Kennedy has been very busy- I reflect on what has been happening but also worry that his tactics could be adopted elsewhere result in in wider undermining of trust in science and reducing vaccine access and uptake 🧪

🚨 14th European Congress on Tropical Medicine and International Health (ECTMIH) dates announced! 🚨 - If everyone loves Würzburg for #BSP2025, there is another chance to revisit Germany for #ECTMIH25 in October! - All details available at ectmih-2025.de - Hosted by the BNITM, Hamuburg, DE.

Are you researching #malaria? The datasets we host harmonise tens of thousands of individual patient data, enabling researchers to answer new questions from existing data. Learn more www.iddo.org/wwarn/workin... #DataReuse #DataForGood

IMPORTANT 🧵 We've been seeing how RFK Jr & anti-vax lobby has been steadily and effectively reducing access to vaccines in the US. But it could happen in UK too. It's a threat worth considering given Malhotra's speech at Reform conf & big overlap between anti-vax and RW populsim. Read on! 1/11

"Trump is peddling dangerous pseudo-science that’s putting pregnant women and children at risk and devaluing autistic people... We urge our government and NHS to stand by autistic people and to condemn this misinformation" — Mel Merritt head of policy and campaigns @autisticsociety.bsky.social

ACOG reaffirms that acetaminophen is safe for managing pain and fever during pregnancy. No reputable studies support suggestions like those in HHS’s recent announcement linking acetaminophen use in pregnancy to autism; in fact, high-quality studies show no such risk. https://bit.ly/47Wxc59

I've officially left the US and am now in the UK. Very excited for the new adventure ahead. Very lucky to be in Wales. Look forward to meeting everyone in the entomology world I can out here.

Of all the stupid things that this regime has done, this is right up near the top. Postdoctoral researchers come to the US on H-1B visas. This will further destroy the US science enterprise. Stupid stupid stupid.

Royal Society's governing council will meet on 1 October to consider expelling Elon Musk. Adrian Smith, its president, taking a new stance in light of Musk address to far-right rally in London last week. @francesjones.bsky.social with the latest. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-c...

Style lessons from Robert Redford, one of the most stylish men in the last century. 🧵

We are looking for researchers from across the UK to deliver innovative public engagement projects working in partnership with a gallery, archive, library or museum (GLAM organisation). Up to £8,000. Deadline 15 October.

Huge congratulations to Keele’s Dr Christine Reitmayer, who has received a prestigious fellowship from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) to advance her work studying new ways of halting the spread of deadly mosquito-borne disease. 1/

Delighted to review the latest findings on how malaria parasites get into our blood cells and how we might stop it!

Save the dates!! @bspparasitology.bsky.social Spring Meeting 2026 will be in Bonnie Glasgow! 7-9 April 2026, with a drinks reception in Glasgow City Chambers on the 6th of April 2026! Keep an eye on the BSP website for registration and abstract submission! Logo by @shannaraeilean.bsky.social! 🦟

Join us for upcoming BSP Tryps Club meetings! Schedule here ⬇️

I've written to Keir Starmer, Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage, urging them to join me in condemning Elon Musk's dangerous remarks inciting violence yesterday. As leaders, we must stand together and make clear Musk will face serious consequences for these actions.

FAO the @royalsociety.org which still considers someone who spreads misinformation and encourages violence as worthy of their Fellowship.

It is a stain on a world-leading institution. Would the decision to expel a fellow been more forthcoming if the person wasn’t as rich and politically influential (?still)? Sometimes in life you have to show courage because it is the right thing to do. This is one of these situations!

A reminder that Elon Musk is still a Fellow of the Royal Society. Surely THIS is the point at which he is expelled @royalsociety.org

What’s happening to the higher education sector in the States is absolutely shocking and should be a warning to all of us academics across the globe. A warning not to be scared and shut up but to stay alert and ready to uphold and defend our academic freedom.

Guilty www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...

When the malaria vaccine first rolled out in Uganda’s West Nile region, hesitation was high initially. Parents had questions, rumours were swirling and official messaging didn’t always reach remote communities. But one group kept showing up: community health workers.

This becomes more realistic every year...

"Why on earth would we abandon institutions that have genuinely made America great? ... Why would we put at risk laboratories that are working to cure cancers or perfecting artificial limbs or exploring deep space or testing the limits of artificial intelligence?"

