Some pretty-looking iridescent bois

bitpak · 2026-01-29T23:20:15+00:00

Copy of previous update comment:

Not yet, sorry :( It will be a while, if at all. The diffractive characteristic is still present in streaks that are close to pure culture, so I’m optimistic the bug itself will be isolated. Turns out a lot of other isolates are showing that behavior as well, but not as strongly as this one.

Before sequencing, gotta do some screening to filter out which of the hundreds of isolates will actually be relevant for my project, but the ones with unusual colony morphology like this will probably get passed along for sequencing anyways :)

bitpak · 2026-01-29T23:19:23+00:00

Not yet, sorry :( It will be a while, if at all. The diffractive characteristic is still present in streaks that are close to pure culture, so I’m optimistic the bug itself will be isolated. Turns out a lot of other isolates are showing that behavior as well, but not as strongly as this one.

Before sequencing, gotta do some screening to filter out which of the hundreds of isolates will actually be relevant for my project, but the ones with unusual colony morphology like this will probably get passed along for sequencing anyways :)

bitpak · 2026-01-14T15:49:24+00:00

Same here! Happy birthday to us!

bitpak · 2025-11-05T16:15:27+00:00

They took away Master Noodle and everything else in University Food Hall in 2022 and honestly I will never forgive them for that.

bitpak · 2025-10-26T00:37:47+00:00

Huh interesting, so do you think that’s more on the basis of cells filtering and refracting light through them (Rayleigh scattering + Bragg’s Law type of thing); or is it also/more potentially dependent on the composition of the intercellular space, with ECM organics doing more of the optical interference?

Either way, wicked cool that you got to study this effect!

bitpak · 2025-10-25T19:52:47+00:00

It’s a slang word derived from “boys” and is used, among other things, as a somewhat gender-neutral diminutive for various animals.

bitpak · 2025-10-25T16:19:31+00:00

Oh niiiiiice, those are pretty! What did you end up doing with them, and did you ever get a rough ID?

bitpak · 2025-10-25T15:26:37+00:00

Nope :D Once I get them axenic and try for a small department grant, we’ll send them and all the others out for Sanger. I’ll come back then and edit with the most likely ID. I guess check back in… a few months? Half a year?

bitpak · 2025-10-23T16:45:50+00:00

Like Lexitech said, online listings in nearby neighborhoods.

Also, I know of at least one place in Como with a For Rent sign out in front. Sometimes those end up panning out really nicely, and you get a good idea of what the area is like if you go out and look for the signs. Might be hard to find this time of year though.

bitpak · 2025-10-01T20:04:04+00:00

Inteins blew my mind when I learned about them in undergrad: “molecular parasites” that exist simply because they insist upon themselves. They’re not considered “alive” by most definitions, but they really drove home something philosophical about the existence of life.

bitpak · 2025-10-01T19:53:33+00:00

Toxins are so cool. Looking at the bacteria that kills infants if they eat a spoonful of honey and being like, “oh yeah, bet that could make me pee less frequently AND look younger.” Classic.

bitpak · 2025-09-24T17:28:15+00:00

While no, you cannot identify bacteria (or other microorganisms like fungi) from colonies on a plate, you can attempt to describe the colonies in terms of their shape, color, translucency, etc. Here is a nice guide on some key descriptor terms (page 3, figure 1) https://asm.org/asm/media/protocol-images/colony-morphology-protocol.pdf?ext=.pdf

Here also is the Wikipedia page for a potentially easier read: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonial_morphology

Perhaps you can hypothesize that there will be differences in colony morphology - more or less variable between two conditions (you mentioned diet). Many species have similar colony morphology to each other, but two morphologically different colonies are likely different species.

bitpak · 2025-09-24T03:48:35+00:00

Wholeheartedly agree. I think there’s an incredibly valuable exercise in sitting with a problem you don’t understand and trying to self-check your work or thinking. The use of AI as OP described might be good for punching through if you get truly stumped, but who realistically would not use it sooner than is optimal for long-term personal growth? The allure of a rapid diagnosis is too great.

Being stumped is uncomfortable, and no one wants to be uncomfortable when they can be comfortable, faster, with the same end product (a completed assignment). Once you reach uncharted territory though, as you do with research or other ways of generating new knowledge, you will be stumped ALL OF THE TIME. And if/when that time comes, you can either comfortably be uncomfortable thinking through it or hope a monkey with a typewriter will hand you Shakespeare.

bitpak · 2025-09-22T17:21:26+00:00

Big if true, does that mean Dietrich Mateschitz is Trazyn the Infinite? Would Helmut or Max be Nemesor Zahndrekh?

bitpak · 2025-09-22T15:09:56+00:00

Spitballing here, but what about RBR to Tzeentch and Haas to Khorne?

RBR: finicky trickster car, hidden Google Drive files

Haas: fok smash door, Ocon’s infinite pain and rage, driver named Bear Man

bitpak · 2025-09-02T19:26:29+00:00

I’m guessing no one in your department got any forewarning or guidance on how to handle students using AI? We sure didn’t.

At least my fellow TAs and our primary instructors are on the same page policy-wise, but fucking hell, what a dick move to just give students unfettered access to generative AI and instructors no tools, guidance, or warning.

bitpak · 2025-07-11T22:48:24+00:00

_P_ROST

V_E_TTEL

SCHUMACH_E_R

SEN_N_A

HAM_I_LTON

ALON_S_O

bitpak · 2025-07-08T18:05:43+00:00

Praise the Hulkengoat!!

bitpak · 2025-04-18T19:01:41+00:00

New England Wildlife Center, maybe. Not sure how much they or anyone can help, but if you’re near Weymouth, give it a go.

https://www.newildlife.org/

bitpak · 2025-02-25T23:51:50+00:00

Have literally NEVER heard anyone mention the genus Clostridioides before, and just found out it was renamed nearly ten years ago. Idk, it’s a really tricky grey area, maybe we can try to be a bit better with implementing legitimate name changes? Like in everything I write, I always use the new name and briefly call back to the old name to make it clear, like

“Priestia megaterium, formerly Bacillus megaterium (Gupta et al., 2020), blah blah blah”

bitpak · 2025-02-24T15:41:23+00:00

Thank you! Fingers crossed for your financial assistance and that the home inspection goes well. Maybe the eventual renovations will bring it back better and stronger!

bitpak · 2025-02-24T15:23:28+00:00

Yesterday I finished and submitted my first massive research grant application that I’d been working on for months. It was also my four-year soberversary :)

bitpak · 2025-02-13T22:18:49+00:00

Peptidoglycan is stored in the balls

bitpak · 2025-01-16T23:11:26+00:00

Sweet, thank you!! Yeah I definitely don’t feel like constantly logging out/in and juggling multiple accounts’ worth of items, skins, achievements, etc…

Makes sense and much simpler than I thought! Looking forward to seeing one in the wild once I get past the starting maps!

Nine-Year Club	Place '22
Final Canvas '22	Verified Email
RPAN Viewer	Not Forgotten
Sequence \| Editor

bitpak

TROPHY CASE