Mastodawn

Before the 'Oxygen Apocalypse', Earth was purple, the oceans ferrous, and H₂O's oxygen safely locked away 🟣

Then, bacteria developed a quantum lockpick 🗝️⚡

The seas rusted and the ancients died out. Complex organisms burn the fuel of this cataclysm still, but pay the price by ageing 🦠

This is the story of how symmetry saves us from the flames ⚛️

Full post: https://keiran-rowell.github.io/oxygen/2026-04-02-the-oxygen-apocalypse/

#oxygen #science #scicomm #GreatOxidationEvent #photosynthesis #eukaryogenesis #quantumbiology #geology

The Oxygen Apocalypse: how symmetry saves us from the flames

📖 20 min read • Cyanobacteria captured light to break a quantum law, unpicking the electron pair, and extinguished ancient life in the process

Keiran Rowell

Keiran Rowell Mar 31

https://youtu.be/BpT0rrtwpLg?si=YPWKfFMO1lPDwJtG

#m83 #electronic

M83 'Don't Save Us From The Flames' Official video

YouTube

Keiran Rowell Mar 23

"If I could describe a "human being" I would be more than I am—and probably living in the future, because I think of human beings as something to be realized ahead.... But clearly "human beings" have something to do with the luminous image you see in a bright child's eyes—the exploring, wondering, eagerly grasping, undestructive quest for life. I see that undescribed spirit as central to us all."

- epigraph of "Her Smoke Rose Up Forever", #JamesTiptreeJr / #AliceSheldon

#SciFi #literature

Keiran Rowell Mar 13

Angel Olsen: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert
https://youtube.com/watch?v=G7NapIZ1xGE&si=8QuFKjhwzbFQ-IJp

❤️‍🔥

#AngelOlson #Indie #folk

Angel Olsen: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

YouTube

Keiran Rowell Feb 15

New tool!

https://keiran-rowell.github.io/assets/interactive/codon-rarity-viewer/

I vibe coded a web app version of my Rare Codon Table #python script🧬 🧮 maps rare codons onto a PDB structure.

I originally wrote a script to find protein codon rarity differences in mammalian -> bacterial expression projects.

🐍 Runs entirely locally via Pyodide — your data never leaves your browser (no server uploads)

Feedback warmly welcomed! Please let me know if there are any issues.

#bioinformatics #codon #structuralbiology #pyodide #WASM #proteins

Keiran Rowell Feb 10

https://youtu.be/waEoKZIa0S4?si=JX92p0Wlz_a-fUFn

Written in Perth on some mis-tuned gear.

How the mighty have fallen, and others thrive.

#MelodysEchoChamber #PsychRock #DreamPop #Shoegaze

Melody's Echo Chamber - Some Time Alone, Alone (Official Music Video)

YouTube

Show thread

Keiran Rowell Jan 20

https://youtu.be/AgCTkQdArwk?si=RpzcXO2MXfvh7k0G

#SnailMail is back!!

#indie #guitar #matador #records

Snail Mail - "Dead End"

YouTube

Keiran Rowell Jan 19

Show thread

Guillaume Gaullier Jan 2

And here is @HRBridges 's magic explained in a flow chart. ✨

For more info, consult the preprint's methods section and the case study in the CryoSPARC Guide. This is a compact view of the process, showing what worked best. The map we deposited had job number J8039! 😵‍💫

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Keiran Rowell Jan 19

Show thread

Guillaume Gaullier Jan 2

As promised, here is a summary of this new preprint on the ALC1-nucleosome complex. 🧵

https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.11.10.687450

First, a reminder of some structural features of the #nucleosome.

Histones H2A and H2B form a negatively charged cleft exposed on the surface of the histone octamer, called the "acidic patch". It is recognized by many chromatin-binding factors. If you have read on these proteins, you have most likely already read about the acidic patch too.

One feature much less commonly mentioned is the "super-groove". The DNA wraps around the histone octamer in such a way that the major and minor grooves perfectly align across the two gyres. In 2004, Dervan, Luger and colleagues synthesized short polyamides able to bind to specific sequences across the super-groove (https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0401743101). They hypothesized that some chromatin-binding factors may recognize the super-groove, among other nucleosomal epitopes. Until 2025, there was no direct evidence for this.

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