Are you an early-stage graduate student (2nd or 3rd year) or early-stage postdoc based in the US or Canada, working primarily in Drosophila? Would you like to help improve the experience of all trainees working in Drosophila research? If so, read on. (Please repost to reach a broad audience.)

@andersonfbrito.bsky.social and I are seeking input from the community on hosting/sharing arbovirus sequencing data (DENV, CHIKV, OROV, ZIKV, & YFV) on @pathoplexus.org. Please consider filling out this VERY SHORT survey about your interest and/or concerns. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

More pictures of the brilliance that is (lab manager) Aida de la Cruz with her creation.

Muyuan Chen has turned structural biology into an immersive experience with his new video game Meowtabolism, now available on Steam. Try the demo here: store.steampowered.com/app/4045010/... Give Muyuan feedback: steamcommunity.com/app/4045010 #ScienceGaming #StructuralBiology #CryoEM #STEMOutreach

Excitingly, we are now hiring at all levels!! Please reach out if you are interested in RNA viruses, viral replication, innate immunity, RNA imaging, or are just excited about having fun doing cool science! Information about specific positions here www.genoyerlab.com/join

New preprint alert! 🦟 <-> 🦠 <-> 🧑 I am thrilled to share our latest study on alphavirus host adaptation. More specifically, on how a single codon helps blunt alphavirus-induced host innate immune responses in mosquito and human cells. Continue reading for more! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

And now this is the first statement from a named White House official, hours before the proclamation is set to go into effect. Despite saying “to be clear,” her first tweet in this thread contained an FAQ posted yesterday which contains NONE of the information she lists below.

Any academic folks on H1B visas (even with stamps in passports) please get legal advice from your University attorneys before leaving the US.

So excited to see the first part of my thesis work with @harmitmalik.bsky.social and @melodygcampbell.bsky.social in print! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... We have a bit of evolution and a whole lotta structure to figure out how new protein domains work

Excited to share that I’ll be joining @uicbios.bsky.social as an Asst. Prof. in Jan 2026! My lab will explore the epi/genetic principles of host–microbe interactions, symbiosis, and vector biology. We’ll be hiring postdocs and techs—details and lab website coming soon! bios.uic.edu/news-stories...

Our study from the Steckelberg lab is out now in @narjournal.bsky.social !! We dove into a new nuclease-blocking viral #RNA structure important for viral infection, which provided evidence of similar structure-based strategies across diverse viral families. academic.oup.com/nar/article/...

In new study led by Xiaohui Ju, we define how mutations to Chikungunya virus envelope proteins affect entry in human vs mosquito cells. Sheds light on functional constraints & enables us to make loss-of-tropism mutants, which could be of use for vaccines. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Go home Evolution you're drunk

Finally out! Did you ever wonder how a phylum with 10 core genes can make a conserved organelle? Read the paper! It's all about intrinsically disordered proteins! | PNAS www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

New from the Choi lab! Our study shows how West Nile virus polymerase recognizes its RNA promoter, stem-loop A. Excitingly, RNA decoys mimicking this structure can block viral replication + infection. 👏 Mandi Feinberg & My Le in collaboration with the Barrett Lab! journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

Our lab has an opening for a research technician to contribute to our efforts to understand RSV evolution & its impact on antibody countermeasures (see journals.asm.org/doi/full/10....). The tech will also help w lab management. If interested, apply here: careers-fhcrc.icims.com/jobs/29940/job

Faculty search announcement 2025: Tenure-Track Assistant Professor in Microbiology at UT Southwestern. We seek candidates working in microbial pathogenesis (some preference may be given to bacterial pathogens). Come join our community! (1/5) www.utsouthwestern.edu/departments/...

This preprint from Helen Sakharova is one of the coolest things to come out of my lab: “Protein language models reveal evolutionary constraints on synonymous codon choice.” Codon choice is a big puzzle in how information is encoded in genomes, and we have a new angle. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

I'm excited to announce our new biorxiv preprint, wherein we investigate the evolution of the weirdest genetic locus I've ever seen! Behold the tgr genes of the social amoeba, which mediate self/non-self discrimination during facultative multicellularity 🐅 🧵 1/ www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Delighted to share Elena Romero's work on HIV recombination now out in MBE! academic.oup.com/mbe/article/... We wanted to understand if intra-host HIV populations with high viral loads might have more recombination due to increased opportunities for coinfection. #VirEvol 🧪

I spoke to Renaud Pourpe (of @lonelypipette.bsky.social fame with @epigenetique.bsky.social) about the unique challenges faced by postdocs and early-career PIs worldwide on the transition from postdoc to PI. Lots of useful advice shared (by others): www.alba.network/diversity-po... Check it out.

Do you love phage? I have an opening for a postdoc in my lab at the University of South Florida College of Marine Science (@cmarinescience.bsky.social) looking at interactions between marine phage and iron, which is an important limiting trace metal in the oceans (1/5) 🧵#phagesky 🦠🌊

This week we said farewell to the amazing @caitlinkowa.bsky.social as she moves to start her new lab at Dartmouth. So grateful for all her leadership and mentoring the last few years. If you’re interested in all things skin microbes (especially fungi) check out her lab! I can’t recommend enough.

