Ben Morton

IMAV: International meeting on arboviruses and their vectors

Registration and abstract submission for the international Meeting on Arboviruses and their Vectors (a UK Microbiology Society event), Liverpool 1-2 September 2026, are now open!

Link:

microbiologysociety.org/event/full-e...

This is chilling

Antibodies pooled from critical care doctors blood protects against all forms of bull shittery

New release from the Windsor Mint. Get yours now! 😜

Jibe at Arsenals title hopes with William saying Prince Andrew has better chance of title

Sent by a now cocky City supporting friend.

Suffragette leader Christabel Pankhurst. c.1910, photo by Scottish photographer Christina Broom (1862-1939), UK's first female press photographer, who documented the women's suffrage movement.

Scientists no Longer Find Twitter Professionally Useful, and have Switched to Bluesky Synopsis. Social media has become widely used by the scientific community for a variety of professional uses, including networking and public outreach. For

Bluesky is the new science Twitter, new study by @whysharksmatter.bsky.social and Julia Wester concludes!

"Results show that for every reported professional benefit that scientists once gained from Twitter, scientists can now gain that benefit more effectively on Bluesky than on Twitter."

Straight up Blades of Glory vibes. LOVE that film.

Britain secures record amount of solar in renewable power auction Britain secured a record amount of solar power in an auction offering guaranteed electricity price contracts to renewable projects, the government said on Tuesday, as it seeks to meet its clean energy targets and drive down costs.

Britain secures record amount of solar in renewable power auction reut.rs/3ZYNbKC

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has announced today a record £1bn invest in community-owned energy. This is the start of an energy ownership revolution which will see communities and community assets benefit from renewables in their areas.

📺 Watch him explain.

Polanski says local mayors should be given power over rent controls Housing Secretary Steve Reed has also been on the programme to defend the government's efforts to expand trade ties with China.

I thought @zackpolanski.bsky.social nailed the Kuenssberg interview today. Messaging on point, love the way he challenged the established omertà on issues like drug policy, proportional representation and rent control.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cd...

Churchwarden linked to foreign-born billionaire is behind £200k Reform gift The man whose firm made the donations will not discuss where the money came from, nor his ties to wealthy Farage allies who may not hold citizenship

How is it that a church warden behind an interior design firm originally incorporated in the BVIs & tied to a Kazakh billionaire can make a £200,000 donation to Reform UK?

Source of funds not disclosed.

Farage has questions to answer.

The Electoral Commission must investigate.

‘We create social cohesion’: the rise of the West Midlands’ Desi pubs With sizzling mixed grills and bhangra playing, Desi pub owners are transforming places of exclusion into new community hubs

‘We create social cohesion’: the rise of the West Midlands’ Desi pubs

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

YouTube video by Bruce Springsteen Bruce Springsteen - Streets Of Minneapolis (Official Lyric Video)

Oh our Minneapolis, I hear your voice
Singing through the bloody mist
We’ll take our stand for this land
And the stranger in our midst

Directed by Thom Zimny
Edited by Thom Zimny and Samuel Shapiro
Production Footage: Pam Springsteen and Thom Zimny

It would be nice to see a statement along similar lines from @ficm.bsky.social and @ics-updates.bsky.social #Twexit

Screenshot of a tweet from RCoA: “We have stopped posting on X. Read more about why we have made that decision and how you can stay connected with us: rcoa.ac.uk/news/rcoa-will...”

Screenshot of two tweets from the association of anaesthetists: “1/2 We want our online spaces to reflect our commitment to respectful, safe and inclusive debate. For that reason, we have decided to pause all our activities on X while concerns remain about harmful behaviour on the platform and the sharing of indecent images through Grok. 2/2 We welcome the investigation launched by Ofcom and will carefully consider its recommendations. In the meantime, you can find us on our other channels, including Linkedin, Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky, as well as our own website.”

Well done @rcoanews.bsky.social and @assocanaes.bsky.social for taking action and stepping away from activity on Twitter/X
It seems that every day reputable organisations are waking up to the fact that they do not need to remain there.

Come work with us!

Help us make hope normal again.

Join the Green Party now.

A suggested checklist for leaving X...

✅ Ethical & Moral Reasons

☐ Platform profits from harassment, hate speech, and dehumanization

☐ Marginalized groups are disproportionately targeted and silenced. The anti-woke brigade shout the loudest

☐ Remaining signals tacit acceptance of these harms

Keir Starmer says it is in Britain’s interests to “align more closely with the EU single market” and “we should”.

Interestingly this is one of his most passionate answers in a long interview.

I think we can expect movement on this issue in 2026. Brexit still remains an unsettled matter.

Why is Starmer unpopular? The answer’s obvious, but it mystifies the media ALL the “serious” media pundits are working on “Why is Keir Starmer so unpopular” columns. The one thing the pundits won’t say is “He is so unpopular because we told him to be.”Media commentators can’...

‘… the “middle ground” doesn’t exist like it used to because demands for better wages or public services can’t be easily satisfied without redistribution in a stagnating economy.’

Been a pleasure making this new connection with you. Onwards and upwards!

A Mancunian noir classic capturing a lost city In 1960, Hell is a City set the bar for neo-noir. Now it's a window into a past long demolished

@mancunianmedic.bsky.social I thought this might interest: manchestermill.co.uk/a-mancunian-...

Attenuated viral strains of priority pathogens for potential use in controlled human infection model studies: A scoping review Author summary There are several families of viruses that scientists predict are most likely to cause a future pandemic, such as coronaviruses or Ebola. Studying these viruses ahead of time might mean...

How can we accelerate human trials of vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics against priority pathogens in advance of epidemics and pandemics? Well, if we can identify safe, weakened versions controlled human infection model trials might be possible:

journals.plos.org/plosntds/art...

🧪 🩺 #IDsky

World's first subsea desalination facility will start running in 2026 Flocean, a Norwegian company, is set to open the world’s first commercial-scale subsea desalination plant, an approach that could cut the cost and energy used to make seawater drinkable

Flocean, a Norwegian company, is set to open the world’s first commercial-scale subsea desalination plant, an approach that could cut the cost and energy used to make seawater drinkable

@anaesjournal.bsky.social we aim for (and mainly achieve) a two week turn around for time to first decision.

Watch: DR Congo fan’s extraordinary ‘statue’ pose for entire match Supporter’s tribute at Afcon honours Patrice Lumumba, the country’s first prime minister who was assassinated in 1961

A DR Congo supporter has watched all their of three African Cup of Nations 2025 games holding his pose as the statue of Patrice Lumumba, who was born a century ago in 1925, and assassinated as prime minister in 1961 shortly after independence
www.telegraph.co.uk/football/202...

There are actually many more things you can point to as examples of recent scientific breakthroughs www.scientificdiscovery.dev/p/medical-br... than 'curing Alzheimer's in mice', which people have been claiming to have done for decades and has a tenuous connection to what happens in humans.

Crypto users forced to share account details with tax officials The move is designed to ensure people pay all relevant tax on buying and selling crypto.

Good move. Too much nonsense going on in crypto www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...