iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Kirsty Wan @micromotility.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Please enjoy this new offering from the lab: we discover that #excavates - ancient flagellate lineages with a voracious appetite for bacteria - change their behaviour depending on the availability of said prey! Preprint here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... #protistsonsky

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STCmicrobeblog @stcmicrobeblog.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

flagellar rotation: shifting into reverse gear is, well... a bit more complicated in 𝘗. 𝘢𝘦𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘰𝘴𝘢 #MicroSky

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Ben Larson @blarson.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

A colleague just thoughtfully dropped this off for me. I had never heard of it before, but it turns out to be a fantastic little resource for protist identification. Nice drawings with good descriptions of behavior and sampling tips. #protistsonsky

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Theresa Jakuszeit @tjakuszeit.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Enter the (extracellular) matrix 💊 …and don’t forget to sign up for the 2027 Gordon Research Conference and associated Seminar on Directed Cell Migration! 🧭 @diffusiveblob.bsky.social @hawa-racine.bsky.social @robinsall.bsky.social @eliasbarrigalab.bsky.social #FluorescenceFriday #CellMigration

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Otti Croze @otticroze.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

🚨 New review paper on swimming snow algae 🦠. We survey interaction with crystals ❄️ and relevant taxes ↗️ for know snow species. Great first PhD paper by Caitlin de Vries! doi.org/10.5194/bg-2... #algae #snow #biophysics #MicroSky

Diagram showing algae moving through a matrix of snow crystals. The liquid in between the crystals has a gradient going from white to blue to denote a gradient in chemicals up which the algae are biased to move

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Baylink Lab @baylinklab.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Call for manuscripts on bacterial chemotaxis and swimming! I'm partnering with JoVE to assemble a new collection of method, reviews, and research. ➡️Abstracts due Nov. 23rd. I invite you to share your love (and knowledge) of swimming bacteria! www.jove.com/topical-coll... 🧪 🦠 🧫 #microsky

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Otti Croze @otticroze.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Today @jasonbains.bsky.social successfully defended his PhD thesis "Quantifying chemo-responses of motile microbes 🦠 in complex and dynamic chemical environments🪾". It has been a real pleasure to supervise Jason. Thank you Mitya Pushkin and Graeme Sarsons for acting as examiners. #ActiveMatter #PhD

Jason with green shirt and rucksack standing in front of a glasshouse where potato plants are growing

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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences @pnas.org · 18/09/2026

A global rise in meat consumption is increasing livestock manure. But that manure could feed black soldier fly larvae, which are currently used at industrial scale for livestock feed protein—resulting in a resilient, circular system. In PNAS: ow.ly/p0Qb50ZP8TG

Black soldier fly larvae and frass remaining after the bioconversion of livestock manure.
CREDIT: Zhijian Zhang.

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Otti Croze @otticroze.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

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Otti Croze @otticroze.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

🟥🟥🟥🟪🟪 🟥🟥🟥🟪🟪 🟫🟫🟧🟧🟧 🟧🟧🟩⬛⬛ 🟨🟨🟩🟦🟦 day 1260: 163 points 84% digit.party

digit.party

match numbers, score points. daily challenge + random boards

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Jennifer Goff, PhD @jlgoff.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

New preprint! This one is actually from my class! We did metagenomic sequencing on a Winogradsky column. In my Microbial Biochemistry class, the students learned to assemble and analyze the MAGs, directly applying what they learned in lecture to make predictions about their organism’s metabolism. 🧵

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Otti Croze @otticroze.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

I had a blackboard in my old office. I asked for it to be moved to the new one but it turned out it was glued to the wall and got smashed to bits upon removal 😭. I now use a whiteboard. Never enjoyed the experience of Hagoromo chalk

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Nicole Sharp @nicolesharp.com · 01/09/2026

New images from our most powerful solar telescope have finally revealed a phenomenon that's long been predicted: Kelvin-Helmholtz waves on the Sun's photosphere. fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=32451

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The Royal Society @royalsociety.org · 27/08/2026

Professor Bonnie Bassler is awarded the Copley Medal for her discovery of the universality of chemical communication in bacteria and for her idea that interfering with this communication could form the basis of novel anti-bacterials. #RSMedals royalsociety.org/medals-and-prizes/…

A woman with dark hair and a light blue shirt smiles at the camera in front of a bright white background.

