This is extremely chilling - virologists being targeted for what appears to be minor (if any) "offenses". We all know _why_ this is happening, so I'm not going to belabor that point - but I want to provide some context on the technical details. 🧵 www.science.org/content/arti...

@romihadary.bsky.social and @soreklab.bsky.social 's discovery that sponge proteins constitute enormous families of viral immune evasion factors is now out in @natmicrobiol.nature.com @reneechang.bsky.social and our lab were happy to help with this story! www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Open and closed forms of assembled henipavirus nucleoprotein suggest structural basis of genome access | Science Advances www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

🚨After 4 fantastic years in the Sorek lab @soreklab.bsky.social, I’ll be starting my own group at EMBL @embl.org bl.org Hamburg. www.embl.org/groups/oster... Metabolism-driven immunity: phages, metabolites, and discovery of new enzymes, molecules, and pathways 🦠🧬

You may recognize names like "Hantavirus" and "Ebola virus." But "Andes virus" & "Bundibugyo virus" may not ring a bell. I wrote about how recent outbreaks highlight virus diversity, and our difficulty putting names on it. Yet our survival depends getting names right. Gift link: nyti.ms/4dzRPqn

Sub-cellular chemical mapping using correlated cryogenic electron and mass spectrometry imaging online @natmethods.nature.com, led by Hannah Ochner, collaboration with @catfranco.bsky.social and @kiranrpatil.bsky.social labs doi.org/10.1038/s415...

Such good science!

Green Card Seekers Must Leave U.S. to Apply, Trump Administration Says www.nytimes.com/2026/05/22/u... Seriously?!?

How do sperm and egg fuse? Surprisingly, we still don’t fully know… Our field has uncovered many pieces of the fertilization puzzle, but not how they fit together. We identify ✨ SPARK ✨ - a conserved sperm complex that couples sperm-egg binding to fusion. tinyurl.com/34cm4xat Read on! 🧵👇

What?!?

Jasmine Clark will become the first Black woman with a science Ph.D. to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. https://scim.ag/4dDZe6P

Great piece and cover @science.org about how our field is uncovering the evolutionary and mechanistic connections between bacterial and eukaryotic immunity ! www.science.org/content/article/ancient-wars-between-microbes-gave-us-key-immune-defenses

The Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology is looking to grow! We opened a position for an assistant or associate professor, please distribute ! facultycareers-ohsu.icims.com/jobs/39006/a...

Why do influenza viruses make ludicrously long filamentous virions? Probably lots of reasons, but in a new study Lu Liu et al. provide evidence for an appealing hypothesis: filaments are more stable in acidic solutions and hence survive for longer in aerosols www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Are gut phages friends or foes? A nice "forum" in Cell Host&Microbe by @naamagz.bsky.social discussing it's all about context. Depending on host inflammation and ecology, phages can shift between stabilizing and destabilizing our microbiome. www.cell.com/cell-host-mi... #phagesky

The architecture of carriers formed by AP3:ARF1 for lysosomal membrane protein transport: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/.... Work from @jggkaufman.bsky.social, in collaboration with @dgershlick.bsky.social and David Owen. @mpibiochem.bsky.social @thecimr.bsky.social

Absolutely extraordinary work from Hui Gao, John Briggs and co @mpibiochem.bsky.social on the structure of the influenza matrix protein in situ, particularly in filamentous virions. It's beautiful, and answers questions I've been wondering about for twenty years www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗽𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗼 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝗻 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀? If so, I recommend diving into this FREE microscopy course 👉 www.ibiology.org/online-biology-courses/microscopy-series/

What he said.

Shame on UNC's Board of Trustees! They have decided they will not tenure someone if the subject of one's scholarship doesn't agree with their sexist and racist assumptions. BTW 12/14 members are men www.theassemblync.com/news/educati...

Beautifully-written, important read.

LJI Professor, President & CEO Erica Ollmann Saphire, Ph.D., talks #measles AND big steps her lab has taken in developing a measles treatment: youtu.be/oy8xnsSb4U0?... #ImmuneSystem #Immunology #Virology #Viruses #Health #Medicine #SanDiego

Bacterial−viral conflicts shape cholera evolution www.nature.com/articles/d41... This seems very cool!

