Ian M. Mackay, PhD (he/him) 🦠🤧🧬📑🦟🧀
@mackayim.bsky.social
forever virologist but not a working one. past researcher. PCR guy. past lab manager. husband. dad. reader. writer. fixer. bad typist. learner. australian.
#MasksWork
https://virologydownunder.com/
#MasksWork
https://virologydownunder.com/
Pinned
Pathology lab PCR is not research lab PCR
Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) use in the pathology lab differs from research-based PCR in two fundamental ways, namely quality and clinical expertise. These are essential to producing a clinical diagnosis supported by results from a range of tests performed by different branches of 'the pathology laboratory'. In a research lab, PCR results are often relied on to confirm experimental outcomes. Recognising these differences requires experience in a high-quality pathology lab setting to fully appreciate the absolute need for quality and its ubiquity. My experience The many words below are based on 32 years of experience in both research and routine labs, using PCR as a tool to answer a range of questions.
virologydownunder.com
Pathology lab PCR is not research lab PCR
Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) use in the pathology lab differs from research-based PCR in two fundamental ways, namely quality and clinical expertise. These are essential to producing a clinical diagnosis supported by results from a range of tests…
Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) use in the pathology lab differs from research-based PCR in two fundamental ways, namely quality and clinical expertise. These are essential to producing a clinical diagnosis supported by results from a range of tests…
Law enforcement quotas. What could possibly be wrong with those?
"Roving patrols are a function of the quota that has been issued by the White House for 3,000 arrests per day," said former Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano. "So they're just running around looking, and that has caused all kinds of abuse." https://to.pbs.org/3ZMdZxF
‘No excuse’ for immigration agents’ excess use of force, says former DHS head Napolitano
In a forum on federal agents’ use of force in Trump’s immigration crackdown, Democratic lawmakers heard from Americans who have been directly affected. No officials from the Department of Homeland Sec...
to.pbs.org
February 4, 2026 at 2:41 AM
Law enforcement quotas. What could possibly be wrong with those?
...a facist need to remove communication that explains & educates using evidence. Instead fuelling sources that amplify blatant lies & disinformation.
The US relies on raising the volume of propaganda to make Americans think the chaos they are clearly witnessing is good for them & their country
The US relies on raising the volume of propaganda to make Americans think the chaos they are clearly witnessing is good for them & their country
President Donald Trump said Tuesday that PBS and NPR are "a waste of money," having convinced the Republican-led Congress to gut funding for U.S. public media last year. https://to.pbs.org/4ahkoGd
WATCH: Trump calls PBS and NPR 'a waste of money' at funding bill signing
The president made the comment moments before signing legislation passed earlier in the day by the House of Representatives to fund most of the government through the end of September and end the part...
www.pbs.org
February 4, 2026 at 12:48 AM
...a facist need to remove communication that explains & educates using evidence. Instead fuelling sources that amplify blatant lies & disinformation.
The US relies on raising the volume of propaganda to make Americans think the chaos they are clearly witnessing is good for them & their country
The US relies on raising the volume of propaganda to make Americans think the chaos they are clearly witnessing is good for them & their country
"Science is intrinsically neither good nor bad; rather, it is usually competent, sometimes inept, occasionally inspired, and often humorous"
Humor in Science, Edwin D Kilbourne
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11613444/
Humor in Science, Edwin D Kilbourne
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11613444/
Humor in science - PubMed
Humor in science
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
February 4, 2026 at 12:03 AM
"Science is intrinsically neither good nor bad; rather, it is usually competent, sometimes inept, occasionally inspired, and often humorous"
Humor in Science, Edwin D Kilbourne
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11613444/
Humor in Science, Edwin D Kilbourne
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11613444/
"In short, scientists are different, alien, and foreign, and therefore automatic targets for ridicule-as has been the traditional fate of American immigrants"
Humor in Science, Edwin D Kilbourne
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11613444/
Humor in Science, Edwin D Kilbourne
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11613444/
February 3, 2026 at 11:39 PM
"In short, scientists are different, alien, and foreign, and therefore automatic targets for ridicule-as has been the traditional fate of American immigrants"
Humor in Science, Edwin D Kilbourne
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11613444/
Humor in Science, Edwin D Kilbourne
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11613444/
They won't stop anything.
Graham is a beacon of highlighting things that specifically will NOT happen.
#drongo
Graham is a beacon of highlighting things that specifically will NOT happen.
#drongo
⚡️ Senator Lindsey Graham is calling on President Trump to send Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine to stop Putin's latest attacks.
🔗 united24media.com/latest-news/...
🔗 united24media.com/latest-news/...
February 3, 2026 at 11:00 PM
They won't stop anything.
Graham is a beacon of highlighting things that specifically will NOT happen.
#drongo
Graham is a beacon of highlighting things that specifically will NOT happen.
#drongo
Reposted by Ian M. Mackay, PhD (he/him) 🦠🤧🧬📑🦟🧀
An infant in New Mexico died of listeria, prompting the state's health department to warn residents against consuming raw milk and other raw dairy products.
