Heidi Goodrich-Blair

A reminder that UTK Microbiology is hiring for two tenure-track faculty positions — one in quantitative plant-microbe interactions and another in microbial drivers of chronic disease. Review of applications begins November 21.

We’re hiring a tenure-track Assistant Professor in Microbial Drivers of Chronic Disease, starting Fall 2026!

Pritzker: Throughout history we've learned that tyranny doesn't arrive with dramatic proclamations. Most times it comes quietly wrapped in the language of law and order, with fingers pointed at someone who doesn't look like you, promising safety while demanding that we sacrifice our neighbors.

Photos: Scenes from the No Kings Protests People gathered for pro-democracy protests across the country today.

People gathered for pro-democracy protests across the country today.

Science Magazine - Defensive fungal symbiosis on insect hindlegs Tympanal organs have repeatedly evolved in diverse insects and were thought to be required for auditory perception (1).

New biology: stink bugs inoculate their eggs with a fungus that protects them from parasitoids

www.sciencemagazinedigital.org/sciencemagaz...

Webpage screenshot of the Black Microbiologists Association job board. The page lists five academic job postings with institution names, locations, and posting dates. Listings include Hofstra University, NYU Langone Health, University of Chicago, Rice University, and University of British Columbia. The interface features a yellow and blue theme with top navigation links labeled About Us, Membership, Directory, Events, and Newsroom. Buttons for Donate, Contact Us, and Job Board are located in the upper right corner.

🔬 Microbiology job seekers 🧫 go to BMA Job Board to view open positions! Have a vacancy to fill? Posting instructions also available (scroll to bottom). blackinmicrobiology....

-80 freezer at -20

"You cannot be all things to all students, but sometimes, just sometimes, you will be the right teacher at the right time. You will be the exact teacher that one student needed more than anything." Paul F.C. Mundy

#AcademicSky #EduSky

Fridays are busy these days. First, a 7AM PT podcast session with the great Dr. Petra Levin, to discuss bacterial stress, size, and antibiotic resistance for Episode 112 releasted next week. Such fun to chat with a TWiMmer!

New episode of #MattersMicrobial! The superlative Dr. Jeff Gralnick chats with the #QualityQuorum about bacteria that breathe metal! Please spread the #GoodMicrobialWord! @univpugetsound @asmicrobiology @microbe.tv

youtu.be/rh-TK2Bvxj8?...

Today my @nytimes.com colleagues and I are launching a new series called Lost Science. We interview US scientists who can no longer discover something new about our world, thanks to this year‘s cuts. Here is my first interview with a scientist who studied bees and fires. Gift link: nyti.ms/3IWXbiE

Dear Dartmouth community, As many of you know, Dartmouth was one of nine universities asked by the White House to give feedback by Oct. 20 on a draft of its “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education.” I am deeply committed to Dartmouth’s academic mission and values and will always defend our fierce independence. You have often heard me say that higher education is not perfect and that we can do better. At the same time, we will never compromise our academic freedom and our ability to govern ourselves. Best, Sian Leah Beilock President

International Observe the Moon Night Join NASA and lunar observers around the world in a global celebration of the Moon.

4 October (today) is International Observe the Moon night!

It's super easy to do - just head out and look up at our celestial companion who has been with us for nearly all of our time. Without it, our world would be very different.

*There's a whole other world that just hangs in our sky for us*

Job @Rutgers !!!

The summarised schedule of Black in Micro Week 2025, October 14-16. All times are in Eastern Standard Time. Mon 14: Pathways for Change. Welcome and Keynote Address 12pm. Marian Johnson-Thompson, PhD. Panel Discussion: Finding Black Spaces in STEM, 1:15-2:15 PM. Weds 15, Careers & Research: ECR Symposium 9-12 PM. Panel discussion: Navigating Careers in Microbiology 2-3 PM. Thurs 16, Community: Panel Discussion - Empowering Your Science 12-1:15 PM. Workshop: Science in Action

This is your daily reminder that registration is open and *FREE* for #BiM2025 #BlackInMicro Week. Get ready to join our online celebration: linktr.ee/BlackInMicro (or see link in bio)

Don’t ask “when is it coevolution?” — ask “how?” Abstract. Coevolution has come to be widely understood as specific, simultaneous, reciprocal adaptation by pairs of interacting species. This strict-sense

So this came online over the weekend: My dive into the "definition" of coevolution is online ahead of publication in @journal-evo.bsky.social!

Don’t ask "when is it coevolution?" — ask "how?"

doi.org/10.1093/evol...