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Saverio E. Spagnolie @sespagnolie.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

I was just reminded of this neat way to advertise your group's work. "Submissions of your recently published or ongoing work will be considered for highlights on DSOFT's Bluesky, TikTok, website, or blog platforms." docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

docs.google.com

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Saverio E. Spagnolie @sespagnolie.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

CHAOTIC BUBBLEWHEEL says good morning, as it fights off your dark thoughts with its playfulness. It glides autonomously through distinct life stages for over an hour, as gas slowly escapes the environment, along the bifurcation diagram of the Lorenz system. (1/10) arxiv.org/abs/2608.17169

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Nicole Sharp @nicolesharp.com · 13/08/2026

Nature is full of helical fibers, including in plants and bird feathers. In this study, researchers explore how these soft springs react to droplets. fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=32226

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Otti Croze @otticroze.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Very nice work! Has the change in morphology been observed in the field?

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Victor de Lorenzo (CNB, Madrid) @vdlorenzo.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

The Madrid region is burning. We have never witnessed wildfires on this scale here. This is both frightening & infuriating. We all knew that climate change would make these events more frequent & extreme. Prevention cannot be left to good luck or the hope that this year will somehow be different 😡

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Kirsty Wan @micromotility.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Do #tintinnids dream of electric sheep? 🤯 Here is a single cell capable of building a lorica and living inside it for protection... it also swims, feeds, hunts Can even detect and habituate to mechanical cues! #celllearning #protistsonsky #cilia Read more in our preprint doi.org/10.64898/202...

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Diez Lab @ TU Dresden @stefandiezlab.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

🔬 #JobAlert Interested in doing a PhD with us in #SyntheticBiology on the Reconstitution of Oscillatory Microtubule-Motor Systems? Check shorturl.at/wis5P (note the eligibility criteria) or/and get in touch with us shorturl.at/WmgOD. Deadline: 31 July 2026 #WeAreHiring #AcademicJobs #ScienceJobs

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Sebastian Schornack @dromius.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

Growing love - when a root meets a symbiotic #Mycorrhiza #fungus See what happens with MycorRhize3D. schornacklabslcu.github.io/MycorRhize3D/ Simulate a tap root in soil with spores. Roots turn red when colonised, just like in this paper journals.plos.org/plosbiology/... Reply for suggestions!

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The Royal Society @royalsociety.org · 11/07/2026

Join physicist and presenter Lucie Green and Astronomer Royal Michele Dougherty FRS as they explore the remarkable life and work of Caroline Herschel, who discovered comets and changed the way we study the stars: www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JsSqxbfqLE

youtube.com

The amazing story of astronomer Caroline Herschel | The Royal Society

YouTube video by The Royal Society

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epithelial mechanics fan club @epimechfc.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

From single-celled organisms to ciliated epithelia in metazoans, precise positioning of basal bodies (BBs), which anchor motile cilia, is essential for generating fluid flows. Here, I, @raghavan-thiaga.bsky.social, will take you on a brief tour of how cells build this spatial organization.

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Otti Croze @otticroze.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

The kids at the 'Meet the Microswimmers' workshops today were great. They loved building 3D printed microscopes, exploring sand & mint samples, and seeing algae swimming. Thanks Caitlin, @jasonbains.bsky.social, Joe, Paul & Adam for making this happen! #NCLDiscoverFest @newcastleuni.bsky.social

Samples of algae in test tubes on a window sill next to mint and coriander plants

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Smitha Maretvadakethope (she/her) @mathsmaret.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

Did you think that small gene regulatory networks are only capable of very simple dynamics? Guess again! Even very simple networks are capable of a rich dynamics. Check out our brand new review paper: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... @perez-carrasco.bsky.social

sciencedirect.com

Simple systems, complex dynamics: lessons from minimal gene regulatory networks

Small gene regulatory networks (GRNs) are well-established biological modules that underpin cellular decisions and dynamical function. Their theoretic…

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Otti Croze @otticroze.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

