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?...

A load-bearing function for the cytoplasmic membrane of Escherichia coli The structural integrity of bacterial cells is traditionally attributed to the peptidoglycan cell wall, and more recently to the outer membrane, with the cytoplasmic membrane assumed to be mechanicall...

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

#microsky

Reading Rainbow Is Back, With Mychal the Librarian Hosting! - Reactor The butterfly is back in the sky; can’t wait to fly twice as high.

EVERYONE STOP EVERYTHING Mychal the Librarian is hosting the Reading Rainbow revival!!!

reactormag.com/reading-rain...

Wall teichoic acid is required for DNA-triggered innate immune receptor activation by Staphylococcus aureus Receptors that stimulate inflammation are commonly activated by ligands that are buried within microbial cells. The mechanisms that facilitate immunostimulatory ligand release from microbes during inf...

Thrilled to share my work from the @jkagan1.bsky.social lab!

TLDR: O-acetylation and wall teichoic acid compete for space on S. aureus peptidoglycan. This competition regulates DNA release, and thus immune receptor activation, during infection!

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

#microsky #immunosky

Uridine as a potentiator of aminoglycosides through activation of carbohydrate transporters Uridine boosts aminoglycoside treatment efficiency against antibiotic-susceptible as well as antibiotic-resistant E. coli strains.

So excited our antibiotic potentiation story is out 🤩 Led by the extraordinary @manonlang.bsky.social with @fox-science.bsky.social & @amazeld.bsky.social +amazing collaborators @immunobladder.bsky.social @imaneelmeouche.bsky.social 🦠 We believe it can make a difference in #AMR infections!

Bacterial cell widening alters periplasmic size and activates envelope stress responses
Kerwyn Huang, @typaslab.bsky.social et al find that E. coli outer-membrane protein RcsF senses reduced periplasm thickness due to increased cell width, & activates Rcs signaling
www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....

As national medical, scientific, public health and patient organizations, we call for the resignation of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to ensure the health of the American people. Read our statement: asm.org/press-releas...

I cannot overstate how *LITTLE* I care about the Cracker Barrel logo...

Remodeling of RNA-binding proteome and RNA-mediated regulation as a new layer of control of sporulation
#Bacillussubtilis

#mSystems from @clemdf.bsky.social

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

Plasmid prevalence is independent of antibiotic resistance in environmental Enterobacteriaceae The rapid rise of antibiotic-resistant pathogens poses a critical threat to the treatment of infectious diseases. While the spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) via plasmid conjugation has bee...

If you ever find yourself needing evidence for ‘Plasmids are just as common in microbes without resistance genes,’ we’ve got you covered! Check our new paper, out today:

www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/jour...

Implications of HHS canceling mRNA vaccine funding He claimed mRNA vaccines weren't effective against certain infections.

My comments with Good Morning America www.goodmorningamerica.com/video/124406...

Super excited to share our paper online 🚨today🚨 in Cell Host & Microbe‬! Xiaomei Ren @xiaomeiren.bsky.social and Mason Clark @rmasonclark.bsky.social‬ co-led discovery of ecological factors for Acinetobacter baumannii carriage in the gut, a reservoir for pathogen spread. 🎉

tinyurl.com/443kfefk

(p)ppGpp imposes graded transcriptional changes to impair motility and promote antibiotic tolerance in biofilms - npj Biofilms and Microbiomes npj Biofilms and Microbiomes - (p)ppGpp imposes graded transcriptional changes to impair motility and promote antibiotic tolerance in biofilms

The wonderful dynamics of (p)ppGpp, big thank you to everyone involved with this story

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

Human bladder organoids model urinary tract infection and bacteriophage therapy Urinary tract infections (UTIs), primarily caused by uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC), are among the most common antibiotic-resistant infections. Despite this, currently available preclinical UTI...

Excited to share a new preclinical model, human bladder organoids, to study UTI, novel therapies, and beyond! Developed with Dr. Sarah Blutt, the BCM Organoid Core, and @tailor-labs.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

NIH wants to hear from you. No really.

Request for Information on Maximizing Research Funds by Limiting Allowable Publishing Costs
grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...

Microbial metal physiology: ions to ecosystems - Nature Reviews Microbiology Metal ions are required for all cells, and their homeostasis relies on ancient mechanisms that facilitate their import, distribution and storage. In this Review, Helmann discusses the key chemical con...

Metals are essential for life, but they can also be toxic. Here, @johnhelmann.bsky.social gives an excellent overview on bacterial metal physiology!
@natrevmicro.nature.com #SubtiWiki

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

This is going to get messy…Council members do important work and having appropriate expertise is important.

In the past, there was no concern about political alignments.

Conditional filamentation enhances bacterial survival in toxic environments https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.05.13.653778v1

A periplasmic protein complex mediates cell envelope integrity and intrinsic multidrug resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.07.08.663683v1

Thankful for pretty things. #gardening

BREAKING: Scientists are staging a “science fair” in the lobby of a Congressional building to tell elected officials about the critical knowledge the US will lose because their research grants have been canceled.

The full ruling explaining why NIH grant cuts are illegal came out today.

It's just as blistering as the judge's oral remarks. And it uncovers fresh details in DOGE's role orchestrating the cuts — and on the cuts at Columbia.

Here are my top highlights from the 103-page ruling. 🧵

First two lines are my favorite!

@cornellasap.bsky.social my McClintock letter in the Petersburg Observer! Research helps everyone, including farmers 👩‍🌾🚜🌽

An open letter to the American public on respiratory virus vaccines Read an open letter to the general public from the AMA and medical societies reaffirming support for vaccination to protect against flu, COVID-19, and RSV.

This is unprecedented. The AMA and other medical professional societies speak as one on respiratory virus vaccines and in their own way, say the Trump Administration cannot be trusted with your health. www.ama-assn.org/delivering-c...

www.bwfund.org/funding-oppo...

‘Wildest thing’: solar-powered slug steals chloroplasts and stores them for emergencies Marine creatures house contraband structures in special organelles, which the animal raids for food in times of need.

Did you know that sea slugs steal chloroplasts from algae as portable snacks?! Neither did I, but a new Cell paper demonstrates that they do. 🐌🧪

My favorite part is the researchers called the storage for these stolen hors d’oeuvres “kleptosomes” 😂🥰

Summary from Nature & Cell paper linked below.

Justice Sotomayor dissenting on birthright citizenship case: "The gamesmanship in this request is apparent and the Government makes no attempt to hide it. Yet, shamefully, this Court plays along. Because I will not be complicit in so grave an attack on our system of law, I dissent."

YouTube video by Science Communication Lab The Most Beautiful Experiment: Meselson and Stahl

Just learned that Frank Stahl (of the Meselson and Stahl DNA replication experiment ("the most beautiful experiment in biology") died at the beginning of April, to no fanfare. Here's a lovely video of them reminiscing: www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-tn...

We’ve bombed Iran. And dismantled our joint terrorism task force. And sent a third of the FBI to help ICE. And gutted the National Security Council. And a drunk guy is in charge at the pentagon. And our intelligence allies probably won’t share intel with us. Because people couldn’t vote for a woman.