A stool transplant delivers billions of microbes into a sick gut. Almost none move in for good. We followed donor-recipient pairs from whole communities down to single nucleotides, and found the gut runs a ruthless strain-level filter. Out now in Cell Reports 🧵 www.cell.com/cell-reports...

Strain-level ecological filtering governs microbial colonization of the human gut

Baertschi et al. demonstrate that microbiota transplantation functions as a selective ecological filter. Although donor species frequently appear, only specific lineages achieve stable strain integrat...

cell.com

Universität Bern@unibe.ch · last wk.

A strict “gatekeeper” decides whether a #fecaltransplant is effective: sohub.io/wruy. This is shown by a new study led by @bahtiyil.bsky.social from #unibern & @inselgruppe.bsky.social @dbmr-unibe.bsky.social

Queen Mary has received a £1.3m Wolfson Foundation grant to establish a Health and Pollution Research Hub. Led by Dr Vahitha Abdul Salam and Dr Abish Stephen, the Hub will explore how pollution impacts health. Read more: www.qmul.ac.uk/news/latest-...

Queen Mary awarded prestigious grant to better understand links between pollution and health

qmul.ac.uk

Very pleased to share this paper from Esme McPolin-Hall's PhD project. I was involved from the microbiology side, and it’s a very cool Staphylococcus–Cutibacterium–Malassezia story about #dandruff, dysbiosis and host signalling. 🧫🍄 1/ academic.oup.com/bjd/advance-...

Engineering microbial symbiosis and dysbiosis reveals a new AhR-mediated mechanism underlying dandruff pathogenesis

Microbial dysbiosis of the scalp microbiome drives dandruff-like phenotypic changes in a microbially-competent 3D skin organotypic model, including impaire

academic.oup.com

Supraphysiological Estradiol During Ovarian Stimulation Reveals Microbiome Resilience and Prevotella Opportunism https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.06.02.729571v1

#NatMicroPicks Antibiotics in the long run ⌛💊🦠 Antibiotic use shows lasting associations with reduced gut microbial diversity for up to 8 years, indicating long-term impacts on the adult gut microbiome. #MicroSky #MicrobiomeSky www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Antibiotic use and gut microbiome composition links from individual-level prescription data of 14,979 individuals - Nature Medicine

Using individual-level data from the Swedish Prescribed Drug Register and fecal metagenomes of 14,979 individuals in Sweden, the authors examined the association between oral antibiotic use over 8 yea...

nature.com

Excited to share this preprint that describes my latest work on using GPUs to accelerate processing of RNA-seq data. The title says it all: "RNA-seq analysis in seconds using GPUs" now on biorxiv www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... and github github.com/pachterlab/k... Figure 1 shows they key result

I think it was a mistake to put right-wing hot-take podcasters in charge of the FDA, NIH, CDC, and CMS—the so-called “MAGA podcaster to policy pipeline”

Jonathan Howard@joho.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Yes. This is about Prasad.

Immune cells from the gut drive development of Parkinson’s disease in the brain www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Immune cells from the gut drive development of Parkinson’s disease in the brain

In ‘body-first’ Parkinson’s disease, misfolded proteins propagate from the gut’s nervous system to the brain. Immune-cell activity seems to play a key part in this spread.

nature.com

📣 New paper alert! This is a story of molecular tricks that let spirochetes (spiral-shaped bacteria) drill through tissue. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Structural basis for curvature generation and functional specialization in spirochete flagella #MicroSky

Luca Troman@lucatroman.bsky.social · 6mo ago

🌀 We solved the structure for T. denticola periplasmic flagella! I'm very happy to finally showcase this work. A huge collaborative effort between myself, @bindusmitapaul.bsky.social, @debnathghosal.bsky.social, Jack Kim, @banfieldlab.bsky.social, Eric Reynolds and the Chris Fenno lab. 🦠 Enjoy!

More #PhDOpportunities! This time, developing physiologically relevant models to study dental #erosion. The project combines fluid flow simulation, surface metrology and imaging to understand how #enamel responds to dynamic acid and mechanical challenges. 🦷🌊🧪 Based at @unisouthampton.bsky.social!

