Iain Johnston @mitomaths.bsky.social · 04/09/2026How does AMR evolution vary across pathogens? Regions? Patients? We used EvAM* to take a look. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... Inferring evol pathways to multi-drug resistance as transition networks, we use the amazing CABBAGE dataset to learn AMR "roadmaps" across ESKAPEEs around the world... 1/ 220
Reposted by Iain JohnstonAylwyn Scally @aylwyn-scally.bsky.social · 09/08/2026Highly recommend this, and it's a key element in most physics training. I'd add another trick that many biologists could benefit from, a small thing that makes a big difference: always use units. If you're unsure about the units of your number, chances are you don't properly understand it. 13510
Reposted by Iain JohnstonGenome Biology and Evolution @genomebiolevol.bsky.social · 10/07/2026García-Pascual, Nordbotten & @mitomaths.bsky.social investigate the fitness advantages, disadvantages, conflicts, and tradeoffs of different strategies for inheritance of organelle DNA genomes. 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evag161 #societyjournal #genome #evolution 042
Iain Johnston @mitomaths.bsky.social · 30/06/2026Super grateful to Dr Robert Glastad (and maker @neurowoodworks.bsky.social ) for this beautiful art celebrating Robert's successful PhD defence! Featuring Eqn. 15 journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol... linking physical behaviour of mitochondria and genetic behaviour of mtDNA :-) 020
Iain Johnston @mitomaths.bsky.social · 15/06/2026Excited to meet this in its final form, and thanks to all at @plosbiology.org for a very smooth and useful review and editing process! 041
Iain Johnston @mitomaths.bsky.social · 09/06/2026Excited to share a new preprint! Lots of evolutionary processes, from AMR to cancer, involve biology acquiring features (drug resistances, mutations, etc). These are sometimes called "accumulation pathways", an instance of discrete character evolution. 1/ 140
Reposted by Iain JohnstonThe Sainsbury Laboratory @thesainsburylab.bsky.social · 03/06/2026📽️ "Medicine can save your life one day. Plants save your life every day." 🌱 @kamounlab.bsky.social shares his personal journey, his passion for science and his vision for the future in an inspiring talk at TEDx Pasha Street, now freely available online 🌾 www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiqt...youtube.comGenetics, Climate & the Future of Food | Sophien Kamoun | TEDxPasha StreetIn this thought-provoking talk, Sophien Kamoun explores the urgent connection between climate change, food security, and the future of agriculture. Drawing from his scientific research and personal… 0158
Reposted by Iain JohnstonPayam Gammage @mito-oncogene.bsky.social · 02/06/2026🚨Excited to announce a new preprint from our lab, where we describe an ancient metabolic axis that controls mitochondrial genome copy number; a mechanism we uncovered in human cells that stretches through evolution to control mtDNA in flies, yeast and even plants!biorxiv.org 2239
Reposted by Iain JohnstonCarl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 03/06/2026"The increasing involvement of technology companies in mathematical research raises the risk that research questions may come to be prioritized because of their amenability to automated mathematics, rather than expert judgment of their deeper significance."leidendeclaration.aiLeiden Declaration on Artificial Intelligence and MathematicsThis declaration calls for action to address the challenges posed by the use of artificial intelligence within mathematics research. 5307112
Iain Johnston @mitomaths.bsky.social · 27/04/2026Plant mitochondrial fusion factors! www.pnas.org/doi/full/10....pnas.orgPMF proteins mediate mitochondrial fusion in Arabidopsis | PNASMitochondrial dynamics—continuous fission and fusion—are hallmarks of these organelles and essential for mitochondrial function across eukaryotes. ... 040
Iain Johnston @mitomaths.bsky.social · 02/04/2026Mito evolution special issue of Phil Trans now out! royalsocietypublishing.org/rstb/issue/3... Excited to be part of this, with some new perspectives on mtDNA segregation from us royalsocietypublishing.org/rstb/article... and brilliant content from colleagues worldwide! Pics from current location 🇳🇴 051
