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Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍

@biochirrup.bsky.social
140 followers 172 following 67 posts

Env. Microbiology PhD | Sustainability Researcher | Tweets about science, the environment, and plants. Sometimes has opinions. | Nature nerd 🌳

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Reposted by Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍
Leana Hosea @leanahosea.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Meanwhile, in the UK & Europe, the clean-up costs for PFAS look set to be enormous, with serious questions about who will end up paying for it. Will it be the businesses who made enormous profits producing PFAS? Or will it be taxpayers? share.google/Hg7bg2RVmvHL...
share.google
Cost to clean up toxic PFAS pollution could top £1.6tn in UK and Europe
Exclusive: Costs of UK cleanup will reach £9.9bn a year in UK if emissions of ‘forever chemicals’ remain uncontrolled
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Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍 @biochirrup.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
I'd love to show this to the "journalist" at the Daily Mail who wrote the front-page article last week making the ridiculous claim that re-wilding is somehow responsible for the number of wildfires this year. Honestly 🙄 youtube.com/watch?v=RdF3...
youtube.com
As drought scorches England, one farm stays green
YouTube video by Reuters
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Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍 @biochirrup.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
But despite the less than great article, I'm super excited by the science! Unlocks a whole new world for phage therapy where we might not have to go searching for them in the wild 🤯
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Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍 @biochirrup.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Poor science journalism from the BBC. The article is about phages, but the headline feeds straight into conspiracy theory fear-mongering as many will no doubt assume human viruses. Not only that, but the article refers to phage as "bacteria-eating" viruses... really? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Artificial Intelligence used to design brand new viruses
Scientists made 16 successful viruses that had their genetic code designed by artificial intelligence.
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Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍 @biochirrup.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
So awesome to watch this happen. Go Artemis!!! 🚀
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Reposted by Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍
Letters of Note @lettersofnote.com · 12/02/2026
Happy birthday to one of my favourite haters, Charles Darwin
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Reposted by Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍
Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 25/01/2026
A reminder to the news media: “conflicting accounts” is what you say BEFORE the incontrovertible video evidence appears. After that, your job is to ask why one side is lying, not to repeat the lie and pretend no one knows the truth.
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Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍 @biochirrup.bsky.social · 29/12/2025
@rith.au reset the Hank Green counter, he mentioned he's writing a book about cancer biology 🙃
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Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍 @biochirrup.bsky.social · 28/11/2025
Congratulations 😁
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Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍 @biochirrup.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
“The core problem underneath all of this is a kind of cultural, societal, fundamental disconnection with nature,” ..."but this is the way a global nature restoration movement starts: one field, one sapling, one nightingale at a time." I couldn't agree more!! 💚 www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
‘It fully changed my life!’ How young rewilders transformed a farm – and began a movement
At Maple Farm, nature is returning in droves: nightingales, grass snakes, slowworms, bats and insects. All due to the vision of a group determined to accelerate its recovery
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Reposted by Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍
Kristian Steensen Nielsen @kristiansn89.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
⚠️ When “technology will save us” becomes a climate risk! A new paper from great colleagues takes a careful look at techno-optimism — the belief that technology will largely solve climate change — and what it means for real-world climate action. (1/4)👇 osf.io/preprints/ps...
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Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍 @biochirrup.bsky.social · 02/07/2025
Hope this brightens someone else's morning as much as it did mine: Here is a photo of the bumblebee I just found sleeping in one of my Hollyhock flowers 🥹
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Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍 @biochirrup.bsky.social · 02/06/2025
What a stunning photo! Has that dreamy, film-like quality.
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Reposted by Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍
Natalie Dean, PhD @nataliexdean.bsky.social · 30/05/2025
Who knew that “Do your own research” meant “Have ChatGPT hallucinate references”
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Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍 @biochirrup.bsky.social · 07/05/2025
I just read this line in a book: "The brain didn't evolve to keep us happy, it evolved to keep us alive." ...and like, damn, if that isn't the answer to probably 90% of modern-day problems, I don't know what is???
