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James Wood

@jw132.bsky.social
532 followers 551 following 25 posts

Infectious Disease Epidemiologist Working at Cambridge University

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Reposted by James Wood
Gareth Enticott 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @garethenticott.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
Waiting for news about bovine TB is like waiting for a bus: you wait for ages and then two come along at once. Only going in different directions. Defra's new 'recommended' strategy for England reversing away from badger culling, but a different story is brewing in Wales...
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Written Statements to Parliament @written-statements.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
Recommended direction for bovine TB control in England. Statement made by Dame Angela Eagle on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs questions-statements.parliament.uk/…
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Adam Vaughan @adamvaughan.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
Cattle vaccination should replace badger culls to end bovine TB, expert panel recommends www.thetimes.com/uk/environme...
thetimes.com
Vaccination ‘should replace badger culls’ to end bovine TB
Experts have drawn up a 12-year plan to eradicate the disease and stop the slaughter of tens of thousands of cows a year
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21 Group @21group.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
Cambridge’s Regent House — the University’s main decision-making body of academics — must approve any move to close the Vet School Mischievous attempts to bypass it undermine our governance and threaten what remains of tenure @jw132.bsky.social 21percent.org?p=3216
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21 Group @21group.bsky.social · 11/01/2026
Battle for Veterinary Science at Cambridge The Vet School needs £20m to survive, allegedly It's a disputed figure but dwarfed by recent yearly increases in central administration spending Cambridge has a priorities crisis not a funding crisis @jw132.bsky.social www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Organisations urge Cambridge University's vet school to keep open
A final decision is expected to be made by the university's general board next week.
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Harry Low’s Lab @lowlab.bsky.social · 05/12/2025
Please RT. Post-doc opportunity alert! 💥 closing soon 10th December.. Come join our team (www.thelowlab.org) at Imperial, London, working on the structure and mechanism of bacterial secretion systems. For more details and to apply please see www.imperial.ac.uk/jobs/search-...
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James Wood @jw132.bsky.social · 08/11/2025
Silence over Sudan 🇸🇩 : why do Manchester City’s owners get away with so much? www.theguardian.com/football/202...
theguardian.com
Silence over Sudan: why do Manchester City’s owners get away with so much?
Two midweek matches in England had a backdrop of war and geopolitics, but only one drew large protests
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Zeke Hausfather @zekehausfather.com · 04/11/2025
The new UNEP report is out with the latest estimates of 2100 warming outcomes under current policies, NDCs, and net-zero targets. Here is how it compares to both the IPCC scenarios and other estimates (CAT and IEA, who will release their own updates soon!).
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juli g pausas @jgpausas.bsky.social · 05/11/2025
Two PhD student positions on Fire Resilience of Amazon Forests (Application deadline Nov 26), Wageningen @masha-vandersande.bsky.social @w-u-r.bsky.social www.wur.nl/nl/vacature/...
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Tami Lieberman @contaminatedsci.bsky.social · 05/11/2025
If you're looking for a faculty position at the intersection of ecology and computing (both broadly defined), please apply to this joint search between the CEE Department and the College of Computing at MIT: cee.mit.edu/people/share...
cee.mit.edu
Faculty Position in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Schwarzman College of Computing - cee.mit.edu
The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), together with the Schwarzman College of Computing (SCC) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge MA, seeks candidate...
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James Wood @jw132.bsky.social · 05/11/2025
UK government opts out of key fund to stop deforestation...... 🤷‍♂️ www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
UK opts out of flagship fund to protect Amazon and other threatened tropical forests
Decision is bitter blow to Brazil ahead of fund’s launch at Cop30 – and an embarrassment to Prince William
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Dr Madeleine Pownall @maddipow.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
Wrote this on the train home from Metascience. Can’t quite believe this one needed saying, but I really think that if conversations about research integrity and open science don’t take academic bullying seriously, we’ll keep perpetuating the same system that science reform was trying to change.