Reposted by Iain JohnstonAdmirable Women @admirablewomen.bsky.social · 20/03/2026Chemist/physician Dr. Maud Menten co-authored the seminal paper 𝘋𝘪𝘦 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘬 𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘐𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘸𝘪𝘳𝘬𝘶𝘯𝘨, 1931. This intro'd the Michaelis–Menten equation (image). It remains a cornerstone of #biochemistry, used in drug design, metabolic studies & enzyme engineering. She was born #OTD in 1879. #WomenInSTEM 119173
Reposted by Iain JohnstonKin Pan Chung @kinpanchung.bsky.social · 03/03/2026Mitochondria can indeed be inherited from the father! 🍀 In this new study, we uncovered the molecular mechanisms underlying mitochondrial inheritance in Nicotiana tabacum. @natplants.nature.com doi.org/10.1038/s414...doi.orgHigh-frequency biparental inheritance of plant mitochondria upon chilling stress and loss of a genome-degrading nuclease - Nature PlantsMaternal inheritance of mitochondria breaks down in the cold when a mitochondrial DNA degrading nuclease is defective, resulting in biparental inheritance that can rescue mitochondrial mutations and g... 12912
Iain Johnston @mitomaths.bsky.social · 13/02/2026Perhaps... how life started?! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...science.orgA small polymerase ribozyme that can synthesize itself and its complementary strandThe emergence of a chemical system capable of self-replication and evolution is a critical event in the origin of life. RNA polymerase ribozymes can replicate RNA, but their large size and structural ... 0114
Reposted by Iain JohnstonPiotr Lukasik @sympiotr.bsky.social · 11/02/2026Our new paper in @natcomms.nature.com is now online-early! We describe independent evolution of bacterial genomes of only ~50–52 kb — the smallest known outside cellular organelles — revealing striking convergence toward minimal gene sets. 🔗 doi.org/10.1038/s414... 58531
Reposted by Iain JohnstonCarl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 27/01/20261. The thing about science that these jokers don't understand is that science cannot be vibe-coded. Whatever its flaws, the point with vibe coding is that you're trying to quickly make something that sorta works, where you can immediately sorta see if it sorta works and then sorta use it. 26963283
Reposted by Iain JohnstonJournal of Evolutionary Biology @jevbio.bsky.social · 22/01/2026Check out our latest Special Section guest edited by @mitopozzi.bsky.social and Sophie Breton: Beyond ATP: New insight into mitochondrial function and evolution 🎨 Cover image - artwork by Iain G Johnston academic.oup.com/jeb/pages/be... 594
Reposted by Iain JohnstonOsman Lab @osman-lab.bsky.social · 10/01/2026How do cells assess mtDNA quality? Local ATP and membrane-potential gradients reflect mtDNA integrity and drive intracellular purifying selection. We introduce FAST, a scalable mtDNA QC assay in S. cerevisiae. Great collaboration with the Schmoller Lab. journals.plos.org/plosgenetics... 🧬⚡journals.plos.orgLocal mitochondrial physiology defined by mtDNA quality guides purifying selectionAuthor summary Mitochondria are essential organelles in our cells that convert nutrients into usable cellular energy. They contain their own DNA, and mutations in this DNA can compromise mitochondrial... 13210
Reposted by Iain JohnstonSandy Hetherington @sandyheth.bsky.social · 09/01/2026Looking for a new 📕 to read about plants?? I highly recommend the brilliant book ‘Ferns, Lessons in survival from Earth’s most adaptable plants’ Written by @fernway.bsky.social and Jacob Suissa with amazing illustrations by Laura Silburn 🌿 #FernFriday 🌿 47920
Iain Johnston @mitomaths.bsky.social · 09/01/20261. Apply for one of the positions below (lab or theory) by Jan 18th 2. Learn interdisc skills and discover cool new things about how mitochondria move and socialise 3. Explore some of Norway's beautiful nature (both the below, Rundemanen and Gullfjellet, <10km from work) 058
