Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

LightNews

Joe Forth

@joeforth.bsky.social

78 followers 73 following 38 posts

Lecturer in Physics and Chemistry at University of Liverpool. Bioprinting. Frugal Automation. Squishy Devices. Animate Materials. Blood-Brain Barrier. He/him.

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Joe Forth @joeforth.bsky.social · 1d

MERCH. The real reason for any visit. #chemsky

Joe Forth @joeforth.bsky.social · 1d

There's a snarky comment to be made about this being a satire on the nature of most lab automation work (including my own), but it feels like a cheap shot.

Joe Forth @joeforth.bsky.social · 1d

There's something familiar about the guys they have working the coffee shop at XJTLU...can't put my finger on what it is though. #chemsky

Joe Forth @joeforth.bsky.social · 3d

We had a symposium organised by Tom Russell and Masao Doi which ran at the same time as yours, I think. Though I will admit my memory is hazy, due (indirectly) to me being 29, unemployed, and "definitely done with academia" at the time.

Joe Forth @joeforth.bsky.social · 3d

Yeah one of the many sad downsides of doing a PhD during peak-pandemic right there

Joe Forth @joeforth.bsky.social · 3d

4.89 at the Airport Spoons - reasonable even by Scouse / Glaswegian standards!

Joe Forth @joeforth.bsky.social · 3d

Fun possible fact - last time I made this trip was to Beijing University of Chemical Technology in Summer 2018 to give a talk on Structured Liquids. I'm like 60% sure some bloke called @aicooper.bsky.social was giving a completely unrelated talk with an identical title in the seminar room next door.

Joe Forth @joeforth.bsky.social · 3d

Treating myself to airport pints after a 6am start, an open day, and a train journey down to Gatwick for wee jaunt to China through Suzhou, Hong Kong, and Chengdu.

Reposted by Joe Forth

Sarah Boardman @sarahaimeeb.bsky.social · 14d

Thrilled to share my first first-author review paper—now published in @jidjournal.bsky.social

Massive thanks to all the co-authors for their time and insights!

#InfectiousDiseases #Neuroinflammation #Neuroscience #BloodBrainBarrier #Virology #Research

Brain Infection & Inflammation Group @brainiigroup.bsky.social · 14d

🎉 Congratulations 🎉 to @sarahaimeeb.bsky.social on her review paper in looking at Viral Infections and the Blood-Brain Barrier: academic.oup.com/jid/advance-...

@benedictneuro.bsky.social @liverpooluni.bsky.social @clairehetherington.bsky.social @immunecord.bsky.social @thewaltoncentre.bsky.social

Joe Forth @joeforth.bsky.social · 14d

New paper! Sarah Boardman takes us on a tour of Viral Infection and the Blood-Brain Barrier. Just out in The Journal of Infectious Diseases.

From the group of Benedict Michael, with Cordelia Dunai, Adjanie Patabendige, and a host of others including myself.

academic.oup.com/jid/advance-...

Viral Infection and the Blood-Brain Barrier: Molecular Research Insights and Therapies

Viral infections can disrupt the blood-brain barrier via direct and indirect mechanisms and cause neurologic complications. Current treatment is limited to

academic.oup.com

Reposted by Joe Forth

Vittorio Saggiomo @vsaggiomo.bsky.social · 15d

Our 6-hands review/perspective: "Hacking 3D printers as laboratory robots" is now on ChemRxiv.
In there, we show how many robots you can make by simply modifying a 3D printer. #chemsky 1/n

with @sandersays.bsky.social and @supersciencegrl.co.uk
chemrxiv.org/engage/chemr...

the abstract of the review

the schematic of a 3D printer

Reposted by Joe Forth

McSweeney's @mcsweeneys.net · 22d

IT IS TIME.

It’s Decorative Gourd Season, Motherfuckers

First published on October 9, 2009, this classic by Colin Nissan is our most-read article of all time. We’re celebrating the 16th anniversary of th...

