Zamin Iqbal
@zaminiqbal.bsky.social
Professor of Algorithmic and Microbial Genomics at the University of Bath (UK). Pangenomes, drug resistance (esp TB), data structures for DNA search, plasmid evolution, global microbial surveillance. Open Data, reproducibility
Pinned
Zamin Iqbal
@zaminiqbal.bsky.social
· Nov 14
Congratulations to @zaminiqbal.bsky.social from @milnerevolution.bsky.social on being awarded the 2026 Mary Lyon Medal!
Honoured and quite blown-over to receive this award. I have been, and continue to be, very lucky - first with great mentors, and then really prodigious students, postdocs and collaborators. Working with them has been a joy.
Reposted by Zamin Iqbal
T4P are found across the Bacteria, in both Gram positive and negative species, and are also present in Archea.
They are so widespread and diverse that it's thought they were present in the Last Universal Common Ancestor (LUCA) of all life on earth.
doi.org/10.1371/jour...
3/
They are so widespread and diverse that it's thought they were present in the Last Universal Common Ancestor (LUCA) of all life on earth.
doi.org/10.1371/jour...
3/
February 16, 2026 at 8:22 PM
T4P are found across the Bacteria, in both Gram positive and negative species, and are also present in Archea.
They are so widespread and diverse that it's thought they were present in the Last Universal Common Ancestor (LUCA) of all life on earth.
doi.org/10.1371/jour...
3/
They are so widespread and diverse that it's thought they were present in the Last Universal Common Ancestor (LUCA) of all life on earth.
doi.org/10.1371/jour...
3/
Reposted by Zamin Iqbal
In this thread I'll call type IV pili "T4P." T4P are thin protein filaments assembled from the plasma membrane of diverse bacteria.
They are typically ~6 nm in diameter, and can be over 10 µm long.
2/
They are typically ~6 nm in diameter, and can be over 10 µm long.
2/
February 16, 2026 at 8:22 PM
In this thread I'll call type IV pili "T4P." T4P are thin protein filaments assembled from the plasma membrane of diverse bacteria.
They are typically ~6 nm in diameter, and can be over 10 µm long.
2/
They are typically ~6 nm in diameter, and can be over 10 µm long.
2/
Reposted by Zamin Iqbal
🧵 After years out of the field, I and my lab are again working on bacterial type IV pili. We have just posted our first preprints, and I'm excited to share what we have discovered.
This shows Neisseria gonorrheae bacteria infecting a human epithelical cell. Here, you can see the pili in red.
1/
This shows Neisseria gonorrheae bacteria infecting a human epithelical cell. Here, you can see the pili in red.
1/
February 16, 2026 at 8:22 PM
🧵 After years out of the field, I and my lab are again working on bacterial type IV pili. We have just posted our first preprints, and I'm excited to share what we have discovered.
This shows Neisseria gonorrheae bacteria infecting a human epithelical cell. Here, you can see the pili in red.
1/
This shows Neisseria gonorrheae bacteria infecting a human epithelical cell. Here, you can see the pili in red.
1/
Reposted by Zamin Iqbal
I can’t help thinking there’s so much money changing hands wrt ICE detention that there aren’t even enough investigative reporters to track
www.michiganpublic.org/criminal-jus...
www.michiganpublic.org/criminal-jus...
Michigan ICE detention center owner reports $254 million profit, record new business in 2025
The company that owns Michigan’s North Lake Processing Center, the largest immigration detention facility in the Midwest, reported $254 million in profit last year, up nearly 700 percent from $32 mill...
www.michiganpublic.org
February 17, 2026 at 7:08 PM
I can’t help thinking there’s so much money changing hands wrt ICE detention that there aren’t even enough investigative reporters to track
www.michiganpublic.org/criminal-jus...
www.michiganpublic.org/criminal-jus...
Reposted by Zamin Iqbal
Like, USAID still legally exists, still receives budget from Congress, and the few dozen remaining employees (who work at State) still have usaid.gov emails and all our systems and databases still exist.
It's just the 10k of us who actually did the work are gone. Just do that to ICE and CBP.
It's just the 10k of us who actually did the work are gone. Just do that to ICE and CBP.
