Tessera

This DIY Biology and Bioart Summit is free and will bring together bio-innovators with biosafety and biosecurity experts to provide an opportunity to engage and discuss biosafety and biosecurity challenges and opportunities.

Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Biology and Bioart Summit 2026 | PHAC Training Portal

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Pathoplexus @pathoplexus.org · 3mo ago

This evaluation underscores the importance of sustained investment, stable capacity, and long-term workforce development to support effective biosecurity oversight within the rapidly evolving life sciences and biotechnology landscape.

Evaluation of the Biosecurity Program 2019-2020 to 2024-2025 - Canada.ca

Summary of PHAC’s evaluation of the Biosecurity Program, performance to date, emerging risks, and planned actions.

canada.ca

Teams in the Democratic Republic of the Congo & Uganda have now shared the first sequences from the current Ebola (Bundibugyo virus) outbreak using Pathoplexus, just days after cases were confirmed. Read more about the response to Bundibugyo virus here: pathoplexus.org/news/2026-05...

Pathoplexus | Ebola: Rapid response to the Bundibugyo virus outbreak in the DRC and Uganda

Pathoplexus is a new, open-source database dedicated to the efficient sharing of human viral pathogen genomic data, fostering global collaboration and public health response.

pathoplexus.org

public health guy@publichealthguy1.bsky.social · 3mo ago

😔

whole article is worth reading

The director-general of Congo's National Institute of Biomedical Research, Jean-Jacques Muyembe, told Congolese media that there were delays both in reporting the epidemic and technical
delays in the diagnostic system. "Our surveillance system didn't work," he said in an interview with a Congolese news website, adding that members of Parliament and senators in the area who were aware of the deaths
went on leave without raising the alarm. Dr. Muyembe said that the laboratory in Bunia should have sent the samples directly to the institute as soon as the first signs of
hemorrhagic fever appeared, according to the interview. "Something went wrong there. That's why we found ourselves in
this catastrophic situation," he said in the interview.

Alex Sundermann, DrPH @sundermannaj.bsky.social · 3mo ago

CDC now enforcing quarantine orders for a passenger who wants to self quarantine at home … a bit of inconsistent messaging here www.nytimes.com/2026/05/18/u...

American Passenger Blocked From Leaving Federal Hantavirus Quarantine

nytimes.com

The Associated Press @apnews.com · 3mo ago

The National Microbiology Lab in Canada completed an initial assessment of the #Hantavirus Andres genomic sequences. Data uploaded to Pathoplexus at the accession numbers PP_006XDHK.2 & PP_006XDJH.2

BREAKING: WHO declares global health emergency over Ebola outbreak in Congo, Uganda with over 300 suspected cases and 88 deaths.

WHO declares global health emergency over Ebola outbreak in Congo and Uganda

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has declared the Ebola disease outbreak in Congo and Uganda a public health emergency of international concern after more than 300 suspected cases and 88 deaths.

bit.ly

Rachel Maddow @maddow.bsky.social · 3mo ago

"“It’s possible that we’re starting to see the consequences of severe and sudden cuts to global health programs that have eroded surveillance and allowed deadly viruses to spread undetected...” www.nytimes.com/2026/05/15/w...

Large Ebola Outbreak Is Declared in Congo

nytimes.com

Isaac Bogoch @isaacbogoch.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Canada's published risk assessment on the Hantavirus outbreak: "At this time, ANDV is not considered to be a pathogen with pandemic potential." Link: tinyurl.com/ycpveenz

Darmok at Tanagra @busz2968.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Who doesn’t love a good glossary? This glossary consolidates terminology and is designed to support readers in understanding and applying terminology related to work involving biological materials.

Course: Glossary | PHAC Training Portal

training-formation.phac-aspc.gc.ca

Darmok at Tanagra @busz2968.bsky.social · 4mo ago

No agreement on PABS yet, but member states agreed to extend negotiations 🤞

WHO Member States agree to extend negotiations on key annex to the Pandemic Agreement

WHO Member States have agreed to extend negotiations on the Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) annex to the WHO Pandemic Agreement, with discussions to resume in late‑April ahead of its schedu...

who.int

Dr Lindsey Fitzharris @drlindseyfitz.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Am in love w the fox sweater from Project Hail Mary

I posted a 1912 photo of a man with smallpox and someone asked if it was AI. That says something about the moment we’re living in: because of vaccination, we’re now so far removed from this virus that real images of it look fake. #medicalhistory #vaccines #vaccineswork #skystorians

A black and white photo of a man suffering from smallpox. His face is riddled with pustules.

Alondra Nelson@alondra.bsky.social · 5mo ago

“Hard to be brilliant if you are worrying if you look fat or why another woman hates you or why you don’t own a kelly bag,” he wrote. To which Epstein responded: “It’s the tail of distribution , no really smart women – none.”

The Epstein files document what many women researchers have long experienced but rarely seen laid bare so starkly: exclusion operating behind closed doors, shaping who gets funded, invited, mentored, and taken seriously. How many of these networks, norms, and gatekeepers remain in place?

If you don’t expect to get caught (or have little to no concerns about it) then it doesn’t matter if you murder someone using a frog toxin far removed from its natural source. And the broader issue remains: the BTWC is structurally weak and that needs to change.

Why did Russia kill Navalny with a lethal frog toxin? Chemical weapons expert Marc-Michael Blum believes the Kremlin never intended to get caught. — Meduza

Two years after Alexey Navalny died in a Russian prison, five European countries confirmed through independent testing that he was poisoned. Analyses of Navalny’s biological samples, conducted by mult...

meduza.io

‘The bacterial strain identified in the latest research also offers some hope in the fight against superbugs. Analysis of the Psychrobacter SC65A.3 genome revealed 11 genes that are potentially able to kill or stop the growth of other bacteria, fungi and viruses.’

Ancient bacteria strain discovered in ice cave is resistant to some modern antibiotics | CNN

In a cave in Romania, scientists found a bacterial strain entombed in ice that is resistant to 10 modern antibiotics. But it may also help fight superbugs.

cnn.com

AuDHD me forgot to take my ADHD meds this morning and just realized it on the way into work. ADHD brain: “Carry backups in your bag.” Autism brain: “Absolutely not until we confirm the legality of transporting a controlled substance.” Productivity today TBD. Due diligence guaranteed.

Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD@elizabethjacobs.bsky.social · 6mo ago

I don’t understand the internal risk assessment that leads parents to conclude that death or a life-altering brain injury is preferable to vaccination. The tolerance for catastrophic risk is enormous, while tolerance for small risk is zero.

“If I knew this could be the outcome, I still wouldn't have given my son the vaccine.” This was said by the mother of a child in South Carolina who has been hospitalized with measles encephalitis since January. I tried out several sentences for this spot, but none could capture my thoughts.

😮‍💨

FDA reverses course, agrees to review Moderna’s flu vaccine

The FDA reversed course and told Moderna it would review its application for a new flu vaccine, the company announced Wednesday.

statnews.com