Leighton Pritchard
@widdowquinn.bsky.social
Computational biologist. Views/opinions mine, not my employer's. Repost != agreement. Not green, just pleasant. Fabian. =﹥÷
I can’t see DMs because of the Online Safety Act.
I can’t see DMs because of the Online Safety Act.
Pinned
‘What’s in a name? Fit-for-purpose bacterial nomenclature’: meeting report
Rapid and economical DNA sequencing has resulted in a revolution in phylogenomics. The impact of changes in nomenclature can be perceived as an absolute necessity of scientific rigour, coupled with th...
doi.org
About 18 months ago we held a @microbiologysociety.org meeting in Glasgow to discuss the thorny topic of #microbial #taxonomy and #nomenclature - and now you can read what we talked about :D
#microbiology #controversy
doi.org/10.1099/ijse...
#microbiology #controversy
doi.org/10.1099/ijse...
Reposted by Leighton Pritchard
Ultimately the minimum wage is a brilliant tool, but it can’t compensate for “we haven’t built any housing”, “we have cut cash transfers to the bone” and “all the third spaces have been cut to pay for social care”.
The minimum wage is not a cure all — we’re asking too much of business
Politicians spend too much time uttering cheap rhetoric about cheap labour
www.ft.com
November 25, 2025 at 12:46 PM
Ultimately the minimum wage is a brilliant tool, but it can’t compensate for “we haven’t built any housing”, “we have cut cash transfers to the bone” and “all the third spaces have been cut to pay for social care”.
Reposted by Leighton Pritchard
Reposted by Leighton Pritchard
DOGE was created for data theft and infrastructure dismantling and it wildly succeeded on both counts within the first few weeks of its existence. It will take a generation to rebuild what it destroyed and the breach of data is unprecedented.
Bye bye, “DOGE”.
It no longer exists as a “centralized entity”, according to the Office of Personnel Management.
@reuters.com
www.reuters.com/world/us/dog...
It no longer exists as a “centralized entity”, according to the Office of Personnel Management.
@reuters.com
www.reuters.com/world/us/dog...
November 23, 2025 at 3:01 PM
DOGE was created for data theft and infrastructure dismantling and it wildly succeeded on both counts within the first few weeks of its existence. It will take a generation to rebuild what it destroyed and the breach of data is unprecedented.
Teaching experimental design again tomorrow and once more reminded of this awesome distillation of why we need to teach it.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbOD...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbOD...
Biostatistics vs. Lab Research
YouTube video by JavaMama926
www.youtube.com
November 23, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Teaching experimental design again tomorrow and once more reminded of this awesome distillation of why we need to teach it.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbOD...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbOD...
Reposted by Leighton Pritchard
“AI workers said they distrust the models they work on because of a consistent emphasis on rapid turnaround time at the expense of quality.”
Meet the AI workers who tell their friends and family to stay away from AI
When the people making AI seem trustworthy are the ones who trust it the least, it shows that incentives for speed are overtaking safety, experts say
www.theguardian.com
November 22, 2025 at 5:12 PM
“AI workers said they distrust the models they work on because of a consistent emphasis on rapid turnaround time at the expense of quality.”
Reposted by Leighton Pritchard
I like this from @vamrhein.bsky.social et al. I assigned it to my class last semester and tried to explain that p-values measure how compatible (vs. surprising) the data are with the null, given our assumptions. But yeah, tests & CIs are hard to understand!
www.blakemcshane.com/Papers/natur...
www.blakemcshane.com/Papers/natur...
November 22, 2025 at 6:31 PM
I like this from @vamrhein.bsky.social et al. I assigned it to my class last semester and tried to explain that p-values measure how compatible (vs. surprising) the data are with the null, given our assumptions. But yeah, tests & CIs are hard to understand!
www.blakemcshane.com/Papers/natur...
www.blakemcshane.com/Papers/natur...
Reposted by Leighton Pritchard
Do I understand correctly that there is now a dispute within the administration about whether this "peace plan" was written by Russians or Americans?
