In the run up to confirmation and clearing, the BBC will be running a series of feature articles that portray universities in a negative light, rubbing salt in the wounds of a sector suffering from underfunding and financial deficits. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Should student mental health responsibility fall to universities?

The number of students reporting mental health concerns is rising. But to what extent should the onus be on universities?

bbc.co.uk

The Softcomp annual meeting is starting in Venice-Mestre. Looking forward to catching up with the community and making new connections. Already had very interesting and fruitful discussions over lunch.

Engineering biology to be a ‘focus’ in 10-year R&D plan. Emerging technology to feature in upcoming plan as government combats R&D “short-termism”, science minister says. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...

Engineering biology to be a ‘focus’ in 10-year R&D plan - Research Professional News

Emerging technology to feature in upcoming plan as government combats R&D “short-termism”, science minister says

researchprofessionalnews.com

"Those travelling to the US need information on what customs and border protection staff are entitled to seize or search, including phone and laptop security; what to do if detained at customs; their rights if arrested; and risks of relocation to prisons within the US or El Salvador."

Research Professional News@resprofnews.bsky.social · last yr.

A safety manual for academics visiting America. Petra Boynton looks at what advice UK universities should give US-bound researchers and students. Trending on our site: www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-v...

📣PhD available in our group focusing on Digital & Flow Chemistry for #MOF production. Based in Sch Chemistry & iPRD @UniLeeds. Start date: 1st Oct 2025. ⏰️Deadline 30th May. Please repost to spread the word 🙏 #chemsky #phdjobs eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com?url=https%3A...

Hiking at Malham in the Yorkshire Dales with our visiting collaborators for the ACROPATH project. A privilege to live so close to fantastic countryside for weekend activities.

Great to welcome our collaborators from Japan to @universityofleeds.bsky.social for the kickoff meeting for our ACROPATH project. A UK-Japan Engineering Biology project to develop novel biomedical technologies, funded by @ukri.org MRC and AMED.

New paper led by the work of Darcey (experiment) and Anna (modelling) looking at how membrane transport and membrane potentials regulate an autocatalytic enzyme reaction confined within vesicles. We find that proton transport can be used to regulate reaction dynamics. doi.org/10.1021/acsn...

Membrane Transport Modulates the pH-Regulated Feedback of an Enzyme Reaction Confined within Lipid Vesicles

Understanding ion transport dynamics in reactive vesicles is pivotal for exploring biological and chemical processes and essential for designing synthetic cells. In this work, we investigate how proton transport and membrane potential regulate pH dynamics in an autocatalytic enzyme reaction within lipid vesicles. Combining experimental and numerical methods, we demonstrate that compartmentalization within lipid membranes accelerates internal reactions, attributed to protection from the external acidic environment. In experiments, we explored how proton movement significantly impacts internal reactions by changing bilayer thickness, adding ion transporters, and varying buffers. Numerical investigations incorporated electrical membrane potential and capacitance into a kinetic model of the process, elucidating the mechanisms that dictate the control of reaction time observed in the experiment, driven by both electrical and chemical potential gradients. These findings establish a framework for controlling pH clock reactions via membrane changes and targeted manipulation of proton movement, which could aid in the design of synthetic cells with precise, controlled functionalities.

doi.org

Recent publication presenting the work of Dr Rosa Catania on the application of solid-supported hybrid lipid-polymer membranes for the electrochemistry of a membrane redox enzyme on electrode surfaces. pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a...

Solid-supported polymer–lipid hybrid membrane for bioelectrochemistry of a membrane redox enzyme

Hybrid membranes, consisting of phospholipids and amphiphilic block polymers, offer enhanced stability compared to liposomes and greater biocompatibility than polymersomes. These qualities make them a...

pubs.rsc.org

With all the talk of Elon Musk's fellowship of the Royal Society, there's not enough focus on how he's an FRS in the first place. Is financing companies a “substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge”? He clearly hasn't been the intellectual driver of all these technologies!

Research intensive UK universities would collapse in no time at all if UKRI overhead rates were capped at 15%. Some US universities have considerable endowment funds to fall back on, but I bet many outside the top tier of institutions don't.

Carl T. Bergstrom@carlbergstrom.com · 2y ago

1. Today the NIH director issued a new directive slashing overhead rates to 15%. I want to provide some context on what that means and why it matters. grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...

Baconfaced codger unfoundedly blames everything he sees as wrong in his country on minorities. He's just a parody of the right wing stereotype.

Chin up. Only about 1450 days to go. Start chalking them off on your bedroom wall. Unless he changes the constitution, of course! 😱

One week left until the application deadline for these two exciting postdoc positions. Please repost and circulate to your networks. Thank you.

Paul Beales @bealeslab.bsky.social · 2y ago

We are recruiting 2 postdocs for the ACROPATH project, which aims to develop artificial cells for diagnosis of pathogen infections. This is a joint UK-Japan collaboration with secondments at project partners. Deadline is Monday 3rd February. Details of the positions are below. Please repost!

Twitter is dead! Long live Twitter!

Nature@nature.com · 2y ago

Roughly 6,000 readers answered our poll, with many declaring that Bluesky was nicer, kinder and less antagonistic to science than X https://go.nature.com/42tH8Ai

Clearly, I'm a leader in my institution, having moved 2 weeks before them! 😆 In reality, I'm well behind the wave of trend-setters and should have done it several months earlier... As should every academic institution. Surprised RP aren't using his formal academic title though... Elon Musk FRS. 😬

Research Professional News@resprofnews.bsky.social · 2y ago

The University of Leeds has become the first Russell Group university to officially announce that it is quitting Elon Musk’s social media site X. It will, however, be alive and well on Bluesky. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

Late adopter with Bluesky after Mastodon was a disappointing attempt at an alternative to Twitter. This is already looking much better and like Twitter was >5 years ago. Let's hope the trolls stay on X!

a cartoon monkey is holding a can of soda in his hand while confetti is falling around him .

ALT: a cartoon monkey is holding a can of soda in his hand while confetti is falling around him .

media.tenor.com

We are recruiting 2 postdocs for the ACROPATH project, which aims to develop artificial cells for diagnosis of pathogen infections. This is a joint UK-Japan collaboration with secondments at project partners. Deadline is Monday 3rd February. Details of the positions are below. Please repost!

a sign that says we 're hiring in orange on a white background

ALT: a sign that says we 're hiring in orange on a white background

media.tenor.com