Laysan albatross Wisdom sitting on a sandy nest with grassy patches, displaying smooth white and dark grey feathers. Another bird in the background. Picture was taken in 2015, with wisdom being at least 65 years old.

Did you know? The oldest known wild bird is the Laysan albatros (Phoebastria immutabilis) “Wisdom”. It is at least 75 (!) years old and has returned once again to nest and raise chicks in the Pacific. 📸 USFWS-Pacific Region, via Wikimedia Commons (CC0) #Birds #FeatheredFriday

Close-up of a cassowary's head, showcasing its vibrant blue and red neck and distinctive horn-like casque. Background is a blurred natural setting.

Did you know? Cassowaries (Casuarius spp.) are fluorescent. Their headgear glows under UV light, a bit like GFP in the lab: tinyurl.com/5n7xuacm. 📸 Benjamin Balázs, via Wikimedia Commons (CC0) #Birds #FeatheredFriday
Extra fun fact: Feral pigeons' wings are also fluorescent!

Lab Leakers: "SARS-CoV-2 can't infect bats, so it must have been made in a lab".

Science: "Let's do the experiment".

SARS-CoV-2 behaves exactly like one would expect in a reservoir species - low-level infection, no overt disease, etc.

Elegant study from Sato Lab:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

A zebra finch perches on a branch, surrounded by lush green leaves. It has a striking orange cheek patch and a black-and-white striped chest.

Did you know? Zebra finches (Taeniopygia sp.) dream in music. While they are sleeping, their brains show the same activity as when they are singing, almost as if they were practicing in their dreams: tinyurl.com/ympw7rx8 📸 HLI-Photography, via Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
#Birds #FeatheredFriday

🔬 We’re hiring in Zürich🇨🇭!

My lab is recruiting a new PhD student in molecular immunology (interferons, autoantibodies & viral disease). Position is fully-funded. Starting date anticipated to be late 2026/early 2027.

Further details and how to apply: tinyurl.com/IMVPhD2026

Deadline 1st May 2026.

“I shall send off the manuscript today or Monday. It is an extremely poor affair; I must say something & have nothing worth saying. Lock it up carefully, I hate it to that extent it would break my heart to write it again.”
Charles Darwin captures the joy of academia in a letter to his daughter, 1871

LRP8 is a functional receptor for yellow fever virus - Nature Microbiology The human LRP8 protein is a receptor for yellow fever viruses (YFVs). Knockdown of the mosquito orthologue reduces YFV infection in mosquitoes, whereas overexpression of human LRP8 aggravates YFV infe...

LRP8 is a functional receptor for yellow fever virus

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

Humans share acoustic preferences with other animals Many animals produce courtship sounds, and receivers prefer some sounds over others. Shared ancestry and convergent evolution may generate similarities in preference across species and underlie Darwin...

“Darwin’s idea of shared preferences concerned visual coloration of birds. Our data suggest more expansive shared taste for the beautiful & motivate work across species/modalities; much of the beauty in nature was intended for receivers other than ourselves.”🙌
@loganjames.bsky.social @mehr.nz & co🧪

🧬🇯🇵
Registrations are now open for the 2026 Nucleic Acid Immunity Meeting in Nara, Japan.

Fantastic line‑up of invited speakers already.

www.ifrec.osaka-u.ac.jp/nais26/index...

TEffectBayes: a nextflow pipeline for exploring the potential effect of transposable elements in gene regulatory network with multi-omic Bayesian network model - Molecular Genetics and Genomics Molecular Genetics and Genomics - Transposable elements (TEs) are critical contributors to gene regulatory networks, yet their repetitive and abundant nature complicates efforts to elucidate their...

#TEsky TEffectBayes: a nextflow pipeline for exploring the potential effect of transposable elements in gene regulatory network with multi-omic Bayesian network model doi.org/10.1007/s004...

HIV-1-encoded circular RNA enhances viral transcription through Tat binding - Nature Microbiology Obi, Yan and colleagues identified an HIV-1-encoded circular RNA (circHIV) in plasma from people living with HIV and in infected primary cells and T-cell lines. CircHIV binds to the viral Tat protein ...

