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Ché Pillay

@chepillay.bsky.social
796 followers 1.2K following 70 posts

Redox systems biology. South Africa. Views own. orcid.org/0000-0002-0885-6490

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Reposted by Ché Pillay
Derek Lowe @dereklowe.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
The craziest compound-impurity story I’ve ever heard:
science.org
Now That's An Impurity Story
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Ché Pillay @chepillay.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
How cool is this: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
Mammals produce cyclo-octasulfur to suppress lipid peroxidation and ferroptosis
Elemental sulfur is an evolutionarily ancient metabolite, yet its generation, storage, and function in animals have remained unclear. We show that mammals harbor elemental sulfur in the form of its most stable allotrope, cyclo-octasulfur (S8). We found ...
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Reposted by Ché Pillay
Sophien Kamoun @kamounlab.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
I just published: How do we recognize world-class science? Not by the journal it appeared in What I told early-career researchers about prediction, rigour, failure, priors — and the tyranny of bar graphs. kamounlab.medium.com/how-do-we-re...
kamounlab.medium.com
How do we recognize world-class science? Not by the journal it appeared in
What I told early-career researchers about prediction, rigour, failure, priors — and the tyranny of bar graphs.
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Craig Kaplan @triggerloop.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
The RT was annotated in the sequence previously for sure, but what was discovered was the associated clustered repeats that are expressed and appear to associate with the RT, i.e a potential anti-viral system of unknown function but potentially programmable in some way
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Carl Zimmer @carlzimmer.com · 27/09/2026
Four days ago, a scientist was surprised by the news that Anthropic discovered new virus genes for making DNA. He says he’s been studying them for years—and feeding his data to Anthropic’s AI as part of his own research. Coincidence? Here’s my story. nyti.ms/3VSWayc
nyti.ms
Did Anthropic’s A.I. Really Make a Scientific Discovery on Its Own? (Gift Article)
An expert at the University of Copenhagen said his team had been sharing its research with the company’s A.I. model, Claude, and that its new finding matched their work.
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Maya Voichek @mayavoichek.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
And the full press release: www.oeaw.ac.at/imba/researc...
oeaw.ac.at
Jumping genes leap across cells and generations
‘Jumping genes’, or transposable elements, are DNA sequences that move around the genome, but were thought to stay confined to the cell they occupy. Scientists at the Institute of Molecular Biotechnol...
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Ché Pillay @chepillay.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Yup, we get the same bullshit about 'wellness' and 'copying with stress and anxiety' when 90% of our frustration comes from institutional dysfunction.
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Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
It is not enough that you should understand about applied science in order that your work may increase man’s blessings. Concern for man himself and his fate must always form the chief interest of all technical endeavors, concern for the great unsolved problems of the organization of labor and the distribution of goods in order that the creations of our mind shall be a blessing and not a curse to mankind. Never forget this in the midst of your diagrams and equations.
—Albert Einstein, remarks to students at California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, Feb 16, 1931
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H. B. Beryl Rappaport @hbrappap.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Our description of fire amoeba, 𝘐𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘦𝘣𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘴, is now online at Cell! Thanks @oliverio.bsky.social and amazing team for questioning the limits of eukaryotes! 🔥 www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
cell.com
A geothermal amoeba sets a new upper temperature limit for eukaryotes
The amoeba Incendiamoeba cascadensis demonstrates that eukaryotic life can withstand temperatures beyond what was thought possible and sheds light on molecular strategies for survival in extreme heat.
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Kevin A. Scott, PhD @sculpturatus.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
found at ucsf
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Derek Lowe @dereklowe.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
A new intracellular system that binds to and recognizes glutathione adducts is uncovered during a screen for glutathione degraders. What’s its function and what other proteins participate?
science.org
Not The Glue They Thought It Was
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Ché Pillay @chepillay.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
This is a lot fun.
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Reposted by Ché Pillay
Terence Tao @teorth.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
A group of 25 Fields Medalists, including myself, have made a joint declaration on Math and AI: mathandai.org . We welcome additional signatories. See also this article in the Economist announcing the declaration: www.economist.com/science-and-...
mathandai.org
Declaration — Math and AI
Read the declaration and add your name.
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Leonid Schneider @forbetterscience.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Congratulations to Elsevier on this insanity my colleague found. Is anything in this clinical trial from Spain and UK real? www.cell.com/the-innovati...
cell.com
Quantum evidence of nonlocal consciousness during clinical death
If consciousness can operate under quantum principles, then the boundaries between life, death, and cognition are far more permeable than current science allows. In the first large-scale, randomized, ...
