Nick Loman
@pathogenomenick.bsky.social
Public health (meta)genomics & bioinformatics, Prof @unibirmingham.bsky.social, Director @imibirmingham.bsky.social & @climb.ac.uk
Reposted by Nick Loman
How does fever work?
Our new Science paper shows how elevated body temperature can protect against severe influenza and that avian-origin viruses escape this defence.
This is likely one reason why bird flus and some pandemic influenzas can be so severe.🧵
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Our new Science paper shows how elevated body temperature can protect against severe influenza and that avian-origin viruses escape this defence.
This is likely one reason why bird flus and some pandemic influenzas can be so severe.🧵
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Avian-origin influenza A viruses tolerate elevated pyrexic temperatures in mammals
Host body temperature can define a virus’s replicative profile—influenza A viruses (IAVs) adapted to 40° to 42°C in birds are less temperature sensitive in vitro compared with human isolates adapted t...
www.science.org
November 27, 2025 at 7:55 PM
How does fever work?
Our new Science paper shows how elevated body temperature can protect against severe influenza and that avian-origin viruses escape this defence.
This is likely one reason why bird flus and some pandemic influenzas can be so severe.🧵
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Our new Science paper shows how elevated body temperature can protect against severe influenza and that avian-origin viruses escape this defence.
This is likely one reason why bird flus and some pandemic influenzas can be so severe.🧵
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Nick Loman
"Runctitiononal features"? "Medical fymblal"? "1 Tol Line storee"? This gets worse the longer you look at it. But it's got to be good, because it was published in Nature Scientific Reports last week: www.nature.com/articles/s41... h/t @asa.tsbalans.se
November 27, 2025 at 9:30 AM
"Runctitiononal features"? "Medical fymblal"? "1 Tol Line storee"? This gets worse the longer you look at it. But it's got to be good, because it was published in Nature Scientific Reports last week: www.nature.com/articles/s41... h/t @asa.tsbalans.se
Reposted by Nick Loman
Hi Bluesky! I’m a molecular virologist studying how innate immune defences restrict cross-species transmission and shape disease severity.
I just joined, so reposts appreciated to help me reconnect with virology, immunology, and host–pathogen interaction folks.
(whiteboard art from Zhuonan Li)
I just joined, so reposts appreciated to help me reconnect with virology, immunology, and host–pathogen interaction folks.
(whiteboard art from Zhuonan Li)
November 26, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Hi Bluesky! I’m a molecular virologist studying how innate immune defences restrict cross-species transmission and shape disease severity.
I just joined, so reposts appreciated to help me reconnect with virology, immunology, and host–pathogen interaction folks.
(whiteboard art from Zhuonan Li)
I just joined, so reposts appreciated to help me reconnect with virology, immunology, and host–pathogen interaction folks.
(whiteboard art from Zhuonan Li)
Reposted by Nick Loman
Really pleased to share the first paper to come out of the lab.
We found that hospital patients were frequently colonised with P. aeruginosa and that the same clone was shared between the gut and the lung.
The phylogenies indicate that the clones moved from lung->gut
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
We found that hospital patients were frequently colonised with P. aeruginosa and that the same clone was shared between the gut and the lung.
The phylogenies indicate that the clones moved from lung->gut
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
High frequency body site translocation of nosocomial Pseudomonas aeruginosa - Nature Communications
Here, the authors report within-host diversity and body site translocation dynamics in hospital samples of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and reveal that body site sharing was likely due to within-patient tra...
www.nature.com
November 25, 2025 at 10:40 AM
Really pleased to share the first paper to come out of the lab.
We found that hospital patients were frequently colonised with P. aeruginosa and that the same clone was shared between the gut and the lung.
The phylogenies indicate that the clones moved from lung->gut
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
We found that hospital patients were frequently colonised with P. aeruginosa and that the same clone was shared between the gut and the lung.
The phylogenies indicate that the clones moved from lung->gut
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Nick Loman
This is a pretty useful page en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikiped...
Wikipedia:Signs of AI writing - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
November 26, 2025 at 10:13 PM
This is a pretty useful page en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikiped...
Reposted by Nick Loman
Google at its peak was basically the best information retrieval system in human history and they and every competitor decided going from there to “you didn’t want answers you wanted half-assed auto-complete 80%-wrong hallucinations” in a few years was the right idea
November 25, 2025 at 1:57 AM
Google at its peak was basically the best information retrieval system in human history and they and every competitor decided going from there to “you didn’t want answers you wanted half-assed auto-complete 80%-wrong hallucinations” in a few years was the right idea
Reposted by Nick Loman
One of the big tidal forces of the coming years is that the baseline reliability of things you see on a screen is going to decline.
