Dr Alison Peel

Okay so as promised... let's go through this paper and why it matters 🧵

#medsky #immunosky #idsky

Transmission or Within-Host Dynamics Driving Pulses of Zoonotic Viruses in Reservoir–Host Populations Progress in combatting zoonoses that emerge from wildlife is often constrained by limited knowledge of the biology of pathogens within reservoir hosts. We focus on the host–pathogen dynamics of four e...

Awesome study! So great to see what your analyses have revealed.
@rainap.bsky.social & I sketched out some related ideas on scrap paper back in 2015, which became this paper: doi.org/10.1371/jour....
We've refined that now, & keen to explore with more data - thanks for the motivation to carry on!

Evidence of latency reshapes our understanding of Ebola virus reservoir dynamics Ebola virus (EBOV) has caused severe outbreaks of haemorrhagic fever in Central and West Africa since the first observed zoonotic epidemic in the late 1970s. While recent outbreaks have revealed much ...

Our paper on the phenomenon of persistence and latency in Ebola virus in an unobserved reservoir is finally out in preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Dunno if youse are across this... but it's forecast that in Sydney on Wednesday the temp will be 38C. (100 F)

It's OCTOBER! That's FIFTEEN DEGREES ABOVE AVERAGE!

Our Government and fossil fuel companies are determined to cook us alive! Boil the oceans. Kill our forests. Turn habitat to ash.🥺😩

Sign the Petition Prevent the closure of Griffith University daycares

There’s a petition here to try to prevent it:

www.change.org/p/prevent-th...

Ah, I missed that bit. Thanks. That’s a real shame.

Ah, just for renovations! I thought for good initially, and was devastated as the staff there are so amazing

Corals are disappearing, pushing Earth to its first major ‘tipping point’ A new report says Earth has reached a dire milestone with the widespread death of warm-water coral reefs. It's not too late to save what remains.

… today, a group of 160 scientists from 23 countries is announcing that the planet has already reached its first major tipping point: the widespread death of warm-water coral reefs.

I don’t know who needs to hear this but the CDC is being eviscerated right now. America is not going to have any kind of outbreak response capacity after tonight. Americans’ health data is no longer secure. Say goodbye to federal public health in any capacity. It’s a disaster. We won’t recover.

An ode to the written word.

And then there were none: Australia’s only shrew declared extinct Australia’s only known shrew has been declared extinct. Its loss emphasises the need for national protection of Australia’s rare and unique wildlife.

This is desperately sad. Professor John Woinarski breaks the news for @aunz.theconversation.com that Australia's next animal - the tiny Christmas Island Shrew - has officially been declared extinct.

theconversation.com/and-then-the...

Aww shucks, thanks so much @wdaa.bsky.social
I love the sense of “being amongst my people” that the WDAA community brings & am so honoured to have been recognised in this way by that community.

Thanks so much to the committee, my nominator & all my students/collaborators for their contributions 🦇

An interesting ZOLA (Zoonotic Risk Mitigation in Live Animal Markets) PhD research project for a Bangladeshi candidate

severine.thys@cirad.fr for more info

Leading scholars say Israel committing genocide in Gaza The International Association of Genocide Scholars says signatories to the genocide convention, including Australia, should prevent arms sales to Israel and uphold international law.

"Israel's policies and actions in Gaza meet the legal definition of genocide in Article II of the United Nations Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948)".

www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09...

Famine is declared in Gaza: What does it take to make this pronouncement? An announcement of famine — as has now happened regarding Gaza — is a complicated decision. Here's what must be considered before such a declaration is made.

An announcement of famine — as has now happened regarding Gaza — is a complicated decision. Here's what must be considered before such a declaration is made.

"This famine is entirely man-made, it can be halted and reversed. The time for debate and hesitation has passed, starvation is present and is rapidly spreading."

At least 30% of children suffer from acute malnutrition.

