Nathaniel Scott
@diderm.com
M.S. Student in Microbiology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst studying thermophile metabolism in the Holden lab. Aspiring microbiologist, microbial madman.
Glad to see this getting shouted out! This is work done by my PI Jim Holden and Dr. Briana Kubik, a previous grad student in the lab who did some really cool science that is the foundation of my work! She's a great scientist and a cool human.
Key role of hydrogen in regulating hydrogenases and the reductive TCA cycle in a thermophilic, autotrophic sulfur-reducing bacterium journals.asm.org/doi/full/10.... #jcampubs
November 13, 2025 at 10:58 PM
Glad to see this getting shouted out! This is work done by my PI Jim Holden and Dr. Briana Kubik, a previous grad student in the lab who did some really cool science that is the foundation of my work! She's a great scientist and a cool human.
Reposted by Nathaniel Scott
Key role of hydrogen in regulating hydrogenases and the reductive TCA cycle in a thermophilic, autotrophic sulfur-reducing bacterium journals.asm.org/doi/full/10.... #jcampubs
November 13, 2025 at 8:56 PM
Key role of hydrogen in regulating hydrogenases and the reductive TCA cycle in a thermophilic, autotrophic sulfur-reducing bacterium journals.asm.org/doi/full/10.... #jcampubs
After seeing all the cool data vis people do in R at a few conferences this summer, I made it a background goal of mine to learn enough R to plot things for myself. Today, I made my first ggplot of some growth curve data - exponential regression and all! It ain't much, but it's honest work :)
October 28, 2025 at 11:55 PM
After seeing all the cool data vis people do in R at a few conferences this summer, I made it a background goal of mine to learn enough R to plot things for myself. Today, I made my first ggplot of some growth curve data - exponential regression and all! It ain't much, but it's honest work :)
Happy international microorganism day! Here's the only electron micrographs taken of the thermophilic sulfur reducer I study (images from L'Haridon et al. 1998). Desulfurobacterium thermolithotrophum is found in deep-sea hydrothermal systems and has some interesting microbial physiology!
September 17, 2025 at 7:46 PM
Happy international microorganism day! Here's the only electron micrographs taken of the thermophilic sulfur reducer I study (images from L'Haridon et al. 1998). Desulfurobacterium thermolithotrophum is found in deep-sea hydrothermal systems and has some interesting microbial physiology!
Reposted by Nathaniel Scott
Redox-driven mineral and organic associations in Jezero Crater, Mars www.nature.com/articles/s41... #jcampubs
Redox-driven mineral and organic associations in Jezero Crater, Mars - Nature
A geological, petrographic and geochemical survey of distinctive mudstone and conglomerate outcrops of the Bright Angel formation on Mars reveals textures, chemical and mineral characteristics, and or...
www.nature.com
September 11, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Redox-driven mineral and organic associations in Jezero Crater, Mars www.nature.com/articles/s41... #jcampubs
I've had similar experiences when using LLMs for coding. It's scary how many people kneel before Claude Code and vibe code their way into oblivion. Great thread!
I asked it to pull the SSA demographic statistics from the US government. Its web crawler was blocked from accessing the site, but it lied to me and said that it pulled them. When I manually compared the data, I saw it used a simple function to fake it (life expectancy 85, with some noise).
August 13, 2025 at 7:02 PM
I've had similar experiences when using LLMs for coding. It's scary how many people kneel before Claude Code and vibe code their way into oblivion. Great thread!
Reposted by Nathaniel Scott
this is all new and pretty exciting. but please, don't get even started with hyping the archaea as 'ancient microbes'. extant #Archaea are no more or no less 'ancient' than their bacterial cousins, which also survived numerous of 'Eath's extremes' during their history. thank you.
#MicroSky
#MicroSky
Ancient microbes—survivors of Earth’s extremes—may hold the key to defeating antibiotic resistance! 🦠✨ A hopeful discovery! #Microbiology
Source: https://phys.org/news/2025-08-ai-uncovers-archaeasins-unique-antibiotics.html
Source: https://phys.org/news/2025-08-ai-uncovers-archaeasins-unique-antibiotics.html
AI uncovers 'archaeasins,' unique antibiotics from ancient Archaea
They've survived for billions of years in boiling acid, deep-sea vents and salt flats. Now, some of Earth's oldest life forms—microbes called Archaea—are offering a new weapon in the fight against one of today's most urgent health threats: antibiotic resistance.
phys.org
August 12, 2025 at 7:02 PM
Reposted by Nathaniel Scott
Got this really cool, ghostly picture by accident the other day in Dillon Beach, CA. It is a Heermann's gull with both it's shadow and reflection.
#birds
#birds
August 8, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Got this really cool, ghostly picture by accident the other day in Dillon Beach, CA. It is a Heermann's gull with both it's shadow and reflection.
