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Reposted by Prakash Lab at Stanford

Larisa Aitch @llarisah.bsky.social · 1d

““Ice is an incredible porous architecture of highways,” Prakash explained. “Light comes from the top in the ice column, and nutrients come from the bottom. There is an optimal location that [a diatom] might want to be, and that can only be possible with motility.”“

Prakash Lab at Stanford @prakashlab.bsky.social · 1d

Life knows how to keep going - even if it’s freezing -15 degrees C 🥶 outside. AGU just covered our discovery of ultra resistant ice diatoms gliding into a world record! 🧪🔬Enjoy the story here:

eos.org/articles/ice...

Ice Diatoms Glide at Record-Low Temperatures - Eos

New observations reveal how microscopic organisms move through polar ice and illustrate how they may have evolved to thrive in extreme environments.

eos.org

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Reposted by Prakash Lab at Stanford

michellegrosser.bsky.social @michellegrosser.bsky.social · 23h

“Scientists used to think that sea ice was simply an inactive barrier on the ocean surface, but discoveries like these reveal that sea ice is a rich habitat full of biological diversity and innovation,”

Prakash Lab at Stanford @prakashlab.bsky.social · 1d

Life knows how to keep going - even if it’s freezing -15 degrees C 🥶 outside. AGU just covered our discovery of ultra resistant ice diatoms gliding into a world record! 🧪🔬Enjoy the story here:

eos.org/articles/ice...

Ice Diatoms Glide at Record-Low Temperatures - Eos

New observations reveal how microscopic organisms move through polar ice and illustrate how they may have evolved to thrive in extreme environments.

eos.org

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Reposted by Prakash Lab at Stanford

christoph_STCmicrobeblog @christophstc.bsky.social · 20h

#ProtistsOnSky (XS Torvill and Dean)

Prakash Lab at Stanford @prakashlab.bsky.social · 1d

Life knows how to keep going - even if it’s freezing -15 degrees C 🥶 outside. AGU just covered our discovery of ultra resistant ice diatoms gliding into a world record! 🧪🔬Enjoy the story here:

eos.org/articles/ice...

Ice Diatoms Glide at Record-Low Temperatures - Eos

New observations reveal how microscopic organisms move through polar ice and illustrate how they may have evolved to thrive in extreme environments.

eos.org

1 1

Prakash Lab at Stanford @prakashlab.bsky.social · 1d

Life knows how to keep going - even if it’s freezing -15 degrees C 🥶 outside. AGU just covered our discovery of ultra resistant ice diatoms gliding into a world record! 🧪🔬Enjoy the story here:

eos.org/articles/ice...

Ice Diatoms Glide at Record-Low Temperatures - Eos

New observations reveal how microscopic organisms move through polar ice and illustrate how they may have evolved to thrive in extreme environments.

eos.org

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Prakash Lab at Stanford @prakashlab.bsky.social · 6d

Want to engage and « do something » about microplastics in your own environment.

Consider joining the foldscope community that has been mapping novel sources of microplastics around the world.

microcosmos.foldscope.com/post/zCoLNt3...

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Prakash Lab at Stanford @prakashlab.bsky.social · 6d

Worried about microplastics around you. We are excited about utilization of our low cost Raman microscopy tools in identifying microplastic pollution - from human body to California beaches to deep ocean.

Read the story here:
news.stanford.edu/stories/2025...

www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

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Prakash Lab at Stanford @prakashlab.bsky.social · 8d

The same posters in the infinite corridor - and the same chance meeting with old friends walking across.

Title: "Recreational biology: Topological puzzles across scales"

Here are the coordinates: calendar.mit.edu/event/copy-o...

Biology Colloquium

calendar.mit.edu

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Prakash Lab at Stanford @prakashlab.bsky.social · 8d

Excited to be returning to MIT to give a talk at MIT Biology tomorrow - after nearly a decade and a half. This campus has changed so much and yet almost nothing has changed. If you are in the area and want to join for a little “joy ride around the planet” searching for oddities of the living world!

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Reposted by Prakash Lab at Stanford

Jonathan Eisen @phylogenomics.bsky.social · 16d

👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀

Prakash Lab at Stanford @prakashlab.bsky.social · 16d

For last 10 years - we have worked with thousands of organizations around the world helping support them in integrating foldscope programs.

