Pinned
Kevin Blake PhD
@kevinsblake.bsky.social
· May 22
Beneath your feet, billions of soil bacteria harbor antibiotic resistance genes that can leap into pathogens.
Scientists today are studying these environmental samples to predict—and hopefully prevent—the next wave of antibiotic resistance.
Column: RESERVOIRS OF RESISTANCE 🔻
Scientists today are studying these environmental samples to predict—and hopefully prevent—the next wave of antibiotic resistance.
Column: RESERVOIRS OF RESISTANCE 🔻
Where does antibiotic resistance come from? 💊🧫
I wrote for @asimovpress.bsky.social about proactive approaches for fighting resistance that shift focus from studying it in clinical pathogens to studying it at the source: soil-dwelling bacteria.
I wrote for @asimovpress.bsky.social about proactive approaches for fighting resistance that shift focus from studying it in clinical pathogens to studying it at the source: soil-dwelling bacteria.
Every biologist knows the story of Fleming's chance discovery of penicillin. But is it true?
Here, with @asimovpress.bsky.social, I write about inconsistencies in the canonical story, and explore a few alternative theories about what really happened in that St. Mary's lab in the summer of 1928.
Here, with @asimovpress.bsky.social, I write about inconsistencies in the canonical story, and explore a few alternative theories about what really happened in that St. Mary's lab in the summer of 1928.
The Penicillin Myth
Competing theories seek to explain inconsistencies surrounding Alexander Fleming’s famed discovery.
press.asimov.com
November 24, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Every biologist knows the story of Fleming's chance discovery of penicillin. But is it true?
Here, with @asimovpress.bsky.social, I write about inconsistencies in the canonical story, and explore a few alternative theories about what really happened in that St. Mary's lab in the summer of 1928.
Here, with @asimovpress.bsky.social, I write about inconsistencies in the canonical story, and explore a few alternative theories about what really happened in that St. Mary's lab in the summer of 1928.
Darwin thought evolution required thousands of years, and was therefore out of reach from human experimentation.
But in one of the few forms of life he didn’t study -- microorganisms -- evolution can happen in mere months or weeks 🦠🧫
But in one of the few forms of life he didn’t study -- microorganisms -- evolution can happen in mere months or weeks 🦠🧫
November 5, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Darwin thought evolution required thousands of years, and was therefore out of reach from human experimentation.
But in one of the few forms of life he didn’t study -- microorganisms -- evolution can happen in mere months or weeks 🦠🧫
But in one of the few forms of life he didn’t study -- microorganisms -- evolution can happen in mere months or weeks 🦠🧫
The "war on antibiotic resistance" won't end with brute force alone 💊🧫
Instead, eco-evo strategies take a more diplomatic approach. These seek to foster co-existence with microbes, rather than kill them. We metaphorize these as: disarmament, non-proliferation, and soft power.
Instead, eco-evo strategies take a more diplomatic approach. These seek to foster co-existence with microbes, rather than kill them. We metaphorize these as: disarmament, non-proliferation, and soft power.
October 27, 2025 at 6:54 PM
The "war on antibiotic resistance" won't end with brute force alone 💊🧫
Instead, eco-evo strategies take a more diplomatic approach. These seek to foster co-existence with microbes, rather than kill them. We metaphorize these as: disarmament, non-proliferation, and soft power.
Instead, eco-evo strategies take a more diplomatic approach. These seek to foster co-existence with microbes, rather than kill them. We metaphorize these as: disarmament, non-proliferation, and soft power.
Antibiotic resistance is portrayed as the enemy of modern medicine. But nothing in biology is inherently evil. Could it be useful, even “good”? 💊🔬
I wrote about using resistance enzymes to protect the gut microbiome from antibiotics and prevent secondary infections. 🧫🦠
I wrote about using resistance enzymes to protect the gut microbiome from antibiotics and prevent secondary infections. 🧫🦠
September 29, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Antibiotic resistance is portrayed as the enemy of modern medicine. But nothing in biology is inherently evil. Could it be useful, even “good”? 💊🔬
I wrote about using resistance enzymes to protect the gut microbiome from antibiotics and prevent secondary infections. 🧫🦠
I wrote about using resistance enzymes to protect the gut microbiome from antibiotics and prevent secondary infections. 🧫🦠
Are chromosomes merely a laundry list of genes?
