Dorian McILROY
@dmcilroy.bsky.social
Virology lecturer at Nantes University. Interested in polyomaviruses, particularly capsid interactions with antibodies and host receptors.
Reposted by Dorian McILROY
There's a longing for the way US science was
Thing is, US science supported Nathan Wolfe
We don't need everything the way it was
Wolfe was a litmus test. Many of us told everyone we could about him - and sounded crazy. Others saw him as a virology hero
So let's talk about Mohammed Sesay
1/n
Thing is, US science supported Nathan Wolfe
We don't need everything the way it was
Wolfe was a litmus test. Many of us told everyone we could about him - and sounded crazy. Others saw him as a virology hero
So let's talk about Mohammed Sesay
1/n
January 31, 2026 at 3:03 AM
There's a longing for the way US science was
Thing is, US science supported Nathan Wolfe
We don't need everything the way it was
Wolfe was a litmus test. Many of us told everyone we could about him - and sounded crazy. Others saw him as a virology hero
So let's talk about Mohammed Sesay
1/n
Thing is, US science supported Nathan Wolfe
We don't need everything the way it was
Wolfe was a litmus test. Many of us told everyone we could about him - and sounded crazy. Others saw him as a virology hero
So let's talk about Mohammed Sesay
1/n
Reposted by Dorian McILROY
William Herbert Foege .... you should know him: one of the foremost persons responsible for eradicating smallpox. He died yesterday, January 24, 2026 ..... the day the USA pulled out of the WHO. It is all so terrible sad and stupid.
www.nytimes.com/2026...
1/3
www.nytimes.com/2026...
1/3
William H. Foege, Key Figure in the Eradication of Smallpox, Dies at 89
His containment strategy helped wipe out the disease in the 1970s, one of the world’s greatest public health triumphs. He also led the C.D.C. and promoted childhood vaccination worldwide.
www.nytimes.com
January 25, 2026 at 4:40 PM
William Herbert Foege .... you should know him: one of the foremost persons responsible for eradicating smallpox. He died yesterday, January 24, 2026 ..... the day the USA pulled out of the WHO. It is all so terrible sad and stupid.
www.nytimes.com/2026...
1/3
www.nytimes.com/2026...
1/3
I hope they improve Impress. It's got better, but is still a bit clunky.
Our next major release is just around the corner! #LibreOffice 26.2 will be released in February, with many new features and improvements, thanks to our worldwide community. Help to test it, before the final release: qa.blog.documentfoundation.org/2026/01/20/l...
January 28, 2026 at 3:00 PM
I hope they improve Impress. It's got better, but is still a bit clunky.
Reposted by Dorian McILROY
These peptides have not been shown to cure or treat anything. Safety hasn't been established. Yet, many of the people taking stacks of them, injecting into their bloodstream, are the same ones who are against vaccines. nymag.com/intelligence...
January 27, 2026 at 5:04 PM
These peptides have not been shown to cure or treat anything. Safety hasn't been established. Yet, many of the people taking stacks of them, injecting into their bloodstream, are the same ones who are against vaccines. nymag.com/intelligence...
Another twist in the fascinating interferon autoantibody story. Underlines once again just how important IFNs are for the outcome of acute viral infections. Come to think of it, I just have time to add this to my antiviral immunity lecture...
1/ We are excited to share our new report in PNAS: all three cases of encephalitis triggered by the live-attenuated chikungunya (CHIKV) vaccine (IXCHIQ®) are due to pre-existing autoantibodies neutralizing type I IFN (AAN-I-IFN) (doi.org/10.1073/pnas...).
January 27, 2026 at 6:44 AM
Another twist in the fascinating interferon autoantibody story. Underlines once again just how important IFNs are for the outcome of acute viral infections. Come to think of it, I just have time to add this to my antiviral immunity lecture...