HIV joining the circular RNAs Club ? Welcome !

A California scrub-jay with vivid blue and gray plumage sits on a pine branch against a clear blue sky background, conveying a serene, natural scene.

Did you know? California scrub-jays (Aphelocoma californica) hold “funerals”. When they spot a dead jay, they attract others and erupt into loud calls. After that, they avoid the area 🐦⚰️: tinyurl.com/4amcd7v7 📸 Joshua Tree NP, via Wikimedia Commons (CC0) #Birds #FeatheredFriday

Polymerase trapping as the mechanism of H5 highly pathogenic avian influenza virus genesis Highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses (HPAIVs) derive from H5 and H7 low pathogenic avian influenza viruses (LPAIVs). Although insertion of a furin-cleavable multibasic cleavage site (MBCS) in the...

De novo generation of the furin cleavage site (FCS) in influenza viruses
In SARS-CoV2, the existence of an FCS was a key argument of lab leakers that it must have been constructed in the lab.
Fantastic work

Ancient viral DNA drives preeclampsia in pregnancy Researchers have uncovered the molecular details of how ancient viral DNA controls a gene linked to preeclampsia. The study, published in “Genome Biology,” builds on previous research and may lead to a diagnostic test to identify preeclampsia risk much earlier.

Ancient viral DNA drives preeclampsia in pregnancy | Max Delbrück Center www.mdc-berlin.de/news/news/an...

Great news! @asm.org partners with the Korean Society of Virology and @ausvirologysoc.bsky.social. ASM's Journal of Virology (JVI) becomes an affiliated journal of both societies, providing members with exclusive benefits.
More global collaboration for virus research! asm.org/press-releas...

Deltaviruses spread through a viral Trojan Horse Hepatitis D-like satellite viruses, known as deltaviruses, have been recently discovered in a wide range of animals. These viruses are thought to expr…

We found a viral Trojan Horse: a virus can hide inside another virus.This one surprised us: deltaviruses don’t just borrow a helper virus. They can travel inside it.
A literal Trojan Horse “virus-in-a-virus” route into cells. 🤯 Kudos to 1st author @viroscope.bsky.social and co-authors !

Dynamics of natural selection preceding human viral epidemics and pandemics Using a phylogenetic framework to characterize natural selection, we investigate the hypothesis that zoonotic viruses require adaptation prior to zoon…

There's a common misconception that zoonotic viruses require significant adaptation to jump from animals to cause human epidemics.

Not so 👇.

Further, we see clear signs of 1977 flu experiencing cell passage, prior to epidemic.

SARS-CoV-2? Business as usual.

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

An osprey perched on a bare branch against a clear blue sky. The bird's sharp gaze and majestic posture convey a sense of strength and vigilance.

Did you know? Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) have a preferred flying “stance”. When carrying fish, they usually keep the left foot forward. Like most skateboarders, they fly “regular”, not “goofy”🐦🛹 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30299002/
📸 auburn, via Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
#Birds #FeatheredFriday #Skater

World map highlighting countries where polio has been detected in the last 12 months

CDC issued a Global Polio Level 2 Travel Health Notice advising enhanced precautions

Tragic. We had polio almost eradicated, but disruption to vaccination campaigns due to COVID, global instability, defunding & vaccine hesitancy have led us here

#VaccinesWork
🧪

wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notic...

Control of retrotransposon-driven activation of the interferon response by the double-stranded RNA binding protein DGCR8 Abstract. The type I interferon (IFN) response is the main innate immune pathway against viruses in mammals. This pathway must be tightly regulated to prev

Graphical abstract from our new paper in Nucleic Acids Research with @saramaciasrna.bsky.social 🧬

DGCR8 prevents accumulation of endogenous dsRNA derived from Alu elements within mRNAs, avoiding aberrant activation of the interferon response.

academic.oup.com/nar/article/...

