That thing is happening again when everyone tries to do everything before Xmas. Leave it!!

Absolutely delighted to have been awarded a Royal Society University Research Fellowship! I will be moving to the University of Manchester @mermanchester.bsky.social to research early endosymbiont evolution #microsky #symbiosky

Right. Hitler's DNA. Brace yourselves for a deluge of misinformation and bad science. I'm in Australia, so do get in touch if you want some expert debunking.

New PhD position in my lab at @uniofbath.bsky.social (with both @tweethinking.bsky.social & Dr Bethan Littleford-Colquhoun)! We're looking for someone keen on bioinformatics and microbiome evolution. Important info below on eligibility & URSA competition funding👇 www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

Happy November everybody! JC Bloem - November (1931) (translation: John Irons)

Applications are open for a MIBTP PhD at the University of Birmingham with me! Pneumococcal colonisation and microbiota interactions in the ageing airway warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fa... Deadline is 27th November. Reach out if you are interested as I am very happy to discuss.

New paper with fantastic Malaysian collaborators out today! doi.org/10.1002/mbo3...

It wouldn’t be #AMGDOct25 without our usual course dinner

Day 4 and @izziepotterill.bsky.social is now talking about pangenome analysis using panaroo #AMGDOct25

It’s Wednesday and everyone has made it back for Day 3 of the Analysing Microbial Genomic Data course #AMGDOct25

Another rugby legend. Terrible news!

Some cheerful news on a Friday afternoon www.newscientist.com/article/2498...

Been thinking about genetic adaptability versus selective pressures recently ... this is a really nice paper. Inhibitory effect of capsule on natural transformation of Streptococcus pneumoniae | mBio journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/... #microsky

New protocol paper outlining a very important piece of work by PhD student Sani Musa with @jessicamablair.bsky.social bmjopen.bmj.com/content/15/9...

How is Blackadder not further up the list?!

The auld alliance has faltered. Looks like I’m an England fan next Saturday #RWC2025

This is getting tense. Fair play to France I didn’t expect it to be this close #RWC2025

Wonder which French team turn up tomorrow. Either way my money is on the Roses for the win 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 #wrwc2025

JOHN DAWES EAT YOUR HEART OUT

I’ve only dreamt of pulling off a dummy like the Canadian scrum-half just managed 🤯 #wrwc2025

Anyone else playing last try wins? #wrwc2025 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

C’mon Ireland 🇮🇪 time to dig in #wrwc25

46?! Awful. Absolutely loved watching this fella box.

New paper out in Pneumonia. More data from the carriage study in Southampton, UK looking at pneumococci in pre-PCV13 era versus early- and late-PCV13 periods. pneumonia.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.... (I also snuck in some bits on other bacteria ... just for a bit of variety)

KASIE HUNT: Over the summer you said, “There’s no vaccine that’s safe and effective”. Do you still believe that? RFK JR: “I never said that.” KASIE HUNT: “Play the clip.” RFK JR (clip): “There’s no vaccine that is safe and effective.” (March 2024) ht: @cwebbonline.com

Today is one of those days where I have (what I think) are two great ideas and then subsequently find papers in which the questions have already been answered 🙄

Love this from Humanists UK! #Thatshumanism is the perfect introduction to the humanist approach to life, featuring four animations narrated by Stephen Fry, and brand new posters all about humanism for schools. Have a look for yourself! humanists.uk/thatshumanism/

Nicely done @theguardian.com 👏

Academia may not give you job security, flexibility, or wealth, but it will let you unexpectedly connect to eduroam in foreign cities

Useful information - particularly a reminder about the limitations of using alpha diversity metrics rdcu.be/eAyIs

How RFK Jr is systematically undermining vaccines around the world theconversation.com/how-rfk-jr-i...

Final highlight for this opportunity, open to UK home students. Deadline is 31st July.

I am delighted that our manuscript 'Staphylococcus haemolyticus is a reservoir of antibiotic resistance genes in the preterm infant gut' is now published. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... Big thank you to all co-authors, particularly @lisalamberte.bsky.social and @halllab.bsky.social

Nice to wake up to a paper acceptance. Coming soon to Pneumonia Journal "Changes in carriage and serotype diversity of Streptococcus pneumoniae and other respiratory pathobionts in the UK between pre-PCV13 (2006-10), early-PCV13 (2010-12) and late-PCV13 (2012-23) periods"

Huge congratulations to Pauline for a brilliant seminar and for passing her PhD viva today!! 🤩🤩🤩 Big thanks to mark sutton and @lucyicm.bsky.social for examining!

Here you go: an absolute beast of a starter pack, with many of the UK's most prominent humanists on it. Includes scientists, historians, philosophers, public figures, the New Humanist editorial team and Humanists UK staff. A network for reason and decency. go.bsky.app/PTC4j2d

Interested in pneumococci, genomics and metagenomics? Come and do a PhD with me, @alanmcn1.bsky.social and @meerac.bsky.social @ukhsa.bsky.social www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

I genuinely thought I’d kept on top of work whilst visiting collaborators and conferencing … how wrong I was 😭

Relatable

A happy Friday seeing this out! I lucked out and got to work with a couple of really great students on this, Shalini and Jacob, and I’m super proud to see their hard work rewarded #microsky www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/jour...

🔥 PhD opportunity 🔥 Interested in a Moderna-funded PhD focused on deconvoluting the immunological mechanisms that protect against whooping cough to inform novel vaccine design with me, @afvallejo.bsky.social & @jaylaver.bsky.social? If so, apply before 18.06.25! www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

Well done to @biolucy.bsky.social on the most engaged post for #AMGDMarch25 Her prize is the enormously sought after course mug!

Learning BASH code means accidentally deleting the multiple bacterial genome assemblies you've done by copying over it because you're not used to the syntax 🧪 #microsky #AMGDMarch25

Now in #AMGDMarch25 we have the highly anticipated seminar by @pathogenomenick.bsky.social

Not long to go now. All set for Monday! #AMGDMarch25 @imibirmingham.bsky.social

If you have experience in sc/spatial transcriptomics with an interest in microbes....come and join our team as a computational postdoc: sanger.wd103.myworkdayjobs.com/WellcomeSang... Incredibly exciting datasets on host-microbe interactions in the lung. Pls RT and reach out if you are interested.

Dear Volodymyr Zelenskyy, dear Ukrainian friends, you are not alone.