iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Prof Sheena Cruickshank @sheencr.bsky.social · 17h

Conference bingo- the speaker has a raft of slides and selects a chunk for a talk without planning a narrative thereby running over versus the speaker who planned content but too much so talks REALLY fast to get through it

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Reposted by Prof Sheena Cruickshank

Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

It would seem the Home Office has now acquired the ability to impose, without visibility or accountability, shadow bans on students coming to British universities from particular countries. How? Because of the interaction between indiv visa decisions (made by HO alone) and visa rules for unis 1/?

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Prof Sheena Cruickshank @sheencr.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

This is shameful. The controversial Guinea-Bissau truck RFKJr wants to fund has been given ahead. Now a life saving vaccine will be deliberately withheld from newborns in a country where hep B is endemic

theguardian.com

Controversial vaccine trial touted by RFK Jr gets go-ahead in Guinea-Bissau

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Prof Sheena Cruickshank @sheencr.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

I can’t fathom how this happened- i feel so angry that people are being taken advantage of in this way

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Prof Sheena Cruickshank @sheencr.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

If they really felt this study was vital they could do in Denmark where vax is not given routinely as hepb rates low but no they would rather put 16000 newborns in a lottery where they could get a fatal or life changing viral infection

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Prof Sheena Cruickshank @sheencr.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Only hepb positive mums will now be excluded however that doesn’t mean the babies are safe from hepb as it can be transmitted in numerous ways and the tests are not 100%reliable

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Prof Sheena Cruickshank @sheencr.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Currently the vaccine is not given at birth there but scheduled to be by 2028 despite the country having amongst the highest levels of HepB. The study will assess theoretical impacts of vax like neurological conditions for which there is no evidence

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Prof Sheena Cruickshank @sheencr.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

theguardian.com

Controversial vaccine trial touted by RFK Jr gets go-ahead in Guinea-Bissau

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Prof Sheena Cruickshank @sheencr.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Meanwhile the few who DO have genuine reactions to vaccines will not be helped by this programme but a lot of people will get more nervous about vaccines and more distrust will be seeded whilst Kennedy burns through tax dollars at a huge rate to pursue his biases.

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Prof Sheena Cruickshank @sheencr.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Kennedy has a long history of making spurious claims linking vaccines to everything from autism to allergy - there are fears he will use this clinic to try and find any evidence such as the noisy VAERS data to try and back his claims.

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Prof Sheena Cruickshank @sheencr.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Currently you can report literally anything to VAERs - it doesn't mean its linked to the vaccine - just something that was claimed to have happened after. Its used a system to detect true signals from a lot of noise + take appropriate actions- so this could impair ability to identify true signals

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Prof Sheena Cruickshank @sheencr.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

RFKJr wants cash incentives to reimburse doctors to report SUSPECTED vaccine-related injuries to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS)- this is an unmoderated system where people can report anything (even becoming the incredible hulk)- so this could be MEGA-costly for little gain

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Prof Sheena Cruickshank @sheencr.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

This is concerning. RFKjr is pushing forward with measures that could have huge implications for vaccine policy in the US. He has announced a new wide reaching initiative to fund a new vaccine injury clinic vaccine injury clinic AND research on vaccine injuries with medics rewarded for reporting

cidrap.umn.edu

HHS launches new major vaccine injury initiative

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Prof Sheena Cruickshank @sheencr.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Treatment in mice with PA could reduce atherosclerotic plaque burden by around half and mice had lower cholesterol. This has not been tested in humans yet, we don't know if other bacteria have similar properties or if such a treatment would have any impact in patients but still v interesting

nature.com

A gut microbial odd-chain fatty acid alleviates atherosclerosis in mice - Nature

The administration of Bacteroides uniformis in mice can mitigate atherosclerosis via pentadecanoic acid, which directly inhibits HMG-CoA reductase to promote hepatic cholesterol clearance.

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Prof Sheena Cruickshank @sheencr.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

So they looked at the metabolic function of a type of Bacteroides- B. uniformis. This bacterium made an unusual short chain fatty acid pentadecanoic acid (PA) and the PA affects liver metabolism of cholesterol. Other types of Bacteroides look like they may have the same properties too

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Prof Sheena Cruickshank @sheencr.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

AS -like many conditions - has been linked to altered gut microbiota and in particular reduced Bacteroides. We know one of the ways the gut bacteria affect health is via the products they make so the question was can gut bacteria and particularly Bacteroides species influence cholesterol?

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Prof Sheena Cruickshank @sheencr.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Atherosclerosis (AS), is a cardiovascular condition where fatty plaques form in the arteries which causes the vessels to narrow- slowing blood flow & potentially leading to causing high cholesterol- with statins currently used to lower cholesterol and reduce risk

nhs.uk

Atherosclerosis

Find out more about atherosclerosis, what the symptoms are, how you can help stop it getting worse, how it's treated and what causes it.

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Prof Sheena Cruickshank @sheencr.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Quite so and it’s also used for mild fever so that’s a lot of help lost

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Prof Sheena Cruickshank @sheencr.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Furthermore on Instagram whilst some health / education institutions did put out correct science content on social media re Tylenol- the content was not appropriate for average American reading age nor was it multilingual- this is an important gap that should be fixed

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Prof Sheena Cruickshank @sheencr.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

This shows how algorithms and influencers have outsized reach- one misinformation video has over 10million views.

