Swathi
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swath1.bsky.social
Swathi
@swath1.bsky.social
👩🏻‍🔬Scientist | 🦠Microbes | ⚡️Metabolism | 🧪Chemistry | 🐌Patterns | 🌎 Earth

Postdoc @ MIT - Using electrochemistry and genomics to measure and manipulate microbe/microbiome metabolism.
Reposted by Swathi
American Mineralogist:
Mariakrite, [Ca4Al2(OH)12(H2O)4][Fe2S4]: A new mineral and the first layered double hydroxide intercalated with dithioferrate (iron disulfide) chains
Mikhail N. Murashko, et al.
doi.org/10.2138/am-2...
Found in pyrometamorphic rocks in the Negev Desert.
October 1, 2025 at 12:01 PM
Reposted by Swathi
Here's the most important piece of data (as far as I am concerned). Comparing Earth Microbiome to the new ones (V4EXT) for major phyla. V4EXT by @ppjevac.bsky.social et al cover more diversity than current gold standard😱 Lot's of work, the entire field will benefit! My lab's gonna try V4EXT soon!
November 29, 2025 at 1:41 AM
Reposted by Swathi
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 🧵
November 25, 2025 at 8:41 PM
Reposted by Swathi
An Asgard archaeon with internal membrane compartments

Brilliant study led by @fmacleod.bsky.social and Andriko von Kügelgen. Tight collaboration with @buzzbaum.bsky.social and lab. Congrats to all authors!

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
November 7, 2025 at 10:44 AM
Reposted by Swathi
Deep-sea mining waste in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone may disrupt the ocean's twilight zone food webs by reducing the nutritional quality of particles vital to zooplankton and micronekton.
First study of its kind finds deep-sea mining waste threatens life and foodwebs in the ocean's dim 'twilight zone'
A new study led by researchers at the University of Hawaii (UH) at Mānoa published in Nature Communications is the first of its kind to show that waste discharged from deep-sea mining operations in the Pacific's biodiverse Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) could disrupt marine life in the midwater "twilight zone"—a vital region 200–1,500 meters below sea level that supports vast communities of zooplankton, tiny animals that serve as the ocean's basic food building blocks.
phys.org
November 6, 2025 at 10:00 AM
Reposted by Swathi
WE ARE BACK!!! Archaea Power Hour will return this coming WEDNESDAY, Oct. 22nd at 10AM EST/4PM CET. Check your email for the Zoom link (coming soon) or register here: forms.gle/6QvCjHH2H4pxro…. Take a look at the exciting talks we have planned to kick off our fall seminar series:
October 17, 2025 at 3:50 PM
Reposted by Swathi
New episode of #MattersMicrobial! The superlative Dr. Jeff Gralnick chats with the #QualityQuorum about bacteria that breathe metal! Please spread the #GoodMicrobialWord! @univpugetsound @asmicrobiology @microbe.tv

youtu.be/rh-TK2Bvxj8?...
October 10, 2025 at 8:43 PM
Reposted by Swathi
How Jane Goodall turned her childhood dream into reality – a sweet illustrated story of purpose and deep determination www.themarginalian.org/2015/01/19/m...
How Jane Goodall Turned Her Childhood Dream into Reality: A Sweet Illustrated Story of Purpose and Deep Determination
A heartening testament to the power of undivided intention.
www.themarginalian.org
October 4, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Reposted by Swathi
Tonight I learned that one of my heroes has died. I loved her and colleagues' "adventures" as a child and grew up to admire her scientific work for so many reasons. RIP Jane Goodall.

Jane Goodall, wildlife advocate and primate expert, dies at 91 - www.reuters.com/business/env...
Wildlife advocate, primate expert Jane Goodall dies at 91
Scientist and global activist Jane Goodall, who turned her childhood love of primates into a lifelong quest for protecting the environment, died on Wednesday at the age of 91, the institute she founded said.
www.reuters.com
October 1, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Reposted by Swathi
Silent Spring was published on this day in 1962, catalyzing the environmental movement. The deeply human story behind it: www.themarginalian.org/2017/01/27/r...
The Story Behind “Silent Spring”: How Rachel Carson’s Countercultural Courage Catalyzed the Environmental Movement
“It is, in the deepest sense, a privilege as well as a duty to have the opportunity to speak out — to many thousands of people — on something so important.”
www.themarginalian.org
September 27, 2025 at 1:28 PM
Reposted by Swathi
I find this reassuring. LLMs don't replace the need to learn how to write whatsoever.

There really are no shortcuts to thinking super hard for many hours. That is the only wait to do good science. All shortcuts are an illusion.

--> This is good for the humans! Roll your sleeves up and think.
September 18, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Reposted by Swathi
Have you ever looked at some differentially occurring gene clusters in a microbial #pangenome and thought to yourself "I wonder if they contribute to any metabolic modules"?

