Charlotte Houldcroft
@virologyhouldcroft.bsky.social
Virology with a side-order of human evolution.
Coming to the end of ten days of talks and travel. Started with London for BBC Radio 4, then Sanger Inst, Globe Inst Copenhagen and finally Research in Genetics Day for my own department on Thursday. Then I will hibernate...
December 2, 2025 at 5:49 PM
Coming to the end of ten days of talks and travel. Started with London for BBC Radio 4, then Sanger Inst, Globe Inst Copenhagen and finally Research in Genetics Day for my own department on Thursday. Then I will hibernate...
Reposted by Charlotte Houldcroft
People who persistently carry the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus have a much less diverse community of bacteria in their nose, while certain species may help keep it out. 🦠
These findings offer insight into who may be at higher risk of infection. 👇
www.sanger.ac.uk/news_item/la...
These findings offer insight into who may be at higher risk of infection. 👇
www.sanger.ac.uk/news_item/la...
Largest study of nose microbiome helps highlight those at risk of Staph aureus infection
A study of the human nasal microbiome has allowed scientists to rethink how bacterial communities interact in the nose.
www.sanger.ac.uk
December 2, 2025 at 11:42 AM
People who persistently carry the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus have a much less diverse community of bacteria in their nose, while certain species may help keep it out. 🦠
These findings offer insight into who may be at higher risk of infection. 👇
www.sanger.ac.uk/news_item/la...
These findings offer insight into who may be at higher risk of infection. 👇
www.sanger.ac.uk/news_item/la...
Reposted by Charlotte Houldcroft
Great to share the latest work from our group and collaborators. First CARRIAGE study paper led by @drdaggarwal.bsky.social and the heroic efforts of Katie Bellis and Beth Blane in the lab plus all the team at @cambridge-ceu.bsky.social Huge thanks goes to the 22,000 participants of the study
People who persistently carry the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus have a much less diverse community of bacteria in their nose, while certain species may help keep it out. 🦠
These findings offer insight into who may be at higher risk of infection. 👇
www.sanger.ac.uk/news_item/la...
These findings offer insight into who may be at higher risk of infection. 👇
www.sanger.ac.uk/news_item/la...
Largest study of nose microbiome helps highlight those at risk of Staph aureus infection
A study of the human nasal microbiome has allowed scientists to rethink how bacterial communities interact in the nose.
www.sanger.ac.uk
December 2, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Great to share the latest work from our group and collaborators. First CARRIAGE study paper led by @drdaggarwal.bsky.social and the heroic efforts of Katie Bellis and Beth Blane in the lab plus all the team at @cambridge-ceu.bsky.social Huge thanks goes to the 22,000 participants of the study
Geogenetics and the Globe Institute know how to decorate...
December 2, 2025 at 10:49 AM
Geogenetics and the Globe Institute know how to decorate...
Off to Copenhagen for a visit to the Globe Institute - excited to hear more about the ancient DNA work going on. Got my winter waterproofs ready...
November 30, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Off to Copenhagen for a visit to the Globe Institute - excited to hear more about the ancient DNA work going on. Got my winter waterproofs ready...
english.elpais.com/science-tech... Science of the Total Environment in the cross hairs - I have a publication there that I am proud of! Oh dear...
The fall of a prolific science journal exposes the billion-dollar profits of scientific publishing
One of the 15 publications that put out the most studies globally has been expelled from the indexing system for irregularities. Its publisher, Elsevier, has a 38% profit margin that reached $1.5 bill...
english.elpais.com
November 29, 2025 at 2:23 PM
english.elpais.com/science-tech... Science of the Total Environment in the cross hairs - I have a publication there that I am proud of! Oh dear...
