Ben Longdon
@blongdon.bsky.social
Virus evolution, ecology and host shifts. Fly zookeeper. Insect rhabdovirus geek. Tea Junkie. Like music, food, bikes. Lab website: www.benlongdon.com
Reposted by Ben Longdon
And so the dominoes in UK higher education begin to fall.
This closure will have a devastating impact on the city - on students, jobs, the wider economy (worth £100m a year), and social mobility for local youngsters.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
This closure will have a devastating impact on the city - on students, jobs, the wider economy (worth £100m a year), and social mobility for local youngsters.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘If I think about what this means, I want to cry’: what happens when a city loses its university?
When Essex University’s Southend campus opened, it was a message of hope for a ‘left behind’ UK seaside town. Its closure will be felt far beyond its 800 students, some of whom will not get their degr...
www.theguardian.com
February 4, 2026 at 7:29 AM
And so the dominoes in UK higher education begin to fall.
This closure will have a devastating impact on the city - on students, jobs, the wider economy (worth £100m a year), and social mobility for local youngsters.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
This closure will have a devastating impact on the city - on students, jobs, the wider economy (worth £100m a year), and social mobility for local youngsters.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by Ben Longdon
Heat can make #fruitfly males sterile at temperatures below their lethal limits. We explore if tissue-specific heat shock protein expression can explain why using 6 #Drosophila species:
@chsmithson.bsky.social et al.
@ejduncan.bsky.social @amandabretman.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1093/jeb/...
@chsmithson.bsky.social et al.
@ejduncan.bsky.social @amandabretman.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1093/jeb/...
Expression of heat shock proteins and thermal sensitivity of male fertility across six Drosophila species
Abstract. Understanding the mechanisms that confer resilience to thermal stress is crucial in the context of climate change. Recently there has been increa
doi.org
February 3, 2026 at 1:23 PM
Heat can make #fruitfly males sterile at temperatures below their lethal limits. We explore if tissue-specific heat shock protein expression can explain why using 6 #Drosophila species:
@chsmithson.bsky.social et al.
@ejduncan.bsky.social @amandabretman.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1093/jeb/...
@chsmithson.bsky.social et al.
@ejduncan.bsky.social @amandabretman.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1093/jeb/...
BBSRC and EPSRC join MRC "pausing" funding grant apps www.timeshighereducation.com/news/three-u...
Three UK research councils suspend funding opportunities
Temporary block on grant applications by MRC, BBSRC and EPSRC heightens concerns over funding cuts
www.timeshighereducation.com
January 31, 2026 at 9:38 AM
BBSRC and EPSRC join MRC "pausing" funding grant apps www.timeshighereducation.com/news/three-u...
Probably not relevant to most folk following me here, but we have artist residencies with
@thentrythis.social.thentrythis.org.ap.brid.gy
on moths and their viruses as an outreach project on our NERC grant. Info here thentrythis.org/projects/coc... pls share with anyone who might be interested!
@thentrythis.social.thentrythis.org.ap.brid.gy
on moths and their viruses as an outreach project on our NERC grant. Info here thentrythis.org/projects/coc... pls share with anyone who might be interested!
January 30, 2026 at 9:57 AM
Probably not relevant to most folk following me here, but we have artist residencies with
@thentrythis.social.thentrythis.org.ap.brid.gy
on moths and their viruses as an outreach project on our NERC grant. Info here thentrythis.org/projects/coc... pls share with anyone who might be interested!
@thentrythis.social.thentrythis.org.ap.brid.gy
on moths and their viruses as an outreach project on our NERC grant. Info here thentrythis.org/projects/coc... pls share with anyone who might be interested!
Reposted by Ben Longdon
Join us at the Evolutionary Biology Centre at Uppsala University. We’re searching for an Assistant Professor in Biology. www.uu.se/en/about-uu/...
January 28, 2026 at 8:28 PM
Join us at the Evolutionary Biology Centre at Uppsala University. We’re searching for an Assistant Professor in Biology. www.uu.se/en/about-uu/...
Reposted by Ben Longdon
A new preprint from the lab, with postdoc @deboraycb.bsky.social and collaborators @aidaandres.bsky.social and Tim Connallon:
“Characterising the detectable and invisible fractions of genomic loci under balancing selection”
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
“Characterising the detectable and invisible fractions of genomic loci under balancing selection”
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org
January 21, 2026 at 3:32 PM
A new preprint from the lab, with postdoc @deboraycb.bsky.social and collaborators @aidaandres.bsky.social and Tim Connallon:
“Characterising the detectable and invisible fractions of genomic loci under balancing selection”
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
“Characterising the detectable and invisible fractions of genomic loci under balancing selection”
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Insect Infection, Immunity & Microbionts @royentsoc.bsky.social meeting at Milner Centre in Bath 16-17th April www.royensoc.co.uk/event/infect... with @annttate.bsky.social as keynote speaker. Should be fun!
