Thomas Mock

Fully funded #PhD Studentship available in collaboration with the PI Christos Velanis (OU, UK). The Polycomb Gatekeeper: PRC2-Mediated Genome Defence and Allele-Specific Expression in the #diatom Fragilariopsis cylindrus. @ueaenv.bsky.social @norwichmicro.bsky.social centa.ac.uk/studentship/...

On my way home

ukyoungacademy.orgBeginner's guide to UK academia | UK Young AcademyLearn how UK academia works, from university structures and research funding to academic careers, recruitment, and life in the UK.

Cool and helpful website for those in academia who have just arrived in the UK or think about moving. Worth reading. ukyoungacademy.org/activities/a...

Our new paper co-led with the Liang group (Xiamen University) just out in "Research". What if there is a transcription factor regulating the biochemical composition (silicon/chitin) of the #diatom cell wall? @norwichmicro.bsky.social @ueaenv.bsky.social spj.science.org/doi/abs/10.3...

Fantastic news! 👏🎉

Nobel Prize@nobelprize.org

BREAKING NEWS The 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel “for their discoveries concerning light-gated ion channels and optogenetics.”

We are moving! Beginning October 7, authors wishing to submit, resubmit, or check on a paper in review will be directed by Wiley to the new Journal of Phycology homepage ⬇️ academic.oup.com/jphycology

cell.comA geothermal amoeba sets a new upper temperature limit for eukaryotesThe amoeba Incendiamoeba cascadensis demonstrates that eukaryotic life can withstand temperatures beyond what was thought possible and sheds light on molecular strategies for survival in extreme heat.

Our new co-led work @natcomms.nature.com shows that abrupt pH-shifts to estimate the response of #diatoms to ocean acidification lead to different evolutionary outcomes with consequences for diatom productivity and biogeochemical cycles. @ueaenv.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Thomas Mock reposted

H. B. Beryl Rappaport

@hbrappap.bsky.social

Our description of fire amoeba, 𝘐𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘦𝘣𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘴, is now online at Cell! Thanks @oliverio.bsky.social and amazing team for questioning the limits of eukaryotes! 🔥 www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

doi.orgThe 100 Diatom Genomes ProjectThis Community Page presents the 100 Diatom Genomes Project, which aims to sequence the genomes and transcriptomes of 100 diatom species across major lineages, life forms and ecological strategies. Th...

11 Sept

Our new work led by Xu Zhang (Xin Lin's lab) suggests marine heatwaves cause DNA damage. Reduction of 6mA methylation coincides with TE-associated deletions, suggesting that 6mA loss may be linked to localized genomic instability in Phaeodactylum. aslopubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Thomas Mock reposted

Gust Bilcke

@gustbilcke.bsky.social

2 Sept

When I started my postdoc, only 10 genomes were available for an estimated 100,000 species of diatoms. To fill this gap, we present the 100 Diatom Genomes Project, out now in PLOS Biology. Analyzing the first assemblies suggests that we will double the diatom gene space by the end of the project! 📈

Thomas Mock@thomasmock.bsky.social

On behalf of 108 colleagues and friends from 11 countries, thrilled to share the first paper from our 100 #Diatom Genomes Project (100DGP). Just out @plosbiology.org | @norwichmicro.bsky.social | @ueaenv.bsky.social | @jgi.doe.gov doi.org/10.1371/jour...

1 Sept

@thenorfolkcoast.bsky.social

29 Aug

Dr Otte cutting the diatom cake. Congrats 🎉 and good luck for your PostDoc work in Copenhagen! 🦠🎂😎

Thomas Mock reposted

Mr and Mrs Trellis

21 Aug

Dive pioneer urges more protection for Cromer chalk reef. The Cromer Shoal Chalk Beds date back more than 100 million years & stretch 20 miles (32km) along the Norfolk coast from Happisburgh to Weybourne.... www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.ukDive pioneer urges more protection for Cromer chalk reefRob Spray believes the reef needs to protected against fishing activity and cable access.

Thomas Mock reposted

Juan Pierella Karlusich

@jjpk.bsky.social

21 Aug

The deep ocean is one of Earth’s largest and least-explored biomes. This dark, high-pressure realm harbors extraordinary microbial diversity. Our latest Preview highlights two fascinating studies of its microbiomes. Free access for a limited time: lnkd.in/eeKmuj32

17 Aug

Seen on the Great Wall of China: Spotted Lanternfly

13 Aug

Our new paper just out @natmicrobiol.nature.com led by Yumary Vasquez & Frederik Schulz @jgi.doe.gov @norwichmicro.bsky.social Genomic catalogue of giant #viruses reveals expanded diversity and functional potential www.nature.com/articles/s41...

12 Aug

Hiking in the Himalayas at ca. 4000m altitude.

Serving tea in Chengdu

Chengdu, the birthplace of Mapo Tofu

Red panda in Chengdu. The panda city

And a giant panda

bbc.co.ukHow scientists finally confirmed rare pink seaweed as new speciesAn ancient algae first spotted four decades ago will now join the collection of the Natural History Museum.

