Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Andrew Rambaut @arambaut.bsky.social · 1d

It is almost a classic reply-guy reply. If this as the other place it would have been instant!

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Andrew Rambaut @arambaut.bsky.social · 1d

Cue replies saying "Actually Frankenstein was the creator not the recombinant person monster"

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Andrew Rambaut @arambaut.bsky.social · 19d

Damn, I forgot to put "Never going to give you up" on it. You all clicked it right?

Andrew Rambaut @arambaut.bsky.social · 19d

I just registered the domain Pathogenomenick.ai - do you want it?

Pathogenomenick.ai

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Reposted by Andrew Rambaut

Nick Loman @pathogenomenick.bsky.social · 19d

Terrific new feature presented by @theo.io on @pathoplexus.org called SeqSets for generating DOIs for sequence subsets used in publications, that can then be tracked for impact via CrossRef that will allow data generators to track impact! #IMMEMXiV

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Andrew Rambaut @arambaut.bsky.social · 23d

Wonderful picture. Same nights, exactly the same location, different scale - a zoom in on the orange rectangle -

Picture of the milky way above a rock in Southern Spain with a small orange rectangle highlighting the location of the Cygnus Loop or Veil Nebula.

A long exposure picture of the Cygnus Loop or Veil Nebula taken over 5 nights in Southern Spain. 325mm telescope.

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Reposted by Andrew Rambaut

Pathoplexus @pathoplexus.org · 28d

Amid the concerning news of a new Ebola Zaire outbreak in DRC, teams on the ground have already managed to sample, sequence, and share data. This rapid turnaround is a testament to their commitment and capacity to respond.

Read more: virological.org/t/the-16th-e...

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The 16th Ebola Virus Disease Outbreak in Bulape Health Zone, Kasai, Democratic Republic of the Congo: A new spillover event from an unknown reservoir host

Background The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is currently facing concurrent outbreaks including mpox, cholera and malaria (1-4). The Ministry of Public Health, DRC has declared the 16th Ebola...

virological.org

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Reposted by Andrew Rambaut

Flo Débarre @flodebarre.bsky.social · Sep 8

@zachhensel.bsky.social and I have a new paper on the origin of SARS-CoV-2! 🧪

There are a lot of reviews on the topic already, so we tried to do something different: characterize "lab leak" scenarios, and directly address those on SARS-CoV-2's furin cleavage site.▫️1/9

doi.org/10.5802/crbi...

doi.org

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Andrew Rambaut @arambaut.bsky.social · Sep 7

Also a character in this bizarre story: www.computerweekly.com/news/3665534...

Top science journal faced secret attacks from Covid conspiracy theory group | Computer Weekly

One of the world’s most prestigious general science journals, was the target of a two-year long sustained and virulent secret attack by a conspiratorial group of extreme Brexit lobbyists with high-lev...

www.computerweekly.com

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Reposted by Andrew Rambaut

Jason Rasgon @vectorgen.bsky.social · Sep 3

Go home Evolution you're drunk

Nature @nature.com · Sep 3

A common type of ant in Europe breaks a fundamental rule in biology: its queens can produce male offspring that are a whole different species

go.nature.com/4mOb5T9

‘Almost unimaginable’: these ants are different species but share a mother

Ant queens of one species clone ants of another to create hybrid workers that do their bidding.

go.nature.com

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Andrew Rambaut @arambaut.bsky.social · Sep 1

Certainly a dangerous new strain of cat - as big as a tree.

Reposted by Andrew Rambaut

Pathoplexus @pathoplexus.org · Aug 27

🎉 New in August: Measles virus joins Pathoplexus!

Following strong community support, we added MeV data submission (with Open & Restricted-Use options, as always) and powerful search & data access for MeV
pathoplexus.org/measles/search

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A screenshot of the Pathoplexus homepage, now showing Measles among the other pathogens supported.

