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Abigail Roberts

@abigailroberts.bsky.social
138 followers 108 following 4 posts

PDRA in the Hobbs, Bullough, and Fagan labs at the University of Sheffield investigating bacterial spores with AFM | PhD Biochemistry and Biophysics (Richter lab at University of Leeds) | she/her ORCID - 0000-0001-6580-7049

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Reposted by Abigail Roberts
Tyler King @tyleraking.com · 17/09/2026
“A senior executive at Microsoft said A.I. systems built on the work of others will be seen as ‘an astonishing theft of unprecedented proportions’ and possibly the greatest robbery of labor in human history, according to court documents unredacted Thursday in an ongoing Manhattan lawsuit.”
orlandosentinel.com
Docs in A.I. copyright suit reveal startling admission by Microsoft exec over ‘astonishing theft’
The admission appeared in a newly unredacted filing in the landmark copyright infringement legal battle playing out between newspapers like the Orlando Sentinel and tech companies Microsoft and OpenAI...
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Amy Diehl, Ph.D. @amydiehl.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Whether it is Meta AI glasses used to harass & covertly film women, Apple AirTags used to track women, Meta algorithms that push sexist ads, Grok AI tools that nudify women's images, tech companies create harassment by design instead of privacy by design. www.irishtimes.com/technology/2...
irishtimes.com
Women continue to bear the brunt of bad tech decisions
Meta’s smart glasses are just the latest example of technology being used in ways developers should have anticipated
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Nature @nature.com · 13/08/2026
The move is likely to do little to tackle the rise of ‘AI slop’ in academia, say researchers go.nature.com/4gttow2
go.nature.com
Can Anthropic's invsibile watermarks curb ‘AI slop’? Researchers remain sceptical
The move is likely to do little to tackle the rise of ‘AI slop’ in academia, say researchers.
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Abigail Roberts @abigailroberts.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
As generative AI is increasingly encroaching into our everyday, this article pulled together a lot of the ethical, environmental, and cognitive concerns that I’ve been worrying about and discussing with my peers recently. thewaxdrip.substack.com/p/the-age-of...
thewaxdrip.substack.com
The Age of Almost Intelligence
“If you cross the river, a great empire will be destroyed.”
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Prof Paula Salgado @pssalgado.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
I signed an Open Letter to @ukri.org in defense of @diamondlightsource.bsky.social funding. It's an internationally leading facility, any cuts to its funding, from operations to staff will have disastrous consequences to #UKscience. Pls sign & share! openletter.earth/open-letter-...
openletter.earth
Open Letter in Response to Funding Pressures Affecting Diamond Light Source
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Aparna Nair @disabilitystor1.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
fields. Instead, he apparently laced into the company. According to the Financial Times, Eggers told the staff:

“The effect of ChatGPT on educators’ lives is catastrophic. Whether you intended to do it or not, you’ve made every teacher’s life infinitely more difficult than it was two years ago. So, just let that settle in… If students are using it to compose, which is the biggest tragedy of all, they’ll never learn to write. And their voice is stolen from them. They’ll never have the ability to say their truth and tell their own story. And that’s silencing an entire generation or two.”
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perbullough.bsky.social @perbullough.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Latest from our lab in special issue "CryoEM in the Fast Lane of Structural Biology". Review on CISs in #C.difficile & new results on phage contraction & receptor binding @jasonwils.bsky.social @robfagan.bsky.social @molmicrosheffield.bsky.social #SLayers #CryoEM #Phages doi.org/10.1107/S205...
doi.org
How cryoEM has advanced our understanding of bacteriophages and bacteriocins targeting Clostridioides difficile
Two recent cryogenic electron microscopy (cryoEM) structures provide a unique opportunity to compare a bacteriophage and a bacteriocin targeted at the same host. CryoEM reveals the most detailed view ...
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sophiacollins.bsky.social @sophiacollins.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
Translation: Women and minorities are capable but the job market is sexist and racist.
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Jim Thomas @homomoleculus.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
I don't usually post about my day job, but the University of Sheffield is planing a restructure and compulsory staff redundancies within Chemistry. 20% of staff are under threat. You can sign an open letter opposing this decision here #SaveSheffieldChemistry savesheffieldchemistry.netlify.app
savesheffieldchemistry.netlify.app
An Open Letter
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Stephen Curry @scurry.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
"Fellows shall not act or fail to act in any way which would […] bring the Society into disrepute." But this morning ministers condemned Elon Musk FRS for enabling violence on the streets of Belfast. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026... Would the @royalsociety.org like to comment?
Extract from linked article reads:

"Violence in Belfast that forced families to flee their homes on Tuesday night was fuelled by online commentators who would struggle to find the city on the map, Northern Ireland’s justice minister has said.

