Laura Bacete

The Royal Palace of Brussels at sunset, a grand neoclassical façade with tall windows and ornate stone details, seen through bare tree branches. The sky fades from pale blue to warm orange above a quiet cobblestone square with a few distant figures walking.

A woman (the co-chair of the young academy of Belgium – Flanders) stands at a podium in a wood-paneled auditorium, speaking beside a large projection screen displaying a pink spiral logo and the text “young academy of Belgium – Flanders.” A few empty chairs and a potted plant are visible on the stage.

Enjoying the sunset of a sunny day in Brussels at the Palace of the Academies after a very interesting day with the Young Academy of Sweden 🇸🇪🇧🇪 — grateful to the Young Academy of Belgium – Flanders for the invitation and inspiring discussions on academic freedom and critical voices in research.

🌱 Exciting news for plant #CellWall researchers! The First PlantWallK Meeting is happening in Prague, May 25–26, 2026 — bringing together members of COST Action CA24116 for the first time.

📝 Abstract submission is open! Deadline: April 15
Register: plantwallk.org/prague-regis...

#PlantScience

Scientists no Longer Find Twitter Professionally Useful, and have Switched to Bluesky Synopsis. Social media has become widely used by the scientific community for a variety of professional uses, including networking and public outreach. For

Bluesky is the new science Twitter, new study by @whysharksmatter.bsky.social and Julia Wester concludes!

"Results show that for every reported professional benefit that scientists once gained from Twitter, scientists can now gain that benefit more effectively on Bluesky than on Twitter."

[NEW PAPER] Receptor-like kinases in green algae: a hidden diversity revealed by modern bioinformatics | Green cell wall dynamics lab Our group investigated the conservation of receptor-like kinases (RLKs) in algae species and recently published a paper on this topic

We asked Demetrio and Bastien, the first authors of our recent study on RLKs in green algae, about the motivation, bioinformatic advances, and open questions behind the work—and what this means for algal sensing and evolution. Read more in our blog post: www.cellwalldynamics.com/new-paper-re...

The Murphy Lab did our annual retreat this week. This year's theme was using AI (what it's good and bad for). I wanted to be open-minded to make sure we are not missing something we should be using it for, so we did a few exercises to test, and had presentations.

🧪🌾PAPER - When did cell wall sensing developed?🧬

The groups of @laurabacete.bsky.social and Christiane Funk showed that key cell wall integrity sensing components already exist in green algae, revealing deep evolutionary roots of extracellular surveillance.

Read more in @pplplantarum.bsky.social👇

⏰ Last call – apply by 11 Jan!

Are you finishing your PhD or recently graduated in plant science?🧪🌾

Applications for the UPSC Symposium for Early Career Plant Scientists (28–29 Apr 2026, Umeå, Sweden) are closing soon!

👉 www.upsc.se/about-upsc/e...

Thanks, Peter! And happy new year, I hope you guys are doing great in Saudi Arabia!

Starting 2026 with great news! Thanks to my co-authors Demetrio Marcianò, Bastien Dauphin, Fabian Basso, and Christiane Funk. If you want to know what we’ve been up to, have a look at the thread below ⬇️ #PlantScience #CellWall

And that’s all for 2025! I haven’t decided on my goals for 2026 yet but hopefully I’ll have one as fun as this one!

I also proved to myself that I can reduce flying for parts of my travel, even from northern Sweden. So many times sustainability is a conscious decision.

It felt meaningful to move across borders so easily and feel a shared space. The EU is safe to travel in, rich in culture, and shaped by both what is unique in each place and what we share. Being able to move, meet, and learn from each other is genuinely enriching 🇪🇺. Very proud of being part of it.

And some reflections:
I tried to make this less about ticking boxes and more about paying attention. I left many places feeling grateful for the welcome, the food (idk I just love food haha) and the everyday life I got to see.

Warsaw, Poland – High view from the Varso Tower over central Warsaw at dusk, with the Palace of Culture and Science lit up above the city streets and buildings.

Rila Monastery, Bulgaria (Rila Monastery courtyard) – Striped arches covered in frescoes in front of the domed monastery church, with mountains rising behind the complex. There were many cats living there (probably more than monks!) so I made a fluffy friend which I’m petting in the picture.

📸 Warsaw – Poland
Arrived and left: ✈️ (stopover on the way to Bulgaria)

📸 Rila – Bulgaria
Arrived and left: ✈️

Paphos, Cyprus (Tombs of the Kings Archaeological Park) – Weathered limestone rock-cut tombs and cliffs, with a fig tree rooted in a crevice and spreading over the stone under a partly cloudy blue sky. I ate a fig from the tree and was absolutely delicious.

Valletta, Malta (harbour view) – Ferry crossing the harbour with Valletta’s skyline behind, including domes and spires under dramatic, sunlit clouds.

📸 Paphos – Cyprus
Arrived and left: ✈️

📸 La Valletta – Malta
Arrived and left: ✈️

Riga, Latvia (Old Town, Town Hall Square) – Large “RIGA” letters at night with the House of the Blackheads brightly illuminated behind.

Tallinn, Estonia (Viru Gate, Old Town) – Cobblestone street leading through the twin medieval towers of Viru Gate into Tallinn Old Town, lined with shops and stone buildings.

Helsinki, Finland (Helsinki Cathedral / Tuomiokirkko) – White neoclassical cathedral with green domes and gilded crosses, seen from the steps by Senate Square.

