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Reposted by Jenn Brophy

Maddy Seale @maddyseale.bsky.social · 1d

Out First Release in @science.org this week:
The development of a directed evolution strategy with proof of concept in plant immune protein engineering.

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Engineered geminivirus replicons enable rapid in planta directed evolution

Directed evolution can rapidly generate genetic variants with new and enhanced properties, yet efficient platforms for performing such evolution directly in plant cells have been lacking. We developed...

www.science.org

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Reposted by Jenn Brophy

Maddy Seale @maddyseale.bsky.social · 1d

Wonderful to see this beautiful image on the cover of Science this week highlighting a paper that uses high resolution imaging to show the spatial patterns of bacterial attraction to glutamine from roots.
Paper here: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Perspective here: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

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Reposted by Jenn Brophy

Polly Fordyce @pollyfordyce.bsky.social · 1d

Come join us at @stanford-chemh.bsky.social! I feel incredibly lucky to have launched my career here -- it is a fantastic place to do bold interdisciplinary science surrounded by creative & supportive colleagues. Applications are due 10/15/2025 -- DM me if you have questions about the search!

Sarafan ChEM-H @stanford-chemh.bsky.social · Aug 26

Open faculty position!
We're seeking applicants for a tenure-track faculty position at the junior level (Assistant or untenured Associate Professor) with research programs that exist at the interface between molecular science and computation. Apply here: stanford.io/45MF3Qa

Open Faculty Position: Assistant or Associate (Untenured) Professor

Application deadline: 11:55 PM on Wednesday, October 15, 2025

Sarafan ChEM-H is seeking candidates with research programs that exist at the interface between molecular science and computation.

Click the link above to learn more & apply!

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Reposted by Jenn Brophy

PlantEvolution 🌱🌾 @plantevolution.bsky.social · 1d

Game changer for cell-based plant genetics: the labs of Caixia Gao & Jin-Long Qiu have developed very efficient self-replicating vectors and they just published a very nice proof-of-concept paper.
#plantscience
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

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Jenn Brophy @jennbrophy.bsky.social · 4d

It was our pleasure to write the perspective for such a beautiful piece of work on bacterial colonization of plant roots! 🌱❤️

nikogeldner.bsky.social @nikogeldner.bsky.social · 5d

A long road to the Cover of Science!
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Localized glutamine leakage drives the spatial structure of root microbial colonization

Plant roots release exudates to encourage microbiome assembly, which influences the function and stress resilience of plants. How specific exudates drive spatial colonization patterns remains largely ...

www.science.org

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Reposted by Jenn Brophy

nikogeldner.bsky.social @nikogeldner.bsky.social · 5d

Thanks also to the great perspective on our article written by @katekozaeva.bsky.social and @jennbrophy.bsky.social and our team @fbm-unil.bsky.social and @unil.bsky.social for their communications !

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Reposted by Jenn Brophy

nikogeldner.bsky.social @nikogeldner.bsky.social · 5d

A long road to the Cover of Science!
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Localized glutamine leakage drives the spatial structure of root microbial colonization

Plant roots release exudates to encourage microbiome assembly, which influences the function and stress resilience of plants. How specific exudates drive spatial colonization patterns remains largely ...

www.science.org

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Reposted by Jenn Brophy

Sarafan ChEM-H @stanford-chemh.bsky.social · 14d

Congratulations to our Institute Scholar @hawa-racine.bsky.social for winning the 2026 Margaret Oakley Dayhoff Award! @biophysicalsoc.bsky.social
www.biophysics.org/news-room/bi...

Congratulations to our Institute Scholar Hawa Racine Thiam for winning the 2026 Margaret Oakley Dayhoff Award. Hawa is being recognized for being a trailblazer of subcellular biophysics and unveiling new paradigms of biophysical immunology through her dynamic measurements of physical forces on organelles in real time.

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Reposted by Jenn Brophy

Nick Desnoyer @nickdesnoyer.bsky.social · 17d

Color changing flowers 🧬🎨- attempt #2

Older flowers (bottom) show dark red/ orange tints whereas young buds (top) display strong fuchsia color. Getting closer..

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Reposted by Jenn Brophy

Engineering Biology Research Consortium @ebrc.org · 20d

Explore plant synthetic biology with Stanford’s Jenn Brophy
@jennbrophy.bsky.social on EBRC In Translation. We discuss engineering genetic circuits in plants & microbes, lab sustainability, fostering the next gen of synthetic biologists, and championing diversity in science!
tinyurl.com/473b4dky

EBRC In Translation

EBRC In Translation is a podcast working to bring you conversations with leaders in the world of Engineering Biology. The show is the official podcast of the Engineering Biology Research Consortium St...

tinyurl.com

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Jenn Brophy @jennbrophy.bsky.social · 19d

Great chatting with you Ross!
Here’s the link: www.buzzsprout.com/1581817/epis...

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Reposted by Jenn Brophy

Ross D. Jones, PhD @jonesr18.bsky.social · 20d

Had a fun chat with @jennbrophy.bsky.social! Listen in to hear about the solarpunk future of plant bioengineering ☀️🌿

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Reposted by Jenn Brophy

Natanella Illouz-Eliaz @natanellae.bsky.social · 22d

Want to dive into the datasets from our recent @natcomms.nature.com paper? 🌱📊
Check out this step-by-step guide on how to explore and analyze the #drought #recovery #datasets with Omnibusx:

Check out the paper and datasets: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Tutorial: youtu.be/YI0RVFiQnMs

Drought recovery in plants triggers a cell-state-specific immune activation - Nature Communications

Post-drought rehydration triggers a preventive immune response in plants, revealing targets to enhance crop resilience by linking drought stress recovery with improved pathogen resistance.

www.nature.com

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Jenn Brophy @jennbrophy.bsky.social · 22d

Latest BIOPUNK interview by the amazing Sophia Sanchez is focused on plant engineering! @vivzhong.bsky.social and @atborowsky.bsky.social discuss their goals and motivations 🪴 💕 . www.biopunk.life/p/full-video...

