API stands for Artificial Phantom Intelligence

Structural basis for DNA processing and membrane translocation by ComEC in natural transformation Natural transformation is one of the major pathways of horizontal gene transfer in bacteria, enabling the acquisition of extracellular DNA and its integration into the host genome. ComEC is a membrane...

ComEC structure is out!! 😍
Congratulations to the authors! That’s not an easy one. We have been trying for years to get that structure…
We failed and gave up.

Don't be shy to take on a little two-week side project. These five months will be the most precious three years of your academic journey.

I think it would be a bit of a stretch to put it that way. Drt3b is a kind of "machine for printing poly(AC)". It can only do that. It's hard to see how something like this could manage to write an arbitrary sequence, or even a more complex one, into DNA. /19

Feels like this paper on protein-templated DNA synthesis by a natural enzyme warrants some comment.
So here's a 🧵. /1
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

There are three types of scientists in the world?
Which one are you?

Diversity-generating retroelements for programmable targeted hypermutagenesis - Nature Biotechnology Diversity-generating retroelements are engineered for directed evolution in E.coli.

🔈Paper out! We turned the most fascinating phage host-switch mechanism, diversity-generating retroelements, into a programmable mutagenesis tool, DGRec. You can perform targeted hypermutation of any 50-200bp sequence directly in vivo in E. coli www.nature.com/articles/s41...

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/...

Padme and Anakin meme: "4 eq NaN3 were added to... the other reactant, which definitely had plenty of carbons in it - right?"

Interestingly (predictably?) the full budget request PDF has none of that language - it was maybe added to the webpage directly rather than going through the drafting process...

"The tool requires expertise to validate, but its use diminishes expertise and stunts its growth. How does one become an expert? There are no shortcuts; there is only continuous hard work and dedication."

Proud of this work with @osn-scott.bsky.social. We challenge the assumption that DNA should be expensive and hard to access. We provide clear steps to making biology more open for strengthening the bioeconomy. 🧬

A still from 1999's the Matrix, directed by Lilly and Lana Wachowski. We're in the front seat of a car, raindrops splattering against the window. Switch, an androgynous blonde person is pointing a gun at someone in the backseat. Switch is staring them down, taking no shit. The scene has a greenish tint to everything, indicating that this takes place in the Matrix.

In the original script for The Matrix, the character of Switch was male in the real world but female in the Matrix. Warner Bros ordered the Wachowskis to cut this from the film.

Trans Visibility Day is necessary because our cultural gatekeepers have deliberately erased trans voices.

Ah, the bromonionionium ion

Do you think you could overproduce something that makes them delicious to insects (maybe even pests specifically) while you're at it? Fringe benefits

If we must have Operations, how about we try Operation Meticulous Planning?

From the people who brought you rubber duck debugging...

The USPS IS NOT LOSING MONEY. THE USPS IS SPENDING TAX DOLLARS ALLOCATED TO IT BY THE BUDGET. THE USPS SHOULD NOT BE REQUIRED TO ZERO OUT ITS BALANCE SHEET IT IS NOT A BUSINESS IT DOES NOT HAVE SHAREHOLDERS. IF THE USPS IS OUTSPENDING ITS BUDGET IT SHOULD BE ALLOCATED MORE BUDGET.

Man, I love a design that doesn't have internal rivets... Thanks for the rec!

Single-molecule peptide sequencing through reverse translation of peptides into DNA - Nature Biotechnology Peptides are sequenced by converting each amino acid into amplifiable DNA barcodes.

Would I have called it reverse translation? No. Do I think it is? Also no. Is it cool? Heck yes.

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

Another informative and thought provoking piece by @dereklowe.bsky.social

Ah, indeed, should have said oral phenylephrine

There was literally a study showing that phenylephrine is no better than placebo... It ought to be banned!

Curious if you tried the original MutaT7 or one of the dual / ABE incorporating versions?

Can anyone suggest a continuous evolution method in bacteria that really works and does introduce enough mutations? MutaT7 doesn’t

There are now several continuous in vivo bacterial systems with orthogonal replicons but I don't have personal experience with any of them

PANCE has some significant up front setup, but it's not hard to run logistically once you have a selection going, and it does work great

Also gotta be extremely suspicious of tax cuts since they're a ratchet. Prop 13 is still ruining CA state finances half a century later, isn't it?

It's fine, since I'm sure the answer to that question will never be relevant again at any time in the future

Our young men do need good role models