GISAID's rationale is particularly ridiculous given that, as of right now, there are ~17 million SARS-CoV-2 complete genomes on GISAID: the genome sequence is ~30 KB, so we're talking about ~550 GB uncompressed, which I'd estimate ~21 GB gzipped and even smaller for better compression methods

Full blog post explaining situation and background is available here: nextstrain.org/blog/2025-11...

On Oct 1, 2025, GISAID informed us that they had ended updates to the flat file of SARS-CoV-2 genomic sequences and associated metadata that we had used to update Nextstrain analyses since Feb 2020. GISAID's stated rationale was that their "resources are limited". 1/5

Just a reminder that archive .is openly courts right-wing extremists to use their site to coordinate harassment campaigns and to filter any concerns about "preservation" accordingly

“Meta projected 10% of its 2024 revenue would come from ads for scams and banned goods, documents seen by Reuters show. And the social media giant internally estimates that its platforms show users 15 billion scam ads a day.”

RFK Jr's response to someone collapsing nearby him was to haul ass out of the room as quickly as possible

Harun Mustafa presents "Efficient, accurate, SRA-scale indexing and query" at #GI2025 MetaGraph is a highly compressed representation of all public biological sequences! nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09603-w Try it online: metagraph.ethz.ch/search

This whole sandwich debacle is hilarious because of how absolutely ridiculous it is, but it's also incredibly embarrassing for the USA as a country that our federal government is making such a mockery of our judicial system. The people who made this possible should feel ashamed

One of THE earliest Internet gaming hubs, GameFaqs just celebrated 30 years[!] of giving gamers perfect plain-text guides, maps, media, cheats, and an active discussion forum. 🎮💙 Shoutout to CJayC for kicking it off, A_l_e_x for the best guides, and VeghEsther for the drama.

Judge Ellis is on the bench this morning about to rule in the case about DHS's use of force in Chicago. Things are not going well for DHS — she just accused Gregory Bovino of lying under oath about his use of force.

Proud and excited to share that the new Digital Foundry website is live - please do check it out at www.digitalfoundry.net. Read our opening post about what we're doing and why: www.digitalfoundry.net/news/2025/11...

Digital Foundry's new website is live! And there are classic Web 2.0 style forums! www.digitalfoundry.net

@aidanmoher.com was *incredibly* knowledgeable about the topic, and it was great hearing him discuss the significant jump each Final Fantasy game was able to make due to rapid advances in technology! Watch the guest lecture recording (see his repost) and check out his book! fightmagicitems.rocks

Had an absolute blast joining @niema.net and his class to discuss the history of Final Fantasy and how the introduction of optical media led to a seismic shift in the games industry.

New: The FBI filed a subpoena trying to unmask the person or people behind archive.is / archive.today, which have been running anonymously for 13 yrs. Site was widely used by GamerGate, and then to bypass paywalls but has become kind of core archiving infrastructure www.404media.co/fbi-tries-to...

looks like all mention of the future class program (which started in 2020) has been wiped from TGA webpage 🤪 the only archive that proves it existed is through the wayback machine. Here's my cohort (the last one): web.archive.org/web/20241119...

We’re hiring! Our new resume portal is live, and we’re looking for top talent in NYC to help build this administration and deliver on our affordability agenda. Could that be you? Apply using the link below. transition2025.com/apply

While the IRS hasn’t officially confirmed that the program is dead, the website indicates that the program is closed—and states have been notified that it will not be in place for 2026. www.forbes.com/sites/kellyp...

If you're interested in using pangenome graphs for comparative genomics, check out my webinar, part of EMBL-EBI's "Concepts, methods, and resources in pangenomics" series, available on-demand: www.ebi.ac.uk/training/eve...

@benlangmead.bsky.social kicking off the start of Genome Informatics! #gi2025 @cshlnews.bsky.social

I’ve been banging this drum for months so it’s great to see tangible proof: Twitter is another alt-right pipeline.

This is not easy to take, but watch it if you want to understand the profoundly nihilistic narcissism that is driving RFKJr. to destroy American public health. www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontli...

The 5th of 6 faculty positions in UNC Biology is posted. We're working with the @ncbg.bsky.social to fill a joint position as Director of the UNC Herbarium at @ncbg.bsky.social and as Associate Professor within the Department of Biology (BIOL). Please share 1/n unc.peopleadmin.com/postings/308...

“The network of veterinary labs that's responsible for testing ceased its regular meetings because of the shutdown, Poulsen says. "The shutdown just kind of pours gas on a smoldering fire and makes us vulnerable," he says. "It's a national security issue."

