Any #Drosophila folk have a Zaprionus davidi stock they'd be able to send myself and @ewachrostek.bsky.social ? Please share - thanks!

Check this out! Thanks for including Akira Alexander (not on Bluesky) and myself. Well done Yonca, Clive and colleagues.

My paper is out! Uncovering hundreds of exogenous and endogenous RNA viral RdRp sequences amongst uncharacterised sequences in public protein databases. doi.org/10.1093/ve/v... 💻🧬 1/5 🧵

Chinese Scholarship Council studentships 中国国家留学基金委和英国埃克塞特大学合作奖学金（博士生项目) at @uniexecec.bsky.social (www.exeter.ac.uk/study/pg-res... click '+ Ecology and Conservation' ) see ⬇️ for project with me!

...or maybe the standard tool is like $600 for little piece of plastic. So I want to know - what's the weirdest or most unexpected thing you've used for your science experiments? 🧪🧬🦠

Recently came across Lisa Taylor's amazing work on coloration in jumping spiders, including using eyeliner to give them teenytiny makeovers to see whether these colors helped them attract mates/avoid sexual cannibalism. Sometimes in science, there aren't standard tools for the thing you want to do🧪

Monty Python understood p-hacking

Looking for some undergrad friendly papers on speciation (key papers, reviews, or other resources) anyone have any good suggestions? @dickmerrill.bsky.social @darrenjparker.bsky.social ? Thanks in advance!

How do insects respond to changing climates? Our new review and analysis in @annualreviews.bsky.social suggests that phenological adaptation trumps thermal adaptation. www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...

Research assistant + postdoc position on a NERC funded project working w @darrenobbard.bsky.social and collaborating with @savebutterflies.bsky.social on the ecological and evolutionary drivers of the virome of UK moths @uniexecec.bsky.social. Descriptions below and links here benlongdon.com/join/

🥳🎉Our brand-new review on species-specific differences in interferon response effectors and the resulting barriers to interspecies transmission of viruses is out, go read it!🥳🎉

Research assistant + postdoc position on a NERC funded project working w @darrenobbard.bsky.social and collaborating with @savebutterflies.bsky.social on the ecological and evolutionary drivers of the virome of UK moths @uniexecec.bsky.social. Descriptions below and links here benlongdon.com/join/

'Alien mammal introductions can reshape global viral sharing networks' by Toneli et al -> www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-7...

2 job adverts on a NERC project w myself + @darrenobbard.bsky.social on “What determines the virome: ecology and the environment, evolution, or species history?” early 2026 in @uniexecec.bsky.social - Postdoc: jobs.exeter.ac.uk/hrpr_webrecr... - RA: jobs.exeter.ac.uk/hrpr_webrecr... Pls share!

Good overview of scientific publishing, and some current issues, by Guardian podcast featuring @hansonmark.bsky.social

Pre-pre-pre-announcement that around the end of the year/early spring we'll be announcing some new funded residencies, based at our new studio in Cornwall to run around Aug/Sept 2026. The theme this time is moths and their viruses - as part of a bigger research grant on how viruses and their […]

So this came online over the weekend: My dive into the "definition" of coevolution is online ahead of publication in @journal-evo.bsky.social! Don’t ask "when is it coevolution?" — ask "how?" doi.org/10.1093/evol...

New pre-print Competition between phage constrains adaptation to thermal fluctuating temperatures. More work led by Sam Greenrod in collaboration with @kayla-king.bsky.social lab. #Phagesky#Microsky www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

This was work today - about 15k walked for geocaching and wildlife spotting trip with new @uniexecec.bsky.social undergraduates. Glorious weather in beautiful Cornwall with plenty of tuna, choughs and butteflies plus the odd lizard.

2 job adverts on a NERC project w myself + @darrenobbard.bsky.social on “What determines the virome: ecology and the environment, evolution, or species history?” early 2026 in @uniexecec.bsky.social - Postdoc: jobs.exeter.ac.uk/hrpr_webrecr... - RA: jobs.exeter.ac.uk/hrpr_webrecr... Pls share!

New preprint! 🥳🎉 We looked at viral coinfection patterns at the largest scale ever in wildlife. We found a strong association among CoVs, PMVs, and influenza A, and higher coinfection rates in wildlife trade; plus, evidence that bats accumulate persistent infections. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

This looks v cool.

*Congratulations* to former Darwin Trust-funded PhD student Arun Prakash for being awarded the Alfred Russel Wallace award from @royentsoc.bsky.social for his PhD on #immune regulation of disease #tolerance and immune #priming in #Drosophila! @edinburghbiology.bsky.social @uoe-eid.bsky.social

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...

Excited to say we’re hiring 😊. We’re looking for a post-doc in ancient pathogen genomics to join our friendly supportive team in London at @ugiatucl.bsky.social. Start date January 2026. www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...

With #eseb2025 coming to a close, it is time to start making plans for 2026. Interested in the interface of evolution 🧬 and ecology 🌳? Come to our #ExE conference hosted by @uniexecec.bsky.social in beautiful #Cornwall. Leave your email address at tinyurl.com/EvolxEcol to join our mailing list!

