Johan Van Weyenbergh
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johanvawe.bsky.social
Johan Van Weyenbergh
@johanvawe.bsky.social
Immunologist curious about viruses, cancer, evolution and all things human
Likes all #systems thinking and still working out all the #omics 🤓
#immunosky #medsky #idsky
Reposted by Johan Van Weyenbergh
"The Trump administration in May canceled a $700 million contract with Moderna to develop a human bird flu vaccine. Secretary Kennedy has cut other funding for vaccine research and scrapped long-held federal vaccine guidance."
www.reuters.com/business/hea...
US senators push USDA for urgent action on bird flu vaccine
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators this week urged the administration of President Donald Trump to finalize a science-based plan for developing a bird flu vaccine for livestock, according to a letter...
www.reuters.com
December 12, 2025 at 3:53 AM
Want to sway an #election? Here’s how much fake online accounts cost
#fakenews | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
Want to sway an election? Here’s how much fake online accounts cost
Systematic price monitoring sheds light on economics of online manipulation
www.science.org
December 12, 2025 at 6:11 PM
Reposted by Johan Van Weyenbergh
'In this Review (...) we cover the mechanisms of pathogen adaptation and host–pathogen coevolution, the zoonoses that succeeded in becoming human endemic or intermittent plagues and the impact of human mobility and migration (...) on pathogen distributions.'
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Ancient DNA insights into diverse pathogens and their hosts - Nature Reviews Genetics
Ancient DNA techniques are being applied to study increasingly diverse pathogens of the past. The authors review the latest insights into pathogen–host coevolution, zoonotic events and the spread of p...
www.nature.com
December 10, 2025 at 8:48 AM
The first patients have been helped by #cancer-fighting cells made directly in their bodies | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
The first patients have been helped by cancer-fighting cells made directly in their bodies
Novel approach could be faster, and cheaper, than making the cells in the lab—but safety concerns linger
www.science.org
December 10, 2025 at 12:12 PM
Reposted by Johan Van Weyenbergh
🚨PHD Opportunity 🚨

Funded PhD place available from next autumn to work with me on a project improving services for children with complex health needs!

Calling interested graduates with degrees in a numerate subject.

www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Mathematics PhD – System dynamics modelling of services for children with complex health needs at University College London on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - Mathematics PhD – System dynamics modelling of services for children with complex health needs at University College London, listed on FindAPhD.com
www.findaphd.com
December 8, 2025 at 3:44 PM
Reposted by Johan Van Weyenbergh
Health misinformation kills and its only getting worse.

"Court records show the couple told investigators they relied on online videos and posts that warned against vaccines, infant medical treatments and even common medicines such as Tylenol."
December 9, 2025 at 3:48 AM
Reposted by Johan Van Weyenbergh
Among them was the Brazilian wandering spider, also known as the banana spider, one of the most venomous species in the world.
150 tarantulas found living in yoghurt pots in Belgium
150 tarantulas found living in yoghurt pots in Belgium
www.brusselstimes.com
December 9, 2025 at 7:04 AM
Reposted by Johan Van Weyenbergh
At Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 103 adults with long COVID received home injections of lidocaine with HP-β-CD for 36 weeks.

Quality of life and 28 out of 30 symptoms improved significantly with no serious side effects.