Reposted by Dorian McILROY
Science: U.S. government has lost more than 10,000 STEM Ph.D.s since Trump took office
By Jeffrey Mervis, Monica Hersher @science.org @policyhound.bsky.social @mghersher.bsky.social
bit.ly/3M8yf9B
By Jeffrey Mervis, Monica Hersher @science.org @policyhound.bsky.social @mghersher.bsky.social
bit.ly/3M8yf9B
U.S. government has lost more than 10,000 STEM Ph.D.s since Trump took office
A Science analysis reveals how many were fired, retired, or quit across 14 agencies
bit.ly
January 26, 2026 at 11:03 PM
Science: U.S. government has lost more than 10,000 STEM Ph.D.s since Trump took office
By Jeffrey Mervis, Monica Hersher @science.org @policyhound.bsky.social @mghersher.bsky.social
bit.ly/3M8yf9B
By Jeffrey Mervis, Monica Hersher @science.org @policyhound.bsky.social @mghersher.bsky.social
bit.ly/3M8yf9B
Reposted by Dorian McILROY
This is the most astonishing graph of what the Trump regime has done to US science. They have destroyed the federal science workforce across the board. The negative impacts on Americans will be felt for generations, and the US might never be the same again.
www.nature.com/immersive/d4...
www.nature.com/immersive/d4...
January 20, 2026 at 10:53 PM
This is the most astonishing graph of what the Trump regime has done to US science. They have destroyed the federal science workforce across the board. The negative impacts on Americans will be felt for generations, and the US might never be the same again.
www.nature.com/immersive/d4...
www.nature.com/immersive/d4...
Reposted by Dorian McILROY
Interested in high containment work on viruses?
We have an opening at the Pirbright Institute, working on high consequence viruses of livestock and humans in the core CL3 team.
isw.changeworknow.co.uk/pirbright/vm...
We have an opening at the Pirbright Institute, working on high consequence viruses of livestock and humans in the core CL3 team.
isw.changeworknow.co.uk/pirbright/vm...
CL3- Research Assistant
The Pirbright Institute
The Pirbright Institute delivers world-leading research to understand, predict, detect and respond to viral disease outbreaks. We study viruses of livestock that are endemic a...
isw.changeworknow.co.uk
January 20, 2026 at 2:12 PM
Interested in high containment work on viruses?
We have an opening at the Pirbright Institute, working on high consequence viruses of livestock and humans in the core CL3 team.
isw.changeworknow.co.uk/pirbright/vm...
We have an opening at the Pirbright Institute, working on high consequence viruses of livestock and humans in the core CL3 team.
isw.changeworknow.co.uk/pirbright/vm...
Reposted by Dorian McILROY
At least 16,500 protesters have been killed in Iran and more than 330,000 injured, The Sunday Times reports, citing a report by a network of Iranian doctors, human rights data, and eyewitness accounts.
January 19, 2026 at 6:09 PM
At least 16,500 protesters have been killed in Iran and more than 330,000 injured, The Sunday Times reports, citing a report by a network of Iranian doctors, human rights data, and eyewitness accounts.
Reposted by Dorian McILROY
Here is my article www.bakerinstitute.org/research/rea...
Reaffirming Scientific Medicine Through Physician Leadership in Health Care Technology and Innovation | Baker Institute
Facing funding cuts, rising professional stress, and federal health policy misalignments, physicians are experiencing mounting challenges. In this working paper, Dr. Peter J. Hotez examines the state ...
www.bakerinstitute.org
January 16, 2026 at 2:24 AM
Here is my article www.bakerinstitute.org/research/rea...
Reposted by Dorian McILROY
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... 🧵
Reposted by Dorian McILROY
We've got ISSUES. Literally.
We scraped >100k special issues & over 1 million articles to bring you a PISS-poor paper. We quantify just how many excess papers are published by guest editors abusing special issues to boost their CVs. How bad is it & what can we do?
arxiv.org/abs/2601.07563
A 🧵 1/n
We scraped >100k special issues & over 1 million articles to bring you a PISS-poor paper. We quantify just how many excess papers are published by guest editors abusing special issues to boost their CVs. How bad is it & what can we do?
arxiv.org/abs/2601.07563
A 🧵 1/n
January 13, 2026 at 8:27 AM
We've got ISSUES. Literally.
