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Gerrich

@gerrich.bsky.social
1.2K followers 1K following 519 posts

Non-conventional microbes, metabolic engineering and microbial genetics. Bacteria go brrr Finally, finished with my thesis, now off to new frontiers! orcid.org/0009-0004-1949-532X

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Florent Waltz @florentwaltz.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Huge congratulations to all three Nobel Laureates, and especially Peter Hegemann! 👏 His seminal work on the green alga Chlamydomonas 🦠 laid the foundation for optogenetics. Thank you for putting Chlamy in the spotlight! ✨ Proof that groundbreaking discoveries don't always come from animal models! 🔬
Chlamydomonas cells
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worm @rfksbrainworm.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
If you ever wondered why visible light is those particular wavelengths, it's because life evolved to see in the narrow range where water is transparent
Diagram of absorption of emf by water. There's a gap right that dips in the 500 nm range
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MwahahahahahadScientist @mads100tist.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
This is it. This is what everyone is enabling by humoring genAI: you spend months writing something that took you years to get at, for an opaque algorithm that a few control to spit a number and cut you off right there and then. This is what we're up against 🧪
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Andrew Urquhart @starships-andrew.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Another step in the #Starship story - they move via a circular intermediate. Helps explain how these elements horizontally transfer and means that we can modify them into transformation vectors (starmids). www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
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Artologica aka Michele Banks @artologica.net · 14/09/2026
The NYC map by Christine Marizzi of Genspace is one of my all-time faves #sciart
Map of NYC in square petri dishes with street grids
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Artologica aka Michele Banks @artologica.net · 14/09/2026
Attention #sciart people! The ASM agar art contest is open. Deadline is October 21 🧪🧫
asm.org
ASM Agar Art Contest | Contest Details
Have you ever seen art created in a petri dish using living, growing microorganisms? That's agar art! ASM's annual Agar Art Contest is a chance for you to use science to show off your creative skills.
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Dr. Jens Foell @jensfoell.de · 12/09/2026
An absolutely incredible development here. This leg would have been unimaginable just a few short years ago. (Original post by @science.org on instagram)
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JL Weissman @jlw-ecoevo.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
My lab is hiring two(!) postdocs interested in (1) building trait prediction models capable of resolving complex microbial traits from genomes and metagenomes, and/or (2) building mathematical models of microbial community dynamics www.microbialgamut.com/mGAMUT_postd...
microbialgamut.com
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John Helmann @johnhelmann.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Most cells require carbonic anhydrase and/or bicarbonate import to sustain pools of soluble inorganic carbon (SIC=CO2+HCO3-). Here, we identify proteins required for SIC homeostasis in Bacillus subtilis and identify a mutation that bypasses their requirement. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
biorxiv.org
Physiological Roles of Carbonic Anhydrases and an MpsAB-like Bicarbonate Transporter in Bacillus subtilis
Carbonic anhydrase (E.C. 4.2.1.1) is an enzyme that catalyzes the reversible hydration of CO2 to carbonic acid (H2CO3), which dissociates to bicarbonate (HCO3-) at intracellular pH. Copious amounts of...
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MwahahahahahadScientist @mads100tist.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
I bet you money you can't predict the next word as you're reading this title
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Steph @stephy.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Don’t name your journal ChemSusChem and then get mad when I call it Chemistry and Suspicious Chemists
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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
All the plastic humanity has ever produced is ~10 billion tonnes. Humans emitted ~10 billion tonnes of CO₂ into the atmosphere in the first three months of 2026. When we appreciate orders of magnitude, we see how intractable the CO₂ problem becomes once we dump it into the atmosphere.
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Per Engzell @pengzell.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
A coauthor is someone who can introduce entirely new reasons for why the paper isn't ready
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Victor de Lorenzo (CNB, Madrid) @vdlorenzo.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
If we keep on advocating the benefits of Eng Microbes for Env Release with the same arguments that we had for 50 yr, no wonder we will also get the same social backlash. A new narrative is badly needed focused on partnership & stewardship—not just containment & control dx.doi.org/10.1111/1751...
dx.doi.org
Environmental Release of Genetically Intervened Microorganisms: Towards a New Narrative
From control to partnership: Rethinking the environmental release of laboratory-trained microorganisms for bioremediation.
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Tatsuya Nobori @tatsuyanobori.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
📣 Please share! We’re recruiting to build predictive models of gene regulation in plants. We’d love to hear from anyone with strong foundations in regulatory genomics or ML and fluency with coding agents. Any career stage; no plant background needed. noborilab.org 1/5
noborilab.org
Nobori Lab | The Sainsbury Laboratory
Decoding the molecular and cellular basis of plant-microbe interactions. Single-cell and spatial omics of plant immunity. Led by Tatsuya Nobori at TSL, Norwich, UK.
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Dr Darren Abbey @thebiologistisn.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
A few years ago, I started growing a yellow/orange lima bean with dark marks called "Hawol". (www.nativeseeds.org/products/pl011) I've been selecting for the seeds with no black marks. The variable number of dark marks makes it hard to know if a given seed really doesn't have the trait.
