Blinking upconversion nanoparticles enable < 1 nm super-resolution imaging #upconversion #optics #chemsky www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Spontaneous and indefinite blinking in upconverting nanoparticles for ångström-precision multicolour super-resolution imaging - Nature Nanotechnology

Compositionally engineered, spontaneously blinking upconverting nanoparticles enable multicolour super-resolution imaging with a single excitation source and achieve localization precision down to 0.6...

nature.com

Earlier this year UKRI launched a funding call to invest £40M in ONE AI lab. www.ukri.org/opportunity/... For some unknown reason they decided to fund TWO AI labs at the cost of £60M. An extra £20M. Just found. That's the equivalent of 7 more years of Jodrell Bank. www.ukri.org/news/ukri-la...

UKRI launches two AI research labs to stay ahead in global race

Two new labs will back British researchers to develop next generation artificial intelligence (AI) systems, helping secure the UK’s position as a global leader.

ukri.org

Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans@astroroyalscot.bsky.social · last wk.

I'm absolutely devastated for colleagues at Jodrell Bank who found out this morning that funding for the UK's e-MERLIN radio telescope array will be terminated. This is a short-sighted move, to save a tiny fraction of the overall UK science budget. #SaveJodrellBank 🔭🧪 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

@alicefraser.bsky.social a fun coincidence in my podcast feed

@alicefraser.bsky.social perhaps a science story for The Gargle? The latest in synthetic cells. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

This Cell Feeds, Grows and Reproduces. And It’s Manmade. (Gift Article)

From chemical building blocks, scientists have created synthetic cells that have most of the hallmarks of life.

nytimes.com

The latest impressive work on artificial cells, from the group of Prof Kate Adama, who led the big report on Mirror Life risks in Science in 2024.

James Mackinnon@jamackinn.bsky.social · last mo.

I don't think we're talking about Spud Cells — the cells that are almost alive — enough www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Today in science diagrams that go hard - this paper on where they fire an air gun at a mechanoluminescent material!

This may be in my latest seminar talk, specifically relating to quantum superfluorescence

Side Effect xkcd.com/3261/

@realmsunknown.bsky.social deep dive for this week is First Contact (With a New Species / civilisation). Tell me your favourite examples of first contact done interestingly in sci fi and fantasy!

Think this week is hot in the UK? In 30 years' time this could look mild, according to a new @metoffice.gov.uk forecast of a 1976-style heatwave in 2056. The forecast suggested a peak of 45C and nine consecutive days at more than 40C. Story soon.

My latest video on Newcastle. Take a trip through the city's architecture, famous bridges, urbanism, and history - from its founding as a Roman fort 2,000 years ago to its Georgian city planning, right up to its modern day regeneration. www.youtube.com/watch?v=inf8...

Why I like Newcastle

YouTube video by CityEd.

youtube.com

#Upconverison nanoparticles are good because they don't "blink", unlike conventional dyes. But every rule has an exception - here's a new paper about blinking #UCNPs for super-res microscopy! #optics #photonics #chemsky www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Spontaneous photoblinking upconversion microscopy - Nature Photonics

Spontaneous photoblinking in Yb3+/Ho3+-codoped upconversion nanoparticles enables super-resolution imaging of biological cells with a spatial resolution down to 30 nm at excitation power densities of ...

nature.com

New #preprint from my group - using a different polymer molecular weight made our #upconversion nanoparticles ~5X brighter, but the trade-off is FRET efficiency! A nice showcase of our new spectrometer capabilities & a big thanks to excellent collaborators! chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.... #Chemsky

Thermo Fisher now has a page up in response to our observations. They flatly deny that images were manipulated or fabricated while repeating that images were "optimized for presentation and clarity on the website", no lie, six times. www.thermofisher.com/us/en/home/l...

Reese Richardson@reeserichardson.bsky.social · 2mo ago

The Thermo Fisher situation keeps getting worse. We've now collected 450+ problematic images presented as verification data in TF's antibody catalog. This includes: 🖌️ Dozens more images with duplications or painting 🖨️ Hundreds of blots that all share the same background (behold slideshow below)

Pretty much the last place in the universe I'd expect to find planets is in the incredibly violent and radiation-laden accretion disks around supermassive black holes. And yet… maybe? ⚫ 🌎 www.scientificamerican.com/article/plan... [thanks to @saavikford.bsky.social for a convo about this] 🧪 🔭

Planets may swarm around supermassive black holes. Could any be habitable?

