Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Tiffany Lowe-Power 🌱🦠 @tlowepower.bsky.social · 5h

Systems papers are so hard to write for me

Reposted by Tiffany Lowe-Power 🌱🦠

Tiffany Lowe-Power 🌱🦠 @tlowepower.bsky.social · 17d

Please repost -- The Univ. California Davis dept of Plant Pathology is hiring a Fungal biologist / Mycologist

Applications due Dec 1

Application portal: recruit.ucdavis.edu/JPF07339

Screenshot shows part of the job posting (with alt-text of the same text)

he Department of Plant Pathology at the University of California, Davis is seeking applications for a fulltime, tenure-track Assistant Professor position in Mycology, with a focus on plant pathogenic, symbiotic,
or mycotoxigenic fungi and fungal-like organisms (e.g., oomycetes). We are looking for a highly
motivated and creative scientist with a strong background in mycology and/or the biology of fungi and
fungal-like organisms that interact with plants. The successful candidate will be expected to develop a
world-class, externally funded research program that integrates both fundamental and applied aspects
of fungal biology within the context of plant pathology. We welcome applicants pursuing a wide range
of research topics related to plant-associated fungi, including but not limited to mechanisms of fungal
pathogenesis or symbiosis with plants, population genomics and evolution of fungal plant pathogens,
plant-associated fungal microbiomes and plant-microbe interactions, and/or one health approaches to
fungal diseases and antifungal resistance. Applicants working in other relevant research areas involving
pathogenic, symbiotic, or mycotoxigenic fungi or fungal-like organisms that affect plant health are also
encouraged to apply. The successful candidate will have significant opportunities for collaboration with
faculty in plant pathology, microbiology, genomics, and agricultural sciences, and to contribute to
addressing issues of importance to California’s agricultural and natural ecosystems.
The appointee primary teaching responsibilities will be teaching Introductory Mycology, an upperdivision lab class, and SAS 30, Mushroom, Molds & Society, a general education class for non-majors.
Additional graduate and undergraduate teaching responsibilities may be assigned based on
departmental needs and the candidate’s expertise. The department offers modern instructional
facilities, including a newly renovated teaching laboratory.

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Tiffany Lowe-Power 🌱🦠 @tlowepower.bsky.social · 1d

National protest day

chasingmicrobes @chasingmicrobes.bsky.social · 1d

Spotted yesterday (Chicago)

www.mobilize.us/indivisiblec...

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Reposted by Tiffany Lowe-Power 🌱🦠

The Ferrari Lab @theferrarilab.bsky.social · 1d

Troop deployment in Portland could still end up in history books as among the most tragic events in modern American political history, or a bright, colorful, musical turning point in America's march towards authoritarianism.

Keep it weird PDX. For all of us, just keep it very, very weird.

Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 1d

#WarRavagedPortland

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Patricia Bernal @pbernalt6ss.bsky.social · 3d

Our paper, describing how the T6SSs of P. putida shape the tomato rhizosphere, is now in its final format in @isme-microbes.bsky.social ISME Communications. If you'd like to learn more, here is a thread (1/11) or read the Article doi.org/10.1093/isme....

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Tiffany Lowe-Power 🌱🦠 @tlowepower.bsky.social · 3d

When will we officially create a department of propaganda?

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Tiffany Lowe-Power 🌱🦠 @tlowepower.bsky.social · 3d

... digest things, and then load up antigens like 20 aa peptide fragments into their MHC surface receptors. This allows them to present their antigen to T cells to find a T cell that matches the antigen.

(Source: cellcartoons.net)

Tiffany Lowe-Power 🌱🦠 @tlowepower.bsky.social · 3d

I wish they had labeled the antigen presenting cells in these cartoons or had legends.

I was somewhere confused and wouldn't have puzzled it out if I hadn't had an animal immunology course almost 2 decades ago.

(The beige ones are macrophages or dendritic cells which phagocytose things, ...

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Tiffany Lowe-Power 🌱🦠 @tlowepower.bsky.social · 3d

Understanding how each vertebrate organism creates a population of T-cells with potential to recognize unpredictable threats, and how the body screens this population of T-cells to minimize the auto-immune receptors is so, so cool.

The layman's description is 👌

www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medic...

