Tired of the uncertainty in dating? This one weird trick will bring back the confidence to your dating!

Cognition without brains? Learning and memory in microorganisms Memory and learning are cognitive abilities typically associated with animals that possess a complex nervous system. Interestingly, recent studies suggest that microorganisms might also display learni...

Cognition without brains? Learning and memory in microorganisms

@cp-trendsmicrobiol.bsky.social Review by Andreas Messer, Leonardo Oña, and @kostchristian.bsky.social

www.cell.com/trends/micro...

GTDB release 11 based on RefSeq 232 (R11-RS232) is live at gtdb.ecogenomic.org. This release covers 901,341 genomes (23% increase) and has 199,923 species clusters (39% increase). Release notes at: forum.gtdb.ecogenomic.org/t/announcing.... Release statistics at: gtdb.ecogenomic.org/stats/r232.

🪐🌌☄️ 🔭 Largest ever map of universe from #DESIsurvey captures 47 million galaxies and quasars, via @newscientist.com.

Want to annotate a bacterial genome with structures?

@oschwengers.bsky.social bakta and @gbouras13.bsky.social phold got together, and the result is Baktfold: protein annotation across the microbial tree of life using structures

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

#phagesky #microsky #microbiomesky

Excited to see our work out in Science today! Using machine learning to identify prokaryotic immune systems www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

CRAGE-RB-PI-seq reveals transcriptional dynamics of plant-associated bacteria during root colonization - Nature Communications This study reveals how plant-associated bacteria dynamically reprogram gene expression during root colonization, using a new high-throughput approach that overcomes low bacterial biomass and interfere...

Excited to share my latest work on synthetic biology and host–microbe interactions, now published in Nature Communications!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

@tomasbruna.bsky.social 👆🏼

Our vision is to lead AI-driven genomic innovation to advance biotechnology. We provide advanced genomic capabilities, large-scale AI-ready data & professional expertise to support the global research community.

More at jgi.doe.gov/mission

How diverse is bacterial immunity ?

We report in @science.org how language models allowed us to predict 2.4M antiphage proteins spanning >23K novel potential systems.
👏 @emordret.bsky.social, @alexhv.bsky.social & al doi.org/10.1126/scie...

Explore them here defensefinder.mdmlab.fr/wiki/refseq_...

Banner titled “Mining New Frontiers” for a Joint JGI-TMF User Proposal Call on Critical Minerals and Materials. It announces an informational webinar at 9am PT on Feb. 27, 2026. The design features a green, textured background suggesting plant leaves, with three circular images on the right: mineral ore samples, a close-up of microbial cells, and a seedling with visible roots in soil. A tagline reads “Bridging genomics and nanoscale science.” Logos for the Molecular Foundry, JGI, and Berkeley Lab appear along the bottom.

Critical Minerals and Materials

Genomics🧬 meets Nanoscience🔬 to enable recovery, reuse, and transformation of CMMs

New joint user opportunity from @jgi.doe.gov and @molecularfoundry.lbl.gov at @berkeleylab.lbl.gov

Join our informational webinar on Feb 27, 9am PT:
jgi.doe.gov/work-with-us...

Secrets of the Needles: What Microbes do on Conifer Leaves | Joint Genome Institute Novel study looks at microbiomes in aerial surfaces of plants, and their roles in plant health and environmental processes

This study looks at microbiomes in aerial surfaces of plants and their roles in environmental processes, in order to advance microbiome utility across the bioeconomy. @ucmerced.bsky.social
🖥️🧬 🦠 🌱

jgi.doe.gov/user-science/science-sto...

Deployable high-fidelity metagenome binning at scale with QuickBin www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01...

Rapid terabase-scale simulation of realistic metagenomes for experimental design and pathogen detection with RandomReadsMG www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.07....

From 🟡 to 💎: Osteoblast-inspired "osteoyeast" turns human waste into high-value biomaterial for bone and dental applications

Collaboration by @jgi.doe.gov, @molecularfoundry.lbl.gov & CABBI

doi.org/10.1038/s414...

Two-panel cartoon set in a desert with mountains and cacti. Top panel: A green box labeled “ENHANCER” stands on the left, shouting weakly “Turn on, please?!?” toward a distant blue spiky blob labeled “GENE” on the right, who is asleep with a “Zzz.” Bottom panel: The enhancer now uses a microphone connected to a large purple speaker labeled “REX,” which amplifies the message “Turn on!!” in a bold speech bubble across the desert. The gene is now awake and alert with wide eyes and a happy expression. Image credit: Emma Visel

Getting the message across from a distance:

🧬REX🧬 is a “Range EXtender” element that can turn short-range into looooooooooooong-range enhancers

Great collaboration led by @gracebower.bsky.social and @evgenykvon.bsky.social

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

@biosci.lbl.gov @berkeleylab.lbl.gov

Microbial Communities Drive Methane Fluxes From Floodplain Lakes—A Hydrological Gradient Perspective This study examined the impact of methanotrophic bacteria (MOB) and methanogenic archaea (mGen) on CH4 emissions from oxbow lakes at various successional stages, analysing their interactions with phy....

