Charlotte Houldcroft
@virologyhouldcroft.bsky.social
Virology with a side-order of human evolution. Currently on maternity leave.
So much fun! Catch up at 9pm tonight or on BBC Sounds at your leisure www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
Stand by your radios at 09:00 UK time! I’ll be on R4’s Start the Week with @adamrutherford.bsky.social talking about CRICK. Also with Alison Bashford talking about science and the occult in the history of palmistry and Charlotte Houldcroft describing her work on DNA viruses.
November 24, 2025 at 7:10 PM
So much fun! Catch up at 9pm tonight or on BBC Sounds at your leisure www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
That's quite the headline
November 24, 2025 at 12:39 PM
That's quite the headline
Thank you!
November 24, 2025 at 12:38 PM
Thank you!
Is there a paper or preprint to go with this yet? www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
November 24, 2025 at 6:59 AM
Is there a paper or preprint to go with this yet? www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
Nothing I handle or engineer in the biology lab will every be as biohazardous as a toddler
a man in a suit is standing next to a child in a hospital bed and says there , there .
ALT: a man in a suit is standing next to a child in a hospital bed and says there , there .
media.tenor.com
November 22, 2025 at 10:19 PM
Nothing I handle or engineer in the biology lab will every be as biohazardous as a toddler
This was from someone who had lived in Ohio. Maybe it's regional. Missoula Montana had a lot of Don't Drive High safety posters.
November 21, 2025 at 3:20 PM
This was from someone who had lived in Ohio. Maybe it's regional. Missoula Montana had a lot of Don't Drive High safety posters.
Watching paint* dry this afternoon
*ELIspot plate. It's already in a dry 37C incubator and still not ready to read.
*ELIspot plate. It's already in a dry 37C incubator and still not ready to read.
November 21, 2025 at 3:18 PM
Watching paint* dry this afternoon
*ELIspot plate. It's already in a dry 37C incubator and still not ready to read.
*ELIspot plate. It's already in a dry 37C incubator and still not ready to read.
Is there any evidence that Calpol vapour plugs in actually work to relieve cough and cold symptoms for kiddies?
November 21, 2025 at 8:20 AM
Is there any evidence that Calpol vapour plugs in actually work to relieve cough and cold symptoms for kiddies?
Anecdotally I've been told that getting a DUI fine is seen as a rite of passage on many states, which is very different to the cultural perception of drink-driving in the UK over the last twenty years.
November 21, 2025 at 6:52 AM
Anecdotally I've been told that getting a DUI fine is seen as a rite of passage on many states, which is very different to the cultural perception of drink-driving in the UK over the last twenty years.
Reposted by Charlotte Houldcroft
It’s 2031. You’re a senior official in the Cabinet Office. A respiratory pandemic has broken out in China. You crack open the Hallett Inquiry recommendations to find out what to do and learn…
November 20, 2025 at 8:24 PM
It’s 2031. You’re a senior official in the Cabinet Office. A respiratory pandemic has broken out in China. You crack open the Hallett Inquiry recommendations to find out what to do and learn…
Spare bananas and rice cakes for your child *and* the friend who went out the house with two kids and no snacks
November 19, 2025 at 2:20 PM
Spare bananas and rice cakes for your child *and* the friend who went out the house with two kids and no snacks
Had my first mince pie of the season today, there's no going back now...
November 18, 2025 at 8:28 PM
Had my first mince pie of the season today, there's no going back now...
Live scenes
November 17, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Live scenes
Endangered primates, hard to easily and ethically study in a way that allows collection of the correct sample type to either generate a whole genome/isolate a virus. Lack of funding...
November 17, 2025 at 12:25 PM
Endangered primates, hard to easily and ethically study in a way that allows collection of the correct sample type to either generate a whole genome/isolate a virus. Lack of funding...
Reposted by Charlotte Houldcroft
WE ARE RECRUITING PHD STUDENTS!!!
