iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Bruce Taylor @brucedstaylor.bsky.social · 18h

Here's a fun thing! Prof. Mike Hickerson @hickerlab.bsky.social has created Phylodiet, an app that reveals "How Much of the Tree of Life is on your plate": mjhickerson.github.io/phylodiet/ap... Enter your meal, and see how the ingredients are related. #phylogeny #TreeOfLife #Evolution

mjhickerson.github.io

Phylodiet

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Bruce Taylor @brucedstaylor.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

One species in our new paper is named after Joe Purdon, an Ontario farmer who nurtured the woodland fen now known as the Purdon Conservation Area. He focused on the Showy Lady’s Slipper orchid, but conserved a whole ecosystem, including his new namesake: Galeripora purdoni. #orchids #peatlands

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Bruce Taylor @brucedstaylor.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

In Montreal to launch my new collection of poems. It has an amoeba on the cover! vehiculepress.com/shop/we-drov... Great to reconnect with old poetry friends, and meet some new ones.

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Bruce Taylor @brucedstaylor.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

Weird word of the day: "kleptosquamy." The testate amoeba Awerintzewia cyclostoma steals scales from other amoeboid organisms to build its own shell. This one has robbed Quadrulella, Netzelia, various euglyphids, and even an Acanthocystis. Kleptosquamy! #amoebae #ProtistsOnSky #biology #nature

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Bruce Taylor @brucedstaylor.bsky.social · 06/11/2025

The amoeba Difflugia bacillifera builds its shell from things that contain silica, and it is not particular about the source. These ones have incorporated whole shells from another testate amoeba (Euglypha), along with diatoms, algal cysts and chunks of rock. #Amoebae #ProtistsOnSky #peatlands

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Bruce Taylor @brucedstaylor.bsky.social · 21/09/2025

Q. You're going through dishes of bogwater, hunting a certain thing. You find a bloom of a species you were collecting two months ago. You already have enough of those and don't need more. What do you do? A. Collect them anyway! We wants it, we needs it, must have the precious! #ProtistsOnSky

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Bruce Taylor @brucedstaylor.bsky.social · 08/09/2025

I broke some shells of Galeripora artocrea, to look at their algal hostages...and accidentally created Pac-Man amoebae. #amoebae #peatlands #ProtistsOnSky

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Bruce Taylor @brucedstaylor.bsky.social · 17/08/2025

Amoebae in the family Arcellidae make their shells from secreted vesicles of organic material that become hexagonal when pressed together. When a shell is broken, we can see inside the stiff-walled "areoles" that give it strength and durability. #ProtistsOnSky #Amoebae #peatlands

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Vasily Zlatogursky @zlatogursky.bsky.social · 24/07/2025

Promethea = PROvora + MEteora + HEmimastigophora. The new supergroup, unifying previously “orphan” lineages with gene-rich mitogenomes. Position of #telonemids is still uncertain. #protistsonsky tinyurl.com/yk9xkt49

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Bruce Taylor @brucedstaylor.bsky.social · 24/07/2025

Last day in the field...time to wind down, pack up, put my stuff away. Of course, the sneaky shelled amoeba I've been chasing all week SUDDENLY decides to start blooming like crazy. #ProtistsOnSky #amoebae

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Trevor A. Branch @trevorabranch.bsky.social · 02/07/2025

In an unconscionable decision, the Smithsonian Institute has decided to no longer support the Biodiversity Heritage Library from 1 Jan 2026. Please someone step up and take it over.

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Biodiversity Heritage Library @biodivlibrary.bsky.social · 16/06/2025

BHL contains the foundation of our understanding of biodiversity. 🌱 🌏 🦎 📖 🪱 🧪 🦉 There are countless researchers, educators, policy makers, fields, institutions, databases & species that rely on BHL. Please share our Call for Support as widely as you can: blog.biodiversitylibrary.org/2025/06/tran...

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Bruce Taylor @brucedstaylor.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

But why does an amoeba need horns on its shell? They're quite carefully made, with flat plates neatly glued around them (possibly scales from another organism). The spheres around the mouth are siliceous resting cysts of chrysophyte algae. #ProtistsonSky #MEvoSky #Amoebae #Peatlands

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Alex Wild @alexwild.bsky.social · 10/06/2025

iNat getting cozier with generative AI, not sure that's going to play well with everyone.