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Reposted by Andrew Rambaut

Pathoplexus @pathoplexus.org · Aug 27

🗓 Pathoplexus turns ONE! 🎂🎉

In the past year we’ve grown from 4 pathogens to a truly global, community-driven platform for transparent, equitable & impactful pathogen sequence sharing.
📰 Read the full update: pathoplexus.org/news/2025-08...

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Reposted by Andrew Rambaut

European Virus Bioinformatics Center @evbc.bsky.social · Aug 25

BEAST X accelerates Bayesian phylogenetic and phylodynamic inference with enhanced scalability and geo spread modeling.
#BEASTX #Phylodynamics #VirusEvolution
👤EVBC: Philippe Lemey
🔗

BEAST X for Bayesian phylogenetic, phylogeographic and phylodynamic inference - Nature Methods

BEAST X advances Bayesian phylogenetic, phylogeographic and phylodynamic analysis by incorporating a broad range of complex models and leveraging advanced algorithms and techniques to boost statistical inference.

doi.org

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Andrew Rambaut @arambaut.bsky.social · Aug 25

I wonder if they even told the first reviewer? I would have been livid to know my review had been thrown out.

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Andrew Rambaut @arambaut.bsky.social · Aug 25

Also it is wasting the first reviewer's donated time and work.

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Andrew Rambaut @arambaut.bsky.social · Aug 14

Isn't he just saying how bleak he thinks LA is?

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Reposted by Andrew Rambaut

Kristian G. Andersen @kgandersen.bsky.social · Aug 13

Not to belabor a "I told you so", but it's been clear for years that the whole "lab leak" discourse has absolutely nothing to do with a potential lab leak and everything to do with a broader anti-science agenda.

I really, and truly, hope more scientists will realize this and take corrective action.

Greg Folkers @gregfolkers.bsky.social · Aug 13

Atlantic: Why RFK Jr.’s Anti-Vaccine Campaign Is Working

The Trump administration’s COVID-revenge campaign has laid the groundwork for Kennedy’s larger agenda.

by Katherin J. Wu

bit.ly/4mfxk3S

Why RFK Jr.’s Anti-Vaccine Campaign Is Working

The Trump administration’s COVID-revenge campaign has laid the groundwork for Kennedy’s larger agenda.

bit.ly

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Andrew Rambaut @arambaut.bsky.social · Aug 14

It is not that other transmission routes aren't possible (in particular within-household or basically any close contact) but sexual networks are currently how there are sufficient numbers of contacts within the infectious period to sustain an R > 1. Every outbreak so far has had this at its core.

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Reposted by Andrew Rambaut

⚡️🔩Felsenstein's Monster🔩⚡️ @josephwb.bsky.social · Aug 13

Dang I never thought it would be so extensive killedbygoogle.com

Killed by Google

Killed by Google is the open source list of dead Google products, services, and devices. It serves as a tribute and memorial of beloved services and products killed by Google.

killedbygoogle.com

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Reposted by Andrew Rambaut

The Royal Society @royalsociety.org · Aug 10

Our Faraday Discovery Fellowships are now open for applications. These prestigious long-term awards are designed to support mid-career research leaders to undertake high-quality, original research. Find out more now:

#RSGrants royalsociety.org/grants/farad...

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Andrew Rambaut @arambaut.bsky.social · Aug 8

Thanks. I saw that bit in the article but thought you might have other info. I guess it depends what 'cocirculation' means here.

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Andrew Rambaut @arambaut.bsky.social · Aug 8

Just from the available genomes, the Guinea sequenced cases are part of the Sierra Leone outbreak (IIb) and the Liberian IIa genomes (from 2024 mind you) look like independent zoonoses. Is the Clade IIa H2H coming from epidemiology?

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Andrew Rambaut @arambaut.bsky.social · Aug 8

Have you got a link to the H2H for clade IIa?

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Reposted by Andrew Rambaut

Jeffrey Barrett @jeffbarrett.eu · Aug 7

Good choice!

Shaun Lintern @shaunlintern.bsky.social · Aug 7

Just announced - @smhopkins.bsky.social will be the new chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency @ukhsa.bsky.social. Starting in September.

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