PLEASE SHARE! I'm reporting on #H5N1 #BirdFlu (#AvianInfluenza #HPAI) for @thesicktimes.bsky.social, & want to talk to farmworkers or people who work with them re impacts of H5N1 on farmworkers. I'm especially interested in hearing re human cases since Feb 2025. Sources can be anonymous! (1/4)

#AltPride #AltGov To close out Pride Month, we are recognizing neuroscientist Ben Barres. Beyond making seminal discoveries related to glial cell function, he was also a staunch advocate for equality in science for both women and the LGBTQIA+ community. 1/n www.nature.com/articles/d41...

So this interview lasted 2 hours so this “you’re scaring me” part might seem like an overreaction or fearmongering to someone without that context. There’s a lot of evidence to support my hypothesis that a potential H5N1 pandemic would be worse than COVID.

ACTION ITEM-----ACTION ITEM Implementation of Schedule F This is what a lot of us have been worried about. This allows for many civil service positions to replaced with political appointees. This could include NIH institute directors and even POs. BUT THERE IS A COMMENT PERIOD... 1/n

In this first publication from the lab, now out in @narjournal.bsky.social, we review the current state of RNA phage biology with a focus on meta-omics methods. Many things left to be discovered! #PhageSky doi.org/10.1093/nar/...

Another nice example of a host-acquired gene in poxviruses, which modulates the host immune response. dx.plos.org/10.1371/jour...

“Awards that are not aligned with NSF's priorities have been terminated, including but not limited to those on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and misinformation/disinformation”—National Science Foundation www.nsf.gov/updates-on-p...

We're disappointed to see Ben Barres's powerful book "The Autobiography of a Transgender Scientist" among the ~400 titles removed from the Naval Academy Library. Needless to say, we're proud to have published his book and will keep it — and his memory — alive.

The vaccine against Shingles helps protect against dementia, results of a natural experiment, adding to prior evidence "implications are profound" New @nature.com www.nature.com/articles/d41... nature.com/articles/s41...

Preprint out! Bacteria w/ hyper-replicative filamentous phage lead to overnight emergence of cheater phages. Bacteria w/ both phages can outcompete wildtype, then rapidly lose phage via a phage Tragedy of the Commons @shellyscrib.bsky.social @vscooper.micropopbio.org www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Big news: we are setting up a new non-profit organization to run bioRxiv and medRxiv. It's called openRxiv [no it's not a new preprint server; it's dedicated organization to oversee the servers] openrxiv.org 1/n

Who funds biomedical research? @nature.com www.nature.com/articles/d41...

“about a million additional people will die terrible deaths every single year for the foreseeable future if PEPFAR doesn’t get reversed” www.vox.com/future-perfe...

This just came out on NIH's website, which appears intended to move a purported 22% of grants from IC-based study sections to the CSR. "The proposed consolidation would eliminate the IC-based study sections so that CSR conducts all first-level review." Full release: www.nih.gov/news-events/...

DEI is under attack, but the stakes are higher than many realize. Universities *must stand firm* in defending it. I lay out why in my latest piece for Nature. Silence is complicity. Without DEI, we fail our students, our research, and our future. www.nature.com/articles/d41... 🧪

Cross-species and mammal-to-mammal transmission of clade 2.3.4.4b highly pathogenic avian influenza A/H5N1 with PB2 adaptations www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Our analysis of the second incursion of H5N1 viruses (genotype D1.1) into dairy cattle in the US is now posted to virological virological.org/t/timing-and...

Indirect costs support our entire research infrastructure. Without indirect costs, we wouldn’t have been able to develop this vaccine against H5N1 bird flu. If indirect costs are cut, we won’t be able to prepare and respond to our next pandemic threat. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Zuckerberg joins HHMI and the entire federal government in killing programs that support diverse scientists

If a NBA team worth about $5B fired all its players and went from a $150M to a $0 payroll does that mean the team was efficient and saved money? Or, does it mean there is no basketball team and there is no more revenue because then no one comes and the team is worthless? #analogies

So much for diversifying the funding sources for my lab...

I escaped poverty because I am a scientist. And I am a scientist because of the National Science Foundation. A 🧵:

"If the virus figures out a way to adapt and start transmitting between humans, infections in the general population could go up exponentially overnight." www.wsj.com/health/bird-...

I have learned from several sources that NIH staff tried to find out how to transfer F31-diversity applications to other program announcements for funding but were not able to do this. I don't know whether this was technical (regulations) or ideological. 1/n

1. #CDC was allowed to publish FluView. Hooray. 10 more kids died this season from #flu; the new deaths occurred between the end of Dec & the beginning of Feb. To date CDC has been alerted to 57 pediatric deaths in 2024-25. Historically most kids who die from flu weren't vaxed. chart=mine

SCOOP: Cats that became infected with bird flu might have spread the virus to humans in the same household and vice versa, according to data that briefly appeared online in a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention but then abruptly vanished. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/06/h...

