Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Alain Kohl

Ewan Birney @ewanbirney.bsky.social · 11h

A reminder that the PhD program for EMBL is open for winter recruitment round. If you want to understand life at a molecular level and have a quantitative science (you don't have to have done biology - we love our mathematicians/physcists/chemists!) apply www.embl.org/about/info/e...

Application – EMBL International PhD Programme

www.embl.org

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Alain Kohl @alainkohlvirology.bsky.social · 18h

The alphafold for behavioural scientists?

Science Magazine @science.org · 23h

For behavioral scientists struggling to recruit enough subjects for their studies, #AI offers a tantalizing solution: artificial “participants” that can stand in for real people.

But a new preprint calls for caution before researchers make the leap. https://scim.ag/42myIdg

AI-generated ‘participants’ can lead social science experiments astray, study finds

Data produced by “silicon samples” depends on researchers’ exact choice of models, prompts, and settings

scim.ag

Alain Kohl @alainkohlvirology.bsky.social · 18h

Which is exactly why you should think of clear figures and layout that are understandable from any angle 😀

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Alain Kohl @alainkohlvirology.bsky.social · 18h

I agree. Give this a bit of time over the coming days.

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Science Magazine @science.org · 1d

A new generation of radiotherapies promises a more targeted attack on cancer.

Learn more: https://scim.ag/3IwH8YW

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Jason Rasgon @vectorgen.bsky.social · 1d

Very sad. I just gave a lecture last week on the history of animal cloning and John came up a bunch

Katherine Brown @katherine-brown.bsky.social · 1d

Very saddened to hear of John Gurdon’s passing. I’ve been lucky enough to interact with him at multiple points through my career - from undergrad lectures, through his position as former Chair of @biologists.bsky.social’s Board of Directors, and as an author at @dev-journal.bsky.social.

Nobel Laureate Professor Sir John Gurdon dies aged 92

It is with great sadness that the University shares the news of the death of Professor Sir John Gurdon, founder of the Gurdon Institute.

www.cam.ac.uk

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Alain Kohl @alainkohlvirology.bsky.social · 1d

Although I do remember the shock and horror when Cameron and Clegg had to form a coalition….but yes a critical time for Europe as well as France this clown show needs to end.

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European Commission @ec.europa.eu · 2d

🇪🇺🤝🇯🇵

The EU and Japan are strengthening research & innovation ties.

Talks on Japan’s association to #HorizonEurope will conclude by end-2025.

By sharing our talent and technology, we’ll drive breakthroughs in climate, energy, mobility, digital, industry, space & health.

link.europa.eu/YFYdGg

A traditional Japanese temple and red bridge surrounded by autumn trees, symbolizing EU–Japan cooperation. The EU and Japan flags appear in the centre, with the text: “EU–Japan: Strengthening Research Ties through Horizon Europe

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Angie Rasmussen @angierasmussen.bsky.social · 2d

I wrote a thing about how this split the MMR up into monovalents is bullshit that Andrew Wakefield cooked up. It will be used to strip access to the MMR.

The MAHA movement continues to destroy public health.

open.substack.com/pub/rasmusse...

The Monovalent Mirage

A pretend alternative to the MMR exists, just ask Andrew Wakefield

open.substack.com

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Oded Rechavi @odedrechavi.bsky.social · 2d

Fwd: Fwd: “I hope this email finds you well”

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Connor Bamford @connorggbamford.bsky.social · 3d

🦠 "Social Virology at the Tri-Kingdom Interface in Birds and Mammals" 🐥

We have a new 4y (open to intl students) PhD project advertised through the NorthWestBio Doctoral Training Partnership (lnkd.in/ee8hRpN6 ) between QUBelfast and Lancaster on virus-bacterial interactions across vertebrates!

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Alain Kohl @alainkohlvirology.bsky.social · 5d

At least I know why I remain a member of ASV- they took a principled stand.

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Rupinder Kaur, PhD @kaurr.bsky.social · 6d

#Wolbachia has puzzled scientists with its power to rewire insect reproduction. What if I tell you that we found one of the keys Wolbachia use to rewire its host AND a small molecule inhibitor uses this key to mimic what this microbe has mastered for millions of years.

www.cell.com/cell-reports...

Beyond Wolbachia—Can a small molecule control insect reproduction?

