Did you know? Chaco Chachalaca, Morepork, Bananaquit and Green Mango are not fancy drinks or BBQ snacks, but bird species. Check out the following list for additional great bird names: birdhistory.substack.com/p/the-100-gr.... 📸 Pseudopanax, via Wikimedia Commons (CC0) #Birds #FeatheredFriday

A landmark #ScienceTranslationalMedicine study shows that latent #HIV can convert CD4+ T cells to CD8+ T cells and identifies the latter as a previously overlooked component of the viral reservoir—a surprising finding with critical implications for HIV cure efforts. https://scim.ag/43N0lwa

Big if true: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Did you know? Rock pigeons (Columba livia) have magnetic macrophages that help them to navigate. If you deplete these macrophages, the pigeons cannot find their way back home on cloudy days: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... 📸 ccfarmer, via Wikimedia Commons (CC0) #Birds #FeatheredFriday

Wie sprechen wir heute über HIV? Ab dem 11. Juni lädt eine Ausstellung im #Stadtmuseum #Tübingen dazu ein, Vorurteile zu #HIV zu hinterfragen. Studierende der @unituebingen.bsky.social haben die Ausstellung mit der #Aidshilfe Tübingen-Reutlingen und unserem Institut konzipiert tinyurl.com/y2bw25sj

Wrote a short piece on Transposable Elements as catalysts of evolutionary innovation for a forthcoming special issue of @naturerevgenet.bsky.social on, duh, Evolutionary Innovation! www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Cool story on Ectocarpus (Brown algae) giant virus activation from Susana Coelho's group: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

In light of the ongoing situation with Ebola in the DRC, I'm sorry to have to remind you that evolutionary biology makes it abundantly clear that ignoring a catastrophic disease outbreak because it's there, not here, is a terrible, terrible idea.

Made some comments on the initial phylogenetic analysis of Bundibugyo viral sequences for SMC: www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-react... The analysis is here: virological.org/t/initial-ge...

Amazing speed from the teams in Uganda and the DRC - impressive! Three genomes released so far - a few quick takes: 1️⃣ New genomes ~equidistant from 2007 and 2012 outbreaks. 2️⃣ Represents new spillover from reservoir. 3️⃣ Limited diversity, so too early to speculate on timing. Great work ⭐!

We are all Roger. This is a despicable attack on the very essence of what academic science is about. Reason. Humanity. International collaboration.

WHO's Disease Outbreak News on #hantavirus linked to MV Hondius here: bit.ly/49AGmUM

1/3 Statement from the International #Hantavirus Society regarding #Andes virus

Super quick sequencing from the Swiss team!! I found some time to do a quick phylo analysis posted here: virological.org/t/complete-s... #hantavirus #ANDV

Did you know? American barn owls (Tyto furcata) have asymmetrical heads, with one ear higher than the other. This enables them to locate their prey more precisely: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29279251/ 📸 LubosHouska, via Wikimedia Commons (CC0) #Birds #FeatheredFriday

BREAKING🔔 The 57th paper from G2P-Japan🇯🇵 is out at Cell @cellcellpress.bsky.social 🦇!! We elucidated the virological characteristics of a new bat coronavirus identified in Thailand🇹🇭 The debut work by G2P-Asia🌏! Please repost🔥 www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

We are incredibly excited to see our most recent story out @nature.com today:HIV triggers CD4-signaling to remodel nuclear pores and license infection!A heroic effort led by our very own @d-mesner.bsky.social & @mattvxwhelan.bsky.social! @blizardinstitute.bsky.social Link: tinyurl.com/HIVNup 1/11

8 vaccines linked to a lower risk of dementia www.gavi.org/vaccineswork... "Multiple large observational studies have found that routine adult vaccines are associated with a reduced risk of dementia, with some showing risk reductions of 25% to 40%." #VaccinesWork!

Did you know? Male great bowerbirds (Ptilonorhynchus nuchalis) are masters of illusion. They arrange colorful objects to create a forced perspective effect to look larger and more impressive to females. tinyurl.com/34cfdvax 📸 John R McPherson, via Wikimedia Commons (CC0) #Birds #FeatheredFriday

New war and peace collaborative effort from Jerne Ule, my and Chad Swanson’s groups understanding the roles of the long and short isoforms of ZAP and the ordered molecular events of ZAP targeting and degradation of viral and cellular RNAs. www.cell.com/cell-reports...

Did you know? Fairywren chicks are password-protected 🔐🐣. In the egg, they learn a call from their mother. After hatching, they must use this password call to get fed. This helps parents avoid raising cuckoo chicks: tinyurl.com/mc86b2nk. 📸C. Jones, via Wikimedia Commons (CC0) #Birds #FeatheredFriday

New insights into the evolution and antiviral activity of GBP5 in bats: dx.plos.org/10.1371/jour...

Fantastic paper by Dalan Bailey and Stephen Graham’s labs and colleagues in Kenya. Bat alphaCoVs don’t use any of the previously known receptors, but some in Kenya can use human CEACAM6, a lung expressed adhesion factor, to enter human cells. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Now online! Systematic discovery of pro- and anti-HIV host factors in primary human CD4+ T cells

Did you know? The oldest known wild bird is the Laysan albatros (Phoebastria immutabilis) “Wisdom”. It is at least 75 (!) years old and has returned once again to nest and raise chicks in the Pacific. 📸 USFWS-Pacific Region, via Wikimedia Commons (CC0) #Birds #FeatheredFriday

Did you know? Cassowaries (Casuarius spp.) are fluorescent. Their headgear glows under UV light, a bit like GFP in the lab: tinyurl.com/5n7xuacm. 📸 Benjamin Balázs, via Wikimedia Commons (CC0) #Birds #FeatheredFriday Extra fun fact: Feral pigeons' wings are also fluorescent!

