Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Prof Cynthia Whitchurch FAA🏳️‍🌈

WHO @who.int · 8h

Between 2018–2023, antibiotic resistance increased in over 40% of the pathogen–antibiotic combinations monitored, with an average annual rise of 5–15%.

Resistance is highest in the WHO South-East Asian & Eastern Mediterranean Regions, where 1 in 3 reported infections were resistant 👉 bit.ly/438Ta1u

Text reads “Antibiotic resistance is rising,” with an upward arrow and a “40%” warning icon. Below, a text box says: “Between 2018 and 2023, resistance increased in over 40% of the monitored pathogen–antibiotic combinations, with an annual rise of 5–15%.”

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Puhar Lab @lab-puhar.bsky.social · 23h

Our first effort exploring gut bacteria-extracellular ATP interactions is published! We show that eATP rewires gene expression and physiology in harmless and pathogenic bacteria, impacting production of bioactive metabolites, antimicrobial sensitivity, and virulence. A 🧵
www.cell.com/cell-reports...

Tronnet et al., Cell Rep. 2025 graphical abstract: Extracellular ATP is an environmental cue in bacteria

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Xabier Ostale @embers1.bsky.social · 1d

Antibiotic resistance is accelerating.

Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 1d

1 in 6 bacterial infections now resistant to treatment, says WHO - rising to 1 in 3 in SE Asia on.ft.com/46Zv7Dq

One in six bacterial infections now resistant to treatment, says WHO

Levels of antimicrobial resistance highest in south-east Asia and eastern Mediterranean

on.ft.com

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Susan Schlimpert @s-lab.bsky.social · 2d

We have a PhD opportunity available in our group @johninnescentre.bsky.social through the NRP Doctoral Training Partnership. Help us uncover the Hidden Diversity of Bacterial NLRs.

Start date: October 2026. For more information and how to apply👉 biodtp.norwichresearchpark.ac.uk/projects/bey...

Beyond Immunity: Uncovering the Hidden Diversity of Bacterial NLRs (SCHLIMPERT_J26DTP) | Doctoral Training Partnership

Join us in exploring the hidden functions of ancient immune proteins in bacteria. Bacteria, like plants and animals, have evolved sophisticated systems to detect and respond to threats.

biodtp.norwichresearchpark.ac.uk

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Dr Laura Nolan @drlauranolan.bsky.social · 4d

My lab @scelse.bsky.social NTU is growing! Fun evening out with the team, I'm so fortunate to work with such a great group of scientists!

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AnniZLab: [🦠, 🧬 , ✨] @annizlab.bsky.social · 5d

Quite an interesting protein search AI model combining sequence, structure, and function text - faster and more accurate than similarity searches. Who has tried it🤩🙌? Only a few secs to search bacterial TFs and integrases #microsky 🧬🧪
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

A trimodal protein language model enables advanced protein searches - Nature Biotechnology

A protein foundation model represents protein sequence, structure and function.

www.nature.com

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Pilhofer Lab 🦠❄️🔬 @pilhoferlab.bsky.social · 6d

🧐Checkout our preprint revealing the stepwise firing💥 mechanism of a Contractile Injection System @xujwet.bsky.social [email protected] trapped the complex by structure-guided engineering🧪 in multiple intermediate states and imaged them by multimodal #cryoEM❄️🔬
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

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Victor de Lorenzo (CNB, Madrid) @vdlorenzo.bsky.social · 10d

Off to @caltechlcssp.bsky.social to follow up the conversation started past Feb in Asilomar on *Biotech Beyond Conventional Containment*. Time to rethink the (now banned) release of Lab-trained microorganisms for extensive environmental remediation in view of new genet technols & urgent global needs

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Vaughn Cooper @vscooper.micropopbio.org · 6d

Holy moly

Cameron Thrash @jcamthrash.bsky.social · 7d

Direct single-molecule detection and super-resolution imaging with a low-cost portable smartphone-based microscope www.nature.com/articles/s41... #jcampubs

Direct single-molecule detection and super-resolution imaging with a low-cost portable smartphone-based microscope - Nature Communications

Loretan and colleagues present a low-cost smartphone-based microscope capable of detecting single-molecule fluorescence. This approach opens doors to personalised and widely distributed applications in diagnostics, biosensing, and science education.

www.nature.com

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Prof Cynthia Whitchurch FAA🏳️‍🌈 @cwhitch.bsky.social · 9d

#Microsky 🧪🧫

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Shabaana Khader @khadershabaana.bsky.social · 10d

Dear #microbiology and #immunology community- I took a break from social media after I deleted my Twitter account, but am back here. Please help me rebuild my community by following me and amplifying this message- I will follow you back. Thank you and I look forward to our many interactions!

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Prof Cynthia Whitchurch FAA🏳️‍🌈 @cwhitch.bsky.social · 9d

Congratulations! An awesome effort indeed!

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Life In Wisconsin @lifeinwisconsin.bsky.social · 10d

It should be noted that Google has noticed the backlash enough that they quietly published a code that would removed AI results for their searches.

