Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

José Vargas-Muñiz @mycorican.bsky.social · 5h

For fucks sake

Benjamin McKean @blmckean.bsky.social · 5h

Very bad: OSU unilaterally cancelled the registration of grad students attending the joint conference of the National Society of Black Physicists and the National Society of Hispanic Physicists. And OSU won't fund recruiting at the Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science.

Ohio State changes policy on group conferences after Trump administration threats

A federal investigation into potentially discriminatory practices at Ohio State prompted the university to change its policies regarding conferences.

www.dispatch.com

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Reposted by José Vargas-Muñiz

Anh Hoang Le, PhD 🏳️‍🌈 @anhhle2702.bsky.social · 7h

I found these immune cells just finished mitosis but their midbody is still yet to be resolved. How cool? If you zoom in to the midbody, you can see its classical shape just like in the textbooks. I love these little details.

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Crystal Rogers, PhD @rogerslabucd.bsky.social · 1d

Speaking across belief systems and knowledge differences requires approaching conversations with empathy instead of frustration, anger, or condescension. It’s a challenging way to communicate but so needed right now in a fractured society. Please check out our perspective. 🕊️

Development @dev-journal.bsky.social · 1d

Speaking science in a fractured world: making truth land when facts alone cannot

A Perspective by @rebeccacalisi.bsky.social, @kaliceaphd.bsky.social, Jamy Peng, @spiraldoc.bsky.social & @rogerslabucd.bsky.social on how to combat scientific misinformation

journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...

Picture of Perspective title and authors from article PDF

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Reposted by José Vargas-Muñiz

Nick Talbot @talbotlabtsl.bsky.social · 2d

New PhD opportunity in my group @thesainsburylab.bsky.social through the BBSRC NRP DTP Programme - see details of host to apply below

biodtp.norwichresearchpark.ac.uk/projects/van...

Vanishing Virulence: Investigating pathogenicity loss in a plant pathogenic fungus (TALBOT_T26DTP) | Doctoral Training Partnership

What makes a plant killer lose its edge? This project will investigate why fungal pathogens lose virulence when they are grown in laboratory culture away from their host plant. Use cutting-edge…

biodtp.norwichresearchpark.ac.uk

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Reposted by José Vargas-Muñiz

Ceri Weber @ceriweber.bsky.social · 4d

Vertebral skeletal diversity in mammals is remarkable. How do the differences between vertebral size and shape develop and evolve? See how we tackled this question in our paper published in @natcomms.nature.com today!

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Luis Cedeño-Rosario, PhD @luisci22.bsky.social · 5d

Are you attending SACNAS NDiSTEM 2025!? Don't miss this awesome session about "How to Identify the Right Mentor for You" hosted by @greisha-ortiz.bsky.social @neuro-explorer-lc.bsky.social @luisci22.bsky.social and @joele-r.bsky.social. #NDiSTEM2025 #SACNAS #STEMResearch #PLI @sacnas.bsky.social 🧪🔬🥼

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Reposted by José Vargas-Muñiz

Annie Hatmaker, Ph.D. @annemakerofhats.bsky.social · 6d

If you saw my talk on the population structure of #Aspergillus flavus at Fungal Genetics in 2024, you might have heard someone ask "how does Aspergillus oryzae fit into the picture?"
If so, you heard my answer was "wait and see--we're working on this exact topic"
Well, the wait is over! Preprint ⬇️

bioRxiv Microbiology @biorxiv-microbiol.bsky.social · 10d

Population-Specific Transcriptomic Shifts Underlie Secondary Metabolic Diversification in Aspergillus flavus and the Domestication of Aspergillus oryzae https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.02.680074v1

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Reposted by José Vargas-Muñiz

Thibaut Brunet @thibautbrunet.bsky.social · 9d

Latest from ours: www.cell.com/cell-reports...

This is two stories in one: a case study/cautionary tale on developing genetic tools in new organisms, and the first hint at a gene regulatory network for choanoflagellate multicellular development (which turn out to involve a Hippo/YAP/ECM loop!) A 🧵

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Clement Tsui PhD 🇭🇰 🇨🇦 @clementsui.bsky.social · 11d

sounds scary!
mGem: Submarine #mycology—an analog to astromycology | mBio journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

mGem: Submarine mycology—an analog to astromycology | mBio

Astromycology, the study of fungi in space environments, has emerged as a critical field for understanding both their risks and potential applications (1). Among the most pressing concerns is the prot...

journals.asm.org

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Reposted by José Vargas-Muñiz

Josef Uyeda @pseudacris.bsky.social · 11d

Master's degree position at Towson University with Daniel Caetano on macroevolutionary and phylogenetic comparative methods! Daniel is an awesome human and a great mentor, share with your students!
caetanods.weebly.com/join-the-lab...

Join the lab

The Caetano lab at Towson University (Maryland, USA) is seeking a Master's degree student to start in Fall 2026. A Research Assistant (RA) position is available to the student during part (or all) of....

caetanods.weebly.com

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Reposted by José Vargas-Muñiz

Erica D. Pratt @pratted.bsky.social · 18d

Announcing such a major change to NSF GRFP this late in the cycle is incredibly cruel. 2nd yr students (mine included) have been working so hard on their proposals despite ongoing uncertainty. They are driven and passionate about being outstanding scientists and helping those coming up behind them.