SO excited that the Reproductive Health Care Accessibility Act was introduced today by Murray, Duckworth, & Pressley. I'm proud that @americanprogress.bsky.social has endorsed this bill & I'm grateful to be part of the the community that fights for accessible reproductive care for disabled people.

UIC grad workers have been on strike for a week now and we have just learned that UIC admins are considering locking out grad workers in the summer (cancelling any contracts) and not hiring any TAs in the fall

There’s more. www.science.org/content/arti...

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 USDA didn’t order this shut down. WTAF! IU legal what the hell is going on?!?! Pam? Russ? Any of the dozen chancellors or provosts?? IUB some explanations would really help here. www.chronicle.com/article/a-pr...

www.chronicle.com/article/a-pr... READ THIS!!

Oh hey, guess what else real scientists (as opposed to Man Scientists who tried to block this research because menstrual blood is too “messy and hard to collect”) discovered (thread): - 84 unique proteins that only show up in menstrual fluid which can: - reduce inflammation - repair cells

Just learned at faculty mtg that IU legal shut down this lab after receiving a PHONE CALL from someone saying they were the USDA. NO written documentation. Maybe I should give the FBI my SSN when they call and ask for it.

Breaking news: Indiana University plant microbiologist Roger Innes has been locked out of his laboratory by the school in response to a request by one of his federal funders. The move comes after Innes complained about the government’s prosecution of Chinese postdocs. https://scim.ag/4tsDqRr

www.science.org/content/arti... UGH!!!! IU do something

The ISG Atlas: a loss-of-function analysis characterizes antiviral properties of interferon stimulated genes www.nature.com/articles/s41... @natcomms.nature.com

IU locked down the laboratory of Distinguished Professor of Biology Roger Innes on Thursday night. An email from Vice President for Research Russ Mumper said the lockdown is the result of a "U.S. Department of Agriculture activity." @weiss-a-woni.bsky.social Read more: www.ipm.org/news/2026-05...

🚨Faculty job search: University of Illinois Chicago Micro & Immuno department is hiring! Open rank and open area within host-pathogen interactions. Apply by May 31 to join us in UI College of Medicine in the heart of Chicago! uic.csod.com/ux/ats/caree...

New results published in the New England Journal of Medicine finds Moderna’s mRNA flu vaccine gave more protection against illness than the standard flu shot in a Phase 3 clinical trial.

Congratulations to Albert J.R. Heck, recipient of the 2026 #ASMS John B. Fenn Award for Distinguished Contribution! A leader in the field, his work continues to shape the future of #massspectrometry. We’re excited to celebrate his achievements at #ASMS2026 in San Diego.

www.heraldtimesonline.com/story/news/2... Wow. There’s a zoom tonight to hear more.

How are host proteases promoting coronavirus entry into cells? Find out by reading our latest manuscript led by @mattmccallum.bsky.social Brett Case Jack Brown & @youngjunpark.bsky.social in collaboration with @msdiamondlab.bsky.social 1/19 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Pope Leo turned the question around like the boss he is.

When viral RNA lingers in joints www.nature.com/articles/s41...

People living with HIV have been disproportionately affected by Mpox. In 2025, CVR researchers uncovered the emergence of drug-resistant Mpox strains, highlighting growing challenge for global Mpox control and need for improved surveillance & alternate treatments. www.youtube.com/watch?v=54t8...

I am incredibly proud of my mentee, Tiia Freeman, for securing a prestigious NSF GRFP! Tiia is multi-talented, an outstanding scientist, with an indomitable spirit and infectious positivity. She’s also headed to UCSF for grad school this fall, so keep an eye out for her if you are hiring!

We are looking for a research scientist to join us! asv.mcjobboard.net/jobs/221333?...

Ended the week on two good notes. Zoe presented her MS work at the Biotech poster session and Melody defended her undergraduate honors thesis. Proud of both!

@lstmnews.bsky.social goes #MicroSoc! Phase separation between bacteriologists and virologists is an artifact just for the picture 😊 @microbiologysociety.org

She was granted withholding of removal from India *decades* ago, and had been living and working legally (including for the U.S. government!) ever since. But with third country removals now a real option, TSA shared her data with ICE and they arrested her at the airport on her way to a job.