We scraped >100k special issues & over 1 million articles to bring you a PISS-poor paper. We quantify just how many excess papers are published by guest editors abusing special issues to boost their CVs. How bad is it & what can we do?
arxiv.org/abs/2601.07563
A 🧵 1/n
We scraped >100k special issues & over 1 million articles to bring you a PISS-poor paper. We quantify just how many excess papers are published by guest editors abusing special issues to boost their CVs. How bad is it & what can we do?
arxiv.org/abs/2601.07563
A 🧵 1/n
Reposted by Dorian McILROY
A global shift to plant-based diets could free an area of land as big as the US, China, the EU and Australia combined: restored ecosystems could draw down CO2, making our diets carbon negative. Average food emissions per person would be reduced from about 2,000 kg CO2eq/year to -160 kg CO2eq/year.
From nuts to kelp: The 'carbon-negative' foods that help reverse climate change
Eating low-carbon foods helps reduce emissions, but some foods actually suck up carbon from the atmosphere for good, leaving the climate in a better place. Could we eat more of them?
www.bbc.co.uk
January 11, 2026 at 7:04 AM
A global shift to plant-based diets could free an area of land as big as the US, China, the EU and Australia combined: restored ecosystems could draw down CO2, making our diets carbon negative. Average food emissions per person would be reduced from about 2,000 kg CO2eq/year to -160 kg CO2eq/year.
Reposted by Dorian McILROY
You can judge a person by the size of their moral circle. Trump, for instance, has the smallest possible moral circle, containing only him. Be the opposite: expand your circle. Include, for example, animals currently raised for food. We shut them out of our consciences. It's time to bring them in.
January 11, 2026 at 9:08 AM
You can judge a person by the size of their moral circle. Trump, for instance, has the smallest possible moral circle, containing only him. Be the opposite: expand your circle. Include, for example, animals currently raised for food. We shut them out of our consciences. It's time to bring them in.
Reposted by Dorian McILROY
Open #postdoc fellowship in my group. Virus replication and cryo-ET. Projects can be tailored to ambitious candidates with diverse backgrounds, so don't hold back from applying! DM for more info.
Deadline 8 Feb. Apply here:
umustipendie.varbi.com/en/what:job/...
#virus #virology #teamtomo #cryoEM
Deadline 8 Feb. Apply here:
umustipendie.varbi.com/en/what:job/...
#virus #virology #teamtomo #cryoEM
January 9, 2026 at 1:58 PM
Serious exam equipment this morning.
January 9, 2026 at 10:21 AM
Serious exam equipment this morning.
Very interesting paper from the beautiful city of York, which provides a mechanistic explanation for the epidemiological link between BK polyomavirus infection/replication in kidney transplant recipients, and subsequent urothelial carcinoma. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41337590/
Virus-induced APOBEC3 transmutagenesis in bladder cancer initiation - PubMed
Carcinogenesis in human urothelium is driven by a high burden of mutations caused by the antiviral "APOBEC3" (apolipoprotein B mRNA editing enzyme, catalytic subunit-like 3) cytosine deaminase enzymes; however, there is no established viral etiology. BK polyomavirus (BKPyV) is a ubiquitous childhood …
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
January 9, 2026 at 8:24 AM
Very interesting paper from the beautiful city of York, which provides a mechanistic explanation for the epidemiological link between BK polyomavirus infection/replication in kidney transplant recipients, and subsequent urothelial carcinoma. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41337590/
Reposted by Dorian McILROY
Here's a summary of all the data that supports adding more red meat to your diet
January 8, 2026 at 6:03 PM
Here's a summary of all the data that supports adding more red meat to your diet
Reposted by Dorian McILROY
Can HIV become resistant to lenacapavir?
An analysis of clinical isolates identifies mutations that shift the capsid protein’s lenacapavir binding pocket and endow resistance, but shows these mutations often come at a high fitness cost. #ScienceTranslationalMedicine https://scim.ag/3LvADXH
An analysis of clinical isolates identifies mutations that shift the capsid protein’s lenacapavir binding pocket and endow resistance, but shows these mutations often come at a high fitness cost. #ScienceTranslationalMedicine https://scim.ag/3LvADXH
Lenacapavir treatment–emergent HIV-1 capsid resistance mutations are frequently associated with replication defects
Treatment-emergent capsid mutations elicited by lenacapavir monotherapy showed variable drug resistance and viral fitness impacts.
scim.ag
January 8, 2026 at 4:00 PM
Can HIV become resistant to lenacapavir?
