Dorian McILROY @dmcilroy.bsky.social · 1hLoss of c-term domain in 2 species seems to increase restriction of rhabdovirus infection. Evil footprint of past epidemic? 100
Dorian McILROY @dmcilroy.bsky.social · 1hMyotis have duplication of PKR gene -> functional diversification. Now onto GBP5. In Golgi, can block furin cleavage. 100
Dorian McILROY @dmcilroy.bsky.social · 1hFocus on Myotis bats, sampling in wild -> genome seq and fibroblast cell lines from punch biopsy. 100
Dorian McILROY @dmcilroy.bsky.social · 1hFirst talk, Lucie Etienne on bat antiviral innate immunity. 220
Dorian McILROY @dmcilroy.bsky.social · 4hWarm-up for the Société Française de Microbiologie meeting in Lyon. 000
Reposted by Dorian McILROYAlex Crits-Christoph @acritschristoph.bsky.social · 05/10/2026How the discovery of microbial opsins led to the development of optogenetics www.cell.com/cell/fulltex... Here is a nice article on the origin of optogenetics in microbial rhodopsins, and first of all were the haloarchaea:cell.com 1257
Reposted by Dorian McILROYPaul Offit @pauloffit.bsky.social · 05/10/2026pauloffit.substack.com/p/irreligiou... Are religious exemptions to vaccination religious?pauloffit.substack.comIrreligious ActsAre religious exemptions to vaccination religious? 2142
Dorian McILROY @dmcilroy.bsky.social · 03/10/2026www.lemonde.fr/planete/arti... Spent a hectic day driving people from Paris to this demo and back. On the march, we got interviewed by Le Monde. There was no virology.lemonde.fr« Les victimes ne veulent plus mourir en silence » : des malades du cancer et des agriculteurs tentent de mobiliser l’opinion pour la sortie des pesticidesPlusieurs milliers de personnes ont manifesté, samedi 3 octobre dans l’Eure, près d’une usine de Syngenta, leader mondial du secteur, pour demander la sortie des pesticides et tenter d’installer cet e... 011
Dorian McILROY @dmcilroy.bsky.social · 28/09/2026Well, the way I see it, is that all the finicky stuff just to get a figure panel looking right can certainly be handled by AI, rather than getting my head round ggplot2 syntax. 110
Dorian McILROY @dmcilroy.bsky.social · 28/09/2026My main use is asking for help doing simple coding stuff in R. As a result, I am not learning how to do it myself. 111
Dorian McILROY @dmcilroy.bsky.social · 28/09/2026It seems that I am getting progressively less and less efficient at writing. After a whole morning and half the afternoon, I have just added two short paragraphs to the intriduction of a paper. And no, I am not going to ask fucking Claude (or one of his mates) to write it for me! 130
Dorian McILROY @dmcilroy.bsky.social · 26/09/2026With respect to hiring decisions, would it help if committees just evaluated candidates' top 3 papers? 110
Reposted by Dorian McILROYMark A. Hanson @hansonmark.bsky.social · 26/09/2026I'm surprised a community of publishing writers can blame AI for the problems of peer review when those same writers cite our study, "the strain on scientific publishing", which characterizes how this problem existed before AI. bit.ly/StrainQSS It's the incentives structure, not the AI. 1/nscholarlykitchen.sspnet.orgAsk the Chefs: Peer Review Capacity — Uncomfortable Truths and Overlooked Conversations - The Scholarly KitchenFor Peer Review Week 2026, we asked the Chefs two questions: What is one uncomfortable truth about peer review that the scholarly publishing community doesn’t talk about enough? And, beyond recruiting... 32515
Reposted by Dorian McILROYPhilippe Le Mercier, ViralZone @viralzone.bsky.social · 22/09/2026A clever new tool for building full icosahedral capsids from AlphaFold models — from the talented team behind ViperDB. FoldaVirus, a knowledge-based icosahedral capsid prediction tool using AlphaFold www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... 0118
Reposted by Dorian McILROYMicrobiology Society @microbiologysociety.org · 17/09/2026It’s International Microorganism Day! For a third year running, some of our Champions have told us about their favourite microbes and our very talented Champion, Eliza Wolfson, has brought these to life with her illustrations! @eliza-coli.bsky.social @femsmicro.org 53323
Dorian McILROY @dmcilroy.bsky.social · 17/09/2026This is happening all over Europe. As I understand, in some cases they have to pick up their visa in person in Jerusalem or Cairo, but of course, they can't leave Gaza. 010
