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Georgy Kurakin

@georgykurakin.bsky.social
858 followers 429 following 370 posts

Biologist (MRSB), science communicator, and digital artist. Regular contributor of @skeptic.org.uk My own opinions, artworks, science, sci-pop and more My science blog: oxylipins.substack.com

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Georgy Kurakin @georgykurakin.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Back in 2023, I was interviewed by a university newspaper about biochemistry of love. My phrase about the "neurotransmitter chaos" caught on with journalists so much that it started migrating through publications year after year 🧪💗🧠 Now it is cited in English, too :-) medium.com/@fedir_karas...
medium.com
How Long Love Lasts: The Difference in the Biochemistry of Falling in Love in Men and Women
The chemistry of love. We use this expression all the time, but people rarely understand what actually stands behind it. To do that, you…
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Microbes.Info @microbesinfo.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
🦠💊 More than 250 people have joined a trial testing #obeldesivir as post-exposure protection against #Ebola during Congo’s deadly #Bundibugyo #virus #outbreak, which currently has no approved #vaccine or treatment. #Outbreak #PublicHealth #Microsky via @pbs.org www.pbs.org/newshour/hea...
pbs.org
Inside the study for a remedy to fight Congo's deadliest Ebola outbreak
The drug is targeted at Bundibugyo virus, which is responsible for the fast-moving outbreak and is without an approved vaccine or treatment. The trial began in July and is one of several studies…
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WHO @who.int · 05/10/2026
Meningitis is lethal. It strikes quickly and affects people in all parts of the world. Bacterial meningitis is the most serious type of meningitis. Around 1 in 6 people who get this type of meningitis die and 1 in 5 have severe complications bit.ly/4j5hIS0
World Health Organization graphic asking 'What is meningitis?' with stylized bacteria illustrations on a purple background.List of common meningitis symptoms including neck stiffness, fever, headaches, nausea, and vomiting on a blue gradient background.Illustration of an adult hand holding a child's hand with text about meningitis risk in young children by WHO.
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Georgy Kurakin @georgykurakin.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
This is a blog post about my recent research showing how a bacterial toxin might go far beyond human patients. How it might me involved in oil biodegradation and plant-kingdom host jumps 🧪🦠🌾 But this is also a story of scientific roadblocks and challenges: oxylipins.substack.com/p/the-role-o...
The role of CFTR inhibitory factor might go far beyond cystic fibrosis
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Matt Henderson @matthen.com · 03/10/2026
Visualising the distribution of substrings in the genomes of different organisms. Going up to depth eight by recursively splitting into quadrants, we get these fractal-like pictures.
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Microbes.Info @microbesinfo.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
🍬🦠 A study tracking 9,419 meals found that eating more sweets during #antibiotic treatment was linked to greater #Gut #Microbiome disruption and expansion of #Enterococcus #bacteria. #Microbiology #Antibiotics #Dysbiosis #Microbiome #Microsky via @nature.com www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Sugar-rich foods exacerbate antibiotic-induced microbiome disruption - Nature
Avoiding a diet rich in simple sugars during treatment with antibiotics may mitigate microbiota disruption.
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Nature Portfolio @natureportfolio.nature.com · 02/10/2026
Nature reports how researchers are trying everything they can to help coral reefs to survive severe heat stress from climate change, including playing sounds underwater. 🌊🌎🧪
go.nature.com
The super El Niño is cooking coral reefs — can lullabies and probiotics save them?
Researchers are trying everything they can to help coral reefs to survive severe heat stress from climate change, including playing sounds underwater.
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Georgy Kurakin @georgykurakin.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
An interesting article tells how bacteria conduct electricity and why they need it 🧪🦠⚡
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Georgy Kurakin @georgykurakin.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
One morning, a renowned science journalist woke up and discovered that someone pitches articles to the editors in her name. This case exposes the vulnerability of science writing community to AI-boosted impersonation practices, Zoe Chernova tells 🧪📑 duozoid.substack.com/p/something-...
duozoid.substack.com
Something is rotten in the state of Science Writing
A new scandal has rocked our world of science communication. It involves several shocking cases of sheer audacity.
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Georgy Kurakin @georgykurakin.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Today is International Translation Day. It’s also a special day for me – I’m a medical translator and a member of the Union of Translators of Russia. But this is the saddest Translation Day of my life: I haven’t had a single translation job for three months now. I think you can guess why…
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Georgy Kurakin @georgykurakin.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
I've updated my Springer Nature blog article about my recent study by adding the information about its formal publication. However, I didn't change a lot: let it be a post about the research struggle 🧪🦠🌾 Read the new version: go.nature.com/4qY3cM1
A bacterial epoxide hydrolase might broaden the host range of bacteria through oxylipin signalling hijack
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Microbes.Info @microbesinfo.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
🦠📈 #COVID19 activity is growing again in parts of the U.S. as fall begins, with #health officials tracking cases, symptoms and circulating #variants heading into #respiratory #virus season. #Virus #PublicHealth #SARSCoV2 #Microsky via @usatoday.com www.usatoday.com/story/graphi...
usatoday.com
COVID cases are rising in some states. See the map