November 23, 2025 at 2:42 AM
Do I understand correctly that there is now a dispute within the administration about whether this "peace plan" was written by Russians or Americans?
Reposted by Leighton Pritchard
on.ft.com/4icxVlG A country in the grip of a doomsday cult. Anti-vaccines, climate denial, gun ownership encouraged…
Moderna is most shorted stock in S&P 500 as Americans skip jabs
Maker of Covid-19 shots has slumped since pandemic as people turn against vaccines
on.ft.com
November 23, 2025 at 12:38 PM
on.ft.com/4icxVlG A country in the grip of a doomsday cult. Anti-vaccines, climate denial, gun ownership encouraged…
Reposted by Leighton Pritchard
It’s so important to understand- as Arthur explains here - that the so called peace plan is not only a disaster for Ukraine but a threat to all of Europe
Moscow's guilty men in the White House are trying to destroy Ukraine and weaken Europe.
open.substack.com/pub/arthursn...
open.substack.com/pub/arthursn...
Another Day, Another Russian-US Attempt to Betray Ukraine and Destroy Europe
The Putin-Trump surrender plan will lay the groundwork for Russia to expand its attacks on other parts of Europe
open.substack.com
November 23, 2025 at 12:28 PM
It’s so important to understand- as Arthur explains here - that the so called peace plan is not only a disaster for Ukraine but a threat to all of Europe
Reposted by Leighton Pritchard
For the journalism schools:
Making a conspiratorial dimwit sound like a maverick hero in a just battle of wills against the negatively valenced "scientific" orthodoxy.
That is not even performative neutrality any more, that is taking sides
@peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social
@michaelemann.bsky.social
Making a conspiratorial dimwit sound like a maverick hero in a just battle of wills against the negatively valenced "scientific" orthodoxy.
That is not even performative neutrality any more, that is taking sides
@peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social
@michaelemann.bsky.social
Breaking News: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he personally instructed the CDC to abandon its position that vaccines do not cause autism. The move underscores his determination to challenge scientific orthodoxy — in this case, that vaccines save lives — and bend the health department to his will.
RFK Jr. Says He Instructed CDC to Change Vaccines and Autism Language on Website
In an interview, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. cited gaps in vaccine safety research. His critics say he is ignoring a larger point: Vaccines save lives.
nyti.ms
November 22, 2025 at 4:20 PM
For the journalism schools:
Making a conspiratorial dimwit sound like a maverick hero in a just battle of wills against the negatively valenced "scientific" orthodoxy.
That is not even performative neutrality any more, that is taking sides
@peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social
@michaelemann.bsky.social
Making a conspiratorial dimwit sound like a maverick hero in a just battle of wills against the negatively valenced "scientific" orthodoxy.
That is not even performative neutrality any more, that is taking sides
@peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social
@michaelemann.bsky.social
Reposted by Leighton Pritchard
Many of you have been hoodwinked or bamboozled into thinking that tax is bad or evil. It’s literally the dues we pay for living in this big clubhouse we call civilization
November 23, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Many of you have been hoodwinked or bamboozled into thinking that tax is bad or evil. It’s literally the dues we pay for living in this big clubhouse we call civilization
Reposted by Leighton Pritchard
We don’t resource the education system to create enough trained people, make good working conduits, or pay enough to attract enough people to the roles, so overseas labour gets brought in. It’s not hard to understand.
November 23, 2025 at 12:45 PM
We don’t resource the education system to create enough trained people, make good working conduits, or pay enough to attract enough people to the roles, so overseas labour gets brought in. It’s not hard to understand.
Reposted by Leighton Pritchard
Dear UK: You don’t pay enough taxes to have an NHS that doesn’t run on immigration and immigrant labour.
Sorry to be brutally honest but it’s how it is
Sorry to be brutally honest but it’s how it is
November 23, 2025 at 10:06 AM
Dear UK: You don’t pay enough taxes to have an NHS that doesn’t run on immigration and immigrant labour.