AT-OHR@atohr-dtp.bsky.social · 5mo ago

🦷🌊🧪 #PhDOpportunity Dental #erosion results from repeated #acid exposure and #mechanical wear. This PhD develops physiologically relevant oral #models to study how #enamel responds to dynamic chemical and mechanical challenges. [1/2] 📍 @unisouthampton.bsky.social 👨🏻‍🔬 Dr. Richard Cook

Delighted to collaborate on this exciting #PhDOpportunity exploring links between the oral #microbiome and #brain health. This project will investigate how periodontal microbial metabolites influence the #bloodbrainbarrier and neurovascular biology. @drsimonmcarthur.bsky.social 🧠🧪

AT-OHR@atohr-dtp.bsky.social · 5mo ago

🧠 🧪#PhDOpportunity Could oral #microbes influence #brain health? This PhD investigates how periodontal microbial #metabolites interact with the #blood–brain barrier and affect neurovascular biology. 📍 @qmul.bsky.social 👨🏻‍🔬 @drsimonmcarthur.bsky.social www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

Excited to advertise a new #PhDOpportunity in my lab at @qmul.bsky.social exploring how oral microbial communities regulate dietary #nitrate metabolism and shape #nitricoxide biology. We’ll combine stable #isotope tracing and #metaomics to nitrate flux in oral #biofilms.🧪 Get in touch if interested!

AT-OHR@atohr-dtp.bsky.social · 5mo ago

🦠🧪 #PhDOpportunity Oral bacteria help convert dietary #nitrate into nitrite — a key step in #nitricoxide biology. This PhD investigates how #microbial communities regulate nitrate #metabolism in oral #biofilms. 📍 @qmul.bsky.social @qmul-coirm.bsky.social 👨🏾‍🔬 @astephen.bsky.social [1/2]

🦠🧪 #PhDOpportunity Can we weaken dental plaque without killing beneficial microbes? This PhD explores non-biocidal strategies to disrupt oral #biofilm structure, investigating how targeted interventions can destabilise plaque while preserving #microbiome balance. 📍 @glasgowcaledonian.bsky.social

🔬 Using laboratory and saliva-derived #biofilm models, this project examines how biofilm disruption affects community organisation, stability, and regrowth dynamics compared with conventional #antimicrobials. 🔗 Apply via ATOHR Project led by Dr. Will Johnston

🔬 Using ex vivo biofilm models and multi-omics, this project investigates how repeated low-level challenges influence microbial structure, stress tolerance, and cross-kingdom dynamics in the oral ecosystem. 🔗 Apply via #ATOHR [2/2]

Ecological Consequences of Environmental Stressors in Interkingdom Microbial Communities (Reference: SHLS26139-Ramage) at Glasgow Caledonian University on FindAPhD.com

PhD Project - Ecological Consequences of Environmental Stressors in Interkingdom Microbial Communities (Reference: SHLS26139-Ramage) at Glasgow Caledonian University, listed on FindAPhD.com

findaphd.com

🧪 #PhDOpportunity How do microbial communities adapt to everyday challenges? This PhD explores bacterial–fungal interactions in oral biofilms and how environmental stress shapes microbial community behaviour and resilience. 📍 @glasgowcaledonian.bsky.social At Prof. Gordon Ramage's group [1/2]

Ecological Consequences of Environmental Stressors in Interkingdom Microbial Communities (Reference: SHLS26139-Ramage) at Glasgow Caledonian University on FindAPhD.com

PhD Project - Ecological Consequences of Environmental Stressors in Interkingdom Microbial Communities (Reference: SHLS26139-Ramage) at Glasgow Caledonian University, listed on FindAPhD.com

findaphd.com

AI has huge promise for genomics -- but it has consistently failed at microbiome-based prediction. My new post on why simple models keep winning, where deep learning actually earns its place, and where the field is headed blekhman.substack.com/p/ai-keeps-f...