An enterprising person built a default site to search without AI, and the results are goddamn refreshing as hell.
udm14.org

&udm=14 | the search engine Konami code

A quick way to get an AI-free search without any extra work.

udm14.org

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Jan-Willem Veening @veeninglab.com · 11d

Finally out, such an awesome piece of work, very proud of this one: www.cell.com/cell-systems... #MicroSky

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The Lancet Microbe @lancetmicrobe.bsky.social · 16d

New comment

Rethinking the role of animals in antimicrobial resistance

www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

#IDSky #ClinMicro #AMR #OneHealth #OpenAccess #OA

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Zamin Iqbal @zaminiqbal.bsky.social · 19d

Delighted to see our paper studying the evolution of plasmids over the last 100 years, now out! Years of work by Adrian Cazares, also Nick Thomson @sangerinstitute.bsky.social - this version much improved over the preprint. Final version should be open access, apols.
Thread 1/n

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Uli Klümper @ulikluemper.bsky.social · 24d

🐟💊🦠Our new study in @natwater.nature.com 🐟💊🦠

"Microbial risks triggered by oral administration of antibiotics in fish aquaculture persist long after the legally mandated antibiotic withdrawal time"

www.nature.com/articles/s44...

#microsky #amr
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Microbial risks triggered by oral administration of antibiotics in fish aquaculture persist long after the legally mandated antibiotic withdrawal time - Nature Water

Florfenicol treatment substantially increased the abundance and mobility of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the common carp gut microbiome. The resistome and mobilome profiles failed to return t...

www.nature.com

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Nature Microbiology @natmicrobiol.nature.com · Sep 8

#NewResearch

Opposing forces generated by exopolysaccharide trail binding versus type IV pilus retraction generate a high cyclic diGMP–high cyclic AMP state in Pseudomonas aeruginosa that promotes social motility.

#MicroSky 🦠

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

Pseudomonas aeruginosa senses exopolysaccharide trails using type IV pili and adhesins during biofilm formation - Nature Microbiology

Opposing forces generated by exopolysaccharide trail binding versus type IV pilus retraction generate a high cyclic diGMP–high cyclic AMP state in Pseudomonas aeruginosa that promotes social motility.

www.nature.com

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Dr. Jonathan N. Stea @jonathanstea.bsky.social · Sep 8

For our scientists.

By @ellecordova.bsky.social

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AnniZLab: [🦠, 🧬 , ✨] @annizlab.bsky.social · Sep 3

If you're interested in learning microbiology🦠, AI 🤖, and bioinformatics 🧬, check out our lab’s knowledge graph (built by Jeff—our in-house software engineer). An efficient way to train PhD students!
genomiverse.net/JeffsKnowled...
#Microbesky #Microbiomesky #AI4S #Bioinformatics

genomiverse.net

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AnniZLab: [🦠, 🧬 , ✨] @annizlab.bsky.social · Sep 1

NTU shared our DNA alignment tool designed for microbes 🦠🧬☰! #Microbiomesky #Microsky blogs.ntu.edu.sg/science/2025...

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Prof Cynthia Whitchurch FAA🏳️‍🌈 @cwhitch.bsky.social · Aug 30

🧫🧪 #Microbiomesky #Microsky #Phagesky

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AnniZLab: [🦠, 🧬 , ✨] @annizlab.bsky.social · Aug 30

MIT News: news.mit.edu/2024/human-g... — Sharing our new publication in Cell Genomics: cell.com/cell-genomic... about why our human gut microbiome rarely updates its CRISPR defense systems!

Bacteria in the human gut rarely update their CRISPR defense systems

MIT research finds intestinal bacterial interact much less often with viruses that trigger immunity updates than bacteria in the lab. The results will help to assess gut microbiome health.

news.mit.edu

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Guillaume Thibault @gthibault.bsky.social · Aug 30

Pleased to welcome my new colleague from SBS @ NTU Singapore, Anni Zhang @annizlab.bsky.social, to the platform.

She is a dynamic addition to our school, and it's always a pleasure to discuss science with her. Looking forward to her contributions here. Find more about her lab 👇

AnniZLab: [🦠, 🧬 , ✨] @annizlab.bsky.social · Aug 30

Hi everyone, I'm a bioinformatician & microbiologist. My new lab @Nanyang Technological University uncovers diverse microbial mechanisms (regulatory networks, selective sweeps, host-microbe interactions, ...) via machine learning! genomiverse.net

Requirements

genomiverse.net

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Reposted by Prof Cynthia Whitchurch FAA🏳️‍🌈

AnniZLab: [🦠, 🧬 , ✨] @annizlab.bsky.social · Aug 30

Hi everyone, I'm a bioinformatician & microbiologist. My new lab @Nanyang Technological University uncovers diverse microbial mechanisms (regulatory networks, selective sweeps, host-microbe interactions, ...) via machine learning! genomiverse.net

Requirements

genomiverse.net

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