The condemnation by Naomi Long came as a UK cabinet minister said that Elon Musk also had a responsibility “not to stoke grievance”. The billionaire owner of X had used his own account to share images of a horrific knife attack in Belfast on Monday and had amplified far-right messaging about it."
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Prof Paula Salgado @pssalgado.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
Last session starts with Lilia Hodge from @robfagan.bsky.social on her work on the stringent response in #Cdiff. @3cdf.bsky.social #3CdF2026
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Dr Duncan Robertson @duncanrobertson.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
Looks like we've passed peak academia. www.ft.com/content/8097... via @data.ft.com
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Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans @astroroyalscot.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
Yesterday, 56 of our fab colleagues at the Physics & Astronomy dept in Nottingham, received “at risk of redundancy” letters. The Uni is planning to reduce the size of the Physics dept by almost a third.🧪⚛️🔭 Sign this petition to show them your support ✍️: nottinghamphysics.github.io/Open_Letter/
Petition statement

We, the undersigned, call on the University of Nottingham to reverse its plans to impose compulsory redundancies on its staff in the School of Physics and Astronomy.

The University threatens to cut twenty members of staff out of the seventy one currently in the School. On 12 May, fifty six of those members of staff received letters notifying them that they were at risk of redundancy. This affects academic and technical staff at all levels, from Research Fellows to Professors.
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Microbiology Society @microbiologysociety.org · 07/04/2026
Artificial Intelligence in microbiology... where do you stand? We'd love to hear your thoughts in our new survey below. Find out more about our new survey: microb.io/41bzWqG Take part in the survey: forms.office.com/e/hvKeBzFhke #AI #artificialintelligence
Hand interacting with a digital interface displaying AI and data nodes, inviting microbiology community to join a new AI survey.
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The Royal Society @royalsociety.org · 25/02/2026
Born #OnThisDay in 1670 was German astronomer Maria Margaretha Kirch. She was famous in her time for writing on the conjunction of the sun with Saturn, Venus and Jupiter, and was the first to identify the Comet of 1702 as a comet. #WomenInSTEM
A person in historical attire from the 16th century is observing through a telescope, seated at a table.
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Rob Fagan @robfagan.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
New paper from us. If you're interested in genetic manipulation of Clostridia, we have a few new tools for you! 36 new plasmids - all available from @addgene.bsky.social www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/jour... #microsky
microbiologyresearch.org
A set of genetic tools for use in Clostridioides difficile and related species
The Clostridia are a phylogenetically diverse group of anaerobic, spore-forming bacteria that include species of medical, veterinary and industrial importance. The last two decades have seen major adv...
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The Royal Society @royalsociety.org · 13/02/2026
The scientific evidence is clear. #ClimateChange poses serious risks to human health. To understand how climate change affects human health, and why limiting fossil fuel emissions is important, see: royalsociety.org/-/media/poli...
A diagram explaining the impacts of climate change on health.
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PLOS One @plosone.org · 11/02/2026
For International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we asked our Section Editors about their experiences, and spoke in detail with @clairebrockett.bsky.social from @sheffielduni.bsky.social about why inclusion matters in her research. everyone.plos.org/2026/02/11/e... #IDWGS2026 #WomenInScience
everyone.plos.org
Experiences of Women in Science in 2026? - EveryONE
This blog was prepared and written by PLOS One Associate Editor Jen Edwards. Last year, our blog celebrated the 10th anniversary of…
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Peter Tennant @pwgtennant.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
The UK *is* losing a generation of scientists. I know lots of brilliant people who have left their jobs / the country because of the limited jobs & funding. Once lost, they cannot ever be replaced. The UK government is overseeing the death of UK academic science, and it doesn't seem to care.
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The Royal Society @royalsociety.org · 02/02/2026
Sir Paul Nurse PRS writes in today's Times on cuts to UKRI funding: "If [discovery-driven science] is not properly supported, we lose the seed-corn of discovery research, harming subsequent science translation, societal improvement and economic growth." Read more(£): www.thetimes.com/comment/lett...
thetimes.com
Times letters: Relevance of the Church in the 21st century
Sir, AN Wilson’s article (“More liturgy, fewer lectures please, archbishop”, Jan 31) is rather like the curate’s egg — good in parts
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Rob Fagan @robfagan.bsky.social · 01/02/2026
Finally comms from UKRI - on a Sunday evening. No mention of the hundreds of ECRs who will see their careers ended by these decisions and notably no explanation for MRC retrospectively applying cuts and wasting all the work that went into writing, reviewing and scoring applications - £millions
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Ian Sudbery @iansudbery.bsky.social · 01/02/2026
We need to be shouting about the effects of this on junior researchers from the roofs, writing to our MPs. We are risking a "missing generation" of researchers.
Text reads:

