Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Greg Ebel @ebellaboratory.bsky.social · Aug 13

I will for sure and always do. It would be good to catch up some time. I had an idea I wanted to run by you.

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Greg Ebel @ebellaboratory.bsky.social · Aug 13

Awesome opportunity.

Lars-Anders Carlson @lacarlson.bsky.social · Aug 13

Repost appreciated:
Open #PhDposition in structural virology in my group! Join us in Umeå, Sweden to uncover how arboviruses remodel infected cells. In situ #cryoET and #cryoEM combined with #virology, #cellbiology, and #biophysics.
Deadline 7 September. More info: www.carlsonlab.se/join/

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Greg Ebel @ebellaboratory.bsky.social · Aug 1

Maybe this shouldn't be surprising to me but it is, and really really cool.

Nature Microbiology @natmicrobiol.nature.com · Aug 1

#NewResearch

The Sabiá virus spike complex undergoes conformational changes upon cell entry, from a native closed to an open state, which is dependent on pH and a metal ion.

#MicroSky

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Metal-induced conformational changes in the Sabiá virus spike complex - Nature Microbiology

The Sabiá virus spike complex undergoes conformational changes upon cell entry, from a native closed to an open state, which is dependent on pH and a metal ion.

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Greg Ebel

brackneylab @brackneylab.bsky.social · Jul 1

Despite all the shit going on, we have to celebrate our victories. New publication with @entomososwin.bsky.social and @vectorimmunity.bsky.social showing that hemocytes play a central role in disseminating flaviviruses to secondary tissues potentially functioning as a Trojan Horse(TBD)
rdcu.be/euj4g

Mosquito immune cells enhance dengue and Zika virus infection in Aedes aegypti

Nature Communications - Infection of mosquito immune cells by dengue and Zika virus enhances the spread of virus infection to mosquito tissues, such as the salivary glands, to promote virus...

rdcu.be

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Reposted by Greg Ebel

Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽 @needhibhalla.bsky.social · Jun 6

“It makes a really powerful statement that the professors themselves are stakeholders and that it’s just not the institutions alone...It’s a way of saying, ‘Well, if you’re slow to the battlefield, we’re going to get there first.’”

www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...

UC Berkeley researchers team up for first-of-its-kind lawsuit over Trump funding cuts

University of California staff members hope to use a class action lawsuit to restore their research funding.

www.nbcnews.com

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Greg Ebel @ebellaboratory.bsky.social · Jun 6

Horribly shortsighted and stupid. Driving with your eyes shut is unsafe, not keeping them open to detect and respond to the hazards ahead. I can't scream BS loud enough.

Kristian G. Andersen @kgandersen.bsky.social · Jun 6

In 2019, NIAID proposed an ambitious scientific network focused on pandemic preparedness, research, and response - the "CREID Network".

Ten centers kicked off just as the pandemic was taking off, playing critical roles throughout.

We were just notified the whole network is terminated.

Reason? 👇

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Reposted by Greg Ebel

European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control @ecdc.europa.eu · May 22

🛡️ How to stay safe:
✔️ Vaccinate
✔️ Wear protective clothing
✔️ Check for ticks after hikes
✔️ Skip raw dairy

Adventure smart — not sorry.
Full info & maps: bit.ly/42p8XJT
#TickSeason #TBE #EuropeOutdoors #HealthTips #Camping #Trekking #Outdoors #IDsky #EpiSky

Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) in Europe: new maps published

New maps published by ECDC show that hotspots for tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) in the EU are mainly concentrated in Central, Eastern, and Northern Europe, based on 2023 notification rates of locally-...

bit.ly

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Greg Ebel @ebellaboratory.bsky.social · May 1

Bra jobbat!

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Reposted by Greg Ebel

Lars-Anders Carlson @lacarlson.bsky.social · Apr 21

Less than two weeks remaining to apply to our #PhDposition. Applications need to be submitted through the application portal, follow the link below. Any questions about the application etc, feel free to reach out!

