Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Lars Dietrich

Vaughn Cooper @vscooper.micropopbio.org · 13h

Holy moly

Cameron Thrash @jcamthrash.bsky.social · 19h

Direct single-molecule detection and super-resolution imaging with a low-cost portable smartphone-based microscope www.nature.com/articles/s41... #jcampubs

Direct single-molecule detection and super-resolution imaging with a low-cost portable smartphone-based microscope - Nature Communications

Loretan and colleagues present a low-cost smartphone-based microscope capable of detecting single-molecule fluorescence. This approach opens doors to personalised and widely distributed applications in diagnostics, biosensing, and science education.

www.nature.com

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Erin Green @erinrgreen.bsky.social · 4d

Job alert ‼️ UChicago Micro is hiring! Open to tenured/tenure track faculty at all levels in any area of microbiology. Come join our amazing and growing department. apply.interfolio.com/174404

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George O'Toole (he/him/his) @geiselbiofilm.bsky.social · 5d

New in JB: Déraspe, Roy et al. perform a comparative genomics study of the PA7-clade of P. aeruginosa - now recognized as a distinct species, Pseudomonas paraeruginosa. This analysis revealed 2 sub-clades, the lack of T3SS & multiresistance.
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
@asm.org #JBacteriology

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Vaughn Cooper @vscooper.micropopbio.org · 6d

DYK most P. aeruginosa carry filamentous phage(s) that don't need to kill the cell to reproduce?

We 👉🏻@nanamikubota.bsky.social show that these Pf phages can go ROGUE.

"Filamentous cheater phages drive bacterial and phage populations to lower fitness"

🔗 authors.elsevier.com/c/1lt5I3QW8S...

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Cameron Thrash @jcamthrash.bsky.social · 6d

Metabolic response of a chemolithoautotrophic archaeon to carbon limitation journals.asm.org/doi/full/10.... #jcampubs

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Vaughn Cooper @vscooper.micropopbio.org · 9d

View from the lab now. Did I mention that we are recruiting faculty microbiologists?

www.linkedin.com/posts/vaughn...

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George O'Toole (he/him/his) @geiselbiofilm.bsky.social · 8d

New in JB: In this minireview, Rotaru, Kotoky et al. explore the Kotoky review the surface biology of Methanosarcina, an archaeon, with respect to their EET strategies, and biogeochemical and industrial roles. Some cool biology!
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
@asm.org #JBacteriology

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Dr Katherine Duncan @kateduncan.bsky.social · 14d

There seems to quite a few new faces lately, so if I haven’t already added you, but you’d like added please let me know and for anyone interested in following more microbial natural products folks, then our starter pack is now 100 strong go.bsky.app/72NeGsT

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Ákos T Kovács @evolvedbiofilm.bsky.social · 10d

PhD fellowship in biofilm-phage interactions - with Mette Burmølle at University of Copenhagen 🇩🇰
deadline 1 October 2025

employment.ku.dk/faculty?show...

#phagesky #microsky

PhD fellowship in biofilm-phage interactions

employment.ku.dk

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Science Friday @scifri.bsky.social · 12d

Microbiologist Paula Welander studies fossils, but not dinosaur bones or ammonite imprints. Instead, she looks for microscopic clues left behind by microbes that lived millions of years ago.

The Humble Microbe Could Help Us Understand Life Itself

Unlocking the basic science of microbes, especially those that live in extreme environments, could help us find life elsewhere in the universe.

buff.ly

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Vaughn Cooper @vscooper.micropopbio.org · 15d

🚨 Microbiologists! We are recruiting Assistant / Associate Professors in 3 collaborative areas of our U. Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
1) MMG (my dept): fundamental research in med micro
2) Peds ID / I4Kids institute
3) Center for Vaccine Research
🔗 to all 3 w/info: www.linkedin.com/posts/vaughn...

Faculty Professor Associate - Full-Time | Vaughn Cooper

We are recruiting Faculty microbiologists in three (3) different, complementary, and collaborative areas at the University of Pittsburgh associated with the School of Medicine. 1) Fundamental researc...

www.linkedin.com

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Ben Engel @cellarchlab.com · 18d

A molecular-resolution look into the near-native architecture of the spinach chloroplast🌱. This one was a long time in the oven, but we're happy to finally share our "version of record". What long-standing debates did we settle? Check back for a short thread🧵 on Monday. #TeamTomo #PlantScience 🧪🧶🧬🔬🌾

eLife @elife.bsky.social · 18d

🌱 Using ‘compelling’ methods, including #CryoET, researchers mapped spinach thylakoid membranes at single-molecule precision, revealing how photosynthetic complexes are organised and settling long-standing debates on chloroplast architecture.
buff.ly/j3TSIkn

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Katharina Schmack @kathaschmack.bsky.social · 24d

"Sleep, like aging, may be an inescapable consequence of aerobic metabolism."

Really enjoyed this thought-provoking paper 🧠💤🪰 - congrats to @rafsarnataro.bsky.social and team on this impressive work!

