WELL NOW, would you look at that? A massive, 24-YEAR-LONG study of MORE THAN 1.2 MILLION people in Denmark found NO LINK between aluminum in childhood vaccines and autism, asthma, OR chronic disorders. Aluminum is an ADJUVANT. It ENHANCES your immune response to a vaccine. That’s it.

MMRV: what families need to know about the UK’s new chickenpox vaccine Prof Ed Hutchinson has written an insightful article for The Conversation which explores the new childhood vaccination which also protects against VZV, the cause of chickenpox and shingles. theconversation.com/mmrv-what-fa...

RFKJr who has long been a campaigner against vaccines has announced the biggest change to US vaccine policy yet by announcing a cut of routine childhood vaccine vaccinations during childhood from 17 jabs to just 11. #HealthPolicy 🧵

A really interesting article on the reasons different countries choose different vaccination schedules - different disease burdens, different healthcare provision and access, and also, ultimately, different choices about values

Some good news to start the year - the UK is finally offering routine childhood vaccination against VZV, the cause of chickenpox and shingles and (it is becoming increasingly clear) a risk factor for dementia. I've written a bit about what this might mean for parents for @uk.theconversation.com

🎉 Congratulations to Dr Daniel Weir for recently passing his Viva! Daniels research explored how influenza A virus infection moves directly between cells, independently of virus particles, focusing on how infection induces the formation of tunnelling nanotube-like structures.

Coming back from my holidays, during which I finally tracked down some wise words from Richard Fortey about different approaches to being seen at work (which I read years ago and hadn't been able to find since, despite them resonating ever more strongly as the years went by)

1) My viro (clin res/dev) lab just moved, and in our small amounts of free time, we cut out virus snowflakes from @socialinfluenza.bsky.social to decorate the director’s door 2) I love crocheting snowflakes, but my skills are limited to “follow pattern.” Are there crochet virus snowflake patterns???

The institute is not so big on seasonal decorations, but I managed to squeeze some paper snowflakes of the viruses we use in the lab. #VirusSnowflakes

Last weekend #USDA announced that Wisconsin had detected #H5N1 #birdflu in a dairy cow herd. Today the agency revealed that genetic analysis of virus from the herd shows this event was the result of a new spillover from "wildlife." www.aphis.usda.gov/news/agency-...

BBC News - What's really going on with flu this winter? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

I wrote a festive little piece for @uk.theconversation.com about the invisible but beautiful world of viruses, our fight against viral diseases, and how you can explore all of this, and more, by making paper snowflakes ❄️🦠🤓❄️ #scicomm #sciart theconversation.com/the-twelve-v...

This is not the first time RFK Jr or his fellow anti-vax travelers conducted a study they knew would harm or kill children in low-income countries. It is a dehumanizing, colonialist model of manufacturing evidence: sacrificing foreign kids for political pseudoscience. www.notus.org/health-scien...

This is an outstanding piece of science communication youtu.be/2uURMKLAPZw?...

Mike Coston: afludiary.blogspot.com/2025/12/viru...

Need something to feel good about? I sure do. Here are 7 fantastic science stores from 2025. Science will continue, even if The Regime tries to kill it at home. #Science 🧪

😬

Congratulations to @cvrinfo.bsky.social Clinical Viral Epidemiology Group @emcat1.bsky.social student @elenvink.bsky.social who graduated from her PhD in Virology yesterday!! 🎓🎉🍾🙌

😳 very interesting - thank's https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12917-025-05152-6

BBC News - Drones detect deadly virus in Arctic whales' breath www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... (it is, in case you're wondering, cetacean morbillivirus)

First woman to receive an academic PhD? Elena Cornaro Piscopia, doctorate in #Philosophy, University of Padua (Italy) on 25 June 1678. She originally applied for a doctorate in Theology. Church authorities refused as women were not permitted to teach or preach #theology. #education #highered

BBC News - Has flu peaked? What the figures tell us - BBC News www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... TL;DR - too early to be sure, but reasons to be hopeful in the UK. For now flu still remains at high levels, so sensible precautions (including vaccination) are still worth taking. Fingers crossed...

Yesterday I was on The Current with @mattgalloway.bsky.social talking about the current flu situation. Nine minutes isn't long enough to get into everything, including that my husband has the flu & I might too. So I wrote more. You should get a flu shot. rasmussenretorts.substack.com/p/what-you-s...

"The time to get vaccinated is now," the CDC says. The first child has died from flu in the U.S. this year, and the CDC is closely tracking a variant that might not be well-matched to the vaccine - but so far, it looks like the shot is still protective. My latest: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Got my seasonal flu and COVID booster last week because I realized I’d forgotten to sooner! It’s not too late to help protect you + your loved ones during + after this holiday season.

