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Reposted by April Hayes

European Centre for Environment & Human Health @ecehh.org · 1d

Countless drugs & chemicals now coexist in the environment, mixtures "that may be quietly shaping the evolution of antibiotic resistance."

The fantastic Dr April Hayes explains how:

theconversation.com/growing-cocktail-of-medicines-in-worlds-waterways-could-be-fuelling-antibiotic-resistance-266945

Growing cocktail of medicines in world’s waterways could be fuelling antibiotic resistance

Every flush sends traces of our medicines into rivers. When antibiotics mix with common drugs like painkillers or hormones, bacteria can evolve to resist treatment.

theconversation.com

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April Hayes @aprilhayes.bsky.social · 1d

I wrote a piece for The Conversation that came out today focused on our new study but also in general about mixtures of drugs in the environment and what that could mean for AMR -

theconversation.com/growing-cock...

Growing cocktail of medicines in world’s waterways could be fuelling antibiotic resistance

Every flush sends traces of our medicines into rivers. When antibiotics mix with common drugs like painkillers or hormones, bacteria can evolve to resist treatment.

theconversation.com

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April Hayes @aprilhayes.bsky.social · 1d

TLDR - mixtures including non-antibiotic drugs can alter selection for AMR, and we should not only consider compounds that show effects in isolation, when in mixtures, they might enhance the effects of antibiotics

April Hayes @aprilhayes.bsky.social · 1d

3) there were also alterations to the community composition after this seven day period.

most interestingly - these NADs had not had any similar effects when tested individually, but when they were combined with ciprofloxacin they enhanced the selective effect of ciprofloxacin

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April Hayes @aprilhayes.bsky.social · 1d

2) we found that the addition of 1 NAD to ciprofloxacin increased the inhibitory effects on growth over a 12 hour period.

we also did some longer experiments, and exposed the community to ciprofloxacin and 1 NAD for seven days. after this, the selection dynamics for several ARGs were altered

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April Hayes @aprilhayes.bsky.social · 1d

how do non-antibiotic drugs act in mixture with ciprofloxacin? we found in our recent study doi.org/10.1093/isme... that these NADs enhance selection for AMR within complex bacterial communities. we tested this mixture at environmental concs, and identified effects on growth, intI1, and other genes

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Reposted by April Hayes

Ben Longdon @blongdon.bsky.social · 8d

Research assistant + postdoc position on a NERC funded project working w @darrenobbard.bsky.social and collaborating with @savebutterflies.bsky.social on the ecological and evolutionary drivers of the virome of UK moths @uniexecec.bsky.social. Descriptions below and links here benlongdon.com/join/

Our local beach - blue waters and white sand

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Reposted by April Hayes

Kaia Mattioli @kaiamattioli.bsky.social · Sep 15

what postdocs actually want:
- to not have their grants canceled
- reasonable chances at getting an academic position
- job security
- a thriving private sector so the entire research system can flourish <3

higher ed institutions in 2025:
- best i can do is an origami night

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April Hayes @aprilhayes.bsky.social · 9d

cool phd position with a really great PI and associated supervisory team alert

Daniel Padfield @padpadpadpad.bsky.social · 29d

I have an MRC-funded PhD project available (www.exeter.ac.uk/study/fundin...) on how warming will change the problem of AMR. Join a small and friendly group (padpadpadpad.netlify.app/about) in (sometimes) sunny Cornwall. 🧪🦠 #microsky

Please share the ad below with anyone who may be interested.

A teal flyer for a PhD opportunity to investigate how warming may change antimicrobial resistance. The project will use experiments on Klebsiella bacteria to answer questions about how temperature affects their response to antibiotics, plasmid transfer, and fitness costs. The research involves microbiology lab work, bioinformatics, and mathematical modeling. The flyer includes contact details for Dr. Daniel Padfield and the logos of the sponsoring institutions.

Reposted by April Hayes

Hall Lab @halllab.bsky.social · 15d

📢🚨 Check out @drgdavidson.bsky.social's 3-year senior PDRA role below @uniofeastanglia.bsky.social!
Super exciting project exploring wildlife ecology 🐾 and gut microbiome bioinformatics 🧬!
👉 Apply: vacancies.uea.ac.uk/vacancies/18...
💬 Informal enquiries to Gabrielle welcome!

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Reposted by April Hayes

Pamela Ferretti @pamferretti.bsky.social · 19d

If you generate or reuse #microbiome data, check out these guidelines for equitable sequence data reuse. Grateful to @alexjprobst.bsky.social and his team for leading this important work and for bringing together 160+ microbiome scientists (myself included) to contribute!

doi.org/10.1038/s415...

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Reposted by April Hayes

Zamin Iqbal @zaminiqbal.bsky.social · 20d

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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Reposted by April Hayes

Jo Garrett @jogarrett.bsky.social · 28d

Join myself and others in Exeter, alongside artist Steve McCracken, for a curated trail of art and science. Get real time insights into pollution while spotting new artworks of birds. @ecehh.org
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/walking-to...

Walking Tour: Sensing Exeter’s Air Quality : A Bird’s View

A curated trail of art and science. Get real time insights into pollution while spotting new artworks of birds.

www.eventbrite.co.uk

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Reposted by April Hayes

Felix M Key @keyfm.bsky.social · Sep 15

Open postdoc position in in my lab in Berlin @mpiib-berlin.mpg.de.

Join us to push the frontier in ancient microbial genomics. Please apply until Oct 17th. Reach out in case you have any questions.

www.mpiib-berlin.mpg.de/2193291/job_...