It's a bumper-wasp year: here are my top tips on how to dine alongside wasps, without getting stung. GET INVOLVED! Tell us what wasps want at YOUR picnic: www.sumnerlab.co.uk/wasp-picnic-... theconversation.com/what-to-do-w... @uclcber.bsky.social @uclnews.bsky.social @uk.theconversation.com

🧵 Dengue is no longer just a tropical disease - it's showing up in Europe. This season, France, Italy, and Portugal (Madeira) have already reported locally acquired dengue cases. Check the latest #CDTR on #dengue here: bit.ly/3TQpDVu #IdSky #EpiSky #MosquitoBorne #Prevention #PublicHealth

This is a huge mistake. My experience on NERC panels is that resubmissions score higher and are more likely to be funded: the review process improves good proposals that should not be lost (along with the time spent on them).

NERC: We need to open up environmental science! Why is it not diverse? Also NERC: We're scrapping Independent Research Fellowships, New Investigator Grants, Small Grants, are limiting applications from institutions based on past success rates and will only allow you to submit your proposal once.

Removing the ability to resubmit, when funding success is so low, and PtF includes an actual lottery element, seems very short sighted decision. www.ukri.org/councils/ner...

First, find the papers here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... And the attached crowdsourced and community annotation website here: reprosci.epfl.ch ^^ what's neat about the website is that it offers a platform for any field to attempt our approach organically. 2/n

The "reproducibility crisis" in science constantly makes headlines. Repro efforts are often limited. What if you could assess reproducibility of an entire field? That's what @brunolemaitre.bsky.social et al. have done. Fly immunity is highly replicable & offers lessons for #metascience A 🧵 1/n

BEAST X v10.5.0 finally released – you can't just do beta releases forever. github.com/beast-dev/be... Details and instructions for installing on the BEAST website: beast.community

Excited to share our paper on viral load dynamics of West Nile virus in mosquitoes! Key findings: 1. Variation in pooled Ct values from mosquito traps reflect underlying biological and epidemiological mechanisms. 2. WNV prevalence estimates are improved by using Cts rather than +ve/-ve pool status.

This is really cool work on the role mosquito hemocytes in arbovirus infections. Check it out in Nature Communucations @vectorimmunity.bsky.social @brackneylab.bsky.social congrats all!

What determines who a phage can infect? We tackled this question for temperate phages of Klebsiella — a bacterial pathogen — using a genome-wide association study (GWAS) and a massive protein testing effort. 👇 A thread!

In about a week we (Biological Sciences @ Monash Uni in Melbourne, Australia) will be opening a search for 3 (!!!) permanent academic positions (40% research, 40% teaching, 20% service) at Lecturer/Senior Lecturer. 1 Genomics, 2 Ecology. Please share, email me, DM, follow, send carrier pigeons…

New phage therapy publication!🦠 #phagesky We analysed an MRSA phage therapy case study, assessing how predictions made in vitro differed when using one (standard practice) or multiple bacteria isolates from the patient. Collaborative work: Exeter and Queen Astrid hospital doi.org/10.1093/jamb...

I'd not read this PLoS medicine article before - rather eye opening! Although its from 2006, so now need to see if how its calculated has become any less arbitrary...

Our new AI approach for deciphering the virosphere. Led by Mang Shi and Zhao-Rong Li: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

How do multiple coexisting bacteria and phages (co)evolve? Well... they don't (or do so much less! In this paper we tracked bacteria-phage (co)evolution in monoculture (individual bacteria-phage pairs) or in polyculture (all three pairs) over 6 weeks. Read more here👇 doi.org/10.1099/mic....

Trying to wade through vast amount of SARS-CoV-2 literature on mutations increasing transmissibility - any recommendations (recent reviews would be great)? Have this doi.org/10.1038/s415... and doi.org/10.1038/s414... atm

Michael Ashburner FRS was an influential figure in the fields of Drosophila genomics and early sequencing database initiatives such as @ebi.embl.org. Read about their contributions across genetics and bioinformatics in the new biographical memoir: buff.ly/f01zNat @geneticscam.bsky.social‬

🧬🦠🌍 What are the big, cross-scale questions shaping the ecology and evolution of emerging viruses? @torrelavelle.bsky.social and I are building a list of 100 questions + want your input. Help map the future of EEID — fill out & share our short survey! 🔗 airtable.com/appTW4ZoSFjR...

Hello science fam! We have had a last-minute cancellation for our GRC on Ecological and Evolutionary Genomics and are looking for someone who studies EEG in the context of microbes who would be available to come to beautiful Tuscany in July! Message me!

@jpjhall.bsky.social your comic went down a treat with our 9 year old (enjoyed it so much he read it twice!) - was getting told facts about bacterial defenses this morning.

Fun morning playing our virus outreach game #VirusCraft with local school children as part of @uniexecec.bsky.social @exeter.ac.uk Festival of Science (organised by @cornishjackdaws.bsky.social) - game made by fantastic @thentrythis.social.thentrythis.org.ap.brid.gy

Phylogenetic insights into the transmission dynamics of arthropod-borne viruses www.nature.com/articles/s41... Great work by Verity Hill and team