1 Aug

Fascinating seaweeds of the UK www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

31 July

#Norwich, the city of literature and more.

biorxiv.orgDiatoms maintain metabolic activity in deep ocean twilight zonesPhytoplankton are primarily confined to the sunlit epipelagic zone, yet intact algal cells persist in the ocean's mesopelagic twilight zone where light is minimal. However, their survival strategies i...

30 July

The mesopelagic as a niche for diatoms adapted to low blue light and high pressure? Check out our new preprint led by Zenghu Zhang at #CAS in Qingdao. #diatoms #Chaetoceros www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

28 July

Moonrise in #Norwich

28 July

Our very own Marc and Josh presenting their work at the #ICPR26 in Liverpool #photosynthesis #bioluminescence #algae #Arctic #Ocean @ueaenv.bsky.social

normalesup.orgML4Plankton Doctoral Network

28 July

Our new MSCA-Doctoral Network project ML4Plankton will kick off soon. 14 PhD students will start in March 2027 to work on plankton big data, i.e., machine learning. Get in touch if you are interested. Coordinator: Sakina-Dorothée Ayata @norwichmicro.bsky.social www.normalesup.org/~ayata/DN_ML...

22 July

W3 Professorship (tenured) @geomarkiel.bsky.social (GEOMAR, Germany) in Marine Experimental Benthic Ecology www.berufungen.uni-kiel.de/de/dateien/o...

14 July

Congrats 🎉 Dr Yixuan Li on passing the VIVA! Well done. Thanks to Mariella Ferrante and Carol Robinson for being the external and internal examiners, respectively! @ueaenv.bsky.social #PhD #ECR

12 July

Evening kayaking on the Broads #Norfolk

theconversation.comIn our deep oceans, evolution is supercharged – this diversity of life could help unlock humanity’s greatest challengesDeep oceans contain microbes with yet-to-be-discovered properties that could drive future innovations in biotechnology.

8 July

A brief summary of our recent paper in @cp-cellhostmicrobe.bsky.social @uk.theconversation.com In our deep oceans, evolution is supercharged – this diversity of life could help unlock humanity’s greatest challenges theconversation.com/in-our-deep-...

27 June

#Norwich by the river

22 June

@psaalgae.bsky.social Great news to share from our managing editor Kirsten Muller: New IMPACT FACTOR of ‘Journal of Phycology’ is…….4.3

17 June

Roksana Majewska on epizoic #diatoms at #PSA2026

16 June

The #microbiome of kelp by @brookeweigel.bsky.social at #PSA2026

And our very own @antoniaotte1.bsky.social at #PSA2026 @ueaenv.bsky.social Diatom evolution based on DNA repair and mitotic recombination.

Viruses at #PSA2026! Great talk

And here we go. Chris kicking off #PSA2026 in Juneau.

Great start of #PSA2026

13 June

Early start over the north #Norfolk coast on my way to the PSA meeting in Juneau. @psaalgae.bsky.social @ueaenv.bsky.social

10 June

Our new paper co-led with BGI and IOCAS (Qingdao) just out @cp-cellhostmicrobe.bsky.social The genetic repertoire of deep-sea #microbiome: from sequence to structure and function. @norwichmicro.bsky.social @ueaenv.bsky.social www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

2 June

Excited to share our new preprint co-led with Hwan Su Yoon and Hocheol Kim. The genomic basis of evolutionary stasis in the 500-million-year-old red #seaweed genus Ahnfeltia. A living fossil in coastal oceans. @ueaenv.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

31 May

Visited a kelp (Saccharina japonica) farm north of Qingdao.

nature.comEarly fossil eukaryotes were benthic aerobes - NatureIntegrated palaeontological, sedimentological and geochemical analyses of ancient rocks from Australia show that early eukaryotes were largely restricted to oxygenated benthic habitats, probably posse...

26 May

Worth reading: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

24 May

Great time visiting Wuhan and my diatom friends there to prepare for the next Molecular Life of Diatoms (MLD) conference led by Hanhua Hu at IHB CAS. @ueaenv.bsky.social #MLD9

doi.orgFrontiers | From microbial diversity to functional potential using dimensionality reductionThe high dimensionality of microbial diversity data from ‘omics observations can be reduced using Machine Learning, with many recent studies showcasing ML ut...

21 May

Our new paper just out @frontiersin.bsky.social Microbiology led by Emelia J. Chamberlain. #MOSAiC #Arctic #Ocean #Microbiology 🦠@norwichmicro.bsky.social @ueaenv.bsky.social doi.org/10.3389/fmic...

Thomas Mock reposted

German Society for Plant Sciences (DBG)

@plantsciencedbg.bsky.social

12 May

The preliminary programme of International Conference of our German Society for #PlantSci, the Botanik-Tagung, is online botanik-tagung.de/programme.html 📆 6-10 September 2026 📍Bochum, Germany Makes it easier to plan your participation. Register today! botanik-tagung.de/registration...

11 May

Peak 🍒 season this week (fruit harvest) in Qingdao. They are small but tasty. Early compared to Europe.

26 Apr

Our clownfish were busy last night. 👏Hope some of the offspring will make it. 😊