An early fall increase in COVID-19 cases is being reported in several states. Maps show where activity is increasing.
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linda2.bsky.social @linda2.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
The last leaf. Away from the madness of the world, there is autumn 🍂 Have a good night and thanks to many for sharing and commenting. #autumn #oakleaf #nature #photography #woodland
A single oak leaf clings to a branch as autumn spreads her colours.
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Georgy Kurakin @georgykurakin.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
The most concise and comprehensive guide on Pre-Greek substrate I've ever seen — by @linguisticdiscovery.com 🉑🟠🧪 #langsky linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/pre-gr...
linguisticdiscovery.com
Pre-Greek: The lost language hidden within Ancient Greek
Around 1,000 Greek words can’t be traced to any Indo-European language. Where do they come from?
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PLOS Biology @plosbiology.org · 25/09/2026
How do herbivorous insects coordinate detoxification pathways to counter plant defenses and diversify host use? This study identifies a pathway driving furanocoumarin detoxification in Helicoverpa, providing insights into toxin tolerance and host range variation. 🧪 #AcademicSky buff.ly/6LxF1gl
Comparative schematic of the CYP6AE19–UGT33 detoxification cascade mediating xanthotoxin metabolism in H. armigera and H. assulta.
In H. armigera, dietary xanthotoxin is efficiently metabolised through a sequential Phase I–Phase II pathway. CYP6AE19 first catalyses O-dealkylation to produce xanthotoxol or aromatic-ring hydroxylation to generate 5-hydroxyxanthotoxin. These hydroxyl-containing intermediates are then glucosylated by UGT33 enzymes to form xanthotoxol glucoside and 5-hydroxyxanthotoxin glucoside, thereby increasing their hydrophilicity and promoting detoxification. In H. assulta, HsCYP6AE19 lacks detectable activity towards xanthotoxin, and only a subset of HsUGT33 enzymes show weak glucosylation activity towards xanthotoxol and 5-hydroxyxanthotoxin, indicating attenuation of this coordinated P450–UGT detoxification cascade.
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C&EN (Chemical & Engineering News) @cenmag.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
A new atom-swapping reaction gives chemists a versatile tool for replacing aromatic carbons with nitrogen in complex molecules. cen.acs.org/synthesis/sk... #chemsky 🧪
Skeletal-editing ‘dream’ realized.
Second-generation C-to-N swap turns the first generation’s failure into a feature.
by Bethany Halford.
Scheme shows the reaction of an azide analog of vinpocetine to form an analog in which nitrogen replaces carbon in one of the molecule’s aromatic rings.
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Georgy Kurakin @georgykurakin.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
I went down a rabbit hole starting with a bacterial toxin that inhibits CFTR 🧪 It led me to plant hormones, insect symbionts, oil biodegradation — and a rather strange hypothesis about how bacteria may switch hosts 🌾🦠🦋 Read the story behind this hypothesis: oxylipins.substack.com/p/the-role-o...
The role of CFTR inhibitory factor might go far beyond cystic fibrosis
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Georgy Kurakin @georgykurakin.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Ooops... it seems that a bacterial protein we deemed related to cystic fibrosis helps bacteria clean oceans from oil. And "jump" from plants to humans 🧪🦠🛢️🌾 It is a hypothesis from my exploratory study, still awaiting its experimental confirmation oxylipins.substack.com/p/the-role-o...
oxylipins.substack.com
The role of CFTR inhibitory factor might go far beyond cystic fibrosis
It potentially helps bacteria jump from plants to humans, new research says
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Georgy Kurakin @georgykurakin.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
This is the famous "Curiosity postcard" provided by NASA/JPL-Caltech with the rover fragments removed by AI 🌌🧪 I prompted ChatGPT to remove the rover and fill the free space by the Martian ground. Not so trustworthy now - but now we can really enjoy the Martian landscape. Isn't it fascinating?
Martian proto from Curiosity, AI-edited, rover removed
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Georgy Kurakin @georgykurakin.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Have you ever heard about Cif - a bacterial CFTR inhibitory factor? Yes? And have you heard that it goest beyond cystic fibrosis? And even beyond humans? At ISCB-LATAM SoIBio SPBBC 2026, I'll tell about this in my virtual talk and poster: www.iscb.org/latam2026/ 🧪🦠🌾 @iscb.bsky.social #LATAM2026
Lipoxygenases and CFTR inhibitory factors might power cross-kingdom host jumps in bacteria
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Georgy Kurakin @georgykurakin.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Today is International Microorganism Day! 🦠🧪 My today's heroes are giant sulfur bacteria. They have developed diverse strategies to grow longer: multicellularity in Beggiatoa, electricity in Electronema, and eukaryotization in Thiomargarita mangifica. Read more: doi.org/q65h #IntMicroDay
Beggiatoa spp.Thiomargarita magnificaElectronema spp.
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Microbiology Society @microbiologysociety.org · 17/09/2026
It’s International Microorganism Day! For a third year running, some of our Champions have told us about their favourite microbes and our very talented Champion, Eliza Wolfson, has brought these to life with her illustrations! @eliza-coli.bsky.social @femsmicro.org
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FEMS @femsmicro.org · 17/09/2025
Happy International Microorganism Day! 🎉 Today, we are celebrating the tiny powerhouses that have a massive impact on our world. From the bacteria in our gut to the fungi that give us antibiotics, these incredible organisms are essential to life. Let's make some noise for the microscopic!
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Georgy Kurakin @georgykurakin.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
"Mamihlapinatapai" is the most concise word on Earth, now popular in romantic contexts. But only a few know that the language which gave it to us no longer exists 🧪㊗️💗 The story of this Yaghan word shows how much we lose when a minor language dies: oxylipins.substack.com/p/mamihlapin... #langsky
Mamihlapinatapai: a lost world of a lost word