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Alick Simmons @parliamentarygoose.bsky.social · 04/09/2025
It’s 100 years since efforts to control bovine TB began & 50 since badgers got the blame. Review after review after review & still the #WarOnWildlife continues. We need a new approach - one which manages risk rather than one which seeks to eliminate the hazard. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Labour could end badger cull but only with Covid-style testing and vaccines – report
Review says ministers have only ‘small chance’ of wiping out bovine tuberculosis by 2038 without more investment
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Aberystwyth University @aberuni.bsky.social · 04/09/2025
Professor Sir Charles Godfray CBE FRS, Chair of the 2025 Review of the Bovine Tuberculosis Eradication Strategy for England, will deliver the keynote address at a conference at the University later this month. 🖱️ tinyurl.com/4em9n73j @aberdlsagb.bsky.social #AberTB #bovineTB #bTB #TB
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Sky News @news.sky.com · 04/09/2025
UK warned it's on course to fail in efforts to wipe out bovine TB
news.sky.com
UK warned it's on course to fail in efforts to wipe out bovine TB
Controversial efforts to eliminate tuberculosis (TB) in cattle are likely to fail unless there's greater urgency and funding from the government, scientists have warned.
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Angie Rasmussen @angierasmussen.bsky.social · 30/06/2025
An important reminder that H5N1 isn’t just a risk in North America. Six people have died just this year.
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Alex Crits-Christoph @acritschristoph.bsky.social · 28/06/2025
Quick thread on the WHO's SAGO report on the origins of COVID-19, highlighting key points and even *new* data. Their summary is that a zoonotic origin of COVID-19 is best supported by available data. This is consistent with most scientific reviews and statements in the rest of the literature.
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James Wood @jw132.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
The Guardian view on China, Africa and disappearing donkeys: an unexpected crisis offers a clue to perils ahead www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
The Guardian view on China, Africa and disappearing donkeys: an unexpected crisis offers a clue to perils ahead | Editorial
Editorial: The surging export of hides created domestic tensions – and shows how globalisation plays out in unexpected ways
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Jane Qiu, PhD @janeqiu.bsky.social · 11/06/2025
Traded wild animals are often sick & teeming with potential pathogens Several Chinese teams found coronaviruses in confiscated pangolins, including those that share 92% of their genome with SARS-CoV-2 The viruses caused covid-like symptoms in pangolins, and have the potential to infect humans 4/
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Jane Qiu, PhD @janeqiu.bsky.social · 11/06/2025
Like it or not,such human-wildlife interfaces are here to stay Without understanding how viruses jump species & why some jumps cause outbreaks & others don’t,you’re really flying blind,says @mvankerkhove.bsky.social @who.int “You’re making recommendations that may not be the most appropriate” 2/
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Jane Qiu, PhD @janeqiu.bsky.social · 11/06/2025
Wildlife trade acts as a vast global network of unregulated natural laboratories,with ample opportunities for viruses to circulate & evolve to become more dangerous We can either turn a blind eye or try to understand & mitigate the risks My latest in @nature.com 1/ www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
Exclusive: Inside the thriving wild-animal markets that could start the next pandemic
Live-animal markets are a natural laboratory for viruses to evolve and spark deadly outbreaks, yet scientists lack support to study the risks they pose.
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Jane Qiu, PhD @janeqiu.bsky.social · 11/06/2025
Some scientists like @jw132.bsky.social recognise the “small possibility” that research-associated activities could have triggered the pandemic. But that “should not prevent us for focusing on the bigger picture”: the wildlife trade poses a much greater zoonotic risk than do lab accidents. 3/
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Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 @helenbranswell.bsky.social · 28/05/2025
BREAKING: In a serious blow to US pandemic flu preparedness, HHS has cancelled a contract with Moderna to test and license prototype vaccines for #H5N1 #birdflu and other potential pandemic viruses. In a pandemic, mRNA is the fastest way to vaccine doses. www.statnews.com/2025/05/28/m...
statnews.com
HHS cancels nearly $600 million Moderna contract on vaccines for flu pandemics
HHS has notified Moderna that it is canceling a nearly $600 million contract for vaccines for flu strains that could trigger future pandemics.
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Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 @helenbranswell.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
#H5N1 #birdflu found its way into 1 of California's few remaining herds that hadn't been infected. CA's total is now 767, of which 630 have recovered & cleared quarantine. Cumulative national total: 1073 herds in 17 states. Wisconsin soon to join the milk testing program. Watching with interest.
