Jon Bang Ploug
@jonploug.bsky.social
Historian. Studying historical epidemics & pathology collections
at Roskilde University and PandemiX (Center of Excellence) in Denmark.
at Roskilde University and PandemiX (Center of Excellence) in Denmark.
Reposted by Jon Bang Ploug
The intellectual diversity of IoT has been astounding. One of my favourite moments was when a scientist began his reply: ‘A billion, billion light years ago…’
✍️ Melvyn Bragg
✍️ Melvyn Bragg
My farewell to In Our Time
I set up In Our Time 27 years ago. I had been shunted from Start the Week to what was cheerfully known as the ‘death slot’, 9 a.m. on Thursdays, because BBC management decided I could no longer present...
www.spectator.co.uk
December 11, 2025 at 8:40 AM
The intellectual diversity of IoT has been astounding. One of my favourite moments was when a scientist began his reply: ‘A billion, billion light years ago…’
✍️ Melvyn Bragg
✍️ Melvyn Bragg
Folklore experts: I need help visualizing a portent from an Icelandic Annal:
A man sees a "strange sheep" that is spotted and shaped like a "gaflkæna" (a small boat with a flat stern?).
Text says: "...with a long snout in front and short/blunt behind; it came up after him in the wake of his boat."
A man sees a "strange sheep" that is spotted and shaped like a "gaflkæna" (a small boat with a flat stern?).
Text says: "...with a long snout in front and short/blunt behind; it came up after him in the wake of his boat."
December 11, 2025 at 8:12 AM
Folklore experts: I need help visualizing a portent from an Icelandic Annal:
A man sees a "strange sheep" that is spotted and shaped like a "gaflkæna" (a small boat with a flat stern?).
Text says: "...with a long snout in front and short/blunt behind; it came up after him in the wake of his boat."
A man sees a "strange sheep" that is spotted and shaped like a "gaflkæna" (a small boat with a flat stern?).
Text says: "...with a long snout in front and short/blunt behind; it came up after him in the wake of his boat."
Reposted by Jon Bang Ploug
My thanks to the PandemiX center at @roskildeuni.bsky.social for hosting me today. What a great opportunity to talk about the current state of plague research & the challenges of thinking across so many disciplinary methods. #PandemicThinking #histmed h/t @jonploug.bsky.social
December 9, 2025 at 3:17 PM
My thanks to the PandemiX center at @roskildeuni.bsky.social for hosting me today. What a great opportunity to talk about the current state of plague research & the challenges of thinking across so many disciplinary methods. #PandemicThinking #histmed h/t @jonploug.bsky.social
Italian plague doctor, Rome 1656
The outbreak most closely linked to the iconic beaked suit.
– Made with Nano Banana Pro
The outbreak most closely linked to the iconic beaked suit.
– Made with Nano Banana Pro
December 9, 2025 at 12:31 PM
Italian plague doctor, Rome 1656
The outbreak most closely linked to the iconic beaked suit.
– Made with Nano Banana Pro
The outbreak most closely linked to the iconic beaked suit.
– Made with Nano Banana Pro
I often use documentaries by BBC and others to help bring the past to life for my students. The catch is that you can't make them yourself to fit the exact subject you're teaching. That’s where AI tools could be helpful. They offer infinite customization.
Here I had some fun with Nano Banana Pro.
Here I had some fun with Nano Banana Pro.
December 6, 2025 at 10:00 AM
I often use documentaries by BBC and others to help bring the past to life for my students. The catch is that you can't make them yourself to fit the exact subject you're teaching. That’s where AI tools could be helpful. They offer infinite customization.
Here I had some fun with Nano Banana Pro.
Here I had some fun with Nano Banana Pro.
It will be challenging to counter a new pandemic influenza strain that spreads through a population like wildfire if our health authorities keep insisting that it is transmitted solely via large droplets.
Unfortunately, this is the stance that all health authorities are taking now.
Unfortunately, this is the stance that all health authorities are taking now.
The UK isn’t prepared for the next pandemic – and nor are many other countries.
kucharski.substack.com/p/we-arent-p...
kucharski.substack.com/p/we-arent-p...
