A headline from the Observer Typhoid Mandy Cat Neilan The casualties of the Mandelson appointment

I like a good, microbiology-inspired headline

mRNA technology may be THE most underrated and unfairly scrutinized (fuck you COVID antivax crew) medical breakthrough in my lifetime.

Like... The things this is already showing it can do in the last 5-7 years is incredible.

If you haven't seen 'A Gorilla Story' on Netflix yet, go see it now. Amazing footage of gorillas, with David Attenborough.

YIKES

Leadership challenge at Reform-led Worcestershire County council Councillor Alan Amos is trying to become Worcestershire County Council's leader in a secret ballot.

Local Worcestershire politics update - omnishambles

Leadership challenge at Reform-led Worcestershire County council - BBC News share.google/yhBVFkMOdm5c...

🦠🧬🖥️

I guess this is a way to reduce the pressures on funders.

😍

(always remember to scroll down, Willem)

1/3 of Americans still think Trump is doing a good job. Let that sink in for a bit.

I see a photo of a peregrine falcon on the wall, not an actual peregrine falcon?

Livestream of peregrine falcons nesting at top of Old Joe - University of Birmingham A livestream will show the nesting pair of peregrine falcons who have made their home at the University of Birmingham campus.

Livestream of peregrine falcons nesting at the top of Old Joe @unibirmingham.bsky.social launches

www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/2026/wa...

Just flagging this to @deevybee.bsky.social @statsepi.bsky.social

I have now read this piece and it is very good.

Massive respect for @merenbey.bsky.social and Iva for their persistence and documenting this torturous process.

Highly recommended reading for anyone who cares about reproducibility in science.

Unfalsifiable by Design: A Year of Trying and Failing to Reproduce a Human Microbiome and Autism Study The myth of open data, reproducibility, responsibility, and accountability in science, and your role in it

How every layer of science's "self-correcting machinery" failed when Iva Veseli and I simply wanted to reproduce the findings of a high-profile study on gut microbiome and autism:

merenlab.org/2026/04/15/u...

UK and EU finalise agreement to bring UK into Erasmus+ in 2027 Thousands across the UK set to benefit from re-opening of the historic Erasmus+ programme

UK and EU finalise agreement to bring UK into Erasmus+ in 2027
- Thousands across the UK set to benefit from re-opening of the historic Erasmus+ programme

www.gov.uk/government/n...

Comprehensive benchmarking of metagenomic binning tools reveals key factors for improved genome recovery - Nature Communications Benchmarking metagenomic binning tools with simulated and real datasets reveals factors affecting genome recovery and provides practical guidelines for improving metagenome assembled genome reconstruc...

Comprehensive benchmarking of metagenomic binning tools reveals key factors for improved genome recovery www.nature.com/articles/s41... #jcampubs

Woohoo, congratulations @tennantlab.bsky.social !

Portrait of Professor Daniel Tennant, University of Birmingham, featured for The Sir Philip Randle Lecture at The Biochemical Society 2027 Awards.

We're delighted to announce Professor Daniel Tennant as the recipient of the 2027 Sir Philip Randle Lecture! Work in the Tennant Research Group - Birmingham UK has been instrumental in identifying new pathways through which cells modify their metabolism under hypoxia.

I want Liverpool to win tonight but that was a good intervention from VAR

Toch mooi dat er VAR is

Surprising that there is no extra capacity for a line that goes to a large stadium, but that is probably my European biases showing themselves.

Why does a special train need to be commissioned? Gillette Stadium can be reached on the T already, right?

My main postdoc paper is now out in @natureportfolio.nature.com npj Antimicrobials and Resistance! www.nature.com/articles/s44.... Using flow cytometry, we show that the nucleoside analogues azidothymidine, didanosine, stavudine, and trifluridine reduced transfer of AMR plasmids pCT and pKpQIL (1/3)

Remembering Professor Philippa Borrill: A leading voice in plant science The SEB mourns the loss of Professor Philippa Borrill, an outstanding plant scientist, inspiring leader, and 2022 SEB Plant President Medallist.

We are deeply saddened by the passing of Professor Philippa Borrill, SEB Plant President Medallist (2022).

Her work and mentorship had a lasting impact on the plant science community.

Read our tribute: www.sebiology.org/resource/rem...

⬇️ Her Scientists with Impact interview is in this thread

(actually, I don't know whether the prices will be significantly lower in Mexico and Canada)

It is grift on a continental scale

Still cheaper than parking your car.

Worst. World Cup. Ever.

www.theguardian.com/football/202...

When you die, do you see one last Cloudflare page to check whether you're human and not a bot?

Absolute banger:

"find that metaSPAdes consistently outperforms MEGAHIT"

"Binning refinement, which combines bins from multiple different algorithms, leads to reduced performance"

"We further show that CheckM2 systematically overestimates completeness and underestimates contamination"

Thanks Willem - and thanks for helping me make it.