January 2026

Papers:

The molecular basis of the binding and specific activation of rhizobial NodD by flavonoids.

Ruan Y. et al. 2026. Science 391: 184-189.

This fascinating look at how plants and the rhizobiome interact to ensure colonization by the correct species highlights how lock-and-key mechanisms allow for the transfer of very specific signals! Admittedly, I'm not super knowledgable on the rhizobiome, but it would be really interesting to know how much this ensures the plants are only colonized by certain bacterial families and how much interactions like these versus nutrient use or other factors play in findings in other ecology studies showing that large bacterial communities are organized at the familial level, not the species level.

Revisiting the Central Dogma in the 21st Century

Shapiro J.A. 2009. Natural Genetic Engineering and Natural Genome Editing 1178: 6-28.

An interesting perspective on how the central dogma has limited our understanding in biology. I was struck by two things:

1. When does simplification allow versus obscure understanding? I always understood the information flow through the central dogma as a mechanism to allow a broad view of how information flows through the cell, while there are definitely things that it obscures. How much does this view help versus hurt?

2. What is the interaction between mechanical processes in the cell and information processes? Perhaps it is my viewpoint/interests, but it seems that BOTH of these are needed to understand what is happening.

Books:

"BoyMom" By Ruth Whippman

Back to working my way through this one.

Podcasts:

Creating a Satisfying Academic Career with Jo Van Every - They just released a series of new episodes