Ursula Hofer

Yes, exactly. And I also worry about the misrepresentation of honest scientific discussion for anti-science disinformation.

Finally, the main downside of open peer review that I see is the weaponization of critical comments for mis- and disinformation. Think about vaccine papers, COVID origins etc.

I wouldn't mind the editorial accountability of it, but again, privilege.

I understand that I'm saying this from a privileged position and the incentives for many people are different.

I wouldn't necessarily agree with the statement that peer review is broken. Open for improvement, yes. As I become older (and grumpier), my answer to almost everything is do less with more. More resources to the things that really matter. Does every paper need peer review? To be published?

Interesting discussion about peer review; I particularly enjoyed the history.

Showing a fictitious system for submitting manuscripts called "Nature Instant" showing bot choices for authors to choose from as initial AI-based peer reviewers. The bots are trained on real human reviewer data.

The future of peer review is here.

Introducing Nature Instant!

We've automated rejection so you can get disappointed faster. Because why wait 6 months for reviewer 2 when you can get roasted by an #AI in seconds?

Here is how it works.

#AI4Science #PeerReview #FictionScience #FiSci #AAAI #ScAISci

Jane Goodall, Eminent Primatologist Who Chronicled the Lives of Chimps, Dies at 91. Gift link: nyti.ms/48FOuUn

Read our October issue!

Featuring a trial testing moxidectin for lymphatic filariasis, bedaquiline resistance and tuberculosis outcomes, and a recombinant influenza vaccine for children.

www.thelancet.com/issue/S1473-...

If it's 'hate', women for sure. Part of the antivaxx policies is keeping women pregnant, at home doing care work, dependant on men. Besides hate, grift and selling snake oil is a huge motivator for the antivaxx movement.

I guess it's 'hate immigrants' day AGAIN. Blame immigrants for inequality, instead of economic profiteers. And of course this rhetoric comes exactly from the people who profiteer the most...

Embroidery of sixteen different coloured and shaped toadstools on a reddisn background

Kimika Hara, contemporary Japanese embroidery artist #WomensArt
#September

We'd been thinking about this topic since a session at ECCMID a couple years ago, where there was a lot of talk about risks for publishing, research quality.

So, here we wanted to focus on where real progress is happening and how we can harness this for the clinic and human health.

Our new series on AI in ID is finally online!

Long time in the making - big thanks to all the authors, in particular, the lead of the series, Prof Anna Odone.

I feel like there's more questions than answers for this topics, alas. Lots of work still to do.

More data needed on the FDA's decision to suspend Ixchiq Record-breaking numbers of chikungunya virus infections—a mosquito-borne disease characterised by joint pain and fever—have been reported this year, affecting Asia, Africa, South America, and Europe. ...

New Editorial:

More data needed on the FDA's decision to suspend Ixchiq

www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Please don't send me emails written by AI; please don't expect me to send you emails with the effusiveness and artificial sincerity of AI. Thx.

Congratulations! 🎉🧬🎉

Same, usually with added travel chaos. Interestingly, I don't really get nervous for panels or presentations anymore (yay, being older), still have the conference nightmare.

YouTube video by MicrobeTV TWiV Special: David Baltimore, remembered

TWiV re-issues our 100th episode which featured a discussion of viruses with David Baltimore, an exemplary scientist and Vincent's exemplary mentor, who passed on 6 September 2025

124 pirated pieces I have written. Sorry, it's my fault that LLMs really like em dashes 🤣

I find it a weird mix of people and content. I'm too old and cranky for the self-promotional and corporate BS aspects of it. Cannot muster any enthusiasm. Also, boundaries - LinkedIn is one of the things I've deleted from my to-do lists.

🤔 I hope someone more knowledgeable can enlighten me on the rationale here...

Democratic Republic of the Congo declares Ebola virus disease outbreak in Kasai Province Kinshasa – Health authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have declared an outbreak of Ebola virus disease in Kasai Province where 28 suspected cases and 15 deaths, including four health w...

And here’s confirmation from @WHO:

“Health authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have declared an outbreak of Ebola virus disease in Kasai Province where 28 suspected cases and 15 deaths, including four health workers, have been reported as of 4 September 2025.”
#IDsky 🧪

I feel like the reverse applies as well. Tech failures also often rooted in other, pre-existing problems.

Thinking of GenAI failures in my field, fake papers, papermills, sloppy referencing, poor peer review etc have existed for a long time. AI mainly adding scale.

I've handled some renaming papers before. And then the inevitable string of letters. Now trying to stay out of it! Spectator sport 😉

They clearly haven't asked the virologists about how it's going with taxonomy and nomenclature changes... 😂

Personally, I feel slight resignation and then shrug when a new name is released. But thankfully I'm not a copy editor!

I'm starting to look into how inflammation is being misused by MAHA types in a way that very much distracts from chronic illness-inflammation problems people actually have. If you're an academic, doctor, immunologist etc with thoughts on this, please be in touch at jmetraux@motherjones.com

100 years and counting: the National Collection of Type Cultures centenary The National Collection of Type Cultures (NCTC) was founded in 1920, and to date is regarded as the oldest existing bacterial strain collection in the world that was specifically established to provid...

"There is no charge for depositing strains in the NCTC … The collection ensures that priceless strains are accessible to future scientists, an appealing opportunity for researchers who are changing institutions or preparing for retirement"

www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

I could see how inserting copious viroporins between epithelial cells in a mucosal layer might be useful, plenty of cellular resources without having to risk the extracellular space. Pure speculation though; someone should study this, some nice old school molecular virology 😂

I was only away for a week but can relate. Commiserations!