I think this has not been adequately metabolized.
This is one version, but there are a bunch of them.
I think this has not been adequately metabolized.
This is one version, but there are a bunch of them.
NEW: AI “recipe slop” is overrunning search and social. Food creators say Google’s AI Overviews and glossy fake food pics are drowning out real, tested recipes — collapsing traffic and setting home cooks up for disaster, especially this Thanksgiving.
Gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
AI Slop Recipes Are Taking Over the Internet -- And Thanksgiving Dinner
Food bloggers see traffic dip as home cooks turn to AI, inspired by impossible pictures
www.bloomberg.com
November 25, 2025 at 9:39 PM
One of the big tidal forces of the coming years is that the baseline reliability of things you see on a screen is going to decline.
I think this has not been adequately metabolized.
This is one version, but there are a bunch of them.
I think this has not been adequately metabolized.
This is one version, but there are a bunch of them.
Reposted by Nick Loman
Reposted by Nick Loman
Every biologist knows the story of Fleming's chance discovery of penicillin. But is it true?
Here, with @asimovpress.bsky.social, I write about inconsistencies in the canonical story, and explore a few alternative theories about what really happened in that St. Mary's lab in the summer of 1928.
Here, with @asimovpress.bsky.social, I write about inconsistencies in the canonical story, and explore a few alternative theories about what really happened in that St. Mary's lab in the summer of 1928.
The Penicillin Myth
Competing theories seek to explain inconsistencies surrounding Alexander Fleming’s famed discovery.
press.asimov.com
November 24, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Every biologist knows the story of Fleming's chance discovery of penicillin. But is it true?
Here, with @asimovpress.bsky.social, I write about inconsistencies in the canonical story, and explore a few alternative theories about what really happened in that St. Mary's lab in the summer of 1928.
Here, with @asimovpress.bsky.social, I write about inconsistencies in the canonical story, and explore a few alternative theories about what really happened in that St. Mary's lab in the summer of 1928.
Reposted by Nick Loman
Today on Volts: the subset of cleantech known as "electrotech" -- solar, batteries, heat pumps, etc. -- is marching toward inevitable victory, not because it's low-emissions (though it is), but because it's more efficient & cheaper. I discuss the good news with @kingsmillbond.bsky.social.
Clean electrification is inevitable
Kingsmill Bond explains why the global march of "electrotech" has moved beyond the reach of US political interference.
www.volts.wtf
November 21, 2025 at 6:25 PM
Today on Volts: the subset of cleantech known as "electrotech" -- solar, batteries, heat pumps, etc. -- is marching toward inevitable victory, not because it's low-emissions (though it is), but because it's more efficient & cheaper. I discuss the good news with @kingsmillbond.bsky.social.
Reposted by Nick Loman
Turns out interest in Metaverse had about a ~9 month half life.
November 23, 2025 at 8:51 PM
Turns out interest in Metaverse had about a ~9 month half life.
Reposted by Nick Loman
Stand by your radios at 09:00 UK time! I’ll be on R4’s Start the Week with @adamrutherford.bsky.social talking about CRICK. Also with Alison Bashford talking about science and the occult in the history of palmistry and Charlotte Houldcroft describing her work on DNA viruses.
November 24, 2025 at 7:31 AM
Stand by your radios at 09:00 UK time! I’ll be on R4’s Start the Week with @adamrutherford.bsky.social talking about CRICK. Also with Alison Bashford talking about science and the occult in the history of palmistry and Charlotte Houldcroft describing her work on DNA viruses.
Reposted by Nick Loman
Not this again
'however, standard culture methods did not yield readily cultivable microbiota.'
'however, standard culture methods did not yield readily cultivable microbiota.'
The findings of a study in Nature Medicine introduce microbial elements as a component of the brain tumor microenvironment and lay the foundation for future mechanistic and translational studies. go.nature.com/44bO314 #medsky #microbiome 🧪
November 22, 2025 at 8:14 AM
Not this again
'however, standard culture methods did not yield readily cultivable microbiota.'
'however, standard culture methods did not yield readily cultivable microbiota.'
