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Sarah Smith

@smith8272.bsky.social
365 followers 220 following 112 posts

Biological Oceanographer, Asst. Prof at MLML. SIO graduate 2014. Splitting time between Moss Landing and San Diego. Phytoplankton ecologist and mCDR investigator.

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Sarah Smith @smith8272.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
Our paper on the need for field studies to test ocean iron fertilization as a climate solution is out - please read it, share widely, and let me know what you think!
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Sarah Smith @smith8272.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
If we turned all the carbon we burn every year into a giant pile of diamonds, it would be as big as 1,100 Great Pyramids of Giza. Every year.
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Exploring Ocean Iron Solutions @exois-oceaniron.bsky.social · 27/11/2025
Re-upping this piece by @mrmattsimon.bsky.social in @grist.org back in August about #OIF for #mCDR. Good work @smith8272.bsky.social and @eschwaab.bsky.social for your quotes in the article. @cafethorium.bsky.social
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Ákos T Kovács @evolvedbiofilm.bsky.social · 08/10/2025
Half of microbial eukaryote literature focuses on only twelve human parasites -in #ISMEJournal by Joanna Lepper, @hbrappap.bsky.social and @oliverio.bsky.social academic.oup.com/ismej/advanc...
academic.oup.com
Half of microbial eukaryote literature focuses on only twelve human parasites
Abstract. Although microbial eukaryotes comprise the majority of eukaryotic phylogenetic diversity and inhabit nearly all ecosystems globally, most researc
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Sarah Smith @smith8272.bsky.social · 04/10/2025
Please vote!
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Jelena Godrijan 🫧❾🌊🦋 @godi.bsky.social · 02/10/2025
Study reveals the hidden genomic diversity & global distribution of Phaeocystales — bloom-forming algae with surprising mixotrophic strategies, viral integrations, & adaption to polar vs temperate zones. #protistsonsky Big step forward for marine ecology & biogeochemical models. 🧬🌊 📖 rdcu.be/eI4nv
rdcu.be
Genome-resolved biogeography of Phaeocystales, cosmopolitan bloom-forming algae
Nature Communications - Phaeocystales are ecologically significant nanoplankton whose evolutionary history and functional diversity remain incompletely characterized. Here, the authors integrate...
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Jay 🦋 @jay.bsky.team · 02/10/2025
“It actually doesn’t take much to be considered a difficult woman. That’s why there are so many of us.” ― Jane Goodall 💙 RIP to a real one. My childhood hero
Jane Goodall with monarch butterfly scarf
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Dan Garisto @dangaristo.bsky.social · 02/10/2025
"Following a thorough, individualized financial review" DOE is terminating 223 awards worth $7.5 billion.
energy.gov
Energy Department Announces Termination of 223 Projects, Saving Over $7.5 Billion
The U.S. Department of Energy today announced the termination of 321 financial awards supporting 223 projects, resulting in a savings of approximately $7.56 billion dollars for American taxpayers.
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Sarah Smith @smith8272.bsky.social · 24/09/2025
Excited and honored to be a part of this cohort and work to advance strategies to stabilize the climate. Stay tuned for more
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Robert Rohde @rarohde.bsky.social · 18/09/2025
The Northern Pacific Ocean is currently smashing temperature records. And it is reaching these levels far earlier than the current generation of climate models had expected. A short thread 🧵
Time series of monthly Northern Pacific Ocean sea surface temperature anomalies from 1850 to August 2025 alongside multi-model expectations of the warming in this area (scenario SSP2-4.5).
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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 19/09/2025
Of all the stupid things that this regime has done, this is right up near the top. Postdoctoral researchers come to the US on H-1B visas. This will further destroy the US science enterprise. Stupid stupid stupid.
cbsnews.com
Trump administration to add $100,000 fee for H-1B visas
The Trump administration is targeting a visa widely used by tech companies and other employers to hire foreign workers.