Clear glass bowl filled with yellow, dark-marked lima bean seeds.Smaller clear glass bowl filled with yellow, unmarked lima bean seeds.
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Jan-Willem Veening @veeninglab.com · 03/09/2026
Clonal does not mean uniform. #MicroSky Our new review explores how genetically identical bacteria adopt different cell states, and how that diversity shapes survival, cooperation, antibiotic responses and gene transfer. 🧵 doi.org/10.1146/annu...
doi.org
Decoding Bistability and Drivers of Phenotypic Variation in Bacteria
In a process known as phenotypic heterogeneity or phenotypic variation, bacteria can produce distinct phenotypes within an isogenic population in response to shifting environmental conditions. Noise i...
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Gerrich @gerrich.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Ja, viele Unternehmungen heute bauen auch einfach darauf, das grüner H2 deutlich günstiger wird. Dagegen wetten, würde ich nicht. Vom Weizmann Institute gab es da neulich eine sehr spannende TEA in die Richtung, leider Paywall: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Electro-microbial production techno-economic viability and environmental implications - Nature Biotechnology
Producing goods, such as foods and fuels, with minimal environmental impacts is urgently needed. Although advances in bioproduction are promising, there is often a noticeable gap in our understanding ...
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Gerrich @gerrich.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Noch ein weiterer Punkt dazu: Die meisten Studien die ich zu Plastikrestverwertung mit Mikroben kenne arbeiten mit reinen Monomeren oder Polymeren aus einem Monomer. In der Wirtschaft fallen aber recht komplexe Reste mit vielen Aditiven an, die den Prozess deutlich ineffizienter machen...
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Gerrich @gerrich.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Ich würde die Ansätze aber nicht gegeneinander ausspielen wollen. Wir wissen noch nicht was in der Zukunft die meisten Fortschritte machen wird und alles was uns hin zu einer Kreislaufwirtschaft führt ist erstmal als positiv zu betrachten. 3/3
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Gerrich @gerrich.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Toll wäre es, wenn man Plastikreste in alle Monomere runterbrechen und dann in Verbünden verwerten könnte. Die Gegenrechnungen werden halt sehr kompliziert: Wie aufwendig ist die Plastikrecycling Logistik, wie Effizient die Raten im Prozess... 2/n
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Gerrich @gerrich.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Klar, LanzaTech macht das an Standorten wo CO und CO2 in hoher Konzentration anfallen. Stahlwerke, Kohlekraftwerke etc. Energyintensiv sind viele der C1 assimilierenden Verfahren auch, meisten H2 gestützt und grüner H2 ist teuer. 1/n
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Gerrich @gerrich.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Groß global ist da LanzaTech dran. Die machen auf CO2 Basis vorallem Ethanol, meine ich. Aber hatten auch mal so eine kleine Kooperation mit Adidas für Plastik. lanzatech.com/putting-recy... 4/4
lanzatech.com
LanzaTech – Recycling carbon with biology
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Gerrich @gerrich.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Viel im Kommen ist gerade ja Gasfermentation in verschiedenen Kompositionen. Oder Formiat als Substrat, das kann man ja auch recht leicht durch Elektrochemie aus CO2 erzeugen. Cupriavidus necator ist da auch viel dabei. Hier würde man direkt das CO2 loswerden und daraus Biomasse oÄ machen. 3/n
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Gerrich @gerrich.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Die Frage bei sowas ist natürlich auch immer wie ökonomisch ist das ganze. Wenn es ums Loswerden von Restplastik geht, wäre es ja super wenn man etwas wertvolleres als neues Plastik draus machen könnte. Ich selber arbeite mit einem Kollegen an der Verwertung von Ethylenglykol zu Hochwertigerem. 2/n
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Gerrich @gerrich.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Ja, klar. Hatte dieses Jahr ne Kollegin aus Aachen getroffen die vier Plastikmonomere extrem gut in Pseudomonas putida in einem Batch verwerten konnte. Wenn man reine Monomere hat, würde ich mal denken, dass man die am besten mit klassischer chem. Katalyse wieder zu Plastik machen kann. 1/n
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Gerrich @gerrich.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
C. necator wurde auch wirklich oft umbenannt ... Ralstonia eutropha war bestimmt auch schon der fünfte Name. Den Phylogenetikern sei gedankt. 😶
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Gerrich @gerrich.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Cupriavidus necator produziert schon ohne menschliche Einmischung das Plastikmaterial (PHA). Das ist quasi dessen Speicherstoff für Kohlenstoff, wenn andere Nährstoffen (z.B. Stickstoff) fehlen um sonst weiter zu wachsen. Wenn die Kohlenstoffzufuhr aufhört baut C. necator das PHA auch wieder ab.
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Gerrich @gerrich.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Ralstonia eutropha ist der alte Name von C. necator. :P Ralstonia findet umgangssprachlich auch noch viel Gebrauch.
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Gerrich @gerrich.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
I once tried to produce several sesquiterpenoids in a bacterium not really suitable for this product group. Even though the amount of Geosmin produced was tiny, I could detect it very well with my nose. The standard used for quantification was a nightmare though, stored in a box in a box in a box.
