Sebastian Samwald (Basti) he/him

@samwalds.bsky.social

Fascinated by what I can "squeeze" out of plant cells under microscopes spiced up with synthetic biology. 🔬 PhDone 🌱 at JIC (UK), now a postdoc at the MPIPZ (Cologne, Germany). Sometimes too sarcastic. 🇪🇺🏳️‍🌈 he/him https://linktr.ee/samwalds

This coming school year's Lego League theme is biodiversity, which means it's about to be all-hands-on-deck for ecologists. Let's get ready for the flood. Ecologists, if you're willing to answer questions from classrooms or LEGO teams, we need ya. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Fall 2026 Scientist Form

Thank you for Volunteering with Skype a Scientist for the Fall 2026 semester! We match all classrooms up once per week. You may get a match immediately and you may not get a match for a few months. ...

docs.google.com

I just lived through a real-life metaphor of why we need to always critically judge and understand our data: At the check-out at the supermarket, my bill was way too high. Like utterly beyond reason too high. The cashier and I looked confused at each other and my cart. 1/

This screenshot that came up in my FB memories today is based on a real peer reviewed study! Published in the BMJ, which is an extremely reputable journal! What the AI Overview misses (because it cannot think!) is the study, itself, was satirical: a demonstration of the limits of randomized trials.

Brett Weed
@tarheelphan.bsky.social
Guys....
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According to a 2018 randomized controlled trial published in The BMJ, parachutes are no more effective than backpacks at preventing death or major injury when jumping from an aircraft. The study involved 23 people who were randomly given either a parachute or a backpack and then jumped from a biplane or helicopter. The researchers found no statistically significant difference in the primary outcome (death)
between the treatment (parachute) and control (no parachute) arms.
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Plasmodesmal closure triggers stress responses! Turns out cells are generally better off with connections to their neighbours. This manuscript represents a decade-long team collaboration, with heroic effort from Estee Tee to lead it over the line! #PlantScience link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Plasmodesmal closure elicits stress responses - EMBO Reports

Plant cells are connected to their neighbors via plasmodesmata facilitating the exchange of nutrients and signaling molecules. During immune responses, plasmodesmata close, but how this contributes to...

link.springer.com

A side project that got out of hand—in the best way 🚀 New paper is out: www.nature.com/articles/s41... We sequenced the first Clusia genomes to understand something subtle but fundamental: 👉 CAM is a drought adaptive mechanism in plants - how do different physiotypes of CAM evolve? A 🧵 👇 1/14

Clusia genomes shed light on the evolution and diversity of crassulacean acid metabolism physiotypes - Nature Communications

Clusia species exhibit diverse photosynthetic physiotypes. The authors present genome assemblies for C. major (weak CAM), C. minor s.l. (facultative CAM), and C. rosea (strong CAM), and speculate that...

nature.com

Open for registration now! 🌱 The new working group on Plant Biotechnology within the German Society for Plant Breeding will held its first workshop in March 2026. I'm looking forward to an amazing meeting!

Leibniz IPK@leibnizipk.bsky.social · 7mo ago

The aim of the new Plant Biotechnology group of the @plantsciencedbg.bsky.social is to facilitate the exchange of expertise between research, breeding and biotech companies. An initial workshop will take place on 9 and 10 March at the @leibnizipk.bsky.social. ➡️All information: tinyurl.com/4nn5ufnr

FBI frame-up of Indiana University postdoc Youhuang Xiang: Anti-China witch-hunt escalates www.wsws.org/en/articles/... I'd heard whispers of these arrests for carrying plasmids and bio materials across borders before, but someone just shared this detailed news report with me. Please be careful.

FBI frame-up of Indiana University postdoc Youhuang Xiang: Anti-China witch-hunt escalates

The arrest and prosecution of Chinese researcher Youhuang Xiang, announced December 19 by FBI Director Kash Patel, is the latest episode in an FBI/Department of Justice campaign to criminalize scienti...

wsws.org