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Governor Tim Walz @governorwalz.mn.gov · 2d

Can’t believe I have to say this, but in Minnesota you will continue to have the freedom to get your COVID and flu shots.

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Solid Evidence @solidevidence.bsky.social · Sep 4

Interested air sampling for pathogens?

I'm a big wastewater surveillance proponent, but it is not the answer in every situation.

Our team has a short blog about the currently available air samplers if this is something you are interested in.

lungfish-science.github.io/2025/09/04/o...

Options for Bioaerosol Samplers

Do you want to detect pathogens in the air? You should know what sampling instruments are available.

lungfish-science.github.io

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Colin Carlson @colincarlson.bsky.social · Aug 28

RFK Jr.'s #2 is stepping in as acting CDC director. You need to call your Congress people now and demand hearings until RFK is forced out. They're politically weak for another 48-72 hours, then they'll do unbelievable damage in the next month. Show me that you called and I will give you a reward 👇

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Matt Aliota @aliotalab.bsky.social · Aug 28

Good start. Continue to (1) demand his resignation and (2) threaten endless hearings until it happens.

Tina Smith @smith.senate.gov · Aug 28

I dare you to go to Annunciation School and tell our grieving community, in effect, guns don’t kill kids, antidepressants do.

Just shut up. Stop peddling bullshit. You should be fired.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · Aug 28

RFK Jr on the mass shooting in Minnesota: "We're launching studies on the potential contribution of some of the SSRI drugs and some of the other psychiatric drugs that might be contributing to violence."

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Matt Aliota @aliotalab.bsky.social · Aug 24

Cecropia moth.

Matt Aliota @aliotalab.bsky.social · Aug 6

Bagged my first 14er. #Quandary Peak.

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Craig Bierle @cbierle.bsky.social · Jul 17

I've got an opening for a postdoctoral fellow, and likely a second available in 6-12 mos. If you're interested in infection biology during pregnancy or reproductive immunology, please reach out. To formally apply, Search for posting ID: 369238 myu.umn.edu/employment

Careers

myu.umn.edu

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Matt Aliota @aliotalab.bsky.social · May 22

The final version is out in the Journal of Virology: journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

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Matt Aliota @aliotalab.bsky.social · May 14

New paper out led by Rachel Lange (Alex Ciota's lab) and Julia Pritchard (my lab) showing that the unique genetic signatures associated with Powassan virus infections in MN and NY are associated with variability in viral fitness and virulence.

doi.org/10.4269/ajtm...

Differential Virulence and Host-Specific Fitness of Regionally Distinct Human-Derived Powassan Virus Lineage 2 Strains

Powassan virus (POWV; family Flaviviridae) is a tick-borne encephalitic virus endemic to Canada, the United States, and Russia. In the United States, POWV is transmitted by ixodid ticks, and transmiss...

doi.org

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Matt Aliota @aliotalab.bsky.social · Mar 23

Go Bucky!

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Tristan Yates @tristansyates.bsky.social · Mar 11

Last year, I was overjoyed to receive an NIH NRSA fellowship to study toddler brains and caregiving effects on memory at Columbia. Last night, my grant was terminated.

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Matt Aliota @aliotalab.bsky.social · Mar 11

No pain no Jane! IYKYK. #Trestle.

Picture of the black diamond run, Trestle at Winter Park.

Matt Aliota @aliotalab.bsky.social · Mar 3

Reviewing grants for a study section on March 18/19 that will almost certainly be canceled. I am doing this in solidarity with and in support of my SRO. I get the sense that NIH folks don't know what might get them fired. They are doing the best they can given the circumstances.

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Nate Sherer @natesherer.bsky.social · Mar 2

Sad to share news of the loss of a virology legend after a long battle with cancer. We will miss you dearly, Ann Palmenberg. www.cressfuneralservice.com/obituaries/a...

Ann Carol Palmenberg, Ph.D Obituary February 20, 2025 - Cress Funeral and Cremation Services

View Ann Carol Palmenberg, Ph.D's obituary, find service dates, and sign the guestbook.

www.cressfuneralservice.com

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Quinn Sutherland @reelquinn.bsky.social · Mar 1

Particularly vicious protest sign today at Sugarbush, VT

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Matt Aliota @aliotalab.bsky.social · Feb 28

Also worth paying attention to this on research involving animals.

acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:...

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Dimitri Drekonja, MD, MS @dimitridrekonja.bsky.social · Feb 27

Thanks to the @startribune.com for running this the same day I submitted it 👍🏻. Vaccinate your kids (and yourself)

www.startribune.com/readers-writ...

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Matt Aliota @aliotalab.bsky.social · Feb 25

Crap, this a legit problem for mosquito rearing supplies. Always fun to justify a bolt of wedding tulle to the purchasing admins.

The New York Times @nytimes.com · Feb 25

Joann, the fabrics and crafts retailer that has supplied quilters, seamstresses and school projects for 80 years, announced that it would close down all of its stores in the latest chapter of financial tumult for the company.

Joann, 80-Year-Old Crafts and Fabrics Retailer, Will Close All Stores

The announcement that the chain would close all 800 of its stores in 49 states comes after a period of financial turmoil.

www.nytimes.com

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Harmit Singh Malik @harmitmalik.bsky.social · Feb 23

I think people both within science and outside science don’t fully appreciate the miracle that were the Covid-19 vaccines. How much courage it took to get the sequence out, how much work had already gone into figuring out the best viral antigen and how best to present it. 1/

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Matt Aliota @aliotalab.bsky.social · Feb 14

My friend and colleague Dave O’Connor is keeping an eye on this here: github.com/dhoconno/rep...

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American Society for Virology @amersocvirology.bsky.social · Feb 13

Dear Virology Community, please see ASV’s statement to our members and the scientific community. asv.org/asv-statemen...

ASV Statement for our Members | American Society for Virology

Our American Society for Virology (ASV) promotes the study and combatting of viruses, more than ever recognizing their importance and responding to them with research and education. Our academic…

asv.org

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Matt Aliota @aliotalab.bsky.social · Feb 14

Take a break from doomscrolling and check out this new preprint from Ellie Bohm: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1.... We leveraged the natural variability between ZIKV strains to understand mechanisms that lead to fetal harm.

Zika virus-induced fetal demise is driven by strain- and dose-specific RLR-driven activation of the interferon response in the decidua, placenta, and fetus in Ifnar1-/- mice.

Congenital Zika syndrome (CZS), the set of fetal and neonatal complications associated with Zika virus (ZIKV) infection in pregnancy, was first noted during the outbreak in the Americas in 2015-16. Ho...

www.biorxiv.org

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Heather Cox Richardson (TDPR) @hcrichardson.bsky.social · Feb 13

Folks: I am NOT affiliated with the group that is using my name to support an economic boycott. Please spread this post, if you would.

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Matt Aliota @aliotalab.bsky.social · Feb 9

This whole thread 100 times over. @carlbergstrom.com puts into words what I have been struggling to articulate these past few days as I have grappled with similar grief and frustration.

Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · Feb 8

I’ve been seething and grieving since yesterday’s Friday Night Massacre of NIH overheads, a seeming bit of bureaucratic trivial that will in fact destroy the US university system if unchecked. But I want to get away from budgets and rate breakdowns and F&A percentages for a moment.

Humor me?

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Emily Mullin @emilymullin.bsky.social · Feb 5

Hi all, I'm a WIRED journalist on the science desk. If you're a government scientist or federally funded researcher with info to share about the Trump transition, please feel free to contact me securely on Signal: emullin.06

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