Robertson Lab

Respiratory viral infections awaken metastatic breast cancer cells in lungs - Nature Mouse models show that respiratory infections from viruses such as influenza and SARS-CoV-2 can trigger metastasis of dormant breast cancer cells in the lungs, a finding supported by epidemiological d...

Very interesting study published in nature this week. Using a murine model the authors show that respiratory viral infections like flu & COVID-19 do more than inflame airways, they may awaken dormant breast cancer cells in the lung.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Lab Leak Fever The COVID-19 Origin Theory that Sabotaged Science and Society

Happy August.

Here is a little surprise for everybody: The english version of my book is finally available. You can get it on Amazon. You can also read and listen to it on my blog, where I will release the book as freely accessible serialized novel.

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www.protagonist-science.com/p/lab-leak-f...

It's important to repeat this, as the lab leak nonsense has been a driving force of the attacks on science, the current state of the US, etc. 👇👇

How conspiracy theories about COVID’s origins are hampering our ability to prevent the next pandemic The COVID pandemic likely began when the virus jumped from animals to humans, and didn’t start in a lab. But false narratives continue to circulate.

You’ve been badly misled over COVID origins theconversation.com/how-conspira...

🚨Our study on characterising the within-host SARS-CoV-2 evolution during persistent infections is now out in @lancetmicrobe.bsky.social!
👉 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Multi-omics analysis of SFTS virus infection in Rhipicephalus microplus cells reveals antiviral tick factors - Nature Communications Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome Virus (SFTSV) is a deadly tick-borne virus and a growing global health threat. In this study, Petit et al. used a multi-omics approach on SFTSV-infected tick cells to study its impact and reveal host antiviral responses and key restriction factors.

SFTSV is a deadly tick-borne virus. In this study, Petit et al. used a multi-omics approach to reveal antiviral responses in SFTSV-infected tick cells

@virotick.bsky.social @brennanlab.bsky.social @cvrinfo.bsky.social
@uniofsurrey.bsky.social

Two profile images of Professor Emma Thomson and Professor Deborah Williamson.

We’re proud to announce the appointment of Professor Deborah Williamson @uniofstandrews.bsky.social and Professor Emma Thomson‪ @uofglasgow.bsky.social as inaugural Co-Directors of the National Scottish Pandemic Sciences Partnership.

Find out more 🔽
publichealthscotland.scot/news/2025/ju...

#NSPSP

The image shows a large group of people seated in an auditorium attending an event. Some individuals are standing at the front. On the right side, there is a banner or projection displaying the text "Glasgow Virology Workshop"

📢 EVENT | 27th Glasgow Virology Workshop

Join us for a day of interesting talks & discussions.

Speakers: Adam Bailey, Louis Lambrechts, Kirsty Roy, Judy Breuer, Sheila Graham, Juan Reguera & a selection of students.

📆 Fri 5th Sept 2025
🔗 Register: gla.ac.uk/research/az/...

We (with Clement Coclet, not on Bsky) had the chance to work on a broad "state of viromics" review. We tried to use this to give an overview of how the field changed over the last ~ 15 years, and also what we think are some of the major remaining challenges. Full-text access at -> rdcu.be/excHt

This is really cool but also a cautionary tale about zooanthroponotic transmission at the interface between human and animals. Without surveillance, viruses can hop back and forth and evolve in unpredictable ways

This is quite late but our lab has a preprint out about a SARS-CoV-2 situation we had in mink in Lithuania back in 2021. It's a doozy with re-emergence of extinct lineages, a country-wide test of all mink farms in Lithuania & some interesting dynamics in mink. www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1... 1/5🧵

Host protein ARF1 is a proviral factor for SARS-CoV-2 and a candidate broad-spectrum therapeutic target - Nature Communications Here, the authors report that SARS-CoV-2 M protein interacts with host ARF1 to facilitate viral assembly at the ER-Golgi intermediate compartment and demonstrate that targeting ARF1 or its interaction...

Host protein ARF1 is a proviral factor for SARS-CoV-2 and a candidate broad-spectrum therapeutic target

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

I am paw-sitively thrilled to say that out latest work is out in Nature today!

#Virology #Genomics #Coronavirus #AnimalHealth #InfectiousDisease #Sequencing #FIP #FCoV23

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

Pandemic Revisionism, Part One: COVID-19 Origins Because people keep getting this very wrong.

How did the pandemic start?