2025 Brenner Award Nomination This nomination form is for the 2025 Brenner Award Nomination. Due: September 30th, 2025. Please do not include any information besides what is asked as a formal nominee form and recommendation…

📢 Deadline extended! Apply by Oct 3 for the 2025 Sydney Brenner Thesis Award—honoring outstanding theses in nematode biology (defended Oct 1, 2024–Sept 30, 2025).
Send in your nomination today! 🔗:

External Event Grant Login to apply

External Event Grant awards of up to £750 are available for eligible members as a contribution towards the costs of registration, travel, and accommodation to attend an event beginning 01 Jan – 30 April 2026. Apply now before the deadline 01 Nov at 23:59: microb.io/ExternalEven...

Interesting work on understudied sponge symbionts from the Arctic.

A proposal to address the late release of the NSF GRFP call (25-547). Proposal: Revert text of NSF 25-547 (GRFP FY26) to NSF 24-591 (GRFP FY25) and keep current competition dates so that all applicants have a fair chance and awards can be made in advance of April 2026 decisions for graduate school.

Here's my NSF GRFP OpEd. Who wants to publish it?

"Revert text of NSF 25-547 (GRFP FY26) to NSF 24-591 (GRFP FY25) and keep current competition dates so that all applicants have a fair chance and awards can be made in advance of April 2026 decisions for graduate school."

We have limited time to act and a potential shutdown ahead. Candidates for the NSF GRFP need answers. The change in eligibility with <90 days before deadline is both unfair and contravenes NSF's own policy:

www.nsf.gov/funding/over...

Congratulations!!!

First, first-author publication from undergrad Tabitha Cowell is live!

She did some very cool comparisons of putative conjugative T4SS gene clusters and found neat eco evolutionary differences between the wilt pathogen and more environmental species!

I'll make an explainer sometime this week.

The gut-brain connection Glia cells mediate cytokine signaling between the gut and the brain, linking sleep to inflammation in the gut.

The gut-brain connection

Glia cells mediate cytokine signalling between the gut and the brain, linking sleep to inflammation in the gut.

Two golden statues in the shape of a goose on a display table with the text "from odd to outstanding: why basic research is essential" in a text box on the lefthand side of the image.

Pond scum and platinum shared the stage this year as a packed house gathered to celebrate odd-sounding science.

Read more about the sometimes surprising societal benefits that come from basic research: https://www.aaas.org/news/odd-outstanding-why-basic-research-essential

SO much this!!! This is an incredibly disappointing change to the solicitation.

A Broad Wave of Firings Followed Charlie Kirk’s Assassination

Free speech, 2025.
Good reporting in The Times.
A Broad Wave of Firings Followed Charlie Kirk’s Assassination www.nytimes.com/2025/09/26/u...

Impact of larval diet on fitness outcomes of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes infected with wAlbB and wMelM - Parasites & Vectors Background Releases of Wolbachia-infected Aedes aegypti are being used to effectively control diseases caused by arboviruses, such as dengue. A well-balanced larval diet is essential for producing Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes with optimal fitness for release. Methods In this study, four diets with varying protein-to-carbohydrate ratios were tested with three Ae. aegypti lines (carrying the wAlbB, wMelM Wolbachia infections or uninfected) to identify optimal diets for larval rearing on the basis of diet allocations ranging from 0.4 to 3.2 mg/larva/day. The diets were selected on the basis of a review of existing literature and are characterized by progressively increasing protein and decreasing carbohydrate content: diet 1 (Pd) was based on plant-based protein (low protein and high carbohydrate), diet 2 (Kd) was based on animal-based protein (moderate protein and high carbohydrate), diet 3 (Fd) involved Hikari fish food (high protein and moderate carbohydrate), and diet 4 (IAEA) followed a widely used very-high-protein and low-carbohydrate diet developed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The optimal concentration for each diet was determined using a fitness index that incorporated pupation success, fecundity, hatch proportion and development time. Results The optimal dietary allocations for diets 1–4 were 1.6, 1.2, 1.2 and 0.8 mg/larva/day, respectively, regardless of Wolbachia status. There was a consistent significant positive relationship between female wing length and fecundity in wAlbB (r2 = 0.881), wMelM (r2 = 0.329), and uninfected (r2 = 0.886) mosquitoes. Diet 3 (Fd) at optimal food allocation reduced a fitness cost commonly associated with the wAlbB line compared with the uninfected line when provided at the optimal concentration. The wMelM line showed a persistently low fecundity regardless of diet and concentration. Conclusions These findings highlight the importance of an appropriate larval diet and dietary allocations in optimizing mosquito fitness for Wolbachia-based vector control programs. Further research into dietary composition, gut microbial interactions and Wolbachia associations could refine larval nutrition strategies, enhancing the effectiveness of mass-rearing for release programs. Graphical abstract

New paper on impacts of different larval diets on the fitness of Wolbachia mosquitoes

parasitesandvectors.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....

Oh this is cool! May have to send it to my micro class.