Qing (Andie) Zhang

Ice Diatoms Glide at Record-Low Temperatures - Eos New observations reveal how microscopic organisms move through polar ice and illustrate how they may have evolved to thrive in extreme environments.

Life knows how to keep going - even if it’s freezing -15 degrees C 🥶 outside. AGU just covered our discovery of ultra resistant ice diatoms gliding into a world record! 🧪🔬Enjoy the story here:

eos.org/articles/ice...

schematic pictures and microscopic photos showing various aspects of movement in single-celled algae

#Arctic #algae aren't immobile or entombed. They're not just surviving either—they're gliding into record books phys.org/news/2025-09...

Ice gliding #diatoms establish record-low temperature limits for motility in a eukaryotic cell www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

#protists #microbes #extremophiles

#ProtistsOnSky

Haha, what a great reference! You've set a high bar for our little diatoms. ;)

So glad you enjoyed the paper! Thanks for the lovely note. ;)

And congratulations to you too on your recent PNAS paper - a fantastic work!! It's clearly a great time for diatom motility research. Thanks so much for the link and for citing our preprint, that means a lot.

Ice gliding diatoms establish record-low temperature limits for motility in a eukaryotic cell | PNAS Despite periods of permanent darkness and extensive ice coverage in polar environments, photosynthetic ice diatoms display a remarkable capability ...

Read the full story: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Learn more from @stanford.edu : news.stanford.edu/stories/2025...
#Arctic #SeaIce #Diatoms #Ecology #Microbiology

Did you know tiny algae can "skate" within Arctic sea ice? ⛸️ Our new study in @pnas.org reveals the secret life of ice diatoms: they are actively gliding to navigate the ice! This adds a new dimension to the sea ice ecosystem, revealing an active, dynamic ecological niche. @prakashlab.bsky.social

🔬🍻 We're hosting Pint of Science, a vibrant festival in Palo Alto! May 19-21 at Café Venetia, Scotty’s Bar & Sprout Café. Pick your favorite topics!

✨ Bioprinting: Organs like Westworld?
🤖 Brains in Virtual Worlds
🧬 Tiny Mighty Cells etc.
🔍 PLUS: Origami Microscopy wonders @prakashlab.bsky.social

Palo Alto (CA) Explore Pint of Science US events in Palo Alto (CA)

🎟️ Tickets sell fast - grab a pint, meet Stanford scientists, and ignite your curiosity!
pintofscience.us/events/palo-...

@melekfirataltay.bsky.social @pintofscience.us @raychang612.bsky.social #PintOfScience #PaloAlto

🔬🍻 We're hosting Pint of Science, a vibrant festival in Palo Alto! May 19-21 at Café Venetia, Scotty’s Bar & Sprout Café. Pick your favorite topics!

✨ Bioprinting: Organs like Westworld?
🤖 Brains in Virtual Worlds
🧬 Tiny Mighty Cells etc.
🔍 PLUS: Origami Microscopy wonders @prakashlab.bsky.social

Save the date 📆
Dyche Mullins and I are hosting the “Cell Biology at the Extremes” session at the #CellBio24 meeting on Monday, Dec 16, 5:00 PM. @ascbiology.bsky.social

You’ll learn about the latest cool ❄️ hot 🔥 and ultrafast 💨 cell biology.

Kindly supported by @focalplane.bsky.social

Coming to #CellBio24 this year? Posters/Talks/Booths from our lab. Grace, Ray(2), Charlotte, Jiju, Qing are presenting posters, Charlotte, Qing, Ray & Manu giving short talks. Hongquan & Jim/Hannah/Brian/Ken at Cephla & Foldscope booths respectively. Lots of surprises 😱 in store if you find us.

Just another day conducting research with the Prakash Lab @prakashlab.bsky.social: sailing to the Arctic and ice-olating diatoms at -15°C! Talk about a cool discovery ❄️🔬

@tuthill.bsky.social I see your frozen walking snow fly and raise you a frozen gliding diatom 😊

Our latest discovery of “lowest recorded temperature for eukaryotic cell motility” going all the way down to -15deg C. Come for the crazy cold Arctic & stay for diatoms. Will write longer thread - but enjoy video below of diatoms gliding on frozen ice surfaces. Congrats @zqing.bsky.social & team.

Thank you!!

this is cool🧊❄️🏔️check it out

Loving all the cool 🆒 puns - keep them coming. We have a tradition in lab to draw a doodle for every group meeting - usually by Rebecca Konte (a resident artist in my lab for last 10 years). Here is the doodle of from last year group meeting as “ice skating diatoms” @abelaer.bsky.social #protistsky

Ice gliding diatoms establish record-low temperature limit for motility in a eukaryotic cell Despite periods of permanent darkness and extensive ice coverage in polar environments, photosynthetic ice diatoms display a remarkable capability of living inside the ice matrix. How these organisms ...

I am thrilled to share our new work: "Frozen Flow - Gliding Motility of Diatoms in the Ice"! ❄️ Check it out here: biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
#ice #glidingmotility #microbiology #diatoms #extremebiology @prakashlab.bsky.social