Aidan Maartens
@aidanmaartens.bsky.social
Scientific writer at the Sanger Institute, Cellular Genetics programme. Formerly at Development journal. Lapsed flypusher (Gurdon Institute, University of Sussex). Creative writing MA at UEA. Likes novels and gardens, lives in Cambridge.
Reposted by Aidan Maartens
Really pleased to share the first paper to come out of the lab.
We found that hospital patients were frequently colonised with P. aeruginosa and that the same clone was shared between the gut and the lung.
The phylogenies indicate that the clones moved from lung->gut
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
We found that hospital patients were frequently colonised with P. aeruginosa and that the same clone was shared between the gut and the lung.
The phylogenies indicate that the clones moved from lung->gut
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
High frequency body site translocation of nosocomial Pseudomonas aeruginosa - Nature Communications
Here, the authors report within-host diversity and body site translocation dynamics in hospital samples of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and reveal that body site sharing was likely due to within-patient tra...
www.nature.com
November 25, 2025 at 10:40 AM
Really pleased to share the first paper to come out of the lab.
We found that hospital patients were frequently colonised with P. aeruginosa and that the same clone was shared between the gut and the lung.
The phylogenies indicate that the clones moved from lung->gut
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
We found that hospital patients were frequently colonised with P. aeruginosa and that the same clone was shared between the gut and the lung.
The phylogenies indicate that the clones moved from lung->gut
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Aidan Maartens
Antimicrobial-resistant bacteria and genes found to move freely between ecological compartments – highlighting the need for cross-compartment interventions🌍
Read ➡️ https://www.sanger.ac.uk/news_item/antimicrobial-resistant-bacteria-and-genes-move-freely-between-people-animals-and-the-environment/
Read ➡️ https://www.sanger.ac.uk/news_item/antimicrobial-resistant-bacteria-and-genes-move-freely-between-people-animals-and-the-environment/
November 27, 2025 at 9:30 AM
Antimicrobial-resistant bacteria and genes found to move freely between ecological compartments – highlighting the need for cross-compartment interventions🌍
Read ➡️ https://www.sanger.ac.uk/news_item/antimicrobial-resistant-bacteria-and-genes-move-freely-between-people-animals-and-the-environment/
Read ➡️ https://www.sanger.ac.uk/news_item/antimicrobial-resistant-bacteria-and-genes-move-freely-between-people-animals-and-the-environment/
Reposted by Aidan Maartens
Looking forward to another BBC news special where Fox pundits and Spectator columnists get to explain to us why these poll numbers mean Trump always wins
November 26, 2025 at 4:41 PM
Looking forward to another BBC news special where Fox pundits and Spectator columnists get to explain to us why these poll numbers mean Trump always wins
Reposted by Aidan Maartens
Being among the first interrogated and ultimately fired by DOGE, I certainly felt we were facing the business end of a right-wing conspiracy theory 🧵
DOGE was not a money-saving effort. It was an effort to chase down and prove right-wing conspiracy theories. They went after USAID to prove conspiracy theories about foreign aid. Then they went after SSA to, again, pursue conspiracy theories about Dems paying "illegals" to vote. 1/2
All DOGE accomplished was purging critical government staff, handing private data to outsiders, and sentencing thousands in developing countries to death by gutting USAID.
I don’t say this lightly: if there were any justice in this world, the people responsible for this devastation would be in jail
I don’t say this lightly: if there were any justice in this world, the people responsible for this devastation would be in jail
November 26, 2025 at 2:31 AM
Being among the first interrogated and ultimately fired by DOGE, I certainly felt we were facing the business end of a right-wing conspiracy theory 🧵
Reposted by Aidan Maartens
Outstanding PhD fellowship call OPEN for excellent students.
lacaixafoundation.org/en/doctoral-...
This is for students incoming from outside Spain. And it is VERY well supported (ie at European levels).
If you’re interested in doing a PhD in our lab @irbbarcelona.org, reach out!!!!
lacaixafoundation.org/en/doctoral-...
This is for students incoming from outside Spain. And it is VERY well supported (ie at European levels).
If you’re interested in doing a PhD in our lab @irbbarcelona.org, reach out!!!!