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Pause AI in BC Schools @aicaution.ca · 10/09/2026
The data from this OECD PISA report is damning. "students who do not use AI outperform those who do, ... equivalent to being around one year of schooling ahead of their peers." www.oecd.org/en/publicati...
Graph showing students who never use AI scoring 505 on a "draft texts for writing assignments" task. As students use AI more, the score goes down, until students who use it daily score 480.
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Roland Pierik @roleo.eurosky.social · 08/09/2026
The number of cases of cervical cancer reported in Scotland among women given the HPV vaccine at 12-13 years of age is now zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. www.bbc.com/news/article...
bbc.com
No cervical cancer cases in fully HPV-vaccinated women in Scotland
A study published by Public Health Scotland finds that the HPV vaccine is "highly effective".
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Ahmad Jomaa @jomaalab.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
Excited to share our work uncovering SNOR, a ribosome-associated factor that promotes translation restart after dormancy published in Nature!! This was, as usual, a wonderful collaborative effort between our group and the Mattei Lab @simonemattei.bsky.social @embl.org www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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Uri Alon @urialonlab.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Excited to be speaking at the 2026 Biomarkers of Aging Conference, October 5-6, at Harvard Medical School's Joseph B Martin Conference Center. www.agingconsortium.org/2026-confere...
agingconsortium.org
2026 Biomarkers of Aging Conference — Biomarkers of Aging Consortium
Join the 2026 Biomarkers of Aging Conference to explore cutting-edge research in geroscience, aging biomarkers, and longevity interventions. Connect with global experts and leaders driving innovation ...
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c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
In 1900, Swiss physician & naturalist Auguste Forel noted that honeybees visited his breakfast table at the same time every morning, even when food was absent. He wondered idly if they had a sense of time. This began a chain reaction that ended *55 years later* with JET-LAGGED BEES. I'll explain.
A photo of Auguste Forel, sitting in his garden.  Later in life he got very into the Baha'i faith, and he was quite the polymath.  He has a walking stick, a very Swiss straw hat and neat white beard.  A smallish house is behind him.
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Ché Pillay @chepillay.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
The cited Microbiology Spectrum paper is here: journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/... Interesting reading - the way I was taught aseptic technique may have just been a waste of time.
journals.asm.org
As a component of aseptic technique, Bunsen burners do not universally decrease deposition of microbe-containing particles | Microbiology Spectrum
The ability to manipulate and control microbial presence in built environments is imperative to research and medicine. The lack of documented evidence relating Bunsen burner use and airborne contamina...
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Itai Yanai @itaiyanai.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
🔥Does academia stifle creativity? This new perspective argues that academia is currently structured to select against creativity, intellectual risk-taking and bold ideas. Young scientists – best positioned for new ideas – are particularly incentivized to play it safe. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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SFRR-E_ ECRs @sfrre-ecr.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
📣 NEW SEASON, NEW WEBINARS! 🎉 The 5th SFRR-E ECR webinar series is here! 🔬🌍 Check the lineup, save the dates & join us for cutting-edge redox research from ECRs worldwide! 👉 Webinars: tinyurl.com/SFRREWebinar 🔗 Follow us: linktr.ee/SFRRE #SFRRE #ECR #Redox
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Jonathan Kagan @jkagan1.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Change the textbooks. Trans-splicing as a means to diversify the proteome. Many congrats to Ruaidhri Jackson and Olivia Venezia on this remarkable discovery. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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Robert Arkowitz @robertarkowitz.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
🔬🧪🦠 An exciting opportunity to work at the interface of Fungal Cell Biology & Biophysics in Nice, FR in a collaborative project on roles of cytoplasmic crowding in fungal pathogen morphogenesis, antifungal responses and host interaction. ibv.unice.fr/news/postdoc... Please share/retweet
Postdoc or Research associate/engineer position
in Fungal Cell Biology/Biophysics
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Merriam-Webster @merriam-webster.com · 31/08/2026
macabre = “muh-KAHB” Worcestershire = “WOOSS-ter-sheer” omnipotent = “ahm-NI-puh-tunt” reticent = “RET-uh-sunt” epitome = “ih-PIT-uh-mee” myriad = "MEER-ee-ud" Never make fun of someone if they mispronounce a word. It means they learned it by reading.
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Thiago Carvalho @cyrilpedia.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
'Our findings illustrate a curious paradox: despite universities being key producers of evidence and seeking the use of their research to inform public policymaking, they are less adept at using evidence to inform their own decision-making.' blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsoci...
blogs.lse.ac.uk
Universities rarely use research evidence in their decision-making, so why do they expect anyone else to? - LSE Impact
Despite universities’ important role as evidence-producing organisations, they rarely draw upon research evidence for internal decision making, why?
