Next up: green sunbathers lining the beach. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Mouse eyes photosynthesize after plant-to-animal transplant

Could spinach extracts be the next treatment for dry-eye disease?

nature.com

Some people will remember Thing from the Addams Family

Nature Portfolio@natureportfolio.nature.com · 7mo ago

A paper in Nature Communications describes a detachable robotic hand that can crawl and grab objects. The design enables tasks such as retrieving objects beyond normal reach and performing multi-object handling. go.nature.com/3NTbMh7 🧪

Try this excuse if you get breathalyzed in a traffic stop.

Nature Portfolio@natureportfolio.nature.com · 7mo ago

A study in Nature Microbiology can inform future clinical interventions for auto-brewery syndrome, which is caused by gut microorganisms capable of producing ethanol that cause alcohol intoxication. go.nature.com/3NnRNXR #microsky #medsky 🧪

Glad to share our latest work on #barley and #climatechange. The heat is definitely on breeding! www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Projected shifts in climate and spring barley yields under future (CMIP6) scenarios across eight environmental zones in Europe

Breeding of climate-resilient barley cultivars requires knowledge about shifts in climate hazards and potential yield impacts. This Europe-wide study …

sciencedirect.com

@kevinfolta.bsky.social writes: “𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘜.𝘚. 𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘤𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘵 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘙𝘍𝘒 𝘑𝘳. 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘓𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘬𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦, [𝘦.𝘨.] 𝘳𝘦𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘴, 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩…”

The Parallels between RFK Jr and Tofrim Lysenko: When Pseudoscience Infects National Leadership | Skeptical Inquirer

His nation’s leadership placed him in a position of profound influence that would impact the health of a nation. Once installed, he offered rapid solutions ...

skepticalinquirer.org

Gene Editing, naturally! Glad to share the results of our survey of consumers and farmers in Finland regarding their views of Gene Editing. The concept of "naturalness" turned out to be important. #geneediting #biotechnology #genomics link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Is gene editing natural and does it matter? A qualitative analysis of citizen-consumers’ and farmers’ views on the use of new genomic techniques in plants - Agriculture and Human Values

This study examines the notions of ‘naturalness’ in Finnish citizen-consumers’ and farmers’ perspectives, through ten focus group discussions, on genetic modification (GM) and new genomic techniques (...

link.springer.com

🌱 📢 8th Fascination of Plants Day 2026 is officially launched! Join us by organising interactive events engaging the public around the 18 May 2026 or as a participant. More info: www.plantday18may.org 👉 bit.ly/4oVTuZw #PlantsDay2026 #Plants #PlantScience

A goldenberry (Physalis) with agronomic traits improved by gene editing! At least here in Finland, these delicious and healthful berries are pricey, so easier production would be welcome. nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Engineering compact Physalis peruviana (goldenberry) to promote its potential as a global crop

Goldenberry (Physalis peruviana) produces sweet, nutritionally rich berries, yet like many minor crops, is cultivated in limited geographical regions and has not been a focus of breeding programs for...

nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

💡 EPSO welcomes the provisional agreement reached by the Trilogue on the legislative proposal for regulation of New Genomic Techniques (NGTs) in plants. EPSO offers to contribute on a scientific basis. 🌱 #PlantScience #Biodiversity #Food2030EU #Bioeconomy #LifeSciences 👉 bit.ly/48Mds37

Europe cannot afford to fall behind on innovation! We join 25 EU agri-food organizations urging policymakers to conclude #NGTs trilogue talks now. Science-based rules = resilient crops & global competitiveness. Act today! 🌱 euroseeds.eu/app/uploads/...

🌱📢EPSO wishes to encourage the development of ideas and imaginative thinking in #PlantScience and offers two awards to young scientists to present at the EPSO General Assembly Science Day on 17th June 2026. Submission deadline is 31.1.2026. 👉https://bit.ly/43cbx5Q.

Soon, CDC will be listing protocols for exorcism.

Dan Diamond@ddiamond.bsky.social · 9mo ago

CDC has overhauled its website to assert that “the claim ‘vaccines do not cause autism’ is not an evidence-based claim”

Happy to have been a part of the worldwide effort to assemble a pan-genome and pan-transcriptome for oat! A great cereal crop with lots of health benefits. We hope this resource will advance oat quality improvement, resilience, and sustainability as well as provide a foundation for basic research.

A pangenome and pantranscriptome of hexaploid oat - Nature

A pangenome of oat, assembled from 33 wild and domesticated oat lines, sheds light on the evolution and genetic diversity of this cereal crop and will aid genomics-assisted breeding to improve product...

nature.com

Watson's troubling B-side

Brittany Trang@brittanytrang.com · 10mo ago

A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death. Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written." Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating. 🧪🧬🧫

Their longevity I've wondered about for a long time. Harder to decipher the lifespan of the Greenland Shark, maybe 500 yr.

