Peter Mabbitt

Join the University of Otago, New Zealand, for a 2.5‑year postdoctoral role focused on the structural and functional analysis of serine hydrolases. This project centres on solving and interpreting atomic structures to guide the development of novel antibiotics.

otago.taleo.net/careersectio...

🌱 Biosensors are changing the game for plant health, delivering real‑time insights that boost precision horticulture and forestry.

Check out our latest research highlight, where Dalila Pasquini breaks down a newly published study on smarter plant monitoring.

🔗 bit.ly/4sVjqHW

Freshly dug soil

courgette plants

After initial concern from the neighbours my zucchini patch is thriving

Advertisement for the Royal Society of Chemistry training course database, featuring a person smiling while using a laptop and headphones, sitting at a desk near a window with sunlight streaming in. Text overlay announces the live status of the course database and prompts to explore available high-quality courses approved by the RSC.

Do you have plans for your professional development in 2026?

Our database of training courses helps you to find high quality options, all independently verified by the RSC.

Easily navigate a wide range of courses: https://rsc.li/4jWf1Rc #ChemSky

ONE WEEK LEFT TO APPLY: We’re hiring 4 roles at UWA's Plant Synbio Innovation Centre: Facility Manager + 3 Postdocs (single-cell genomics/screening; molecular tools; construct prototyping) bit.ly/4qfoftG bit.ly/3MFgD59 bit.ly/4pFT6jf bit.ly/48VkgLw

Apply by Tuesday 27 Jan 2026 (11:55pm AWST)

Phalaenopsis Fuller's Sunset

Biochemical Journal Mechanisms of life December 2025 issue

Check out the latest issue of Biochemical Journal, featuring research on enzymology, molecular interactions, signaling biotechnology, gene expression, host-microbe interactions, and mutation🧪 https://ow.ly/MijF50XXQtp

Spotting the iridescent blue-green shimmer of a kōtare sacred kingfisher is an unexpected urban moment – perhaps on a power line or in your backyard! ✨ Kōtare are adapting to urban landscapes in Aotearoa, and there are ways we can help them thrive further. 

📸: Maurice Summerfield, Dan Dirks

unapologetic cat

Tonight's first world problem, cat spills prosecco on my laptop.

🌞 Lorne Proteins 2026—Invited speakers Tzviya Zeev-Ben-Mordehai, Utrecht U, increasing the reach of cryo-EM SPA to native samples & for de novo protein ID! And Max Wilkinson, MSKCC, on reverse transcriptase discovery in transposon mobility and phage defence.

🔗 Register now: www.lorneproteins.org

💡 The right container, for the right species, in the right place can make all the difference. These tī kōuka seedlings show how container choice shapes root development — and long-term survival. 🌱

Read more about this NZ-first native tree study led by our team: bit.ly/4p9SjWM

#BioeconomyScience

Fungus-eating Ladybird Illeis galbula

Enjoy the powdery mildew my friend.

Sunflower and mantis

DUCs are C2 domain containing plant-specific deubiquitinases stabilizing endocytic cargo at the plasma membrane Deubiquitinases (DUBs) remove ubiquitin modifications from proteins in a substrate- or linkage-selective manner and regulate numerous cell-biological processes, including endocytosis. By performing ho...

For all #ubiquitin aficionados out there: Our new study, where we used an #alphafold based screen and found a new class of plant-specific DUBs, which cleave K63 chains and interfere with endocytosis at the plasma membrane. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Monarch butterfly

Great find in the shed. All I need now is a radio mouse and a floppy disk drive.

Even the garlic is rusty in a Rotorua!

Christmas garlic crop harvested. Guess what will be in your stocking this year? (CRC for scale).

Lecturer/Senior Lecturer - Plant Microbe Interactions - Faculty of Science Job in Auckland CBD, Auckland - SEEK We invite scientists interested in Plant-Microbe interactions to join our team in the Te Kura Mātauranga Koiora | School of Biological Sciences

We are hiring! Are you a plant pathologist looking for a permanent academic research+teaching role in NZ? Read more here: www.seek.co.nz/job/89090337...

Exploded hot water cylinder element. Assembled by Dale Copeland 2021.

Remnant of the Big Bang

During chaotic meeting, CDC advisers handpicked by RFK Jr. postpone vote on changing hepatitis B vaccine recommendations

Chaos and confusion don’t protect children. The best available science does. Today’s expected vote by RFK Jr.’s vaccine advisory committee will have significant consequences for our kids’ health. (🧵)

📢 Lorne Proteins 2026 features Ruchi Anand, IIT Bombay—applying advanced structural biology to AMR mechanisms 🦠and biosensor development 💡. And synthetic biology titan Hagan Bayley, Oxford, fabricating 3D tissues 🧫 to founding Oxford Nanopore 🍩.

🤓 Register now at: www.lorneproteins.org

EU einigt sich auf Lockerungen für gentechnisch veränderte Lebensmittel Für viele gentechnisch veränderte Lebensmittel soll es künftig keine Hinweispflicht mehr in Supermärkten geben. Darauf einigten sich Vertreter aus dem Europaparlament und dem Rat der EU-Länder.

Finally! The European Union allows the use of genome editing! 🌱🌾🫛🇪🇺🧬

www.tagesschau.de/wirtschaft/v...

Just registered for FEBS advanced workshop Protein termini 2026 in Palermo #proteintermini2026 (?) Looking forward to a great meeting. @ispt-proteinterm.bsky.social
www.conferencecentral.org/webpage/view...

Illustration showing a person examining a plant with text about the scarcity of plant taxonomists worldwide.

Plant taxonomy is disappearing - and so is our ability to protect species 🍂

Nearly half of countries have fewer than 10 plant taxonomists. Kew is working to close the gap, but we need more experts fast.

Read the study’s key findings and what we're doing about it 👇
https://ow.ly/XhJo50XyGAa

Humblebee and poppy

The Take Off and Landing of Everything

We’ve made some new tools to manipulate N-recognins. Check them out in our preprint.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Join @uofglasgow.bsky.social for a funded 3.5 year PhD programme:

www.gla.ac.uk/colleges/mvl...

Also up for grabs is a project on antiviral PROTACs, supervised by us and the France lab (School of Chemistry) should ubiquitin and viruses appeal! Please get in touch with any questions.

Climate of fear: are CSIRO’s sweeping job cuts a sign Australia doesn’t care about the extinction crisis? Ever decreasing funding for the globally respected government agency mirrors an industry-wide trend that could hinder scientific breakthroughs

Climate of fear: are CSIRO’s sweeping job cuts a sign Australia doesn’t care about the extinction crisis?
Ever decreasing funding for the globally respected government agency mirrors an industry-wide trend that could hinder scientific breakthroughs www.theguardian.com/australia-ne....

🚨 Postdoc position in my lab!

A project on protein binder discovery for K6-linked #ubiquitin to investigate their role in infection is available.

📍 DTU, Copenhagen, Denmark
⏰ Deadline: 18 December 2025

Apply here: efzu.fa.em2.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...