Microbial Communities Drive Methane Fluxes From Floodplain Lakes—A Hydrological Gradient Perspective enviromicro-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... #jcampubs

A genomic catalog of Earth’s bacterial and archaeal symbionts Microbial symbiosis drives the functional and phylogenomic diversification of life on Earth, yet remains underexplored due to culturing challenges. This study employed machine learning (ML) to predict...

Amongst a lot of thought-free applications of machine learning to biological problems, it's nice to see exceptions, such as this well-conceived and -executed study to identify symbionts from genomic data: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

A genomic catalog of Earth’s bacterial and archaeal symbionts Microbial symbiosis drives the functional and phylogenomic diversification of life on Earth, yet remains underexplored due to culturing challenges. This study employed machine learning (ML) to predict...

Interesting AI read. 15-23% of uncultivated microbes may engage in symbiotic relationships.

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Inkscape plugin to rescale figures without distorting the text, and other useful features!
github.com/burghoff/Sci...

Image showing experimental design with map of Washington state showing increased precipitation from west to east. Soil was collected from field sites along this gradient and transplanted to the greenhouse where Camelina was grown in the soil under controlled conditions and their microbiome identified.

Another project from my time @jgi.doe.gov published @phytobiomesjournal.bsky.social ! Using a greenhouse soil transplant experiment we uncover the core microbiome of Camelina & show how past cropping regimes/precipitation can exert a legacy effect on microbiome assembly 🌾🦠🧬🧪
doi.org/10.1094/PBIO...

We are looking for additional Group Leaders to join the growing computational biology community at VIB.

If you are excited about combining AI and machine learning with fundamental biology, we would love to hear from you!

https://vib.ai/en/opportunities#/job-description/110906

Updates on HPAI H5N1

Join Drs. Nina Gao and Stacey Schultz-Cherry tomorrow at 2 p.m. ET as they discuss Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(HPAI H5N1), including ongoing research regarding avian flu and vaccine development. Free for all. Register now: asm.org/Webinars/Upd... #LabWeek

Data wrangling before tidyverse was a nightmare. Everything was painful. The majority of your code was marshalling data from one awkward format into another.

We are hosting a workshop titled “Genomes Online Database (GOLD) – A curated metadata resource for powering discoveries” at the Biocuration 2025 conference on April 6th, 10:30 AM to 12:30PM US CST.
Register to Join over the Zoom at t.co/WojICcd73s

Global Metagenomics Reveals Plastid Diversity and Unexplored Algal Lineages Photosynthetic organelles in eukaryotes originated through primary endosymbiosis with a cyanobacterium, an event that profoundly shaped the evolutionary landscape of the eukaryotic tree of life. Primary plastids in Archaeplastida, especially in cultivable plants and algae, contribute most to known plastid diversity. Secondary and higher-order endosymbiosis, involving eukaryotic hosts and algal endosymbionts, further spread photosynthesis among protists within the CASH lineages (Cryptophyta, Alveolata, Stramenopila, and Haptophyta). Despite various hypotheses explaining secondary plastid evolution and distribution, empirical support remains limited. Here, we employ cultivation-independent global metagenomics to expand plastid diversity and investigate plastid origins. We captured 1,027 plastid sequences, including 300 novel sequences belonging to previously unsequenced plastids and representing yet-to-be described microeukaryotes. This includes a new lineage that offers insights into plastid evolution in haptophytes and cryptophytes. Our results confirm that Archaeplastida plastids originated from an early-branching cyanobacterial lineage closely related to Gloeomargaritales and identify the closest extant relative of Paulinella plastids. Additionally, our findings suggest two independent origins of secondary red algal plastids, contributing to plastid diversity in CASH lineages and challenging the prevailing model of single secondary plastid origin. Our study highlights the importance of metagenomic data in uncovering biological diversity and advancing understanding of plastid relationships across photosynthetic eukaryotes. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Global Metagenomics Reveals Hidden Protist Diversity www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... #jcampubs

Two Berkeley Lab Scientists Named AAAS Fellows Nigel Mouncey and Phillip Messersmith were among those awarded this lifetime honor.

🎉 Congratulations to @jgi.doe.gov Director @nigelmouncey.bsky.social and Phillip Messersmith, a faculty senior scientist in our Materials Sciences Division on making the 2024 @aaas.org Fellows List for distinguished achievements in advancing or applying science. 🧪

Microbes are key to tackling climate change! A new report from the @asm.org and IUMS Scientific Advisory Group highlights microbial solutions to reduce carbon reliance, enhance food security and mitigate methane. Read the report: asm.org/climatesolutionsn.

12 days ago, Texas had 99 measles cases.
3 days ago, Texas had 159 measles cases.
Today, Texas & New Mexico have 230 measles cases. See how it works?

Measles is airborne & highly contagious, wear N95 mask😷 Measles wipes out immunity you had to everything you built up over your lifetime, get vaxxed💉