Wim Meijer@wimgmeijer.bsky.social · 11mo ago

Four subtle tweaks to an enzyme could help explain why naked mole rats’ can live for nearly 30 years, an unusually long lifespan for a creature its size. The enzyme, cGAS, enhances the animal’s ability to repair genetic damage that leads to ageing. 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/d41...

A mechanism that I and certainly many others have wondered about has now been revealed.

Prof Sam Illingworth@samillingworth.com · 11mo ago

🌿 The Venus flytrap’s secret touch sensor A new study reveals that the protein MSL10 acts as a highly sensitive mechanosensor in the Venus flytrap. It enables the plant to detect touch, fire electrical signals, and snap shut on its prey. 🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s41... #SciComm #Plants 🧪

Happy International Coffee Day. Here is a new EFSA study, but don't lose sleep over it.

European Food Safety Authority@efsa.europa.eu · 11mo ago

☕ Happy #InternationalCoffeeDay Coffee is loved worldwide — and caffeine, its key ingredient, boosts alertness in moderate amounts. But how much is safe? What are the risks? Find out in our risk assessment: link.europa.eu/HMCRtV #Caffeine #RiskAssessment #EFSA

Who would have guessed? Why it's worth exploring the various branches of the tree of life.

Stefan A. Rensing @rensingstefan.bsky.social · 11mo ago

Here's 123 new bryophyte genomes for you! Apparently, bryophytes time and again include microbial genes in their genomic repertoire, and occupy a langer gene space than vascular plants. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

How about we call genome edited crops "barely mutant"? Seems to be a nice workshop below btw!

International Barley Hub@intbarleyhub.bsky.social · 11mo ago

Registration to the 4th International Barley Mutant 🧬Workshop #IBMW26 has opened. More info ibmw26.wordpress.com

The perfect cacio e pepe, how to stop shoe odor, and zebra-stiped cows! arstechnica.com/science/2025...

Meet the 2025 Ig Nobel Prize winners

The annual award ceremony features miniature operas, scientific demos, and the 24/7 lectures.

arstechnica.com

🫛 SPECIAL ISSUE REVIEW 🫛 Johansson et al. ✍️ Redox-active molecules such as ROS, RNS, and RSS orchestrate legume responses to diverse (a)biotic stresses and symbioses, offering novel strategies to enhance crop resilience in changing environments. 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/jxb/... #PlantScience 🧪

Heads up on this one.

Science Magazine@science.org · 12mo ago

Giraffes, long considered a single species, are in fact four. https://scim.ag/4n2po6f

Nice to see a genome assembly emerge for this barley wild relative. Hopefully, we'll learn how to improve barley's drought tolerance while maintaining yield.

@plantgenomics.bsky.social · 12mo ago

A chromosome-scale genome assembly of Hordeum erectifolium: genomic, transcriptomic and anatomical adaptations to drought in a wild barley relative doi.org/10.1101/2025...

"I’ve never heard as many colleagues saying things like 'CDC is dead’ as I have today," an agency employee told STAT. www.statnews.com/2025/08/28/c...

Crisis within CDC is spilling into real world, experts say

"I’ve never heard as many colleagues saying things like 'CDC is dead’ as I have today," an agency employee told STAT.

statnews.com

I miss the old brand #CDC

Pangenome reveals structural variant-driven variation in expression of in winter oilseed rape. Framework enables population-scale SV-eQTL discovery beyond traditional SNP-based approaches - major advance for functional genomics. Read more here:

Graphical pangenomics-enabled characterization of structural variant impact on gene expression in Brassica napus

rdcu.be

New Zealand had some of the most restrictive laws when it came to genetically engineered food crops. This move once again demonstrates how the NZ Government makes Science-based decisions. Take note, European Union! #PlantGMOs #PlantNGTs #PlantScience #Agroculture #Sustainability #PlantBreeding

KWS Group@kwsgroup.bsky.social · 12mo ago

NZ joins other Third Countries in updating GM labeling rules: foods made with #GenomeEditing but without new DNA will no longer require a GM label. Only products with added DNA/proteins will. ▶️ A shift toward science-based, risk-proportionate regulation! www.nzherald.co.nz/the-country/...

Really interesting to see this systematic and broad study on an important leaf trait.

ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success@coeplantsuccess.bsky.social · last yr.

📢 New publication 'A thinner jacket for frosty and windy climates? Global patterns in #leaf #cuticle thickness and its environmental associations' by Xin'e Liet al. in @newphyt.bsky.social 🍃🧪 doi.org/10.1111/nph....

The campaign against science by the Trump administration through grant slashing has reached FlyBase. There is an effort to crowd-fund this vital database:

Mark A. Hanson@hansonmark.bsky.social · last yr.

A reminder you/your lab can support FlyBase at Cambridge through the following link. Every bit helps. Please share if you yourself can't donate. www.philanthropy.cam.ac.uk/give-to-camb...

Happy to announce our current scan of the risk environment for NGT (gene editing) in animals, just published today. doi.org/10.2903/j.ef...