A post about how to make microscopy images as accessible as possible. quantixed.org/2026/07/21/c...
Colorblind II: Microscopy images and colour blindness – quantixed
quantixed.org
Derrick Kamp
@kampamycin.bsky.social
they/he | Visualizing host-microbe interactions | Postdoctoral Fellow at UT Austin | derrickkamp.com
The 2026 Conference on Beneficial Microbes will be co-organized with the International Symbiosis Society from July 19th - July 23rd. Its not too late to register! #BeneficialMicrobes10 #BeneficialMicrobesMtg #ISS #SymbioSky
The best part of being a scientist is that when you discover something for the first time, you're the only person in history who's ever known it and it feels like you and nature have a lil secret
Our work on the symbiont-containing organelle that supports coral reefs is published today. Also, new genetic tools to study symbiosis in both corals and Aiptasia. Great work by Shumpei Maruyama, Cat Henderson, and the rest of the fantastic team. #SymbioSky www.cell.com/cell/abstrac...
Co-option of lysosomal machinery shapes the evolution of the intracellular photosymbiosis supporting coral reefs
Corals harbor intracellular algal symbionts in specialized organelles that enable them to build diverse reef ecosystems. Corals and other cnidarians have repeatedly evolved this symbiosis through the ...
cell.com
A step forward in discovering Buchnera's key to the aphid's heart, published today! Thanks to Jerry Maeda and other authors--a great team -- and to the helpful reviewers #SymbioSky doi: doi.org/10.1038/s415...
A secreted endosymbiont protein essential for colonizing host cells - Nature
SyeA was present in the Buchnera ancestor, is secreted into the host cytoplasm, is homologous to secreted effectors of bacterial pathogens and is essential for Buchnera transmission.
doi.org
Really grateful to have gotten to be a part of this paper just as my post doc started. Really neat stuff! A secreted endosymbiont protein essential for colonizing host cells www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A secreted endosymbiont protein essential for colonizing host cells - Nature
SyeA was present in the Buchnera ancestor, is secreted into the host cytoplasm, is homologous to secreted effectors of bacterial pathogens and is essential for Buchnera transmission.
nature.com
It feels like living in an autoclave here, but I've fallen in love with Austin's sky
🪼 Your tax dollars paid a scientist to squeeze jellyfish through cheesecloth. Osamu Shimomura processed tens of thousands on an NSF grant to understand why they glow. He found a protein that glowed green under UV light. Called it "green protein." Nobody cared. For decades.
Imagine making AI bird slop when kingfishers already exist
While I am obviously incensed that ankylosaurus didn't make the leaderboard, I actually laughed out loud when reading the footnote "We know pterodactyls and plesiosaurs are not dinosaurs"
David H. Montgomery@dhmontgomery.com · 4mo agoA shocking new poll result: Many Americans somehow don't have a favorite dinosaur. And only 6% give the correct answer (triceratops). Check out YouGov's new polling on Americans and dinosaurs: yougovamerica.substack.com/p/whats-your...
This may be lost in the noise--this is as impactful or more than the cuts to NIH and NSF 🧪
Brian Tyler Cohen@briantylercohen.bsky.social · 4mo agoBreaking: Trump orders the dismantling of the US Forest Service. All regional offices are being shut down and the research program destroyed.
I've been working to visualize the biogeography of the aphid's intracellular symbiont within whole insects. The pink bacteria live in the host's specialized bacteriocytes and embryos. Really excited about where this work is going! #FluorescenceFriday
Our paper is now out in its final form in @natcomms.nature.com ! We show that ancient insect symbionts can undergo extreme, convergent genome reduction to as little as ~50 kb - driven by ecological shifts and symbiont replacement. 🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s41... More below 👇 1/
Convergent extreme reductive evolution in ancient planthopper symbioses - Nature Communications
Symbiotic bacteria can have exceedingly small genomes. This study finds that ancient bacterial symbionts of planthoppers have repeatedly evolved the smallest known genomes, losing most biosynthetic fu...
nature.com
Happy to share Episode 126 of #MattersMicrobial, w Spencer Nyholm, discussing how maternal microbes protect squid eggs from fungal infection. Please spread the #GoodMicrobialWord? #MicrobialEvangelist #MicrobialCentricity @microbetv.bsky.social @spencernyholm.bsky.social youtu.be/aQKZNfx4nRQ?...