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Sarah Smith @smith8272.bsky.social · 03/09/2025
“Phosphorus constrains global photosynthesis more than nitrogen does [*on land*]” - there… fixed it www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Phosphorus constrains global photosynthesis more than nitrogen does - Nature Ecology & Evolution
Nitrogen and phosphorus limitations are both key to spatial patterns and temporal trends in primary production. This global analysis indicates that phosphorus limitation on terrestrial primary product...
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Sarah Smith @smith8272.bsky.social · 15/08/2025
This is a nice piece covering how adding iron to the ocean can help stabilize the climate - the time for action is here #oceaniron @exois-oceaniron.bsky.social
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Giulia Faucher @giuliafaucher.bsky.social · 10/07/2025
🌊 If you plan to attend OSM26, please consider submitting an abstract to our session “Biogeochemical and Ecological Insights for Evaluation of Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal (mCDR)” agu.confex.com/agu/osm26/pr... OSM: 22-27 February 2026 Glasgow Abstract submission deadline: 20th August 2025
agu.confex.com
Biogeochemical and Ecological Insights for Evaluation of Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal (mCDR)
Marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) encompasses several ocean-based strategies to sequester atmospheric CO2 in the ocean to mitigate anthropogenic climate change. With a growing interest in chemical ...
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Jay T. Cullen @jaytcullen.bsky.social · 10/07/2025
🌊🧪 1/ Job Alert! Are you a world-leading researcher in climate change solutions? UVic’s Canada Excellence Research Chair offers 8 years of support for groundbreaking research. Join our interdisciplinary team @seos-uvic.bsky.social Learn more & apply by Aug 29: www.uvic.ca/faculty-staf...
uvic.ca
Why work at UVic? - Faculty & staff - University of Victoria
Get information on the working environment at the University of Victoria.
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Zack Labe @zacklabe.com · 08/07/2025
I can't stress enough how close U.S. science is to the cliff. "Numbers released in May by the National Science Foundation (NSF) indicate that if Congress approves the cuts to the agency proposed by the White House, the number of early-career researchers it supports could fall by 78%" (@science.org)
science.org
‘It’s a nightmare.’ U.S. funding cuts threaten academic science jobs at all levels
“There is a lot of pressure to essentially leave the country or not pursue research,” one Ph.D. student says
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Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR) @scor-int.bsky.social · 02/07/2025
#ECR input needed! Help SCOR serve early-career scientists better by contributing to the survey: www.surveymonkey.com/r/SCOR-ECOP
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Sarah Smith @smith8272.bsky.social · 02/07/2025
Losing support to continue this dataset would be absolutely devastating for science and humanity. #carbon #mCDR #climatechange
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Sarah Smith @smith8272.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
Terpenoid production can be engineered and optimized in Phaeodactylum tricornutum - a promising chassis for bioproduction. Excellent keynote by @michelefabris.bsky.social @ #MLD8
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Sarah Smith @smith8272.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
I’ve assumed that the diatom fossil record was more helpful in resolving early diatom evolution than it actually is. Karolina Brulka sets the record straight at #MLD8, revealing that Lower Jurassic Pyxidicula fossils were most likely calcareous nannofossils www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
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Sarah Smith @smith8272.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
Day 3 of #MLD8 started with an awesome plenary by @sinkingdiatom.bsky.social - identifying the “slow burning fuse” of diatom evolution, punctuated by three pulses of accelerated evolution. Definitely a seminal and must-read pub if you haven’t come across it yet www.pnas.org/doi/full/10....
pnas.org
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
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Sarah Smith @smith8272.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
A new version of ASAFIND (2.0) is out! @asafind.bsky.social. Ansgar Gruber introduced the updated tool at #MLD8 doi.org/10.1111/tpj....
doi.org
ASAFind 2.0: multi‐class protein targeting prediction for diatoms and algae with complex plastids
Many photosynthetic eukaryotes possess complex plastids, which are surrounded by four membranes, and by a space known as the periplastidic compartment (PPC). ASAFind is a software for the prediction ...
