Fascinating detective story around ALS, false morels, and methylazoxymethanol. I then wondered why that wouldn't be seen in Finland, but found Linna et al. stating "The incidence and prevalence rates of ALS in Finland are among the highest in the world." knowablemagazine.org/content/arti...

BA.3.2 emerged in Nov 2024 after ~3 years of intrahost evolution with >50 new spike AA muts, but since then, it's changed very little. Could the mutagenic drug molnupiravir (MOV) galvanize BA.3.2 into pursuing new evolutionary paths? A new 89-mut BA.3.2 sequence hints that it could. 1/11

Covid-Impfung schützt Kinder: Studie mit ca. 100'000 Notfällen: Der Saison-2024-2025-Impfstoff gegen JN.1 hatte eine Effektivität von 76% gegen Covid-assoziierte emergency department or urgent care encounters im Alter 9 Monate bis 4 Jahre und 56% im Alter 5-17 Jahre. www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes...

#Covid Schätzung Infektionsinzidenzen für Zürich aufgrund Kalibrierung der Abwasserprävalenzen Werdhölzli, Daten bis 4. Advent: Inzidenz ~1'400. Ca. jede 70. Person infiziert sich pro Woche. Trend 9 gemessene Anlagen: 4↑, 3→, 2↓ bsky.app/profile/domi...

Excess mortality (65+) in Switzerland, data until December 14. bsky.app/profile/domi...

Interestingly, the German wastewater aggregate shows stalling IAV prevalences (as of calendar week 51, Wed Dec 17th), similar to the English data.

The CBS investigation portrays a modern concentration camp, similar to the Soviet GULAG (like CECOT, an acronym): sadistic guards, 24 hour lighting, isolation cells. Americans once opposed this inhumane system. The Trump administration sent innocent people there to suffer.

The most valuable viral research tools—@nextstrain & CovSpectrum—are being destroyed—not only blocked from new data but now forbidden from even sharing info from the PAST. Why? Because GISAID is run dictatorially by a con man, paranoid egomaniac, & liar named Peter Bogner. 1/

One of the reasons why I go so hard on science misinformation/disinformation, is that as a working scientist it is frustrating to see your research misreported to push an agenda. For example, consider this piece of right-wing propaganda from The Telegraph that was just published

Read the full email Sharyn Alfonsi sent her team about CBS pulling their segment on the Trump admin’s deportations of Venezuelan migrants

Here’s a gift link to this stunner Washpost story, quoting the 60 Minutes correspondent on the CECOT story, who accuses Bari Weiss of spiking the piece all because the Trump Administration wouldn’t comment. “Government silence is a statement, not a VETO.” wapo.st/3YL4T3D

🚨 The DOJ appears to have redacted Donald Trump’s name from the allegations made in this exhibit in the Epstein files. Trump’s name was in the original release. Now, it’s blacked out. See for yourself.

A few days before Christmas and near record high temperatures are occurring around the North Pole in the #Arctic 🎅🥵 Download at zacklabe.com/arctic-tempe...

ARE-Inzidenz in der Grippeweb-Plus-Kohorte in KW 50, endend 14. Dezember, gemessen knapp über 1'300. Unter Annahme von einem Drittel Asymptomatischer bei etwa 2'000 (2% der Kohorte pro Woche). Deckt sich mit meiner Kalibrierung für die generelle Grippeweb-ARE-Inzidenz.

Encouraging flu stats from England

GISAID ruining science. This is a great shame. covSPECTRUM, an invaluable tool, will continue to work with open data from the INSDC system (ENA, NCBI, DDBJ). But historical data and data from many countries only feeding into GISAID will be unavailable.

As 2025 ends, the pattern is unmistakable. Trump’s second term is unraveling under its own weight. A hollowed-out presidency, factional chaos, and policies that keep backfiring. Step back from the daily noise, and the consequences are impossible to miss.

Habt ihr gewusst, dass die gesamte Grippeweb-Kohorte des RKI heimlich in der Schweiz lebt?

People love easy narratives and point to the pronounced growth in Germany along with the concomitant high BA.3.2* fraction. But it makes no sense. Growth started beginning of November. The Netherlands, with a similar BA.3.2* fraction, stubbornly refuses to grow. bsky.app/profile/domi...

#Covid Schätzung Infektionsinzidenzen für Zürich aufgrund Kalibrierung der Abwasserprävalenzen Werdhölzli, Daten bis 14. Dezember: Inzidenz ~1'300. Ca. jede 75. Person infiziert sich pro Woche. Trend 4 gemessene Anlagen: 3↑, 1↓ bsky.app/profile/domi...

#Covid Höchste Anzahl Sentinella-Detektionen dieses Jahr in Kalenderwoche 50, endend 14. Dezember. Normalerweise ein nachlaufender Indikator. Man könnte hoffen, dass wegen der Influenza-Welle im Moment mehr Proben genommen werden.

Excess mortality (65+) in Switzerland, data until December 7. Given exponentially rising influenza A prevalences (at <50% of last year's peak in week 49) and still high Covid prevalences, one can expect so see continuing excess mortality. bsky.app/profile/domi...

Austrian deconvolutions show a variant group "B" at 0.83%. This variant group contains BA.3.2.2, shown to be detected in 2 of 18 plants on December 1st, plus another mutation set compatible with RE.2.2 detected in 1 plant. 1/2

#Covid Neue Grippeweb- und Grippeweb-Plus-Werte. Weiterhin äusserst gute Korrelation mit den Abwasserdaten Zürich und den Schweizer Sentinel-Virusdetektionen.

Russian state assets in Europe could remain permanently frozen under a legal mechanism approved by EU capitals today.

