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John F. Allen

@profjohnallen.bsky.social
220 followers 103 following 16 posts

#Cells | #Energy | #Evolution | #Photosynthesis | #Chloroplasts | #Mitochondria | #Science | Honorary Professor, #UCL

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Reposted by John F. Allen
Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Here is why getting "bogged down" is actually a superpower: They are climate heroes: Peatlands cover only 3% of the earth's land but store more carbon than all the world's forest biomass combined. Keeping them intact is one of our best defenses against climate change. 2/
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Biochemical Society @biochemsoc.bsky.social · 20h
Are you working in the field of bioenergetics, electron transfer, or mitochondrial biology? First presented in 1964, discover the history behind our Keilin Memorial Lecture and find out how to nominate (or be nominated!) for this prestigious prize by 2 November 2026: ow.ly/wJ8050ZQRNi
Logo of The Biochemical Society Awards with text about the Keilin Memorial Lecture honoring work in bioenergetics and mitochondrial biology.
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This Many Years Ago @thismanyyearsago.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
64 years ago, on the 27th of September 1962, Rachel Carson's book Silent Spring was published. It handled the environmental harm caused by the pesticide DDT and the disinformation spread by the chemical industry. Carson managed to sway public opinion and even policy. #otd #history 🗃️
Rachel Carson photo credit: Science History Images / Alamy
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Matt Bertone @bertonemyia.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
🚨 JOB ANNOUNCEMENT 🚨 Please share! We're looking for an entomologist to join our dept.! I'm excited as it's broadly advertised to find someone who can build a stellar teaching program w/research on insect ecology. Deadline is tight (end of Oct.). Read more & apply at jobs.ncsu.edu/postings/235...
Flyer that says: 

THE DEPARTMENT OF ENTOMOLOGY
AND PLANT PATHOLOGY

We're hiring!

The Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology is seeking applications for a nine-month, tenure-track Assistant Professor in Insect Ecology (60% teaching/40% research). The position will play a central role in the department’s undergraduate curriculum, including ENT 201: Insects and People, as well as additional undergraduate and graduate courses. The position also provides an opportunity to build a nationally recognized research program in insect ecology, secure external funding, and mentor undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral students.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Lead instruction for ENT 201: Insects and People and teach additional courses using effective, technology-enhanced approaches. Mentor undergraduate and graduate students and postdocs.

Establish a nationally recognized, externally funded research program in insect ecology (e.g., behavior, plant–insect interactions, community ecology, conservation, or global change biology). Publish in peer-reviewed journals and engage students in research.

Contribute to departmental, college, and university service, engage with scientific societies, review manuscripts and grant proposals, and participate in outreach.

WHO WE’RE LOOKING FOR:

Demonstrated teaching experience at the undergraduate and/or graduate level.

Expertise in one or more areas of insect ecology (e.g., IPM, invasive species, pollination biology, vector ecology, trophic interactions, global change, or molecular/community ecology).

Ph.D. in Entomology or a related field, with a proven publication and funding track record (as PI/Co-PI or lead author).

JOIN OUR TEAM!

For more information and to submit your application, please visit:
https://jobs.ncsu.edu/postings/234875
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Met Office - weather and climate @metoffice.gov.uk · 26/09/2026
Planning a trip to the hills or mountains this weekend? With a mix of weather on the way, it’s important to be #WeatherReady. Check the mountain forecast before packing your rucksack so you’re prepared for changing conditions bit.ly/3N8rjHb
Stay safe in the hills and mountains:
Check the weather
Plan your route
Pack the right gear for the trip
Let someone know your plans
In and emergency call 999, ask for 'Police' then 'Mountain Rescue'
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John Stott @jpsastro.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Had a UKRI funded grant proposal rejected at the "AI triage stage". "This AI-based triage was used only to identify approximately 50% of the strongest proposals to take forward to full human review." 🧪 #academicsky
I am writing to let you know that, unfortunately, your application was not successful.

Review process

As part of the initial triage of the 179 proposals submitted to this call, each was assessed using an AI-based review. Every proposal was read independently by several different AI models against the same seven criteria used to shape this call (including cyber security relevance, research quality and novelty, importance of the problem addressed, feasibility of the project plan, likely outputs and impact, value for money, and responsible research practice), with each model asked to give a score and a written justification with supporting quotations from the text. To guard against any one model's idiosyncrasies, we also ran a second, independent process in which different AI models debated the merits and weaknesses of each proposal before reaching a judgement, again against the same criteria. Scores from both processes were combined to produce an overall ranking. 