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Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 @helenbranswell.bsky.social · 06/06/2025
The number of confirmed #measles cases in the US this year had risen to 1168 as of 6/5. Given we're not yet half way through 2025, seems likely this year's tally will exceed that of 2019, currently the highest single year tally since measles elimination in 2000. www.cdc.gov/measles/data...
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James Wood @jw132.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
Important new piece by @janeqiu.bsky.social in @nature.com describing the live animal markets that we continue to allow to put us all at risk
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Danny Deraney @dannyderaney.bsky.social · 31/05/2025
I don't know if there is a more appropriate goodbye to Loretta Swit, than her last scene in MASH in the series finale. Loretta won two Emmy's for her role as Major Houlihan.
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Debby van Riel @debbyvanriel.bsky.social · 26/05/2025
This documentary covers the current bird flu situation. Clearly presented, realistic and where necessary with nuance. Interviews by Neil Cairns & team with @linekebegeman.bsky.social, Tom Frieden, @jw132.bsky.social, Jim Paulson and myself. www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5XK...
youtube.com
Bird flu - the next pandemic?
YouTube video by RAZOR Science Show
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Thijs Kuiken @thijskuiken.bsky.social · 26/05/2025
The Razor Science Show provides cutting-edge science and technology stories, including the documentary "Bird flu - the next pandemic?". Neil Cairns interviews @drtomfrieden.bsky.social , @jw132.bsky.social, @linekebegeman.bsky.social, and @debbyvanriel.bsky.social. www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5XK...
youtube.com
Bird flu - the next pandemic?
YouTube video by RAZOR Science Show
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James Wood @jw132.bsky.social · 25/05/2025
As Gaza’s children are bombed and starved, we watch – powerless. What is it doing to us as a society? Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
As Gaza's children are bombed and starved, we watch - powerless. What is it doing to us as a society? | Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett
I thought we all believed in a collective responsibility towards children. This terrible conflict has made me question that, says Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett
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James Wood @jw132.bsky.social · 18/04/2025
The life and death of a ‘laundered’ cow in the Amazon rainforest www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
The life and death of a ‘laundered’ cow in the Amazon rainforest
Cattle moved between ranches, allowing meat from farms linked to deforestation to end up on supermarket shelves
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Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 @helenbranswell.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
#USDA confirmed another California dairy herd has been infected with #H5N1 #birdflu. That brings CA's total to 756. The CA Dept of Ag. says 422 of those herds have recovered & cleared quarantine. Cumulative national total = 990 herds in 17 states. This doesn't include the herd MN reported y'day.
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Alex Crits-Christoph @acritschristoph.bsky.social · 23/03/2025
Climate change deniers used grok to generate a fake paper that they promptly published in a fake journal. It'll have >1 million views on X in under 24 hours. It's not just an example of bad things on X. There are a lot of those. But it also shows that sci comm there is meaningless and futile
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The Global Vector Hub @globalvectorhub.bsky.social · 23/03/2025
🕷️"Spatial analysis and risk mapping of #Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever ( #CCHF) in Sub-saharan #Africa" by Abdoul Kader Ilboudo et al. @ilri.org www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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Michelle Wille @duckswabber.bsky.social · 13/03/2025
Expanding testing for H5 beyond human patients who meet strict case definitions may be important in detecting further human cases in the US. 👉 www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
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BBC Newsnight @bbcnewsnight.bsky.social · 08/03/2025
"I think Putin clearly felt, after the cut-off of military intelligence to Ukraine, that he had impunity" Former Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee, Lord Ricketts, responds to Russian strikes on Ukraine. #Newsnight
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Nicholas Wu @nicholaswu.bsky.social · 05/03/2025
🦇 Registrations are now open for the 20th International Bat Research Conference (Cairns, Australia, 3-8 Aug 2025)! Abstract submissions for presentations are also open. More info: ibrc.org #ibrc2025 #ausbats #bats
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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 05/03/2025
Elon Musk is a proven danger to good science, but the Royal Society won’t say so. That’s why I resigned | Kit Yates
theguardian.com
