I'm doing a bit of research for something I'm writing on NF-κB and came across this gem of a paper. I am having this struggle right now. 😂

(Excerpt from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092867416317263)

#ScienceWriter

Snow day WFH with a toddler

Step 1 - Time for nap time!

Step 2 - Tries to get some work done during nap.

Step 3 - Hears toddler singing "My mama's coming back, my mama's coming back" to the tune of a Ms. Rachel song he listened to yesterday.

#SnowDay #WinterStorm #WorkingParent #Parenting

The first book I read this year was Blight: Fungi and the Coming Pandemic. I came across a concept that was new to me: the "thermal barrier" that have kept fungi from infecting humans. I was curious about this and dug up some details for my blog. Read below! #Fungi #Microbiology #TheMicrobialMenagerie

https://microbialmenagerie.com/climate-change-as-a-driver-for-fungal-infections/

If it takes 20 minutes to regain focus after switching tasks, why are Pomodoros only 25 minutes long?

#Pomodoro #Productivity #TimeBlocking

First week back at preschool for my son and I'm sitting here trying to get as much work done as can today and tomorrow because I absolutely know the countdown has started for (1) his sick days at home and (2) my impending sickness. How many days you think I got? 😂

Also thought it would be a good time reshare this blog post I wrote last year about why we get more respiratory illnesses in the winter: https://microbialmenagerie.com/why-do-we-get-more-colds-and-respiratory-illnesses-in-the-wintertime/

I'm eating breakfast with my 3 yo and this is a conversation we had:

3 yo: Mama, do you have a meet this morning?

(I had a few early morning meetings recently and he calls them "meets")

Me: Not today. Do you know what meetings are?

3 yo: Talking to a grown up.

He's not wrong!

6️⃣ Aside from bylined pieces, I also supported biotech companies with technical writing: 5 app notes, 3 white papers, and 1 journal manuscript. It's always so fun to go through the data and pull it together into an app note and I love doing white papers because I learn so much in the process.

5️⃣ For Nautilus Biotechnology, I wrote about One Health and fungal pathogens. Fungi are often underappreciated compared to bacteria so I was glad to be able to write this. https://www.nautilus.bio/blog/proteomics-and-one-health-bridging-animal-human-and-ecosystem-health-by-studying-the-proteome/

3️⃣ I came across a cool study about using menstrual blood as a source for biomarkers. I wrote a quick news story about it for Drug Discovery News: https://www.drugdiscoverynews.com/detecting-menstrual-blood-biomarkers-directly-on-sanitary-pads-16510

4️⃣ One more microbiology one. I got to dig deep into the squid-vibrio symbiosis for ASM's Microcosm magazine. This symbiosis is so interesting because vibrio bacteria colonize the squid and lights it up to hide the squid from predators. https://asm.org/magazine/2025/fall/animal-microbiology [requires member log-in]

2️⃣ I wrote a feature for The Scientist on endotoxin testing and how synthetic alternatives to horseshoe crab blood are making the industry more sustainable: https://www.the-scientist.com/horseshoe-crabs-break-free-from-biomedical-testing-73214

1️⃣ I very much enjoyed projects where I got to bring in my microbiology background. For example, this blog post for Verb Biotics about the canine microbiome: https://verbbiotics.com/the-influence-of-gut-health-on-canine-behavior/

2025 was wild! I worked on ~165 projects, which includes quick ~100 word blurbs on recent research, while others were feature stories with multiple sources or marketing collateral writing that required multiple meetings and revisions. Just though I'd share a few of my favorite bylines from the year! (and my fav co-worker Song)

Everyone is all reflecting on their 2025 professional goals this year and I'm over here like... yeah, my goal was to knit four stockings by EOY. Well I did it. I accomplished my goal.

(but seriously, I'll probably make one of those posts later this week or next week)

The newest issue of Microcosm, the digital magazine from American Society for Microbiology, is now out! It's all about animal microbiology covering stories from antimicrobial resistance to animal models to animal-microbe interactions. I was excited to contribute the story about the fascinating vibrio-squid symbiosis.

(my story is available via member log-in, but some others in the issue don't require this)

https://asm.org/magazine/2025/fall/animal-microbiology

#Microbiology #SciComm

@thuronyi I totally could have worded that better lol!

@thuronyi thank you for sharing!

Shopping for a microbiologist? I have a holiday gift guide for you!

Over the years I've amassed quite a few microbial goodies and have built up my collection of fermentation gadgets for my kitchen. Check out the guide for fun ideas for microbiology books, toys, kitchen tools, home decor, and clothing and accessories

https://microbialmenagerie.com/holiday-gift-ideas-for-microbiologists-and-science-fans/

#Microbiology #SciArt #Fermentation #SciComm #ScienceBooks #HolidayGifts #Holiday #Christmas

❄️ These virus snowflake patterns are amazing (from Ed Hutchinson University of Glasgow)! I love that each pattern comes with a factsheet about the virus. Great #scicomm #microbiology

https://cvr-engagement.co.uk/virus-snowflakes

I used to think tight timelines and unclear goals were exhausting. But I negotiated with my 3 year old about putting on socks for the zillionth time this morning. Now every content brief feels like a spa retreat.

#FreelanceWriting #Parenting #WorkingParent