#birds
#birds
One of the vacuum pumps in our lab has been slowly dripping oil lately, so I did some online sleuthing and figured out a fix. I feel like a regular detective! My PI was impressed :)
July 31, 2025 at 7:55 PM
One of the vacuum pumps in our lab has been slowly dripping oil lately, so I did some online sleuthing and figured out a fix. I feel like a regular detective! My PI was impressed :)
I had a great time at my first ever GRC this past week! I'll most definitely be attending Applied and Environmental Micro in 2027. Thanks @deniseakob.bsky.social @environmicrobio.bsky.social @thuls.bsky.social for organizing such a welcoming, fun, and scientifically stimulating conference!
July 19, 2025 at 1:39 AM
I had a great time at my first ever GRC this past week! I'll most definitely be attending Applied and Environmental Micro in 2027. Thanks @deniseakob.bsky.social @environmicrobio.bsky.social @thuls.bsky.social for organizing such a welcoming, fun, and scientifically stimulating conference!
Reposted by Nathaniel Scott
Yes.
Everyone Is Using A.I. for Everything. Is That Bad?
www.nytimes.com
June 18, 2025 at 1:11 AM
Yes.
I presented my first ever poster today at the Boston Bacterial Meeting! What a whirlwind, and I got some great thought-provoking questions about research methodology. It's been nice to feel a sense of community with all the anti-science rhetoric and funding cuts.
June 11, 2025 at 12:47 AM
I presented my first ever poster today at the Boston Bacterial Meeting! What a whirlwind, and I got some great thought-provoking questions about research methodology. It's been nice to feel a sense of community with all the anti-science rhetoric and funding cuts.
Reposted by Nathaniel Scott
How bad will it be? Catastrophic.
Proposed cuts to #NSF, #NIH, and #NASA will set the US R&D landscape back 25 yrs+, cause economic and job loss now, and undermine innovations to come.
But, this is the WH's *proposed* budget.
Speak up now before it is too late.
(inflation adjusted $-s below)
Proposed cuts to #NSF, #NIH, and #NASA will set the US R&D landscape back 25 yrs+, cause economic and job loss now, and undermine innovations to come.
But, this is the WH's *proposed* budget.
Speak up now before it is too late.
(inflation adjusted $-s below)
May 31, 2025 at 2:50 AM
These cuts are devastating and heartbreaking to see. The impacts will be felt for a long, long time.
May 31, 2025 at 4:20 AM
These cuts are devastating and heartbreaking to see. The impacts will be felt for a long, long time.
Reposted by Nathaniel Scott
The goal is plainly and literally to cut the number of people involved in basic science in the US by 70%
From over 300k to less than 100k. A picture of smaller, reduced science.
May 30, 2025 at 11:38 PM
The goal is plainly and literally to cut the number of people involved in basic science in the US by 70%
I'm happy to share that I've completed my Bachelor of Science in Microbiology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst!
May 27, 2025 at 11:06 PM
I'm happy to share that I've completed my Bachelor of Science in Microbiology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst!
Reposted by Nathaniel Scott
All of the skills I learned that make me (at least in my opinion) a good scholar were honed by the social sciences. My K-12 education was rich & I went to a liberal art college my freshman year before transferring to a state school. I took multiple English comp classes that taught me about rhetoric
May 13, 2025 at 12:46 PM
All of the skills I learned that make me (at least in my opinion) a good scholar were honed by the social sciences. My K-12 education was rich & I went to a liberal art college my freshman year before transferring to a state school. I took multiple English comp classes that taught me about rhetoric
Reposted by Nathaniel Scott
"For me, the answer now lies in refusal, the withdrawal of participation from systems that require dishonesty as the price of belonging."
Today I am resigning from the National Science Board and the Library of Congress Scholars Council.
I wrote about my decision in TIME.
time.com/7285045/resi...
Today I am resigning from the National Science Board and the Library of Congress Scholars Council.
I wrote about my decision in TIME.
time.com/7285045/resi...
Why I’m Resigning from the NSF and Library of Congress
I cannot participate in systems that require dishonesty as the price of belonging.
time.com
May 13, 2025 at 11:19 AM
"For me, the answer now lies in refusal, the withdrawal of participation from systems that require dishonesty as the price of belonging."
Today I am resigning from the National Science Board and the Library of Congress Scholars Council.
I wrote about my decision in TIME.
time.com/7285045/resi...
Today I am resigning from the National Science Board and the Library of Congress Scholars Council.
I wrote about my decision in TIME.
time.com/7285045/resi...