Excited about our 'Meet the Microswimmers' workshops (fully booked!) this Saturday at the Discover Festival. Kids will get to build their own 3D printed microscope and study microscopic samples. We will also be projecting microalgae swimming live 🔬🦠 #DiscoverFestival @newcastleuni.bsky.social

Credit card sized microscope. A lever arm holds a glass bead which acts as a lens. Two paper clips hold in place a slide with a sample

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Otti Croze @otticroze.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

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The Royal Society @royalsociety.org · 21/05/2026

Pioneering palaeontologist Mary Anning was born #OnThisDay in 1799. Already ground-breaking by aged 12, she discovering the first correctly-identified ichthyosaur skeleton and helped revolutionise our understanding of the prehistoric Earth. She always worked with her dog, Tray. #WomenInSTEM

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Hiscock Lab @hiscocklab.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

🚨Job alert in theory/math devbio 🚨 I’m currently advertising postdoc positions to join my group. We’re building reaction-diffusion models to understand some of the amazing things embryos can do. We are based in a beautiful part of Scotland! Please share! www.abdn.ac.uk/jobs/vacanci...

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Northumbria UCU Branch @ucunorthumbria.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

❤️Historians know: "UK universities are a precious commodity. Ten years of dropping this commodity to see where the pieces land is not an education policy worthy of the name. It is neglect bordering on vandalism." royalhistsoc.org/history-and-...

royalhistsoc.org

History and the humanities at the University of Hertfordshire – a statement from the Royal Historical Society - RHS

Even for those familiar with bleak times, this has been a particularly bad few weeks in UK higher education. Confirmed job losses at the University of Essex were followed by further bad news from Hert...

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Ben Larson @blarson.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

And now it's out! Happy that PNAS selected for the cover this SEM image snapped by @samjlord.bsky.social, one of the most evocative visualizations of Euplotes that I have ever encountered. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... Stay tuned for what is shaping up to be some fascinating follow-up in the lab...

Scanning electron microscopy image of the ciliate Euplotes gigatrox on the cover of the journal PNAS. Distinct punk rock vibes

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Otti Croze @otticroze.bsky.social · 17/05/2026

I don't think that is an apt analogy.

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The Royal Society @royalsociety.org · 10/05/2026

Born #OnThisDay in 1900 was Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin. In her doctoral thesis she concluded stars are primarily composed of hydrogen & helium, an idea dismissed by the establishment of the day. It was later described as "the most brilliant PhD thesis ever written in astronomy."

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Otti Croze @otticroze.bsky.social · 02/05/2026

Fantastic fully funded opportunity in a great lab. We really need those new antibiotics! 🔬🦠🌎 #amr #antibiotics #microbes

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Mazi Jalaal @mazi1.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

How strong is a cyanobacterial colony? We use micropipette force sensors to detach a single cell from a Microcystis colony and find that the EPS matrix is strong, heterogeneous, and becomes even stronger under low nutrient availability. RP and comments are appreciated! arxiv.org/pdf/2604.27760

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Nolan Hicks @ndhapple.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

“They are among more than 1,500 biologists, chemists and other experts at the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Research and Development who have been laid off, reassigned or pressured to retire. Today, only 124 researchers remain,“ www.nytimes.com/2026/04/27/c...

nytimes.com

How the Trump Administration Ended Independent Science at the E.P.A.

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Otti Croze @otticroze.bsky.social · 25/04/2026

The flagellar length of the bloom forming alga Chatonella marina is diurnally regulated, causing it to swim faster during the day. Excellent work by @azusakage.bsky.social and collaborators 🔬🦠

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Otti Croze @otticroze.bsky.social · 25/04/2026

Very interesting work! We found C. Reinhardtii swims faster at night (the opposite of Chatonella!). We think that this is due to ATP energetics rather than flagellar length. The ecological reason diurnal speed variations remains unclear, I think. doi.org/10.1016/j.bp...

doi.org

Redirecting

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Azusa Kage @azusakage.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

New preprint alert! 🦠🔬 We quantitatively evaluated the swimming and flagellar movement of Chattonella, a red-tide alga. Chattonella has two unequal flagella, and we found a positive correlation between anterior flagellum length and swimming speed. #protistonsky www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

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