Charlotte Houldcroft
@virologyhouldcroft.bsky.social
1.4K followers 320 following 230 posts
Virology with a side-order of human evolution. Currently on maternity leave.
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virologyhouldcroft.bsky.social
A mouth university IS an intriguing prospect
virologyhouldcroft.bsky.social
Please can we have a vaccine now? The Chinese have shown it's possible, they have one in use against one serotype...
virologyhouldcroft.bsky.social
I suppose I should be glad that this year's round of hand foot and mouth disease had been systemically mild for me and relatively so for the toddler (who actually was more classically affected last year, but cheerful, whereas I felt like death...)
virologyhouldcroft.bsky.social
The sacred masculine just down the road from Mousehole, at Boscawen-Un (no idea how to pronounce that correctly).
virologyhouldcroft.bsky.social
So I did some reading of first wave epi papers about this for a different project. Unlike flu, toddlers/littlies don't amplify SC2, BUT I think older teenagers and students *might* because of their tendency towards being asymptomatic...
virologyhouldcroft.bsky.social
Ssssh no one wants the virologists to be right!
virologyhouldcroft.bsky.social
Someone in the US has a beautiful system for wastewater metagenomics for pathogens and they do things like monitor cryptic SC2 lineages being shed in NYC and I *can't find it* - can anyone help?
virologyhouldcroft.bsky.social
I am more confused now that I have made the phylogenies. Life was easier in 2016 when there were fewer genotypes in GenBank 😅
virologyhouldcroft.bsky.social
Emma Davies did her third year undergraduate project in the lab I was working in (Team Wills!) and she was obviously on her way to great things in virology. Her upwards trajectory continues!
microbiologysociety.org
Huge congratulations to Emma Davis, the winner of 2025's Early Career Microbiologist of the Year prize! We agree with Emma that all of the finalists' talks were brilliant and a massive well done to everyone involved!
Reposted by Charlotte Houldcroft
microbiologysociety.org
Huge congratulations to Emma Davis, the winner of 2025's Early Career Microbiologist of the Year prize! We agree with Emma that all of the finalists' talks were brilliant and a massive well done to everyone involved!
virologyhouldcroft.bsky.social
Does anyone know of any software for genotyping adenovirus directly from a FASTA, without making phylogenies?
Reposted by Charlotte Houldcroft
seantcollins.com
CHATGPT: I understand where you're coming from. You worked really hard to get here, and now it's time to enjoy the fruit of your labors.

ISILDUR: So I should keep it? Elrond says I shouldn't

CHATGPT: The ring is precious. Sometimes friends don't have your best interests at heart.

ISILDUR: true
virologyhouldcroft.bsky.social
There's also a theory (beloved of Harald zur Hausen, of the HPV-cervical cancer link) that there's a class of common human viruses causing colorectal cancer. Probably wrong, but with a similarly muddy evidence base to UPFs...
virologyhouldcroft.bsky.social
Now now, Kate, less of this sensible discussion, that doesn't generate clickbait.
virologyhouldcroft.bsky.social
Can someone at the BBC please pay me to write a news piece about common cold cases rising? It'll be evergreen, they can trot it out every September, I can even predict what day to publish it based on when English schools go back... www.gov.uk/government/s...
National flu and COVID-19 surveillance report: 25 September 2025 (week 39)
www.gov.uk
virologyhouldcroft.bsky.social
One paper in revision. Two papers under review. What's the betting they all end up back on my desk at the same time? #AcademiaSky #MicroSky #VirologySky
virologyhouldcroft.bsky.social
I miss both romcoms and disaster movies.