December 1, 2025 at 10:40 AM
It will be challenging to counter a new pandemic influenza strain that spreads through a population like wildfire if our health authorities keep insisting that it is transmitted solely via large droplets.
Unfortunately, this is the stance that all health authorities are taking now.
Unfortunately, this is the stance that all health authorities are taking now.
Reposted by Jon Bang Ploug
Another social media thread turned into an article for easier reading:
Art review: Hunters in the Snow, by Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1565)
You can read it here;
fakehistoryhunter.net/2025/11/23/a...
Or here;
fakehistoryhunter.substack.com/p/art-review...
Art review: Hunters in the Snow, by Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1565)
You can read it here;
fakehistoryhunter.net/2025/11/23/a...
Or here;
fakehistoryhunter.substack.com/p/art-review...
Art review: Hunters in the Snow, by Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1565)
This article was originally a thread on social media, which is why it is formatted with lots of images and short responses.The text is about the image below that paragraph. Let’s do another p…
fakehistoryhunter.net
November 23, 2025 at 7:57 PM
Another social media thread turned into an article for easier reading:
Art review: Hunters in the Snow, by Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1565)
You can read it here;
fakehistoryhunter.net/2025/11/23/a...
Or here;
fakehistoryhunter.substack.com/p/art-review...
Art review: Hunters in the Snow, by Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1565)
You can read it here;
fakehistoryhunter.net/2025/11/23/a...
Or here;
fakehistoryhunter.substack.com/p/art-review...
Reposted by Jon Bang Ploug
Reposted by Jon Bang Ploug
I am very pleased and grateful to share this announcement of our recent award from the @wellcometrust.bsky.social for a project on history of smallpox and measles #histmed #histsci news.exeter.ac.uk/faculty-of-h... The project will be based @exeter.ac.uk @cceh-u24.bsky.social led by ... 1/2
Exeter scholars secure significant research funding to investigate the early history of Smallpox and Measles
The early histories of smallpox and measles – and the insight they might offer to contemporary health and medicine – will be under the microscope of a new research project. Pustules, Palaeogenetics an...
news.exeter.ac.uk
November 19, 2025 at 12:54 PM
I am very pleased and grateful to share this announcement of our recent award from the @wellcometrust.bsky.social for a project on history of smallpox and measles #histmed #histsci news.exeter.ac.uk/faculty-of-h... The project will be based @exeter.ac.uk @cceh-u24.bsky.social led by ... 1/2
Translating passages from the physician, Isbrand van Diemerbroeck (1609-74) work "On the Plague"
Very interesting work, and he writes very well.
See for yourself:
Very interesting work, and he writes very well.
See for yourself:
November 19, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Translating passages from the physician, Isbrand van Diemerbroeck (1609-74) work "On the Plague"
Very interesting work, and he writes very well.
See for yourself:
Very interesting work, and he writes very well.
See for yourself:
Reposted by Jon Bang Ploug
THIS IS HUGE! Researchers have just identified a powerful new antibiotic that is 100x STRONGER than existing drugs against deadly superbugs like MRSA and VRE. Hiding in a well-known soil bacterium, pre-methylenomycin C lactone KILLS drug-resistant bacteria WITHOUT triggering resistance.
November 16, 2025 at 7:30 PM
THIS IS HUGE! Researchers have just identified a powerful new antibiotic that is 100x STRONGER than existing drugs against deadly superbugs like MRSA and VRE. Hiding in a well-known soil bacterium, pre-methylenomycin C lactone KILLS drug-resistant bacteria WITHOUT triggering resistance.
Reposted by Jon Bang Ploug
I really did not enjoy Jay Bhattacharya & Matthew Memoli’s screed against pandemic & virology research for the flagship blog of a “free-market think tank." Instead of getting mad, I accepted @jeremyfaust.bsky.social's kind invitation to take a factual & scientific blowtorch to it.
We've got a MASSIVE DEEP-DIVE rebuttal to the NIH leadership’s recent essay. They're arguing for a head-in-the-sand approach to pandemic preparedness.
