Johan Van Weyenbergh

Unorthodox ‘universal vaccine’ offers broad protection in mice Immune-stimulating cocktail could shield against diverse bacterial and viral infections

🧪 Unorthodox ‘universal #vaccine’ offers broad protection in mice | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...

Giant viruses hijack their hosts’ protein factories Researchers identify a complex that hands mimivirus control of protein synthesis in infected amoebae

🧪 Giant #viruses hijack their hosts’ protein factories | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...

Insights: Frosio and Ostuni @unisr.bsky.social discuss new study by Gorin et al. (rupress.org/jem/article/...) which reveals an unexpected mechanism by which IFN-γ sustains trained immune states through prolonged signaling driven by cytokine retention at the cell surface. rupress.org/jem/article/...

New Nanotech Brain Implants Self-Implant Without Surgery MIT researchers have created subcellular ‘circulatronic’ brain implants that can be administered via injection and self-implant to target a variety of ailments directly.

🧪 #brain #nanotech
www.medscape.com/viewarticle/...

Viruses aren’t all bad: In the ocean, some help fuel the food web – a new study shows how Marine viruses attack cells, but the material that spills out helps fuels marine life around the world.

Viruses aren’t all bad: In the ocean, some help fuel the food web

@negilbert.bsky.social @joshuasweitz.bsky.social @tn-marine-micro.bsky.social

FDA agrees to review Moderna mRNA flu vaccine in dramatic reversal After initially rejecting Moderna’s application for review, the FDA will now consider the company’s mRNA flu shot

FDA backtracks and agrees to review Moderna's mRNA flu vaccine after all. @clairehcameron.bsky.social explains on @sciam.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/fda-...

Belgians warned to be vigilant over ‘forever chemicals’ in clothing, bags and mattress protectors Belgians warned to be vigilant over 'forever chemicals' in clothing, bags and mattress protectors

The prolonged exposure to PFAS has been linked to cancer, hormonal issues, decreased fertility and weakened immune systems.

More than a message: Death by a 1,000 “Chats” Abstract. Secure electronic messaging within the electronic health record (EHR), such as Epic Chat, has transformed communication in hospitals by enabling

This is SUCH a good point. Life now all about being peppered by 100s of parallel mini-conversations by various message platforms.

In clinical space, what does this do? Can we do more things at once? Are we more distracted, and creating risk?

Food for thought for all of us, not just #IDSky #MedSky

New modelling suggests chikungunya transmission in Europe may be possible at lower temperatures than previously thought—expanding the seasonal and geographic risk as the Asian tiger mosquito spreads north with warming climate.
: royalsocietypublishing.org/rsif/article...

Study: SARS-CoV-2 RNA found in 39% of hospital air samples during outbreaks, despite good ventilation

- During a rising epidemic wave of SARS-CoV-2 in the community, we found that over one-third of the aerosol samples tested positive for SARS-CoV-2..

www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/stu...

Meme. Painting of a medieval abbot. He's standing and holding a little red book, which is open in his hand. He has a long white beard, and the hair on the side of his head sweeps over his ears like the tide sweeps over a sandbar. He is bald, and there is a fine patina of light dancing across his head. He is wearing a dark grey robe, with the hood thrown back, and next to him is the staff of his office. Behind is head is a yellow halo, so you know he's esp. holy. He is looking down towards the book, but not actually at it. It seems like he was reading, but got distracted by something on the floor a little in front of him. His expression is calm, so it's not anything wild like a group of rabbits ritualistically sacrificing a sparrow. More like he's seen a piece of cheese, and the abbot can't quite recall when last he had cheese. Later, idly, he'll pick it up and realize that it's lint from his socks. Meme text reads: "I'm a medieval monk Everything's about sex, really"

Lent begins this week. And if you're a medieval English abbot that means one thing: eel-rents!

At the start of Lent tenants all over England came to pay their yearly rent in eels. Hundreds of thousands of eels.

But how? Why?

Well...it's about sex & availability, you see. 1/7
🗃️🧪

Over half of Brussels residents avoid healthcare for financial reasons Over half of Brussels residents avoid healthcare for financial reasons

Skipping medical consultations to save money has become a reality of almost two-thirds of Belgians.

Why Europe barred China from flagship Horizon research programmes Fresh restrictions could result in China being less open with foreign collaborators, say some researchers.

'Chinese research organizations can no longer take part in most of the research grants funded by Horizon Europe...The EU says it is concerned about sharing sensitive technologies with China that could jeopardize the region’s security.'

National Institutes of Health faces leadership vacuum as director positions sit open More than half of the NIH's institutes and centers don’t have permanent directors, giving the Trump administration an unusual opportunity to reshape the agency. The latest departure came Friday.

