David Bhella

First field archery competition in ~25 years. I was terrible 😀 - but it was lovely being out in the woods again.

man presents to an audience in a conference room. The projected slide reads “Anatomical origin of exhaled SARS-CoV-2 within the respiratory tract” and features a colourful virus illustration. Attendees are seated and focused on the presentation.

A group of people sits around a long table in a dimly lit restaurant. The table is filled with drinks. The setting features wooden wall panels and modern hanging light fixtures.

A group of people sits in a conference room with large windows, participating in a discussion. Attendees are taking notes or using laptops.

Twelve people pose for a group photo in front of a wall displaying logos for the Medical Research Council- University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research. They are dressed in business casual attire. The setting is an indoor office.

Last week we welcomed colleagues from ‪@helmholtzhzi.bsky.social‬ Centre for Infection Research & other project partners for our CVR-HZI Collaborative Development Fund Symposium.

We heard about exciting research projects and discussed new opportunities to further our collaborations.

cvr-hzi.co.uk

Or Coccoliths?

Binomial names for virus species: the rediscovery of an old idea The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses now mandates that all virus species names be presented in a binomial format. This requirement replaces the various naming formats that have been used...

Epseptimavirus phagemcphageface made my day...
doi.org/10.1099/jgv....

Thinking about it - it might not even have been under vacuum - we were testing culture from frozen grids to support use in a fib… I need to check. Anyhow the RSV didn’t make it…

I guess it depends on the pathogen in question - we found RSV didn’t survive warming to room temperature under vacuum in a side entry stage. A non enveloped virus might though.

Please join us if you can for this year's Influenza Update Meeting, and please spread the news! It will be another fun opportunity to meet other influenza researchers, make connections and discuss our ongoing research.

Isn’t it strange how the most ardent capitalists are suddenly very worried about the influence of the profit motive in pharma - while simultaneously screaming about state regulation of eg finance sector. It must be strange being in their heads.

At the international virus assembly workshop in Alghero, Sardinia. This afternoon we took some time out to tour the old town. A beautiful walk with friends.

A nice photo from last week’s ’Celebration of 50 years of Virology’ in St Andrews - marking a milestone in the distinguished career of Rick Randall - a great virologist, colleague and friend - congratulations Rick!

Congratulations on your excellent thesis defence Hollie - @cvrinfo.bsky.social

Major Scots attraction set to axe workers due to huge financial blackhole ONE of Scotland’s top tourist attractions is set to axe workers as it aims to plug a huge financial blackhole. Glasgow Science Centre staff have been warned their roles are at risk after operating …

Their response invariably compromises the business in order to hold on to their shrinking fiefdom.

So no surprises here:

www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/1465718...

2 years ago GSC made my wife redundant. She brought in £400k p/a in education contracts and was well regarded by educationalists across Scotland. They lost her contacts and the excellent reputation she had built over 20 years.

Competence is seen as a threat by those in power who are less capable.

There is no more certain guarantee of 100% cloud cover in Scotland that a forecast of strong aurora activity.

One of the many lovely things about having a dog is encounters with urban wildlife while out for a walk. Here is a greater spotted woodpecker spotted this morning in our local woods.

I am thrilled that University of Glasgow is supporting cryoEM in Scotland by investing in talented young technical professionals to manage SCMI and help us deliver great science. The energy and enthusiasm in the team is amazing and infectious.

Uncovering the viral aetiology of undiagnosed acute febrile illness in Uganda using metagenomic sequencing - Nature Communications Acute febrile illness is common in sub-Saharan Africa and causative agents are often unknown. Here, the authors perform metagenomic sequencing on samples from patients with acute febrile illness in Ug...

New in Nature Comms: We applied metagenomic + targeted NGS to serum from febrile patients in Uganda. Post-COVID, LMICs have sequencing infrastructure that could be repurposed for pathogen discovery.
🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

I am def gonna read this later…

A couple of photos from a wonderful night out - Ozric Tentacles and The Orb. Lots of smiling and dancing…. Lovely.

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

🚨I promised I'd say more on the Royal Society and Elon Musk, so here it is. 🚨

I've resigned my position as Associate Editor at Royal Society's journal Open Science in protest at their lack of action over Elon Musk.

My op-ed in @theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

🔊 Calling all parasite enthusiasts - come join us to study Toxoplasma and Plasmodium organelle biology 🔬
www.jobs.gla.ac.uk/job/research...

On 15 March 1939 Hitler and his deputy summoned the Czech President to Hitler’s residence in Berlin and then bullied him to submitting to a German invasion of his country.
They drove him to the point of physical collapse, threatening him until he eventually signed his country’s death warrant.

PLOS statement on recent US Executive Orders and scientific integrity - The Official PLOS Blog Since its founding over twenty five years ago PLOS has been dedicated to advancing open science, ensuring that knowledge is accessible to…

PLOS has issued a statement on recent US Executive Orders and scientific integrity.

We are determined to stand firmly behind our mission, our values and our principles, and against any attempt at censorship or undermining of the core principles of scientific inquiry.

plos.io/3D4O8cH

More exciting AI tools in the pipeline then…

📢 Registration is now open for 'Wellcome-MRC Cryo-EM in Structural Biology 2025'!

📅 Join us online March 3-7 at @diamondlightsource.bsky.social @universityofleeds.bsky.social for lectures & demos in #CryoEM & #CryoET: sample prep, SPA, model building & more!🧬

🔗 www.diamond.ac.uk/Instruments/...

Congratulations! Exciting news, I look forward to hearing about more great virology research from Cardiff…

Finieston crane, Glasgow, with the moon and Venus

Finieston crane, Glasgow, with the moon and Venus

My first Tull album was a best-of: m.u - but Benefit was the first studio album O bought followed by Stand Up and I think they are my favourites, but Aqualung, Thick as a Brick, Minstrel, Passion Play, Broadsword, Living in the last… the list goes on and on

I Love Jethro Tull, I think I could almost do this challenge with only Tull albums.

…standard FSC