But also, the story of how penicillin came to be made in Japan, before the war was even over, is a curious tale in itself.
In mice, the antifungal Nys34 reduced fungal burden without substantial signs of toxicity. It also appears to kill fungal cells differently from amphotericin.
New antimicrobials could help tackle deadly drug-resistant infections
Scientists at Imperial College London and the University of Manchester have developed a promising new way to create safer and more effective treatments for life-threatening fungal infections.
phys.org
Quick trip to Bishop Auckland - very pretty & posh but also slightly derelict in places. Most tourist attractions *very* expensive & not child- friendly, but viewing tower & deer park were great.
a fine 🧵on cyclosporiasis and what it has to do with theodor escherich #MicroSky
c0nc0rdance@c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 4d agoThe headlines are still covering the cyclosporiasis outbreak from lettuce, but let's talk about a different summer, long ago. The headlines in Bavaria would have called it "summer diarrhea" & it was killing babies. Enter our hero, Professor Theodor Escherich of the Julius Hospital, Würzburg.
New drug for super-gonorrhoea [zoliflodacin] points to better antibiotic development. www.telegraph.co.uk/global-healt...
New drug for super-gonorrhoea points to better antibiotic development
It is possible to break the cycle that has left much of the world waiting years for new antibiotics
telegraph.co.uk
Terrific article about the govt's new "science policy" that shreds university basic research in favor of a tech bro approach to innovation. Little does the Trump admin realize that innovations from drugs to AI depend on basic research that the for-profit sector does not produce.
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 7d agoNew in PN: The new "science golden age" looks suspiciously like a grift "It’s impossible not to wonder whether part of Trump’s loathing for universities is that there's no way for him to corrupt the process and make money off it in the same way he can by giving billions to Silicon Valley types."
Feel so sorry for Fauci having to sit & listen to these morons, let alone take their vulgar abuse.
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · last wk.Rep. Ogles: "Look, I don't want to play down the effects of the virus, but at the end of the day it had a roughly 1 percent mortality rate. We coulda gotten through this."
As a 70s child & one-time Goodies fan i was sad to say goodbye to Bill Oddie today, but happy to discover his musical genius went *way* beyond the Funky Gibbon. youtu.be/6PlLVqrGlRg?...
Bill Oddie - I Can't Get Through.wmv
YouTube video by budsmith65
youtu.be
Our latest paper on how transcription factor binding sites for global regulators can evolve in bacteria is now published in eLife! Mutation by mutation, we are uncovering the regulatory landscapes of bacteria. elifesciences.org/digests/1037...
Step by mutational step
New bacterial regulatory interactions can evolve more readily than previously appreciated, providing new insights into the evolution of gene regulation.
elifesciences.org
This is the face of a woman who does not want to hear one more word about The Stone Roses.
World of Bacteria - looks like a useful free resource for teaching med micro. "Educational microbiology atlas presenting laboratory photographs of medically important bacteria including colony morphology, microscopy and diagnostic characteristics." worldofbacteria.org
World of Bacteria – Visual Atlas of Medically Important Bacteria
Educational microbiology atlas with laboratory photographs, colony morphology, microscopy and diagnostic characteristics of medically important bacteria.
worldofbacteria.org
Sub-optimal conditions this morning to start a (hopefully) weekly dip in the North Sea. Dark grey skies, cool breeze (13 deg C) & *massive* waves. Surprisingly pleasant in the water (1 deg warmer than the air), but when I got out after 20 mins 🥶
In East London, tagging gangs are organised around allegiances to academic publication repositories. Know your turf
1/10 🚨Preprint! One RING to rule them all (phages)👑💍⚔️ Bacteria build giant DNA-scaffolded RNase rings (larger than the ribosome!) to shut down viral infection🧬🧵👇 biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
#Medsky🧪 #IDsky #immunosky #publichealth Host-secreted lactate produced during respiratory viral infections paralyzes macrophage antibacterial activity, driving a metabolic and epigenetic shift that leaves the lungs vulnerable to secondary bacterial infections.
bioRxiv Immunology@biorxiv-immuno.bsky.social · 3w agoHost-secreted lactate during respiratory viral infection diminishes macrophage antibacterial activity through metabolic reprogramming https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.07.11.737940v1
For those that missed them at the time, here’s a piece about Sam Neill’s COVID videos. ew.com/movies/sam-n...
Sam Neill is making a series of wonderfully unhinged videos while self-isolating
Sam Neill has released a series of increasingly bizarre videos designed to both encourage followers to stay at home and give them something to watch while self-isolating.
ew.com
Why are some bacterial genes high in purines? tldr: runaway transcription & Rho news.mit.edu/2026/why-are...
