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102 new Ebola cases and 45 deaths reported by DRC over past 24 hours. For context: Many Ebola outbreaks in the past have remained small. These numbers mean the DRC has reported more cases overnight than were reported IN TOTAL during each of about two dozen smaller Ebola outbreaks. 🧪

Significant update to the AllTheBacteria paper, including discovering new antimicrobial peptides and testing in vitro and vivo. This has grown into a fantastic collaboration!

We all know about the Claude spiritual bliss attractor state. But what happens when you let Grok talk to itself for a long time? Answer:

Stamp duty and council tax are terrible taxes. Land value tax could replace both - and Andy Burnham has backed it for 16 years. Who wins? Who loses? What happens to house prices? LVT could drive growth. But it isn’t easy. Our model shows its promise - and its problems.

The Ebola outbreak in the DRC keeps growing at a shocking pace. We're already close to 2000 confirmed cases. Right now: 1926 confirmed cases (incl. 53 new cases in the last 24 hours) 702 of these have died insp.cd/sitrep-n058-...

This is what I'm doing at the WHO this week, on the negotiation over an Annex on benefit sharing for pandemics. www.keionline.org/41368

De-linking equitable sharing of Pandemic production obligations from access to PABS materials and data - Knowledge Ecology InternationalI’m in Geneva this week and next, and Brussels on Monday. The WIPO General Assembly meets this week. A two week WHO negotiation on an Annex to the Pandemic Agreement on Pathogen Access and Benefit Sha...www.keionline.org

139 genomes now sequenced from the ongoing 2026 Bundibugyo virus disease outbreak in DRC, spanning 16 Health Zones. Led by INRB with support from the ARTIC network (Wellcome Trust and Gates Foundation). Full analysis: virological.org/t/genomic-ep...

Genomic epidemiology of the ongoing 2026 Bundibugyo Virus Disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the CongoGenomic epidemiology of the ongoing 2026 Bundibugyo Virus Disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale (INRB), Kinshasa – DRC and partners Conte...virological.org

So it turns out the "contract" teenagers signed for their student loans wasn't actually a contract at all, the government always had the right to retrospectively change the terms, and at no point was this explained to those taking out the loans... www.newstatesman.com/politics/edu...

Government mis-sold student loans to a generation, report findsA new Treasury Committee report has found that the state did not sufficiently communicate the terms and conditionswww.newstatesman.com

Most people experienced the fall of the Roman Empire as “one day the bridge fell down and no-one came to fix it”. anyway www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Hammersmith Bridge vehicle plans axed over £300m costHammersmith and Fulham Council now plans to focus on repairs to maintain walking and cycling access.www.bbc.co.uk

1/ 🌍 Our June update is here! Two new pathogens added in response to active outbreaks, over 5,700 new sequences, and a growing community of labs from around the world. Here's what's new in #Pathoplexus 👇 Read the full update: pathoplexus.org/news/2026-06... 📰

Like Artemis/ACT but wish it was easier to install and more modern? Try Seqhiker. 🧬 Native desktop app (no Java) for Windows/mac/linux 🖱️ Drag-n-drop FASTA/GenBank/GFF3/BAM/VCF files 🔍 Genome browsing and ACT-style comparison ✨ Themes (customisable) and a Vim mode Docs: seqhiker.readthedocs.io

Honoured to be awarded the Mary Lyon medal by the Genetics Society today, here in Edinburgh. V grateful to mentors and all my previous group members and colleagues. Medal is an X chromosome!!

I suspect reactions will fall into 3 categories: 1) excitement ‘because AI’; 2) revulsion; 3) questions whether this may be the beginning of more multi-dimensional approaches to ranking papers without reading them (which many want) 1/2

Very interesting talk by @mendelrandom.bsky.social on the apparent effect of shingles vaccines on dementia. Clear discontinuity from shingles vaccines on shingles, but not on dementia, in this much larger follow up in England, using similar analytic choices as the Wales study that showed a benefit.

Wow, spotted at a local grocery store in Hong Kong! I've never seen a 10 in 1 rapid test before.

ARTIC network has published Bundibugyo (BDBV) sequencing resources as the 2026 outbreak continues in DRC & Uganda. We have compiled guidance for labs wishing to sequence, assemble and analyse BDBV genomes: artic.network/viruses/bdbv/bdbv-sequencing-guide.html

My institution is considering (further) reducing the times at which one can access the building. Would be interested to hear from other academics as to whether you have 24/7 access to your labs/office or what the hours look like (thanks!)

The contrast between the number of media requests I got when rich people on a cruise were facing a deadly, but contained outbreak versus now that some of the poorest people in the world are facing a deadly and devastating epidemic is just so so stark and it just really annoys the hell out of me.

Teams in the Democratic Republic of the Congo & Uganda have now shared the first sequences from the current Ebola (Bundibugyo virus) outbreak using Pathoplexus, just days after cases were confirmed. Read more about the response to Bundibugyo virus here: pathoplexus.org/news/2026-05...

Pathoplexus | Ebola: Rapid response to the Bundibugyo virus outbreak in the DRC and UgandaPathoplexus is a new, open-source database dedicated to the efficient sharing of human viral pathogen genomic data, fostering global collaboration and public health response.pathoplexus.org

Here we go: Official declaration from the DRC that "laboratory analyses conducted by the National Institute of Biomedical Research on May 14, 2026, on 13 blood samples, have confirmed 8 positive cases of Ebola virus disease, Bundibugyo strain" 5 samples had too little volume to be analyzed