Howard Salis
@hsalis.bsky.social
Professor of synthetic biology, biological, & chemical engineering. De Novo DNA founder. Engineering microbes with predictive models & algorithms.
Pinned
Howard Salis
@hsalis.bsky.social
· Dec 2
An autonomous microbial sensor enables long-term detection of TNT explosive in natural soil - Nature Communications
Engineered microbes can detect harmful chemicals, but may not work well in complex environments. Here, the authors built microbial sensors for detection of TNT explosive and tested their response over...
www.nature.com
NEW paper 🚨! We engineered TNT sensors in soil bacteria for long-term detection of explosive in natural soil, enabling geospatial detection of contaminated soil. This work (led by Erin Essington) included new sensors, circuits, modeling, & a 28-day testing workflow. 1/
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Passing through Coralville, IA!
Shout out to IDT!!
Shout out to IDT!!
July 27, 2025 at 7:18 PM
Passing through Coralville, IA!
Shout out to IDT!!
Shout out to IDT!!
Reposted by Howard Salis
It's an OK article but the tag line should be "Trump illegally cancels Northwestern's contracts and refuses to pay them", not "Trump blew up Northwestern's business model". If you hold up a bank at gunpoint and abscond with bags of money you're not "blowing up its business model". You're stealing.
June 15, 2025 at 2:11 PM
It's an OK article but the tag line should be "Trump illegally cancels Northwestern's contracts and refuses to pay them", not "Trump blew up Northwestern's business model". If you hold up a bank at gunpoint and abscond with bags of money you're not "blowing up its business model". You're stealing.
What a shitty time to run out.
March 21, 2025 at 12:00 AM
What a shitty time to run out.
Reposted by Howard Salis
As a Jew looking at the administration's sudden "concern" over University antisemitism
March 10, 2025 at 9:17 PM
As a Jew looking at the administration's sudden "concern" over University antisemitism
Reposted by Howard Salis
In a remarkable new paper, Qureshi and Duss use multi-colour single-molecule fluorescence microscopy to directly and simultaneously track transcription, translation & coupling 3/n
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
March 1, 2025 at 1:40 PM
In a remarkable new paper, Qureshi and Duss use multi-colour single-molecule fluorescence microscopy to directly and simultaneously track transcription, translation & coupling 3/n
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Howard Salis
Could not agree more. The Prez & VP are shameful, embarrassing Putin puppets & a disgrace to our country. 🤮
#SlavaUkraine 🇺🇦
#SlavaUkraine 🇺🇦
February 28, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Could not agree more. The Prez & VP are shameful, embarrassing Putin puppets & a disgrace to our country. 🤮
#SlavaUkraine 🇺🇦
#SlavaUkraine 🇺🇦
Reposted by Howard Salis
Reposted by Howard Salis
Normalize calling Republicans Nazis.
🔥🔥🔥 Former Vikings punter Chris Kluwe was arrested for civil disobedience after speaking against a MAGA display that the city council of Huntington Beach agreed to put up at the public library…..that’s what’s up….every word👇
February 20, 2025 at 11:51 AM
Normalize calling Republicans Nazis.
Wowzers the SNL 50th anniversary special was truly fantastic and man did I need to laugh a bit to cleanse the soul after the last two weeks.
My favorite bit: youtu.be/l8GbTZ8v1-w?...
The whole Shebang is streaming on Peacock.
My favorite bit: youtu.be/l8GbTZ8v1-w?...
The whole Shebang is streaming on Peacock.
New York 50th Musical – SNL50
YouTube video by Saturday Night Live
youtu.be
February 18, 2025 at 2:15 AM
Wowzers the SNL 50th anniversary special was truly fantastic and man did I need to laugh a bit to cleanse the soul after the last two weeks.
My favorite bit: youtu.be/l8GbTZ8v1-w?...
The whole Shebang is streaming on Peacock.
My favorite bit: youtu.be/l8GbTZ8v1-w?...
The whole Shebang is streaming on Peacock.
Reposted by Howard Salis
Simultaneous in vitro expression of minimal 21 transfer RNAs by tRNA array method https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.02.15.638384v1
February 16, 2025 at 6:06 AM
Simultaneous in vitro expression of minimal 21 transfer RNAs by tRNA array method https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.02.15.638384v1
Reposted by Howard Salis
I am hearing that about 1/2 of the ARPA-H staff were probationary and are being let go. Many of these folks are long-time NIHers who were promoted into new positions in ARPA-H and became probationary in these new positions despite many years of NIH service.