NBC News: 'National Institutes of Health faces leadership vacuum as director positions sit open'

'More than half of the NIH's institutes and centers don’t have permanent directors, giving the Trump administration an unusual opportunity to reshape the agency...'

www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...

🧪#COVID19-related #inflammation of the #placenta impedes fetal development in pregnant hamsters @natcomms.nature.com
#pregnancy www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Trump’s ‘pay-to-play’ politics fuel a ‘new gilded age’, experts say Major donors reap influence and material benefits, ethics experts argue, as money and governance intertwine

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Visiting Research Scientist- Department of Microbiology and Immunology

Open position: Visiting Research Scientist- Department of #Microbiology and #Immunology.

#science #jobs #job #jobsearch #career #sciencejobs
#Chicago #Illinois #USA

www.lifescience.net/jobs/221200/...

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."

Since October, hundreds of judges have ruled more than 4,400 times that the Trump administration is detaining immigrants unlawfully. Despite those rulings, the administration continued jailing people indefinitely, a Reuters review of court records found reut.rs/40gfILP

1. No data, so no pandemic 2. Defund CDC and public health agencies 3. Appoint quacks on key advisory boards 4. Cut funding for science 5. Destroy vaccine infrastructure (e.g. mRNA research) 6. Kill public trust in vaccines & promote anti-vaccine policies 7. Promote quack therapies like ivermectin 8. Chase scientists away from the country 9. Destroy international aid infrastructure 10. Exit from WHO and multilateral initiatives 11. Over-ride scientists at agencies like CDC, NIH, EPA, FDA 12. Threaten academic institutions and withhold federal funding 13. Discourage vaccine manufacturers like Moderna 14. Promote disinformation 15. Go after credible scientists and experts

Trump, RFK, MAGA plan to tackle the next pandemic

What did I miss?

Dengue Suppression by Male Wolbachia-Infected Mosquitoes | NEJM Wild-type female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that mate with male A. aegypti mosquitoes that have been infected with the wAlbB strain of Wolbachia pipientis bacteria produce nonviable offspring owing t...

🧪#Dengue Suppression by Male Wolbachia-Infected Mosquitoes | New England Journal of Medicine www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....

The documents show there may be little scientific merit to claims that injection wells are a safe means of disposal.

“We really do not know what happens to the waste down there. We just hope," an EPA official admitted in 1971.

Read: rollingstone.com/politics/pol...

two men are talking and one of them says " i do not think it means what you think it means .. " Alt: "i do not think it means what you think it means"

It's not a big thing. But, I'm mildly annoyed by the misuse of the term "gold standard" by MAHA types.

FDA won’t review Moderna application for first mRNA-based flu vaccine The decision, which shocked company officials, comes as the FDA says it will take a stricter approach to federal vaccine approvals.

So the feds ARE NOT considering an mRNA vaccine for the flu, which could save countless lives, but ARE backing research into whether horse dewormer can cure cancer, because the right views vaccines as elite and ivermectin as populist.

Cool.
kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

Rep. Delia Ramirez to DHS officials: "I have as much respect for you as I do for the last white men who put on masks to terrorize communities of color. I have no respect for the inheritors of the Klanhood and the slave patrol. Those activities were criminal and so are yours."

Dozens of researchers will move to France from US following high-profile bid to lure talent Large proportion worked at Columbia University, which had its grants cut and frozen by the administration of US President Donald Trump.

Dozens of researchers will move to #France from #US following high-profile bid to lure talent www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Belgium relaxes beneficial tax regime for expats: What do the changes mean? Belgium relaxes beneficial tax regime for expats: What do the changes mean?

Belgium wants to facilitate "the recruitment and retention" of international talent to make the country – and Brussels, in particular – an international hub.

Toddler was returned to ICE custody and denied medication after hospitalization, lawsuit says The girl was hospitalized with a life-threatening respiratory illness, the lawsuit says.

There's no other way to describe this than as crimes against humanity. Inhumane, despicable, unconscionable.
www.reuters.com/world/us/tod...

In America science-sceptics are now in charge The Trump administration seems to want less clean energy and more preventable diseases

In the US, research into solar energy was cut by 31%, wind power by 27% and bioenergy by 11%. Funding for nuclear energy, received a 6% boost. At the same time, investment in coal research (and not just to reduce emissions) swelled by 260%
www.economist.com/science-and-...
From The Economist

The Trump administration is eroding vital climate data American citizens are left vulnerable

The Trump administration is eroding vital climate data - and it's not just reporting requirements on greenhouse gas emissions that are being suspended or worse. It also includes data that are vital for climate adaptation. /

www.economist.com/science-and-...
From The Economist