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Sarah Smith @smith8272.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
The “big and beautiful” diatom Coscinodiscus granii makes girdle bands with regular pores spaced 285 nm apart. Felicity Ashcroft presents a new set of candidate biomineralization genes from a transcriptome of chemically-synchronized cells. #MLD8
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Sarah Smith @smith8272.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
The oil-producing diatom Fistulifera solaris had an interesting evolutionary trajectory. Two species that diverged from the last F. solaris common ancestor millions of years ago, re-hybridized ~0.12MYA which underlies the current allodiploid genome. Hikaru Tago at #MLD8
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Sarah Smith @smith8272.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
In Pseudo-nitzschia, only 20% of the cells engage in sexual reproduction, but scRNA-seq shows they are all primed and ready to go. Antonella Ruggiero at #MLD8
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Sarah Smith @smith8272.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
Using sexual reproduction markers identified from scRNA data, Arthur Cleyman developed new tools to transform Cylindrotheca closterium and make “pheromone sensing” lines. Cool 😎 #MLD8 @gustbilcke.bsky.social
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Serena Flori @serenaflori.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
Continuing the Conference tour 2025 with #MLD8 #diatoms show with cryo-exm 🦠
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Sarah Smith @smith8272.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
Single-cell RNA sequencing of two diatom species shows clear patterns of expression during sexual reproduction, shedding light on the mechanisms involved. Great student talk by Nadine Rijsdjik @ #MLD8 @gustbilcke.bsky.social
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Sarah Smith @smith8272.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
The design and synthesis of whole synthetic chromosomes (and yes, for diatoms) is now possible. The future is here. (Bogumil Karas @ #MLD8)
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VIB Training & Conferences @vibtrainconf.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
#MLD8 is underway in sunny Ghent! Kicked off with exciting breakthroughs in diatom biology and new tools for molecular studies. Great to reconnect and dive into cell biology, ecophysiology, genomics & biotech. Tiny but mighty! 🌊 #DiatomResearch #BlueBiotech Find out more: vibbio.tech/4kRX2L7
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Sarah Smith @smith8272.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
Nitrogen limitation and silicon limitation elicit changes in diatom metatranscriptomes, and highlight how little we know about the functional roles of many genes - especially those involved in silica metabolism and biomineralization. Kim Thamatrakoln at #MLD8
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Sarah Smith @smith8272.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
pH, carbonate ion, and oxygen probes show major changes in the phycosphere of big centric diatoms, and inhibiting extracellular carbonic anhydrase forces them to switch between using CO2 and bicarb to supply carbon fixation (Glen Wheeler @ #MLD8)
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Sarah Smith @smith8272.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
Bernard Lepetit just gave a fantastic plenary on NPQ in diatoms at #MLD8 - turns out that diatoms can use the zeaxanthin/antheroxanthin/violaxanthin cycle for NPQ with Lhcx, when they don’t have diatoxanthin/diadinoxanthin (!)
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Sarah Smith @smith8272.bsky.social · 23/06/2025
Predators come along and crunch off the apex/long axial spines of pennate diatoms (!). Sometimes it’s catastrophic for the diatom, but they’re often totally resilient and can divide again after two days. Eventually the shape is restored. Darja Belisová at #MLD8
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Sarah Smith @smith8272.bsky.social · 23/06/2025
Diatoms do DNRA and thrive in the dark, anoxic, sulfidic sediments of Lake Fryxell (the Golden Meadows of Lake Fryxell) - amazing metabolic flexibility to occupy so many ecological niches! Great talk by Elisa Mertz at #MLD8
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Sarah Smith @smith8272.bsky.social · 23/06/2025
Michiel Perneel describes patterns of diatom abundance and activities in the Belgian part of the North Sea #MLD8
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Sarah Smith @smith8272.bsky.social · 23/06/2025
“We should stop using diatoms as this one box” - we need to take light niche adaptation into account when evaluating the succession and ecology of phytoplankton in Arctic as the ocean warms and we lose sea ice. Johann Lavaud at #MLD8
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Sarah Smith @smith8272.bsky.social · 23/06/2025
So many audience questions for Isabell Klawonn about her great talk on fungal infection of diatoms and the implications for the ocean carbon cycle at #MLD8 - safe to say that curiosity is piqued!
