Apoorva

The sci-fi films that physicists love to watch — from Interstellar to Spider-Man Nature surveyed scientists about their favourite cinematic moments to celebrate the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology.

Physicists disagree wildly on the theory of quantum mechanics, but they agree on their favorite science-fiction movies. Here’s what they told Nature are their favorite films. ⚛️🧪

When goodbye comes too soon: How to wrap up science projects quickly Science projects are designed and funded on the scale of years, so what happens when researchers need to finish prematurely? This Community Page discusses solutions for quickly documenting partially f...

"Due to a variety of circumstances...many science projects will never be finished, despite years of invested resources and effort. By carefully and strategically documenting scientific work achieved, components of unfinished projects can be salvaged and preserved to benefit future researchers." 🧪

Jane Goodall's final lesson Honoring Jane Goodall's life, Pope Leo's first climate address, and finding hope in action

This week, we lost one of the world’s greatest advocates for people and nature. Even in her final days, Dr. Jane Goodall was urging us not to give up, and now her legacy lives on through the countless voices she inspired.

Read on Mailchimp: shorturl.at/lDxXk
Read on LinkedIn: shorturl.at/VOiPa

Brassica oleracea / Brassica oleracea / Brassica oleracea

Letter Regarding Compact MIT Chapter of the American Association of University Professors October 6, 2025 Statement on the “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” MIT has been invited by the federal governmen...

I am proud of MIT, where our branch of AAUP has voted unanimously to endorse this statement urging MIT leadership and the MIT Corporation to reject the Compact wholesale
docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Microbes without borders: uniting societies for climate action The climate crisis is one of the most urgent and complex challenges of our time. Although often overlooked in models and policy, microorganisms play a crit

Microbes without borders: uniting societies for climate action

@femsjournals.bsky.social Microbiol Ecol by @jaytlennon.bsky.social et al @leonorabit.bsky.social @vscooper.micropopbio.org @gilbertjacka.bsky.social

academic.oup.com/femsec/artic...

Of all the different metrics of scientific success, a kind word from a colleague you respect often means the most.

Today I learned that if I "react" with an emoji to someone's email in outlook, they will see it as an email from me if they're not using outlook. So basically I've been emailing some people just a thumbs up.

Are you reading the books on your tbr? Yes. Yesterday I bought more books

#booksky

Fungus-farming termites can protect their crop by confining weeds with fungistatic soil boluses The symbiotic agriculture of fungus-farming termites can collapse if they fail to prevent invading weeds. Previous studies suggest a role for symbiotic fungistatic microbes in bringing about weed cont...

When harmful fungi invade their carefully cultivated crops, fungus-farming termites fight back with the precision of skilled gardeners, a new Science study reveals, smothering them in soil clumps enriched with microbial allies that inhibit fungal growth. https://scim.ag/4nsAqCu

The search for Planet B 6,000 exoplanets, but none like Earth – with guest editor David Baker

This week’s Talking Climate is guest-edited by physicist David Baker from Austin College. David is a NASA exoplanet researcher and professor whose work inspires students and communities to connect the cosmos back to our own remarkable planet.

MailChimp: shorturl.at/Xnmmg
LinkedIn: shorturl.at/lywQ8

Please share with anyone who cares about NSF support for graduate students and take 30 seconds to sign and leave a comment.

The deadline for the 2025 Graduate Research Fellowship Program is about one month away and literally no one can apply. #NSFGRFP

jasonjwilliamsny.github.io/grfp2025/

How may theoretical ecology & evolutionary theory push microbiology forward?
At Environmental Microbiology, I am commissioning a series of Perspectives exploring that question. Excited to share them in the 🧵 below
The series is open, so do get in touch if you'd like to propose a new contribution!

The las and rhl QS systems have a reciprocal, synergistic, and unequal relationship. Top: Single-signal models demonstrate that the summed effects of single signals (3 oxo C12 HSL alone, red; C4 HSL alone, orange) cannot account for the maximal expression of lasI or rhlI. The upper green, flat surfaces in the plots indicate the maximum mean expression level measured across all combinations of signal concentrations while the lower semi-transparent surfaces mark the sum of single signal effects. The plotted points represent observed expression levels when C4 HSL is withheld (red) and when 3 oxo C12 HSL is withheld (yellow). Lines indicate the model predictions. Bottom: Multi-signal non-linear models capture the synergistic effects of both signals and match observed expression levels. Model estimates are shown as grid lines. Horizontal bars show the mean value of expression observed at each combination of signal concentrations. Lines extend from these mean values to the relevant grid point for clarity. Right: Data show that relationship of the las and rhl systems is reciprocal, and the multi-signal model quantifies the strength of those interactions. In particular, it reveals the contribution of both signals to the maximum fold-change in expression of both synthases. The charts in this panel summarize the contribution of 3 oxo C12 HSL (red), C4 HSL (yellow), and the synergistic combination of both (orange).

