I defended my PhD 10 years ago today. That was the least remarkable thing that happened that day. Sharing something I wrote about it last year. Since then "the horrors persist but so do we." And with dignity.

Hi, an email was sent out a few minutes ago; you should have been BCC'd on it. I also forwarded you the email just now in case you did not receive it. Sorry about that, we've been having issues with emails not going through for months, no matter which organizer sends them!

Anything and everything Alphaproteobacteria! Feel free to invite your students to attend, it's free!

With CauloCon coming up in a few weeks, we are excited to share with you the schedule for the upcoming meeting! There will be 3 keynotes and 26 short talks over three days.

You can see more information at caulocon.com

Hey alpha aficionados - it's almost time for CauloCon 2026! This free, virtual meeting will feature talks from @brunlabcaulo.bsky.social @thanbichlerlab.bsky.social and @lamasonlab.bsky.social with opps for trainee talks. Register using the link below. 👇

CauloCon 2026 A free, 3-day virtual meeting on all things Caulobacter and Alphaproteobacteria

CauloCon 2026 is coming! 🔬✨ March 3–5 (fully virtual + free). Keynotes by Yves Brun, Becky Lamason & Martin Thanbichler. Great chance for grad students & postdocs to present their work (work-in-progress welcome!). Submit an abstract by Sun Feb 8. Register + submit: www.caulocon.com

Caulocon is coming back this year!

From March 3rd-5th, we will be hosting a free virtual meeting on all things on all things Caulobacter and Alphaproteobacteria. Keynote speakers will be Dr. Yves Brun, Dr. Becky Lamason, and Dr. Martin Thanbichler.

Visit caulocon.com for more details.

So his argument is that a trans child is inherently worth less than a cis child, and thus a cis child must always be given priority? So in other words, trans people are second class citizens?

Banning youth care is based on hate, pure and simple.

Just unmistakably evil. Having the opportunity to get proper care during early/before puberty allows trans people to have a much more normal life rather than be forcibly subjected to the physical and mental torture that would otherwise occur.

We have wondered what a complex archaeal cell might look like ever since 2014. It’s been a long road (and the journey is far from over), but it’s a good time to pause for breath and look. These Asgard archaeal cells are a surprise! And that is the joy of being a cell biologist.

Me impatiently waiting for the @biorxiv-microbiol.bsky.social bot to post a preprint I'm on so I can promote it.

Sub-cellular chemical mapping in bacteria using correlated cryogenic electron and mass spectrometry imaging

Congrats Hannah Ochner and authors on this important paper! Strong collaboration with @kiranrpatil.bsky.social

www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...
@mrclmb.bsky.social @wellcometrust.bsky.social

"We support research, as long as your study is politically favorable for us."

Had a great time at #phages2025 last week! It was my first notable conference I went solo to. Thank you all for the many great talks and all the new people I met at all levels of research. I hope to be back again in a year or two with a project worthy of a talk!

Peptidoglycan–outer membrane attachment generates periplasmic pressure to prevent lysis in Gram-negative bacteria - Nature Microbiology Outer membrane attachment to peptidoglycan enables periplasmic pressure to build up and counter cytoplasmic turgor pressure, preventing lysis during osmotic challenges in Escherichia coli.

#microsky
We challenge the long-standing view that peptidoglycan alone protects cells from bursting.

Our study shows that the periplasm — enclosed by OM–PG connections — acts as a pressure buffer essential for osmoprotection in Gram-negative bacteria.

📄 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

“Why Are We Funding This?” Long-standing myths about “silly science” have contributed to the reckless slashing of government-supported research.

My latest for American Scientist Magazine helps give scientists the tools to fight back against politicized charges that our research is silly or pointless- tools that will work whether you’re asked “why are we funding this” from your asshole uncle at Thanksgiving or an asshole US Senator.
🧪🌎

Not all persister bacteria are dormant! 🦠

Single-cell imaging of over a million #EColi shows that many antibiotic-resistant persisters were actively growing before drug exposure. Persistence appears to be more dynamic than once thought.
buff.ly/04T4L1k

Trump Taps Palantir to Compile Data on Americans

The Trump administration is working with private companies like Palantir to create detailed reports on every American, which could help them weaponize our personal information in their quest to deport immigrants and punish critics.

This is a huge threat to our constitutional rights.

Malinowski: A couple of years ago, Vance gave a speech.. The title was universities are the enemy. He said explicitly, we cannot achieve anything in this country as a conservative movement unless we aggressively go after the universities. That's what they're doing right now

"Women are PIs on 58% of the canceled grants, although they are PIs on only 34% of all active NSF grants.

Similarly, Blacks are PIs on 17% of the terminated grants, although they make only 4% of the total pool. Hispanic PIs and those with disabilities were twice as likely to lose a grant."

US researchers must stand up to protect freedoms, not just funding Curtailment of freedoms and disregard for the rule of law in the United States is destroying the ability of science to serve the nation’s, and the world’s, interests. Researchers can take action.

The US administration is eroding the freedoms on which the nation’s success has been based

https://go.nature.com/4jRfcfs

Trump approval sinks as Americans criticize his major policies, poll finds President Donald Trump’s 100 days poll finds a lower approval rating, growing opposition to his agenda and opposition to many of his major initiatives.

"Do you support reducing federal funding for medical research?"

21% support, 77% OPPOSE

www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Harvard Medical researcher sues NIH for cutting grant to study LGBTQ mental health "This is not just an attack on the LGBTQ community — it is a blow to the integrity of science and the health of every American," a Harvard Medical School associate professor studying the mental…

⛔ NIH ended ALL of my grants mid-project, given LGBTQ health focus 🏳️‍🌈

⚖️ So what am I doing? Suing RFK, Jr.

As one team member shared in this story👇: "The threats to our work don’t just make me fear for my career — they make me fear for my safety.“

#SaveDemocracy #SupportScience #PublicHealth

The only mentioning "young men" is sending off lots of red flags.

75% of US scientists who answered Nature poll consider leaving More than 1,600 readers answered our poll; many said they were looking for jobs in Europe and Canada.

The massive changes in US research brought about by the new administration of President Donald Trump are causing many scientists in the country to rethink their lives and careers

https://go.nature.com/41OhAgK

I don't know if I've ever seen a Republican representative who isn't dumber than a box of nails.

Big shout out to
✨♥️Myxococcus llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogochensis♥️✨ for messing up my figure.

Etats-Unis : un chercheur français refoulé pour avoir exprimé « une opinion personnelle sur la politique menée par l’administration Trump » Le ministre de la recherche français a dit sa « préoccupation », mercredi, après cette décision des autorités américaines. Le chercheur du CNRS aurait subi un contrôle aléatoire à son arrivée, avant q...

So on March 9, a French scientist, on a visa to attend a conference in Houston, was denied entry to the US and subsequently expelled because his phone had messages decrying scientific policies put forward by the Trump administration: www.lemonde.fr/internationa...

@osman-lab.bsky.social < is that you > @osman_lab on 𝕏 ?

@felix_thoma on 𝕏 Apr 25, 2022
"Mitochondrial dynamics in budding yeast. A picture was taken every 3 min for 5 h. I used mKate2 targeted to the mitos, and imaged the cells in a microfluidic chamber with a Nikon Ti2e Eclipse"

need this here!