Reposted by Nick Loman
Hot off the press! Our latest paper led by @fernpizza.bsky.social, understanding how plasmids evolve inside cells. These small, self-replicating DNA circles live inside bacteria and carry antibiotic resistance genes, but also compete with one another to replicate. 1/
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Intracellular competition shapes plasmid population dynamics
From populations of multicellular organisms to selfish genetic elements, conflicts between levels of biological organization are central to evolution. Plasmids are extrachromosomal, self-replicating g...
www.science.org
November 20, 2025 at 9:42 PM
Hot off the press! Our latest paper led by @fernpizza.bsky.social, understanding how plasmids evolve inside cells. These small, self-replicating DNA circles live inside bacteria and carry antibiotic resistance genes, but also compete with one another to replicate. 1/
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Nick Loman
I am by no means a prominent public intellectual, but my inbox is increasingly filled with messages from people who have been convinced by sycophantic chatbots that they have discovered revolutionary theories that entirely upend our scientific understanding of the universe.
November 21, 2025 at 2:49 AM
I am by no means a prominent public intellectual, but my inbox is increasingly filled with messages from people who have been convinced by sycophantic chatbots that they have discovered revolutionary theories that entirely upend our scientific understanding of the universe.
Reposted by Nick Loman
1/ 🚀 Big thanks to our community - since August we’ve added thousands of new sequences, rolled out major new features, and welcomed fresh faces into the #Pathoplexus world. Let’s dive into what’s new.👇🏻
Read the full update: pathoplexus.org/news/2025-11...
Read the full update: pathoplexus.org/news/2025-11...
November 18, 2025 at 7:01 PM
1/ 🚀 Big thanks to our community - since August we’ve added thousands of new sequences, rolled out major new features, and welcomed fresh faces into the #Pathoplexus world. Let’s dive into what’s new.👇🏻
Read the full update: pathoplexus.org/news/2025-11...
Read the full update: pathoplexus.org/news/2025-11...
Reposted by Nick Loman
Twitter and chat gpt are down. Bad day for people who suck.
November 18, 2025 at 1:11 PM
Twitter and chat gpt are down. Bad day for people who suck.
Reposted by Nick Loman
Really excited to say that we have been awarded a BBSRC sLola! Really looking forward to kick off this project with such a fantastic team! @webberma.bsky.social @overtonlab.bsky.social @bugsinblood.bsky.social Sara Jabbari, Dong-Hyun Kim @imibirmingham.bsky.social www.ukri.org/news/powerin...
Powering team science to unlock life’s secrets
Four world-class teams awarded major BBSRC sLoLa grants to push the frontiers of discovery in microbiology, photosynthesis, gene regulation and quantum biology.
www.ukri.org
November 18, 2025 at 9:48 AM
Really excited to say that we have been awarded a BBSRC sLola! Really looking forward to kick off this project with such a fantastic team! @webberma.bsky.social @overtonlab.bsky.social @bugsinblood.bsky.social Sara Jabbari, Dong-Hyun Kim @imibirmingham.bsky.social www.ukri.org/news/powerin...
Reposted by Nick Loman
This is an interesting case of a patient from Chad infected with a novel arenavirus species/variant/strain, presenting with meningoencephalitis.
IMO, could be classified as a highly divergent Lassa virus strain in a new country (similar to what Togo has observed).
www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/...
IMO, could be classified as a highly divergent Lassa virus strain in a new country (similar to what Togo has observed).
www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/...
A Mammarenavirus Close to Lassa Virus in a Patient with Meningoencephalitis | NEJM
A 37-year-old man in Chad presented with a fever and a headache. An extensive evaluation
identified a mammarenavirus, close to Lassa virus, in samples of cerebrospinal fluid.
www.nejm.org
November 17, 2025 at 4:47 PM
This is an interesting case of a patient from Chad infected with a novel arenavirus species/variant/strain, presenting with meningoencephalitis.
IMO, could be classified as a highly divergent Lassa virus strain in a new country (similar to what Togo has observed).
www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/...
IMO, could be classified as a highly divergent Lassa virus strain in a new country (similar to what Togo has observed).
www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/...
Reposted by Nick Loman
so...personally I think this is a very poor work which is really deeply confused about what metagenomics is, why we do it, and what the key biologically relevant biases actually are.
But, hey, I know there are deep divisions in the field which can't be overcome through micro-posts.
Key table:
But, hey, I know there are deep divisions in the field which can't be overcome through micro-posts.
Key table:
November 16, 2025 at 5:30 PM
so...personally I think this is a very poor work which is really deeply confused about what metagenomics is, why we do it, and what the key biologically relevant biases actually are.
