joy watts

Paralog interference contributes to the preservation of genetic redundancy Duplicated self-interacting proteins can interact and interfere with each other’s function. Cisneros, Mattenberger, et al. show that selection against interfering loss-of-function alleles extends the ...

Really fantastic piece of work from @christianlandry.bsky.social et al.,
-elegant set of experiments to uncover mechanisms that contribute to understanding of duplicate retention & redundancy-
Paralog interference contributes to the preservation of genetic redundancy www.cell.com/current-biol...

In case you missed it: our review titled "Spatial structure: shaping the ecology and evolution of microbial communities" is out! 🚨

Let me hit you with some highlights on why spatial structure matters. (and why you should care!)

Sharing is appreciated 🙏 🧵👇

doi.org/10.1093/fems...

I can highly recommend Nicole's and the Modernising Medical Microbiology research group.

I spent a brilliant 12 months with them about 10 years and it really set me up with the skills and ideas to get to the level I am now!

If you have a chance to work with them, do it!

Postdoctoral Research Associate at University of Bath Searching for an academic job? Explore this Postdoctoral Research Associate opening on jobs.ac.uk! Click to view more details and browse other academic jobs.

New postdoc position available in the Tooke lab in our department. Perfect if you like molecular microbiology, structural biology and biochemistry!
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DQP592/p...

EMBL International PhD Programme - summer recruitment 2026! 👀

Research groups across EMBL are recruiting now! www.embl.org/about/info/e...

Don’t miss this opportunity to receive dedicated mentoring while doing interdisciplinary research.

"Seasonal enhancement of the viral shunt catalyzes a subsurface oxygen maximum in the Sargasso Sea" https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-67002-1

Viruses transform microbes, populations, & ecosystems.

In new work jointly led w/@tn-marine-micro.bsky.social + more, we find a link between enhanced viral infection and productivity 50 meters below the surface in the otherwise nutrient limited Sargasso Sea.

a 🧵

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

If you're an #EcoEvo #PhD candidate anywhere in the world looking for project funding, consider applying for the @asn-amnat.bsky.social Student Research Award.

Ten proposals for $2k in research funds will be awarded. Due 13 March 2026.

Please share widely! 🧪 #grants #ecology #evolution #behavior

Revitalizing actinobacteria research: an urgent response to the antimicrobial resistance crisis - Natural Products and Bioprospecting Abstract The crisis of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is escalating while the antibiotic pipeline remains stagnant. Our bibliometric analysis of eight decades of literature reveals a critical imbalanc...

Research into filamentous actinomycetes, the antibiotic producers, is in steep decline. Loads of natural products chemistry research worldwide but not much aimed at understanding their biology and ecology. The latter is key to unlocking their specialised metabolism

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

How specific are heritable symbioses?

And what can we learn from swapping obligate symbionts across host species?

We address this in our latest, led by @inespons.bsky.social & in our collaboration w/ @microbiome.bsky.social 🦠🪲 Out today in @natcomms.nature.com!

1/n
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

A small polymerase ribozyme that can synthesize itself and its complementary strand The emergence of a chemical system capable of self-replication and evolution is a critical event in the origin of life. RNA polymerase ribozymes can replicate RNA, but their large size and structural ...

Ooooh. Cool new paper on origins of life. A simple 45-nucleotide RNA molecule that can perfectly copy itself.

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Interesting study and great cover art!

Thanks to all the charlatans, quacks and fools who've allowed measles to reach my child's secondary school in London

Three years after the launch of the UK’s agency for ‘high-risk, high-reward research’, political expectations of the impact of public science funding are higher than ever. As UKRI funding is curtailed and redirected, how can Aria prove its worth, asks @jgro-the.bsky.social
https://ow.ly/t9Z850YcQuZ

I have a postdoc position in metagenomic exploration available in my group. Candidates with documented experience in phylo & metagenomics and preferably with petabase-scale data mining and GLM workflows are encouraged to apply. Come join us! 🧬🦠💻

Please repost

Apply here: www.wur.nl/en/vacancy/p...

Visual with the text: Action plan for women in research, innovation and startups.

Women make up just 34% of the researchers in the EU.

The European Commission launched a call for evidence to shape an Action plan for women in R&I, tackling gender gaps and boosting equality in the European Research Area by 2030.

Have your say by 23 Feb: link.europa.eu/hh3vx6

#SciComm 🧪

Audience attentively listening to speaker at the Women Microbiologist Network from Annual Conference 2025.

On International Day of Women and Girls in Science 🔬👩‍🔬
We’re launching the Women Microbiologists Network: a member-led networking and discussions event for women in microbiology by Dr. Enas Newire.
Read the news story and join:
🔗 https://microb.io/4ax5M5I

Biological data governance in an age of AI Tailored access controls on new viral data would reduce misuse risks

Biological data governance in an age of AI | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Plasmid mutation rates scale with copy number | PNAS Plasmids are extrachromosomal DNA molecules that spread by horizontal transfer and shape bacterial evolution. Plasmids are typically present at mul...

New paper out in PNAS!!! 🎉

Do more plasmid copies mean faster evolution?

🧵 Dive into the story

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

Do you have experience in bioinformatics and are looking for a new challenge? To immerse yourself in a group and institute doing highly diverse research?

Then come and join our group !

University of York latest to decline offer from publisher Elsevier, with several more expected to walk away after previous agreements expired #highered #AcademicSky https://ow.ly/zUjv50Y9maa

Calling all microbial genomics early-career researchers in the Midlands, great event in Nottingham (5 June)

Update on UKRI funding situation.

Summary: it is mostly bad news, and with significant uncertainties around new funding model.

A quorum-sensing molecule from Pseudomonas aeruginosa induces defensive multicellularity in a coinfecting pathogen | PNAS Microorganisms commonly exist in polymicrobial communities, where they can respond to interspecies secreted molecules by altering behaviors and phy...

Cool stuff!

“A quorum-sensing molecule from Pseudomonas aeruginosa induces defensive multicellularity in a coinfecting pathogen”

#microsky

#microsky

Research Associate - Department of Microbes, Infection and Microbiomes - 106850 - Grade 6 As a Research Associate in the Hall Lab, you will play a crucial role in supporting microbiome research initiatives aimed at enhancing our understanding of the role of early life microbes in promoting...

We’re recruiting for an RA @unibirmingham.bsky.social!

Support our #microbiome research - lab work + sample/data organisation & coordination. Looking for an organised, proactive & great team player.

🗓️ Closes 04/02/26 . To Mar 2028

Apply via UoB portal:
edzz.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...

Born #OnThisDay in 1885 was Marjory Stephenson FRS, biochemist and one of the first two women to be elected to the Royal Society. Stephenson also founded the Microbiology Society and served as its second president. #HistoryOfScience #WomenInSTEM www.youtube.com/watch?v=hr5b...

I'll be giving a short talk at the Cologne ReproducibiliTea in the HumaniTeas on Thursday about why and how you should repeat research. Participation is possible online and offline: www.uni-koeln.de/en/universit...
And there will be Legos...

Congrats @marco-guerreiro.bsky.social. @estukenbrock.bsky.social and colleagues on this exciting study linking codon optimization and adaptive translation to lifestyle transitions in a group of fungi.

<i>Microbiology</i> Editors: Call for expressions of interest

Want some editorial experience? The @microbiologysociety.org flagship journal Microbiology has opened a call for new editors, more details here:

microbiologysociety.org/news/society...