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reitetsugou.bsky.social @reitetsugou.bsky.social · 28/03/2025

Zone of inhibition always makes me feel so excited about science lol

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Bruce Taylor @brucedstaylor.bsky.social · 07/06/2025

Many amoebae incorporate diatoms in their shells, but Cylindrifflugia bacillariarum is the master. Third and fourth pics are close views of the glue that holds it all together. #ProtistsonSky #Amoebae #Peatlands

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Bruce Taylor @brucedstaylor.bsky.social · 31/05/2025

An amoeba with teeth. When building its shell, Netzelia corona selects sharp grains of quartz and positions them around its aperture with the tips pointing inward. I took a few closeups, yesterday. #ProtistsonSky #amoebae #peatlands #MEvoSky

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georgia 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @blahttodea.bsky.social · 11/11/2024

hey everyone! i made a list of some useful starter packs (primarily biology/earth sciences with a few bonus things thrown in) to share with friends who have joined bsky in the last week and thought it may be useful for some people here too! 🌍🧪 #SciSky #BioSky docs.google.com/document/d/1...

docs.google.com

Starter packs

BIOLOGY Ecology Macroecology https://go.bsky.app/GBn9pNZ Global ecology https://go.bsky.app/V6tN4cv Trait based ecology and evolution https://go.bsky.app/PThMXeX Invasion biology https://go.b...

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Bruce Taylor @brucedstaylor.bsky.social · 10/05/2025

Recently, we described a "new" species of amoeba. It's just been found it again, 700 km away. I suspect it's common in eastern N.A., but not noticed until it had a name. One reason to do taxonomy: describing a thing makes it visible! www.inaturalist.org/observations... #taxonomy #systematics

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Bruce Taylor @brucedstaylor.bsky.social · 08/05/2025

Some specimens of a shelled amoeba called Heleopera sphagni, from a northern fen. The shell is assembled from jagged siliceous plates, but where did they come from? Stolen from a prey organism, or generated by the amoeba itself? I have no idea! #protistsonsky #amoebae #peatlands

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daniel sieradski @self.agency · 08/04/2025

in case you're wondering, "what's the harm in claiming an extinct species has been brought back from the dead" when it most certainly has not, our interior secretary is already using it to justify taking animals off the endangered species list

The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is to work with others to “conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people.”

The Department of the Interior is excited about the potential of “de-extinction” technology and how it may serve broader purposes beyond the recovery of lost species, including strengthening biodiversity protection efforts and helping endangered or at-risk species.

The Endangered Species List has become like the Hotel California: once a species enters, they never leave. In fact, 97 percent of species that are added to the endangered list remain there. This is because the status quo is focused on regulation more than innovation.

It’s time to fundamentally change how we think about species conservation. Going forward, we must celebrate removals from the endangered list - not additions. The only thing we’d like to see go extinct is the need for an endangered species list to exist. We need to continue improving recovery efforts to make that a reality, and the marvel of “de-extinction” technology can help forge a future where populations are never at risk.

Since the dawn of our nation, it has been innovation – not regulation – that has spawned American greatness. The revival of the Dire Wolf heralds the advent of a thrilling new era of scientific wonder, showcasing how the concept of “de-extinction” can serve as a bedrock for modern species conservation.

The Dire Wolf revival carries profound cultural significance as it embodies strength and courage that is deeply encoded within the DNA of American identity and tribal heritage.

Breakthroughs of this nature will inspire leading minds and future generations of innovators to chase the impossible, capture it, and unleash its potential!

The Department of the Interior looks forward to a vibrant future full of innovation that advances core missions such as wildlife conservation.

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Kenneth Dumack @dumack.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

🚨New preprint out! We show that Arcella spp., a shell-bearing amoeba, controls the abundance of the filamentous bacterium Ca. Microthrix parvicella, the main culprit behind sludge bulking in wastewater treatment plants. Interested in applicability of protists? Read along! #protistsonsky #microsky 🧵👇

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Davi Bock @dddavi.bsky.social · 01/04/2025

Igor FTW, again! Amazing photographer, anatomist, microscopist, artist.