February 14, 2025 at 8:50 PM
I am hearing that about 1/2 of the ARPA-H staff were probationary and are being let go. Many of these folks are long-time NIHers who were promoted into new positions in ARPA-H and became probationary in these new positions despite many years of NIH service.
Reposted by Howard Salis
Today's the day! Getting ready for the workshop on #AI in #Biology. While these fields aren’t new (of course!), the intersection of the two is having a major moment right now.
Looking forward to this timely workshop on #AI in #Biology at @cnb-csic.bsky.social (Feb 14)! Excited to hear from experts like @hsalis.bsky.social , @alfonsovalencia.bsky.social , @noeliaferruz.bsky.social , @pablocarb.bsky.social , and others. (Note: Won’t be streamed.) 🧬🤖 #Science #synbio
February 14, 2025 at 7:49 AM
Reposted by Howard Salis
Ok folks. Time for me to pull my law rank and correct some shit. When a judge issues a civil contempt order, she does not hand it to the prosecutor or AG and say “enforce this if you feel like it.” The judge hands it directly to a law enforcement officer, who has no discretion on whether to serve it
February 11, 2025 at 2:49 PM
Ok folks. Time for me to pull my law rank and correct some shit. When a judge issues a civil contempt order, she does not hand it to the prosecutor or AG and say “enforce this if you feel like it.” The judge hands it directly to a law enforcement officer, who has no discretion on whether to serve it
Reposted by Howard Salis
Thrilled to have @hsalis.bsky.social as the keynote speaker for today’s workshop on AI in Biology! After a prologue of intense discussions, he follows the tradition of every visitor by stepping onto Km 0 at Puerta del Sol—the geographical center of Spain & a place of significance for every Madrileño
February 14, 2025 at 5:18 AM
Thrilled to have @hsalis.bsky.social as the keynote speaker for today’s workshop on AI in Biology! After a prologue of intense discussions, he follows the tradition of every visitor by stepping onto Km 0 at Puerta del Sol—the geographical center of Spain & a place of significance for every Madrileño
Reposted by Howard Salis
BREAKING: Federal judge in Boston broadens block on Trump's NIH grant 15% overhead limit (indirect cost rates) to all recipients nationwide. Doc: www.documentcloud.org/documents/25...
#TROpalooza ain't done
#TROpalooza ain't done
AAMCOrd021025
www.documentcloud.org
February 11, 2025 at 5:22 AM
BREAKING: Federal judge in Boston broadens block on Trump's NIH grant 15% overhead limit (indirect cost rates) to all recipients nationwide. Doc: www.documentcloud.org/documents/25...
#TROpalooza ain't done
#TROpalooza ain't done
What if CA, MA, & other high-GDP states passed State Law to redirect all federal tax collection to a State bureau, which would only redirect taxes to the Fed if Federal Law wasn’t blatantly ignored (by vote of State legislature)?
Another lever of “checks & balances” & a “soft secession” when needed
Another lever of “checks & balances” & a “soft secession” when needed
February 9, 2025 at 6:14 PM
What if CA, MA, & other high-GDP states passed State Law to redirect all federal tax collection to a State bureau, which would only redirect taxes to the Fed if Federal Law wasn’t blatantly ignored (by vote of State legislature)?
Another lever of “checks & balances” & a “soft secession” when needed
Another lever of “checks & balances” & a “soft secession” when needed
Reposted by Howard Salis
Buckle up babes, it's time for a long thread about #USAID. Many of you know I've worked on USAID contracts and in humanitarian aid for the last decade. But very few know why. I studied international security in undergrad and my first job out of school was in the defense/intel world. I hated it. 1/
February 9, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Buckle up babes, it's time for a long thread about #USAID. Many of you know I've worked on USAID contracts and in humanitarian aid for the last decade. But very few know why. I studied international security in undergrad and my first job out of school was in the defense/intel world. I hated it. 1/
Reposted by Howard Salis
We just launched a 16TB archive of every dataset that has been available on data.gov since November. This will be updated day by day as new datasets appear. It can be freely copied, and we're sharing the code behind it to help others make their own archives of data they depend on.
