iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

👏 Dr Loraine Rourke delivering her talk at Combio 2026. The Cl- dependent bicarbonate transporter SbtA2 expressed in the chloroplast IEM of tobacco.

Conference speaker Dr Loraine Rourke with a PowerPoint presentation showing evidence of colocalization of SbtA2 and the chloroplast inner envelope membrane protein TGD2

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Reposted by Ben Long

Prof. Eliot Jacobson @climatecasino.net · 27/09/2026

Breaking News! Code: FUBAR!!! The preliminary Nino 3.4 sea-surface temperature for September 25th was 29.822°C. This breaks the previous highest temperature ever recorded in the region of 29.815°C, set on November 17th, 2015. The Climate 8-ball is exiting, stage right.

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Reposted by Ben Long

Abilu Tangwa. @abilutangwa.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

When farms stop yielding, hunger does not knock — it breaks the door. Across the Horn of Africa, soils that once fed nations are turning barren. This is not “bad weather.” This is climate change rewriting our food systems in real time.

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Reposted by Ben Long

Bowie's dad @80incognito.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Our Story, approved by Bowie: "Donkeys, horses, a road trip and visit to Radio Namakwaland." oppad.substack.com/p/donkeys-ho...

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Reposted by Ben Long

Sebastian S. Cocioba @atinygreencell.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Feeling proud of where SpliceCraft is at right now. Still got more details to add and UI jank to solve, but powerful af and open source. Made, with love, for this community. Enjoy. SpliceCraft.bio

splicecraft.bio

SpliceCraft — the in-terminal plasmid workbench

Design, clone & mutate plasmids in a mouse-friendly terminal workbench. Everything runs on your own computer — no cloud, no account.

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Ben Long @botbml.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Getting a permanent academic position.

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Reposted by Ben Long

Tiffany Lowe-Power stands with Minnesota @tlowepower.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Please repost/share We're hiring! UC Davis Plant Pathology seeks a tenure-track Assistant Professor in plant health & microbiomes. recruit.ucdavis.edu/JPF07904 My department is full of great colleagues, and we look forward to recruiting our new colleague!

recruit.ucdavis.edu

Assistant Professor of Plant Pathology

University of California, Davis is hiring. Apply now!

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Reposted by Ben Long

Journal of Experimental Botany @jxbotany.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

🚨🌱 1 week to go! 🌱🚨 There are only 7 days left to apply for the 2027 JXB Editorial Internship programme! ⚠️ Don’t leave it to last minute. You'll need: 📄 A CV 📝 A Cover letter 🔍 An Insight-style article ⏰ Deadline: 30 Sept 2026 👉 bit.ly/jxbinterns?ut... #PlantScience 🧪 SEBiology

JXB EDITORIAL
INTERNSHIPS 2027
"My JXB internship was an excel-lent opportunity to gain first-hand experience of the editorial and publishing process."
Sujit Jung Karki, University
College Dublin, JXB intern 2024 19
"I had the opportunity to publish an Insight article as the sole author, which was something I did not expect to be able to achieve at this early point in my career."
Katie Watson,
University of Hong Kong,
JXB intern 2025
"Being an editorial intern has been an enriching and formative
experience."
Luis Alonso Baez,
Norwegian University of Science and Technology, JXB intern 2025
Apply by
30th September 2026
bit.ly/jxbinterns

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Ben Long @botbml.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

A warm 31°C today. It's going to be a hot summer when we get around to it in Aus this year I think.

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Ben Long @botbml.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

From my amazing colleague, Vanessa Melino and her talented team.

