Wayne Riekhof
@wayneriekhof.bsky.social
Biochemist pretending real hard that I’m a microbiologist, when I actually wish I was an entomologist. I research, teach, and serve at Cornhusker U. GBR!
Some nice thoughts here. Of course Meselson and Stahl (my personal favorite) make an appearance, as well as Nirenberg and Matthaei and many others. If you need inspiration today to keep plugging along (which I do!), this is for you.
www.asimov.press/p/beautiful-...
www.asimov.press/p/beautiful-...
What Makes an Experiment Beautiful?
A beautiful experiment is not just a reflection of human ingenuity but also efficient science.
www.asimov.press
November 13, 2025 at 8:46 PM
Some nice thoughts here. Of course Meselson and Stahl (my personal favorite) make an appearance, as well as Nirenberg and Matthaei and many others. If you need inspiration today to keep plugging along (which I do!), this is for you.
www.asimov.press/p/beautiful-...
www.asimov.press/p/beautiful-...
Lincoln, NE last night. 48 years old, lived my entire life in Missouri, Michigan, Colorado, and Nebraska, and that was my first time ever seeing the aurora!
November 12, 2025 at 4:57 PM
Lincoln, NE last night. 48 years old, lived my entire life in Missouri, Michigan, Colorado, and Nebraska, and that was my first time ever seeing the aurora!
Frank likes to roll around under the ottoman, and with the color and pattern of the rug, he’s pretty effectively camouflaged…
November 10, 2025 at 8:08 PM
Frank likes to roll around under the ottoman, and with the color and pattern of the rug, he’s pretty effectively camouflaged…
My wife sent me a pic of the wiener bros and I think it would make a good album cover. Theres a vibe…
November 7, 2025 at 3:03 AM
My wife sent me a pic of the wiener bros and I think it would make a good album cover. Theres a vibe…
This is the line I highlight as my favorite in all of biomedical literature when I teach DNA structure in my spring Molecular Biology course. Lol…
Nature suggests you use their "Manuscript Adviser" bot to get advice before submitting
I uploaded the classic Watson & Crick paper about DNA structure, and the Adviser had this to say about one of the greatest paper endings of the century:
I uploaded the classic Watson & Crick paper about DNA structure, and the Adviser had this to say about one of the greatest paper endings of the century:
November 3, 2025 at 2:31 PM
This is the line I highlight as my favorite in all of biomedical literature when I teach DNA structure in my spring Molecular Biology course. Lol…
Lucy and her mantis friend at age 5, and hissing cockroach friends at age 13… I think she may have inherited the entomologist gene from me!
October 27, 2025 at 10:40 PM
Lucy and her mantis friend at age 5, and hissing cockroach friends at age 13… I think she may have inherited the entomologist gene from me!
The many faces of my little red weenie boy, George, who is 5 years old today!
October 23, 2025 at 9:47 PM
The many faces of my little red weenie boy, George, who is 5 years old today!
Sometimes I wonder how all the different coat colors and patterns in, say, Dachshunds came to be. Then I see posts like the one below and it’s like “oh, yeah, one popped up in a litter randomly and was selected.”
To paraphrase Monod: What‘s true of Lima beans is true of wiener dogs…
To paraphrase Monod: What‘s true of Lima beans is true of wiener dogs…
October 16, 2025 at 11:49 PM
Sometimes I wonder how all the different coat colors and patterns in, say, Dachshunds came to be. Then I see posts like the one below and it’s like “oh, yeah, one popped up in a litter randomly and was selected.”
To paraphrase Monod: What‘s true of Lima beans is true of wiener dogs…
To paraphrase Monod: What‘s true of Lima beans is true of wiener dogs…
The person who lost control of their car and drove through my yard late Wednesday did manage to miss the 12-foot skeletons and for that, I am grateful 🙏
October 11, 2025 at 1:59 PM
The person who lost control of their car and drove through my yard late Wednesday did manage to miss the 12-foot skeletons and for that, I am grateful 🙏
Reposted by Wayne Riekhof
Third Amendment Rights Group Celebrates Another Successful Year https://theonion.com/third-amendment-rights-group-celebrates-another-success-1819569379/
October 10, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Third Amendment Rights Group Celebrates Another Successful Year https://theonion.com/third-amendment-rights-group-celebrates-another-success-1819569379/
Wanna know how I know I’m making an impact? Anonymous students have started to tell jokes I make in class back to me on the whiteboard on my office door… 🤓 🧪 😂
October 10, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Wanna know how I know I’m making an impact? Anonymous students have started to tell jokes I make in class back to me on the whiteboard on my office door… 🤓 🧪 😂
Kitchen smells pretty good right now. Whole house, actually!
October 5, 2025 at 3:00 AM
Kitchen smells pretty good right now. Whole house, actually!
Reposting this to remind me to talk about it in class…Today was on nitrogen fixing bacteria that live in the fungus gardens of leaf cutter ants.
So I guess this could be part of the microbial physiology physiology course with a strong myrmecological theme…
So I guess this could be part of the microbial physiology physiology course with a strong myrmecological theme…
Scientists revive old Bulgarian recipe to make yogurt with ants. Ants carry lactic and acetic acid bacteria that help coagulate milk, as well as formic acid to acidify it. They even partnered with Danish chefs to create three recipes using ant yogurt. arstechnica.com/science/2025...
Scientists revive old Bulgarian recipe to make yogurt with ants
Ants carry lactic and acetic acid bacteria that help coagulate milk, as well as formic acid to acidify it.
arstechnica.com
October 3, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Reposting this to remind me to talk about it in class…Today was on nitrogen fixing bacteria that live in the fungus gardens of leaf cutter ants.