Iain Johnston @mitomaths.bsky.social · 19/12/2025‼️Two new PhD positions open! One experimental, one modelling, exploring these beautiful collective dynamics in mitochondria across species. 🇳🇴, good pay, full staff benefits. [Shares much appreciated] Lab: www.jobbnorge.no/en/available... Modelling: www.jobbnorge.no/en/available... 045
Reposted by Iain JohnstonPawel Burkhardt @pawelburkhardt.bsky.social · 17/12/2025Thrilled to see our review article "The evolutionary origins of synaptic proteins" highlighted on the cover of Nature Reviews Neuroscience 🤩. www.nature.com/articles/s41... @msarscentre.bsky.social 🧠✨🧬🌊🪼🧽 112137
Iain Johnston @mitomaths.bsky.social · 18/12/2025Mitochondria, hypercubes, and a blackboard -- what a lot of favourite things for J Evol Biol this month! Thanks to all involved for a smooth and pleasant review editorial process; academic.oup.com/jeb/article/... 050
Reposted by Iain JohnstonBuzz Baum @buzzbaum.bsky.social · 07/11/2025We have wondered what a complex archaeal cell might look like ever since 2014. It’s been a long road (and the journey is far from over), but it’s a good time to pause for breath and look. These Asgard archaeal cells are a surprise! And that is the joy of being a cell biologist. 816248
Reposted by Iain JohnstonJournal of Evolutionary Biology @jevbio.bsky.social · 06/11/2025In some species, #mitochondria have lost functions: from specific complexes to the ability to produce #ATP (and more!). We examine the evolutionary pathways of this reduction, from yeast and mistletoe to parasite "MROs": doi.org/10.1093/jeb/... @mitomaths.bsky.social et al. 2025doi.orgConvergent pathways of reductive mitochondrial evolution characterized with hypercubic inferenceAbstract. For a striking example of mitochondrial behaviour beyond adenosine triphosphate (ATP) generation, consider mitochondrion-related organelles (MROs 031
Iain Johnston @mitomaths.bsky.social · 22/09/2025Great to see this out there! We infer the evolutionary pathways behind patterns of AMR in Klebsiella across 102 states, finding globally consistent principles, state-specific deviations (and covariates), and validating evol predictions with new genomes. biorxiv.org/content/10.1... 1/ 1114
Iain Johnston @mitomaths.bsky.social · 17/06/2025Celebrating grant award with a mountain run! MitoPhyto, a FRIPRO project, will combine modelling and microscopy to explore mitochondrial and mtDNA maintenance across non-bilaterian multicellular eukaryotes. Opportunities to come to Norway: please see next post 111
Iain Johnston @mitomaths.bsky.social · 17/05/2025Gratulerer med dagen alle sammen! (non-Norway-based folks, happy Norwegian Constitution Day!) 000
Reposted by Iain JohnstonKin Pan Chung @kinpanchung.bsky.social · 05/05/2025Glad to share this review, which takes a narrative approach to explore mechanisms governing cytoplasmic inheritance. It highlights exciting advances in the field, while also pointing to the many open questions that remain. Have a read here: doi.org/10.1093/plph...doi.orgCytoplasmic Inheritance: The Transmission of Plastid and Mitochondrial Genomes Across Cells and GenerationsAbstract. In photosynthetic organisms, genetic material is stored in the nucleus and the two cytoplasmic organelles: plastids and mitochondria. While both 1106
Iain Johnston @mitomaths.bsky.social · 07/05/2025Had a brilliant time at the 54th Jírovec’s Protozoological Days in Frymburk. Amazing organisms, amazing science, lots of exciting organelle work. Beautiful setting too! Thanks to all www.chromera.org/konference/5... 000
Iain Johnston @mitomaths.bsky.social · 07/05/2025May trails on the way to the final Applied Statistics lecture of the semester! 020
Reposted by Iain JohnstonDr. Hilary Rose Dawson @hilaryrosed.bsky.social · 01/04/2025Exciting permanent(!) #JobAlert for a #botanist to work in Bergen, Norway 🧪 PhD required, language proficiency required within two years. Apply by 25 April. #Ecology #Restoration #Botany 14727