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Scott Delaney @scott-delaney.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

The crush of new grant cancellations hasn't let up. If your grant was terminated (or your app was pulled) please use this Google Form👇 to submit details for tracking purposes. Multiple advocacy efforts are moving forward, but we must must must know more about what grants were cancelled and why.

forms.gle

Cancelled NIH grant information submission form

Please use this form to submit information identifying specific NIH grants that have been cancelled for any reason after January 20, 2025. Data from this form will be used to update the Rescinded NIH...

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Laura Eme @lauraeme.bsky.social · 12/03/2025

🚨 New paper alert! 🚨 A robustly rooted tree of eukaryotes sheds light on their deep evolutionary ancestry—suggesting that the Last Eukaryotic Common Ancestor (LECA) may have had an excavate-like cell architecture. 🧵🔬 (1/) www.nature.com/articles/s41...

nature.com

A robustly rooted tree of eukaryotes reveals their excavate ancestry - Nature

The root of the eukaryote Tree of Life is estimated from a new, larger dataset of mitochondrial proteins including all known eukaryotic supergroups, showing it lies between two multi-supergroup assemb...

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Vasily Zlatogursky @zlatogursky.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

Do #protistsonsky know that there is a protistology YouTube out there? And almost no subscribers. Meahwile Sina Adl is describing how he wrote a Protistology Book! Which is amazing! youtu.be/QfMxq1Pygcw?...

youtu.be

ISOP member spotlight Adl 2025

YouTube video by Protistologists

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Dominika Łuców @torfiak.bsky.social · 15/01/2025

I’m so excited! 🥳 Our new article just came out, describing a brand-new genus and four new species of #testate #amoebae from #Mongolia! #protists 🔬🌍 It was such a pleasure to collaborate with Ferry Siemensma – truly an inspiring scientist! 🙃 👉 authors.elsevier.com/a/1kP5K3K1I1...

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Masaru Nobu @masarunobu.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

New isolates from eukaryote's closest archaeal relative: ‘Hodarchaeales’!! Syntrophic microaerotolerant peptide-degrading anaerobic archaea w/ simple cell structure & protrusions. Features conserved across the phylum provide new insight into our ancestor’s biology! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

biorxiv.org

Eukaryotes' closest relatives are internally simple syntrophic archaea

Eukaryotes are theorized to have originated from an archaeal phylum Promethearchaeota (formerly 'Asgard' archaea)1,2. The first cultured representatives revealed valuable insight3,4 but are distantly ...

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Julia Van Etten @couchmicroscopy.bsky.social · 22/02/2025

As a very small act of resistance, which is to continue creating reliable science content for non-scientists, I’ve decided to revive my podcast from 2022. The first episode of season 2 will be released on March 10th on all podcast platforms!

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Bruce Taylor @brucedstaylor.bsky.social · 21/02/2025

Avert your eyes if you have "trypophobia"! Here are some close views of the beautiful organic "glue" the amoeba Difflugia microclaviformis uses to cement together bits of quartz and diatoms, to build its shell. #ProtistsonSky #amoebae #peatlands #NatureisLit

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c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 10/02/2025

This is a room where we turn very modest salaries and budgets (and lots of coffee) into new knowledge, life-saving innovations, and technology that feeds business growth. It's literally the loom that spins hay into gold but these numpties are suddenly worried about the cost of hay.

A research lab from Northwestern, chosen because it's generic and sort of zoomed out. Three scientists are visible in lab coats, and there are benches and shelving, with glass along one wall showing another high-rise building nearby. Overhead fluorescents provide light.

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Nicole Coots @nicolecoots.bsky.social · 10/02/2025

the third chapter of my PhD is now published! 🚨 We describe the protist symbiont diversity of the termite species Reticulitermes tibialis. This project was performed in a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) which was super fun 😊 #protistsonsky authors.elsevier.com/a/1kaMa56A9x...