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Sarah Smith @smith8272.bsky.social · 23/06/2025
Stunning views of diverse diatom cell types generated with cryo-em, with a new workflow developed by Serena Flori @serenaflori.bsky.social at EMBL with @floravincent.bsky.social. Being able to see inside these organisms with this resolution is so incredibly cool. #MLD8
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Sarah Smith @smith8272.bsky.social · 23/06/2025
Diatoms take up silicic acid, and use it to synthesize their cell wall - But not all of the silica is deposited right away. Some of it remains soluble in a silicon storage pool SSP. Very nice work by Tobias Reichelt on how to determine the properties of this SSP #MLD8
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Sarah Smith @smith8272.bsky.social · 23/06/2025
Knocking out certain proteins involved in diatom frustule formation can change the pattern of pores - nice work by Tim Gerloff showing how we are getting closer to being able to bioengineer nanomaterials #MLD8
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Sarah Smith @smith8272.bsky.social · 23/06/2025
Diatoms (and other micro algae) have a non-canonical ATP synthase A subunit, called xATPA. Very cool and comprehensive story by Mathias Penot-Raquin at #MLD8
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Sarah Smith @smith8272.bsky.social · 23/06/2025
The pyrenoid fun continues with Alexander Schober at #MLD8 describing pyrenoid component proteins in pennate diatoms. Some similarities with centrics, but there are unique features as well.
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Vandepoele lab @vandepoelelab.bsky.social · 23/06/2025
The origin of the #MLD8 logo explained. We welcome >200 participants (from 26 countries) in the wonderful Bijloke concert hall for an update on diatom biology.
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Sarah Smith @smith8272.bsky.social · 23/06/2025
Gorgeous work by Onyou Nam characterizing the diatom pyrenoid is being presented at #MLD8 www.cell.com/cell/fulltex... @mldiatoms.bsky.social
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Sarah Smith @smith8272.bsky.social · 23/06/2025
Day 1 of #MLD8 - with an amazing talk by @nic-poulsen.bsky.social on diatom adhesion and motility, describing proteins found in diatom glue @mldiatoms.bsky.social
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Jean-Pierre Gattuso @jpgattuso.bsky.social · 16/06/2025
‼️ Check out our recent report on "Principles for responsible and effective marine carbon dioxide removal development and governance" led by @scottdoney.bsky.social. It is a blue paper of the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy. #mCDR doi.org/10.69902/84b...
doi.org
Principles for responsible and effective marine carbon dioxide removal development and governance - Ocean Panel
Launched on June 4, 2025, at the One Ocean Science Congress in Nice, France, ahead of the United Nations Ocean Conference, this Blue Paper was
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Scott Dworkin @dworkin.bsky.social · 14/06/2025
San Diego #NoKings
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Exploring Ocean Iron Solutions @exois-oceaniron.bsky.social · 11/06/2025
🌊 During #UNOC3, ExOIS convened a panel of experts to discuss the topic of environmental and ecological monitoring, reporting and verification (eMRV) for marine CDR. This discussion is just beginning and needs to be front and centre as the mCDR community moves forward.
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Sarah Smith @smith8272.bsky.social · 09/06/2025
Are you concerned about the ecological consequences of storing waste carbon in the ocean? Come join us to discuss how we should consider the ecological impacts of mCDR at an off-site side event at #unoc3
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