we need to talk about that Ring Super Bowl ad

Happy 134th birthday to humans knowing that viruses exist! OTD in 1892 Dmitri Ivanovsky presented his evidence of a tobacco mosaic disease caused by filterable agents (not bacteria!). Martinus Beijerinck confirmed this independently in 1898. And voila, virology is born!

www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... Excited to share that PNAS published our research article focused on "Why are Ralstonia goofy?"

ASV 2026 Abstract Submission ✅ ASV 2026 Travel Award Application ✅ Stay tuned for details on the ASV 2026 Video Abstract Competition! $1000 for first place! $500 for second place! $250 for third place!

Trainees and Virology Instructors! Today is the last day to submit your travel award application for ASV 2026! www.asv.org/travel-awards

Exciting news!

Not only did my samples have DNA this time, I had a 90% success rate on cloning gRNAs! Onward!

❤️

🚨ABSTRACT DEADLINE FEBRUARY 2🚨 🚨TRAVEL AWARD DEADLINE FEBRUARY 9🚨 Share your virology research by submitting an abstract for ASV 2026 by 11:59pm Eastern on Monday 2/2/26 Need financial support? Trainees & teachers can apply for travel awards www.asv.org/abstract-sub... www.asv.org/travel-awards

Did you know that 9 year olds can get the HPV vaccine? I vaccinated my daughter early in December 2024 because…you know…idiots… I’ll be vaccinating my son once he turns 9 (already got the appointment scheduled).

I am hearing that RFK Jr.’s minions are going to go after HPV vaccines. I’ve got problems with these people and now you’re going to hear about them, first from a personal perspective and then from a professional one. It all boils down to this: WE HAVE A SAFE VACCINE THAT PREVENTS CANCER.

I am so sad

true friends remember the name of your *second* child

At the “I don’t want a career, I just want a job” stage of exhaustion and it’s not even February folks.

I successfully setup a restriction digest and ran a gel. Would help if I had any DNA. Please still clap. #PIinthelab

This is a hard read, but worth it if you think midterms are going to be a cakewalk. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

The American Society for Virology (ASV) is dedicated to advancing knowledge of viruses and the diseases they cause. ASV does not support the scaling back of the childhood vaccine schedule recently announced by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. See our statement attached.

Like the best satire, this takes a turn from the ridiculous to the sublime.

The scientific (bureaucratic) uncertainty over what constitutes gain of function research is going to stymie important research into pathogens, just as the US & Canada are poised for a dramatic resurgence of infectious diseases thanks to the ‘wisdom’ of non-scientists who have abandoned reason.

I have made an NIH Biosketch in ScienCV. Please clap.

Thrilled to share the first major preprint from the lab. Viruses are classically viewed as targets of host sensing. Do viruses also sense and respond to the host? We propose viruses may act as “biosensors” of the host signaling state. A thread👇🏾 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

FUNDED! Always be pending, folks. Not an R01, but even small pots help right now.

Pro-tip: best way to get over a grant rejection(s) is to #alwaysbepending

Not discussed x2. That is a gut punch.

Are you an early career researcher applying to faculty positions this cycle? My #1 piece of advice is to keep an open mind about what the right department looks like. You might be surprised. journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

Clearly the font of this administration is Comic Sans

GRANT SUBMITTED

Truth or Dare: If a player chooses “truth,” they must reveal how much money they make. If they choose “dare,” they must hand someone their phone and let them look at every tab they have open on their browser.

🚨ATTENTION EARLY CAREER VIROLOGISTS🚨 We have a webinar on how to get a faculty position! Hear from Jean Lim, @drsprggs.bsky.social and @tylernstarr.bsky.social. Check your email for registration link and form to submit questions in advance.

Good explainer for non-scientists on how the science budget hasn’t changed, but funding has. I do not envy anyone with a funding cliff in the next two years (myself included). Gift link: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Tis the season (for letters of rec!) Remember, avoid gender bias with a few simple checks: advance.lehigh.edu/content/gend...

Too old to be doing tequila shots (especially on a Tuesday), but when an undergrad gets that awesome job offer (in this job market!) they make the rules.

The fact that no one in the room stood up for her says a lot about how we got here bsky.app/profile/pale...

Maybe we will finally agree that representation matters. When people with similar personal experiences find themselves in places of power, they will hold the door open for those behind them traveling a path with similar “obstacles”. 🤡🙃🫠 wtaf

Can’t complain about the views on Capitol Corridor today! 🌈

Yesterday’s stunning double rainbow in Davis

Interested in shaping ASV decisions? Do you know someone who is? Nominations for ASV President-Elect and a number of Virology Councilors are due on November 21. Look for the nomination form in your ASV member email!

🚨 Nominations/Applications are open for the Ann Palmenberg Junior Investigator Award and the Global Scholar Travel Award for #asv2026 🚨 #lovevirology www.asv.org/news-updates

PSA for people with NIH grant periods starting January 1st (including most NIGMS MIRAs): your RPPR is due Saturday, but they haven’t sent out the usual automated reminders, presumably due to the shutdown

Best part of this job is hearing about admissions and job offers. Today was a fucking good day. I’m so glad to see our lab members persevering in a tough job market. For those in the thick of it. Remember, job offers are like cloning — you only need that one. Keep at it.

If you need more scary fun this weekend, the documentary “A Shot In The Arm” is free on PBS until 11/9. Lots of interviews with RFK Jr pre-HHS fame. Narrated by @neildegrassetyson.com from @scotthamkennedy.bsky.social. #Virosky #LoveVirology #TruthisScarierThanFiction www.pbs.org/show/shot-in...

Halloween isn’t scary This is. Vote in your local elections this Tuesday, or better yet, this weekend! www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

In professor world, Halloween is the one night a year professors can make horrible jokes and all the students have to laugh.

Happy Halloween! You have my eternal respect if you guess my costume.

Want to turbo charge your R skills? The Bioinformatics online R courses here are very good I hear. It will definitely help you know when your AI generated R code is actually stupid registration.genomecenter.ucdavis.edu/events/r_nov...

eRA Commons in the time of chaoslera drugmonkey.wordpress.com/2025/10/28/e...

If anyone is hiring a technician, I’ve got a great candidate. I wish I could hire her myself! She’s got the grit, she knows how to hustle, and she does publication quality work. Lots of molecular biology, protein, and cell culture experience. Please DM me if you are interested.