Jesse McNichol
@jcmcnch.bsky.social
170 followers 220 following 11 posts
Asst Prof in Biology dept @ StFX, NS, Canada. Microbial ecology, oceanography, bioinformatics. I enjoy gardening, fermenting things, cooking, and spending time outdoors. Cover photo credit: P. McNichol.
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Reposted by Jesse McNichol
michaelemann.bsky.social
“The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”

― George Orwell, 1984
atrupar.com
Mike Johnson: "Let me look right into the camera and tell you very clearly: Republicans are the ones concerned about healthcare. Republicans are the party working around the clock everyday to fix healthcare. This is not talking points for us: we've done it."
Reposted by Jesse McNichol
rstepanauskas.bsky.social
I’m excited to share our effort to obtain one of the first estimates of the net rate, in physical time, of lateral gene transfer (LGT) – nature’s own genetic engineering - across a complex, global microbiome:
doi.org/10.1093/isme...
Reposted by Jesse McNichol
juliamwright.bsky.social
Not just classes are cancelled. DFA members have been locked out by the admin since August 20th: we can't sign students in from waitlists, can't advise them, can't share syllabi, can't help them with scholarship applications, etc. etc.

#KeepDalStrong

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
'I just want to learn': Students in limbo as many Dalhousie classes cancelled amid strike | CBC News
Classes at Dalhousie University are supposed to start on Tuesday, but most have been cancelled due to a strike.
www.cbc.ca
Reposted by Jesse McNichol
Reposted by Jesse McNichol
jasonhaslam.ca
I am increasingly frustrated, even angry, about the hypocrisy—tempted to say disinformation—from @dalhousie.bsky.social’s administration. How can you say “the university’s priority is working with the DFA to reach a resolution” when they have not even tried to return to the table? #KeepDalStrong
‘Challenges and uncertainty:’ Dalhousie University faculty lockout leaves students worried
The lockout of Dalhousie University faculty is inching closer to the start of the school year, and it's fuelling concerns among students.
www.ctvnews.ca
Reposted by Jesse McNichol
dalfaculty.bsky.social
Chris Algar, Assoc Prof, Oceanography @dalhousieu.bsky.social Lessons in solidarity from the picket lines. This isn’t just a fight to #KeepDalStrong; it’s a fight against employer greed. @ansut.bsky.social @caut.bsky.social
Reposted by Jesse McNichol
jcamthrash.bsky.social
Sequestration by the biological carbon pump: Do we really know what we are talking about? aslopubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... #jcampubs 🌊
Reposted by Jesse McNichol
jcamthrash.bsky.social
Our latest, and the second paper led by Jordan Coelho this year. Want to remove bacteria from POM for single-cell microbiology/culturing/'omics applications? We've got some data:

Detergent-based separation of microbes from marine particles www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... #jcampubs 🌊
Detergent-based separation of microbes from marine particles
Marine particles, typically composed of organic detritus and cellular debris, harbor microbial communities that are distinct from the planktonic, or free-living, communities in the pelagic ocean. Howe...
www.biorxiv.org
Reposted by Jesse McNichol
benjwoodcroft.bsky.social
Out in @natbiotech.nature.com: Metagenome taxonomy profilers usually ignore unknown species. SingleM is an accurate profiler which doesn't, even detecting phyla with no MAGs. Profiles of 700,000 metagenomes at sandpiper.qut.edu.au. A 🧵
Logo for the Sandpiper website
jcmcnch.bsky.social
For a handy summary of what GRUMP is, feel free to view and share the following presentation from the CBIOMES 2025 annual meeting: slides.com/jcmcnch/cbio...
GRUMP Presentation 2025
CBIOMES 2025, GRUMP
slides.com
jcmcnch.bsky.social
For a handy summary of what GRUMP is, feel free to view and share the following presentation from the CBIOMES 2025 annual meeting: slides.com/jcmcnch/cbio...
GRUMP Presentation 2025
CBIOMES 2025, GRUMP
slides.com
Reposted by Jesse McNichol
jedfuhrman.bsky.social
Please Re-Post. Our global GRUMP microbial ocean database is out in Scientific Data! Unfractionated, single universal PCR, with Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukaryotes all on the same scale with the same denominator. Pole to pole, depths to 6000m. Lots of metadata. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Characterizing organisms from three domains of life with universal primers from throughout the global ocean - Scientific Data
Scientific Data - Characterizing organisms from three domains of life with universal primers from throughout the global ocean
www.nature.com
jcmcnch.bsky.social
It was great to have you guys on board! Cheers from Nova Scotia!
jcmcnch.bsky.social
Thanks Augustus! Will be great to see your study and glad you find the 3-domain primers useful to your research 😀
jcmcnch.bsky.social
Thanks for carrying the baton across the finish line gentlemen. Keep an eye out in the next few years for papers from Yubin and Lexi Jones-Kellett, a new-and-improved bioinformatic pipeline (snakemake!), as well as GRUMP 2.0 (now with internal standards!).
jcmcnch.bsky.social
This was a huge team effort - many thanks to our collaborators, especially "early adopters" including Craig/Ellie (UCSB), Paul/‪@stevenbiller.bsky.social‬ (MIT/Wellesley), Wade/Joe (USF) as well as my "partners in crime" Nathan Williams and Yubin Raut!
jcmcnch.bsky.social
The GRUMP project began in 2018 when I started as a postdoc in @jedfuhrman.bsky.social's lab and was funded by the @simonsfoundation.org as part of the CBIOMES collaboration.
jcmcnch.bsky.social
So excited to announce the GRUMP paper is published! This global dataset provides relative abundances for plankton spanning Archaea to Zooplankton from unfractionated (>0.2µm) water samples using 3-domain universal primers that amplify 16S and 18S in one PCR reaction.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Characterizing organisms from three domains of life with universal primers from throughout the global ocean - Scientific Data
Scientific Data - Characterizing organisms from three domains of life with universal primers from throughout the global ocean
www.nature.com
Reposted by Jesse McNichol
science.org
"Institutions must support transgender and gender nonconforming and other marginalized scientists by securing their safety and privacy; their access to legal aid and health care; and their opportunities in education, employment, and society," argues a new #LetterToScience. scim.ag/4kQCMtr
Protect transgender scientists
Transgender and gender nonconforming (TGnC) people are a primary target of the Trump administration. Multiple executive orders seek to erase TGnC protections; mandate denial of gender identity; and ba...
scim.ag
Reposted by Jesse McNichol
simonsfoundation.org
A healthy diet outperforms fecal transplants in restoring and protecting the gut microbiome, according to new research from the Simons Foundation’s Joy Bergelson and collaborators: www.simonsfoundation.org/2025/05/13/t... #science
quote that reads "This study is a great example of a clinically relevant finding that stems from very fundamental, basic science"
Reposted by Jesse McNichol
mepjoe.bsky.social
NSF: "Biology, engineering, and education will all be slashed by over 70 percent..."
"The fleet of research ships [UNOLS] will essentially become someone else's problem"

Contact your representatives, even in blue states, as these cuts can still be stopped!

arstechnica.com/science/2025...
US science is being wrecked, and its leadership is fighting the last war
Facing an extreme budget, the National Academies hosted an event that ignored it.
arstechnica.com
Reposted by Jesse McNichol
elizabethemay.bsky.social
Very grateful to #MarcGarneau for his kindness and support when we fought to protect environmental laws attacked by Harper administration. We have lost a truly great Canadian.. and far too soon. #RIP