Doctoral INPhINIT fellowships - Incoming Call 2026
We grant 30 fellowships for researchers of any nationality who wish to pursue a doctorate in a STEM discipline at research centres of excellence in Spain or Portugal.
www.google.com
November 26, 2025 at 7:43 AM
Outstanding PhD fellowship call OPEN for excellent students.
lacaixafoundation.org/en/doctoral-...
This is for students incoming from outside Spain. And it is VERY well supported (ie at European levels).
If you’re interested in doing a PhD in our lab @irbbarcelona.org, reach out!!!!
lacaixafoundation.org/en/doctoral-...
This is for students incoming from outside Spain. And it is VERY well supported (ie at European levels).
If you’re interested in doing a PhD in our lab @irbbarcelona.org, reach out!!!!
Toasty!
So happy to announce our new preprint, “A geothermal amoeba sets a new upper temperature limit for eukaryotes.” We cultured a novel amoeba from Lassen Volcanic NP (CA, USA) that divides at 63°C (145°F) 🔥 - a new record for euk growth!
#protistsonsky 🧵
#protistsonsky 🧵
November 26, 2025 at 8:19 AM
Toasty!
Reposted by Aidan Maartens
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
November 25, 2025 at 9:26 AM
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
Reposted by Aidan Maartens
Scientific journals: we don’t want you using generative AI because it makes shit up.
Same journal: here is an AI summary or evaluation of this paper. This might be more useful than the actual abstract or paper that the authors freaking wrote
Same journal: AI cover art which makes no sense? Oooh!
Same journal: here is an AI summary or evaluation of this paper. This might be more useful than the actual abstract or paper that the authors freaking wrote
Same journal: AI cover art which makes no sense? Oooh!
November 23, 2025 at 1:51 AM
Scientific journals: we don’t want you using generative AI because it makes shit up.
Same journal: here is an AI summary or evaluation of this paper. This might be more useful than the actual abstract or paper that the authors freaking wrote
Same journal: AI cover art which makes no sense? Oooh!
Same journal: here is an AI summary or evaluation of this paper. This might be more useful than the actual abstract or paper that the authors freaking wrote
Same journal: AI cover art which makes no sense? Oooh!
Reposted by Aidan Maartens
After already having sat through two rounds of Trump's attempts to solve the Ukraine-Russia war I find it quite remarkable that so many analysts, journalists and scholars still get sucked into taking the car crash diplomacy seriously of a chaotically inept US government.
November 21, 2025 at 3:08 PM
After already having sat through two rounds of Trump's attempts to solve the Ukraine-Russia war I find it quite remarkable that so many analysts, journalists and scholars still get sucked into taking the car crash diplomacy seriously of a chaotically inept US government.
Reposted by Aidan Maartens
Nature research paper: Rewiring an olfactory circuit by altering cell-surface combinatorial code
go.nature.com/3MbCoZT
go.nature.com/3MbCoZT
Rewiring an olfactory circuit by altering cell-surface combinatorial code - Nature
In Drosophila, changing the expression of a small set of cell-surface proteins in just one type of olfactory neuron rewires its connections almost entirely to a new postsynaptic partner neuron type, altering the fly’s odour response and courtship behaviour.
go.nature.com
November 21, 2025 at 11:12 AM
Nature research paper: Rewiring an olfactory circuit by altering cell-surface combinatorial code
go.nature.com/3MbCoZT
go.nature.com/3MbCoZT
Gorgeous vid
New on bioRxiv! 🚨
“Pericyte and Endothelial Primary Cilia and Centrioles have Disparate Organization Across the Brain Microvasculature”
This project studying #microvascular cells took an unexpected turn when we discovered that #pericytes have primary #cilia!
🔗 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
🧪 🧵1/8
“Pericyte and Endothelial Primary Cilia and Centrioles have Disparate Organization Across the Brain Microvasculature”
This project studying #microvascular cells took an unexpected turn when we discovered that #pericytes have primary #cilia!
🔗 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
🧪 🧵1/8
November 21, 2025 at 1:42 PM
Gorgeous vid
Reposted by Aidan Maartens
70 teaspoons placed in tearooms around the institute & observed weekly over 5 months. 80% of spoons disappeared; spoon halflife~81 days. Communal room halflife lower than in specific labs. 250 spoons annually required to maintain 70 spoon population.