www.thelancet.com/journals/ecl...
Effect of subcutaneous lidocaine–hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) on quality of life in patients with post-COVID condition: a 36-week observational interrupted time series study
Subcutaneous lidocaine–HP-β-CD was associated with significantly improved quality of life and symptom burden in patients with post–COVID. This home-administered intervention offers a scalable and pote...
www.thelancet.com
December 8, 2025 at 7:48 PM
Reposted by Johan Van Weyenbergh
Because the vaccine prevents chronic hepatitis B for which there is no cure and the lifelong treatment costs more than a single birth dose of the vaccine. Insurance companies recognize this is a no brainer.
Brought to you by prevention beats treatment any day.
www.cnn.com/2025/12/07/h...
Insurance coverage of hepatitis B vaccine won’t change, industry and officials say | CNN
Parents will still be able to get the hepatitis B vaccine for their children at no cost even though the US Centers for Disease and Control Prevention’s vaccine advisers recommended a major change to t...
www.cnn.com
December 8, 2025 at 12:35 PM
#LongCOVID research just got a big funding boost: will it find new treatments? www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Long-COVID research just got a big funding boost: will it find new treatments?
The German government has committed half a billion euros for research on long COVID and other post-infection syndromes.
www.nature.com
December 8, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Reposted by Johan Van Weyenbergh
Study finds girls 3x more likely to solve math problems w/ a standard algorithm; boys more likely to never use an algorithm. Girls' compliance & teacher-pleasing tendencies may result in using algorithms more than boys, who are more socialized to be risk-takers. theconversation.com/girls-and-bo...
Girls and boys solve math problems differently – with similar short-term results but different long-term outcomes
The reasons are not yet fully understood, but researchers consider societal influences that encourage greater compliance among girls as a potential cause.
theconversation.com
December 6, 2025 at 7:49 PM
Reposted by Johan Van Weyenbergh
The Center for Disease Control can now officially be renamed the Center for Disease Communication

Make no mistake: this is a vote to kill Americans for years to come

www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/h...
Panel Votes to End Recommendation for Hepatitis B Shots for All Newborns
www.nytimes.com
December 5, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Reposted by Johan Van Weyenbergh
Adding one original sentence to the recommendation letter that Chatgpt composed
December 6, 2025 at 11:51 AM
Reposted by Johan Van Weyenbergh
Just when I thought I'd seen it all........
endpoints.news/new-acip-cha....
December 1, 2025 at 11:02 PM
Reposted by Johan Van Weyenbergh
My wife has been HIV+ for 34 years. She’s alive today b/c work of activists who destigmatized the virus, pushed medical science to adapt & find ways to treat it, & advocated for gov health programs that helped fund her care. The current U.S. regime may want to go back in time, but we won’t let them.
December 2, 2025 at 1:27 AM
Reposted by Johan Van Weyenbergh
Study of men & women physicians in 2019 found that women were less likely than men to say that social media use had resulted in a speaking engagement or scholarship opportunity. Women used it more often than men to build a support network. @vineetaroramd.bsky.social
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Gender Differences in Physician Use of Social Media for Professional Advancement
This survey study examines gender difference in physician use of social media for professional advancement.
jamanetwork.com
December 2, 2025 at 1:48 AM
Reposted by Johan Van Weyenbergh
🧪How did the Russian army halt Napoleon’s invasion? Well, you could say they had some microscopic “troops” 🦠 that helped them out:

www.lbscience.org/en/2025/11/3...

@lbscience.org @drorbarnir.bsky.social
The Bacteria that Halted Napoleon's Army - Little, Big Science
More than three hundred thousand soldiers from Napoleon’s army died in the winter of 1812 during the retreat from the Russian steppes, yet the Russian army had almost nothing to do with it—many of the...
www.lbscience.org
December 2, 2025 at 3:37 AM
Reposted by Johan Van Weyenbergh
Cuba on Monday confirmed the deaths of 33 people from mosquito-borne illnesses in recent months in an epidemic that has hit at least one-third of the population. #RSNA25
www.reuters.com/business/hea...
Cuba says 33 have died of mosquito-borne illnesses as epidemic rages
Cuba on Monday confirmed the deaths of 33 people from mosquito-borne illnesses in recent months in an epidemic that has hit at least one-third of the population, according to official reports.
www.reuters.com
December 2, 2025 at 4:02 AM
Reposted by Johan Van Weyenbergh
who decided to call it Secret Santa when Nondisclosure Claus was right there
December 1, 2025 at 10:55 PM
Reposted by Johan Van Weyenbergh
#WorldAIDSDay this year is a grim one

Stories of the devastating impact of US, British and wider European aid cuts on the fight against HIV – particularly in sub-Saharan Africa – continue to mount as 2025 comes to an end…

www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
Aid cuts have shaken HIV/Aids care to its core – and will mean millions more infections ahead
Reports highlight devastating impact of slashed funding, especially in parts of Africa, that could lead to 3.3m new HIV infections by 2030
www.theguardian.com
December 1, 2025 at 11:15 AM