Kumaran Ramamurthi

Reposting because it’s Sunday and maybe people have time for a podcast today. It was really fun to with @markowenmartin.bsky.social about my group’s concrete project! (with bonus road salt content)
@sunyesf.bsky.social #microsky #concrete #builtenvironment

ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20...
Pretty cool high school project

A fake spider in a web, with text: That’s no spider! It’s a decoy

For the first time, scientists have documented an unusual defense: Some species of arachnids build giant doppelgängers on their webs, creating a frightening deception that scares off would-be killers. https://scim.ag/487Myn0

Propulsion-independent surface migration in S. enterica LT2 and E. coli.

#MicrobiologyMonday: Bacteria swarm, but DYK they also "swash"? This flagella-independent movement is tied to fermentation: as cells ferment sugars, they create local osmolarity gradients, which generate a wave of fluid driving expansion. #JBacteriology: asm.social/2Gh

My reviewing style has changed over time. Rather than litigate every little thing, and pushing my own ideas, I focus only on 2 things:
(1) Are the claims interesting/important?
(2) Does the evidence support the claims?

Most of my reviews these days are short and focused.

"Look again at that dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives."

― Carl Sagan, born 9 November 1934

Video Credit: @planetarysociety.bsky.social

#PaleBlueDot 🔭 🧪 #CarlSagan

smallthingsconsidered.blog

Ray: Just a note to say STC is officially back up and running!! You can view our new home via smallthingsconsidered.blog

both are right: the best is marine microbiology

The stringent response does not influence ribosome pausing in Bacillus subtilis Abstract. The stringent response represses translation and is activated when cells enter the stationary phase and intracellular amino acid levels drop. Bac

The stringent response does not influence ribosome pausing in Bacillus subtilis

@narjournal.bsky.social from Leendert Hamoen

academic.oup.com/nar/article/...

These were the dinosaurs that faced the asteroid.

Some of the last survivors. They lived in New Mexico, 66 million years ago. Among them was Alamosaurus, the size of a jetplane.

We unveiled them, and their true age, today in a new paper in
@science.org !

Come be my chair at The University of Arizona! We have great bike riding, hiking, and of course, science! arizona.csod.com/ux/ats/caree...

With the functional link!
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

Mandatory viewing for microbiologists...

Episode 112 of #MattersMicrobial! Dr. Petra Levin joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss bacterial cell size, pH, and antibiotic sensitivity. PLEASE spread the #GoodMicrobialWord. Petra is inspirational. @univpugetsound @asmicrobiology @microbe.tv

youtu.be/YPNAvJYAq-s?...

We're now recruiting early career group leaders at the Crick to lead ambitious research programmes and explore bold scientific questions.

Hear our Director, Edith Heard, explain why the Crick is a unique place for curiosity-driven research.

Apply now ➡️ www.crick.ac.uk/careers-stud...

We're hiring! Check out our ad and please re-post or forward to interested #Microbiology parties: apply.interfolio.com/174783

UChicago Microbiology is searching for tenured or tenure-track faculty working in host-pathogens interactions, viral and bacterial pathogenesis, and emerging infectious diseases. Come join our vibrant Department! microbiology.uchicago.edu
Apply here apply.interfolio.com/174404

Effects of extreme acceleration, microgravity, and deceleration on Bacillus subtilis onboard a suborbital space flight - npj Microgravity npj Microgravity - Effects of extreme acceleration, microgravity, and deceleration on Bacillus subtilis onboard a suborbital space flight

Humans began travelling into space in 1961 with single orbits of the Earth. Now Bacillus subtilis!

👉

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

#subtiwiki

Thank you @joergstuelke.bsky.social for the reading recommendation!

(p)ppGpp-dependent activation of gene expression during nutrient limitation | mBio Bacteria often experience nutrient limitation and, in response, attenuate energetically costly metabolic processes like protein synthesis. At the same time, however, they stimulate the expression of a subset of proteins that facilitate survival under ...

(p)ppGpp-dependent activation of gene expression during nutrient limitation

#mBio from Jonathan Dworkin

journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

"Cascading failure" is my new favorite term

Five Tenure-Track Assistant Professor Positions in Microbiology, Evolution, and Biological Clocks - College Station, Texas job with Department of Biology - TAMU | 675062 Texas A&M University (TAMU) invites applications for five full-time, tenure-track Assistant Professor positions

We're hiring! 5 tenure track assistant professors. 2 #microbiology, 2 #Evolution, 1 #biologicalclocks

jobs.sciencecareers.org/job/675062/f...

Rich Losick’s Farewell Publication Reexamines a Molecular Biology Milestone - Harvard University - Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology Richard Losick, Maria Moors Cabot Professor of Biology, Emeritus in Harvard’s Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, is about to publish what he describes as his “last paper”—though […]

Rich Losick’s Farewell Publication Reexamines a Molecular Biology Milestone 🧪 🧬 #AcademicSky #higherEd
www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/n... @cryptogenomicon.bsky.social @craigphunter.bsky.social @rachellegaudet.bsky.social @harvardmagazine.bsky.social @naoshigeuchida.bsky.social

Wonderful collaboration with labs of Kandice Tanner and David Fitzgerald, both at NCI, that really allowed our lab to pursue this very different (to us) line of research that begins to translate years of our basic studies in bacterial cell biology into an applied technology

Domenico surprisingly found that 1) particle size and 2) mode of peptide antigen delivery (surface displayed or internalized peptide) affects cross-presentation efficiency and the robustness of antigen-specific T cell expansion.

Immunization with peptides can elicit antigen-specific T cell responses, but they're not widely used because they are poorly immunogenic and are rapidly cleared. Domenico D'Atri solves this by using our "SSHEL" platform (synthetic bacterial spores) .
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

asm.org/press-releas...

Super cool Pseudomonas-Bacillus interaction paper in @natmicrobiol.nature.com from Yun Chen
with @gabrieleberg.bsky.social

Phenazines shape Gram+ abundance & influence Bacillus cell biology

Phenazines contribute to microbiome dynamics by targeting topoisomerase IV
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Triple-Drug Combination for Cystic Fibrosis Wins Lasker Award Jesús (Tito) González, Paul Negulescu, and Michael Welsh received the 2025 Lasker Clinical Medical Research Award for the development of a life-saving cystic fibrosis treatment.

Fundamental science producing life-saving treatment

www.the-scientist.com/triple-drug-...

Translational coupling of neighboring genes in prokaryotes | Journal of Bacteriology Prokaryotic genes are arranged in operons, with functionally related genes often located adjacent to one another (1). There are several ways in which the operonic organization of genes facilitates the...

Check out our new paper: a review of translational coupling, the phenomenon where translation of one prokaryotic gene can promote translation of the gene downstream. We cover the history, and delve into the mechanism, which is still not fully understood. journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

The endoribonuclease Rae1 from Bacillus subtilis cleaves mRNA upstream of stalled ribosomes Abstract. The ribosome-associated endoribonuclease 1 (Rae1) cleaves messenger RNAs (mRNAs) in a translation-dependent manner. Here, we identify a new Rae1

The endoribonuclease Rae1 from Bacillus subtilis cleaves mRNA upstream of stalled ribosomes - academic.oup.com/nar/article/...