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biofilmphotography.bsky.social
Brian
@biofilmphotography.bsky.social
51 followers 35 following 19 posts
I have a lot of hobbies and do science professionally.

Yp, Burk, HGT, countermeasures

IG 📷: https://www.instagram.com/biofilmphotography/

⚽️🎸🏎️🧬🔬
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Brian
carlzimmer.com
On the new acting CDC director. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
O’Neill, unlike Monarez, has no training in medicine or infectious disease science. He is a former speechwriter for the health department, during the Bush years, who went on to work for the tech investor and conservative megadonor Peter Thiel. During the Covid pandemic, O’Neill voiced public support for unproven treatments that were not supported by scientific evidence, including ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine, as well as vitamin D as a supposed “prophylaxis”. He also posted a number of conspiratorial theories on social media, including the baseless claim that “the name #COVID was chosen to conceal the origin of the virus. This name made it harder to study and probably slowed the response.”
August 29, 2025 at 1:59 AM
Reposted by Brian
brinda.eu
Now, when first big collections from @zaminiqbal.bsky.social et al. arrived, they took hundreds of GB to terabytes after standard compression – all over slow FTP:

🧬 2017 – BIGSI: 16.7 TB
doi.org/10.1038/s415...

🧬 2021 – 661k: 805 GB
doi.org/10.1371/jour...

Far too much for most research groups 6/
Ultrafast search of all deposited bacterial and viral genomic data - Nature Biotechnology
The global set of bacterial and viral sequences can be rapidly searched using a data structure inspired by web-search algorithms.
doi.org
April 11, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Reposted by Brian
nature.com
Gene editing and many other useful biotechnology tools came from studies of bacteria fighting off viral invaders.

But scientists have only begun to unlock the secrets of this ancient arms race
https://go.nature.com/4lD4LOa
Microbial warfare brought us CRISPR. What big breakthroughs could be next?
Gene editing and many other useful biotechnology tools came from studies of bacteria fighting off viral invaders. But scientists have only begun to unlock the secrets of this ancient arms race.
go.nature.com
April 9, 2025 at 11:51 AM
biofilmphotography.bsky.social
It’s been a minute. Here is one from my D.C. project shooting @harmanphoto.co.uk’s new film RED. Many more on my IG. I wanted to capture the current feeling.

#filmphotography #photography #35mm #35mmfilm #canonphotography #maryland #marylandphotographer #harmanphoto #redscale
April 11, 2025 at 1:28 AM
Reposted by Brian
bstevensonlab.bsky.social
The NIH funding freeze has blocked 3 of our grant proposals (so far), which threatens to shut down our Lyme disease research program within a year.
🦠🧫🧪🧬🔬 #MicroSky

www.reuters.com/business/hea...
Trump administration loophole snags US research grants from Lyme to lung disease
The Trump administration has for weeks been blocking the U.S. National Institutes of Health process for issuing new research grants for everything from Lyme disease to lung and heart disease, according to researchers, a departing NIH official and documents.
www.reuters.com
February 27, 2025 at 12:38 AM
Reposted by Brian
iwashyna.bsky.social
Over on LinkedIn, the head of the Executive Secretariat of the NIH -- a central part of NIH leadership 🧪🩺-- resigned with a lettter worth reading

