New episode of #MattersMicrobial! This time, Dr. Joe Zackular joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss the wily bacterium Clostridiodes difficile (also known as C. diff) which can cause serious disease in humans. Informative session! Please spread the #GoodMicrobialWord!
youtu.be/9oSR01l-EkY?...
"Pancreatic cancer mRNA vaccine shows lasting results in an early trial: Scientists caution that more research is needed, but nearly all of the patients who responded to the personalized vaccine are still alive six years later."
Postdoctoral Scholar position in the Coaker group University of California, Davis We are seeking a Postdoctoral Scholar to join our research program focused on immune receptor engineering and spatial analyses of plant pathogens interactions using computational and imaging approaches. The position will involve integration of molecular, imaging, and computational approaches. Relevant publications from the laboratory include Nature Plants (2025, PMID: 40721669), Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2024, PMID: 38814867), and Cell Reports (2023, PMID: 37342910). https://www.coakerlab.org/ Qualifications: • Ph.D. in plant biology, molecular biology, genetics, computational biology, or a related field • Strong background in genomics and/or computational biology • First author publications in peer-reviewed journals • Ability to work both independently and collaboratively in a multidisciplinary environment • Experience in plant innate immunity is preferred Application Instructions: The position is initially available for two years, with the possibility of extension based on performance and funding. Salary is based on the University of California postdoctoral salary scale (https://www.ucop.edu/academic-personnel-programs/_files/2025-26/represented-oct-2025-scales/t23.pdf). The salary range for this position is $69,073-$82,836 US Dollars/year. Review of applications will begin June 1, 2026 and will continue until the position is filled. Please submit a CV, a brief statement of research interests (~1 page), and contact information for three references to glcoaker@ucdavis.edu. The research statement should describe your previous work, how your expertise aligns with ongoing research in the lab, and potential future research directions.
We are hiring! We’re excited to recruit a postdoc to our lab at UC Davis to work on plant immune engineering and single-cell analyses of plant pathogen interactions. Apply by June 1. Please repost. www.coakerlab.org/postdoctoral...
Rendering of Shigella bacteria under the microscope. 📷: CDC, Stephanie Rossow
The CDC warns that extensively drug-resistant (XDR) Shigella is on the rise in US.
The prevalence of XDR Shigella isolates in US surveillance data rose from 0% during 2011-2015 to 8.5% in 2023.
Read more: ow.ly/VXee50YLphl
📷: CDC, Stephanie Rossow
@hhmi-science.bsky.social's
#FreemanHrabowski Scholars Program offers early career faculty up to $10M over 10 yrs, plus salary & benefits
Stable, sustained support can transform your career:
Senior Postdoc? This year's competition has a program for you too. Applications open 11/3! bit.ly/4vhC0LA
Why has the #Salmonella ST34 become a global pandemic clone? The answer is in the #pig gut—and our use of #copper.
Our latest research dives into the "copper-modified niche" and how it reshapes the microbiome. link.springer.com/article/10.1...
@rafalkolenda.bsky.social @abaumler.bsky.social
Kann ein unausgeglichenes Darmmikrobiom eine chronische Nierenerkrankung verschlimmern?
Durch Entschlüsselung der ökologischen Ursachen einer Darmfloraveränderung, und deren Konsequenz für das Voranschreiten der Krankheit, konnten wir diese Frage lösen.
Mehr hier: germanic.news/wie-ein-unau...
My do would love this
Dysbiosis is not a change in the microbiota composition, it is a change in the host environment and compositional changes are secondary to this underlying cause
Genome sequence of a 5,000 year old bacterium (Psychrobacter) from cave ice contains more than 100 genes associated with antimicrobial resistance 😳
www.frontiersin.org/journals/mic...
Saure Zipfel?
Out now in @science.org
Host-derived nitrate fuels indole production by Escherichia coli to drive chronic kidney disease progression | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Kann ein unausgeglichenes Darmmikrobiom eine chronische Nierenerkrankung verschlimmern?
Durch Entschlüsselung der ökologischen Ursachen einer Darmfloraveränderung, und deren Konsequenz für das Voranschreiten der Krankheit, konnten wir diese Frage lösen.
Mehr hier: germanic.news/wie-ein-unau...
And since a ton of people have asked - I don't really sell many pics but I do have a SMugmug site and have posted this pic there if you want to buy a print jonathaneisen.smugmug.com/Tree-of-Life...
Does an imbalanced gut microbiome worsen chronic kidney disease?
By elucidating the ecological causes for changes in the gut microbiota composition during chronic kidney disease and its consequences for disease progression we were able to answer this question.
Does an imbalanced gut microbiome worsen chronic kidney disease?
By elucidating the ecological causes for changes in the gut microbiota composition and its consequences for disease progression we were able to answer this question.
Read more at: www.eurekalert.org/news-release...
Here we show that buildup of uremic toxins during CKD generates nitrate in the colon. Nitrate supports expansion of Enterobacteriaceae, turning them into a major source of uremic toxins. Inhibiting nitrate production (iNOS inhibition) mitigates disease progression. www.science.org/eprint/YGNMK...
A possible explanation for the different results from mouse models and in vitro batch culture is that the latter does not resemble the gut environment of CKD patients. But testing this idea requires elucidating how CKD changes the gut environment to alter growth conditions for the microbiota.
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) increases uremic toxins in the mouse cecum, but microbiota from healthy controls and patients with CKD produce similar amounts of uremic toxins during in vitro culture, questioning whether a “uremic microbiota” really exists.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
On world kidney day, let’s remember that uremic toxins, metabolites derived from the gut microbiota, drive progression towards renal failure. Yet while the microbial origin of uremic toxins is undisputed, it is not clear whether gut dysbiosis contributes to disease. www.worldkidneyday.org
Here is the "effective payline" for each institute, estimated (by Claude) as the percentile where one can expect 80% probability of funding from a logistic regression fit. The effective payline has gone from a historic ~12% to 6% in 2025.
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
AI is threatening science jobs. Which ones are most at risk?
Data-analysis and modelling positions are already becoming obsolete, but hands-on experimentalists can breathe easy for now.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Figure from this publication: Human foreskin-based cultivation system supports the growth of various T. pallidum strains (n=8), from the Nichols-like as well as the SS14-like cluster. Note that human foreskin fibroblast cells were prepared as an equal mixture of three tested cell lines. Each T. pallidum strain was cultivated in a single in vitro well, representing a sole experimental replicate used for data acquisition.
Major advance in T. pallidum reserach:
"First human cell-based cultivation system for the syphilis spirochete Treponema pallidum"
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
#MicroSky
AI Added 'Basically Zero' to US Economic Growth Last Year, Goldman Sachs Says gizmodo.com/ai-added-basically-zero-...
Congratulations to Mariana Byndloss @maribyndloss.bsky.social for her promotion to Associate Professor with tenure at Vanderbilt University @vanderbilt.edu
Photo credit: Bäumler lab archives
By my count, this is the third CDC outbreak notice in the past three months involving Moringa leaf and various Salmonella strains. What's with that?