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2025

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2025 was awarded to Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi “for their discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance.”

www.nobelprize.org

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Reposted by Tiffany Lowe-Power 🌱🦠

Ellie Jameson @elliejameson.bsky.social · 6d

Day 3, Soft. Soft agar is used to visualise phages - plaque assay: bacteria infected with phages are mixed with soft agar, poured over an agar plate. A bacterial lawn grows & plaques appear - as phages infect bacteria, multiply, kill & repeat to form an expanding hole. #drawtober #SciArt #Phagesky

Black and white ink drawing of an agar filled petri dish with black spots or plaques covering the surface. One of these plaques is surrounded by a circle, connected by dotted lines to a larger magnified circle showing a lawn of bacteria punctured by a circlar hole with 7 smaller bacteriophages inside

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Reposted by Tiffany Lowe-Power 🌱🦠

Dave Baltrus 🦦 @surtlab.bsky.social · 6d

Just pointing out that Universities signing the Faustian deal are still allowed to discriminate on admissions or hiring in a couple of very specific ways

Heidi Kitrosser @heidikitrosser.bsky.social · 7d

9 – EXCEPTIONS
Notwithstanding the forgoing, a religious institution may maintain preferences for religious affiliation or belief in hiring and admissions, a single-sex institution may maintain sex-based preferences, and any institution may maintain preferences in admissions for American citizens. Nothing in this agreement limits or displaces the limited exemptions for bona fide occupational qualifications based on religion, national origin, or sex provided by Title VII; the protections or exemptions provided by Title VII for religious employers and religious organizations; or the ministerial exemption recognized by the Supreme Court.
10. ENFORCEMENT
The leadership of an academic institution is directly responsible for its strategy, success, and adherence to legal and governmental requirements. On an annual basis the university’s President, Provost, and Head of Admissions shall be required to certify the University’s adherence to the principles contained herein.
The university annually shall conduct, or hire an external party to conduct, an independent, good faith, empirically rigorous, and anonymous poll of its faculty, students, and staff, providing them the opportunity to evaluate the university’s performance against this compact. The results of such surveys shall be made public and available on the university’s website.
Adherence to this agreement shall be subject to review by the Department of Justice. Universities found to have willfully or negligently violated this agreement shall lose access to the benefits of this agreement for a period of no less than 1 year. Subsequent violations of this agreement shall result in a loss of access to the benefits of this agreement for no less than 2 years. Further, upon determination of any violations, all monies advanced by the U.S. government during the year of any violation shall be returned to the U.S. government. Finally, any private contributions to the university during the year(s) in which such violation occu…

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Tiffany Lowe-Power 🌱🦠 @tlowepower.bsky.social · 6d

Congratulations! It's a well done unit and will be great for teaching

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Tiffany Lowe-Power 🌱🦠 @tlowepower.bsky.social · 6d

I said this was the new policy as a sarcastic joke when we were told there would no longer be custodial services for trash cans at work.

I can't believe this is a real marketing flyer

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Reposted by Tiffany Lowe-Power 🌱🦠

Eric 🏳️‍🌈 @erichastie.bsky.social · 6d

Hi all! What does your department pay biology teaching faculty. Very curious! If you’d rather message me, please do!

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Tiffany Lowe-Power 🌱🦠 @tlowepower.bsky.social · 6d

Nice. We have some T6 toxins in Ralstonia with this sort of domain annotated on them. It will be useful for us to do sequence comparisons to your bona fide mechanism results

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Reposted by Tiffany Lowe-Power 🌱🦠

Joshua Weitz @joshuasweitz.bsky.social · 6d

"We all learned long ago on the playground that trying to appease a bully only makes things worse. It’s equally hard to imagine how higher education will recover if colleges and universities begin conceding to Mr. Trump’s illegal compact."

via UC-Berkeley Law Dean
🎁
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/o...

Opinion | Trump’s ‘Compact’ With Universities Is Just Extortion

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Tiffany Lowe-Power 🌱🦠

Dan Kliebenstein @spicybotrytis.bsky.social · 7d

Anyone have any literature on how yeast or other fungi detect plant phytohormones? I know they respond to them but am struggling with the search terms to find the genes that allow fungi to respond to plant compounds.

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Reposted by Tiffany Lowe-Power 🌱🦠

Rep. Mike Thompson @mikethompson.house.gov · 7d

TONIGHT AT 6 PM: I’m going live on Zoom with Rep. Lauren Underwood @underwood.house.gov to answer your questions about how the government shutdown is affecting you and your healthcare.

To join, RSVP here or scan the QR code below: bit.ly/RSVPTownHall...

I hope to see you tonight!

Graphic advertising the virtual town hall with photos of Reps. Thompson and Underwood and the link to RSVP. You can RSVP at https://bit.ly/RSVPTownHallOctober2

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Reposted by Tiffany Lowe-Power 🌱🦠

Senator Chris Van Hollen @vanhollen.senate.gov · 8d

If Harvard bows down to this lawless president, it will cover itself in shame and betray its motto “Veritas.”