Lars-Anders Carlson @lacarlson.bsky.social · Apr 4

Repost appreciated:

Open #PhDposition in structural virology in my group! Join us in Umeå, 🇸🇪 to uncover how arboviruses remodel the cellular interior. In situ #cryoET combined with #virology, #cellbiology, and #biophysics.

Deadline 4 May. More info: www.carlsonlab.se/join/

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Reposted by Greg Ebel

Prof Sadie J. Ryan (she/her) @sjryan3.bsky.social · Apr 11

"The overlapping global distribution of dengue, chikungunya, Zika and yellow fever" now out with the WHO GAI team doi.org/10.1038/s414...

The overlapping global distribution of dengue, chikungunya, Zika and yellow fever - Nature Communications

Arboviruses transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes have an expanding global distribution and identifying areas at risk is important for public health planning. Here, the authors present global disease maps f...

doi.org

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Greg Ebel @ebellaboratory.bsky.social · Apr 4

It must mean that the panel has recognized the error of their ways…

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Greg Ebel @ebellaboratory.bsky.social · Apr 3

And I got an email saying that a grant that was reviewed in February (and not discussed, ahem) was assigned to a study section.

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Reposted by Greg Ebel

Sarah Merkling @merklinglab.bsky.social · Feb 28

Happy to share our work exploring the genetic basis of dengue susceptibility in Aedes aegypti and revealing the antiviral role of a cytochrome P450. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
It had been a long and wild ride that started back when I was a postdoc within @lambrechtslab.bsky.social ! A thread ⬇️

Dengue virus susceptibility in Aedes aegypti linked to natural cytochrome P450 variants

The mosquito Aedes aegypti is the primary vector for dengue virus (DENV), which infects millions of people annually. Variability in DENV susceptibility among wild Ae. aegypti populations is governed b...

www.biorxiv.org

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Greg Ebel @ebellaboratory.bsky.social · Feb 27

My Du? Huskered.

Timothée Poisot @ctrlalttim.com · Feb 27

my crows? counted

Free Łink - Matthew R Francis @bowlerhatscience.org · Feb 27

my house? crowded

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Greg Ebel @ebellaboratory.bsky.social · Feb 26

Pretty rough week, not gonna lie. Here's the final published version of our study on SARS-CoV-2 in the Denver Zoo.
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in lions, tigers, and hyenas at Denver Zoo | mSphere

Surveillance and experimental testing have shown many animal species, including companion, wildlife, and conservatory, are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2. Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, big cats at zoological institutions were among the first documented cases ...

journals.asm.org

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Reposted by Greg Ebel

American Society for Virology @amersocvirology.bsky.social · Feb 26

Hey ASV members (or new potential members!), don't forget to renew your membership and register for ASV 2025! Current members receive a discount on registration rates! Please log into your membership account at members.asv.org to renew. Contact [email protected] if you need help/have questions.

ASV Members

members.asv.org

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Reposted by Greg Ebel

Salt Lake City Mosquito Abatement District @slcmad.bsky.social · Feb 25

Last week we attended the WCMVCA and WMVCA joint meetings in Jackson, WY. We tested our vector knowledge at a game of trivia, talked mosquitoes & ticks, and enjoyed seeing our colleagues and peers! 🦟Thanks to all who organized, looking forward to next year!

#mosquitoes #publichealth

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Greg Ebel @ebellaboratory.bsky.social · Jan 31

One positive thing that happend this otherwise challenging week is that this paper is FINALLY out. Why are Culex tarsalis so good at spreading West Nile virus? We learned a lot by doing this study. A testament to the tenacity and creativity of Dr. Emily Fitzmeyer.
journals.plos.org/plospathogen...

A single-cell atlas of the Culex tarsalis midgut during West Nile virus infection

Author summary West Nile virus is the leading cause of mosquito-borne disease in N. America. Cx. tarsalis is a highly competent vector of WNV that plays a central role in the transmission and maintena...

journals.plos.org

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Greg Ebel @ebellaboratory.bsky.social · Jan 24

Much needed, solid, objective, well done work to realistically assess possible mosquito vectors of the emergent Oropouche virus.

