Ben Longdon

'Alien mammal introductions can reshape global viral sharing networks' by Toneli et al -> www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-7...

2 job adverts on a NERC project w myself + @darrenobbard.bsky.social on “What determines the virome: ecology and the environment, evolution, or species history?” early 2026 in
@uniexecec.bsky.social
- Postdoc: jobs.exeter.ac.uk/hrpr_webrecr...
- RA: jobs.exeter.ac.uk/hrpr_webrecr...
Pls share!

Good overview of scientific publishing, and some current issues, by Guardian podcast featuring @hansonmark.bsky.social

Pre-pre-pre-announcement that around the end of the year/early spring we'll be announcing some new funded residencies, based at our new studio in Cornwall to run around Aug/Sept 2026.

The theme this time is moths and their viruses - as part of a bigger research grant on how viruses and their […]

Don’t ask “when is it coevolution?” — ask “how?” Abstract. Coevolution has come to be widely understood as specific, simultaneous, reciprocal adaptation by pairs of interacting species. This strict-sense

So this came online over the weekend: My dive into the "definition" of coevolution is online ahead of publication in @journal-evo.bsky.social!

Don’t ask "when is it coevolution?" — ask "how?"

doi.org/10.1093/evol...

New pre-print
Competition between phage constrains adaptation to thermal fluctuating temperatures.
More work led by Sam Greenrod in collaboration with @kayla-king.bsky.social lab.
#Phagesky#Microsky

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

what ritual heart removal isnt for all ages?! Note Temple of Crystal Skull is not suitable for any age group.

This was work today - about 15k walked for geocaching and wildlife spotting trip with new @uniexecec.bsky.social undergraduates. Glorious weather in beautiful Cornwall with plenty of tuna, choughs and butteflies plus the odd lizard.

PostDoc job in Cornwall with @blongdon.bsky.social : Many moths, metagenomics, and mixed models. Plus some UK fieldwork in summer 2026 jobs.exeter.ac.uk/hrpr_webrecr...

Project will use UK moths to look at relative importance of ecological and evolutionary determinants of the virome. 1-2 field assistant posts still to come.

2 job adverts on a NERC project w myself + @darrenobbard.bsky.social on “What determines the virome: ecology and the environment, evolution, or species history?” early 2026 in
@uniexecec.bsky.social
- Postdoc: jobs.exeter.ac.uk/hrpr_webrecr...
- RA: jobs.exeter.ac.uk/hrpr_webrecr...
Pls share!

Figure 3 of our paper, which shows viral coinfection networks at the virus level

New preprint! 🥳🎉 We looked at viral coinfection patterns at the largest scale ever in wildlife. We found a strong association among CoVs, PMVs, and influenza A, and higher coinfection rates in wildlife trade; plus, evidence that bats accumulate persistent infections. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

did you find somewhere in Cornwall for covid vaccine?

This looks v cool.

Former PhD student wins the Alfred Wallace Award for significant contribution to the science of entomology | Edinburgh Infectious Diseases | Edinburgh Infectious Diseases September 2025: Dr Arun Prakash, a Darwin Trust PhD student, has been retrospectively awarded the prestigious award from the Royal Entomological Society for his 2021 thesis ''Immune Regulation Of Dise...

*Congratulations* to former Darwin Trust-funded PhD student Arun Prakash for being awarded the Alfred Russel Wallace award from @royentsoc.bsky.social for his PhD on #immune regulation of disease #tolerance and immune #priming in #Drosophila!

@edinburghbiology.bsky.social @uoe-eid.bsky.social

The 16th Ebola Virus Disease Outbreak in Bulape Health Zone, Kasai, Democratic Republic of the Congo: A new spillover event from an unknown reservoir host Background The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is currently facing concurrent outbreaks including mpox, cholera and malaria (1-4). The Ministry of Public Health, DRC has declared the 16th Ebola...

Sequence data from the new Ebola outbreak in DRC suggests it is indeed a new spillover.

And just incredible to see the virus sequenced and the data publicly shared less than 24 hours after confirmation of the outbreak.
#IDsky 🧪

virological.org/t/the-16th-e...

UCL – University College London UCL is consistently ranked as one of the top ten universities in the world (QS World University Rankings 2010-2022) and is No.2 in the UK for research power (Research Excellence Framework 2021).

Excited to say we’re hiring 😊. We’re looking for a post-doc in ancient pathogen genomics to join our friendly supportive team in London at @ugiatucl.bsky.social. Start date January 2026.

www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...

With #eseb2025 coming to a close, it is time to start making plans for 2026. Interested in the interface of evolution 🧬 and ecology 🌳? Come to our #ExE conference hosted by @uniexecec.bsky.social in beautiful #Cornwall. Leave your email address at tinyurl.com/EvolxEcol to join our mailing list!

What to do when wasps crash your picnic – a scientist’s guide to dining safely with these insects Did you know wasps switch from ham to jam foraging during the late summer?

It's a bumper-wasp year: here are my top tips on how to dine alongside wasps, without getting stung.

GET INVOLVED! Tell us what wasps want at YOUR picnic: www.sumnerlab.co.uk/wasp-picnic-...

theconversation.com/what-to-do-w...

@uclcber.bsky.social @uclnews.bsky.social @uk.theconversation.com

I just got asked for it on here - wasn't that keen on giving my credit card or photo - have you looked into how legit/data reuse?

🧵 Dengue is no longer just a tropical disease - it's showing up in Europe.

This season, France, Italy, and Portugal (Madeira) have already reported locally acquired dengue cases.

Check the latest #CDTR on #dengue here: bit.ly/3TQpDVu

#IdSky #EpiSky #MosquitoBorne #Prevention #PublicHealth

also the record is just over 1000 observations, reckon we could beat that with a UK transect...???

no word yet - to increase the terror they apparently send emails in order of: accepted - rejected - lottery wins?!

🔥

This is a huge mistake. My experience on NERC panels is that resubmissions score higher and are more likely to be funded: the review process improves good proposals that should not be lost (along with the time spent on them).

NERC: We need to open up environmental science! Why is it not diverse?

Also NERC: We're scrapping Independent Research Fellowships, New Investigator Grants, Small Grants, are limiting applications from institutions based on past success rates and will only allow you to submit your proposal once.

Removing the ability to resubmit, when funding success is so low, and PtF includes an actual lottery element, seems very short sighted decision. www.ukri.org/councils/ner...

A retrospective analysis of 400 publications reveals patterns of irreproducibility across an entire life sciences research field The ReproSci project retrospectively analyzed the reproducibility of 1006 claims from 400 papers published between 1959 and 2011 in the field of Drosophila immunity. This project attempts to provide a...

First, find the papers here:

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

And the attached crowdsourced and community annotation website here:

reprosci.epfl.ch

^^ what's neat about the website is that it offers a platform for any field to attempt our approach organically.

2/n

The "reproducibility crisis" in science constantly makes headlines. Repro efforts are often limited. What if you could assess reproducibility of an entire field?

That's what @brunolemaitre.bsky.social et al. have done. Fly immunity is highly replicable & offers lessons for #metascience

A 🧵 1/n

The BEAST X logo - an octopus wrapping its noodley appendages round the letter X.

BEAST X v10.5.0 finally released – you can't just do beta releases forever. github.com/beast-dev/be...

Details and instructions for installing on the BEAST website: beast.community