Very proud to have our lab’s first work published in @cp-cellhostmicrobe.bsky.social! In this work, we use functional metagenomics to find phage defenses from human and soil microbiomes! Congrats to first author @luis840alberto.bsky.social ! www.cell.com/cell-host-mi... (1/3)

We have a postdoc position available in which we’re using flavivirus replication/molecular biology to make refractory mosquitoes - in collaboration with the Trevor Sweeney lab at @pirbrightinst.bsky.social. Check out the advert on LinkedIn and apply by 12/6. www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/42...

📣 I'm recruiting a postdoc researcher to join my team for a project on mosquito-specific viruses and host interactions. Peep the job description & how to apply below. Perfect for soon-to-be or recent PhD graduates in mosquito vector biology 🦟 or arbovirology 🦠 🗓️ Application deadline 31 August 2025

Although I am incredibly sad to miss ASV this year, I am very excited to have Tiia Freeman present our ongoing work on alphavirus evolution in @harmitmalik.bsky.social lab! 🦠🦟🌡️🧬

I’m thrilled to announce the launch of the Evolution of Chromosomes and Genomes (ECG) Lab at the Institute of Molecular Biology, Academia Sinica, Taiwan. Our lab website is now live—come check it out! sites.google.com/view/ecg-lab...

Exciting news! I am launching the Lab of Polymicrobial Interaction & Evolution at IPMB at Academia Sinica (ipmb.sinica.edu.tw/en)! 🎉Our brand-new website is live: (www.labofpie.org). Check the lab of PIE out!!🥧🎈

Excited to share our latest collaborative work with @entomososwin.bsky.social @brackneylab.bsky.social looking at the role of mosquito immune cells in virus infection. It turns out that these cells help disseminate virus infection, increasing the potential for virus transmission rdcu.be/euiZt

@harmitmalik.bsky.social and I had a lot of fun sharing our science with intrepid science spotlight reporter David Sokolov (not on blue sky)! I should hire him as my writing coach. Check out his excellent write-up describing our recent study here: www.fredhutch.org/en/news/spot....

Congrats @lewsiferase.bsky.social !

🚨PRE-PRINT ALERT🚨 We mapped yellow fever virus-host protein interactions and did cool stuff with the data! 🧵 1/n www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

NIH has suspended/terminated “gain of function” research, in response to an earlier EO. It’s poorly written and could be used to ban vaccine development, cloning, you name it. It adds to the slashing of US leadership in science. I wrote about the issue here: www.thinkglobalhealth.org/article/gain...

Glad to see this out in its full glory. Congrats @shiraweingarten.bsky.social and team!

Mosquito-borne viral disease sweeping Indian Ocean islands www.science.org/content/arti...

Really excited to share the final version of Rechel Geiger’s PhD thesis paper with help from friends www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... Rechel is now back in medical school training to become a kickass physician-scientist

Antivenom protects against the neurotoxins of 19 of the world’s deadliest snakes thanks to hyper-immune human donor. www.cell.com/cell/fulltex... @curlyjunglejake.bsky.social, Peter Kwong @cp-cell.bsky.social

I will be presenting our recent work on intrinsic and extrinsic fitness trade-offs at the Systems Virology JC tomorrow. Zoom link below 👇🏽

💥🥳 At long last, our latest paper is out! Gag proteins of endogenous retroviruses are required for zebrafish development www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... Led heroically by Sylvia Chang & @jonowells.bsky.social A study which has changed the way I think of #transposons! No less! 🧵 1/n

Our study exploring the evolutionary mechanism of alphavirus opal codon retention is now online! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Hello World! Are you passionate about epigenomics and evolution 🧪🧬🐭🐵 ? Are you looking for a postdoc in a stimulating and inclusive environment ? Look no further... We are seeking creative postdocs for our ERC project EvoEpi @igred.fr ! 👇Details👇 tinyurl.com/PostdocEvoEp... Repost are appreciated

Interested in postdoc opportunities in Seattle, WA? Join us May 6th for Seattle DROP, a virtual event about biomedical research in Seattle. Hear from recruiting faculty, finding the right mentor and enjoy lunch on us via a delivery voucher within the US! Registration: tinyurl.com/seattledrop25

Our study on the molecular basis of shifts in receptor recognition by western equine encephalitis virus (WEEV) in the past century, led by Xiaoyi Fan and @wanyuviridae.bsky.social , is online! 👏🎉 www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

Excited to finally announce this work which has been in the pipeline for 5 years: Layers of Immunity. Faustine et al. made a set of immune mutants covering 4 major immune modules in #Drosophila, deleting melanization (ROS), phagocytosis, and both Toll & Imd NF-kB responses. What did we find? 1/n 🧵

Proud of this work, led by the amazing Jeannette Tenthorey (now Assistant Professor at UCSF), demonstrating the adaptive power of single indel mutations in host-virus arms races, but a little sad that this is the coda to her amazing postdoc in the Malik & Emerman labs. www.cell.com/cell-genomic...

In biology, I keep thinking of the bacterial strains, yeast strains, plasmids, mouse lines, worm mutants etc etc etc that will be lost to science FOREVER because the freezers and animal facilities won't be maintained Generations of work will be lost in essentially an instant

I refuse to accept a post-truth reality where knowledge and humanity no longer matter. Stand up for Science!! #standupforscience