Angel J Hernández Viera

A small polymerase ribozyme that can synthesize itself and its complementary strand The emergence of a chemical system capable of self-replication and evolution is a critical event in the origin of life. RNA polymerase ribozymes can replicate RNA, but their large size and structural ...

How could a simple self-replicating system emerge at the origins of life? RNA polymerase ribozymes can replicate RNA, but existing ones are so large that their self-replication seems impossible. Could they be smaller?

Excited to share our latest work in @science.org on a new small polymerase.
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Transcription co-inhibition alters drug resistance evolution and enhances Mycobacterium tuberculosis clearance from granulomas - Nature Microbiology Targeting two distinct steps of the transcription process yields synergistic antibiotics that kill non-replicating Mycobacterium tuberculosis and reduce drug resistance.

Does this create an Achilles’ heel, and can you drug it? Turns out: yes.

Congrats to Barbara, Vanisha, Liz, and the rest of the team.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Recombinational repair is the major pathway required to reload the bacterial replicative helicase following introduction of single-strand DNA breaks. A great way to end the year! Big thank you to co-authors from the @heathmurraylab.bsky.social

Solutions to expand microbiome sciences in the Caribbean Region: an insider’s perspective The Caribbean harbors diverse genetic resources, yet microbiome research in the region remains poorly characterized. Addressing infrastructure and training challenges through collaborations and capacity building is vital. This article reflects on the obstacles facing microbiome research in the region and proposes solutions to ensure equitable participation in the global microbial research ecosystem.

As many of you are aware, we are publishing a series of articles highlighting geographical diversity (or the lack thereof). The next commentary in this series by Filipa Godoy-Vitorino looks at the microbiome research landscape in the Caribbean and ways to improve it:

www.cell.com/trends/micro...

How does linguistic bias reinforce privilege in science? #AppEnvMicro Editor in Chief @microgem.bsky.social offers insights and discusses how reviewers can identify it to support a more equitable review process. Read the article: asm.social/2Hp #COPE #PublicationIntegrity

Colorful stripes with text in the middle that says "National Hispanic Heritage Month"

In honor of #HispanicHeritageMonth, ASM celebrates and spotlights the vital contributions of Hispanic and Latine microbiologists, whose work continues to shape and advance the field of microbiology every day! Explore our focus page: asm.social/2AU

Systematic, high-throughput characterization of bacteriophage gene essentiality on diverse hosts Understanding core and conditional gene essentiality is crucial for decoding genotype-phenotype relationships in organisms. We present phage high-thro…

Delighted to be part of this collaboration with the Raman Lab at @uwmadison.bsky.social:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

two trees in front of a row of bushes with some lake and mountains in the background

A dead bleached white tree wrapped around a living tree surrounded by bushes and stones.

I need to draw more trees

Thank you! 😊

Thank you!

Trading resistance When the bacteria MRSA evolve to resist viral attacks, they regain their sensitivity to antibiotics.

What if fighting bacteria with viruses could make them sensitive to antibiotics again?

A new eLife Digest explains research showing how #MRSA trades one kind of resistance for another.
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Thank you Valeria! Excited to see you soon too!

Recognizing the importance of language accessibility in science and scientific communication, I have translated this work into Spanish. You can find the Spanish translation in Supplementary file 3!

Bacteriophage infection drives loss of β-lactam resistance in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus In methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, evolution of bacteriophage resistance causes trade-offs that re-sensitize the bacteriato β-lactam antibiotics.

I'm excited to announced that the version of record of this article is out in @elife.bsky.social. With the other first coauthor My Tran, we found that phage resistance cause reduced beta-lactam resistance and reduced virulence phenotypes in diverse MRSA strains.

elifesciences.org/articles/102...

Pablo Delano Centers Complex Caribbean Histories in New Exhibition at Chazen Museum of Art - Chazen Museum of Art ‘cuestiones caribeñas/caribbean matters’ confronts colonialism and highlights shared experiences across the archipelago MADISON, Wis. — Grapple with the Caribbean’s complex contradictions and engage i...

***Please share widely***

@santiaaurora.bsky.social and I are guest curating Pablo Delano's new exhibit, "cuestiones caribeñas/caribbean matters: assemblage and sculpture by pablo delano" at the Chazen Museum at @uwmadison.bsky.social.

chazen.wisc.edu/pablo-delano...

Thank you to everyone that come to the event and help out to ensure its success!

The 2nd Hablemos de Ciencia Symposium was a success! This event was started last year to create a venue for UW-Madison researchers to communicate science in Spanish. Science is done for and by speakers of different languages. The language(s) that we use to communicate science should reflect that!