The Global Vector Hub @globalvectorhub.bsky.social · Jan 24

🦟 "Lack of Competence of US #Mosquito Species for Circulating #Oropouche #Virus" by Anne F Payne et al. in #EID Journal
wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/...

Lack of Competence of US Mosquito Species for Circulating Oropouche Virus

wwwnc.cdc.gov

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Reposted by Greg Ebel

Matt Aliota @aliotalab.bsky.social · Jan 23

Whenever I tell people that I am a prof, I typically get asked "what classes do you teach?" Teaching is important but I spend most of my time running an NIH-funded lab. I wish more people appreciated that research is an economic driver for the state. MN receives $957,099,187 in NIH funding

screen shot from NIH reporter showing that MN receives $957,099,187 in NIH funding.

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Reposted by Greg Ebel

Angie Rasmussen @angierasmussen.bsky.social · Jan 17

Tusen takk til Prof. Anders Goksøy for alt dette. Det er mange store vitenskapsmenn i Norge 🇳🇴 👇

Kristian G. Andersen @kgandersen.bsky.social · Jan 17

Grateful to scientists in Norway pointing out the massive asymmetry in the lab leak discourse that has been much-too prevalent in Norwegian (and much more extremely, U.S) media.

It's time to focus on the science and leave the nonsense.

[Part 1 translation in ALT - see next post for Part 2]

Knowledge-based policy for future pandemics

Are we about to have a toxic debate about the origin of the Covid-19 virus in Norway too?

In Morgenbladet on December 20, virus researcher Kristian Andersen talks about the search for knowledge about the origin of the Covid-19 virus. Where a lab leak from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) first seemed like a plausible possibility, more and more data pointed to a transmission from animals to humans at a wet market. This is how good science is done, where one is initially open to several possibilities, but eventually lands on the explanation that is most supported by scientific facts.

This change in attitude was actually a controlled cover-up, according to supporters of the lab leak theory. Sigrid Bratlie at the think tank Langsikt is one of these. In a column in Aftenposten on September 15, she and researcher Gunnveig Grodeland wrote that "politics have been mixed up with what should have been open and free research." At a meeting in Oslo for Christmas, which Kristian Andersen also attended, Grodeland chose to make a public apology because in this column she could have accused Andersen personally of "acting unscientifically."

Bratlie, however, repeats her allegations about mixing politics and science in Morgenbladet's Christmas newspaper. Bratlie tells Morgenbladet: "(...) it was intended that Andersen's group would help calm China by disproving the lab leak." It can hardly be read as anything other than a conspiracy theory. Here she also accuses Andersen of gross scientific misconduct.

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Greg Ebel @ebellaboratory.bsky.social · Jan 17

Looking forward to reading this one in detail.

Jesse Shapiro @bjesseshapiro.bsky.social · Jan 17

First paper of the year is "Within-host genetic diversity of SARS-CoV-2 across animal species."

TLDR: Deer contain more within-host viral diversity than humans! Why? Read on.

(brief 🧵; 1/n)

academic.oup.com/ve/article/1...

Within-host genetic diversity of SARS-CoV-2 across animal species

Abstract. Infectious disease transmission to different host species makes eradication very challenging and expands the diversity of evolutionary trajectori

academic.oup.com

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Greg Ebel @ebellaboratory.bsky.social · Jan 17

Congratulations! So well deserved, and about the hell time!!! Enjoy the moment - they don't come that often and it's really worth taking a minute. Can't wait to see all the great stuff you'll do next.

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Greg Ebel @ebellaboratory.bsky.social · Jan 17

...it wasn't a good day for the vikings.

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Greg Ebel @ebellaboratory.bsky.social · Jan 16

This is 100% awesome.

Ryan Teague Beckwith @ryanbeckwith.bsky.social · Jan 16

RIP Bob Uecker. Never forget the time he and Bob Gibson got in trouble for holding hands during the team photo.

Pro baseball players Bob Uecker and Bob Gibson holding hands in a team photo

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