I'm hiring! I have 2 open positions: 🔬 Postdoc 🧪 Research associate We study how animal multicellularity evolved by exploring the molecular logic of cell adhesion using cell biology, 'omics, and tool-building in non-model organisms. Come join us! Details and application links 👇 Please repost
The Microbiome Centers Consortium (MCC) Early Career Working Group is looking for committee members! It's a great opportunity to explore career paths and connect with scientists across academia, industry and policy by assembling speaker panels for fellow early-career scientists! lnkd.in/em4hyq7E
Super stoked about the EMBL cellular mechanics of symbiosis conference. I loved the first time this conference was held 3 years ago, and this is going to be just as good. Let's see if I manage to stock to live skeeting this time! #EESSymbiosis @events.embl.org
How do scientists effectively communicate their work beyond the lab? Join us for Careers in Conversation: Communicating Science for Impact, a virtual panel featuring professionals who build careers around translating complex science for diverse audiences. Register Here: lnkd.in/gwxC-ujJ
The Microbiome Centers Consortium (MCC) Early Career Working Group is looking for committee members! It's a great opportunity to explore career paths and connect with scientists across academia, industry and policy by assembling speaker panels for fellow early-career scientists! lnkd.in/em4hyq7E
Hosting this panel this Friday! Come check it out
Derrick Kamp@kampamycin.bsky.social · 7mo agoInterested in a career focused on microbiology or microbiome education? The Microbiome Centers Consortium is hosting a panel of educators representing different paths in secondary education. Come hear the advice and experience of some great teachers! Register here: rutgers.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
One of last week’s most-viewed PNAS articles is “Lead in archived hair documents a decline in lead exposure to humans since the establishment of the US Environmental Protection Agency.” Explore the research: https://ow.ly/SMKg50YetGP More trending articles: https://ow.ly/bQ8f50YetzE
New preprint from @pawley.bsky.social @scottnichols.bsky.social is a great testament to how intentional imaging helps untangle potential functions and mechanisms of host-microbe interactions The discovery of an external bacterial niche reconciles sequencing-based microbiomes in a freshwater sponge
biorxiv.org
Come join our network at prideinmicrobiology.github.io! 🏳️🌈 Sign up for our mailing list for information about our events! 🦠 #Pride #STEM #LGBTQ
The widespread targeting of Native Americans demonstrates its not about legal status, its about racial profiling. ictnews.org/news/fearing...
Fearing ICE, Native Americans rush to prove their right to belong in the US - ICT
As Native Americans around the country rush to secure documents proving their right to live in the United States, many see a bitter irony.
ictnews.org
Interested in a career focused on microbiology or microbiome education? The Microbiome Centers Consortium is hosting a panel of educators representing different paths in secondary education. Come hear the advice and experience of some great teachers! Register here: rutgers.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
A z-stack image of aphid embryos and bacterial protein. The rainbow depth-coded projection grants the embryos a 3D effect, while the punctate white spots are bacterial protein. Feels very nebulous, in the most literal sense! #FluorescenceFriday
The cool part of microscopy is that even when you don't get good data, you can still get cool images. Aphid embryos labeled with DAPI, antibody and WGA. Imaged on an epifluorescence scope.
Interested in a career focused on microbiology or microbiome education? The Microbiome Centers Consortium is hosting a panel of educators representing different paths in secondary education. Come hear the advice and experience of some great teachers! Register here: rutgers.zoom.us/meeting/regi...