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Reposted by Ben Long

STCmicrobeblog @stcmicrobeblog.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

(archaeal) cell divisionists take note 👇 no, the diderm 𝘐𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘰𝘤𝘤𝘶𝘴 did 𝗻𝗼𝘁 invent the nucleus, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 something pretty similar to 'closed mitosis' (as in yeast). look @sbulgheresi.bsky.social ! #MicroSky #Archaea #ArchaeaSky

Figure 4. Membrane duplication in Ignicoccus progeny. A to H, see source for details.
source: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.08.750209v1.full.pdf+html

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Ben Long @botbml.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Misconceptions in attributing CO2-concentrating mechanisms in marine algae www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...

degruyterbrill.com

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Reposted by Ben Long

Association of Applied Biologists @aabiologists.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Missed the abstract deadline for Early Career Essentials?? Have no fear - registration is still open (and we're still accepting poster abstracts!) 🌱 Register by 1st October to join us in person! 👉️ cvent.me/8o1kkP #earlycareer #plantscience #agronomy #forestry #agtech #scicomm

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Ben Long @botbml.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Pet hate. Journal editorial systems that send you a manuscript on Friday night... and a hurry up reminder on Sunday night.

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Reposted by Ben Long

Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · 04/09/2026

The amount of oil use avoided by EVs in China in the first half of 2026 is the same as the amount of oil USED BY THE ENTIRE UK www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-chi...

a chart showing projected avoided oil use

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Reposted by Ben Long

Maria Ermakova @mariaermakova.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Our new paper adding to the mystery of PEPC phosphorylation in C4 plants

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Reposted by Ben Long

Andreas P.M. Weber 🌾🌱🧬 @apmweber.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

📣 Metabolomics expert position at @ceplas.bsky.social part part of the CEPLAS Academic Expert Career Programme (tenure-track). karriere.hhu.de/index.php?ac...

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Reposted by Ben Long

Ben Engel @cellarchlab.com · 31/08/2026

LAST WEEK TO APPLY!!! 🧪 @biozentrum.unibas.ch seeks a new group👩‍🔬 exploring molecular questions relevant to climate 🌍, including biogeochemical cycles (e.g., carbon, nitrogen) ♻️, bioenergetic energy conversion (e.g., photosynthesis, chemosynthesis) ☀️⚗️, and the adaptation to environmental change 🌊🌡️🦠🌾

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KunzLab@LMU @kunzlab.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

New PEC story 🌱 led by PhD cand Susi with amazing collabs Grimm, Hause & Robatzek labs! We patch-clamped isolated plastids to show that PECs mediate rapid cation flux across the IE. PECs relay Ca²⁺ signals into plastids & link Ca²⁺ to JA-mediated defense. #plantscience www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Model of chloroplast Ca²⁺-mediated priming: after a stress trigger, plants show a larger stromal Ca²⁺ signal via PEC1, boosting OPDA and JA production and enhancing defense gene expression compared to baseline

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Reposted by Ben Long

Caitlin Byrt @botanicgeek.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

The amazing powers of cyanobacteria. Regularly on display outside @biologyanu.bsky.social buildings, Sullivans Creek @scienceanu.bsky.social Earth's oceans, & the worlds freshwater, turning greener and greener. Awesome to discover more about ocean cyano C capture - academic.oup.com/ismej/advanc...

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Ben Long @botbml.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Prevalence and regulatory framework of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in Australia: Past, present and future doi.org/10.1016/j.ha...

doi.org

Redirecting

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Reposted by Ben Long

Cameron Thrash @jcamthrash.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Heterologous expression in E. coli reveals that bicarbonate transporter BicA2 mediates carbon uptake in marine Prochlorococcus spp. academic.oup.com/ismej/advanc... #jcampubs

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Ben Long @botbml.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Huge congrats to Dr Loz Rourke on her latest paper🎉 In ISMEJ we identify BicA2, a molecular gateway for carbon uptake in the globally dominant Prochlorococcus genus. Prochlorococcus contributes ~4% of global carbon assimilation, meaning BicA2 function has global implications for carbon uptake 🌊 🌏

academic.oup.com

Heterologous expression in E. coli reveals that bicarbonate transporter BicA2 mediates carbon uptake in marine Prochlorococcus spp.