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STCmicrobeblog @stcmicrobeblog.bsky.social · 07/02/2025

reposting from 𝕏 bc you know... @KensukeTadome (not on 🔵bsky) on Aug 10, 2023: "Cross section of 𝘙𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘢 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘴 🧐 As you can see, lichens are a symbiotic relationship between algae and fungi. The algae sparkle and are beautiful ☺️✨" #SymbioSky #Lichen

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Bruce Taylor @brucedstaylor.bsky.social · 06/02/2025

A shelled amoeba we recently described, Arcella prismatica. These ones were collected from Mer Bleue Bog, in Ottawa. So far, it's only been found there and in a subarctic mire in Chisasibi, James Bay. #ProtistsOnSky #TestateAmoebae #peatland #MerBleueBog #Ottawa

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Randall Munroe @xkcd.com · 04/02/2025

Stromatolites xkcd.com/3046

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Bruce Taylor @brucedstaylor.bsky.social · 02/02/2025

Work with microbes? Consider the risks!

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Bungo Akiyoshi @bungoakiyoshi.bsky.social · 01/02/2025

The world is full of crazy and sad news, but here is a protein that localizes to only one of the two flagella

Fluorescence microscope image showing a protein that goes to only one flagellum

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Andrew Roger @andrewjroger.bsky.social · 27/01/2025

In case some people have missed it, I'm re-posting a link to our paper on the Anaeramoeba-Desulfobacter symbiotic system. This is one of the papers from my lab that I'm most proud of...and a huge amount of the credit goes to @jonhultqvist.bsky.social !!! www.nature.com/articles/s41...

nature.com

A unique symbiosome in an anaerobic single-celled eukaryote - Nature Communications

Symbiont-housing structures are well-studied in multicellular eukaryotes but rarely in unicellular protists. This study shows that low-oxygen-adapted Anaeramoebae have symbiosomes positioning sul...

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Bruce Taylor @brucedstaylor.bsky.social · 25/01/2025

A perfect little thing, crafted by a cunning amoeboid. This shell was collected in a calcareous fen near Winnipeg, Canada. It's the handiwork (pseudopodiwork?) of the cercozoan amoeba Scutiglypha scutigera (=Euglypha scutigera). #ProtistsOnSky #TestateAmoebae #peatland

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erick-j.bsky.social @erick-j.bsky.social · 23/01/2025

Forged termite symbiont: Trichomitopsis. Photo taken by @fburki.bsky.social. #sculpture #art #protistsonsky #sciart

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Bruce Taylor @brucedstaylor.bsky.social · 19/01/2025

Meet Arcella prismatica, a new species of shelled amoeba from peatlands in suburban Ottawa and James Bay. doi.org/10.22621/cfn... #ProtistsOnSky #Protists #Amoebae

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John Dolan @tintinnman.bsky.social · 19/01/2025

A nice book - just in case one needs reminding that in biology,very little is binary

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Fabien Burki @fburki.bsky.social · 19/01/2025

Stoked about this manuscript, many years in the making. We present an original resource of ~700 highly curated plastid MAGs of marine pelagic algae. Among these we found a novel deep branching group of plastid genomes; we informally call them leptophytes www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

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Bruce Taylor @brucedstaylor.bsky.social · 19/01/2025

The shelled amoeba Zivkovicia compressa, divided internally by a central pillar and a thin-walled "diaphragm" with two round openings. Maybe for defense against parasitic rotifers and other micro-villains? Last pic shows its rather fancy organic cement. #ProtistsOnSky #Protists #Amoebae

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Dominika Łuców @torfiak.bsky.social · 18/01/2025

Trinema scutarius sp. nov. (Siemensma et Łuców, 2025) 👉 arcella.nl/trinema-scut... 📜 authors.elsevier.com/a/1kP5K3K1I1... SEM photographs by Izabela Zawiska #TestateAmoebae #Protist #igsopas #peatland #Mongolia

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John Scalzi @scalzi.com · 26/12/2024

I understand Elon Musk is trying to get people to stop donating to Wikipedia, which reminded me that I hadn't yet made my usual annual donation to Wikipedia, so now that's been taken care of

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Wallace Marshall @wallaceucsf.bsky.social · 21/12/2024

Delighted to share our new preprint on the cell biology and genome of Stentor pyriformis, a giant ciliate that maintains Chlorella endosymbionts in surface-associated microtubule baskets. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

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