With Eugene Koonin, we propose a concept of “the selfish ribosome”, under which evolution of life is viewed as a ribosomal takeover, where the ribosome evolved to consume most of the cell’s resources, while other cellular componentry ensures the propagation of the ribosome. arxiv.org/abs/2602.23268

The role of KRAB zinc-finger proteins in expanding the domestication potential of transposable elements - Nature Genetics This Perspective explores the co-evolution of transposable elements and KRAB zinc-finger proteins in relation to their integration into human gene regulatory networks, highlighting their potential eff...

Find our latest Perspective article in Nature Genetics on "The role of KRAB zinc-finger proteins in expanding the domestication potential of transposable elements" at www.nature.com/articles/s41..., with implications for the future of research on the cause of human disease.

A bird with two very long tail feathers lies on a rocky ground at night, lit by a spotlight. Its speckled gray plumage contrasts with the dark background.

Did you know? The mysterious Nechisar Nightjar was once called the world’s least known bird, known only from a single wing found in 1990. The mystery was solved (or rather destroyed) by genetic analyses: tinyurl.com/ybcchzhh 📸 Ben Keen, via Wikimedia Commons (CC0) #Birds #FeatheredFriday

The tuned cortex: Convergent expertise-related structural and functional remodeling across the adult lifespan Neuroplasticity is a defining property of the brain. Structural and functional brain changes arise soon after learning and are particularly evident following years of practice that underpin expert per...

This is the corresponding publication: www.jneurosci.org/content/earl...

Birdwatching may reshape the brain and build its buffer against ageing Expert birdwatchers have changes in their brain structure compared with novices, which probably help them better identify birds and may even protect against age-related cognitive decline

Go birdwatching to (potentially) protect your brain from age-related decline! #birds #HealthyAging 🐦 www.newscientist.com/article/2516...

Screening, sorting, and the feedback cycles that imperil peer review The process of peer review is vital to contemporary science, but is also under enormous strain. This study uses mathematical models to dissect the threats to the long-term viability of peer review, su...

1. Kevin Gross and I have a new paper out today PLOS Biology.

We used economic models based around screening games and the market for unpaid labor to highlight a meltdown cycle threatening peer review.

Transposable element regulation as a therapeutic target for #Aging

activating Suv39h1
inhibiting KDM4A
inhibiting TET

CRISPRi/a to program TEs in the genome

#OpenBiol 2026
royalsocietypublishing.org/rsob/article...

Summary of host protease subversion by viruses to escape the antiviral activities of antibodies. Yellow background shows the role of soluble decoys in luring neutralization, promoting immune dysfunction, or revealing epitopes, which generate non-neutralizing antibodies. Blue background illustrates how protease-induced conformational changes modify/hide neutralizing epitopes. Green background summarizes how viral subversion of host proteases lowers effector functions against viruses or infected cells.

#MicrobiologyMonday: Viral infections can hijack host proteases to reduce antibody effectiveness. These proteases lob off viral antigens expressed on host cell membranes, creating soluble decoys that bind antibodies & reduce neutralization. #JVirology: asm.social/2Pn

Chinstrap penguin taking a nap, with two fluffy gray chicks nestled underneath. The scene conveys warmth and protection, set against a rocky background.

Did you know? Chinstrap penguins (Pygoscelis antarctica) take more than 10,000 micro-naps per day (~4 sec each). This adds up to ~11 hours of sleep, allowing them to rest while staying alert. www.pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38033080/ 📸 Eamonn Maguire, via Wikimedia Commons (CC0) #Birds #FeatheredFriday

Matching sounds to shapes: Evidence of the bouba-kiki effect in naïve baby chicks Humans across multiple languages spontaneously associate the nonwords “kiki” and “bouba” with spiky and round shapes, respectively, a phenomenon named the bouba-kiki effect. To explore the origin of t...

“Humans across multiple languages spontaneously associate the nonwords kiki & bouba with spiky & round shapes, respectively...We tested the bouba-kiki effect in baby chickens. Similar to humans, they spontaneously chose a spiky shape when hearing a kiki sound & a round shape when hearing a bouba.”😲🧪