How one “untranslatable” word highlights the tragedy behind language extinction
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Georgy Kurakin @georgykurakin.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
The "hardest word to translate" comes from a language that no longer exists. Its last native speaker died in 2022 — and took the only environment that could make sense of it with her. A story about what we really lose when a language dies 🧪㊙️ #langsky oxylipins.substack.com/p/mamihlapin...
oxylipins.substack.com
Mamihlapinatapai: a lost world of a lost word
How one “untranslatable” word highlights the tragedy behind language extinction
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Georgy Kurakin @georgykurakin.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Sounds of nature. Jurassic version 🪳🐞🦗
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Javi Ibarrondo @jibarrondo.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
link.springer.com/article/10.1... 🧪
link.springer.com
Motivations and barriers to engaging in peer review: a qualitative study - Research Integrity and Peer Review
Background Peer review is a central mechanism of scientific communication. However, despite its critical role in safeguarding research quality and integrity, there is limited evidence on how reviewers...
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Georgy Kurakin @georgykurakin.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Every time I get this email, I want to scream. Google Scholar hid my profile from search results — just because I no longer work at a university. And it keeps nagging me to fix it — by getting an institutional email I don't have 🧪 Discrimination with a side of mockery 😡 Google, do you have no shame?
Publish your Google Scholar profile

