Since the topic of the moment is the new betacoronavirus with FCS found in Brazil, I would like to draw attention to this preprint. It describes two new betacoronaviruses found in the same genus of bats as Takada et al, and propose a new subgenus, the ambecoviruses. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

“Furin cleavage site”, that is. Just casually, and naturally, sitting there in one of the most evolutionarily active parts of the genome. Mystery solved.

We’ve identified a highly divergent betacoronavirus from South American bat that encodes a functional furin cleavage site. Another fascinating reminder of how diverse coronavirus evolution is in wildlife reservoirs. #Virology #VirusEvolution #Bats #Coronavirus www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Viro3D paper is out! We predicted 85,000 protein structures from human & animal viruses. 1/5 🧵 📑 Paper doi.org/10.1038/s443... 🔭 Explore virosphere viro3d.cvr.gla.ac.uk

📢New preprint on the impact of dengue virus genetic diversity on inhibition by Wolbachia 🦟🦠🧬 Project led by Afeez Sodeinde, @emiliefinch.bsky.social, and @keli5734.bsky.social! ✨ Key findings in thread below 👇 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Confused writing is usually a symptom of confused thinking. As we struggle to clarify writing, we clarify our thoughts. AI writing aids rob us of that struggle, leaving clean-looking text and thoughts still confused for lack of inspection. Writing is not just a product; it is a diagnostic tool.

Sequence data from the new Ebola outbreak in DRC suggests it is indeed a new spillover. And just incredible to see the virus sequenced and the data publicly shared less than 24 hours after confirmation of the outbreak. #IDsky 🧪 virological.org/t/the-16th-e...

I’m thrilled to share my first review about microbial ecology + mosquito-borne disease control! Bacteria block pathogen development in the mosquito gut, but which bacteria will produce long-lasting results in the field? Let’s think about colonization and persistence in the mosquito gut! (1/4)

Handy to keep up with the ICTV's changes to virus taxonomy and species names: taxonomy.onecodex.com/taxon/694009... vs: taxonomy.onecodex.com/taxon/694009... or taxonomy.onecodex.com/taxon/11676/... vs taxonomy.onecodex.com/taxon/11676/...

Provavelmente os casos brasileiros de HPAI em 2025 devem ser devido a esta nova linhagem recombinante. Muito importante sequenciar e analisar o genoma do vírus circulando atualmente no país.

A not very happy Friday. CERI had 6 NIH grants canceled, which will impact operations, surveillance and response to epidemics. We are working to try to minimize disturbance but not easy with 6 grants terminated at the same moment. A crisis is unfolding in SA www.news24.com/southafrica/...

Frustrated that MCMCtree does not have complex substitution models? The IQ-tree team has now developed IQ2MC, an interface for seamless integration of IQ-tree's substitution models with MCMCtree's fast Bayesian pipeline for clock dating. Read the preprint here: ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...

🦟🦠 NEW! We looked at every experiment going back to the 1960s, and found that mosquitoes are almost certainly not primary or secondary vectors of Oropouche virus - a common claim in both the scientific literature and public health communication. #EpiSky #IDSky 😷🧪 journals.plos.org/plosntds/art...

We celebrated the 100th anniversary of HR Carter's seminal lecture on YF's potential threat to Asia-Pacific area with a perspective to draw attention to the potential reasons why YF epidemics have not occurred in urban centers in the region. @sbvirologia.bsky.social @mauriciolnogueira.bsky.social

“Funding by the CDC for two monthly peer-reviewed journals, Emerging Infectious Diseases and Preventing Chronic Disease, will be cut.” EID has published novel, important work that brings #IDSky issues to light. Its loss will hurt.

Our latest preprint demonstrates that two strains of DENV4 have distinct impacts on Aedes aegypti vector competence and life-history traits. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

On the verge: outbreak risk after two years of record-breaking dengue epidemics in Brazil - The Lancet Regional Health – Americas www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Hantavirus: Global emerging disease with 2 major syndromes Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS) – Americas: 130 cases/year, 30-60% mortality, depending on type Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome (HFRS) – Asia/Europe: 100K cases/year, 5-10% fatality rate Spread by rodents primarily 🧵

This is my first post here and I would like to share this important work that I collaborated on. We analyzed some of the factors impacting the spread of dengue in the Brazilian southern most state, where outbreaks are getting larger each year. www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...