📸 Riga – Latvia
Arrived: ✈️
Left: 🚌

📸 Tallinn – Estonia
Arrived: 🚌
Left: 🛳️

📸 Helsinki – Finland
Arrived: 🛳️
Left: 🚂🛳️

(All these in the same trip)

Timișoara, Romania (Victory Square / Piaţa Victoriei) – View down the pedestrian boulevard towards the Metropolitan Cathedral, with clock pillars, trimmed hedges, pigeons, and a bright blue sky with scattered clouds.

Budapest, Hungary (Liberty Bridge / Szabadság híd) – The green steel Liberty Bridge crossing the Danube, seen from the riverside walkway on a clear, sunny day.

Zagreb, Croatia (Kaptol) – The Marian (plague) column in Kaptol square: a tall stone pillar topped with a gilded statue of the Virgin Mary, with gilded angels at the base, surrounded by historic buildings under a pale winter sky.

Ljubljana, Slovenia (Ljubljana Castle clock tower) – Ljubljana Castle’s clock tower and stone walls at twilight, with Ljubljana’s green city flag and the Slovenian flag flying above.

📸 Timișoara – Romania
Arrived: ✈️
Left: 🚂

📸 Budapest – Hungary
Arrived: 🚂
Left: 🚌

📸 Zagreb – Croatia
Arrived and left: 🚌

📸 Ljubljana – Slovenia
Arrived: 🚌
Left: 🚌🚂

(All these in the same trip)

One of my 2025 goals was visit every EU country I had not been to yet. I also tried to do it as sustainably as I could from a remote corner of Sweden. I had other personal and work resolutions too (some met, some not), but this one I can close today with a full tick. 🧵👇

‼️If you are finishing (or have just finished) your PhD and are exploring postdoc options, this is a great chance to meet people, share ideas, and build links. Come to northern Sweden ❄️🇸🇪 and connect with the community

Message me if you have any questions 📩

Winter forest scene with snow-covered trees and a small stream, sunlight shining through the trees. The image includes the text “Happy Holidays!” and the logo of Umeå Plant Science Centre, with logos of Umeå University and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) at the bottom.

🎄✨ Season’s greetings from UPSC!

Looking ahead to the new year - are you an early career plant scientist interested in new research ideas and collaborations?

🌾Apply for the UPSC Early Career Symposium, April 2026!🧪

🗓 Deadline: 11 January 2026

👉 www.upsc.se/early-career...

All you should want for Christmas is no more cheap presents Cheap imported Christmas presents under the tree hurt consumers, companies and customs — but an EU answer is years away.

Cheap imported Christmas presents under the tree hurt consumers, companies and customs.

But an EU answer is years away.

New paper in PSPB on the benefits of giving positive feedback to students, especially from underrepresented groups. Although not the norm in STEM, giving positive feedback boosts self-efficacy and belonging, which increases STEM performance, attitudes, interest
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Young academies from four continents gathered in Stockholm - Young Academy of Sweden

Really enjoyed being part of this #AcademicFreedom workshop. I learnt so much, and it finally filled in the global perspective that was kind of missing. Here is a summary for anyone interested.

sverigesungaakademi.se/en/internati...

A Christmas Potluck: Where Science Meets Spice | Green cell wall dynamics lab The Cell Wall Dynamics Lab at Umeå celebrated the winter holidays with a Christmas Potluck, where the team's global diversity came together through shared dishes. It was a moment to pause and apprecia...

Last weekend we celebrated the winter holidays with a Christmas Potluck. From shared experiments to shared meals, gratitude for the teamwork that binds us, and hope for discoveries ahead. Grateful for our team in Umeå and Trondheim 🎄🔬

Our blog entry: www.cellwalldynamics.com/a-christmas-...

Reclaiming control: Europeans’ fight for a techno-democratic future We built technology to make life easier. Somewhere along the way, it began remaking us instead. From algorithms shaping what we see to surveillance tools reshaping how we live, Europe now stands at a crossroads: protect democratic values or watch them be coded away.

Reclaiming control: Europeans’ fight for a techno-democratic future

Can Europe be Saved? A few thoughts on the state of Europe amid a twin-pronged assault from the United States and Russia

The joint American and Russian attack on Europe is ideological and if Europe is going to succeed in fighting back - rather than be reduced to an unhappy collection of vassal states - it needs to decide whether it is willing and able to defend its own liberal democratic ideals. My latest

Janina Seubert from the Young Academy of Sweden stands at a podium in a historic room with chandeliers and portraits, speaking to participants seated around a long table with microphones, while a large screen behind her shows the logos of young academies from around the world that have signed the text.

Session on the Stockholm Charter for #AcademicFreedom with Janina Seubert and Alison Gerber from the Young Academy of Sweden. We discussed how the Charter defines key freedoms in teaching, research and communication, and how young academies can use it to guide concrete action.

We opened Day 2 by sharing ideas on how young academies and future leaders can create the space they want for #AcademicFreedom: global working groups (in person where possible, online where needed), a shared framework for action, ways to keep the momentum, and joint funding opportunities.

We end the day with a “calibrating expectations” group discussion: what can academies do together to strengthen #AcademicFreedom, how to highlight positive stories, what we can learn from others, and what level of ambition to set. Tomorrow we start turning this into action. Looking forward.