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Reposted by Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍
Stephan Hacker @stephanhacker2.bsky.social · 22/04/2025
Which flow rate is most suitable for MS-based #proteomics and #chemoproteomics? We have been thinking about this for a long time (nanoLC, capLC, µLC). According to a new @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social by the @kusterlab.bsky.social, it seems like all options work very well. www.biorxiv.org/cont...
biorxiv.org
High-performance proteomics at any chromatographic flow rate
Current applications of mass spectrometry-based proteomics range from single cell to body fluid analysis that come with very different demands regarding sensitivity or sample throughput. Additionally, the vast molecular complexity of proteomes and the massive dynamic range of protein concentrations in these biological systems require very high-performance chromatographic separations in tandem with the high speed and sensitivity afforded by mass spectrometer. In this study, we focussed on the chromatographic angle and, more specifically, systematically evaluated proteome analysis performance across a wide range of chromatographic flow rates (0.3 – 50 μL/min) and associated column diameters using a Vanquish Neo UHPLC coupled online to a Q Exactive HF-X mass spectrometer. Serial dilutions of HeLa cell line digests were used for benchmarking and total analysis time from injection-to-injection was intentionally fixed at 60 minutes (24 samples per day). The three key messages of the study are that i) all chromatographic flow rates are suitable for high-quality proteome analysis, ii) capLC (1.5 μL/min) is a very robust, sensitive and quantitative alternative to nanoLC for many applications and iii) showcased proteome, phosphoproteome and drug proteome data provide sound empirical guidance for laboratories in selecting appropriate chromatographic flow rates and column diameters for their specific application. ### Competing Interest Statement R.Z. and C.P. are employees of Thermo Fisher Scientific. BK is a non-operational co-founder and shareholder of MSAID. The other authors declare no competing interests. * ABBREVIATIONS : ACN : Acetonitrile CAA : Chloroacetamide capLC : Capillary Liquid Chromatography CSF : Cerebrospinal Fluid CV : Coefficient of Variation DDA : Data-dependent Acquisition DIA : Data-Independent Acquisition DMSO : Dimethyl Sulfoxide DTT : Dithiothreitol EC50 : Effective Concentration to Reduce 50% of Protein Binding to Kinobeads FBS : Fetal Bovine Serum fmol : Femtomole FDR : False Discovery Rate FWHM : Full Width at Half Maximum HeLa : Human Cervical Carcinoma Cell Line HLB : Hydrophilic-Lipophilic Balance HPLC : High-Performance Liquid Chromatography i.d. : Internal Diameter Kdapp : Apparent Dissociation Constant LC : Liquid Chromatography LC-MS/MS : Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry µg : Microgram min : Minute µL : Microliter µLC : Microflow Liquid Chromatography mm : Milimeter mM : Milimolar MS : Mass Spectrometry ng : Nanogram nL : Nanoliter nLC : Nanoflow Liquid Chromatography nM : Nanomolar PSM : Peptide-spectrum Match RT : Retention Time SPD : Samples per Day SWATH-MS : Sequential Window Acquisition of All Theoretical Mass Spectra TFA : Trifluoroacetic Acid Å : Angstrom
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Reposted by Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍
Paul Byrne @theplanetaryguy.com · 29/04/2025
This is a new image from #JWST. The bright points with spikes are stars in the Milky Way. Everything else is a galaxy. Everything. Else. Is. A. Galaxy.
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Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍 @biochirrup.bsky.social · 21/03/2025
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Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍 @biochirrup.bsky.social · 07/03/2025
Sending solidarity across the pond to everyone who's marching for #StandUpForScience in the US today! 🔬🧪❤️
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Reposted by Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍
David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 14/02/2025
Evergreen cartoon
A cartoon depicts a man and a woman walking side by side on a street. The woman wears a stylish dress and holds a purse, while the man is in a suit. The caption reads, "My desire to be well-informed is currently at odds with my desire to remain sane.”