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Prof Sheena Cruickshank @sheencr.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

The new research that reveals algorithms disparity in social media (tiktok) such that disinformation on Tylenol roads was disproportionately viewed and pushed because influencers despite being the minority of the tik tik Tylenol info.

cidrap.umn.edu

Tylenol misinformation drew outsized TikTok views as public health agencies largely stayed silent

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Prof Sheena Cruickshank @sheencr.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Last year RFKJr and Trumps made wild claims about Tylenol and the risk in pregnancy of children developing autism that were not backed up by science in any way. This led to a drop in its use as women became anxious about risking their baby. Now researchers have looked at social media influence

cidrap.umn.edu

Tylenol use in pregnant women visiting ED dropped after Trump’s unfounded autism claim

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Prof Sheena Cruickshank @sheencr.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

I had never heard of kleptoparasitism before- the deliberate stealing of food from another animal. Now a species of dolphin has been caught doing this to get a free break by chasing a bigeye trevali fish into said fish puked which Dolphin consumed 🤢 is this an evolutionary strategy by the fish?? 🧪

science.org

This dolphin chased a fish until it puked—then ate the vomit

The behavior, known as kleptoparasitism, marks one of the few well-documented examples of a cetacean stealing food

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Prof Sheena Cruickshank @sheencr.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Kennedy should be acting to manage the growing measles crisis in the US by promoting vaccination but instead he is increasingly transparent about his anti vaccine agenda as the recent events with his old charity The Children’s health Defence confirmed

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Prof Sheena Cruickshank @sheencr.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Idk. But even so any accidental exposure should have meant antibiotics should have been administered!!

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Prof Sheena Cruickshank @sheencr.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Really concerning this happened - pathogens like yersinia pestis are used with very careful standard procedures so this kind of thing shouldn’t be able to happen. Really hope the quarantined staff are being monitored as a precaution only and all are fine but BIG questions need to be asked about this

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Reposted by Prof Sheena Cruickshank

✨🌟 ⭐️ LoveKat ⭐️🌟✨🟦♿️🧬🏳️‍🌈🇺🇸🇺🇦🇨🇦🇲🇽🌎☮️🕊️🟪 @lovekat41.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

This should be on the front of every news cycle. This is a "volunteer" who can't be impeached. This is an unregistered foreign agent, negotiating business deals using lives as pawns. Arrest this asshole for treason. Seize everything. Lock up the entire family.

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Trump Action Tracker @trumpactiontracker.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) Jr. told a MAHA summit that AI could provide a medical “second opinion” better informed than any doctor and could “free us from medical tyranny.” He encouraged Americans to use AI to challenge public-heal... TAT: [Attacking science | Controlling information]

futurism.com

RFK Jr Announcing That AI Is Now Better Than Human Doctors Shows That He Is a Buffoon Who Is Ruining Trust in American Health Institutions

RFK Jr. said that AI models are now better informed than any doctor, proclaiming the tech will "free us from medical tyranny."

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Prof Sheena Cruickshank @sheencr.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Tragic that another fatality from measles been announced in Pennsylvania- that brings total to 5. CDC still not acknowledging deaths and has only announced 2. Please please get MMR vaccine!

cidrap.umn.edu

Lancaster County reports Pennsylvania’s 5th measles-related death

To date the CDC has confirmed just 2 measles deaths, as Pennsylvania’s measles cases climb to 943.

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Prof Sheena Cruickshank @sheencr.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Been lovely to catch up with @dandavis101.bsky.social and Emily Gwyer Findlay for a top secret thing in London. So looking forward to sharing in the future! @lydiabeckeriii.bsky.social @exposomeimmunology.bsky.social

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Prof Sheena Cruickshank @sheencr.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

This is SO problematic on so many levels. Unfettered access to people’s health information without consent or guardrails and honestly do you trust people who clearly state their conclusions before they start any analysis to be unbiased and truthful with the results.

theguardian.com

RFK Jr outlines expansive vision for collecting US health data at Maha event

Health secretary calls for medical and lifestyle details to be sent to doctors and AI to address ‘chronic disease epidemic’

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Prof Sheena Cruickshank @sheencr.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Been great meeting our very first cohort of students to @exposomeimmunology.bsky.social yesterday and today. Also been wonderful seeing the interactions with other new and existing students working on exposome research. Our Immunology and Exposome community is growing @lydiabeckeriii.bsky.social

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Prof Sheena Cruickshank @sheencr.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Yup a type of Clostridium - it may be other bacteria do the same and obv bacteria do not work in silos

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Prof Sheena Cruickshank @sheencr.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

It is unlikely that the bacteria could be used a probiotic as won’t persist in the gut and unknown how durable effects are but if purified the bacterial products may have some utility but a lot of work to be done before it might be a treatment! Nonetheless interesting exciting work!

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Prof Sheena Cruickshank @sheencr.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

The targeted pathways are reduced in obese people suggesting that there may be a similar pathway

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Prof Sheena Cruickshank @sheencr.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

The bacteria Clostridium immunis has a product that decreases fat levels of a cytokine made by specialised innate lymphoid cells which in turn enables enhanced metabolic activity of fat- in mice and cell systems

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