Planets might exist in the least likely place you’d imagine—around the outskirts of supermassive black holes

scientificamerican.com

somebody’s dream job just dropped

Museums + Heritage@museumsandheritage.com · 2mo ago

JOB POST ALERT Role: Head of Stonehenge at English Heritage Location: Stonehenge Salary: Salary from £64,189 p.a. Find out more: https://museumsandheritage.com/advisor/all-jobs/english-heritage-head-of-stonehenge/

A topical paper - #upconversion nanoparticles enable trans-tissue non-invasive release of GLP-1 upon NIR light stimulus, providing extended glycemic control #chemsky #BioNanoTech www.cell.com/cell-biomate...

Upconversion nanoparticles-loaded injectable supramolecular hydrogels for on-demand glycemic regulation by optogenetic GLP-1 release

Kim et al. develop an injectable supramolecular hydrogel platform integrating upconversion nanoparticles and optogenetically engineered cells for on-demand GLP-1 secretion. Administered via a single s...

cell.com

#upconversion nanoparticles turbo-charge micro-algae by converting NIR light to visible light - interesting! #BioNanoTech #nanotechnology #chemsky pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10....

Upconversion Nanoparticles Expand the Photosynthetically Active Spectrum of Microalgae into the Near-Infrared for CO2 Biofixation

The process of photosynthetic carbon fixation by microalgae represents a significant pathway for achieving green and sustainable carbon capture. However, the mismatch between the microalgal pigments’ ...

pubs.acs.org

“On 20 May the university’s UCU branch said it will take 61 days of strike action from Monday 1 June to Friday 31 July, on top of a pre-scheduled strike day in May.” Two months of strikes confirmed at #Nottingham University. Difficult times for everyone involved. @uniofnottingham.bsky.social

Times Higher Education (THE)@timeshighered.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Staff at the University of Nottingham are set to go on strike for two months and begin a marking boycott in a dramatic escalation of their campaign against planned job cuts at the institution. Juliette Rowsell reports #highered #strikes #edusky https://ow.ly/xoGG50Z2cp3

If you wish to support our efforts, you can do so here. Any funds donated here will be used to off set any loss income suffered by those of us mabbing. www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding... You can also donate here: UCU Nottingham LA63 Hardship Fund Account number: 20346359 Sort code: 60-83-01

Help raise £10000 to support the Nottingham UCU hardship fund – JustGiving Crowdfunding

Iʼm raising money to support the Nottingham UCU hardship fund. Support this JustGiving Crowdfunding Page.

justgiving.com

Hello. The moment you gate educational videos behind a paywall, a massive wall of bureaucracy goes up. Teachers have to beg administrators for budgets, companies have to wine-and-dine school boards, millions of students get locked out, and people get forced into using material they don't like.

Pint of Science is on this week in Glasgow

The Christophers is an excellent movie and I recommend you go see it!

Crazy news from Nottingham Uni. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

University of Nottingham puts 2,700 staff at risk of redundancy

The University of Nottingham says it is facing

bbc.co.uk

Picked up a copy of Focus magazine. The article on #mirrorlife is good. The 2 page editorial spread did give me a chuckle though! Our mirror life detection preprint is still making it's way through the peer review system... hope it'll get some press attention when it does!

Beautiful new preprint from Antonio and Andres on the evolution of eye loss in spiders! Find the full thread below for details on unequal losses across parallel visual systems, possible regains of eyes, 1000s of surveyed species, ecological and developmental clues, and a gratuitous dinosaur emoji 🦕

MultiplEye Lab@multipleye-lab.bsky.social · 3mo ago

📢 New pre-print alert! Most spiders have eight eyes, but not all - PhD researcher Antonio Galán Sánchez and Dr Andres Rivera Quiroz @naturalis.bsky.social led an exciting new analysis of the evolution of eye number and losses in spiders on a truly incredible scale! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

The Davidson glass works in England really took fluorescence to the next level #uraniumglass

Our placement student just got some exciting lab results today! 😁 Wish I could share them, but it is ultra-early stage and so has to remain secret for now 😉 It'll be a fun paper later in the year!

I'm thrilled to announce that my book LOST IN CURIOSITY: Field Notes from Scientists' Adventures into the Unknown is available to pre-order now and has been chosen for Indies Introduce, the American Booksellers Association's list of best summer/fall debuts! www.instagram.com/p/DYCj597DTp... (1/N)

Good video by Prof Dave Explains about Hantavirus and what we know, and why not to panic. Worth a watch and a share! #hantavirus #science www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZWx...

Hantavirus: What You Need to Know (Featuring Marion Koopmans)

YouTube video by Professor Dave Explains

youtube.com