Kaur et al. demonstrate reduced histone acetylation as a key mechanism underpinning Wolbachia’s paternal-effect embryonic lethality trait in Drosophila melanogaster. Recapitulation of this trait by in...

www.cell.com

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Alain Kohl @alainkohlvirology.bsky.social · 5d

Companies falling over each other to please and appease an authoritarian regime? Where have we seen this before.

Alain Kohl @alainkohlvirology.bsky.social · 6d

Thanks for hosting me- a pleasure to interact with so many great colleagues!

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Heather Ferguson @drheatherferg.bsky.social · 7d

Great work by @ukhsa.bsky.social team on 4 yrs of invasive #mosquito surveillance in UK. Sporadic detection of Aedes albopictus on transport routes in England & one-off detection of aegypti at Heathrow don't confirm establishment, but show value of surveillance
journals.plos.org/globalpublic...

Invasive mosquito surveillance in the United Kingdom 2020 to 2024: First detection of Aedes aegypti eggs in the UK and further detection of Aedes albopictus

Here, we provide an update on invasive mosquito surveillance activities coordinated by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) between May 2020 and November 2024. Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti are ...

journals.plos.org

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The Global Vector Hub @globalvectorhub.bsky.social · 7d

📢 "Invasive #mosquito surveillance in the #UnitedKingdom 2020 to 2024: First detection of #Aedes aegypti eggs in the UK and further detection of Aedes albopictus 🦟" by Colin Johnston et al. @ukhsa.bsky.social published in @plosglobalpublichealth.org

journals.plos.org/globalpublic...

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Joe Grove @grovearmada.bsky.social · 13d

🚨 New Web Resource Alert! 🚨 We're delighted to share Viro3D a database of >85000 viral protein structure predictions from >4400 human & animal viruses.

🔗 viro3d.cvr.gla.ac.uk
📄 www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....

@molsystbiol.org @cvrinfo.bsky.social @uofgmvls.bsky.social #Virology #AlphaFold 🧪 🦠

Viro3D

viro3d.cvr.gla.ac.uk

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Ben Longdon @blongdon.bsky.social · 13d

2 job adverts on a NERC project w myself + @darrenobbard.bsky.social on “What determines the virome: ecology and the environment, evolution, or species history?” early 2026 in
@uniexecec.bsky.social
- Postdoc: jobs.exeter.ac.uk/hrpr_webrecr...
- RA: jobs.exeter.ac.uk/hrpr_webrecr...
Pls share!

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Rhys Parry @rhyshparry.bsky.social · 12d

Congrats to @summabibby.bsky.social @naphakm.bsky.social Daniel Watterson et al. here at SCMB on the first high-res cryo-EM structures of yellow fever virus! Striking vaccine vs virulent particle differences and a single R380 residue shaping antigenicity & neutralisation. doi.org/10.1038/s414...

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Alain Kohl @alainkohlvirology.bsky.social · 11d

Yes that’s the biggest discussion point in academia. Never mind lack of funding for research, universities saddled with business models doomed to fail….it’s whether we have a degree of respect and compassion for fellow citizens.

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Alain Kohl @alainkohlvirology.bsky.social · 12d

Idiocracy.

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Prof Sheena Cruickshank @sheencr.bsky.social · 12d

For my take on the actual science

What the current disinformation and discussions on vaccines, Tylenol (Paracetamol), autism could mean for us all.

Disinformation and Disarray in American Health Policy Making

open.substack.com

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Helen Lazear @lazearlab.bsky.social · 13d

Jesse Lazear died of yellow fever Sept. 25, 1900. Along with other research by the Yellow Fever Commission, his demonstration that yellow fever is transmitted by mosquitoes provided the basis for efforts to control this devastating disease.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_W...

Portrait of Jesse Lazear, photo of an Aedes aegypti mosquito, image of Jesse Lazear’s fever chart.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_William_Lazear
CDC Public Health Image Library ID#9257
Fever chart for Jesse W. Lazear, September 19, 1900, Box-folder 3:47, Philip S. Hench Walter Reed Yellow Fever Collection 1806-1995, Historical Collections, Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, University of Virginia

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Deena Mousa @deenamousa.com · 14d

In 2016 Geoffrey Hinton said “we should stop training radiologists now" since AI would soon be better at their jobs.

He was right: models have outperformed radiologists on benchmarks for ~a decade.

Yet radiology jobs are at record highs, with an average salary of $520k.

Why?

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