The translational potential of bat immune traits is wildly overstated. These aren’t modular switches we can port into humans; They’re parts of tightly integrated systems that don’t travel. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Gardening in the Viral Genome Wilderness: Why virus genomics needs structure, not pipelines. gluetools.substack.com/p/the-sequen...

Stellenbosch University Botanical Garden

This article by Linda Geddes reproduces every structural flaw I described in my recent Substack essay. Every narrative device, every logical inconsistency, and every evidentiary shortcut that sustains the ‘bat specialness’ story. www.gavi.org/vaccineswork...

Most viral workflows are fragile pipelines. GLUE turns them into structured, shareable projects: curated sequences, alignments, features, phylogenies, metadata & scripts all in one reproducible environment. gluetools.substack.com/p/glue-a-fle...

Introducing the GLUE Genomics Blog: gluetools.substack.com/p/welcome-to...

"The hyperreal bat: more vivid, more coherent, and more narratively satisfying than any bat in nature." Why does the idea of bats as special viral reservoirs endure? New Substack post: robertjgifford.substack.com/p/bats-and-v...

Grounded and thought-provoking reflections on LLMs.

Complete ape genomes! 🦍🦧 Our closest relatives get the deluxe sequencing treatment, resolving the most complex & often most interesting parts of the genome. Happy to make a tiny contribution alongside @panpan100.bsky.social to awesome teamwork & fantastic resource. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Macduff, Scotland

The Ghost in the Culture Flask: Did Cold War virologists accidentally alter the evolution of a ubiquitous virus? shorturl.at/HSke3

The Ghost in the Culture Flask: Did Cold War virologists accidentally alter the evolution of a ubiquitous virus? shorturl.at/HSke3

Discover GLUE: a versatile framework for virus genomics and beyond. Explore adaptable tools, resources, and projects developed in our lab using GLUE: github.com/giffordlabcv... #Genomics #Bioinformatics #OpenScience

I've been comparing annual publication trends across different viruses The vast difference in the number of publications for SARS-CoV-2 compared to other viruses like Ebola, Dengue, and Influenza A is striking.

Personally, I have a lot of sympathy for Jens Kuhn. He's dealing with a fundamental and increasingly pressing issue in virology, one that might otherwise be neglected without the intense dedication of someone so earnestly committed to the cause.

Introducing HMPV-GLUE: a comprehensive, open-source resource for human metapneumovirus (HMPV) research. With the recent rise in HMPV cases in China, this tool offers timely support for the scientific community. github.com/giffordlabcv...