To bring in a new cohort of organizations - we are re-launching “fast and curious” 2025 edition - apply and get a Foldscope trainer and Foldscopes for free!

TeamFoldscope @teamfoldscope.bsky.social · 18d

🔬 Free microscopes + teacher training!

📅 Applications are now open. To apply, visit www.foldscope.com or scan the QR code (video)

✉️ Any questions? Email us at [email protected]

#stem #education #science #teachers #training #free #microscopy #educators #professionaldevelopment #microscope

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Prakash Lab at Stanford @prakashlab.bsky.social · 16d

For last 10 years - we have worked with thousands of organizations around the world helping support them in integrating foldscope programs.

To bring in a new cohort of organizations - we are re-launching “fast and curious” 2025 edition - apply and get a Foldscope trainer and Foldscopes for free!

TeamFoldscope @teamfoldscope.bsky.social · 18d

🔬 Free microscopes + teacher training!

📅 Applications are now open. To apply, visit www.foldscope.com or scan the QR code (video)

✉️ Any questions? Email us at [email protected]

#stem #education #science #teachers #training #free #microscopy #educators #professionaldevelopment #microscope

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Reposted by Prakash Lab at Stanford

TeamFoldscope @teamfoldscope.bsky.social · 18d

🔬 Free microscopes + teacher training!

📅 Applications are now open. To apply, visit www.foldscope.com or scan the QR code (video)

✉️ Any questions? Email us at [email protected]

#stem #education #science #teachers #training #free #microscopy #educators #professionaldevelopment #microscope

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Reposted by Prakash Lab at Stanford

Science Friday @scifri.bsky.social · 24d

🚨Calling all SciFri Fans in the Bay Area🚨

🎉 SciFri is going LIVE in Redwood City, California!

Join us and @KQED for a special 2-hour live show. And yes, ToddlerBot will be there. 🤖

🎟️ Grab your tickets now and use code SCIFRI50 for 50% off!

🔗 buff.ly/HxfLJjc

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Reposted by Prakash Lab at Stanford

Science Friday @scifri.bsky.social · 26d

Happy Science Friday! Here’s what we’re covering today on the show. Listen on your local public radio station, 2-4 p.m. ET. 🐙 🍄🎧

A hummingbird flying through fog, which forms whirly shapes by its wings. Text says: September 12 Octopus suckers, stunning nature shots, invasive mushrooms, teamwork between species, and more.

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Reposted by Prakash Lab at Stanford

Emma Scales @emmascales.bsky.social · 27d

Congratulations Grace!!!! So great to talk with her this summer in Portland about symbioses in non-model systems :)

Prakash Lab at Stanford @prakashlab.bsky.social · 28d

A fantastic walk into the land of ideas - and now we have a new PhD in the house - congratulations Dr Grace Zhong. That was a spectacular defense covering everything from biophysics to neuroscience to symbiosis and actin-driven motility. So proud of this wonderful moment!

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Prakash Lab at Stanford @prakashlab.bsky.social · 28d

A fantastic walk into the land of ideas - and now we have a new PhD in the house - congratulations Dr Grace Zhong. That was a spectacular defense covering everything from biophysics to neuroscience to symbiosis and actin-driven motility. So proud of this wonderful moment!

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Reposted by Prakash Lab at Stanford

Qing (Andie) Zhang @zqing.bsky.social · 28d

Read the full story: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Learn more from @stanford.edu : news.stanford.edu/stories/2025...
#Arctic #SeaIce #Diatoms #Ecology #Microbiology

Ice gliding diatoms establish record-low temperature limits for motility in a eukaryotic cell | PNAS

Despite periods of permanent darkness and extensive ice coverage in polar environments, photosynthetic ice diatoms display a remarkable capability ...

www.pnas.org

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Reposted by Prakash Lab at Stanford

Qing (Andie) Zhang @zqing.bsky.social · 28d

Did you know tiny algae can "skate" within Arctic sea ice? ⛸️ Our new study in @pnas.org reveals the secret life of ice diatoms: they are actively gliding to navigate the ice! This adds a new dimension to the sea ice ecosystem, revealing an active, dynamic ecological niche. @prakashlab.bsky.social

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Reposted by Prakash Lab at Stanford

Colpizen @colpizen.bsky.social · Apr 11

Point vocabulaire : On est passés de "innovation/recyclage ingénieux aka jugaad" cher à Manu Prakash par ex (pour lequel j'ai fait des illus pour son projet Foldscope) à "Frankenstein laptops repair markets", quel monde.