In the midst of a very chaotic finals season, it was nice to get together with friends and craft. Here's some of the felt microbes made at the UMass Microbiology Club's craft night! I'm sure @markowenmartin.bsky.social will appreciate the Bdellovibrio 🧫
May 6, 2025 at 2:27 AM
In the midst of a very chaotic finals season, it was nice to get together with friends and craft. Here's some of the felt microbes made at the UMass Microbiology Club's craft night! I'm sure @markowenmartin.bsky.social will appreciate the Bdellovibrio 🧫
Reposted by Nathaniel Scott
**BIG NEWS in the geology world!** For the first time, scientists spotted an active eruption along the mid-ocean ridge!!
They visited the hydrothermal vent the day before, where a vibrant ecosystem thrived in the sweltering water. The next day, everything was gone. ⚒️🧪
My latest for @nytimes.com
They visited the hydrothermal vent the day before, where a vibrant ecosystem thrived in the sweltering water. The next day, everything was gone. ⚒️🧪
My latest for @nytimes.com
Volcanic Eruption in Deep Ocean Ridge Is Witnessed by Scientists for First Time (Gift Article)
Researchers diving in a submersible in the eastern Pacific realized that the landscape they had studied the day before had been glassed over by fresh lava.
www.nytimes.com
May 2, 2025 at 5:03 PM
**BIG NEWS in the geology world!** For the first time, scientists spotted an active eruption along the mid-ocean ridge!!
They visited the hydrothermal vent the day before, where a vibrant ecosystem thrived in the sweltering water. The next day, everything was gone. ⚒️🧪
My latest for @nytimes.com
They visited the hydrothermal vent the day before, where a vibrant ecosystem thrived in the sweltering water. The next day, everything was gone. ⚒️🧪
My latest for @nytimes.com
Reposted by Nathaniel Scott
I got hit by some rather sudden and extreme financial hardship so if anyone is in need of remote wetlab contract research, strictly BSL1, do let me know. Currently scrambling for gigs.
Plant, Bacterial, Archaeal Non-model Bioeng
Custom Lab Hardware
Turn Key Genetic Design
Please repost for reach 💚
Plant, Bacterial, Archaeal Non-model Bioeng
Custom Lab Hardware
Turn Key Genetic Design
Please repost for reach 💚
May 2, 2025 at 2:39 PM
I got hit by some rather sudden and extreme financial hardship so if anyone is in need of remote wetlab contract research, strictly BSL1, do let me know. Currently scrambling for gigs.
Plant, Bacterial, Archaeal Non-model Bioeng
Custom Lab Hardware
Turn Key Genetic Design
Please repost for reach 💚
Plant, Bacterial, Archaeal Non-model Bioeng
Custom Lab Hardware
Turn Key Genetic Design
Please repost for reach 💚
Reposted by Nathaniel Scott
Good 🧵about every day misogyny, how partners can support people who face it, and how to shut it down.
Our car has been burning excessive oil since it had work done. There are two things they touched that could have caused this.
The mechanic was left a detailed message. He called us back 5 business hours later. I answered and he tried to tell me I needed an engine rebuild,he was being misogynistic.
The mechanic was left a detailed message. He called us back 5 business hours later. I answered and he tried to tell me I needed an engine rebuild,he was being misogynistic.
May 2, 2025 at 10:58 AM
Good 🧵about every day misogyny, how partners can support people who face it, and how to shut it down.
Instead of providing information to the general public about prevention, treatment, and pathology, covid.gov now redirects to this steaming pile of slop. This deliberate ignorance and blatant disregard for scientific evidence disgusts me.
Link from 2025/4/10 web.archive.org/web/20250410...
Link from 2025/4/10 web.archive.org/web/20250410...
April 18, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Instead of providing information to the general public about prevention, treatment, and pathology, covid.gov now redirects to this steaming pile of slop. This deliberate ignorance and blatant disregard for scientific evidence disgusts me.
Link from 2025/4/10 web.archive.org/web/20250410...
Link from 2025/4/10 web.archive.org/web/20250410...
Reposted by Nathaniel Scott
The lack of pushback on this whole wolf fiasco, not from the technical execution, but rather the "using wild animals as genetic billboards for incomplete tech, bringing them into this world just to die, as a cynical publicity stunt" angle, is disturbing. How are folks okay with any of this?
April 9, 2025 at 5:13 PM
The lack of pushback on this whole wolf fiasco, not from the technical execution, but rather the "using wild animals as genetic billboards for incomplete tech, bringing them into this world just to die, as a cynical publicity stunt" angle, is disturbing. How are folks okay with any of this?
Reposted by Nathaniel Scott
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/03/o...
Really important piece to share widely. Too many Americans don’t know how severe a threat this Administration poses to our scientific infrastructure, global leadership, and health security
Really important piece to share widely. Too many Americans don’t know how severe a threat this Administration poses to our scientific infrastructure, global leadership, and health security
Opinion | The Uncertain Fate of the Young American Scientist (Gift Article)
Young researchers are choosing between staying in science and staying in the United States.
www.nytimes.com
April 4, 2025 at 7:32 AM
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/03/o...
Really important piece to share widely. Too many Americans don’t know how severe a threat this Administration poses to our scientific infrastructure, global leadership, and health security
Really important piece to share widely. Too many Americans don’t know how severe a threat this Administration poses to our scientific infrastructure, global leadership, and health security