An analysis of clinical isolates identifies mutations that shift the capsid protein’s lenacapavir binding pocket and endow resistance, but shows these mutations often come at a high fitness cost. #ScienceTranslationalMedicine https://scim.ag/3LvADXH
An analysis of clinical isolates identifies mutations that shift the capsid protein’s lenacapavir binding pocket and endow resistance, but shows these mutations often come at a high fitness cost. #ScienceTranslationalMedicine https://scim.ag/3LvADXH
Reposted by Dorian McILROY
I'm just going to say one last thing about this because every time I discuss this topic, it destroys my notifications and makes this platform really difficult for me to use:
There is a reason that I correct people about the effects of COVID-19 on the immune system, and it's not because I like to...
There is a reason that I correct people about the effects of COVID-19 on the immune system, and it's not because I like to...
January 7, 2026 at 1:53 AM
I'm just going to say one last thing about this because every time I discuss this topic, it destroys my notifications and makes this platform really difficult for me to use:
There is a reason that I correct people about the effects of COVID-19 on the immune system, and it's not because I like to...
There is a reason that I correct people about the effects of COVID-19 on the immune system, and it's not because I like to...
Reposted by Dorian McILROY
RFK Jr. recently changed the vaccine schedule without an ACIP meeting and without new evidence that merited consideration for those changes, in a move that promotes the interests of infectious diseases over those of the public. I want to look at one particular change:
Single dose HPV vaccination 🧵
Single dose HPV vaccination 🧵
January 6, 2026 at 6:02 PM
RFK Jr. recently changed the vaccine schedule without an ACIP meeting and without new evidence that merited consideration for those changes, in a move that promotes the interests of infectious diseases over those of the public. I want to look at one particular change:
Single dose HPV vaccination 🧵
Single dose HPV vaccination 🧵
Reposted by Dorian McILROY
Virus taxonomy increasingly rests on phylogenetic hypotheses, but the trees, alignments, and assumptions behind them are often ephemeral.
This post explores what it might look like to make that phylogenetic basis transparent and reproducible, using retroviruses as a case study.
shorturl.at/s9aft
This post explores what it might look like to make that phylogenetic basis transparent and reproducible, using retroviruses as a case study.
shorturl.at/s9aft
Making Phylogeny-backed Virus Taxonomy Reproducible
A Retrovirus Case Study Using GLUE
shorturl.at
January 5, 2026 at 12:45 PM
Virus taxonomy increasingly rests on phylogenetic hypotheses, but the trees, alignments, and assumptions behind them are often ephemeral.
This post explores what it might look like to make that phylogenetic basis transparent and reproducible, using retroviruses as a case study.
shorturl.at/s9aft
This post explores what it might look like to make that phylogenetic basis transparent and reproducible, using retroviruses as a case study.
shorturl.at/s9aft
Reposted by Dorian McILROY
Human FcRL5 simultaneously binds two IgG molecules, enabling immune complex recognition and internalization
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
January 2, 2026 at 12:00 AM
Human FcRL5 simultaneously binds two IgG molecules, enabling immune complex recognition and internalization
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
True for every country
If we’ve learned anything these past few years, it's that:
1) Workers keep America going, not billionaires
2) Corporate profits don't trickle down to workers
3) Poverty is a policy choice
4) Health care is a human right
5) Strikes work
Let's keep fighting for a better world.
1) Workers keep America going, not billionaires
2) Corporate profits don't trickle down to workers
3) Poverty is a policy choice
4) Health care is a human right
5) Strikes work
Let's keep fighting for a better world.
January 1, 2026 at 1:15 AM
True for every country
Had a quick read of the preprint, and was surprised that they didn't discuss the anatomical site of the DNA sample. HPV16 only really found in genital mucosa (although circulating HPV16 DNA is there when cancer is present). Thoughts, anyone? www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
December 31, 2025 at 10:52 AM
Had a quick read of the preprint, and was surprised that they didn't discuss the anatomical site of the DNA sample. HPV16 only really found in genital mucosa (although circulating HPV16 DNA is there when cancer is present). Thoughts, anyone? www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...