But, hey, I know there are deep divisions in the field which can't be overcome through micro-posts.
Key table:
But, hey, I know there are deep divisions in the field which can't be overcome through micro-posts.
Key table:
Reposted by Nick Loman
DNA Sequencing Reveals Hitler Was Type Of Fern
DNA Sequencing Reveals Hitler Was Type Of Fern
BATH, ENGLAND—Saying the discovery shed new light on the infamous German dictator’s life, University of Bath researchers revealed DNA sequencing Friday showing that Adolf Hitler was a type of fern. “A...
theonion.com
November 14, 2025 at 11:00 PM
DNA Sequencing Reveals Hitler Was Type Of Fern
Reposted by Nick Loman
Whoah
EBV not only causes multiple sclerosis, it also might be the root of SLE
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
An EBV vaccine to rid ourselves of these horrible autoimmune conditions (and many cancers)?
#lupus #medsky #RheumSky
@christosargyrop.bsky.social
EBV not only causes multiple sclerosis, it also might be the root of SLE
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
An EBV vaccine to rid ourselves of these horrible autoimmune conditions (and many cancers)?
#lupus #medsky #RheumSky
@christosargyrop.bsky.social
Epstein-Barr virus reprograms autoreactive B cells as antigen-presenting cells in systemic lupus erythematosus
Epstein-Barr virus reprograms autoreactive B cells as antigen-presenting cells to promote pathogenic antinuclear T and B cell responses in lupus.
www.science.org
November 13, 2025 at 11:05 PM
Whoah
EBV not only causes multiple sclerosis, it also might be the root of SLE
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
An EBV vaccine to rid ourselves of these horrible autoimmune conditions (and many cancers)?
#lupus #medsky #RheumSky
@christosargyrop.bsky.social
EBV not only causes multiple sclerosis, it also might be the root of SLE
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
An EBV vaccine to rid ourselves of these horrible autoimmune conditions (and many cancers)?
#lupus #medsky #RheumSky
@christosargyrop.bsky.social
Reposted by Nick Loman
The outbreak in Ethiopia is #Marburg virus, the first such outbreak for this country. 9 cases so far, including some health workers. x.com/drtedros/sta...
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on X: "#Ethiopia has confirmed the outbreak that has infected at least 9 people in the south of the country is of #Marburg virus disease. I commend Ethiopia’s @FMoHealth for its rapid and transparent response to the outbreak, and the work of the Ethiopia Public Health Institute and" / X
#Ethiopia has confirmed the outbreak that has infected at least 9 people in the south of the country is of #Marburg virus disease. I commend Ethiopia’s @FMoHealth for its rapid and transparent response to the outbreak, and the work of the Ethiopia Public Health Institute and
x.com
November 14, 2025 at 4:22 PM
The outbreak in Ethiopia is #Marburg virus, the first such outbreak for this country. 9 cases so far, including some health workers. x.com/drtedros/sta...
Reposted by Nick Loman
“Bin Chicken” is now published in Nature Methods! It substantially improves genome recovery through rational coassembly 🧬🖥️. Applied to public 🌍 metagenomes, we recovered 24,000 novel species 🦠, including 6 new phyla.
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
@benjwoodcroft.bsky.social @rhysnewell.bsky.social
🧵1/6
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
@benjwoodcroft.bsky.social @rhysnewell.bsky.social
🧵1/6
November 13, 2025 at 10:09 AM
“Bin Chicken” is now published in Nature Methods! It substantially improves genome recovery through rational coassembly 🧬🖥️. Applied to public 🌍 metagenomes, we recovered 24,000 novel species 🦠, including 6 new phyla.
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
@benjwoodcroft.bsky.social @rhysnewell.bsky.social
🧵1/6
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
@benjwoodcroft.bsky.social @rhysnewell.bsky.social
🧵1/6
Reposted by Nick Loman
New paper with @statsepi.bsky.social and @deevybee.bsky.social in which we show there's really no evidence for a link between the gut microbiome and autism www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...
Conceptual and methodological flaws undermine claims of a link between the gut microbiome and autism
Claims that the gut microbiome causally contributes to autism regularly appear in
the scientific literature and popular press. Mitchell et al. critically examine influential
studies underpinning these...
www.cell.com
November 13, 2025 at 4:10 PM
New paper with @statsepi.bsky.social and @deevybee.bsky.social in which we show there's really no evidence for a link between the gut microbiome and autism www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...