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nancy-moran.bsky.social
Nancy Moran
@nancy-moran.bsky.social
770 followers 69 following 17 posts
Research biologist and lover of nature, mostly bacteria, insects and (lately) birds
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nancy-moran.bsky.social
Nancy Moran @nancy-moran.bsky.social · 5d
Jo Holley led an undergrad team for this study, about wasps that are trying to be bees, using a new microbiome.
Honey wasps differ from other wasps in possessing large gut communities dominated by host-restricted bacteria | mBio
Honey-feeding social insects such as honey bees and bumble bees have conserved gut bacterial communities that are transmitted among nestmates. These bacteria benefit hosts by providing defense against...
journals.asm.org
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Reposted by Nancy Moran
texasscience.bsky.social
Texas Science @texasscience.bsky.social · 5d
The Mexican honey wasp is a bit of an oddball: it makes and eats honey like a bee, but when it’s hankering for protein, instead of pollen, it eats other insects. A new study finds its gut microbiome is more like bees than wasps. Funded by USDA and NSF. journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
Two Mexican honey wasps, which are bee-like insects with black bodies, yellow stripes on the lower abdomen and honey-colored wings. Photo credit: Alex Wild.
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Reposted by Nancy Moran
stcmicrobeblog.bsky.social
STCmicrobeblog @stcmicrobeblog.bsky.social · Jul 4
#MicroSky #SymbioSky
markowenmartin.bsky.social
Mark O. Martin @markowenmartin.bsky.social · Jul 4
It's another week. Another episode of #MattersMicrobial! Dr. John McCutcheon of Arizona State University discusses fascinating symbioses between insects & bacteria that shed light on endosymbiosis: how eukaryotic cells originated. Please spread the #GoodMicrobialWord!

youtu.be/HZ9X6V7rpVk?...
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sloanevolab.bsky.social
Dan Sloan @sloanevolab.bsky.social · Jul 14
Please share! Our lab is recruiting a PhD student to join us starting fall 2026. Our group is broadly interested in plant molecular evolution and comparative genomics. More info about our lab and grad programs at Colorado St. is available on our lab website.

sites.google.com/site/danielb...
Sloan Lab
Welcome! Our research focuses on the evolutionary process at the molecular level. In particular, we investigate how a mixture of natural selection and non-adaptive forces create and maintain the amazi...
sites.google.com
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nancy-moran.bsky.social
Nancy Moran @nancy-moran.bsky.social · Jul 1
A pleasure to see Jerry develop this project and now to see it published! A very odd symbiosis, very harmful but sometimes very helpful to the host.
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nancy-moran.bsky.social
Nancy Moran @nancy-moran.bsky.social · Jun 2
Howard's: evolution of microbial genes, genomes and communities. Can be experimental or computational. If interested, contact Howard Ochman, [email protected]
Homepage: web.biosci.utexas.edu/ochman/index...
Ochman Lab: HOME
web.biosci.utexas.edu
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nancy-moran.bsky.social
Nancy Moran @nancy-moran.bsky.social · Jun 2
An update on open postdoc positions, in my group and the adjacent group of Howard Ochman, here at UT-Austin. #SymbioSky

Mine: insect-bacterial symbiosis with emphasis on intracellular endosymbionts and molecular mechanisms.
web.biosci.utexas.edu/moran/contac...
Nancy Moran Contact
web.biosci.utexas.edu
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nancy-moran.bsky.social
Nancy Moran @nancy-moran.bsky.social · May 29
Looking for a postdoc on bacterial-insect symbiosis, combining evolution and molecular mechanisms? I'll have one open in my lab starting Sept 2025. If interested contact me (or find me at the GRC on Animal-microbe symbiosis if you'll be there). #SymbioSky
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nancy-moran.bsky.social
Nancy Moran @nancy-moran.bsky.social · Apr 20
The new cover is beautiful!
Reposted by Nancy Moran
krishnanyamuna.bsky.social
Yamuna Krishnan @krishnanyamuna.bsky.social · Apr 2
Unbelievable. Richard Youle, winner of the Breakthrough Prize for Life Sciences, just got fired from the NIH. If you want to know what madness looks like, here it is, my friend.
wired.com
WIRED @wired.com · Apr 2
NEW: The doctor behind breakthrough Parkinson’s research was among the scientists purged from the National Institutes of Health, the US’s leading medical research agency. www.wired.com/story/doctor...
Doctor Behind Award-Winning Parkinson’s Research Among Scientists Purged From NIH
Leading scientists at the National Institutes of Health, the US’s leading medical research agency, were swept up Tuesday in the Trump administration's latest firing blitz.
www.wired.com
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nancy-moran.bsky.social
Nancy Moran @nancy-moran.bsky.social · Apr 2
#symbiosky bsky.app/profile/nanc...
nancy-moran.bsky.social
Nancy Moran @nancy-moran.bsky.social · Apr 2
We had a terrific symposium on "evolution of symbiosis, insects, and bacteria" this past saturday, with many former members of the Moran/Ochman lab. I'm grateful to all of them.
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nancy-moran.bsky.social
Nancy Moran @nancy-moran.bsky.social · Apr 2
We had a terrific symposium on "evolution of symbiosis, insects, and bacteria" this past saturday, with many former members of the Moran/Ochman lab. I'm grateful to all of them.
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nancy-moran.bsky.social
Nancy Moran @nancy-moran.bsky.social · Apr 2
We had a terrific symposium on "evolution of symbiosis, insects, and bacteria" this past saturday, with many former members of the Moran/Ochman lab. I'm grateful to all of them.
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nancy-moran.bsky.social
Nancy Moran @nancy-moran.bsky.social · Apr 2
First -- congratulations on your child!

