Saroj Khadka

This composition had eluded me for nearly a decade, but yesterday I was finally able to capture it. A train rolled through just as the Duquesne Incline was crossing over the tracks in #Pittsburgh, creating a picture perfect winter scene. It was worth the hours and hours I've waited over the years.

Emergence of hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae ST111 with a novel virulence plasmid causing pyogenic liver abscess https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.25.690365v1

The Penicillin Myth Competing theories seek to explain inconsistencies surrounding Alexander Fleming’s famed discovery.

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.

Phenotypic Heterogeneity Shapes Phage Resistance and Cocktail Efficacy in Klebsiella pneumoniae https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.11.687788v1

Watson’s death is a fantastic reminder that you can be intelligent without being a good person.

🦠 Small changes, big defense! Jordan Vacheron & coll. show specific SNPs in #Pseudomonas protegens CHA0 (algC & ykcC) remodel LPS to block #phage ΦGP100—while growth, competitiveness & root colonization stay intact, in lab conditions. 🧬 @unil.bsky.social
👉 buff.ly/MFOH2er

Sugar Import Suppresses Klebsiella pneumoniae Mucoidy in cAMP-CRP-dependent Manner https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.04.686645v1

Vaccine protects people from paratyphoid fever in a ‘human challenge’ study Volunteers who swallowed disease-causing bacteria were less likely to get sick after an oral vaccine

Volunteers who swallowed disease-causing bacteria were less likely to get sick after an oral vaccine. https://scim.ag/4qBtYe2

The pipeline for Ph.D.s out of U.S. universities is shrinking America graduates more Ph.D.s than any other country. They go on to invent things, cure diseases and win Nobel Prizes. But admission slots are disappearing.

The shrinking future of Ph.D.s in America

Attacks on science and universities

Anti-immigration wave

Visa challenges

It all adds up

www.axios.com/2025/10/26/p...

Mark your calendars! #mmpc2026 The 2026 Midwest Microbial Pathogenesis Conference will be take place September 25-27, 2026 at the University of Minnesota! We are excited to welcome keynote speaker Dr. Andy Camilli. Give us a follow and watch for important information here ➡️ mmpc2026.umn.edu

A novel post-translational modification of fimbriae drives pathogenicity in Klebsiella pneumoniae https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.03.680091v1

UChicago Microbiology is searching for tenured or tenure-track faculty working in host-pathogens interactions, viral and bacterial pathogenesis, and emerging infectious diseases. Come join our vibrant Department! microbiology.uchicago.edu
Apply here apply.interfolio.com/174404

How nutrient starvation impacts the gut microbiome - Nature Microbiology In this Perspective, Estrela and Huang discuss nutrient starvation in the context of the gut microbiome, outlining what is known and highlighting key questions for future research to address knowledge gaps.

#Perspective

Estrela and Huang discuss nutrient starvation in the context of the gut microbiome, outlining what is known and highlighting key questions for future research to address knowledge gaps.

#MicroSky #MicrobiomeSky 🦠

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Parallel within-host evolution alters virulence factors in an opportunistic Klebsiella pneumoniae during a hospital outbreak - Nature Communications Multidrug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae is a critical priority pathogen. Here, the authors explore its evolution in 110 patients during a hospital outbreak, highlighting selected mutation-driven adaptations that alter its key virulence traits.

Our story on within-host #evolution of #Klebsiella is now out in @natcomms.nature.com 🌟

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

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...

🚨 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...

Serotype swapping in Klebsiella spp. by plug-and-play Understanding how complex, multi-gene systems evolve and function across genetic backgrounds is a central question in molecular evolution. While such systems often impose costs through epistatic inter...

How complex functions, with important physiological and evolutionary impacts get repeatedly and efficiently transferred across genomes?
That’s what we explored using one of the fastest-evolving loci in Bacteria: the capsule locus.
The paper: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Thread👇

KP Oli and co. cannot be allowed to walk away with mere resignations, prosecution is the only just way! This includes every leech that has continued to drain the state’s resources for personal gain.

Condolences to those who lost their lives. Solidarity with the movement.

The GoN’s response to yesterday’s protest was a clear violation of civil rights and an act of inhumanity. These criminals cannot continue to lead with the blood of innocent citizens on their hands.

Home minister quits, leaders hold prime minister responsible for 19 protesters’ deaths Nepal saw several people’s movements in 1950, 1990 and 2006, but never before had the state killed so many people in a single day.

We're far beyond the point of waiting for change. Every major party has failed to deliver the future they promised, incl. the basic necessities for the vulnerable in our society. Corruption, injustice & lack of accountability have reached intolerable levels.

C. albicans colonization is a susceptibility factor for disseminated Salmonella infection and arginine as a central metabolite in the cross-kingdom interaction between fungi, bacteria and host @nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

The znu gene cluster and conserved motif.

Zinc is a critical nutrient for many bacterial pathogens. New research in #JBacteriology expands our understanding of a novel zinc transport system & provides evidence for an alternative mechanism of cell wall protein localization in C. diphtheriae. asm.social/2zf

Gut mucin fucosylation dictates the entry of botulinum toxin complexes https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.08.30.672933v1

The WHO Bacterial Priority Pathogens List 2024: a prioritisation study to guide research, development, and public health strategies against antimicrobial resistance The 2024 WHO BPPL is a key tool for prioritising research and development investments and informing global public health policies to combat AMR. Gram-negative bacteria and rifampicin-resistant M tuber...

"Focused efforts and sustained investment in novel antibacterials are needed to address #AMR priority pathogens, which include #high-burden antibiotic-resistant bacteria such as Salmonella and #Shigella spp..."
@shigellameeting.bsky.social‬
#MicroSky #IDSky 🦠🧫🔬

www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

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

Did you miss the opportunity to submit an abstract to MMPC?
We have extended the deadline to August 25! Please consider sharing your latest and greatest research!
www.mmpconference2025.com/submit-an-ab...

A layered strategy for tackling antimicrobial resistance: the Swiss cheese model for policy, prevention, and engagement Murphy’s Law, “anything that can go wrong will go wrong”,1 finds no more fitting application in public health than in the case of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). AMR will emerge whenever conditions pe...

The return of the Swiss cheese model, now for anti microbial resistance!

www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

LPS O-antigen polysaccharide length impacts outer membrane permeability of enteric gram-negative bacteria https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.08.14.670410v1

First real-time human embryo implantation recorded (in 2D and 3D). Time lapse video of 2 embryos (200 μm apart) implanting in the 3D platform
science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Multidrug-resistant bacteria amid health-system collapse in Gaza Gaza's health-care system has faced widespread destruction during the ongoing Israeli military invasion that began in October, 2023, leading to a proliferation of disease outbreaks.1,2 During this tim...

#AMR infections are surging in Gaza as health care collapses. 60% of lower-limb wounds come from explosive weapons, driving infections amid medicine shortages and destroyed labs. MSF & WHO warn: zero fully functional hospitals. #Gaza #infectiousdisease

www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Opinion | Jay Bhattacharya: Why the NIH is pivoting away from mRNA vaccines As a vaccine for broad public use, mRNA technology has failed to earn the public’s trust.

This op-ed from NIH director Jay Bhattacharya is *infuriating*. He says we have to stop funding mRNA vaccine research because it hasn't "earned public trust." Motherfucker, WHO DID THAT.