No wonder the Krebs cycle always put me to sleep 😅

#neuroskyence

Nature @nature.com · Jul 22

Nature research paper: Mitochondrial origins of the pressure to sleep

go.nature.com/40oC7Y4

Mitochondrial origins of the pressure to sleep - Nature

Research on Drosophila neurons shows links between the need to sleep and aerobic metabolism, indicating that the pressure to sleep may have a mitochondrial origin.

go.nature.com

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Molecular Microbiology @molmicrounihoh.bsky.social · Sep 2

mGem: Revisiting bacterial overflow metabolism |

in mBio

🫴 journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

@mbio.bsky.social

mGem: Revisiting bacterial overflow metabolism | mBio

Overflow metabolism, while a hallmark of fast-growing microorganisms such as bacteria and yeast, is not restricted to these domains of life. Notably, similar metabolic phenomena have been observed in ...

journals.asm.org

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STCmicrobeblog @stcmicrobeblog.bsky.social · Aug 21

schaechter.asmblog.org/schaechter/2...
#MicroSky

Elio (1928-2025)

by The STC Team — Losing a close friend always saddens one deeply, regardless of age. Losing a person who has so immensely influenced our worldview through his guidance and example makes the sadness e...

schaechter.asmblog.org

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Joanne Flynn @joanneflynn19.bsky.social · Aug 20

We are hiring! The Dept of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics is looking for faculty at the Assistant or Associate professor level (tenure track). Please consider joining our vibrant microbiology and immunology community at the University of Pittsburgh School of medicine

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Sonja-Verena Albers @archaellum.bsky.social · Aug 20

🚨 Imagine a bacterium that refuses to follow the textbook:
It grows as tangled filaments, divides unevenly, reshapes its own membranes… and even builds grappling hooks.
Meet Litorilinea aerophila — and here’s why it blew our minds.

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Cassidy Prince @cassidyprints.bsky.social · Aug 19

Just published the first chapter of my thesis! 🥰

E. coli regulates the levels of a translation release factor (RF2) via a *purposeful* frameshift during translation. We found that most other bacteria do this too and it's likely an ancient mechanism!

journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

Conservation and evolution of the programmed ribosomal frameshift in prfB across the bacterial domain | mBio

Translation termination is catalyzed by one of two release factors in bacteria, RF1 or RF2. It has been known for decades that RF2 levels in Escherichia coli are regulated by a programmed ribosomal frameshift within the prfB gene that encodes RF2. We ...

journals.asm.org

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Heather Feaga @heatherfeaga.bsky.social · Aug 19

Latest from the lab! Analysis of everyone’s favorite regulatory mechanism in bacteria — the RF2 programmed frameshift! Likely present in the ancestor of bacteria, use of this mechanism is influenced by stop codon usage! Big congrats to @cassidyprints.bsky.social
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

Conservation and evolution of the programmed ribosomal frameshift in prfB across the bacterial domain | mBio

Translation termination is catalyzed by one of two release factors in bacteria, RF1 or RF2. It has been known for decades that RF2 levels in Escherichia coli are regulated by a programmed ribosomal frameshift within the prfB gene that encodes RF2. We ...

journals.asm.org

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Fabian Rivera-Chávez @fabianrchavez.bsky.social · Aug 18

1/ Excited to share the first preprint from my lab! 🎉

My postdoc Paz asked how cholera toxin (CT) helps Vibrio cholerae thrive in the gut.

Turns out, CT rewires epithelial metabolism toward L-lactate production—fueling pathogen growth in the small intestine during disease

Cholera toxin-induced disease generates epithelial cell-derived L-lactate that promotes Vibrio cholerae growth in the small intestine

Cholera toxin (CT) promotes Vibrio cholerae colonization by altering gut metabolism to favor pathogen growth. We have previously found that CT-induced disease leads to increased concentrations of L-la...

www.biorxiv.org

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ASM @asm.org · Aug 11

#MicrobiologyMonday: First discovered in dried cow dung, Myxococcus xanthus is a premier model system for studying diverse fields of bacteriology. Learn about the milestones in development of M. xanthus as a multicellular model bacterium: journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
#JBacteriology

Myxobacteria in various fruiting-body complexities.

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John Innes Centre @johninnescentre.bsky.social · Aug 9

VACANCY - We’re recruiting for a visionary group leader to lead fundamental research on Discovery Plant Science as part of our vibrant research community

Successful candidate will be offered a six-year tenure-track position with the opportunity to apply for tenure:

www.jic.ac.uk/vacancies/gr...

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Christian Kost @kostchristian.bsky.social · Aug 8

I am excited to announce that the position of a senior postdoc (3 +3 years) in the field of theoretical biology is available in my group.

The position provides the opportunity to closely interact with experimentalists and develop own research projects.

Please RT.

Details 👇:
shorturl.at/iiiOv

116 FB 5 Research Assistant (m/f/d) field of Theoretical Ecology and Evolution or Computational Biology: Uni Osnabrück

shorturl.at

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Tera Levin @teralevin.bsky.social · Aug 5

I'm excited to announce our new biorxiv preprint, wherein we investigate the evolution of the weirdest genetic locus I've ever seen! Behold the tgr genes of the social amoeba, which mediate self/non-self discrimination during facultative multicellularity 🐅 🧵 1/
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Hypermutable hotspot enables the rapid evolution of self/non-self recognition genes in Dictyostelium

Cells require highly polymorphic receptors to perform accurate self/non-self recognition. In the amoeba Dicytostelium discoideum, polymorphic TgrB1 & TgrC1 proteins are used to bind sister cells and e...

www.biorxiv.org

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Vaughn Cooper @vscooper.micropopbio.org · Aug 6

Sharing this Pitt article about my helping to lead ASM because it shares my hopes for the scientific and societal good we can do.

We are all population biologists, whether or not we know it, and this can enrich us.

www.medschool.pitt.edu/news/pitt-s-...

Pitt’s Vaughn Cooper to Serve as President-Elect of the American Society for Microbiology | School of Medicine | University of Pittsburgh

By Kat Procyk Photography by Rayni Shiring/University of Pittsburgh Vaughn Cooper, professor of microbiology and molecular genetics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, began his new role as ...

www.medschool.pitt.edu

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