The great @angierasmussen.bsky.social joins me in an extraordinarily detailed, line-by-line fact check.
insidemedicine.substack.com/p/a-rebuttal...
The great @angierasmussen.bsky.social joins me in an extraordinarily detailed, line-by-line fact check.
insidemedicine.substack.com/p/a-rebuttal...
A rebuttal to NIH leadership's screed against pandemic preparedness.
Dr. Angela Rasmussen joins Inside Medicine for a tag-team response to a poorly reasoned essay by NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya and his deputy, Dr. Matthew Memoli.
insidemedicine.substack.com
November 16, 2025 at 9:28 PM
I really did not enjoy Jay Bhattacharya & Matthew Memoli’s screed against pandemic & virology research for the flagship blog of a “free-market think tank." Instead of getting mad, I accepted @jeremyfaust.bsky.social's kind invitation to take a factual & scientific blowtorch to it.
Reposted by Jon Bang Ploug
Can't emphasize how damaging this is. A single non-scientist—Peter Bogner—holds all power & makes all decisions at GISAID & provides no justifications for any of them, except blatantly false ones.
He has that power because he conned rich & powerful people into giving it to him. Enough.
He has that power because he conned rich & powerful people into giving it to him. Enough.
I want to spell this out in case the implications aren't clear:
This means all public tools/webapps of GISAID data (all the ones you've been used to seeing thru the pandemic, as far as we can tell) are prohibited.
The file allowed this. Cut that - cut off all tools the public & others were using.
This means all public tools/webapps of GISAID data (all the ones you've been used to seeing thru the pandemic, as far as we can tell) are prohibited.
The file allowed this. Cut that - cut off all tools the public & others were using.
On Oct 1, 2025, GISAID informed us that they had ended updates to the flat file of SARS-CoV-2 genomic sequences and associated metadata that we had used to update Nextstrain analyses since Feb 2020. GISAID's stated rationale was that their "resources are limited". 1/5
November 10, 2025 at 2:46 AM
Can't emphasize how damaging this is. A single non-scientist—Peter Bogner—holds all power & makes all decisions at GISAID & provides no justifications for any of them, except blatantly false ones.
He has that power because he conned rich & powerful people into giving it to him. Enough.
He has that power because he conned rich & powerful people into giving it to him. Enough.
In Denmark, archaeologists are thrilled about metal detecting. They have discovered otherwise unknown treasures. Our National Museum is currently holding an exhibition celebrating their finds.
Why not in England? Bad experiences?
nationalmuseet.dk/udstillinger...
Why not in England? Bad experiences?
nationalmuseet.dk/udstillinger...
November 14, 2025 at 10:06 AM
In Denmark, archaeologists are thrilled about metal detecting. They have discovered otherwise unknown treasures. Our National Museum is currently holding an exhibition celebrating their finds.
Why not in England? Bad experiences?
nationalmuseet.dk/udstillinger...
Why not in England? Bad experiences?
nationalmuseet.dk/udstillinger...
Enough plague research bickering for now .
– Listening to the song Northwest passage and dreaming about studying Franklin's lost expedition.
– Listening to the song Northwest passage and dreaming about studying Franklin's lost expedition.
November 11, 2025 at 12:10 PM
Enough plague research bickering for now .
– Listening to the song Northwest passage and dreaming about studying Franklin's lost expedition.
– Listening to the song Northwest passage and dreaming about studying Franklin's lost expedition.
How can you publish a paper on plague transmission from corpses .. and then exclude every study involving fleas!?
That’s literally how bubonic plague spreads.
The WHO review cut out all relevant evidence and ended up answering the wrong question entirely.
wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/...
That’s literally how bubonic plague spreads.
The WHO review cut out all relevant evidence and ended up answering the wrong question entirely.
wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/...
Plague Transmission from Corpses and Carcasses
Plague Transmission from Corpses and Carcasses
wwwnc.cdc.gov
November 11, 2025 at 10:04 AM
How can you publish a paper on plague transmission from corpses .. and then exclude every study involving fleas!?
That’s literally how bubonic plague spreads.
The WHO review cut out all relevant evidence and ended up answering the wrong question entirely.
wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/...
That’s literally how bubonic plague spreads.