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Gerrich @gerrich.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Look at what I found in the fridge! Such a nice blue. @contamclub.bsky.social
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Gerrich @gerrich.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
I would guess Geosmin (a sesquiterpenoid) ranks high up there. Supposedly smells like fresh earth (petrichor), but as everything it is very dose dependent. It indicates growth of certain microbes and therefore food contamination, AFAIK. Tried to produce it for some time, most putrid smell! 🦠
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Mara Duncan @mcduncanlab.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Mushroom season is finally here. Our golden oyster logs petered out last year so it’s been a long mushroom free summer. Got >55 shiitakes 1.25
Me holding a 3ft log covered in small mushrooms.A pile of mushrooms two held aloft about the size of an adults palm.Shiitakes growing on logs.Shiitakes weighing 1273.5 grams.
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Chenxin Li, PhD @chenxinli2.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
3 new GitHub repositories from me! I put what I'm teaching on GitHub. Module 1: github.com/cxli233/Sect... Module 2: github.com/cxli233/Sect... Module 3: github.com/cxli233/Sect... #Rstats #Datavis
github.com
GitHub - cxli233/Section-301-R-Programming-Intro: R programming foundations for bioinformatics, data science, and data visualization
R programming foundations for bioinformatics, data science, and data visualization - cxli233/Section-301-R-Programming-Intro
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Duncan Kountz @dkountz.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Strange question: has anyone tried to get a winogradsky column through customs? US customs in particular but experience anywhere is welcomed
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Simon Hammann @simonhammann.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
The perfect wallet does not exi.....
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Gerrich @gerrich.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
It surely does exist.
Holding up my papercuts wallet with my left hand. POV photo. The wallet has a long print of a Dachshund on its back.
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Animalcules @bacteriophile.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
www.nature.com/articles/s41... #microsky
nature.com
High rates of plasmid cotransformation in E. coli overturn the clonality myth and reveal colony development - Scientific Reports
Scientific Reports - High rates of plasmid cotransformation in E. coli overturn the clonality myth and reveal colony development
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Teddy Zartler @quantumtessera.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
@bagphos.bsky.social Well, here it is...
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Gerrich @gerrich.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Congratulations! Hope you will have a great two years! 🎉🦠
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Plasmid Society @plasmidsociety.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
The leading region of many plasmids is adapted for translational efficiency doi.org/10.1093/nar/...
doi.org
The leading region of many plasmids is adapted for translational efficiency
Abstract. To successfully transfer, conjugative plasmids must overcome a recipient cell’s defence mechanisms. The leading region of many plasmids—the first
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lauren @lauren.rotatingsandwiches.com · 20/08/2026
let's all take a moment to thank the EU for being the only slightly serious governing body in the west
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Ralf Reski @reskilab.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Professorship Functional Plant Biology. Oldenburg, Germany. #plantscijob #plantscijobs #plantsciencejob www.academics.de/jobs/profess...
academics.de
Professur für Funktionelle Pflanzenbiologie (W3) - Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg
Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg bietet Stelle als Professur für Funktionelle Pflanzenbiologie (W3) in Oldenburg - jetzt bewerben!
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KWS Group @kwsgroup.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
📣 We are hiring for an exciting, high impact-role in France: Group Lead Wheat Research & Pre-breeding 👇 #PlantSciJobs #AgSciJobs jobs.kws.com/job/Mons-en-...
jobs.kws.com
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Gerrich @gerrich.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Oh , da bin ich aber gespannt! Finde sowohl Lupinen- als auch Kaffee-Kaffee super. Die Mischung klingt da auch gut um einfach ein wenig das Koffein zu reduzieren.
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Gerrich @gerrich.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
How is unemployment taken into account here? Do countries with more people employed, but some employed with less than average working hours per week, get a lower number even though in total there are more working hours per person?
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Gerrich @gerrich.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
@dirkhagemann.substack.com Is this what you are up to in your free time?
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Gerrich @gerrich.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Germany is under a dry spell the likes of I haven't seen yet. I took some photos today (of the and near the Elbe by Magdeburg), trying to recreate the same viewing point I chose just two years ago.
A lattice steel radio tower rises above trees, seen across a dried-out riverbed where cracked mud and rocks show through patchy green grass under a clear blue sky.The same lattice radio tower silhouetted against an orange-and-blue dusk sky, reflected in a still pool.A wide calm stretch of the Elbe under a clear blue sky, with a red-framed nautical marker on a red-and-white pole in the foreground and industrial buildings and wind turbines in the distance.The same stretch of the Elbe from the same spot, but under heavy grey storm clouds with higher water, the same red-framed marker post in the foreground.
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Gerrich @gerrich.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
I am on a flat hike and found this water canister and some young trees (Salix alba?). It's a great idea to allow for community watering in these dry times!
A white 1000-litre IBC tank in a metal cage on a wooden pallet, standing in grass under a willow tree. A sign reads "Kein Trinkwasser!!!" and two green watering cans hang from the front.A row of four young willow saplings, each staked with wooden supports, planted along the grassy verge of a paved path beside a field under a clear blue sky.
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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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