Reposted by Joe Forth

Adam Clancy @clancylab.bsky.social · 21d

Bruce Springsteen is going to feel silly when he learns about autoignition temperatures

Joe Forth @joeforth.bsky.social · Sep 13

What's obviously most impressive here is not losing momentum in the 3 minutes before the drop.

Reposted by Joe Forth

C&I: Chemistry & Industry magazine @chemistry-industry.bsky.social · Sep 11

The UK is ‘losing the race’ for investment in R&D, clinical trials, and foreign direct investment, a new report warns.
Since 2018, UK pharmaceutical R&D investment has underperformed against international rivals, the report from an pharma industry body said.
www.soci.org/news/2025/9/...
#chemsky 🧪

Pharma R&D: Why the UK is losing the investment race

The UK is ‘losing the race’ for investment in R&D, clinical trials, and foreign direct investment, a report published by the Association of the British Pharmaceuticals Industry (ABPI) warns.

Joe Forth @joeforth.bsky.social · Sep 10

So this paper:
spj.science.org/doi/10.34133...
Aside from some major writing issues, appears to involve injecting *Ni-particle-filled-droplets of dodecane into a living creature*.

Science Partner Journal. No ethical approval statement is given. Have @aaas.org just given up or am I misreading?

Magnetic Cell-Mimetic Droplet Microrobots with Division and Exocytosis Capabilities | Research

The first challenge in building a living robotic system inspired by life evolution is how to replicate the original form of life—the cell. However, current microrobots mimic cell motion control but fa...

spj.science.org

Reposted by Joe Forth

Ricard Solé @ricardsole.bsky.social · Aug 30

Can cellular life be created in the lab? We are not yet there, but clearly getting closer! Check this paper where a new scenario for protocell replication is presented by Job Boekhoven and co-workers @manlius.bsky.social www.cell.com/chem/pdf/S24...

Reposted by Joe Forth

Alex Blokhuis @alexblokhuis.bsky.social · Aug 22

Our new preprint 📑 about oscillating chemical reactions ⚗ just came out! arxiv.org/abs/2508.15273
We introduce tools 🛠️ that expand the scope of oscillators that can be analyzed, and use them to extract a lot of new qualitative and quantitative insights about oscillating chemical reactions! 1/3

Stoichiometric recipes for periodic oscillations in reaction networks

Oscillatory chemical reactions are functional components in a variety of biological contexts. In chemistry, the construction and identification of even rudimentary oscillators remain elusive and lack ...

Joe Forth @joeforth.bsky.social · Aug 13

The Roadmap for Animate Matter is out! From self-building lasers to buildings that breathe, we lay out a vision for materials that are:

1. Active - they move,
2. Adaptive - they switch between dynamical states,
3. Autonomous - they can make a decision.

iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1...

#chemsky

Joe Forth @joeforth.bsky.social · Jul 15

FINALLY a real incentive for me to learn R

Joe Forth @joeforth.bsky.social · Jul 13

Nice to be home tho

Joe Forth @joeforth.bsky.social · Jul 13

And sorry to say it but @banffcentre.bsky.social quite possibly has @berkeleylab.lbl.gov beat for #BestViewFromALab (though I guess it's not *strictly* a lab)

Joe Forth @joeforth.bsky.social · Jul 13

@ualberta.bsky.social is basically a forest that just happens to have a University in it.

Joe Forth @joeforth.bsky.social · Jul 13

Tell you what lads Alberta's lovely. Go to Alberta.

Reposted by Joe Forth

Open Innovation Hub for Antimicrobial Surfaces @livuniopenhub.bsky.social · Jul 11

📢 3 PhD positions available in the Raval group!

⏰ Deadline 1st of September 2025

🧑‍🔬 The selected students will be enrolled in the
@ukbiofilms.bsky.social BITE doctoral training programme.

Follow the link to apply 👇

www.liverpool.ac.uk/antimicrobia...

@livunisps.bsky.social

#MicroSky

PhD opportunities | Open Innovation Hub for Antimicrobial Surfaces | University of Liverpool

www.liverpool.ac.uk