PLOS has issued a statement on recent US Executive Orders and scientific integrity. We are determined to stand firmly behind our mission, our values and our principles, and against any attempt at censorship or undermining of the core principles of scientific inquiry. plos.io/3D4O8cH

I have insomnia a lot lately so may as well share what’s literally keeping me up at night. It’s a long list but tonight it’s flu. Yes, H5N1, but also seasonal flu. Firing federal scientists brings a flu-filled future. Have you ever wondered how flu vaccine strains are chosen?

The entire archive of CDC datasets can be found here. HUGE shoutout to data archivists- this work is important 👏🙌🏻 archive.org/details/2025...

🦟🪰" #Panama 🇵🇦: Dozens of #Oropouche cases detected in Darien province" via @outbreaknewstoday.substack.com.web.brid.gy outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/panama-doz...

This is bad news. It suggests reassortment of circulating H5N1 viruses with viruses containing N9 NA. Although this indicates reassortment with avian viruses, it's still bad. Reassortment makes pandemics. The last 3/4 flu pandemics (and likely 1918 too) were reassortant viruses.

The immediate halting of funding to #PEPFAR places millions of lives in jeopardy. The IAS urgently calls on policy makers and stakeholders to restore the funding lifeline to this pivotal programme. Lives depend on it, right now. Read our full statement:

Bolivia has confirmed a death from a case of Chapare virus identified in December 2024. Thankfully all contacts have tested negative so far. Chapare virus is an arena virus transmitted by rodents. It was discovered in 2003. www.telegraph.co.uk/global-healt...

Somewhat paradoxically, #tinnitus (hearding sounds that are not there) is common in people suffering hearing loss. and affects the same sets of frequencies. Treatments are coming, from the understanding of loud-noise-fibre damage www.newscientist.com/article/mg26...

Five years after #SARSCoV2 surfaced, scientists reflect and look ahead to the next threat. scim.ag/4j4CZsn

Zoonotic transmission of novel Influenza A variant viruses detected in Brazil during 2020 to 2023 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

40 years ago all of Genbank was published in print form by NAR. The same format today would require over 4 light seconds of shelf space. To a year of progress in 2025.

Some small quality of life improvements to Gensplore (gensplore.genomium.org ): - right-click brings up a menu for copying (ctrl-C still works, as ever) - clicking on a feature now selects it 🧪

CDC just confirmed the first severe case of #H5N1 in the US in a patient in Louisiana. This virus seems to be the same genotype D1.1 that is spreading in birds at the moment (so not the cattle genotype B3.13) that severely sickened the teenager in Canada.

Goodbye SARS-CoV-2, hello 'Betacoronavirus pandemicum'? @cofford.bsky.social reports on the controversial renaming of thousands of viruses. www.science.org/content/arti...

There is a new alternative to the MCC summary tree in BEAST X - the 'highest independent posterior sub-tree reconstruction' or HIPSTR tree. First implemented over 5 years ago (something distracted us from writing it up) we now have a preprint describing it: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

I cannot understand that the US can’t just stop selling of raw milk with all that’s going on with H5N1 + implement strict biosafety on the farms. Do you know the level of protection required when working with the virus in the laboratory? The current situation US is a global health security risk

Today Pathoplexus announces the inclusion of a new viral pathogen: mpox (previously known as monkeypox). Within the context of the current mpox outbreaks and ongoing health concerns, Pathoplexus aims to support sequence sharing to improve both understanding and response. 1/7

Estamos a UMA MUTAÇÃO de distância para a gripe aviária H5N1 se transmitir mais efetivamente ENTRE HUMANOS? Estudos mostram que versões atuais se replicam melhor no tecido respiratório humano, com maior capacidade de serem expelidas no ar ao infectar mamíferos. Atualizações, incluindo VACINAS 🧵🔻

If an #H5N1 pandemic starts tomorrow or in three months, there will be little mystery as to how it happened. The conditions are all there. They have been for a while. So in some ways the more interesting question to me at the moment is: Why aren’t we in a pandemic yet? Story here, 🧵 to come: 🧪#IDSky

How fast are viruses spreading in the wild? Check out our latest study now published in @plosbiology.bsky.social: doi.org/10.1371/jour.... A study performed with Paul Bastide, Pauline Rocu, Denis Fargette, Olivier Hardy, @msuchard.bsky.social, @stephaneguindon.bsky.social, and Philippe Lemey (1/7)

This is a very big problem, that we need to discuss... As a non-native English speaker I find AI tools help a lot in making my writing sound much more like proper English. journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...