We had a great time. Here's a photo, all former people in the lab.
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jeremymberg.bsky.social
Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · Apr 1
It was a pleasure to sign this. It is a small step, but a step nonetheless…
cyrilpedia.bsky.social
Thiago Carvalho @cyrilpedia.bsky.social · Apr 1
'In an open letter published Monday, nearly 2,000 of the nation’s top researchers called on the Trump administration to halt this “wholesale assault on U.S. science,” which they say is threatening America’s position as a global research leader as well as the health and safety of its citizens.'
Nearly 2,000 top researchers call on Trump administration to halt ‘assault’ on science
Nearly 2,000 members of the National Academies called on the Trump administration to halt its “wholesale assault on U.S. science" in an open letter.
www.statnews.com
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nancy-moran.bsky.social
Nancy Moran @nancy-moran.bsky.social · Mar 31
Yes too bad, it was terrific! But perhaps see you at the Gordon Conference in Maine this year?
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nancy-moran.bsky.social
Nancy Moran @nancy-moran.bsky.social · Mar 25
Happen to be in central Texas this weekend, and interested in symbionts &/or evolution and/or insects? #SymbioSky
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jeremymberg.bsky.social
Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · Mar 20
www.baldwin.senate.gov/news/press-r...
NEW: Baldwin, Welch Announce Forum on Devastating Trump Cuts at NIH Jeopardizing Cures for Alzheimer’s Disease, Cancers | U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Peter Welch (D-VT) announced that...
www.baldwin.senate.gov
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nancy-moran.bsky.social
Nancy Moran @nancy-moran.bsky.social · Mar 19
Amazing story about a person who loved insects and could observe nature with an open mind!
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jbwallingford.bsky.social
John Wallingford @jbwallingford.bsky.social · Mar 11
A woman studies embryos for decades, struggles for funding and respect. She publishes under her husband’s name, until they divorce. A single mother, she moves across an ocean to continue her studies. It all sounds quite modern, until you learn that she also worried she’d be burned as a witch. 🧵 1/15
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jbwallingford.bsky.social
John Wallingford @jbwallingford.bsky.social · Mar 13
Nice piece here from the organizer of the Austin Stand Up for Science event, @benjaminjriley.bsky.social‬ 👇. Thanks for doing the heavy lifting, Ben!

buildcognitiveresonance.substack.com/p/standing-u...
Standing Up for Science (and Democracy)
We the People take to the streets to fight to preserve America
buildcognitiveresonance.substack.com
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nancy-moran.bsky.social
Nancy Moran @nancy-moran.bsky.social · Mar 19
so let's hope they actually take place!
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nancy-moran.bsky.social
Nancy Moran @nancy-moran.bsky.social · Mar 17
What about advisory council meetings? No awards are made without them. Study sections may be just a way to waste scientists' time and to give false hope. Even proposals scored in Oct 2024 remain in limbo because council meetings have all been canceled.
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nancy-moran.bsky.social
Nancy Moran @nancy-moran.bsky.social · Mar 13
Not the first time Mary Ann and I have confused people!
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nancy-moran.bsky.social
Nancy Moran @nancy-moran.bsky.social · Mar 12
thanks, got it. One reason to join!