This would likely end the careers of hundreds of postdocs across the country, they added, highlighting that the suspensions alone will "tank" the postdoc market by the end of the summer and into next year.
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Rob Fagan @robfagan.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
Appalling news for the biosciences in the UK. I have three grants under review at the moment so the last week since I heard these rumours have been a definite career low point. Shifting priorities (read political interference) are bad enough www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...
researchprofessionalnews.com
MRC instructs grant review boards to slash funding rates - Research Professional News
Boards asked to recommend just three applications for funding, as BBSRC also suspends calls
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Dr Laia Pasquina Lemonche @laia-pasquina.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
Less than one week to apply to this 2.5 yr PDRA! If you're passionate about biophysics #AFM #Microscopy applied to bacteria and #antimicrobial research this will be a great opportunity in the beautiful city of Sheffield. 😀 jobsite.sheffield.ac.uk/job/Research...
jobsite.sheffield.ac.uk
Research Associate: Quantitative Microbiology
Research Associate: Quantitative Microbiology
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Frances Jones @francesjones.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
Nobel winner and senior scientists slam cuts to UK physics “These cuts are the inevitable consequence of the government’s choices,” Nobel winner Andre Geim tells me www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...
researchprofessionalnews.com
Nobel winner and senior scientists slam cuts to UK physics - Research Professional News
Science and Technology Facilities Council’s £162 million cost-saving measures “will have catastrophic consequences”, government warned
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Oliver Meacock @olimeacock.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
Do you have an interest in quantitative microbiology and interdisciplinary research? I'm recruiting a UK PhD student to develop high-throughput ecological screens to help us understand how chemical inputs impact microbial ecosystems: www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
findaphd.com
Identifying how chemicals shape microbial diversity through high-throughput ecological screens at University of Sheffield on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - Identifying how chemicals shape microbial diversity through high-throughput ecological screens at University of Sheffield, listed on FindAPhD.com
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Nature @nature.com · 25/12/2025
It's the Nature Podcast festive spectacular 2025! Listen in for science-themed gifts, games, seasonal songs, and Nature's 10 🎅 go.nature.com/4oZvyEI
go.nature.com
The Nature Podcast festive spectacular 2025
Nature - Hear the biggest stories from the world of science | 17 December 2025
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The Royal Society @royalsociety.org · 26/12/2025
Born #OnThisDay in 1780 was the polymath Mary Somerville. She was the first woman to have a paper read to and published by the Royal Society with her paper on the relationship between light and magnetism, and she in fact inspired the coining of the word 'scientist' itself. #WomenInSTEM
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perbullough.bsky.social @perbullough.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
Our paper with @robfagan.bsky.social @jasonwils.bsky.social and Louis-Charles Fortier on #phage has been included in this year's LSA special collection. www.life-science-alliance.org/content/cell...
life-science-alliance.org
Cell Biology 2025
We are pleased to present a special collection of cell biology research that most captivated readers of LSA over the past year. These articles offer exciting new perspectives on how cells carry out ba...
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The Royal Society @royalsociety.org · 24/11/2025
Antimicrobial resistance could become the biggest health crisis of the 21st century. Hear from Dame Sally Davies FRS and other scientists working on the solution. Made in partnership with #BBCIdeas. #WorldAntimicrobialAwarenessWeek www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaHvrb2Nmys
youtube.com
What would a world without antibiotics be like? | The Royal Society
YouTube video by The Royal Society
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Jason Wilson @jasonwils.bsky.social · 21/11/2025
📣 Fully funded PhD opportunity - CryoEM, Phage Biology & Structural Mechanisms University of Sheffield, UK | Start Oct 2026 We’re looking for a motivated student to uncover how bacteriophage proteins shut down drug-resistant Enterococcus bacteria.
yorkshirebiosciencedtp.ac.uk
YBDTP – BBSRC Yorkshire Bioscience Doctoral Training Partnership
