Jim Van Deventer

Today, I'm grateful for Jeremy Berg. I'll let his words speak for themselves.

#Science #Courage

Homoisoleucine: A Translationally Active Leucine Surrogate of Expanded Hydrophobic Surface Area Hil of a strong peptide! Homoisoleucine (Hil) serves as an effective surrogate for leucine with respect to protein translation in bacterial cells. Replacement of Leu by Hil stabilizes coiled-coil pep...

Also this. Size-matched amino acid; key controls for fancy hydration dynamics studies required a new noncanonical amino acid to confirm the importance of fluorine's unique electronic, not size, effects on protein-water interactions.

chemistry-europe.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Hydration dynamics at fluorinated protein surfaces | PNAS Water-protein interactions dictate many processes crucial to protein function including folding, dynamics, interactions with other biomolecules, an...

Today, I'm grateful for a seminar and visit from Michael Wong, Rice University Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, to Tufts ChBE. Excellent seminar and creative ideas about PFAS. Time to revisit my long-dormant fluorinated protein expertise?

www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

#ChemSky

It is extremely unfortunate that the Nobel Prizes can be awarded to a maximum of 3 individuals (even though these individuals are deserving!). We can combat this by ensuring that we look beyond the individuals that win the prizes and celebrating the accomplishments of an entire field (4/4).

There are always so many people that made key discoveries possible! This includes people in the labs of awardees, competing investigators, people that died before a prize was awarded... (3/n).

The more detailed scientific background is useful for understanding about scientific underpinnings as well as for celebrating the numerous people that made the prizes possible beyond the individuals awarded the prize (2/n).

The official website of the Nobel Prize - NobelPrize.org The Nobel Prize rewards science, humanism and peace efforts. This is one of the central concepts in the will of Alfred Nobel, and it also permeates the outreach activities that have been developed for...

Today, I'm grateful for the background information associated with Nobel Prizes. I enjoy reading about the scientific foundations that led to the prizes. The popular science information is accessible even when I don't have background in a prize area (1/n).

www.nobelprize.org

#ChemSky #NobelPrize

I've also really enjoyed Jessica Winter's @jessicaowinter.bsky.social frankness and honesty about technology commercialization. The determination and persistence is incredibly inspiring! (2/2)

Shoot, I almost forgot the link to the show:

www.bmes.org/podcast/offi...

Today, I'm grateful for "Office Hours," a podcast supported by the Biomedical Engineering Society. Host Liz Wayne @lizwaynephd.bsky.social is doing tremendous work here. I especially enjoy the discussions surrounding why Liz and her guests have chosen careers in academia (1/2).

#BMES #ChemSky

It was fun to help, and I'm glad the world can see Vikas's cool study!

Engineered antimicrobial-derived peptides to manipulate mixed microbial systems Due to complexity of microbial communities and coarseness of currently available manipulation techniques (e.g. transplantation, antibiotic-treatment), it is often difficult to fully elucidate the inte...

🚨New manuscript alert!🚨We show that a natural, bacterial-derived, #antimicrobial #AMP can be used and engineered for targeted manipulation of specific species in a microbial community from the top-down! #microbiome. Thanks to @vandeventerjim.bsky.social for helping!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Their jobs have never been easy, and since January the degree of difficulty of their work has gone up exponentially. It takes an incredible set of people to deftly and faithfully support the needs of extremely stressed out investigators, university research support staff, etc. (2/2).

#ChemSky

Today, as the shutdown of the US government draws closer, I'd just like to express my gratitude for the program officers, scientific review officers, and other employees of US granting agencies (1/2).

@woolston-lab.bsky.social

Woolston Lab Learn about the Woolston lab's cutting-edge metabolic engineering research in gas fermentation, C1 metabolism, and the gut microbiome

Okay, I'm grateful for something else today: excellent seminar by Ben Woolston, Asst. Professor, Chemical Engineering, Northeastern University (not sure if he's on Blue Sky). Crazy microbes doing C1 metabolism, and microbes producing + sensing hydrogen sulfide. #ChemSky

woolstonlab.org

Today, I'm grateful to be able to welcome a first-year PhD student into the Van Deventer Lab. Welcome, Peter Tinker, to the group!

Bonus expression of gratitude: my Coffee Engineering class will get to taste some rather fancy coffee today.

Today, I'm grateful for 30% off all bagged coffee at the local Whole Foods. Even off of the legendary roaster George Howell's coffees (always legendarily priced these days, too). Goodness! What a treat!

#CoffeeObsessed

Nala Sinephro – Endlessness The Official Store for the artist Nala Sinephro. New Album 'Endlessness' will be released on September 6th by Warp Records.

Today, I'm grateful for Nala Sinephro and her music. This artist has released a couple of absolutely gorgeous albums that I've listened to more times than I can count.

nalasinephro.com

ALL HAIL THE TECHNOCRACY Tech went all in on Trump this year. It's just the beginning.

Today, I'm grateful for the courage of Wired editors:

www.wired.com/politics-iss...

Liverpool score twice in the first half to overcome Everton in the Merseyside derby at Anfield. Liverpool score twice in the first half to overcome Everton in the Merseyside derby at Anfield.

Today, I’m grateful it was a competitive showing for Everton www.bbc.com/sport/footba...

Today, I'm grateful for two things:

1. Cake for breakfast (this needs no further explanation).
2. My Chemical and Biological Engineering colleagues. Committed to world-class research, heavily invested in teaching and mentoring, and genuinely collegial people.

engineering.tufts.edu/chbe/people/...

Today, I'm grateful for first year undergraduate students. Oh my goodness, so much enthusiasm and curiosity, so willing to try different things...it's fun teaching them. I hope coffee engineering can help them increase these attributes while also preparing them for the rigors of engineering!

Thank you also to Cambridge Healthtech Institute for continuing to run this podcast. It's a gem of a podcast because you know every episode will be good, but it's impossible to predict what the next episode will bring! (2/2)

The Chain Podcast The Chain podcast explores the lives, careers, research, and discoveries of protein engineers and scientists, the impact their work is having on the field, and where the industry is headed.

Today, I'm grateful for a new episode of "The Chain" podcast (Episode 77). Great conversation between Derek Lowe @dereklowe.bsky.social and chris bahl @cdbahl.com with a wide range of thoughts, provocations, and opinions (1/2).

www.healthtech.com/thechain

YouTube video by Netflix KPop Demon Hunters | Official Trailer | Netflix

Today, I'm grateful for Kpop Demon Hunters. I mean, how could I not be (at least mostly)? It's the only music that plays in my family's house + cars, the kids are obsessed with it, and I've had the music stuck in my head for the past month without going insane...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzCA...

Today, I'm grateful for football (No, not American football, proper football. You know, the football that's played globally?). Especially our city league and our kids' games. It was fun to be out at the Daniel Joyce Middle School in Woburn, MA, cheering them on.

The organizing committee of the TPD series (including @katherinedonovan.bsky.social, others www.danafarbertargetedproteindegradation.org/organizing-c...) continue to do a phenomenal job. Also a very welcoming community to an "interested party" such as myself. Thank you team (2/2)!

#Chemsky

Today, I'm grateful for the Targeted Protein Degradation meeting that took place yesterday in Boston. Excellent talks by @nathanaelgray.bsky.social, Georg Petzold @monterosatx.com, @brianliau.bsky.social, @xingulab.bsky.social, and more (1/2).

www.danafarbertargetedproteindegradation.org

Hey #ChemSky, are politics not your thing? Read Briana's work on engineering release factors to enhance genetic code expansion instead!

bsky.app/profile/vand...