@MorganMicro

Assistant Professor, Texas State University. Microbial Ecology ◊ Astrobiology ◊ Bioinformatics. Interested in early life evolution 🔭🧬🦠 @msobol.bsky.social

 San Marcos, TX
Joined August 2012
  • Tweets3.6K
  • Following727
  • Followers661
278Media
I’m thrilled to be opening my lab at @txst in the @Txstbiology dept. this January!! We will be studying early microbial ecology and evolution. 🦠 🌎 I’m extremely grateful for the support of my mentors, colleagues, family, and friends! ❤️ Contact me for openings. #newPI #1stgen
7
6
43
2,289
Morgan Sobol retweeted
Betül Kaçar@betulland
Jan 30
Our new paper, out today! We resurrected an enzyme first used by life on Earth 3 billion years ago. We validated a #biosignature in rocks that helps reveal ancient life on Earth to guide the search for ancient life on other worlds! @NASA #astrobiology nature.com/articles/s41467-0…

Resurrected nitrogenases recapitulate canonical N-isotope biosignatures over two billion years

Nature Communications - The study shows that nitrogenase enzymes have maintained stable isotope signatures over billions of years, revealing how ancient microbes shaped Earth’s nitrogen cycle...

nature.com
4
36
6
160
19,287
The Earth is in space. Explore it. For health. For wealth. For humanity.
The Hill
@thehill
14 Aug 2025
Sean Duffy says climate science will "move aside," with NASA only focusing on space exploration trib.al/hhk8zFS

Duffy says climate science will ‘move aside,’ with NASA only focusing on space exploration

Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy said Thursday that climate and earth science at the agency will “move aside” as it refocuses solely on space exploration. “All the climate science and all of th…

thehill.com
4
10
1,737
How did life begin, and why does it matter today? Proud to be one of the organizers of a new @ASMicrobiology report supported by the @MooreFound, exploring microbial origins & how they inform biotech, climate, and search for life in the universe. ➡️ asm.org/reports/early-microb…

Early Microbial Life: Our Past, Present, and Future

The Academy report, funded by a grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, examines the origins and trajectory of early microbial life to inform and inspire future research.

asm.org
2
20
46
2,493
🚨New preprint! Origins of life research is fragmented across disciplines. We built #ChemOrigins, a community curated searchable database of experimental prebiotic chemistry. Read ➡️ biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/… Visit ➡️ chemorigins.bact.wisc.edu For feedback contact: @BrZuviria!
1
7
17
2,311
Morgan Sobol retweeted
PCE3@PCE3_Sci
21 May 2025
NASA is facing historic cuts. As these must first be negotiated in Congress, there is time to advocate against these cuts. Luckily, The Planetary Society has made it extremely easy to advocate to your member(s) of Congress. Please, click the links below and TAKE ACTION!
1
8
1
13
1,574
Morgan Sobol retweeted
Ancient Biology@KacarLab
8 Apr 2025
🚨New preprint alert!🚨 Biology’s been metal since the very beginning🤘 We mapped Mo-dependent pathways across microbes and show this reliance emerged before oxygen showed up. Our results challenge assumptions about Mo scarcity on early Earth. @UWBact biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/…
1
8
21
992
🚨 We're hiring! 🚨 Our lab is hiring scientists to study enzyme evolution across geologic time. Learn more about one of our projects here:⬇️ microbiology.wisc.edu/2025/0… Folks who recently lost jobs are especially encouraged to apply! #ScienceJobs Contact: kacarlab.org

MDTP trainer Betül Kaçar receives Keck Foundation grant!

Betül Kaçar will be leading a group, including MDTP trainers Jean-Michel Ané and Brian Pfleger, investigating the origins and evolution of nitrogenase with generous support from the Keck Foundation. ...

microbiology.wisc.edu
17
50
4,145
I'm excited to be co-hosting a new seminar series on Protein Structure Evolution. Talk 1: Andrei Lupas Topic: "Highly repetitive genomic ORFs: a source of new fibrous proteins?" 📅 Feb. 11, 3PM GMT 🔗 tinyurl.com/prose-seminar1 Please share!
1
1
1
228
Opportunity for a Masters, PhD student, and Post doc at the University of South Alabama/Dauphin Island Sea Lab to work on an EPA-funded water quality project! More information on the job descriptions available at disl.edu/about/employment/ Please share! :)
1
2
6
718
Nitrogenase Structural Evolution Across Earth’s History astrobiology.com/2024/12/nit… #astrobiology #genomics #evolution
3
10
610
Out today! 🚨 We explore how planetary oxidation ~2.5 billion years ago shaped the puzzling history of metal use in nitrogenase, key to nitrogen fixation! 🌍🔬 biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/… work led by @MorganMicro, @hollyr_rucker, in collab. with Eric Libby & Ariel Anbar. @UWBact
1
8
48
2,026
Come be my colleague @txst @Txstbiology! 😁
David Rodriguez@texcroc
19 Nov 2024
Replying to @txst
@TXST and @Txstbiology invites applications for an open rank position in Aquatic Microbiology specializing in the study of microbiomes of aquatic resources (broadly defined) 🦠🧬🖥️🌊🚰🚱🏊‍♂️🔬🐸🐟🦐🪼🌱👨‍🌾🦟 More info here: microbiology.wp.txstate.edu/ Apply here: jobs.hr.txstate.edu/postings…
1
5
614
Free alternative to BioRender: BioArt Source 2,000+ science and medical art visuals of high-quality, scientifically accurate vectors, icons, and brushes is freely available within the public domain bioart.niaid.nih.gov/
1
4
14
1,629
Morgan Sobol retweeted
Betül Kaçar@betulland
2 Oct 2024
Excited to share my review on reconstructing early life, out @AnnualReviews! It covers past and future prospects for reviving extinct biochemistry, and how integrating our 4-billion-year planetary history with biochemical evolution can advance biology. annualreviews.org/content/jo…
9
73
10
297
44,863
Woodstoich 5 has wrapped up! Five papers finished, all received at least 2 peer reviews in <24 hours, first revisions for most are complete, and least two are already provisionally accepted! SUCCESS! Congrats to all.
2
5
35
1,906
Have you ever dreamed of playing a retro video game themed on the origin of life and astrobiology? If yes, I just made the perfect game for you! Let me know your score and let's see if you can create life on your planet! lucatonietti.com/origin-of-l… #astrobiology #spacebiology
10
36
11
90
12,859
New online! Marine biogeochemical nitrogen cycling through Earth’s history go.nature.com/3THoakt
2
54
3
145
14,460
Morgan Sobol retweeted
David Rodriguez@texcroc
24 Sep 2024
Interested in leading a dynamic, productive, and growing biology department in San Marcos located in the beautiful Texas Hill Country? We are still taking applications for our next Chair! Deadline 10/1. Please share or RT! jobs.hr.txstate.edu/postings…
5
7
647
Many of my colleagues in the Department of Earth Science at UC Santa Barbara (myself included) are looking for grads to start in 2025. Coolest place to be! Topics go from tectonics and volcanoes, to the early evolution of life 🌎🦠🔬 Please share broadly!
27
42
8,637
Load more