This AI-based triage was used only to identify approximately 50% of the strongest proposals to take forward to full human review.  Projects selected for funding were drawn from those that progressed to the full human review stage. We recognise that AI-assisted assessment is a new and evolving part of the review process, and we are continuing to evaluate how well it aligns with the judgements of human reviewers on this call. We will soon produce a document detailing our method, so that others can build upon it and improve it.

Feedback on your application

Your application was not selected to progress beyond the AI triage stage.  To provide transparency on the outcome of this assessment, we are sharing below the scores (out of 5) from each of the two AI review processes described above, together with the mean score across the two processes.
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Thomas Hansen @thomashansen.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
New ad from the Norwegian Consumer Council @forbrukerradet.bsky.social about the declining lifespan, repairability and enshittification of products: Planned obsolescence v 2.0 Read their report forbrukerradet.no/shortlife
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Becca Harrison @beccaeharrison.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Just found myself in the weird position of turning down an academic job offer. I’ve decided not to apply for them before (recently enquiring about a research role I was told the ‘research budget’ came out of your salary) but never encountered t&cs so awful and exploitative that I’ve declined one
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Josiah Mortimer @josiahmortimer.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
On the £36m donation to Reform UK from Ben Delo... Lib Dems: "Farage wants to bring Trump's America to our shores by buying his way into power. He's trying to get into No 10 as if it's a stop on a monopoly board" The PM "needs to introduce a cap on political donations. Our democracy depends on it"
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Marcus Chown @marcuschown.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
And of course Reform will show they think us fools by claiming this man doesn’t want anything for his £36 million donation.
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Marcus Chown @marcuschown.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
A third of nurses and a third of doctors were born overseas. Without immigrants the NHS would collapse. You are more likely to be treated by an immigrant than to be behind one in a queue. Massive underfunding of our NHS and lack of social housing were a political choice.
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Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Ah, this Anthropic guy resigning over AI risks. lots of headlines. And I see little to no questioning of what he's actually saying. Well after all, he's the expert, right? He actually worked on this stuff, right? mashable.com/tech/anthrop...
mashable.com
Anthropic researcher quits, calls AI an existential threat to humanity
An Anthropic spokesperson confirmed it believes AI could kill all humans.
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Alexey Amunts @amunts.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Towards routine accurate electron-density studies of biological macromolecules. STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY Vol 82/9, 1044-1055 doi.org/10.1107/S205... E. Paknia, C. Flensburg, M. Leszek Chodkiewicz, R. H. Fogh, P. Keller, C. Vonrhein, C. Schulze-Briese, P. M. Dominiak, G. Bourenkov, G. Bricogneb, A. Charif
journals.iucr.org
Towards routine accurate electron-density studies of biological macromolecules
Here, we describe the determination of the highest resolution structure in the PDB at 0.43 Å resolution. Electron-density maps reveal extensive deformation electron density that is completely accounte...
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Alexey Amunts @amunts.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
0.43 Å. The highest resolution protein structure determined. Archaeal rubredoxin protein structure bridging the gap between structural biology and quantum chemistry.
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Julie Goldberg @juliegoldberg.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Ah, yes. 9/11. The day New Yorkers famously can’t remember where they were, what they were doing, or what exactly the weather was.
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Judy Webb @judywebb.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Which insects like to feed on Grass of Parnassus flowers in Lye Valley #fen today? Stripy hoverfly, probably a Vestal Cuckoo Bumble Bee queen and a Small Copper Butterfly for starters @friendlyevalley.bsky.social
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Alex Hall Hall @alexhh.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
The Chief Rabbi can’t have it both ways: he can’t both condemn those conflating UK Jews with Israel, and then do it himself by claiming UK policy towards Israel will harm UK Jews. Either UK Jews are distinct from Israel, or they’re not. Which is it, Rabbi? www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
Miliband rejects chief rabbi’s claim that West Bank sanctions put UK Jews at risk
Foreign secretary says Sir Ephraim Mirvis wrong to suggest measures against Israeli settlements will make British Jews less safe
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Mrs. Betty Bowers @mrsbettybowers.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
There have been so many impeachable offenses, but lying about how you were a hero on a day that 2,753 people died in NYC in the 9/11 disaster—when you were on the other side of town, safely calling local media to brag about how you now had the tallest downtown building—is such a despicable one