The WHO review cut out all relevant evidence and ended up answering the wrong question entirely.
wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/...
The modern 'rat-only' understanding of plague transmission is out of touch with the sources:
"In Glasgow, whatever the original source of the infection may have been, there was no evidence that rats played any part in carrying it amongst those who were attacked by the disease."
Glasgow, 1900.
"In Glasgow, whatever the original source of the infection may have been, there was no evidence that rats played any part in carrying it amongst those who were attacked by the disease."
Glasgow, 1900.
November 5, 2025 at 10:19 AM
The modern 'rat-only' understanding of plague transmission is out of touch with the sources:
"In Glasgow, whatever the original source of the infection may have been, there was no evidence that rats played any part in carrying it amongst those who were attacked by the disease."
Glasgow, 1900.
"In Glasgow, whatever the original source of the infection may have been, there was no evidence that rats played any part in carrying it amongst those who were attacked by the disease."
Glasgow, 1900.
Reposted by Jon Bang Ploug
The healthy vaccinee effect runs deeper than we may think
What this full national Danish study shows is that a huge effect remains even after correcting for age, sex, comorbidity, medical visits and place of residence
The "unvaccinated by choice" test less (and die earlier)
1/
What this full national Danish study shows is that a huge effect remains even after correcting for age, sex, comorbidity, medical visits and place of residence
The "unvaccinated by choice" test less (and die earlier)
1/
November 2, 2025 at 9:47 AM
The healthy vaccinee effect runs deeper than we may think
What this full national Danish study shows is that a huge effect remains even after correcting for age, sex, comorbidity, medical visits and place of residence
The "unvaccinated by choice" test less (and die earlier)
1/
What this full national Danish study shows is that a huge effect remains even after correcting for age, sex, comorbidity, medical visits and place of residence
The "unvaccinated by choice" test less (and die earlier)
1/
Reposted by Jon Bang Ploug
A grave of a Roman physician in Bingen dating to the 2nd c. AD contained a remarkable set of medical instruments, including cupping cups with a stand in the shape of a grapevine.
These cups were used for therapeutic suction or bloodletting, a practice with deep roots in Greco-Roman . 🧵1/ 2
📷 me
🏺
These cups were used for therapeutic suction or bloodletting, a practice with deep roots in Greco-Roman . 🧵1/ 2
📷 me
🏺
October 22, 2025 at 7:06 AM
A grave of a Roman physician in Bingen dating to the 2nd c. AD contained a remarkable set of medical instruments, including cupping cups with a stand in the shape of a grapevine.
These cups were used for therapeutic suction or bloodletting, a practice with deep roots in Greco-Roman . 🧵1/ 2
📷 me
🏺
These cups were used for therapeutic suction or bloodletting, a practice with deep roots in Greco-Roman . 🧵1/ 2
📷 me
🏺
Reposted by Jon Bang Ploug
Bird flu is back, big time
Remember, back in March, 2025, RFK Jr unveiled his "unorthodox idea for tackling the bird flu bedeviling U.S. poultry farms. Let the virus rip." (www.nytimes.com/2025/03/18/h...)
Remember, back in March, 2025, RFK Jr unveiled his "unorthodox idea for tackling the bird flu bedeviling U.S. poultry farms. Let the virus rip." (www.nytimes.com/2025/03/18/h...)
“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which tracks human cases, and the Department of Agriculture, which monitors animal outbreaks, have both suspended routine communication with states, leaving many officials without up-to-date guidance on how to detect and contain the disease”
Bird Flu Is Back
www.nytimes.com
October 22, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Bird flu is back, big time
Remember, back in March, 2025, RFK Jr unveiled his "unorthodox idea for tackling the bird flu bedeviling U.S. poultry farms. Let the virus rip." (www.nytimes.com/2025/03/18/h...)
Remember, back in March, 2025, RFK Jr unveiled his "unorthodox idea for tackling the bird flu bedeviling U.S. poultry farms. Let the virus rip." (www.nytimes.com/2025/03/18/h...)
Reposted by Jon Bang Ploug
I am fascinated by how viruses evolve - and not just since #SARSCoV2 has shown us at the global stage how consequential virus evolution can be for us.