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Rob Fagan @robfagan.bsky.social · 31/10/2025
🚨 Fully funded PhD studentships 🚨 We have three fully funded PhD studentships available for Oct 26 start. Funded by the MRC DiMeN programme & the BBSRC Yorkshire Biosciences DTP. Details below as they are advertised. Contact me here or via email for more details or to discuss an application
sites.google.com
Clostridial Cell Biology Group
We are the Clostridial Cell Biology Group at the University of Sheffield. We study all aspects of cell biology, including the architecture and biogenesis of surface structures on both vegetative cells...
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Oliver Meacock @olimeacock.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
I am excited to announce two PhD opportunities! Come and join our interdisciplinary team in Sheffield, UK. - Destroying forever chemicals with microbes and cold plasma: tinyurl.com/mth8ymx5 - Learning how motile bacteria make decisions: tinyurl.com/2hmc9a8u UK and overseas students welcome to apply!
tinyurl.com
ECOSOLUTIONS DFA - Harnessing microbes and cold plasma to concentrate and destroy ‘forever chemicals’ in food associated ecosystems at University of Sheffield on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - ECOSOLUTIONS DFA - Harnessing microbes and cold plasma to concentrate and destroy ‘forever chemicals’ in food associated ecosystems at University of Sheffield, listed on Find...
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Abigail Roberts @abigailroberts.bsky.social · 29/09/2025
Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of attending ClostPath 2025 at the Institut Pasteur in Paris. Alongside, presenting my poster, I also had the opportunity of co-chairing the session on spores with Professor Adriano Henriques. What a fantastic world of clostridia and their spores!
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Rob Fagan @robfagan.bsky.social · 22/08/2025
New preprint from us! The latest part of our C. difficile vancomycin resistance story. We identified a new two-component system (VnrRS) that can control expression of the vanG pathway - just needs one amino acid change @buddlejess.bsky.social @brockhurstlab.bsky.social @claireyt.bsky.social
biorxiv.org
A novel two-component system controls vancomycin resistance in epidemic Clostridioides difficile
The glycopeptide antibiotic vancomycin is the frontline treatment for C. difficile infection in the UK. There have been only sporadic reports of resistance in the clinic but testing is rare so the tru...
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Adrià Sogues @adriasogues.bsky.social · 17/08/2025
Many spores from the Firmicutes group are decorated with hair-like structures. Since the 60s, they remained a mystery. @remaut-lab.bsky.social named these fibres ENdospore Appendages (ENAs). Using Cryo-ID, we report the identity, structure and function of F-ENA. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Cryo-EM identifies F-ENA of Bacillus thuringiensis as a widespread family of endospore appendages across Firmicutes - Nature Communications
B. thuringiensis spores contain uncharacterized protein filaments that extend from the surface of the exosporium. Here, the authors show that these filaments feature conserved β-barrel neck domains an...
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Anne Williams @anneswilliams.bsky.social · 13/08/2025
Back in April, I delivered my first oral presentation at the European Spores Conference! It was loads of fun and I learned so much about spore biology. Since then, I’ve been busy writing my thesis, titled “Insights into clostridial germination and twitching motility using live cell imaging.”
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perbullough.bsky.social @perbullough.bsky.social · 04/07/2025
journals.plos.org/plosgenetics... It was fun to have contributed to this nice work from @crodrigueslab.bsky.social
journals.plos.org
SpoIIIL is a forespore factor required for efficient cell-cell signalling during Bacillus subtilis sporulation
Author summary Bacterial endospores allow bacteria to survive stress, persist in the environment and seed new and recurring infections. Cell-cell signalling is a cornerstone of how bacteria develop in...
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Royal Microscopical Society Early Career Researchers @rmsearlycareer.bsky.social · 03/07/2025
❗️Calling ECRs❗️We would love to hear what career support you would like us to provide. Please fill out the small survey below to let us know your thoughts ! Deadline : 29th August @royalmicrosoc.bsky.social forms.office.com/e/bKDQcZBQdr
forms.office.com
Microsoft Forms
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Dr Hannah Tompkins @hetompkins.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