Simply hire a bunch of 22yo kids into jobs of unclear legitimacy, put them in charge of DHS, fire all DHS employees, and fold DHS into idk the Bureau of Printing and Engraving. It's all legal now. I don't want to hear this loser shit anymore after what they did to my friends.
One thing that's important to realize now is that, even in a scenario where Dems sweep to a crushing trifecta in 2028, Republicans will use their control of the courts to attempt to continue, as much as they can, to run executive agencies in exile, with DHS/ICE under Biden as the model
February 17, 2026 at 5:39 PM
Like, USAID still legally exists, still receives budget from Congress, and the few dozen remaining employees (who work at State) still have usaid.gov emails and all our systems and databases still exist.
It's just the 10k of us who actually did the work are gone. Just do that to ICE and CBP.
It's just the 10k of us who actually did the work are gone. Just do that to ICE and CBP.
Reposted by Zamin Iqbal
As Nigel Farage makes Robert Jenrick his Shadow Chancellor, here's a quick reminder of the sort of man Reform wants to put in charge of the nation's finances
February 17, 2026 at 12:37 PM
As Nigel Farage makes Robert Jenrick his Shadow Chancellor, here's a quick reminder of the sort of man Reform wants to put in charge of the nation's finances
Delighted to see over 17 million new protein structure predictions from novel proteins in AllTheBacteria are now integrated into the AlphaFold Database at @ebi.embl.org !
Huge work from @gbouras13.bsky.social @oschwengers.bsky.social and friends to generate these.
www.ebi.ac.uk/about/news/u...
Huge work from @gbouras13.bsky.social @oschwengers.bsky.social and friends to generate these.
www.ebi.ac.uk/about/news/u...
AlphaFold Database welcomes community datasets
Latest AlphaFold Database update adds high-value datasets for microbial and viral proteins, generated by specialist communities
www.ebi.ac.uk
February 17, 2026 at 1:53 PM
Delighted to see over 17 million new protein structure predictions from novel proteins in AllTheBacteria are now integrated into the AlphaFold Database at @ebi.embl.org !
Huge work from @gbouras13.bsky.social @oschwengers.bsky.social and friends to generate these.
www.ebi.ac.uk/about/news/u...
Huge work from @gbouras13.bsky.social @oschwengers.bsky.social and friends to generate these.
www.ebi.ac.uk/about/news/u...
AlphaFold Database welcomes community datasets
Latest AlphaFold Database update adds high-value datasets for microbial and viral proteins, generated by specialist communities
www.ebi.ac.uk
February 17, 2026 at 1:52 PM
Delighted to see over 17 million new protein structure predictions from novel proteins in AllTheBacteria are now integrated into the AlphaFold Database at @ebi.embl.org !
Huge work from @gbouras13.bsky.social @oschwengers.bsky.social and friends to generate these.
www.ebi.ac.uk/about/news/u...
Huge work from @gbouras13.bsky.social @oschwengers.bsky.social and friends to generate these.
www.ebi.ac.uk/about/news/u...
Reposted by Zamin Iqbal
I don’t know who needs to hear Jesse Jackson leading the kids on Sesame Street in this beautiful call-and-response reminding them that every child is somebody, but here it is
February 17, 2026 at 11:41 AM
I don’t know who needs to hear Jesse Jackson leading the kids on Sesame Street in this beautiful call-and-response reminding them that every child is somebody, but here it is
Reposted by Zamin Iqbal
Reposted by Zamin Iqbal
Probably the best frame I've shot in at least a year, and I knew it the second I touched the shutter release.
South Island oystercatcher. 🪶
South Island oystercatcher. 🪶
February 17, 2026 at 8:33 AM
Probably the best frame I've shot in at least a year, and I knew it the second I touched the shutter release.
South Island oystercatcher. 🪶
South Island oystercatcher. 🪶
Reposted by Zamin Iqbal
An age of insecurity reflected in so many stories today... sometimes tipping over into fear... starting with a story that I first heard last year, fears for other economies if a Trump administration tampered with payment systems... www.theguardian.com/business/202...
