iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Ervin Fodor @efodor.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

Cryo-EM structure reveals how influenza A virus NEP binds the viral polymerase at a regulatory hotspot, coordinating RNA synthesis and nuclear export. Fantastic collaboration with @loiccarrique.bsky.social and Jon Grimes. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

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Ed Hutchinson @socialinfluenza.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

Huge congratulations to Dr @danielweiriav.bsky.social, outstanding scientist and wonderful colleague, who passed his viva with flying colours today @cvrinfo.bsky.social. Next stop, on to Oxford for a postdoc with @efodor.bsky.social - we're really excited to see what you do next! 🦠🥳 #PhDone

A group of four smiling people in front of a Christmas tree. In the middle, holding a well-thumbed, hand-annotated printout of a PhD thesis but otherwise looking impressively unruffled, is Dr Daniel Weir, gentleman, scholar, and doctor of influenza virology.

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Biomedical Picture of the Day BPoD @bpodaily.bsky.social · 19/06/2025

Escape from Death: Flu virus spreads via tunnelling tubes it induces between cells; tube formation correlates with onset of apoptosis 📷 @danielweiriav.bsky.social et al @socialinfluenza.bsky.social lab @uofglasgow.bsky.social in @plos.org PLOS Pathogens ➡️ bpod.org.uk/archive/2025...

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Ed Hutchinson @socialinfluenza.bsky.social · 16/06/2025

ICYMI: @danielweiriav.bsky.social 's lovely work on influenza's secret tunnels between cells is now summarised in this video, as well as being the featured Biomedical Picture of the Day here: bpod.org.uk/archive/2025...

bpod.org.uk

BPoD | Escape from Death

Escape from Death - Biomedical pictures for June 2025.

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MRC-UofG Centre for Virus Research @cvrinfo.bsky.social · 16/06/2025

🦠 Influenza's Great Escape New research from @danielweiriav.bsky.social & colleagues reveals that flu viruses use secret tunnelling nanotube-like structures to escape your immune system. Full video: youtu.be/Opfpwy9yUew gla.ac.uk/research/az/... @socialinfluenza.bsky.social @uofgsii.bsky.social

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Daniel Weir @danielweiriav.bsky.social · 06/06/2025

To all the coauthors, Cal Bentley-Abbot, Jack McCowan, Colin Loney, Ed Roberts and @socialinfluenza.bsky.social , thanks for all your hard work and guidance! We are grateful for the funders, reviewers, @plos.org and our many fantastic colleagues @cvrinfo.bsky.social

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Daniel Weir @danielweiriav.bsky.social · 06/06/2025

This work uncovers a novel way in which IAVs can exploit cell death to propagate infection. This time it does so by ensuring its continued spread after it has exhausted the life of its host cell, and the often hostile environment of the lung awaits. N/11

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Daniel Weir @danielweiriav.bsky.social · 06/06/2025

Is apoptosis then required for IAV direct cell to cell spread? Well, not only do IAVs frequently undergo direct cell to cell spread, but this can almost be completely prevented with the inhibition of apoptosis! N/10

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Daniel Weir @danielweiriav.bsky.social · 06/06/2025

💡we found that whilst apoptosis alone had no effect, TLS induction by IAVs required both virus replication and the onset of apoptosis. Overall, our data reveals that apoptosis induced through IAV replication is responsible for the triggering of TLSs. N/9

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Daniel Weir @danielweiriav.bsky.social · 06/06/2025

🔍Clue 3: the induction of TLSs correlated with the onset of apoptosis. Furthermore, inhibition of apoptosis prevented the ability of IAVs to induce TLSs. However, induction of apoptosis with drugs, independent of infection, did not induce TLS formation. N/9

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Daniel Weir @danielweiriav.bsky.social · 06/06/2025

🔎Clue 2: induction of TLSs was consistent between IAV strains having either filamentous or spherical virion morphologies. This was in despite of several curious similarities between TLSs and budding IAV filaments. N/8

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Daniel Weir @danielweiriav.bsky.social · 06/06/2025

🔎Clue 1: the induction of TLSs did not occur through the release of paracrine innate immune signals, but did require intracellualr IAV replication. N/7

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Daniel Weir @danielweiriav.bsky.social · 06/06/2025

Satisfied that TLSs could be relevant to within host IAV spread, we set out to find how IAVs were triggering their formation. For this investigation we embarked on a systematic hunt for clues, using in vitro cell culture systems. N/6

