The #ASV2026videoabstract competition is live! More details below: www.asv.org/comms-compet... www.tiktok.com/@lovevirolog...

“I write with dismay, grief and sorrow for the permanent closure of MIT Libraries Barker, Dewey and Rotch, and termination of library staff in those libraries. For MIT to be closing three of its four major libraries..." fnl.mit.edu/may-june-202...

Open Postdoc Position - Giant E3 ligases: mysterious mechanisms & non‑protein substrates. Interested? Join us to uncover how these molecular giants tag lipids, RNAs, sugars beyond proteins, on organelles and pathogens, to defend the cell. Details & Application here www.imp.ac.at/career/open-...

Our favorite protein, ANKLE2, is conserved from worms to humans. We know it’s essential for brain development, but we wondered what we could learn about its molecular and cellular functions by looking across ANKLE2 orthologs. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Do you need on-site childcare for #ASV2026? Apply here by May 22: www.asv.org/child-depend...

The fiber craze is pushing more people into the broad world of beans, as the U.S. bean industry looks to double American consumption of pulses by 2030. n.pr/43emFP7

ASV is eager to assist early-career virologists who have lost their research funding but would like to attend #ASV2026 in Minneapolis. Please see more details here: asv.memberclicks.net/index.php?op...

For those who prefer text to video:

MIT has lost 500 international grad students relative to last year. Caused directly by the White House. Closing America's doors to the very best, most brilliant people on the planet is like dropping a bomb directly on America's capacity to innovate. On the prosperity of our children's future.

Someday, When the madness is done, And there is a true accounting, Of the lives that were saved, And those that were lost, I know we will find the name of Ralph Baric On the right side of the ledger. I, for one, am grateful.

The arc of scientific progress can be long. Discovery of RAS oncogenes to nearing FDA approval for the first KRAS inhibitors took 44 years. Gift link. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/12/h...

Please share widely. The new (simpler) MIRA R35 for Early Stage Investigators (ESI) NOFO is published. First due date is 10/2/2026. files.simpler.grants.gov/opportunitie...

Canvas, the Strait of Hormuz for American education

California Bill Would Create A $23 Billion Fund For University Research

I‘m happy to see Rockefeller Press (publisher of @jcb.org and @lsajournal.org) provide explicit guidance about how to comply with NIH publication policies without having to pay gold OA fees: “You wrote it, you choose how to comply.” 🧪 rupress.org/pages/nih-hh...

There was a great turnout in Sacramento to rally for basic science, despite the rain! Huge UC Davis crowd too!

The 5 stages of keeping up with the literature: Denial (“If it’s important I’ll hear about it”) Anger (“it’s probably AI garbage”) Bargaining (“I’ll have NotebookLM summarize it”) Depression (“maybe I’ll move to consulting”) Acceptance (“no one reads papers anyway”)

1/ Excited to share our new paper in Science @science.org: “Toward life with a 19-amino acid alphabet through generative artificial intelligence design.” A great collab w/ Sergey's group @sokrypton.org at MIT @columbiasysbio.bsky.social science.org/doi/10.1126/... 🦠🧬🛠️🖥️💥

Titans of Virology and Vaccinology presents: Dr. Stanley Plotkin, creator of the rubella vaccine, discusses his life, his work, and where the US goes from here. virologyunmasked.com/stanley-plot...

Gonna feel like an absolute QUEEN doing IPs today with the help of Beyoncé

There is no such thing as a perfect grant. there is no such thing as a grant going from ND to a sub-payline score merely because an obvious "error of fact" has been "corrected" via discussion. There is only the alignment of three assigned reviewers thinking this is overall a pretty good idea.

Don't be shy to take on a little two-week side project. These five months will be the most precious three years of your academic journey.

This is next-level bonkers. Even by phage biology standards. #readforfunpile

Adaptive immunity may have begun not as a bacterial invention. Ancient phages likely used VIPR-like systems against rivals. Bacteria acquired one, coupled it to a Cas1-like integrase, and transformed viral conflict into heritable immune memory.

The RasgonLab is anticipating several postdoc openings to work on development & application of CRISPR in arthropods, dependent on final approval of funds and HR approval of positions. Candidates must already be physically located in the USA. H1B visa sponsorship is not possible. Email me for info

Are you presenting an abstract at #ASV2026? ASV is thrilled to announce our first ever video abstract competition! Of course, we made a video to tell you about it. Follow us on TikTok at @lovevirology First place wins $1000! www.asv.org/comms-compet... www.tiktok.com/@lovevirolog...

A herculean effort by many, but esp. the first three authors: Ujjwal Rathore, Eli Dugan, and Hunter Thornton working in the Krogan and Marson labs, with a veritable army of collaborators from HARC (harc.ucsf.edu) and beyond. Press release: gladstone.org/news/scienti... (inc. paper link)

A very nice 🧵 on a rather surprising finding.

Have we considered calling it the Strait of Schrödinger?

We are hiring! We’re excited to recruit a postdoc to our lab at UC Davis to work on plant immune engineering and single-cell analyses of plant pathogen interactions. Apply by June 1. Please repost. www.coakerlab.org/postdoctoral...

WAT www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Very sad to hear about the passing of Bernard Roizman. A real powerhouse in virology whose trainees are numerous and many have also had a profound impact on virology: www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...

That's a heck of a graphic www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...

As a recipient of federal grants from #NIH (for now! 😭) that funds research in my lab, I'd like to sincerely thank American taxpayers on #TaxDay for investing in scientific research that lays the foundation for medical and technological innovation in this country and keeps us ALL safe and healthy

In Davis, your bike locks just have to be better than the bike next to you. I have two U locks, each worth more than my bike. Everything that can’t be locked down has been stolen at one point (pedals, even handle bar tape!) I call it Theseus’ bike.

And there is additional strong evidence that Shingles vaccine delays or reduces dementia. Everyone eligible should get this vaccine

The NSF GRFP is now out! There are 2,599 awardees, which is the most ever—and a big shift from last year which initially halved awardees (1,000 awardees + an additional 500). I've thrown together a plot to break down the changes by field. www.research.gov/grfp/Awardee...

Seniors vs Professors kickball! Can I kick it?

Status update @ucdavis.bsky.social

GRANT SUBMITTED

I was diagnosed with breast cancer at 34. I had 1 year old and 3 year old, and I was exactly one year into my tenure track position. I still miss my old body. But everything is easy after that. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

OTD in 1911 Peyton Rous published that bacteria could cause cancer in fowl. Psych, it was "filterable agent" (A VIRUS). But seriously, cancer-causing viruses are no joke and this was the first of many viruses discovered to have this "oncogenic" nature. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...

Is the goal to make it hard to find reviewers so that it can be done by AI or political appointees?

"This Notice...ends Continuous Submission, announces modifications to reasons considered for late submission, and announces the prohibition of Fellowship, Small Business, and International Collaboration late applications...review service is the only pre-authorized reason for a late submission" 🧪

Huh, sounds systemic: "Although paternity leave policies were hoped to directly addressing traditional social norms around care-giving, our findings suggest that their ability to significantly reduce the child penalty may, too, be limited." clef.uwaterloo.ca/wp-content/u...

When #nokings lands during a vacation, you meet new friends. Thank you SLC, UT, lovely crowd!

I have informed the lab that the new bar for paper titles is “I need someone to write an article 15 years later about how cringe the title is”

Important dog news! www.nytimes.com/2026/03/25/s...