Your Google Scholar profile doesn't appear in search results because it doesn't include a verified email address. To make your profile discoverable, please add a verified email address associated with your institution's domain.
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Georgy Kurakin @georgykurakin.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Horizontal gene transfer is a bacteria thing, right? Not quite. A new study in Nature Ecology & Evolution shows fungi and three other eukaryote groups swapped genes en masse to independently evolve the very same way of eating. How exactly — still unknown: oxylipins.substack.com/p/fungi-and-... 🧪🧬
Fungi and other eukaryotes helped each other to develop osmotrophic nutrition by exchanging genes
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Shicheng Guo @shihcheng.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Cuproptosis, a copper-dependent cell death, enhances antitumor immunity. CD8⁺ T cells boost tumor sensitivity to cuproptosis, making treatment more effective. PMID:42330950, Cell 2026, @Cell www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-86… #Medsky #Pharmsky #RNA #ASHG #ESHG 🧪
cell.com
https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(26)00636-7
No description available
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Georgy Kurakin @georgykurakin.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Four groups of eukaryotes, with different biochemical and structural bases, convergently developed a similar "fungus-like" mode of nutrition. To evolve this way, they exchanged genes en masse — and now scientists are puzzled by how they managed to do it 🧪🍄 oxylipins.substack.com/p/fungi-and-...
oxylipins.substack.com
Fungi and other eukaryotes helped each other to develop osmotrophic nutrition by exchanging genes
This came as a surprise to the researchers, as the mechanism of horizontal gene transfer between eukaryotes is not yet fully understood
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Dr. Brittany J. Carr @drbjcarr.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Making this my grant rebuttal and not elaborating any further. 🐸🧪
A simple black and white cartoon image of a hand holding a floppy, unimpressed looking frog. Text says, "YOU MUST ACCEPT THE FROG".
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Pauline Fleischmann @cataglyphilosophy.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
Join us in Oldenburg and study the #SensoryBasis 👀👂👃🤚👅🧭, Mechanisms 🧠🧬🧪, and Impacts of #AnimalNavigation in our Cluster of Excellence "NaviSense" as a PhD student 🎓 👇 In case you would like to discuss project ideas related to #insect #navigation, feel free to contact me 🤗 🐜❤️ #NaviSense #CoE #ExStra
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Georgy Kurakin @georgykurakin.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
My speculative evolution preprint has climbed into top-10% on ResearchGate among all research items published in 2026 🧪🦠 The preprint page: www.researchgate.net/publication/... #specbio
World Without Eukaryotes: Alternative Evolution of Complex Life from Giant Sulfur Bacteria
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Prof Sam Illingworth @samillingworth.com · 21/08/2026
🔋 A virtual sensor that stops battery fires Engineers predicted dangerous lithium plating from voltage data alone, no physical sensor. Using it to guide charging extended battery life 8.25 times over. 🔗 doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-76535-y #battery #materials #science 🧪
doi.org
Battery smart sensing via a virtual reference electrode - Nature Communications
Battery safety is limited by hidden lithium plating. Here, authors use machine learning to build a virtual reference electrode that estimates negative electrode potential from standard cell signals, d...
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Georgy Kurakin @georgykurakin.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Quick results of this summer: 🔵to be frustrated about failures to be published in English-language magazines - ❌ 🔵to create such a magazine by myself - ✅ Explore oxylipins.substack.com and subscribe! 🧪
World of Oxylipins homepage
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Zebrafish Disease Models Society (ZDMS) @zdmsociety.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
August is #PsoriasisAwarenessMonth 🧡💜 With the help of #zebrafish, scientists are expanding what we know about these chronic diseases 🐟👩‍🔬 Learn more about the fishy research model making real-world impacts on patients: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... #KnowYourZDM #ZDMS #Psoriasis #DiseaseModels
Orange and purple ribbon for Psoriasis Awareness Month with an adult zebrafish swimming through the middle. In the corner is the Zebrafish Disease Models Society (ZDMS) logo. Text reads, "August is Psoriasis Awareness Month"
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Georgy Kurakin @georgykurakin.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
I have translated my own poem into English with the aid of ChatGPT. Now, due to Suno AI, this Englush version has become a song. Listen to "Forever in my heart" on Soundcloud - and support me by your likes! soundcloud.com/georgij-kura...
soundcloud.com
Forever in my heart
This AI-generated song is based on my own poem initially written in Russian, than translated into English with ChatGPT. The music is generated with Suno AI. Suno link: https://suno.com/song/0eb7ab09-
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Georgy Kurakin @georgykurakin.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
What if giant sulfur bacteria would evolve into complex cells and multicellular organisms instead of eukaryotes? Gemini Notebook helped me visualize this once more on this Kawaii-style poster 🧪🦠🧬 Read more: go.nature.com/4omFYhB doi.org/10.20944/pre...
Poster
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Georgy Kurakin @georgykurakin.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
"The night will pass, the bright morning will come, Sun will rise," the supporters of "Yabloko" party sang at the doors of the Supreme Court of Russia. Today, it has banned the only anti-war party from the parliamentary elections
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Georgy Kurakin @georgykurakin.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Today, the Supreme Court of Russia has banned the only anti-war party, "Yabloko," from the parliamentary elections. This decision was based on tenuous grounds and made against the background of the rising poll numbers of the party, reflecting growing anti-war moods in Russia
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Paul Macklin @mathcancer.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
ICYMI: @eisensteinium.bsky.social recently wrote this great piece in @nature.com about virtual cell laboratories: integrations of mechanistic simulations and artificial intelligence for rapid virtual experiments for complex biological systems. (1/4) 🧪 #DigitalTwins www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
‘Virtual cells’ aim to turn raw data into predictive models of biology
Simulations of biological systems could transform biomedical research, but researchers are still learning how to reproduce life’s complexity without drowning in data.
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Georgy Kurakin @georgykurakin.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
This article is my first formal journal publication as an independent researcher with no affiliation. I was a little worried that this might be an obstacle. Fortunately, it has not been 🧪🌾🦠 Read the article here: doi.org/10.17816/CI7... #AcademicSky
Lipoxygenases and CFTR Inhibitory Factors Might Share the Same Role in Host-Microbe Interactions
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Cambridge University Press - Linguistics @cambup-linguistics.cambridge.org · 07/08/2026
Read the most cited research published in Signs and Society: 📚 cup.org/3O8zxC0 #linguistics #LangSky 🐦🐦
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Georgy Kurakin @georgykurakin.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
I have translated (and published in English) my interview where I explain my skepticism towards so-called "plant neurobiology" 🌾🧠 I also tell which real superpowers plants have - and why they don't need intelligence 🧪 Read the full interview: oxylipins.substack.com/p/there-woul...
"There would be less violence and war if we, like plants, could feel the pain of others"
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Georgy Kurakin @georgykurakin.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Why humans are exceptionally primitive creatures compared to plants? Why plants have no intellignece and what they have instead? In 2024, I discussed these questions in my interview to Kedr Media. Now I have translated this interview in English 🌾🧪 oxylipins.substack.com/p/there-woul...
oxylipins.substack.com
"There would be less violence and war if we, like plants, could feel the pain of others"
Why humans are exceptionally primitive creatures compared to plants: explained by a biochemist
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EU Science, Research & Innovation @scienceinnovation.ec.europa.eu · 28/07/2026
🧪 Millions of people live in buildings that were not designed for today’s climate. Our first global mapping shows that 48 million people worldwide are exposed to thermal‑vulnerability, living in areas where buildings may need more energy to heat in winter or cool in summer. link.europa.eu/dY4Ggv
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Georgy Kurakin @georgykurakin.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Sometimes, I write poems in Russian, my native language. Now, I have translated one of them into English using ChatGPT - with my post-editing and compiling the translation from 2 (of 3) draft generations "Forever in my heart" is sounding in English for the first time #poem #poetry #AI
FOREVER IN MY HEART