AI Keeps Failing at Microbiome Prediction

Why simple models keep winning, where deep learning still shines, and where the field is headed

blekhman.substack.com

this is what they said it would be like under socialism

FactPost@factpostnews.bsky.social · 5mo ago

RFK Jr. suggests Americans can more easily afford groceries if they start eating liver instead of beef: "Most of the cheap cuts of meat are very inexpensive. ... You can buy liver or the cheap cuts."

@qmul.bsky.social @bartscharity.bsky.social Doctoral Training Programme - five fully funded 4 year PhD Studentships in Biomedical Research. Closing date for applications: Monday March 16th 2026 Please share - more info here: www.findaphd.com/phds/program...

FindAPhD : Queen Mary University of London: Barts Charity Doctoral Training Programme at Queen Mary University of London

Apply for a PhD: Queen Mary University of London: Barts Charity Doctoral Training Programme at Queen Mary University of London

findaphd.com

Motion to stop referring to it as Next Generation Sequencing. That's like saying The Matrix is a recent movie

I mean, what are you supposed to do with people like this? It’s like saying that you wish your kids could get in some good old-fashioned car crashes without all those seatbelts and air bags.

Nicholas Thompson@nxthompson.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Del Bigtree, a longtime ally of RFK Jr., says he wants not only his own children to contract measles, but others as well. www.theatlantic.com/health/2026/...

Major advance in T. pallidum reserach: "First human cell-based cultivation system for the syphilis spirochete Treponema pallidum" link.springer.com/article/10.1... #MicroSky

Fully Funded PhD Studentship Opportunity (4 years) at Queen Mary, University of London Why is gum disease a risk factor for dementia? Come and help us find out! 🗓 Application deadline: 15th May 2026 Apply here: tinyurl.com/4xvdzpjs Please share! #Microbiome #Dementia #neuroskyence 🧪 1/3

Oral–systemic links: periodontal microbes and the blood-brain barrier at Queen Mary University of London on FindAPhD.com

PhD Project - Oral–systemic links: periodontal microbes and the blood-brain barrier at Queen Mary University of London, listed on FindAPhD.com

tinyurl.com

Come work with Ben Berks FRS in Oxford 2 x PDRA posts: Molecular Analysis of Bacterial Outer Membrane Protein Biogenesis 2 complementary projects investigating bacterial outer membrane protein biogenesis. Building on our recent work (Nature (2015) 647: 479-487) my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru...

Ethics.

Jake Scott, MD@jakescottmd.bsky.social · 6mo ago

New from @katherineeban.bsky.social in @rollingstone.com: CDC appointees bypassed the agency’s scientists to rush-fund a study questioning the hep B birth dose. The ethics committee president says his name was used on the approval without his knowledge. www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...

Interesting how this scandal involves for real some false claims made about Covid origin: - doing abroad with US funds research not allowed in the US - skipping the evaluation process and having approval straight at the director office As if false accusations were indeed admissions of intent

Jake Scott, MD@jakescottmd.bsky.social · 6mo ago

New from @katherineeban.bsky.social in @rollingstone.com: CDC appointees bypassed the agency’s scientists to rush-fund a study questioning the hep B birth dose. The ethics committee president says his name was used on the approval without his knowledge. www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...

"AGI is just around the corner, which will revolutionize everything. We just need to scale". There you go - that's a $1 trillion plan, $1 billion being peanuts 😉.

I’m genuinely, unironically impressed at the idea of having a $1b plan to do… anything. A $1m plan is trivial. A $30m plan takes real work. But a priced-out plan with reasonable timelines and expenses that comes to the order of a billion? That’s not easy

Forbes@forbes.com · 6mo ago

Gene Editing Has Struggled To Go Commercial. This Nobel Laureate Has A $1 Billion Plan To Fix That.

Culturing microbiome therapeutics with big data Emerging datasets from large human cohorts are dissecting the underlying mechanisms of microbiome–host interactions and accelerating progress in targeted microbiome therapeutics go.nature.com/4akDuef