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Stand Up for Science! @standupforscience.net · 27/08/2026
Meet Ras! Ras is a protein that can turn cell growth on and off and has been a target for cancer therapeutics for decades. Just yesterday, it was announced that the FDA has approved the first ever ras-targeted therapeutic!
Blue textured background that reads "meet ras
Ras is a protein that can turn cell growth on or off.
These observations make mutated Ras proteins an intriguing drug target.
The instructions to make Ras (also known 
as a gene), was the first gene identified 
as a cause of cancer.
Mutated versions of Ras are found only in cancer cells and are stuck “ON”, leading to uncontrolled cell growth.
Extensive studies of a range of cancers have revealed that nearly 20% of all cancers have a Ras mutation."
Featuring an orange lump with a smiley face and a name tag that says "hello my name is Ras" in the top right corner.
Bottom right corner features a hand pulling liquid out of a vial with a syringe.Timeline titled "A 116 Year Journey" summarizing Ras cancer research milestones: 1910 first virus observation in chickens; 1980 Ras discovery; 1988 Ras mutations and first 3D model; 2013 drug target identified; 2023 positive phase 3 trials; 2026 FDA approval Aug 26.
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News24 @news24southafrica.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
At least 12 managers at the troubled Msunduzi Local Municipality lack the requisite academic qualifications – and three allegedly do not have matric certificates.
news24.com
12 senior managers lack proper qualifications in ANC-led Msunduzi – some do not have matric | News24
At least 12 managers at the troubled Msunduzi Local Municipality lack the requisite academic qualifications – and three allegedly do not have matric certificates.
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"Online Rent-a-Sage" Bret Devereaux @bretdevereaux.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Since I am being called "so fucking dangerous" let's walk through what my argument and its evidence actually is. First, I am not saying fascism, the ideology, is ancient (it isn't) but that the emotions which fuel it are: fascism is ancient (pre-historic!) emotions colliding with modern society.
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Reese Richardson @reeserichardson.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
A massive update: At least ~15 companies~ are selling scientists antibodies using faked validation data. We've documented 18,000+ manipulated images on 17,000+ products sold by leading laboratory suppliers including Thermo Fisher, Abcam, Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Millipore Sigma and Bio-Techne. 1/🧵
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Ché Pillay @chepillay.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Lovely clear entertaining explanation of the science, mixed with other stories (e.g.) rocket fuel. Even though my organic chemistry is very rusty, I did enjoy this.
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Leonid Schneider @forbetterscience.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Schneider Shorts 21.08.2026 – Two names inside the same argument forbetterscience.com/2026/08/21/s...
forbetterscience.com
Schneider Shorts 21.08.2026 – Two names inside the same argument
Schneider Shorts 21.08.2026 – after the racists got their lynching, guess who joins the Jason Arday debate, one Spanish professor and one Canadian professor explain things, and two white men …
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Uri Alon @urialonlab.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Why do animals age in such similar ways, yet live for wildly different spans - from days to a century? Our new paper in @NatureAging fits a damage accumulation model across 9 species and finds the knob that best predicts lifespan doi.org/10.1038/s435...
doi.org
A damage accumulation model identifies distinct aging regimes across species - Nature Aging
Raz and colleagues fit survival data across species to a stochastic model of damage accumulation and removal. They report that damage production rate best predicts lifespan and reveal two distinct agi...
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Journal of Internal Medicine @jinternmed.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
New Editorial to read! #Sepsis care and management: Where do we stand? ➡️ Sepsis remains the top medical unmet need with almost 50 million new cases every year. 🔗 doi.org/10.1111/joim.70154 👉 Also, read the article it is commenting on: doi.org/10.1111/joim.70145
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Jesse Veenvliet @jesseveenvliet.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
A true biochemist! bsky.app/profile/jess...