"As the ice in the flask begins to thaw, shake the virus/cell suspension (often referred to as a “herpes-Slurpee”) over the monolayer to resuspend all cellular material in the
flask." Often referred to as a “herpes-Slurpee”by whom?! currentprotocols.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
flask." Often referred to as a “herpes-Slurpee”by whom?! currentprotocols.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Herpes Simplex Virus: Propagation, Quantification, and Storage
Herpes simplex virus (HSV) is the prototype of a family of large, enveloped, double-stranded DNA viruses, the Herpesviridae, which cause significant morbidity and mortality in humans. Productive repl...
currentprotocols.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
November 28, 2025 at 2:50 PM
"As the ice in the flask begins to thaw, shake the virus/cell suspension (often referred to as a “herpes-Slurpee”) over the monolayer to resuspend all cellular material in the
flask." Often referred to as a “herpes-Slurpee”by whom?! currentprotocols.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
flask." Often referred to as a “herpes-Slurpee”by whom?! currentprotocols.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Charlotte Houldcroft
A sure sign of Christmas coming to Cambridge when shoppers queue on Tennis Court Rd and some impatient drivers race against the oncoming traffic, usually cyclists, turning around a blind corner. Every year the same, a serious accident waiting to happen.
Cc. @camcycle.bsky.social
Cc. @camcycle.bsky.social
November 28, 2025 at 2:22 PM
A sure sign of Christmas coming to Cambridge when shoppers queue on Tennis Court Rd and some impatient drivers race against the oncoming traffic, usually cyclists, turning around a blind corner. Every year the same, a serious accident waiting to happen.
Cc. @camcycle.bsky.social
Cc. @camcycle.bsky.social
Not a bad BBC back catalogue
November 27, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Not a bad BBC back catalogue
Reposted by Charlotte Houldcroft
November 26, 2025 at 6:35 PM
Reposted by Charlotte Houldcroft
RSV and flu really heating up here in San Diego - COVID-19 staying relatively well-behaved.
November 26, 2025 at 7:16 PM
RSV and flu really heating up here in San Diego - COVID-19 staying relatively well-behaved.
Reposted by Charlotte Houldcroft
If someone you know buys into claims about "genetic optimization" of embryos using polygenic scores of cognition, just send them our 2024 paper on Beethoven & musicality. We wrote it to help communicate limits of individual-level genetic predictions & complexity of links between DNA & behaviour. 🧪👇
Notes from Beethoven’s genome
Wesseldijk et al. compare the genomic information collected from Ludwig van Beethoven
with population-based datasets used to quantify musical achievement.
www.cell.com
August 7, 2025 at 11:10 AM
If someone you know buys into claims about "genetic optimization" of embryos using polygenic scores of cognition, just send them our 2024 paper on Beethoven & musicality. We wrote it to help communicate limits of individual-level genetic predictions & complexity of links between DNA & behaviour. 🧪👇
Reposted by Charlotte Houldcroft
A side note on this little festive project - it was genuinely lovely when writing it to be reminded that (as of January with the introduction of MMRV) the UK will offer all children vaccines to protect them from 9 serious viral diseases (plus another 12 bacterial diseases). Vaccines are amazing
November 25, 2025 at 9:07 AM
A side note on this little festive project - it was genuinely lovely when writing it to be reminded that (as of January with the introduction of MMRV) the UK will offer all children vaccines to protect them from 9 serious viral diseases (plus another 12 bacterial diseases). Vaccines are amazing
So much fun! Catch up at 9pm tonight or on BBC Sounds at your leisure www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
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 7:10 PM
So much fun! Catch up at 9pm tonight or on BBC Sounds at your leisure www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
Is there a paper or preprint to go with this yet? www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
November 24, 2025 at 6:59 AM
Is there a paper or preprint to go with this yet? www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
Nothing I handle or engineer in the biology lab will every be as biohazardous as a toddler
a man in a suit is standing next to a child in a hospital bed and says there , there .