So I guess this could be part of the microbial physiology physiology course with a strong myrmecological theme…
So I guess this could be part of the microbial physiology physiology course with a strong myrmecological theme…
Reposted by Wayne Riekhof
“Twilight Override,” the latest solo project by Jeff Tweedy, who leads the long-running band Wilco, is a triple album that earns every minute. “I just thought that it flies in the face of a culture that’s gotten faster, more surface level,” he said. nyti.ms/4ngMQgu
September 26, 2025 at 4:27 PM
“Twilight Override,” the latest solo project by Jeff Tweedy, who leads the long-running band Wilco, is a triple album that earns every minute. “I just thought that it flies in the face of a culture that’s gotten faster, more surface level,” he said. nyti.ms/4ngMQgu
Yet again, never having learned how to swim remains a net positive as far as I’m concerned.
Swimmer's itch is caused by microscopic parasites in the water.
Scientists are working to figure out whether certain waterfowl, invasive species or warming lakes could be factors driving the increase, and whether anything can be done to prevent it.
Scientists are working to figure out whether certain waterfowl, invasive species or warming lakes could be factors driving the increase, and whether anything can be done to prevent it.
Scientists look for cause of spike in swimmer’s itch plaguing Minnesota lakes
The itchy red rash is caused by tiny parasites in the water that can burrow into human skin. Researchers are looking at whether certain waterfowl, invasive species or warming lakes could be factors.
www.mprnews.org
September 22, 2025 at 2:04 PM
Yet again, never having learned how to swim remains a net positive as far as I’m concerned.
Last of the hot peppers for the season! Scotch Bonnet, Habenero, Jalapeño, and Habenada (a mutant Habenero that has a defective capsaicin biosynthetic pathway.)
Turning some of these into jam shortly!
Turning some of these into jam shortly!
September 20, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Last of the hot peppers for the season! Scotch Bonnet, Habenero, Jalapeño, and Habenada (a mutant Habenero that has a defective capsaicin biosynthetic pathway.)
Turning some of these into jam shortly!
Turning some of these into jam shortly!
I’ve told students for years now, a good term paper idea for an evolution/pop gen course or a music course (or both!) would be a thorough analysis of the claims in Kendrick Lamar’s “DNA” through the lens of genes x environment interactions. There’s a lot to mine, there.
The beginning quotes for the 107 Days book.
She’s fuckin HILARIOUS!! 😭😂
She’s fuckin HILARIOUS!! 😭😂
September 19, 2025 at 4:37 PM
I’ve told students for years now, a good term paper idea for an evolution/pop gen course or a music course (or both!) would be a thorough analysis of the claims in Kendrick Lamar’s “DNA” through the lens of genes x environment interactions. There’s a lot to mine, there.
Guess no one in the NYT puzzle writers room has ever force-fed a mouse. Sad.
September 18, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Guess no one in the NYT puzzle writers room has ever force-fed a mouse. Sad.
I think D very narrowly edges out G for me, but a different day might find that switched...
For the rest of your life, you can only eat food from one of these regions. Which do you choose?
For more maps: brilliantmaps.beehiiv.com/s...
For more maps: brilliantmaps.beehiiv.com/s...
September 17, 2025 at 12:07 AM
I think D very narrowly edges out G for me, but a different day might find that switched...
Caveat: this only works in rats that have been engineered to express a cocaine responsive ion channel in the brain. Probably not going to stop a given human from using or help someone get clean any time in the near future...but still very, very cool approach!
A new biochemical approach to combat addiction, developed by researchers at @UC San Diego and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (@NIDAnews), has shown promising results in reducing drug-seeking behavior. https://bit.ly/3V0MvlK #SpeakUp4Science
Rewiring Addiction With Designer Proteins
By custom engineering proteins in the brain, scientists at UC San Diego have shown that addiction can be rewired at the molecular level without negatively impacting enjoyment of normal activities.
bit.ly
September 16, 2025 at 10:11 PM
Caveat: this only works in rats that have been engineered to express a cocaine responsive ion channel in the brain. Probably not going to stop a given human from using or help someone get clean any time in the near future...but still very, very cool approach!
Very nice writeup on someone I've admired and learned from for many years. I didn't know he had passed until catching up on This Week in Microbiology driving to campus this morning. His 1958 paper on Salmonella growth rates basically founded the formal study of microbial physiology, which...
September 12, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Very nice writeup on someone I've admired and learned from for many years. I didn't know he had passed until catching up on This Week in Microbiology driving to campus this morning. His 1958 paper on Salmonella growth rates basically founded the formal study of microbial physiology, which...
Festival of capsaicin at the house tonight…
August 20, 2025 at 2:33 AM
Festival of capsaicin at the house tonight…
Text from my daughter giving @lukelukeluke.bsky.social vibes 🍄🟫🍄🍄🟫🍄 😂
July 23, 2025 at 6:27 PM
Text from my daughter giving @lukelukeluke.bsky.social vibes 🍄🟫🍄🍄🟫🍄 😂
It’s a shame I can’t go back in time like 25 or 30 years and ask the yeast genome sequencing and KO collection folks to use something other than S288c derivatives & designer deletion strains. The BY474x strains suck!
June 2, 2025 at 8:48 PM
It’s a shame I can’t go back in time like 25 or 30 years and ask the yeast genome sequencing and KO collection folks to use something other than S288c derivatives & designer deletion strains. The BY474x strains suck!