I wrote for @stcmicrobeblog.bsky.social about new research which finds that natural selection has organized nearly 2/3s of bacterial genes into specific positions on the chromosome 🧪 🧫 🧬
I wrote for @stcmicrobeblog.bsky.social about new research which finds that natural selection has organized nearly 2/3s of bacterial genes into specific positions on the chromosome 🧪 🧫 🧬
schaechter.asmblog.org/schaechter/2...
(sorry for being late with today's 𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘺. we are not "up, up and away" because of ascension day, we simply overslept 🤦♂️) #MicroSky
(sorry for being late with today's 𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘺. we are not "up, up and away" because of ascension day, we simply overslept 🤦♂️) #MicroSky
Gene Location Matters
Noteworthy — Bacterial genomes are not a laundry list of genes, but dynamic structures intimately connected with cellular function. As a result, natural selection has a heavy hand in shaping chromosom...
schaechter.asmblog.org
May 29, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Are chromosomes merely a laundry list of genes?
I wrote for @stcmicrobeblog.bsky.social about new research which finds that natural selection has organized nearly 2/3s of bacterial genes into specific positions on the chromosome 🧪 🧫 🧬
I wrote for @stcmicrobeblog.bsky.social about new research which finds that natural selection has organized nearly 2/3s of bacterial genes into specific positions on the chromosome 🧪 🧫 🧬
Where does antibiotic resistance come from? 💊🧫
I wrote for @asimovpress.bsky.social about proactive approaches for fighting resistance that shift focus from studying it in clinical pathogens to studying it at the source: soil-dwelling bacteria.
I wrote for @asimovpress.bsky.social about proactive approaches for fighting resistance that shift focus from studying it in clinical pathogens to studying it at the source: soil-dwelling bacteria.
Beneath your feet, billions of soil bacteria harbor antibiotic resistance genes that can leap into pathogens.
Scientists today are studying these environmental samples to predict—and hopefully prevent—the next wave of antibiotic resistance.
Column: RESERVOIRS OF RESISTANCE 🔻
Scientists today are studying these environmental samples to predict—and hopefully prevent—the next wave of antibiotic resistance.
Column: RESERVOIRS OF RESISTANCE 🔻
May 22, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Where does antibiotic resistance come from? 💊🧫
I wrote for @asimovpress.bsky.social about proactive approaches for fighting resistance that shift focus from studying it in clinical pathogens to studying it at the source: soil-dwelling bacteria.
I wrote for @asimovpress.bsky.social about proactive approaches for fighting resistance that shift focus from studying it in clinical pathogens to studying it at the source: soil-dwelling bacteria.
Mark Twain wrote, “If the Eiffel tower were now representing the world’s age, the skin of paint on the pinnacle-knob at its summit would represent man’s share of that age.” 🧪🌐
May 7, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Mark Twain wrote, “If the Eiffel tower were now representing the world’s age, the skin of paint on the pinnacle-knob at its summit would represent man’s share of that age.” 🧪🌐
Multichannel pipette, in LEGO 🧪🔬
April 30, 2025 at 12:47 AM
Multichannel pipette, in LEGO 🧪🔬
I wrote about the discovery of lariocidin, a new class of antibiotic from slow-growing soil bacteria.
April 13, 2025 at 5:52 PM
I wrote about the discovery of lariocidin, a new class of antibiotic from slow-growing soil bacteria.
{NatParksPalettes} now has >10k downloads! 🧪🎨⛰️🏜️
Very cool to see this little side project (really, done to procrastinate thesis experiments) be used by so many people.
Very cool to see this little side project (really, done to procrastinate thesis experiments) be used by so many people.
April 3, 2025 at 5:34 PM
{NatParksPalettes} now has >10k downloads! 🧪🎨⛰️🏜️
Very cool to see this little side project (really, done to procrastinate thesis experiments) be used by so many people.
Very cool to see this little side project (really, done to procrastinate thesis experiments) be used by so many people.
LEGO’s DNA Helix Isn’t “Right” 🧪 #MicroSky kevinsblake.substack.com/p/legos-dna-...
LEGO's DNA Helix Isn't "Right"
The Evolution of STEM is a wonderful new set marred by an unfortunate scientific inaccuracy.
kevinsblake.substack.com
March 27, 2025 at 4:45 PM
LEGO’s DNA Helix Isn’t “Right” 🧪 #MicroSky kevinsblake.substack.com/p/legos-dna-...