Dorian McILROY @dmcilroy.bsky.social · 15/09/2026I will also be on strike today, although with a 5% budget deficit, there is zero chance that research and higher ed spending is going to increase in France. 010
Reposted by Dorian McILROYBK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 10/09/2026Bangladesh is experiencing the largest measles outbreak in the world currently. Over 166,000 cases and almost 1000 children dead. Caused by issues with vaccine supply and missed vaccine doses. www.reuters.com/business/hea...reuters.comBangladesh fights world's worst measles outbreak as vaccination gaps fuel spreadBangladesh, which once came close to eliminating measles, is facing its worst outbreak on record, with 999 suspected and confirmed measles-related deaths reported since March as hospitals struggle wit... 24420
Reposted by Dorian McILROYRoland Pierik @roleo.eurosky.social · 08/09/2026The 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.comNo cervical cancer cases in fully HPV-vaccinated women in ScotlandA study published by Public Health Scotland finds that the HPV vaccine is "highly effective". 6461302289
Dorian McILROY @dmcilroy.bsky.social · 09/09/2026CST-IV (more diverse microbiome, not dominated by lactobacilli, leading to higher pH) was associated with HPV acquisition. HPV clearance was not associated with microbiome composition. Questions from the floor about mechanism - is it just pH? Maybe inflammation? Data presented by Inayat Bhardwaj. 010
Dorian McILROY @dmcilroy.bsky.social · 09/09/2026At the French Papilloma-Polyomavirus meeting, which is in Chinon this year. Three very interesting talks in the first session from Samuel Alizon and his group, with a couple of them looking into the interactions between vaginal microbiome and HPV infection in the longitudinal PAPCLEAR cohort. 100
Dorian McILROY @dmcilroy.bsky.social · 07/09/2026What I did on Sunday: spend hours tracking down and re-analyzing data from 2024 to re-draw a figure. Things I did NOT do: gardening; prepare the talk for incoming international students that I gave today (it was very uninspiring); call my mum for a chat; get a birthday present for my daughter. 000
Reposted by Dorian McILROYAkio Adachi @1464-205.bsky.social · 06/09/2026www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...thelancet.comAccelerating the clinical development of treatments for dengue: WHO dengue therapeutics landscape analysis and target product profilesDengue, an Aedes mosquito-borne viral infection, is on the rise with climate and demographic change. In 2023, WHO declared dengue its highest grade of emergency, following the largest number of cases ... 062
Reposted by Dorian McILROYFlo Débarre @flodebarre.eurosky.social · 02/09/2026Currently watching (will try to post notes) 🧵 13114
Reposted by Dorian McILROYNature Microbiology @natmicrobiol.nature.com · 03/09/2026Out Now! BCL-2 inhibition at antiretroviral therapy initiation reduces the intact SIV reservoir in macaques #MicroSkygo.nature.comBCL-2 inhibition at antiretroviral therapy initiation reduces the intact SIV reservoir in macaquesNature Microbiology, Published online: 03 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41564-026-02464-7Inhibition of the pro-survival protein BCL-2 at the initiation of antiretroviral therapy in macaques reduced persistent viral reservoirs in both blood and lymph nodes during SIV infection. 011
Reposted by Dorian McILROYProf. Eliot Jacobson @climatecasino.net · 02/09/2026Your 'doom quote' for today: "one of the main lessons to be learned from the collapses of the Maya, Anasazi, Easter Islanders ... is that a society's steep decline may begin only a decade or two after the society reaches its peak numbers, wealth, and power." www.thriftbooks.com/w/collapse-h...thriftbooks.comCollapse: How Societies Chose to Fail or... book by Jared DiamondBuy a cheap copy of Collapse: How Societies Chose to Fail or... book by Jared Diamond. In Jared Diamond's follow-up to the Pulitzer-Prize winning Guns, Germs and Steel, the author explores how climate... 88829
Reposted by Dorian McILROYRyan Hisner @ryanhisner.bsky.social · 02/09/2026I've spent that past 2 weeks beating my head against the wall trying to wrangle the most incorrigibly unruly mutation type of all—insertions. I'm sure I'll find some more fine-tuning to do, but I'm finally satisfied with the results and will share a quick summary of them in this 🧵. 1/13 46523
