🚨🚨 Faculty search! Spread the word! 🚨🚨 The Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology Department at Vanderbilt is hiring! Special consideration will be given to faculty working with Risk Group 3 pathogens (so you can join us in our brand new state-of-the-art BSL3!) apply.interfolio.com/188545

Happy to share the first preprint out of the Nomburg lab! Many aspects of cellular immunity are shared across the tree of life. Here, we show that some of these conserved aspects of cellular immunity are mirrored by conserved effectors of immune antagonism. Thread below! 1/15

bioRxiv Microbiology@biorxiv-microbiol.bsky.social · 2w ago

Conserved folds enable immune antagonism across the tree of life https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.07.21.739742v1

A reminder that UC _faculty_ and Faculty Associations — not the universities themselves nor their administrators — are waging this battle in court, demonstrating great bravery and moral clarity.

White House admits it used keywords to kill billions worth of California research grants

Federal agencies that terminated more than a thousand research grants at the University of California last year admitted that they used keywords related to diversity, gender, vaccine hesitancy and COV...

apnews.com

Helpful form to help craft comment for submission regarding OMB rules, deadline July 13!!

Tara C. Smith@aetiology.bsky.social · 4w ago

This can help you get started if it all seems intimidating.

NYTimes Gift Article www.nytimes.com/2026/07/06/u... U.S. Federal research funding uncertainty is affecting the next generation of scientists. ME/CFS needs new researchers to help build on promising leads.

Decline of Ph.D. Admissions Could Imperil a ‘Generation of New Talent’

nytimes.com

Very exciting! Fantastic to see these mating choanoflagellate cells with much better microscopy too

Thibaut Brunet@thibautbrunet.bsky.social · 4w ago

Discovery of an adhesion GPCR regulating mating in choanoflagellates, by Alain Garcia de las Bayonas & Nicole King. Absolutely stunning work - choano cell biology is going next level www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Humans and bacteria share strategies to defend against viruses. We wondered: could they use each other's genes? Yes, both can! Bacteria can use human immune genes to defend against phages AND Human cells can use bacterial genes for viral defense. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Bacterial and human exonucleases mediate interkingdom antiviral immunity

All kingdoms of life have developed strategies to limit viral infection. In humans, interferons induce a suite of antiviral factors that collectively provide immunity. Some human immune genes are homo...

biorxiv.org

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

I need y'all to understand that I teach high school and there are teenagers already planning to leave the U.S. to because they will be studying science or medicine. They are SO serious about it - saving money, learning extra languages, and looking to see if there are familial connections abroad.

Bethany Brookshire@beebrookshire.bsky.social · last mo.

You may have heard about the OMB rule change that will put politics over federal grants. However bad you think it is? It's probably worse. Thanks to @theverge.com for letting me report this one out. There is still time to comment. bit.ly/4v2X4nQ

You may have heard about the OMB rule change that will put politics over federal grants. However bad you think it is? It's probably worse. Thanks to @theverge.com for letting me report this one out. There is still time to comment. bit.ly/4v2X4nQ

The war against ‘woke’ could end US science as we know it

“Everyone will be affected, not just scientists. Every community in the country.“

bit.ly

📢 We're hiring! The Department of Microbiology & Cell Biology at Montana State University is hiring an Assistant Professor of Microbiology. We welcome applicants working in microbial pathogenesis, immunology, genetics, microbial evolution, and related areas. Apply: jobs.montana.edu/postings/52009

NIH grants have been under political scrutiny since early 2025. But what does the screening process actually look like? What is being flagged? I spent a month digging into leaked docs and emails. We've published the 235-word list that are being flagged by an internal AI tool. And so much more. 🧵

Inside the new political screening that’s stalling NIH grants

Mandatory reviews by top health officials and checks for 235 disfavoured terms have left hundreds of vetted grant applications in administrative limbo.

nature.com

I am one of today’s 10000 - because I’ve only just seen this @xkcd.com comic & it is simply brilliant.

Earth Temperature Timeline

xkcd.com

Gregg gets it correct here. “New OMB grant rule” sounds nerdy. But this is a huge and insane plan. This is the Trump admin writing down their goal of fundamentally changing the relationship between government and society. Funding for everything will be taken over. 1/

Gregg Gonsalves@gregggonsalves.bsky.social · last mo.

My latest for @thenation.com. Russell Vought is on a mission. He wants to take over all federal grant making & re-make it in his image. He is a dangerous ideologue who wants to inflict trauma on the whole nation. He is cruel and he has a plan. Only we can stop him. www.thenation.com/article/poli...

The heatwave in Europe is so extreme, it's 25–32°F (14–18°C) above normal. You read that right. France recorded it's hottest day ever. The UK had its hottest ever June day. The ground is exceeding 122°F (50°C). People are dying. Tell me again why we shouldn't talk about climate change???