Sorry to be brutally honest but it’s how it is
Sorry to be brutally honest but it’s how it is
Reposted by Leighton Pritchard
Photosynthetic sea slugs can decapitate themselves & regenerate whole body from the detached head (without the heart or guts), while the shed body do not regenerate. The process takes ~2-3 weeks. A new model for regeneration?
From: www.cell.com/current-biol...
From: www.cell.com/current-biol...
Extreme autotomy and whole-body regeneration in photosynthetic sea slugs
Autotomy, the voluntary shedding of a body part, is common among animals. Mitoh and
Yusa report an extreme case of autotomy with the shedding of the main body, including
the whole heart, and subsequen...
www.cell.com
November 22, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Photosynthetic sea slugs can decapitate themselves & regenerate whole body from the detached head (without the heart or guts), while the shed body do not regenerate. The process takes ~2-3 weeks. A new model for regeneration?
From: www.cell.com/current-biol...
From: www.cell.com/current-biol...
Reposted by Leighton Pritchard
Reposted by Leighton Pritchard
This #WAAW Don’t forget to get your awesome AMR abstracts submitted to join us in Hinxton to discuss AMR genomics, innovations in diagnostics,
therapeutics, and data analytics, and novel mechanisms of antimicrobial survival! #AMR2026
therapeutics, and data analytics, and novel mechanisms of antimicrobial survival! #AMR2026
Present your #AMR work at our dedicated forum for global researchers and practitioners! 🧫
🗓️ 23-25 March 2026
Submit abstract by 1 December 📩
Share #genomics and big data approaches for navigating the growing complexities in the AMR field.
📎bit.ly/3SWzJUm
#MicroSky #AMR2026
🗓️ 23-25 March 2026
Submit abstract by 1 December 📩
Share #genomics and big data approaches for navigating the growing complexities in the AMR field.
📎bit.ly/3SWzJUm
#MicroSky #AMR2026
November 19, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Reposted by Leighton Pritchard
New online! Insights into infectious diseases through ancient pathogen genomics
Insights into infectious diseases through ancient pathogen genomics
Nature Reviews Microbiology, Published online: 17 November 2025; doi:10.1038/s41579-025-01259-7In this Review, Kocher, Krause and Spyrou explore how ancient pathogen genomics is providing new perspectives on the history and evolution of infectious agents. They show how ancient DNA has revealed the aetiology and unfolding of historic outbreaks, pathogen evolutionary timescales, patterns of dissemination and functional evolution, and discuss existing limitations and perspectives of the field.
www.nature.com
November 17, 2025 at 9:24 PM
New online! Insights into infectious diseases through ancient pathogen genomics
Reposted by Leighton Pritchard
My account's upload and bulk download access were terminated permanently in 2021 without explanation after I published *checksums* of GISAID genomes. GISAID and its SAB have since ignored a dozen emails seeking explanation.
4 yrs on, even Nextstrain has lost access. GISAID has rotted from its core.
4 yrs on, even Nextstrain has lost access. GISAID has rotted from its core.
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 17, 2025 at 1:32 PM
My account's upload and bulk download access were terminated permanently in 2021 without explanation after I published *checksums* of GISAID genomes. GISAID and its SAB have since ignored a dozen emails seeking explanation.
4 yrs on, even Nextstrain has lost access. GISAID has rotted from its core.
4 yrs on, even Nextstrain has lost access. GISAID has rotted from its core.
Reposted by Leighton Pritchard
We are hiring!! Biological Sciences as UNC Charlotte has a broad search for a new assistant professor.
Apps reviewed 12/15.
Please spread the word! 💚⛏️
#PlantSci 🧪🦠🧬
jobs.charlotte.edu/postings/65141
Apps reviewed 12/15.
Please spread the word! 💚⛏️
#PlantSci 🧪🦠🧬
jobs.charlotte.edu/postings/65141
Assistant Professor
Applicants should possess a Ph.D. in the biological sciences or related fields.Candidates are expected to document expertise in their specialty by a record of postdoctoral training, peer reviewed publ...
jobs.charlotte.edu
November 17, 2025 at 2:52 PM
We are hiring!! Biological Sciences as UNC Charlotte has a broad search for a new assistant professor.