This means individuals in the following statuses at the time of application are eligible:

Undergraduate in the final (senior) year of a bachelor’s degree program
Bachelor’s degree-holder with NO enrollment in a graduate degree program (non-degree graduate coursework allowed)
Individual enrolled in a joint bachelor’s-master’s degree program with at least three undergraduate years completed
First-year graduate student in their first graduate degree program with less than one academic year completed in the degree program (according to institution’s academic calendar)
Individuals enrolled in joint bachelor’s-master’s degree programs are considered graduate students. For GRFP, joint bachelor’s-master’s degrees are defined as degrees concurrently pursued and awarded.
Not be a current NSF employee.

Applications that do not meet eligibility requirements will be returned without review as being ineligible for a fellowship.

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Reposted by José Vargas-Muñiz

Tiffany Lowe-Power 🌱🦠 @tlowepower.bsky.social · 21d

Please repost -- The Univ. California Davis dept of Plant Pathology is hiring a Fungal biologist / Mycologist

Applications due Dec 1

Application portal: recruit.ucdavis.edu/JPF07339

Screenshot shows part of the job posting (with alt-text of the same text)

he Department of Plant Pathology at the University of California, Davis is seeking applications for a fulltime, tenure-track Assistant Professor position in Mycology, with a focus on plant pathogenic, symbiotic,
or mycotoxigenic fungi and fungal-like organisms (e.g., oomycetes). We are looking for a highly
motivated and creative scientist with a strong background in mycology and/or the biology of fungi and
fungal-like organisms that interact with plants. The successful candidate will be expected to develop a
world-class, externally funded research program that integrates both fundamental and applied aspects
of fungal biology within the context of plant pathology. We welcome applicants pursuing a wide range
of research topics related to plant-associated fungi, including but not limited to mechanisms of fungal
pathogenesis or symbiosis with plants, population genomics and evolution of fungal plant pathogens,
plant-associated fungal microbiomes and plant-microbe interactions, and/or one health approaches to
fungal diseases and antifungal resistance. Applicants working in other relevant research areas involving
pathogenic, symbiotic, or mycotoxigenic fungi or fungal-like organisms that affect plant health are also
encouraged to apply. The successful candidate will have significant opportunities for collaboration with
faculty in plant pathology, microbiology, genomics, and agricultural sciences, and to contribute to
addressing issues of importance to California’s agricultural and natural ecosystems.
The appointee primary teaching responsibilities will be teaching Introductory Mycology, an upperdivision lab class, and SAS 30, Mushroom, Molds & Society, a general education class for non-majors.
Additional graduate and undergraduate teaching responsibilities may be assigned based on
departmental needs and the candidate’s expertise. The department offers modern instructional
facilities, including a newly renovated teaching laboratory.

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PLOS Biology @plosbiology.org · 21d

#Fungi in the gut #microbiome ( #mycobiome) are somewhat neglected. This study of gut fungal profiles across natural populations of humans & non-human primates, by @symbionticism.bsky.social &co, reveals significant fungal cospeciation patterns in #hominids @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/46LX4zD

Phylosymbiosis between primates and their gut mycobiomes. Top left: Sample-wise mycobiome composition for each host species. The most abundant fungal genera and classes (Sordariomycetes, Saccharomycetes, and Dothiomycetes) are shown in colored bars, where the lightest color in the gradient designates the sum of all other genera in that fungal class. Light gray shows all other less abundant fungal genera. Top right: Primate phylogeny (left; scale bar shows MYA) and fungal Bray–Curtis beta diversity relationships based on 99% OTUs and aggregated by host species (right; shown with bootstrap support for branch placement and scale bar for relative branch lengths). Bottom: Cophylogenetic fungi with time-calibrated sequence divergences match hominid divergence times. Nucleotide sequence divergence of cophylogenetic fungi was calibrated to the Homo-Pan split (6 Ma), which was then used to estimate the Homo/Pan-G. gorilla split (7.1–9.2 Ma), shown with fungal icons. Estimated speciation times fall within the expected 7.1–9.2 Ma (dark orange) or 6–10 Ma (light orange)

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Reposted by José Vargas-Muñiz

Josh Currie @joshcurrie.bsky.social · 25d

💥OUR LAB IS HIRING!!💥

We are hiring a research assistant/lab manager to assist with managing our axolotl colony and enabling some kick-ass science! Looking for high levels of organization, collaboration, problem solving and curiosity.

Application link: tinyurl.com/3tpvphpm
#SciJob #JobAlert

One of your future coworkers in the Currie Lab, an adorable axolotl.

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Reposted by José Vargas-Muñiz

HittingerLab @hittingerlab.bsky.social · 27d

Checkout our new preprint with the @rokaslab.bsky.social!:

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

doi: doi.org/10.1101/2025...

