Carnegie Science

Congratulations to Biosphere Science and Engineering postdoc Amanda Shelton on being selected as one of PacBio's 2024 Microbial Genomics SMRT Grant Awardees! 🎉 🦠 The winners were selected from around the world for their innovative ideas. They will receive sree HiFi metagenome sequencing of six DNA samples. Shelton, who studies hot spring microbial communities in Yellowstone National Park, will use these opportunities to enhance the team’s knowledge about these fascinating, dynamic ecosystems. In her own words: “The hot spring phototrophic mat biofilms of Yellowstone National Park harbor diverse communities of bacteria performing photosynthesis at the edge. Previous research in our lab and others have identified the major species of bacteria in the community. These also revealed the high genomic diversity of Synechococcus, the major cyanobacterium in this habitat. Horizontal gene transfer, activity of mobile genetic elements within genomes, and viral attack are predicted to be drivers of microbial population diversity in this habitat and others. Our previous work using short read sequencing identified viral populations in the mat, including novel lineages, and work is ongoing to connect these viruses to the host bacteria they infect. However, our ability to do so is limited by the current data sets, as we have many viruses with no predicted host, and some hosts with fewer predicted viruses that infect them than we expected. The PacBio SMRT grant to perform high-fidelity long read sequencing and proximity ligation genomics on the mat will allow us to discover connections between bacterial host genomes and the viruses that attack them. Additionally, these data will also allow us to discover mobile genetic elements and other genomic features that can be missed by short read data. Layering the SMRT grant results on our ongoing short read sequencing work will improve our understanding of genomic diversity and connect viruses and mobile genetic elements to their host genomes in the phototrophic mat community.”

Carnegie Science geochronologist Jennifer Kasbohm is a rock and mineral detective seeking to resolve mysteries from Earth’s vast geologic history. But what can a detective do when a case has been cold for millions of years? She collects evidence from rocks around the world and brings them to her lab for investigation. Using several geochemical techniques, Kasbohm’s study of isotopes provides crucial details that may help solve these cold cases from deep in Earth’s past. Read about her latest work on a period of sustained warming 15-17 million years ago, which has implications for understanding climate change: https://lnkd.in/gm3FPB25

D.C.-area friends: Join us next week for a conversation with Moderna founder Dr. Robert Langer, who will discuss his unconventional career path and devotion to pursuing discoveries that improve medicine and inspire the next generation of innovators. FREE TICKETS: https://lnkd.in/gkdEzxPt

Carnegie Science’s Phillip Cleves is a key collaborator on a new initiative that aims to understand how climate change may impact the nervous systems and behavior of marine animals. Led by UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the Allen Discovery Center for Neurobiology in Changing Environments was launched with a $10 million grant from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. The new center’s researchers will work to uncover fundamental mechanisms of marine animals' nervous systems and how they have evolved to function in naturally changing environments. The team’s findings could help predict how marine organisms will respond to climate change and guide conservation efforts for vulnerable species. LEARN MORE: https://lnkd.in/gpRESv_p

Want to see Carnegie Science Observatories Director John Mulchaey talk about the Giant Magellan Telescope and the future of ground- and space-based telescopes at #SXSW next year? We need your vote! https://lnkd.in/g8HQnQ_q

We sat down with Brittany Belin, whose lab at Carnegie Science studies the biology of rhizobia, soil bacteria that can convert atmospheric nitrogen gas into plant-fertilizing ammonia. These “beneficial bacteria” form a symbiotic relationship with legumes such as peas, soybeans, and jointvetch, serving as sustainable alternatives to synthetic nitrogen fertilizers. "If we don't find ways to make agricultural production more sustainable, then in the next century, we're going to hit a point where food scarcity will become a problem—and many things will come with that. It’s not just starvation; you will have more fighting for food resources, which can mean more war," she says. 🌱 🦠 Read more: https://lnkd.in/g623hnJy

Carnegie Science's Anna M. Michalak emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic with a renewed sense of urgency about the pace at which academia can provide useful, science-based climate solutions to policymakers, industry, and non-governmental institutions. She gave a fiery call-to-action presentation at a long-term colleague’s retirement symposium, enrolled in a global leadership program at the Stanford School of Business, and made major inroads in the corporate and non-profit worlds—quickly developing collaborations with Google Research and Schmidt Sciences. Learn more about her journey: https://lnkd.in/gap9BEvB

Duct tape is a must. So are zip ties. Depending on whether you’ll be on site long enough for it to dry, Gorilla Glue might be another necessity. Oh, and pack as many buckets and sample bottles as you can fit in your gear, advises Carnegie Science aquatic ecologist Stephanie Hampton, sharing a rundown of all the absolutely essential items to bring on a fieldwork trip. LEARN MORE ➡️ https://lnkd.in/ezqZNvzj

By the middle of the century, three-quarters of Ukrainian croplands—a critical source of the world’s grain and oilseeds—will experience water shortages due to the combination of climate change and infrastructural damage caused by the Russian invasion, according to new research from in an international research team led by Carnegie Science’s Lorenzo Rosa and including members of the World Bank’s Global Water Practice unit. However, there’s hope. The team’s work, published in Nature Food, shows that leveraging local water resources for sustainable irrigation strategies could significantly improve the nation’s ability to recover from the invasion and prepare for future climate scenarios. https://lnkd.in/gkvFdq5T

We are sad to share that our President Emerita, the legendary Maxine Singer, died yesterday at 93. Singer's career represented a rare trifecta of excellence in scientific research, leadership, and public advocacy. In 1992, President George H.W. Bush awarded her the National Medal of Science in recognition of “her outstanding scientific accomplishments and her deep concern for the societal responsibility of the scientist.” Learn more about her incredible legacy as a scientist and as a tireless voice for inclusion in STEM education: https://lnkd.in/guP8gwhP