Stephen Taylor
@s-taylor.bsky.social
84 followers 170 following 36 posts
Scientific Lead - Pathogen Immunology at UKHSA Porton. Microbial Immunology, Correlates of Protection, Functional serology, Vaccines for AMR, Mucosal Immunity, Strain Variation, Biofilms, Complement *opinions my own and not representative of UKHSA
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Reposted by Stephen Taylor
cazares-adr.bsky.social
Imagine we could travel back in time ⏪⌛️to explore the world of bacterial pathogens before humans discovered and industrialised antibiotics

We just did that to study the history of #AMR spread @science.org
doi.org/10.1126/scie...

If you like time travel & biology, this 🧵is for you👇
Pre- and postantibiotic epoch: The historical spread of antimicrobial resistance
Plasmids are now the primary vectors of antimicrobial resistance, but our understanding of how human industrialisation of antibiotics influenced their evolution is limited by a paucity of data predati...
doi.org
s-taylor.bsky.social
I do despair at the decisions Wes Streeting is making and the one-sided advice he (and the govt generally) seems so keen to take.

Not just on this topic, but on others too tbf
whatthetrans.com
New Podcast Episode: The Gender Clinic Files Part 1

In this episode:

How Wes Streeting used out of date information

A look at the centuries-long waiting list

How newer clinics are doing much more with less, compared to the old GIC system.

And more!

whatthetrans.com/ep141/
What the trans logo at the top.

Episode 141 below, and below that "the gender clinic files". 

On the left is a pair of swallows which highlights some good news in Estonia. 

On the right unfortunately is Wes streeting. 
Below him is the text "part 1, in collaboration with Queeraf" 

To the left is the fantastic Claire Prosho. 

And to the left is another face.
s-taylor.bsky.social
After a meeting of the excellent MOVE consortium today, and the Wellcome/Novo Nordisk Mucosal Immunity conference last week, think i'm on a 1-man mission to convince everyone that complement should be in all immune assays.

Hope people aren't sick of hearing it.. because i'm not stopping 😅
s-taylor.bsky.social
Where is all this background push for pathogen stocks for CHIM studies to be GMP?

It'll kill the field because it's unaffordable. GMP doesn't guarantee a robust bacterial stock, many requirements are surprisingly lax. Is it just CROs sensing an opportunity to corner a market?
Reposted by Stephen Taylor
laurahelmuth.bsky.social
Health and science reporters should lead the coverage of all these health-related conspiracy theories & newsroom leaders should keep their both-sides political reporters out of their way.
s-taylor.bsky.social
To all those worried about the Mounjaro shortage and price hikes.

Screw Eli Lilly, Weygovy is absolutely fine.

I lost 62lb/28kg on Weygovy so am happy to swap back. I only moved over due to a short term shortage of Weygovy from my provider late last year
s-taylor.bsky.social
Can't help but feel the UK Govt is really missing a trick with the current state of the US DH/FDA etc.

Invest like hell to encourage the pharma companies to move their vaccine research over to the UK, we have everything they need for clinical trial infrastructure & vaccine testing
s-taylor.bsky.social
Phenomenal amount of data in this paper.

Really important findings for those of us in public health working on CoP
👏
alexjkeeley.bsky.social
🧵 Our paper out today in @naturemedicine.bsky.social

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

On development of #StrepA #Immunity over life course in #TheGambia raising hope for #vaccines on the horizon

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#Immunosky #IDsky #MicroSky #globalhealth.
www.nature.com
s-taylor.bsky.social
I can seriously see a Labour government, headed by a human rights lawyer, being the one that actually takes us out of the ECHR. Mostly just driven by fear of the RW press.

Introducing a new Section 28 and going further than any RW govt we've had. Didn't see this coming at all
esqueer.net
This is legitimately insane. It's not an exaggeration to say this is actually a full on bathroom ban for trans people because they're banned from using spaces of their sex assigned at birth too!
Screenshot of text discussing draft guidance on excluding trans people from certain services. It states that, in some cases, a trans person could be excluded even if their biological sex matches the service. The text explains that exclusion might be justified to prevent alarm or distress to others, giving the example that a trans man could be excluded from a women-only service if he presents as a man and others might reasonably object, making exclusion a proportionate means to a legitimate aim.
Reposted by Stephen Taylor
britsocimm.bsky.social
✨We’ve just launched our new guide to #vaccinations during #pregnancy!

Understand how immunity changes, which vaccines the NHS recommends, and how they protect both parent and baby during pregnancy and beyond.