Check out Sophia's whole series at biopunk.life

Inside a Plant Engineering Lab

Challenges and opportunities in plant (genetic) engineering with Vivian Zhong and Alexander Borowsky from the Brophy Lab

www.biopunk.life

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Jenn Brophy @jennbrophy.bsky.social · Sep 3

Is this real? Andrew is a beloved part of the plant synthetic biology community. I can’t imagine it without him. 💔

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Jenn Brophy @jennbrophy.bsky.social · Sep 3

A great read on topsoil preservation by the multitalented @vivzhong.bsky.social!

Vivian Zhong @vivzhong.bsky.social · Sep 2

Side quest # TooMany of this PhD: I co-authored an article for @issuesinst.bsky.social on the need for better soil data to monitor topsoil loss, plus farmland price valuation that reflects the true quality of soil to incentivize topsoil preservation. Feedback most welcome!
issues.org/better-soil-...

For Better Soil, Get Better Data

Relying on outdated soil quality data to value farmland creates a disincentive for farmers to invest in conserving topsoil.

issues.org

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Reposted by Jenn Brophy

Vivian Zhong @vivzhong.bsky.social · Sep 2

Side quest # TooMany of this PhD: I co-authored an article for @issuesinst.bsky.social on the need for better soil data to monitor topsoil loss, plus farmland price valuation that reflects the true quality of soil to incentivize topsoil preservation. Feedback most welcome!
issues.org/better-soil-...

For Better Soil, Get Better Data

Relying on outdated soil quality data to value farmland creates a disincentive for farmers to invest in conserving topsoil.

issues.org

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Jenn Brophy @jennbrophy.bsky.social · Aug 5

What a great photo! Looks like an awesome spot!

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Jenn Brophy @jennbrophy.bsky.social · Aug 1

Amazing news Hattie, congratulations!!

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Jenn Brophy @jennbrophy.bsky.social · Jun 28

Delighted to be speaking at Synthetic Biology Australasia November 2025 in Wellington!

I’ll be sharing our latest work in plant syn bio - come explore how biology can be redesigned to solve global challenges!
🔗 synbioaustralasia.org/upcoming-conference
#SBA2025 #SyntheticBiology #SynBioCommunity

SBA 2025 conference

SBA 2025 conference Synthetic Biology Australasia New Zealand synbio conference

synbioaustralasia.org

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Reposted by Jenn Brophy

Conor McClune @cmcclune.bsky.social · Jun 11

Today in Nature we report a systematic strategy to activate & identify gene sets in plants. We identify 8 new genes from the yew tree's Taxol biosynthetic pathway, enabling us to engineer tobacco with 17- & 20-gene pathways to Taxol precursors baccatin III & deBz-deoxy-Taxol #SingleCell #secmet 🧬🧪🌾

Discovery of FoTO1 and Taxol genes enables biosynthesis of baccatin III - Nature

An approach that combines single-nucleus RNA sequencing and multiplexed perturbation identifies genes that enable the biosynthesis of direct precursors of the anti-cancer drug Taxol, whose curren...

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Jenn Brophy

Thomas Gorochowski @chofski.bsky.social · May 29

Recombinases your thing? In the latest from my lab, Veronica Greco shows how @nanopore sequencing + automated liquid handling provides the perfect platform for characterising these systems at scale! Awesome collaboration with @jennbrophy.bsky.social @sarah-guiziou.bsky.social doi.org/10.1101/2025...

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Reposted by Jenn Brophy

Pam Ronald @pcronald.bsky.social · May 23

Call your senators and ask them to restore full
science funding to the budget. Cutting the $25 billion allocated to the massive “Golden Dome missile defense project” would leave plenty of money for our science programs AND money to spare to augment the salaries of our amazing young scientists.

Kevin Gardner @nmrkaygee.bsky.social · May 23

Outstanding presentation of the devastating cuts at NSF and their impact across multiple areas of scientific research and training. Angry at the impact now and in the long-term to US research. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Trump Has Cut Science Funding to Its Lowest Level in Decades (Gift Article)

The lag in funding extends far beyond D.E.I. initiatives, affecting almost every area of science: chemistry, computing, engineering, materials and more.

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Jenn Brophy

Denis Wirtz @deniswirtz.bsky.social · May 16

What cutting science and biomedical grants mean for the nation...

www.npr.org/2025/04/25/n...

What losing billions in federal grants means for universities, and the nation

The Trump administration has so far frozen about $11 billion in research funding. University leaders say no other source can fill the void.

www.npr.org

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Reposted by Jenn Brophy

Emma Chory, Ph.D. @chorye.bsky.social · May 16

HHMI halting fellowships right after a proposed 10% endowment tax on foundations isn’t a coincidence. The public needs to understand: this directly harms our brightest young scientists. These aren’t slush funds—they’re the pipeline. And their future is what’s being cut.

Ryan Boileau @bffswithbiology.bsky.social · May 16

Oof, just got notice HHMI is not even doing Hanna Gray Fellows, or any competition, this year due to the challenging times in science funding rn 😬 Understandable. On the bright side, I was really proud my application🌈 #science #nih #hhmi

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