Call me old fashioned, but I’d think the mission of the Environmental Protection Agency should be something like, “protecting the environment.”
March 13, 2025 at 12:46 PM
Call me old fashioned, but I’d think the mission of the Environmental Protection Agency should be something like, “protecting the environment.”
Excited to share the final paper of my PhD! We competed dozens of tetracycline-resistant strains in the context of different generations of tet drugs—in effect, reconstructing the history of tet resistance in a test tube.
February 23, 2025 at 10:37 PM
Excited to share the final paper of my PhD! We competed dozens of tetracycline-resistant strains in the context of different generations of tet drugs—in effect, reconstructing the history of tet resistance in a test tube.
Reposted by Kevin Blake PhD
I have work to do but I'm distracted by watching US scientific progress & leadership being irreversibly undermined because a few unelected malcontents are penalizing researchers for following legal requirements set out by congressional orders to augment basic research with benefits to society.
February 12, 2025 at 4:31 PM
I have work to do but I'm distracted by watching US scientific progress & leadership being irreversibly undermined because a few unelected malcontents are penalizing researchers for following legal requirements set out by congressional orders to augment basic research with benefits to society.
The Medium Blog featured my essay on the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry in their guide for academics writing on the platform, as "recommended reading." 🧪
blog.medium.com/three-academ...
blog.medium.com/three-academ...
Three Academic and Scholarly Experts Share Their Top Medium Tips
Plus, our Academics Hour video recording and full transcript
blog.medium.com
February 5, 2025 at 5:03 PM
The Medium Blog featured my essay on the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry in their guide for academics writing on the platform, as "recommended reading." 🧪
blog.medium.com/three-academ...
blog.medium.com/three-academ...
Reposted by Kevin Blake PhD
I think some people hear “grants” and think that without them, scientists and government workers just have less stuff to play with at work. But grants fund salaries for students, academics, researchers, and people who work in all areas of public service.
“Pausing” grants means people don’t eat.
“Pausing” grants means people don’t eat.
White House pauses all federal grants, sparking confusion
The Trump administration has put a hold on all federal financial grants and loans, affecting tens of billions of dollars in payments.
www.washingtonpost.com
January 28, 2025 at 3:03 AM
I think some people hear “grants” and think that without them, scientists and government workers just have less stuff to play with at work. But grants fund salaries for students, academics, researchers, and people who work in all areas of public service.
“Pausing” grants means people don’t eat.
“Pausing” grants means people don’t eat.
Reposted by Kevin Blake PhD
University of Chicago is asking researchers to halt purchases, starting new experiments, and travel in light of the federal pause on grants
January 28, 2025 at 3:57 PM
University of Chicago is asking researchers to halt purchases, starting new experiments, and travel in light of the federal pause on grants
Why it's the phrase "the only good Helicobacter pylori is a dead [one]" that should be eliminated, not the bacterium 🧪🦠🔬
Penatekas and Pylori: The Extermination of a Stomach Pathogen
Why it’s the phrase “the only good Helicobacter pylori is a dead [one]” that should be eliminated, not the bacterium
medium.com
December 17, 2024 at 5:07 PM
Why it's the phrase "the only good Helicobacter pylori is a dead [one]" that should be eliminated, not the bacterium 🧪🦠🔬
Probiotics are one of the most commonly consumed dietary supplements. But a growing body of mixed and mostly unconvincing scientific research shows many aren't doing anything at all. 🧪🦠🔬
Read my article on it here 👉 medium.com/the-quantast...
Read my article on it here 👉 medium.com/the-quantast...
Probiotics Don’t Help “Gut Health”
Probiotics manufacturers are full of, well, the same stuff that has their customers backed up
medium.com
November 26, 2024 at 2:03 PM
Probiotics are one of the most commonly consumed dietary supplements. But a growing body of mixed and mostly unconvincing scientific research shows many aren't doing anything at all. 🧪🦠🔬
Read my article on it here 👉 medium.com/the-quantast...
Read my article on it here 👉 medium.com/the-quantast...
Had a blast working with the Dantas Lab team to create this graphical abstract, now published in Cell Chem Biol.