They may not succeed and their actions may not hold up to judicial review, but their intent is real. They will go for things that matter to people and communities throughout the US while pretending that they are targeting a narrow set of perceived enemies.

If you’ve been directly impacted by a pause or cancellation of an NIH study session, we @forbes.com would like to talk to you

New paper alert: Our 20-year study of viral ecology and evolution reveals viral roles in microbial dynamics, phage genome evolution over time, and key interactions with hosts. A big thank you to our awesome collaborators @quendi.bsky.social @archaeal.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Are you looking to pursue a M.S.? Want to research vector-borne viruses, understand more about viral evolution, and/or how viruses manage to infect multiple hosts while undergoing genetic change? Consider applying to the Towson University Biology Masters Program! www.towson.edu/fcsm/departm...

The #H5N1 #birdflu virus from a severe case in Louisiana shows it was developing mutations that could help it attach to cells in human respiratory tracts, including a mutation seen in a recent severe case in British Columbia, Canada, the #CDC reported today. www.statnews.com/2024/12/26/c...

At APPEX - @nsfappexcenter.bsky.social - we are digging into the expansion piece of pandemics. When an outbreak becomes an epidemic or pandemic, what are the conditions and context for this?

We are happy to announce that NSF APPEX is now on Bluesky! We’re excited to reach a new audience in the pandemic science community. We invite you to follow along and work with us as we explore solutions to global health challenges. #PandemicScience #PublicHealth #BlueskyScience

Yearly reminder to those writing letters of recommendation: Do not comment on a woman's smile in your letter! Please, use one of the gender bias calculators every time. Super quick and easy way to check your bias www.tomforth.co.uk/genderbias/ slowe.github.io/genderbias/ #ffs #WomenInSTEM

Delighted to share this paper out via Virus Evolution: academic.oup.com/ve/advance-a... in which we develop and assess a quantitative method to infer phage and bacterial mutations driving changes in infection phenotypes arising in coevolutionary dynamics. a 🧵 about people (and some science)

If you haven't checked out this paper by @norapyenson.bsky.social and colleagues, check out this thread and then go read the paper. This is going to be a classic in the field.

A cool interview with @sociovirology.bsky.social about paths through science, and social evolution in viruses, on @markowenmartin.bsky.social's podcast. youtu.be/w2KEAdqYTks?... #SocialViruses 🧪 #evosky #virosky

Yesterday was a new episode of #MattersMicrobial! This time, Sam Diaz-Munoz joined the #QualityQuorum to discuss sociovirology---how viruses interact and even compete. @microbe.tv MicrobeTV @univpugetsound @ASMicrobiology Please share! youtu.be/w2KEAdqYTks?...

And this was also clear from an unpublished paper from 2018 which showed that the closest virus to SC2 at the WIV was RaTG13 (Ra4991). As this study was prior to the pandemic there was no reason to hide anything. But the progenitor of SC2 was not there because they never had it. End of.

That's what makes communicating about the risks and the uncertainty at the moment such a challenge. As @scottehensley.bsky.social told me: "I feel like we're right on the verge, and we don't know if that cliff is a week away, or if it's a decade away."

Yes! Love seeing when we bring people together to get awesome science out there. Keep the stories coming #SocialViruses @asherleeks.bsky.social

Ever thought that only tailed phages really matter? Our latest paper reveals that non-Caudoviricetes prophages could be more important than you'd expect. Curious? Read more here: academic.oup.com/ismej/advanc...

Been thinking about how I come from a line (at least recently) of brave, loud and compassionate women and how I have inherited all of those traits and it’s probably gonna get me in trouble much like it has gotten them in trouble and how I’m just gonna have to accept it because I’m not shutting up.

We strongly suggest that academic publishers and other platforms that host research rapidly implement a Share to Bluesky button for their articles. Here's how: docs.bsky.app/docs/advance... #AcademicSky #HigherEd #Altmetrics

If you need an academic paper that’s behind a pay wall, post the link to the paper, the title, and use #icanhazpdf and wait for someone to send it to you. Let’s see if we can get that going again here. ☺️

Way back in ye olden days, I was a part of Science Twitter. When someone wanted to read an academic paper and it was behind a paywall, I created #icanhazpdf which was a signal that someone needed a paper but didn’t have access, and then someone would see the hashtag and send it to them for free

If you do dengue virus sequencing +/- phylogenetic analysis, check out our new system for classifying lineages. Led by Verity Hill, this was a large collaborative effort by dengue researchers from 14 countries. Paper -> journals.plos.org/plosbiology/... Website-> dengue-lineages.org

What is going on with eLIfe and Web of Science. I was asked to summarize for all those confused. So a 6n 🧵 👇

The Royal Institution was yassified by @prideinstem.bsky.social tonight 🌈