Reposted by Iain JohnstonEva Nowack @evanowack.bsky.social · 19/03/2025Out today: Exciting intermediate between endosymbiont and organelle identified! Endosymbionts in Angomonas deanei lost nearly all bacterial cell division genes. Instead, we identified a host-encoded protein, ETP9, that became specialized for endosymbiont division. 1/2 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... 58341
Iain Johnston @mitomaths.bsky.social · 19/03/2025Projector broke today, so a good old-school blackboard lecture on an intro to GLMs! 010
Reposted by Iain JohnstonKat Holt @katholt.bsky.social · 17/03/2025Watching the US take a wrecking ball to science 💔 🤯 Reminder of the importance of doing science in the open. Put data, software, resources in public domain, where no single govt can erase them. This is our collective knowledge. Distributed data systems are essential. www.nature.com/articles/s41...nature.comGenomic data sharing: you don’t know what you’ve got (till it’s gone) - Nature Reviews GeneticsReflecting on the core values of early data sharing agreements, the Bermuda Principles and the Fort Lauderdale Agreement, Kathryn E. Holt and Michael Inouye emphasize the need to reaffirm our commitme... 15923
Iain Johnston @mitomaths.bsky.social · 07/03/2025Great to see this out in final form! www.nature.com/articles/s41... Continuous buildup of single-cell-specific mtDNA mutations throughout ageing, and their links with health. Mitos, scRNA, scATAC, models, ER, neuro... a smorgasbord of science! Congrats all! @syssig.bsky.socialnature.comCryptic mitochondrial DNA mutations coincide with mid-late life and are pathophysiologically informative in single cells across tissues and species - Nature CommunicationsMitochondrial dysfunction is implicated in ageing. Here the authors report that across tissues and species, somatic mitochondrial DNA mutations in single cells (termed cryptic mutations) accumulate wi... 041
Iain Johnston @mitomaths.bsky.social · 26/02/2025Started likelihood-based approaches for model selection in STAT200 today, one of my favourite things (and behind many of our research projects)! Combined with likelihood-free methods, my claim is that this is how we turn modelling (not really falsifiable) into science (testing hypotheses with data) 000
Iain Johnston @mitomaths.bsky.social · 24/02/2025A classic to celebrate this evening's proposal submission. If you haven't heard this before, I recommend sticking with it, it's somewhat unlikely you've heard a song like this before! www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxjE... Lyrics www.metalkingdom.net/lyrics-song/...youtube.comGraceYouTube video by Devin Townsend Project - Topic 010
Iain Johnston @mitomaths.bsky.social · 20/02/2025Nice group meeting today, celebrating exciting new positions and discussing the diverse ways we do science with data! Thanks all 031
Iain Johnston @mitomaths.bsky.social · 20/02/2025We've been thinking a lot about "accumulation models" lately -- inferring how systems accumulate features over time. May be mutations in a tumor, characters in evol bio, gene losses in oDNA. Here's an instance of the well-known Mk model that captures this picture academic.oup.com/bioinformati... 1/ 101
Reposted by Iain JohnstonCordian Riener @cordianriener.bsky.social · 25/01/2025This year’s Mørketidens Mattemøte once again brought mathematicians from across Norway and the Nordic countries to @uitnorgesarktiske.bsky.social for two inspiring days of idea exchange and new connections. Thanks to Tromsø Forskningsstiftelse and Trond Mohn forskningsstiftelse for the support ! 022
Iain Johnston @mitomaths.bsky.social · 21/01/2025Getting back on the reading after a busy semester start. These look exciting in the world of organelle genomes! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... (congrats @sloanevolab.bsky.social et al.!) www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... (congrats @wallaceucsf.bsky.social et al.!)biorxiv.org 011
Iain Johnston @mitomaths.bsky.social · 09/01/2025Advanced machine learning methods are cool, but here's why I'm excited to be teaching classic STAT200 (applied statistics) this spring! Featuring some of Bergen's mountains youtu.be/IdC7SzPV6EUyoutu.beWhy I think classical applied statistics is coolYouTube video by Stochastic Biology Group 030