ALT: a man in a suit is standing next to a child in a hospital bed and says there , there .
media.tenor.com
November 22, 2025 at 10:19 PM
Nothing I handle or engineer in the biology lab will every be as biohazardous as a toddler
Watching paint* dry this afternoon
*ELIspot plate. It's already in a dry 37C incubator and still not ready to read.
*ELIspot plate. It's already in a dry 37C incubator and still not ready to read.
November 21, 2025 at 3:18 PM
Watching paint* dry this afternoon
*ELIspot plate. It's already in a dry 37C incubator and still not ready to read.
*ELIspot plate. It's already in a dry 37C incubator and still not ready to read.
Is there any evidence that Calpol vapour plugs in actually work to relieve cough and cold symptoms for kiddies?
November 21, 2025 at 8:20 AM
Is there any evidence that Calpol vapour plugs in actually work to relieve cough and cold symptoms for kiddies?
Reposted by Charlotte Houldcroft
It’s 2031. You’re a senior official in the Cabinet Office. A respiratory pandemic has broken out in China. You crack open the Hallett Inquiry recommendations to find out what to do and learn…
November 20, 2025 at 8:24 PM
It’s 2031. You’re a senior official in the Cabinet Office. A respiratory pandemic has broken out in China. You crack open the Hallett Inquiry recommendations to find out what to do and learn…
Had my first mince pie of the season today, there's no going back now...
November 18, 2025 at 8:28 PM
Had my first mince pie of the season today, there's no going back now...
Reposted by Charlotte Houldcroft
WE ARE RECRUITING PHD STUDENTS!!!
We have three(!) funded PhD studentships advertising presently. If any of these are of interest, please reach out! Thread below with links to more information on each project.
#Drosophila #Evolution #Immunity #SelfishGene #Aphids
Thread with links below 🧵 1/4
We have three(!) funded PhD studentships advertising presently. If any of these are of interest, please reach out! Thread below with links to more information on each project.
#Drosophila #Evolution #Immunity #SelfishGene #Aphids
Thread with links below 🧵 1/4
November 15, 2025 at 3:35 PM
WE ARE RECRUITING PHD STUDENTS!!!
We have three(!) funded PhD studentships advertising presently. If any of these are of interest, please reach out! Thread below with links to more information on each project.
#Drosophila #Evolution #Immunity #SelfishGene #Aphids
Thread with links below 🧵 1/4
We have three(!) funded PhD studentships advertising presently. If any of these are of interest, please reach out! Thread below with links to more information on each project.
#Drosophila #Evolution #Immunity #SelfishGene #Aphids
Thread with links below 🧵 1/4
Whyyyyy are there so few reference genomes for DNA viruses from chimpanzees?
[I do actually know the answer, I just need to scream into the void this morning]
[I do actually know the answer, I just need to scream into the void this morning]
November 17, 2025 at 9:33 AM
Whyyyyy are there so few reference genomes for DNA viruses from chimpanzees?
[I do actually know the answer, I just need to scream into the void this morning]
[I do actually know the answer, I just need to scream into the void this morning]
Reposted by Charlotte Houldcroft
Congratulations to Richard Durbin on being awarded our Genetics Society Medal!
November 14, 2025 at 12:40 PM
Congratulations to Richard Durbin on being awarded our Genetics Society Medal!
I see that the Hitlome documentary has made the UK news...
November 12, 2025 at 9:31 PM
I see that the Hitlome documentary has made the UK news...
I am seeing a lot of people saying "everyone's ill, it's covid but no one is testing". Some thoughts: if we could distinguish the respiratory illnesses on cough & cold symptoms alone, we would not need PCR & bacterial culture; and actually, the data *from testing* says it's the common cold or flu.
November 12, 2025 at 1:45 PM
I am seeing a lot of people saying "everyone's ill, it's covid but no one is testing". Some thoughts: if we could distinguish the respiratory illnesses on cough & cold symptoms alone, we would not need PCR & bacterial culture; and actually, the data *from testing* says it's the common cold or flu.