Very excited to share that Department of Biomedical Engineering @hopkinsengineer.bsky.social is hiring for open rank tenure-track faculty in #Biomedical #DataScience! 🔗 apply.interfolio.com/177042 Apps starting to be reviewed Dec 5 and ongoing after! 🧪🧬🖥️🧠 #StatsSky #WomenInSTEM

Libraries matter. Access matters. After years of legal battles, the Internet Archive is still here—and still fighting for a world where everyone can read, learn, and remember. @arstechnica.com tells the story: arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...

One thing I been working on this year is to put proper value on myself and my time/investment into things. It’s easy to say yes to everything but I’ve certainly felt taken for granted too many times. So do a bit less but overall feel more accomplished and appreciated.

If you're looking for a faculty position at the intersection of ecology and computing (both broadly defined), please apply to this joint search between the CEE Department and the College of Computing at MIT: cee.mit.edu/people/share...

"Trump canceled your flight" is about as easy as messaging gets.

Over the weekend, the NIH director spoke at the annual conference of an anti-public health, conspiracy-promoting dark money group. He was there to receive an award from the organization, which was founded by his friend and ally—a man recently revealed to have been accused of sexual harassment.

Fantastic talk by @vikramshivakumar.bsky.social Mumemto—Scalable multi-MUM finding for pangenomes Papers biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.05.20.654611 & doi.org/10.1186/s13059-025-03644-0 Code: github.com/vikshiv/mume... Very efficient pangenome visualization tool, revealing synteny and variations!

Mamdani: "My message to ICE agents & to everyone across this city is that everyone will be held to the same standard of the law. If you violate it, you must be held accountable. There is sadly a sense growing that certain people are allowed to violate that law, whether they be POTUS or ICE agents."

Beshear: Let me be clear. The president has both the funding and the authority to fund snap during a shutdown. In fact, every other president in every other shutdown has done so. People going hungry in this instance is a choice that this president has made.

Non-US folks should really do this survey, the last question is about whether you’ve cancelled travel plans to the US or are reconsidering travel plans due to current policies. GDC needs to know this, maybe some talks could go online live with enough feedback? Maybe they could even lobby? Who knows!

Had our first in-person guest lecturer in my History of Video Games seminar! Big thanks to Scott Rudi, a Design Director at Respawn Games (previously at @riotgames.com, Psyonix, Wargaming Seattle, Disney Interactive, Red 5, Zipper Interactive, Sierra Online, EA, etc.) www.youtube.com/watch?v=_u0O...

Welcome to the Cabal, @angierasmussen.bsky.social The rest of you can sign up at www.911forhealthandscience.org

BlizzCon 2026 is stacked 🔥 Here’s just a taste of what’s waiting for you in Anaheim: ⚔️ Opening Ceremony 🎤 Community Night 🔮 Darkmoon Faire 🔥 And more! BlizzCon returns September 12-13.

I LOVE retro gaming content, and figured I'd share some of the YouTubers and Podcasts I listen to regularly. @retroblastpod.com @etaprime.bsky.social @snesdrunk.bsky.social www.retrogaminggeek.com/retro-gaming...

an all-timer

Folks who make video games! @officialgdc.bsky.social is running the annual State of the Industry survey again. You should take the chance to weigh in! The survey's gone through a major overhaul this year and your voice will matter even more: gdconf.typeform.com/SOTI26

Cloud Streaming officially arrives on PlayStation Portal today. PS Plus Premium members can now stream select digital PS5 games in their library, in addition to hundreds of compatible games from the Game Catalog and Classics Catalog: play.st/4hShAmg

Here's this week's #retrorgbweeklyroundup! Search any video or podcast app for #RetroRGB Weekly, or head to the main link: retrorgb.com/week486.html . #retrorgb #classicgaming #retrogaming #misterfpga #DestructionDerby2 #powerstrip #atari2600 #ossc #vectrex #sonybvm

The entire right-wing propaganda machine came after Zohran Mamdani. The president and his allies came after him. Democratic leaders, by and large, did not have his back until the last minute. He still won, turning out historic numbers and inspiring young voters. His politics can win anywhere.

I look forward to the day when blatant racism towards people who look like me is publicly condemned, rather than spewed proudly by bigots as a normal part of public discourse. Today is not that day, but it was an immense leap forward for us 🤘

Boy Mamdani's race is really a vivid reminder that anti-Islamic bigotry is 100% accepted in US public discourse. People don't even bother dog whistling, it's just right out in the open.

😎😎😎😎 GOOD THINGS CAN STILL HAPPEN 😎😎😎😎

Mamdani: "I wish Andrew Cuomo only the best in private life but let tonight be the final time I utter his name."

New Jersey, it is the honor of my life to earn your trust to become this great state’s 57th Governor. I promise to listen, lead with courage, and never forget who I serve.