Abstract. The widespread oceanic cyanobacterial Prochlorococcus genus is a major contributor to global carbon fixation, yet mechanisms enabling this lineag

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Reposted by Ben Long

Richard Sever @richardsever.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

"~15% of journal articles in biology have an associated preprint, the rate is >95% with the ASAP initiative" sparcopen.org/impact-story... Zero reason all funders shouldn't also mandate this #PlanU journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...

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Claudia Martinho @cssmartinho.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Postdoc opportunity in my group! Please share! 🔁 Investigate the epigenetic mechanisms underlying stress memory in plants 🧬🌱 Looking for someone excited about computational genomics + plant molecular biology. 📍 Dundee, Scotland | 3 years 📅 Apply by 21 Sept www.dundee.ac.uk/work-for-us/...

dundee.ac.uk

Postdoctoral Research Assistant - UOD2369

Closing date: Monday 21 September 2026, 23:59

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Reposted by Ben Long

road.cc @roadcc.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

“Kids were killed and we’re just supposed to chalk it up to another distracted or angry driver? It’s so sad that we live in a world where we can’t just ride our bikes in peace” road.cc/news/cycling...

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Torii Lab @stomata-tweets.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

New paper! Amphibious plant, H. difformis, reprograms C3 to potential C4 photosynthesis underwater, highlighting its amazing plasticity of carbon assimilation machineries for aquatic environment. Congrats, Hongwei & the team🥳🌿🐸! academic.oup.com/hr/advance-article/doi/10.1093/hr/uhag230/8708086

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MACSYS @macsys.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

MACSYS is proud to introduce our new "Metabolic Explorer"! This interactive tool will help researchers visualise & interact with complex metabolic models, making it easier to understand what's happening inside a cell and compare how metabolism changes under different conditions. youtu.be/25WwywWLYPo

youtu.be

MACSYS Metabolic Explorer

YouTube video by MACSYS

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Ben Long @botbml.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

Radical, I know, but I decided not to work today despite university open day yesterday, because my youngest child was visiting for the first time in 4 months and I needed a few hours of humanity before semester 2 begins tomorrow.

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Ben Long @botbml.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Bottom-up reconstruction of synthetic pyrenoids provides insights into the mechanisms and evolution of carbon concentration by EPYC1 proteins Cool paper! Title says 'carbon concentrating' but I would emphasise 'CO2' or 'inorganic carbon' concentrating. The abstract seems ambivalent but I say 'CO2'.

nature.com

Bottom-up reconstruction of synthetic pyrenoids provides insights into the mechanisms and evolution of carbon concentration by EPYC1 proteins - Nature Plants

This study shows that the structural protein essential pyrenoid component 1 (EPYC1) and the enzyme Rubisco are sufficient to assemble into pyrenoid-like structures that are functionally active and sho...

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Tom Buckley @tombuckleylab.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Over-the-top great department. Faculty jobs don't get much better than this if you're a planty person.

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Reposted by Ben Long

Association of Applied Biologists @aabiologists.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

The summer edition of our newsletter is out now!! ☀️ Ft. all the latest from the AAB & wider community! 🚑 News 🌱 Events 💼 Opportunities 📝 Meeting Reports #ICPR26 @costprogramme.bsky.social @rsb.org.uk Read it in full 👉 buff.ly/qDC6TiM

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in silico Plants @insilicoplants.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Technical Advance: Optimizing sorghum crop design through crop growth modeling and multi-objective optimization by Genevieve Durrington, Joseph Saddigh, Jason Brider, Graeme Hammer, Alex Wu buff.ly/P6WkzRi #PlantScience #APSIM @coeplantsuccess.bsky.social

doi.org

Enhancing sorghum yield and risk management via optimizing crop design

Abstract. Globally, the need to intensify food production and accelerate crop yield gains requires new strategies for crop improvement. Agricultural produc

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Reposted by Ben Long

Plant Biotechnology Journal @plantbiotechj.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

🌱 RESEARCH 🌱 Bacteriophage P22 Virus-Like Particles as Nanoscale Protein Scaffolds for Plant Synthetic Biology - Harding et al. 🔗 doi.org/10.1111/pbi.... #plantscience #syntheticbiology 🧪

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