In my new story in @science.org I got to explore how researchers are probing deeper into the past with old RNA virus genome.
So a 🧪 thread…
In my new story in @science.org I got to explore how researchers are probing deeper into the past with old RNA virus genome.
So a 🧪 thread…
On an Arctic archipelago, frozen soil may preserve a hidden history of viruses
Scientists are hunting for ancient RNA in Svalbard’s permafrost, hoping to shed light on the evolution of viral diseases
www.science.org
October 18, 2025 at 10:02 AM
I am fascinated by how viruses evolve - and not just since #SARSCoV2 has shown us at the global stage how consequential virus evolution can be for us.
In my new story in @science.org I got to explore how researchers are probing deeper into the past with old RNA virus genome.
So a 🧪 thread…
In my new story in @science.org I got to explore how researchers are probing deeper into the past with old RNA virus genome.
So a 🧪 thread…
This is not only worrisome but also extremely foolish. It would make for a bad movie where influenza has somehow infected people to do their bidding:
"Many of the top American flu scientists are not able to do the critical research that might help clarify this because it is no longer allowed."
"Many of the top American flu scientists are not able to do the critical research that might help clarify this because it is no longer allowed."
A lot of people have been making claims about H5N1 being on the verge of “going pandemic.”
We don’t that, or how or if a pandemic with H5N1 would occur.
But we do know what the virus would need to do & there are ways we can stop it.
rasmussenretorts.substack.com/p/what-would...
We don’t that, or how or if a pandemic with H5N1 would occur.
But we do know what the virus would need to do & there are ways we can stop it.
rasmussenretorts.substack.com/p/what-would...
What Would it Take for Bird Flu to Go Pandemic?
How H5N1 could make the jump and what we can do to stop that
rasmussenretorts.substack.com
October 15, 2025 at 3:55 PM
This is not only worrisome but also extremely foolish. It would make for a bad movie where influenza has somehow infected people to do their bidding:
"Many of the top American flu scientists are not able to do the critical research that might help clarify this because it is no longer allowed."
"Many of the top American flu scientists are not able to do the critical research that might help clarify this because it is no longer allowed."
Still, no one dares to adress the elephant in the room:
"China holds the distinction of being the world’s largest producer and consumer of antibiotics. Per capita antibiotic use in China is approximately ten times higher than in the United States"
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
"China holds the distinction of being the world’s largest producer and consumer of antibiotics. Per capita antibiotic use in China is approximately ten times higher than in the United States"
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
Sharp global rise in antibiotic-resistant infections in hospitals, WHO finds
Experts describe findings as deeply concerning and predict 70% increase in related deaths by 2050
www.theguardian.com
October 13, 2025 at 9:44 AM
Still, no one dares to adress the elephant in the room:
"China holds the distinction of being the world’s largest producer and consumer of antibiotics. Per capita antibiotic use in China is approximately ten times higher than in the United States"
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
"China holds the distinction of being the world’s largest producer and consumer of antibiotics. Per capita antibiotic use in China is approximately ten times higher than in the United States"
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
A terrorist group attempts to assassinate the Prime Minister of a European country, and people respond by nearly condoning the terrorists.
What is wrong with people here?
People on social media, including Bluesky, are nearly as extreme as in the 1930s.
This does not bode well for the future.
What is wrong with people here?
People on social media, including Bluesky, are nearly as extreme as in the 1930s.
This does not bode well for the future.
well do you even know who he is? apart from being BE prime minister? He’s a major dip$hit who spreads hate and desinformation wherever he goes. So FAFO… he will not be missed not even by his own party, a bunch of opportunistic shmucks looking only after themselves too
October 10, 2025 at 8:21 AM
A terrorist group attempts to assassinate the Prime Minister of a European country, and people respond by nearly condoning the terrorists.
What is wrong with people here?
People on social media, including Bluesky, are nearly as extreme as in the 1930s.
This does not bode well for the future.
What is wrong with people here?
People on social media, including Bluesky, are nearly as extreme as in the 1930s.
This does not bode well for the future.