This was a tour de force of scientific work, including:
🧪 in vitro biochemistry
🧬 genetic engineering
🚦 gut transit dynamics
🐁 in vivo mouse models
#scienceart #sciencecommunication
This was a tour de force of scientific work, including:
🧪 in vitro biochemistry
🧬 genetic engineering
🚦 gut transit dynamics
🐁 in vivo mouse models
#scienceart #sciencecommunication
November 20, 2024 at 9:54 PM
Had a blast working with the Dantas Lab team to create this graphical abstract, now published in Cell Chem Biol.
This was a tour de force of scientific work, including:
🧪 in vitro biochemistry
🧬 genetic engineering
🚦 gut transit dynamics
🐁 in vivo mouse models
#scienceart #sciencecommunication
This was a tour de force of scientific work, including:
🧪 in vitro biochemistry
🧬 genetic engineering
🚦 gut transit dynamics
🐁 in vivo mouse models
#scienceart #sciencecommunication
Replace "Canva" with "BioRender" and this article becomes an excellent critique on the homogenization of scientific illustration. 🧪
medium.com/westenberg/t...
medium.com/westenberg/t...
The Canva-ification of everything
Scroll through any social feed for a few moments, and every image seems to blend together into a uniform aesthetic. It’s all pastel colors…
medium.com
November 14, 2024 at 4:07 PM
Replace "Canva" with "BioRender" and this article becomes an excellent critique on the homogenization of scientific illustration. 🧪
medium.com/westenberg/t...
medium.com/westenberg/t...
Important reasons to use a professional scientific illustrator to make your figures, rather than BioRender:
www.chemistryworld.com/news/thousan...
www.chemistryworld.com/news/thousan...
Thousands of published studies may contain images with incorrect copyright licences
Questions raised over copyright licence that covers images created using scientific illustration service Biorender
www.chemistryworld.com
November 14, 2024 at 3:15 PM
Important reasons to use a professional scientific illustrator to make your figures, rather than BioRender:
www.chemistryworld.com/news/thousan...
www.chemistryworld.com/news/thousan...
The 16S rRNA gene is the standard for differentiating between bacterial taxa by DNA sequencing. But what does it mean when one species' sole copy isn’t encoded on the chromosome, but a 9-kb plasmid? Read my story about this evolutionary oddball #MicroSky 🧪
medium.com/the-quantast...
medium.com/the-quantast...
New species of plant bacteria reshapes our views on DNA organization
The unorthodox way one bacterium organizes its genome blurs the line between “essential” chromosomes and “accessory” plasmids.
medium.com
September 3, 2024 at 6:57 PM
The 16S rRNA gene is the standard for differentiating between bacterial taxa by DNA sequencing. But what does it mean when one species' sole copy isn’t encoded on the chromosome, but a 9-kb plasmid? Read my story about this evolutionary oddball #MicroSky 🧪
medium.com/the-quantast...
medium.com/the-quantast...
I wrote about a fatal case of MDR E. coli bacteremia which adapted to evade antibiotic treatment not once, but TWICE in ~1 month. With just a handful of mutations it became resistant to every antibiotic thrown at it.
Outpaced in the Evolutionary Arms Race
by Kevin Blake — Reports on antibiotic resistance almost invariably begin with a roll call of several very big numbers. 4.95 million deaths per year globally, calculates the World Health Organization. 2.8 million...
Read more > tinyurl.com/4ta7b4an
#MicroSky
by Kevin Blake — Reports on antibiotic resistance almost invariably begin with a roll call of several very big numbers. 4.95 million deaths per year globally, calculates the World Health Organization. 2.8 million...
Read more > tinyurl.com/4ta7b4an
#MicroSky
August 12, 2024 at 4:46 PM
I wrote about a fatal case of MDR E. coli bacteremia which adapted to evade antibiotic treatment not once, but TWICE in ~1 month. With just a handful of mutations it became resistant to every antibiotic thrown at it.
Such a disingenuous take. A paper without data / code is just a press release. Industry research shouldn't be held to a different standard (a lower standard) than academic research.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
AlphaFold3 — why did Nature publish it without its code?
Criticism of our decision to publish AlphaFold3 raises important questions. We welcome readers’ views. Criticism of our decision to publish AlphaFold3 raises important questions. We welcome readers’ v...
www.nature.com
May 23, 2024 at 2:36 PM
Such a disingenuous take. A paper without data / code is just a press release. Industry research shouldn't be held to a different standard (a lower standard) than academic research.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...