Why are some bacterial genes high in purines?
Some bacterial genes are high in purines to shield them from a quality-control factor called Rho, MIT biologists report. Understanding the requirements for expressible sequences is critical for expres...
news.mit.edu
Function determined for prototype of an important new* family of ParB-like DNA-binding proteins. *briefy discussed here (as orf652): www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... and here (as Pbf): onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Complete nucleotide sequence and comparative genomic analysis of microcin B17 plasmid pMccB17
We have determined the complete sequence of plasmid pMccB17 (isolated in 1977), which carries the prototypical microcin operon mcb. The plasmid is 69,190 bp and assigned to the IncFII group of F2:A-:...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
bioRxiv Microbiology@biorxiv-microbiol.bsky.social · 4w agoPlasmid-encoded host reprogramming promotes plasmid dissemination https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.07.07.736705v1
Plasmid-encoded host reprogramming promotes plasmid dissemination https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.07.07.736705v1
#microsky New preprint from the lab! Widespread immune systems protect bacteria against conjugative plasmids www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... Kudos to the extremely talented lead author Ludovic Poiré! Key contributions by @francoisrousset.bsky.social and also help from C. Lesterlin/TacC lab. 🧵⬇️
Widespread immune systems protect bacteria against conjugative plasmids
Conjugative plasmids are a class of mobile genetic elements capable of efficient transfer between bacterial cells. Although they can introduce beneficial traits such as antibiotic resistance to recipi...
biorxiv.org
A $3 @mta.info subway fare and some good Q train timing can buy you one hell of a view of the July 4th fireworks and the Brooklyn Bridge light show! Huge shoutout to the train operator for slow rolling over the Manhattan Bridge and the conductor for announcing it.
And yet management @northumbriauni.bsky.social press on with plans to cut the pay of hundreds of staff on @teacherspensions.bsky.social. This is vindictive, unnecessary, a permanent stain on the university's reputation, and, with job losses imminent, is destroying morale. For what?
Times Higher Education (THE)@timeshighered.bsky.social · last mo.Employer contributions to the Teachers’ Pension Scheme are set to fall by 11 percentage points next year, in a move that is expected to save universities millions of pounds #TPS #pensions https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/tps-employer-contribution-rate-drop-below-20-cent
Amazing work, though for the moment these things/devices can’t synthesise new ribosomes, so they die/stop working after a few generations when the ones they have been given wear out. Read it and be amazed! And it’s non-patented!
This Cell Feeds, Grows and Reproduces. And It’s Manmade.
From chemical building blocks, scientists have created synthetic cells that have most of the hallmarks of life.
nytimes.com
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/... #phage #phagesky
Gain and loss of plasmid-borne antibiotic resistance genes are associated with chromosomal resistance presence in Enterobacteriaceae | mSystems
Plasmids play a central role in the spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), and the long-term evolutionary behavior of plasmid-borne ARGs (pARGs) could provide insights into the emergence of nov...
journals.asm.org
Discovery of novel antimicrobials within microbiomes. [review] www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Discovery of novel antimicrobials within microbiomes
Antimicrobial-resistant bacterial and fungal pathogens constitute a severe threat to public health. The pace at which new antimicrobials are being rel…
sciencedirect.com
New #microsky#AMR Perspective paper with @penamiller.bsky.social rdcu.be/fqBJo ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE (IE MIC) AND TOLERANCE ARE NOT BACTERIAL TRAITS! Please read on if you want an explanation for this provocative claim.
Beyond resistance and tolerance: rethinking evolutionary responses to antibiotics from the perspective of individual bacterial cells
Nature Communications - Beyond resistance and tolerance: rethinking evolutionary responses to antibiotics from the perspective of individual bacterial cells
rdcu.be
Latest from the lab and a fantastic collaboration with Eric Brown's team at @mcmasteriidr.bsky.social. Screening for new antibiotics from actinomycete extracts under nutrient-deprived conditions identifies a megacluster of synergistic antibiotics that target biotin biosynthesis. rdcu.be/fqejG
A Streptomyces megacluster encodes synergistic biotin-targeting antibiotics
Nature - In Streptomyces spp., a conserved biosynthetic gene megacluster produces an arsenal of distinct antimicrobials that converge on bacterial biotin biosynthesis as a naturally evolved...
rdcu.be
Deep learning reveals antimicrobial peptides within prions | Nature Microbiology www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Deep learning reveals antimicrobial peptides within prions - Nature Microbiology
Deep learning reveals that prion-related proteins contain hidden ‘prionin’ peptides with antibacterial activity, including two candidates that reduced infections in mice.
share.google