We have three(!) funded PhD studentships advertising presently. If any of these are of interest, please reach out! Thread below with links to more information on each project.
#Drosophila #Evolution #Immunity #SelfishGene #Aphids
Thread with links below 🧵 1/4
We have three(!) funded PhD studentships advertising presently. If any of these are of interest, please reach out! Thread below with links to more information on each project.
#Drosophila #Evolution #Immunity #SelfishGene #Aphids
Thread with links below 🧵 1/4
November 15, 2025 at 3:35 PM
WE ARE RECRUITING PHD STUDENTS!!!
We have three(!) funded PhD studentships advertising presently. If any of these are of interest, please reach out! Thread below with links to more information on each project.
#Drosophila #Evolution #Immunity #SelfishGene #Aphids
Thread with links below 🧵 1/4
We have three(!) funded PhD studentships advertising presently. If any of these are of interest, please reach out! Thread below with links to more information on each project.
#Drosophila #Evolution #Immunity #SelfishGene #Aphids
Thread with links below 🧵 1/4
Whyyyyy are there so few reference genomes for DNA viruses from chimpanzees?
[I do actually know the answer, I just need to scream into the void this morning]
[I do actually know the answer, I just need to scream into the void this morning]
November 17, 2025 at 9:33 AM
Whyyyyy are there so few reference genomes for DNA viruses from chimpanzees?
[I do actually know the answer, I just need to scream into the void this morning]
[I do actually know the answer, I just need to scream into the void this morning]
Big big big congratulations!
November 14, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Big big big congratulations!
Reposted by Charlotte Houldcroft
Congratulations to Richard Durbin on being awarded our Genetics Society Medal!
November 14, 2025 at 12:40 PM
Congratulations to Richard Durbin on being awarded our Genetics Society Medal!
Geneticists love gossip
November 13, 2025 at 8:22 AM
Geneticists love gossip
I see that the Hitlome documentary has made the UK news...
November 12, 2025 at 9:31 PM
I see that the Hitlome documentary has made the UK news...
Some of the time, Covid is the dominant respiratory pathogen. But not as often as it has been since 2020. Influenza is going to be a problem* this year. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
*More of a problem than usual, more of a problem than since 2020. Probably more of a problem than Covid.
*More of a problem than usual, more of a problem than since 2020. Probably more of a problem than Covid.
New flu virus mutation could see ‘worst season in a decade'
Leading flu experts say they will not be surprised if this year's is the worst flu season for a decade.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 12, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Some of the time, Covid is the dominant respiratory pathogen. But not as often as it has been since 2020. Influenza is going to be a problem* this year. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
*More of a problem than usual, more of a problem than since 2020. Probably more of a problem than Covid.
*More of a problem than usual, more of a problem than since 2020. Probably more of a problem than Covid.
I am seeing a lot of people saying "everyone's ill, it's covid but no one is testing". Some thoughts: if we could distinguish the respiratory illnesses on cough & cold symptoms alone, we would not need PCR & bacterial culture; and actually, the data *from testing* says it's the common cold or flu.
November 12, 2025 at 1:45 PM
I am seeing a lot of people saying "everyone's ill, it's covid but no one is testing". Some thoughts: if we could distinguish the respiratory illnesses on cough & cold symptoms alone, we would not need PCR & bacterial culture; and actually, the data *from testing* says it's the common cold or flu.
Every day is a school day!
November 12, 2025 at 1:41 PM
Every day is a school day!
Are we at Mexico City levels yet? I saw the pendulum shortly after the 2017 quake, and it had lurched again. Plus the general problem of putting your city on a lake bed and then extracting all the water from the aquifer.
November 12, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Are we at Mexico City levels yet? I saw the pendulum shortly after the 2017 quake, and it had lurched again. Plus the general problem of putting your city on a lake bed and then extracting all the water from the aquifer.
Jared Leto but recast as Evan Peters, channeling Cillian Murphy
November 11, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Jared Leto but recast as Evan Peters, channeling Cillian Murphy