UK bank bosses plan to set up Visa and Mastercard alternative amid Trump fears
Exclusive: First meeting to be held over domestic payments system aimed at reducing reliance on US networks
www.theguardian.com
February 17, 2026 at 7:22 AM
An age of insecurity reflected in so many stories today... sometimes tipping over into fear... starting with a story that I first heard last year, fears for other economies if a Trump administration tampered with payment systems... www.theguardian.com/business/202...
Reposted by Zamin Iqbal
Physicist Chien-Shiung Wu died #OTD in 1997.
She conducted the Wu experiment (proving parity isn't conserved) for which her male colleagues won the 1957 Nobel Prize in Physics. Her role wasn't publicly honored until she was awarded the inaugural Wolf Prize in 1978. #WomenInSTEM #MatildaEffect
She conducted the Wu experiment (proving parity isn't conserved) for which her male colleagues won the 1957 Nobel Prize in Physics. Her role wasn't publicly honored until she was awarded the inaugural Wolf Prize in 1978. #WomenInSTEM #MatildaEffect
February 16, 2026 at 2:11 PM
Physicist Chien-Shiung Wu died #OTD in 1997.
She conducted the Wu experiment (proving parity isn't conserved) for which her male colleagues won the 1957 Nobel Prize in Physics. Her role wasn't publicly honored until she was awarded the inaugural Wolf Prize in 1978. #WomenInSTEM #MatildaEffect
She conducted the Wu experiment (proving parity isn't conserved) for which her male colleagues won the 1957 Nobel Prize in Physics. Her role wasn't publicly honored until she was awarded the inaugural Wolf Prize in 1978. #WomenInSTEM #MatildaEffect
Reposted by Zamin Iqbal
Kung hei fat choi and whatnot.
February 17, 2026 at 5:34 AM
Kung hei fat choi and whatnot.
Reposted by Zamin Iqbal
🧵 New preprint! Our 4-lab team evolved Streptococcus pneumoniae in antibiotic-treated mice of varying immune states and discovered something surprising: bacteria rarely evolved resistance. Instead, they found a different way to survive — by rewiring RNA turnover.
🔗 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
🔗 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org
February 16, 2026 at 4:39 PM
🧵 New preprint! Our 4-lab team evolved Streptococcus pneumoniae in antibiotic-treated mice of varying immune states and discovered something surprising: bacteria rarely evolved resistance. Instead, they found a different way to survive — by rewiring RNA turnover.
🔗 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
🔗 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Zamin Iqbal
The emergence of a chemical system capable of self-replication and evolution is a critical event in the origin of life.
This paper describes a ribozyme, a catalytic RNA molecule, able to do just that..
Fascinating stuff…
🧪🦠
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
This paper describes a ribozyme, a catalytic RNA molecule, able to do just that..
Fascinating stuff…
🧪🦠
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
A small polymerase ribozyme that can synthesize itself and its complementary strand
The emergence of a chemical system capable of self-replication and evolution is a critical event in the origin of life. RNA polymerase ribozymes can replicate RNA, but their large size and structural ...
www.science.org
February 15, 2026 at 3:16 AM
The emergence of a chemical system capable of self-replication and evolution is a critical event in the origin of life.
This paper describes a ribozyme, a catalytic RNA molecule, able to do just that..
Fascinating stuff…
🧪🦠
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
This paper describes a ribozyme, a catalytic RNA molecule, able to do just that..
Fascinating stuff…
🧪🦠
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Zamin Iqbal
Mycobacterium tuberculosis is so evolved at surviving environmental stresses!
By @oneyrolles.bsky.social & team
#TBSky #MicroSky @embojournal.org
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
By @oneyrolles.bsky.social & team
#TBSky #MicroSky @embojournal.org
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Membrane-associated effluxosomes coordinate multi-metal resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis - The EMBO Journal
Bacterial pathogens must withstand metal-induced stress during infection, yet the mechanisms by which they sense and respond to toxic metal ions remain incompletely understood. Here, we uncover a prev...
link.springer.com
February 16, 2026 at 6:58 AM
Mycobacterium tuberculosis is so evolved at surviving environmental stresses!