New Mexico warns against drinking raw milk after newborn dies from listeria
The New Mexico Department of Health said officials believe the baby contracted listeria after their mother drank raw milk during pregnancy.
cbsn.ws
February 3, 2026 at 9:20 PM
An infant in New Mexico died of listeria, prompting the state's health department to warn residents against consuming raw milk and other raw dairy products.
Reposted by Ian M. Mackay, PhD (he/him) 🦠🤧🧬📑🦟🧀
Donald Trump says he wants Republicans to "nationalise" US elections and has encouraged his party to "take over the voting" in at least some parts of the country.
Trump tells Republicans 'we should take over the voting'
Donald Trump says he wants Republicans to "nationalise" US elections and has encouraged his party to "take over the voting" in at least some parts of the country.
www.abc.net.au
February 3, 2026 at 8:38 PM
Donald Trump says he wants Republicans to "nationalise" US elections and has encouraged his party to "take over the voting" in at least some parts of the country.
He'll tear it down then conclude it's all new and drop the 'Kennedy' name altogether.
President Donald Trump said Monday that he won't tear down the Kennedy Center but said it needs to be closed for about two years for work that cannot be done with patrons coming and going for shows and other performances. https://to.pbs.org/4telhrr
WATCH: Trump says he's not ripping down the Kennedy Center, 'we're using the structure' to renovate
President Donald Trump's comments suggested that the interior of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts will be gutted as part of the process.
www.pbs.org
February 3, 2026 at 4:23 AM
He'll tear it down then conclude it's all new and drop the 'Kennedy' name altogether.
Amazing. Who'da think it?
Emerging bat virus found in stored throat swabs from 5 patients with suspected #Nipah infection
The finding raises the concern that dangerous bat viruses may be silently co-circulating with Nipah virus.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/m...
Photo: Cloudtail the Snow Leopard / Flickr cc
The finding raises the concern that dangerous bat viruses may be silently co-circulating with Nipah virus.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/m...
Photo: Cloudtail the Snow Leopard / Flickr cc
February 2, 2026 at 10:11 PM
Amazing. Who'da think it?
Reposted by Ian M. Mackay, PhD (he/him) 🦠🤧🧬📑🦟🧀
U.S. immigration officials have imposed quarantines and stopped all movement inside a family detention facility in Texas after two measles cases were confirmed among detainees there, a DHS official said on Monday.
Measles Hits ICE Family Detention Center in Texas
The Department of Homeland Security has imposed a quarantine on a family detention center in Dilley, Texas, after two detainees contracted the disease.
nyti.ms
February 2, 2026 at 10:00 PM
U.S. immigration officials have imposed quarantines and stopped all movement inside a family detention facility in Texas after two measles cases were confirmed among detainees there, a DHS official said on Monday.
Reposted by Ian M. Mackay, PhD (he/him) 🦠🤧🧬📑🦟🧀
⚡️ Sweden is in talks to send Ukraine the powerful Meteor air-to-air missile to help take down Russian warplanes.
Sweden Considers Arming Ukraine With Europe’s Most Powerful Air-to-Air Missile
Sweden advances military support for Ukraine, discussing the transfer of Meteor missiles and Gripen jets to bolster defense capabilities.
united24media.com
February 2, 2026 at 12:44 PM
⚡️ Sweden is in talks to send Ukraine the powerful Meteor air-to-air missile to help take down Russian warplanes.
Reposted by Ian M. Mackay, PhD (he/him) 🦠🤧🧬📑🦟🧀
Kallas: Russia has attacked 19 countries in 100 years without provocation.
"We need to seek concessions on the Russian side on limitations on their military budget, their army, or nuclear weapons," the EU foreign policy chief says.
"We need to seek concessions on the Russian side on limitations on their military budget, their army, or nuclear weapons," the EU foreign policy chief says.
February 2, 2026 at 11:22 AM
Kallas: Russia has attacked 19 countries in 100 years without provocation.
"We need to seek concessions on the Russian side on limitations on their military budget, their army, or nuclear weapons," the EU foreign policy chief says.
"We need to seek concessions on the Russian side on limitations on their military budget, their army, or nuclear weapons," the EU foreign policy chief says.
Reposted by Ian M. Mackay, PhD (he/him) 🦠🤧🧬📑🦟🧀
Only hours after blowing up a maternity hospital, Russians have just murdered 15 miners that were returning home from their shift in Dnipropetrovsk.
February 2, 2026 at 8:07 AM
Only hours after blowing up a maternity hospital, Russians have just murdered 15 miners that were returning home from their shift in Dnipropetrovsk.
A good one.
(from the account of billybiggles on Threads)
(from the account of billybiggles on Threads)
February 2, 2026 at 5:41 AM
A good one.
(from the account of billybiggles on Threads)
(from the account of billybiggles on Threads)
This is utterly horrific as it stands.