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Reposted by April Hayes

Emmanuele Severi @emmseveri.bsky.social · Sep 13

www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

#microsky #microbiome

Ancient host-associated microbes obtained from mammoth remains

A study of 483 mammoth remains spanning over a million years reveals ancient host-associated microbes preserved in bones and teeth, offering new insights into the long-term evolution of Pleistocene mi...

www.cell.com

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April Hayes @aprilhayes.bsky.social · Sep 11

more exciting work showing the effects that non-antibiotic pharmaceuticals can have on microbial communities 🦠🧫💊

Uli Klümper @ulikluemper.bsky.social · Sep 10

First @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social from Eda Deniz Erdem's PhD:

"Selective spread of mobile antibiotic resistance genes in wastewater microbiomes driven by the non-antibiotic pharmaceutical carbamazepine"

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

#AMR #microsky

Selective spread of mobile antibiotic resistance genes in wastewater microbiomes driven by the non-antibiotic pharmaceutical carbamazepine

Carbamazepine (CBZ), a widely used anticonvulsant, is a persistent aquatic micropollutant that withstands biodegradation and accumulates in wastewater-impacted environments. While non-antibiotic pharm...

www.biorxiv.org

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Reposted by April Hayes

Abraham Gihawi @abrahamgihawi.bsky.social · Sep 3

Finding microbes in cancer sequencing data has been controversial. Are we seeing real biology… or just contamination + batch effects?

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Reposted by April Hayes

Moreno Zolfo @azufre451.bsky.social · Sep 2

🤩🎢 #MVIF Season 5 is just about to start!

Ten #microbiome events, free to attend, great to present your latest results. #ECR, #preprints, unpublished work are welcome!

👉 www.microbiome-vif.org

All talks get a DOI, and those associated with preprints are added to their #bioRxiv #medRxiv pages too.

Microbiome Virtual International Forum @microbiomevif.bsky.social · Sep 1

June #MVIF updated!

@julesdeep.bsky.social

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Reposted by April Hayes

David Sünderhauf @davvi36.bsky.social · Sep 2

PhD opportunity, please share:

We are looking for a prospective PhD student to start in October 2026 who is excited about bacteria (Klebsiella pneumoniae), how they interact, and how they exchange DNA.
All details can be found on the funder website 👉 gw4biomed.ac.uk/developing-c...

Developing CRISPR-Cas antimicrobials to tackle antibiotic resistance spread in Klebsiella pneumoniae - GW4 BioMed MRC DTP

Project Code MRCIIAR26Ex van Houte Project Type Wet lab Research Theme Infection, Immunity, Antimicrobial Resistance and Repair Project Summary Download Summary Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a ...

gw4biomed.ac.uk

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Reposted by April Hayes

James McInerney @jomcinerney.bsky.social · Aug 29

New preprint reveals bacteria can't just collect all resistance genes like Pokemon cards.
We found mutually exclusive evolutionary pathways to multidrug resistance in E. coli & P. aeruginosa - some resistance mechanisms actively prevent others from coexisting www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Genomic constraints shape the evolution of alternative routes to drug resistance in prokaryotes

Background Variation within the prokaryotic pangenome is not random, and natural selection that favours particular combinations of genes appears to dominate over random drift. What is less clear is wh...

www.biorxiv.org

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Reposted by April Hayes

Prof Sam Illingworth @samillingworth.com · Aug 27

💊 Non-antibiotic drugs & resistance

A new study shows common medicines like ibuprofen and acetaminophen can boost E. coli resistance to antibiotics, raising concerns for aged care settings.

🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s44...

#SciComm 🧪 #AMR

The effect of commonly used non-antibiotic medications on antimicrobial resistance development in Escherichia coli - npj Antimicrobials and Resistance

npj Antimicrobials and Resistance - The effect of commonly used non-antibiotic medications on antimicrobial resistance development in Escherichia coli

www.nature.com

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Reposted by April Hayes

Jesse Shapiro @bjesseshapiro.bsky.social · Aug 21

I'm super bummed to be missing #ESEB2025 @eseb2025.bsky.social due to a cancelled flight! Here's a quick overview of my talk "Gene- and genome-focused perspectives on microbial pangenomes" slated to be part of The Evolution of Microbial Pangenomes -- which I recommend you attend tomorrow (Fri) !
1/n

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Reposted by April Hayes

Allison Lopatkin, PhD @ajlopatkin.bsky.social · Aug 12

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...

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...

www.microbiologyresearch.org

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Reposted by April Hayes

Hall Lab @halllab.bsky.social · Aug 17

Really pleased to see this study led by @raymondkiu.bsky.social now published in @natcomms.nature.com!

We show that probiotics help modulate the preterm infant 👶#microbiome - to reduce ARGs, lower MDR bacteria 🦠 & increase beneficial Bifido ✨

Huge team effort!

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

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Reposted by April Hayes

Reo Eveleth @reveleth.com · Aug 4

I often say that reporting on sex testing in sports is like reporting on a really twisted, 100 year game of wack-a-mole where we see the same things happen over and over. This is a great example. (A short thread, if you'll indulge me.)

Reo Eveleth @reveleth.com · Aug 4

World Athletics says that "The SRY gene is a reliable proxy for determining biological sex." The guy who literally discovered the gene and has spent the last 35 years researching it says they're wrong. theconversation.com/world-athlet...

World Athletics’ mandatory genetic test for women athletes is misguided. I should know – I discovered the relevant gene in 1990

World Athletics says its genetic test for women ensures ‘the integrity of women’s sport’ – but science does not support this overly simplistic idea.

theconversation.com

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