The mystery of the pink lake

Listen to me explain (in Swedish) in Aftonbladet's Morning TV why a lake in California is turning pink.
Spoiler alert: Purple Sulfur Bacteria

(https://tv.aftonbladet.se/abtv/articles/91487)

From hells heart I stab at theeee, thaumarchaea

After a career in the lab, where sampling meant walking to the -80 upstairs I was VERY exited to finally be on a real research vessel. Watch me pipett in the sun on M/S Fyrbyggaren, hunting for archaea in the Baltic Sea.

The day I met the king of Sweden

Photo: Markus Marcetic, Royal Swedish Academy of Science

What does it feel like to - as a young researcher, unsure of yourself and your ability to make it in your chosen field - get validation in the most bombastic way possible?

Pretty neat, let me tell you.

I didn't quite realize what I signed up for when I applied to the Crafoord stipend. I merely wanted to test out my idea and maybe get some sequencing money. I didn't realize I would be invited to the Royal Swedish Academy of Science for dinner, or that I would shake hands with the king, or that I would meet Tomoko Ohta!!!!!

The proud receivers of the Crafoord stipend

Photo: Markus Marcetic, Royal Swedish Academy of Science

I'm very happy for the honor, but more importantly for the validation. I have been told as clear as can be that, yes, my ideas are worth listening to.

Dark Microbial Matter

Crafoord prize winner Tomoko Ohta - Progress of the near-neutrality concept in evolution

My favorite Crafoord lecturer Lindell Bromham - From mutation to macroevolution: Connecting genetic variation to the generation of biodiversity

All Crafoord seminar holders

What is growing in the water bath? Master student wanted to find out!

Archaea is the least studied of the three domains of life. Known to live in the most extreme habitats they are nevertheless common in all parts of the biosphere. Varied, understudied and immune to most forms of antibiotics they pose unique challenges to study, and that is where you enter the picture.

The Archaea lab at the Limnology department studies population structure of archaea in their natural habitat, and we want to correlate those studies with the properties of cells in cultivation.

In this project you will cultivate two strains of archaea - a halophile that is adapted to extreme levels of salt, and a thaumarchaeon that is adapted to the harsh life in the oxygen limited ocean. You will start the cultivations, explore different techniques to monitor and manipulate growth and characterize growth parameters.

You will be in the startup phase of the project, so your ability to learn, adapt and communicate methods is very important. At the end of the project you will not only report your result - you will teach the rest of the lab how to do it.

For contact and further information, please email Erik.Pelve@ebc.uu.se