Don’t pretend to stand for truth if you’re going to surrender to this bully. Appeasement only feeds the beast and puts us all at greater risk.

Trump Says a Deal With Harvard Is Close

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Tiffany Lowe-Power 🌱🦠

Sebastian S. Cocioba @atinygreencell.bsky.social · 8d

The fine folks at @nukit.bsky.social sent me this new excimer lamp (222nm deep UVC) to test in my mutagenesis experiments! Stay tuned for more spicy light advenutres. 🌶🔦🦠🌱🧬

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Reposted by Tiffany Lowe-Power 🌱🦠

Liz Haswell @ehaswell.bsky.social · 8d

"What is happening in this country is happening because science is bad for tyrants, and always has been"

Science Vs @sciencevs.bsky.social · 8d

This moment from our latest episode with science writer @edyong209.bsky.social is 🔥

We asked Ed — how do we talk up the benefits of science in the face of government cuts? He told us that's the wrong approach. 🧪

Listen wherever, or watch on Spotify 👇

open.spotify.com/episode/7Evh...

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Reposted by Tiffany Lowe-Power 🌱🦠

Senator Chris Van Hollen @vanhollen.senate.gov · 9d

Everyone should read this devastating report: Trump’s sabotage of USAID stranded lifesaving medicines — fueling chaos and leaving children to die.

His policies are destroying our reputation and influence overseas and literally killing kids. No words.

Trump’s USAID pause stranded lifesaving drugs. Children died waiting.

USAID antimalarial and HIV supplies valued at nearly $140 million were delayed in the first half of the year or not delivered at all due to the Trump administration’s foreign aid pause, The Post found...

www.washingtonpost.com

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Tiffany Lowe-Power 🌱🦠 @tlowepower.bsky.social · 9d

Advice: download PDFs of any documents you might need from government websites. The NIFA website went offline during the government shutdown during my PhD

Dr. David Miller 🏳️‍🌈 @davidimiller.bsky.social · 9d

In that vein, NSF's shutdown plans just went public: nsf-gov-resources.nsf.gov/files/nsf-sh...

Already-funded projects can continue. And proposals can be submitted. But don't expect a response from a program officer during the shutdown.

Brief Summary of significant agency activities that will continue during a lapse:
National Science Foundation (NSF) will use available carryover balances to continue daily operations.
Once those balances are exhausted, electronic systems for proposal preparation and submission
will remain available for use during a lapse in appropriations, (i.e., Research.gov, and Grants.gov).
The Awards Cash Management Service (ACM$) and the Invoice Processing Platform (IPP) will remain
available for the submission and processing of valid payments for recipients and contractors.
Recipients may continue performance under their NSF awards during a lapse in appropriations, to
the extent funds are available, and the period of performance of the grant or cooperative
agreement has not expired. In the event of a lapse, more detailed information on NSF operations for
recipients, panelists, and employees will be posted at www.NSF.gov, and will be updated as
necessary during a lapse.
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Brief Summary of significant agency activities that will cease during a lapse:
In general, no new grants, continuing grant increments, cooperative agreements, or contracts will be
awarded. No new funding opportunities (program descriptions, announcements, solicitations or
Dear Colleague Letters) will be issued. Responses to any inquiries received regarding upcoming
deadlines will be deferred until normal operations resume. All panels (including virtual panels)
scheduled to occur during a lapse in appropriations will be cancelled and will likely be rescheduled
to a later date.

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Reposted by Tiffany Lowe-Power 🌱🦠

Joshua Weitz @joshuasweitz.bsky.social · 9d

I am deeply grateful for the work of NSF staff this year to keep research & grants moving in a difficult environment. I view this petition as a means to demonstrate impact & interest in ensuring access to a vital grad research program.

450+ signees and counting:
laurenkuehne.github.io/grfpChanges/

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Tiffany Lowe-Power 🌱🦠 @tlowepower.bsky.social · 9d

That atomic force microscopy is awesome! Learning a lot reading this paper

Emmanuele Severi @emmseveri.bsky.social · 9d

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

#microsky

Polymyxin B lethality requires energy-dependent outer membrane disruption - Nature Microbiology

The antibiotic polymyxin B requires bacterial metabolic activity to cause sufficient damage to the outer membrane to access the inner membrane, which it permeabilizes via an energy-independent mechanism to kill the cell.

www.nature.com

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