Discovery of additional ancient genome duplications in yeasts

Whole genome duplication (WGD) has had profound macroevolutionary impacts on diverse lineages[1][1],[2][2], preceding adaptive radiations in vertebrates[3][3]–[5][4], teleost fish[6][5],[7][6], and an...

www.biorxiv.org

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Morgan Carter @morgancarterphd.bsky.social · 28d

Please check out our updated version of this preprint - now with even more transposable elements! 🧬🦠

No really, we added in a few more analyses about TEs and further compared Mycetohabitans to related bacteria, plus other treats. @bhuwanabbot.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

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Hiten Madhani @hitenmadhani.bsky.social · Sep 14

An apt comment from Harold Varmus in this piece:

‘Running a lab is not like running a clothing store, where if your sales are down you can bounce back. You are dealing with highly trained people and projects which, when stopped for a short time, are ruined.’

Carl Zimmer @carlzimmer.com · Sep 14

A deep dive into the destruction of US cancer research by @jonathanmahler.bsky.social “It’s an absolutely unmitigated disaster,” a former top official at NIH told him. “It will take decades to recover from this, if we ever do.” Gift link: nyti.ms/48iH3Cr

nyti.ms

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Jason Stajich @hyphaltip.bsky.social · Sep 11

Dept of Plant Biology at UIUC hiring in any subdiscipline of Mycology and/or Plant-Fungal Interactions tenure-track faculty position at the assistant professor level.
Apply by Oct 31, 2025. For complete details including salary and benefit information, visit go.illinois.edu/PlantBiolfac...

Assistant Professor- Department of Plant Biology

Duties & Responsibilities

go.illinois.edu

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Thibaut Brunet @thibautbrunet.bsky.social · Sep 9

New short paper from our lab @currentbiology.bsky.social, in which we discover of a new mode of cell motility for choanoflagellates: flagellar gliding. www.cell.com/current-biol... - A 🧵

Flagellar gliding in choanoflagellates

Freire-Delgado and Brunet discover a new mode of cell motility in choanoflagellates, the closest relatives of animals. Under mild confinement, choanoflagellate move over surfaces without cell deformat...

www.cell.com

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Angus Bucknell @angusb.bsky.social · Sep 6

Delighted that our work on the Sanctuary Starship #transposon is now published! A big thanks to all co-authors, especially to the ever-amazing @mcdonaldmeganc.bsky.social for her mentorship!

doi.org/10.1128/mbio...

Sanctuary: a Starship transposon facilitating the movement of the virulence factor ToxA in fungal wheat pathogens | mBio

The work presented here expands our understanding of a novel group of mobile genetic elements called Starships that facilitate the horizontal exchange of numerous genes between fungal pathogens. Our a...

doi.org

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José Vargas-Muñiz @mycorican.bsky.social · Sep 5

It will always amaze me how we can visualize the location of our protein of interest inside a cell. This is possible thanks to fundamental science, as scientists studied how a species of jellyfish generates light.

🍄: Aspergillus fumigatus

Micrograph of a fungal cell showing a protein tagged with green fluorescent protein localizing in the nuclei.

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Reposted by José Vargas-Muñiz

Neta Shlezinger @shlezingerlab.bsky.social · Aug 24

Our study on a mycovirus that boosts fungal virulence is now out — and beautifully covered in this Behind the Paper piece by Amariliz Rivera

Huge thanks for capturing the heart of the story so thoughtfully. @natmicrobiol.nature.com rdcu.be/eB9yg

Mycoviruses steer fungal fitness

Nature Microbiology - A mycovirus drives the fitness of the lung-infecting fungus Aspergillus fumigatus under stress, helping it to survive within immune cells, and thus shaping its pathogenesis.

rdcu.be

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Ksenia Krasileva @kseniakrasileva.bsky.social · Sep 3

Spread the word 😃
Our department has an open position at the Assitant Professor level 🌱

Lotus Lofgren @lotuslofgren.bsky.social · Sep 2

Our department (Berkeley PMB) is hiring an asst. prof. in Plant Resilience to Climate Change! aprecruit.berkeley.edu/JPF05049

Assistant Professor - Plant Resilience to Climate Change - Department of Plant and Microbial Biology

University of California, Berkeley is hiring. Apply now!

aprecruit.berkeley.edu

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Elizabeth Warren @warren.senate.gov · Sep 2

Prices are up just in time for back to school.

Thanks, Donald Trump.

Graphic that reads:
BACK TO SCHOOL IN THE TRUMP ADMIN

School supplies cost 7.3% more this year
* Index cards are up 42.6%
* One subject notebooks are up 17%
* Binder prices are UP nearly 13%

Packed lunches cost $163 more this year
* A pack of juice boxes is up 22.6%
* A bag of mini pretzels is up 8%
* Green grapes are up 34.8%

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Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽 @needhibhalla.bsky.social · Aug 29

👀

💅🏽

Drug Monkey @drugmonkey.bsky.social · Aug 29

You think we didn’t notice how it wasn’t until they came for IDC and an entire University that you got your collective ass into the game? And how comparatively muted you were when the DEI attacks kicked off?

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