Bacterial #QuorumSensing is often assumed to follow a strict hierarchy. @brownlab.bsky.social &co find that #Pseudomonas aeruginosa instead uses a reciprocal, cooperative system that enhances responsiveness to population density & environmental changes @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/3I7DhRG

Gosh....

"PhD-level experts in your back pocket" is a completely nonsensical description of AI but a pretty good description of social media if you follow the right people

I've tried to specifically overcome this by adding a core memory to never be sycophantic, match user's mood, or use any conversational engaging fillers. It's relatively helpful 💯

Contrasting the Relative Importance of Microbial Generalists and Specialists in Maintaining Assembly Processes and Community Stability Schematic diagram of the relative importance of specialists and generalists in community assembly processes and community stability. Compared with the specialists, generalists have greater contributi...

Contrasting the Relative Importance of Microbial Generalists and Specialists in Maintaining Assembly Processes and Community Stability

-in Environ Microbiol

enviromicro-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...

Sunflowers are full of secrets 🕵️‍♀️🌻 I had a blast making this for @nybg.bsky.social 's Van Gogh's Flowers exhibit, where you can see all the 🌻🌻🌻 shine through Oct. 26th!

#scicomm 🧪 #nationalsunflowerday #botany

Photo of a hand cradling a shoot of the vine. Some leaves are elliptical, while others are 3-lobed. Photo by Scott Zona CCBYNC2.

Photo of a selection of isolated leaves. Some leaves are entire, some are lobed. Some leaves are large, some are small and narrow. Photo by Scott Zona CCBYNC2.

Passiflora suberosa exhibits heteroblasty (different-shaped leaves on the same plant). The 2nd photo shows leaves from a single plant. It’s part of the evolutionary arms race with butterflies. It may prevent gravid female butterflies from forming a search image. #Passifloraceae #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

📢 Join the first #HoliSoils webinar: open to all!

Challenges in Modelling Microbial Interaction in Soil Carbon Decomposition

🗓️ 17 September 2025
🕑 14:00–15:30 CEST

🔗 Register here: holisoils.eu/holisoils-we...

#SoilHealth #ClimateResearch #MicrobialEcology #CarbonCycle #Horizon2020 #HorizonEU

Come work at the UMich Biological Station as a Michigan Fellow (you don't have to be a biologist)! Apply today: societyoffellows.umich.edu/uncategorize...

YouTube video by Benn Jordan I Saved a PNG Image To A Bird

Holy shit. This guy saved a PNG to a bird.

(he drew a bird into a spectrogram, played that sound to a starling, and the starling reproduced it back to him with enough accuracy he got his bird drawing back in their call's spectrogram) www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCQC...

Evolution of antifungal resistance in the environment - Nature Microbiology This Review discusses the evolution, emergence and expansion of environmental fungicide and antifungal drug resistance.

A little holiday news:

Evolution of antifungal resistance in the environment www.nature.com/articles/s41...

This started out as a little thought way back in early 2024 between @normanvanrhijn.bsky.social and I, and turned into a full on review! We hope it proves useful to the community.

✔️The programme for the #bc2basel tutorials & workshops is out! From #geneexpression analysis to #machinelearning or #datavisualization, beginner or advanced: boost your #bioinformatics skills!

👉 Register to make sure to secure your spot (limited seats): bc2.ch/registration...

🧠 Opportunity for a post-doctoral position on human neurobiology, funded by the @erc.europa.eu!
🧫You want to use human pluripotent stem cell based models to understand the evolution of human cerebellar neurons and disorders, this position is for you!
🔗Apply here: emploi.cnrs.fr/Offres/CDD/U...

Heard a very busy tailorbird today 😃🩵✨

July issue of #AppEnvMicro features a stunning image of Svalbard valley glaciers. Thajudeen et al. provide crucial baseline data on the composition & distribution of antibiotic resistance genes in vulnerable polar environments. @asm.org
Check out the issue 👇
journals.asm.org/toc/aem/91/7

🚨 15-month postdoc at LCPME (CNRS, France) – biointerfaces (AFM, electrochemistry, biofilms). 2–5 yrs experience. Great fit for CNRS track (CR). Start ASAP.
🔗 Apply 👉 emploi.cnrs.fr
#postdoc #CNRS #sciencejobs

Animals react to secret sounds from plants, say scientists It opens up the possibility that an invisible ecosystem might exist between plants and animals.

Animals react to sounds being made by plants, new research suggests, opening up the possibility that an invisible #ecosystem might exist between them. #BBC #research www.bbc.com/news/article...