As an additional aside, I see this evil sinking into my adult kid's psyches. I detest all who made this, and the many other horrors being visited upon the world, a reality. I wish nothing good for them. Ever.
As an additional aside, I see this evil sinking into my adult kid's psyches. I detest all who made this, and the many other horrors being visited upon the world, a reality. I wish nothing good for them. Ever.
A Lancet preprint estimates that if US funding is cut and not replaced, from 2025-2040 there will be 15.2 mil add'l AIDS deaths, 2.2 mil add'l TB deaths, 7.9 mil add'l child deaths from other causes, and 40-55 mil add'l unplanned pregnancies.
@altusaid.altgov.info
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
@altusaid.altgov.info
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
February 2, 2026 at 3:54 AM
This is utterly horrific as it stands.
As an additional aside, I see this evil sinking into my adult kid's psyches. I detest all who made this, and the many other horrors being visited upon the world, a reality. I wish nothing good for them. Ever.
As an additional aside, I see this evil sinking into my adult kid's psyches. I detest all who made this, and the many other horrors being visited upon the world, a reality. I wish nothing good for them. Ever.
Reposted by Ian M. Mackay, PhD (he/him) 🦠🤧🧬📑🦟🧀
While the top 1% control $54 TRILLION
(not a typo)
(not a typo)
October 28, 2025 at 1:12 AM
While the top 1% control $54 TRILLION
(not a typo)
(not a typo)
Quite a read. Thx for always bringing really interesting and educational stuff to the table @warinthefuture.bsky.social
"For PLA planners, the overarching lesson is an uncomfortable one. It is the realization that space support can no longer be treated as a specialized rear-area function, but must be viewed as a frontline contest." Chinese learning about space ops from the #Ukraine War.
jamestown.org/pla-assessme...
jamestown.org/pla-assessme...
PLA Assessments on the Centrality of Space Power in Ukraine - Jamestown
Executive Summary: Editor’s note: This is the final installment in a four-part series on the lessons that the People’s Republic of China has learned from observing Russia’s war in Ukraine. The first t...
jamestown.org
February 2, 2026 at 3:36 AM
Quite a read. Thx for always bringing really interesting and educational stuff to the table @warinthefuture.bsky.social
Reposted by Ian M. Mackay, PhD (he/him) 🦠🤧🧬📑🦟🧀
I will continue to donate to MSF as I have every month for the past 20 years: www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...
Doctors Without Borders to cease Gaza operations after refusing to hand over staff lists
The Aid Group Is One of the Largest Humanitarian Organizations Operating in the Gaza Strip, and Doctors Warn Its Departure Will Severely Damage Medical Services. A Local Physician Criticized Those Pra...
www.haaretz.com
February 1, 2026 at 11:20 PM
I will continue to donate to MSF as I have every month for the past 20 years: www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...
Reposted by Ian M. Mackay, PhD (he/him) 🦠🤧🧬📑🦟🧀
A system that selects out expertise in favour of those who have no knowledge plus a desire against learning, will only ever be corrupt and incapable of brokering lasting or truly beneficial deals.
February 1, 2026 at 9:46 PM
A system that selects out expertise in favour of those who have no knowledge plus a desire against learning, will only ever be corrupt and incapable of brokering lasting or truly beneficial deals.
Bloody hell.
I totally forgot - it's Happy Feb 1 Secret Teleconference Day!!!
Luckily - and even now, six years later - the A Team over on The Other Site is already celebrating 🙇🙏🥳.
Luckily - and even now, six years later - the A Team over on The Other Site is already celebrating 🙇🙏🥳.
February 1, 2026 at 9:14 PM
Bloody hell.
Reposted by Ian M. Mackay, PhD (he/him) 🦠🤧🧬📑🦟🧀
Measles cases are rising in the U.S., and for many parents, it’s a never-before-seen disease. Here's how to spot the rash, and protect your family against this dangerous infection. (via @politifact.bsky.social) https://to.pbs.org/4qUAHQh
A parent’s guide to preventing measles infection and what to look for
Measles cases are rising in the U.S., and for many parents, it’s a never-before-seen disease. Here's how to spot the rash, and protect your family against this dangerous infection.
www.pbs.org
February 1, 2026 at 9:09 PM
Measles cases are rising in the U.S., and for many parents, it’s a never-before-seen disease. Here's how to spot the rash, and protect your family against this dangerous infection. (via @politifact.bsky.social) https://to.pbs.org/4qUAHQh
Reposted by Ian M. Mackay, PhD (he/him) 🦠🤧🧬📑🦟🧀
Being a night owl can be bad for your heart. That may sound surprising but a large study found people who are more active late at night have poorer overall heart health than the average person. Here's what to do to improve your health.
bit.ly/4kf4l03
bit.ly/4kf4l03
February 1, 2026 at 12:00 AM
Being a night owl can be bad for your heart. That may sound surprising but a large study found people who are more active late at night have poorer overall heart health than the average person. Here's what to do to improve your health.
bit.ly/4kf4l03
bit.ly/4kf4l03