www.linkedin.com/posts/nathan...
February 18, 2024 TO: Dr. Matthew Memoli, Acting Director, NIH CC: John Burklow, Chief of Staff, NIH Julie Berko, Director, OHR, NIH FROM: Nathaniel James Brought, Director, ES, NIH SUBJECT: Resignation Dear Dr. Memoli, On July 3, 2001, I stepped off a bus on Marine Corps Recruit Training Depot Perris Island. Scared out of my mind, I stood on a pair of freshly painted yellow footprints, raised my right hand, and recited the oath of enlistment: I, Nathaniel James Brought, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God. For the last 23 years, 7 months, and 15 days, I like to believe I have faithfully carried out the duties of each office to which I've been appointed in my military and civilian service to this nation. That Service has taken me from the Marine Corps to 3 different federal departments, spanned 3 continents, included service in one war zone, and has included: • For the Marine Corps and the National Security Agency, I worked on intelligence operations at the highest classification levels using bleeding edge intelligence tools to ensure America's special operators put boots-to-asses on America's enemies overseas (including commendations crediting my work for the kill or capture of dozens of terrorists), ensuring America's policy makers were able to track the movement of dangerous dual nuclear technology across international borders, and monitored the flow of terrorist financing across the international banking system. • Utilized information from all-source intelligence to ensure the continued security of America's homeland from international and domestic threats. • Worked with some of the finest lawyers in the world to ensure America's security operations were effective, while upholding the rights of all those who interacted with them. • Ensuring that America's rural communities had access to programs like rural development loans, farm aid, and that America's children wouldn't be hungry as they sat in their classrooms and tried to learn. • Most recently, and frankly most dear to my heart, working with each of you here at the National Institutes of Health to advance the future of science and medicine. Not for Americans. Not for any one group of people. But for ALL of humanity. I am unbelievably proud to be able to say that there are Americans who are alive, and terrorists who are not, because of the work I've done to serve this nation. I am proud to say that my service to this country has allowed me to ensure that my children have never faced the struggles of poverty that I grew up with. That service didn't begin because of some great altruistic impulse or drive. I didn't grow up saying "I want to do the great work that needs to be done to weave the fabric of America and ensure her people are not only safe, but healthy." Frankly, that service began because I was poor, and I was inspired. I grew up as a free lunch kid who lived in project housing. It was my fellow Americans who made sure I wasn't hungry in class and that I had enough food to excel academically the way I did. It was Americans who had more than we did that made sure I had good schools to attend where I could learn things that expanded my mind. As I approached the end of high school, I dreamed of going to college and figuring out how to make a living that would allow me to do more tha… to go to college. I knew my grades weren't good enough to compete for scholarships with kids who were as smart as me but also had private tutors and didn't have to work after class to be able to drive their brand-new cars to our school each day. So, I gave up. I nearly failed my senior year of high school with an attendance failure, even though I only needed two classes to graduate. I didn't see the point. What was the point of learning calculus? So it would be that much harder when my dream of being a brain surgeon died not because I was incapable, but because I didn't have the means to make it come true? I resigned myself to being one of the working poor. I resigned myself to needing a spinal fusion before I was 50, like my father, because he literally broke his back trying to make his dreams come true. The example of my father didn't inspire me at that time. It reminded me of the futility of trying to escape the rung of the social ladder I had been born onto. No matter how smart or "gifted and talented" I may have been, I saw no path that led me to a place where I could realize my potential. So, instead I accepted that it would be wasted. Ultimately, the reason I find myself here today, rather than in the place I saw as my only end, is because of another young man who committed to serving his country. Shamefully, I do not remember his name, but there was a young corporal from the United States Marine Corps who had been assigned as a recruiter in Reading, Pennsylvania at that time. This man spoke to me about my plans for my future during lunch one day at school. I told him I planned to do what my father had done. Work hard jobs until my body broke down, maybe start a struggling business, and try to do what I could to stay above the poverty line and off welfare. I told him I hoped to be successful enough that my kids never had to watch me use food stamps at the grocery store. It had been hard to watch my mom go through that. How sad is that? I was a smart young 18-…
February 20, 2025 at 6:43 PM
Reposted by Brian
mathyadriana.bsky.social
After 3 years as a rotator at NSF, i became permanent last august (and suddenly on probation despite years of good work). I quit my academic job in January. Today i was unceremoniously fired for “poor performance” (a lie) along with 167 other amazing folks (like Courtney). So unfair & insulting.
February 18, 2025 at 10:24 PM
biofilmphotography.bsky.social
With AI becoming this age of google, I think open access journals will reign supreme for scientific content outreach. Unless you have access to all paid journals and run your own scraper/LLM, they can’t be easily accessed for rapid acquisition and summarization.
February 23, 2025 at 9:27 PM
Reposted by Brian
vscooper.micropopbio.org
Deep and thoughtful reporting on the crises of the NIH funding and review blocks. Share locally, share widely. And make sure your reps know!

www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025...
Scientists warn of long-term damage as Trump’s orders slow research
By blocking announcements in the Federal Register, the administration is keeping experts from meeting to evaluate funding proposals.
www.washingtonpost.com
February 22, 2025 at 5:18 PM
biofilmphotography.bsky.social
First time shooting HP5. Here’s one of my favs.

AE-1P

#filmphotography #photography #35mm #35mmfilm #canonphotography #maryland #marylandphotographer #ilford
#ilfordhp5
February 7, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Reposted by Brian
surtlab.bsky.social
For those of us submitting NSF grants with deadlines in February…how are we dealing with Broader Impacts sections?

I’ve got thoughts, but I want to see what others have heard etc…
January 31, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Reposted by Brian
zannahdu.bsky.social
Looking up a protein accession number on NCBI yesterday...
Ncbi: here's your results!

This morning...
Ncbi: *thinks really hard* I think I'm experiencing an error. But here is your protein record anyway.

This afternoon...
Ncbi: protein? What's a protein?
January 27, 2025 at 12:30 PM
biofilmphotography.bsky.social
AE-1P | Gold200

#kodak #kodakgold200 #kodakgold #filmphotography #film #photography #canonphotography #35mm #35mmfilm
January 6, 2025 at 9:37 PM
biofilmphotography.bsky.social
A night in Frederick. This is the best of the rest from this roll. I’ll share my favorites in the future. Excuse the heavy compression for bluesky.