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Caitie McCafferty @computingcaitie.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
I am looking for a lab manager for my group that I will be starting at the @fmiscience.bsky.social in February! We will use in situ structural biology to investigate dynamic ciliary processes. More info here —> bsky.app/profile/comp... #cilia #teamtomo #proteomics #protistsky
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Nick Pettigrew @nick-pettigrew.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
I just think that risking your life at a moment's notice to save people you've never met in exchange for no money is a better expression of patriotism than dressing up like a Poundshop paramilitary and intimidating families with kids trying to get onto a ferry.
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Giles Wilkes @gilesyb.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
It's always the way, isn't it giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
Graph shows far right support higher where the number of foreign nationals is lowest
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Ed Morrish @edmorrish.com · 04/09/2026
one of the most devastating questions i’ve ever read was when a banker told polly toynbee that he knew he earned a lot more money than most people, but he deserved it because he “worked hard” she replied, “do you work as hard as two hundred nurses?”
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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Scenes like this did a lot of damage to Mosley and the BUF in the 1930s. Though that relied on Conservative papers reporting them.
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Roger Highfield @rogerhighfield.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Yes! Conscious AI is unlikely in digital computers because… … the brain is analogue news.mit.edu/2026/cogniti... & digital computers run on an impoverished set of numbers blog.sciencemuseum.org.uk/the-problem-...
news.mit.edu
Cognition and consciousness arise from analog computations, says new theory
The brain's ability to generate quick, nimble volitional thought — and a unified awareness of thought and experience — arises from analog computations carried out by electrical waves, MIT neurosc...
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Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
This is deeply shocking.
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Adam Powley @adampowley.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Privatisation has been deeply, systemically damaging for the UK. If Burnham does one good thing, this could be it. But not holding breath.
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Evgenii Protasov @evgenii-protasov.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
In situ #CryoEM structures of rice photosystem supercomplexes #photosynthesis #plants #StructuralBiology @nature.com www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
In situ structures of plant photosystem supercomplexes - Nature
The cryo‑EM structure of the Oryza sativa photosystem II–light harvesting complex II supercomplex in its native membrane reveals the intact plant photosystem architecture, retaining physiologically re...
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Stefan A. Rensing @rensingstefan.bsky.social · 11/10/2025
Very happy and proud to share the #Spirogyra genome: 50 Mbp small, lacking almost all plastid division proteins and many transcription factors. Kudos to all the many people involved in this multi year project! @jandevries.bsky.social @watertoland.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
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Alexey Amunts @amunts.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
A sad day. Ada's pioneering work on the ribosome changed how we understand one of the central machines of life. She is a remarkable example of curiosity and boldness in pursuing questions that seemed impossible. Her scientific courage and persistence has been an inspiration.
wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il
Prof. Ada Yonath, Nobel Laureate and a Model of Scientific Perseverance, Has Passed Away - Weizmann Wonder Wander - News, Features and Discoveries
From pursuing an impossible dream to uncovering one of the cell’s best-kept secrets and advancing the design of improved antibiotics
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David Colquhoun @davidcolquhoun.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Shame on Google -they used to care about accuracy. Now they can't wait to lick the boots of the delusional felon
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David Colquhoun @davidcolquhoun.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
It's a pity that Matt works for the Telegraph. He's far too good for that rag.
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Trish Greenhalgh @trishgreenhalgh.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Welcome. #academicsky
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NikkSinc 📚 @nikksinc.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Dear BBC, in the interests of impartiality (see your Charter), please give updates on LibDem, Green, SNP, Plaid Cymru etc policies alongside Reform’s. Thank you, a licence payer
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Pierre Polyester @canadian-critic.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
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Greensleeves @greensleeves.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
The BBC is promoting RefUK as a govt in waiting, when RefUK have 8 MPs, only 3 elected, the other 5 defected from the Tories. Lib Dems have 71 MPs but are ignored. Ofcom is supposed to ensure impartiality of the BBC - the national broadcaster - so clearly Ofcom is complicit in this political bias.