I still remember one late night
On New York's subway line—
The final carriage, empty, still,
Where fate made your path mine.

I still recall your gentle gaze,
Those deep blue eyes so bright...
That's when my trouble first began—
You claimed my heart that night.

I came back home, a fevered man,
My soul could find no peace.
For one long month what's happened to me
Has never seemed to cease.

Among the countless passing faces
I search from day to day
For just one trace of that dear smile
That stole my heart away.

You'll stay forever in my heart,
Forevermore you'll be.
You'll stay forever in my heart—
My heart belongs to thee.

The summer sky recalls your eyes,
The river's quiet flow...
Like some rare jewel, dear yet heavy,
You never let me go.

The wind repeats your melody,
Your voice lives in each song.
The silver birches wear your grace,
As though you still belong.

And flowers... every bloom I see
Reminds my heart of you.
I need not even speak of them—
They tell the story too.

I miss you on the brightest days,
And when the soft rains start.
For you will always, always live
Forever in my heart.

Why did I meet your gentle eyes?
Why say you, "Hello," then?
Why did I love you quite so much
I'd never rest again?

I only wished that love would bring
The happiness I'd sought.
Instead, I live inside a dream
That reason cannot stop.

An ocean stretches far between
Your world and mine today.
And nowhere can I find a place
To drive this ache away.

Yet what is my escape from grief
When love has run so deep?
One day I'll come to New York back
That promise I will keep.

I'll walk again the streets you know,
The neighborhood you roam.
And if you meet me one more time,
Please do not send me home.

You'll be forever in my heart,
Whatever years may do.
You'll be forever in my heart—
And I belong to you.

(Georgy Kurakin)
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Georgy Kurakin @georgykurakin.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
I am launching my new science blog on Substack. Meet World of Oxylipins! 🧪 It has started as a blog on my research project, but now it goes beyond oxylipins. Biology, medicine, linguistics, struggles in acabemia and beyond - new posts are coming soon! Subscribe now: oxylipins.substack.com
World of Oxylipins
oxylipins.substack.com
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