Abishek Muthian @abishekmuthian.bsky.social · Apr 10

Nice coverage of the repair ecosystem in Nehru Place by The Verge, There’s a place like Nehru Place in most cities in India. In Chennai it’s Richie Street, In Mumbai it’s Lamington Road.

I hope something tangible comes out of this right to repair framework

The rise of ‘Frankenstein’ laptops in New Delhi’s repair markets

Technicians in India’s refurbished laptop shops give discarded electronics a new life.

www.theverge.com

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Reposted by Prakash Lab at Stanford

Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.bsky.social · Jun 1

Manu Prakash practices “recreational biology,” a scientific approach that explores life in the same playful way that puzzles probe math. “Basic science is not at the service of something, but the groundwork that is our entire society’s foundation.”
www.quantamagazine.org/how-paradoxi...

Manu Prakash, a bioengineer at Stanford University, interacts with students in a lab

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Reposted by Prakash Lab at Stanford

Greg Egan @gregegansf.bsky.social · Jun 2

A wonderful interview in
@quantamagazine.bsky.social
with Manu Prakash, whose achievements include diagnosing malaria from the spectrum of infected blood cells, making a microscope for $1, and discovering photosynthetic algae that rise and fall in the water column by inflating like balloons.

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Reposted by Prakash Lab at Stanford

phlexicon @phlexicon.bsky.social · Jun 4

Basic science is not at the service of something, but the groundwork that is our entire society’s foundation.
—Manu Prakash, bioengineer at Stanford University and proponent of “recreational biology”
QUANTA | 28 May 2025 | molly herring

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Reposted by Prakash Lab at Stanford

Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.bsky.social · Jun 4

Manu Prakash invented “frugal science” tools that drastically reduce the cost of diagnosing malaria.Talking to @mollyherring.bsky.social, he discusses the advantages of following curiosity: “Observation is a practice, and if you don’t practice, you lose it.”

How Paradoxical Questions and Simple Wonder Lead to Great Science | Quanta Magazine

Manu Prakash works on the world’s most urgent problems and seemingly frivolous questions at the same time. They add up to a philosophy he calls “recreational biology.”

www.quantamagazine.org

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Reposted by Prakash Lab at Stanford

Anna Frangou @annamfra.bsky.social · Jul 17

Manu Prakash - a beautiful combination of working on the world's most pressing problems & looking at stuff because it's interesting with no idea what the outcome or use could be. Both are massively valuable & that both is and isn't the point. Make sure to play. www.quantamagazine.org/how-paradoxi...

How Paradoxical Questions and Simple Wonder Lead to Great Science | Quanta Magazine

Manu Prakash works on the world’s most urgent problems and seemingly frivolous questions at the same time. They add up to a philosophy he calls “recreational biology.”

www.quantamagazine.org

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Prakash Lab at Stanford @prakashlab.bsky.social · Sep 4

If you are at Ars Electronica this year - come see the showing of “that sinking feeling” - our viewpoint on how to engage with multiple crisis unfolding in our oceans. See you in Linz!

ars.electronica.art/panic/en/vie...

That sinking feeling: cell biology of climate change | Ars Electronica Festival 2025: Panic

Plankton drive Earth’s climate from beneath the surface. This exhibition transforms scientific data into immersive experiences—revealing how microscopic ocean life shapes our planet’s carbon cycle and...

ars.electronica.art

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Prakash Lab at Stanford @prakashlab.bsky.social · Aug 30

New Dr. in the house.. Dr Ethan Li. 🎉🎉👏🏽 What a remarkable journey anchored in open science. Half a dozen open hardware projects ranging from global health (Octopi malaria diagnostics), ecological monitoring (Planktoscope, ESPressoscope), medical devices (Pufferfish) & more. So many scaling insights.

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