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Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍 @biochirrup.bsky.social · 17/01/2025
Here's some positive environmental news for your Friday! Includes wins such as the UK scrapping coal power completely, and rainforest being protected in South East Asia 😊 A reminder that not everything is doom and gloom! 🌍 youtu.be/Cw3N97EXc8c?...
youtu.be
The 10 Biggest Environmental Wins of 2024
YouTube video by Good News
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Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍 @biochirrup.bsky.social · 15/01/2025
Had my day slightly downtrodden upon realising I'd confused US customary units with Imperial units in some data work I'm doing... but then my partner reminded me a similar thing happened to NASA, except they crashed a rocket. Everyone should just use SI units. 🙃
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Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍 @biochirrup.bsky.social · 15/01/2025
Probably helps that it's the first day of sunny weather after an icy cold spell and grey skies for what feels like weeks!
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Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍 @biochirrup.bsky.social · 15/01/2025
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Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍 @biochirrup.bsky.social · 15/01/2025
I spotted Red Kites in Leamington for the first time last year... and now on my lunchtime walk I was thrilled to see a pair enjoying some thermals just above my neighbourhood! 🦅 From the brink of extinction in the UK a few decades ago, it just shows how much difference targeted action can make 😃
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Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍 @biochirrup.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
Just got sent this obvious scam message that seems like it's targeting pensioners who want Winter Fuel Allowance. It still boggles my mind that there are scumbags out there that deliberately target vulnerable older people who just want a warm house 😤😤😤
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Reposted by Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍
Ann Aguirre @annaguirre.bsky.social · 05/01/2025
I don't want my fridge to have a camera or Wi-Fi. I don't want my dishwasher to be smart. I don't want my washing machine to text me. In fact, I kinda miss knobs and dials and knowing big appliances would last 20 years and could still be repaired.
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Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍 @biochirrup.bsky.social · 11/12/2024
Flew from Paris to Rome yesterday and went over the alps around sunset. There was a bank of cloud that made the tops of mountains look like icebergs on the sea! This planet is so cool. 🏔
Snowy mountains poking through heavy cloud.
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Reposted by Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍
Brigit Strawbridge @brigitstrawbridge.bsky.social · 08/12/2024
Has anyone else watched this magnificent documentary about mosses? If not, I cannot recommend it highly enough... I guarantee it will blow you away! 💚 #moss #plants #bryophytes www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...
bbc.co.uk
The Magical World of Moss
Documentary that explores the vital role that mosses played in the earth's evolution and how science is only beginning to unlock the secrets and potential of these amazing plants.
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Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍 @biochirrup.bsky.social · 06/12/2024
Yeah, aluminium is really easily recyclable. I'm not saying it's not a good material or that we shouldn't use it, just that it's not a suitable replacement for plastic en masse.
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Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍 @biochirrup.bsky.social · 06/12/2024
We also tax companies that sell any plastic without using at least 30% recycled material in their packaging. This should incentivise using more recycled material :)
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Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍 @biochirrup.bsky.social · 06/12/2024
Glad you asked, as I work in the recycling sector :) Our laws mean that big companies have to pay to recycle what they sell. We use Packaging Recovery Notes (PRNs) which proves a tonne of packaging (such as plastic) has been recycled properly.
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Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍 @biochirrup.bsky.social · 06/12/2024
Claiming something *can't* be recycled is not the same as saying it *can*, but isn't. And I'm not sure what country you're from, but here in the UK, plastic recycling goes really well. We have lots of systems in place to make sure it's recycled here and not sent abroad.
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Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍 @biochirrup.bsky.social · 06/12/2024
...plastic can most definitely be recycled.
