Authors greeting their reviewers after the OpenReview leak

BK Polyomavirus (BKPyV) linked to bladder cancer via APOBEC. “Common Childhood Virus Causes DNA Damage Driving Bladder Cancer” www.insideprecisionmedicine.com/topics/oncol...

It's just crazy how this entire viral story was because someone made up a sequencing date that wasn't true. And the thing is, they may have almost got away with it! When something is a (partially) unsolved mystery for years, you risk losing the chance to ever solve it....

What causes bladder cancer initiating mutations? Our paper in Science Advances asks the question: can BK virus infections of normal urothelium lead to the APOBEC3 mutational signatures found in bladder cancers? We found that they can!

I really enjoyed reading this. A fascinating new natural-experiment study in Cell adding to the evidence that shingles vaccination may have cognitive benefits beyond preventing zoster. i.e. may slow dementia progression. www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

🚨👇One week left to apply for this fully-funded PhD project to study RNA-protein complexes regulating enterovirus genome replication: www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

Do you want to image RNA in living cells? Check out our new live-cell Click labeling approach. An amazing collaboration with the Meier Lab at UHH and the Wagenknecht Lab at KIT! doi.org/10.1002/anie... Congratulations, especially to Doerte, Eileen, and Iven! Thanks to DFG CRC1648

How does fever work? Our new Science paper shows how elevated body temperature can protect against severe influenza and that avian-origin viruses escape this defence. This is likely one reason why bird flus and some pandemic influenzas can be so severe.🧵 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Hi Bluesky! I’m a molecular virologist studying how innate immune defences restrict cross-species transmission and shape disease severity. I just joined, so reposts appreciated to help me reconnect with virology, immunology, and host–pathogen interaction folks. (whiteboard art from Zhuonan Li)

Are you fascinated by viruses? Would you like to design your own original research project in the UK's largest virology centre? Why not come and do a PhD @cvrinfo.bsky.social - application deadline 6th Jan 2026 (1/1): www.findaphd.com/phds/program...

Well, this has certainly cheered me up! Crucially, only a reduction, not deletion of CCR5…. Interesting.

We are recruiting a Reader/Professor of Immunobiology at @kingslsm.bsky.social . This is a unique opportunity to shape basic immunology at @kingscollegelondon.bsky.social . Please RP. www.kcl.ac.uk/jobs/131447-...

This is an extremely painful & distressing—but extremely important—piece to read

EXCLUSIVE: CDC to end all monkey studies. Decision handed down by recent college grad and former DOGE employee who is now deputy chief of staff at the agency. Animals were being used in studies of HIV prevention. Some may be euthanized. My latest for @science.org

When a clown moves into the palace, he doesn’t become a king; the palace becomes a circus.

Eliminating interactions with the viral Fc receptor improves antibody-mediated protection against neonatal HSV infection in mice www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

This is a very sad day for public health and evidence-based science in general.

👧🏽 Since 2008, vaccination against human papillomavirus #HPV is free for girls in Denmark 🔎 Researchers looked at 16,955 cervical cell samples from 8,659 women over a 7-year study period 📉 #vaccination has reduced infections with cancerogenic HPV 16/18 types #VaccinesWork #CervicalCancer 🛟

We are hiring a computational biology postdoc for a new project on zoonotic diseases, host pathogen interactions and pandemic risk. Please take a look and get in touch for more details www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/postdoc...

Finished a virology PhD or finishing soon? Check out this job - www.healthjobsuk.com/job/UK/Londo...

Whoah EBV not only causes multiple sclerosis, it also might be the root of SLE www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... An EBV vaccine to rid ourselves of these horrible autoimmune conditions (and many cancers)? #lupus #medsky #RheumSky @christosargyrop.bsky.social

Almost half of all Americans are hesitant to vaccinate their dogs. Their primary concern? Dog autism. - @caulfieldtim.bsky.social www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...

News In Photo:

"I am, somehow, less interested in the weight and convolutions of Einstein’s brain than in the near certainty that people of equal talent have lived and died in cotton fields and sweatshops." - Stephen Jay Gould.

Three German universities offering post-docs for researchers "who cannot conduct or continue their work in the USA appropriately because of actual political pressure. " www.uni-konstanz.de/zukunftskoll...