I have avoided publicly commenting on this for 5 years. Here's my take as someone who has no stake at all in the game.

gidmk.substack.com/p/pandemic-r...

Head of Surveillance Science job at the Sanger, might be of interest to many
sanger.wd103.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Wellco...

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

Viral genomes track the transmission of mpox in humans before 2017 outbreak Genomic analysis shows that mpox emerged in humans in 2014 in southern Nigeria.

Delighted that our Research Briefing on our paper on the origins of the Clade IIb Mpox outbreak and the continued emergence risk in West Africa is out! www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Quick thread on the WHO's SAGO report on the origins of COVID-19, highlighting key points and even *new* data.

Their summary is that a zoonotic origin of COVID-19 is best supported by available data. This is consistent with most scientific reviews and statements in the rest of the literature.

WHO Scientific advisory group issues report on origins of COVID-19 The WHO Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO), a panel of 27 independent, international, multidisciplinary experts, today published its report on the origins of SARS-CoV-...

SAGO Report is out:

1️⃣ No new data in report
2️⃣ Not bioweapon, man-made, or engineered
3️⃣ All scientific evidence points to zoonosis
4️⃣ No evidence for lab leak
5️⃣ New evidence could swing the conclusion

In other words, what we concluded in April, 2020. Five years later.

share.google/4I8ac1DJMZOM...

Independent assessment of the origins of SARS‑CoV‑2, developed by the Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO) The Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO) provided initial findings and recommendations to better understand the origins of SARS‑CoV‑2 in a report published on 9 June 202...

"The weight of available evidence reviewed by SAGO suggests zoonotic spillover of SARS-CoV-2 into the human population, either directly from bats or through an intermediate host."

They do hedge their bets, but ultimately there is only evidence to support one hypothesis

www.who.int/publications...

Wow!

A single shot of a flu drug could outperform vaccines—and protect for an entire season One injection of a long-lasting drug showed up to 76% efficacy in a large trial

“This is one of the most exciting recent advances for influenza prevention." www.science.org/content/arti...

I’m so excited to finally have this work published. Fantastic work from @julienmelade.bsky.social culturing a virus identified through metagenomic virus discovery methods

A person presents in an auditorium with a slide titled 'Characterising viral proteins from a single sequence and beyond using PLMs.' The slide includes graphs, charts, and images. The presenter stands at a podium labeled 'Wellcome Connecting Science,' while the audience sits in red chairs facing the stage.

A man stands in front of a brick wall and a bulletin board displaying scientific posters and is holding a glass of wine.

👏 Massive well done to @kieranlamb.bsky.social
for presenting at AI x BIO by Wellcome Connecting Science.

The conference showcased advances in artificial intelligence in biology.

coursesandconferences.wellcomeconnectingscience.org/event/ai-x-b...

So this interview lasted 2 hours so this “you’re scaring me” part might seem like an overreaction or fearmongering to someone without that context.

There’s a lot of evidence to support my hypothesis that a potential H5N1 pandemic would be worse than COVID.

As the collaborating centre of @woahglobal.bsky.social , we’re thrilled to launch our 8th annual course on viral bioinformatics & genomics! Welcome speech by @cvrinfo.bsky.social director @emcat1.bsky.social & head of Bioinformatics @davidlrobertson.bsky.social 🧬📊 #bioinformatics #genomics

Exclusive: Inside the thriving wild-animal markets that could start the next pandemic Live-animal markets are a natural laboratory for viruses to evolve and spark deadly outbreaks, yet scientists lack support to study the risks they pose.

Wildlife trade acts as a vast global network of unregulated natural laboratories,with ample opportunities for viruses to circulate & evolve to become more dangerous

We can either turn a blind eye or try to understand & mitigate the risks

My latest in @nature.com

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www.nature.com/articles/d41...

First time working on dolphin/whale viruses 🐬🦠🐳. Check out our new preprint with @danielhurdiss.bsky.social et al. describing the structure and glycan shield of two cetacean coronavirus spikes. Some neat glycoproteomics work by @tshamorkina.bsky.social in this one.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Proximal Origin wasn’t a coverup. It was Kristian et al’s scientific opinion based on limited data (but held up well). Scientists have a right to freely express their opinions, on Slack & in papers.

This isn’t “bad behavior.” It was scientists collaboratively examining the evidence. IOW, their jobs

"This topic is not so trivial to be left to the instincts of commentators paid by the word or media outlets seeking the next titillating headline."

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