On the 3rd day of fossils, my true love gave to me... 3 cyclocystoids! I wouldn't be surprised if you've never heard of a cyclocystoid. They are one of the rarest fossil echinoderms and related to starfish and sea urchins. They are small and fall apart quickly after death. 1/x #12DaysofFossils

Huge congratulations to Dr @danielweiriav.bsky.social, outstanding scientist and wonderful colleague, who passed his viva with flying colours today @cvrinfo.bsky.social. Next stop, on to Oxford for a postdoc with @efodor.bsky.social - we're really excited to see what you do next! 🦠🥳 #PhDone

I wrote a festive little piece for @uk.theconversation.com about the invisible but beautiful world of viruses, our fight against viral diseases, and how you can explore all of this, and more, by making paper snowflakes ❄️🦠🤓❄️ #scicomm #sciart theconversation.com/the-twelve-v...

Really enjoyed day one of the 2025 @influenzaupdate.bsky.social Meeting - looking forward to more flu talks and discussion tomorrow!

#birdoftheday #heronsandegrets

Who invented non-reflective glass? American physicist & chemist Katharine Burr Blodgett in 1938. It revolutionized optics--& led to the coatings used today in everything from eyeglasses to phone screens. She was the first woman to earn a PhD in #physics from Cambridge, 1926. #WomenInSTEM #inventor

Alan Solem, renowned snail expert & curator at the Field Museum was describing a new snail from the rural province of Ba in Fiji. It required a new genus, so he used 'Ba'. That was too tempting for him to resist, so allow me to introduce the Ba humbugi snail.

The important question is whether this year’s flu season will peak soon (and so we have a ‘normal’ serious flu wave, shifted earlier) or whether it will keep going up and only peak towards end of the year in which case it will be a terrible flu season - i.e. are we in scenario A or scenario B. 6/10

DAY 189 SPECIES 189 - Pyrococcus furiosus STAGE: Archaea MEDIUM: Arches Paper. Chromatek and QoR Watercolor. Sakura pen P. furiosus known as the "furious fireball" archaeon, due to its high mobility, rapid growth and ability to thrive in deep-sea volcanic vents #sciart #watercolor #archaea #art

BBC News - Flu wave hits England's busiest A&E - hundreds of patients are arriving a day - BBC News www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

I am currently on ID consult service. I saw my first severe case of post influenza staphylococcal pneumonia of the season today - very sick patient admitted to the ICU. Every patient I have seen so far admitted with influenza this week is unvaccinated. The vaccines keep you out of hospital! Get 💉💉💉

DAY 188 SPECIES 188 - Methanobrevibacter smithii STAGE: Archaea MEDIUM: Arches Paper. HWC Watercolor. Sakura pen. M. smithii is the predominant methanogenic archaeon in the human gut. #sciart #watercolor #archaea #painting #art #paint

BBC News - Mutated H3N2 flu virus is circulating - so should you buy a vaccine this year? - BBC News www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... Despite the slightly lurid title this is a very good general summary (and spoiler alert, the answer is yes)

BBC News - Some schools disrupted amid rise in flu cases www.bbc.com/news/article...

If you live in the northern hemisphere, there's still time to get vaccinated for this year's troubling flu season. Cat Wilson, a Clinical Research Fellow @cvrinfo.bsky.social explains a bit more about the flu vaccine here: theconversation.com/what-does-it...

Because the vaccine prevents chronic hepatitis B for which there is no cure and the lifelong treatment costs more than a single birth dose of the vaccine. Insurance companies recognize this is a no brainer. Brought to you by prevention beats treatment any day. www.cnn.com/2025/12/07/h...

BBC News - Flu cases likely to 'spike' in coming weeks, warns health secretary - BBC News www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Sam Bates, known as SMUG, Australian-born, realistic street #artist. This one is in Glasgow. In the comments, I've included different views of this piece, as well as some other pieces of this hyper-realistic street artist. #StreetArt #WallMural #murals #UrbanArt #art

A study on 1.7 million people in Hong Kong shows superior hybrid immunity to Covid in people who got vaccinated before infection vs. people who got infected first. "Our findings are a direct rebuttal to arguments for natural immunity," the authors write. doi.org/10.1016/j.va...

These #snowflakes are going viral..❄️ ☃️ Informative, creative and educational #scicomm piece by @cvrinfo.bsky.social -available under a generous CC BY 4.0 licence #microsky #virusSnowflakes

Over 400 years ago, Robert Fludd speculated that the empty infinite nothingness that existed prior to the universe could be represented by this black square. But does it really depict an absence of everything, or just an absence of light? publicdomainreview.org/essay/black-...

Go Yohei!