Malhotra, a prominent anti vaccine voice during the peak of the covid pandemic was given a platform by Reform where not only did he reassert his anti-vax rhetoric but he made allegations of the vaccine causing the Royal family to have cancer. There is NO evidence linking the vaccines to cancer 🧪🧵

The “problem” with vaccines? They so effective at preventing deaths that they create generations of people that question whether disease was a problem in the first place because they have never experienced the horrors of a world without vaccines.

A big welcome to everyone who has joined us for the @bspparasitology.bsky.social trypanosomiasis and leishmaniasis meeting this week in the beautiful city of Ceske Budějovice!

Random fact for the weekend: Justin Trudeau (at the age of 10) attended the state funeral of Leonid Brezhnev in Moscow, with his father Pierre en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_a...

Although rare, chickenpox can lead to severe complications. Infection also means parents and kids have to take time off work and school. Free vaccination on the NHS is fantastic news.

#ThrowbackThursday: In 1980 the 🌍🌎🌏 was declared #smallpox free, thanks to mass vaccination efforts. Smallpox was an acute contagious disease caused by the variola virus. It was one of the most devastating diseases known to humanity. #VaccinesWork

Enough is enough. The health of the country is in danger. Read our resignation letters: insidemedicine.substack.com/p/breaking-n...

Everyone should read this substack by @davidallengreen.bsky.social emptycity.substack.com/p/yes-an-inc... "an incoming radical and illiberal government...would not need to break the law - for the law already will provide almost all the powers such a government could want."

I cannot stress enough how incredibly vulnerable the U.S is to a disastrous response should a significant outbreak of an infectious disease emerge. I actually lose sleep over this. This article is an alarming read. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

Chappell Roan at Leeds Festival 🤩

I’ve documented protests for decades. The asylum hotel protests I’ve photographed have all been very small. When I first turned up at the Newcastle protest, and asked the police where the protesters were, they pointed to one man and said he’s over there.

If you're heading for the Leeds festival tomorrow, start out early! Leeds traffic in total meltdown this afternoon and a 90 minute wait for the shuttle bus

Another tragic consequence of aid cuts - Somalia battles with rising cases of diphtheria with dwindling stocks of protective vaccine to try and prevent it

🔭 The first female Astronomer Royal in the 350-year history of the role: hubs.ly/Q03CVjfx0 🛰️ @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social Professor Michelle Dougherty has been appointed to the influential and important position, reflecting a lifetime of amazing research and her leading role on space missions.

We’re pleased to share our new study, led by @jezieldamasceno.bsky.social, that used long-read, single molecule sequencing to reveal the full (?) picture of Leishmania DNA replication. Thanks, Mike Boemo and helpful reviewers @uofgsii.bsky.social www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Good luck to all the other parents out there getting stressed about A level results day tomorrow 😱🍀🤞🍷

"Ultimately, art is a vital vessel for social change; but the moment it has to fight for its own right to exist in a public space, the credibility of a society’s freedom is eroded" #smithsonian

In defense of expertise!

Calling all researchers working in #InfectiousDiseases #EmergingInfections or #NTDs? You can use our free tools, resources to support your work www.iddo.org/tools-and-re...

His actions damage America which risks going back to a pre-vaccine era where the average life expectancy was around 40 years. They damage everyone as infections do not respect borders and neither does disinformation stay constrained to one country.

Despite the fact that vaccines have saved millions of lives and RFK Jr made promises that he was not anti-vaccine when he was confirmed as HHS and pledged to maintain vaccines and science integrity he is systematically going back on that promise #ImmunoSky 🧪🧵

Between the 1910s and 1980s malaria and hookworm went from being rampant to virtually eradicated. Yes, I’m talking about the United States. That’s what concerted, intelligent, public health programmes can do.

Just announced - @smhopkins.bsky.social will be the new chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency @ukhsa.bsky.social. Starting in September.

RFKJr’s gradual elimination of vaccines in USA is continuing and gathering pace as 22 federal contracts for mRNA-based vaccines being terminated including late stage research for bird flu vaccine #ImmunoSky 🧪🧵

RIP Tom Lehrer 🐦 youtu.be/yhuMLpdnOjY?...

We’re hiring for a major role in the US, an investigative journalist to cover what’s happening with science in the US and beyond. This is extremely important territory for us. 🧪 workforus.theguardian.com/jobs/795 The Guardian :: Senior Science Investigative Reporter