THIRTY PERCENT

**Postdoc opportunities**👇👇 Find me at poster 302 today between 17:30-18:00 for a chat. 🦡🦠🔬🧬 #eseb2025

Nature: Cancelling mRNA studies is the highest irresponsibility

go.nature.com/3HDx4wD

cc Jay Bhattacharya

Gunning for the ghost bat? Vote now for your fave underrated animal Move over, roos and emus — this National Science Week, we're looking for the most underrated Australian animal. Meet the contestants, and vote for who you think should win.

I'm looking forward to being a part of this special episode of What The Duck, when the winner of Australia's Most Underrated Animal will be announced.

12-1pm, Today, on ABC RN.

Go team #MarsupialMole!

www.abc.net.au/news/science... #NationalScienceWeek

We did the math on AI’s energy footprint. Here’s the story you haven’t heard. The emissions from individual AI text, image, and video queries seem small—until you add up what the industry isn’t tracking and consider where it’s heading next.

For all of the educators trying to deal with AI, I did a deep dive in early June and these are the four articles I decided to assign to my students.

1. This is the longest of the bunch, but so wonderfully comprehensive.

www.technologyreview.com/2025/05/20/1...

Anti-science and the science community Nature Reviews Microbiology - As anti-science sentiment intensifies — aggravated by the pandemic, driven in some parts of the world by political actors and amplified by social media —...

Grateful to @marionkoopmans.bsky.social for writing this thoughtful piece in Nature Rev Micro. We can’t push back against anti-science movements without taking the threat seriously, proactively address our limitations, and engage with the public clearly & candidly.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

70 years of data show extreme heat is already wiping out tropical bird populations A study using more than 90,000 scientific observations shows Earth is getting too hot for many tropical birds.

I usually tell people that *so far*, habitat loss, not climate change, has been the major driver of bird population declines... but now we're starting to get analyses directly connecting bird declines to extreme weather events fueled by climate change. 🪶 theconversation.com/70-years-of-...

The ghost of infections past: Accounting for heterogeneity in individual infection history improves accuracy in epidemic forecasting Variable pathogen exposure history contributes to individual immune differences, complicating epidemic forecasting. This Essay argues that experimental disease ecology can offer powerful tools and app...

Forecasting the effects of #epidemics is complicated by a population’s pathogen exposure history. @pfvale.bsky.social @chadisaadroy.bsky.social & Mike Boots argue for the use of experimental #DiseaseEcology to better understand the consequences of variations in #infection history 🧪
plos.io/4mdDVvW

YouTube video by Juergen Freund Visuals Tolga Bat Hospital – A Sanctuary for Australian Bats

What a special bunch of humans looking after our special bats 🦇
Absolutely amazing to visit this sanctuary during the recent @ibrc2025.bsky.social conference 🇦🇺

youtu.be/ttYuewsEv_I

The situation in Gaza is catastrophic, tens of thousands of people have already died. Millions are trapped, starving, & denied essential aid.
Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
Our government must take decisive action NOW:
Sign Oxfam Australia’s letter for urgent action
Photo Leon Rice-Whetton

I refuse to accept this.
I refuse to be a bystander.
That's why I say @albomp.bsky.social Not In My Name
Sign Oxfam Australia’s letter calling for urgent action: a permanent ceasefire, humanitarian access &accountability & tell the Australian Government, Not In My Name.
#NotInMyName #CeaseFireNow

Highly recommend this great opportunity to develop #theory together with @kostchristian.bsky.social and group who are simply a wonderful bunch!!

Members of the @albomp.bsky.social government persistently & shamelessly dissemble while Israel assassinates Palestinian journalists & carries out genocide & mass starvation

Defence Min Marles is one of the least credible politicians in the cabinet—why trot him out❓

#SanctionIsrael #ActNOW

BBC International Editor Jeremy Bowen has confirmed that the entire Al Jazeera team in Gaza City has been killed.

Al Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif killed in Israeli attack in Gaza City Al-Sharif killed in what appears to be a targeted Israeli attack on tent housing journalists outside al-Shifa hospital.

Al-Sharif killed in what appears to be a targeted Israeli attack on tent housing journalists outside al-Shifa hospital.