Apps reviewed 12/15.
Please spread the word! 💚⛏️
#PlantSci 🧪🦠🧬
jobs.charlotte.edu/postings/65141
Apps reviewed 12/15.
Please spread the word! 💚⛏️
#PlantSci 🧪🦠🧬
jobs.charlotte.edu/postings/65141
For quick connection with a higher power it is possible to stick a fork in the three phase socket.
The app Text With Jesus uses artificial intelligence and chatbots to offer spiritual guidance to users who are looking to connect with a higher power: on.nbc10.com/7XM8xrf
People can text with Jesus on a controversial new app. How does it work?
Artificial intelligence app Text With Jesus lets users chat with biblical figures and it is raising debate over faith and technology.
on.nbc10.com
November 14, 2025 at 11:15 PM
For quick connection with a higher power it is possible to stick a fork in the three phase socket.
Reposted by Leighton Pritchard
Absolutely delighted to have been awarded a Royal Society University Research Fellowship! I will be moving to the University of Manchester @mermanchester.bsky.social to research early endosymbiont evolution
#microsky #symbiosky
#microsky #symbiosky
Meet the new cohort of exceptional researchers who have been awarded more than £83 million worth of early career fellowships by the Royal Society, working on research spanning the sciences: #RSGrants: https://bit.ly/49jMkKx
Exceptional researchers awarded early career fellowships worth more than £83 million | Royal Society
A new cohort of exceptional researchers at have been awarded funding through the Royal Society’s early career schemes, the University Research Fellowship (URF), Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship (DHF) and Ne...
bit.ly
November 14, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Absolutely delighted to have been awarded a Royal Society University Research Fellowship! I will be moving to the University of Manchester @mermanchester.bsky.social to research early endosymbiont evolution
#microsky #symbiosky
#microsky #symbiosky
Reposted by Leighton Pritchard
Compulsory “voluntary work” is slavery and honestly, the volunteer work I do needs earnest care and compassion and you can’t order that from people
November 14, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Compulsory “voluntary work” is slavery and honestly, the volunteer work I do needs earnest care and compassion and you can’t order that from people
Reposted by Leighton Pritchard
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 Leighton Pritchard
Think of your favorite celebrity, whether they’re an actor, musician, athlete, whatever.
They’re probably pretty well-off, financially. But they are still closer to auctioning off their possessions to cover medical bills than they are to being a billionaire.
They’re probably pretty well-off, financially. But they are still closer to auctioning off their possessions to cover medical bills than they are to being a billionaire.
James Van Der Beek is auctioning off ‘Dawson’s Creek’ and ‘Varsity Blues’ merchandise to pay for his cancer treatments.
James Van Der Beek Sells Dawson’s Creek Merch to Pay for Cancer Treatment
James Van Der Beek is auctioning off ‘Dawson’s Creek’ and ‘Varsity Blues’ merchandise to pay for his cancer treatments.
www.vulture.com
November 14, 2025 at 4:20 PM
Think of your favorite celebrity, whether they’re an actor, musician, athlete, whatever.
They’re probably pretty well-off, financially. But they are still closer to auctioning off their possessions to cover medical bills than they are to being a billionaire.
They’re probably pretty well-off, financially. But they are still closer to auctioning off their possessions to cover medical bills than they are to being a billionaire.
Reposted by Leighton Pritchard
Microbiology professor, want to join a slack for microbiology professors, any career stage, diverse career types (pure teaching, med school, R1, community college, pure research fed PIs, ...)
Message me for an invite link if you are interested.
No imposter syndrome, if you are 1% micro, join!
Message me for an invite link if you are interested.
No imposter syndrome, if you are 1% micro, join!
July 25, 2025 at 3:43 AM
Microbiology professor, want to join a slack for microbiology professors, any career stage, diverse career types (pure teaching, med school, R1, community college, pure research fed PIs, ...)
Message me for an invite link if you are interested.
No imposter syndrome, if you are 1% micro, join!
Message me for an invite link if you are interested.
No imposter syndrome, if you are 1% micro, join!