Our Dept of Microbiology & Immunology @Geisel School of Medicine @Dartmouth has an opening for an Assistant Professor. Looking for programs bridging multiple areas in Micro & Immuno. A great place to be! Programs: www.M2P2.org www.dartmouthbiofilm.org Job ad: apply.interfolio.com/187637

Temperatures in Pittsburgh PA over time

Katharine Hayhoe@katharinehayhoe.com · 2mo ago

Today is #ShowYourStripes day! The warming stripes, created by @edhawkins.org, show how the place where you live has changed over time. Find yours at showyourstripes.info. Download them, share them, and use them to start a conversation today!

one anecdote: I was searching for a link to one of my old papers on Google, and the automated Gemini summary attributed all of my lab's work to my husband

Mel Andrews@bayesianboy.bsky.social · 2mo ago

When utilized in literature review, LLMs consistently 1. fail to mention female authors in female-led literatures, 2. insist that men are more influential or more heavily cited when this is contradicted by objective citation counts, and 3. attribute women’s work to hallucinated male scholars.

it is really important to be loud about this stuff because it's typically kept very quiet to enable people to go "See? Nothing happened, it was just people being dramatic"

🌈Wally ~ Meditating in her Cave🌈@wallyaurora.bsky.social · 2mo ago

oh yeah, in terms of good news- I haven't seen anyone talking about this??? In short- worst case scenario of 4C warming by 2100 is no longer possible, new worst-case is 2.8C now DOES NOT MEAN we just relax- the only way we got here is through hard work- but it means THE HARD WORK IS WORKING

Here is another thing you should do to oppose OMB’s proposed Federal Financial Assistance Rule (OMB-2026-0034). Pressure congress. They have the power to stop it! 5calls.org/issue/federa...

Oppose OMB's Political Attacks on Scientific Research ⭑ 5 Calls

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB), led by Project 2025 architect Russell Vought, has proposed sweeping rule changes to the federal grantmaking …

5calls.org

Boosting this again because this blog has the sections that people should refer to when making a comment about the proposed changes to government grants. The qs has the link to make the comments. elizabethginexi.substack.com/p/summary-of...

Summary of Key Changes in OMB’s Proposed Federal Financial Assistance Rule

Russell Vought is going to destroy American Science

elizabethginexi.substack.com

Dr. Kat Napaaqtuk❄️@napaaqtuk.bsky.social · 2mo ago

If you are going to comment on the proposed changes to how science is done in the US, please use this guide. The rules specify that you have to mention the number associated with the proposed changes, and this blog has those. Here is where to comment: www.federalregister.gov/documents/20...

Call your reps -- blue, red, purple, it doesn't matter -- about the proposed OMB science funding rule. The house can stop this. Let them know it matters for your district.

Stacey Ogden 🦔@labogden.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Make some noise about this 🧪 www.npr.org/2026/06/03/n...

Holden Thorp is an institutionalist. He's been a university chancellor, provost, now EiC of Science. When institutionalists pull the fire alarm, we listen, because the call to action he issued this week exposes the dire nature of the threat we are facing. 1/ www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Another red alert for American science

Although research has bipartisan support in the US Congress, and trust in science is above 75% across the country, the Trump administration seems as determined as ever to mortally wound the nation’s s...

science.org

Several people have asked for possible content and structure for comments regarding the proposed OMB regulations. With some suggestions from others, I have posted on example (as a Word document) for downloading). jeremymberg.github.io/jeremyberg.g... I hope this is helpful.

Easy link for comment submission: www.regulations.gov/document/OMB... Also send a copy to your congresspeople!

elizabethginexi.bsky.social@elizabethginexi.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Calling all Scientists! Research Administrators! Deans! Fans of Science! No one is coming to save us. Here is your assignment. I have written a step by step, easy to understand "how-to" document to help you comment on the proposed OMB rule. elizabethginexi.substack.com/p/what-we-ne...

The public comment period closes approximately July 13, 2026 (45 days from May 29 publication). Comments must be submitted to regulations.gov, Docket OMB-2026-0034

Kristian G. Andersen@kgandersen.bsky.social · 2mo ago

And, here, in much more detail. This is an absolutely critical read for all federally funded scientists and institutions. Now is not the time to sit in the corner, hoping you won't be noticed - now is the time for action. elizabethginexi.substack.com/p/summary-of...

Of all the harm this administration has done to US science, today's proposed changes to the way federal grants are awarded and administered is the most damaging yet. The text of the federal register document is impenetrably tedious by design, so here's an excellent summary of what it says.

elizabethginexi.bsky.social@elizabethginexi.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Summary of Key Changes in OMB’s Proposed Federal Financial Assistance Rule. Russell Vought is going destroy American Science. elizabethginexi.substack.com/p/summary-of...

We are hiring @umichmicroimmuno.bsky.social ! Tenure-track assistant professor position in our Microbiology and Immunology department. We are especially looking for someone working in bacterial pathogenesis

🚨Faculty job search: University of Illinois Chicago Micro & Immuno department is hiring! Open rank and open area within host-pathogen interactions. Apply by May 31 to join us in UI College of Medicine in the heart of Chicago! uic.csod.com/ux/ats/caree...

Here's the link to the preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... Looking forward to discussing the story with folks at #SISB2026 this week! 🦠

Tera Levin @teralevin.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Bacterial immune proteins have repeatedly evolved to become parts of eukaryotic immunity. But how? Our new preprint uncovers a recent horizontal transfer event & shows how eukaryotes co-opted a toxic bacterial immune protein 🦠🧪🧵 1/