Rachel and @maxgg.bsky.social . More to come!

Comparative Epigenomics Reveals that RNA Polymerase II Pausing and Chromatin Domain Organization Control Nematode piRNA Biogenesis piRNAs are an important genome regulatory mechanism conserved across metazoans. In the nematode C. elegans, piRNA biogenesis evolved several differences from other metazoans. Beltran et al. study the ...

Happy pi (RNA) day everyone! And what better way to enjoy than to revisit the unusual features of nematode piRNAs: www.cell.com/developmenta...

Is anyone here aware of any research into the impact (e.g. changing ranking) and effectiveness (picking the best candidates, without biases) of interviews in grant application peer review process?

2 year fellowship available in AMR research www.medicalresearchfoundation.org.uk/grants/antim...

Funding Funding is often secured through Wellcome Trust or MRC DTP Fellowships. Further information about this and specific projects studying under the supervision of Departmental supervisors who have obtaine...

PhD opportunity in my lab. Working on RSV, genomics, viral escape and evolution

www.imperial.ac.uk/infectious-d...

The School of Biosciences at University of Birmingham is recruiting FIVE Assistant/Associate Profs in areas including fungal biology, plant science and bioengineering. Full details below 🍄🌾🧬🧫

Pls re-post: My department @oxfordbiochemistry.bsky.social are recruiting for several new faculty positions (links below). Broad search in molecular biology/biochemistry, across prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Interested in understanding life at the molecular level, this job might be for you!
1/n

Human serum triglycerides promote Staphylococcus aureus biofilm formation and antibiotic tolerance www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.03...

New post-doctoral research position in my phage-host interactions (Phi) laboratory in @otagomicroimmuno.bsky.social at @universityofotago.bsky.social New Zealand. The project is focused on defences against jumbo phages. Please share and if interested apply using the link in the comments.

Also extremely happy to see work finally published! Kudos to @yushuchen.bsky.social's tenacity and hard work! Read our previous thread and the paper itself for details/updates! Happy to chat if you find our findings interesting! #MicroSky

www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

And now published as an Observation! Many congrats to @weeboont.bsky.social for discovering that AsmA superfamily proteins, YhdP/TamB/YdbH, localize to the cell poles in E. coli, curiously AFTER division has occurred! 1/3 #MicroSky
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...