Alexander Hynes

As I polish up my resubmission, I also reflect on the 'mistakes' of my initial CIHR project grant. If a limerick can ever be a mistake...

@baym @PracheeAC Recommended daily calcium intake if lactose isn't an option = ~3 kg of Broccoli, right? Good luck!

@PracheeAC You don’t just down four chicken breasts every morning and be done with it?

This is how I feel about half that amount of protein

@mbeisen Changes in the US will reverberate through the world, yes - but it feels disingenuous to equate issues that are particularly egregious in the states (chasing overhead, soft money) with "science" as a pursuit. Academic publishing... that one is another story.

This is excellent, but too late. Science has squandered opportunity after opportunity to reimagine and fix itself. In not doing so it has betrayed and now lost the public trust. Changes are coming, and we are no longer in a position to dictate or control them. Nor, I'm sad to say, should we be. undark.org/2025/02/06/opi…

Two surprises hiding in our latest! (1) How broadly effective Piperacillin is at synergizing with temperate phages. Maybe a reason PTZ is so effective? (2) Our inability to correlate any likely predictors of tPAS to actual synergy. journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/mb…

"Now that you've reviewed for us for free, would you also complete this short survey on the review process that will only take 12-15 minutes?"

Dr. @rabiafatima_ has "tPASsed". Too many feels. Thank you @implosian - sorry you couldn't make it for the presentation of the warhammer. I do get asked if I fear the graduates will use them against me... no! Not in public, anyway - they're all far too smart to get caught.

@Edel_PLopez Does it help that "FoodSeq" is also a thing?

For more reviewers #2 like this! I’m sure you are here 😘😅

Another double-podium finish for the Hynes Lab! The costume is a bit of an in joke/homage to @Yingfu8888, while the pumpkins... well, I'd say they speak for themselves, although having "Bye Bye Bye" playing out of the speaker added a nice touch.

@Steeltown_Worms I don't think they exist - Westley

@AlexUsherHESA The biggest problem with Yes Minister is how timeless it is.

Doe no one remember the Department of Administrative Affairs?

@markowenmartin @univpugetsound @ASMicrobiology I do the same for number of phages in a plaque, really drives home the message.

This is going to sound simple to experienced microbiologists, but having my #Bio350 #Micronauts determine just how many viable cells are in a single colony really impacted them, big time. So many great questions and thoughts. @univpugetsound @ASMicrobiology

@ZachWeiner My instinct is to say that some art is so dependent on the (immediate) cultural context that this isn't true. I suspect others have given this far more thought, though!

I think a solid way to differentiate good artistic work from stuff that is merely entertaining is whether you believe the product will be consumed after the death of the author.

@BrianKCoombes @lenadarwish @McMasterU @UofT She still has to come back for a crack at Around the Bay, right? @lenadarwish ?

It was MSc defense week for ⁦@lenadarwish⁩ so of course we did a run together on the trails around ⁦@McMasterU⁩ then gave her a proper send off after she passed her defense with flying colours! On to an Immunology PhD program at ⁦@UofT⁩!

@baym I also run faster in my red shirt.

Red tape makes reactions go faster

@hsanderson_phd Usually you basically have to bite the end. It takes some getting used to - I was in the same boat my first time, I failed to get anything but tiny tiny amounts on my first run with one.

@baym And while temp is by far the single biggest factor for me in how fast I am / powerful I feel, I have - and this from a guy who loves -10 C - regularly surprised myself this year and last at my ability to get enjoyment out of hot runs if I just respect the conditions

@baym Shirts? No. A lot more night-time running. A lot more trails/shaded areas that don't radiate heat. A lot more water. And a lot more letting yourself run real slow - if I run to heart-rate, I often find myself more likely to find a nice spot that works for the temp.

Friends who are runners and also live in humid hot places, are there any shirts that are actually help in those conditions? Or is it just always miserable?

@AlexUsherHESA I take your point - and largely agree - but think that some of these (dentistry, childcare) might actually make things more resilient/efficient - and even competitive. These actually have pretty long-term benefits, and potentially sizable economic gains (or prevent losses).

3/ Basically, we're sacrificing investments in the things that will make us more efficient, competitve and resilient in the future in order to prioritize new social spending (dentistry, for instance). That works for awhile. Then it doesn't.

1/ I feel as though Canadian governments (and I think much of the OECD as well but less sure about this) have spent much of the past 15 years increasing various types of transfers to individuals and health spending without increasing taxation. This imbalance is about to get ugly.

The night before NoR. Last week at @CSM_SCM2024 I met many fantastic researchers in this competition, in the same panel. And for 85% of us, tomorrow is going to suck. What's the better way forward?

@NathanMB3 @eric_brown_bbs Not in the slightest - by all means! I'm flattered!

A picture is worth 1536 plaque assays. While we used a robot, we also tried a dirt-cheap 3D-printed alternative which works wonders at 384-density. I really believe this pre-print has the potentially to be the largest impact I will make on my field. biorxiv.org/content/10.110…