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Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍 @biochirrup.bsky.social · 06/12/2024
Unfortunately, aluminium bottles are an awful alternative. Aluminium uses far more energy than plastic, both to recycle and to mine the raw materials. Another result of greenwashing sadly :/
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Reposted by Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍
TechCrunch @techcrunch.com · 28/11/2024
From pond scum to premium skincare? Deep Blue Biotech is all in on blue-green algae to make better chemicals
tcrn.ch
From pond scum to premium skincare? Deep Blue Biotech is all in on blue-green algae to make better chemicals
Decarbonizing our economies in the race to fight climate change demands a wholesale overhauling of all sorts of production processes to make them as sustainable as possible. Greening chemicals, which are used as ingredients in all sorts of products, is…
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Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍 @biochirrup.bsky.social · 01/12/2024
Thanks :) already visited the dentist, and their response was basically "just wait and it will fix itself" 🥲
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Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍 @biochirrup.bsky.social · 01/12/2024
Currently on Day 5 of wisdom tooth-related woe. Tooth pain really is the absolute worst, I'm sick of eating ibuprofen 😣 The Americans do it right when they just take the buggers out early and have done with it!
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Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍 @biochirrup.bsky.social · 01/12/2024
Nice article, you focus on specifically soft plastics though -- notoriously difficult to recycle. What about the huge recycling success with PET, PE, PP? In the UK, most of our plastic is recycled onshore, plus we have things like plastics tax that incentivises the use of recycled plastics.
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Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍 @biochirrup.bsky.social · 01/12/2024
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Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍 @biochirrup.bsky.social · 27/11/2024
Front and centre was the contrast of a world without antibiotics and just how many people are alive today because of them. Even in Fleming's time, antimicrobial resistance #AMR was already becoming a problem, and I just hope that we don't return to a time without antibiotics. 💊 /thread 🧵
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Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍 @biochirrup.bsky.social · 27/11/2024
There's also a small exhibition room that tells the story of how Penicillin was discovered and the long process of learning to produce it en masse. I particularly enjoyed seeing photos of Fleming's lab notebook pages 📓 4/
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Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍 @biochirrup.bsky.social · 27/11/2024
What struck me was how little labware has changed in almost 100 years. Sure, we use plastic versions of most things now, but all the flasks, petri dishes, pipettes are still very similar. 3/
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Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍 @biochirrup.bsky.social · 27/11/2024
I was able to see the *actual* lab room where Fleming discovered Penicillin. Photography wasn't allowed inside, but all his labware is set out as he would have used it, including microbial growth flasks, bunsens, microscopes! 2/
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Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍 @biochirrup.bsky.social · 27/11/2024
Was in London Paddington overnight for work and found myself with some free time today, so I just had to visit the Alexander Fleming Museum! 🧵 1/ It's tucked down a side road at St Mary's Hospital and is easy to miss...
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Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍 @biochirrup.bsky.social · 25/11/2024
Lovely! Flammulina velutipes? They look so gelatinous on top!
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Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍 @biochirrup.bsky.social · 25/11/2024
Should clarify it's completely free to download!
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Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍 @biochirrup.bsky.social · 25/11/2024
Not sure if it's useful, but my team at Valpak consulting released a UK-wide report on plastic use and recycling rates (we call them Packflow reports) that can be downloaded here: www.valpak.co.uk/knowledge-hu... We break down into consumer/non-consumer and what's recycled onshore vs off :)
valpak.co.uk
Knowledge Hub Page – Packflow Refresh 2023 Plastic | Valpak
This report analyses the quantity of plastic packaging being placed on the market (POM) in the UK and being recycled in 2022
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Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍 @biochirrup.bsky.social · 23/11/2024
Probably not the warmest weekend to have booked to go camping! 😅☃️
Snowy tent
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Reposted by Rachel Stirrup 🦠 🌍
Joseph Brooks Shuttleworth @jbshuttleworth.bsky.social · 20/11/2024
On Friday, we’re broadcasting a #FEMSMicrobiolEcol webinar on Microbial Impacts of #ClimateChange! #MicroSky #Microbiology #Microbes #science Join us if you can: fems-microbiology.org/fems-microbi...
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