I don't like the sound of this: www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

Amazing journal cover for the new Trends In Microbiology special issue on geographic diversity in microbiology www.cell.com/trends/micro...

NEW PAPER! Here is the intro to our theme issue, incl a summary of included papers and overview of key debates in the field Increasing mechanistic understanding but little work robustly quantifying impact of CMV indirect effects on population health We suggest a few ways forward! #IDSky #ViroSky

Applications are open for the NIH-sponsored undergraduate Research Opportunities HIV RNA (ROHR) program for Summer 2026. Successful applicants will get to carry out a research project at a major university and attend a conference at the NIH. Please spread the word! sites.google.com/a/umich.edu/...

This is a very interesting study that implicates CMV seropositivity with enhanced spike-specific T cell immunity post covid vaccination. www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...

BBC News - Experts say this could be the worst flu season for a decade - here's why www.bbc.com/news/article...

I think about this post every day 🧪

James Watson has died. #giftarticle 🧪 www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/s...

NEW JOURNAL ISSUE! The indirect effects of cytomegalovirus infection: mechanisms and consequences Enjoyed editing this with Helen Payne and @strangviruslab.bsky.social Includes protocol for NIRVANA trial, which is getting started in Uganda and South Africa #idsky #virosky

For all bunyavirus enthusiasts out there: @alainkohlvirology.bsky.social @clive-mckimmie.bsky.social @cvrinfo.bsky.social

Delighted to share that the remarkable work of Qing Yao, with contributions from my group and many others, has been published in Nature Microbiology. 🧪 #cryoEM This study reveals, for the first time, the structure of the binding pocket of HSV helicase-primase inhibitors and their mode of action.

Nature suggests you use their "Manuscript Adviser" bot to get advice before submitting I uploaded the classic Watson & Crick paper about DNA structure, and the Adviser had this to say about one of the greatest paper endings of the century:

Delighted to announce that we have a PhD project, subject to competition, on targeting and understanding the envelope protein ion channel from SARS2, and extending our understanding to pan-CoV therapeutics... Funded by MRC DiMeN with sophion as partners. www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

We've just launched the first large, site-less (home, direct to participant) randomized trial for treatment of #LongCovid, testing tirzepatide (a GLP-1 drug) vs placebo. Please help spread the word www.scripps.edu/news-and-eve...

Just as Moderna back away from HCMV vaccine development, this is out. A somewhat narrow view, relying on papers from the Nature Group. But, many worthwhile points👇 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

If you have any appropriate applicants looking for a PhD post, please send them this way👇 They will not be disappointed.

The key thing re. Moderna and other companies in the same situation - when the next pandemic hits, which it will, they won't be there to save us. The same will be true for scientists and other responders who immediately stood up in the face of a devastating pandemic - they too will be gone.

Monumental effort led by Peter Simmonds and Jens Kuhn to reorganize the Family Flaviviridae based on analysis of RNA-directed RNA polymerase (RdRP) hallmark gene sequences is finally out. Enjoy reading. #ICTV @utmbhealth.bsky.social @astmh.bsky.social @sbvirologia.bsky.social

www.nature.com/articles/s41... Proud of my group and collaborators for this work published today in Nature Medicine. We find Cytomegalovirus, which has a profound impact on T cell immunity, is associated with distinct clinical outcomes in patients receiving checkpoint immunotherapy for melanoma.

🧵Remember the preprint claiming SARS-CoV-2 has a "synthetic fingerprint"? It said a restriction map was "extremely unlikely to have arisen by random evolution.” I took its claims seriously. The "synthetic fingerprint" hypothesis collapses. My new preprint explains why. arxiv.org/abs/2510.23833

Really nice historical paper (possibly one for the virus afficianados) on the progression of plaque assays from bacteriophage to influenza via Macfarlane Burnet's work on embryonated chicken eggs: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

The plural of anecdote is misinformation.

A paper in Nature reports that mRNA vaccines targeting SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, also sensitize tumours to immune checkpoint inhibitors. #medsky 🧪

This is very cool👇 What’s this picornavirus and where does it come from? @connorggbamford.bsky.social ?