January 15, 2026 at 4:37 PM
Insect Infection, Immunity & Microbionts @royentsoc.bsky.social meeting at Milner Centre in Bath 16-17th April www.royensoc.co.uk/event/infect... with @annttate.bsky.social as keynote speaker. Should be fun!
Quite a GxE, host-parasite interactions - IN SPACE 🚀 🛰️ 🌌 !
Phage-host interactions have a role shaping microbial ecosystems, but what happens in #microgravity? Experiments aboard the #ISS reveal distinct evolutionary adaptations in T7 bacteriophage & #Ecoli, revealing #phage variants effective against resistant pathogens @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/3LtKOfs
January 15, 2026 at 9:14 AM
Quite a GxE, host-parasite interactions - IN SPACE 🚀 🛰️ 🌌 !
Reposted by Ben Longdon
Want to get the data out of a PDF figure? As in, the actual data – not a rough trace-along-the-lines version?
I made an app you might like: adamkucharski.github.io/pdf2plot/
It all started a few years ago... 🧵
I made an app you might like: adamkucharski.github.io/pdf2plot/
It all started a few years ago... 🧵
January 13, 2026 at 9:12 PM
Want to get the data out of a PDF figure? As in, the actual data – not a rough trace-along-the-lines version?
I made an app you might like: adamkucharski.github.io/pdf2plot/
It all started a few years ago... 🧵
I made an app you might like: adamkucharski.github.io/pdf2plot/
It all started a few years ago... 🧵
Looks neat! Persistent viral infection in the Drosophila fat body is associated with immune activation at the single cell
level www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
level www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org
January 12, 2026 at 12:00 PM
Looks neat! Persistent viral infection in the Drosophila fat body is associated with immune activation at the single cell
level www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
level www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Ben Longdon
#RNAi is an ancestral #antiviral system that degrades viral RNA, but what about in #cnidarians? @yehumoran.bsky.social &co show that #Nematostella has an siRNA-mediated antiviral response that lacks 2ary amplification & functions as a short-term antiviral mechanism @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/3N192OD
![dsRNA injection to N. vectensis zygotes triggers mild and transient gene knockdown. Top: Schematic representation of the dsRNA carrying eGFP sequence used in this study and of the transgene of the actin::eGFP line [40]. Bottom left: Heterozygous actin::eGFP embryos showing dimmer eGFP fluorescence 24 hpi of dsRNA carrying eGFP sequence (left) compared to scrambled eGFP sequence (right). Scale bars represent 500 µm. Bottom right: No difference in eGFP fluorescence of heterozygous actin::eGFP embryos is exhibited 72 hpi of dsRNA carrying eGFP sequence (left) compared to scrambled eGFP sequence (right). Scale bars represent 500 µm.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:5522ztebtekoor5efelihqhb/bafkreibcytm7tkd5lfkqqb3opea5ptwopbn3yzlw633irru3v6eq2azxtq@jpeg)
January 8, 2026 at 9:05 AM
#RNAi is an ancestral #antiviral system that degrades viral RNA, but what about in #cnidarians? @yehumoran.bsky.social &co show that #Nematostella has an siRNA-mediated antiviral response that lacks 2ary amplification & functions as a short-term antiviral mechanism @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/3N192OD
Reposted by Ben Longdon
Regular reminder that keynote nominations are open for our conference on avian disease ecology. Pls repost or forward to anyone researching avian disease! We are keen to get nominations from underrepresented groups or regions - if you know someone like that please nominate them! #ornithology
Keynote nominations are now open for the BOU 2027 Spring Conference on Avian Disease Ecology!
Submit via the conference webpage: bou.org.uk/event/avian-...
Also thrilled to announce that Prof. Dana Hawley (@danahawley.bsky.social) will deliver the Alfred Newton Lecture.
Please share!
Submit via the conference webpage: bou.org.uk/event/avian-...
Also thrilled to announce that Prof. Dana Hawley (@danahawley.bsky.social) will deliver the Alfred Newton Lecture.
Please share!