Life expectancy in the UK has recovered to pre-pandemic levels. Yesterday, ONS released the latest National Life Tables and analysis of life expectancy in the UK. This is so called "period life expectancy", an objective but necessarily backwards-looking calculation. www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopula...

So the saltation variant BA.3.2* subvariant fraction is found in around one quarter of clinical specimens in Germany, the Netherlands, and Ireland, end of November. The Australian fraction size seems to be in a similar range. In Australia, community transmission is ongoing since months. 1/2

BA.3.2* scheint in den Niederlanden ähnlich zu wachsen wie in Deutschland (Figur x.com/DPruss6). Sehe nicht, wie es das deutsche Wachstum seit Anfang November erklären soll. Grafiken Infectieradar und @rv-enigma.bsky.social

#Covid Schätzung Infektionsinzidenzen für Zürich aufgrund Kalibrierung der Abwasserprävalenzen Werdhölzli, Daten bis 7. Dezember: Inzidenz ~1'500. Ca. jede 66. Person infiziert sich pro Woche. Höchster Anstieg seit August. Seids alle geimpft? bsky.app/profile/domi...

Excess mortality (65+) in Switzerland, data until November 30. New: Influenza viral loads are roughly scaled (= roughly calibrated) according to ONS and RKI Grippeweb Plus data. They were arbitrarily scaled before. See linked thread. bsky.app/profile/domi...

"Hardau Noël" Die Hochhäuser erstrahlen in neuem Glanz.

Singapore, data until week 48 2025. H3N2 wave going sideways. Covid positivity among ARI lowest since I follow (3 weeks with 2x <1% and 1x 1%).

Unmoved by German BA.3.2.2* sequences, Perth wastewater stays below the threshold of quantification, while clinical specimens (16.11.) and wastewater deconvolution (30.11.) can't find BA.3.2* anymore. Hospitalisations, too, are lowest since beginning of 2023. bsky.app/profile/domi...

I loved the ONS pilot reads of prevalence study that was, sadly and to the detriment of science, never continued. (www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopula...; Figure from @jneill.bsky.social). Owing to the RKI Grippeweb Plus data, we can now roughly compare influenza incidences to wastewater viral loads.

Weil seit der "Umstellung" auf dem AGES-Dashboard das österreichische bevölkerungsgewichtete Aggregat nicht mehr verfügbar ist, habe ich die Wiener Abwasserdaten kalibriert. Sie liefen sehr ähnlich (rote Kurve im Vergleich zur violetten).

Among the cause of death stratified results in the 18-59 age old French population, I find the ones indicated with an arrow interesting. Also the facts that social deprivation does not modify the results, and that the vaccinated group as a whole was older and tended to have more comorbidities.

🚨 NEW: One of the largest COVID-19 vaccine studies ever (28 MILLION people in France) just dropped. Results? • 74% lower risk of death from severe COVID-19 • 25% lower risk of all-cause mortality • No increase in 4-year mortality #BlueSky #MedSky #IDSky #SciSky #NewsSky #PedsSky #ObSky #NurseSky

Covid: Schätzung Infektionsinzidenzen für Zürich aufgrund Kalibrierung der Abwasserprävalenzen Werdhölzli, Daten bis 30. November: Inzidenz ~1'000. Ca. jede 100. Person infiziert sich pro Woche. bsky.app/profile/domi...

Das österreichische Abwassermonitoring ist neu bei der AGES. Es sind neue Anlagen inkludiert, das Variantenmonitoring ist in der Granularität reduziert. Es scheint keine bevölkerungsgewichteten Verläufe mehr zu geben. Der 16.11. scheint extrem überhöht. Insgesamt glaub kein Fortschritt

Excess mortality (65+) in Switzerland, data until November 23. On the right figure, you can see how excess mortality correlates to SARS-CoV-2 prevalence as measured in the wastewater (in the absence of influenza and heat waves). bsky.app/profile/domi...

With a similar study design, in 2023, it was found that air purifiers in the class room at ca. 840 m3/h (measured CADR and if they indeed ran that high) reduced respiratory infections (RR 0.73). Reduction of mean particle concentration: 77% 22 vs. 13 infections academic.oup.com/ofid/article...

Fascinating article looking at respiratory viruses in a Swiss school setting finds that bad air quality in the classroom, not close proximity, is the dominant driver of viral spread. Close proximity: RR 1.16 Shared classroom: RR 3.17 Suboptimal air quality: 1.90 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Anekdote: Influenza A auf Antigenschnelltest. Am Vorabend nach schnellem Symptom- und Fieberbeginn sehr schwache Bande. Nächster Morgen Bande schon beim Durchlaufen positiv. bsky.app/profile/domi...

Kalt ist der Abendhauch www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cXd...

Covid: Schätzung Infektionsinzidenzen für Zürich aufgrund Kalibrierung der Abwasserprävalenzen Werdhölzli, Daten bis 23. November: Inzidenz ~1'100. Ca. jede 90. Person infiziert sich pro Woche. Trend 5 gemessene Anlagen: 3↑, 0→, 2↓ bsky.app/profile/domi...

Christo Grozev, Michael Weiss: "Made in Moscow: The “U.S. peace plan” for Ukraine was substantially formulated months ago by Kremlin operative Kirill Dmitriev" theins.press/en/politics/...

Excess mortality (65+) in Switzerland, data until November 16. The trend reversal with Covid incidences is reflected in the data. bsky.app/profile/domi...

Wer hätte gedacht, dass Ende 2025 immer noch die "Nachholeffekte" hervorgekramt werden müssen. www.tagesschau.de/investigativ...

Singapore, data until week 46 2025. H3N2 wave coming down. Covid positivity among ARI lowest since I follow ("<1%").

I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture. They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1