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
The case of the disappearing teaspoons: longitudinal cohort study of the displacement of teaspoons in an Australian research institute
Objectives To determine the overall rate of loss of workplace teaspoons and whether attrition and displacement are correlated with the relative value of the teaspoons or type of tearoom. Design Longitudinal cohort study. Setting Research institute ...
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
November 20, 2025 at 3:44 AM
70 teaspoons placed in tearooms around the institute & observed weekly over 5 months. 80% of spoons disappeared; spoon halflife~81 days. Communal room halflife lower than in specific labs. 250 spoons annually required to maintain 70 spoon population.
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
Reposted by Aidan Maartens
The CDC website has been “updated” to indicate that
The claim "vaccines do not cause autism" is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism.
www.cdc.gov/vaccine-safe...
1/2
The claim "vaccines do not cause autism" is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism.
www.cdc.gov/vaccine-safe...
1/2
Autism and Vaccines
Answers to common questions about vaccine safety and autism.
www.cdc.gov
November 20, 2025 at 4:17 AM
The CDC website has been “updated” to indicate that
The claim "vaccines do not cause autism" is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism.
www.cdc.gov/vaccine-safe...
1/2
The claim "vaccines do not cause autism" is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism.
www.cdc.gov/vaccine-safe...
1/2
Reposted by Aidan Maartens
It’s the exclusive everyone wanted, the story that will win next year’s Pulitzer…
I can reveal London’s giant AI generated Christmas artwork, the subject of much online mockery, is being torn down - and I honestly *genuinely* think you’ll never guess why. www.londoncentric.media/p/ai-artwork...
I can reveal London’s giant AI generated Christmas artwork, the subject of much online mockery, is being torn down - and I honestly *genuinely* think you’ll never guess why. www.londoncentric.media/p/ai-artwork...
London's giant AI artwork to be torn down
The bizarre story of why a much-talked-about creation is being torn down. Plus: Docklands Light Railway extension, giant laser stalks the night sky, and more tales of Android phone theft rejection.
www.londoncentric.media
November 20, 2025 at 7:18 AM
It’s the exclusive everyone wanted, the story that will win next year’s Pulitzer…
I can reveal London’s giant AI generated Christmas artwork, the subject of much online mockery, is being torn down - and I honestly *genuinely* think you’ll never guess why. www.londoncentric.media/p/ai-artwork...
I can reveal London’s giant AI generated Christmas artwork, the subject of much online mockery, is being torn down - and I honestly *genuinely* think you’ll never guess why. www.londoncentric.media/p/ai-artwork...
Reposted by Aidan Maartens
Occasional reminder that if you're interested in the history and practice of scientific writing, and folks who give advice about scientific writing, I made a starter pack: go.bsky.app/TwZVnjU
November 18, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Occasional reminder that if you're interested in the history and practice of scientific writing, and folks who give advice about scientific writing, I made a starter pack: go.bsky.app/TwZVnjU
Reposted by Aidan Maartens
This mural has gone up in Kingston, ostensibly for Christmas but AI has ensured it's actually to celebrate the return of our dark lord Cthulhu
November 18, 2025 at 9:44 AM
This mural has gone up in Kingston, ostensibly for Christmas but AI has ensured it's actually to celebrate the return of our dark lord Cthulhu
Reposted by Aidan Maartens
#ZebrafishZunday: Cytoplasmic (or ooplasmic) streaming leads to the segregation of embryo from yolk granules. Credit to @shamipourshayan.bsky.social & @heisenbergcplab.bsky.social. 🧪
November 16, 2025 at 9:31 AM
#ZebrafishZunday: Cytoplasmic (or ooplasmic) streaming leads to the segregation of embryo from yolk granules. Credit to @shamipourshayan.bsky.social & @heisenbergcplab.bsky.social. 🧪
Reposted by Aidan Maartens
Anti-imm right will share the Guardian article and decide Labour have a woke open borders policy; progressive left will share the Sun article and conclude Labour are thugs snatching jewelry from the desperate. Instead of persuading both sides the risk is you anger both and persuade no one.
