Murat Tugrul

Looking forward to it…

Big congrats to my first Master’s student, Metehan, on his successful defence last Friday! He worked on stochastic DNA damage dynamics under radiation, laying the groundwork for a manuscript. Now he’s off to a PhD in Astrobiology. Wishing him success ahead!

Evidence for Neolithic acquisition of the high pathogenic island by Escherichia coli followed by recent selection https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.17.676721v1

Origins of life: the molecules that could have unlocked peptide synthesis For life to emerge on Earth, peptides must first have formed without the aid of enzymes — but how? Reactions of sulfur-containing molecules might have been key.

For life to emerge on Earth, peptides must first have formed without the aid of enzymes — but how? Reactions of sulfur-containing molecules might have been key

go.nature.com/4oX04jC

Engineering non-exponential proliferation in Escherichia coli using functionalized protein aggregates Uncurbed exponential proliferation might not always be required for genetically modified microorganisms, and might even cause unpredictable liabilities in their behavior and impact. We therefore const...

E. Coli with linear growth 🦠🤯 #micdosky "linear proliferation for a finite number of generations" where only one daughter cell continues to divide, with split cyaA making cAMP only in one daughter cell. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

We celebrated my PhD advisor Nick Barton’s 70th bday at IST Austria. I was lucky to have been his student: his wisdom, guidance, freedom and support shaped me as a scientist and beyond. Thank you Nick and happy birthday.

Quantum gets into the genes…:)

There's a word for the EU's inaction over Gaza: racism | Shada Islam Europe frames the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza as a humanitarian crisis rather than a deliberate political choice. There will be a moral reckoning, says Shada Islam, a commentator on EU affairs

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

I could not attend #EEBST2025 this year, but proud to see Metehan Kara (MSc student @TUM) present our upcoming work on stochastic DNA damage and repair dynamics under radiation! He’s now a EkoEvoTurkey society member and on determined track toward a career in astrobiology.

I keep making this mistake: “Istanbul -> Statistical” Physics Days ;)

The Spanish Society of Evolutionary Biology's Biennial Meeting will be in Valencia from Jan 21-23, 2026. Submit abstracts by Sept 15. More info: https://sesbe2026.es/programme/ #conference

Great to reconnect with Turkish physicists at Istanbul Physics Days. I shared my work on damage accumulation in single cells and its population impact. Thanks to the organizers & Kadir Has University, a remarkable corner in old city: Merhaba Cibali, Kalimera Fener, Shalom Balat… unforgettable..

What do you see when you stare at this grid of line segments: a series of rectangles, or a series of circles?

The way you perceive this optical illusion may tie back to the visual environment that surrounds you, a recent preprint suggests. scim.ag/4kTxbmd

From theory to practice — explore #computational approaches and #AI developments at EMBO Practical Course "Integrative modelling of biomolecular interactions" in Izmir, Türkiye, 28 September–3 October 2025.

Deadline: 10 July

meetings.embo.org/event/25-bio...
#EMBObiomolInteractions #EMBOevents 🧪

How do cells clean up misfolded proteins when they divide?

This study finds that the cleanup crew includes the ER chaperone BiP and the proteasome, and kicks in right as cells finish dividing. Surprisingly, one major cell cycle regulator isn’t involved.
buff.ly/ER1WZYq

An overview of contemporary theories of ageing - Nature Cell Biology This Review provides an overview of modern mechanistic theories and critically examines two main groups of ageing theories—error and program based—in the context of ageing patterns, genetic manipulati...

New paper on theories of ageing 🚨

I introduce the major mechanistic theories of ageing in light of recent findings and discuss the fundamental nature of the ageing process.

Theoretical work is more important than ever in biology, particularly in ageing research.

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

The climate science predictions from 30 years ago are becoming a reality, and we are running out of time. While we should be investing in this, a handful of billionaire bullies are pushing us in the opposite direction. We need to stop them, starting from challenging the disinformation they create.

First independent survey of deaths in Gaza reports more than 80,000 fatalities Results align with other efforts to count the number of people killed amid the ongoing conflict.

First independent survey of deaths in Gaza reports more than 80,000 fatalities

The results align with other efforts to count the number of people killed amid the ongoing conflict.

https://go.nature.com/44nH0la

Researching Salmonella drug resistance Regional differences in drug resistance genes in one type of Salmonella bacteria may help scientists develop new treatment or prevention approaches in humans.

Drug resistance genes in #Salmonella can differ around the world. For instance, N. American strains can have stronger resistance than those in Australia. Researchers are hoping this can tell us how to fight antibiotic resistance #AMR

Huge thanks to the SMTPB @smtpb.bsky.social 2025 meeting organisers and everyone who made the meeting so inspiring — great science, great people. Grateful to NITMB @nitmb.bsky.social for hosting us so warmly in Chicago!

Marcos Rodríguez, Irene Cantallops, Pilar Domingo-Calap @pilardomingoc.bsky.social & Josep Sardanyés @josepsardanyes.bsky.social from I2SysBio published a paper about quantifying dynamics of #Klebsiella and its #phages, focused on phage-resistant mutants 🦠🧪 #microsky @csic.es @ucciuv.bsky.social

Bursty Gene Expression in Single Cells and Expanding Populations: A Discrete Approach https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.05.20.655093v1

yes, noah, this 𝗶𝘀 cool! #MicroSky

afaik only 𝘉𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘢 keeps their flagella closer to their body: in the periplasm 😉

AlphaEvolve: A Gemini-powered coding agent for designing advanced algorithms New AI agent evolves algorithms for math and practical applications in computing by combining the creativity of large language models with automated evaluators

This is interesting!

AlphaEvolve (LLM and Evolutionary Agent) by researchers from Google DeepMind

Blog: deepmind.google/discover/blo...

Paper: storage.googleapis.com/deepmind-med...

Hi there, #ScienceBluesky! Have you heard about us yet? If you have not, here is a flood about us:

We, The Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Society of Turkey (EkoEvo), aim to promote scientific research in the fields of ecology and evolutionary biology in Turkey. +

Our paper finally out!

“Demographic consequences of damage dynamics in single-cell aging” in PRR

We developed a cellular damage model linking damage noise & partitioning asymmetry to aging patterns in single cells, helping explain nonexponential mortality observed in E. coli

go.aps.org/42hWJRK

Third day of protests after Imamoglu's detention. Students march to municipality building in Sarachane after a demonstration in Istanbul university. ODTU students in Ankara also at the forefronts. Government limits public transportation to undermine protests.

bsky.app/profile/t24....

The role of bacterial metabolism in antimicrobial resistance - Nature Reviews Microbiology In this Review, Ahmad et al. examine how antibiotics influence bacterial metabolism and how metabolism, in turn, affects drug efficacy and the emergence and evolution of antimicrobial resistance. They...

The role of bacterial metabolism in antimicrobial resistance

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

Why antibiotics can fail even against non-resistant bacteria Antibiotics are indispensable for treating bacterial infections. But why are they sometimes ineffective, even when the bacteria are not resistant? In their latest study published in the journal Nature...

Some good research into why some bacterial infections don't respond well to antibiotics which isn't antibiotic resistance - #Science phys.org/news/2025-02...

“The desire for security and the feeling of insecurity are the same thing.” Alan Watts