January 7, 2026 at 8:52 AM
Regular reminder that keynote nominations are open for our conference on avian disease ecology. Pls repost or forward to anyone researching avian disease! We are keen to get nominations from underrepresented groups or regions - if you know someone like that please nominate them! #ornithology
Reposted by Ben Longdon
Some good news to start the year - the UK is finally offering routine childhood vaccination against VZV, the cause of chickenpox and shingles and (it is becoming increasingly clear) a risk factor for dementia. I've written a bit about what this might mean for parents for @uk.theconversation.com
MMRV: what families need to know about the UK’s new chickenpox vaccine
The MMRV jab protects against chickenpox and its lifelong complications. Here’s what the new vaccination schedule means for your family.
theconversation.com
January 6, 2026 at 1:21 PM
Some good news to start the year - the UK is finally offering routine childhood vaccination against VZV, the cause of chickenpox and shingles and (it is becoming increasingly clear) a risk factor for dementia. I've written a bit about what this might mean for parents for @uk.theconversation.com
Reposted by Ben Longdon
🧪🔬🦠🧫💊🧬🖥
And so it begins... I expect to see many cool studies like this one, showing that the AI methos we use for predictiom are as biased as the datasets we already new were biased.
The scary part is the dataset biases we are not aware of
#MicroSky #Microbiome #Bacteria #AMR #antimicrobial
And so it begins... I expect to see many cool studies like this one, showing that the AI methos we use for predictiom are as biased as the datasets we already new were biased.
The scary part is the dataset biases we are not aware of
#MicroSky #Microbiome #Bacteria #AMR #antimicrobial
Our preprint on predicting drug resistance in bacteria is now out in @plosbiology.org. We show ignoring phylogenetic structure in genome collections leads to overly optimistic evaluations of machine learning methods for AMR prediction. Work from @yanyingyu.bsky.social with @nwheeler443.bsky.social.
Biased sampling driven by bacterial population structure confounds machine learning prediction of antimicrobial resistance
Machine learning methods have emerged as promising tools to predict antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and uncover resistance determinants from genomic data. This study shows that sampling biases driven b...
journals.plos.org
December 17, 2025 at 4:14 PM
🧪🔬🦠🧫💊🧬🖥
And so it begins... I expect to see many cool studies like this one, showing that the AI methos we use for predictiom are as biased as the datasets we already new were biased.
The scary part is the dataset biases we are not aware of
#MicroSky #Microbiome #Bacteria #AMR #antimicrobial
And so it begins... I expect to see many cool studies like this one, showing that the AI methos we use for predictiom are as biased as the datasets we already new were biased.
The scary part is the dataset biases we are not aware of
#MicroSky #Microbiome #Bacteria #AMR #antimicrobial
Reposted by Ben Longdon
We are continuously reviewing our AI policy as tools and capabilities evolve. This editorial outlines broad guidelines: accountability for content, preserving author voice, and maintaining trust in peer review. We welcome questions from authors, reviewers and readers academic.oup.com/evlett/artic...
kermit the frog is typing on a typewriter .
ALT: kermit the frog is typing on a typewriter .
media.tenor.com
December 17, 2025 at 2:32 PM
We are continuously reviewing our AI policy as tools and capabilities evolve. This editorial outlines broad guidelines: accountability for content, preserving author voice, and maintaining trust in peer review. We welcome questions from authors, reviewers and readers academic.oup.com/evlett/artic...
Reposted by Ben Longdon
What a cool way to get people engaged with #population #genomics!
But why is there no episode on parentage analysis ... ?
#Conservation #EvoBio #R
#MayTheForceBeWithYou #StarWars #LukeSkywalker
@lauradbertola.bsky.social @drobledoruiz.bsky.social @seaprof.bsky.social @robynshaw.bsky.social
But why is there no episode on parentage analysis ... ?
#Conservation #EvoBio #R
#MayTheForceBeWithYou #StarWars #LukeSkywalker
@lauradbertola.bsky.social @drobledoruiz.bsky.social @seaprof.bsky.social @robynshaw.bsky.social
December 10, 2025 at 8:07 AM
What a cool way to get people engaged with #population #genomics!
But why is there no episode on parentage analysis ... ?
#Conservation #EvoBio #R
#MayTheForceBeWithYou #StarWars #LukeSkywalker
@lauradbertola.bsky.social @drobledoruiz.bsky.social @seaprof.bsky.social @robynshaw.bsky.social
But why is there no episode on parentage analysis ... ?