Text 'Reform says it will prioritise British-born young workers for social housing'.
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Chance the Lawyer @chancethelawyer.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
say what you will about the myriad valid concerns with current LLMs but I personally will never get over the fact that Aaron Swartz was prosecuted to his literal death for downloading JSTOR and then a decade later, they downloaded & ingested the entire world and our IP laws just went ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
The recent paper in Science by Bill Martin's team on a vent form of LUCA and a possible "dual origin of life" got some coverage last week. I took a somewhat deeper dive for @sciam.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/life...
scientificamerican.com
Life’s ‘last universal common ancestor’ may predate life itself
A groundbreaking study hints at a hazy boundary between “life” and “non-life,” as well as two distinct origins of biology on Earth
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Brexit Bin 🇪🇺 🇬🇧 🇩🇪 @brexitbin.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Hannah Arendt on how Fascists weaponise doubt.
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Petra Boynton @petraboynton.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Decades of research on bullying in academia tells us abusers are usually known in HEIs (including to HR). They typically stay in post, or are promoted. Their victims (within and outside the uni) are the ones who quit, step down, or are hurt. HEIs generally only act when their reputations are hit /1
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21 Group @21group.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Tribunal criticised failure to investigate Prof Evans' whistleblowing concerns, while pursuing allegations against him for a prolonged period Senior leadership was directly implicated Now on gov.uk site, a permanent record os Cambridge leaderships's failures www.gov.uk/employment-t...
gov.uk
Professor N W Evans v The Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Cambridge and Others: 3307960/2023 and Others
Employment Tribunal decision.
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Mark Hamill @markhamillofficial.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
Who doesn't love a snappy comeback? #November3rdWe8647
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Oli Clarke @olibclarke.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Amazing stuff, what a structure! Elegant work😍
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Crow @abbyjane.cloverdalelane.com · 14/08/2026
I think about this a lot.
Tim Henke
@TimHenke9
eat shit, René Magritte
Translate Tweet
Mauv @ThatsMauvelous • 1d the machine refused to recognize my humanity until i professed to believe that a sign painted to look like a traffic light is indeed a traffic light.
Show this thread
Select all squares with traffic lights
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Angela Cassidy @angecass.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Great piece from my PGR colleague @zkadodz.bsky.social about the cuts, "A supervisor is not an abstract academic who can be replaced at a moment’s notice. My supervisors are the foundation of my whole project". Working with PhDs is SO central to academic life: they've not been considered at all 😧
zamirkadodia.substack.com
My supervisors can't be replaced
A PhD student's perspective on the University of Exeter redundancy situation
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Climate Dad @climatedad.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Don’t worry, we’re banning disposable BBQs.
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James Ball @jamesrball.com · 13/08/2026
Posting false information about election candidates is one of the last remaining forms of criminal libel in the UK, fwiw. If your algorithm/AI is bad enough that it isn't immune to this kind of fuck up, it is not ready for deployment! Turn it the fuck off!
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Charlotte Lydia Riley @lottelydia.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Heartened to see that my university is ending its contract with Turnitin before the next academic year, because Turnitin is going to use student submissions to train AI models. Institutions can and should resist this stuff!
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Kin Pan Chung @kinpanchung.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
We're hiring a PhD candidate! 🔬 Are you fascinated by cytoplasmic genetics and eager to uncover the mechanisms underlying maternal inheritance of plastids and mitochondria? If so, join our group and contribute to our ERC-funded research "CytoInP"!🌟 Application link: www.wur.nl/en/vacancy/p...
wur.nl
PhD position: Manipulating plastid and mitochondrial inheritance in plants
Our group investigates the maternal inheritance of plastid and mitochondrial genomes in plants, with the goal of uncovering the mechanisms that govern this process.
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Ben Engel @cellarchlab.com · 13/08/2026
John is a visionary in our field. I always like hearing his new ideas, many of which end up proving to be rather prophetic. #PlantScience 🌾🧪
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Dan Neidle @danneidle.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Why was the Jason Arday story broken by a racist blogger and not the mainstream press? Because Times Higher Education was intimidated off the story by a letter from notorious libel firm Carter-Ruck. I'm publishing the letter. Its central claim may be false.
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