With the most recent changes, the answer is a few clicks away in #anvio 😇
September 18, 2025 at 10:05 AM
Reposted by Swathi
Hydrogen sulfide production distinguishes Salmonella from close relatives, but its biological significance remains obscure. This study uncovers the secret: Salmonella uses hydrogen sulfide production as a weapon to outcompete E. coli and gain a foothold in the gut.
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
September 13, 2025 at 6:32 PM
Reposted by Swathi
“Do you need a prod? Do you need a little darkness to get you going?”

Mary Oliver would have been 90 today. Her immortal wisdom on the measure of a life well lived: www.themarginalian.org/2015/02/09/m...
Mary Oliver on the Measure of a Life Well Lived and How to Magnify Your Aliveness
“Do you need a prod? Do you need a little darkness to get you going?”
www.themarginalian.org
September 11, 2025 at 4:47 AM
Reposted by Swathi
Phew!!! Thank goodness we have a 2025 GRFP announcement!
September 9, 2025 at 12:13 PM
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Reconstructing long-range axons from dense brain images is tough.

This study introduces a novel method that separates axon identification from global statistical rules, showing big improvements over existing tools for mapping neuronal projections.
buff.ly/OBKr9cM
September 7, 2025 at 10:01 AM
Reposted by Swathi
Redox conduction facilitates direct interspecies electron transport in anaerobic methanotrophic consortia www.science.org/doi/full/10.... #jcampubs
Redox conduction facilitates direct interspecies electron transport in anaerobic methanotrophic consortia
Methane-consuming microbial partners use redox conductors to pass electrons.
www.science.org
August 25, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Reposted by Swathi
Octopuses sense environmental microbiomes to drive predatory and parental behaviors. Artwork by Lily Soucy. #evolution #sensation #microbiome @cellpress.bsky.social
September 4, 2025 at 2:56 PM
Reposted by Swathi
'Early on in her life, Esther defied societal conventions by pursuing biochemistry, against recommendations from her teachers who believed that a career in science was too difficult for women'
academic.oup.com/genetics/adv...
Pioneer of bacterial genetics: the legacy of Esther Miriam Lederberg
Abstract. Esther Miriam Lederberg's brilliant scientific lifework, from the discovery of phage lambda, bacterial conjugation, and replica plating, provided
academic.oup.com
September 1, 2025 at 3:47 AM
Reposted by Swathi
📢 New paper in @nature.com

Microbes rock 🎸🤘 with sulfide and iron minerals

I am very excited to share our recent study, which describes a previously unknown microbial energy metabolism ⚡⚡⚡🦠🧫⚡⚡⚡

🆕 Microbial iron oxide respiration coupled to sulfide oxidation - MISO

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Microbial iron oxide respiration coupled to sulfide oxidation - Nature
Genomic and biochemical analyses of prokaryotic sulfur metabolism identify diverse microorganisms with the capacity to oxidize sulfide using iron(iii).
www.nature.com
August 27, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Reposted by Swathi
Have you ever wondered what increasing environmental stress will do to microbial communities?

In our new preprint, @martinadalbello.bsky.social, Jeff Gore and I studied the impact of salinity on microbial community composition and function. 🧵 (1/5)
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Microbial communities demonstrate robustness in stressful environments due to predictable composition shifts
Environmental stress reduces species growth rates, but its impact on the function of microbial communities is less clear. Here, we experimentally demonstrate that increasing salinity stress shifts com...
www.biorxiv.org
August 25, 2025 at 2:33 PM
Reposted by Swathi
The final paper from my PhD project is out! Check it out for lots of live recordings of regenerating limbs.

We show how we optimized long-term live imaging of regenerating crustacean limbs, up to 10 days, with high temporal resolution.

#microscopymonday #regeneration #liveimaging
Latest paper elifesciences.org/articles/107... closes an important cycle in our efforts to study regeneration: week-long recordings allow us to observe the behaviour of cells during the entire course of regeneration in a crustacean leg – bright objects in movie are fluorescent nuclei of cells. 1/6
August 11, 2025 at 12:51 PM
Reposted by Swathi
“To stare into the spiral top of a whelk or cone shell is to see the swirl of the Milky Way.”

If you love the intersection of art and science, cultural history and conservation, this lovely read is for you: www.themarginalian.org/2022/07/21/s...
Seashells and the Spiral of Wonder at the Intersection of Art and Science
“Seashells were money before coin, jewelry before gems, art before canvas… To stare into the spiral top of a whelk or cone shell is to see the swirl of the Milky Way.”
www.themarginalian.org
August 18, 2025 at 9:16 PM
Reposted by Swathi
Many spores from the Firmicutes group are decorated with hair-like structures. Since the 60s, they remained a mystery. @remaut-lab.bsky.social named these fibres ENdospore Appendages (ENAs). Using Cryo-ID, we report the identity, structure and function of F-ENA.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Cryo-EM identifies F-ENA of Bacillus thuringiensis as a widespread family of endospore appendages across Firmicutes - Nature Communications
B. thuringiensis spores contain uncharacterized protein filaments that extend from the surface of the exosporium. Here, the authors show that these filaments feature conserved β-barrel neck domains an...
www.nature.com
August 17, 2025 at 5:52 AM