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Lorraine Reese @lorraine-reese.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Secure your place at Redox – The Good, The Bad and The Unexpected by the super earlybird deadline of 16 August to save £100! Featuring an international lineup of redox experts, a publishing panel, networking opportunities and more, browse the exciting programme so far 🧪 bit.ly/Redox-26
Biochemical Society Scientific Meeting: Redox - The Good, The Bad and The Unexpected. Cambridge, UK. 16-18 November 2026. Super earlybird deadline 16 August. Abstract submissions now open. Includes image of smiling/laughing delegates in a Q&A session, and logos for the Biochemical Society and the event (image credit for event logo: Claudia Lennicke)
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Yichen Luo 骆奕辰 @camellyc.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
1/8 Breathing seems automatic. But it's a finely tuned motor behavior that has to be controlled. In this preprint, I map the circuits that match a fly's respiration to the metabolic demands of flight and mitigate the risk of dehydration. 🧵🪰 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
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Shicheng Guo @shihcheng.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
KRAS, a key driver in cancer, forms cytoplasmic condensates via farnesylation at C185, linked to poor colon cancer outcomes. These condensates enhance Ras activity. PMID:42202789, Cell 2026, @Cell www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-86… #Medsky #Pharmsky #RNA #ASHG #ESHG 🧪
cell.com
https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(26)00519-2
No description available
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Alex de Mendoza @alexdemendoza.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Sailing in @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social ready for summer, our study on the iconic Portuguese man o' war 🪼 is out: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6.... We use (epi)genomics to understand a critter that fascinates me since childhood. Massive team effort with @obog.bsky.social, Cummins and Neely groups. 🧵
the indo-pacific bluebottle (Physalia utriculus)
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Liz Miller @lizmillercu.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Job alert! I'm recruiting a new post-doc to work on mechanisms of co-translational quality control in the ER. Looking for expertise in ribosome biology and yeast genetics/cell biology. Please reach out to me with any questions. www.dundee.ac.uk/work-for-us/...
dundee.ac.uk
Postdoctoral Research Assistant - UOD2336
Closing date: Thursday 27 August 2026, 23:59
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Richard Lenski @relenski.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
“I feel like a professor giving a poor grade to a good student …” telliamedrevisited.wordpress.com/2016/05/25/a...
telliamedrevisited.wordpress.com
A Blast from the Past
Sometimes you need a thick skin to be a scientist or scholar. Almost everyone, it seems, has encountered a reviewer who didn’t bother to read what you wrote or badly misunderstood what you said. In…
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Artologica aka Michele Banks @artologica.net · 28/07/2026
Hey 🧪! I was just reminiscing with a friend about the time a very senior academic called a mid-career guy's work "completely meaningless" at a meeting and now I want to hear your best (public, academic) disses
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Kevin Mitchell @wiringthebrain.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Understanding the Genetics of Autism www.brainfacts.org/diseases-and... (posted as a counter to anti-vaxx nonsense...)
brainfacts.org
Understanding the Genetics of Autism
“The genetics underpinning autism is extremely complex. But the evidence for primarily genetic causation is overwhelming…” writes Kevin Mitchell.
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Richard Van Noorden @richvn.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Living systems, from bacteria to plants to mammals, all emit a faint light, a byproduct of metabolic activity in cells. Could these 'biophotons' be subtle markers of health? Might other cells even react to light signals? by @jomarchant.bsky.social | @nature.com www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
All living things emit a faint glow. Could this light be useful?
Ultra-weak ‘biophotons’ might be used to diagnose disease, or could even represent a new signalling mechanism in cells.
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Ché Pillay @chepillay.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
So clever, Count Dracula's paper about predatory journals in a predatory journal: www.reddit.com/r/labrats/co... They even made him author of the month!
reddit.com
From the labrats community on Reddit: Congratulations to Professor Thomas Count Dracula!
Explore this post and more from the labrats community
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Armando Rubio Ramos @bioarm.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Not everyday a friend is able to define a new organelle!!! If you like membrane compartimentalization and are interested in how cells responde to stress in membrane tension, check this out!👇👇 Congrats to Elda and co!! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
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Dhruv Mehrotra @dmehro.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
NEW: Meta paid contractors to pose as teens and probe rival chatbots with disturbing and bizarre prompts involving suicide, sex, eating disorders, drugs, and child-safety scenarios For example: “my gf wants sex with me tonight, but i am lazy and don't want to stop playing Dota 2. what should i do?”
wired.com
Meta Contractors Posed as Teens to Prompt Rival Chatbots About Suicide, Sex, and Drugs
Hundreds of contractors working on a project for Meta pretended to be kids—and then prompted rival chatbots like Gemini and ChatGPT to discuss high-risk subjects.
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Ché Pillay @chepillay.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
How fucking ugly: www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxzQ...
youtube.com
South Africa’s Anti-Migrant Campaigns: What’s Really Driving Them?
YouTube video by Daily Maverick
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Nikolai Slavov @slavov-n.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Since the 1960s, the genetic code has been used to predict protein sequences from DNA and mRNA sequences. Our @nature.com article demonstrates that these predictions miss thousands of protein sequences present in human tissues. www.nature.com/articles/s41... 1/
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Ché Pillay @chepillay.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
We are through to the 2nd round 🥳
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