November 17, 2025 at 8:41 AM
Anti-imm right will share the Guardian article and decide Labour have a woke open borders policy; progressive left will share the Sun article and conclude Labour are thugs snatching jewelry from the desperate. Instead of persuading both sides the risk is you anger both and persuade no one.
Reposted by Aidan Maartens
Congratulations @hilarycmartin.bsky.social from @sangerinstitute.bsky.social on being awarded the 2026 Balfour Lecture!
November 14, 2025 at 12:35 PM
Congratulations @hilarycmartin.bsky.social from @sangerinstitute.bsky.social on being awarded the 2026 Balfour Lecture!
Reposted by Aidan Maartens
Using AI to write your application letter != technological progress.
As member of a committee evaluating hundreds of PhD fellowship applicants twice a year I can tell you it is a HUGE loss of signal that virtually all write ups are now produced by AI. And no obvious 'new one' available.
As member of a committee evaluating hundreds of PhD fellowship applicants twice a year I can tell you it is a HUGE loss of signal that virtually all write ups are now produced by AI. And no obvious 'new one' available.
According to signaling theory, some signals must be costly just to be costly—that's how you get a separating equilibrium. Think peacocks and their oversized feathers. So even if AI removes one costly signal, it doesn't mean we should stop technological progress — we'll just find new ones.
Is AI making job recruitment less meritocratic? We're getting some v interesting research studies on this question now, and the news is... not good. @jburnmurdoch.ft.com & I dive in, in the latest edition of our newsletter The AI Shift www.ft.com/content/e5b7...
November 14, 2025 at 12:15 PM
Using AI to write your application letter != technological progress.
As member of a committee evaluating hundreds of PhD fellowship applicants twice a year I can tell you it is a HUGE loss of signal that virtually all write ups are now produced by AI. And no obvious 'new one' available.
As member of a committee evaluating hundreds of PhD fellowship applicants twice a year I can tell you it is a HUGE loss of signal that virtually all write ups are now produced by AI. And no obvious 'new one' available.
Reposted by Aidan Maartens
A handy translation guide for non-academic speakers.
November 13, 2025 at 2:19 PM
A handy translation guide for non-academic speakers.
Reposted by Aidan Maartens
With sequencing of Hitler's DNA making headlines, time for a reminder: analysing a polygenic score from a dead historically-significant figure won't give new insights into that person's behaviour. In a brief paper last year, we used Beethoven's genome to directly illustrate the fallacies involved.🧪👇
Notes from Beethoven’s genome
Wesseldijk et al. compare the genomic information collected from Ludwig van Beethoven
with population-based datasets used to quantify musical achievement.
www.cell.com
November 13, 2025 at 11:26 AM
With sequencing of Hitler's DNA making headlines, time for a reminder: analysing a polygenic score from a dead historically-significant figure won't give new insights into that person's behaviour. In a brief paper last year, we used Beethoven's genome to directly illustrate the fallacies involved.🧪👇
Fantastic work from Sam Behajti's lab in the Cellular Genomics programme at the Sanger
A new type of cancer cell has been discovered in childhood leukaemia, which could impact clinical care for children with T-cell leukaemia (T-ALL).
Read more about this discovery and how it could help children with blood cancer, here ⤵️
www.sanger.ac.uk/news_item/my...
Read more about this discovery and how it could help children with blood cancer, here ⤵️
www.sanger.ac.uk/news_item/my...
Mystery of treatment-resistant childhood leukaemia uncovered
Discovery of a new cancer cell type could enable testing to predict treatment-resistant blood cancer in children with a certain type of leukaemia. This could allow them to reduce treatment intensity f...
www.sanger.ac.uk
November 12, 2025 at 11:30 AM
Fantastic work from Sam Behajti's lab in the Cellular Genomics programme at the Sanger
A name I remember well from my PhD. Spent an evening searching the library basement for his 1977 paper on fly wing development. Condolences to his family and friends.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
November 11, 2025 at 1:00 PM
A name I remember well from my PhD. Spent an evening searching the library basement for his 1977 paper on fly wing development. Condolences to his family and friends.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com/article/10.1...