Geo Santiago-Martínez

www.youtube.com

The #AsgardArchaea team observed breathtaking wildlife in Uruguayan waters via the cameras on the Schmidt Ocean Institute's deep-sea robot — ROV SuBastian.
https://youtu.be/uM0wKYb1kus

$94.58 billion in NIH funding flowed back into the U.S. economy in 2024. Every dollar boosted jobs, businesses and local communities.

One of the key messages for tomorrow's ASBMB Hill Day is that NIH funding is an economic engine.

Every dollar invested in NIH returns $2.56 to the U.S. economy through jobs, innovation, and commercial activity rooted in NIH driven research.
www.asbmb.org/advocacy/sci... #ScienceServesUsAll

Text states NIH funding helped develop 354 of 356 drugs approved from 2010–2019. That's more than 99 percent.

NIH supported the science behind 354 of 356 approved drugs. Federal research drives medical progress. Help amplify the impact of science: www.asbmb.org/advoca....
#ScienceServesUsAll #ASBMBAdvocates

Text stating 268 Nobel Prize winners have received NSF funding with the phrase 'Science Serves Us All' on a blue background.

268 Nobel Prize winners received support from NSF. Federal investments fuel world-changing science. Help amplify the impact of science: www.asbmb.org/advoca....
#ScienceServesUsAll #ASBMBAdvocates

A graphic with text reads that reads NSF is the only federal agency that funds all fields of fundamental science and the hashtag #ScienceServesUsAll on a blue scientific background.

As ASBMB leaders meet w/Congress on Capitol Hill today, they are highlighting why NSF’s role is so important in driving innovation. NSF is the only federal agency funding all areas of fundamental science.

You can share the impact of science research too: www.asbmb.org/advoca.... #ScienceServesUsAll

Thank you to the @asbmb.bsky.social for standing up for science and scientists!
#ScienceServesUsAll #ASBMBAdvocates

ASBMB leaders smile and wave while standing across the street from the U.S. Capitol.

Hello from Capitol Hill, where ASBMB leaders are advocating for science funding!
#ScienceServesUsAll #ASBMBAdvocates

Text states: In 2024, 358,000 people were supported through NSF funding.

ASBMB’s Hill Day message to Congress: NSF supports more than 350,000 people every year. Join ASBMB in highlighting the value of basic research: www.asbmb.org/advoca....
#ScienceServesUsAll #ASBMBAdvocates

Thank you to the @asbmb.bsky.social for standing up for science and scientists!
#ScienceServesUsAll #ASBMBAdvocates

ASBMB Hill Day | ASBMB leaders had a great morning meeting with Senate offices! Next up: the House of Representatives to continue emphasizing how federal funding supports world-changing science.

Join ASBMB in highlighting the value of basic research: lnkd.in/eZ9N2Ku2.
#ScienceServesUsAll

Text states in 2024, NIH funding supported over 407,000 jobs nationwide.

NIH supported more than 407,000 jobs in 2024. Research funding strengthens communities. Join ASBMB in highlighting the value of basic research: www.asbmb.org/advoca....
#ScienceServesUsAll #ASBMBAdvocates

Today's Hill Day is a wrap — thank you to everyone who participated!

➡️ You can share the impact of science research too: www.asbmb.org/advocacy/sci....
#ScienceServesUsAll #ASBMBAdvocates

Quantifying, tracing and mitigating N2O production by ammonia-oxidizing archaea during mainstream nitrogen removal Ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) in wastewater systems remain underexplored for their roles in nitrogen removal and nitrous oxide (N2O) production. Thi…

Quantifying, tracing and mitigating N2O #nitrous oxide production by #ammonia-oxidizing archaea during mainstream #nitrogen removal www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

...deserves hashtags #Archaea #ArchaeaSky #MicroSky

wonder what name you will come up for the "tiny arms" that are clearly not pili, not archaella, not pseudopodia either...
pseudobracchia ?

(not claiming to be the first, I talked of "tiny arms" here > smallthingsconsidered.blog/schaechter/2...)

Oxygen production as an electron overflow pathway in ammonia-oxidizing archaea www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... #jcampubs

Oxygen production as an electron overflow pathway in ammonia-oxidizing archaea https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.03.692013v1

Freaking wild videos - go watch all of them! I cannot decide which one I love more! Radler et al. "Dynamic protrusions mediate unique crawling motility in Asgard Archaea (Promethearchaeota)" Very creative live-microscopy work #testthymetagenomichypotheses
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Wow! Radler et al. doi.org/10.1101/2025... These are #asgardarchaea with what? Pseudopodia? Should we call them archaepodia analogously to archaellum? Mindblowing anyway!

