Very proud of these two powerhouses, and a timely award announcement as we moved into the beautiful new lab this week.

A black-and-white historical photograph of Dr. Maud Leonora Menten (1879–1960), the Canadian physician and biochemist who co-developed the Michaelis–Menten equation for enzyme kinetics. Taken in her laboratory (likely at the University of Pittsburgh in the 1910s–1920s), she stands with a serious, focused expression—lips closed, eyes direct and thoughtful—against a backdrop of wooden shelves filled with glass bottles, jars, scientific equipment, and a wire-mesh enclosure. She wears a dark dress with a lace collar, a string of beads, and her hair styled in a neat bun. Superimposed on the image is the Michaelis–Menten equation in white text:v=Vmax⁡[S]Km+[S]v = \frac{V_{\max} [S]}{K_m + [S]}v = \frac{V_{\max} [S]}{K_m + [S]} This iconic portrait captures Menten during her groundbreaking research in biochemistry and histochemistry, where she helped establish the foundational mathematical model of enzyme-substrate reactions still used today, while overcoming significant gender barriers as one of the first women in Canada to earn both an M.D. and a Ph.D.

Chemist/physician Dr. Maud Menten co-authored the seminal paper 𝘋𝘪𝘦 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘬 𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘐𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘸𝘪𝘳𝘬𝘶𝘯𝘨, 1931. This intro'd the Michaelis–Menten equation (image). It remains a cornerstone of #biochemistry, used in drug design, metabolic studies & enzyme engineering. She was born #OTD in 1879.

#WomenInSTEM

🔔Seminar Opportunity🔔

We're looking for (self)recommendations for a Postdoc who is working in the area of AMR (any area, any discipline) to give an online seminar in May.

Reply, DM or email me, there will more opportunities in the future as well so will be good to have a list.

#MicroSky #AMR

Loki - Pick & Mix 200g (With Liquorice) Loki - Pick & Mix 200g (With Liquorice), from Scandinavia

This may be of relevance to you as well www.scandikitchen.co.uk/product/pick...

You need to visit the Scandi kitchen cafes! They do a whole month. @scandikitchen.bsky.social

Want training in membrane protein purification and analysis? Need a peer group to share the highs and lows of membrane proteins? May I suggest the Biochemical Society workshop 15-17th April 2026 in Birmingham, U.K. Early bird registration deadline is looming!
www.biochemistry.org/events-and-t...

I had to read that headline several times to be sure of what it said.

A good show of support is to invite US-based speakers to our meetings and finds ways to provide bursaries for young scientists to travel overseas.

Thanks for flagging this. I hadn't heard about it. Wish I had ice cream now.

We are online! Apply, repost, inform all your amazing colleagues and lets have a great #lipidlove time in Dresden
meetings.embo.org/event/26-lip...

Specific activation instead of continuous operation: How bacteria save energy and what this means for antibiotic resistances Researchers in the Cluster of Excellence “Balance of the Microverse” at the University of Jena decipher a key mechanism of antibiotic resistance pumps

Researchers of @hellmichgroup.bsky.social at #UniJena Cluster of Excellence @microverse.bsky.social have deciphered a key mechanism of antibiotic resistance. They showed how the bacterium applies the energy required to transport the drug out of its cell.

➡️ www.uni-jena.de/en/381040/sp...

Radioneck

Loads in the south Birmingham hill country.

A good friend of mine is in one of these pictures! Lovely to see.

🚨My lab is hiring a postdoc!🚨
If you’re interested in working out the mechanism and physiological impact of bacterial lipid transport processes then please apply!

Job advert is here: tinyurl.com/4swddfda

Get in touch by email (c.mulligan@kent.ac.uk) for informal enquiries

Please repost!
Thanks!

Image shows the word "chemistry" spelled out by pipetting coloured liquid into nine 96-well plates according to specific coordinates to form each letter.

Spent the afternoon introducing some 16/17 year old to the magic of automatic pipettes @astonuniversity.bsky.social @astonaime.bsky.social. They were genuinely excited about it, and made some fun images. Wholesome.

Thanks for linking to the article, and indirectly reminding me to catch the rest of yesterday's Start the Week, which I believe you were on.

Social media clearly brings out my inner grump! Some of the fruit fly genes are just funny/silly (if unhelpful to learn) like hedgehog/sonic hedgehog. Others I find genuinely troubling (cheap date?).

I think it's possible that even the Old Norse-stablishment found it irresponsible to devote an entire day every week to chaos.

There's also some "we think we're very funny" names in fly genetics that have aged poorly, and I think should be changed.

I started following you when I joined Bluesky for some new-PI solidarity. This feels like a good place to say how much I appreciate all your content: politics, academia, fishing, jam... Thanks for sharing so much!

Also "he" and "paternity leave". Or indeed "they" and "parental leave".

At least the headline included her name and omitted her marital status.

The CCP4 Northern Structural Biology Meeting is back again in Newcastle 6-7th November 2025. If you are a structural biologist/biochemist in the North of the UK please register and submit abstracts by this Friday 17th.

nusbf.ncl.ac.uk/ccp4-norther...

🚨🚨🚨 We are launching the 2nd application round for the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s Program MemBioMed, offering cutting-edge training on exploring the complex behavior of cellular membranes & unlocking their therapeutic potential. Students can apply here: life.univ-cotedazur.eu/internationa...

PhD project alert: the excellent MIBTP programme is open for applications. I am offering an exciting project on endogenous membrane protein complexes, jointly supervised with @alangoddard.bsky.social. Please spread the word!
warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fa...

ECRs have full-time research posts (still fixed-term and shorter than they used to be IMO). I was scandalised when I learned how many excellent ECRs in arts and humanities lead whole modules on fixed term/zero hours contracts, and do research unpaid to try to stay in the game. It's exploitative.

This captures the reason I went on strike in 2023. The lack of solidarity from bioscientists for the wider university community was shocking. I imagine it's because we remain *relatively* well funded.

P.S. Sorry that doesn't answer your question. As a recent post-doc I respect your efforts to create decent jobs.