Lab Leakers: "SARS-CoV-2 can't infect bats, so it must have been made in a lab". Science: "Let's do the experiment". SARS-CoV-2 behaves exactly like one would expect in a reservoir species - low-level infection, no overt disease, etc. Elegant study from Sato Lab: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Did you know? Zebra finches (Taeniopygia sp.) dream in music. While they are sleeping, their brains show the same activity as when they are singing, almost as if they were practicing in their dreams: tinyurl.com/ympw7rx8 📸 HLI-Photography, via Wikimedia Commons (CC0) #Birds #FeatheredFriday

🔬 We’re hiring in Zürich🇨🇭! My lab is recruiting a new PhD student in molecular immunology (interferons, autoantibodies & viral disease). Position is fully-funded. Starting date anticipated to be late 2026/early 2027. Further details and how to apply: tinyurl.com/IMVPhD2026 Deadline 1st May 2026.

“I shall send off the manuscript today or Monday. It is an extremely poor affair; I must say something & have nothing worth saying. Lock it up carefully, I hate it to that extent it would break my heart to write it again.” Charles Darwin captures the joy of academia in a letter to his daughter, 1871

LRP8 is a functional receptor for yellow fever virus www.nature.com/articles/s41...

“Darwin’s idea of shared preferences concerned visual coloration of birds. Our data suggest more expansive shared taste for the beautiful & motivate work across species/modalities; much of the beauty in nature was intended for receivers other than ourselves.”🙌 @loganjames.bsky.social @mehr.nz & co🧪

🧬🇯🇵 Registrations are now open for the 2026 Nucleic Acid Immunity Meeting in Nara, Japan. Fantastic line‑up of invited speakers already. www.ifrec.osaka-u.ac.jp/nais26/index...

#TEsky TEffectBayes: a nextflow pipeline for exploring the potential effect of transposable elements in gene regulatory network with multi-omic Bayesian network model doi.org/10.1007/s004...

HIV joining the circular RNAs Club ? Welcome !

Did you know? California scrub-jays (Aphelocoma californica) hold “funerals”. When they spot a dead jay, they attract others and erupt into loud calls. After that, they avoid the area 🐦⚰️: tinyurl.com/4amcd7v7 📸 Joshua Tree NP, via Wikimedia Commons (CC0) #Birds #FeatheredFriday

De novo generation of the furin cleavage site (FCS) in influenza viruses In SARS-CoV2, the existence of an FCS was a key argument of lab leakers that it must have been constructed in the lab. Fantastic work

Ancient viral DNA drives preeclampsia in pregnancy | Max Delbrück Center www.mdc-berlin.de/news/news/an...

Great news! @asm.org partners with the Korean Society of Virology and @ausvirologysoc.bsky.social. ASM's Journal of Virology (JVI) becomes an affiliated journal of both societies, providing members with exclusive benefits. More global collaboration for virus research! asm.org/press-releas...

We found a viral Trojan Horse: a virus can hide inside another virus.This one surprised us: deltaviruses don’t just borrow a helper virus. They can travel inside it. A literal Trojan Horse “virus-in-a-virus” route into cells. 🤯 Kudos to 1st author @viroscope.bsky.social and co-authors !

There's a common misconception that zoonotic viruses require significant adaptation to jump from animals to cause human epidemics. Not so 👇. Further, we see clear signs of 1977 flu experiencing cell passage, prior to epidemic. SARS-CoV-2? Business as usual. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Did you know? Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) have a preferred flying “stance”. When carrying fish, they usually keep the left foot forward. Like most skateboarders, they fly “regular”, not “goofy”🐦🛹 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30299002/ 📸 auburn, via Wikimedia Commons (CC0) #Birds #FeatheredFriday #Skater

CDC issued a Global Polio Level 2 Travel Health Notice advising enhanced precautions Tragic. We had polio almost eradicated, but disruption to vaccination campaigns due to COVID, global instability, defunding & vaccine hesitancy have led us here #VaccinesWork 🧪 wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notic...

Graphical abstract from our new paper in Nucleic Acids Research with @saramaciasrna.bsky.social 🧬 DGCR8 prevents accumulation of endogenous dsRNA derived from Alu elements within mRNAs, avoiding aberrant activation of the interferon response. academic.oup.com/nar/article/...

With Eugene Koonin, we propose a concept of “the selfish ribosome”, under which evolution of life is viewed as a ribosomal takeover, where the ribosome evolved to consume most of the cell’s resources, while other cellular componentry ensures the propagation of the ribosome. arxiv.org/abs/2602.23268

Find our latest Perspective article in Nature Genetics on "The role of KRAB zinc-finger proteins in expanding the domestication potential of transposable elements" at www.nature.com/articles/s41..., with implications for the future of research on the cause of human disease.

Did you know? The mysterious Nechisar Nightjar was once called the world’s least known bird, known only from a single wing found in 1990. The mystery was solved (or rather destroyed) by genetic analyses: tinyurl.com/ybcchzhh 📸 Ben Keen, via Wikimedia Commons (CC0) #Birds #FeatheredFriday

Go birdwatching to (potentially) protect your brain from age-related decline! #birds #HealthyAging 🐦 www.newscientist.com/article/2516...