Download a copy for trusted information: bit.ly/4fuRqVw
Reposted by Stephen Taylor
labliston.bsky.social
Research has an economic return multiplier >1. So taxes don't even really pay for research. Research more than pays for itself, the taxes are just used to kick-start the positive economic cycle. The more money invested in research, the better the economy.
s-taylor.bsky.social
Personally I think we're miles away from being able to replace complex systems with in vitro alternatives. Not that in vivo is all that reliable either, but at least we have an idea of the weaknesses
s-taylor.bsky.social
Is there a more depressing travel experience than the Brussels Eurostar facility since Brexit?

Gone is the cafe, now just by a massive, pointless duty free shop, no ability to buy a cup of tea, and people just crammed into a depressing holding area to wait for the train.
Reposted by Stephen Taylor
shematologist.medsky.social
Vaccines have literally saved more than 150 million lives over the last 50 years and prevented much more morbidity but hold up guys somebody with a brain worm knows better
Figure showing number of deaths averted due to vaccines from 1974-2024
Reposted by Stephen Taylor
nizet.bsky.social
🄰🅆🄴🅂🄾🄼🄴
Stubbusch et al 𝘚𝘊𝘐𝘌𝘕𝘊𝘌

Bacteria 🦠 repurpose Type VI Secretion Systems based on environmental cues:

Nutrient-rich environments ➜ kill competitors

Under starvation ➜ lyse neighbors to scavenge their nutrients

Even “non-pathogens” shift from competition to predation as a survival strategy
Antagonism as a foraging strategy in microbial communities
In natural habitats, nutrient availability limits bacterial growth. We discovered that bacteria can overcome this limitation by acquiring nutrients by lysing neighboring cells through contact-dependen...
www.science.org
s-taylor.bsky.social
What a disgrace. And as an old graduate, with many happy memories, I'm appalled. Thinking of cancelling my charity donation now

@uniofreading.bsky.social
Reposted by Stephen Taylor
esqueer.net
The head of the UKs Equality and Human Rights Commission just said that the European Convention on Human Rights Article 8 right to privacy doesn't apply to trans people.

Article 8 is why the UK was forced to create the gender recognition act by the European Court of human Rights in the first place.
anniewallace.com
Here it is... the smoking gun that should bring down this entire EHRC committee.
Reposted by Stephen Taylor
ryanmarino.bsky.social
Hi! I specialize in medication toxicity. All available, real-world data has proven mifepristone is actually even safer than many over the counter medicines.

Mortality rates:

Mifepristone: 0.65/100,000
Penicillin 2/100K
Viagra 4/100K

Pregnancy in the US: 22/100,000 (some states see rates >60/100K)
s-taylor.bsky.social
Since we joined the civil service a while back it's been really eye opening to see the waste in spending. Endless efficiency drives and tracking/monitoring just creates more costs than it saves. The worry about PS fraud drives up costs massively
s-taylor.bsky.social
When will the government finally give up on this ridiculous boondoggle of moving UKHSA Porton to Harlow? The amount of public money already wasted shouldn't be chased with more even money for something absolutely no-one wants.

Just let the idea die

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Rachel Reeves seeks 'best outcome' from Harlow UKHSA lab scheme
Work on the new secretive research centre has been on hold since March 2023.
www.bbc.co.uk
Reposted by Stephen Taylor
goodlawproject.org
I stand by every word. JK Rowling's war on trans people has terrifying consequences for trans people, profoundly negative ones for all women cis or trans who don't conform to gender norms, and ignores the real problems all women face.

Still, it delights the Far Right: there is that.
Writing on the social media site Bluesky, Maugham said that “for JK Rowling ‘sex-based rights’ are not the right to be paid the same as men, to live without sexual violence or coercion, to share the burden of unpaid labour, to escape the motherhood penalty or have domestic abuse taken seriously. They are about the exclusion of trans women. Mind-blowing”.
Reposted by Stephen Taylor
chris-noone.bsky.social
Just out! Our peer-reviewed critique of the Cass Review has been published by BMC Medical Research Methodology. Please read and share. We show that the Cass Review is fatally flawed and should not be the basis for policy or practice in transgender healthcare.

link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Reposted by Stephen Taylor
drandrealove.bsky.social
Which FDA-approved vaccines had randomized, placebo-controlled trials?

ALL OF THEM.

Polio?
Measles, mumps, rubella?
Haemophilus influenzae B?
Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis?
Meningococcus?
Varicella?
Pneumococcus?
Rotavirus?
RSV?
Hepatitis B?
Influenza?
HPV?
COVID-19?
Shingles?

YEP.

A thread🧵
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