Marc Zimmer
@lightupscience.bsky.social
Author State of Science, Illuminating Disease, Bioluminescence, Cleaner Greener Planet and Glowing Genes. Life is fun when GFP glows. Chemistry professor, teaching with AI, @conncoll 🇿🇦 🇺🇸🇩🇪
Oof. This is less than when I was a GRFP 15 years ago
Joshua Weitz@joshuasweitz.bsky.social · 4d agoNSF just announced its GRFP solicitation due in October - deadline varies by field: www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo... Now for the bad news... * NSF estimates they will issue 1,500 awards, down from 2,500+ last year. * NSF removed STEM Education and Learning Research as a Major Field.
The daily global average sea surface temperature has just reached its highest level on record, per C3S. "The timing of the record is particularly notable. Global ocean temperatures are typically highest in March and April, following the austral summer, yet this record has been reached in August."
The highest mountain in the world is Mt Everest, right?! Well, if you count the actual mountain rather than from sea level Mauna Kea is the highest. If look for the point that's furthest away from the earth's center it's Chimborazo. Source: buff.ly/2zZ1lPt
Political Studies is the most gender equal subject. This fun grap by @telegraph shows A-level gender disparity in 2026.
Discovery of a buried charge-network GFP-fold family spanning prokaryotes and eukaryotes (Draft manuscript) https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.07.29.741452v1
Discovery of a buried charge-network GFP-fold family spanning prokaryotes and eukaryotes (Draft manuscript) https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.07.29.741452v1
The hardest puzzle ever? It's got to be a protein! My hobby is turning protein structures into #OddlySatisfying 3D puzzles. Here's GFP (PDB: 1EMA)! 🧩🧬🧪 🎥 youtube.com/shorts/3ljlR... 📸 www.instagram.com/reel/Da2NKpT...
The hardest puzzle ever? It’s a protein!
YouTube video by Proteotopical
youtube.com
Did he miss chances during that stretch? Yes. Did he become Harry Kane? No. But great chemistry with #11, and always a threat to affect the game. People act like he’s cooked and needs to go to Saudi, but the reality is he’s a 25yo player that needs to mature but can have great stretches of form.
Full spectrum of multi-colored "zebrabow" larvae. Credit to @jhenninger.bsky.social. #PrideMonth 🏳️🌈🐟 #ZebrafishZunday 🧪
My new piece in @us.theconversation.com : Genome sequencing can connect ancient plague graves to the Black Death and trace a COVID-19 outbreak from one conference room across a continent. But DNA alone is not enough. Disease history needs human context too.
Genome sequencing is rewriting the history of disease outbreaks – but without social context, it can tell only part of the story
From the Black Death to the COVID-19 pandemic, combining the genetic data of a pathogen with historical records, archaeological artifacts and epidemiological studies can uncover its origins.
theconversation.com
Bioluminescent algae’s blue light harnessed to make 3D-printed shapes www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
Bioluminescent algae’s blue light harnessed to make 3D-printed shapes
Scientists suggest algae could be embedded within biosensors that glow when toxins detected in the environment
theguardian.com
Mindboggling Science article #2. AI can now match or exceed physician-level clinical diagnostic reasoning.
AI can reason like a physician—what comes next?
Text-based AI can think like a physician; the challenge is achieving safe clinical implementation
science.org
This chart might look political, but it’s really about data science. The UK can rank great or poorly depending on the KPIs you choose. Our choice of data decides how we view reality.
PinkyCaMP is finally published!! My first paper co-first authored with @sikmys.bsky.social where we make a great optogenetic and multiplex compatible red calcium indicator. Thank you to @massecklab.bsky.social and @campbell-lab.bsky.social for guiding this journey www.nature.com/articles/s41...
PinkyCaMP: an mScarlet-based calcium sensor with enhanced brightness, photostability and multiplexing capabilities - Nature Methods
PinkyCaMP is a red genetically encoded calcium indicator with improved brightness and photostability. Derived from mScarlet, it does not exhibit photoswitching upon blue light illumination and is ther...
nature.com
In France, legislation came into effect recently for all car parks that have over 80 spaces to be covered with solar panels. Estimated to add around 11GW of renewable energy capacity to the national grid. Why not do likewise in Scotland? Braehead, Silverburn, Glasgow Fort etc.
I'm deep down the rabbit hole on FROGFISH, 60 species of anglerfish in family Antennariidae. They are deeply, utterly WEIRD & MARVELOUS. Most walk on modified fins. Others use jet propulsion. Some are capable of air-breathing. Some are "hairy", others blend perfectly in sargassum.
"Kleptoproteinism" - I have learned a new word today, and I love it.
This Glowing Fish Steals Bioluminescence Instead of Making Its Own Light
Learn more about the golden sweeper, a type of fish that steals bioluminescent proteins from its prey to glow, a rare case of kleptoproteinism.
discovermagazine.com
‼️NEW ANGLERFISH PAPER! 🐟🎣 So excited to share the final part of my Master’s research! We explore the bizarre tacklebox of anglerfish lures and show how these fishes evolved different ways to attract prey and maybe even mates in the deep sea. 🧪🦑🌊🦇🦀 Open access paper link: doi.org/10.1643/i202...
My new young adult book, Diseases Without Borders, is officially out. It explores plagues, pandemics, and the science that helps us understand how disease moves through our interconnected world. #YoungAdultBooks #Pandemics #ScienceBooks @lernerbooks.bsky.social #21stCenturyBooks
My prediction for the latest trend in academic buildings: Faraday cage testing halls (including bathrooms) with no signal for assessment.
Ultraviolet light illuminates species-specific biofluorescent (🙄)casque patterns in cassowaries www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Look at the size of Vietnam in green. Then look at Iran in blue. The US only had troops in half of Vietnam and peak strength was 580K. The idea of fighting a ground war in Iran as Trump is suggesting sounds rather adventurous to me. Great use of a size comparison map by @NavyStrang btw!
The UK used less coal in 2025 than they did in 1600, when Shakespeare was writing Hamlet. Source: buff.ly/Ifmz1Eo
This map by @xruiztru shows how the world reacted to the US-Israeli strikes on Iran. The Iranian diaspora appears to be in favour of the strikes.
