Adrian Allen
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nornirnlib.bsky.social
Adrian Allen
@nornirnlib.bsky.social
Northern Irish molecular bacteriologist 🧬 🦠 interested in disease ecology, tuberculosis, reading, sci-fi, guitar 🎸, association football, hiking and dog walking.
Will say again. If this was London or Paris, it would not be tolerated. But we expect Ukrainians to put up with this horror every night. Indeed, we in the west are getting inured to it. It should enrage us.
Cosmic fucking horror
November 19, 2025 at 12:20 PM
Reposted by Adrian Allen
There is a direct line between Donald Trump trying to destroy the BBC and him excusing the brutal murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Trump hates the independent free press – whether in the US, Saudi Arabia or the UK. We will always defend it.
Trump suggests Khashoggi had it coming: "You're mentioning someone that was extremely controversial. A lot of people didn't like that gentleman that you're talking about. Whether you like him or didn't like him, things happen. But he knew nothing about it. You don't have to embarrass our guest."
November 19, 2025 at 11:48 AM
Reposted by Adrian Allen
BREAKING: The Supreme Court has ruled in favour of a Belfast-based non-religious father and his child that the exclusively Christian teaching of Religious Education and mandatory Christian collective worship in Northern Ireland are discriminatory under human rights law.
November 19, 2025 at 10:03 AM
Reposted by Adrian Allen
Huge education news today: The Supreme Court ruled Christian RE in Northern Ireland is ‘indoctrination’.

A historic win for the rights of children. The core syllabus is written by the 4 big churches and starts with:

‘LEARNING OBJECTIVE 1: THE REVELATION OF GOD’.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c2...
Religious education: UK Supreme Court rules the RE taught in NI schools is unlawful
In a unanimous judgement the Supreme Court allowed an appeal by an unnamed father and daughter from Northern Ireland.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 19, 2025 at 11:14 AM
Reposted by Adrian Allen
For the first time ever, I had to make a payment in crypto.

I can now confidently say that crypto payments combine the speed of a dial up modem and the ease of updating the drivers on a 1998 HP Laserjet printer.
November 18, 2025 at 5:58 AM
Reposted by Adrian Allen
Wow, he looks just like him!
November 16, 2025 at 10:10 PM
Reposted by Adrian Allen
Is AI making job recruitment less meritocratic? We're getting some v interesting research studies on this question now, and the news is... not good. @jburnmurdoch.ft.com & I dive in, in the latest edition of our newsletter The AI Shift www.ft.com/content/e5b7...
November 14, 2025 at 10:13 AM
Reposted by Adrian Allen
New: Google has chosen a side in Trump's mass deportation campaign. Google is hosting a CBP facial recognition app to hunt immigrants; no indication Google will remove. At same time Google takes down apps for reporting ICE sightings

“Big tech has made their choice”

www.404media.co/google-has-c...
Google Has Chosen a Side in Trump's Mass Deportation Effort
Google is hosting a CBP app that uses facial recognition to identify immigrants, while simultaneously removing apps that report the location of ICE officials because Google sees ICE as a vulnerable gr...
www.404media.co
November 13, 2025 at 2:11 PM
www.gov.uk/government/n....

Despite the drift of this new variant which occurred after vaccine formulation, seasonal flu vaccines still as efficacious at preventing hospitalisation. So people need to get them.
Flu vaccine providing important protection despite new subclade
UKHSA’s early season data shows vaccination remains best defence alongside good respiratory hygiene as flu activity rises.
www.gov.uk
November 13, 2025 at 10:45 PM
Reposted by Adrian Allen
"Research released this month by economists at the Bank of England, the Bundesbank, King’s College London and the universities of Stanford and Nottingham underscored the economic hit from leaving the EU. Brexit had reduced UK GDP by 6-8%"

on.ft.com/4p1NoHv
Rachel Reeves signals she will break manifesto pledge with Budget tax rises
Chancellor hopes to win support from Labour MPs by lifting two-child benefit cap
on.ft.com
November 11, 2025 at 7:08 AM
Reposted by Adrian Allen
Definitely worth paying for a flu jab this year, about £15 at pharmacies!

www.bbc.com/news/article...
November 9, 2025 at 7:57 AM
Reposted by Adrian Allen
My annual post about how the Morning Star reported the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989

hatfulofhistory.com/2014/11/07/h...
November 9, 2025 at 9:02 AM
Reposted by Adrian Allen
Abstract submissions for #Microbio26 close soon! Explore >20 distinct sessions and submit your work by 23:59 GMT on 11 November: microb.io/AC26Abstracts
November 9, 2025 at 8:01 AM
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Hope this latest summer mutation isn't enough to completely escape the immunity of the vaccines formulated last year. The usual trouble of having to hit the moving target of a continuously evolving pathogen.
Will a new mutated flu strain cause a rough winter?
Leading flu experts say they will not be surprised if this year's is the worst flu season for a decade.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 9, 2025 at 8:16 AM
Hoping Dan Ballard brings this form to the international break next weekend.
November 8, 2025 at 7:37 PM
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

This was a great listen on the history of Jodrell Bank and the composition of a classical piece to commemorate it.
Archive on 4 - Jodrell Bank at 80 - BBC Sounds
Brilliant stories told using archive from the BBC and beyond
www.bbc.co.uk
November 8, 2025 at 6:16 PM
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Great account here of the key role Franklin played in solving the structure of DNA. She & Wilkins knowingly provided the key experimental data that Watson and Crick, the theorists, would use to test & confirm their model.

She should be remembered as co-discoverer.
What Rosalind Franklin truly contributed to the discovery of DNA’s structure
Franklin was no victim in how the DNA double helix was solved. An overlooked letter and an unpublished news article, both written in 1953, reveal that she was an equal player.
www.nature.com
November 8, 2025 at 8:25 AM
Reposted by Adrian Allen
Bundestag discusses possible AfD cooperation with Russia as party files “extremely detailed” inquiries about Germany’s defenses

A senior official suggested the effort was likely “a targeted and systematic collection of military information” which could be “of significant value to foreign powers.”
Bundestag discusses possible AfD cooperation with Russia as party files “extremely detailed” inquiries about Germany’s defenses
Germany’s parliament recently held a special session to discuss whether members of the far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD) may have been deliberately acting in Russia’s interests. The debate...
theins.press
November 6, 2025 at 9:37 PM
Autumn scenes from @nationaltrust.org.uk Mount Stewart at the golden hour.
November 6, 2025 at 6:36 PM
Reposted by Adrian Allen
Actually, although it's commonly known as 'The FIFA Peace Prize' its correct name is 'The Jewelled Rimmer Trophy'
Trump ally Infantino to award first Fifa Peace Prize at World Cup draw in DC
Fifa unveils a new Peace Prize to be awarded at the 2026 World Cup draw in Washington, citing a mission to honor efforts to end conflict
www.theguardian.com
November 6, 2025 at 8:57 AM
Reposted by Adrian Allen
So a weird thing happened to me in Aldi that I cdn't quite place until I was listening to Gabby Bertin talking about choking in porn on the radio this am. (NB: this is 100% not a sex thing). Having the usual polite chitchat with the cashier who is tired from working extra shifts to make £ for xmas..
November 4, 2025 at 9:22 AM