It was a pleasure to write this piece on HPV immunisation as part of our #CelebrateVaccines series 💙 Now more than ever, it is critical that we share evidence based resources on vaccination to help people make informed decisions about their health 🦠💉🌍
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Nature @nature.com · 15/05/2025
📢 Calling PhD students 📢 we want to hear from you! Help shape the future of PhD education. Take our survey to tell us all about your experiences go.nature.com/43iJAsi
go.nature.com
PhD students in STEM: Nature wants to hear from you
Buried in lab work or drowning in data? Take a break and help shape the future of PhD education.
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Jess Gifkins @jessgifkins.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
This is a tragic story of environmental degradation but I’m pleased to see that long-running research by our friend @thelabandfield.bsky.social and his colleagues is getting the attention it deserves!
abc.net.au
On this island the birds are so full of plastic they crunch
It's an exclusive tourist destination and one of the most pristine places on the planet. It's the last place you would expect to find birds with bellies so full of plastic that they crunch if you sque...
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@physicsoflifeuk @physicsoflifeuk.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
It's your final chance to complete our EDI survey which we're carrying out in partnership with @bioimaginguk.bsky.social - we'd love your input.
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Anne Williams @anneswilliams.bsky.social · 07/04/2025
Had a great time at the Physics of Life conference in Harrogate 2 weeks ago! Got to present some cool spore stuff again alongside @abigailroberts.bsky.social !
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Alicia Hidalgo Lab @aliciahidalgolab.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
Thrilled to see our paper out today @plosbiology.org! By wonderful PhD student @deepanshund.bsky.social & great team of collaborating authors. Fungi hack immune receptor to drive immune evasion in the brain & cause neurodegeration. Thanx DarwinTrust @wellcometrust.bsky.social @BBSRC for funding. 😃
journals.plos.org
Toll-1-dependent immune evasion induced by fungal infection leads to cell loss in the Drosophila brain
This study identifies a new step in the evolutionary arms race between host and fungus in the Drosophila brain. The fungus B. bassiana exploits the Toll-1 host response to activate the MyD88 inhibitor...
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Alicia Hidalgo Lab @aliciahidalgolab.bsky.social · 03/02/2025
Interested postdoc applicants, please find link here. Application deadline 19 March.
jobs.ac.uk
Research Fellow in Neurogenetics to Investigate How Experience Shapes the Brain at University of Birmingham
Discover an exciting academic career path as a Research Fellow in Neurogenetics to Investigate How Experience Shapes the Brain at jobs.ac.uk. Don't miss out on this job opportunity - apply today!
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Usha Lee McFarling @usha.bsky.social · 26/01/2025
Please repost! We’re trying hard to sort out rumors from truth + would like to hear from anyone affected by the new federal orders + NIH pause. Patients, scientists, health equity researchers: please contact us below. We won’t share anything without your permission. www.statnews.com/2025/01/25/t...
statnews.com
Are you affected by the Trump administration’s pause on health communications, science meetings, and reviews?
Have you been affected by the Trump administration’s pause on communications, science meetings, and reviews? @statnews would like to hear from you.
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Nature @nature.com · 14/01/2025
The research community has flocked to the social-media platform Bluesky. Tell us about your experience go.nature.com/42fihQG
go.nature.com
Has Bluesky replaced X for scientists? Take Nature’s poll
The research community has flocked to the social-media platform Bluesky. Tell us about your experience.
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Abigail Roberts @abigailroberts.bsky.social · 23/12/2024
Such a pleasure to attend the graduation ceremony for my PhD at the University of Leeds last week. Even though my viva was over 6 months ago, attending the winter graduation was such a lovely way to end the year!
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Beth Cimini 🔬💻📊 @bethcimini.bsky.social · 21/10/2024
Have you ever analyzed a #microscope image before- even just a single one? Please take our survey on progress and places to still improve for image analysis software! #microscopy #imageanalysis #bioimageanalysis forum.image.sc/t/2024-image...
forum.image.sc
2024 Image Analysis Survey
The Center for Open Bioimage Analysis , Bioimaging North America , the Royal Microscopical Society, and the Global Bioimage Analysts’ Society have now released a new and improved edition of our biannu...
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