AE-1P | Cine800T

#frederick #frederickmd #maryland #filmphotography #photography #cinestill800t #canonphotography #35mmfilm #35mm #nightphotography
December 30, 2024 at 11:04 PM
biofilmphotography.bsky.social
Just came across this comment by @billhanage.bsky.social from the beginning of this year and I totally appreciate the plasmid comment at the end. I think we are still missing so much when it comes to the impact of plasmids. But I think the future is bright.

bmcbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....
Two decades of population genomics: will we ever agree on bacterial species? - BMC Biology
We have never known more about the genetic variation that characterizes life on earth, which is stored in ever-growing databases, many of which are publicly accessible. Yet, an accessible database doe...
bmcbiol.biomedcentral.com
December 6, 2024 at 6:58 PM
Reposted by Brian
brockhurstlab.bsky.social
In case you missed it: @matthewjshepherd.bsky.social surveyed the clinical literature to reveal how #AMR evolves within patients, why eco/evo mechanisms vary among infections, & what we can do better to improve treatments www.nature.com/articles/s41... #MicroSky
Ecological and evolutionary mechanisms driving within-patient emergence of antimicrobial resistance - Nature Reviews Microbiology
In this Review, Shepherd, Brockhurst and colleagues explore the clinical evidence in support of four major ecological and evolutionary mechanisms of within-patient antimicrobial resistance emergence i...
www.nature.com
December 4, 2024 at 2:58 PM
Reposted by Brian
jpjhall.bsky.social
🆕New in @plosbiology.bsky.social: we show compensatory mutations make plasmids play Rock-Paper-Scissors and turn conjugation into a weapon🛡️💫✂️🦠

w/Rosanna Wright, Jamie Wood, @mbottery.bsky.social, @kmudz.bsky.social, @scottishwormboy.bsky.social, Ellie Harrison & @brockhurstlab.bsky.social #MicroSky
A chromosomal mutation is superior to a plasmid-encoded mutation for plasmid fitness cost compensation
Plasmids spread important traits in microbiomes but impose fitness costs on their hosts. This study of the ecological consequences of plasmid-bacterial compensatory evolution reveals benefits to bacte...
journals.plos.org
December 3, 2024 at 9:45 AM
biofilmphotography.bsky.social
People.

Canon AE-1P | Fuji 200

There’s a lot I like about this shot.

#filmphotography #photography #canonphotography #fujifilm #35mmfilm #35mm
December 3, 2024 at 3:39 AM
Reposted by Brian
alicewinterhold.bsky.social
Remember when songs would have a saxophone riff that would echo through the hollows of your soul? We used to be a real country
November 30, 2024 at 11:34 PM
Reposted by Brian
brockhurstlab.bsky.social
2x professorships available in Manchester Institute of Biotechnology including in Microbial Engineering area (broadly defined to include microbiomes, environmental biotech etc) — join us!
www.jobs.manchester.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai...
Chair Appointments within Manchester Institute of Biotechnology:Manchester Institute of Biotechnology
www.jobs.manchester.ac.uk
November 29, 2024 at 10:01 AM
Reposted by Brian
alanmcn1.bsky.social
Job Fairy

Our MRC UK-China AMR project DETECTIVE-II needs a post doc. Please reach out if you are interested

edzz.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...
Research Fellow - Department of Microbes, Infection and Microbiomes - 104952 - Grade 7
To take a lead role in the development and delivery of an MRC funded UK-China research network on antimicrobial resistance epidemiology
edzz.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com
November 29, 2024 at 4:20 PM
Reposted by Brian
craigmaclean.bsky.social
Plasmid afficionados: Does anybody know of any chromosomal genes that are required for plasmid conjugation? We have found a few by chance in a recent experiment and I would be really interested to know if there are other examples.
#microsky
#plasmid
November 27, 2024 at 11:23 AM
biofilmphotography.bsky.social
To be a kid again.

Minolta Freedom Explorer Zoom | Fuji 200

#filmphotography #film #minolta #fujifilm #photography #farmlife
November 26, 2024 at 9:44 PM
Reposted by Brian
francois.fleuret.org
My deep learning course at the University of Geneva is available on-line. 1000+ slides, ~20h of screen-casts. Full of examples in PyTorch.

fleuret.org/dlc/

And my "Little Book of Deep Learning" is available as a phone-formatted pdf (nearing 700k downloads!)

fleuret.org/lbdl/
November 26, 2024 at 6:15 AM
Reposted by Brian
gaberoo.bsky.social
Outstanding work on distributed metabolism in microbiomes in @naturemicrobiol.bsky.social by PharmaBiome's great Matthias Hülsmann from his time at @micsysecolab.bsky.social. I'm super excited to work together on our next consortium LBPs.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A framework for understanding collective microbiome metabolism - Nature Microbiology
This Perspective explores why microbiome members perform partial metabolism of substrates and suggests that proteome efficiency is a driver of collective microbiome metabolism.
www.nature.com
November 26, 2024 at 11:33 AM