Dynamic protrusions mediate unique crawling motility in Asgard Archaea (Promethearchaeota) Crawling motility is a hallmark of eukaryotic cells and requires a dynamic actin cytoskeleton, regulated adhesion, and spatially organized signalling pathways1–3. Asgard archaea (phylum Promethearchae...

A collaborative project that began with the Osaka Expo has just been released as a preprint!
Here, we show Promethearchaeota (Asgard archaea) “moving” under anaerobic conditions.
The videos capturing this unique behavior are so fascinating you can watch endlessly.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

An archaeal genetic code with all TAG codons as pyrrolysine Multiple genetic codes developed during the evolution of eukaryotes and bacteria, yet no alternative genetic code is known for archaea. We used proteomics to confirm our prediction that certain archae...

Some archaea—an ancient group of microorganisms—have a novel genetic code, according to a new study. Their genetic code reassigns a DNA “stop” signal to incorporate the rare amino acid pyrrolysine into their proteins.

The findings expand our understanding of how alternative genetic codes evolve.

Want to know why UT’s Brett Baker and other scientists are seeking our microbial ancestors in the depths of the ocean? This video from Schmidt Ocean Institute does a fantastic job of explaining!

#AsgardArchaea @archaeal.bsky.social @schmidtocean.bsky.social @utaustin.bsky.social

Early abstracts and travel awards close tomorrow

Last chance! Early abstracts & travel awards for #ASMicrobe close TOMORROW (Dec 2, 2 p.m. ET). Early submissions receive early review—helpful for planning travel & approvals. Submit today! ➜ asm.social/2Ij

🧬 Seminario Extraordinario | Biología U. de Chile
El 5 de diciembre a las 12:00 h, el Dr. Frédéric Barras (Institut Pasteur, Francia) expondrá “Iron-sulfur protein biogenesis in Bacteria and Archaea”, sobre mecanismos y adaptación al estrés.
📍 Auditorio Hermann Niemeyer, F. Ciencias.

These archaea built a distinct genetic code to put pyrrolysine in proteins That feat has synthetic biologists excited

Because biology is so flexible, the genetic code is sometimes tweaked to add additional amino acids into select proteins. It turns out that some archaea, microorganisms distinct from bacteria and eukaryotes, have gone one step further. cen.acs.org/biological-c... #chemsky 🧪

A Cell So Minimal That It Challenges Definitions of Life | Quanta Magazine The newly described microbe represents a world of parasitic, intercellular biodiversity only beginning to be revealed by genome sequencing.

A newly discovered archaeal cell has a tiny genome and can’t metabolize biomolecules. It’s upending biologists’ definition of a living thing. “These types of organisms have been found before, but not as extreme as this,” said microbiologist Thijs Ettema.

Identification of the D-glucuronyl C5-epimerase that introduces iduronic acid into N-linked glycans decorating archaeal glycoproteins - Communications Biology In Halobacterium salinarum, glycoproteins are modified by an N-linked tetrasaccharide that includes iduronic acid (IdoA). Here, the first D-glucuronyl C5-epimerase that converts glucuronic acid into I...

Identification of the D-glucuronyl C5-epimerase that introduces iduronic acid into N-linked glycans decorating archaeal glycoproteins
#microbiology #archaea #glycoproteins
www.nature.com/articles/s42...

Beyond Methane Oxidation: The Protein Landscape of ANME-2a Reveals an Integrated System for Diazotrophy and Membrane Fortification
#microbiology #methane #archaea
enviromicro-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Our new preprint review on archaeal lipids (GDGTs) led by @lipidorama.bsky.social and @climategordon.bsky.social are live! Fresh updates on these amazing lipids and their environmental applications, from the 2nd int'l GDGT workshop (led by @cindydejonge.bsky.social, Francien Peterse & David Naafs).

Uncovering a new genetic code in archaea opens doors for bioengineering applications The genetic code is the recipe for life, and provides the instructions for how to make proteins, generally using just 20 amino acids. But certain groups of microbes have an expanded genetic code, in which one or two additional amino acids are inserted into the protein—a finding that has been leveraged for bioengineering.

🤯 Life’s code isn’t fixed! Some microbes use *extra* amino acids in their proteins—unlocking bioengineering possibilities. ✨ #GeneticCode 🧬

Source: https://phys.org/news/2025-11-uncovering-genetic-code-archaea-doors.html

Are you interested in phosphorus cycling by bacteria and archaea?

Keep an eye out for this massive work by PhD candidate Lachlan Curran on the ‘S.A.T.E’ framework for phosphorus cycling.

#ESA2025