Announcing the Data.gov Archive | Library Innovation Lab
Today we released our archive of data.gov on Source Cooperative. The 16TB collection includes over 311,000 datasets harvested during 2024 and 2025, a complet...
lil.law.harvard.edu
February 6, 2025 at 9:23 PM
We just launched a 16TB archive of every dataset that has been available on data.gov since November. This will be updated day by day as new datasets appear. It can be freely copied, and we're sharing the code behind it to help others make their own archives of data they depend on.
OMG the troll that demands that the U.S. stay out of world affairs now wants *us* to OWN the most controversial land in the world. NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO.
Sure looks like Trump is a Russian asset.
Is it Stupidity or Treason? If you can't tell ...
Sure looks like Trump is a Russian asset.
Is it Stupidity or Treason? If you can't tell ...
February 5, 2025 at 12:58 AM
OMG the troll that demands that the U.S. stay out of world affairs now wants *us* to OWN the most controversial land in the world. NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO.
Sure looks like Trump is a Russian asset.
Is it Stupidity or Treason? If you can't tell ...
Sure looks like Trump is a Russian asset.
Is it Stupidity or Treason? If you can't tell ...
Reposted by Howard Salis
Delighted to share our latest paper describing a method to read the levels of hundreds of metabolites or drugs in parallel using DNA sequencing. This method, which we call ‘smol-seq’ (Small MOLecule sequencing), harnesses the power of DNA sequencing for metabolite detection:
rdcu.be/d8xLv (1/6)
rdcu.be/d8xLv (1/6)
Quantifying metabolites using structure-switching aptamers coupled to DNA sequencing
Nature Biotechnology - Metabolites can be quantified using a combination of aptamers and DNA barcodes.
rdcu.be
February 4, 2025 at 1:54 PM
Delighted to share our latest paper describing a method to read the levels of hundreds of metabolites or drugs in parallel using DNA sequencing. This method, which we call ‘smol-seq’ (Small MOLecule sequencing), harnesses the power of DNA sequencing for metabolite detection:
rdcu.be/d8xLv (1/6)
rdcu.be/d8xLv (1/6)
Reposted by Howard Salis
New and important: we built a federal expenditure tracker. All expenditure line items that are available on the Daily Treasury Statement.
USAID was zeroed out on 1/28 and has been at zero ever since.
www.hamiltonproject.org/data/trackin...
#EconSky
USAID was zeroed out on 1/28 and has been at zero ever since.
www.hamiltonproject.org/data/trackin...
#EconSky
February 3, 2025 at 9:41 PM
New and important: we built a federal expenditure tracker. All expenditure line items that are available on the Daily Treasury Statement.
USAID was zeroed out on 1/28 and has been at zero ever since.
www.hamiltonproject.org/data/trackin...
#EconSky
USAID was zeroed out on 1/28 and has been at zero ever since.
www.hamiltonproject.org/data/trackin...
#EconSky
Reposted by Howard Salis
I won't be around for ToxTueday, so you'll have to settle for ToxMonday, instead. Today, I'm posting an experiment I did about 5 years ago with my old lab for some "team building." So what did we do? Look for drugs on money, of course! What did we find? Lots, but you'll have to keep reading:
February 3, 2025 at 4:20 PM
I won't be around for ToxTueday, so you'll have to settle for ToxMonday, instead. Today, I'm posting an experiment I did about 5 years ago with my old lab for some "team building." So what did we do? Look for drugs on money, of course! What did we find? Lots, but you'll have to keep reading:
Bernie's party-wide email! (One of the few I actually read)
February 3, 2025 at 12:37 AM
Bernie's party-wide email! (One of the few I actually read)
Reposted by Howard Salis
Ribosomes cooperate through transient collisions to ensure efficient translation
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
@cellcellpress.bsky.social @marvintanenbaum.bsky.social
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
@cellcellpress.bsky.social @marvintanenbaum.bsky.social
January 31, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Ribosomes cooperate through transient collisions to ensure efficient translation
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
@cellcellpress.bsky.social @marvintanenbaum.bsky.social
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
@cellcellpress.bsky.social @marvintanenbaum.bsky.social
Reposted by Howard Salis
Hello Everyone! 👋 Nucleic Acids Research is excited to be on Bluesky! Please follow us for the latest #Research, #Breakthrough articles, journal issues and more. Also, please consider adding us to your starter packs!
January 31, 2025 at 12:33 PM
Hello Everyone! 👋 Nucleic Acids Research is excited to be on Bluesky! Please follow us for the latest #Research, #Breakthrough articles, journal issues and more. Also, please consider adding us to your starter packs!