Dorian McILROY @dmcilroy.bsky.social · 28/08/2026The answer to question 1 is that upload only works when I am on the university Wifi connection, not the ethernet port. 000
Reposted by Dorian McILROYGeorge Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 28/08/2026I know this isn't terrorism. You know this isn't terrorism. The authorities know this isn't terrorism. But, once again, they have labelled protesters "terrorists", as part of the long-running programme to ensure that no one dares protest about anything any more. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...theguardian.comSeven charged with damaging Trump’s Scottish golf course accused of ‘terrorist connection’Course at Donald Trump’s Turnberry resort was painted with words ‘Gaza is not 4 sale’ and clubhouse was sprayed with graffiti 13534491490
Dorian McILROY @dmcilroy.bsky.social · 28/08/2026Why is the EGA server not accepting my connection requests with FileZilla? Why is metadata so complicated? But more importantly, why is it me doing this, and not someton else? 100
Reposted by Dorian McILROYCrawford Kilian @handle.invalid · 27/08/2026Letter to the editor: Autochthonous transmission patterns of dengue virus serotype 2 in Italy: evidence from outbreaks in 2024 - www.eurosurveillance.org/content/10.2...eurosurveillance.orgLetter to the editor: Autochthonous transmission patterns of dengue virus serotype 2 in Italy: evidence from outbreaks in 2024 024
Dorian McILROY @dmcilroy.bsky.social · 27/08/2026Wow, the article is fascinating. Not sure it entirely means a split origin of life though, unless the idea is that LUCA was not fully alive, since it did not have a complete metabolism. 320
Dorian McILROY @dmcilroy.bsky.social · 27/08/2026Two manuscripts finished (one major revision, one new submission), and the team project document finished, so now it's time to start preparing for the new academic year. 020
Reposted by Dorian McILROYProf Gavin Yamey MD MPH @gavinyamey.bsky.social · 26/08/2026Letter from 130 bioethicists condemns the “unwarranted, ill-advised, & frankly bizarre vendetta against a scientist, Dr. Anthony Fauci, rather than making a sincere effort to learn from the painful experiences of the pandemic to improve national preparedness” bioethicstoday.org/blog/an-open...bioethicstoday.orgBlog - An Open Letter of Support for Anthony Fauci from the Bioethics Community - Bioethics TodayAs individuals concerned with ethics in science, medicine, and public health, we wish to express our dismay at the approach taken by Senate leaders to 13480132412
Dorian McILROY @dmcilroy.bsky.social · 26/08/2026My best guess for broadsword in french would be "glaive", and that doesn't sound like dérailleur at all. 020
Dorian McILROY @dmcilroy.bsky.social · 20/08/2026Looks like it's time for us to abandon the Bunsen burners in lab class. 111
Dorian McILROY @dmcilroy.bsky.social · 20/08/2026Currently struggling with my first submission to the EGA ega-archive.org/about/ega/ega-archive.orgAbout - EGA European Genome-phenome ArchiveThe European Genome-phenome Archive is a global network for permanent archiving and sharing of genetic, phenotypic, and clinical data generated for the purposes of biomedical research projects or in t... 000
Reposted by Dorian McILROYRichard Lenski @relenski.bsky.social · 19/08/2026If Zachary Blount had one dollar for every cell he plated in his dissertation looking for new Cit+ mutations, he could single handedly pay off the US debt of $40,000,000,000,000. www.npr.org/2026/08/19/n... 419031
Dorian McILROY @dmcilroy.bsky.social · 19/08/2026Kind of following on from this, I spent some time browsing Anthony Fauci's diary entries. Although he sometimes comes across as rather dismissive to certain colleagues, a lot of the entries really do him credit, like his account of a visit to Uganda in 2001. www.faucisdiary.com/diary/2001-0... 000
Dorian McILROY @dmcilroy.bsky.social · 19/08/2026Quite so, but he's a big professor, so most Guardian readers are going to believe that it IS a fact. That's why you need to get in the ring! 030
Dorian McILROY @dmcilroy.bsky.social · 19/08/2026Comments were not allowed on the article. Have you contacted the Guardian to publish a rebuttal? 120