Sign me up. I’ll be first in line.

NPR@npr.org · 2mo ago

Drugmakers are working on a potential new shot to prevent the tick-borne illness. How might it fare in the era of vaccine skepticism?

#NIH has published the new Parent #F99/K00 #predoctoral to #postdoctoral award. The first due date is August 8, 2026. Please see the website to determine eligibility and submission dates. #sciencesky #medsky #funding

"Fear of smallpox, and a poor understanding of how much benefit could be granted by inoculation, led the Continental Congress to make a proclamation in 1776 banning the procedure." Washington knew better, told the CC they were wrong, and mass inoculated his troops. undark.org/2026/03/13/e...

Excerpt: How George Washington Weaponized Smallpox Inoculation

In 1775, Washington deployed colonial soldiers who had survived smallpox to retake Boston during a city-wide epidemic.

undark.org

Brian Wasik@brianrwasik.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Tis true. "Finding the smallpox to be spreading much and fearing that no precaution can prevent it from running thro’ the whole of our Army, I have determined that the Troops shall be inoculated." - General George Washington, 6 Feb 1777 www.nps.gov/articles/000...

I would greatly appreciate anyone amplifying this or contributing. The Alex Pretti nursing scholarship is being created. An endowed scholarship awarded to a student with financial need. Preference will be given to students with an interest in supporting America's veterans. Link below. Thank you.

I'm supporting the University of Minnesota Foundation!

Help support academics and scholarships at the University of Minnesota.

crowdfund.umn.edu

The ICE surge may be ending, but retribution comes in many forms- including selective termination of funding. This is retaliation, and will harm Minnesotans

I updated my map of Minnesota.

I noticed a bunch of different accounts across various social media websites are sharing my Minnesota maps, so I thought that I'd make a new one.

He also mentions in his book he went on a trip with David Sabatini www.science.org/content/arti...

HHMI fires prominent biologist for sexual harassment

After probe by an outside law firm, Sabatini also resigns from Whitehead Institute and MIT says it’s reviewing his faculty position there

science.org

Dimitri Drekonja, MD, MS@dimitridrekonja.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Maybe emailing with Jeffrey Epstein gets him booted from @cbsnews.com ; or maybe they wanted that 🤷🏻‍♂️

Tom Morello live in Minneapolis

Bruce Springsteen and Tom Morello play ‘Ghost of Tom Joad’ together at First Avenue in Minneapolis 🎸 🎥: Jon Bream

Bruce Springsteen performs ‘Streets of Minneapolis’ for the first time in Minnesota at First Avenue 🎶 🎥: @chrisrstrib.bsky.social

Tom Morello welcomes Bruce Springsteen to the stage at the Defend Minnesota! benefit concert fundraising for the families of Alex Pretti and Renee Good at First Avenue in Minneapolis 🎸 🎥: @chrisrstrib.bsky.social

Posting for no particular reason: www.bbc.com/news/world-l...

Music torture: How heavy metal broke Manuel Noriega

From Panama to Afghanistan, the US Army has repeatedly deployed a secret weapon: heavy rock music.

bbc.com

Will Stancil@whstancil.bsky.social · 7mo ago

oh commuters just found the motherlode of ice agents at a suburban hotel, including, potentially, bovino himself. a bunch of confirmed ICE and CBP cars from the bovino convoy there. spring hill suites in maple grove. people of the twin cities, do with this info what you will.

The whole interview is worth it

lumie's dad@classhuggle.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Reporter: "How long will you be out here?" random minneapolitan: "till my balls get cold"

Is this not, by definition, a professional agitator? apple.news/Aw2z3_i5dRBe...

Minneapolis prepares for ‘March Against Minnesota Fraud’ led by right-wing influencer — The Minnesota Star Tribune

At a weekly public safety meeting, residents raised fears that a Saturday march led by conservative influencer Jake Lang could result in Somali residents being harassed on the street.

apple.news

Any Democratic votes to fund DHS later this month as Minneapolis is being terrorized by DHS is going to be a major slap in the face to Americans living here. Demand major reforms or shut the government down.

These Minneapolis Roosevelt moms knew that ICE had murdered another mom just hours before. But they still faced down armed ICE thugs with nothing but righteous rage. That’s courage 👍🏻💪🏼👏🏻

Just got this tonight. I am on a panel that is supposed to meet Nov 03.

Drug Monkey@drugmonkey.bsky.social · 11mo ago

Welp. Thanks to the Republican gov shutdown I have a bunch of hours back in my week due to a NIH study section not meeting. These poor applicants. They will be waiting week by week for government to reopen and to find out what will happen to their grant application.

Can’t believe I have to say this, but in Minnesota you will continue to have the freedom to get your COVID and flu shots.

Interested air sampling for pathogens? I'm a big wastewater surveillance proponent, but it is not the answer in every situation. Our team has a short blog about the currently available air samplers if this is something you are interested in. lungfish-science.github.io/2025/09/04/o...

Options for Bioaerosol Samplers

Do you want to detect pathogens in the air? You should know what sampling instruments are available.

lungfish-science.github.io

RFK Jr.'s #2 is stepping in as acting CDC director. You need to call your Congress people now and demand hearings until RFK is forced out. They're politically weak for another 48-72 hours, then they'll do unbelievable damage in the next month. Show me that you called and I will give you a reward 👇

Good start. Continue to (1) demand his resignation and (2) threaten endless hearings until it happens.

Tina Smith@smith.senate.gov · last yr.

I dare you to go to Annunciation School and tell our grieving community, in effect, guns don’t kill kids, antidepressants do. Just shut up. Stop peddling bullshit. You should be fired.

Cecropia moth.

Bagged my first 14er. #Quandary Peak.

I've got an opening for a postdoctoral fellow, and likely a second available in 6-12 mos. If you're interested in infection biology during pregnancy or reproductive immunology, please reach out. To formally apply, Search for posting ID: 369238 myu.umn.edu/employment

Careers

myu.umn.edu

The final version is out in the Journal of Virology: journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

Zika virus-induced fetal demise is triggered by strain- and dose-specific RLR-driven activation of the interferon response in the decidua, placenta, and fetus in Ifnar1−/− mice | Journal of Virology

Congenital Zika syndrome is a constellation of fetal abnormalities ranging from fetal demise and microcephaly to infants that are born apparently healthy only to develop neurocognitive impacts later. ZIKV is now endemic in many regions worldwide, but how ...

journals.asm.org

Matt Aliota@aliotalab.bsky.social · 2y ago

Take a break from doomscrolling and check out this new preprint from Ellie Bohm: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1.... We leveraged the natural variability between ZIKV strains to understand mechanisms that lead to fetal harm.

New paper out led by Rachel Lange (Alex Ciota's lab) and Julia Pritchard (my lab) showing that the unique genetic signatures associated with Powassan virus infections in MN and NY are associated with variability in viral fitness and virulence. doi.org/10.4269/ajtm...

Differential Virulence and Host-Specific Fitness of Regionally Distinct Human-Derived Powassan Virus Lineage 2 Strains

Powassan virus (POWV; family Flaviviridae) is a tick-borne encephalitic virus endemic to Canada, the United States, and Russia. In the United States, POWV is transmitted by ixodid ticks, and transmiss...

doi.org

Go Bucky!

Last year, I was overjoyed to receive an NIH NRSA fellowship to study toddler brains and caregiving effects on memory at Columbia. Last night, my grant was terminated.

No pain no Jane! IYKYK. #Trestle.