#Conservation #EvoBio #R
#MayTheForceBeWithYou #StarWars #LukeSkywalker
@lauradbertola.bsky.social @drobledoruiz.bsky.social @seaprof.bsky.social @robynshaw.bsky.social
Reposted by Ben Longdon
Reposted by Ben Longdon
New preprint to round off 2025, wrapping up work I did @zslscience.bsky.social and continued @uniexecec.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
We studied skin bacterial community diversity in Palmate Newts from the Isle of Rum.
Pic: dramatic AI newt emerging from (hovering on?) a pond
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
We studied skin bacterial community diversity in Palmate Newts from the Isle of Rum.
Pic: dramatic AI newt emerging from (hovering on?) a pond
December 2, 2025 at 10:13 AM
New preprint to round off 2025, wrapping up work I did @zslscience.bsky.social and continued @uniexecec.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
We studied skin bacterial community diversity in Palmate Newts from the Isle of Rum.
Pic: dramatic AI newt emerging from (hovering on?) a pond
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
We studied skin bacterial community diversity in Palmate Newts from the Isle of Rum.
Pic: dramatic AI newt emerging from (hovering on?) a pond
Reposted by Ben Longdon
Next up in our WAME Seminar series this Thursday 4th December we have 2 exciting talks on Wild Animal Mycobiomes
11am GMT / 12pm CET. Zoom link below
11am GMT / 12pm CET. Zoom link below
December 1, 2025 at 9:26 AM
Next up in our WAME Seminar series this Thursday 4th December we have 2 exciting talks on Wild Animal Mycobiomes
11am GMT / 12pm CET. Zoom link below
11am GMT / 12pm CET. Zoom link below
Reposted by Ben Longdon
Capsule diversity limits #phage host range by affecting receptor-binding protein (RBP) interactions in capsulated #bacteria. @pilardomingoc.bsky.social &co show that generalist phages evolve host range via RBP mutation & recombination, but specialists remain stable @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/48nvOqY
November 28, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Capsule diversity limits #phage host range by affecting receptor-binding protein (RBP) interactions in capsulated #bacteria. @pilardomingoc.bsky.social &co show that generalist phages evolve host range via RBP mutation & recombination, but specialists remain stable @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/48nvOqY
Reposted by Ben Longdon
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/...
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/...
Avian-origin influenza A viruses tolerate elevated pyrexic temperatures in mammals
Host body temperature can define a virus’s replicative profile—influenza A viruses (IAVs) adapted to 40° to 42°C in birds are less temperature sensitive in vitro compared with human isolates adapted t...
www.science.org
November 27, 2025 at 7:55 PM
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/...
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/...
Just came across this neat looking pre-print by @maxfarrell.bsky.social et al "Experimental infections reveal unexceptional viral tolerance in bats" www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... - meta analysis across 54 viruses, 85 host species, >5600 individuals
www.biorxiv.org
November 24, 2025 at 10:32 AM
Just came across this neat looking pre-print by @maxfarrell.bsky.social et al "Experimental infections reveal unexceptional viral tolerance in bats" www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... - meta analysis across 54 viruses, 85 host species, >5600 individuals
Viva prep: drinks, snacks, pinata, bat!
November 24, 2025 at 9:32 AM
Viva prep: drinks, snacks, pinata, bat!
Reposted by Ben Longdon
If our official URL doesn't work, use sites.exeter.ac.uk/exe/ instead.
Welcome
ExE 2026 is a 3-day conference aimed at evolutionary ecologists from around the world, hosted by the University of Exeter in beautiful Cornwall. It provides a friendly and inclusive platform for all c...
sites.exeter.ac.uk
November 21, 2025 at 4:50 PM
If our official URL doesn't work, use sites.exeter.ac.uk/exe/ instead.
Reposted by Ben Longdon
A lot has happened since our first announcement of #ExE2026, an evolutionary ecology conference hosted by @uniexecec.bsky.social in #Cornwall from June 29 to July 3 2026.
Have a look at our new website to see our confirmed plenary speakers, the mid-conference excursions, and more.
👉 evoxeco.uk 👈
Have a look at our new website to see our confirmed plenary speakers, the mid-conference excursions, and more.
👉 evoxeco.uk 👈
November 21, 2025 at 4:50 PM
A lot has happened since our first announcement of #ExE2026, an evolutionary ecology conference hosted by @uniexecec.bsky.social in #Cornwall from June 29 to July 3 2026.
Have a look at our new website to see our confirmed plenary speakers, the mid-conference excursions, and more.
👉 evoxeco.uk 👈
Have a look at our new website to see our confirmed plenary speakers, the mid-conference excursions, and more.
👉 evoxeco.uk 👈