Elon Musk is a proven danger to good science, but the Royal Society won’t say so. That’s why I resigned | Kit Yates
It is vital to act, and I urge colleagues to do so. How can we stand by and laud this man while he undermines scientific integrity? asks academic and author Kit Yates
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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 01/03/2025
Kennedy Jr backtracks and says US measles outbreak is now a ‘top priority’ for health department
theguardian.com
Kennedy Jr backtracks and says US measles outbreak is now a ‘top priority’ for health department
Health secretary earlier said outbreak was ‘not unusual’ but with first US measles death in decade steps up response Two days after initially downplaying the outbreak as “not unusual,” the US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, on Friday said he…
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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 26/02/2025
Unknown illness kills more than 50 in north-west DRC
theguardian.com
Unknown illness kills more than 50 in north-west DRC
The outbreak, first discovered in three children who ate a bat, has caused 431 cases and 53 deaths An unknown illness first discovered in three children who ate a bat has killed more than 50 people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) over the…
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Jay Hinton @jayhinton.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
In UK, antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections in humans have INCREASED by 13% since 2018… Despite a target to reduce them by 10%. www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
theguardian.com
UK ‘falling short’ in fight against rise of superbugs resistant to antibiotics
Antimicrobial resistance contributing to estimated 35,000 deaths a year in UK, and government ‘a long way’ from containing the problem, says NAO
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James Wood @jw132.bsky.social · 23/02/2025
Flea treatments are turning our pets into an environmental hazard – there has to be a better way: Sophie Pavelle www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Flea treatments are turning our pets into an environmental hazard – there has to be a better way | Sophie Pavelle
Startling evidence of the dangers to birds and rivers from over-the-counter drugs should be a wake-up call for owners to press for alternatives, says writer Sophie Pavelle
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Jennifer Nuzzo, DrPH, SM @jennifernuzzo.bsky.social · 22/02/2025
A seal at a nearby zoo died of bird flu. www.wpri.com/news/local-n...
wpri.com
‘Completely unexpected’: Buttonwood Park Zoo takes precautions after seal dies from bird flu
The Buttonwood Park Zoo is mourning the loss of Blue, a harbor seal that died from the bird flu earlier this month.
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Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 @helenbranswell.bsky.social · 22/02/2025
4. Final note: FluView gives a few details of the 2 most recent #H5N1 human cases, in Wyoming and Ohio. Both were hospitalized; the person in Wyoming is still in hospital. Of the 70 confirmed cases since the outbreak in cows began last year, 4 have been sick enough to require hospital care; 1 died.
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Scott McGrath @smcgrath.phd · 21/02/2025
🧪 New research suggests raccoon dogs may have been the source of COVID-19, potentially transmitting it to humans at Wuhan's Huanan Seafood Market. Genomic data links their DNA to virus-positive samples. 🩺 🛟
nature.com
What sparked the COVID pandemic? Mounting evidence points to raccoon dogs
More than five years on, studies suggest the animal is the most likely culprit, but other candidates haven't been ruled out.
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Chris Lang @reddmonitor.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
📢 A Court in Kenya has ruled that two of the Northern Rangelands Trust's biggest conservancies were set up unconstitutionally. 📢 A huge blow to the Northern Kenya Grassland Carbon project. 📢 Netflix, Meta, British Airways buy offsets from the project. reddmonitor.substack.com/p/legal-vict...
reddmonitor.substack.com
Legal victory for Indigenous pastoralists in Kenya
A major blow to the Northern Rangelands Trust’s Northern Kenya Grassland Carbon project.
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Stuart Neil @tetherin.bsky.social · 21/02/2025
A little bit of sane reporting. The explosion of rage that this article has triggered in offices at the Waksman Institute was audible from this side of the Atlantic. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
What sparked the COVID pandemic? Mounting evidence points to raccoon dogs
More than five years on, studies suggest the animal is the most likely culprit, but other candidates haven't been ruled out.
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James Wood @jw132.bsky.social · 19/02/2025
Bird flu spreads to marine mammals in UK : www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Four seals die on Norfolk coast after contracting bird flu
Experts raise fears for England’s largest colony at Blakeney Point as they conduct tests to identify source of infection
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