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Daniel Weir @danielweiriav.bsky.social · 06/06/2025

Firstly, we wanted to see if these structures formed at the natural site of IAV infection. We collaborated with the wonderful Ed Roberts lab and we could see, for the first time, evidence of TNT-like structures (TLSs) forming from infected cells within the lungs of mice. N/5

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Daniel Weir @danielweiriav.bsky.social · 06/06/2025

One mechanism of IAV direct cell to cell spread in vitro is through the formation of long, thin and fragile membrane connections known as Tunnelling Nanotubes (TNTs). Impressively, IAVs trigger the formation of TNTs but it was unknown how they were doing this. N/4

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Daniel Weir @danielweiriav.bsky.social · 06/06/2025

Direct cell to cell spread of IAVs describes the mechanisms that deliver viral genomes to new cells, independent of a cell free virus particle. This can allow infection spread even in the presence of antiviral drugs and neutralising anitbodies. N/3

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Daniel Weir @danielweiriav.bsky.social · 06/06/2025

@socialinfluenza.bsky.social we are fascinated about what makes IAVs infectious and what shapes it's within host spread. The complexity of this fundamental biology is underappreciated and many questions remain. A perfect example of this is the direct cell to cell spread of these viruses. N/2

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MRC-UofG Centre for Virus Research @cvrinfo.bsky.social · 03/04/2025

Well done Daniel! 👏

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Daniel Weir @danielweiriav.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

For those who sadly couldn't be there, you were missed. However, fear not, for we have a pre-print available! With hopefully more updates to share soon! t.co/GyBP66ggjE

t.co

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.09.25.614890v1

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Daniel Weir @danielweiriav.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

Thanks to everyone who came along to the Virus-Host interactions forum today at Microsoc 2025! A privilege and pleasure to present my PhD work with @socialinfluenza.bsky.social @cvrinfo.bsky.social. A story, which has grown and taken me on a crazy Flu ride that I hope is just starting!

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Ed Hutchinson @socialinfluenza.bsky.social · 31/03/2025

Shameless plugs: if you're at the meeting please say hello to members of our group, they are all fab: (1) @danielweiriav.bsky.social talks about TNTs and flu in the Virus:Host Interactions Forum (Weds 2nd 14:45) (2) Junsen Zhang has a poster in block A on pasteurising flu in milk (A036) ...

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Ed Hutchinson @socialinfluenza.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

Why can't these viruses be friends? In a new study from her PhD @cvrinfo.bsky.social, #AnnaSims shows that #SARS-CoV-2 infections segregate into distinct microdomains as they spread. But why? (1/N) journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

Cells glowing either magenta or green, showing infection by two different viruses. The differently coloured regions meet at a sharp interface with little overlap. A scale bar marks 1 mm.

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Ed Hutchinson @socialinfluenza.bsky.social · 31/01/2025

Why can't these viruses be friends? During her PhD, Anna Sims showed that influenza viruses segregate into genetically-distinct lesion through a process called superinfection exclusion. In a new preprint, she shows that the same process also applies for SARS-CoV-2 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

A region of purple cells and a region of green cells, touching but not overlapping

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MRC-UofG Centre for Virus Research @cvrinfo.bsky.social · 05/12/2024

🔬 CVR Bioimaging recently hosted an Imaging Competition in collaboration with Zeiss. JP Parvy won with 'Mosquitoes don’t discriminate.' Ewan Parry and @danielweiriav.bsky.social were runners up. All images will be used to decorate the walls of the CVR!

CVR-Zeiss Imaging Competition 2024, showcasing a series of microscopy images. It includes a winner ("Mosquitoes don’t discriminate" by J.P. Parvy) and two runner-up entries, with additional vibrant microscopy visuals displayed along the bottom.

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Ed Hutchinson @socialinfluenza.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

Thank you to everyone for taking part in this year's Influenza Update Meeting, it was really fun to catch up. All the presentations were great, but particular congratulations to Cal Bentley-Abbot and Daniel Weir for winning the vote for best talk and poster, respectively: well done!

A smiling man receiving a certificate from a smiling woman

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Spyros Lytras @spyroslytras.bsky.social · 19/11/2024

inaugural post on the new blue app I'll be wasting my time on! I was conferencing last week and spent a lot of time talking about #H5N1 with colleagues. Particularly the curious human case from BC, Canada 🍁. This week the sequence is out and I'm back in Tokyo, so I made some trees! 🧵

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