By @oneyrolles.bsky.social & team
#TBSky #MicroSky @embojournal.org
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
By @oneyrolles.bsky.social & team
#TBSky #MicroSky @embojournal.org
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Reposted by Zamin Iqbal
BBC's Arabic radio service in Lebanon closed after 85 years as part of a £28.5m savings drive. 'Just months later, in October 2023, the Russian state-owned Sputnik news agency took over the frequency. Its news bulletin opened with “This is Moscow”, replacing the previous “This is London” intro.' 🙄
BBC warns Russia is taking over World Service radio frequencies
Russian propaganda is filling the void where the BBC has closed World Service radio services due to cuts
inews.co.uk
June 10, 2025 at 6:03 AM
BBC's Arabic radio service in Lebanon closed after 85 years as part of a £28.5m savings drive. 'Just months later, in October 2023, the Russian state-owned Sputnik news agency took over the frequency. Its news bulletin opened with “This is Moscow”, replacing the previous “This is London” intro.' 🙄
Looking for recent stats on what % of diagnosed TB cases have gene Xpert run (and what % are sequenced, but that must be tiny). I thought I'd find the former in the annual WHO report but I can't seem to find it. Does anyone happen to know?
February 15, 2026 at 9:54 PM
Looking for recent stats on what % of diagnosed TB cases have gene Xpert run (and what % are sequenced, but that must be tiny). I thought I'd find the former in the annual WHO report but I can't seem to find it. Does anyone happen to know?
Reposted by Zamin Iqbal
North Carolina lawmakers have voted to remove all college campus voting sites. Specifically at the largest HBCU in the US NC A&T. They now have to walk 30 minutes to their nearest polling place. Students are protesting this - pls share and support.
www.tiktok.com/t/ZThx29BJ9/
www.tiktok.com/t/ZThx29BJ9/
Even without an on-campus voting site, NCAT students still marched to the polls. 💙💛 Students at North Carolina A&T showed that barriers won’t stop their voices. When access isn’t easy, they organize. ...
TikTok video by HBCU Student Action Alliance
www.tiktok.com
February 14, 2026 at 1:55 PM
North Carolina lawmakers have voted to remove all college campus voting sites. Specifically at the largest HBCU in the US NC A&T. They now have to walk 30 minutes to their nearest polling place. Students are protesting this - pls share and support.
www.tiktok.com/t/ZThx29BJ9/
www.tiktok.com/t/ZThx29BJ9/
Reposted by Zamin Iqbal
Reposted by Zamin Iqbal
Streets of Minneapolis Irish female duet cover
youtu.be/Ci_0PAObc4A?...
youtu.be/Ci_0PAObc4A?...
Bruce Springsteen - Streets Of Minneapolis (Irish Female Duet)
YouTube video by Ethan Gontar
youtu.be
February 15, 2026 at 2:46 AM
Streets of Minneapolis Irish female duet cover
youtu.be/Ci_0PAObc4A?...
youtu.be/Ci_0PAObc4A?...
Reposted by Zamin Iqbal
My favourite: Bertrand Russell, died 1970, reminiscing about his childhood with his grandfather, who had visited Napoleon on Elba.
February 15, 2026 at 11:37 AM
My favourite: Bertrand Russell, died 1970, reminiscing about his childhood with his grandfather, who had visited Napoleon on Elba.
Reposted by Zamin Iqbal
A reminder that if you live in England or Wales & were born between 1970-1990 – or even before 1970 – you can help protect your community by getting the MMR vaccine free from your NHS GP now. I did last year. www.nhs.uk/vaccinations...
February 15, 2026 at 8:30 AM
A reminder that if you live in England or Wales & were born between 1970-1990 – or even before 1970 – you can help protect your community by getting the MMR vaccine free from your NHS GP now. I did last year. www.nhs.uk/vaccinations...
Reposted by Zamin Iqbal
Just checking, it's now ok to flee your homeland, because you're afraid for your safety, and seek refuge in another Country?
Glad we've cleared that up. Let's hear no more about immigration and refugees then.
Glad we've cleared that up. Let's hear no more about immigration and refugees then.
February 14, 2026 at 7:55 AM
Just checking, it's now ok to flee your homeland, because you're afraid for your safety, and seek refuge in another Country?
Glad we've cleared that up. Let's hear no more about immigration and refugees then.
Glad we've cleared that up. Let's hear no more about immigration and refugees then.